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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/bluebonnets-in-bloom-marlowe-daisy-and-marley/3245796/ | 2023-04-27T23:23:06 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/bluebonnets-in-bloom-marlowe-daisy-and-marley/3245796/ |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/george-w-bush-presidential-center-celebrates-ten-years/3245842/ | 2023-04-27T23:23:08 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/george-w-bush-presidential-center-celebrates-ten-years/3245842/ |
The George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas opened its doors 10 years ago with the goal of being much more than a museum.
“You mention President Bush. His change here was, 'I don't want this to just be a think tank, I want it to be a do tank as well,'” said Ken Hersh, President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
Its opening was historic, a major event in North Texas with 5 presidents in attendance. A decade later, the Bush Center is growing.
President and CEO Ken Hersh says according to a recent economic impact study, the George W. Bush Presidential Center has had a $2 billion of impact on North Texas, welcoming close to 2 million people to the museum, and many others to their public policy programs.
“That is something you can quantify. The stuff that is hard to quantify is how we have moved the needle on some pretty major public policy areas around opportunity, democracy, and global health and women's empowerment around the world. And it has just been an incredible run. Inspired by, everything we do, the Bush’s foundational principles of freedom and opportunity, accountability and compassion," Hersh said.
David Kramer is the Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute.
“We have become a source for sane, sensible, sound, solutions if you pardon the alliteration, on policy problems,” said Kramer said.
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The latest news from around North Texas.
Kramer says over the 10 years they have produced more than 50 policy recommendation papers, for federal, state, and local legislators.
“We try to influence policy, we try to influence the influencers, and we try to improve people's lives on a daily bases,” Kramer said.
Both say that President and Mrs. Bush remain very involved. Hersh is optimistic about the future of the Bush’s Center lasting impact.
“Number one is, we got great thought leadership and people really know who we are now. The second is, our voice around civility and around good ideas that are well researched, that are based on values and principals, are needed in this county today,” Hersh added.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary, there is free admission week, courtesy of Sewell Automotive | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/george-w-bush-presidential-center-marks-major-milestone/3245659/ | 2023-04-27T23:23:15 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/george-w-bush-presidential-center-marks-major-milestone/3245659/ |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/how-to-keep-coyotes-from-your-yard/3245833/ | 2023-04-27T23:23:15 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/how-to-keep-coyotes-from-your-yard/3245833/ |
One Dallas couple says they have become familiar with the characteristics, routes and times a furry visitor approaches their backyard.
“He has good-sized ears,” Tim Speck said. “We've seen it three or four times a week. Today we saw it. So, I'm sure tomorrow or tomorrow afternoon, Friday afternoon, probably it'll be around again.”
For the past few months, Speck has spotted a coyote. He thinks it is the same one that keeps returning.
“It’s pretty friendly,” he said. “He doesn't run from it very often and just kind of watches around."
Speck recently decided to make a formal report to Dallas Animal Services. His is one of more than 330 currently listed on the city’s heat map. The map is an expansion of the Coyote Management Plan.
The plan launched last year, shortly after a 2-year-old boy was attacked outside their Lake Highlands home on the 9200 block of Royalpine Drive.
Wildlife expert Jacqui Sutherland has helped lead the city’s efforts to educate people on how to coexist with wildlife.
"We've had, I mean, thousands of reports coming in from all different avenues. It's been quite a learning experience being completely immersed in it so quickly," Sutherland said.
According to Sutherland, of the hundreds of reports submitted, only four coyotes have had to be lethally removed.
"One was absolutely verified as the individual animal that was as that was responsible for the incident, but we ended up removing three other animals from that family," Sutherland said. "And in the process, we haven't had to lethally remove any other animals since We haven't had any escalations towards people. We haven't had any pets that are on leash with their owners, seriously injured or killed"
“It's really amazing how the animals work, why this species is so difficult for some people to manage and deal with,” Sutherland said.
She looks for signs of immediate threat to people and pets as well as the factors that could attract coyotes to the area.
“We're still dealing with a lot of cat feeders and a lot of people feed,” Sutherland said. “They just leave an abundance of food out overnight on a porch, maybe free access to food and water, you know, 24 hours a day. The coyotes, they figure that out very, very quickly.”
Sutherland said a feeding ordinance could help mitigate the issue.
"The biggest thing that's coming next is the approval of the of the feeding ordinance that we've been working so hard on. It was stuck in council for a while. We did a lot of different presentations," Sutherland said. "We're trying to educate about how it's appropriate to feed and how it's not appropriate to feed. I do think that's going to make a big difference. And it'll also encourage the feral cat colony caretakers."
However, each case differs. In the case of Speck, Sutherland said food is not the issue.
"There's a lot of attractants just in this backyard with a heavily wooded on that side. That storage container that's off the ground, which means opossums and skunks and rodents are living underneath it," Sutherland said. "So, he's here for that. All this woodpile, this, you know, attracts mice and rats and snakes, you know what I mean? So there's a reason he's here, and his presence is actually beneficial. We just want him to remember that he's a guest in our territory."
Sutherland installed game cameras on Speck’s property.
“I’ll be able to get eyes on the animals, see if he's healthy, does he have any injuries,” Sutherland said. "Usually we can tell if it's a male or female. We can get an idea of age as well as determine if it's the same animal that's coming and going or if it's actually two or three different ones that are just using the same pathway.”
As of now, Sutherland determined the coyote does not pose a threat to Speck, his family, their dog, or neighbors. Speck said it has given him some peace of mind ahead of the coyote's next visit.
“I’ll probably at some point give it a name,” Speck said.
Animal Services continues to encourage residents to report all sightings
"When everybody reports what they're seeing, no matter how basic they think it is, it helps me evaluate the territories, the individuals that are in that territory," Sutherland said. "I'm able to determine the minute that something starts to go a direction that might lead to a problem. I'm able to intervene, whether it's door-to-door education, social media education, coming out, investigating the area for natural food sources, unnatural shelter."
All findings from the city's Coyote Management Plan can be found on its website here.
To view the coyote heat map, click here. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/map-tracking-coyotes-shows-hundreds-of-sightings-across-dallas/3245772/ | 2023-04-27T23:23:21 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/map-tracking-coyotes-shows-hundreds-of-sightings-across-dallas/3245772/ |
Two members of the “Trump Train” convoy who harassed a bus belonging to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign as it traveled through Texas in 2020 apologized for their actions Thursday, saying they regretted their efforts to intimidate campaign workers.
The apologies from the convoy members, Hannah Ceh and Kyle Kruger, were part of a settlement for a lawsuit brought by four people who were on the bus as it traveled Interstate 35 between Austin and San Antonio on Oct. 30, 2020, to rally people for the last day of early voting.
As the bus moved, it was met by several protests, culminating in highway harassment. According to the lawsuit, members of the convoy pulled in front of the bus, driving between 15 to 25 mph on the expressway, which had a 70 mph speed limit. The bus driver had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting the other vehicles.
The incident prompted the Biden campaign to cancel two events scheduled for the same day.
Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/trump-train-members-who-intimidated-biden-campaign-bus-apologize-settle-lawsuit/3245763/ | 2023-04-27T23:23:27 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/trump-train-members-who-intimidated-biden-campaign-bus-apologize-settle-lawsuit/3245763/ |
SARASOTA, Fla — A brand new Publix opened its doors on Thursday in The Shoppes in Sarasota, according to a news release.
The 48,000-square-foot store will offer departments for grocery, dairy, frozen food, seafood, meat and fresh produce, as well as a full-service bakery and deli and pharmacy, the news release details. The new location will also feature an adjacent liquor store.
“We are excited to welcome our customers to the new store at The Shoppes at Palmer Ranch and look forward to providing them with the premier service and quality Publix is known for,” Lindsey Willis, Publix media relations manager, said in a statement.
Publix will host a hiring event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 27-30 at the new location.
To submit an application, click here. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/new-publix-sarasota/67-0ed1f3df-407a-49c3-96f6-5b4f8f680010 | 2023-04-27T23:25:20 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/new-publix-sarasota/67-0ed1f3df-407a-49c3-96f6-5b4f8f680010 |
BLOOMINGTON — A Bloomington man has been sentenced to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on weapon possession charges.
A McLean County jury found Deon K. Moore, 27, guilty in March of two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
Deon K. Moore, 26, of Bloomington, is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
On Thursday, Judge Jason Chambers sentenced Moore to 12 years in prison on each count. The two 12-year sentences are concurrent to each other but consecutive to a three-year DOC sentence that he is already serving in an unrelated Livingston County case.
Assistant State’s Attorney Kirk Schoenbein asked Chambers to sentence Moore to concurrent 14-year sentences. During the trial and again during Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the prosecutor presented evidence primarily related to a music video that appeared to have been filmed in Moore’s Bloomington residence. In the video, Moore is seen pointing a loaded revolver at the camera.
He said Moore had “simply made a decision to be a criminal” and had given no indication that he would change. Schoenbein said he believed a 14-year sentence was realistic and appropriate.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-NY, ripped into the Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, outside of the chambers of Congress yesterday over the idea of teachers being armed in schools to ward off more school shootings. In the days following a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee that took the lives of six individuals, the United States Congress has found themselves in another political debate over gun reform. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries led a press conference on the East Steps of the Capitol on Wednesday, imploring his Republican colleagues for more gun control. After the press conference Rep. Bowman, who was once a school principal, began telling journalists to push Republicans on the subject.
Moore’s attorney, Michael Malin, asked the judge to issue three-year sentences on each count, noting the evidence showed Moore never carried a gun or took it in public. The video was filmed inside Moore’s home, and while it “may have been risky, illegal, immature … It was not something that affected the community that severely.”
He also asked Chambers to consider rehabilitation for alcohol and drug use.
Chambers said this case was not about the video — “That’s just how you got caught” — and noted Moore’s “significant criminal history” over the last 10 years was the factor that stood out the most to him.
The judge said there were mitigating factors in this case as well and that Moore’s statement he provided in the presentence investigation report showed remorse and the impact of his mental health. The attorneys also noted Moore has post-traumatic stress disorder related to his brother’s death during his childhood and other incidences of gun violence.
After the sentence was issued, Malin told The Pantagraph that Moore was disappointed with the outcome of the hearing.
“Given the large discrepancy between the two requests — one being the minimum and one being the maximum — Mr. Moore was very disappointed that the sentence imposed is so close to the maximum, given his minimal involvement or contact with firearms within the context of the (music video recording),” Malin said.
Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph
Bryant Lewis
Bryan Lewis, 28, of Bloomington, is charged with home invasion causing injury, a Class X felony. His next appearance is Dec. 30.
Connor Wood
Derek Roesch
Derek Roesch of Saybrook was charged Thursday, Nov. 10 in McLean County Law and Justice Center with several counts, including:
-Two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, Class 2 felonies
-One count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon while on parole, Class 2 felony
-Two counts of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon, class 2 felonies
-One count of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon while on parole, class 2 felony
-Unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver (greater than 2000 grams but less than 5000 grams), a class 1 felony
-Unlawful possession of cannabis (greater than 2000 grams but less than 5000 grams), a class 2 felony
-Unlawful possession of a controlled substance, psylocibin less than 15 grams, a class 4 felony
-Unlawful possession of methamphetamine, less than five grams, a class 3 felony.
-Unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor
Justin M. Mata
Justin M. Mata, 28, no address given, is charged with possession of less than five grams of meth with intent to deliver, a Class 2 felony, and possession of less than five grams of meth, a Class 3 felony. He was released on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond and his next appearance is Dec. 30.
Connor Wood
Marcus D. Wesley
Marcus D. Wesley, 36, is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in a vehicle (Class 4 felony), unlawful possession of cannabis (Class 3 felony) and unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Phillip Tinch
Phillip Tinch of Normal was charged Thursday, Nov. 10 at the McLean County Law and Justice Center with several felonies including:
- Five counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, more than one but less than 15 grams of a substance containing cocaine, a Class 1 felony.
-One count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, less than one gram of a substance containing cocaine, a Class 2 felony.
Trisha L. Hanke
Trisha L. Hanke, 36, is charged with theft of over $10,000 (Class 2 felony). Court documents indicate she knowingly took $14,000 belonging to a Love's Travel Stop, in LeRoy, where she was employed.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
William B. Givens
William B. Givens, 49, no address given, is charged with unlawful possession of five to 15 grams of meth with intent to deliver, a Class 1 felony, possession of less than five grams of meth with intent to deliver, a Class 2 felony, possession of five to 15 grams of meth, a Class 2 felony, and possession of less than five grams of meth, a Class 3 felony. His next appearance is Dec. 30.
Connor Wood
David L. Oliver
David L. Oliver, 51, of Bloomington, is charged with predatory criminal sexual assault.
Kenneth E. Funk
Kenneth E. Funk, 27, is charged with residential burglary (Class 1 felony) involving an apartment in Lexington on Dec. 31, 2022.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jordan R. King
Charges have been filed against Jordan R. King, 34, for violation of the Illinois Violent Offender Against Youth Act.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Holly M. Isaacson
Holly M. Isaacson, 36, is charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of a controlled substance containing cocaine with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kenneth L. Minton
Kenneth L. Minton, 51, is charged with aggravated home repair fraud (Class 2 felony) and theft (Class 3 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tony L. Jackson
Tony L. Jackson, 50, is charged for violation of the Illinois Violent Offender Against Youth Act (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Britley L. Hilger
Britley L. Hilger, 32, is charged with aggravated battery (Class 2 felony) after she supposedly punched a McLean County Detention Facility officer in the chest.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jasmine L. Smith
Jasmine L. Smith, 31, is charged with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol (Class 2 felony) and five counts of endangering the life or health of a child (Class A misdemeanors).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jackie S. Claypool
Jackie S. Claypool, 46, appeared for a Friday bond court hearing for two new cases which charged her for one count of burglary (Class 2 felony), four counts of forgery (Class 3) and one count of deceptive practices (Class 4 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Noah R. Demuth
Noah R. Demuth, 22, of Evanston, is charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer, a Class 2 felony, aggravated battery in a public way, a Class 3 felony, mob action, a Class 4 felony, and obstructing a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor. His next court date is Feb. 17.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Brandon L. Parsano
Brandon L. Parsano, 39, is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, a Class 2 felony. His next appearance is Feb. 17 for an arraignment.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Alexander N. Williams
Alexander N. Williams, 24, was charged Feb. 2 with the following:
3 counts of unlawful delivery of cannabis between 30 and 500 grams - Class 3 felonies. 2 counts of armed violence - Class X felonies. 1 count of unlawful possession of cannabis between 2,000 and 5,000 grams with the intent to sell - a Class 1 felony. 1 count of unlawful possession of cannabis between 500 and 2,000 grams with the intent to sell - a Class 2 felony. 3 counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon - Class 3 felonies. 1 count of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition by a felon - a Class 3 felony 3 counts of violating the Illinois FOID act - Class 3 felonies.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano
Carlos H. Sanchez-Solozarzano, 22, was charged with 1 count of criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony.
PROVIDED BY MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jaylin S. Bones
Jaylin S. Bones was charged with four counts of first-degree murder stemming from a homicide in Bloomington last year. A McLean County grand jury also returned a bill of indictment charging him with attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm (Class X felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Jordan R. King
Jordan R. King, 34, was charged with violating the Illinois Violent Offender Against Youth Act (Class 2 felony) a second time in under a month.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Dominique M. Banks
Dominique M. Banks, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery involving strangulation (Class 2 felony). The incident happened in October 2022 and involved one victim.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Austin T. Daugherty
Austin T. Daugherty, 29, was charged with burglary (Class 2 felony) after he entered an Avis Car Rental, 3201 Cira Drive, in Bloomington, without permission and with the intent to commit theft.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Sandra M. Lewis
Sandra M. Lewis, 77, is charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance containing MDMB-4E-PINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid, with the intent to deliver (Class X felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Samantha E. Morris
Samantha E. Morris, 40, is charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer (Class 2 felony) after supposedly spitting on a Colfax police officer.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Nolan C. Love
Nolan C. Love, 46, appeared in court Friday for a bond review hearing after being charged with aggravated domestic battery involving strangulation (Class 2 felony) on Feb. 26.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Nikkita L. Sandefur
Nikkita L. Sandefur, 36, is charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (Class 2 felony) containing cocaine.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Katlin M.B. Wilson
Katlin M.B. Wilson, 32, is charged with aggravated identity theft (Class 2 felony) after being accused of fraudulently obtaining money exceeding $300 but not exceeding $10,000 from a 60 year old man.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Eli C. Garozzo
Eli C. Garozzo, 20, is charged with two counts of home invasion, a Class X felony, two counts of attempted armed robbery, a Class 1 felony, and two counts of residential burglary, a Class 1 felony. His bond was set at $200,000 as a 10% bond, meaning he must pay $20,000 plus fees to be released. His next appearance is an arraignment on April 13.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tysean T. Townsend
Tysean T. Townsend, 35, is charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle (Class 2 felony), three counts of child abduction, aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer and obstructing justice (Class 4 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Curtis J. Byrd
Curtis J. Byrd, 31, is charged with two counts of burglary (Class 2 felony), two counts of fraud and two counts of financial institution fraud (Class 3 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Noral K. Nelson
Noral K. Nelson, 31, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm (Class 4 felony) after he was arrested in connection to a shooting along the 1500 block of S. Main Street.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Charles J. Tankson
Charles J. Tankson, 23, was charged with burglary (Class 2 felony), theft and two counts of unlawful use of a debit card (Class 3 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Davis, Micah S
Davis was charged with 3 counts of arson, Class 2 felonies, and 3 counts of criminal damage to property, Class 4 felonies.
His next court date is May 5 at 9 a.m.
PROVIDED BY THE MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Livingston, Joshua D.
Livingston was charged with 2 counts of possessing stolen vehicles, Class 2 felonies, possession of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony, and criminal damage to government property, a Class 4 felony.
His next court date is May 5 at 9 a.m.
PROVIDED BY THE MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Kevin L. Ewen
Kevin L. Ewen, 42, appeared in a Thursday bond court hearing and was charged with aggravated battery (Class 2 felony), obstructing a peace officer (Class 4 felony) and two counts of resisting a peace officer (Class A misdemeanor).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Emmanuel K. Mpay
Emmanuel K. Mpay, 23, appeared in a Thursday bond court hearing following a grand jury indictment for two counts of criminal sexual assault (Class 1 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Ahmad S. Manns
Ahmad S. Manns, 19, appeared in a Friday bond court hearing and was charged with cannabis trafficking (Class X felony), unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver (Class 1 felony) and unlawful possession of cannabis (Class 2 felony).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Dylan R Mann
Dylan R Mann, 31, appeared Friday in bond court following four grand jury indictments for two separate cases relating to aggravated assault and battery.
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
Tony L. Jackson
Tony L. Jackson, 50, was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle (Class 2 felony), domestic battery, violation of an order of protection and driving while license revoked or suspended (Class 4 felonies).
MCLEAN COUNTY JAIL
William R. Linden
William R. Linden, 79, was released Tuesday on felony burglary charges for trying to pass a forged check at Busey Bank.
Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.
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Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-man-sentenced-to-12-years-on-weapon-offenses/article_48121afc-e541-11ed-958d-9b08a87bd662.html | 2023-04-27T23:30:39 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-man-sentenced-to-12-years-on-weapon-offenses/article_48121afc-e541-11ed-958d-9b08a87bd662.html |
The City of Coos Bay staff have been busy preparing the 2023-24 proposed budgets which include the City and Urban Renewal Agency (URA). The proposals will be presented to the Budget Committee on Thursday, May 4, 2023, starting at 6 p.m.
This is a public meeting and will also be streamed live on the City’s YouTube Channel. Remote attendance is available via Zoom and can be accessed through the agenda for each meeting, found on the City’s website on the Agendas and Minutes page.
The City and URA adopted budgets are a financial plan prepared for one fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The budgets are one of the most important and informative documents city officials and the public will use.
Both entities are required to adhere to the state’s local budget law which is a group of statutes that require the preparation and adoption an annual budget that follows a very specific process. As such, the adopted budgets are a legal document that establishes the authorization to receive and spend money. It presents the anticipated resources (revenue) available to pay for the estimated requirements (expense) necessary to provide services to the community.
In actuality, the budget is a cycle which takes 12 months to complete. The budgeting process is composed of four phases: Preparation, Approval, Adoption, and Execution.
Preparation of the budget is the first phase of the cycle and allows for a review of needs considering the funds available. As Oregon municipalities, both the City and URA must plan for a balanced budget, meaning that resources and requirements are equal. As designated by the City’s Charter, the Budget Officer for the City is the City Manager. The Budget Officer for the URA is the Assistant City Manager. The Budget Officers, along with the Finance Director and other Department Directors, develop the proposed budgets.
The next phase of the budget cycle is the approval phase, which is performed in a public meeting environment. Oregon Budget Law requires each government to have a budget committee that is comprised (in part) of citizens. The Budget Committee is tasked with reviewing the budget, as proposed by the Budget Officer, and to monitor the process to ensure adherence to State Law.
The Budget Committees (City and URA) will hold a public meeting, as mentioned above, on May 4, 2023, in which the budget message will be delivered and the budget will be presented, and to listen to comments and questions regarding the proposed budget from interested citizens. Ultimately, the Budget Committee members who serve alongside the City Council and URA Board will approve the City and URA budgets for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. When approving the budgets, the Budget Committees must also approve the property tax rate and amounts.
After the Budget Committees have approved the budget, the approved budgets are then forwarded to the City Council and URA Board for adoption. The City Council and URA Board are scheduled to review the approved budget and hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.
At this hearing, citizens have another opportunity to provide comments and ask questions about the approved budget. The budgets are adopted by resolution, setting appropriation authority for the coming fiscal year.
Lastly, the execution phase is left to the City management to operate City and URA services for the next fiscal year within the financial parameters of the legally adopted budget.
We encourage citizen participation in the budget-making process, notice for the meeting is published in The World newspaper and posted on the City’s website Budget Meeting Notice.
Interested citizens can also review the budgets in all phases (proposed, approved, adopted), on the City’s website within the Finance Department’s Budget & Audit Records. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/budget-committee-announces-public-meetings-on-2023-24-proposed-budgets/article_20432ad0-e54f-11ed-b7db-a7546caa316f.html | 2023-04-27T23:31:38 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/budget-committee-announces-public-meetings-on-2023-24-proposed-budgets/article_20432ad0-e54f-11ed-b7db-a7546caa316f.html |
A new police chief was sworn in last Thursday to lead the North Bend Police Department, but the move will continue the changes started by outgoing Chief Gary McCullough.
Cal Mitts took the oath of office, bringing more than 26 years of law enforcement experience to the job, including the last 18 months where he served as captain in the department.
McCullough and Mitts were named the leaders of the North Bend Police Department 18 months ago after the former chief and captain resigned due to a conflict with City Administrator David Milliron.
At the time, there was a lot of dissent in the city and concern in the police department, but Milliron said McCullough and Mitts agreeing to come to North Bend changed everything.
Both men came out of retirement after serving decades in the Coos Bay Police Department. McCullough retired as police chief in Coos Bay after serving 11 years while Mitts retired as a captain.
“Bringing in Chief McCullough, it was some of the toughest times being in North Bend,” Milliron said. “We had to rebuild trust with the community, we had to restore trust with the department. Chief McCullough has never looked back. He has restored morale in this department.”
Milliron then turned to McCullough and addressed the longtime law-enforcement veteran.
“We are eternally grateful for you and the sacrifice your wife has made,” Milliron said. “What you’ve accomplished in 18 months is amazing. You’ve made the North Bend Police Department proud. You’ve got police officers involved in the community. You have built a team we can all be proud of.”
Milliron finally turned to Mitts.
“We always recognized it’s never one person,” Milliron said. “I always recognized just as much accolades as we give Chief McCullough and the officers, we give them to you, too. You have a department you’re inheriting that you will be able to put your legacy on.”
Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier also spoke about the two officers, saying he was relieved when he heard McCullough and Mitts were named to lead North Bend.
“My first reaction was ‘Thank God,’” Frasier said. “I’m grateful that Gary and Cal stepped up and came to this department. I’ve worked with them a long time.”
Frasier said he has worked with Mitts for decades and is confident he will do an amazing job as police chief.
“He is a wonderful individual and is committed to the city of North Bend as police chief,” Frasier said. “I look forward to working with him. I’m grateful these two men stood up and came to this department. It has shown.”
Coos Bay City Manager Rodger Craddock also recognized McCullough and Mitts. Long before he was city manager, Craddock joined the Coos Bay Police Department at the same time as Mitts and McCullough. Craddock served as police chief in Coos Bay, picking McCullough as his replacement and Mitts as a captain.
“As I reflect on the year where you both became sergeants, both became captains, I don’t regret a single day,” Craddock said before turning to Mitts. “I think you will be a great police chief. The training you have, the things you have done, I believe you will make a great police chief.”
As he retired for the second time in two years, McCullough said working in North Bend was worth delaying his retirement plans.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with the men and women in the police department and the men and women in the city,” McCullough said. “From the very first day we started it was obvious we had the support and trust from all the men and women from every department in the city.”
McCullough then turned to Mitts, a man he has worked with for decades, in good times and bad.
“Mr. Mitts, I can’t say enough about you,” McCullough said. “You and I have worked side by side for 26 years. I can honestly say there’s not a better person who can take over the mantle of the police department.”
Milliron than asked Lori McCullough to join her husband, saying Lori sacrificed a lot to let her husband serve one more time. Lori said she had no choice because the city they live in needed him.
“When Gary was asked to do this, I know that was the only choice for the North Bend Police Department, and I supported it wholeheartedly,” she said. “The department is far better for having the two of them.”
After he was sworn in as the new chief, Mitts finally got a chance to speak. He talked about the men and women who have guided his career, his father, former Chief Eura Washburn and McCullough.
“All of them taught me what being a good human, being a good officer and being a good leader is like,” Mitts said before turning to McCullough. “For the last 27 years, I’ve worked with you every day, Today is our last day working together. All of the great leaders I associated with believed in making a difference. I have made it my mission to make a difference no matter what my job is.”
As North Bend’s police chief, Mitts said his goal is to make the department better every day.
“I will continue to push and raise the bar higher,” he said. “I will serve with integrity and never do anything to cause the department embarrassment. I will leave the department better than I found it.” | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/mitts-sworn-in-as-nb-police-chief/article_08701e08-e550-11ed-a1d6-bb64b8f12aaa.html | 2023-04-27T23:31:44 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/mitts-sworn-in-as-nb-police-chief/article_08701e08-e550-11ed-a1d6-bb64b8f12aaa.html |
The North Bend School Board has set an ambitious schedule in its bid to hire a new interim superintendent.
The North Bend School district released a schedule for the hiring process last week, announcing it has hired Break Through Consulting to help with the superintendent search.
North Bend School District is looking to replace Superintendent Kevin Bogatin after Bogatin announced he is leaving the district at the end of the school year to serve as superintendent at a larger district in Washington state.
While the district initially plans to hire an interim superintendent, the school board is hopeful they can find someone who can be named the permanent superintendent.
The district also released a community survey, asking those who live in the district to share their thoughts on what they would like to see in the next superintendent. The survey can be reached at North Bend Interim Superintendent Search.
The district has begun the process of accepting applications for the position, with the job closing May 6. The very next week, a candidate screening committee will review the applicants and come up with a short list.
On May 20, the district is hoping to do the first round of interviews will be held in person in front of an interview committee. Finalists will be invited to North Bend on June 1 to tour the district and to go through a final round of interviews in front of the school board and the community.
The goal is to hire the next superintendent June 8, with that person starting July 1.
Community members are invited to be part of the candidate screening committee as well as the interview committee by filling out the survey above. During the survey, there is also an opportunity to nominate candidates for the superintendent’s position. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/north-bend-releases-schedule-for-superintendent-search/article_7c7cbd30-e54e-11ed-8ee8-eb8f72eb8810.html | 2023-04-27T23:31:50 | 0 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/north-bend-releases-schedule-for-superintendent-search/article_7c7cbd30-e54e-11ed-8ee8-eb8f72eb8810.html |
Idaho Falls School District 91 announced Thursday that Karla LaOrange has been chosen to serve as its new superintendent after a nationwide search.
“It is an amazing opportunity,” LaOrange said. “I feel very fortunate and very excited.”
LaOrange is a Utah native and a graduate of Idaho Falls High School.
The school board expressed a warm welcome to one of their own.
“We are excited to welcome Karla LaOrange to D91. Karla has an impressive depth of knowledge and years of experience in education that will serve the district well,” said District 91 Board Chairwoman Hillary Radcliffe in the news release announcing the selection. “It is clear that her focus on increasing student achievement for all students will be an asset."
LaOrange will replace Jim Shank, who announced in March that he was leaving the district effective June 30. Shank, who joined the district in July 2021, took a similar position at the North Beach School District in Ocean Shores, Washington.
LaOrange was educated in District 91 and began her teaching career in a fifth-grade classroom at Dora Erickson Elementary in 1985. Later, she taught in the gifted and talented program for a few years. From 1996-1997, she was a part-time assistant principal at Sunnyside Elementary School and part-time sixth-grade instructor. For one year in 1997-1998, she served as head teacher and principal at Osgood Elementary School. She was the principal at Linden Park Elementary School from 1998 to 2006, after which she worked in the district office from 2006 to 2012.
She is presently employed as the Elementary Education Faculty Program Director and Department Chair at Brigham Young University-Idaho, where she has worked for 11 years.
LaOrange holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction with an endorsement in administration from Idaho State University, according to her biography on BYU-Idaho’s website. She is working on her dissertation in reading and literacy for her doctorate program in educational leadership.
LaOrange accepted the school district’s offer Wednesday evening.
Four finalists were considered for the position. During an executive session on Tuesday, each of the finalists — Becky Hogancamp, Scott Rogers, Kristoffer Smith and LaOrange — were interviewed by board members. A panel comprised of parents, patrons and staff also spoke with the candidates and provided input to the board, the release said.
In a work session following the executive session, the board made the decision to offer the position to LaOrange.
According to the release, “all four candidates were clearly dedicated to education and service,” the board stated in their work session.
The final negotiations for the offer are still underway, but the board anticipates that LaOrange will begin working in her position this summer.
In a job listing for the position, the district said the compensation package would include comprehensive benefits and a salary range of $135,000 to $155,000 per year, depending on experience. The district paid Shank $165,850 per year.
“The board looks forward to working closely with the new superintendent to continue current district initiatives, address long standing facility issues and ensure all students graduate with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to be successful beyond high school,” the release said.
LaOrange is focused on increasing student achievement throughout the district.
“I believe that children need to be in a school environment where they feel valued and where they feel safe,” she said. “Children need to come to school where they know that they are valued, they are recognized and they can learn and grow every day — that they are with a teacher that understands their needs and teaches so they can learn.”
She is grateful for the incredible efforts of teachers within the district.
“The thing that I would really want teachers to know is that I honor them, and that I honor their good work," LaOrange said. "Teachers work really hard to better our children. We’re going to continue to work to build a very collaborative environment to help our students grow and achieve."
As superintendent, she emphasized that she will work closely with school district parents and patrons.
“I think we want to continue to engage with our community, to collaborate with our parents," she said. "We want to continue to be partners with them in our children’s education. We value them, and we invite them to be part of the work.” | https://www.postregister.com/news/local/district-91-selects-a-new-superintendent/article_bb1275ce-e54b-11ed-ae19-c754b96e57c7.html | 2023-04-27T23:32:25 | 1 | https://www.postregister.com/news/local/district-91-selects-a-new-superintendent/article_bb1275ce-e54b-11ed-ae19-c754b96e57c7.html |
MARIETTA, Ga. — People will soon be able to buy medical marijuana in Georgia for the first time. Two dispensaries passed inspections Thursday afternoon and are now set to open Friday morning. They're part of five total locations a state commission approved Wednesday to sell medical cannabis.
Shannon Cloud, a Cobb County parent of a 17-year-old with chronic seizures, said she was elated to hear the news after trying to make progress in getting access to medical cannabis in Georgia.
"We’ve been waiting nine years for this to happen since we started this fight, so this is absolutely incredible that all the adults and kids who need this medicine will have a way to get it," Cloud said. "The thing with seizures is you never know when it could be the last. It could be the one that takes their life. The idea that there's any medicine out there that could stop those seizures is an incredible relief for parents."
The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission's decision allows two companies, Georgia-based Botanical Sciences and Florida-based Trulieve, to legally sell medical marijuana to registered patients in the state.
The commission issued five dispensing licenses between the two companies. To buy medical cannabis from the dispensaries, people need to have a state registry card. According to the state, nearly 30,000 people are registered with cards costing $25 that last for two years.
Gary Long, CEO of Botanical Sciences, said stores in Cobb County and Chatham County should open within a matter of weeks. They will sell medicinal marijuana with five-percent THC oil combined with other cannabinoids, Long said. Product can be sold in the form of tinctures, capsules, topicals and lozenges.
"Once we are complete with all the construction and the final permitting and approval by those municipalities, then the commission would come in for one final audit or inspection to make sure it satisfies all the rules and regulations we've been asked to follow," Long said. “Our product is in the process of being essentially packaged into its usable forms. As soon as the lab is authorized to actually receive product from us, we’ll be sending them product for their approvals.”
Meantime, Trulieve will open its first two stores to patients in Marietta and Macon Friday morning, according to CEO Kim Rivers.
"This means patients will finally be able to get relief in their home state, that they no longer have to have concerns about potentially traveling across state lines with product or obtaining that product that in some cases is absolutely life-changing," Rivers said. “We’re now officially able to open our doors and get product into the hands of those Georgians, who’ve been waiting for so very long to be able to access medical marijuana in the state.”
While some parents are continuing to push for expansion in the form of higher THC doses, more providers and more approved conditions to take medicinal marijuana, the progress made in a years-long battle to access and purchase the product in Georgia is a dream come true for Cloud.
"Some people argue that these two companies can support the entire patient registry," Cloud said. "Maybe they can, but ultimately, patients need more options. We need greater accessibility around the state, competition for better prices, and so we’ll see where it goes.” | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/medicinal-marijuana-sold-georgia/85-0bc488e7-084e-4972-b78f-1fdf565b43a9 | 2023-04-27T23:36:12 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/medicinal-marijuana-sold-georgia/85-0bc488e7-084e-4972-b78f-1fdf565b43a9 |
ATHENS, Ga. — A 5-year-old girl and a teen were hospitalized following a shooting at an Athens shopping plaza Wednesday evening, police said.
Officers with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department were called to a shopping center at 494 North Avenue just around 5:03 p.m.
When they arrived, they found two children with injuries. A 5-year-old girl was shot in her eye. Family members said the bullet split her eye, causing her to possibly need a transplant.
Authorities also said that a 14-year-old girl was also shot in her arm. Both were taken to the hospital.
Family members said the girls were warming up in class at the dance studio when a shooting broke out outside a nearby barbershop. The girl's mother was parking her car when the shooting happened.
Once she realized what was going on, she ran to the venue and saw a bullet hole in the glass. She started beating on the door until it opened. Then, she was told that her child was hit in the eye.
Seconds later, police arrived on scene.
It was later decided that she needed to be flown to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for treatment. But due to the weather, they couldn’t fly her. She was then transported by ambulance, arriving at the hospital Wednesday night.
Surveillance video from a nearby business showed the exact moments of the shooting. Reports said that an argument took place between a group of people causing a shootout to take place. The shooting appears to have taken place in the parking lot of the shopping plaza near the Piggly Wiggly.
Witnesses said they saw three black Dodge Chargers drive away from the scene after the shooting.
Two possible suspects were detained on the scene after the responding officer saw them on the video camera. Police believe the two possible suspects might have something to do with the shooting.
Police reports stated that the officer charged the two people with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, criminal trespass to property and criminal damage to property.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
Also download the 11Alive News app and sign up to receive alerts for the latest on this story and other breaking news in Atlanta and north Georgia. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/mynews/athens/children-shot-north-avenue-shopping-plaza-athens/85-ec963c62-d02e-4460-8ca5-5fdbeb819ef7 | 2023-04-27T23:36:18 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/mynews/athens/children-shot-north-avenue-shopping-plaza-athens/85-ec963c62-d02e-4460-8ca5-5fdbeb819ef7 |
Jordan Martins has been found guilty of over 20 crimes against teens Thursday afternoon.
He was found guilty of 14 counts of sexual assault of a child, four counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse and multiple counts of coercion along with other related crimes.
Martins, now 22, is what prosecutors call a serial sexual predator. Over the course of several years, dating back to when he was in middle school and just 14, Martins sexually assaulted dozens of victims and extorted them to keep them quiet.
"Each of these young teens trusted the defendant. They thought what's the harm and they sent out the pictures when he asked for them. He was funny, he was charming, they liked him—but that's when he got them where he wanted them," Emily D’aguanno, a prosecutor said. "And he used those pictures against them to extort them. He threatened to put those pictures on social media for everyone to see in order to get more pictures and in order to get more sexual favors."
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15 victims testified against Martins and said they were caught in a cycle of abuse and extortion they couldn't escape out of fear.
A woman spoke with NBC10’s Deanna Durante in October 2022 who said she was attacked in her home three years prior by Martins who she thought was her school friend.
At that time Martins was arrested and charged with 19 assaults, court records at the time showed.
In April 2023, eight more victims came forward saying Martins extorted them for sexual favors and images of themselves in compromising positions.
A young woman told police when she was 15 while she was at the King of Prussia Mall, Martins stormed into a restroom to sexually assault her. Another young woman told police Martins raped her when she was 16; he placed a pillow over her head during the assault and recorded the crime.
Police said Martins used the images to blackmail the woman later for more images of them in stages of undress and he would share the images on social media and around school.
NBC10 first reported this story back in September 2022 and have been following the story as more victims have come forward.
Prosecutors and police said getting teens to send pictures in stages of undress is a rampant problem for our region. Kids are doing it all day, every day they said.
"This was eye opening I think for everybody involved with this case. The extent of girls and guys in high school sending pictures...nudes back and forth over their phones," said James Lyons a public defender said. "If somebody thinks Jordan's the only person doing that, you're kidding yourself." | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/serial-sexual-predator-found-guilty-on-over-20-crimes-against-teens/3554995/ | 2023-04-27T23:37:55 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/serial-sexual-predator-found-guilty-on-over-20-crimes-against-teens/3554995/ |
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Contact Us | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/sexual-predator-found-guilty-on-20-charges/3554930/ | 2023-04-27T23:38:01 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/sexual-predator-found-guilty-on-20-charges/3554930/ |
VIRGINIA – It’s that time of year where bears are out and about again, some of them making their way to local neighborhoods.
Sabrina Garvin, president of the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke said one of the most important steps to keep bears away is to keep your trash up.
“Let your neighbors know what’s going on and make sure everyone’s putting up the food,” Garvin said. “Even your bird baths at night, dump them.”
Garvin said they’ve received a number of bear-related calls lately.
“They call, they’re concerned,” Garvin said. “They see a cub up in the tree, and what we like to do is tell folks leave it alone, mom’s most likely going to come back for it.”
According to the Wildlife Center of Virginia, around 17,000 bears live in the state. Plus, it’s not uncommon to see them this time of year.
“It is more active at the moment because the fruit, such as nuts and things, aren’t on the ground and available,” Garvin said. “They’re in search of food because females, they have babies, and so they are out searching.”
If you accidentally get up close and personal with one, wildlife officials said you should remain calm.
“If you do encounter one stay still, back up quietly,” Garvin said. “If you start to turn and run that could cause them to give chase, so it’s better just to be quiet.” | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/bears-wander-local-neighborhoods-experts-weigh-in-on-safety/ | 2023-04-27T23:39:15 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/bears-wander-local-neighborhoods-experts-weigh-in-on-safety/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – Another brewery has planted roots in Roanoke. This one, specializing in French-Belgian brewing.
Blindhouse Beer Company is located on Salem Avenue.
Their farmhouse-style beers are described as crisp and refreshing.
They opened their doors for the first time this weekend, which the owners say was a success.
Owners Tyler and Nicole Wert say they plan to focus on this specific style of brewing.
“We also incorporate a portion of wild yeast, so yeast that was captured from the environment to lend a unique character to the beer,” said Tyler Wert.
There are currently three beers on tap, but they do plan to release a fourth brew this weekend. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/blindhouse-beer-company-opens-in-roanoke-offering-french-belgian-beers/ | 2023-04-27T23:39:21 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/blindhouse-beer-company-opens-in-roanoke-offering-french-belgian-beers/ |
VIRGINIA – As working parents and child care facilities struggle nationwide, national lawmakers are hoping to fix some of today’s biggest challenges in the industry.
Whether that’s making child care affordable, expanding options, and supporting higher wages for child care workers.
On Thursday, lawmakers introduced the Child Care for Working Families Act, something they say is sorely needed.
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine is a co-sponsor of the bill.
“Infant care in Virginia averages about $15,000 per infant, a little bit cheaper for older kids, but so many families can’t afford it,” Kaine said. “Even if they could they can’t find it because they live in parts of the state where we don’t have providers especially after COVID.”
The proposal would cap child care costs for families to no more than seven percent of their income. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/lawmakers-introduce-child-care-for-working-families-act/ | 2023-04-27T23:39:27 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/lawmakers-introduce-child-care-for-working-families-act/ |
ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – A push to get kids outside is leading to several improvements at Oak Grove Park in Roanoke County.
A ribbon cutting was held Thursday afternoon to celebrate the project.
It includes a new playground, pickleball court, picnic shelter, restrooms, and environmental education trail, along with walking path upgrades and expanded parking.
There was also a ceremony for arbor day which featured local elementary students.
This is the 25th year Roanoke County has been recognized as a Tree City USA community. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/ribbon-cutting-ceremony-held-at-oak-grove-park-in-roanoke-county/ | 2023-04-27T23:39:34 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/ribbon-cutting-ceremony-held-at-oak-grove-park-in-roanoke-county/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – After two back-to-back weekends of deadly shootings in Roanoke, residents and city leaders are fed up.
As for what they want to see done to combat the problem, not every official is on the same page.
“I think we are doing as much as we possibly can do,” said Mayor Sherman Lea.
Councilwoman Stephanie Moon Reynolds disagrees with Mayor Lea. She’s pointing the finger at City Manager Bob Cowell.
Moon Reynolds claims Cowell is not bringing enough solutions forward, regarding gun violence, for city council to vote on.
“The leadership can share with us how we should get there and then council will look at what they’re presenting and then we can have that conversation, but I have yet to see that,” said Moon Reynolds.
She says Cowell is proposing too broad of plans with no details.
The plans also only rely on American Rescue Plan funding, which is set to expire soon.
“I’m looking for an action plan,” said Moon Reynolds. “And I have yet to see that.”
City Manager Bob Cowell denied 10 News’ request for an interview.
He released the following statement:
The City continues to work with its many partners to address violence, focusing on efforts at prevention, intervention and enforcement/justice. The Roanoke Police Department will continue to aggressively focus on those intent on harming others in our community through partnerships with the Virginia State Police, the Commonwealth Attorney, the Virginia Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney. Most recently, this included successful arrests of perpetrators of recent violence and announcement of the City’s collaboration with the Virginia Attorney General and U.S. Attorney on their Ceasefire Initiative, which will bring additional prosecutorial resources to our area as well as additional support for prevention and intervention efforts.
Bob Cowell, Roanoke City Manager
Vice-Mayor Joe Cobb released the following statement to 10 News in response to Moon Reynolds’ claims:
I think Bob and our city staff, RPD, Gun violence prevention commission and our community partners are all doing an extraordinary job of doing what we are able to do in difficult and incredibly challenging circumstances. I found Councilwoman Moon-Reynolds comments disingenuous and uninformed. We have to stop blaming and judging and find ways to deepen our relationships with each other to create meaningful opportunities and be willing to give them space to grow.
Joe Cobb, Roanoke Vice-Mayor
Mayor Lea says there have been no discussions on council for the removal of Cowell.
“The city manager has been supportive and working with us and I think he’s looking for solutions as we all are,” said Mayor Lea.
As for what Moon Reynolds wants to see done next, she hopes a discussion can be had between council and Cowell on expectations for the city manager. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/roanoke-city-leaders-butt-heads-over-how-to-address-gun-violence/ | 2023-04-27T23:39:40 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/roanoke-city-leaders-butt-heads-over-how-to-address-gun-violence/ |
RICHMOND, Va. – Two students were shot in a parking lot near George Wythe High School on Thursday, NBC 12 reported.
Richmond Police told NBC 12 that one of the students was found in a wooded area near the parking lot with gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital.
We’re told the second student who was also shot took himself to the hospital and is expected to recover.
“We’re trying to get to the bottom of what happened today,” Acting Police Chief Rick Edwards told the station.
Richmond Police held a press conference outside the school and said they got a call at 12:02 p.m. about shots fired.
Police said an officer got to the scene within a minute, and in the following three minutes, police found the first victim.
According to authorities, Richmond Police, forensic teams, and the ATF stayed at the scene collecting evidence for hours following the incident.
As of Thursday evening, there had been no arrests made, according to NBC 12.
“The suspects are still at large so, obviously, that’s still concerning for us, but we don’t believe there’s any other threats to any other schools at this point,” Edwards said.
Edwards also believes there’s “one shooter, but other people involved,” the station said, but no suspect information was available.
NBC 12 reports that the school was put on lockdown after the shooting, and all after-school activities are also canceled.
School officials sent out alerts on Thursday evening, noting that the shooting happened in the school parking lot, the station reported. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/two-george-wythe-high-school-students-shot-in-parking-lot-police-say/ | 2023-04-27T23:39:46 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/27/two-george-wythe-high-school-students-shot-in-parking-lot-police-say/ |
DUBLIN, Texas — Dragon garnered quite the following after video captured during Wednesday's severe weather showed the bull getting caught in a hailstorm.
As golf ball to baseball-sized hail dropped, owner Gary Clayton watched Drago seek shelter.
"Cattle are grazing animal. So, it's not real easy to have a place for all of them to seek a barn. In fact, they probably wouldn't go into a barn because of the noise from the hail hitting the tin," said Clayton. "I knew the only shelter he really had was some trees. And that's where he was heading, was to get under some trees to kind of break the fall of the hailstones."
Drago found shelter under a nearby pecan tree. Clayton's home is surrounded by hundreds of acres. He watched the storm come across the field after noticing the sky darken after it was just daylight.
The sound of the storm approaching followed the change in the skyline.
"You could hear the hail hitting trees and buildings, you know, off of our property. And then it just began to get closer and closer. And I told my wife that we're fixing to fix the see something," said Clayton.
Wednesday's hailstorm is one of the biggest Clayton's seen in Dublin. He credits being weather aware to WFAA Chief Meteorologist Pete Delkus.
"He was telling us to look at the weather," said Clayton. "So we knew that there was a good chance somewhere between 5, 6, 7, we're going to have some some issues."
Clayton has only had Drago for a couple of years. He's still learning the personality of his bull who just chills out most days.
Despite getting caught in the hailstorm, Clayton wants everyone to know Drago and the other steer are all okay.
"They're hide is probably three, eight to a half inch thick. Then you've got a layer of fat, you have some muscle. So, they're pretty resilient," Clayton said.
Resilient enough, Clayton says, to weather the storm.
"He's getting adjusted to the property and we're getting adjusted to him," he said. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/meet-drago-texas-bull-escaped-large-hail-dublin-erath-county/287-b0edd462-1bca-48e6-a6df-b96dfe80e3cd | 2023-04-27T23:43:21 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/meet-drago-texas-bull-escaped-large-hail-dublin-erath-county/287-b0edd462-1bca-48e6-a6df-b96dfe80e3cd |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Two brothers are recovering at Cook Children's Medical Center after a lightning strike knocked both unconscious on Wednesday in south Fort Worth.
Jaden Alvarado, 13, and his brother Isaac Martinez, 7, were near a tree at a home on Iron Ridge Drive, just off Interstate 35W, when the tree was struck by lightning. Neighbors heard the loud thunder clap and rushed outside to find both boys on the ground.
The chaos was partly captured on home surveillance cameras.
"And when I ran it was exactly what I thought. I thought it was one of the boys, it was both of her boys laid out on the grass as if they'd been standing and just fallen over together," said neighbor Frances Wamack.
Both boys were rushed by ambulance to Cook Children's. On Thursday, in an interview with the media relations staff at the hospital and shared with WFAA, Jessica Martinez Alvarado agreed to talk about the ordeal.
"I thought I had lost my boys honestly. It's the worst feeling. I don't wish that on anyone," she said holding back tears while in the hospital room with her two boys. You can hear the boys in the background trying to console her, telling her they are going to be OK.
"I remember me and Isaac we were rough-housing and it went black and I woke up here," Jaden Alvarado said. "Apparently I died last night and came back to life."
His mom said the strike did briefly stop his heart.
"And to now, I thank God for every second that he didn't take my boys," Jessica Martinez Alvarado said.
The CDC says 73% of lightning deaths happen in June, July and August. The U.S. records as many as 28 lightning deaths every year. And most of those deaths happen in Texas, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina and Alabama.
"Fortunately very rare. But it does happen," said Taylor Louden, M.D., Medical Director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Cook Children's Medical Center. "So we do have to be aware especially in Texas where storms can come out of nowhere."
No one knows that better than a Keller teen named Jacob Brewer. Nearly three years ago he suffered a direct lightning strike while on vacation in Florida. The surge entered his chest and exited his right foot. He suffered extensive neurological injuries, had to endure multiple surgeries and is still working to regain full use of his legs.
His mom wanted to speak directly to the mom of the boys in Fort Worth.
"I just want her to know she's not alone," Barbara Brewer said. "There are other pediatric lightning victims and if she needs support or needs help we're here so we'd be glad to help."
Brewer is in the process of setting up a support group called "A Bolt of Hope" to be a clearing house of information and resources for pediatric lightning strike victims.
"Don't let their kids outside when it's thundering," Jessica Martinez Alvarado said, offering her own hard-earned advice. "I know it's like a one-in-a-million chance but you never know you might be that one. It was two for me."
Doctors at Cook Children's said the brothers in Fort Worth don't appear to have suffered any permanent injuries but that they will be monitored for potential neurological impacts just in case.
An online fundraising campaign has been set up to help the family with hospital expenses. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/two-brothers-hit-by-lightning-fort-worth-escape-serious-injury-mother-reacts/287-ab5c13cb-d2f4-434f-b10f-7107c84eaca0 | 2023-04-27T23:43:21 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/two-brothers-hit-by-lightning-fort-worth-escape-serious-injury-mother-reacts/287-ab5c13cb-d2f4-434f-b10f-7107c84eaca0 |
The city of Mills is building a new neighborhood park — and wants residents to help name it.
Plans for the approximately 4-acre property have been in the works for several years now. The lightning bolt-shaped plot of land borders a relatively new neighborhood on Mills’ west end, by the intersection of Poison Spider and S. Robertson roads.
In a Wednesday Facebook post, the city said the park will be under construction this summer and likely completed by August.
Anyone interested in suggesting a name is invited to fill out a Google form available on the city’s Facebook page. (People are asked to provide their names, phone numbers and email addresses.) The form closes at 5 p.m. June 30.
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According to a 2018 plan for the space, play areas will be located on either end of the park. It's also expected to include picnic tables, paved walkways and lawn space. (Right now, the lot is referred to as “Robertson Hills Park.”)
The land was donated to the city and paid for with help from the National Park Service and the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which gives grants to conservation and recreation-related projects.
According to Mills' website, it'll be the city's sixth park space, joining Freden Park, Norene Kilmer Park, Eagle Park, Memorial Park, First Street Park and Sunny Acres Park. | https://trib.com/news/local/casper/want-to-name-a-park-the-city-of-mills-is-looking-for-suggestions/article_a289ce3e-e529-11ed-8979-2f55d85f9555.html | 2023-04-27T23:51:48 | 1 | https://trib.com/news/local/casper/want-to-name-a-park-the-city-of-mills-is-looking-for-suggestions/article_a289ce3e-e529-11ed-8979-2f55d85f9555.html |
Florida House passes GRU takeover bill with majority vote. What happens now?
Gainesville Regional Utilities is one step closer to being under the control of a new board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Florida House of Representatives passed House Bill 1645 Thursday with an 81-33 vote to establish a five-member board to oversee all GRU-related decisions and remove the City Commission's century-long control of its municipal utility.
The bill, which some have likened to Disney's Reedy Creek debacle, must still make it through the Senate and be approved by the governor before taking effect. If signed into law, board members will be appointed by October when the new fiscal year starts.
Prior to the vote, Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward asked Clemons in a letter Wednesday to pull the bill, citing significant financial ramifications to taxpayers and city government, despite a questionable economic impact report from a frequent City Hall critic stating otherwise. Ward called the bill "problematic at best" and said it would result in a credit rating downgrade, according to the city's external bond counsel.
Those warnings, however, were ignored Thursday, as were proposed amendments from Democratic leaders who expressed concern that the bill will set a "hostile" precedent for the state to begin taking control of other municipal utilities when it sees fit.
Speaker Pro Tem Clemons argued otherwise, saying from the floor that HB-1645 was a necessary step to bring stability to the utility and lower customer charges.
"There are people who are hurting," he said. "I hear from them every day."
The utility has been the state leader for renewable energy and plans to push toward its goal of being 100% renewable by 2045, a move some lawmakers have criticized.
More:Gainesville mayor asks GRU takeover bill to be pulled, citing financial impact concerns
More:Gainesville City Commission approves plan to reduce GRU debt by $315M
What did lawmakers say?
Throughout the debate of the bill, it was clear it would be decided by party lines.
Democrats who lived in cities with co-operatives and other municipal utilities shared stories of similar efforts from lawmakers and private utilities to inch toward gaining control of territory, while Republicans said the bill provided representation and painted a bleak picture of the city of Gainesville's financial issues.
Among the amendments voted down were that the utility couldn't be sold unless approved by voters and that the board is chosen by voters.
House Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, D-Gainesville, the only member of the local delegation who has voted against the bill and the only member who lives in GRU's service area, noted this wasn't the first time Clemons and Sen. Keith Perry, the bill's co-sponsor, have attempted to take control of GRU. She laid out a timeline of events where Florida Power and Light and the two lawmakers used deceptive false messaging to take aim at GRU's management.
"I'm asking you to hear my cry," said Hinson pleading to her colleagues to vote the bill down.
Some lawmakers, Clemons included, have argued GRU is on the brink of bankruptcy and is in a poor financial state, though the utility has less debt than Jacksonville and Tampa utilities. It also has a top-tier rating, higher than those municipal utilities, as well as FPL and Duke Energy.
What about JLAC?
Hinson also expressed concern that the bill cut in front of the timeline given to the city to resolve problems outlined in a state Auditor General's investigation, requested by Perry and Clemons. In February, lawmakers on the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee gave Gainesville officials until October to show what steps it was taking to address the issues.
Gainesville leaders since that meeting have taken unprecedented steps to address the issues, some of which include reducing its debt by $315 million, implementing a hiring freeze, raising property taxes as suggested by JLAC members, cutting city services and shaving almost $20 million from the annual general fund transfer − money sent from GRU to the general government side to help pay for city services.
What does the bill say?
The bill itself calls for a five-member board that will be appointed by DeSantis. Board members will be unpaid and serve staggered terms before serving four-year terms.
One member must be a major commercial user or own a company that is, while another must be a county resident outside city limited. Three other members "shall be competent and knowledgeable in one or more specific fields substantially related to the duties and functions of the authority, including, but not limited to, law, economics, accounting, engineering, finance, or energy."
If GRU's customer base serves more than 40% of its customers outside Gainesville limits, then the governor must appoint a second board member who also lives outside city limits.
The bill provides the first time in Gainesville's history that a resident outside city limits would have a say or vote in GRU-related matters.
What's next?
The bill goes to the Senate for a vote. If amendments are approved, though few expect that to be the case, it would then go back to the House for a final vote.
The bill would then head to DeSantis' desk for approval.
If signed into law, Gainesville − a city made up mostly of Democrat voters − would have the first municipal board in the state that DeSantis could appoint and control members to.
A pair of other bills are being floated (HB 1331 and SB 1380), that would also give the Florida Public Service Commission the ability to regulate municipal utilities that have a customer base outside city limits, just as it does with investor-owned utilities. | https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/florida-house-passes-gru-takeover-bill-with-majority-vote/70158863007/ | 2023-04-27T23:56:17 | 0 | https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/florida-house-passes-gru-takeover-bill-with-majority-vote/70158863007/ |
DULUTH — A proposal to direct the proceeds from the sale of a facility to Cirrus Aircraft into a dedicated fund intended to support local efforts to launch a city-owned broadband system received a lukewarm reception at a meeting of the Duluth Economic Development Authority Wednesday evening.
A “statement of purpose” attached to a resolution authorizing the sale of an aviation incubator building to Cirrus for $3.45 million said: “Proceeds of the sale will be used to fund the city’s broadband internet project.”
But DEDA commissioner and at large city councilor Arik Forsman said he could support the resolution only with the understanding that it would not obligate funds for a project that has not yet received council approval.
Chris Fleege, Duluth’s director of planning and economic development, assured commissioners that any future use of the funds still would require City Council action.
Referring to the broadband fund, Fleege said: “It’s a place to park the money.”
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Already, the city has directed about $2 million into the broadband fund, with half that money coming from the American Rescue Plan Act and the remainder coming from a decommissioned tax-increment financing district.
Fleege said the proceeds from the sale of the incubator building to Cirrus would bring the balance in the broadband fund to about $5.4 million.
“The concern is really that if it goes into the general fund, it can get swept away and there’s no earmark. It’s like a giant sea of cash,” he said.
DEDA Commissioner and 3rd District City Councilor Roz Randorf, moved to amend the resolution’s statement of purpose to say proceeds from the property sale to Cirrus “may be” used to fund the city’s broadband internet project, “subject to council approval.” Her motion was seconded and approved by a 6-0 vote before the amended resolution passed by the same margin.
Following the meeting, Forsman said, “The council hasn’t had a discussion on allocating that money. I know the administration has framed that that money could be used for a broadband project in the past. So it wasn’t new. But I really wanted to make it clear that three councilors weren’t putting our cart before the horse on whether that’s actually going to be the decision.”
He said he expects to hear more from city administration about the prospective broadband project this summer.
“So we’ll let them make their case on whether that is indeed the right use for that money," Forsman said. "But certainly, as you’ve heard with budget discussions recently, $3.5 million could be used in a lot of different ways. So, I’m going to personally be just looking at it through the lens of what’s the highest and best use for this one-time resource that we have.” | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/should-proceeds-of-cirrus-property-sale-go-to-fund-local-broadband-network-in-duluth | 2023-04-27T23:56:20 | 0 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/should-proceeds-of-cirrus-property-sale-go-to-fund-local-broadband-network-in-duluth |
BLOOMINGTON — The Bloomington Communications Center is experiencing issues with its non-emergency phone line, 309-820-8888, according to a news alert issued early Thursday evening.
The problem is not affecting 911 emergency lines, BPD said; those having an emergency can still call 911.
Those trying to reach the non-emergency police line should call 309-824-0707 or 309-434-2559.
This story will be updated once BPD's non-emergency phone line is working; BPD will also share an update on its Facebook and Twitter pages.
Photos: Emergency crews train on air disaster readiness at Bloomington airport
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Firefighters train in a full-scale airport emergency exercise Saturday at the Central Illinois Regional Airport.
Brendan Denison
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Airport crash tender fire engines respond in training at a full-scale airport emergency exercise Saturday at the Central Illinois Regional Airport.
Brendan Denison
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Firefighters train in a full-scale airport emergency exercise Saturday at the Central Illinois Regional Airport.
Brendan Denison
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A mock patient is walked away from a simulation airplane disaster scene Saturday by a Bloomington firefighter/paramedic during a drill at Central Illinois Regional Airport.
Brendan Denison
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A volunteer acting as a disaster victim is wearing fake wounds for emergency crews to triage during a full-scale exercise Saturday at Central Illinois Regional Airport.
Brendan Denison
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Emergency crews tend to a mock patient "impaled" by debris during a simulated air disaster drill Saturday at Central Illinois Regional Airport.
Brendan Denison
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Firefighters use rescue equipment to drag away a mock patient from a simulated airplane disaster scene Saturday during a drill at Central Illinois Regional Airport.
Brendan Denison
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An airplane passes in the background of a training drill Saturday at Central Illinois Regional Airport.
Brendan Denison
Contact Robyn Skaggs at robyn.skaggs@lee.net or 309-820-3244.
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Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/bloomington-police-phones-down-thursday-evening/article_0e14eff4-e551-11ed-a233-f7a90e2ceeaf.html | 2023-04-27T23:56:46 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/bloomington-police-phones-down-thursday-evening/article_0e14eff4-e551-11ed-a233-f7a90e2ceeaf.html |
BLOOMINGTON — A 30-year-old man is jailed after Bloomington police said he possessed three stolen vehicles.
Rashed S. Adams, of Bloomington, appeared in a Thursday bond court hearing before Judge Scott Black, who found probable cause for his arrest.
Charging documents state that between September and January, Adams possessed a silver 2012 Chrysler 300, a white 2021 Dodge Durango SRT and a red 2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat. Arrest records also said he caused over $10,000 in damages to the Dodge Durango Hellcat.
Adams is charged with aggravated possession of stolen vehicles, a Class 1 felony; three counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, a Class 2 felony; and criminal damage to property, a Class 3 felony.
Judge Black set Adams' bond at $250,000, with 10% to apply for release. A public defender was appointed.
Adams' arraignment hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. May 12.
5 ways to protect your car from summer heat
Air out your car
A tried-and-true method: Air out your car by rolling down the passenger-side window and fanning the driver-side door to push the hot air out.
Park in the shade
Pay attention to how the sun travels across the sky (from east to west) in relation to your vehicle, and park accordingly. Trees are a go-to source of shade throughout the day — particularly at high noon — but a tall building or awning can cast a shadow at the right time.
Crack a window
While this may not be the safest choice, a set of window deflectors can help block sunlight while concealing the open window.
Use various covers
Sunshade: If you think you will get caught out in the sun, you can get a sunshade to cover the windshield, reducing its greenhouse effect. Sunshades are often collapsible for easy storage.
Seat covers: Leather seats + a sunny day = an uncomfortable ride. Seat covers put a layer of material between you and the hot leather.
Dashboard cover: Sun rays and heat make your dashboard prone to fading or cracking. Covering it up can protect its longevity.
Steering wheel cover: You want to safely drive without constantly shifting your hand position to avoid burns. Look for a steering wheel cover in a breathable microfiber.
Full-car cover: Without a garage, a full-car cover can be the next best thing to shield your vehicle from the elements. Heat and UV rays can damage the paint, plastic and rubber on your car.
Tint your windows
A more permanent heat management trick is window tinting, done by a professional or at home with a roll of tinted film and a DIY tool kit.
But first, check out the American Automobile Association’s glass and window tinting guide to verify your state’s law on the darkest window tint allowed.
Karl Daum is a writer for BestReviews, a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
How hot can a car get in the sun?
Cars trap heat like greenhouses, and can get dangerously hot very quickly. A study from Stanford found that on sunny days when temperatures ranged from 72 to 96 degrees, car interiors warmed by an average of 40 degrees in minutes.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, child vehicular heatstroke can occur at 70 degrees.
Pets are equally prone to dehydration and heatstroke; don’t leave them in the car, even if just for a few minutes. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-man-charged-with-stolen-vehicle-possession/article_20342a74-e538-11ed-ab3d-87f3507068d1.html | 2023-04-27T23:56:52 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bloomington-man-charged-with-stolen-vehicle-possession/article_20342a74-e538-11ed-ab3d-87f3507068d1.html |
BALTIMORE COUNTY — Officials are investigating after an injured teen was spotted outside of Rodgers Forge Elementary School during dismissal.
Baltimore County police responded to the 200 block of Dumbarton Road at 3:35 p.m. today.
The teen was found outside the school building injured and partially unclothed, according to Principal Michele Rowland.
They were removed from the property and assisted by emergency personnel.
According to police, the teen was suffering from a mental crisis and was taken to the hospital.
Rowland sent this letter to parents and guardians:
I want to make you aware of an incident that occurred today during dismissal. School staff and several students spotted an individual, who was injured and partially unclothed, outside of our school building. We immediately called 911 and emergency personnel responded to the school to assist. The individual was removed from school property to receive appropriate medical care. We realize this may be upsetting to our students and want to make you aware of the situation. Tomorrow, our school counselor will be available to meet with any students to provide additional support. I want you to be assured that the safety of our students is our top priority. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
Michele Rowland | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/injured-person-found-outside-of-rodgers-forge-elementary-school | 2023-04-28T00:00:55 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/injured-person-found-outside-of-rodgers-forge-elementary-school |
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland will be getting a new gaming-arcade amusement center this summer in Northeast Portland.
The signs on the outside may still say Lumber Yard, but the owners of the building at 2700 Northeast 82nd Avenue in Portland are busy on the inside transforming it to The People's Courts.
"I guess the centerpiece is the pickleball courts," said Co-Founder Dave Schrott.
Schrott along with his cousin Dave Sacks are turning the 48,000-square-foot building into a place to hang out with friends and family to play a few games.
The gaming center is not too far from a local high school and a nearby skate park, perfect for foot traffic.
"It really is a place where we want people from everywhere, on all demographics, to come and enjoy themselves," said Sacks.
Gamers will be able to select from a handful of pickleball courts, bocci ball, ping pong and cornhole. The People's Courts will also offer smaller pickleball courts for single-player and practicing — what's known as a dinkum shot or a drop shot.
"We've relied on a lot of outside people to help us develop all these games and make sure we're doing it right," Schrott said.
Currently, construction crews are putting the final touches on the courts. It will eventually finish construction of the two restaurants that will be managed by the owners of Olympia Provisions and Apizza Scholls.
The site will also feature two bars and an arcade through a partnership with Quarter World.
"We will not have entry fees to enter the space, so everything will be predicated on what you want to play and how long you want to play. And we're kind of working the details out on the pricing itself," said Schrott. "It will be affordable."
The People's Courts will also feature six outdoor pickleball courts that will take over the west end parking lot.
The cousins, along with Sacks' dad, purchased the property in 2009. Soon after the previous tenants, The Lumberyard, moved out, work began on transforming the property.
"We knew this physical place lent itself to it and we knew how fun pickleball is and social pickleball is," Sacks said.
The People's Court doesn't have an official opening date just yet, but Sacks and Schrott are aiming for midsummer. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/the-peoples-courts-portland-pickleball-game-center/283-a6d833c6-71a7-4730-9d1c-dbc682f11305 | 2023-04-28T00:05:08 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/the-peoples-courts-portland-pickleball-game-center/283-a6d833c6-71a7-4730-9d1c-dbc682f11305 |
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A man is dead after a single-vehicle crash in Lancaster County.
Ephrata Township police say they responded to a fatal crash around 3:51 p.m.
According to Sgt. Ken Lockhart with the Ephrata Township Police Department, one person was killed in the crash, which happened along U.S. Route 222 at mile marker 41.6, close to the northbound guardrail.
It's believed the 77-year-old driver had a medical emergency inside the car, causing the crash, according to Sgt. Lockhart.
The driver was initially traveling southbound, but then clipped a sign and veered into the northbound lane before coming to a final rest along the median.
The man died as a result of the crash.
No other cars were involved and there weren't additional reported injuries. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/fatal-crash-ephrata-lancaster-county/521-cf756d25-1b4a-420b-ac97-a29c36ad69a3 | 2023-04-28T00:11:18 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/fatal-crash-ephrata-lancaster-county/521-cf756d25-1b4a-420b-ac97-a29c36ad69a3 |
The family of a man shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent says they had no prior knowledge footage of his death was going to be released and they believe they should have been asked for consent.
Customs and Border Protection released body-camera footage on April 12 of an agent shooting 38-year-old U.S. citizen Noe Mejia on March 14 after a pursuit. Mejia failed to yield to Border Patrol agents when they tried to pull him over near Sasabe, Arizona, suspecting him of smuggling humans.
A letter sent to media by attorney Joy Bertrand says Mejia’s family found out about the release of the footage on April 13 without receiving notice from border officials.
“At no time did CBP give notice to the family that this footage was being released to the media,” the letter says. “At no time did CBP seek or receive the consent of our clients to release this footage to the media. The family is horrified and re-traumatized by the release of this footage that shows in graphic detail a CBP officer shooting their loved one.”
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Bill Risner, a Tucson attorney who has represented numerous people hurt or killed in Border Patrol incidents in Arizona, says CBP releasing footage of a deadly use-of-force incident is new and a step in the right direction.
In the cases he’s handled, if there was video footage, the agency blocked its public release, Risner said.
“It’s a good thing in general for government agencies to release videos they have of specific use-of-force incidents where they shoot somebody,” he said. “It’s highly critical. Most other law enforcement agencies have rules that they should do that.”
“If they're changing policy, it is definitely a step in the right direction,” he said.
Bertrand and her co-council represent several people in Mejia’s family, including Miguel Gutierrez, Marcellino Jardin and two minor children. Bertrand did not specify how they were related or the ages of the children. The family is investigating the shooting and intends to pursue any legal remedies, the letter says.
Legal remedies could include a wrongful death lawsuit or a suit based on the Fourth Amendment, which says people have a constitutional right to be free from excessive force by law enforcement officials, Bertrand said in an interview.
“Right now, we're kind of waiting to see what happens with the criminal investigation,” she said. “We certainly wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize a criminal matter.”
The shooting is under investigation by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
The agent, whose name was not released, was put on administrative leave after the incident, which is standard practice following use of deadly force.
CBP would not say whether the agent was still on administrative leave and declined to comment on the family being unhappy about the way the video was released.
'Commitment to accountability'
CBP is piloting a body-worn camera program for officers and agents throughout the country. It said earlier in a written statement that the agency is committed to quickly releasing body-worn camera footage, consistent with an executive order enacted last May that requires federal law enforcement agencies to publicly post body-worn camera policies.
“The prompt public release of this footage is in keeping with our commitment to accountability and transparency,” Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said at the time of the video release. “This includes our ongoing work to deploy body-worn camera systems to all frontline personnel, with the exception of those who work in areas already covered by other camera systems, such as processing facilities, ports of entry or aboard aircraft.”
Miller also said then, “The loss of a life during a CBP law enforcement encounter profoundly impacts everyone involved, the family of the deceased, the officers and agents on the scene, the greater CBP workforce and the communities we serve."
The incident began when Mejia, suspected of human smuggling, failed to yield to Border Patrol agents, who then chased the vehicle.
Started turning steering wheel
An agent caught up to the vehicle. He walked over to it, broke both driver-side windows with his baton and grabbed Mejia’s forearm. Mejia changed gears and started turning the steering wheel, and the agent shot him once.
Mejia died of a gunshot wound to the neck, according to an autopsy report. A toxicology report showed Mejia had methamphetamine in his system and a blood alcohol concentration at higher than legal limits for driving.
There was another U.S. citizen in the front passenger seat, two undocumented migrants were in the back seat and three undocumented migrants were in the trunk.
The number of use-of-force incidents in the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector has been the highest in the nation since fiscal year 2021, Customs and Border Protection data show. Officials say those numbers should be considered in relation to the number of assaults on agents and the demographics of people being apprehended.
The Tucson Sector also had the highest number of force incidents involving a firearm from the beginning of fiscal year 2020 through February of this year.
Human smuggling and related high-speed pursuits have greatly increased in Southern Arizona in recent years.
Contact reporter Danyelle Khmara at dkhmara@tucson.com or 573-4223. On Twitter: @DanyelleKhmara | https://tucson.com/news/local/border/family-of-man-killed-by-border-patrol-upset-over-video-release/article_767e5e56-e3c4-11ed-befb-d39a79920b95.html | 2023-04-28T00:11:34 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/border/family-of-man-killed-by-border-patrol-upset-over-video-release/article_767e5e56-e3c4-11ed-befb-d39a79920b95.html |
The deceased are from Tucson unless otherwise noted.
Beltz, Mike A., 61, barber, April 19, Hudgel’s Swan.
Bishop, Joseph Arnold II, 78, restaurant owner, April 15, Carrillo’s.
Davis, Liam P., 29, cosmetology, April 19, Hudgel’s Swan.
Heiny, Ellen Brant, 93, homemaker, April 18, Avenidas Cremation.
Howland, David J., 75, metal machine operator, April 11, Hudgel’s Swan.
Lahrman, Sondra L., 84 registered nurse, April 13, Hudgel’s Swan.
Landeen, Sharon L., 86, teacher, April 19, Hudgel’s Swan.
Lane, Jimmie, 79, electrician, April 19, Hudgel’s Swan.
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Madison, Sima, 57, April 5, Adair, Dodge Chapel.
Martinez, Bertha Bravo, 81, florist, April 17, Carrillo’s.
Martinez, Mike G., 91, truck driver, April 17, Carrillo’s.
Olivares, Evangelina Cano, 91, homemaker, April 14, Carrillo’s.
Orozco, Cecilia O., 80, homemaker, April 17, Carrillo’s.
Otte, Denny L., 93, engineer, April 21, Hudgel’s Swan.
Rantanen, Rita M., 75, factory worker, April 17, Hudgel’s Swan.
Redondo-Santa Cruz, Stacey, 52, teacher, April 17, Carrillo’s.
Romero, Jesus Manuel, 20, shift manager, April 7, Carrillo’s.
Rowron, Helen Eloise, 103, teacher, April 11, Carrillo’s.
Soto, Joanne, 67, waitress, March 24, East Lawn.
Tafoya, Michael W., 46, April 18, Hudgel’s Swan.
Tetreault, Ronald J., 85, auto body shop owner, April 15, Hudgel’s Swan.
Webster, Betty, 95, secretary, March 29, East Lawn.
Young, Francisco Renee Gilmert, 69, artist, April 8, Carrillo’s. | https://tucson.com/news/local/deaths-in-southern-arizona/article_3404cd18-e52b-11ed-b36d-5fb9abbd78a3.html | 2023-04-28T00:11:40 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/deaths-in-southern-arizona/article_3404cd18-e52b-11ed-b36d-5fb9abbd78a3.html |
A Green Valley woman was bitten by a rattlesnake on Wednesday morning, prompting a reminder that the reptiles are active now that spring has sprung.
The woman was bitten on her right foot as she walked to her back gate, a news release from the Green Valley Fire District said. The rattlesnake was under a decorative pot and did not rattle as the woman approached, the release said.
The woman was hospitalized and was in stable condition.
Green Valley says its crews have been responding to about to about 15 to 20 snake-related calls a day.
To avoid being bitten by a rattlesnake, watch your step when hiking or in your backyard. If you do see a rattlesnake, take one or two steps back in order to try to get out of striking range, the Arizona Daily Star previously reported.
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Also, don’t put your hand where you can’t see them and don’t approach or provoke the snakes.
Rattlesnakes are attracted to vital resources such as food, water and a safe place to live. To deter rattlesnakes from staying at your home, eliminating rodents is a good way to start, the Star reported.
A solid wall around four feet high with no tunnels underneath or covering drainage holes is another way to deter rattlesnakes. One-inch openings are open doors for snakes.
If you are bitten, immediately go to a hospital. Cutting into the bite area, trying to suck the venom out, using tourniquets and applying ice are all discouraged, officials have said.
Jamie Donnelly covers breaking news for the Arizona Daily Star. Contact her via e-mail at jdonnelly@tucson.com | https://tucson.com/news/local/green-valley-bite-reminder-that-its-rattler-season-in-tucson/article_64eb3a12-e516-11ed-b26b-332f2b9314d9.html | 2023-04-28T00:11:46 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/green-valley-bite-reminder-that-its-rattler-season-in-tucson/article_64eb3a12-e516-11ed-b26b-332f2b9314d9.html |
One Vision's Children's Autism Center and J. Brooks of 98.7 KISS Country come together to celebrate autism awareness, advocacy, and acceptance at the 10th annual Walk-a-Block event from 1–3 p.m. Sunday at Southbridge Mall with free activities for all ages. You can register at www.jbrookswalkablock.org. All proceeds directly support the One Vision Children’s Autism Center.
Additionally, One Vision and MAC are partnering to bring a free autism screening day for families from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 1, at One Vision’s Children’s Autism Center, 1020 Buddy Holly Place, Clear Lake.
A trained professional will observe your child for 20-30 minutes, answer questions, and help determine if a full diagnostic assessment is right for your child. For questions call Carrie Cikanek at (612) 916-8185.
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Since 1970 when the first National Awareness Month was held by the Autism Society, individuals and organizations around the globe take part in community wide education and engagement opportunities throughout the month of April. | https://globegazette.com/news/local/one-vision-and-j-brooks-10th-annual-walk-a-block-event/article_3efe639e-c095-5be2-8b0f-a44117ee74bc.html | 2023-04-28T00:12:33 | 0 | https://globegazette.com/news/local/one-vision-and-j-brooks-10th-annual-walk-a-block-event/article_3efe639e-c095-5be2-8b0f-a44117ee74bc.html |
School bond, tax issues dominate upcoming Metro Detroit election
Voters across Metro Detroit are scheduled to head to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on dozens of ballot proposals, with the big-ticket items involving school improvement bond issues and Headlee override votes on school operating taxes.
The largest ballot question is Utica Community Schools' $550 million school bond proposal to overhaul school buildings and athletic fields and purchase school buses. The proposal in Michigan's second largest district would also fund new technology equipment and prioritize safety improvements, such as removing the open concept design in many of the district's schools.
Utica is among three school bond proposals of $100 million or more in Metro Detroit, including those in the West Bloomfield and Northville districts, and seven bond issues overall in the region that voters will consider. School districts request bonds to improve facilities and try to stay competitive with the amenities and services offered by nearby districts, said Craig Thiel, research director at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
“There’s always going to be in a competitive environment," Thiel said. "You are always competing with the district next door for mobile students.”
The Utica district, which has roughly 26,000 students and 44 buildings, is making safety its top priority, Superintendent Robert Monroe said. An evaluation found the district had $1.4 billion in needs but chose to develop the $550 million bond proposal to avoid tax increases, he said.
"We're really looking out towards the future of our building infrastructure," Monroe said. "We're well over a 50-year average of the age of our schools and some of them are just really getting close to nearing the end of their useful life."
The bond proposal will not increase the tax rate on homeowners' primary residences, Monroe said. The payoff period for a previous bond is ending and the district decided to maintain the current rate, which is already the lowest in Macomb County, he said. The bond is set to run for 10 years and would assess 3.5 mills, or dollars per $1,000 of assessed value, in its first year.
"The structure for debt levy is to fund the new bonds as older ones are retired," Monroe said. "We have always been good fiduciaries of completing bond issues and then when our debt is repaid ... we move forward with new issues of our debt."
If the bond doesn't pass, homeowners' taxes would decline slowly over a 15-year period but over $1 billion in needs of the district will not go away, Monroe said. If it does pass the funds can be put to use in schools as early as the summer of 2024, he said.
But the proposal faces opposition from several members of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, a nonprofit that runs campaigns against tax increases, Macomb Township Treasurer Leon Drolet said. While the organization does have the resources to campaign against the district's bond proposal, its members still have concerns, he said.
"When (past) bonds are paid off, they always put a new bond on the ballot that costs the exact same amount," Drolet said. "Through some amazing coincidence every time they need to borrow money it's the exact dollar amount for the last amount that you borrow. ... This is because they want to tell people that it's not a tax increase."
But bond proposals are based on what districts think they can get from voters and not the actual needs of the school districts because these would vary per election, he said.
"They target what the maximum amount of dollars they can get out of the residents," Drolet said. "They feel as long as they can say it's not an increase, it has a good chance of passing."
Other issues on ballot
The Utica district is also seeking a Headlee override vote that would effectively lock in an 18 mill levy on nonhomestead properties, such as businesses, second homes and rental units. The district is asking voters to approve 20 mills. Under state law, the maximum rate is 18 mills. The proposal essentially asks voters to approve a constant 18 mills that won't be reduced through property tax growth, CRC's Thiel said.
The millage represents $41 million in annual funding to maintain academic programs and services.
"The non-homestead will return to the previously authorized rate of 18 mills," Monroe said. "If it is not levied, we do not realize our per-pupil funding in our school district."
The Sterling Heights Chamber of Commercehas endorsed both Utica Community Schools proposals.
"We really look at the fact that a strong school community is really what helps us have a strong business community and they really are definitely something that goes hand in hand," said Chamber President CEO Stacy Ziarko.
Mike Austerman, a Sterling Heights homeowner and former Utica Community Schools parent, said advocating for the passage of the proposals is a "no brainer."
"When these communities turn over, we want young families to come in and go to the public schools and feel like it's a great place to be and that's what we're after," Austerman said. "This is good for the kids that are going to be in the district now and the kids are going to be coming in the district in the future."
Issues in West Bloomfield
In West Bloomfield, the district is seeking a $148 million bond issue for 10 years. If approved, funding would go toward replacing two existing elementary schools at the Sheiko and Doherty campuses; building additions at other schools throughout the district; upgrading infrastructure at West Bloomfield High School and improving Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) and Career Technical Education (CTE) spaces as well as outdoor multi-activity spaces; and create dedicated early childhood space at both Pre K-second grade school buildings.
"Doherty was constructed originally in 1968. Sheiko was constructed in 1956," Superintendent Dania Bazzi said. "These were built in a time when students didn't utilize collaboration spaces or STEAM-focused work. These buildings were not built to serve our preschool students. They were not built to optimally serve students with special needs. So we have evolved."
West Bloomfield's bond proposal also would not raise the current tax rate of 6.15 mills thanks to its "unique timing," Bazzi said.
"As we pay down existing debt on previous bonds, this will result in an estimated zero net mill increase," Bazzi said.
If the bond doesn't pass, West Bloomfield still needs to make many capital improvements, which will be paid for with money from the district's general fund, Bazzi said. This will take away from money that supports staff and students in the classroom but homeowners' taxes would decrease over time, she added.
Many parents in Keego Harbor, which is in the West Bloomfield School District, have voiced opposition to the proposal, citing a 2017 bond issue they thought would benefit their neighborhood school, Roosevelt Elementary.
"Many of us in this room right here worked to see that the proposed $120 million school bond would pass in Keego because we were promised that $3 million was going to our beloved school," resident Sue Williams said at a Keego Harbor City Council meeting in March, adding that while the measure passed overwhelmingly in the city, the investment for Roosevelt never materialized.
The ceiling of the original Roosevelt Elementary School collapsed in June 2022 and its students moved to a new building when the 2022-23 school year began, Bazzi said. Funds to repair the original building are not included in this bond proposal, she said.
Another Keego Harbor parent and West Bloomfield alumna Kirsten Sonneville-Douglass, 48, sat on the Building Futures Committee, part of the district’s effort to include the community when creating the bond proposal. She voted early to reject the proposal.
“This is a want, not need, proposal. It is just kind of an auto-renewal of the bond that is about to expire,” Sonneville-Douglass said. “I'm still paying. I'm just extending how long I'm now paying that (bond bill)."
Jeff Merwin, who is voting no on the bond issue, said he has fifth and second graders who also attend "the new Roosevelt" and walkability is a big reason that he and his wife bought a home in Keego Harbor. They live blocks away from the original Roosevelt Elementary School, and Merwin wants his children to be able to walk to school.
"One of the things the school board always touts is, you know, equal opportunities for all, and right now that is not within what their proposal is," Merwin said. "Their proposal is to take care of the southern half of the district and the north half of the district is not receiving the same benefits."
On ballot in Wayne Co.
Airport Community Schools: A $64 million bond issue over 26 years to build performing arts center, gymnasium, and concessions buildings; build additions to and remodel the middle school building; install, equip and re-equip the middle school building for instructional technology; and improve and equip athletic fields and facilities.
Lincoln Park: An amendment to set the council meeting schedule in December.
Lincoln Park Public Schools: A Headlee override vote on the nonhomestead millage, setting it at 20 mills but having it fall to the state macimum of 18 mills over 20 years.
Northville Public Schools: A $134.4 million bond for 22 years to repair and upgrade school facilities.
Woodhaven-Brownstown school district: Millage renewal for nine years at 18.0078 mills.
Wyandotte: Approve an operating millage of 3 mills for 10 years. It would raise approximately $1.78 million in its first year (2024).
On ballot in Oakland Co.
Berkley: A 3.46 mill Headlee override millage for operating expenses, including police and fire, generating $2.55 million in the first year (2023).
Keego Harbor: A charter amendment to replace an existing 3.62 mills police millage (originally 4 mills) ending in 2026 with one to be increased to 7 mills by a seven-year millage through 2029. It would generates $844,130 in the first year.
Novi Township: A 0.73 millage for access to City of Novi library services. It would generate $7,300 a year.
Northville Public Schools: A $134.4 million bond issue to build additions and remodel schools; acquire and install instructional technology; purchase school buses; and build and improve playgrounds, parking areas, sidewalks, sites, and athletic fields and facilities. The maximum number of years for the bond issue is 22 years.
On ballot in Macomb Co.
Armada school district: A $26.5 million bond issue over 25 years to make additions and fix school buildings and buy school buses. No millage. 1.67 mills to retire the debt.
Armada school district: Create a sinking fund with 0.85 mill over 10 years, 2025-2034, to buy property for school additions and repairs. It would generate $500,000 a year.
Center Line Public Schools: A Headlee override to levy up to 18 mills for general school district operating purposes on non-homested properties and restore millage on principal residences to 15.48 mills over 10 years, 2024-2033. The current rate is 11.155 mills. It would generate $7.64 million in first year.
Center Line Public Schools: A $17 million school improvement bond over 20 years to build an addition to an elementary school and make improvements to other facilities, install technology and prepare and develop sites at schools.
Fraser Public Schools: A $59 million bond proposal over 25 years to remodel school buildings; install technology; build an addition to the high school stadium and buy school buses.
Warren Woods Public Schools: A Headlee override proposal for a 10-year non-homestead millage that would lock in the state maximum rate of 18 mills. The current 16.1889 mills expires on Dec. 31, 2025. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/04/27/school-bond-tax-issues-dominate-upcoming-metro-detroit-election/70145375007/ | 2023-04-28T00:13:04 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/04/27/school-bond-tax-issues-dominate-upcoming-metro-detroit-election/70145375007/ |
VINELAND — Ocean City's Pat Lonergan and Jackson Barnes and Middle Township's Will Casterline and Steve Berrodin had not lost to Cape-Atlantic League opponents this spring entering their championship match Thursday.
That made their battle that much more intense.
Casterline and Berrodin defeated Lonergan and Barnes 6-4, 6-3, to win the CAL doubles championship at Vineland High School. Casterline and Berrodin had lost in the semifinals in 2022. They became Middle's first champion in either singles or doubles in 11 years.
Ocean City's Charles DiCicco defeated St. Augustine Prep's Vinny Polistina 6-2, 6-2, to capture the singles title. DiCicco, who is undefeated against conference opponents this season, grabbed the top seed in the tournament.
The three-day tournament started Tuesday.
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"It feels great to get back to the third day. We were like, we came this far, so might as well finish it off," Berrodin said. "Will is a great partner. I feed off his energy. He was a deciding factor (Thursday). He played a great match."
"We knew that if we played our game and stuck with our energy and got to the net and put our volleys away that we would end up on top. It just feels good to end up on top," added Berrodin, a senior who was a standout on the Panthers' boys soccer team in the fall.
In the first set, Lonergan and Barnes led 4-3. Casterline and Berrodin won three straight games to win the set 6-4. In the second set, Lonergan and Barnes took a 1-0 lead, but Casterline and Berrodin quickly responded and took a 2-1 lead.
Lonergan and Barnes tied the set 2-2, but Casterline and Berrodin took a 5-2 lead. The Ocean City team made it 5-3, but Casterline and Berrodin finished strong.
The Middle duo was the top seed in the tournament.
"We rolled in with a lot of confidence being the No. 1 seed, but nothing is guaranteed," Casterline said. "We had to work really hard to win the CAL."
In the semifinals Wednesday, Lonergan and Barnes defeated Mainland Regional's Tristan Miller and Ben Rosenberg. Casterline and Berrodin defeated Ocean City's Tracy Steingar and Colin Bowman, who are the Red Raiders' second doubles team.
"We just kept our legs moving.When you keep the legs moving, it kind of lets the nerves out of your body," Berrodin said. "We just kept our legs moving and kept our energy up, and that's what really kept us locked-in during the match."
When Lonergan and Barnes took the first game in each set, Casterline pointed to Middle coach Matt Gilbert for giving the right instructions. The senior added the victory provides momentum for the rest of the season. The Panthers (5-3) will host Ocean City (7-1) on Monday, so there will be a rematch between Lonergan and Barnes and Casterline and Berrodin. Casterline and Berrodin only lost once this spring, to Shawnee's Ryan Cahill and Danny Swerdlow.
"It feels great to finally get to the finals and win. I can't even describe how to feel," Casterline said. "It's just amazing. I think (him and Berrodin) and the rest of the team can feed off this CAL tourney win, for sure, and we can go win South Jersey (Group II) now."
DiCicco wins
DiCicco lost in the CAL quarterfinals as a freshman and a sophomore, so the Ocean City junior's championship was worth the wait.
"It means a lot," DiCicco said. "This is the tournament where you really want to make a showing and kind of prove how much your work in the offseason really paid off. You can compare results from previous seasons. … to get to the next step and win the final, it means a lot."
Absegami graduate Austin Snyder won the title the last two seasons.
"I'm very excited," said DiCicco, who trailed 2-1 in the second set Thursday.
In the semifinals Wednesday, DiCicco defeated Vineland’s Gregory Burgess 1-6, 7-5, 10-6. Polistina defeated Mainland Regional's Alex Wise 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Wise was the second seed, and Polistina was the third seed.
DiCicco also defeated Polistina 6-2, 6-3 on April 6.
"I put in the work at practice. The preparation, I had a good game plan going in," DiCicco said of the rematch. "Vinny is a good player. He had a tough match (Wednesday). He had more physical, enduring matches. So, that gave me a little bit of an advantage. But it's always tough playing against Vinny, so I was not certain about anything."
Ocean City is supposed to travel to Mainland (8-1) at 4 p.m. Friday in a match for first place in the CAL American Division. However, the forecasted rain could postpone that match. Still, Ocean City is a top team in the CAL.
"It's a confidence builder, but you don't want to put too much into one victory. Still have to keep proving yourself over and over again," DiCicco said of his championship. "The main goal is for the team to win South Jersey Group III. Individual (awards) means a lot, but I want to strive for that South Jersey Group III title." | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/middle-townships-will-casterline-and-steve-berrodin-ocean-citys-charles-dicicco-win-cal-tennis-titles/article_397898a8-e538-11ed-bc51-af6d7a9d3c2c.html | 2023-04-28T00:22:26 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/middle-townships-will-casterline-and-steve-berrodin-ocean-citys-charles-dicicco-win-cal-tennis-titles/article_397898a8-e538-11ed-bc51-af6d7a9d3c2c.html |
On April 25th, Sgt. Jenny Alonzo was called by Assistant District Attorney, Jennifer Lively, to testify about Sgt. Alonzo's role as the lead investigator in what has become known as the "Trinity Cases." During her testimony, Sgt. Alonzo repeatedly testified about a meeting held between her, Sgt. Rosemary Sharp, Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Jennifer Lively, and me. Sgt. Alonzo further testified that I, Laura Nodolf, acting as the Midland County District Attorney, directed her to obtain warrants against the administrators at Trinity School. This testimony is categorically false. No such meeting ever occurred.
It is common for members of the Midland County District Attorney's Office, including myself, to offer legal advice and opinions regarding active investigations. However, neither myself, nor any prosecutor in my office, possess the authority to direct any law enforcement agency to arrest, or not arrest, any suspect in a case. When a crime is reported to law enforcement, similar to the way the complaint was made in the Trinity Case, law enforcement is not required to clear a case through the Midland County District Attorney's Office prior to an arrest being made. Regarding the arrest warrants complaints in the Trinity Case that were drafted and signed by Sgt. Alonzo, the only discussion between the Midland County District Attorney's Office and Sgt. Alonzo was when ADA Jennifer Lively offered to review any warrants prior to them being signed by a judge. ADA Lively was never asked to review any warrants. ADA Lively and I both learned that the warrants had been served both through local news outlets.
Based on the testimony presented by Sgt. Alonzo, the prosecutors assigned to the case, including ADA Lively, unanimously agreed that Sgt. Alonzo's testimony had compromised the case to the point that it could no longer be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. When a case cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the just result is to dismiss the case.
Respectfully,
Laura A. Nodolf. | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/midland-county-da-laura-nodolf-makes-statement-17923539.php | 2023-04-28T00:23:39 | 0 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/midland-county-da-laura-nodolf-makes-statement-17923539.php |
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Texas native Kay Bailey Hutchison served as a United States senator for 20 years and North Atlantic Treaty Organization representative for four years.
During her time in government, Hutchison was actively involved in cybersecurity and with recent developments in artificial intelligence, she has continued her work in this area of study.
On April 27 at Angelo State University, Hutchison attended a ceremony for the renaming of the Center for Security Studies in her honor.
ASU president Dr. Ronnie Hawkins Jr., San Angelo mayor Brenda Gunter and ASU faculty and staff members were all in attendance for the reveal of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Cyber Intelligence, Innovation and Security Studies.
"Having this wonderful security center here I think is going to build so much prestige for Angelo State because they are in front of the line in providing, really, the cyber security studies, the innovation," Hutchison said. "They're looking at new ways to prevent cyber security attacks which is new. We've always kind of been on defense, now we're gonna learn more on offense."
Public and private organizations, as well as personal devices such as cell phones, laptops and computers can all be equally affected by ransomware. Simply defined, ransomware happens when internet files are blocked and can only be accessed by being forced to pay a certain amount of money.
This is one of the main issues ASU students will be trying to better understand and prevent.
"When you're talking about public institutions like hospitals and school districts, banks, when a cyber attack occurs in one of those, then it can put a whole data release out and sometimes a criminal can get paid for that," Hutchison said.
In fact, ASU was specifically chosen to start its cybersecurity program and its findings will eventually be shared with institutions across the state. The program might also be beneficial for Goodfellow Air Force Base students who are interested in technology in the modern world.
"I think Goodfellow and Angelo State are gonna be partners that will strengthen each other and [it will] be great for the city of San Angelo as well as Tom Green County," Hutchison said.
She hopes to return to ASU to follow up on the progress of the program. | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/former-us-senator-kay-bailey-hutchison-visits-angelo-state-for-building-renaming-ceremony/504-21ac3402-bbab-4915-8ccc-e242284d61f4 | 2023-04-28T00:28:56 | 0 | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/former-us-senator-kay-bailey-hutchison-visits-angelo-state-for-building-renaming-ceremony/504-21ac3402-bbab-4915-8ccc-e242284d61f4 |
COLEMAN COUNTY, Texas — A San Antonio man died Wednesday after he crashed his truck on US Hwy 84 in Coleman County.
A Texas Department of Public Safety preliminary crash report states Juwan Allen Morgan, 25, of San Antonio, was driving a Ford F-650 truck southeast of US 84 when he failed to stay in a single lane and drove off the westside of the roadway.
Morgan then overcorrected, driving back across the roadway, causing the truck to overturn. DPS said the truck caught fire in the crash.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/san-antonio-man-killed-in-single-vehicle-crash-near-coleman/504-c6cdc952-a84d-41ad-8e97-451090d2befd | 2023-04-28T00:29:02 | 1 | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/san-antonio-man-killed-in-single-vehicle-crash-near-coleman/504-c6cdc952-a84d-41ad-8e97-451090d2befd |
AUSTIN, Texas — Hero is how state legislators described Sgt. Robert Rangel.
”Sergeant, can you please stand? I know you don’t like the limelight, but can you please stand and be recognized by your fellow Texans?” asked State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas).
Rangel received a standing ovation on the Texas House floor.
The officer took down a shooter inside Methodist Hospital Dallas.
”Got on his police radio and immediately called for help and then interceded and shot the suspect as he left the room,” said Anchia.
In October, police say Nestor Hernandez, a convicted felon, shot caseworker Jacqueline Pokuaa and nurse Annette Flowers after assaulting his girlfriend, who had just given birth to his baby.
”Sgt. Rangel demonstrated exceptional skill and bravery," said Anchia. "His decisive response helped to prevent further loss of life."
Hernandez retreated into his girlfriend’s hospital room, and Rangel began negotiating with him.
“Listen we can work this out partner. All I want to do is get the people outside,” said Rangel.
After 10 minutes, Hernandez gave himself up.
“I am convinced that, absent his immediate actions, many people would have died at Methodist Hospital that day,” said Anchia.
The Texas House of Representatives recognized Rangel for his actions.
Representative Rafael Anchia also talked about his bill that tries to protect hospital workers from assault by increasing the penalty for anyone who commits a crime against them on hospital grounds.
He says today was about honoring Rangel, but also the memory of the workers killed that tragic day. | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/texas-house-honors-police-sergeant-who-took-down-methodist-hospital-shooter/287-3bf3446d-22ed-4440-907e-c6acd9323826 | 2023-04-28T00:29:08 | 0 | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/texas-house-honors-police-sergeant-who-took-down-methodist-hospital-shooter/287-3bf3446d-22ed-4440-907e-c6acd9323826 |
GREENSBORO — A local woman is accused of assaulting her granddaughter so violently that the child will not see her third birthday this Sunday.
Rubie Charlottelette Thomas, who turned 59 Thursday, seemed to show little emotion when appearing in court Thursday afternoon via video link from the Guilford County Detention Center. She was jailed without bond Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder and felony child abuse in connection with the child's death on April 1, Greensboro police said.
An arrest warrant issued April 18 for Thomas identifies the child as Shade Wilhite and details her extensive injuries, which included: bleeding on the brain, around her spinal cord and on the inside of the eyes; rib fractures; bruised intestines; hemorrhaging to the scalp, skull, around the ribs and in the back; injuries to her face; lacerations in her mouth; an abrasion on the back of left leg; and more than 50 contusions.
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Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Parrish said in court Thursday that the girl's 5-year-old brother told investigators his sister had thrown up in the bed they shared. He also told them about something he said happened hours earlier.
He said, "Grandma pushed her down the stairs," Parrish explained in court.
The boy told investigators that his sister had been touching the outside of an aquarium and got a "whooping" for messing with the fish tank, Parrish said. He was not punished, he told investigators, because he was being "good" that day.
The 5-year-old boy has been removed from the home and placed in state custody, detectives said after Thursday's court proceeding. When asked about the children's parents, detectives said the parents were not active in their lives.
Greensboro Police Department spokeswoman Josie Cambareri said there is no record of any other child-abuse calls at that address, and that police have not previously charged Thomas with neglect or child abuse. No one could be immediately reached by telephone at Child Protective Services to answer questions about whether they have previously responded to the home.
At about 7 a.m. April 1, officers responding to a medical-related call at the home in the 400 block of Oferrell Street found a 2-year-old girl suffering from apparent cardiac arrest, police said. Life-saving efforts were started at the scene, but the child was declared dead upon arrival at a local hospital, police said.
A man who placed a 911 call that morning said he went to go wake up his grandkids and "baby girl" didn't wake up. "She's cold," he told a dispatcher.
The dispatcher provided CPR instructions until paramedics arrived.
Medical staff and detectives noted signs of potential child abuse and the police department's Family Victims Unit began their investigation. Through the investigation, detectives confirmed the child "suffered from non-accidental trauma while in the care of her grandmother" that day, police said.
A GoFundMe page organized by Shawntae Brown to raise money for funeral costs lists the child's name as Shad'e Janelle Wilhite, who was called "Shy Shy." The page says the little girl has three siblings, ages 5, 7 and 9.
"Shy was a beautiful and loving little girl who was full of life," according to the message on the public fundraising page.
Thomas will be appointed a public defender and will remain in jail without bond. Prosecutors asked that Thomas not be allowed any contact — direct or indirect — with any of the girl's siblings or custodians of the children, or Thomas' 17-year-old daughter.
Her next court date is May 26. | https://greensboro.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-brother-told-investigators-child-got-in-trouble-for-messing-with-fish-tank-grandmother-is/article_d993c4a8-e4fb-11ed-a144-2fff04bfab6f.html | 2023-04-28T00:31:12 | 1 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-brother-told-investigators-child-got-in-trouble-for-messing-with-fish-tank-grandmother-is/article_d993c4a8-e4fb-11ed-a144-2fff04bfab6f.html |
BROWNSBURG, Ind — The Brownsburg Community School Corporation is moving forward with terminating all district employees that were involved in a February incident.
It comes after charges were filed by the Hendricks County prosecutor on Wednesday.
Brownsburg Police say those staff members mistreated and failed to report the mistreatment of a 7-year-old boy in the special education program at Brown Elementary School.
The staff members are accused of telling the boy to eat his own vomit after he got sick at school.
“This is every parent’s worst fear. That not only was their child hurt and not only was their child taken advantage of, but they were taken advantage of by the people you are supposed to be able to trust,” said Karly Sciortino-Poulter.
Sciortino-Poulter is an advocacy network director with the Arc of Indiana. The statewide organization advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
She also has a son with autism.
“I am sure every single parent there, whether their child has a disability or not, now every single parent is sitting there questioning, 'Was my child hurt? Did somebody try to do something to my kid? Are they actually safe there?'” Sciortino-Poulter said.
In this case, the Brownsburg school didn’t know about the incident until a few weeks ago. Police say a separate situation sparked the investigation. Without that, no one would have known, especially because the student involved has a disability that affects his memory.
It’s something families and advocates constantly worry about.
“For five different people who have chosen careers to help students specifically with intellectual and developmental disabilities and not at any point did one of them pause to say, ‘Is this the right thing to be doing? Is this what we want to do to this student?’ I think that is just horrible,” said Kim Dodson, the CEO of the Arc of Indiana.
Dodson said this should serve as a reminder for parents to still engaged with their children and school.
“I think parents need to just trust their gut instinct and when they think something is wrong, something is probably wrong,” she said.
She suggests having conversations with your child often and developing relationships with their teachers and staff members. Also, you can connect with other families in the program.
Sciortino-Poulter said it’s also OK to teach your child how to say “no.”
“We have to teach them, it’s OK to say ‘no.’ It’s OK to stand up for yourself. That’s not being defiant, that’s advocating for yourself and that is something that is always OK to do and something you have the right to do,” she said.
When it comes to those in the classroom, many school districts are still struggling to find teachers, especially for special education.
“We have to do a better job of vetting who is spending time with our children, especially vulnerable children,” Dodson said. “I think everybody needs to come to the table and figure out a way to make sure these types of things don’t happen again.”
The Arc also has an online program to help families become stronger advocates for their child and their special education program. The Arc is providing free enrollment for an online training program, “TheArc@School,” to the first 100 Hoosier families who sign up. You can find information at arcind.org/thearcschool.
Anyone who suspects a child has been neglected or abused should call the Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-800-5556. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/advocates-react-to-brownsburg-indiana-school-allegations-special-education-student-vomit/531-f14bcdc7-49bd-4598-ad03-b04d9bd145d4 | 2023-04-28T00:33:39 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/advocates-react-to-brownsburg-indiana-school-allegations-special-education-student-vomit/531-f14bcdc7-49bd-4598-ad03-b04d9bd145d4 |
SHAMOKIN, Pa. — The Walmart in Coal Township is a busy place, bringing shoppers from Shamokin, Mount Carmel, Ashland, and more.
In recent years, the area has seen a boom in business, and it's about to grow even bigger.
Local leaders confirmed Wawa is putting in a convenience store and gas station.
"We don't have anything like Wawa. We have Sheetz, but I think it's great," said Sue Scheuren of Ashland.
Wawa is a popular convenience store and gas station chain that rivals Sheetz.
"That will be great. We like that one. When we go to Reading, we go to that one," said Lori Jalonski, Ashland.
In addition to Wawa, Mavis Discount Tire and Arby's are coming too.
"They need more places around here to eat, and I'm glad they're putting it in," Mick Petroski of Mount Carmel said.
"There's not really anything in this area, so it will be nice to have that stuff around here," added Patrick Bunton, Kulpont.
These aren't the only new businesses to come to this area.
In the last five years, Coal Township has gotten both a Tractor Supply and an Aldi.
People are excited to see more businesses in the Coal Region.
"It will be nice to have more stuff around here so we don't have to travel an hour to go to all the stores. I'm hoping they put in a Target or something eventually, too," Jalonski said.
"I think it's a great idea because I think the more businesses we have around here, the better. This is a great area for it. It will pull a lot of people in," added Scheuren.
According to officials in Coal Township, Wawa is expected to break ground by the end of this year.
Want to see what Newswatch 16's newscasts were like in 1983 and 1984? Head on over to WNEP's YouTube. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/northumberland-county/wawa-coming-to-shamokin-area-mavis-discount-tire-and-arbys-northumberland-county-pa-wnep/523-46e79a2c-1b46-4dfd-8cfb-6c6797e38c79 | 2023-04-28T00:34:44 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/northumberland-county/wawa-coming-to-shamokin-area-mavis-discount-tire-and-arbys-northumberland-county-pa-wnep/523-46e79a2c-1b46-4dfd-8cfb-6c6797e38c79 |
The Indiana Dunes National Park has named new vendors to run the concession stands during its upcoming busy beach season.
The National Park, which stretches across 15 miles of Lake Michigan lakeshore in Northwest Indiana, held a competitive bidding process to pick the concession stand operators for Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk and West Beach, its biggest and busiest beach, for the 2023 and 2024 beach seasons, when attendance is at its peak.
It picked Smoke on the Water to provide concessions at the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk.
“Smoke on the Water Premium Mexican Barbecue was started locally in Ogden Dunes in 2021. We are a small, minority owned business, with a passion for live fire smoked BBQ,” said owner Mark Bedella. “We look forward to making the national park lakefront a BBQ destination for travelers and local customers alike.”
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The national park picked The Big Weiner of Valparaiso to operate the West Beach concession stand. It plans to expand the dining options to include a wide variety of beach fare.
“The Big Weiner has been serving Chicagoland favorites since 2016 throughout the Region,” said owner Kristin Sponsel. “This owner-operated establishment focuses on high quality fresh ingredients while maintaining a conscious effort to support ecofriendly initiatives.”
The new vendors replace Kona Ice at West Beach and Dig the Dunes, which ran the Dig the Dunes Trail Stop at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk.
"Unfortunately we received some sad news yesterday. The national park has decided to award the Portage Lakefront concession to someone else. We were angry, frustrated and upset when we heard the news," Dig the Dunes founder Eve Wierzbicki said in a letter to customers. "But then we remembered that Dig the Dunes is not just about Trail Stop. Dig the Dunes is so much bigger. Dig the Dunes brings people together to celebrate this beautiful area. We will continue to do that with hikes, events, gatherings and support of all the local people and businesses at the Indiana Dunes and in southwest Michigan. Stay tuned. We promise that good things are on the horizon. We love you all and your support means the world to us."
More than 3 million people visit the Indiana Dunes National Park every year, making it Northwest Indiana's top tourism draw. Combined with the attendance to the Indiana Dunes State Park, it would rank as one of the most visited National Parks in the country due in part to its location in the third largest metropolitan area. | https://nwitimes.com/business/local/indiana-dunes-national-park-names-new-vendors-for-busy-beach-season/article_b588edda-e48e-11ed-b1f0-c762ab1a8fd4.html | 2023-04-28T00:34:58 | 0 | https://nwitimes.com/business/local/indiana-dunes-national-park-names-new-vendors-for-busy-beach-season/article_b588edda-e48e-11ed-b1f0-c762ab1a8fd4.html |
HAMMOND — A sign may not seem like much.
But for a child entering a school for the first time from a different country, a different culture, that sign might mean the world.
Irving Elementary and the School City of Hammond on Thursday unveiled signs reflecting the school's Dual Language Immersion Program. In addition to the large unveiled letters outside, 200 signs inside Irving are now in English, Spanish, and Braille.
“This is a great opportunity for our children to learn two languages,” said Fabiola Gonzalez, the mother of one child in DLI. She came to this country from Mexico.
Irving becomes the first school in the largest school district in Northwest Indiana to display multilingual signage throughout the building, but Superintendent Scott Miller would like to see similar signage system-wide.
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"This is an act of love from us to you,” Miller said, adding that the signs were “a really great idea and easy to approve.”
The school system established the first DLIP in Lake County at Irving’s kindergarten and first grade during the 2019-20 school year. Each year, as the program grows, another grade level is added, with two fifth-grade classrooms to be added next year.
For newcomers to this country and the English language, Miller said, the signage “really goes a long way. We want to be a welcoming school to our families. We want you to feel welcome.”
With 11,000 students, Miller said 48% are Hispanic, 32% African-American and 12% Caucasian. The superintendent noted that Hispanic students represent the largest growing ethnicity is the school system.
DLIP is designed to develop high linguistic and academic proficiency in both English and Spanish.
Irving is Hammond’s largest elementary school with 767 students, 65% of whom, Principal Sarah Kilander reported, are Hispanic.
This two-way immersion program combines two groups of students, each with different home languages. About half begin DLIP as English-only speakers; the other half as Spanish-only speakers.
As Ana Verduzco, Hammond DLIP director, explained, while the teacher is teaching Spanish, native Spanish speakers support the English speakers. When the teacher is working in English, native English speakers support the native Spanish-speaking students.
Verduzco said she would like to see the program reach the high school level.
“The program’s overall goal is to improve student performance for both our English learners and native English speakers,” the program director said. “We firmly believe that by implementing a solid DLI two-way program, it will help in closing the achievement gap for our students who are identified as ‘at risk.’”
Anhtony Salinas, director of elementary education for the school system, added that in addition to students acquiring a bilingual base, “they are learning another way to think.”
As noted in a press release, DLIP seeks to “ensure that all students reach high levels of academic achievement; develop biliteracy and bilingualism; and cultivate global competency in order to thrive in a multicultural society … become cross-cultural ambassadors for school, community, and society.”
Verduzco said the signage “sends a message that the School City of Hammond is bilingual and bicultural.”
Cortina Nelson, an African-American mother of one child in the program, called DLIP “quite an experience … quite an honor,” and encouraged other parents to “give it a try.”
Stephanie Vargas, the school’s physical education instructor, has two sons in DLIP. A native English speaker, Vargas called the immersion “a wonderful program that challenges students.”
Vargas added that she has not seen any decline in her sons’ English.
“Kids get so much more,” the mother said, “and it means so much more to them.” | https://nwitimes.com/news/local/education/bilingual-welcome-signage-greets-hammond-school-visitors/article_46b90950-e52c-11ed-b29a-332cb2960c19.html | 2023-04-28T00:35:04 | 1 | https://nwitimes.com/news/local/education/bilingual-welcome-signage-greets-hammond-school-visitors/article_46b90950-e52c-11ed-b29a-332cb2960c19.html |
GUTTENBERG, Iowa — Samantha Trentz says she and her family have ridden quite the emotional rollercoaster since buying Millennium Bar and Marina in 2019.
"Everyone said that we would have flooding in our business but I did not expect it to be our very first year," Trentz said. "But we actually closed 19 of 52 weeks that year... and then the second year brought us COVID. So we all know how that went. The third year was a record drought, you could actually see the bottom of the river from our Marina, so no boat traffic at all. Year four brought us record inflation."
That brings us to 2023, and Trentz and her family bracing for what the rising river will do to their business.
"We're at the point now where we're going to have to redo all electrical, our garage doors. Everything is completely ruined," Trentz said."So definitely not completely expected. And of course, this is the start of your busy season."
Meanwhile, roughly an hour north on Esmann Island, Bob Buhrow says he and his wife are laying low at their home, especially since they can't leave unless by boat.
Buhrow says the causeway has been underwater since Sunday morning.
"We've got some neighbors out here that have flat bottom boats that some guys are still go into work every day," Buhrow said. "They boat across and go to work and then get in their boat when they get home and come back over. There's not a lot of them up here doing that, but there are a few. So we do have access to [transport] if we need the bread and milk and that sort of thing."
Buhrow says he and his wife are using the time to get to work on some projects around the home. | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/mississippi-river-flood-flooding-eastern-iowa-western-illinois-millennium-bar-and-marina-esmann-island/524-58933c3b-11e5-419d-937f-d33425639af9 | 2023-04-28T00:41:22 | 1 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/mississippi-river-flood-flooding-eastern-iowa-western-illinois-millennium-bar-and-marina-esmann-island/524-58933c3b-11e5-419d-937f-d33425639af9 |
ANDOVER, Kan. (KSNW) — Students and staff at Prairie Creek Elementary School in Andover are recalling the EF-3 tornado that tore through Butler and Sedgwick County nearly one year ago on April 29, 2022. In its path was Prairie Creek. This forced the district to pivot its final weeks of the school year.
Those who call Prairie Creek home still vividly remember the gut-wrenching feeling of seeing their building wrecked.
“Immediately, there was reports of it hitting the Y, and I’m like, ‘Oh if it hits the Y, that’s where we are,'” said Erica Hicks, a 5th-grade teacher at Prairie Creek.
Unsure of the severity of the tornado damage, all Hicks knew was that there would be no school on Monday.
“Kind of deceiving because, from the outside, it looked decent,” Hicks said. “Until you could actually see the footage of the water damage and the windows. So that’s when it really sunk in that we had a long road ahead.”
According to the district, there was $6 million worth of damage to Prairie Creek. Roof damage, flooding, shattered windows, and more forced students and staff to say an early goodbye to their building.
“I’ve been here since kindergarten. So I’ve made so many memories in here. And then to see it be like destroyed and stuff. It was just heartbreaking,” Prairie Creek 5th grader Ariana Kachelmeier said.
It’s been a long road. Crews worked tirelessly through the summer for students and staff to be able to start the year inside the building and even continued to work during the school year. The principal even says that they are still working through insurance claims.
“It’s definitely been some challenges this year coexisting with some construction and things to go back, but like the old cliche, ‘there’s no place like home,'” Hicks said.
Home with their students.
“Learning is happening,” Prairie Creek Elementary School Principal Shawn Springer said. “And we learned that we don’t have to have all our stuff to have good learning inside the school.”
Students proving their resilience.
“Even though hard times come, there’s always just going to be another way through it,” said Karsen Sams, a 5th grader at Prairie Creek.
“How the kids can always see the positive side of things is such a good lesson for us big people to keep in mind,” Hicks said.
Through it all, the community proved to be a silver lining—the tornado recovery built unbreakable bonds.
“The strength and resilience of our community. All the way, I mean now a year out, we still are, you know, receiving love and support from people in the community and wanting to make sure that, you know, we’re taking care of,” Hicks said.
As the year mark approaches, Prairie Creek staff says they are having many celebrations as the year mark approaches. Every time a student moves back into their home after repairs, they hold a celebration in class, and to celebrate the students’ resilience, the school will be hosting an “exploration day” on Friday. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/prairie-creek-elementary-school-students-staff-recall-tornado-as-school-is-being-rebuilt/ | 2023-04-28T00:43:42 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/prairie-creek-elementary-school-students-staff-recall-tornado-as-school-is-being-rebuilt/ |
What to Know
- Less than 15 percent of rentals in the Big Apple are affordable to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers earning median household incomes, according to a recent report published by StreetEasy -- showing the racial gap in rental affordability rooted in decades-old disparities in wealth and income.
- Thirty-seven percent of citywide market-rate rental listings -- or about one of three -- between January and March this year were affordable for a typical household earning the city's combined median income of $70,663. This is a significant decrease, given that during the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic, about one in two rental listings -- or 51% -- were affordable to New Yorkers.
- Only two apartments are affordable to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers for every 10 that are affordable to white New Yorkers.
Less than 15 percent of rentals in the Big Apple are affordable to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers earning median household incomes, according to a recent report published by StreetEasy -- showing the racial gap in rental affordability rooted in decades-old disparities in wealth and income.
Thirty-seven percent of citywide market-rate rental listings -- or about one of three -- between January and March this year were affordable for a typical household earning the city's combined median income of $70,663. This is a significant decrease, given that during the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic, about one in two rental listings -- or 51% -- were affordable to New Yorkers.
This year, New Yorkers earning the median white household income of $93,919 can afford 64% of the city’s rental inventory, a decline from 75% in 2019, the study found, citing Census information on income. Meanwhile, Black New Yorkers earning the median of $53,075 and Hispanic of $49,275 household income can afford only 14% and 10%, respectively, this year. This is a decline from 21% and 12% in 2019. (For the study, "affordable" rentals were classified as those that cost less than 50% of a household's combined income.)
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To put these findings into perspective, according to Census information, when it comes to median income, typical Black and Hispanic households in the city earned 57 cents and 52 cents, respectively, per every dollar a white household earned between 2017 and 2021.
This disparity in earnings and the high-rent rates has impacted Black and Hispanic households in various ways, according to the study.
"As a result, soaring rents last year disproportionately affected non-white households in the city, leaving them with less funds for other necessities like food, healthcare, and utilities, and limiting their ability to save for long-term financial goals such as higher education and a down payment," the study found, adding that it would take Black and Hispanic households 30 and 42 years respectively to save for a down payment, while it takes white households only seven years.
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When it comes to this year so far, according to the study, a typical white household could afford five times as many market-rate rental listings in New York City as a typical Black household, and seven times as many as a Hispanic household. In other words, only two apartments are affordable to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers for every 10 that are affordable to white New Yorkers.
To read the study, click here. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/2-out-of-3-rentals-in-the-city-are-unaffordable-to-nyers-earning-median-incomes-study/4282654/ | 2023-04-28T00:45:32 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/2-out-of-3-rentals-in-the-city-are-unaffordable-to-nyers-earning-median-incomes-study/4282654/ |
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — People living in Punta Gorda are one step closer to having their sea walls repaired. More than 7.25 miles worth was damaged during Hurricane Ian, causing backyard erosion and loss of property.
Today, city leaders awarded contracts to three groups to begin repair and replacement work. It’s roughly a $26 million project. The funds are estimated to come 75% from FEMA, 12.5% from the state and 12.5% from the canal maintenance fund. After Hurricane Irma, FEMA ended up covering 90% of the costs, so the city is hoping for increased coverage this time too.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Punta Gorda to begin repair work on miles of hurricane-damaged seawalls
“We do have some seawalls so compromised that backyards are starting to erode and it’s a huge concern because hurricane season is upon and we want to get these people back to whole,” Mayor Lynne Matthews said.
The work is expected to start within 30 days.
According to city documents, Marine Contracting Group, Inc. of Punta Gorda will do the work for four of the city’s zones. RJ Gorman Marine Construction, LLC will do the work in three zones. Ecological Construction Services, Inc., Dba, Economy Dock Seawall & Dredge Co. will do the one remaining.
City staff has divided the sea wall failures into three categories to get work done as efficiently as possible.
Lido Drive resident Bob Wilson has a high-priority problem.
“We have a total of six lots that have to have seawalls replaced just on our one canal,” Wilson said.
He describes the seawall collapse in his yard as, “a wreck”.
The erosion from rain and wind since Hurricane Ian goes from the seawall until just a few feet of his lanai. He’s hoping work starts soon so there are no issues created for his pool.
“We know that we’re going to be in a zone that’s worked by a local contractor, Marine Contracting Group. We’ve already met with them, we’re ready today to sign any papers to proceed, anything we can do to help the process move along,” Wilson said.
Although the work will be starting soon, it could be 18 months before it is complete.
For a full list of where the sea walls are in Punta Gorda and what priority they’re categorized as, click here. | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/charlotte-county/2023/04/27/punta-gorda-sea-wall-repair-project-prioritized-as-hurricane-season-nears/ | 2023-04-28T00:49:02 | 0 | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/charlotte-county/2023/04/27/punta-gorda-sea-wall-repair-project-prioritized-as-hurricane-season-nears/ |
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Boat owners reached the deadline to remove their vessels from the Fort Myers Yacht Basin on Thursday so the city can focus on the next phase of redevelopment.
After city council approved its lease with Suntex, the marina operator chosen to redevelop the Basin, a letter from the city was posted on February 21 regarding the remaining boats and the property, saying the boats needed to be moved out by April 27.
Still, some owners are trying to make repairs.
“They’re just saying the whole thing has gotta be cleared out,” said one boat owner working to repair their boat’s motors on Thursday. “Really can’t move the boat right without those motors working.”
They told NBC2 they plan to move their craft as soon as they can.
“With the hurricane and everything…they should’ve offered us a lot more options.” The owner did not share their name with NBC2.
The city’s letter said owners who “need any assistance, such as fuel or other arrangements, the city will do everything it can to help accommodate your needs.”
Seven months since the storm, most of the marina is cleared out, except for about 18 vessels still floating, and a few more that sunk during Hurricane Ian.
“There’s quite a few of them I think throughout, just not here on their boat,” said the boat owner. “We’re running out of time.”
Fort Myers officials told NBC2 as far as the city is concerned, the basin is vacant. Boats still there are considered abandoned.
The city is moving forward with redevelopment plans approved by the council and is talking with the state about a timeline to remove the remaining abandoned boats.
No official dates are set.
But the city wants to move forward to have new facilities available.
The Basin is still closed, though they have been letting people in since the hurricane to make repairs, owners just can’t stay on the boat overnight.
NBC2 reached out to the Florida Department of Emergency Management to see if they had insight into how and when abandoned boats would be removed, we have not heard back at the time of this article posting. | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/lee-county/2023/04/27/fort-myers-yacht-basin-closed-as-redevelopment-plans-continue-abandoned-boats-remain/ | 2023-04-28T00:49:08 | 1 | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/lee-county/2023/04/27/fort-myers-yacht-basin-closed-as-redevelopment-plans-continue-abandoned-boats-remain/ |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/txdot-reveals-new-plans-for-i-30-in-dallas-county/3245900/ | 2023-04-28T00:52:42 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/txdot-reveals-new-plans-for-i-30-in-dallas-county/3245900/ |
It's been a year since a video from inside an English classroom at R.L. Paschal High School in the Fort Worth ISD circulated around the community showing a student using a racial slur multiple times in a presentation.
In the video, other students are heard laughing, others said, "Oh my God."
At the beginning of the video, the teacher is heard saying, "The point is not to be offended, it's his interpretation." Two minutes into the clip, the teacher said "We're not trying to set this in pre-Civil War. We're trying to stay as true to the original text as possible."
In the days following the incident, people in the community spoke out regarding what happened and also faulted the teacher for not stopping the presentation, which lasted over three minutes.
Local faith leaders, like Rev. Kyev Tatum, pastor of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church and the president of the Ministers Justice Coalition, denounced what happened.
"That kind of racism in our schools we will not tolerate," said Tatum.
In the past year, he teamed up with students at Texas A&M School of Law to file a complaint with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.
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"We've been saying there's something wrong with the system and now at least there's enough probable cause for the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights to come in and do an investigation," said Tatum Thursday morning.
He held a news conference to share with other faith leaders and people in the community about the letter he received in return from the Office for Civil Rights, which stated it was going to investigate the situation.
In his complaint, Tatum alleged that Fort Worth Independent School District discriminated against Black Students at R.L. Paschal High School, "by failing to appropriately respond to an incident in April or May 2022 in which a student repeatedly used the N-word during a classroom presentation without intervention from the teacher."
In the letter addressed to him, the OCR said it's, "opening Allegation 1 for investigation." They declined to investigate his second allegation, regarding discrimination against Black students in terms of discipline and access to higher-level courses.
Over the years Tatum has expressed his belief that there's an underlying issue regarding systemic racism in schools toward Black students.
Tatum said despite only having one of his complaints being looked into, he called it a "win."
"We plan on changing this system for the better for the next 50 years," expressed Tatum who said he would like to see tangible changes such as training so that incidents like this don't happen again.
FORT WORTH ISD RESPONSE
It's unclear if the teacher was fired or left on her own terms, but on Thursday the Fort Worth ISD confirmed that the teacher is no longer employed with the district.
In regards to the investigation, Fort Worth ISD said in a statement, "The District will not comment on an ongoing investigation other than to affirm that we are cooperating fully with the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights."
When the incident initially happened, the Fort Worth ISD denounced it and said in a statement last April, "We are shocked and saddened by what happened in a Paschal High School classroom. Upon learning of this incident, both the school and District took immediate steps to investigate. The language and the actions seen in the video are inexcusable; they are neither representative of nor are they acceptable at any Fort Worth ISD school. The bottom line is this: Fort Worth ISD will not tolerate racism of any kind. We remain committed to ensuring an environment where all students feel respected and safe."
Former superintendent Kent Scribner echoed similar sentiments and said at the time: "I am disgusted by the inexcusable behavior that took place in a Paschal High School classroom. There is no place for this kind of language in our society, much less in our schools. I am appalled by the conduct of the adult in the room and saddened by the message that it sends to our students. It is my recommendation to the Board that this teacher no longer be employed by Fort Worth ISD." | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/u-s-dept-of-education-investigating-complaint-of-racial-slurs-used-at-fort-worth-isd-high-school/3245830/ | 2023-04-28T00:52:48 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/u-s-dept-of-education-investigating-complaint-of-racial-slurs-used-at-fort-worth-isd-high-school/3245830/ |
At 8:30 Thursday morning, Morgan Ligon was ready for class. Instead of desks and chalkboards, her class had a ballet bar and music.
"Here we go," Elite Classical Coaching Director Catherine Lewellen said as she started class. "To create an elite ballerina, that's very different."
Ligon moved to North Texas from New York to study ballet with Lewellen.
"I really want to work with her," Lewellen said. "She has a natural artistry about her. Some people have it. She has it! That's something I feel God has blessed her with. She was made to dance."
"When I first started, everything was pretty much a struggle," Ligon said. "So I worked every day to try and improve."
Ligon proved it this month when she competed in the Youth America Grand Prix and won the coveted Hope Award, reserved at the judges' discretion for a dancer who stands out above the competition in both classical and contemporary ballet.
"I was really happy," Ligon said. "I didn't expect it, but I was happy that I got it."
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"At 11, yes! She is 12 now. She turned 12 in January. Still young, but it's crazy, right?" Lewellen said. "The Hope Award is also about potential. You don't have to be perfect yet. You have to show you have the potential to be the next star."
"My end goal is to be a professional at a ballet company and I'd love to tour around the world performing," Ligon said. "Dancers like me, I want them to see things I'm doing are, like, possible. You can reach any goal you want."
Lewellen said Ligon is already a sought-after dancer, with scholarship offers.
"I'm really excited to see what's next," Ligon said. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/young-north-texas-ballet-dancer-wins-coveted-award-at-youth-america-grand-prix-competition/3245853/ | 2023-04-28T00:52:54 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/young-north-texas-ballet-dancer-wins-coveted-award-at-youth-america-grand-prix-competition/3245853/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As the hot weather approaches, those who live in areas with high heat risks are wondering what local leaders will do to get air conditioners to low-income families.
Stacey lives in a low-income building operated by Home Forward at Northwest 19th Avenue and Flanders Street where one of those victims died, and her apartment still doesn’t have an AC unit.
She said she applied for an air conditioner last year, but didn’t get one, and filled out a new application hoping to get one in her apartment this summer. She has yet to hear back.
“It’s a health concern, and there are folks that are of the age that live in the building and can’t get in and out to get to a cooling shelter, and there are some who don’t like to go to those shelters,” Stacey said.
In 2022, Portland City Council approved a grant to give out 15,000 heat pumps and air conditioning units to people who live in high-risk areas over the next five years. The grant, which pays a non-profit Earth Advantage to purchase, warehouse, and install the AC units, was a response to the 2021 heat dome that killed more than 70 people in Multnomah County.
The total number of air conditioners installed by the city last summer is unclear, but KOIN 6 found that nearly 800 had been installed while more than 1,300 remained in a warehouse.
In June 2022 Multnomah County announced the Fiscal Year 2023 budget directed resources to help people who are most at risk for climate related harms. KOIN 6 reached out to a county official to ask if the county is purchasing AC units for households who can’t afford one. However, we haven’t heard back.
An Earth Advantage spokesperson told KOIN 6 a total of 3,000 AC units were installed last year. However, they don’t know how many units are currently available for installation.
Commissioner Carmen Rubio’s office oversees Portland Clean Energy fund’s heat response program and said “we need to do all we can to save lives and help those most impacted by climate change.”
“Beyond the immediate help we can give, the city’s response to the next extreme heat event must go hand-in-hand with meaningful, long-term work to decarbonize our economy, improve community resiliency and enhance our tree canopy to reduce urban heat islands,” Rubio said.
According to Oregon Health Authority, they will “have a very limited number of ACs, approximately 3000 units statewide, to distribute to high-risk populations.”
Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops. | https://www.koin.com/local/its-a-health-concern-lack-of-air-conditioning-worries-low-income-residents/ | 2023-04-28T00:54:01 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/its-a-health-concern-lack-of-air-conditioning-worries-low-income-residents/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As temperatures are expected to spike outside, sheriff’s deputies warn swimmers and boaters that the water in local rivers is still cold.
While it is hard to beat being on the water on a sunny day in the Pacific Northwest, rivers and lakes haven’t had a chance to warm up yet and are still getting cold snow runoff.
Stephanie Shea spent the afternoon on the Columbia River’s banks on Thursday, but said she didn’t plan to enter the water – saying it still looks too cold.
“We’re just hanging out, took a walk, wanted to be by the water,” Shea said. “Hopefully people just use common sense and don’t do anything too risky.”
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office asks people to be responsible and use life jackets as they run river patrols and expect an influx of water-related calls on Friday.
In fact, the Willamette River at Morrison Bridge in Portland is fluctuating between 50-52 degrees. Sandy River near Bull Run is fluctuating between 41-45 degrees. The Columbia River at Vancouver is between 41-45 degrees. Clackamas River near Oregon City is between 46-51 degrees. Buoys off the Oregon coast, meanwhile, are hovering around 50 degrees.
Deputy John Plock said currents are difficult to see on the river, and temperatures are cold enough to cause concern.
“When people first hit the water, it’s shocking, and your body can freeze up on you – especially if you fall into the water,” Plock said. “Just remember the water is really cold. That can make it hard even for an experienced swimmer.” | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/its-shocking-multco-deputies-warn-of-cold-river-temperatures-over-warm-weekend/ | 2023-04-28T00:54:07 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/its-shocking-multco-deputies-warn-of-cold-river-temperatures-over-warm-weekend/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Authorities are investigating a suspicious death after a woman’s body was found near Ainsworth State Park in east Multnomah County.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office says the body of Charity Lynn Perry, a Longview, Washington resident, was found on Monday just after 1:30 p.m. in a culvert near East Historic Columbia River Highway and Northeast Tumalt Road.
The last known area Perry was known to frequent was at the beginning of March in downtown Portland around Southwest Washington Street and Southwest Fourth Avenue, according to the sheriff’s office.
No other details about the investigation were immediately available.
Investigators ask anyone who knew Perry or has information about her death to contact the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office at 503.988.0560 and added callers can remain anonymous.
The investigation is ongoing. | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/woman-found-dead-near-ainsworth-state-park-suspicious-death-investigation-underway/ | 2023-04-28T00:54:13 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/woman-found-dead-near-ainsworth-state-park-suspicious-death-investigation-underway/ |
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — A Maine game warden and his warden K9 found and rescued a missing Kennebunkport woman Wednesday night who became disoriented and lost behind her home in the woods.
Around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Helen Baillie, 65, reportedly took her black lab for a walk in the woods behind her Kennebunkport home on Arundel Road, a news release from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said.
"At approximately 7:30, Helen’s husband was notified that someone had located her dog, without Helen, about a mile and a half from their home," the release said.
According to the release, the husband immediately called 911 and notified Kennebunkport police his wife was missing.
Law enforcement agencies searched for Baillie on roads in the immediate area but had no luck locating her. The Maine Warden Service was then called in to assist, the release stated.
When game wardens arrived to help, they were able to find out the GPS coordinate and approximate location of Baillie's cell phone, according to the release.
Game wardens Emerson Duplissie-Cyr and Tyler Harhart were able to find her phone in the woods, abandoned approximately 500 yards from the house," MDIFW said. "The pair looked and called for Helen in the immediate area, but when they couldn’t find her, they went back to bring a Warden K9 unit to the area."
After calling in a K9 unit to assist, Game Warden Chad Robertson and K9 Storm began to search the area shortly before midnight around where the phone was located, the release said.
Around 12:15 a.m., K9 Storm picked up on Baillie's scent and was able to locate her approximately 100 yards away from where the phone was found and more than 500 yards away from her home, MDIFW said.
"Helen had discarded some of her clothes when she was found, she was soaked from walking through the boggy woods and was shaking vigorously from the cold, as temperatures were in the low 40s," the release said. "She also was disoriented, and had difficulty speaking."
Robertson gave Baillie his shirt, Harhart gave her his jacket, and game wardens assisted her with walking out of the woods, the release stated.
Baillie was taken to a waiting ambulance where she was able to warm up and be taken to a nearby hospital for examination, MDIFW said. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/game-warden-k9-locate-missing-kennebunkport-woman-maine/97-77de186a-57b9-4854-904b-493f8578dcfa | 2023-04-28T00:57:04 | 1 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/game-warden-k9-locate-missing-kennebunkport-woman-maine/97-77de186a-57b9-4854-904b-493f8578dcfa |
PORTLAND, Maine — Ekhlas Ahmed moved to Maine when she was 12 years old in 2005. Her family escaped genocide for a better life.
Now at age 30, Ahmed said her family back in Sudan is facing the biggest crisis of the nation's history.
"It's been escalating for years and this is probably the worst crisis that could have happened to Sudan," Ahmed said. "It breaks my heart."
Ahmed leads the nonprofit Chance to Advance, which helps immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in southern Maine.
She said work these last two weeks has been difficult as she is constantly worried about her family. Ahmed said the internet and phone lines are down, and she hasn't spoken to her family overseas in nearly two weeks.
"Last time we called, someone in our hometown was shot and killed, and the people couldn't even grieve ... They couldn't even bury the body," Ahmed said.
Countries all over the world are trying to get private citizens out of Sudan, where two military powers are fighting to seize control of the African nation.
More than 400 people have been killed and thousands injured, according to The Associated Press.
The violence has caused chaos in the country, with thousands of people trying to leave the nation's capital and nearby battle zones.
The U.S. says it will not conduct a large-scale military evacuation for Americans still in the country, as fighting is happening over the air.
For Ahmed, all she can do is wait.
"I feel hopeless," Ahmed said. "I have pictures of my grandmother, of my aunts and uncles ... They are the reason I find optimism every day."
Ahmed said she is working to start a GoFundMe to send financial support to communities who are recovering from the battle.
"I know I'm going to go back and bring my future children back home to see how wonderful the Sudanese people are, which are full of life and very generous ... I look forward to going back to Sudan," Ahmed said. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/mainers-from-sudan-struggle-to-get-in-touch-with-family-amid-conflict-overseas-war/97-d992283d-92c5-4c30-8276-869c6838de98 | 2023-04-28T00:57:06 | 0 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/mainers-from-sudan-struggle-to-get-in-touch-with-family-amid-conflict-overseas-war/97-d992283d-92c5-4c30-8276-869c6838de98 |
PORTLAND, Maine — The City of Portland has scheduled an emergency Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee meeting for May 2 to address the growing homeless encampment along Bayside Trail.
The news of the emergency meeting comes just one day after signs were posted on tents at the encampment that stated the campsite will be removed.
"Once staff receive policy direction from members of this Committee/City Council, we look forward to continuing to work with community partners to address the needs and concerns of all members of our community," Portland Director of Communications Jessica Grondin wrote in an email on Thursday afternoon.
The encampment had been slated to be cleared as early as mid-morning on Thursday before the emergency meeting was scheduled.
According to Grondin, the reason the encampment was to be removed, is due to "hazardous health and safety concerns."
Right now, shelters in Portland are at, or near capacity, meaning many individuals experiencing homeless have no alternative but to sleep outside.
"In those cases, we recommend that they do not place any tent or other structure or personal belongings on or near a public road or path regularly used by the public in order to avoid becoming an obstruction, which may require removal," Grondin said.
For those currently living in the encampment, many do not know where they'll go when the campsite is shut down.
"Hopefully they come up with a plan before they move everyone. Or at least have a scheduled area where they can people posted in tents of something," Kordell Wadley said. Wadley says he has been living on the Bayside Trail for the last four months.
"A lot of these people, they're really good people. It's just... society needs to give them a chance. They need more people helping out," Wadley said.
Outreach workers, like Dani Laliberte, hope that city leaders can come together with the unhoused community, advocates, outreach workers, and others to find a solution routed in compassion.
"This is not going to be solved in 30 or 60 days. We're going to have people living outside for an extended period of time," Laliberte said. "We need showers, we need wash stations, we need port-o-potties, we need large dumpsters, we need sharp containers, we need to end the stigma on who we think is living outside."
Grondin says the city is working with partners, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to coordinate efforts to provide outreach and services to people experiencing chronic homelessness in Portland, and hope to implement enhancements to the city's approach soon.
Grondin also recommended that individuals experiencing homelessness connect with staff in the city's social services division at 39 Forest Ave to be connected to resources and to be notified of when shelter beds become available. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/portland/portland-delays-homeless-encampment-removal-community/97-8e890c24-4d51-4226-9d60-68e15661241d | 2023-04-28T00:57:12 | 1 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/portland/portland-delays-homeless-encampment-removal-community/97-8e890c24-4d51-4226-9d60-68e15661241d |
AUGUSTA -- A bill that would create safe sites for individuals to self-administer drugs was debated in a public hearing in front of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee at the State House Thursday.
Should this bill be passed into law, cities or towns that approve a safe consumption site must meet certain requirements, including having a clean environment and proper training for on-site staff should someone overdose.
The proposed bill would also mean that law enforcement can not charge participants inside these areas with an offense while using drugs such as opioids and fentanyl.
Bill sponsor Representative Grayson Lookner says this idea is the best way to fight the ongoing crisis' at hand.
"The science tells us the best way to save lives is to create a safe environment in which people can get avenues to recovery as well as be able to not have to worry about dying and engaging in behavior that we don't necessarily want to encourage but we don't want people to die either," said Lookner.
Lawmakers and organizations that support the bill, say this is the best alternative to keep people safe that use drugs.
"This is about helping people stay alive, not punishing them by making them be at the edges of our society and be arrested and die behind dumpsters," said Representative Laurie Osher of Orono.
"It is up to this committee to decide whether people who use drugs deserve to die alone, outside in an apartment or cars, or in public bathrooms and tents. We are using losing people in college, parents with children, friends, caregivers, taxpayers and children," said Molly White, program manager for Church of Safe Injection.
The Maine Sheriffs Association opposes the bill. Waldo County Sheriff Jason Trundy, who was representing the organization, says there is not enough data to know whether a system like this would work.
"We understand there are some states that implemented this type of a program, but we really feel like there hasn't been enough time to pass, to giver us enough time and data about the impact of that to the entire community," said Trundy. | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/local/bill-proposed-to-add-safe-consumption-sites-for-self-administered-drug-use/article_6879599e-e54c-11ed-b109-3770e5f2a749.html | 2023-04-28T00:58:22 | 0 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/local/bill-proposed-to-add-safe-consumption-sites-for-self-administered-drug-use/article_6879599e-e54c-11ed-b109-3770e5f2a749.html |
NEW SWEDEN - In 2003, ABC 7 covered the a story that shocked the nation...Twenty years later... We're back in New Sweden to revisit the case of the Gustaf Adolph Lutheran church poisoning.
On Sunday April 27, 2003, Daniel Bondeson poisoned 16 members of the Gustaf Adolph Lutheran church by mixing arsenic into the churches coffee.
One man, Walter Reid Morrill, died.
To this day, authorities are still baffled by the case.
Brian Strout was one of the detectives who covered the case and he says its one he could never forget.
"I just remember thinking... Man... How would somebody think do something like this," says Strout.
Over the course of the day, all of the church member who had been poisoned arrived at carry medical center for treatment.
A few needed to be transferred to Bangor due to their critical condition.
Dan Harrigan was one of the ER doctors who treated the victims.
Harrigan says all of the victims exhibited similar symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea but with limited knowledge they weren't immediately able to find the cause.
Through testing, medical analysis determined to cause to be arsenic a day after the poising.
Today, Harrigan maintains that Bondeson never wanted to kill anyone.
"He just wanted to sort of give some people a belly ache and he unfortunately so distraught at what he had done that about five days later he put a gun to his chest and shot himself" says Harrigan.
Those we spoke with say Bondeson felt extreme guilt for his actions.
Five days after the poisoning, Bondeson committed suicided with a single gun shot to his chest.
"He had left some correspondence explaining kind of what went on and as I remember because I didn't read the note but I was told the note was kind of exonerating his sister and more taking the blame himself."
In the years after the poisoning, Morrill's family and his community are keeping his legacy alive.
The year after his death, a leaf was added to Cary medical center's tree of life.
The center also hosts an annual golf tournament in his honor.
Just last year, the Jefferson Cary foundation partnered with Morrill's family to create the Walter Reid Morrill memorial scholarship, an annual scholarship that is awarded to local students going into the nursing field.
We reached out to Morrills family to talk about how his legacy has been continued but they declined stating his death is something they would prefer not to remember but they can never forget. | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/local/poison-in-the-coffee-20-years-later/article_5c0b8028-e539-11ed-b56f-076d7210b98c.html | 2023-04-28T00:58:28 | 0 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/local/poison-in-the-coffee-20-years-later/article_5c0b8028-e539-11ed-b56f-076d7210b98c.html |
A Burley man apparently drowned Saturday when he slipped and fell in a canal near Hazelton, police say.
The body of James Gallegos, 62, was discovered that afternoon southeast of Hazelton, Jerome County Sheriff George Oppedyk said. After falling into the cold canal water, he apparently couldn’t climb out due to the canal’s high concrete sides.
Oppedyk said the body wasn't in the canal long before it was discovered.
No foul play is suspected although autopsy results haven’t been received yet, he said. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/burley-man-apparently-drowns-in-canal/article_7f8d6508-e542-11ed-b44a-47ef4988dded.html | 2023-04-28T01:02:44 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/burley-man-apparently-drowns-in-canal/article_7f8d6508-e542-11ed-b44a-47ef4988dded.html |
TWIN FALLS — Many hands made light work to get the community gardens at the E Street Community Center ready for the growing season.
Thursday was Aramark's "Building Community Day" and volunteers spent hours placing raised beds and filling them with soil to get them ready for planting.
By day's end, a dazzling range of plants had found dirt. Corn, cantaloupe, kale, carrots, potatoes, watermelon, beets, strawberries, and turnips are just a sample of what was planted.
Students form Xavier Charter School helped out, painting things like tires, railroad ties, and bricks to be used in the garden. The splash of color comes with some artistic flair, and the large old tires make great oversized planters.
"It takes all of us top make this happen," Sonya Haines from the United Way of South Central Idaho told the Times-News.
In March, volunteers from Clif Bar spent a day clearing debris from the area and tilling the plot. They also donated the raised beds.
The gardens have gotten a lot of support, thanks to community networking of the United Way. The plants were donated by Moss Greenhouse, compost from Magic Valley Compost, bark from Windsor Nurseries, and oversized tires from Les Schwab Tires.
Haines said approximately 25 people have committed to helping, and kids in the after school program will be working with community partners to maintain it.
"The guy that just dropped off the bark said he lives right over here," Haines said. "He's lived there for 20 years — he's so excited to bring his kids over and participate."
People interested in participating in the community garden can stop by the front desk of the E Street Center at 1751 Elizabeth Blvd.
The E Street Center's revitalization began in 2021 when the United Way took over the former YMCA. This week, Clif Bar pitched in to tackle some chores.
Carolin Drown from Aramark planted Brussels sprouts in a tire painted by students from Xavier Charter School on Thursday, April 27, 2023, at the E Street Center.
Sonya Haines from United Way of South Central Idaho talks with Carolin Drown of Aramark about where to put plants at the E Street Community Center on Thursday, April 27, 2023. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/growing-a-community-garden-is-a-group-effort/article_1756a5aa-e540-11ed-a5f3-db8eaa38ca6e.html | 2023-04-28T01:02:50 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/growing-a-community-garden-is-a-group-effort/article_1756a5aa-e540-11ed-a5f3-db8eaa38ca6e.html |
A man was thwarted in his attempt to break into the Twin Falls Municipal Golf Course clubhouse early Thursday morning when someone inside the building chased him out and fought him, police say.
An employee and an acquaintance were closing up at about 12:30 a.m. when they heard a glass door break. When they checked on it, they saw a man entering the building through an opening in the glass door, according to the Twin Falls Police Department.
One of the people gave chase and fought him outside, but the suspect, who had backed up his vehicle next to the clubhouse apparently to commit a burglary, escaped in a white four-door car with out-of-state plates. He turned south on Grandview Drive and drove away.
Police are searching for the suspect, described as a 6-foot-tall black male, with either a shaved head or very short hair and weighing between 220 and 240 pounds. He wore gray pants, a black coat and had a teal-colored scarf around his face. His face might be injured due to the fight.
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Anyone with information, including surveillance video, is asked to contact the Twin Falls police. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/man-chases-would-be-burglar-from-out-of-twin-falls-clubhouse-police-say/article_60ede9de-e54b-11ed-a1be-ab5a40609f28.html | 2023-04-28T01:02:56 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/man-chases-would-be-burglar-from-out-of-twin-falls-clubhouse-police-say/article_60ede9de-e54b-11ed-a1be-ab5a40609f28.html |
BOISE — Forensic evidence pointing to an uncle and detailing gruesome details of the perimortem moments and deaths of two children were unveiled Thursday during Lori Vallow’s murder and conspiracy trial.
Lori has been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths of her children Tylee Ryan, 16, and J.J. Vallow, 7, and Tammy Daybell, the late wife of her husband, Chad Daybell.
Samantha Gwilliam, Tammy’s sister, also took the stand.
STABBING AND CHOPPING AT TYLEE’S PELVIC AREA
On Wednesday, the FBI’s Dr. Angi Christensen noted several “sharp trauma” alterations on Tylee’s hip bones and sacrum. She noted these injuries were not consistent with typical dismemberment signs. Thursday, the court learned more about these injuries when Douglas Halepaska took the stand. Halepaska is a forensic examiner for the FBI in the firearms and toolmarks unit in Quantico, Virginia.
A photo of Tylee's hip bones and sacrum put together was displayed on the courtroom projector screen. Halepaska said many of the sharp trauma alterations were chopping and stabbing-type wounds. These wounds were scattered all over the pelvic region.
Halepaska said the alterations were consistent with wounds that would be made with a cleaver, machete or hatchet. Some wounds were consistent with what would have been made with a blade that had serrated teeth. He could not point to the exact weapons used.
GASOLINE, ORGANIC MATTER ON TOOLS AND ALEX’S FINGERPRINTS
Several current and former employees from the Idaho State Police’s forensics lab took the stand Thursday revealing several evidential details not previously known.
David Sincerbeaux said he found gasoline remnants on the charred piece of flesh he was given from investigators. Tylee’s remains were found in a dismembered and burned state on Chad’s property.
Katherine Dace discussed tools she examined which were seized from the Daybell property. She said several of them appeared to have “organic matter” and what appeared to be blood stains on them. DNA profiling led to her finding samples that matched Tylee Ryan’s DNA on one of the shovels and a pickaxe. Testing of stains on the handle of the pickaxe came back positive as blood that matched Tylee as well.
Tara Martinez, who specializes in latent prints like fingerprints, tested a variety of materials from the evidence bags she was given. She looked at several samples of duct tape and the black plastic bag J.J.’s body was wrapped in. On the black plastic bag she found a fingerprint and a palm print that matched the prints she had on record for Lori’s brother Alex Cox. Cox has been a central figure in the murder case. He died in December 2019.
TAMMY DAYBELL’S SISTER DESCRIBES SHIFTING DYNAMICS
Samantha Gwilliam, Tammy Daybell’s sister, took the stand for the last few minutes of the day. While her time was brief, Gwilliam delivered impactful details and piqued the interest of many individuals in the courthouse after a day full of forensics.
She mentioned that Chad had worked at a cemetery digging graves and acting as a sexton for many years in his professional life.
Her voice trembled as she described her close relationship to her sister. The two lived close to one another in Springville, Utah, before the Daybells moved to Idaho. Gwilliam said Tammy didn’t want to move to Idaho at first and that it was Chad’s idea.
Gwilliam said she really liked Chad and that he was good friends with Gwilliam’s husband. She said she noticed a change in Tammy and Chad’s relationship. She said when the couple came to visit her in June 2019, they were “awkward” and Chad wouldn’t talk to her husband like he normally did.
In July, she got an unexpected visit from Tammy on Gwilliam’s birthday. Tammy handed her a gift and stayed only a few minutes. Chad waited in the car and kept the vehicle running.
“It was really weird,” Gwilliam said, her voice still wavering.
The last time Gwilliam saw Tammy alive was also an unexpected visit. Tammy showed up alone in October, just two weeks before her death. Gwilliam said her sister hated traveling alone. Tammy said Chad told her she needed to go visit her family. Gwilliam said if Tammy had suspicions of Chad’s affair with Lori, she didn’t voice them to her sister. She said Chad likely brushed them off if she brought it up.
The day Tammy died, Gwilliam got a phone call from Chad informing her of her sister’s death. He told Gwilliam that Tammy had been really sick for a while and wouldn’t stop coughing throughout the previous night. He woke up to her dead. Gwilliam said that didn’t make sense to her because Tammy was healthy when she saw her two weeks earlier. Her sister was training for a race and taking a clogging class.
Gwilliam will resume her testimony when the court reconvenes on Friday. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/vallow-trial-forensic-evidence-reveals-fingerprints-tammy-daybells-sister-takes-the-stand/article_3734c678-e558-11ed-bb9b-83c9de6c8512.html | 2023-04-28T01:06:59 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/vallow-trial-forensic-evidence-reveals-fingerprints-tammy-daybells-sister-takes-the-stand/article_3734c678-e558-11ed-bb9b-83c9de6c8512.html |
Grand Canyon flood exercise ends as Colorado River flows return to normal at Lake Powell
Glen Canyon Dam operators began slowing high flows from Lake Powell into the Colorado River Thursday, ending a 72-hour exercise aimed at improving environmental conditions through the Grand Canyon.
Bureau of Reclamation crews reduced flows through the bypass tubes on the side of the dam Thursday morning, then slowed releases through the power turbines. Regular operations were scheduled to resume late in the day.
Water levels on the river as it flows through the Canyon will drop over the next few days, according to the National Park Service, which is advising river rafters, hikers and campers to expect high-flow conditions until early Sunday in areas farther downstream, near Pearce Ferry.
The bureau ramped up water flows from the dam early Monday for the three-day high-flow experiment. At peak times, the turbines and bypass tubes were gushing water at a rate of almost 40,000 cubic feet per second, about four times the average for this time of year.
The goal of the experiment was to use the higher flows in the river to move sediment downstream, rebuilding beaches and backwater fish habitat that had eroded in recent years. Before Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963, the river did that work itself, shifting sand and sediment with the higher flows of spring runoff.
This was the first high-flow experiment since 2018 and the first during the spring runoff season. Although Lake Powell is still less than one-quarter full after years of sustained drought, bountiful snowpack in the Rocky Mountains is expected to raise water levels significantly over the next few months.
Forecasters say runoff from snowmelt could total 177 percent of the average from April through July. New projections estimate Oct. 1 water levels at Lake Powell will be almost 50 feet higher than Oct. 1 of last year, while Lake Mead levels are projected to start October about 22 feet higher than last fall. That's still about 160 feet below what's considered capacity.
The water released from Lake Powell this week won't be lost for users on the river. It will remain stored downstream in Lake Mead, which is less than 30 percent full. The two reservoirs are the largest on the river and help manage water and hydropower for more than 40 million people in seven states.
High-flow experiments were authorized through the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act and are based in part on the availability of sand and sediment along the river's length. One of the primary sources of that sediment is the Paria River near Lees Ferry, where an active 2022 monsoon washed tons of sand toward the Colorado.
River rafters and environmental groups were especially keen on another high-flow experiment this year.
"The last two summers we have witnessed the unraveling of sandbars in Grand Canyon as an effect of violent monsoon patterns," said Ben Reeder, a professional river guide and a representative on a technical work group for the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program. "The result has been the worst beach conditions downriver in 20 years."
He said those conditions detract from river trips and signify a declining ecosystem.
The success of the experiment won't be immediately evident. Scientists and river managers will survey the beaches and habitat areas in the coming weeks to measure how much sediment shifted downstream and where the greatest changes occurred.
Biologists will also watch carefully for any effects on fish and other wildlife. The high flows could help reduce populations of the invasive brown trout around Lees Ferry, but questions remain about smallmouth bass, a more recent invader that has taken advantage of low water levels at Lake Powell to escape downriver.
Bypassing the power turbines meant the loss of hydroelectricity at the dam. Declining water levels in Lake Powell have reduced the dam's capacity for generating power in recent years, so power providers raised concerns about the high-flow exercise.
“I understand the (environmental) concerns,” said Leslie James, executive director of the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association. But power consumers are affected when the water is released without generating electricity, which raises the cost of power that has to be secured from more expensive sources. “The water and hydropower resources have also been significantly impacted for more than five years. Any bypass is a direct impact to the hydropower resource.”
Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can support environmental journalism in Arizona by subscribing to azcentral today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2023/04/27/grand-canyon-flood-exercise-ends-as-normal-colorado-river-flows-resume/70159942007/ | 2023-04-28T01:07:33 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2023/04/27/grand-canyon-flood-exercise-ends-as-normal-colorado-river-flows-resume/70159942007/ |
Arizona among top 10 states for drunken driving deaths
Arizona is one of the leading states in the country for vehicular crashes and drunken driving, according to two-year data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The state landed eighth overall in fatalities due to alcohol impairment for 2020 and 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found in its report published this month.
Here's what that data shows.
716: Alcohol-impaired driving deaths in Arizona
The data shows that in 2020 there were 295 deaths in Arizona related to drunken driving, with another 421 of these fatalities in 2021 — a total of 716 people killed in both years. This reflected a 43% increase from 2020 to 2021 data, according to the NHTSA.
In 2021, 36% of Arizona traffic fatalities were related to drunken driving, according to the data.
8th: Arizona's rank in alcohol-impaired driving deaths
From highest to lowest, here are the 10 deadliest states for drunken driving in 2020 and 2021 with their combined totals:
- Texas – 3,439
- California – 2,550
- Florida – 1,910
- Ohio – 992
- North Carolina – 914
- Illinois – 841
- Georgia – 764
- Arizona – 716
- Tennessee – 678
- Pennsylvania – 655
2,233: Arizona traffic deaths from 2020-2021
With a total of 2,233 deaths — 1,053 in 2020 and 1,180 in 2021 — Arizona rounded out the top 10 in roadside fatalities.
In descending order, here is a rundown of these states' 2020-2021 combined totals:
- Texas – 8,374
- California – 8,265
- Florida – 7,067
- Georgia – 3,455
- North Carolina –2,588
- Ohio – 2,584
- Illinois – 2,527
- Tennessee – 2,544
- Pennsylvania – 2,359
- Arizona – 2,233
Traffic deaths have been steadily climbing in the U.S. since 2019 when the annual total was 36,355 compared with 39,007 in 2020 and 42,939 in 2021.
Taking action:Pinal County has a DUI problem, officials say. Here's how they hope to solve it
There was a 12% jump in traffic fatalities in Arizona in 2021 compared with 2020 — slightly higher than the 10% increase nationally, the data shows.
248: Arizona pedestrian fatalities in 2021
Here is a list of the top Arizona roadside deaths in the last two years as broken down by the nature of fatality. The first figure represents 2020 and the second shows 2021:
- Passenger car occupants – 280, 307
- Light-truck occupants – 236, 295
- Pedestrians – 222, 248
- Motorcyclists – 161, 150
- Pedalcyclists (cyclists not on motorized vehicles) – 33, 45 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-traffic/2023/04/27/arizona-among-top-10-states-for-drunken-driving-deaths/70158488007/ | 2023-04-28T01:07:39 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-traffic/2023/04/27/arizona-among-top-10-states-for-drunken-driving-deaths/70158488007/ |
Bill Gates to receive honorary doctorate, deliver keynote address during NAU graduation
Bill Gates is one of four people who will be recognized with honorary doctoral degrees from Northern Arizona University during this year's commencement ceremonies on May 12 and 13.
Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will deliver the keynote address and receive his honorary degree during the 3 p.m. ceremony on Saturday, May 13.
“It is our privilege to recognize Bill Gates for his pioneering work in science and technology and his longstanding thought leadership and philanthropic commitment to creating a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy life and live up to their full potential,” NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera said, in a statement announcing the speakers.
Arturo A. Massol-Deyá, executive director of Casa Pueblo, will deliver the first keynote address of the weekend and receive an honorary doctorate during the 11 a.m. ceremony on Friday, May 12.
In addition to spending two decades as a faculty member at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Massol-Deyá has spent his life working with Casa Pueblo, the community-based organization that his parents originally founded and has chaired its board of directors since 2007.
Casa Pueblo was responsible for protecting the central region and its critical watersheds from an open pit mining proposal and later from a massive gas pipeline. After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Massol-Deyá and Casa Pueblo founded a community assistance response that aimed to change the energy landscape of a country dependent on fossil fuels to one based on renewable energy sources.
Ty White, the 2023 Arizona Education Foundation Teacher of the Year, will follow later that day, receiving his honorary degree and delivering the keynote address at the 4 p.m. ceremony.
White, an award-winning chemistry teacher at Willcox High School in southeastern Arizona, has been recognized repeatedly for his work.
White received the 2020 American Chemical Society Teacher of the Year Award for Southeast Arizona and the Rocky Mountain Region. He was eventually named the 2021 Rural Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Rural School Association and the 2022 National Rural Teacher of the Year by the National Rural Education Association.
At Willcox High School, White sponsors the Science Club, the Solar Go-Kart Challenge, and the Knowledge Bowl. He is also the Southeast Arizona Cabinet Coordinator for the Chief Science Officers program and the Southwest Regional Space Settlement Design Coordinator.
The fourth honorary doctorate will go to David P. Franke, a principal at Franke & Company and president of the Northern Arizona University Foundation Board when he delivers the keynote address at 10 a.m. on May 13.
Franke & Company is a family office that invests capital into a diverse set of private, alternative investment opportunities. Since joining the firm in 1991, Franke has underwritten thousands of investment offerings, led the negotiations of company investments, and has been active in the ongoing oversight of portfolio companies and investments. He is primarily responsible for the firm's philanthropic efforts, which include identifying philanthropic opportunities, assessing the merits of such gifts, and overseeing their impact.
Franke is a board member for both the NAU Foundation and the University of Washington Foundation. He maintains active philanthropic committee roles at NAU, the University of Montana, the University of Arizona, and Arizona State University.
Additional information about this year's spring commencement NAU Skydome, including ceremony times, directions, parking and more is available online.
Contact northern Arizona reporter Lacey Latch at LLatch@gannett.com or on social media @laceylatch.
Coverage of northern Arizona on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is funded by the nonprofit Report for America and a grant from the Vitalyst Health Foundation in association with The Arizona Republic. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/04/27/bill-gates-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-nau-graduation/70159720007/ | 2023-04-28T01:07:45 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/04/27/bill-gates-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-nau-graduation/70159720007/ |
Canal killings: Expert cites Bryan Miller's 'immature' brain, impaired judgment in murders
The childhood abuse and trauma experienced by Bryan Miller, who murdered two young women in Phoenix in the early 1990s, had a catastrophic effect on his ability to make decisions and engage in moral reasoning, a defense expert witness has testified.
Dr. Mark Cunningham returned to the stand Thursday in the penalty phase of the "canal killings" case, as Miller's attorneys seek to persuade Judge Suzanne Cohen to spare their client from the death penalty.
During the trial earlier this year, Cunningham spent 13 days on the stand, much of his testimony focused on the childhood abuse Miller reported experiencing at the hands of his mother, Ellen.
“If Ellen had set out when Bryan was an infant to create someone who was going to commit a sexual homicide, she left no square unchecked,” Cunningham said Thursday.
“Except perhaps engaging in sexual homicides herself with him as a confederate.”
Miller was found guilty earlier this month of murdering Angela Brosso in November 1992 and Melanie Bernas in September 1993. He attacked the two women as they cycled along Phoenix canals, inflicting a fatal stab wound to the back before mutilating and sexually assaulting them as or after they died.
The murders, which became known as the "canal killings" because the victims were found near the Arizona Canal, went unsolved for more than two decades. Miller was arrested in 2015 after his DNA was matched to samples from vaginal swabs.
He pleaded not guilty for reasons of insanity, fighting the charges over the course of a six-month bench trial.
Judge Suzanne Cohen found him guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping and attempted sexual assault of both Brosso and Bernas. Now she must decide if he should be sentenced to death or go to prison.
Canal killings trial:'Immeasurable' pain: Family of victims describe impact as judge mulls penalty
Expert: Issue is what shaped Miller's morality
Cunningham began his testimony Thursday by outlining how moral culpability differed from criminal responsibility.
Criminal responsibility is "one side of the line or the other," he said, a clear demarcation between whether Miller could control himself or not, whether he knew right from wrong.
With the guilty verdict, he said, the questions shifted to moral culpability, which exists on a continuum.
Moral culpability, he said, “is not looking at an absolute question of could he control himself, but instead what diminished his control.”
Similarly, he said, it was not about if Miller knew right from wrong, but rather about what shaped his morality and his value system.
“Even though people make a choice to do exactly the same act, their moral culpability may differ with the raw materials they brought to their decision making," Cunningham said.
Cunningham said that, in his opinion, Miller “experienced a profound level of adversity in terms of damaging and impairing factors in his development that catastrophically inclined the slope from which his choices were made.”
Canal killings:Judge rules Bryan Patrick Miller eligible for death penalty
Looking at the science of brain development
He said that at the time of the murders, Miller, who was 20, was working with an "immature brain system."
Cunningham testified that the best available science suggests brain maturity is reached around age 25. Before that age, he said, the still-developing brain can account for poor judgment and involvement in crime.
He said it was a fact car rental and insurance companies are familiar with, pointing to statistics showing a higher rate of fatal car accidents among those aged 15-24 compared to older age groups.
Data from the U.S. Department of Justice also indicates the rate of homicide offending for people aged 18-24 is twice that of the next age group, 25-34, he said.
This science around brain development on top of Miller’s existing mental disorders and traumatic past had significant ramifications on his ability to reason and make decisions, Cunningham said.
“They are profoundly impairing,” Cunningham said. “In terms of the resources he can bring to his judgment, impulse control, moral reasoning, those have a direct link to his moral culpability.”
He also testified that in his opinion Miller was unlikely to commit acts of serious violence as he served out a life sentence.
The case returns to court Monday. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/04/27/canal-killer-bryan-miller-impaired-judgment-moral-culpability-sentencing-guilty/70160811007/ | 2023-04-28T01:07:51 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/04/27/canal-killer-bryan-miller-impaired-judgment-moral-culpability-sentencing-guilty/70160811007/ |
Visalia Unified teachers voice concerns surrounding campus safety
Looking for more information about what happened during this week’s school board meeting?
Here’s a recap of what you may have missed:
Visalia Unified School District board members kicked off the meeting by welcoming a packed room, filled with teachers wearing Visalia Unified Teacher Association t-shirts. Many were there to discuss their experiences in the classroom to highlight a need for further discussion and action regarding student behavior and teacher and student safety.
“We want to start by saying that 98% of our students do what they are supposed to do with few or no issues every single day,” Visalia Unified Teachers Association President Greg Price said. “However, 98% of our students are deeply affected by the 2% who are disrupting the learning environment by bringing violence to schools and showing blatant disrespect to staff.”
Those who spoke detailed their day-to-day experiences — students verbally and physically assaulting them or other teachers, chairs or desks being thrown by students out of frustration, and shooting threats, to name a few examples.
“Some of these students are overtly defiant, they refuse to listen to any staff including site principals and campus supervisors,” one teacher, who has been with the district for 33 years, told trustees. “They curse and use obscene gestures and tell staff 'You can't f**king do anything to me'.”
Superintendent Kirk Shrum, who was hired by the district before the start of the 2022/2023 school year, briefly touched on the district's recent work on student safety, delving into some of the steps Visalia Unified has taken over the last year to address community concerns that were brought to his attention over the summer.
“This is a moment in time where we have to acknowledge there is a new normal out there,” Shrum said. “It is a new normal, but we will not live in fear. We will live in awareness and we are going to live in preparedness.”
Visalia Unified has contracted with numerous companies to address student and teacher safety, including the implementation of ALICE training and the installation of Raptor Technologies.
ALICE — an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate — training ensures faculty members know how to respond to potentially violent incidents, while Raptor provides staff an integrated visitor, volunteer, emergency management, safeguarding and early intervention software.
Shrum, Price and Visalia Unified teachers agree, however, there's still more work that needs to be done; both pleading for parents to step up to the plate.
“We are here tonight because we have a systemic problem, a community problem, but one that is solvable,” Price said. “The parents must be responsible as partners to help us solve this misbehavior.”
School board members also listened to Shrum give a rundown on some of the good things happening around the district, including site improvements and student achievements.
Board members then listened to a breakdown of Visalia Unified's quarter 3 report, which included updates from business services, educational services, human resources development, learning and leadership, operational services, and Shrum.
Look this weekend for an in-depth dive into what teachers are facing.
Consent Calendar
Visalia Unified school board members then voted to accept the agenda’s consent calendar, meaning no discussion on the calendar’s contents occurred.
By accepting the calendar, school board members approved the adoption of two new instruction materials — high school AP English language and Spanish for Spanish speakers.
The AP English language instructional materials will cost around $138,300, while the Spanish for Spanish speakers instructional materials will cost about $191,1000.
Board members approved a card printing and encoding service to help supplement the implementation of Visalia Unified’s new transportation system. The service includes card and support services for every student; the card has the student’s photo, school logo, bar code, RFID encoded chip for bus transportation, Clever badge, as well as required state and federal postings on the back of the card.
The cost for the new system is around $81,800.
School board members approved entering an agreement with Rose, Sing, Eastham and Associates for electrical design services and documents to support the upgrades at Redwood High School’s Industrial Arts building.
The engineer’s fees are $28,500; however, the scope of the work is estimated to be around $350,000. Work includes replacing the existing feeder, seven panels, distribution board, main conductors and transformers so the school can install six new welders.
Board members also approved the district submitting a contract agreement with Fulcrum Management Solutions, Inc. to use ThoughtExchange. The platform will help Visalia Unified gather community feedback regarding various district projects, including the strategic plan and long-range facilities master plan.
The contract costs around $69,000 and would start on May 1 and end on June 30, 2024.
General Agenda
School board members listened to the California School Employees Association Chapter 83’s initial proposal for the 2023/2024 school year.
The initial proposal includes three updates:
- Visalia Unified will provide the full increase cost of the current health and welfare benefits for all eligible employees and dependents.
- A fair and equitable salary increase to the 2022/2023 classified salary schedule.
- Update, change or amend language related to leaves.
Board members also listened to Visalia Unified’s initial proposal for the 2023/2024 school year.
District interests include student growth, maintaining safe learning environments, employee success, and maintaining district reserves.
The school board will hold a public hearing on May 9 to listen to community feedback regarding both proposals prior to accepting the contract.
Board members also received an annual report on Measure A for the 2022 fiscal year.
Measure A passed in 2018, allowing over $105,000,000 in bond spending. Eight committee members reviewed projects and expenditures for the last year, totaling over $5,600,000.
Some of the projects the district has started or completed over the last year include the Divisadero Middle School modernization project, Green Acres Middle School modernization project, Valley Oak Middle School modernization project, La Joya Middle School modernization project, Mt. Whitney High School Gym/HVAC modernization projects, as well as security updates across multiple schools.
Board members also received updates to the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan.
The Local Control Funding Formula requires a three-year Local Control and Accountability Plan to help identify goals as well as measure progress. The district will send its plan to the Tulare County Office of Education for review in May before making the final approval in July.
Visalia Unified’s estimated LCAP funding for 2023/2024 is around $55,900,000.
School board members also approved a first read for new AP textbooks for biology, calculus, chemistry and statistics courses. The cost for the new textbooks is around $100,000. A second and final read will occur at the next board meeting in two weeks.
Board members also heard the first draft of Fundations, Wilson Language – new learning material for phonics instruction for around 5,820 kindergarten through second-grade Visalia Unified students.
The cost of the new learning material is around $810,000.
The Visalia Unified school board meets again at 7 p.m. on May 9 in the boardroom at the District Office at 5000 W. Cypress Ave. | https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/local/visalia/2023/04/27/visalia-unified-teachers-voice-concerns-surrounding-campus-safety/70146378007/ | 2023-04-28T01:07:51 | 1 | https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/local/visalia/2023/04/27/visalia-unified-teachers-voice-concerns-surrounding-campus-safety/70146378007/ |
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Contact Us | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/three-injured-in-crash-involving-a-septa-bus/3554870/ | 2023-04-28T01:09:48 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/three-injured-in-crash-involving-a-septa-bus/3554870/ |
- Number of festivals within 1-hour drive: 13
- Within 2-hour drive: 26
- Within 4-hour drive: 62
- Within 8-hour drive: 95
- Closest festivals:
--- Governors Ball Music Festival (0.2 hours)
--- The Greatest Day Ever! Music Festival (0.2 hours)
--- Cityfox Halloween Festival (0.3 hours)
--- LadyLand Festival (0.3 hours)
--- Electric Zoo (0.3 hours)
How could the New York area not be on this list? With NYC being one of the largest hubs of music, arts, and culture in the United States, it's no wonder festivals began taking root. Mimicking the original predecessor, Woodstock, the suburban sprawl and upstate farm areas have also become home to various festivals.
The festivals in New York are all over the place in terms of the size of the crowds, the genres of music, and the style of the event. On the more intimate end, you can catch smaller festivals that explode with energy and life tucked away in Brooklyn, such as the LadyLand Festival. On a grander scale, you can spend your weekend at the Governors Ball Music Festival with headliners like Kendrick Lamar and Lizzo.
There are many hotels between these three areas, and you can easily find a centrally located Airbnb that would put you smack in the middle of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, giving you the opportunity to ping-pong between as many festivals as you can. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/education/dwight-township-high-school-announces-prom-court/article_96fcdd7a-e2dd-11ed-8c63-13a9c7de5efb.html | 2023-04-28T01:10:46 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/education/dwight-township-high-school-announces-prom-court/article_96fcdd7a-e2dd-11ed-8c63-13a9c7de5efb.html |
The Flagstaff softball team is playoff-bound.
The Eagles defeated the Arcadia Titans, 11-5, at home in the 4A Conference play-in round Wednesday, clinching an automatic berth into the state championship tournament beginning Saturday.
Flagstaff softball beats Arcadia 11-5 in the 4A play-in. Eagles will play an opponent to be named later on Saturday in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/tOPMAZDueh
— Eric Newman (@enewmanwrites) April 27, 2023
Ranked 15th heading into the play-in round, Flagstaff (15-4, 9-3 Grand Canyon Region) turned the tide against the visiting 18th-ranked opponent after a difficult stretch of hitting over the past few weeks. The Eagles had lost three of their last four region games and struggled to make consistent contact.
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The bats heated up Wednesday.
“We weren’t in our heads this game. We didn’t let some of the nerves overcome us and just got contact on the ball,” Eagles senior Gracie Schmitz said.
Schmitz was one of Flagstaff's most efficient hitters, going 3 for 4 with four RBIs and a two-run home run. Eight of Flagstaff’s nine in the starting lineup reached base at least once.
Junior Gianna Baca went 2 for 2 with two walks and three runs scored for the Eagles, winners of three of their last five ballgames. Senior Danica Wilson was 2 for 3 with two runs, an RBI, one steal and one walk, and junior Kamya June went 3 for 4 with an RBI, a run and a triple.
The Eagles are now seeded No. 14 for the state championship tournament and will play a road game at No. 3 Eastmark in Mesa Saturday.
The win was rewarding for the Eagles, but not just because it extended their season. Wednesday’s contest was possibly the last home game of the season.
“I’m not going on to play ball after high school, so this could technically have been my last game in high school,” Schmitz said. "So I’m grateful that we were able to overcome that and all the nerves, and then we came out on top. It makes me excited for what we can do next.”
“These girls have put in some good time,” Eagles assistant manager Rudy Baca added. "With all the weather and adversity we’ve had, we haven’t really played that much here. But they overcame a lot of stuff and got a win for the seniors in their last game here to end on a positive note."
The game was a battle in the first few innings. There were clear nerves in the opening frames, though Schmitz hit an RBI single, scoring Baca, to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage.
Her first hit pacified her emotions a bit.
“It’s telling myself, ‘You’re good enough to win, but instead of doing everything at once you need to just settle down and do one little thing at a time,’ so I was able to calm down,” Schmitz said.
Then, on her second at-bat, in the bottom of the third inning, the Titans led 2-1. Baca had reached base on a single, and was standing at second base after junior Olivia Lanssens hit a sacrifice bunt.
Schmitz teed up on a high pitch, nailing it easily over the wall in left field.
“It felt really good right away,” Schmitz said, smiling.
The Titans responded well, though. Eagles freshman pitcher Kailee Culwell relieved Baca in the top of the fourth inning. She looked a bit unsure in the pitcher’s circle in the first Arcadia at-bats, playing her first postseason game, and gave up two runs to give the Titans a 4-3 lead.
However, after a troubling inning, Culwell took control of the game. She allowed just one more run in the final three innings.
“She came in and, even though she was a little rusty at first, settled in really well and got in a groove. Then she looked good from there,” Rudy Baca said.
Culwell helped her own cause in the bottom of the fourth, hitting an RBI single to score June and tie the score at 4-4. Then Lanssens hit a single, scoring junior Keeley Callander, to take a 5-4 lead the Eagles would never relinquish.
Flagstaff added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, and four in the bottom of the sixth to blow open the game.
“I thought, with Kailee on the mound and the way our defense was playing, that it solidified the win for us,” Rudy Baca said.
The Titans, needing six runs in the top of the seventh inning to extend the game, loaded the bases with two outs.
Culwell drew a ground ball from the final batter, fielded it easily and fired the ball to Schmitz at first base to secure the victory.
“It was relieving,” Schmitz said. “Knowing we came out on top and getting that last out was great.” | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/flagstaff-wins-play-in-softball-game-over-arcadia/article_d4cb77e8-e4a3-11ed-95c4-1f6acf275a8e.html | 2023-04-28T01:11:21 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/flagstaff-wins-play-in-softball-game-over-arcadia/article_d4cb77e8-e4a3-11ed-95c4-1f6acf275a8e.html |
Abortion-ban ordinances gain ground in New Mexico
The ordinance won approval by a 4-1 vote of the town commission in Edgewood
SANTA FE - A small New Mexico town near Albuquerque adopted an ordinance Wednesday aimed at blocking the distribution of abortion medication or supplies by mail, extending a wave of local government restrictions on abortion.
The ordinance won approval by a 4-1 vote of the town commission in Edgewood, a community of about 6,000 residents separated by a mountain pass from metropolitan Albuquerque. It aims to enforce provisions of a 19th-century federal law that once prohibited mail shipments of abortion materials.
Edgewood commissioners acknowledged that the ordinance would be difficult to enforce — relying on private citizens to bring civil lawsuits against violators with damages capped at $100,000. They said legal changes could be costly after a municipal liability insurance pool refused coverage to Edgewood.
Commissioner Sterling Donner was undeterred, at an evening meeting that stretched past midnight into Wednesday.
"We want to join our allies in the state that are doing the same things," he said. "It's time to rise up, it's time to fight ... for the rights of these unborn children."
The commission agreed to accept free legal representation from Texas-based attorney Jonathan Mitchell — an architect of the anti-abortion legislation in Texas and local government restrictions on abortion within several states.
Edgewood resident Erika Anderson said the ordinance threatens to pit neighbors against each other in lawsuits and tear the community apart.
"It's really unnerving to see such a divisive ordinance trying to pull apart our community and our neighbors," she said. "I would really, really want you to consider ... the risk you are putting our town at by trying to be a leader or make a stand in this type of thing."
Proponents of the ordinance urged commissioners to send a message with their vote that keeps out local abortion providers including pharmacy chains. Impassioned speeches equated abortion with murder. Opponents of the ordinance accused commissioners of overstepping their authority and threatening access to medication used not only in abortion but also used to treat miscarriages.
Edgewood Mayor Audrey Jaramillo said commission chambers were too crowded for many people to enter, including her son. She read his concerns into the record: "Someone has to stand up for the defenseless babies. May we all agree — pro-baby."
Similar ordinances have been adopted by two counties and three municipalities across eastern New Mexico. But most of those ordinances have been blocked by the New Mexico Supreme Court while it considers a challenge by the state's Democratic attorney general.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez says the ordinances violate constitutional rights to equal protection and due process and threaten the state's status as a safe haven for women seeking abortions.
State abortion laws in New Mexico are among the most liberal in the country. In 2021, the Democratic-led New Mexico Legislature repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring access to abortion even after the U.S. Supreme Court last year rolled back guarantees.
This year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed two abortion-rights bills that override local ordinances aimed at limiting access and shield providers of abortions from prosecution by out-of-state interests.
The U.S. Supreme Court last week preserved women's access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit proceeds.
New Mexico is increasingly seen as a destination for abortion patients traveling from states including Texas that have banned abortion, or those imposing major restrictions.
Morgan Lee is a reporter for the Associated Press.
Others are reading: | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2023/04/27/abortion-ban-ordinances-gain-ground-in-new-mexico/70155621007/ | 2023-04-28T01:14:21 | 1 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2023/04/27/abortion-ban-ordinances-gain-ground-in-new-mexico/70155621007/ |
Three Rivers Ambulance Authority did better financially than expected in March, including making its payroll without having to tap into $3 million city officials pledged to help the financially beleaguered service.
Expenses are down and revenue is up, executive director Joel Benz said at today’s ambulance authority board meeting.
Carrie Henry, director of finance, said Med-Bill Corp., which handles billing, brought in almost $1 million from current and past due accounts.
Indianapolis-based Med-Bill has averaged about $850,000 a month since September, when it started doing billing for the ambulance authority, Benz said.
“Brighter days ahead,” he added.
The ambulance authority took over operations in September from its contractor, PatientCare EMS Services, because PatientCare was not meeting response-time requirements.
As part of the takeover, the ambulance authority bought the company’s equipment, including ambulances, for about $1 million. It also raised pay rates for paramedics and emergency medical technicians, matching the rates of similarly sized operations in other cities as part of an effort to retain employees and attract new ones, Benz has said.
Also at the meeting, Benz briefly addressed a letter from the Allen County commissioners regarding the ambulance authority’s request for financial help from the county. Both the county and the city received the same letter requesting a total of $3.8 million to keep the service running for two years while it regains solvency.
Three Rivers Ambulance Authority provides service to about 300,000 people in townships outside of Fort Wayne city limits. When the Fort Wayne City Council approved $3 million in assistance last month, city representatives expected the county to pick up the remainder, Benz said.
In the letter, the commissioners offered to provide up to $400,000 – but with multiple conditions.
“I appreciate their willingness to dialogue,” Benz said. “I’m grateful that they reached back out to us.”
He expects to continue conversations with county officials on the issue. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/three-rivers-ambulance-authority-doing-better-financially/article_861ea942-e54f-11ed-9190-739343e86b73.html | 2023-04-28T01:16:16 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/three-rivers-ambulance-authority-doing-better-financially/article_861ea942-e54f-11ed-9190-739343e86b73.html |
A collision Thursday afternoon near the General Motors assembly plant in southwest Allen County sent two drivers to the hospital, according to the Allen County Sheriff's Department.
A passenger car was southbound on Fogwell Parkway when it crossed the center line, striking a northbound SUV, Cpl. Adam Griffith said through email.
The driver of the passenger car was transported to a hospital in critical condition. The driver of the SUV was transported to a hospital in fair condition, Griffith said. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/vehicle-collision-near-gm-plant-sends-2-to-hospital/article_96768ec2-e554-11ed-9c0c-a3a6bc950aa9.html | 2023-04-28T01:16:23 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/vehicle-collision-near-gm-plant-sends-2-to-hospital/article_96768ec2-e554-11ed-9c0c-a3a6bc950aa9.html |
CLENDENIN, WV (WOWK) — No people or animals were injured when a horse trailer caught on fire along interstate I-79.
The incident happened near Clendenin shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Metro 911 Dispatchers tell 13 News no horses were in the trailer at the time of the fire.
The scene is now clear. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/horse-trailer-catches-fire-on-interstate-79/ | 2023-04-28T01:18:48 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/horse-trailer-catches-fire-on-interstate-79/ |
CORSICANA, Texas — A former cheerleader from Navarro College – the college prominently known from the Netflix docu-series "Cheer" – is now suing the college, it cheer team coach Monica Aldama and another former Navarro cheerleader regarding an alleged sexual assault that occurred in September 2021.
WFAA is not naming the victim or suspect in the lawsuit because criminal charges have not been filed.
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday and obtained by WFAA, a "rookie" female Navarro cheerleader said she was sexually assaulted by another "rookie" male Navarro cheerleader after a party on Sept. 2, 2021. The lawsuit says the victim told several team members about the assault the next day, to which they encouraged her to come to a party so a "veteran" could ask her about the assault.
The lawsuit says this veteran cheerleader, who the lawsuit says was the team's unofficial captain, told the victim "you just need to drink it off and get your mind off of it because that's what Navarro girls do — they drink. We don't tell anyone. We just keep it to our self." The lawsuit goes on to allege that the veteran cheerleader told the victim not to report the assault to Aldama because it would stress her out and the school would cut the cheer program. The same veteran cheerleader later told the victim she "needed to talk it out like adults" with her alleged attacker.
Two days later, on Sept. 4, 2021, the veteran cheerleader assigned two male cheerleaders to accompany the victim while meeting with her alleged attacker, at which point the lawsuit says he apologized. The same two male cheerleaders were then "assigned to escort [the plaintiff] everywhere to ensure she did not report the assault," the lawsuit says, but she was able to call her boyfriend when she wasn't being watched to tell him about it.
The lawsuit says the victim, her boyfriend and three of his friends then went to the alleged attacker's room only to find another cheer member guarding the door. The victim's boyfriend and the cheer member guarding the door then "exchanged words," the lawsuit says, and they left to gather the victim's things from her apartment. The lawsuit says that the person guarding the door then called the police to report that the victim's boyfriend had assaulted him, and while they were packing the victim's dorm, campus police arrived to tell the boyfriend he was banned from campus property and needed to leave.
The boyfriend told the campus police that the only assault that occurred was the one that happened to his girlfriend, the lawsuit says.
The victim, her boyfriend and his friends all left in his car after grabbing what they had packed, the lawsuit says, and then noticed a vehicle following them that was occupied by several veteran cheerleaders, who allegedly pointed a gun at them and threatened to kill them for reporting the assault.
According to the lawsuit, the victim then called Aldama to tell her about the assault, and Aldama allegedly interrupted her by saying, "Let's not make this a big deal. I want the best for you and I will help you cheer wherever you want."
The victim then hung up the phone and called her mother to report the assault to her, according to the lawsuit. A few days later, after the victim had quit the cheer team, Aldama allegedly told her "If you keep quiet, I'll make sure you can cheer anywhere you want," according to the lawsuit.
The victim then tried reporting the alleged assault to campus police and the college's Title IX office, the lawsuit says. Campus police reportedly told the victim "this type of thing happens all the time, that she can report the assault, but that nothing will happen because nothing ever happens." She still reported the assault to campus police, the lawsuit says.
Navarro College's Title IX office informed the victim that it did not have the proper documentation to report a sexual assault and instead gave her a piece of paper to write down the answers to questions, the lawsuit claims. The Title IX office also told the victim that neither it nor the campus police department nor the Corsicana Police Department keep rape kits on hand, and that the regional medical center does not have a registered Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.
The closest rape kit available would have required a drive to Waco or Dallas, the lawsuit says.
The victim's mother reached back out to both campus police and the college's Title IX office for an update, the lawsuit says, but the campus police did not have a report and the Title IX office told the victim's mother there was "no record of Plaintiff's sexual assault, insisting instead to the report Plaintiff attempted to make as 'allegations'."
The victim withdrew from Navarro College and enrolled at a different Texas university where she currently is on the cheer team. The victim claims in the lawsuit that she's being "blackballed" from many nationally ranked programs with former Navarro cheerleaders as coaches or team members.
The lawsuit also claims the victim suffered from a "pervasive culture of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and intimidation," citing previous instances at the school -- including the conviction of former "Cheer" star Jerry Harris, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for coercing teenage boys. The lawsuit names two other instances where male cheerleaders within the program were arrested and charged with sexual assault and a third where a male was sued for allegations of sexual assault.
The victim is seeking "damages in an amount within the Court's jurisdictional limits" and a trial by jury.
Reached by comment, Navarro College provided WFAA the following statement:
"The College denies any allegations of wrongdoing and is prepared to vigorously defend itself in court. The safety and welfare of students is always of utmost priority. Navarro College prohibits sexual harassment and sexual misconduct against all students and is deeply committed to providing an educational environment free from sex discrimination and sexual assault."
More Texas headlines: | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/cheer-cheerleader-sexual-assault-lawsuit-navarro-college/287-afed0c85-ca79-43e6-b01f-800fd1ff6fca | 2023-04-28T01:24:29 | 0 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/cheer-cheerleader-sexual-assault-lawsuit-navarro-college/287-afed0c85-ca79-43e6-b01f-800fd1ff6fca |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Counties and cities like Tampa and St. Petersburg have passed their own local tenant bill of rights.
They received more attention during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to eviction risks and as rent prices remain high. But the majority of Florida lawmakers want to scrap those arguing a proposed state law would be better for all.
A Republican proposed bill would allow the state housing regulations to pre-empt local housing tenant bill of rights ordinances. It passed the House, and the Senate is expected to approve it on Friday.
House bill co-sponsor Rep. Tiffany Esposito (R-Fort Myers) said less government control and regulations on landlords will help solve the issue of affordable housing.
"Capitalism and the free market will solve our housing crisis if we get the government out of the way," Esposito said on the House floor Wednesday.
However, some organizations argue the intention to help tenants is not true.
"The landlords aren't out here making choices between feeding their kids and paying rent. It's us the tenants who are facing it. It is a disproportionate impact," William Kilgore of the St. Pete Tenants Union voiced.
Kilgore said among his concerns include local protections against income discrimination. For instance, against those with Section 8 vouchers.
The bill has provisions like forcing Florida landlords to give a 30-day notice, instead of the current 15 days, to terminate a tenant's month-to-month lease.
Leases that are longer would require between 30 to 60 days.
A similar version in the Senate would also require landlords to give a 60-day notice for a 5 percent rent increase or more.
While organizers agree with extending the timeframes of the rules, they said it's just a "sliver" of the protections the state should be providing.
"When we truly think about the impact it'll have on the renters, it's extremely concerning," Cynthia Laurent, Florida Rising housing justice campaigner, said.
Organizers said the state is lacking in protections for habitability and repair issues or non-discrimination clauses, which currently exist in local ordinances like the one in St. Pete.
"This is a situation that's impacting people from all walks of life," Laurent explained.
The law would nullify dozens of cities and counties with their own local ordinances like Orange and Miami-Dade counties.
Recently, some Democrats and organizers also criticized the passage of another housing-related bill into law.
The Live Local Act is intended to increase access to affordable housing through a $711 million plan but also bans rent control, a practice that was already forbidden under Florida law unless an official housing emergency was declared. Now, it's a total ban. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/florida-house-senate-tenant-bill-of-rights-affordable-housing/67-5c8a78ba-a13b-4625-a140-2fced9c82370 | 2023-04-28T01:27:24 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/florida-house-senate-tenant-bill-of-rights-affordable-housing/67-5c8a78ba-a13b-4625-a140-2fced9c82370 |
SPRING BRANCH, Texas — Spring Branch Independent School District canceled upcoming field trips to see performances of "James and the Giant Peach."
The move comes after some parents raised concerns about actors who play cross-gender roles.
Main Street Theater's “James and the Giant Peach” performance is recommended for children in first grade and up. The play, based on Roald Dahl’s well-known children’s book, is a story of an orphan boy who finds refuge inside a magical peach.
Shannon Emerick is the director of marketing and communications at Main Street Theater.
“We have over 100,000 kiddos come with school groups, families, grandparents and friends," she said.
Jessica Gerland’s kindergartener was scheduled to go on the field trip.
“The way that they are normalizing this, especially in front of 5- to 6-year-olds, it just raises concerns for some parents,” she said.
Gerland says she brought her concerns to the district at Monday’s school board meeting, after calling Main Street Theater to get additional details. She says the theater told her actors play multiple roles that are both male and female.
"She explained to me how they wear flamboyant makeup and wigs to make it fun for the kids," she said. "Do you know what the definition of a drag queen is?"
Emerick says cross-gender acting is common in theater.
"There's no drag in the show," she said. "You are going to see men playing women and women playing men sometimes, absolutely. That has happened since the creation of theater 1,000 years ago."
Emerick says they've hosted field trips from several other area districts without incident.
"We just want to do what we do and doing what we've done for 43 years,” said Emerick.
"It's something that I thought would be more appropriate for high schoolers, not kindergarteners,” said Gerland.
Spring Branch sent the following statement Thursday:
"We received feedback from employees and other adults who attended Main Street Theater’s production of James and the Giant Peach that expressed concern over elements of the performance that were not age-appropriate for elementary students.
Based on the concerns we heard, the decision was made to request campuses planning to attend make alternative arrangements. My responsibility is to ensure that content students are exposed to during school hours is age appropriate. Given the information we had, the decision was made to err on the side of caution. Please understand these decisions are not always easy to make and are always done in the best interest of our students." | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/spring-branch-isd-play/285-daeb472a-1889-41ba-81a4-6d8f24b50601 | 2023-04-28T01:27:40 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/spring-branch-isd-play/285-daeb472a-1889-41ba-81a4-6d8f24b50601 |
ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta is celebrating what would have been Civil Rights pioneer and wife Coretta Scott King's 96th birthday.
A monument was unveiled honoring her legacy at the King Center.
"This just speaks volumes of who she was as a spiritual person…and from a very young age – realized she had a purpose and sought after that," said Dr. Bernice King, Coretta's youngest daughter and CEO of the King Center.
The metal monument stands over 15 feet tall. The artist said it's "an immersive mediation" experience.
It is a covered pavilion that sits on a mosaic floor with painted steel. The words "community" and "empathy" are displayed across the canopy.
Hulu commissioned artist Saya Woolfalk to bridge "the gender gap" in public art. The Coretta Scott King monument was just one of a few historic women Woolfalk will be creating.
"I didn't want to make a traditional piece. I wanted to make something that put you in her shoes where you felt her presence," said Woolfalk.
The monument also includes a lectern in the center of the structure. It symbolizes how often Coretta spoke to the media from behind a podium.
It was originally supposed to sit on the property owned by the City of Atlanta, but Dr. Bernice King thought the King Center was the perfect place.
Corretta's children said it's more than they ever could have imagined.
"It's very special to us because not only was she our mother, but she was our inspiration," said Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. King added that she is grateful her mom is finally getting the flowers she deserved.
She said she was just as much a Civil Rights leader as her father and she deserves her flowers.
"Mrs. Coretta Scott King with a clear vision from God set out to brand in the world," said Bernice King.
Dr. Bernice King also said her mom– who was the driving force behind Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday being recognized as a national holiday. She said her mom was the unsung hero in her father's fight for justice and she deserves the recognition.
"I believe it's really because of the work that she did to continue to do what they were doing and more importantly encapsulate it and institutionalize it," Dr. Bernice King added.
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at WhereAtlantaSpeaks@11Alive.com. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/black-history/coretta-scott-king-monument-king-center-atlanta/85-d6a3a8e3-d3f3-4368-a98d-a996a56306e0 | 2023-04-28T01:33:44 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/black-history/coretta-scott-king-monument-king-center-atlanta/85-d6a3a8e3-d3f3-4368-a98d-a996a56306e0 |
The owner of a now-defunct general contracting business has been sentenced to federal prison for scamming a Lincoln bank out of $274,000.
Joseph Ward Jr. said false invoices were submitted to First State Bank so he could get advances of funds "to pay the bills, to pay the employees that bust their butts for us every day."
His business, Husker Underground Utilities & Construction LLC, was based in Lincoln and primarily did contract work for ALLO burying and relocating fiber-optic cable.
At his sentencing Thursday, Ward alleged an ALLO employee had approached him in late 2016 wanting a monthly "kickback" to continue the contract, but Ward said he couldn't. He didn't have the money and thought morally it wasn't right.
He never reported it to law enforcement.
The next spring, in 2017, five false invoices were submitted to the bank in Ward's name. Ward said he intended to pay the money back.
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Ultimately, Husker Underground couldn't survive without the ALLO contract and dissolved in June 2019.
In 2021, Ward and his wife, Vickie Ward, were indicted for bank fraud. But, as part of the plea agreement, the government on Thursday dismissed the case against her.
"I'm not sure what to say except I take full responsibility for my actions and what I did," said Joseph Ward, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, now. "I did it because I wanted to write the paychecks for my employees and try to further the business and keep it going. I did it. It's my fault and I apologize to everybody involved."
His attorney, Matthew Burns, argued for house arrest or any other type of alternate sentence so he could keep working and pay restitution.
But Senior U.S. District Judge John Gerrard pointed out Ward hadn't paid a dime in restitution yet in the year since he pleaded guilty.
U.S. Attorney Steven Russell argued for two years in prison, saying Ward "was in a situation where he could've done the right thing, maybe taken some consequences, maybe lost his business. But at least it was the right thing. ... Or he could've done something illegal. And he chose the illegal path."
Gerrard said while the defense argued that Ward's case was vastly different than most fraud cases, actually it wasn't.
"Only the names change," he said.
The judge said month after month cases come before him about people lying to the IRS or Social Security or banks, thinking they're not really victims.
"Well, as a matter of fact they are," Gerrard said.
And he sentenced Ward to a year and nine months in federal prison, starting July 12, plus five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $274,199.
2023 Lincoln City Election Voter's Guide
We reached out to candidates before Lincoln's city election and asked them to provide biographical information and answer questions relevant to the offices they seek.
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, a Democrat, faces former state Sen. Suzanne Geist, a Republican, in her run for a second term.
This year's city elections will put at least three new faces on the City Council, where the four seats which represent districts are on the ballot.
Two Lincoln Board of Education incumbents face challengers new to politics in this spring’s city elections, while one seat is up for grabs.
There are four candidates competing for two open seats on the Lincoln Airport Authority. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/arizona-man-sentenced-to-federal-prison-for-scamming-lincoln-bank-out-of-274k/article_61b48f38-e539-11ed-a611-fb7f5575f29c.html | 2023-04-28T01:37:31 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/arizona-man-sentenced-to-federal-prison-for-scamming-lincoln-bank-out-of-274k/article_61b48f38-e539-11ed-a611-fb7f5575f29c.html |
Hundreds of people crammed into an event space at the east Lincoln Veterans Administration Campus on Thursday afternoon to celebrate, in the words of Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, a monumental day for the community.
Thursday marked the opening of the new Aging Partners location at the Victory Park development at 600 S. 70th St. The move comes after the old Aging Partners location in downtown Lincoln, which also included a senior fitness center, closed permanently in April.
Aging Partners director Randall Jones said their goal is to open the new Aging Partners location to the public on May 3.
According to Gaylor Baird and the other state, local and federal representatives that spoke at Thursday’s event, the new facility was a long time coming.
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“It’s a day that so many people have worked toward for the past 13 years,” Gaylor Baird said.
Increased accessibility for seniors is a primary feature of the Victory Park location, which will include expanded parking and a first-floor entrance to the building. The new Aging Partners facility also features a health clinic staffed by the University of Nebraska Medical Center, a spacious classroom, an exercise room, access to nutritious meals and a large outdoor space.
The new site will also serve Lincoln’s veteran community. Office space for Lancaster County’s Veterans Service Office is included inside the Aging Partners site, and Gaylor Baird said relocation of the Aging Partners facility is part of the $100 million redevelopment of the Veterans Administration Hospital Grounds.
“This new and comprehensive site offers our older community members and veterans space and services in one central location to lead their best lives,” Gaylor Baird said.
Providing services for Lancaster County Veterans was a crucial part of the formation of the new Aging Partners facility, according to Lancaster County Commissioner Roma Amundson. The proximity of the center to other veteran services makes the location much more convenient for veterans that Lancaster County is proud to serve, Amundson said.
The community of veterans and seniors in Lancaster County is growing, according to Jones, who has been the director of Aging Partners since 2016. Their previous facility did not match that growth, which is why Thursday was such a special day for Jones.
“It’s always been a vision that makes sense to move Lincoln towards a more age-friendly community, and that’s exactly what this facility does,” Jones said.
Thursday’s event was a culmination of years of hard work for dozens of members in the Lincoln community, and each individual that spoke gave special thanks to at least one community member who helped make the new Aging Partners location a reality.
“We heard how hard this was, we heard how challenging this was,” Gaylor Baird said. “We do hard things in Lincoln and Lancaster County, and it’s because of the people in this room.”
The Victory Park Senior Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays, with lunch served at 11:30 a.m. The Schmieding Center for Active Living will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Aging Partners offices will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/hundreds-gather-to-celebrate-opening-of-lincolns-new-senior-center-location/article_9f62179e-e541-11ed-bed4-ebf0bac752fc.html | 2023-04-28T01:37:37 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/hundreds-gather-to-celebrate-opening-of-lincolns-new-senior-center-location/article_9f62179e-e541-11ed-bed4-ebf0bac752fc.html |
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Dauphin County man was arrested and charged following a brief police chase.
On Thursday, April 27, Upper Allen Police attempted a traffic stop on a car driven by Jacob Bucher, 37, from Harrisburg for a vehicle code violation.
Instead of pulling over, Bucher reportedly continued driving for four minutes, traveling 1.8 miles, while multiple police cars followed with lights and sirens on.
Eventually, Bucher pulled into a parking lot where he refused to comply with lawful orders. He was eventually taken into custody and resisted arrest.
Bucher has been transported to Cumberland County Central Booking where he awaits arraignment.
Upper Allen Police were assisted by Lower Allen Police and Pennsylvania State Police. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/harrisburg-man-arrested-fleeing-resisting-arrest-slow-speed-chase/521-c6d9f3d9-8f9e-488a-88a9-d2369b21ec24 | 2023-04-28T01:44:16 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/harrisburg-man-arrested-fleeing-resisting-arrest-slow-speed-chase/521-c6d9f3d9-8f9e-488a-88a9-d2369b21ec24 |
The southbound and northbound lanes of Interstate 19 are closed in Tucson, the Arizona Department of Transportation announced at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 27.
The closure is due to a crash at milepost 59.
Motorists are advised to expect delays and seek an alternate route.
There is no estimated time to reopen the highway.
Real-time highway conditions are available:
On ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov;
On the AZ511 app;
By calling 511;
Or on ADOT’s Twitter feed, @ArizonaDOT. | https://tucson.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/crash-closes-interstate-19-in-tucson/article_9443d34c-e560-11ed-8283-ab770a6bca6e.html | 2023-04-28T01:51:53 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/crash-closes-interstate-19-in-tucson/article_9443d34c-e560-11ed-8283-ab770a6bca6e.html |
The St. Augustine Prep golf team defeated Ocean City and Hammonton in a Cape-Atlantic League tri-match Thursday at Buena Vista Country Club
The Hermits (10-4) scored a 164, and the Red Raiders (9-4) shot a 167. The Blue Devils finished with a 173. The Hermits are No. 9 in The Press Elite 11, and Ocean City is ranked 10th.
Alex Zeck (37), Pat O'Hara (39), Ryan Small (43) and Ty Simonet (45) were the top scorers for the Hermits. Alex Bayham (39), Cameron Yoa and Garrett Rowand (41 each) and Ian Crowley (46) scored for Ocean City.
Connor Eberly (40), Nick Iuliucci and Matthew Smith (43 each) and Justin Vivadelli (47) scored for Hammonton.
Wall Twp. 161, No. 2 Mainland Reg. 167
W: Pat Scenna 38, Charlie Corney 39, Boden Pepe 41, Jacob McKee 43
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M: Daniel Herzchel 40, Zachary Freed 40, Keller Tannehill 43, Phil Stefanowicz 44
Birdies: Scenna, Cormey W; Herzchel M
Records: Wall 12-1; Mainland 9-1
No. 8 Shawnee 168, Southern Reg, 176
SH: Connor Breen 40, Graeme Schnarre 43, Alex Henbest 47, Scottie Sari 47
SR: Jackson Bodony 39,Rylan Bouchard 41, Joe Ritchie 45, Brayden Tritsch 46
Records: Shawnee 9-3; Southern 7-5 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/no-9-st-augustine-golf-tops-no-10-ocean-city-hammonton-thursdays-roundup/article_ec802132-e542-11ed-80db-07cb7d805368.html | 2023-04-28T01:53:45 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/no-9-st-augustine-golf-tops-no-10-ocean-city-hammonton-thursdays-roundup/article_ec802132-e542-11ed-80db-07cb7d805368.html |
Embattled Gateway Unified School District hires new superintendent
A former principal at Central Valley High School has been chosen to be the next superintendent of the Gateway Unified School District.
Kyle Turner, currently the principal at Placer High School in Auburn will take over at the district's top administrator on July 1, according to a statement released by the district Thursday afternoon.
The district's attorneys, Kingsley Bogard, sent out a statement Thursday announcing that Turner was chosen by a unanimous vote of the district's board of trustees Wednesday night.
Turner is currently the principal at Placer High School in Auburn. Seven people applied for the job and two were interviewed.
Prior to working as principal at Central Valley High, which is in the Gateway school district, Turner was associate superintendent of instructional services at the Shasta Union High School District, a job he held from 2008 to 2016.
Trustee Dale Wallace said he hope the new superintendent can bring some needed stability to the district.
Steve Henson has served as the district's interim superintendent since the board fired Jim Harrell in December. Three members of the board who had been sworn in that month, Cherill Clifford and Elias and Lindsi Haynes, voted to oust Harrell.
The move caused controversy among residents in the district, leading to a lawsuit against the district, Clifford resigning and a recall initiated against the Hayneses.
The lawsuit also was filed against the three board members who voted to oust Harrell because they voted to set aside a district policy that laid out the process of hiring a new superintendent. The policy included procedures for advertising, recruiting, processing applicants and interviewing them.
The board eventually decided to follow a similar path laid out in the district policy the three trustees had voted not to follow and the lawsuit was dismissed in March.
Clifford also resigned from the board after it was revealed that without approval from the rest of the board, she signed a contract to hire Bryan Caples of Redding as superintendent. Caples, whose credentials to work as an administrator in California had been suspended earlier this year, ran unsuccessfully for Shasta County Superintendent of Schools in 2022.
A group called the Save Gateway Committee last week served Elias and Lindsi Haynes with notices that the committee plans to recall them from office.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today! | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/embattled-gateway-school-district-hires-new-superintendent/70161087007/ | 2023-04-28T02:02:27 | 0 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/embattled-gateway-school-district-hires-new-superintendent/70161087007/ |
Former Red Bluff police lieutenant charged with stalking, burglary, resisting arrest
A former Red Bluff police lieutenant has been charged with burglary, stalking, resisting arrest and related charges in connection with an incident involving his ex-wife last year in Anderson.
Daniel Wayne Flowerdew is scheduled to appear in Shasta County Superior Court on Monday on an arrest warrant that was issued after he was charged March 27, 2023, according to court records.
Flowerdew is charged with felony residential burglary and felony stalking in connection to an incident on May 13, 2022, according to charges filed in court. He is also charged with five misdemeanors, including vandalism, possessing burglary tools and three counts of resisting arrest.
While Flowerdew was initially arrested in May 2022, it took more than 10 months for charges to be filed against him.
The incident began around 12:30 a.m. on May 13, 2022, when a woman called 911 to report something shattered the window of her home in the 2500 block of Jason Court, according to an Anderson Police Department report.
The woman told emergency dispatchers that the person responsible might be Flowerdew. The woman, who is not being identified, said another woman who was visiting her had recently filed for divorce from Flowerdew.
When officer Beau Hamilton arrived at the home on Jason Court, he saw a white GMC Yukon parked nearby on the street that was registered to Flowerdew. As Hamilton was checking out the vehicle, he heard a rustling in nearby bushes, the report says.
He asked the person to come out, but he did not get a reply. By this time, two more officers had arrived. The person in the bushes continued to make rustling noises but would not emerge despite the officers’ orders to come out, the report says.
One officer walked around to get another look into the bushes and Hamilton heard that officer yell, “show me your hands!” the report says.
The officers found Flowerdew down on all fours trying to hide in the bushes. He still did not come out, even though the officers had him at gunpoint and ordered him out of the bushes.
He eventually crawled out of the bushes on all fours. Hamilton wrote in the report that he saw a pair of handcuffs hanging from Flowerdew’s rear waistband. The officers told him to lie flat on the ground, but he did not comply, so all three officers used their body weight to push him down and handcuff him.
When officers searched Flowerdew they found a cell phone, car keys, the handcuffs and a can of pepper spray. After he was placed in a patrol car, police searched his vehicle and found a black leather case containing lock picking tools. Officers also found paperwork with Flowerdew’s name on them and three pieces of retired Red Bluff police identification cards.
The complaint filed by the district attorney’s office said Flowerdew had numerous burglary tools on him, including a picklock, crowbar, screwdriver, vice grip pliers, water pump pliers, a slidehammer, Slim Jim tool, a bump key, master key and a floor safe door puller.
When officers conducted a background check, they found that Flowerdew had an emergency protective order filed against him the day before, on May 12, 2022.
When police asked whether he knew about the order, he told them he was drunk when he received notice of the court documents, the report says. A domestic violence-related restraining order was filed May 17, 2022, against Flowerdew in Alameda County, according to court records there.
When officers asked him why he was outside the home on Jason Court, Flowerdew told them the woman who lived there was having problems with a pedophile, the report says. He also told Hamilton that he did not break the window at the victim’s home.
“I asked him what was going to happen when I received camera footage of him at the house and he stated, ‘It’s not me.’ Flowerdew went on to tell me how he was contacted by Emeryville Police regarding the EPO (emergency protective order) and felt it was ‘f--king bull----,’” Hamilton said in his report.
In an interview with the Record Searchlight, the woman who lived at the home disputed Flowerdew’s account that he was in the area watching for a pedophile. She said she felt Flowerdew threw a “boulder” through her window to get at his ex-wife, who was staying there at the time.
Flowerdew could not be reached for comment. An Anderson police official said he could not comment on the case, but said more information would be forthcoming next week.
The police report says a window to the residence was broken and there was broken glass littered across the floor of the home, near where the window had been broken. There was also a large chunk of concrete in an open dresser drawer in the living room, “and was most likely what was used to break the window,” the report says.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today! | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/ex-police-lieutenant-charged-with-stalking-burglary-resisting-arrest/70159925007/ | 2023-04-28T02:02:33 | 1 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/ex-police-lieutenant-charged-with-stalking-burglary-resisting-arrest/70159925007/ |
Redding Vice Mayor Mezzano, Anderson City Councilor Hunt running for state Assembly
Two North State politicians are running for state Assembly in District 1.
Redding Vice Mayor Mark Mezzano announced his candidacy Wednesday during a news conference at the Sundial Bridge. Family and friends joined Mezzano for the event.
Mezzano joins Anderson City Councilwoman Melissa Hunt, who announced she was running in early March.
They are campaigning for the seat currently held by Megan Dahle.
In February, the Republican from Bieber sent out an email that said she will campaign for the state senate seat currently occupied by her husband, Brian Dahle.
Megan Dahle was first elected to the state Assembly after Republican Brian Dahle assumed office in the state Senate in June 2019 ― a position he had held since 2012.
Brian Dahle lost a bid for the California governor seat when he ran against incumbent Gavin Newsom in 2022. He has not announced future plans or next steps in his political career.
Both Mezzano and Hunt are conservative Republicans who believe some of the important issues that need to be addressed are the economy, homelessness and crime.
Mezzano, who was joined by his wife, Kathy, at Wednesday’s press conference, touted his years of law enforcement experience. Mezzano is a retired California Highway Patrol sergeant.
“We have very little law enforcement representation in Sacramento. I’ve got 29 years with the Highway Patrol and I want to take that experience to Sacramento and work on some of these rules that they’re producing up there. Prop. 47 doesn’t work. We gotta fix it, and that’s my job,” he said.
Passed in 2014, Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for drug and property crimes, is often criticized by law enforcement officials who say it has actually increased those types of crimes. Proponents of Proposition 47 say it allows prisons to focus on serious violent offenders and it also focuses on prevention programs designed to reduce recidivism.
Mezzano also singled out the state’s gas tax, which is a favorite target of North State politicians. California’s gas tax is 54 cents per gallon. He said the tax is especially burdensome on drivers in rural areas.
“I don’t support the gas tax. Why? Because up here we travel farther,” he said.
Mezzano said he can work with Democrats in Sacramento, again citing his work in law enforcement as a reason why.
Hunt, meanwhile, on her website touts her years of service for the city of Anderson. She has been on the City Council since 2007.
Hunt taught school for 14 years prior to her career in government.
“I have formed good working relationships over the years that will last a long time and I plan on doing that in the Assembly!” she writes.
Hunt said her other priorities are forest management, improving mental health services and addressing the fentanyl epidemic.
The primary election is March 5, 2024.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/mezzano-hunt-running-for-state-assembly-district-1-seat/70158177007/ | 2023-04-28T02:02:39 | 1 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/mezzano-hunt-running-for-state-assembly-district-1-seat/70158177007/ |
A doctor affiliated with Mercy Iowa City was killed in Sudan earlier this week
A doctor who traveled to Iowa City several times a year to perform surgery at Mercy Iowa City Hospital was killed in Sudan earlier this week.
Mercy Iowa City confirmed the death of Bushra Sulieman in a press release Thursday.
Sulieman was killed Tuesday in Khartoum, Sudan, CNN reported Wednesday. CNN reported his name as Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman and said he died from fatal stab wounds in front of his home.
“Dr. Sulieman was a well-respected gastroenterologist, surgeon, and colleague and he will be greatly missed,” said Tom Clancy, Mercy Iowa City President and CEO, in the press release. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and will keep them in our prayers.”
Conflict in Sudan broke out earlier April between two Sudanese generals, USA TODAY reported. More than 400 people have died, and 3,700 have been injured. The U.S. evacuated the embassy, comprised of under 100 staff, in the capital of Khartoum Saturday, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Sulieman lived in Sudan, according to the press release, but traveled to Iowa City to practice at Mercy Iowa City’s Gastroenterology Clinic several times a year as well as to perform surgery at the Iowa City hospital. He'd been doing so since February of 2021.
Sulieman was a professor at the University of Khartoum, according to ABC News.
The Sudanese American Medical Association posted on Twitter Tuesday about Sulieman’s death. In it, they referred to Sulieman as the director of the Sudanese American Medical Association’s Sudan office, as well as one its “founders and pillars.”
Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or 319-519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza. | https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/a-doctor-killed-in-sudan-has-ties-to-mercy-iowa-city/70160544007/ | 2023-04-28T02:02:55 | 0 | https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/local/2023/04/27/a-doctor-killed-in-sudan-has-ties-to-mercy-iowa-city/70160544007/ |
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind. — A pregnant woman and her baby died in a crash east of Muncie Thursday evening.
The crash happened on SR 32 at Truitt Road around 6:30 p.m.
The Delaware County Sheriff's Office tells 13News the woman was traveling east on SR 32, waiting in the turn lane to make a lefthand turn. While she was stopped, her car was struck from behind by a black Chevrolet Equinox occupied by two males.
The woman's car was pushed over 100 feet into the westbound lane of SR 32.
Police say the woman, who was six months pregnant, died while medics were taking her to IU Ball Memorial Hospital. Medics delivered her baby, but the child died at the hospital.
The driver of the Equinox, who police say is believed to be a Grant County resident, was taken to the hospital for a blood draw. Police said the woman is from Delaware County.
There was no information about possible charges in the crash at this time.
The crash remains under investigation. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/pregnant-woman-baby-killed-in-delaware-county-muncie-crash/531-14c3a222-d7b8-42f7-bbc3-6a43c5ef1111 | 2023-04-28T02:05:00 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/pregnant-woman-baby-killed-in-delaware-county-muncie-crash/531-14c3a222-d7b8-42f7-bbc3-6a43c5ef1111 |
INDIANAPOLIS — Susie Warden flips through a pile of get well cards. She has hundreds from family, friends, and strangers.
"It's overwhelming," she said while showing off a giant card made with blue construction paper.
"This one, which is kind of funny," she said with a chuckle. "It says, 'Sorry you got into a car accident. I hope you're OK.'"
The 65-year-old mother and grandmother was not in an accident. Instead, she was the unintended victim of a road rage shooting.
It happened on Monday, March 20 while she was working at Sullivan Hardware & Garden on North Keystone Avenue.
Warden said that entire day was unusual. First, her shower wasn't working, she remembered with a laugh.
"That was kind of a drag," she said. "Used bottled water to wash my hair ... So, the day started out kind of weird."
She didn't know the day would become even more unusual when she picked up a shift in the hardware store's gift shop, The Yellow House.
"They didn't have me on the schedule, I was just going in extra because we had work to do," Warden said.
An extra shift at her "happy place."
She worked through the morning and into the afternoon. At the end of her shift, she started working on a broken chime.
At one point, she stopped to talk to one of her daughters on the phone.
"I do thank God that we weren't on the phone when that happened," Warden said. "And I'm glad I wasn't talking to my granddaughter."
Warden wrapped up the call at 3:12 p.m. and turned her attention back to that broken chime.
"Then I heard a big bang," she said, describing a sound that reminded her of an exploding transformer. One noise followed by a second louder boom.
"This is just slow motion in my mind, I'm sure," she said. "But I just looked, and I could see that, that picture the glass was broken. And then I had pain, and I just grabbed my head, and my ears were ringing."
Warden remembers, glass, pain and calling for help.
"I just didn't want to be alone," she said.
A customer came to the worker's side and used tissue paper to help slow the bleeding.
"I went from yelling for somebody to help me to, ‘It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.' And as soon as they got me on the gurney, I said, 'Give me the drugs,'" she remembered with a laugh. "I don't want to feel this anymore."
Warden didn't know what happened until she heard someone in the emergency room say a stray bullet hit her. They said the bullet came from a gun being shot across the street by the Shell gas station.
"And I just remember going, ‘Oh well, that's not possible because it's too far away,'" she said. "So that's all I kept thinking, you guys are wrong. And then they go, ‘Well, there's shrapnel in your head.'"
She's now seen surveillance video showing a man running after a grey van in the gas station parking lot. In the video you can see him firing South in the direction of The Yellow House. One of the bullets traveled several hundred feet across six lanes of traffic and a median before going through a wall and finally hitting Warden. She was behind the register.
Police say the shooter was Marqueses Tipton. Court documents show he left the scene and then came back and admitted to firing the shots. He now faces felony charges including aggravated battery and criminal recklessness. His bond was set at $100,000. On March 27, court records show he posted bond. The Marion County Jail's website shows he was released the next day.
While some in Warden's life are tracking his movements through the justice system, the Indianapolis native said she's not following the case closely.
"I'm not a grudge holder," she said. "I'm not angry. I mean, again, it wasn't about me. It's not personal."
And she doesn't want to have those feelings.
"I don't know him," Warden said. "I don't know his life. I would only assume, you know, that had to be anger that came from somewhere. And I would hope that he could resolve that - for himself. Because I wouldn't want to go around being angry and being so tense ... I would just hope he could get help. To help him find a better way to resolve issues rather than just going right to a gun."
Focusing instead on adjusting to her new life. A life without her left eye.
Doctors said they could try to save it, but it would have required several surgeries. Warden wasn't interested. She already had knee and other surgeries in the last few years.
"I don't want to do any more surgery than I have to do," she said. "And I just said, ‘Just take it.'"
Her left eye was removed two days after the shooting.
An eye Warden said was causing her problems before the shooting. A cataract procedure was starting to fail.
"There's another miracle," she said. "If I had to lose one. I'm glad it was that one."
Warden is currently taking steps to get a prosthetic eye. To be clear, she would prefer to have kept both her eyes, but her mantra is to see the good. The phrase is even hanging on her front door.
One way she does that is by watching her body heal.
"I take a picture of myself every day," she said.
The ritual started while she was in the hospital. The first pictures show swelling, severe bruising, dried blood and scars. But now pictures show the swelling and scaring has faded.
Sullivan's employee tracks recovery from March shooting with daily picture
"Every day it's just a little bit better," she said.
Pictures of progress and precious moments with loved ones, like the one showing her granddaughter with her on the couch. The 9-year-old read the get well cards before Warden could read them herself.
There are also photos with friends. Including with the friend who lived with her for a week and those who brought food and planted daffodils and hyacinths while she was still in the hospital.
On her 65th birthday, she had a big smile on her face and Burger King crown on her head.
"Sometimes, if people ask me how I'm doing," she said. "I send them today's picture and go, 'Check it out, you know, not so bad.'"
The images show Warden celebrating life.
"I just think people need to know, I'm okay," she said. "And it's going to be okay."
A month after the shooting, she goes out for walks and meals with friends. She's positive, but also a realist.
Her day-to-day has changed. She deals with daily pain and doesn't like being less independent since she's not comfortable driving yet.
"That's kind of a drag, because I'm a ... I like to do things," she said. "So, it's kind of an adjustment for me, and I'm not good for asking for help."
Luckily for her, many people have offered assistance. That outpouring of love and support is why she thinks she has such a positive attitude.
"I try to look on the bright side, maybe a little too much for some people's liking, but that's just me," she said. "I've always been like that. So that hasn't changed."
While life has changed, she's not letting the shooting change her core. She's grateful to be alive, pointing out she's lucky the bullet didn't hit her brain. Thankful for the family, friends and strangers who've cared for her.
Like the woman who stayed until the ambulance arrived. Warden has yet to meet her.
"She probably doesn't think it was much, but it was a lot to me," she said.
Thankful for the people who made quilts and had a prayer shawl blessed. Also glad she has dozens of cards that make her smile and laugh from the children attending St. Pius X Catholic School.
One child even made a card that brought Sullivan Hardware to her. It's a bifold card that has the store name on the outside. The flaps are doors that when opened show drawings of shelves, good and even a register.
"I just thought that was so cute," Warden said with a laugh. "This is obviously a child that's been to Sullivan's."
A month after the shooting and she hasn't returned to the store, but she plans to go back for a visit and to work.
The hardware store is waiting. Staff continue to collect get well gifts – everything from cards, money, and trinkets.
Recently, friends even started a GoFundMe page to help with her future medical expenses.
"There's still good people out there," Warden said. "I still believe there's more good people than bad people. And I think this just proves it." | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/sullivans-hardware-shooting-victim-shares-recovery-seeing-good/531-3f6dd09e-3315-4dbc-ab8f-ed45401dc2bc | 2023-04-28T02:05:07 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/sullivans-hardware-shooting-victim-shares-recovery-seeing-good/531-3f6dd09e-3315-4dbc-ab8f-ed45401dc2bc |
WATERLOO — All Waterloo Community Schools' buildings will be closed on Friday due to district-wide professional development.
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Prior to 2022 and 2023, Director Kyle Engelhardt said the closest the band came to winning it all was in 1991 under the direction of Jim Gosnell. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/no-school-in-waterloo-friday/article_b004584d-eb69-5f2b-8072-4a557b315244.html | 2023-04-28T02:10:17 | 1 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/no-school-in-waterloo-friday/article_b004584d-eb69-5f2b-8072-4a557b315244.html |
Horizon Bank made $18.2 million in the first quarter, a 22.8% drop year-over-year.
The Michigan City-based bank earned $21.2 million in the fourth quarter and $23.6 million in the first quarter of 2022. It earned $0.42 a share in the first quarter, as compared to $0.48 in the fourth quarter and $0.54 in the first quarter of last year.
Horizon Bank is marking a major milestone this year.
“Horizon Bank is proud to announce reaching a significant new milestone of our 150th anniversary of continuous banking operations. We have planned celebrations to honor this occasion throughout the year and, as we like to say, we are 150 years strong,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Craig M. Dwight said.
The bank's loans grew 2.1% as compared to the previous quarter and 8.3% at an annualized rate due to growth in its commercial, consumer and residential business.
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“Our enduring relationships with in–market clients and our advisors' focus on serving local businesses, consumers and communities are reflected in Horizon's stable deposits, growing loans and low credit costs in the first quarter,” Dwight said. “Our organization's long–standing 150 year commitment to operational excellence and effective technology implementation was also evident in Horizon's first quarter results, including meaningful non–interest expense reductions and earnings per share of $0.42. Given our strong depositor relationships and lending opportunities in attractive Midwest markets, ample sources of liquidity, active balance sheet management, and talented advisors, we believe Horizon is very well positioned for continued success for 2023 and beyond."
Horizon Bank's deposits totaled $5.7 billion at the end of the first quarter. That's a $155.8 million decline due largely to a $122.2 million reduction in balances for municipal governments that continue to do business with the bank.
The bank's consumer and commercial deposits declined by $33.6 million to $4.28 billion in the first quarter. About 75% of the bank's deposits are insured by the FDIC or collateralized.
Most deposit accounts exceed 10 years and average less than $25,000 for consumer and commercial depositors and less than $195,000 for all accounts, including large public depositors.
The bank's loan-to-deposit ratio reached 74.5% at the end of the quarter. Its annualized dividend yield was 5.79% and its boost value per share was $16.11 at the end of the first quarter, up from $15.55 as compared to the same time last year. | https://nwitimes.com/business/local/horizon-bank-profit-falls-by-22-8-year-over-year/article_e8c1ba8c-e45d-11ed-a62a-83856880df40.html | 2023-04-28T02:10:53 | 1 | https://nwitimes.com/business/local/horizon-bank-profit-falls-by-22-8-year-over-year/article_e8c1ba8c-e45d-11ed-a62a-83856880df40.html |
BESSEMER, Ala. (WIAT) — A former outlet shopping center in Bessemer is looking for a new owner.
WaterMark Place, once an outlet shopping center in the early 2000s, is on the market for $13.9 million dollars.
Over the years, it has been used for different things, such as weddings, events, and movies. Most recently, the 42 acres, 200,000 square feet property was used for the film “Gunner” starring Morgan Freeman.
Tundra Pippens and Kathy Dooley, who are marketing the property, tell CBS 42 they have received lots of interest from potential buyers.
“We’ve had people from out of state who have flown in to see it; we’ve had a couple of calls, and it has only been listed for a very short period of time,” Dooley said. “We’re showing it to some developers who are flying in this weekend, so it’s almost daily that we’re getting notifications of interested people.”
General manager of Watermark Place Jennifer Voltz says the location of Watermark is also appealing to potential buyers.
“We are 15 minutes away from downtown Birmingham, the airport, and the opposite end; you can get to Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, and Huntsville, so it is a perfectly located property that can be used for many things,” Voltz said.
Potential buyers have expressed making the property a major retail store or senior living facility. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/bessemers-watermark-place-on-the-market-for-13-9-million-dollars/ | 2023-04-28T02:14:09 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/bessemers-watermark-place-on-the-market-for-13-9-million-dollars/ |
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