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An initiative started by nurses at Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) is keeping surgical wrap from the hospital out of the landfill and finding new uses for it across Arizona. Known as the Blue Wrap Project, the effort has been able to repurpose about 60,000 pounds of this material so far.
The Blue Wrap Project started in August of 2019, when some nurses noticed the amount of waste created by surgical wrap. The hospital had run out of the plastic bags given to patients for their belongings and they were discussing alternatives.
“An OR [operating room] tech had come out and he was like, ‘like this?’” said PACU RN Kylie Link, one of the nurses behind the project. “We were just shocked…I said, ‘how much of it do you have?’ and he’s like, 'oh my gosh, bags and bags every day.'”
The material was blue surgical wrap -- a plastic material (most similar to the reusable bags sold in stores, Link said) that is used to keep surgical instruments sterile. Wrap-covered trays are taken into the OR before the patient and the cloth -- still clean -- is removed and disposed of. Usually, that means it's thrown away.
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"They can be fairly huge trays, [with] a couple yards of material wrapping these trays,” Link said. “They take them off and in the past, they were just taking the sterile, clean material and throwing it in the trash.”
After the idea was cleared by Infection Control, they began sewing bags as a trial to present to FMC as part of a mini grant application. This was toward the end of 2019, so the pandemic meant some changes to the plan.
“We were making some progress, and then COVID hit and we ended up with just tons of material during COVID,” said another project leader, PACU RN Sylvia Goldberg.
The wrap was still being collected -- a total of around a ton (2,000 pounds) each month -- so they began to think of other ways to use it. This included volunteers sewing the bags and, later, donations to places like animal shelters, schools and the Ballet Folklorico de Colores.
Through these effort, the material has been used to make items ranging from garment bags to dog beds to personal protective equipment. Goldberg said she even used some to make sandbags last year when her home began flooding and she didn’t have time to pick them up elsewhere.
Around this time, local nonprofit Threaded Together’s volunteers started making masks with the surgical wrap and two truckloads of extra material were sent south to be used in a tech school, hospital and refugee camp.
One of the biggest things this project has done, Link said, is raise awareness: “I don’t think anybody had a clue [how much was being used] until we started gathering this material,” she said.
The hospital has recently replaced some of its surgical trays with reusable ones, halving the amount of blue wrap it uses. The mini grant for the project is being used to collect data on how much blue wrap FMC uses and helps pay three sewists to make the patient belongings bags (65 a week), still aided by about 10 volunteers and the OR techs involved in gathering the material.
The project has also helped replace the single-use plastic bags previously used for patient belongings, and the money saved from medical disposal fees (over $17,000 so far) combined with the low-cost bag design (about $1 per bag) means it's cost-neutral for the hospital and is even saving it some money.
“I think it opens the door for not only FMC, but many hospitals," Goldberg said. "…It’s not just our hospital, it’s a national problem...I’m hoping FMC will become a leader going forward with sustainability projects and issues.”
This is especially important, the nurses said, as climate change continues.
“Our natural resources really aren’t going to last forever unless we start changing some of our ways -- as a society, as corporations, as everything,” Goldberg said. “It’s all over, you can see what’s happening to our forests. ...If we don’t have a healthy environment to live in, from our groundwater to our food quality, to everything, we're not ultimately going to be healthy as people."
Their hope for the program is that it will continue to grow and “become just a normal thing,” with Link specifically noting the importance of new ideas.
“I’m sure there are organizations out there that can make a huge difference if their employees are recognizing where these things can happen. …It really just takes a creative mind to upcycle,” Link said.
“I really think we need to teach the next generation [that] everything’s not disposable, let’s make some changes, because they’re the ones that have to live in this world even longer than us and I want it to be a good world,” Goldberg added.
Organizations can request up to two 40-pound bags of blue wrap for reuse through the Blue Wrap Project. More about the project, including a request form, can be found by searching Blue Wrap Project at nahealth.com or by emailing bluewrapproject@nahealth.com. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-medical-center-project-finds-new-uses-for-surgical-wrap/article_2f843486-f0e4-11ec-8dcc-339a04aec04d.html | 2022-06-23T01:48:24 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-medical-center-project-finds-new-uses-for-surgical-wrap/article_2f843486-f0e4-11ec-8dcc-339a04aec04d.html |
The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona held its third hearing Tuesday for Matthew Riser, the man charged with allegedly lighting a fire on the Coconino National Forest last weekend near where the Pipeline Fire started.
The United States dismissed the charges against Riser for possessing marijuana, without prejudice, which means they still have the potential to be refiled at some point.
This leaves Riser with two charges: lighting a fire during restrictions and residing on the national forest, both Class B misdemeanors. The possession charge had been a Class A misdemeanor.
Riser has also been released with conditions as a result of this hearing, pending acceptance to a working alternative program for housing. This would be similar to a home detention. Conditions include electronic monitoring, a ban from the national forests (including the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests) and a requirement to stay within Flagstaff city limits.
These conditions, judge Camille Bibles said, help address earlier concerns of flight risk and Riser’s lack of a stable residence that had kept him in detention following his last hearing.
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Sentences resulting from a failure to appear or crimes committed during release would run after any sentences for the original charges. Violating the conditions or being discharged from the working alternative would also mean a return to custody.
“Your honor, I’ve never been put in a box like that in my life,” Riser said, referring to detention, when asked if he was able to meet the conditions. “I don’t want to be put in a box. ...I’ve lived free in the woods of Alaska, [Arizona] and Louisiana. It’s the worst experience of my life -- I will do anything to make sure it never happens again.”
Riser’s next status hearing will take place Wednesday, July 6. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/release-with-conditions-for-riser-after-third-hearing-in-flagstaff/article_4c7704b0-f19d-11ec-9b41-d3f280d3fdc0.html | 2022-06-23T01:48:30 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/release-with-conditions-for-riser-after-third-hearing-in-flagstaff/article_4c7704b0-f19d-11ec-9b41-d3f280d3fdc0.html |
DES MOINES, Iowa — Tune in to Local 5 tonight at 10 p.m. to learn more.
Iowa Democrats are continuing the fight to keep their caucus first in the nation this week. The party will make its case before the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee Thursday morning.
"I feel very good about our presentation," said Scott Brennan, the sole Iowan on the committee. "We've got really good folks presenting. I think we'll make a very compelling case."
Brennan says Iowa's Democrats listened to the criticism from the public and the committee on what needed to change in its caucus. He believes the proposals outlined in the application will address those concerns.
Here's what the Iowa Democratic Party has outlined as those changes:
● A process for non-present participation which would be conducted primarily through mail or in-person participation over a 14 to 28 day window prior to caucus night.
For example, in a hypothetical scenario, an Iowa Democratic Caucus goer would request a presidential preference card, they would be mailed that card and then have 14-28 days to either mail it back or return it in person.
This proposal would eliminate realignment so that each caucus goer would express a preference for only one candidate.
● At the caucus, the Iowa Democratic Party would report the results publicly, and caucuses would focus primarily on conducting party business — particularly electing delegates to county conventions as determined by the non-present participation precinct-level results.
This would separate the expression of presidential preference from the election of delegates in order to streamline the process.
● The process would be professionalized to reduce the burden on volunteers. The DNC would contract an approved election vendor, a county auditor or the Secretary of State’s office to ensure a fair and trustworthy process.
Brennan said non-present participation in the caucus would make the event more accessible.
"If you're working, or if you're in the military, or living abroad, or have disabilities, or mobility issues or transportation issues, it's just hard to get there," said Steffen Schmidt, an Iowa State University Professor of Political Science Emeritus.
When it comes to getting rid of realignment, Schmidt believes this would help ease the confusion of attendees.
"Iowa was the only state that has that physical 'go into this corner or that corner,' which is what made it so charming," Schmidt said. "But it does take a lot of work, and maybe in 2024 we're too far into the 21st century to do that anymore."
So with all these changes, how does Schmidt anticipate the state will fare?
"I think Iowa is not going to be first in the nation. I think the DNC will probably pick a small group of states," Schmidt said.
He predicted that, if a small group of states were to be chosen, it would cover all the nation's regions, even predicting a few states that could be included: South Carolina, Nevada, Iowa and more.
"So it might be a group of states that does this first," Schmidt said. "And Iowa will probably be one of those, I'm hoping, because it has a great tradition. And Iowans really take their politics seriously."
Iowa will present its case Thursday morning at 8:25 a.m. CST. You can watch the presentation here. | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/local-politics/democrats-push-to-keep-iowas-first-caucus-status-dnc-scott-brennan-politics-iowa/524-43dac38e-5dcd-4dfe-9a15-b0bd5b56c1df | 2022-06-23T01:48:41 | 1 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/local-politics/democrats-push-to-keep-iowas-first-caucus-status-dnc-scott-brennan-politics-iowa/524-43dac38e-5dcd-4dfe-9a15-b0bd5b56c1df |
ATLANTIC CITY — City Council passed a resolution in support of casino workers in their quest for a fair wage, and to "urge casino employers to raise wages and staffing and negotiate in good faith to avert a strike."
The resolution passed unanimously at council's Wednesday night meeting.
The threat of a strike is happening as the city prepares to host the national NAACP convention July 14 to 21.
Councilman Kaleem Shabazz also will hold a news conference in support of casino workers and their union, Unite Here Local 54, at 11 a.m. Thursday in the lobby of City Hall.
"Our hope is there doesn't have to be a strike," said Shabazz. "Workers need to make livable wages."
He said a strike would be disastrous and make national news.
ATLANTIC CITY — The owner of the former Atlantic Club, who purchased the long-shuttered casi…
"We don't need that," said Shabazz, especially with the NAACP convention coming.
As president of the hosting chapter of the NAACP, Shabazz has a lot riding on the success of the national convention.
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Members of Local 54 authorized their negotiating committee to call a July 1 strike against Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and the three casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment — Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and Tropicana Atlantic City — and a July 3 strike against Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, if new contracts are not in place by then.
The union says it is seeking “significant” wage increases in the next contract to help workers deal with financial setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic and rapidly rising prices.
The economic benefits of hosting the NAACP convention are expected to be substantial, according to Larry Sieg, executive director of the agency that works to bring conventions to town, Meet AC.
“Not only is it going to garner national and international media attention, we are looking at over 8,000 attendees — 7,700-plus room nights for hotel properties, $9.3 million in economic impact,” Sieg has said.
ATLANTIC CITY — Bail reform and the COVID-19 pandemic have hampered the city’s ability to cu…
The convention will be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center, and there will be events around the city and at the Atlantic City Country Club in Northfield, according to organizers.
Registration will be open to all, not just NAACP members, they said.
Council on Wednesday also passed two ordinances to double fines for littering and dumping debris on city streets and sidewalks, and one to raise the cost of a jitney ride from $2.25 to $2.50.
A detailed discussion of the city's proposed $236 million budget was also expected but did not happen. Some council members talked about holding a special meeting next week to consider the budget and handle other matters.
Ordinance 27 amends existing city law to increase first littering offense fines from $500 to $1,000; and fines for second offenses and subsequent offenses from $1,000 to $2,000, plus community service. After a third offense, punishment could include 90 days in jail for each additional offense.
Councilmen Muhammad Zia and MD Hossain Morshed, who represent the 4th and 5th wards, are sponsors of both anti-littering ordinances.
ATLANTIC CITY — City Council finally received a detailed 2022 city budget that includes how …
Both have repeatedly asked the administration to address quality-of-life problems in their wards, such as broken street lighting, poor upkeep of properties, lack of parking for residents, and trash on the streets.
Current fines have not been a deterrent, according to the wording of the ordinance, but it does not say how often tickets have been issued for littering or how much enforcement of existing law has taken place.
A request for information from a police spokesperson about how often littering tickets have been issued was not answered Wednesday.
Ordinance 28 addresses fines for creating obstructions on city streets or sidewalks by dumping trash, building materials and other debris. Upon conviction, the fine would be any amount up to $2,000 for each offense and/or 90 days in jail.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic-city-council-pushes-for-higher-wages-for-casino-workers-to-avert-strike/article_893e3722-f230-11ec-8087-7fc65efdc6e4.html | 2022-06-23T01:48:43 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic-city-council-pushes-for-higher-wages-for-casino-workers-to-avert-strike/article_893e3722-f230-11ec-8087-7fc65efdc6e4.html |
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved two ordinances related to cannabis, one to allow a single retail cannabis license in the township and another setting a framework for how the municipality will evaluate license applications.
That ordinance also sets a nonrefundable fee of $2,500 for the review of applications for support of a cannabis business.
Under New Jersey’s cannabis regulations, a show of municipal support is part of the application process for a state license. So far, only those businesses that already held a license to distribute cannabis to those with medical marijuana cards have been approved to sell to the new recreational market, which means there are no dispensaries in Cape May County.
Middle Township has moved cautiously on legal weed. The Township Committee has supported an application for a medical marijuana facility, but last summer approved an ordinance banning any retail sales for the adult use market.
“I thought that as a group that you were not in favor of … recreational use marijuana being sold in the township. Now it appears that you are, with certain restrictions,” resident Stanley Doniger said at the meeting. “Could you help me to understand what changed your mind about that?”
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“I was never on the record publicly as being opposed to a dispensary in Middle Township,” responded Mayor Tim Donohue. Rather, he said, the township did not have enough information about the state rules under which the new market would operate before a state-imposed deadline of Aug. 22 for towns to take action on the issue.
As expected, lines stretched well out the front doors of The Botanist in Egg Harbor Township…
He said towns that enacted strict rules, such as Middle Township’s ban on retail sales, could ease those rules later, but they would not be able to enact stricter rules once voting to allow sales.
The state established six classes of licenses for the recreational cannabis market. Last October, the township approved allowing the cultivation and manufacturing of cannabis products in the township.
The new ordinance would allow a class five license, allowing sales to customers over 21.
In many communities, governing bodies have limited cannabis businesses to specific locations. Middle Township opted to leave that up to the business owner. According to Donohue, the business would be allowed in any commercial zone, as long as it followed established zoning restrictions and state laws.
Several potential business owners have asked about locating a cannabis dispensary in the township, Donohue said. Several beach communities, including each of the Wildwoods, have said no to allowing cannabis sales, so the township could someday be a prime spot for summer business.
West Cape May and Lower Township have also said yes to allowing retail weed sales, and West Cape May has already endorsed two applications. As Donohue put it, West Cape May has a head start, but even then, he said, the first store will likely not be open for at least a year.
Once seen as a vice for rebels, outlaws and musicians, cannabis has gone mainstream, becomin…
New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission has begun issuing licenses for grow facilities that will stock the new, legal market. Cannabis retailers will not be able to bring anything in from other states; it must be grown in New Jersey or businesses will run afoul of federal law.
Massachusetts-based cannabis company Insa has plans to locate a growing facility for medical marijuana and recreational cannabis on Indian Trail Road in the Goshen section of the township, at the site of a former seafood processing plant.
Steve Reilly, the co-owner of the company, attended the Wednesday meeting but did not speak publicly. After the meeting, he said the plans are being finalized for the building, but the project still awaits license approval from the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. He said he may hear more sometime this summer.
He said his company may be interested in applying for the dispensary license in the township. Once the township government lends its support to a license application, it would still need approval from the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
At the meeting, Donohue said the township would continue to move slowly on the issue. If cannabis retail proves to be a good fit, he suggested the committee could look at allowing additional licenses in the future.
Communities are allowed to add local taxes to cannabis sales, which could mean a boost to future budgets. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/middle-township-says-yes-to-one-cannabis-retailer/article_8ab2f746-f28f-11ec-bd8d-7fb928fd8616.html | 2022-06-23T01:48:49 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/middle-township-says-yes-to-one-cannabis-retailer/article_8ab2f746-f28f-11ec-bd8d-7fb928fd8616.html |
ABILENE, Texas — UPDATE (7:32 p.m. Wednesday):
APD: The 13-year-old male driver of the stolen vehicle in this fatal crash was released from the hospital this evening. He was immediately taken to the police department and interviewed. He has been charged with theft of property, evading arrest, directive to apprehend and murder. He was transported to the Taylor County Juvenile Detention Center.
The 14-year-old male was transported to a Lubbock hospital for treatment of burns to his body. The 15-year-old male was treated at Hendrick Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries.
After further investigation, traffic investigators determined the 13-year-old deceased was not ejected in the crash as was originally reported.
The names of the individuals will be withheld due to their ages. This investigation is ongoing.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A 13-year-old boy died early Wednesday morning after being ejected from a car that crashed into a traffic pole. Abilene Police say the car was stolen earlier Wednesday morning.
The APD's Traffic Division is investigating the fatal crash involving the stolen car and four teenagers, one of whom died after being taken to the hospital.
At 3:09 a.m. Wednesday, a 2018 Audi S5 coupe was reported to have been involved in a crash by the car’s Bosch system (similar to OnStar), which showed the crash was in the 1300 block of Ross Avenue, but responding officers were unable to find the car.
At approximately 3:40 a.m., a concerned parent reported their son and others were livestreaming on social media in a stolen Audi. It was believed the teens were headed to the Dallas area.
At approximately 3:50 a.m., the owner of the stolen Audi called to report his car missing from his home on Highland Avenue.
At approximately 3:57 a.m., the Callahan County Sheriff’s Office reported a theft at a Clyde convenience store, where it was believed the teens in the stolen Audi were involved. At that time, the last known direction of travel was westbound towards Abilene.
At approximately 4:07 a.m., Abilene Police officers found the occupied car at a north side hotel near Highway 351 and Interstate 20. The car hit an unoccupied patrol vehicle. A second officer at the scene activated the vehicle’s emergency lights in an attempt to stop the stolen car. The driver did not stop and left the hotel's parking lot, going westbound on Highway 351 toward Ambler Avenue.
Officers did not actively chase the stolen car, which was reportedly last seen westbound on Ambler Avenue.
At approximately 4:09 a.m., the Audi was involved in a major vehicle crash at the intersection of Ambler Avenue and Treadaway Boulevard. The car was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed when it crashed - hitting a traffic pole.
The officers and MetroCare, who were nearby, immediately started rendering aid, extracting the injured and fire suppression.
The APD said there were four teenagers in the car:
• 13-year-old boy, who was driving the vehicle
• 13-year-old boy, who died after being ejected from the vehicle (reported runaway)
• 14-year-old boy
• 15-year-old boy (reported runaway)
The 13-year-old driver of the stolen car faces multiple felony charges and the APD said there may be other charges related to the incident, pending the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the department’s Investigations Bureau at 325-676-6610.
The Abilene Independent School District released a statement Wednesday morning regarding the death of one of its students:
"The Abilene ISD Family is incredibly saddened by the death of one of our students who passed away early this morning in an off-campus accident. Our deepest condolences go out to this student’s family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the families and friends of three other students who were injured in this accident.
Abilene ISD crisis response staff and guidance counselors will be available to provide support to those affected by this tragedy at two summer school campuses, Clack and Craig middle schools, until 3:00 p.m. today and tomorrow. We also encourage our parents to take this opportunity to support and talk with your students about what happened and to listen to feelings they may have.
Please contact us if there is anything we can do to support you or your child at this time." | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/13-year-old-boy-dies-after-being-ejected-from-stolen-vehicle-that-hit-a-traffic-pole/504-fd9f4edd-23bb-4c2d-9d4e-a5d823140d71 | 2022-06-23T01:49:06 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/13-year-old-boy-dies-after-being-ejected-from-stolen-vehicle-that-hit-a-traffic-pole/504-fd9f4edd-23bb-4c2d-9d4e-a5d823140d71 |
BRYAN, Texas — A person is scam calling and requesting over-the-phone payments from people in the Brazos community.
Brazos County Sheriff's Office is asking everyone to be cautious when they receive a call that shows their office. The scam call will show up as their office when you receive it.
The caller is making threats to arrest people unless a payment is made over the phone. Authorities said there are reports of the caller requesting you to dial 979-361-5175 or you will be arrested.
Brazos County Sheriff’s Office said they will never ask you for a payment over the phone.
Brazos County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone receiving threats to make over-the-phone payments, to call the non-emergency dispatch at 979-361-3888.
Authorities are asking you to be cautious of callers that attempt to keep you on the phone or make threats for payment. You could be also threatened to become arrested if you hang up on them. If you receive this scam call do not give any information to the caller and end the call. | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/brazos-county-sheiffs-warning-you-about-scam-calls/499-4c6c66c2-1947-42a4-b27a-29c62ce882ad | 2022-06-23T01:50:56 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/brazos-county-sheiffs-warning-you-about-scam-calls/499-4c6c66c2-1947-42a4-b27a-29c62ce882ad |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It could be a matter of hours before the country learns whether the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. If a majority of justices decide to do so, it would effectively dismantle a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion and put that decision in the hands of each individual state.
Ahead of that, the California March for Life drew anti-abortion demonstrators to the Capitol Wednesday morning, where they held a rally and march.
"Equal rights for the unborn!" anti-abortion demonstrators chanted as they took to the streets around the state Capitol, protesting what they call California's "pro-abortion extremism."
"I want to show my daughters that they can stand up for what they believe in,” Bakersfield demonstrator Kimberly Rasmussen said. “I worry about their safety if they ever decided - God forbid - that they have an abortion."
She said she hopes the U.S. Supreme Court decides to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"I'm hoping the choice is given back local, that we're allowed to govern ourselves locally,” she said.
Meanwhile, several dozen counter-protesters stood on the sidewalk, voicing support for abortion rights and criticizing the stance of the people participating in the California March for Life.
"The March for Life really doesn't represent human life. They care about, supposedly, the lives of babies, but it's not really about babies,” said Reiko Redmonde, who came from the Bay Area with the group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights. “It's really about suppressing women and taking away women's rights to choose whether – and when – to have a child, if they want."
Speakers at the California March for Life rally criticized bills going through the state Legislature right now that would strengthen abortion rights and access in California. However, Democratic Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, chair of the California Legislative Women's Caucus, said these bills are important and necessary.
"Our rights have been under attack for so long that we just need to be prepared,” Garcia told ABC10.
While people who attended this rally are hoping Roe v. Wade will be overturned, there were nuanced differences of opinion.
"For me, in the case the mother's life is in danger, that's a completely different story,” said anti-abortion demonstrator Max Bonilla.
If Roe is overturned, California March for Life co-organizer Jonathan Keller, president of the California Family Council, said the work won't be done
"There will need to be more efforts to show love and support for families and especially for moms and children,” he said.
Counter-protesters, on the other hand, said if Roe is overturned, people should take to the streets and demonstrate.
“Even in the state of California, even where abortion will remain legal, we have to stand up and defend reproductive rights across this country,” said Vine Sanchez, with Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights.
The U.S. Supreme Court will publish several decisions starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, so 7 a.m. here in California. Whether one of those opinions is the case threatening the future of Roe v. Wade won’t be known until Thursday morning.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/protests/california-march-life-draws-abortion-protesters/103-c2a98912-70d8-4311-8d6a-4ed3bbdb4bf4 | 2022-06-23T01:52:28 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/protests/california-march-life-draws-abortion-protesters/103-c2a98912-70d8-4311-8d6a-4ed3bbdb4bf4 |
TRACY, Calif. — Tracy police say attempted murder charges are pending for a suspect in connection with an attack on Monday at Tracy park.
Officials say the attack happened at El Pescadero Park and left a 32-year-old hospitalized in critical condition.
It was the second assault at the park in just three weeks. Police say 27-year-old Deandre Goodman was taken into custody without incident on Wednesday and booked into jail.
Goodman was allegedly apprehended at a Motel 6 with two pounds of methamphetamine and firearms.
Also as a result of the raid on the Motel 6, police called in Code Enforcement officials for assistance because of the condition of the motel rooms. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/suspect-arrested-in-tracy-park-attack/103-33386cef-25ff-4536-b544-db9f66eaccd9 | 2022-06-23T01:52:34 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/suspect-arrested-in-tracy-park-attack/103-33386cef-25ff-4536-b544-db9f66eaccd9 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The head of a trust established to pay billions of dollars to victims of wildfires caused by Pacific Gas & Electric equipment is resigning even as payouts continue to lag.
John Trotter, a retired California appellate court judge, announced Tuesday that he is resigning as trustee of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust as of June 30.
Trotter headed the fund since it was established in 2020 and said he had promised his family he would step down after two years. Cathy Yanni, who served as the fund's claims administrator, will become the new trustee.
"Throughout these past two years, we have devoted our fulltime attention to addressing the financial and other hardships of thousands of deserving fire victims," Trotter said in a letter to fire victims. "As stated above, progress has been made, but there is still more to be done."
He promised the transition would be "seamless" and wouldn't interrupt processing claims.
The trust was established to provide $13.5 billion to compensate some 70,000 victims of Northern California wildfires in 2015, 2017 and 2018, including a 2018 blaze that killed 85 people and largely destroyed the town of Paradise, northeast of San Francisco.
The fires were blamed on PG&E's long-neglected electrical grid, and the company was forced into bankruptcy, from which it emerged in 2020.
The trust is run independently of PG&E but is funded by money and stock in the nation's second-largest utility, which could be sold. However, PG&E share prices have sagged and the trust is about $2 billion short of its required funding.
Last year, the trust sought a $1.5 billion loan from the state but it hasn't been granted.
In his letter, Trotter said 250,000 claims have been filed, including 400 death claims and more than 100,000 for emotional distress. The trust has authorized about $4.5 billion in payments, he said.
Trotter told the Sacramento Bee on Wednesday that some fire victims are frustrated with the pace of payments.
"We walked into a situation where we could not meet the unrealistic expectations," he said.
Trotter's resignation announcement comes two months after the trust parted ways with Patrick McCallum, a lobbyist it hired to help secure the state loan. That followed news reports that the California State University system paid $600,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a former school provost who said she faced retaliation for reporting complaints by female university employees that McCallum sexually harassed them at a party. McCallum denied the allegations.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/head-pge-wildfire-victim-trust-fund-resigns/103-133dce05-7e54-426d-86ba-da42054e6e91 | 2022-06-23T01:52:40 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/head-pge-wildfire-victim-trust-fund-resigns/103-133dce05-7e54-426d-86ba-da42054e6e91 |
Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry will seek a fifth consecutive term next year.
Henry, a Democrat, made the announcement during a news conference today at Clyde Theatre.
Henry was first elected mayor in 2007. He was re-elected in 2011, 2015 and 2019.
Before becoming mayor, Henry served on City Council for from 1984 through 2003. He lost in 2003 to Republican Tom Didier, who announced last year he will seek the Republican nomination for mayor in 2023.
If Henry is elected next year, he would become the city's longest-serving mayor after serving two years of his term.
Mayor William Hosey served 17 years from 1906 through 1909, 1914 through 1917, 1922 through 1925 and 1930 through 1934.
For more on this story, visit www.journalgazette.net later today or see Thursday's print edition of The Journal Gazette. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/henry-to-seek-5th-consecutive-term-as-mayor/article_626ed160-f26c-11ec-acc1-bbdcf27cf3e6.html | 2022-06-23T01:53:03 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/henry-to-seek-5th-consecutive-term-as-mayor/article_626ed160-f26c-11ec-acc1-bbdcf27cf3e6.html |
The president of The Missionary Church, the Rev. Steve Jones of Fort Wayne, has been removed by the Protestant denomination’s leadership because of “a pattern of unworthy conduct.”
The church, which claims more than 200,000 members, is headquartered in Fort Wayne. More than three dozen congregations in northeast Indiana’s 11 counties are listed on its website, with 13, including a Spanish-language congregation, in Fort Wayne.
In a news release, church leaders said they wanted to clarify that the removal was not related to “sexual immorality of theft.” But the pastor had not remained “above reproach,” as is biblically required by the Bible and denomination rules, leaders said.
“The failure to correct concerns in this regard that were shared personally and corporately over several years resulted in a deep erosion of his (Jones’) leadership within the Missionary Church,” the release says, adding that, after personal meetings, removal was required for the good of the denomination.
Jones has a history of trouble with “leadership of, and communication with, staff, the Ministry Leadership Council, General Oversight Council and other denominational members,” the release said.
The denomination sent a similarly worded letter to members and posted the release on its website. Jones could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Rev. Jimmy Santiago is now leading the denomination as interim president.
Santiago most recently has been the denomination’s vice president and is the retired director of Hispanic Church Multiplication for the church’s Central Region.
In a letter sent to members and posted online, Santiago said he will serve until the denomination’s next General Conference and the General Oversight Council will name an interim vice president.
Church leadership in a statement said Wednesday that Santiago has “full support and confidence of denominational leadership, staff, and membership over the course of the next year to continue advancing our mission.”
The letter to members says Jones will receive severance pay, and thanks him for “the many accomplishments and successes that were contributed over the past nine years” of Jones’ presidency.
“His navigation of the pandemic, leadership in completing our Articles of Faith, and excellent representation to the National Association of Evangelicals are just a few of the permanent marks he made on our history while also advancing our mission,” the letter says.
Jones has been pastor of First Missionary Church in Fort Wayne and president of Allen County Right to Life. He was elected superintendent of Central District of the Missionary Church in 2007 and president of the denomination in 2013. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/missionary-church-president-removed/article_622b8e20-f25b-11ec-9fe9-0f0039e6011d.html | 2022-06-23T01:53:09 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/missionary-church-president-removed/article_622b8e20-f25b-11ec-9fe9-0f0039e6011d.html |
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UVALDE — Three days after the Robb Elementary School massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead, Gov. Greg Abbott expressed outrage over being “misled” about law enforcement’s response to the school shooting, the second-worst in American history.
But in the weeks since, he’s said nothing about who fed him the bad information — that the quick action of officers on the scene had saved lives.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. told the San Antonio Express-News that he knows who did it. Abbott said it was the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to McLaughlin.
“He told us,” the mayor said after a City Council session here Tuesday night. “In the room, he said, ‘DPS misled you and they misled me.’”
Related: Police chief for Uvalde schools, Pete Arredondo, placed on administrative leave
McLaughlin didn’t elaborate about the exchange, and a spokeswoman for Abbott didn’t directly address the mayor’s claim that he’d blamed the DPS, which reports to the governor, for the misinformation.
“As the governor has said, and as shown in his handwritten notes, the information he originally shared was provided during a briefing by a roomful of law enforcement and public officials, who detailed the actions and response by law enforcement,” spokeswoman Renae Eze said in a written statement Wednesday.
When asked at a May 27 news conference in the Uvalde High School auditorium if he had been misled, Abbott said, “So your question…the short answer, yes, I was misled. I am livid about what happened. I was on this very stage two days ago, and I was telling the public information that had been told to me in a room just a few yards behind where we’re located right now.”
Abbott was referring to a news conference on May 25, a day after the massacre, in which he gave high marks to law enforcement officers who rushed to the shooting scene. He said they labored to stop the Robb Elementary gunman, Salvador Ramos, 18, a high school dropout from Uvalde.
“The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do,” he said.
The governor went on to say that officers “showed amazing courage by running toward gunfire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives. And it is a fact that, because of their quick response, getting on the scene, being able to respond to the gunman and eliminate the gunman, they were able to save lives.”
That was far from what happened.
Abbott’s DPS director, Steven McCraw, told reporters in an emotional press conference on the morning of May 27 that 19 officers waited for close to an hour in a hallway outside adjoining classrooms as children repeatedly phoned 911 begging for help.
DPS officers were in the hallway, but McCraw said they “did not have the authority by law” to take command from local authorities.
He said waiting for 45 minutes before breaching the door and killing Ramos — long after he had gunned down the students and two teachers — was “the wrong decision, period.”
That afternoon, on May 27, the governor told reporters that he “wrote down hand notes in detail about what everybody in that room told me in sequential order about what happened.”
“As everybody has learned, the information that I was given turned out in part to be inaccurate, and I’m absolutely livid about that,” Abbott said.
‘Abject failure’
McCraw went further in condemning the errors authorities made in the Robb Elementary shooting in testimony Tuesday before the state Senate’s new committee examining school safety and gun violence.
He called police efforts an “abject failure and antithetical to everything we have learned over the past two decades.” He blamed Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, the Uvalde school district’s police chief and on-scene commander during the shooting, for failing to confront the teenage gunman sooner.
Arredondo, however, told the Texas Tribune that he never considered himself the incident commander but did everything he could to save lives, and was hindered by a door he didn’t have the key to unlock. Security footage shows that police never tried to open the doors to the classrooms, according to a law enforcement source close to the investigation.
The latest reports indicate that first responders had arrived at Robb Elementary just minutes after the shooting began — and had acquired bulletproof shields and assault-style weapons shortly after — yet still waited more than an hour to enter the connected classrooms where the shooter had barricaded himself.
“One hour, 14 minutes, and 8 seconds,” McCraw said Tuesday. “That’s how long the children waited and the teachers waited in room 111 to be rescued. And while they waited, the on-scene commander waited for radio and rifles. And he waited for shields, and he waited for SWAT. Lastly, he waited for a key that was never needed.”
On Tuesday night in Uvalde, McLaughlin resisted what he described as efforts to place blame solely on Arredondo and local law enforcement.
“It’s time that we faced up to it — everybody in that hall needs to answer for what went on,” the mayor said. “Not just Pete Arredondo, not just the local Uvalde Police Department, but the U.S. Marshals need to answer, the Border Patrol needs to answer, DPS needs to answer, the Texas Rangers need to answer, everybody needs to answer.”
“Because you saw these citizens and these grieving families that were here tonight. They deserve answers,” he said.
sigc@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Who-misled-Greg-Abbott-Uvalde-17258185.php | 2022-06-23T01:58:43 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Who-misled-Greg-Abbott-Uvalde-17258185.php |
ODESSA, Texas — The staff at the Permian Basin Rehab Center are helping their patients stay cool.
Patients are celebrating Water Week this June by donning swim gear and splashing around.
The staff says they like to do different things throughout the summer to keep children engaged, but they haven't been able to do a lot of fun stuff over the past few years.
"It was good to bring the water back so they could come out and get some normal play and so some social play with other kids, getting wet, getting cooled off. So it's been a lot of fun to bring that back this year," said Amy Burks, a PTA with PBRC.
Burks says Water Week at PBRC gives young patients who can't go to regular pools or water parks the chance to have fun in a safe way and allow them to feel like a normal child. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/pbrc-cools-off-water-therapy/513-89897f91-720b-4344-b01c-8842e13176ef | 2022-06-23T01:58:51 | 1 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/pbrc-cools-off-water-therapy/513-89897f91-720b-4344-b01c-8842e13176ef |
MILWAUKIE, Ore. — The man shot and killed by law enforcement in Milwaukie worked for a local nonprofit aimed at transforming lives of people who are or were formerly in prison and others affected by the criminal justice system.
Derrick Clark, 24, was a teacher-in-training with The Insight Alliance, which, according to Clark's profile on the nonprofit's website, he was introduced to while incarcerated at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility as a teen.
"Derrick was a good person who cared deeply for his family and friends," the nonprofit posted on its Facebook page. "He was funny, smart as hell, and really wanted to make a difference in the community."
According to law enforcement, police suspected Clark of driving under the influence overnight Saturday. Around 12:45 a.m., police say officers tried to stop Clark's vehicle, but he took off. Authorities said Clark eventually drove into a ditch. Police then gave Clark commands to show his hands, a detail corroborated by a neighbor who spoke to KGW.
"I heard 'put your hands up in the air, please surrender and walk towards Railroad Avenue,'" neighbor Sue McDonald said.
According to detectives, Clark got out of his car armed with a handgun. Law enforcement has not said whether Clark was pointing the gun at anyone or even holding the gun. At some point, an Oregon State trooper and Clackamas County sheriff's deputy shot and killed the 24-year-old from Tigard.
The deadly shooting of Clark, a man who appeared to be turning his life around, will now be reviewed by a Clackamas County grand jury.
Family, friends, and supporters of Clark plan to hold a rally for justice at North Clackamas Aquatic Park at 2 p.m. Saturday. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/man-killed-law-enforcement-worked-nonprofit/283-633486f7-5191-4039-b518-235dd45958da | 2022-06-23T02:01:32 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/man-killed-law-enforcement-worked-nonprofit/283-633486f7-5191-4039-b518-235dd45958da |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/da-refiles-3rd-degree-murder-charges-against-suspect-in-deadly-i-95-dui-crash/3278632/ | 2022-06-23T02:03:32 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/da-refiles-3rd-degree-murder-charges-against-suspect-in-deadly-i-95-dui-crash/3278632/ |
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Glendale City Council has approved investing millions in upgrading aging facilities in the downtown region.
Included in the $1-billion budget approved by the council this month is an infrastructure project that aims to revitalize Glendale's downtown area.
The reinvestment project includes spending nearly $40 million on remodeling City Hall, $10.5 million on the E. Lowell Rogers Amphitheater, $4.5 million on Murphy Park, $4 million on the council chambers, and $4 million on a parking structure.
City Hall was originally built in 1984.
Glendale officials have said the project's total cost should be about $70 million and improvements are projected to be completed by 2025.
The city's 2022-2023 budget also includes capital improvements to Thunderbird Conservation Park, the main library, one of the fire stations, and adding five new splash pads throughout the city.
The new budget additionally provides funding to add 60 new employee positions throughout the city's departments.
“It’s quite an accomplishment to have weathered the storm of the pandemic and come out strong with a budget that does not raise property taxes and still accomplishes our goals of providing quality amenities and services for our community,” said Glendale Mayor Jerry P. Weiers in a statement.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on our 12 News YouTube playlist here.
What is the Valley?
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
Mesa
Chandler
Scottsdale
Tempe
Glendale
Surprise
Peoria
Gilbert
El Mirage
Avondale
Litchfield Park
Goodyear
Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/glendale-arizona-approves-spending-70m-on-revitalizing-downtown/75-22dd6df7-cea2-4343-aeb1-65d1b6f308a4 | 2022-06-23T02:08:53 | 0 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/glendale-arizona-approves-spending-70m-on-revitalizing-downtown/75-22dd6df7-cea2-4343-aeb1-65d1b6f308a4 |
INDIANAPOLIS — A proposed "supportive housing complex" for people experiencing homelessness won't be moving forward in Fall Creek Place.
Developers tell 13News the Espero Indianapolis project is off.
The company expressed disappointment in a letter sent to local residents.
Their original vision was a 40-unit complex at 25th and Delaware streets, but neighbors expressed strong opposition. The company said it was made "painfully clear" this is not the time or place for the project.
Developers had proposed the complex to help address the homeless crisis in Indianapolis. It would have provided affordable housing, but some neighbors said they weren't sure it was a good fit for the location.
The apartments would have been located across from Goose the Market and surrounded by residential properties. It was designed with three stories of one-bedroom units, plus onsite health services and job training.
The $12 million proposal received funding - just over a million dollars - through the Indiana Housing and Community Development Agency. The project was set to be paid for in a public-private partnership.
Vecino Group has developed similar projects across the country. Espero Austin opens in the fall. It has the same services as those proposed for Indianapolis, but on a larger scale.
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- 'Abject failure' | Uvalde school massacre could have been stopped in 3 minutes, DPS says
- More than $24K raised for California gas station manager with 69-cent error | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/developers-scrap-plan-for-supportive-housing-complex-at-25th-and-delaware-apartments-homeless-proposal/531-e1b0f097-5d60-48bc-a13a-64607ebffd55 | 2022-06-23T02:10:23 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/developers-scrap-plan-for-supportive-housing-complex-at-25th-and-delaware-apartments-homeless-proposal/531-e1b0f097-5d60-48bc-a13a-64607ebffd55 |
SC summer travel is still on, despite long-term economic uncertainties
Rising gas prices and record inflation have not stopped travel and tourism in the Upstate — yet.
Lauren Duffy, an associate professor in Clemson University's Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management department, said that between 65% to 91% of Americans are still planning to travel for leisure within the next six months.
But Duffy said that those numbers could begin to decrease if gas prices and inflation continue to rise.
"The decisions that you'll see now with people traveling, they might be upset in the short term, but they're still going to pursue their trips and their vacations," Duffy said. "And, in the long term, we're going to see much more stress about the realities of it."
Despite this potential for a downturn in leisure travel, Duffy said she remains optimistic.
Because of the Upstate's geographic location away from the Interstate 95 corridor — where Duffy said gas prices are "extreme" — and its abundance of natural resource-based tourism options, Duffy said the area may be able to avoid major impacts.
"The Upstate isn't actually that badly positioned," Duffy said. "We're still having good summer travel."
She added that "the Upstate has, and probably will, remain more stable."
Before making outright trip cancellations, travelers tend to take other steps to make traveling more affordable, Duffy said, like scaling back on trip length and choosing closer destinations.
Greenville SC residents still plan on summer travel
Like national research suggests, some Greenville residents are not drastically changing their travel plans just yet, but they are keeping a watching eye on the ever-changing economy.
Marlee Stokes, who works at Resurgent Capital Services, is carpooling with two friends to a wedding in Charleston next month in order to save money on gas, although she said the group would most likely have carpooled anyway.
Stokes also has upcoming trips that require air travel, which she's more concerned about.
"Flight costs right now are completely out of control," she said. "I have alerts set up on the flights to watch when the prices come down a little bit, and they're just not coming down."
Like Stokes, retired Greenville resident Aileen Scott's summer travel plans have not been severely impacted by rising prices at the pump and beyond.
"So far, we've been able to carry on with our plans," Scott said.
Beyond this summer, Scott said she's sure her travel plans will be impacted if prices continue to rise. For now, she said it's all about playing the waiting game.
"I think we're just kind of waiting month to month, year to year, election to election," she said with a laugh.
While travelers are beginning to feel the pinch, business owners in the tourism industry are also starting to see a change.
Bo Aughtry, chairman and CEO of commercial real estate firm Windsor Aughtry, said the company's portfolio metrics are currently up from both 2019 and 2021. But he is seeing a bit of "softness" in recent numbers.
Last month, over 80% of the business from Windsor Aughtry-owned Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown Greenville came from leisure travel, Aughtry said. And because he's unsure if and when those statistics will change, Aughtry said his focus is on making sure his hotels are operating at the highest level possible.
"We want to be the best we can be," he said, "because there are some market components we have no control of."
While summer travel plans in the Upstate remain largely unchanged and long-term economic uncertainties loom, Stokes said she was ready to see a change in travel costs.
"Just like everybody else," Stokes said, "I'm ready to see some relief."
Tim Carlin covers county government, growth and development for The Greenville News. Follow him on Twitter @timcarlin_, and get in touch with him at TCarlin@gannett.com. You can support his work by subscribing to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe. | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2022/06/23/sc-summer-travel-on-despite-gas-prices-inflation-greenville-spartanburg-anderson/10001446002/ | 2022-06-23T02:13:51 | 1 | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2022/06/23/sc-summer-travel-on-despite-gas-prices-inflation-greenville-spartanburg-anderson/10001446002/ |
Idaho’s new top federal prosecutor says civil rights and hate crime enforcement are top-of-mind for federal prosecutors both in Idaho and nationwide.
“It’s always been important,” Josh Hurwit told the Idaho Press in an interview this week. “But with the rise in hate incidents that we’ve seen really starting in the pandemic, and now continuing with various groups in Idaho and around the country, obviously the tragic shooting in Buffalo put this front and center.”
He declined to say whether his office is looking into the recent incident in Coeur d’Alene in which 31 members of the white nationalist Patriot Front were arrested and charged with conspiracy to riot as, packed in the back of a U-Haul truck, they headed to disrupt a Pride in the Park event in a local city park.
“Under our policy, I can’t answer that question,” Hurwit said. “I can’t confirm or deny whether there’s a federal investigation.”
“But I can say, and I want to say, that we are fully committed to protecting the civil rights of all Idahoans and enforcing the rule of law through the prosecution of hate crimes when that’s appropriate,” he said.
Hurwit has been an assistant United States attorney in Idaho since 2012, serving under both previous U.S. attorneys, Wendy Olson and Bart Davis. He counts both as mentors. He’s taken a lead role in prosecuting the Aryan Knights white supremacist prison gang in Idaho, along with securities fraud prosecutions, environmental litigation, public corruption and firearms offenses.
“I think it’s important to also say that one of our jobs is to protect First Amendment expression,” Hurwit said. “Beliefs in and of themselves are not crimes. I want to be clear. When we discuss this as an office, when we investigate and we prosecute violent extremists, what we are investigating and prosecuting is the criminal conduct, violence most likely, and not their beliefs or ideology, however abhorrent that is.”
He noted he grew up Oregon.
“I was aware as a kid of the Aryan Nations,” Hurwit said. “And I’ve been prosecuting the Aryan Knights case. … So I’ve observed first-hand that our state still has a long way to go. I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone.”
“In addition to that First Amendment principle, I do think it’s important to say clearly that racism and white supremacy and anti-Semitism and white nationalism and homophobia are wrong, and they are inconsistent with what our country stands for,” he said. “I’m hopeful that more leaders from all walks of life will stand up and be clear about that.”
Hurwit, 42, graduated from Stanford University in 2002 and from Harvard Law School in 2006. He clerked for a U.S. District judge in New York and worked at national law firms before joining the U.S attorney’s office in Idaho. He’s taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Idaho College of Law, volunteered his time speaking to high school students about the criminal justice system and served on the boards of local non-profits.
Hurwit said other areas of focus for his office in his term are public safety, including drug trafficking, child exploitation cases and firearms offenses; partnerships with the state’s five Native American tribes; protecting the environment and natural resources; and financial crimes, including prosecuting abuses of federal pandemic aid programs.
On public safety, he said, there are three main areas in which cases are prosecuted federally, “although our state partners also may handle these cases.” Drug trafficking is a major one. “Fentanyl is a huge problem in our communities, in our rural communities, not just the Treasure Valley or the more populated areas,” Hurwit said. “So that’s something we’re working to develop strategies on and have had success – I want to continue that.”
Child exploitation cases are another category of crime that overlaps with federal prosecutions, he said, along with state. “With the advent of the internet, that’s something we have to be on the cutting edge about,” he said, “as these criminals use different social media and file-sharing platforms to try to stay anonymous.”
On firearms offenses, he said, “Gun violence is a problem in all parts of the nation. Idaho is no exception. So we need to continue to work really hard to make sure that people who are prevented from possessing firearms do not in fact possess them.”
Working in partnership with sovereign tribes in the state is another area of focus. “I’m looking forward to partnering with them to enhance safety in tribal communities,” Hurwit said. “We have law enforcement near many of the reservations in the state. That really is a partnership.”
“It’s unique that these are sovereign nations and sovereign peoples, that we really have a relationship of trust that we need to build and maintain in order to serve them better,” he said.
In a state like Idaho, Hurwit said, protecting the environment and natural resources also is a high priority. “To me, that’s not just the beauty and the mountains, the rivers and the lakes that we enjoy, but also our farming and ranch resources and those communities,” he said. “I think Idahoans of all beliefs really appreciate living in the state because of our resources. I think they bring people together.”
That work ranges from prosecuting those who violate pollution laws to “taking thoughtful positions in litigation involving lands or ranching interests,” Hurwit said. “Because our role is to protect these resources for all Idahoans, to let people enjoy the outdoors but also to protect the resources so that people of Idaho can benefit from those resources.”
Environmental enforcement is a priority for the U.S. Department of Justice, Hurwit noted, including “environmental justice for communities that are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Traditionally, across the country, they have had more significant problems with the environment and the resources.”
“That applies in Idaho as well,” he said. “If you look at our rural communities, they have less resources to make sure that their water and their air is what it should be. So we want to help there.”
Idaho’s U.S. attorney’s office also plays a significant role in prosecuting financial crimes; that’s something Hurwit’s been involved with over the past decade, including successfully prosecuting a major securities and wire fraud case surrounding the collapse of DBSI Inc. of Meridian. Four former executives were convicted on dozens of fraud counts for misleading investors, leading to huge losses for the victims; the convictions all were upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in 2014.
Hurwit said financial crimes are in the spotlight now “because of the fraud that we’re seeing stemming from the various COVID relief programs that were pushed out earlier in the pandemic.”
Already, his office has announced one major prosecution, of former Idaho GOP congressional candidate Nicholas Jones, who pled guilty June 1 to wire fraud and falsification of records for diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars of pandemic aid, including from Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loans, to personal expenses and political advertisements.
“That was our first large COVID fraud-related case,” Hurwit said; he prosecuted it. The office also obtained a $762,000 default judgment in March in a civil case relating to an agriculture aid program tied to the pandemic.
“There are a lot of criminals in Idaho and around the country who have taken advantage of those relief programs that were meant to shore up the economy and help people – people have taken advantage of those to enrich themselves,” Hurwit said. “We are working really hard, and we’re going to continue to do that, to uncover those folks and their crimes, and ultimately to recover as much of the stolen funds and proceeds as we can for the taxpayer.”
He added, “As I talk about these priorities, there’s no part of our work that we do here, and we do so much, that will be de-emphasized.”
The lines between local, state and federal prosecution and law enforcement can overlap. Hurwit said they work in partnership. “We work really well to de-conflict and to make the decision about which jurisdiction is the best jurisdiction to pursue a case,” he said.
Hurwit, who was sworn in last Friday, said there won’t be a lot that changes in the U.S. attorney’s office due to his taking office; everyone there, except for the U.S attorney himself, is a career employee. “We make hard decisions on a daily basis,” he said. “We make decisions that affect people’s lives in a very real way. We don’t do that quickly. We take it very seriously.”
Davis said, “I have confidence in him; I have confidence in his approach to problem-solving. I know that our law enforcement partners have every reason in the world to have confidence in his judgment, and I believe he’ll be very thoughtful, and hesitant when he should be. He’s just going to do a fine job for us as the U.S. attorney in our district.”
As is customary when there’s a partisan change in administrations, Davis stepped down from the post Feb. 28, 2021. In the interim, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez Jr. served as acting U.S. attorney for Idaho.
Hurwit said, “Mr. Gonzalez has made lasting contributions to our office not only through his internal leadership and mentorship, but also through the relationships he has built with law enforcement and other partners throughout Idaho. He is a true public servant.”
Olson, who first hired Hurwit in 2012, said, “Josh is an extremely talented lawyer, a hard worker, and a good listener. He is committed to civil rights work and to building on Rafael Gonzalez’s outreach to civil rights leaders and diverse communities throughout Idaho. The people of Idaho will be well served by his commitment to justice and the rule of law.”
Asked if there’s something about Idaho’s U.S. attorney’s office that people may not know, Hurwit said, “I would like them to know just how dedicated our office is and our individual employees are.”
“On any given Sunday, as the saying goes, there’s going to be people here preparing their cases, doing their research. I’m just so fortunate to be part of this office,” he said.
“I think that if the public could see just how hard-working our employees are and how they’re committed to making the right decisions and doing the right things, there’d be a lot more confidence, I think, in our government as a whole.” | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/new-us-attorney-for-idaho-civil-rights-hate-crime-enforcement-is-front-and-center/article_c6074fcd-8278-58c7-8401-10d88afa9d9b.html | 2022-06-23T02:14:29 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/new-us-attorney-for-idaho-civil-rights-hate-crime-enforcement-is-front-and-center/article_c6074fcd-8278-58c7-8401-10d88afa9d9b.html |
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that it is working with the Florida Department of Health to investigate “one of the worst” outbreaks of meningococcal disease among gay and bisexual men in Florida.
Records from the CDC indicate at least 24 cases and 6 deaths have been reported in Florida alone. Of those, the Florida Department of Health reported 13 cases over the past month.
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The CDC recommended men who have sex with other men get a meningococcal vaccine if they live in Florida, emphasizing the importance of routine vaccinations for people with HIV.
“Getting vaccinated against meningococcal disease is the best way to prevent this serious illness, which can quickly become deadly,” said José Romero, director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “Because of the outbreak in Florida, and the number of Pride events being held across the state in coming weeks, it’s important that gay and bisexual men who live in Florida get vaccinated, and those traveling to Florida talk to their healthcare provider about getting a (meningococcal) vaccine.”
The CDC said people can find a meningococcal vaccine by contacting their doctor’s office, pharmacy, community health center or local health department. The center added that Florida residents can get these vaccines at no cost at any county health department during the outbreak.
People with symptoms of the disease — including high fever, headache, stiff neck, vomiting or a dark-purple rash — should seek medical attention right away, the agency advised.
Meningococcal disease can infect the lining of the brain and spinal cord and cause further infections in the bloodstream.
For more information about the disease, visit the CDC’s website here. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/meningococcal-disease-outbreak-hits-florida-cdc-reports/ | 2022-06-23T02:15:44 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/meningococcal-disease-outbreak-hits-florida-cdc-reports/ |
DALLAS — A single red rosebud said to be from the bouquet given to First Lady Jackie Kennedy at Dallas Love Field on Nov. 22, 1963, is up for auction this week, along with an original press pass for JFK’s presidential visit to the city where he was assassinated.
“When I heard that the family of Jay Watson had a rose from Jackie’s bouquet, it’s ‘oh my gosh,'” said Bobby Livingston, RR Auctions.
The rosebud and the press pass belonged to Jay Watson, the program director in 1963 for WFAA-TV in Dallas.
Upon learning of the flower, Livingston said he immediately flew to Arizona to meet with Watson’s children.
“When she pulled the flower out of the envelope, I said ‘don’t touch it,” Livingston recalled describing his conversation with Watson’s daughter.
Out-of-breath and clinching a UPI bulletin, Watson famously was the first journalist to break the news of the assassination on television.
Watson, WFAA's Jerry Haines and another colleague at the station were in Dealey Plaza during their lunch break watching the motorcade pass when Lee Harvey Oswald opened fire.
Watson was able to get on television so quickly because Dealey Plaza is just a few blocks away from WFAA’s studios.
“He always told his children you’re going to find this rose and it’s a piece of American history and it’s very valuable,” Livingston added.
Watson is said to have told his children that he bought the rose from a Dallas police officer for $50. The flower is believed to have been taken from the backseat of the presidential limousine outside Parkland’s emergency room.
“The chain of custody is a little bit broken because we don’t know which police officer sold it to Jay. But we do know that Jay knew the police chief and Jay was a big figure in Dallas and the fact that he retained it. He has nothing else besides that press pass and this rose from this biggest day of his life,” Livingston explained. “We asked Jay, Jr., 'what else did he tell you?' He said, ‘I wish I had asked my father which policeman’ or drilled down more on it.”
Only a handful of roses from the first lady’s bouquet still exist and all remain in private collections.
Dallas’ police chief at the time, Jesse Curry, is said to have two of Mrs. Kennedy’s roses. And two former employees of Parkland Hospital picked up two others from the bouquet as Trauma Room One emptied out.
But this rose from Watson’s family is the first to ever go up for auction.
“It’s so important in my mind because it’s one of the few things that was in the limousine that you can have,” said Livingston.
RR Auctions in Boston will sell the rose in a live auction on Thursday at 6 p.m. Central. Watson’s press pass for the presidential visit to Dallas stamped as number 82 is also part of the lot.
Both artifacts, two rare pieces of Americana that witnessed history that day in Dallas, are valued at $10,000. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/red-rose-from-bouquet-given-to-jackie-kennedy-at-love-field-in-1963-to-be-sold-at-auction/287-96ebb174-a151-4ed9-9b61-e433636c9ec6 | 2022-06-23T02:15:48 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/red-rose-from-bouquet-given-to-jackie-kennedy-at-love-field-in-1963-to-be-sold-at-auction/287-96ebb174-a151-4ed9-9b61-e433636c9ec6 |
DALLAS — American Airlines has announced that it is dropping service to four U.S. airports, including one in Ohio, due to the continuing pilot shortage facing the industry.
Starting September 7, American will no longer fly to Dubuque, Iowa, Islip N.Y.; Ithaca, N.Y.; and Toledo.
American made the decision "in response to the regional pilot shortage affecting the airline industry," the company said in a statement released to 3News on Wednesday evening.
"We’re extremely grateful for the care and service our team members provided to our customers in Dubuque, Islip, Ithaca and Toledo, and are working closely with them during this time," American added. "We’ll proactively reach out to customers scheduled to travel after this date to offer alternate arrangements."
American Airlines currently flies from Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport to Chicago's O'Hare Airport twice daily via a regional jet operated by Envoy Air.
But the dropped routes highlight something American is facing when it comes to regional carriers it operates. The airline said it currently has about 100 aircraft on the ground that it can't fly due to a lack of regional pilots.
"Like many network carriers, we have reduced our regional flying in recent months in response to the regional pilot shortage," American said.
American says its customers in Toledo can access the airline's global network through Detroit, which is approximately 67 miles away.
The airline said it anticipates the pilot shortage "could loom for some time." The company recently reached agreements with three of its regional carriers "to ensure we're able to operate a more reliable schedule in the future."
The pilot shortage has led to a tumultuous start to the summer travel season.
Hundreds of flights have been canceled and thousands more delayed over the last week. Airlines have blamed the travel issues on bad weather, COVID-19 absences and staff shortages.
Pilots have complained about airlines overbooking flights.
“They sold tickets to the traveling public in the spring and over the winter for summer vacation, that they can’t live up to," said American Airlines Capt. Dennis Tajer, who's with the Allied Pilots Association. "It’s driving us pilots crazy."
Related Stories: | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/american-airlines-drops-service-toledo-other-cities-due-pilot-shortage/95-7135c9b6-621f-41c7-bb3e-ad94791e2001 | 2022-06-23T02:19:11 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/american-airlines-drops-service-toledo-other-cities-due-pilot-shortage/95-7135c9b6-621f-41c7-bb3e-ad94791e2001 |
ATLANTA — Two Department of Natural Resource law enforcement officers are being praised after their quick thinking helped save eight people and a dog on Lake Allatoona Sunday.
Georgia DNR said Game Warden Steven Martinez and Cpl. Tyler Lewis spotted an overloaded boat capsize on the water while on patrol. DNR shared body camera video of the incident.
"They're legit going under," one law enforcement officer is heard on the video.
Video shows the DNR boat approaching an overturned passenger vessel with one of the DNR officers waving to the group treading water.
"Is everybody OK?" one of the officers asked, shouting at the group.
He proceeds to throw a floatation device in the water and a life jacket.
One of the officers pulled a crying toddler out of the water, the first person to be rescued from the capsized boat. Another child is then lifted onto the DNR's patrol boat as well.
Most of the people rescued had on a life vest, leaving behind floating chairs from the capsized boat and the passengers' belongings.
"All eight people on board, including small children and a dog were rescued," according to the DNR.
The crowd huddled together on the DNR's boat, comforting the scared children. Though the passengers were in shock, everyone seemed to be OK.
"This video shows the importance of always having a life jacket on as well as having a throwable life jacket readily available. We are thankful all occupants were rescued without injury," the DNR said. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/dnr-lake-allatoona-rescue/85-4c833ccb-e878-416b-b4c6-e8257a742882 | 2022-06-23T02:19:18 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/dnr-lake-allatoona-rescue/85-4c833ccb-e878-416b-b4c6-e8257a742882 |
ADA COUNTY, Idaho — On Tuesday, Ada County Commissioner Ryan Davidson voted against renewing a resolution that would ban fireworks in areas of Ada County, specifically fireworks in the foothills where vegetation is a fire hazard.
Right now, the Boise Foothills look green, with a lot of late season grass growing, thanks to the late season spring rains. Normally by this time, it would have already turned to brown, because of the lack of rain and hot temperatures.
The rain has been great for farmers, but it has only added to the fuel supply for potential wildfires this season. Every year around this time, the Board of Ada County Commissioners vote to put a fireworks ban across a majority of the county.
In the map below, fireworks are not allowed at all in the red areas at any time of the year. The blue areas allow fireworks to be shot off, but only during limited times - such as beginning Thursday - when fireworks stands open, through July 5.
The purpose of the ban is to at least offer a reminder and a deterrent to those who think fireworks in the middle of high and dry grasses is a good thing. In October 2021, the Goose Fire tore through the foothills, threatening homes and burned about 450 acres.
"The fire that we had out there that came really close to going up into the landfill, was strictly as a result of fireworks, with some kids playing with fireworks," Board Chairman Rob Beck said.
Banning fireworks in the foothills has been a yearly vote. For the last decade at least, the ban has been unanimous - except for the last two years - since Ryan Davidson has been a commissioner.
"Mr. Chair, I guess I would argue that despite the ban, they still did the fireworks and so I'm generally not in favor of banning much of anything," Davidson said. "I think if we maybe had designated areas, but I get that there's a risk, but I don't believe in banning fireworks."
In fact, Commissioner Davidson said he is not in favor of banning much of anything. He told KTVB as much when asked about his 'no' vote the past two years, saying his Libertarian views preclude him from being somebody who wants to ban something outright.
"That's my default position. Obviously, I'm going to consider every issue independently, but I'm not predisposed to want to use the government to ban things, at least not without very serious discussion and consideration," Davidson said.
When asked about things like littering and whether it should be on the books, Davidson said he thinks littering should be illegal.
"I don't necessarily see that as being synonymous, but if your fireworks cause damage somebody else's property or cause a fire, then I absolutely think you should be liable for civil or criminal penalties," Davidson said.
KTVB then asked Davidson if he considers fireworks in the foothills and similar places is a dangerous combination.
"Well, yes of course there's some potential danger there, but from what I've seen, in these kinds of bans aren't really that effective," Davidson said. "People are going to light off fireworks anyways. You know, with the fire we had recently near the landfill, was I believe teenagers setting off illegal fireworks, so the bans generally - I don't think - are that effective in stopping fireworks in the foothills."
Instead of a ban, Commissioner Davidson said we need to encourage people to use fireworks responsibly and we need to punish people who cause a fire or damage with their conduct.
Davidson told KTVB he finds it ironic, the symbol of our victory over an oppressive government and how we celebrate it - fireworks - is being banned by oppressive governments across the county.
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- Still reading this list? We're on YouTube, too: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/ada-county-commissioners-vote-2-1-to-adopt-firework-ban/277-6e799695-36a7-4e0d-84e2-27f34314254c | 2022-06-23T02:22:24 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/ada-county-commissioners-vote-2-1-to-adopt-firework-ban/277-6e799695-36a7-4e0d-84e2-27f34314254c |
BOISE, Idaho —
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Idaho’s new top federal prosecutor says civil rights and hate crime enforcement are top-of-mind for federal prosecutors both in Idaho and nationwide.
“It’s always been important,” Josh Hurwit told the Idaho Press in an interview this week. “But with the rise in hate incidents that we’ve seen really starting in the pandemic, and now continuing with various groups in Idaho and around the country, obviously the tragic shooting in Buffalo put this front and center.”
He declined to say whether his office is looking into the recent incident in Coeur d’Alene in which 31 members of the white nationalist Patriot Front were arrested and charged with conspiracy to riot as, packed in the back of a U-Haul truck, they headed to disrupt a Pride in the Park event in a local city park.
“Under our policy, I can’t answer that question,” Hurwit said. “I can’t confirm or deny whether there’s a federal investigation.”
“But I can say, and I want to say, that we are fully committed to protecting the civil rights of all Idahoans and enforcing the rule of law through the prosecution of hate crimes when that’s appropriate,” he said.
Hurwit has been an assistant United States attorney in Idaho since 2012, serving under both previous U.S. attorneys, Wendy Olson and Bart Davis. He counts both as mentors. He’s taken a lead role in prosecuting the Aryan Knights white supremacist prison gang in Idaho, along with securities fraud prosecutions, environmental litigation, public corruption and firearms offenses.
“I think it’s important to also say that one of our jobs is to protect First Amendment expression,” Hurwit said. “Beliefs in and of themselves are not crimes. I want to be clear. When we discuss this as an office, when we investigate and we prosecute violent extremists, what we are investigating and prosecuting is the criminal conduct, violence most likely, and not their beliefs or ideology, however abhorrent that is.”
He noted he grew up Oregon.
“I was aware as a kid of the Aryan Nations,” Hurwit said. “And I’ve been prosecuting the Aryan Knights case. … So I’ve observed first-hand that our state still has a long way to go. I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone.”
“In addition to that First Amendment principle, I do think it’s important to say clearly that racism and white supremacy and anti-Semitism and white nationalism and homophobia are wrong, and they are inconsistent with what our country stands for,” he said. “I’m hopeful that more leaders from all walks of life will stand up and be clear about that.”
Hurwit, 42, graduated from Stanford University in 2002 and from Harvard Law School in 2006. He clerked for a U.S. District judge in New York and worked at national law firms before joining the U.S attorney’s office in Idaho. He’s taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Idaho College of Law, volunteered his time speaking to high school students about the criminal justice system and served on the boards of local non-profits.
Hurwit said other areas of focus for his office in his term are public safety, including drug trafficking, child exploitation cases and firearms offenses; partnerships with the state’s five Native American tribes; protecting the environment and natural resources; and financial crimes, including prosecuting abuses of federal pandemic aid programs.
On public safety, he said, there are three main areas in which cases are prosecuted federally, “although our state partners also may handle these cases.” Drug trafficking is a major one. “Fentanyl is a huge problem in our communities, in our rural communities, not just the Treasure Valley or the more populated areas,” Hurwit said. “So that’s something we’re working to develop strategies on and have had success – I want to continue that.”
Child exploitation cases are another category of crime that overlaps with federal prosecutions, he said, along with state. “With the advent of the internet, that’s something we have to be on the cutting edge about,” he said, “as these criminals use different social media and file-sharing platforms to try to stay anonymous.”
On firearms offenses, he said, “Gun violence is a problem in all parts of the nation. Idaho is no exception. So we need to continue to work really hard to make sure that people who are prevented from possessing firearms do not in fact possess them.”
Working in partnership with sovereign tribes in the state is another area of focus. “I’m looking forward to partnering with them to enhance safety in tribal communities,” Hurwit said. “We have law enforcement near many of the reservations in the state. That really is a partnership.”
“It’s unique that these are sovereign nations and sovereign peoples, that we really have a relationship of trust that we need to build and maintain in order to serve them better,” he said.
In a state like Idaho, Hurwit said, protecting the environment and natural resources also is a high priority. “To me, that’s not just the beauty and the mountains, the rivers and the lakes that we enjoy, but also our farming and ranch resources and those communities,” he said. “I think Idahoans of all beliefs really appreciate living in the state because of our resources. I think they bring people together.”
That work ranges from prosecuting those who violate pollution laws to “taking thoughtful positions in litigation involving lands or ranching interests,” Hurwit said. “Because our role is to protect these resources for all Idahoans, to let people enjoy the outdoors but also to protect the resources so that people of Idaho can benefit from those resources.”
Environmental enforcement is a priority for the U.S. Department of Justice, Hurwit noted, including “environmental justice for communities that are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Traditionally, across the country, they have had more significant problems with the environment and the resources.”
“That applies in Idaho as well,” he said. “If you look at our rural communities, they have less resources to make sure that their water and their air is what it should be. So we want to help there.”
Idaho’s U.S. attorney’s office also plays a significant role in prosecuting financial crimes; that’s something Hurwit’s been involved with over the past decade, including successfully prosecuting a major securities and wire fraud case surrounding the collapse of DBSI Inc. of Meridian. Four former executives were convicted on dozens of fraud counts for misleading investors, leading to huge losses for the victims; the convictions all were upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in 2014.
Hurwit said financial crimes are in the spotlight now “because of the fraud that we’re seeing stemming from the various COVID relief programs that were pushed out earlier in the pandemic.”
Already, his office has announced one major prosecution, of former Idaho GOP congressional candidate Nicholas Jones, who pled guilty June 1 to wire fraud and falsification of records for diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars of pandemic aid, including from Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loans, to personal expenses and political advertisements.
“That was our first large COVID fraud-related case,” Hurwit said; he prosecuted it. The office also obtained a $762,000 default judgment in March in a civil case relating to an agriculture aid program tied to the pandemic.
“There are a lot of criminals in Idaho and around the country who have taken advantage of those relief programs that were meant to shore up the economy and help people – people have taken advantage of those to enrich themselves,” Hurwit said. “We are working really hard, and we’re going to continue to do that, to uncover those folks and their crimes, and ultimately to recover as much of the stolen funds and proceeds as we can for the taxpayer.”
He added, “As I talk about these priorities, there’s no part of our work that we do here, and we do so much, that will be de-emphasized.”
The lines between local, state and federal prosecution and law enforcement can overlap. Hurwit said they work in partnership. “We work really well to de-conflict and to make the decision about which jurisdiction is the best jurisdiction to pursue a case,” he said.
Hurwit, who was sworn in last Friday, said there won’t be a lot that changes in the U.S. attorney’s office due to his taking office; everyone there, except for the U.S attorney himself, is a career employee. “We make hard decisions on a daily basis,” he said. “We make decisions that affect people’s lives in a very real way. We don’t do that quickly. We take it very seriously.”
Davis said, “I have confidence in him; I have confidence in his approach to problem-solving. I know that our law enforcement partners have every reason in the world to have confidence in his judgment, and I believe he’ll be very thoughtful, and hesitant when he should be. He’s just going to do a fine job for us as the U.S. attorney in our district.”
As is customary when there’s a partisan change in administrations, Davis stepped down from the post Feb. 28, 2021. In the interim, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez Jr. served as acting U.S. attorney for Idaho.
Hurwit said, “Mr. Gonzalez has made lasting contributions to our office not only through his internal leadership and mentorship, but also through the relationships he has built with law enforcement and other partners throughout Idaho. He is a true public servant.”
Olson, who first hired Hurwit in 2012, said, “Josh is an extremely talented lawyer, a hard worker, and a good listener. He is committed to civil rights work and to building on Rafael Gonzalez’s outreach to civil rights leaders and diverse communities throughout Idaho. The people of Idaho will be well served by his commitment to justice and the rule of law.”
Asked if there’s something about Idaho’s U.S. attorney’s office that people may not know, Hurwit said, “I would like them to know just how dedicated our office is and our individual employees are.”
“On any given Sunday, as the saying goes, there’s going to be people here preparing their cases, doing their research. I’m just so fortunate to be part of this office,” he said.
“I think that if the public could see just how hard-working our employees are and how they’re committed to making the right decisions and doing the right things, there’d be a lot more confidence, I think, in our government as a whole.”
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more at IdahoPress.com
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/new-us-attorney-idaho-civil-rights-hate-crime-enforcement-front-and-center/277-8ba233d5-b577-4748-a9eb-cf6169bf02d0 | 2022-06-23T02:22:25 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/new-us-attorney-idaho-civil-rights-hate-crime-enforcement-front-and-center/277-8ba233d5-b577-4748-a9eb-cf6169bf02d0 |
MOORESBURG, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is investigating a report of a missing person on Cherokee Lake in Hawkins County.
TWRA spokesperson Matthew Cameron said the agency had received a report of a person who was floating on a raft at the Quarryville access boat ramp in Mooresburg.
According to TWRA, that person is no longer with the raft.
The Hawkins County Rescue Squad said it is searching along with TWRA, using sonar in an attempt to locate the missing man.
The name of the missing person has not been released. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/twra-investigating-missing-person-report-on-cherokee-lake/ | 2022-06-23T02:30:32 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/twra-investigating-missing-person-report-on-cherokee-lake/ |
CHEHALIS, Wash. — The Chehalis-Centralia Airport became part of a military training exercise on Wednesday.
The joint operation between the Army and Air Force to train on refueling Black Hawk, Chinook and Apache helicopters typically take place at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Soldiers said moving to an unfamiliar location breaks up the routing and helps prepare them for working in different locations and under different conditions.
"We're used to doing most missions on a comfortable area on JBLM, but being here in Chehalis, it offers us an opportunity to conduct these missions in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar territory," one military member said.
The military has used the runway in Lewis County before. However, that hasn't happened since the COVID-19 pandemic started. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/chehalis-centralia-jblm-training/281-d87495e7-87bb-451c-82c6-10f0a7f579da | 2022-06-23T02:30:39 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/chehalis-centralia-jblm-training/281-d87495e7-87bb-451c-82c6-10f0a7f579da |
TACOMA, Wash. — Theresa Power-Drutis has been living in her Tacoma neighborhood on South G Street for over 40 years. But while she’s seen the city change, one thing has remained constant: everyone has been welcomed, including campers and people who were unhoused.
But now she says it’s been hard to maintain that balance in recent months, and the city’s recent round of encampment sweeps aren’t helping.
“We had a fragile balance of community, we had unhoused people, housed people, service providers, and it wasn’t working like clockwork, but it was working,” she said. “But then the city started doing these sweeps…and every time there’s a sweep, we get new people here.”
Now Drutis says her neighborhood is feeling the strain of people crowding onto her street because they have nowhere else to go, pushing out the people who were already there.
“I think we’re at that point now that people will be asking the city to remove people, and to me, that’s just more sad than I can say. But I understand,” Drutis said. “These are not bad people... it’s just gotten to a point that, when we load everything onto a few neighborhoods, there’s no neighborhood that’s going to be able to carry that.”
Pierce County is also feeling the ripple effects of the encampment sweeps.
Councilmember Jani Hitchen says that as more homeless people are pushed out of Tacoma, and into unincorporated Pierce County, they’re pushed farther away from the resources they need, which makes it harder to address the root causes.
“When we look at the number of sweeps and how quickly they’re happening, I know that our social services that could offer support, can’t move as quickly,” Hitchen explained. “We sweep them, and any communications we’ve started to have with them, and any trust that we’ve built up? Shot down, because now they’re in a different community, somewhere else, and we have to start over.”
Now Drutis hopes that a more lasting solution can be found because continued sweeps aren’t the answer.
“If the intention is to scatter homeless people throughout the county so they can’t get the resources and the people with resources can’t reach them… if the other intention is to push everybody in the poorer neighborhoods and make them containment areas for the homeless and make them invisible to the rest of the city, I think they’re on the right track,” Drutis said. “But if they want to deal with crime, if they want to deal with garbage, if they want to deal with all of the negative effects of being homeless? If they want to make communities whole? They’re absolutely on the wrong track.”
The city of Tacoma has also announced it will begin cleaning another encampment at the Murray Morgan Bridge on July 12. The city says although its policy allows for a 72-hour notice, the city wanted to announce it early to give people a chance to find shelter before then. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/homeless/tacoma-homeless-encampment-removal/281-2c086773-972a-4a78-93a5-90cedfd8f933 | 2022-06-23T02:30:45 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/homeless/tacoma-homeless-encampment-removal/281-2c086773-972a-4a78-93a5-90cedfd8f933 |
SEATTLE — Seattle’s Pride Parade, the fourth largest in the nation, will return in-person Sunday for the first time in two years.
"Family reunion is our theme, and we have so many people excited to march and attend," said Krystal Marx, the executive director of Seattle Pride.
But one group that has been present for the last 30 years will not be participating this year.
Earlier this month Seattle Pride organizers said Seattle police officers could participate in the parade, however, they could not be in uniform or wear anything with law enforcement insignias or logos. Now the Seattle Police Department is saying it will work the parade but its officers will not march.
The decision came after over 1,300 LGBTQIA+ community members responded to a survey saying they didn't want police represented in the parade.
"They're OK if officers marching in the parade don't have the uniform on," Marx said, "but we don't want to see that constant reminder of the brutality that happened."
Marx is referring to historical clashes between police and the LGBTQIA+ community, including the stonewall riots in 1969 which are considered the first major protest for equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Organizers also said the decision stems from several recent deadly police encounters involving Black Americans across the country. The decision doesn't sit well with Victoria Beach, the chair of the African American Advisory Council with SPD.
"Jumping on that bandwagon to carry this further for their own motives,” said Beach. “I want peace and [to] stop the division."
Seattle Pride said they're not trying to hijack any movements but instead, want to support the Black and brown communities within the LGBTQIA+ community. Nevertheless, Beach and SPD officers she's spoken with are frustrated with the organization's decision.
“I know a few officers that have said they are beyond upset. 'Why do we have to show up if we're not wanted there?'" said Beach.
More than 300 uniformed officers will provide public safety and security during the parade. Along with SPD officers, Seattle Pride has hired 80 private security officers as well.
"Hopefully this will be a great step building that trust in our community," Marx said. "Seeing that [they're] willing to give on something, we're willing to give on something."
Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz released a letter responding to Seattle Pride's decision, saying in part, "SPD employees will respectfully decline to march in the parade as they have for nearly three decades."
Diaz said the decision has been met with sadness by more than 100 LGBTQIA+ officers, commanders, and civilians. The letter goes on to say the decision is especially hurtful because other city workers will be allowed to participate in uniforms or insignias that identify their department.
Seattle Pride responded with a statement saying in part that Diaz's letter "highlights a lack of understanding and it blatantly disregards the concerns of our larger community – highlighting why so many Pride organizations here and nationally are restricting uniformed police participation." | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/seattle-police-seattle-pride/281-bb2943fc-de5b-4288-8d71-94dbfd10618b | 2022-06-23T02:30:51 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/seattle-police-seattle-pride/281-bb2943fc-de5b-4288-8d71-94dbfd10618b |
SEATTLE — Seattle’s Pike Place Market is hosting a Summer Night Market on June 23 and organizers just can’t hide their pride.
“When you walk up to the market you enter through a rainbow and it’s going to be an unforgettable evening of entertainment, shopping, food, drinks and a celebration of our LGBTQIA+ community!” said Madison Bristol, marketing manager with Pike Place Market.
The evening is 21 and over with two bars featuring farm-sourced cocktails. Live music and performances will surround the more than 25 local art and craft vendors with drag queens Aunt Flo and Versace Doll kicking off the evening. Aunt Flo is also the owner of Bonnie B’s Peppers.
The market represents a sample of the small businesses that will be championed by the Greater Seattle Business Association. The Association was established in 1981 and is Washington state’s LGBTQ+ and allied chamber of commerce. It’s the largest in the country and represents more than 1,300 small business, corporate, and nonprofit members who promote equality and diversity in the workplace.
Katy Carroll with Seattle Bite Society said their lesbian-owned company has been supported by the Business Association in numerous ways and is excited to give a portion of their summer night proceeds back to the Association.
“They do a lot of scholarship work with LGBTQ youth and I’m selling our cookie tins in the market in large part because of connections the GSBA had so we are excited to join them at summer night!” Carroll said.
The gift basket company will share a welcoming table with the Association so guests can learn more about the Association and its impact in the community.
Pike Place will extend their evening hours for Summer Night Market on Thursday, June 23 from 6-10 p.m. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/summer-night-market-in-seattle-is-june-23/281-3c1d4161-a657-465e-bcc2-56cd030db9ae | 2022-06-23T02:30:57 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/summer-night-market-in-seattle-is-june-23/281-3c1d4161-a657-465e-bcc2-56cd030db9ae |
As Manchester’s aldermen moved forward with contracts guaranteeing cost-of-living raises and step increases for full-time city staff, some noted the seasonal workers and some people who work for the city schools are still making less than $15 per hour — the wage floor for full-time city employees, which aldermen set with a resolution last month.
Aldermen voted to ratify a contract with the union representing city library staff, and moved forward with 11 other contracts, including agreements with police and firefighters’ unions, for potential ratification next month. Aldermen also voted to give cost-of-living raises for non-unionized city employees in each of the next three years.
But several people who spoke during the public comment section during Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen noted the disparity between pay for full-time city employees, and people working part time and seasonal jobs for the city and school district.
David Holt of Concord, representing the State Employees Association, and Kathy Staub of the Raise Up NH Coalition both urged aldermen to consider seasonal and part-time staff.
Several seasonal jobs advertised by the city offer pay below $15 per hour.
The city is offering lifeguards $14.40 per hour. Summer maintenance staff for the city Parks and Recreation Department can get $13.45. And the lowest-paid seasonal job advertised by the city, recreation aides for the Department of Public Works, stand to make just $8.37 per hour, though the position is open to children as young as 14.
Seasonal work for the Department of Public Works pays only a little more, at $15.10 per hour.
School board Vice Chair Jim O’Connell noted that many school district employees, including food service staff and paraprofessional educators, are still making less than $15 per hour. O’Connell criticized the city’s plan for the school budget, which cut about $2 million from the Board of School Committee’s proposal, because of the federal aid directed to schools. O’Connell said that $2 million could have been used to raise pay for school employees. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/local/manchester-aldermen-take-steps-to-raise-pay-for-full-time-city-staff-but-some-workers/article_59e09edc-beac-5f87-acdc-a0ee2b0b65ee.html | 2022-06-23T02:30:57 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/local/manchester-aldermen-take-steps-to-raise-pay-for-full-time-city-staff-but-some-workers/article_59e09edc-beac-5f87-acdc-a0ee2b0b65ee.html |
Phoenix Fire Department uses drones to help combat fires, keep firefighters safe
Division chief Daniel Cheatham toggled his controls, watching as he directed one of three new Phoenix Fire drones over a pile of rubble. Its engines whirred as it hovered over concrete slabs and a beat-up bus in a practice maneuver on Wednesday morning outside the Phoenix Fire Department Special Operations area.
Cheatham is the program manager of the Phoenix Fire Department's newly minted Unmanned Aerial Systems program, which was launched earlier this month to increase the efficiency and safety of firefighter missions.
During a press event on Wednesday, Cheatham and other Phoenix fire personnel demonstrated how drones are used to assist in combatting fires. Since June 6, the program has overseen over 10 missions, Cheatham said, providing reconnaissance for firefighters handling brush and structure fires.
Capt. Kenny Overton, the department's spokesperson, said drones are valuable for helping command staff make quick decisions during dangerous operations.
Drones are equipped with 360 orbital views and can be flown above or to the sides of an emergency area, eliminating the need to send firefighters into potential danger. During structure fires, live feed from drones inform command staff on how an incident is progressing, and whether the firefighting response is successful or if adjustments need to be made.
Hazmat situations are among the most dangerous for firefighters, but drones can provide a much-needed buffer, Overton said. He demonstrated this by having Cheatham fly the drone over the bus at the top of the rubble hill. Its mechanical blades were a blur as it moved around the vehicle. The drone fills in the information gaps that dispatchers and callers can't, Overton said.
"We can launch the drone and get a look at the vehicle, get a look at the placards on it before we have crews get to that and expose themselves to a chemical or substances," he said, "The zoom-in capabilities with the camera on the drone help us dial right in to see what is on this placard, what's going on, what kind of vehicle this is."
Cheatham, who is one of nine certified pilots, added that using drones in hazardous materials calls can help keep cancer at bay for firefighters.
"This drone can't catch cancer, but firefighters — we have a 65 greater chance of that," he said.
In the future, Cheatham hopes to employ drones in mountain rescues, where he expects they will help cut down the time needed to locate victims and the number of firefighters sent out.
"We can utilize this during mountain rescues to limit the number of rescuers we're putting on the mountain that could also potentially get injured," he said.
Drone operators complete around 50 hours of training to receive a basic Federal Administration Aviation license. They also undergo mission-specific training to prepare them for flying around structures or mountains and must attend mandatory monthly training sessions to keep their proficiency up.
Phoenix Fire currently operates smaller drones that perform well in Valley weather until around 110 degrees, when their battery begins to be compromised.
Larger drones, Cheatham said, can withstand higher temperatures and fly for longer times and the department might acquire them in the future, once the program is more settled. Phoenix fire drones can now log up to 35 minutes of flight time before they require a battery change.
It's easy to spot a drone team on a mission: two people, an observer and a pilot, in brightly colored high-vis vests directing drone flights. It's the observer's job to flag hazards in the air or on the ground that might impede the operator's work.
Cheatham said it's important to give them wide berth, and not to worry about privacy issues: operators are mindful of the public's privacy, and drones currently only deliver live feed. There are no recordings or stored photos.
Reach criminal justice reporter Gloria Rebecca Gomez at grgomez@gannett.com or on Twitter @glorihuh.
Support Local Journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/06/22/how-phoenix-fire-crews-assisted-drones-combat-fires/7695099001/ | 2022-06-23T02:40:57 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/06/22/how-phoenix-fire-crews-assisted-drones-combat-fires/7695099001/ |
'Tragedies can be prevented': Phoenix Fire officials speak out about drowning dangers
Phoenix Fire Chief Mike Duran lamented the recent uptick in drownings across the Valley while urging the community to take action during a news conference on Wednesday morning
In the past week, four children under the age of 5 have drowned or nearly drowned in the Phoenix area.
In fact, Duran said, there have been nine water-related incidents in Phoenix alone since April, when the department launched its new water safety campaign, Drowning Zero, focused on community education to prevent drownings.
The goal of the campaign, according to the department's website, is to ensure that there are no children left unsupervised and to eliminate any barriers to pool visibility and access to unsafe bodies of water. The department has increased messaging about water safety through media events, social media posts and billboards across the city, among other strategies.
"Tragedies can be prevented but it takes constant awareness and supervision," said Duran.
Latest case:2-year-old boy in critical condition after nearly drowning in backyard pool
Installing fencing around pools, assigning someone to supervise pool activities and always monitoring children when swimming can help prevent drowning. Signing kids up for swimming lessons also helps, Duran said, and emptying buckets and pools when not in use can keep curious toddlers safe.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that children aged 1 through 4 are at the highest risk for drowning deaths.
"We don't want another family to experience this suffering of losing a loved one and especially a child," said Duran.
Assistant Fire Chief Shelly Jamison urged community members to remain vigilant, saying the rise in near-drownings is a source of concern for the department.
"Frankly, we're at our wits' end," she said, "Last week, four children drowned or nearly drowned. Three of those instances involved pools and the other one a bathtub. The numbers are staggering and they're preventable."
The Arizona Department of Health Services keeps a list of swimming lessons across the Valley on its website.
Reporter Angela Cordoba Perez contributed to this article.
Reach criminal justice reporter Gloria Rebecca Gomez at grgomez@gannett.com or on Twitter @glorihuh.
Support Local Journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/06/22/phoenix-fire-officials-urge-community-help-prevent-drownings/7704096001/ | 2022-06-23T02:41:03 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/06/22/phoenix-fire-officials-urge-community-help-prevent-drownings/7704096001/ |
In a win for the prosecution, a district court judge says a former Lincoln police officer's report can be used against him at his upcoming assault trial.
The Lancaster County Attorney's Office had sought review of a county court judge's decision to suppress the document in Benjamin Rieker's case, a rarely seen move.
Rieker, 34, is accused of assaulting a 51-year-old man while working off-duty Oct. 31, 2020, at a Lincoln hospital and giving false information to an investigator looking into the allegation.
Both are misdemeanors.
Rieker, who resigned while under investigation, has pleaded not guilty.
In September, his attorney, Carlos Monzón, filed a motion asking the judge to suppress two statements Rieker made in the investigation: an additional case investigation report he wrote about the incident, and an hourlong interview he had with an investigator with the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.
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At issue was whether the so-called Garrity standard applied, referring to a 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a New Jersey case involving an investigation into officers allegedly fixing traffic tickets.
The officers were told they could refuse to answer but would be subject to removal from office if they did. Then, the statements were used against them at trial.
The Supreme Court ultimately found their statements, therefore, hadn't been made voluntarily.
In Rieker's case in late January, Lancaster County Court Judge Matt Acton ruled that the interview could be used against Rieker, but the additional case investigation report couldn't because he was required to complete it as part of an excessive-force investigation by internal affairs under threat of losing his job.
In a ruling this week, District Court Judge Kevin McManaman reversed the ruling, saying the report could go before the jury because Rieker had "neither a subjective nor an objectively reasonable belief that he would be fired if he declined to write the ACI report," the test required under Nebraska case law.
Rieker had testified that he believed he would be disciplined and could be terminated if he didn't. Even if he subjectively believed he would be fired for not writing the report, that wasn't reasonable, the judge said. And therefore not enough to satisfy the test.
Also, when Rieker wrote the report, an excessive-force complaint hadn't yet been made, an important distinction, McManaman said.
On Oct. 31, 2020, while working off-duty as a police officer at Bryan West Campus, Rieker allegedly pushed the Lincoln man who allegedly made a threat while walking out of the ER. The man lost his balance, fell and hit his head.
Rieker was put on a 30-day leave of absence as a result of an excessive-force complaint and later resigned. He had been an officer for about a year and a half.
The man he is accused of assaulting, Jan Noch, later was charged and convicted of attempted second-degree assault and terroristic threats for stabbing his neighbor Nov. 26, 2021, then running to get him help. He pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing next week.
Tom Casady's list of the 10 most infamous crimes in Lincoln history
Crimes of the times
This is simply one man’s perspective from the early 21st century (first written in 2010). I had to make a decision about crimes that occurred at locations that are inside the city today, but were outside our corporate limits at the time they occurred. I chose the latter.
Before beginning, though, I have to deal with three crimes that stand apart: the murders of three police officers in Lincoln. I’m not quite sure how to place them in a list. They all had huge impacts on the community, and on the police department in particular. Because these are my colleagues, I deal with them separately and in chronological order.
Patrolman Marion Francis Marshall
Shot in the shadow of the new Nebraska State Capital, Gov. Charles Bryan came to his aid and summoned additional help.
Lt. Frank Soukup
Marion Marshall was technically not a Lincoln police officer, so Lt. Soukup was actually the first Lincoln police officer killed on duty. One of his colleagues who was present at the motel and involved in the gunbattle, Paul Jacobsen, went on to enjoy a long career and command rank at LPD, influencing many young charges (like me) and leaving his mark on the culture of the agency.
Lt. Paul Whitehead
In the space of a few months, three LPD officers died in the line of duty. Frank Soukup had been murdered, and George Welter had died in a motorcycle crash. Paul Whitehead's partner, Paul Merritt, went on to command rank, and like Paul Jacobsen left an indelible mark at LPD and the community.
No. 1: Starkweather
The subject of several thinly disguised movie plots and a Springsteen album, the Starkweather murders are clearly the most infamous crime in Lincoln’s history — so far. One of the first mass murderers of the mass media age, six of Charles Starkweather’s 11 victims were killed inside the city of Lincoln, and the first was just on the outskirts of town. I didn’t live in Lincoln at the time, but my wife was a first-grader at Riley Elementary School and has vivid memories of the city gripped by fear in the days between the discovery of the Bartlett murders and Starkweather’s capture in Wyoming.
The case caused quite an uproar. There was intense criticism of the police department and sheriff’s office for not capturing Starkweather earlier in the week after the discovery of the Bartletts' bodies. Ultimately, Mayor Bennett Martin and the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners retained a retired FBI agent, Harold G. Robinson, to investigate the performance of local law enforcement. His report essentially exonerated the local law officers and made a few vanilla recommendations for improving inter-agency communication and training.
Now I know that many readers are mumbling to themselves “how obvious.” Hold your horses, though. It’s not quite as obvious as you might think. I had two experiences that drove this fact home to me. The first was a visit by a small group of journalism students. Only one member of the class had any idea, and her idea was pretty vague. You need to remember that the Starkweather murders were in 1957 and 1958 — before the parents of many college students were even born.
The second experience was a visit by a Cub Scout den. I was giving the kids a tour of the police station one evening. We were in the front lobby waiting for everyone to arrive. As I entertained the boys, I told the moms and dads that they might enjoy looking in the corner of the Sheriff’s Office display case to see the contents of Starkweather’s wallet — discovered a couple of years ago locked up in the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office safe. After a few minutes, one of the confused fathers asked me who Starkweather was, and why it was significant.
No. 2: Lincoln National Bank
On the morning of Sept. 17, 1930, a dark blue Buick carrying six men pulled up in front of the Lincoln National Bank at the northwest corner of 12th and O streets. Five of the men entered the bank, while a sixth stood outside by the Buick, cradling a machine gun. Observing the unusual events, a passerby called the police. The officer who responded, Forrest Shappaugh, was casually instructed by the machine-gun-toting lookout to just keep going, which he wisely did. Returning with reinforcements, he found that the robbers had already made good on their getaway, netting $2.7 million in cash and negotiable securities.
Ultimately, three of the six suspects were arrested. Tommy O’Connor and Howard Lee were convicted and sentenced. Jack Britt was tried twice but not convicted by a hung jury. Gus Winkeler, a member of Al Capone’s gang, winged a deal with County Attorney Max Towle to avoid prosecution in exchange for orchestrating the recovery of $600,000 in bearer bonds. The following year, Winkeler was murdered in Chicago, the victim of a gangland slaying. The final two robbers were never identified.
The Lincoln National Bank robbery stood as the largest cash bank robbery in the United States for many decades. It precipitated major changes at the Lincoln Police Department. Chief Peter Johnstone was rapidly “retired” after the robbery, the department’s fleet was upgraded to add the first official patrol cars, the full force was armed and a shotgun squad was organized. Forty-four years later when I was hired at LPD, the echo of the Lincoln National Bank robbery was still evident in daily bank opening details, and in the Thomspon submachine guns and Reising rifles that detectives grabbed whenever the robbery alarm sounded at headquarters.
No. 3: The Last Posse
My first inkling about this crime came when I was the chief deputy sheriff. One of my interns, a young man named Ron Boden (who became a veteran deputy sheriff), had been doing some research on Lancaster County’s only known lynching, in 1884. I came across a reference in the biography of the sheriff at the time, Sam Melick, to the murder of the Nebraska Penitentiary warden and subsequent prison break. Melick had been appointed interim warden after the murder and instituted several reforms.
Several years later, a colleague, Sgt. Geoff Marti, loaned me a great book, Gale Christianson’s "Last Posse," that told the story of the 1912 prison break in gory, haunting and glorious detail.
To make a long story short, convict Shorty Gray and his co-conspirators shot and killed Warden James Delahunty, a deputy warden and a guard on Wednesday, March 13, 1912. They then made their break — right into the teeth of a brutal Nebraska spring blizzard. Over the course to the next few days, a posse pursued. During the pursuit, the escapees carjacked a young farmer with his team and wagon. As the posse closed in, a gunfight broke out and the hostage was shot and killed in the exchange, along with two of the three escapees.
There was plenty of anger among the locals in the Gretna-Springfield vicinity about the death of their native son, and a controversy raged over the law enforcement tactics that brought about his demise. Lancaster County Sheriff Gus Hyers was not unsullied by the inquiry, although it appears from my prospect a century later that the fog of war led to the tragedy.
Christianson, a professor of history at Indiana State University who died earlier this year, notes the following on the flyleaf:
“For anyone living west of the Mississippi in 1912, the biggest news that fateful year was a violent escape from the Nebraska state penitentiary planned and carried out by a trio of notorious robbers and safe blowers.”
Bigger news on half the continent than the sinking of the Titanic during the same year would certainly qualify this murder-escape as one of the most infamous Lincoln crimes in history.
No. 4: Rock Island wreck
The Aug. 10, 1894, wreck of a Rock Island train on the southwest outskirts of Lincoln was almost lost in the mist of time until it was resurrected in the public consciousness by author Joel Williams, who came across the story while conducting research for his historical novel, "Barrelhouse Boys."
The wreck was determined to be the result of sabotage to the tracks, perhaps an attempt to derail the train as a prelude to robbery. Eleven people died in the crash and ensuing fire, making this a mass murder, to be sure. G.W. Davis was arrested and convicted of the crime but later received a full pardon. The story was told in greater detail earlier this year by the Lincoln Journal Star.
A historical marker is along the Rock Island Trail in Wilderness Park, accessible only by foot or bike from the nearest trail access points about a half-mile away at Old Cheney Road on the north, or 14th Street on the south.
Here’s the big question that remains unanswered: Was there really significant evidence to prove that George Washington Davis committed the crime, or was he just a convenient scapegoat? The fact that he received a gubernatorial pardon 10 years later leads me to believe that the evidence must have been unusually weak. If he was railroaded, then my second question is this: who really pried loose the tracks with the 40-pound crowbar found at the scene?
No. 5: Commonwealth
On Nov. 1, 1983, the doors to Nebraska’s largest industrial savings and loan company were closed and Commonwealth was declared insolvent. The 6,700 depositors with $65 million at stake would never be fully compensated for their loss, ultimately receiving about 59 cents on the dollar for their deposits, which they all mistakenly believed were insured up to $30,000 through the Nebraska Depository Insurance Guaranty Corporation, which was essentially an insurance pool with assets of only $3 million.
The case dominated Nebraska news for months. The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of three members of the prominent Lincoln family that owned the institution, the resignation of the director of the State Department of Banking and the impeachment of the Nebraska attorney general and the suspension of his license to practice law. State and federal litigation arising from the failure of Commonwealth drug on for years.
At the Lincoln Police Department, the Commonwealth failure led to the formation of a specialized white-collar crime detail, now known as the Technical Investigations Unit. At the time, municipal police departments in the United States had virtually no capacity for investigating financial crime and fraud of this magnitude, and we quickly became well known for our expertise in this area. The early experience served LPD very well in the ensuring years.
No. 6: Candice Harms
Candi Harms never came home from visiting her boyfriend on Sept. 22, 1992. Her parents reported her as a missing person the following morning, and her car was found abandoned in a cornfield north of Lincoln later in the day. Weeks went by before her remains were found southeast of Lincoln.
Scott Barney and Roger Bjorklund were convicted in her abduction and murder. Barney is in prison serving a life term. Bjorklund died in prison in 2001. Intense media attention surrounded the lengthy trial of Roger Bjorklund, for which a jury was brought in from Cheyenne County as an alternative to a change of venue. I have no doubt that the trial was a life-changing event for a group of good citizens from Sidney, who did their civic duty.
I was the Lancaster County sheriff at the time, involved both in the investigation and in the trial security. It was at about this time that the cellular telephone was becoming a consumer product, and I have often thought that this brutal crime probably spurred a lot of purchases. During my career, this is probably the second-most-prominent Lincoln crime in terms of the sheer volume of media coverage.
No. 7: Jon Simpson and Jacob Surber
A parent’s worst nightmare unfolded in September 1975 when these two boys, ages 12 and 13, failed to return from the Nebraska State Fair. The boys were the victims of abduction and murder. The case was similar to a string of other murders of young boys in the Midwest, and many thought that these cases were related -- the work of a serial killer. Although an arrest was made in the case here in Lincoln, the charges were eventually dismissed. William Guatney was released and has since died.
No. 8: John Sheedy
Saloon and gambling house owner John Sheedy was gunned down outside his home at 1211 P St. in January 1891. The case of Sheedy, prominent in Lincoln’s demiworld, became the talk of the town when his wife, Mary, and her alleged lover and accomplice, Monday McFarland, were arrested. Both were acquitted at trial. The Sheedy murder is chronicled in a great interactive multimedia website, Gilded Age Plains City, an online version that builds upon an article published in 2001 by Timothy Mahoney of the University of Nebraska.
No. 9: Patricia McGarry and Catherine Brooks
The bodies of these two friends were found in a Northeast Lincoln duplex in August 1977. Their murderer, Robert E. Williams, was the subject of a massive Midwest manhunt during the following week. Before his capture, he committed a third murder in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, and raped, shot and left for dead a victim who survived in Minnesota. He is the last man to be executed in Nebraska, sent to the electric chair in 1997.
No. 10: Judge William M. Morning
District Court Judge William Morning was murdered in February 1924. He was shot on the bench by an unhappy litigant in a divorce case. His court reporter, Minor Bacon, was also shot, but a notebook in his breast pocket deflected the bullet and saved his life.
Many other crimes
Choosing Lincoln's 10 most infamous crimes was a challenge. Although the top two were easy, the picture quickly became clouded. We tend, of course, to forget our history rather quickly. Many of the crimes I felt were among the most significant are barely remembered today, if not completely forgotten.
Some readers will take issue with my list. In choosing 10, here are the others I considered, in no particular order. They are all murders:
-- Mary O'Shea
-- Nancy Parker
-- Charles Mulholland
-- Victoria Lamm and Janet Mesner
-- Martina McMenamin
-- Regina Bos (presumably murdered)
-- Patty Webb
-- Marianne Mitzner
I also thought about the five murder-suicides in which a mother or father killed multiple family members before taking their own life. Though tragic, these crimes did not command the same kind of attention as the others, perhaps because there was no lengthy investigation, no tantalizing whodunit, no stranger-killer, nor any of the details that come out in the coverage of a major trial.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSpilger | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-says-ex-lpd-officers-statement-can-be-used-against-him-at-assault-trial/article_4795c071-bc42-5d73-b410-ebfa874096f2.html | 2022-06-23T02:43:17 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-says-ex-lpd-officers-statement-can-be-used-against-him-at-assault-trial/article_4795c071-bc42-5d73-b410-ebfa874096f2.html |
Nebraska is set to get $10,923 of a $1.25 million multistate settlement with Florida-based Carnival Cruise Line stemming from a 2019 data breach involving the personal information of about 180,000 Carnival employees and customers nationwide.
Among them were 507 Nebraskans, according to Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson.
In a news release, he said Carnival publicly reported the data breach in March 2020, about 10 months after the company first became aware of suspicious email activity.
A multistate investigation by attorneys general followed, focusing on Carnival’s email security practices and compliance with state breach notification statutes.
Peterson said the breach included names, addresses, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, payment card information, health information and a relatively small number of Social Security numbers.
Under the settlement, Carnival has agreed to a series of provisions designed to strengthen its email security and breach response practices going forward.
Popular Omaha mini bowling bar and restaurant to open Lincoln location
Tyler Lindstrom, brother of Nebraska state senator, dead at 39
Stored for decades near Sumner, rare Mustang sells for $442,000
Lincoln tattoo artist threw used needles at former boss upon firing, police say
A flurry of fraud: City clerks have recently stolen money from 17 Nebraska towns
'I don’t think anybody is really surprised': Nebraska volleyball gets commit from No. 1 national recruit Skyler Pierce
Nebraska Game and Parks rejects turkey hunt changes, approves lion, river otter seasons
Barn finds: In rural Sumner, a million-dollar muscle car collection goes to auction
Two Gretna teens die in collision on Interstate 29 near Percival, Iowa
Watch now: Lincoln student opens boutique in Waverly inspired by late grandmother
Six weeks after female eagle is slain in Seward County, male and chick die, too
Improvements transform Pinewood Bowl from a stage in the park to a professional venue
Town hall meeting draws avid drag racers, residents annoyed by motorists racing on O Street
Biz Buzz: Lincoln pizza restaurant closing down
Assistant city attorney acquitted of criminal trespass charge in Lincoln
Top Journal Star photos for June
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Members of a pride color guard perform their routine during the second-ever Star City Pride Parade at the Capitol on Saturday, June 18, 2022. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
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Campers participate in drills during the Nebraska football camp on Friday, June 17, 2022, at Memorial Stadium. JAIDEN TRIPI, Journal Star
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Jake Owen performs alongside his band during a performance at the Pinewood Bowl in Pioneers Park on Thursday, June 16, 2022. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
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Nebraska freshman guard Callin Hake gets a high five from head women's basketball coach Amy Williams during practice on Thursday, June 15, 2022, at Hendricks Training Complex. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
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Former Husker Jordan Larson does a demonstration during a volleyball camp, Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at Kinetic Sports Complex. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
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Trent Claus, a VFX supervisor and animation art collector, reminisces with some of his art on a couch for watching Saturday morning cartoons at the Eisentrager/Howard Gallery in Richards Hall on the UNL campus on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
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Daniel Bartek lounges by the waters of Holmes Lake after a long day of work on Friday, June 10, 2022. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Top Journal Star photos for June
Carpet Land’s Caden Cetak (left) slides for home as Judds Brothers’ Chase Blanchard tags him out during the annual Mike Peterson/Coach K Legion tournament championship game Sunday, June 11, 2022, at Den Hartog Field. JAIDEN TRIPI, Journal Star
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New Kids on the Block perform Saturday, June 11, 2022, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. JAIDEN TRIPI, Journal Star
JAIDEN TRIPI Journal Star
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Nebraska offensive linemen Kevin Williams Jr (center) huddles up with campers before taking a break during a football camp held at the Lincoln Sports Foundation field on Saturday, June 11, 2022. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
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Spectators watch as purebred pigs are showcased Saturday, June 11, 2022, at the Cornhusker Classic Swine Show at Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo. JAIDEN TRIPI, Journal Star
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A bicyclist peddles uphill past a field of wildflowers on a section of the Mopac bike trail near Vine Street on Friday, June 10, 2022. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
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Union Bank’s Reese Kortum pitches the ball against a Millard North batter during a Mike Peterson/Coach K Legion Tournament game on Friday, June 10, 2022, at Densmore Field. JAIDEN TRIPI, Journal Star
JAIDEN TRIPI Journal Star
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Anderson Ford's Braeden Sunken bats in the third inning of a Mike Peterson Tournament legion baseball game against Millard North on Friday, June 10, 2022, at Densmore Park. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
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The flyover bridge that will connect U.S. 77 to the South Beltway has steel beams laid the entire west to east distance on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
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Lincoln Salt Dogs left fielder Randy Norris dives but misses the catch after a long ball hit by Chicago Dog's Grant Kay ( not pictured) in the second inning at Haymarket Park on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Top Journal Star photos for June
A rancher takes a load off while waiting for an auction during the annual Cattlemen’s Ball of Nebraska at the Cass County Fairgrounds on June 4 in Weeping Water. The annual fundraiser moves around the state, and is held in a new location each year.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
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North’s Kamden Dusatko (middle) and his teammates celebrate their win over South in the Shrine Bowl on June 4 at Ron and Carol Cope Stadium in Kearney.
JAIDEN TRIPI, Journal Star
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Nebraska head football coach Scott Frost speaks with recruits to wrap up the Friday Night Lights camp at Memorial Stadium on Friday, June 3, 2022. JAIDEN TRIPI, Journal Star
JAIDEN TRIPI Journal Star
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Tire marks mar the surface of the parking lot of Kohls, at the corner of 84th and O street, in this aerial view on June 2.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Top Journal Star photos for June
A memorial to victims of a crash that occurred May 29 is set up on O Street at the site of the crash on June 2.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Top Journal Star photos for June
A family-style seafood boil, tossed in butter and Cajun seasonings, is complimented by New Orleans-style beverages at Bourbon Street by Single Barrel, located in the Haymarket in Downtown, on June 1.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Top Journal Star photos for June
Lincoln Police Officer and CSI instigator Jason Hellmuth talks about using various lights to inspect crime scenes during Bridging the Gap on June 1.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
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It’s official: A ballot initiative is underway to let voters decide whether Lincoln’s city code should include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity — as well as active military and veterans.
It's a grassroots effort called Let Lincoln Vote, with no plans to organize a campaign or raise money, just the conviction that, given the chance, a majority of Lincolnites will vote to expand the anti-discrimination protections.
“We know if we get this to the ballot — no, when we get this to the ballot — in November, overwhelmingly, Lincoln will vote to affirm anti-discrimination language in city code because that’s who we are,” said Kay Siebler, associate professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, who spoke to reporters. “We’re a city who cares, we are a city who protects our most vulnerable, and we are a city of diversity and inclusion.”
Siebler and other longtime advocates for such protections filed the ballot language Wednesday with the city clerk, officially starting the process. They hope to collect the needed 8,846 signatures by Aug. 1.
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They will need to turn those signatures into the city clerk, who will then send them to the Lancaster County Election Commission to be verified. The City Council will either adopt the initiative, or vote to put it on the ballot in November. That all has to happen by Sept. 1 to get it on the general election ballot.
It’s the latest development in the attempt to pass a so-called fairness ordinance, which began months earlier when the City Council passed an ordinance broadly updating the city’s code and expanding protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Opponents launched a successful referendum petition compelling the council to either rescind the ordinance or let voters decide, and last week the council narrowly voted to rescind it, along with a more narrowly worded fairness ordinance that had been in limbo for a decade.
The ballot initiative came as a surprise to City Council members, who learned of it when they got emails during budget briefings by department heads Tuesday.
Siebler said supporters did not speak to council members before starting the initiative because the group knows the council is busy and the time to get sufficient signatures was short.
“We feel like we are just the next leg of the relay,” she said. “The baton indirectly has been passed to us, so we are getting it on the ballot because last week’s City Council vote didn't end in that.”
Council members Sändra Washington and Tom Beckius stood nearby Wednesday listening to the news conference.
Beckius, who said he voted to rescind the ordinance because he didn’t see a path forward to win at the ballot box, said he listened to the news conference to learn more about the group’s intentions, and it didn’t assuage those concerns.
“It’s a wrinkle none of us considered and I don’t know what to make of it,” he said.
Washington, who led the effort to introduce and pass the ordinance and was part of a campaign group called Lincoln For All working toward its passage at the ballot box, said she’s supportive of the effort, but is still working through what the latest development means. If it's on the ballot, she’ll work to get it passed, she said.
“They can’t afford not to have everyone who believes in this working very hard to get this done.”
The time frame the group is working under is much more compressed, she said. Washington's group had been raising money and looking at a possible special election, which could have happened next year, and anticipated an educational campaign before that happened.
Lincoln For All released a statement Wednesday saying it was not associated with the ballot initiative, but understands the frustration of those who started it.
“When our elected leaders fail to lead, as the City Council did when they voted to rescind Title 11, the people have every right to take action,” the statement said.
Councilman James Michael Bowers, who also voted to rescind because he was concerned transgender citizens would be targeted, said any effort to put this on the ballot should follow their leadership.
“I will always fight for equal protections for people in my community and push forward for equality,” he said. “It’s important, based on scare tactics and lies against the transgender community ... those voices are centered.”
Nate Grasz, policy director for the Nebraska Family Alliance, which led the referendum petition, said the City Council did the right thing when it rescinded the ordinance and this as a step backward.
“We think citizens spoke loudly when we collected over 18,000 signatures (for the referendum) in just two weeks,” he said. “What’s important is this doesn’t change anything for us. We’ve been prepared for this to go to the ballot since we filed our petition in March asking them to rescind (the ordinance) or put it on the ballot.”
Siebler said the "grassroots" group is focused on getting the question on the ballot — not on raising money or conducting an educational campaign. She asked anyone who wants to help collect signatures to visit the LetLincolnVote.com to sign up.
“We are not going to assume that people are going to attack. We are not going to assume that there's going to be haters in the community.” she said. “We are not going to assume that bad things are going to happen. To assume means inaction and we want to get this on the ballot. We believe, we know, we trust that Lincoln will vote against discrimination.”
Before the ordinance passed in February, some transgender advocates had been vocal about their fears that supporters were not adequately prepared to win at the ballot box given a well-organized and well-funded opposition and that transgender people would be the target of any opposition campaign.
Those concerns prompted at least some of the council members to vote to rescind the ordinance, though they support the protections.
Like the ordinance, the ballot initiative would broadly update Title 11, the portion of city code that deals with equal protection in housing, employment and public accommodation.
In addition to expanding protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity, it adds active military and veterans as a protected class, updates language on race to include such protections as hair texture and hairstyles, as well as updating disability language.
Siebler said when the first fairness ordinance passed 10 years ago, the misstep was never putting it on the ballot.
“Because then you know. It’s not good to anticipate a loss ... you have to call on people to say ‘Show us who you are.’ Then we can move forward after that vote.”
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Reach the writer at 402-473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSreist | https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/group-takes-the-baton-from-city-council-and-launches-fairness-ordinance-ballot-initiative/article_6375cc52-2c84-5689-8ddc-97bb70ae12c2.html | 2022-06-23T02:43:29 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/group-takes-the-baton-from-city-council-and-launches-fairness-ordinance-ballot-initiative/article_6375cc52-2c84-5689-8ddc-97bb70ae12c2.html |
Dallas Airport officials commissioned an economic impact study that includes the suggestion of expanding Dallas Love Field Airport.
The study was presented Tuesday to the Dallas City Council Transportation Committee.
It comes as a surprise to Love Field neighbors who recall years of controversy about noise and traffic at the Dallas airport.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea for the neighborhood, and the reason why we fought this some time ago and thought we were through with it,” neighbor Olga Smith said.
The Wright Amendment that limited Love Field to serving only adjacent states as protection for DFW Airport was repealed in 2006.
In return for allowing long-haul service by Southwest Airlines at Love Field, a 5-party agreement between Dallas, Fort Worth, DFW Airport, American Airlines and Southwest capped Love Field at just 20 gates.
“And now we're going to go back again and say now we're going to dump even more traffic on these neighborhoods,” said neighbor Judd Bradbury.
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Before DFW Airport was built, Love Field once had more than 70 gates when it was the dominant North Texas Airport.
With the long haul service allowed, Southwest Airlines' business has been soaring at Love Field.
Tuesday, Economist Bernard Weinstein who did the study for Dallas Airport officials dropped the bombshell suggestion.
“Staff asked me to deal with the following issue. Is it time to expand Love Field,” Weinstein said.
His assessment was that it would be a big economic benefit for the City of Dallas.
“If we were to add five to 10 gates at Love Field, that would also have no impact on growth at DFW airport. I think it’s time to at least consider expanding capacity at Dallas Love Field,” Weinstein said.
City Council Members at the meeting knew there would be strong feelings among neighbors.
Gay Donnell Willis represents neighborhoods just northwest of the airport.
“And all I can think of was I would buy all the Kevlar I need to wear when the neighbors start complaining to me about the sound,” she said.
Judd Bradbury, who lives under the Love Field flight path, said more flights would hurt property values.
“We don't include what the negative economic impact is on the people in that economic study,” he said.
Neighbors were not consulted in the information presented to the city council committee.
“I really don't see that being economically beneficial to anybody but the airport,” Smith said.
The City of Dallas also owns Dallas Executive Airport in Southwest Dallas. Some Council Members wanted small plane traffic shifted there before adding any new gates at Love Field.
“As much as we are a city for business, we're also a city for people to live in peace,” Council Member Cara Mendelsohn.
But the committee members thanked airport officials for considering options.
Aviation Director Mark Duebner confirmed that it was a request to Weinstein.
“Come back and tell us and that’s part of the analysis. We’re not advocating that’s the direction we want to take right now,” Duebner said.
Weinstein said it could be good for consumers.
“Adding more gates would offer the opportunity to get more competition and perhaps more carriers,” he said.
A spokesperson said Southwest Airlines was not part of the inquiry and declined to comment on the potential expansion. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/airport-officials-explore-dallas-love-field-expansion/2998330/ | 2022-06-23T02:45:14 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/airport-officials-explore-dallas-love-field-expansion/2998330/ |
New security equipment installed at a Uvalde school is the first step of a multi-layer approach to help protect students and staff.
The new cameras and electro-magnetic locks were part of a donation to Sacred Heart Catholic School, thanks to a company out of San Antonio.
The new addition comes as many families of Robb Elementary are exploring new education options for their kids.
Within the last week, Sacred Heart's new enrollment numbers doubled. A big factor in these decisions, officials say, is security.
"I feel safer because I know that she's safe. Nobody imagines you're going to go through something like this, especially in a small town," said Gina Garcia, whose daughter attended Robb Elementary School.
Garcia's daughter is now making the switch from a public to private education.
"Her attitude changed with school. She didn't want to do anything with school. She was like, 'I want to homeschool. I'm scared.' She was terrified," said Garcia. "I didn't want to send her back to the school district."
Garcia's soon-to-be 4th grader was inside Robb Elementary when the shooting happened. Attending Sacred Heart was an answered prayer, Garcia says, thanks to the help of a private donor.
"I was blessed to be able to have a donor because I am a single mom and it is hard financially. That was one of the biggest barriers of her not being able to attend," she explained.
Marisela Roque, whose children are 4th and 5th grade students, will also attend Sacred Heart this fall.
"I feel like my kids are safer there now because [the principal is] putting security cameras and changing out windows. He's doing a lot of change just to secure the school," said Roque.
The Archdiocese of San Antonio started a million dollar campaign to help Uvalde by providing tuition assistance, a full-time counselor and security at Sacred Heart.
Principal, Joseph Olan says Convirgent Technologies installed cameras inside and outside the school.
"They donated a $42,000 security system of mag locks, they're coming back with security key cards," said Olan, who adds that fencing and protective doors and windows are next on the list when funding comes in.
“We have a corporate culture of service, but this project was an incredibly special mission," said Rick Alexander, General Manager of Convergint Technologies. "It was a humbling experience, and a very special day of giving back for our team.”
Sacred Heart ended the last school year with 55 students. They have the capacity for 170.
A dozen who enrolled for next school year, Olan says, came from Robb Elementary.
"We do have over 60 registration packets out currently. I am meeting with parents on a daily basis," said Olan. "Security, counseling, tuition assistance. I think those things right now are the three main concerns for families."
Olan anticipates having between 150 and 170 students this upcoming school year. He says if more contributions for tuition assistance come in, that will open the door for more families to help Sacred Heart reach capacity.
While Catholic Extension and Catholic Charities are helping with tuition assistance, more help is needed to reach the archdiocese's campaign goal. Olan says San Antonio philanthropist, Harvey Najim, also contributed a substantial amount.
The archdiocese is aiming to provide three years of tuition assistance for students who transfer to Sacred Heart. To support the campaign, text UVALDE to 210-750-6712.
When KENS 5 interviewed Principal Olan, the school just wrapped up Wellness Wednesday, where members of the archdiocese provide counseling for the community. This upcoming school year, Sacred Heart will have trauma response for all staff members, including social emotional development training so they can help students who need long-term assistance. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/security-equipment-installed-at-uvalde-school-first-step-of-multi-layer-protection-approach/273-46278212-08a9-4b95-9d8c-213e7014270e | 2022-06-23T02:45:32 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/security-equipment-installed-at-uvalde-school-first-step-of-multi-layer-protection-approach/273-46278212-08a9-4b95-9d8c-213e7014270e |
HARRISBURG, Pa. — "On this street, I've been clipped multiple times," said Brandon Basom.
Basom is a bicyclist in Harrisburg. He says State Street has been the scene of many pedestrian death and car accidents for quite some time.
That's why the city of Harrisburg introduced the final design for the State Street project. It's designed to make this road safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
"State street is legally going to have the same amount of parking spaces that we are allowed to have and it's going to be safer," said Matt Maisel, Harrisburg's Director of Communications.
After hosting a series of townhalls, Maisel says parking and safety were the top two priorities among Harrisburg residents.
The new design features texturized crosswalks, flashing lights at intersections and more visibility around the corners of this street.
Some residents were in favor of this new design.
"This does take some steps to try to improve safety for both pedestrians and cyclists," said Jim Buckheit.
"I was only concerned about one thing and that was getting up and moving my car twice a day to let somebody ride their bike down through the city," said John Stuart, another Harrisburg resident.
Despite some community support, Basom wasn't 100% on board with the final design.
"The actual structural changes that would slow traffic and we know change lives haven't been done," he explained. "They have not decreased the number of lanes they have not added bike infrastructure pertaining to bike lanes."
Next, the city of Harrisburg has to get approval from PennDOT before officially restarting the State Street Project. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/city-of-harrisburg-final-design-of-state-street-project/521-681970c9-97e6-413a-9e25-3e723c532236 | 2022-06-23T02:45:32 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/city-of-harrisburg-final-design-of-state-street-project/521-681970c9-97e6-413a-9e25-3e723c532236 |
HAMMOND — Culver's is now serving its famous butter burgers, cheese curds and custard just off the highway in Hammond.
Co-founder Craig Culver, local franchisee Fred Terpstra, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. and other dignitaries were in attendance at the grand opening at 7905 Cabela’s Drive by Cabela's. The Wisconsin-based fast-casual chain known for its elevated take on burgers and other fast-food staples is located off the Indianapolis Boulevard exit off the Borman Expressway.
“We are pleased Culver’s has chosen Hammond to set down some roots and grow their business model,” McDermott said. “Their team is showing us that we are relevant to them and that Hammond is worth the investment.”
Culver's, which now has six locations in Northwest Indiana, started in Sauk City, north of Madison in Wisconsin, Culver said.
"If you've ever been to the Dells or through Wisconsin, you probably passed by the original restaurant, which we opened in 1984," he said. "It was family-owned back then, and it's still family-owned right now."
Culver's has now grown to more than 870 locations across the Midwest.
"A lot of people make fun of flipping burgers for a living," Culver said. "Well, when you flip a lot of burgers, it's a pretty good business. I'm very proud of what we do. We're in the food business. But what we're really in is the people business. All these wonderful team members, that's the magic to any business, I believe. It's surrounding yourself with good people."
His observation is rooted in a long family history in the restaurant business.
"My family's been in business since I was this high, in the restaurant business in one form or another," he said. "My parents weren't college-educated or anything like that, but they were smart and they were good people. Looking back at my parents, they were so good surrounding themselves with people who knew how to say please and thank you and my pleasure and respected the people around them. We've tried to keep that going at Culver's."
Culver's has grown by partnering with families like the Terpstras who own franchises, Culver said.
"We've got 873 restaurants open in 26 states starting with one little restaurant 38 years ago," he said. "People ask me, did you have a grand plan? I would love to say, 'yeah, I knew exactly.' But I did not. Good things happen along the way when you're trying to do good things."
The company overcame early adversity, he said.
"It wasn't always easy. It never is just easy," he said. "The first year of business we were so lucky to have a banker who believed in the Culver family. We lost so much money. But we persevered. I was ready to throw up the white flag. I thought we need to do something else. We're not going to make it. But my family was around me, and they said we're going to do what it takes. If that means working early in the morning to late at night seven days a week, that's what we're going to do. And that's what we did. But we were fortunate to have a banker who believed in us that first year. We didn't make a buck at the business until our third year."
Succeeding in the restaurant business requires hard work, Culver said.
"One thing I say to our franchisees, our owners, our managers is just because you put that oval sign out by the road, it doesn't guarantee you success. It doesn't," he said. "We leaders have to drive the business, whether it's Culver's, whatever business it's in. We leaders have to drive the business day in and day out and be there for our people."
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Parlor Doughuts, Domino's, Gyros Bar and Grill and Captain's Seafood opening
Joseph S. Pete is a Lisagor Award-winning business reporter who covers steel, industry, unions, the ports, retail, banking and more. The Indiana University grad has been with The Times since 2013 and blogs about craft beer, culture and the military.
"Centennial Park has become a regional, destination type of park. The fees were set at a price point to be attractive for visitors but to also capture funds to help offset their impact on the park."
"It's gratifying to be able to help a military family, especially at a time when people in this country say 'thank you for your service' as lip service."
Giant life-sized dinosaurs, including colossal T-Rexes and Brontosauruses that stand up to 14 feet tall, will soon invade Harvest Tyme at 17904 Grant St in Lowell. | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/culvers-now-serving-butter-burgers-in-hammond/article_0d00ff95-5651-5ec7-813e-96d7cbd1eb4e.html | 2022-06-23T02:47:00 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/culvers-now-serving-butter-burgers-in-hammond/article_0d00ff95-5651-5ec7-813e-96d7cbd1eb4e.html |
MICHIGAN CITY — A woman from Michigan City was killed in a collision on State Route 39 on Wednesday, police said.
A black 2019 Nissan Maxima, driven by Ricquelle Wren, 32, of Michigan City, was traveling north. A white 2017 Mack tri axle dump truck, driven by Mark Chizum, 68, of Mishawaka, was traveling south.
For unknown reasons, the Nissan left the lane and drove left of center into the southbound lane and directly into the path of travel of the commercial motor vehicle. The vehicles collided head on.
The crash caused the passenger vehicle to come to a rest along the shoulder of the northbound lane. The CMV crossed the southbound lane and left the east side of the State Road before coming to rest in a ditch.
Wren was pronounced dead at the scene. Chizum sustained an upper body injury and was treated at a nearby hospital.
Toxicology test results are pending. The crash investigation is ongoing, and no further information is being released, police said.
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Gallery: Recent arrests booked into LaPorte County Jail
Kendra Smutek
Arrest Date: June 20, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Theft
Class: Felony
Age: 32
Residence: Flint, MI
Gregory Spence
Arrest Date: June 20, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: OWI
Class: Misdemeanor
Age: 68
Residence: Walkerton, IN
Robert Jones Jr.
Arrest Date: June 20, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Class: Misdemeanor
Age: 28
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Dylan Fredenburg
Arrest Date: June 19, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Criminal confinement; Domestic Battery
Class: Felony; Misdemeanor
Age: 27
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Hiawatha Wright
Arrest Date: June 19, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Possession of Cocaine
Class: Felony
Age: 49
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Jeremy Simpson
Arrest Date: June 19, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon
Class: Felony
Age: 36
Residence: Gary
Cody Peck
Arrest Date: June 17, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Failure to Return to Lawful Detention
Class: Felony
Age: 29
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Dewhite Garland
Arrest Date: June 18, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Criminal Trespass
Class: Felony
Age: 43
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Timothy Belue
Arrest Date: June 16, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Possession of Methamphetamine
Class: Felony
Age: 51
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Dijon Mitchell
Arrest Date: June 17, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon; Domestic Battery; Theft; Auto Theft
Class: Felonies
Age: 31
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Abygail Dubbs
Arrest Date: June 19, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Unlawful Possession of Syringe; Possession of a Narcotic Drug
Class: Felonies
Age: 27
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Ryan Freeman
Arrest Date: June 16, 2022
Arresting Agency: Michigan City Police Department
Offense Description: Fraud; Theft
Class: Felonies
Age: 27
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Arieonna Copprue
Arrest Date: June 16, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Fraud On a Financial Institution
Class: Felony
Age: 22
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Franklin Schroeder
Arrest Date: June 16, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Escape
Class: Felony
Age: 33
Residence: Michigan City, IN
Cristian Hernandez
Arrest Date: June 16, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Intimidation
Class: Felony
Age: 24
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Elizabeth Dusevicius
Arrest Date: June 16, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Fraud On a Financial Institution; Identity deception; Fraud
Class: Felonies
Age: 32
Residence: Hickory Hills, IL
Blake Amor
Arrest Date: June 15, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Burglary Resulting in Bodily Injury; Robbery Resulting in Bodily Injury; Intimidation
Class: Felonies
Age: 24
Residence: New Carlisle, IN
Dominique Tackitt
Arrest Date: June 1342022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Unlawful Possession of Syringe
Class: Felony
Age: 26
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Larry Phillips Jr.
Arrest Date: June 13, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte Police Department
Offense Description: Escape; Possession of Methamphetamine
Class: Felonies
Age: 50
Residence: LaPorte, IN
Jack McLean
Arrest Date: June 14, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Failure to Appear
Class: Felony
Age: 56
Residence: South Bend, IN
David Serrano
Arrest Date: June 15, 2022
Arresting Agency: LaPorte County Sheriff's Office
Offense Description: Failure to Return to Lawful Detention
Class: Felony
Age: 53
Residence: Gary, IN
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Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/michigan-city-woman-was-killed-in-collision-on-state-route-39-police-said/article_b2e19f22-d53b-595e-a620-f08069739656.html | 2022-06-23T02:47:19 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/michigan-city-woman-was-killed-in-collision-on-state-route-39-police-said/article_b2e19f22-d53b-595e-a620-f08069739656.html |
PORTAGE — Two Portage Police Department officers were injured while arresting two juvenile females Tuesday, police said.
An officer observed two young women stumbling barefoot along U.S. Highway 20 at approximately 2:11 a.m. The officer stopped to check their welfare and found them under the influence of unknown substances.
The two females reported they lied to their parents about their whereabouts and were given a ride to the local motel by an adult, who rented the room for them to "party" with several men, police said.
The 15-year-old female and 16-year-old female were determined by police to have voluntarily stayed at the hotel to engage in sexual acts with multiple, possibly adult males.
Based on the information that a person under the legal age of consent was engaged in sexual acts with a group of men, along with the indications of substance abuse, officers traveled to Travel Inn to investigate, police said.
After speaking to the desk clerk to determine the room the men were in, several officers positioned themselves outside the door of the room while others set up a perimeter around the hotel.
Officers heard voices making statements that the two girls who left "looked like they were 12 or 13" and how they had attempted to have sex with them anyways.
Officers knocked on the door and heard a female voice respond that she needed a second to get dressed. A 15-year-old female opened the door wrapped in a bed sheet.
Officers observed a partially clothed 16-year-old woman yell "Cops!" A 17-year-old male wearing only underwear leaped out of the window, where he was detained.
As this occurred Brendan Richardson-Willis, 19, who was wearing only underwear and a face mask attempted to shove past officers to flee. A physical struggle ensued between Richardson-Willis and three officers.
Richardson-Willis was tased twice, but it had no effect. At one point, Richardson-Willis was forced to the ground where he reached under the hotel bed. It was later discovered that there was a loaded pistol grip 12-gauge shotgun and a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol under the bed.
He then attempted to disarm each officer, but it was prevented. However, two holsters were damaged. After a third taser, Richardson-Willis was brought under control and handcuffed.
He suddenly lost consciousness and was transferred to a local hospital for evaluation. After being found in good health, he was transferred to Porter County Jail.
While on scene, two additional males were found in a vehicle. One 17-year-old male admitted to being in the room with Richardson-Willis and was found in possession of THC vape cartridges and drug paraphernalia, and he was arrested, police said.
During the investigation, officers recovered a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun, 9mm Taurus semi-automatic pistol, marijuana, marijuana wax, THC vape cartridges, alcohol, CO2 cartridges and three prescription-only medications abused by occupants.
Three officers sustained injuries consisting of abrasions to arms, a sprained elbow, a bone chip from the elbow and a swollen hand. Several officers present also complained of coughing and shortness of breath due to inhalation of unknown substances in the hotel room.
Each officer was able to transport themselves to the hospital for treatment and returned to work the following evening.
The investigation is ongoing in regard to sexual offenses occurring to the three 15-year-old females, police said. The adult female who rented the room faces criminal charges related to contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Richardson-Willis was charged with battery to law enforcement resulting in injury, resisting law enforcement causing injury, possession of a legend drug, possession of a controlled substance, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, inhaling toxic vapors, visiting a common nuisance, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.
Two female juveniles were charged with visiting a common nuisance. A male juvenile was charged with visiting a common nuisance, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.
Another male juvenile was charged with possession of a legend drug, possession of a controlled substance, resisting law enforcement, possession of marijuana, visiting a common nuisance, inhaling a toxic vapor and possession of paraphernalia.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Porter County Jail
The man was shot about 11:35 p.m. Sunday outside the Save gas station in the 3200 block of West Fourth Avenue in Gary, according to the Lake County coroner's office and police. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/portage-officers-injured-during-arrest-police-say/article_eb39b776-4b83-50ec-8ec6-85340e7a815d.html | 2022-06-23T02:47:25 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/portage-officers-injured-during-arrest-police-say/article_eb39b776-4b83-50ec-8ec6-85340e7a815d.html |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A partnership between the City of Portland, Multnomah County and the affordable housing organization, Home Forward, aims to better track how hot people’s homes become, and alert residents or their families when conditions become too hot.
A pilot program to monitor and study heat indoors begins this summer with residents at three Home Forward-owned buildings in Northwest, Hollywood and East Portland. The program will use sensors that track heat and humidity and alert the person living in the home, their loved ones or whoever is set up to receive the alerts. The sensor can make a noise, or alert, via a text message or other communication.
“We really don’t want people to try and gut it out in their building and just hang on for a little bit longer because we saw last year what a tragedy that can lead to,” said Jonna Papaefthimiou, the chief resiliency officer for the City of Portland.
The study also incorporates three different buildings, low, mid, and high rises.
The sensors, from Capa Consulting, have SIM cards like cell phones to send data to track how hot the different kinds of buildings are in the different areas of the city. That will help get a true picture of the conditions inside apartment buildings because Papaefthimiou says currently, “we’re guessing based on the temperature outside.”
“We felt like we needed more information to be able to make good decisions to protect residents,” Papaefthimiou said.
Seventy-two people in Multnomah County died from hyperthermia related to the heat dome in the summer of 2020.
Knowing who was at risk, and where, was one problem, and so was getting people the message and supplies they needed quickly enough was another. The emergency manager for Multnomah County’s Department of Human Services, Jenny Carver, says there has been a concerted effort to fix that for this summer.
“One of the main things we’re trying to do is get the message out early and get resources out ahead of time. Last summer, we waited for a forecasted event to start distributing fans and cooling kits. That won’t be the case this summer,” she said.
Multnomah County does not plan to open cooling centers this weekend, based on the current forecast. The County works with the National Weather Service and points to temperatures staying below 100 degrees, a shorter duration of a heat wave, and temperatures cooling down to the 60s at night, as a reason not to at this point. However, they will adjust if there is a drastic change in the forecast.
At this time, Carver says the county has begun to distribute fans and assemble thousands of cooling kits that will include fans, misters and ice trays. The kits will be distributed with the help of county partners who work with lower-income homes, elderly people and those with health conditions that put them at risk in the heat.
There has also been more money dedicated to keeping the 211 operational after hundreds of calls were missed during the 2021 heat dome. It will now be staffed 24 hours a day.
“We’ve been working really closely with our partners at 211Info to make sure that their dispatch systems are shored up,” Carver said.
Papaefthlimiou hopes the data from the pilot program, which will cost around $50,000 for the partnership, will be launched into a more wide-ranging program that can help more people and expand to cities outside of Portland to map the worst effects of the heat.
“We’re starting to think about adaptation and how we can plan for the longer-term and the new reality of climate change in Portland. It feels like this is the kind of work that, in the long-term, helps us have less of those days where we’re just keeping people alive for another day,” she said. | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/heat-tracking-sensors-protect-residents-at-local-apartments/ | 2022-06-23T02:49:36 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/heat-tracking-sensors-protect-residents-at-local-apartments/ |
ROGERS, Ark. — Rogers will soon get its first aquarium, The Blue Zoo Aquarium, in Pinnacle Hills Promenade.
“We are looking for a September timeline, obviously, if you talk to any business right, they’ll tell you how hard it is to get the supplies in and get things put together in time,” said Blue Zoo Aquarium Founder, Wesley Haws.
The 22,000 square foot, $3.5 million projects will feature a fish petting zoo, a diving experience with sharks, a bird, butterfly and reptile exhibit amongst other things.
“Interactive water tables and games and a lot of opportunities to feed and interact with animals as well,” Haws said.
Currently, the Blue Zoo Aquarium has four locations. The Rogers location would be their fifth location. Haws says he chose Northwest Arkansas for several reasons. Looking at places with a metropolitan of one million people that did not have an aquarium. However, he says what made Northwest Arkansas special is the growth of the area.
“I tried to look for a place that’s really growing and a hot area and for sure Northwest Arkansas is booming,” Haws said.
When open, Haws said tickets for the aquarium will cost $19.95 for adults and $16.95 for kids.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/hands-on-aquarium-and-zoo-coming-rogers-before-end-of-year/527-84df840b-83e3-4ab9-957d-356f8d558d93 | 2022-06-23T02:53:53 | 1 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/hands-on-aquarium-and-zoo-coming-rogers-before-end-of-year/527-84df840b-83e3-4ab9-957d-356f8d558d93 |
Two teenagers who belong to a group called the “bank roll gang” face charges of car theft and organized crime, Blue Mound police say.
It happened Saturday night at the huge Carvana used car lot in Blue Mound. Police got a call someone was trying to steal cars.
Officers arrived in about one minute. They found a pickup truck had crashed into a security gate.
Officers say 18-year-old Ethan Gaither was behind the wheel. He was arrested nearby. Andy Sanchez, 18, of Arlington, was arrested later.
The search continues for two other suspects.
Police say Sanchez and the two other teens drove out another exit in a stolen Dodge Challenger.
"They take a $60,000 vehicle and smash it and total it, just to get another vehicle out of the lot,” Blue Mound police chief Dusty Steele said. “It shows they don't care."
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Officers are still looking for 18-year-old Aidian Pierce. Police say he posted a photo of himself on social media that appears to show him in the stolen Challenger.
Investigators say the teens are part of the "bank roll gang” that is active in the Arlington and Grand Prairie areas.
"Bank roll gang, from what we've learned about them, is they go around and steal vehicles, break into vehicles, steal guns, and whatever they can steal to sell it for a profit to add money to their 'bank roll,'" Steele said.
Police are asking for the public's help to get the remaining suspects off the streets.
"They're heavily armed from what we've seen,” the chief said. “They will run from the police in these vehicles. They''ll do whatever they can to get away."
The stolen Dodge Challenger has not been recovered, police said. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/teens-arrested-for-stealing-cars-were-part-of-bank-roll-gang-police/2998335/ | 2022-06-23T02:58:17 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/teens-arrested-for-stealing-cars-were-part-of-bank-roll-gang-police/2998335/ |
Philadelphia Police released surveillance video of a suspect accused of shooting and killing a 76-year-old man who was going on his morning walk earlier this week.
On Tuesday, around 5:30 a.m., police responded to a report of a person with a gun along the 4200 block of L Street. When they arrived they found 76-year-old Loi Nguyen suffering a gunshot wound to the head. Nguyen was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:44 a.m.
Investigators said Nguyen was out on his routine morning stroll in his neighborhood at the time of the shooting. Philadelphia Police later released surveillance video of a suspect. The video shows a man in a red hooded sweatshirt following Nguyen. He then flees the scene moments after the shooting.
“Loi was walking down the back driveway, seemingly minding his business with his hands in his pocket,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Frank Venore said. “An individual wearing a red hooded sweatshirt runs directly by him.”
During an afternoon press conference, Mayor Jim Kenney referenced the shooting as another example of the need for gun reform.
“Someone as inhuman as that should not have access to a gun. Ever,” Kenney said. “What type of person would do that to another human being?"
Nguyen is survived by a wife, daughter and granddaughter.
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“There are shootings every day, and to them our family case is normal,” the family told NBC10. “Shootings like this and random shootings, police don’t try hard enough.”
Nguyen was Vietnamese and there has been an uptick in hate crimes against Asian Americans over the last few years. Investigators have not confirmed whether or not the shooting was racially motivated however and say it’s too early to speculate in regards to a motive.
Police also said they are investigating an earlier incident in the same area involving a man with a similar description as the suspect in Nguyen’s death. During that incident a man had a gun during an argument though he never fired it and no one was hurt.
A gun violence tracker from the city controller’s office tallied 865 nonfatal and 223 fatal shooting victims as of Tuesday, June 21. Shootings have accounted for the most killings in Philadelphia this year. As of Tuesday night, there were 245 homicides in the city in 2022, down only 6 percent from the same time last year which was ultimately the deadliest year in Philadelphia on record.
Amid surging violence and a shortage in officers, the PPD earlier this month announced a partnership with the Pennsylvania State Police aimed at increasing the presence of law enforcement in areas of the city hit hardest by crime.
The public safety program, named “Operation Trigger Lock,” puts state troopers with Philadelphia police highway patrol officers in select locations throughout the city.
“During this joint initiative, it will not be uncommon to see both PPD and PSP vehicles with one PPD officer and one PSP trooper per vehicle,” a PPD spokesperson wrote.
Both departments will share intelligence and resources while patrolling the “most-challenged communities” in Philadelphia, with a focus on violent crime.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/video-shows-gunman-who-shot-and-killed-76-year-old-man-police-say/3278747/ | 2022-06-23T03:04:15 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/video-shows-gunman-who-shot-and-killed-76-year-old-man-police-say/3278747/ |
MOSCOW, Pa. — State police have arrested two suspects in the shooting death of a teenager over the weekend.
Officers have not yet told us the name of the suspect.
According to police, 17-year-old Joseph Roberson, of Thornhurst, was shot and killed around midnight Saturday at a home on Bowens Road in Spring Brook Township.
Developing story, check back for updates.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/breaking-arrest-made-in-shooting-death-of-teenager-joseph-roberson-spring-brook-township/523-5105356c-9743-4def-83bd-7403e58e45c4 | 2022-06-23T03:13:03 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/breaking-arrest-made-in-shooting-death-of-teenager-joseph-roberson-spring-brook-township/523-5105356c-9743-4def-83bd-7403e58e45c4 |
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — June 22, 1972 was a momentous day for the Chacko family.
Jon Chacko Sr. finalized a deal to purchase an old bowling center on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre.
His son remembers that evening well.
"He went there to the lanes itself to sign the papers over and he was happy. He came home and was thrilled," said Dan Chacko, now a co-owner of Chacko's Family Bowling Center. "Then the next day, we had the dikes break."
The next morning, flood waters from Hurricane Agnes swept through the city and filled the newly purchased bowling alley; the water rising above the doorway.
"You walk in and you look at it and it was like, it was unbelievable," Chacko said.
When the flood waters receded, the Chacko's got their first glimpse at the damage.
Dan was 15 at the time.
He said the floorboards and basement were caked in thick layers of mud.
"All these lanes that were here, they were all buckled up and twisted and they had to be cut in sections and broken apart," Chacko said. "[My father] wasn't just worried about himself, but knew that it was destroyed. Then he had to get an SBA loan to rebuild the place."
The Chacko's didn't let the bad luck get them down in the gutter and were determined to set the pins up again.
"Actually, it was good luck, I think because these were older machines and then we ended up getting newer models," Chacko said. "It all worked out."
The business reopened in the fall as Chacko's Family Bowling Center.
The business has moved several times since then, but 50 years later it's still rolling along on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard, despite the menacing flood waters from Agnes.
"It's something that you never forget about actually. It's always in your mind. When is it going to come again?" Chacko said.
See more stories about the Agnes Flood on YouTube. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/bowling-alley-nearly-destroyed-during-agnes-still-rolling-chacko-wilkes-barre-boulevard/523-0055d37c-c95e-40a6-b3ea-cf91b197fd4d | 2022-06-23T03:13:10 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/bowling-alley-nearly-destroyed-during-agnes-still-rolling-chacko-wilkes-barre-boulevard/523-0055d37c-c95e-40a6-b3ea-cf91b197fd4d |
TWIN FALLS — Clif Bar & Co., a business with a Twin Falls bakery, has been bought by Mondelez International, according to a press release.
The company will continue to manufacture its products at the Twin Falls facility and another location in Indianapolis, Indiana. Clif Bar & Co. will remain headquartered in Emeryville, California, according to a Monday statement.
The company was acquired for $2.9 billion with additional payments if specific earning targets are met. The acquisition is subject to closing conditions and a regulatory review.
Mondelez International will also obtain LUNA and CLIF Kid, expanding its global snack bar business to more than $1 billion. The company also owns popular brands such as Cadbury, Chips Ahoy, Sour Patch, Trident and Triscuit.
“We are thrilled to welcome Clif Bar & Company’s iconic brands and passionate employees into the Mondelēz International family,” said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International. “As a leader and innovator in well-being and sustainable snacking in the U.S, Clif Bar & Company embodies our purpose to ‘empower people to snack right’ and we look forward to advancing this important work with Clif’s committed colleagues in the years ahead."
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Started in 1992 by Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, Clif Bar & Company held the number one position in the U.S. protein and energy bar market in 2021, according to market research data company Euromonitor.
The company founders turned down a $120 million offer from Quaker Oats in 2000. The $90 million Twin Falls facility opened in 2016.
TWIN FALLS • Clif Bar & Co. officials converged on Twin Falls Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the company’s 275,000-square-foo…
TWIN FALLS -- Standing in a 90-acre lot Thursday, with the wind occasionally whipping up dust storms in the distance, Clif Bar & Company C… | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/clif-bar-sells-for-almost-3-billion/article_ec4a9534-f273-11ec-a2b2-d3655639fc67.html | 2022-06-23T03:13:40 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/clif-bar-sells-for-almost-3-billion/article_ec4a9534-f273-11ec-a2b2-d3655639fc67.html |
PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. — A swimmer was seriously injured in a shark attack on the central California coast Wednesday, police said.
The attack occurred at midmorning at Lovers Point Beach in Pacific Grove, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) south of San Francisco, the Pacific Grove Police Department said in a statement.
The swimmer, a man, suffered "significant injuries from the shark bite," and was taken to a hospital, police said. City officials said he had injuries to his stomach and leg.
The victim's identity was not immediately released by authorities, however, his friends told ABC affiliate KSBW 8 the man's name was Steve Bruemmer. Bruemmer is a member of a swimming club that often swims near Lovers Point.
According to KSBW 8, video shown to the station shows good Samaritans rescuing the shark attack victim and starting first aid. According to KSBW 8, two of the three rescuers were a married couple who live in Folsom; the wife is a nurse and the husband is an officer with Sacramento Police Department. A spokesperson the department confirmed the officer's name as Paul Bandy.
It wasn't immediately clear what age, sex or type of shark attacked. Firefighters deployed a drone to search for the shark, but there were no immediate sightings.
Police said the beach at Lovers Point, on the south end of Monterey Bay, will remain closed until Saturday.
Shark attacks in California are rare. However, Tomas Butterfield, 42, of Sacramento was killed in a shark attack in Morro Bay in central California last Christmas Eve.
It was the only unprovoked fatal shark attack in the United States last year.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/swimmer-injured-shark-attack-central-california-coast/103-9879bd81-af60-4f6e-8613-ab3d5e372c4f | 2022-06-23T03:27:52 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/swimmer-injured-shark-attack-central-california-coast/103-9879bd81-af60-4f6e-8613-ab3d5e372c4f |
GREENBELT, Md. — A California man who was arrested earlier this month after allegedly threatening a Supreme Court Justice pleaded not guilty in a Greenbelt court Wednesday afternoon.
Nicholas John Roske is accused of traveling from California to Maryland to try to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
In court Wednesday, Roske appeared nervous as he wrung his hands over his slumped head while sitting at the defendant's desk. During the arraignment, Roske pleaded not guilty to the federal charges of attempting to murder a Justice of the United States
He will remain in custody while awaiting a jury trial, following an agreement between his public defender and the U.S. Attorney.
According to the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center, a person identifying themselves as Roske called while down the street from Kavanaugh's home around 1 a.m on June 8. He reportedly told dispatchers he was having suicidal thoughts and had a gun in his suitcase. He then reportedly admitted he had come from California to kill a specific U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Roske was taken into custody without incident and a federal grand jury indicted the 26-year-old on June 15. If found guilty, he faces a possible sentence of life in prison. When reminded of that fact in court Wednesday, Roske slumped his head onto the defendant's desk.
A jury trial has been scheduled for August 17.
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Nicholas John Roske was carrying a pistol, ammo, aiming laser, lock pick and a face mask along with more tactical gear and burglary tools | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/man-accused-trying-kill-supreme-court-justice-brett-kavanaugh-pleads-not-guilty/65-32192a7f-a929-43d9-9c6e-467100fc58bf | 2022-06-23T03:27:58 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/man-accused-trying-kill-supreme-court-justice-brett-kavanaugh-pleads-not-guilty/65-32192a7f-a929-43d9-9c6e-467100fc58bf |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento officials say they want to increase transportation access for low income residents, and they're launching the Clean Cars 4 All program to do just that.
Under the program, eligible residents can trade in older cars that still run on gas for up to $9,500 to pay toward a hybrid or electric vehicle.
Environmental health is also being addressed through the program, city officials say.
"We have technology gaps, we have generational gaps (and) income bracket gaps," Jamie Lemus of Sacramento's Transportation and Climate Change Division told ABC10. "We have to do what we can in order to make these different types of innovative technologies available."
You can find out your eligibility at SacCleanCars4All.org | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-offering-up-to-9500-hybrid-electric-cars/103-9e7e1742-de6d-47e9-ba41-7e7370d5c165 | 2022-06-23T03:28:05 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-offering-up-to-9500-hybrid-electric-cars/103-9e7e1742-de6d-47e9-ba41-7e7370d5c165 |
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes celebrate 25th anniversary
The first game at Volcanoes Stadium was played on June 23, 1997, and Ryan Jensen was the starting pitcher for Salem-Keizer's new minor league baseball team.
Jensen returns for the club's 25th-anniversary celebration Thursday night when the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes play the Portland Mavericks. He will sign autographs before the game and throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Gates at the stadium open at 5:30 p.m., and the first 500 fans will receive a Volcanoes 25th Anniversary Baseball. Game time is 6:35 p.m.
The Volcanoes will be wearing a customized 25th Anniversary Jersey with the names of 114 players who played for the Volcanoes and went on to play in the Major Leagues, including Jensen.
The Volcanoes were a minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants for the first 23 years. After the 2020 season, the Giants did not offer the club a player development license during a reorganization of baseball.
In 2021, the Volcanoes continued their baseball tradition at the Keizer stadium by launching the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league of non-drafted and released minor leaguers.
The club's anniversary celebration will include unveiling a bronze plaque on the stadium concourse honoring the late Dennis Koho, The former Keizer mayor's support was integral in building the stadium, which is visible off Interstate 5 near Exit 260.
Capi Lynn can be reached at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com, or follow her on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ. | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2022/06/22/salem-keizer-volcanoes-to-wear-special-jerseys-june-23-25th-anniversary/65362635007/ | 2022-06-23T03:29:38 | 1 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2022/06/22/salem-keizer-volcanoes-to-wear-special-jerseys-june-23-25th-anniversary/65362635007/ |
From retirement to treasurer, Sam Brentano returns to Marion County government
Sam Brentano can only spend so much time fishing.
The 70-year-old former Marion County commissioner has returned to the county as its treasurer, a required role in county operations and government.
He's still spending most of his time on the water because the job is just one day a week. Call his cellphone most any day, and he’ll likely be on a boat with a fishing pole in hand.
“Probably don’t want to do it forever,” Brentano said over a lunch of pizza at Paddington’s in Salem. “I won’t want to do it if anything goes bad and that responsibility thing comes in.”
Brentano was a county commissioner from when he was appointed in 2003 until 2020, when he declined to run for reelection.
Laurie Steele was the treasurer from 2003 until she retired earlier this year.
That means the county needed someone for the job.
Meantime, Brentano filed to run for the nonpartisan treasurer position for November's general election.
"And he is running unopposed in the election so it makes sense," Commissioner Kevin Cameron said.
Brentano, a former Sublimity mayor,was appointed to the position by the county commissioners starting April 1. The county is required to have a treasurer as part of its charter.
His professional background was in the family garbage hauling business, not in finance.
But coming back to work for the county allows it to save money and expand the open hours for the treasurer’s office, which has been consolidated with the county's finance office.
Hiring Brentano back allowed the county to consolidate the treasurer’s office – and its 1.5 employees.
He said that during his time as commissioner, the county considered changing the treasurer position and reducing its responsibility.
“What’s different about it, Laurie was very good, but she did all the stocks and bonds oversight and purchased everything,” Brentano said. “So that takes a special skill that I truly don’t have. But what they’ve done different is they now have professional management just like you have a stockbroker and a firm.”
Brentano said a private firm now manages the county’s funds, and the person directly involved is Garrett Cudahey, a former classmate at Regis High School with Brentano’s son, Nate.
Brentano oversees that.
The treasurer position is now "part, part-time," as Commissioner Danielle Bethell describes it. Brentano works one day a week, Monday. He says he checks his emails while out in Tillamook.
And it allows him time to spend with his pandemic puppy, Marion, who he adopted when he retired.
“I’m appointed through the first of the year, and there’s nobody running against me. It’s a four-year term. I don’t want to say I won’t finish it. I’m not saying I will promise myself to,” Brentano said.
Brentano said his salary is $2,000 a month, which is a significant reduction from Steele’s former salary of $100,000 per year.
“It seems like it’s working and I can make it work for me, personally, for a while,” Brentano said.
Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/stayton/2022/06/22/retirement-treasurer-sam-brentano-returns-marion-county-oregon-government/65361835007/ | 2022-06-23T03:29:50 | 1 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/stayton/2022/06/22/retirement-treasurer-sam-brentano-returns-marion-county-oregon-government/65361835007/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. — With the Fourth of July weekend coming up, it's important to know which cities in the Portland metro area allow fireworks and which ones don't.
For example, fireworks are banned in Portland and Vancouver, but certain ones are allowed in Salem and Beaverton. The city of Gresham has not decided whether to ban fireworks this year or not.
Regardless of where they're banned, dozens of firework stands will open across the region this month.
Greg Walsh, emergency manager for the City of Salem, said residents should not only know where they're banned but which types are legal and which are not.
"Fireworks that are legal are ones that are sparklers and the on-the-ground ones," Walsh said. "Anything that leaves the ground is illegal — bottle rockets and Roman candles.
Walsh has some tips on how to set off fireworks safely, and it starts with picking a spot away from any flammable vegetation or materials.
"Please make sure you have some water on hand to put out anything if it does get out of hand," Walsh said. "Also please be aware of children. A lot of children get injured when using fireworks."
Even though fireworks are banned in the city of Vancouver, certain areas of rural Clark County do allow them.
Gene Marlow, owner of Mean Gene Fireworks, said he's expecting a large turnout when they open June 28.
"Last year, as you may know, we had this really hot dry weather," Marlow said. "We were only allowed to open for a day then they shut us down. So most people didn't get a Fourth of July last year."
Law enforcement officials said they would also like people to save 911 calls for emergencies only and not nuisance fireworks. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/fireworks-banned-portland-vancouver-fourth-of-july/283-bf401936-54f1-440c-9137-e7694fb47ec2 | 2022-06-23T03:37:42 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/fireworks-banned-portland-vancouver-fourth-of-july/283-bf401936-54f1-440c-9137-e7694fb47ec2 |
A suspect in the murder of a 15-year-old boy who was shot and killed while taking water into his home earlier this year surrendered to police on Wednesday, officials confirmed with NBC10. They have not yet released the suspect's identity or the charges he'll face.
On March 24, Sean Toomey was carrying water from his parents’ car and walking toward his home along the 6200 block of Mulberry Street when someone opened fire and struck him twice in the head, the Philadelphia Police Department said. Toomey died several days later.
Police later released video of suspects in the shooting. They appeared to be two young men walking alongside each other and wearing dark clothing. A photo also released by the police department showed what appeared to be a young man in all black clothing wearing a surgical mask and hoodie with the words “Rick and Morty” on it.
Police believe one of three teens involved in an attempted car theft across the street from Toomey's home was the one who shot the boy, PPD Capt. John Walker said.
Police have not yet confirmed if they are still searching for additional suspects in Toomey's death.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/suspect-in-shooting-death-of-sean-toomey-15-surrenders-police-say/3278765/ | 2022-06-23T03:39:18 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/suspect-in-shooting-death-of-sean-toomey-15-surrenders-police-say/3278765/ |
Exclusive video from SkyForce10 shows police chasing and capturing an armed carjacking suspect in North Philadelphia.
The ordeal began Wednesday night when a black Mazda was carjacked at gunpoint at 4055 Ridge Avenue. SkyForce10 was over the scene as police followed two suspects inside the stolen car. The suspects then jumped out of the vehicle and ran on foot in different directions near 18th and Lambert streets.
Police captured one suspect. They continue to search for the second.
Police recovered the stolen Mazda as well as a gun. No one was injured during the incident. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/video-philly-police-chase-and-capture-carjacking-suspect/3278758/ | 2022-06-23T03:39:25 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/video-philly-police-chase-and-capture-carjacking-suspect/3278758/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/watch-philly-police-chase-and-capture-carjacking-suspect-2/3278783/ | 2022-06-23T03:39:32 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/watch-philly-police-chase-and-capture-carjacking-suspect-2/3278783/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis city officials say they’re listening to the community and expanding the availability of licensed mental health professionals who can respond when someone calls 911 to report a mental health crisis.
Since 2017, the city has had a Mobile Crisis Assistance Team. The team currently includes eight IMPD officers, each paired with a counselor from Eskenazi Mental Health Center.
Together, the team of two responds to calls for help during a mental health emergency. If the call involves addiction or an overdose, a paramedic goes on the run, too.
“Mental health professionals are literally embedded with police officers,” said Kimble Richardson, a licensed mental health professional with Community Health Network.
Richardson also serves on the Marion County Crisis Intervention Team, a group that helps educate police officers about addiction and mental illness.
“We’re trying to teach officers just little points here and there, where they can make a difference and intervene in a conversation that might help de-escalate a patient or citizen,” Richardson explained.
Right now, the eight teams work weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The plan is to expand that with the launch of a pilot program involving a team of only mental health counselors, available 24/7 to citizens in crisis.
“There are definitely some cases where all it takes is a clinician to help that individual going through crisis, but there are still instances where an officer should come, especially with weapons,” said Lauren Rodriguez, director of the Office of Public Health and Safety.
Rodriguez said city officials are still developing the new pilot program, expected to launch early in 2023. They plan to travel to Denver to check out a similar program.
“Our goal is to go out there and see how its run there, see what are the types of runs that only go to clinicians or for both of them, to make sure we’re laying the foundation in a strong way,” Rodriguez said.
The plans for expansion of such resources are being discussed as the family of an Indianapolis man filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city and six IMPD officers Wednesday.
The lawsuit claims Herman Whitfield III’s family called for help on April 25, when Whitfield was having a mental health crisis in his home. According to the lawsuit, officers used a stun gun on the 39-year old-and “crushed the breath out of an unarmed, non-violent Mr. Whitfield.”
The lawsuit also claims officers ignored Whitfield’s cries of “I can’t breathe.”
What other people are reading: | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indianapolis-set-to-expand-services-for-911-calls-involving-mental-health-emergencies-pilot-crisis-impd/531-39c2d267-8203-4ff6-90b1-87eb2b8f01e0 | 2022-06-23T03:40:42 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indianapolis-set-to-expand-services-for-911-calls-involving-mental-health-emergencies-pilot-crisis-impd/531-39c2d267-8203-4ff6-90b1-87eb2b8f01e0 |
GREENSBORO — Scammers are calling residents claiming to be law enforcement officers and in some cases are using actual officers' names from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, authorities warned Wednesday.
Sheriff Danny H. Rogers reports that his office was recently made aware that there have been numerous phone calls made in an attempt to defraud local residents of money.
Many of these criminals are claiming that a court date or jury selection has been missed and a warrant has been or will be issued unless the person pays a fine, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
Sheriff's officials said the scammers often speak quickly and use an authoritative tone to put pressure on the resident so he or she will agree to send money without question.
Often these criminals use "burner" phones and the numbers that they call from may change frequently to avoid detection.
"The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office will in no case ask that a citizen pay any fine by cash, credit card, PayPal, CashApp, etc.," sheriff's officials said in the news release. "The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office does not conduct this type of business over the telephone and citizens should be very cautious not to provide any personal or financial details over the telephone."
People are also reading…
If a person thinks that they owe a fine or has an inquiry about a warrant or arrest, or may have been a victim of this scam, call the sheriff's office directly at 336-641-3690.
Tips to avoid scams:
• Don't answer calls from numbers you do not recognize.
• Don’t return one-ring calls from unknown numbers.
• If you do answer and it's a robo-caller or believe it to be a scam, just hang up without saying anything.
• Don't press any buttons or give out any information. | https://greensboro.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/guilford-sheriff-issues-warning-about-scams-pressuring-people-to-pay-fines-by-phone/article_e81883fe-f278-11ec-8d60-3f8dc402514a.html | 2022-06-23T03:41:46 | 0 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/guilford-sheriff-issues-warning-about-scams-pressuring-people-to-pay-fines-by-phone/article_e81883fe-f278-11ec-8d60-3f8dc402514a.html |
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — West Virginia’s Secretary of Commerce announced during a meeting on Wednesday that Secretary Ed Gaunch will retire in July.
Secretary Ed Gaunch previously served as a state senator and stepped into the commerce role at the request of Governor Jim Justice.
He has held that position since January 2019 one his term representing District 8 concluded.
He joked while making the announcement that he is finally retiring now, for a second time. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/secretary-ed-gaunch-to-retire-in-july/ | 2022-06-23T03:43:28 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/secretary-ed-gaunch-to-retire-in-july/ |
WEST HAMLIN, WV (WOWK) — A firefighter, who knows all too well the importance of smoke detectors, experienced the lifesaving device in action, firsthand.
Rocky Webb, a lieutenant with the West Hamlin Volunteer Fire Department, woke up Tuesday to the sound of a smoke alarm as his home filled with smoke and flames.
Webb wasted no time and was able to get out safely.
Unfortunately, the home and all of Webb’s belongings were destroyed.
The fire is still under investigation but crews are suspecting it could be something electrical.
Rocky’s mother also lives in the home but was in the hospital at the time of the fire.
The West Hamlin VFD set up a GoFundMe page to help them. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/west-hamlin-firefighter-loses-home-to-fire-smoke-detector-saves-his-life/ | 2022-06-23T03:43:34 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/west-hamlin-firefighter-loses-home-to-fire-smoke-detector-saves-his-life/ |
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Looking back at Arizona's Rodeo-Chediski Fire 20 years later
Dashcam footage shows Uber driver being assaulted by passenger
Michael Kurtenbach speaks about officer shot on duty in Phoenix | https://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/06/23/phoenix-police-launch-operation-gun-crime-crackdown/7705882001/ | 2022-06-23T03:46:14 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2022/06/23/phoenix-police-launch-operation-gun-crime-crackdown/7705882001/ |
2 teenage boys arrested, suspected of shooting at Glendale police officers
Two teenage boys were arrested after Glendale police say they shot at officers while they were investigating a burglary on Monday.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Sgt. Randy Stewart said the two teenagers, ages 13 and 14, were arrested after surveillance video caught them shooting a firearm at officers. That short footage was shared with the public.
The burglary call was received late Monday near 59th Avenue and Bethany Home Road. Police were investigating the area when shots were fired at them. The bullets just missed officers, police said.
A total of four shots were fired during the incident and a total of seven officers were at the scene, Stewart said.
No one was hurt during the shooting.
The teens were later located using ShotSpotter technology to trace the origin of the gunshots, which led police to an apartment complex near the area. Investigators were able to identify and arrest the teens after reviewing surveillance footage from the area, police said.
The weapon that was used against the officers was found at the apartment complex, police said.
The short surveillance footage released by Gilbert police shows two individuals whose faces are blurred out. It shows one person firing a weapon once and then another firing a weapon at least three times.
Glendale police said one of the teens fired one shot toward the police officers outside of their apartment. The other teen fired three more shots, and they then ran back inside to their apartment.
The footage provided by police does not show who or what the individuals were shooting at.
Police also shared body camera footage from officers at the scene. The footage shows several officers running for cover after hearing four gunshots. At least one officer says, "Yeah, that came by my head," and he then directs other officers to stay covered behind nearby vehicles. In the roughly 3-minute video, the officer is heard requesting assistance as they try to figure out where the shots came from.
According to Stewart, the officer heard speaking in the footage is a 20-year department veteran who got everyone to safety. "Him keeping calm kept everyone else calm," Stewart said.
Stewart said that after being arrested and interrogated by police, one of the teens involved in the shooting told investigators he wanted to "murder a police officer." Both teens involved in the shooting confessed to the shooting, Stewart said.
It is unknown if either of the teens will be charged as adults.
According to Glendale police, the teens were booked on several felony counts, including aggravated assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm and attempted murder. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale-breaking/2022/06/23/2-teenage-boys-arrested-suspected-of-shooting-at-glendale-police-officers/7707267001/ | 2022-06-23T03:46:26 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale-breaking/2022/06/23/2-teenage-boys-arrested-suspected-of-shooting-at-glendale-police-officers/7707267001/ |
LAS VEGAS — Lake Mead's water levels this week dropped to historic lows, bringing the nation's largest reservoir less than 150 feet away from "dead pool" — when the reservoir is so low that water cannot flow downstream from the dam.
Lake Mead's water level on Wednesday was measured at 1,044.03 feet, its lowest elevation since the lake was filled in the 1930s. If the reservoir dips below 895 feet — a possibility still years away — Lake Mead would reach dead pool, carrying enormous consequences for millions of people across Arizona, California, Nevada and parts of Mexico.
"This is deadly serious stuff," said Robert Glennon, an emeritus professor at the University of Arizona who specializes in water law and policy.
>> Continue reading on NBCNews.com
Arizona Weather
Arizona has seen its fair share of severe weather. Here is a compilation of videos from various storms across the Grand Canyon state. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/lake-mead-nears-dead-pool-status-water-levels-historic-low/75-bcb46e0e-533e-48cd-bdf3-dd314ef9257a | 2022-06-23T03:46:29 | 0 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/lake-mead-nears-dead-pool-status-water-levels-historic-low/75-bcb46e0e-533e-48cd-bdf3-dd314ef9257a |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Following the pandemic — and now concerns regarding inflation — economists expect the already-low birth rate in the U.S. will continue to decrease.
Financially stability is undoubtedly a big part of the decision process whether or not to grow a family, experts said.
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With several unknowns during the last couple years, economists predict similar drops in birth rates that we’ve experienced in connection with other economic struggles
Melanie Guldi, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Central Florida, said for the past two decades, new birth rates have trended downward.
Guldi said these trends suggest there will be issues with funding the Social Security Administration as one of the first major effects from the decline in younger workers.
Once the number of older Americans receiving social security outpaces healthy young workers paying in, a new way to fund the program will need to be established.
“If you look at some of the details in the social security reports, one of the main factors for why they worry social security will go, not really bankrupt, but it will no longer be funded by the money that they have,” Guldi said.
While the exact year when social security will have more money going out than being paid in fluctuates, Guldi said it’s expected to happen in the 2030s.
When looking at the long-term forecast, a drop in birth rates still takes about two decades for the effects to be felt in the workforce.
According to the Florida Department of Health, birth rates have been decreasing in Florida for more than two decades.
In Central Florida, the state said Polk, Orange and Osceola Counties have a higher birth rate than Seminole, Brevard, Volusia and Lake Counties.
“The pandemic led to a lot of job loss. Particularly, in-person jobs were changed, so people that were working in face-to-face jobs were all-of-a-sudden either remote working or maybe not working at all,” Guldi said.
The CDC reports data from 2020 shows women in their 30s with financial stability are more likely to have a child than women in their 20s. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/lower-nationwide-birth-rates-could-impact-economy-experts-say/ | 2022-06-23T03:46:44 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/lower-nationwide-birth-rates-could-impact-economy-experts-say/ |
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol issued a warning Wednesday evening to drivers about the outbreak of a Marion County wildfire on State Road 19.
Troopers said the wildfire is just south of Salt Springs around Northeast 100th Street.
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FHP said smoke from the fire could affect visibility on State Road 19 throughout the night and into the morning, telling drivers to use caution as they travel in the area.
According to FHP, drivers should reduce their speed and turn on their low-beam headlights in case of low visibility. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/marion-county-wildfire-may-cause-smoke-on-state-road-19-troopers-warn/ | 2022-06-23T03:46:50 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/marion-county-wildfire-may-cause-smoke-on-state-road-19-troopers-warn/ |
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Commission is set to discuss its rent stabilization plan during a Thursday meeting that aims to push back against rising rental prices and help renters avoid troubling rent spikes.
Commissioner Emily Bonilla introduced the proposal back in April, which would put a 5 percent (or the rate of inflation, whichever is less) cap on rental rate hikes in Orange County. The cap would last one year and would have to be approved by voters.
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The county paid $60,000 to GAI Consultants, an engineering consultant company, to analyze the plan and discuss their findings on its potential efficacy.
However, the report came back with several criticisms of the plan, pointing out “unintended consequences” for the measures outlined in the proposal. Furthermore, the company outlined that the causes of these rate hikes are “likely beyond the control of local regulation.”
To start with, the report indicates a general lack of housing in Orange County, stating the proposal could deter housing suppliers from creating more.
According to the findings, housing supply in Orange County hasn’t been able to match the growing demand for housing, which means that there are too many people competing for too few units.
The report goes on to say that operating costs for rental units has also been increasing, leading to higher prices for renters.
“Given almost 50 years of production history, the supply of housing has simply not kept pace with demand generated by normal population growth,” the report says. “When the need for various housing types... are matched to the total output, falling deliveries create an obvious market impact.”
GAI Consultants noted that attempts to implement rent control could actually deter developers from trying to build more housing in the county.
In the report, GAI Consultants stated that policies similar to the rent stabilization plan are already in effect in California, though residents there are still experiencing rental rate hikes and prices like those in Central Florida.
GAI Consultants also pointed out in the report that Orange County has “uncommitted” funds from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, a federal program meant to assist people struggling to afford rent.
The report says the county received $33 million from the ERAP initially, though another influx of $16 million is expected to come in from the program later this year.
It adds that money from this program could be put toward “financial relief” for Orange County residents struggling to pay rent and other costs.
However, Bonilla stated that the county is planning to put some of that money toward affordable housing costs.
“We have a lot of things we have to pay for, but one of them that we are using $5 million toward is some of the affordable housing projects that we do have (because) their costs have gone up,” Bonilla said.
Addressing county concerns about the social impacts of rent costs, the report indicates that conditions such as homelessness or rates of eviction aren’t necessarily linked to the increase in rental costs across the county.
According to the report, a total number of 3,181 evictions were filed with the Orange County clerk of courts as of March.
In Figure 21 of the report, the company broke down the number of evictions filed with the county’s clerk of courts, showing that there was an increase in eviction-filing rates from 2020, but the number is down considerably from years prior.
The report then states that the increase from 2020 is a result of COVID-19 pandemic guidelines for landlords.
“Because legislation or rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic limited efforts to evict any resident from property, comparisons with 2020 or 2021 are probably misleading,” it reads. “Eviction-related filings peaked in the years immediately following the (2007 - 2009) recession.”
GAI Consultants also included claims that homelessness rates haven’t been contingent with increases in rent costs, pointing to data from social providers and the U.S. Census about previous years, which shows an overall decrease in the number of people made homeless since 2009.
The report says that, as rates have either decreased or remained steady since peaking in the aftermath of the 2007 - 2009 recession, it is safe to assume that current rates aren’t necessarily linked to the increased costs of rent in the county.
According to Commissioner Nicole Wilson, however, the numbers in the report don’t necessarily align with the county’s records.
“Even having seen the numbers for HIMS, we’ve talked to people in our own Children and Family Services Division, and they dispute those numbers,” Wilson said. “And I mean by thousands — not by tens, not by twenties but by thousands.”
“This is not just a local issue. Perhaps there would have to be some legislative agenda going through Tallahassee, and maybe there could be a federal agenda to Congress. We can’t lead our people to believe — I think that’s the saddest part of all of this, the ones who are struggling — that this county, if we just adopt a rent stabilization ordinance, that this will all just go away.”
Commissioner Mayra Uribe also commented, saying the report didn’t properly define homelessness.
“What data are we using for homelessness? Is that someone living on the street? Is that someone living in a weekly apartment? Is that someone sleeping on a couch? What really does constitute homelessness?” she asked.
Bonilla responded to the report earlier this month, stating its claims were “biased” against measures outlined in her plan.
“There were some statements that were made that there was no data or facts that were referenced to the opinionated statements to back it up,” Bonilla said, pointing to figures regarding homelessness and evictions in the county. “(The report) expresses what that person wanted the board to believe, rather than providing us with the facts.”
UCF Professor Owen Beitsch, who presented the report to the commission, replied to Bonilla’s criticisms.
“We’ve reported homeless data. We’ve reported eviction data. We’ve reported homelessness as shared with us by the school board, which different members of the commission seem to believe is a reliable source,” Beitsch said. “The data indicates from an objective, quantitative standpoint — something very different from what we are feeling emotionally.”
Commissioner Christine Moore approved of ERAP recommendations in the report alongside other measures, such as advanced notices for rent increases so that tenants would be able to prepare for spikes in rates.
However, she also stated that she doesn’t believe the county has the ability to fix the issues at their level.
“This is not just a local issue. Perhaps there would have to be some legislative agenda going through Tallahassee, and maybe there could be a federal agenda to Congress,” Moore said. “We can’t lead our people to believe — I think that’s the saddest part of all of this, the ones who are struggling — that this county, if we just adopt a rent stabilization ordinance, that this will all just go away. That’s not the truth.”
The county commission will hold a special work Thursday morning to discuss the rent plan. The session will not incorporate any public comment.
If approved, the plan would go to a public referendum on the November ballot later this year. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/orange-county-rent-plan-could-have-unintended-consequences-study-shows/ | 2022-06-23T03:46:56 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/orange-county-rent-plan-could-have-unintended-consequences-study-shows/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Many are in mourning after the death of 22-year-old Nic Thomas, who was killed in a four-vehicle crash early Tuesday morning.
Thomas was a beloved University of Central Florida Cheer alumnus.
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The Florida Highway Patrol reported the deadly crash happened on I-4 east near Saxon Boulevard in Deltona.
Thomas’ motorcycle, a car, a semitrailer and a truck pulling a boat trailer were all involved in the crash, and Thomas was pronounced dead on scene.
Anthony Medeiros, Thomas’ mentee, said he found out about the tragic incident during cheer practice at Deland High School.
“Kind of just broke down, and I was just in shock,” Medeiros said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
He said Thomas was more than a cheerleader, he was an amazing coach, mentor and friend.
“I’ve had a lot of coaches growing up playing different sports, but he just stood out,” Medeiros said.
Liza Morgan coaches the Deland High School cheer team. She said that for years, Thomas split his time between cheering for UCF and mentoring her team. They were also roommates.
“I just think Nic is like a superhuman, so it wasn’t even a thought to me that he wasn’t going to make it back,” she said.
Morgan said she is still in disbelief.
“I don’t know how I’m [going to] go back to coaching without him, honestly,” she said.
Conner Hernandez is also on the team. He could not help but smile when talking about Thomas, though he admitted it will be hard to accept the fact that he is gone.
“This season, I feel like it’s going to be very tough without having him sitting right in front of that mat, supporting us at all times,” Hernandez said.
Some of the cheer squad met at Studio 21 in Daytona Beach Wednesday to get matching tattoos in honor of Thomas.
The different tattoos symbolized Thomas’ many loves.
A few girls on the team got hearts with an airplane attached. They said Thomas was a private pilot with hopes to become a professional pilot one day.
Hernandez got a tattoo of a motorcycle handle because Thomas loved motorcycles. Next to the handle is a hand reaching toward it.
Hernandez said he chose this design because there were so many things he did not get a chance to tell Thomas before he died.
The team has a cheer clinic at UCF this weekend. They said they still plan to attend because that is what Thomas would have wanted. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/ucf-cheer-alumnus-dies-in-crash-friends-honor-him-with-tattoos/ | 2022-06-23T03:47:02 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/23/ucf-cheer-alumnus-dies-in-crash-friends-honor-him-with-tattoos/ |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Summer travel has taken off, but the airline industry is struggling to keep up.
A severe pilot shortage in the U.S. is contributing to flight delays, cancellations, and travel headaches.
On Tuesday, more than 1,300 Southwest Airlines pilots stood in a picket line at Dallas Love Field Airport.
During the protest, they said they’re understaffed and overworked.
On Wednesday, President of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association Casey Murray told WFAA in his 30 years as a commercial airline pilot, he has never witnessed an airline pilot shortage such as this one.
“We’re not happy with where we’ve been this last year, and we’re not happy with where we see this summer going,” Murray said. “A lot of what we’ve seen are these reassignments of pilots, that’s where the delays are coming from. That’s what’s causing a lot of the problems and fatigue on the pilot side,” Murray said.
Murray and those who picketed called for better scheduling, increased pay and benefits.
"Our pilots have lost 20,000 days off this past year, that equates to 50 years of involuntarily being made to work, and that's a struggle." Murray said. "We attribute it to Southwest's inability to connect pilots with airplanes, and that creates inefficiencies."
Southwest Airlines, which is based in Dallas, ramped up its hiring of pilots last year to replace those who accepted buyouts offered in 2020, when air travel took a nosedive due to the pandemic.
Murray said a commercial airline pilot shortage has been forecast for years.
“It is really coming to fruition in the next few months and years,” Murray said. “It’s going to be a challenge hiring pilots.
An aging workforce has a lot to do with the shortage. According to Regional Airline Association, roughly a third of the airline-qualified pilots in the U.S. are between the ages of 51 and 59, while 13% of the country’s airline pilots will reach retirement age within the next five years.
Over at Tarrant County College’s Northwest Campus in Fort Worth, an aviation program is part of the solution.
Clint Grant, TCC’s Dean of Business, Technology and Transportation is training the next generation of pilots.
“The industry got behind, and so it’s really critical,” Grant said.
Currently, the Erma C. Johnson Hadley Northwest Center of Excellence for Aviation Transportation and Logistics has 300 students enrolled in its airline maintenance program. Around 150 students are undergoing the school’s flight program, which is less than 10 years old. The flight program launched in 2014 with only about a dozen students, Grant said.
“We have more demand than we have seats,” Grant said.
Grant understands the need for commercial airline pilots is dire. Flyers are already beginning to feel the impact that a lack of pilots can have on travel plans.
This week, American Airlines announced, beginning Sept. 2021, it’ll suspend services to Ithaca, N.Y., Islip, N.Y., Toledo, Ohio, and Dubuque, Iowa. The airline cited pilot shortages.
“It’s a challenging time for the Southwest Airlines pilots, and we’ve always risen to that challenge,” Murray said. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/real-impact-pilot-shortage-here-not-going-away-anytime-soon/287-1bea6cdf-1933-42d8-a3fc-4e5d7e6f45ae | 2022-06-23T03:50:02 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/real-impact-pilot-shortage-here-not-going-away-anytime-soon/287-1bea6cdf-1933-42d8-a3fc-4e5d7e6f45ae |
Created in 1872 as the United States was recovering from the Civil War, Yellowstone was the first of the national parks that came to be referred to as America's best idea. Now, the home to gushing geysers, thundering waterfalls and some of the country's most plentiful and diverse wildlife is facing its biggest challenge in decades.
Floodwaters this week wiped out numerous bridges, washed out miles of roads and closed the park as it approached peak tourist season during its 150th anniversary celebration. Nearby communities were swamped and hundreds of homes flooded as the Yellowstone River and its tributaries raged.
The scope of the damage is still being tallied by Yellowstone officials, but based on other national park disasters, it could take years and cost upwards of $1 billion to rebuild in an environmentally sensitive landscape where construction season only runs from the spring thaw until the first snowfall.
Based on what park officials have revealed and Associated Press images and video taken from a helicopter, the greatest damage seemed to be to roads, particularly on the highway connecting the park's north entrance in Gardiner, Montana, to the park's offices in Mammoth Hot Springs. Large sections of the road were undercut and washed away as the Gardner River jumped its banks. Perhaps hundreds of footbridges on trails may have been damaged or destroyed.
"This is not going to be an easy rebuild," Superintendent Cam Sholly said early in the week as he highlighted photos of massive gaps of roadway in the steep canyon. "I don't think it's going to be smart to invest potentially, you know, tens of millions of dollars, or however much it is, into repairing a road that may be subject to seeing a similar flooding event in the future."
Re-establishing a human imprint in a national park is always a delicate operation, especially as a changing climate makes natural disasters more likely. Increasingly intense wildfires are occurring, including one last year that destroyed bridges, cabins and other infrastructure in Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California.
Flooding has already done extensive damage in other parks and is a threat to virtually all the more-than 400 national parks, a report by The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization found in 2009.
Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state closed for six months after the worst flooding in its history in 2006. Damage to roads, trails, campgrounds and buildings was estimated at $36 million.
Yosemite Valley in California's Yosemite National Park has flooded several times, but suffered its worst damage 25 years ago when heavy downpours on top of a large snowpack — a scenario similar to the Yellowstone flood — submerged campgrounds, flooded hotel rooms, washed out bridges and sections of road, and knocked out power and sewer lines. The park was closed for more than two months.
Congress allocated $178 million in emergency funds – a massive sum for park infrastructure at the time – and additional funding eventually surpassed $250 million, according to a 2013 report.
But the rebuilding effort once estimated to last four to five years dragged out for 15, due in part to environmental lawsuits over a protected river corridor and a long bureaucratic planning and review process.
It's not clear if Yellowstone would face the same obstacles, though reconstructing the road that runs near Mammoth Hot Springs, where steaming water bubbles up over an otherworldly series of stone terraces, presents a challenge.
It's created by a unique natural formation of underground tubes and vents that push the hot water to the surface, and would be just one of many natural wonders crews would have to be careful not to disturb, said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Along with the formation itself, there are also microbes and insects that thrive in the environment found almost nowhere else. And the park will need to avoid damaging any archaeological or cultural artifacts in the area with a rich Native American history.
"They'll have to look at all the resources the park is designed to protect, and try to do this project as carefully as possible, but they're also going to try to go fairly quickly," Hartl said.
Having to reroute the roadway that hugged the Gardner River could be an opportunity to better protect the waterway and the fish and other species that thrive there from oil and other microscopic pollution that comes from passing vehicles, Hartl said.
"The river will be healthier for it," he said.
The Yosemite flood was seen by the park as an opportunity to rethink its planning and not necessarily rebuild in the same places, said Frank Dean, president and chief executive of the Yosemite Conservancy and a former park ranger.
Some facilities were relocated outside the flood plain and some campgrounds that had been submerged in the flood were never restored. At Yosemite Lodge, cabins that had been slated for removal in the 1980s were swamped and had to be removed.
"The flood took them all out like a precision strike," Dean said. "I'm not going to say it's a good thing, but providence came in and made the decision for them."
Yellowstone's recovery comes as a rapidly growing number of people line up to visit the country's national parks, even as a backlog of deferred maintenance budget grows into tens of billions of dollars. The park was already due for funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, a 2020 law passed by Congress that authorizes nearly $3 billion for maintenance and other projects on public lands. National parks and other public lands will receive a similar amount yearly for five years.
Now it will need another infusion of money for more pressing repairs that Emily Douce, director of operations and park funding at National Parks Conservation Association, estimated could hit at least $1 billion.
The southern half of the park is expected to reopen next week, allowing visitors to flock to Old Faithful, the rainbow colored Grand Prismatic Spring, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and its majestic waterfall.
But the flood-damaged northern end may not reopen this year, depriving visitors from seeing Tower Fall and Lamar Valley, one of the best places in the world to see wolves and grizzly bears. Some days during the high season, an animal sighting can lead to thousands of people parked on the side of the road hoping to catch a glimpse.
Whether some of these areas are reopened will depend on how quickly washed-out roads can be repaired, downed trees can be removed and mudslides cleared.
Maintaining the approximately 466 miles (750 kilometers) of roadway throughout the park is a major job. Much of the roadway originally was designed for stagecoaches, said Kristen Brengel, senior vice-president of public affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association.
"Part of the effort of the last couple of decades has been to stabilize the road to make it safe for heavier vehicles to travel on it," she said.
Located at a high elevation where snow and cold weather is not uncommon eight months of the year and there are many tiny earthquakes, road surfaces don't last as long and road crews have a short window to complete projects. One recently completed road job created closures for about two years.
"I think it'll probably be several years before the park is totally back to normal," Hartl said. | https://www.postregister.com/news/local/yellowstone-flooding-rebuild-could-take-years-cost-billions/article_d4391a8a-7db7-58ca-b809-5f926fc9e280.html | 2022-06-23T03:53:29 | 0 | https://www.postregister.com/news/local/yellowstone-flooding-rebuild-could-take-years-cost-billions/article_d4391a8a-7db7-58ca-b809-5f926fc9e280.html |
Players have trekked from across the United States to play with the Flagstaff Star Chasers collegiate summer baseball team in its first season, which began earlier this summer.
A trio of players has added a little bit of local flare, though.
Infielder Gabe Faust, catcher Tristen Figueroa and pitcher Justin Hanson are all recent Flagstaff High School graduates, each on their own journey in collegiate baseball but back home for the summer to develop their skills in the offseason.
Hanson finished his freshman season at Yavapai Community College this spring, Figueroa is set to officially sign to play at Oklahoma Wesleyan in the near future, and Faust attended Berea College in Kentucky, but is looking for his new home come fall in the transfer portal.
While each player, in their own position, is aiming to hone their craft and be more prepared for the next season, an added benefit is getting to play together again, just as they did a couple years ago for the Eagles.
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“It’s awesome. I didn’t think I’d play with them again after high school, so for me it felt like the last hurrah. But, seeing them on the roster and playing with them again — even if we’re not always in at the same time — is so much fun,” Faust said.
“It’s been great. It’s what I looked forward to, one day being able to play with those guys again,” added Figueroa.
Needing every chance possible to showcase his skills while he attempts to transfer to a new school, Faust was the first to join the Star Chasers. Hanson, looking to develop ahead of his sophomore year, was next. His catcher and friend Figueroa, who shared a hometown and long-built chemistry, was the last of the trio to sign on.
The opportunity has paid dividends to this point. Faust did not play in his freshman year at Berea, and Figueroa just graduated. Thus, both Figueroa and Faust experienced their first college-level at-bats and innings in the field.
“I was nervous, of course, but I got the job done like I needed to,” Figueroa said. “Now I’ve gotten a taste of the type of pitching I might see, so I know what I need to do to prepare.”
Even for the experienced players on Flagstaff’s roster, like Hanson, there are several at two-year schools looking to improve their stock to potentially sign at bigger, four-year schools in the future.
They, Hanson hopes, will be able to do so in their time with the Star Chasers.
”We’re going to try to help some kids out, get some exposure and just have fun playing baseball,” he said.
And, recruiting and development aside, there is a sense of honor unique to what the three local players bring to the roster. Before the Star Chasers began their first-even season this year, there was no college-level baseball in Flagstaff.
Now the trio is part of the first chapter in what they believe could be a long history of success in town.
“It carries a lot of pride. Growing up here going through Little League, high school, representing a smaller portion of Flagstaff and now to represent the entire city at a very high level is a great feeling,” Faust said.
Flagstaff is set to visit Prescott for a three-game series beginning Friday. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/trio-gives-star-chasers-local-flare/article_0d60ba2a-f286-11ec-af6c-e37b1ca7cd6f.html | 2022-06-23T03:54:28 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/trio-gives-star-chasers-local-flare/article_0d60ba2a-f286-11ec-af6c-e37b1ca7cd6f.html |
BOISE, Idaho —
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Both of Idaho’s last two U.S. attorneys say the June 11 arrests of 31 members of a white nationalist group for conspiracy to riot at a gay pride event in Coeur d’Alene is the type of thing that federal prosecutors should look into — and likely are examining.
Bart Davis, a Trump appointee who served as U.S. attorney for Idaho from 2017 to 2021, said, “All I know are what the news accounts are. … I don’t know what actually occurred. But I do believe that these are the kinds of matters that the federal government has some role in.”
All 31 men already are facing state misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot.
“Oftentimes, the city or the county or the state, they don’t need the help of the federal government,” said Davis, the former longtime Idaho Senate majority leader. “They’ve more than got it handled. … But there are some tools that the federal government does have that can help in either an investigation or sometimes in the prosecution of this kind of an event.”
All but two of the 31 men arrested were from other states besides Idaho; some had traveled from as far as Illinois, Alabama, Texas and Michigan.
“You have the interstate transportation of individuals for a specific purpose,” Davis said. “And if the publicized purpose is correct, then I think that’s another factor for a federal review and consideration of whether there should be a role.”
Wendy Olson, an Obama appointee who served as U.S. attorney for Idaho from 2010 to 2017, said there are numerous federal statutes that could apply to the case, but it would depend on the details, and whether federal hate crime laws apply.
Those include the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, 18 USC 249, which was the first law passed by Congress authorizing federal criminal prosecution of hate crimes motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. However, Olson noted, that law requires a violent act that results in bodily injury, or an attempt to commit a violent act with a dangerous weapon, along with interstate travel and hate-crime motivation.
The Patriot Front members were arrested before they ever arrived at the event that was their intended target. According to news reports based on court records, no firearms were found with them in the U-Haul truck where they were hiding, though they did have metal shields, “abnormally long” metal flag poles and other items, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported.
“They could be used dangerously,” Olson said, “but I don’t think a long pole itself is considered a dangerous weapon under federal law.”
“Sometimes when conduct gets disrupted, that’s the best thing, to disrupt the conduct,” she said, “but you don’t have conduct that that would be a basis for a prosecution.”
Another federal hate crime that at first blush would appear to apply also may not precisely fit the case, Olson said. The Conspiracy Against Rights statute, 18 USC 241, makes it “unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure, threaten, or intimidate a person in any state, territory or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or her by the Constitution or the laws of the U.S.”
However, Olson said, “I do not think there is a potential 241 violation. The challenging part with 241 is identifying the underlying statutory or constitutional right.”
While the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to peaceably assemble, it prohibits government action that interferes with that right, not private action.
Another federal law prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations, 42 USC 2000a, which is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, only covers discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin.
Olson said she believes it’s “absolutely” a case that merits federal review. “I’m confident that the U.S. Attorney’s office is looking carefully at all of the facts here, and assessing whether there’s a prosecution to be brought,” she said. “It’s important, obviously, to do their due diligence on what is potentially criminal conduct of this nature. … I also think it’s important for any enforcement agency with potential jurisdiction to give it a long, hard look and if there is a viable prosecution, to move forward aggressively to demonstrate that this kind of conduct is not tolerated in Idaho.”
“If it’s criminal conduct, it will be pursued as strongly as possible,” she said. “It may be that there are not laws that will allow a (federal) prosecution here. But intimidating conduct is certainly something that deserves the whole examination of law enforcement to determine if there are appropriate criminal charges.”
State and federal jurisdictions can overlap in some cases when it comes to criminal prosecutions. In most cases, the different jurisdictions collaborate on which takes the lead, but in some cases, both state and federal prosecutions may occur.
“There’s not a double jeopardy issue, because it’s two separate sovereigns,” Olson explained. Policies established through federal case law determine when that will occur, she said, and outline specific circumstances that could warrant it. “One is that justice hasn’t been done, that there’s some federal interest that has not been met,” Olson said. That federal policy is known as the Dual and Successive Prosecution Policy, or Petite policy, named after Petite v United States, a 1960 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
A famous example of that was the Rodney King case in California, in which multiple California police officers severely beat King, a Black motorist, after stopping him for speeding, a beating that was captured on videotape. King was released without charges, and four officers were prosecuted for the beating. In their state trial, two were acquitted by a jury that included no Black members, prompting riots in Los Angeles that caused widespread damage and led to 53 deaths and 7,000 arrests.
Subsequently, federal charges were brought against the four officers for violating King’s civil rights, and two were convicted.
Olson said federal charges were brought more recently in the Derek Chauvin prosecution over the murder of George Floyd, and in the Ahmaud Arbery case, in which a Black jogger was shot to death by two white men in Georgia in 2020. In both cases, federal prosecutions took place after the state prosecutions.
In the Coeur d’Alene Patriot Front incident, Olson said, “My guess is … if there was a reason to prosecute these guys federally, that the Petite policy likely would not stand in the way.”
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more at IdahoPress.com
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See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/patriot-front-members-face-overlapping-federal-state-prosecution/277-63aad857-9186-49ae-b7d7-d2e29cab2b59 | 2022-06-23T04:03:03 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/patriot-front-members-face-overlapping-federal-state-prosecution/277-63aad857-9186-49ae-b7d7-d2e29cab2b59 |
Suspect who pointed gun at man holding baby in Detroit gas station charged
A man accused of pointing a gun last weekend at a Detroit gas station customer holding a small child has been charged in connection with the incident, police announced Wednesday.
"The Wayne County Prosecutors Office has charged Euric Butler with felonious assault, felony firearm and brandishing a firearm following his arrest on Monday," the Detroit Police Department said in a statement.
Other details were not available.
"Thank you to the community for your continued support and assistance by providing tips amid this investigation," police said.
Police have said they identified Butler as the suspect allegedly caught on surveillance video at a Valero around 6 p.m. Sunday near Hubbell and Tireman.
The clip shows a man walking across the parking lot then opening the door to the store, drawing a gun from his shorts and pointing it inside at a man with a baby.
The man was seen on the video rushing back out when the father started running toward him. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/06/23/suspect-gun-man-holding-baby-detroit-gas-station-charged/7708132001/ | 2022-06-23T04:10:14 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/06/23/suspect-gun-man-holding-baby-detroit-gas-station-charged/7708132001/ |
MIDLAND, Texas — Just about everything across the board costs more these days. From filling up your gas tank, to feeding your family, everything is more expensive.
This includes the price of oil, which is hovering around $104 per barrel. While that would typically be a good thing, it's also coupled with historic inflation.
President Biden is looking for ways to give people a break wherever possible. It's one reason why his administration has zeroed in on an oil and gas windfall tax. This tax is focused on oil and gas companies who have had large profits.
However, industry experts, don't believe that it will provide much relief for consumers.
Stephen Robertson, executive vice president for the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, said that it would be similar to a situation we experienced during Jimmy Carter's presidency.
"The design is very similar to a similar effort offered up and put in place by the Jimmy Carter administration back in 1980, which at that time saw an increase in prices for consumers and a decrease in domestic production, so that's very likely what we would see," Robertson said.
A decrease in domestic production means an increased reliance on foreign energy production, which would result in a bigger hit on our wallets.
"All this is going to do is hamper domestic energy production which, in turn, is going to increase the cost for people at the pump, the cost for people to travel, the cost for people to be able to get goods, the cost for people to be able to live their lives," Robertson said.
Robertson said that the market should dictate a change in price or be able to correct itself. He said the federal government shouldn't try to correct any issues itself.
"If you really want to support American independence when it comes to energy, support American energy," Robertson said. "That does not mean putting a new tax on American energy. That means that when the markets tell the oil and gas industry that your product is worth a negative value, as it did a few years ago, you don’t step in. You let the market dictate what the cost is."
Robertson said that this policy also goes against what the Biden administration has been discussing with the industry when it comes to supporting U.S. energy.
"The administration has seemed to talk to the public about wanting to support domestic energy development," Robertson said. "Yet the actions, either by the administration through regulatory mandate, or through proposed legislation, is very much telling the domestic oil and gas industry 'we don’t want you here.'" | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/biden-oil-gas-windfall-tax/513-8b20b62f-7713-4394-8693-c17c26c64ee8 | 2022-06-23T04:14:27 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/biden-oil-gas-windfall-tax/513-8b20b62f-7713-4394-8693-c17c26c64ee8 |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A new music festival will take place in Johnson City this weekend.
The High on a Hillside festival is set for Saturday at TVA Credit Union Ballpark.
The goal of the festival is to celebrate the musical heritage of the region and beyond while also highlighting local food and craft vendors. The event will include three musical acts playing six full sets.
“We’re hoping people will get to experience live music from different regions, there’s a band from San Francisco, Montana, and North Carolina so hopefully having a different lineup and giving people a different flavor for the music and things that we have to offer in this region,” said Cody Ryans, a festival partner.
Musical guests will include The Brothers Comatose, Kitchen Dwellers, and Urban Soil.
Gates open at 2 p.m. Music will begin at 3 p.m. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/high-on-a-hillside-music-festival-happening-this-weekend-in-johnson-city/ | 2022-06-23T04:22:33 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/high-on-a-hillside-music-festival-happening-this-weekend-in-johnson-city/ |
Kathy Carrier said the chances of her crying were “pretty high,” as she spoke about Bill Blass at a lectern adorned with the designer’s ties at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
“I can’t think of another Fort Wayne native who hails such regard,” she said. “I can’t think of another person who’s both a military hero and a successful entrepreneur, who came from Fort Wayne that so little people know about.”
Wednesday’s news conference marked the beginning of the “Bill Blass Blast – 100 Days of Bill Blass” celebration in Fort Wayne. Carrier, along with seven other women in the community, has been working on the event since October.
Blass was a popular 20th century fashion designer who was born and raised in Fort Wayne. Blass graduated from South Side High School in 1940 before leaving for New York City. He would have turned 100 this year.
The festival in his name features exhibitions at the art museum and History Center, both curated by Jenna Gilley, Museum of Art associate curator of exhibitions. A display at the Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum details Blass’ time in the Ghost Army, a tactical deception unit used to impersonate other Allied Army units to deceive the enemy.
“We thought it was great to partner with the Bill Blass celebration,” said Eric Johnson, second vice commander of the Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum. “We have an expansive display of Ghost Army history and samples of Bill Blass’ artwork that he did while he was in the field.”
Johnson also announced the museum created commemorative coins in honor of the Ghost Army, which are available for purchase for $15 at all three main exhibitions.
Since her start at the art museum, Gilley said she has wanted to do a Blass-themed exhibition, so it was a coincidence when Carrier called and asked if the museum had any pieces from the designer. While the process to start this may have been quick, Gilley said it has been a joy working with the team.
“If you would have told me six months ago that I would be designing my dream exhibition, I wouldn’t have believed you,” she said. “It’s just been a pleasure to be able to do something I love and celebrate it with everyone.”
Todd Pelfrey, executive director of the history center, also spoke at the news conference, saying Gilley has done a “masterful job” with the presentation. Pelfrey said he is excited for the next 100 days.
“This has been a wonderful collaboration involving dozens of really passionate individuals, dedicated communities and nonprofits,” Pelfrey said. “Although we are scheduled to have 100 days of Blass, I have a hunch we will be able to use some of that for 1,000 (days).”
Mayor Tom Henry also spoke, sharing that his father knew Blass when he lived in Fort Wayne. Henry also read a proclamation, naming June 22 “Bill Blass Day” and said there had been little to no record of the designer in Fort Wayne’s archives.
“We need to include that South Side High School graduate and renowned fashion designer who achieved international success,” Henry said. “He transformed the fashion industry with this creative sense of extravagant simplicity in women’s wear and entrepreneurial spirit as the first American designer to put his name on the label.”
The Allen County Public Library is digitizing items from the Fort Wayne native to stay on display after the 100-day celebration. Carrier said the first shipment came about five months ago and included 273 items.
The library is also offering Blass-themed to-go kits with activities for children.
Greg Mendez, sculptor from Decatur, also created three Blass-inspired sculptures that are on display in downtown Fort Wayne. Two are on East Main Street by the Museum of Art, and the other is at the Barr Street Market.
While the “100 Days of Bill Blass” may be underway, Carrier said her job isn’t finished.
“We want to keep the excitement alive all summer, especially since kids are off school,” she said. “We’re really trying to continue to have fun with this the whole 100 days.”
Even though she isn’t done, Carrier said seeing her vision come to life has been overwhelming because it’s grown more than she imagined.
“It’s just so professionally done,” she said. “I think it does his career justice and applauds his career in a way that makes me proud.” | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/bill-blass-celebration-begins/article_a14ed726-f26d-11ec-898a-03577bebfd6e.html | 2022-06-23T04:25:36 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/bill-blass-celebration-begins/article_a14ed726-f26d-11ec-898a-03577bebfd6e.html |
Franke Park day camp hike Jun 23, 2022 16 min ago Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Day campers emerge from the woods Wednesday after hiking the trails near the Psi Ote Nature Lodge at Franke Park. Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Franke Park day camp hike Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Most Popular Caleb Swanigan dies; former Homestead, Purdue basketball star Huntington woman pleads guilty to child trafficking Woman dies from storm-related injuries New BBQ restaurant will fill former ACME location Dining Out restaurant review: Steak, bread pudding top picks at Chance Bar in Fort Wayne Stocks Market Data by TradingView | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/franke-park-day-camp-hike/article_282532be-f281-11ec-ad54-d752916312fb.html | 2022-06-23T04:25:43 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/franke-park-day-camp-hike/article_282532be-f281-11ec-ad54-d752916312fb.html |
Lawmakers will return to Indianapolis next month after Gov. Eric Holcomb called a special session Wednesday to authorize new $225 payments to Indiana taxpayers.
The session will begin July 6, Holcomb’s proclamation announced. He announced the payment plan this month as a way of easing economic stress amid rising inflation and elevated gas prices.
“This is the fastest, fairest and most efficient way to return taxpayers’ hard-earned money during a time of economic strain,” Holcomb said in a statement.
“Indiana’s economy is growing, and with more than $1 billion of revenue over current projections, Hoosier taxpayers deserve to have their money responsibly returned. I’m happy to be able to take this first step and look forward to signing this plan into law as soon as possible.”
The $225 payments would be delivered in addition to the $125 automatic taxpayer refunds announced in April. According to the governor, eligible Hoosiers will receive a total of $350, and married couples who filed taxes jointly will receive about $700.
In all, the payments will cost the state over $1 billion.
If passed by the state legislature, the new payments would be deposited into bank accounts like the earlier automatic refunds. The governor said in a statement in early June that taxpayers who receive paper checks will receive a single check for $350 or $700 beginning in August.
State Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne, expressed support for the governor’s proposal as a means of addressing inflation.
“This is obviously not a cure-all, but anything is going to help,” Carbaugh said. “Having gone to the grocery store today, I can tell you any little bit will help.”
In the other chamber, state Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, said Republicans are taking the proposal “under advisement.”
“I think we have a lot of questions to be answered,” Holdman said. “We have folks that are concerned about paying down debt and contributing to inflation ourselves by doing this.”
House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, declined to comment on the special session, but he released a statement Wednesday afternoon praising President Joe Biden’s proposed federal gas tax holiday. He contrasted the state Democratic Party’s proposal to suspend Indiana’s gas taxes with the tax refund.
“If we suspend the state gas taxes, we’ll triple the savings for Hoosiers. It doesn’t hurt that suspending the gas tax keeps all the benefits here, unlike the Automatic Tax Refund,” GiaQuinta said in a statement. “Why send more of our hard-earned money to Washington in the form of taxes on a refund rather than keeping all the savings in Hoosiers’ pockets?”
While the proposed payments may be top priority during the special session, other legislation may be discussed as well.
The most prominent of those issues could be abortion, as the Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
If the court rules in favor of Dobbs – a likely outcome, according to a leaked draft opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito – the precedent set in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey would be overruled.
While some states have “trigger laws” that would ban abortions following that ruling, Indiana does not have such a law on the books. Carbaugh said there have been discussions regarding abortion restrictions since Politico published the leaked draft in early May, but the state Republican Party does not have any “definite plans.”
“Since I’ve been elected, we’ve been a very pro-life state. I think it would be something that we would at least look at,” Carbaugh said. “But I know that at least I would want to see the entire process play out and not do it in a day.”
Holdman said the Senate Republican caucus will meet next week to discuss both the proposed payments and any potential legislation to restrict abortion access in Indiana.
“I think we need some direction, Hoosiers need some direction on the position of life issues,” Holdman said.
“I think it’s appropriate for us to take steps to do that.” | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/indiana/holcomb-calls-special-session-for-225-payments/article_26b9d1e4-f279-11ec-a43b-27f78f44ccdf.html | 2022-06-23T04:25:49 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/indiana/holcomb-calls-special-session-for-225-payments/article_26b9d1e4-f279-11ec-a43b-27f78f44ccdf.html |
Mayor Tom Henry is officially seeking the Democratic nomination for a fifth consecutive term at a time when Fort Wayne is doing what he called, “exceptionally well.”
Henry was first elected as mayor in 2007 and became the first in Fort Wayne’s history to win four consecutive elections with his victory in 2019. Henry shared recent accomplishments with more than 100 people who were waiting for an announcement about his political future Thursday at Clyde Theatre.
The city elections are in 2023. The city’s unemployment rate is 2.5%. More than $200 million has been spent on neighborhood improvements since 2014. Through private and public partnerships, more than $1 billion has been invested downtown, Henry said.
But inflation continues to rise as national economic indicators are saying Americans have “a vulnerable future,” Henry said.
“Those times will demand strong and consistent leadership and experience,” Henry said. “There’s still a lot of work to do in our community. Now is not the time for inexperience.”
Henry, 70, was introduced by his wife of 47 years, Cindy Henry, who talked about when her husband first decided to run for public office in 1983. The Henrys didn’t know anything about running a political campaign then, she said, but that’s when Henry won his first election – for Fort Wayne City Council’s 3rd District seat. Henry served on the City Council for 20 years.
“He asked me recently what I thought about his future and our future together,” Cindy Henry said. “My response was, ‘You need to do what makes you happy.’ ”
Henry shared some of the notes he recently received from third grade students at Covington Elementary School. The notes thanked the mayor for everything he does for the city – along with some compliments on his suits and hair.
“This is the next generation,” Henry said. “I think what they are looking for more than anything is honesty and trust. That’s what I’ve tried to bring to you this last 14-and-a-half years.”
Wayne Township Trustee Austin Knox was the first to speak on the Clyde stage Thursday. Knox said Henry’s passion and love for Fort Wayne have been obvious in the conversations they’ve had.
Knox said he’s excited as someone who grew up in Fort Wayne to see record-breaking infrastructure improvements and downtown revitalization.
“I had friends who moved away after they graduated from college because they wanted a, quote-unquote, ‘big, attractive city,’ ” said Knox, who won the Democratic nomination for township trustee in May. “But now those same friends, they are finding their way back.”
If Henry wins the election, he will have the opportunity to be the longest-serving mayor in Fort Wayne’s history, said Andrew Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Henry is currently the only candidate for the Democratic nomination for the mayor’s office. City Councilman Tom Didier, R-3rd, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination more than a year ago.
Didier has been a councilman since he defeated Henry for the 3rd District seat in 2003. Didier will conduct a news conference today.
Fort Wayne’s longest-serving mayor was William Hosey, who served 17 years in four terms that weren’t consecutive: 1906 through 1909, 1914 through 1917, 1922 through 1925, and 1930 through 1934.
Hosey picked up an extra year in his fourth term because the Indiana General Assembly had passed a ‘skip’ election law. Elections normally held in 1933 were postponed one year because of the Great Depression. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/mayor-announces-his-fifth-consecutive-campaign/article_34565292-f27d-11ec-a7f6-0b34f16a22f9.html | 2022-06-23T04:25:55 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/mayor-announces-his-fifth-consecutive-campaign/article_34565292-f27d-11ec-a7f6-0b34f16a22f9.html |
Fort Wayne/Allen County
Tell county about storm damage
Residents in Allen County are being asked to report damages to their property caused by the severe storms June 13 to help the county determine eligibility for federal and state assistance.
The Allen County Office of Homeland Security has completed initial assessments, but there is concern among officials that some residents affected by the storms may have been missed.
Homeland Security has partnered with IN211 so residents can report any property damages by completing an online assessment form. The form is found at https://in211.communityos.org/idhs-damage-assessment-allen-co, and deadline to complete the assessments is July 1.
Residents can call 449-4663 or email homelandsecurity@allencounty.us for assistance in completing the assessment form or with further questions.
Food distribution extended today
Wellspring Interfaith Social Services is extending its regular food bank hours from 2 to 6 p.m. today for those adversely affected by the June 13 storm as well as by inflation. Food, hygiene items, pet food and more will be available to clients until supplies last.
Wellspring is at 1316 Broadway, and interested clients must enter from Broadway. There will be two lanes of traffic for this drive-thru distribution event, and no identification is needed.
Forum on Black home ownership
The Realtist Association of Northeast Indiana will present Black Homeownership Everybody Wins from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Impact Center, 3420 E. Paulding Road.
Sponsored by Premier Bank, the event will include a panel of local housing experts, community leaders and keynote speaker Amy Nelson of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana. Discussion will cover overcoming community barriers, generational wealth and the benefits of home ownership.
Fans, AC sought for those in need
The Salvation Army is seeking fans and air conditioners to distribute to low-income people with critical medical conditions who must stay cool during hot weather.
New fans and air conditioners can be dropped of at 2901 N. Clinton St. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Monetary donations can also be made at the same location or at www.safortwayne.org.
Those in need of fans or air conditioners can apply to assistance by calling 744-2311 or emailing timothy.smith@usc.salvationarmy.org.
To be eligible for an air conditioner, residents must have a critical medical condition aggravated by the heat verified by a doctor.
– Journal Gazette | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/metro-briefs/article_a6e594d8-f243-11ec-8305-2b18865f31e7.html | 2022-06-23T04:26:01 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/metro-briefs/article_a6e594d8-f243-11ec-8305-2b18865f31e7.html |
It started with a police officer hearing 20 to 30 shots of rapid gun fire, a police chase of a car that looked “all shot up,” and the discovery of drugs and guns, including a handgun modified into an automatic.
Two men were arrested. The man who had the automatic was charged with five felonies that include dealing in a narcotic drug and machine gun possession.
When Nickolas Deshon Outlaw, 29, went before Allen Superior Court Magistrate John Bohdan for an initial hearing Tuesday, he was released on his own recognizance and ordered monitored for conditional release. Other felony charges against him include resisting law enforcement causing injury, obstruction of justice and carrying a handgun with a felony conviction in the last 15 years. He’s also charged with two misdemeanors for resisting arrest and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Online court records show that Outlaw’s exact address isn’t available.
The other man, Rodiron Kenneth Johnson, 28, of the 400 block of Eckhart Street, was being held in lieu of $72,500 bail. He’s charged with three felonies: dealing in cocaine (10 grams or more), resisting law enforcement in a vehicle with a prior conviction, and carrying a handgun with a felony conviction in the last 15 years.
The misdemeanors Johnson is charged with are unlawful possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer, resisting law enforcement, and possession of marijuana. Online court records state he was also charged with the infraction of disregarding a stop sign, and Hamilton County has a hold on him for a warrant on handgun-related felony charges from March.
The car chase happened just after Fort Wayne police Officer Mason Willis heard the multiple shots about 3:11 a.m. Saturday, according to the probable cause affidavit he wrote. An officer northeast of Willis also heard the shots.
Willis was near Harvester Avenue and Fleetwood Street and drove east toward the sounds of the shots. Near Holly Avenue and Harvester, he saw a tan 2003 Ford Taurus with three men inside coming south on Holly. It almost hit his car when it turned to go west on Harvester, the affidavit said. During a roughly three-minute high-speed chase that reached speeds of 70 mph, Willis saw the Taurus’ back window was shot out, and its trunk had bullet holes.
Another officer joined the chase as it went south on Central Drive. When the car chase ended at Oxford and Alexander streets, Johnson and Outlaw ran off.
Johnson surrendered. He had a bag of marijuana and a bag with 21.7 grams (.76 ounces) rock cocaine in his left pocket and $767 in his right pocket, records said. In the Taurus, police found a 14-round Glock magazine on the floor of the driver’s side where Johnson sat and a Glock 23 and Taurus 9 mm on the passenger side floorboard. Johnson told police they didn’t shoot at anyone and were shot at.
Other officers apprehended Outlaw, who had Oxycodone pills, marijuana and $630 on him. They also found a Glock 22 with an “auto sear modification” that converted it into an automatic, court records said.
An officer was hurt when Outlaw struggled against arrest.
Both Outlaw and Johnson have their next hearing before Bohdan at 10:30 a.m. Friday. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-fire/gunshots-a-car-chase-and-an-automatic-handgun-lead-to-two-arrests/article_9d1e3ae4-f28a-11ec-94d9-a78603b6d372.html | 2022-06-23T04:26:07 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-fire/gunshots-a-car-chase-and-an-automatic-handgun-lead-to-two-arrests/article_9d1e3ae4-f28a-11ec-94d9-a78603b6d372.html |
Police arrested an Angola man after a stabbing early Wednesday at rural Steuben County home.
Jose M. Tafolla, 19, of the 2300 block of Orland Road, is charged with felony battery by means of a deadly weapon. He’s accused of stabbing a 33-year-old man at a home in the 2300 block of West Orland Road in Pleasant Township, the sheriff’s department said.
Deputies were called to the scene for a physical altercation about 12:30 a.m. and found the 33-year-old outside the home with what looked like a stab wound to his abdomen, authorities said.
The initial investigation by sheriff’s department detectives showed a verbal fight inside the home had escalated.
Alcohol appeared to be a factor, police said.
Steuben County EMS took the stabbed man, who was in critical condition, to a Fort Wayne hospital. The sheriff’s department didn’t identify the stabbing victim in its news release.
Deputies quickly identified and located Tafolla and interviewed him. Tafolla was then booked into the Steuben County Jail without bail until his initial hearing. As of late Wednesday afternoon, there was no information in online court records of bond set or trial dates set.
The Steuben County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate. Those assisting at the scene were the Indiana State Police, the Fremont Police Department, the Angola Fire Department and Steuben County EMS. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-fire/man-arrested-in-steuben-county-stabbing/article_54d00996-f25f-11ec-ac85-5b56d0739e90.html | 2022-06-23T04:26:14 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-fire/man-arrested-in-steuben-county-stabbing/article_54d00996-f25f-11ec-ac85-5b56d0739e90.html |
A man was shot and killed after he allegedly broke into a Warsaw home Tuesday night, Warsaw police said Wednesday.
Kosciusko County Central Dispatch received the 911 call about 9:40 p.m. from a home in the 3100 block of Old Colony Road in Forest Park Manufactured Home Community, a Warsaw Police Department news release said. When officers arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound to his chest.
Police and medics made life-saving efforts, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Warsaw police. They aren’t releasing the man’s name until his family is notified.
Three adults who were in the home were taken to the Warsaw Police Department for interviews. A child that was in the home went to the Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center to be interviewed.
Warsaw Police were assisted in the investigation by the Kosciusko County coroner’s office, Lutheran EMS, Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, the Department of Family Services, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, Winona Lake Police and the Kosciusko County prosecutor’s office. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-fire/warsaw-break-in-results-in-shooting-death/article_ed2d1f8a-f264-11ec-a839-77e222499a70.html | 2022-06-23T04:26:20 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/police-fire/warsaw-break-in-results-in-shooting-death/article_ed2d1f8a-f264-11ec-a839-77e222499a70.html |
SAN ANTONIO —
As the state continues to come together for those affected by the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, hungry Texans will have a chance to help by visiting their local McDonald's at lunchtime on Thursday.
More than 1,000 McDonald's stores are participating in a benefit event in which 10% of sales between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. "will be donated to the Uvalde community," according to information shared by local school districts. The initiative will be active for customers who order through a variety of means, including dine-in, carryout, drive-thru or via McDonald's delivery program.
Some participating San Antonio-area McDonald's restaurants can be found here. Customers elsewhere are recommended to contact their local restaurant first to see if they're participating.
The money raised will be donated specifically to the Robb School Memorial Fund and Ronald McDonald House Charities San Antonio.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed when an 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary on May 24, sparking scrutiny over the local police response and a wave of investigations.
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Over the years, KENS 5 has worked to transform local news. Our cameras have been the lens bringing history into local viewers' homes. We're proud of our legacy as we serve San Antonians today.
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Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-mcdonalds-uvalde-robb-elementary-charity-lunch/273-ac7be928-24a7-4b45-94c0-fdab22b2f4a8 | 2022-06-23T04:29:11 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-mcdonalds-uvalde-robb-elementary-charity-lunch/273-ac7be928-24a7-4b45-94c0-fdab22b2f4a8 |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/gang-of-teens-suspected-of-crashing-cars-at-blue-mound-carvana/2998462/ | 2022-06-23T04:29:37 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/gang-of-teens-suspected-of-crashing-cars-at-blue-mound-carvana/2998462/ |
As the surge at the border continues, migrants are being transported to different cities across the country. On Wednesday, around 70 were brought to a Dallas church, but only temporarily as nonprofits work to help them get to their final destination.
“This is not their final destination, this is their transit point," said Almas Muscatwalla, executive director of Faith Forward Dallas at Thanksgiving Square.
The nonprofit is made of up clergy from different faiths and provides crisis management and advocacy for those in need.
"We're providing hospitality, we’re facilitating their travel plan and from this point, they’re going to their destination, to their families and sponsors," said Muscatwalla, who also referenced the court hearings migrants attend to most likely seek asylum. "We want to expedite this process here, so they can be with their families and make it to their court date so they have a better future.”
Around 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Muscatwalla said they received about 53 migrants from El Paso, then midafternoon 23 from another detention center in Anson.
She said this is the first week in months that they've brought people in, but they've been preparing.
“Personally, I can tell you I am a migrant, I am from Mexico and I’ve been in the same experience as these people," said Isabel Marquez, Associate Pastor at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church.
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She said 30 years ago, she was in the same situation as the people who walked through her church's doors. Marquez said she was at a detention center for four months and knows what the migrants are going through, which is why she makes sure to make the space friendly and inviting.
"The first words that they receive here when they arrive, is like 'Welcome, they are safe here and that God loves them and we do, too,'" said Marquez. "So we’re going to do everything on our end to be able to help them."
Volunteers are the backbone of the operation and after giving the migrants food, clothes and temporary shelter, they also assisted them with transportation to get to the airport.
“The main thing that I do is bring all the different pieces together, and work with the volunteers specifically helping get the word out, helping organize what our needs are, what times, when people should be here and then just helping make sure all the bases are covered, from transportation to food to volunteers to medical," said Jennifer Stinson, a volunteer and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"We hear so much on the news about these events about these people, lots of things about them, but when you come and spend time with them, it changes you, it changes your heart, it changes your perspective, it changes your understanding of what they’re going through in their lives, and just like Almas said, how similar we all are," said Stinson.
The church said it plans to receive at least one bus load of migrants every week from here on out.
They are in need of volunteers, to find out more information, click here. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/nonprofit-helps-dozens-of-migrants-brought-to-dallas/2998356/ | 2022-06-23T04:29:43 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/nonprofit-helps-dozens-of-migrants-brought-to-dallas/2998356/ |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/nonprofit-helps-dozens-of-migrants-brought-to-dallas/2998453/ | 2022-06-23T04:29:49 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/nonprofit-helps-dozens-of-migrants-brought-to-dallas/2998453/ |
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News from around the state of Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-senate-hearing-on-uvalde-turns-to-mental-health-preventing-future-tragedy/2998456/ | 2022-06-23T04:29:56 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-senate-hearing-on-uvalde-turns-to-mental-health-preventing-future-tragedy/2998456/ |
AUGUSTA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Mustard Seed, an eatery in Augusta, is closing after being open for just over a year due to inflation.
“We just couldn’t go on and struggle with the way we were going, the direction that it was going with the high cost,” said The Mustard Seed Owner Shane Scott.
Inflation is forcing many restaurant owners, like Scott, to make tough decisions.
“We have the choice of either eating that cost or passing it on to the consumer,” Scott said. “And after a while for soups and sandwiches, there’s only so much that the consumer’s willing to pay.”
It’s a battle against what he says is a “three-headed monster.”
“It’s the inflation, it’s the supply chain and the lack of labor — you gotta pay extra to get labor today,” said Scott.
High gas prices are also raising costs.
“The gas prices are really hurting my food cost and making everything more expensive for me,” Scott said.
And with an end not in sight — Scott says, “We have to make the right decision for us and we don’t know when this is going to end.”
The Mustard Seed will be closing its doors for good on Friday.
Tracey Eberhart, a hairstylist and owner of Dream Weavers Salon and Spa across the street from The Mustard Seed, says she hates to see the eatery closing due to inflation.
“I think it’s terrible,” said Eberhart. “It’s [inflation] affected all of us in such a negative way.”
If you are able to stop by The Mustard Seed before it closes, Eberhart recommends her favorite — the club sandwich, or the adult mac and cheese. To see a full menu, click here. The Mustard Seed is located at 502 State Street in downtown Augusta and is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/inflation-causing-augusta-restaurant-to-close/ | 2022-06-23T04:44:23 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/inflation-causing-augusta-restaurant-to-close/ |
Firefighters arrived Tuesday night to find flames and heavy smoke coming from a garage in the 600 block of Meridian Road, the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department reports.
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Firefighters arrived Tuesday night to find flames and heavy smoke coming from a garage in the 600 block of Meridian Road, the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department reports.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP — Firefighters arrived Tuesday night to find flames and heavy smoke coming from a garage in the 600 block of Meridian Road, the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department reports.
Preliminary investigations revealed the fire was caused by an active electrical appliance malfunction in the workshop area that ignited fuel sources, causing the fire to spread rapidly.
Firefighters said they were required to establish their own water supply during the 9:45 p.m. call as there were no hydrants nearby. Approximately 20,000 gallons were used.
The fire was extinguished successfully and Liberty Fire used foam to suppress remaining hot spots and potential re-ignition points to prevent any fire from occurring later on.
The local department was assisted by firefighters from Washington Township and South Haven.
Gallery: South Shore Line Double Track groundbreaking
Porter/LaPorte County Courts and Social Justice Reporter
Bob is a 23-year veteran of The Times. He covers county government and courts in Porter County, federal courts, police news and regional issues. He also created the Vegan in the Region blog, is an Indiana University grad and lifelong region resident.
The 27-year-old female resident showed police a video of the man knocking on the door around 10:07 a.m. that day and then opening it and closing it before walking away.
Firefighters arrived Tuesday night to find flames and heavy smoke coming from a garage in the 600 block of Meridian Road, the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department reports.
Firefighters arrived Tuesday night to find flames and heavy smoke coming from a garage in the 600 block of Meridian Road, the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department reports. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-electrical-appliance-malfunction-causes-fire-that-rips-through-porter-county-garage-department-says/article_ced5d525-c29f-592e-850c-fc7b98d3b777.html | 2022-06-23T04:48:50 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-electrical-appliance-malfunction-causes-fire-that-rips-through-porter-county-garage-department-says/article_ced5d525-c29f-592e-850c-fc7b98d3b777.html |
Daytona Beach inn is ranked TripAdvisor's No. 1 American hotel for families. Here are the top 25
DAYTONA BEACH SHORES — One of the beachside’s longtime independently owned hotels is ranked atop a prestigious new list of the nation’s Top 25 family-friendly accommodations.
The beachfront 91-room Sun Viking Lodge, at 2411 S. Atlantic Ave. in Daytona Beach Shores, scored the first-place ranking on a list of the Top 25 Hotels For Families in the United States as part of the 2022 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards presented by travel website TripAdvisor.com.
In claiming the top spot, the Sun Viking Lodge finished ahead of an array of hotels in destinations that included Anaheim, California; Branson, Missouri; Santa Cruz, California; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Ocean City, New Jersey; and Williamsburg, Virginia; as well as five hotels in the shadow of Walt Disney World in Orlando.
“It’s a source of pride for everyone here,” said Amy Alexon, the hotel’s general manager. “It’s the employees that did this. That’s the reason we have so many good reviews. We’re like a family here. When you look at all the hotels we beat on that list, all the water parks, it’s a huge honor.”
Made Just Right:Sun Viking Lodge celebrates 50 years in Daytona Beach Shores
The Travelers' Choice awards honor travelers' favorite destinations, hotels, restaurants, things to do and beyond, based on the reviews and opinions collected from travelers and diners around the world on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period, according to the website.
The awards are split into two levels: Best of the Best and Travelers’ Choice.
The Best of the Best designation is the website’s highest honor.
It considers the quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings to rank the best accommodations, destinations, beaches, attractions, restaurants, airlines and experiences in specific categories and geographic areas, according to the website.
Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best award winners represent the top 1% of TripAdvisor listings, the website stated.
Other properties on the Top 25 family hotels list include Celebration Suites in Kissimmee (at No. 5); Marriott's Harbour Lake in Orlando (No. 8); Sanibel Moorings in Sanibel Island (No. 11); Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa in Orlando (No. 16); and Marriott's Cypress Harbour Villas, also in Orlando (No. 17).
A time of change at Sun Viking
For the Sun Viking Lodge, the TripAdvisor award comes during a time of transition.
A year ago, in June 2021, the hotel was sold by its longtime husband-and-wife ownership team of Gary and Barbara Brown to new owners Ty and Tovah Lohman of Ormond Beach for $8.5 million, according to Volusia County Property Appraiser records.
Moving on:After more than 50 years as hoteliers, Brown family sells Daytona Beach's Sun Viking Lodge
The Browns had owned and operated the hotel since 1971. Although their son, Greg Brown, had initially stayed on as general manager, he stepped down from that position at the end of May to focus full-time on video production work.
Ahead of that change, Alexon had been promoted to general manager in January, moving into that job after more than a decade in various roles at the hotel where she had started as a front-desk clerk. Likewise, the hotel’s assistant general manager, Joel Pape, started at the hotel nearly four years ago in the maintenance department.
Ty Lohman, the hotel’s new owner, pointed the spotlight at the hotel’s leadership team and employees for recognition for the TripAdvisor honor.
“Amy has a great team that takes great care of the guests,” Lohman said. “This is really about her and everybody she’s got there. It’s an iconic hotel that has a lot of amenities to offer families. They worked really hard, so they’ve earned this.”
In turn, Alexon offered gratitude to the Brown family for instilling the family-friendly mindset that still characterizes the hotel.
“I sure do miss the Browns,” she said. “I learned a lot from them. They were amazing.”
In offering congratulations, the role of the Brown family in developing Daytona Beach as a tourist destination over five decades also was heralded by Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County.
“This is a fantastic, amazing reward for a family that has given their lives to the industry here,” Davis said. “What that represents, that took years.”
When the Browns first opened their hotel in 1971, there was a lot of local talk about the potential impact of a new tourist attraction that would open later that year in Orlando.
From 2019: Sun Viking Lodge owner chronicles changes in Daytona Beach
“There was a lot of speculation about whether Disney World would help Daytona or hurt Daytona,” Gary Brown said in early 2021 as the Sun Viking Lodge marked its 50th anniversary. “If you look at history, I think it did both.”
Even as Disney’s mammoth empire loomed ever-larger, the Sun Viking Lodge endured.
It weathered gasoline shortages, wars, wildfires, economic downturns, the impact of the Sept. 11th attacks and, most recently, the coronavirus pandemic.
Hotel staff praised for award-winning effort
Reached by phone, Greg Brown also acknowledged his parents’ role in defining the Sun Viking Lodge experience over more than 50 years at the helm.
“We feel blessed to get the award,” Brown said. “Obviously, my parents played a big part in that, as well. The whole staff has to be commended for all their hard work and making everybody happy.
“We have a very solid staff, even through the pandemic,” he said. “The issues with staffing shortages have been hard on everybody, but the core is there, and it kept us going.”
Labor shortage issues are still a factor at the hotel, said Pape, the assistant general manager. Right now, staffing for the hotel’s housekeeping department is about 20% below typical summer levels, he said.
Help (really) wanted:Volusia restaurants, hotels struggle to hire workers
“But we all have to step up as a group and get the job done anyway,” he said.
Alexon said that a staff celebration party is in the planning stages as a reward for the TripAdvisor honor.
“It’s really going to boost morale,” she said of the award. "We’re going to have a big party to celebrate the employees.” | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/06/22/daytona-beach-hotels-tripadvisor-says-daytona-has-best-hotel-for-families/7686981001/ | 2022-06-23T05:01:27 | 0 | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/06/22/daytona-beach-hotels-tripadvisor-says-daytona-has-best-hotel-for-families/7686981001/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/suspect-in-shooting-death-of-15-year-old-sean-toomey-in-custody/3278793/ | 2022-06-23T05:10:42 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/suspect-in-shooting-death-of-15-year-old-sean-toomey-in-custody/3278793/ |
A woman in the Bronx was held hostage after a date with a man she met online — and when she couldn't turn to 911, she used a food delivery app to send a desperate plea for help.
The call for help came in the form of an online Grubhub food order to the Chipper Truck Café in Yonkers Sunday morning. Surveillance video from inside the restaurant shows the employees receive the order for a Irish breakfast sandwich, a hamburger and something else: a plea for help.
"When I see the message on the paper, I said just call police and don’t send the food because this is something else. It’s an emergency," said owner Valentine Bernejo.
Alice Bernejo says she always reminds her employees to read the entire order.
"I drove them crazy saying read the fine note, the fine print, you have to read it. So they know check and read it before anything goes into the bag and thankfully that’s what saved the girl was them doing that," she said.
The message came from a woman being held against her will by a man she barely knew, identified by police as Kemoy Royal. Under the additional instructions section on the Grubhub order, the woman wrote in part "please call the police" and "please don't make it obvious."
The workers called police, and officers responded to a home on Pratt Avenue just after 6 a.m. Royal answered the door thinking the food was arriving, but instead it was police, who arrested him.
News
"You never think that these things happen, but it obviously happens and just glad that we can help and we did the right thing," Alice Bernejo said.
The 24-year-old victim was rescued from the home and is now safe. Meanwhile, Royal faces a laundry list of charges.
After everything went down, the owners of the Chipper Truck Café received an unexpected call from Grubhub.
"He was so happy about what we did and he offered us $5,000 for just doing what we did and just paying attention to the notes," said Alice Bernejo.
Royal is also facing charges for attacking another woman just days before the assault over the weekend. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/call-the-police-nyc-rape-victim-rescued-after-using-grubhub-order-to-send-help-note/3745690/ | 2022-06-23T05:11:47 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/call-the-police-nyc-rape-victim-rescued-after-using-grubhub-order-to-send-help-note/3745690/ |
ARIZONA, USA — Add tampons to the list of things in short supply in 2022. The problem is more than just a minor inconvenience, it's also a health concern.
Demetra Presley is the executive director for Go With The Flow, a non-profit that has been providing students and low-income women with menstrual products since 2017.
According to Nielseniq the average price for tampons has risen about 10% in the last year.
“One out of five students in the United States will either miss a portion of their school day or an entire school day because they don't have access to period products,” said Presley. “When folks don't have access to superior products, what we see happening is this jeopardizing of their physical and mental and emotional health with respect to their physical health."
Add the fact that Arizona is one of 27 states that taxes tampons as a luxury good (7.6-11.2%) and the gross price is even higher.
Dr. Leigh Lewis works at Arcadia Women’s Wellness. Dr. Lewis says extending the use of period products because of lack of access or affordability can have deadly consequences.
“Basically, in that situation, where a woman is using a tampon pad or menstrual cup for longer than is recommended on the packaging, they can really increase the risk for having vaginal infections, and in the worst-case scenario, toxic shock syndrome,” said Lewis. “The access to these products is necessary for women's health.”
In 2017, state representative Daniel Hernandez (D) co-sponsored a bill to make tampons, diapers, and baby formula tax-exempt by putting them in the “essential” goods category. Even though the democrat co-sponsored the bill with a Republican, it never made it to the floor for a vote.
“If we eliminated that sales tax, the net impact for Arizonans who are buying these products would be zero because we would have gotten rid of that tax a long time ago,” said Hernandez.
Here in Arizona, Presley says the tampon shortage isn’t severe in local stores. But if you opt for an online retailer, you will find in some cases prices have doubled.
Sanitary napkins and menstrual cups can also be used to control the flow.
But for some women, it’s the preferred option because it allows for more activity.
“It is a personal choice. And it really does become one of these issues of reproductive justice that women should be able to choose the product that they are most comfortable with,” said Dr. Lewis.
In a statement to NBC News, consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble, the maker of both Tampax tampons and always pads, acknowledged that some consumers may currently be unable "to find what they need." They called the situation "temporary."
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Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/tampon-shortage-can-cause-serious-health-issues/75-c8398044-50cd-4a7c-bc82-bb4a47726098 | 2022-06-23T05:24:45 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/tampon-shortage-can-cause-serious-health-issues/75-c8398044-50cd-4a7c-bc82-bb4a47726098 |
ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Stands selling fireworks will open for business across the Treasure Valley Thursday. However Fire departments in Ada County are warning people before they buy, they should know where they can shoot them off and how to do it safely.
Eagle Fire Department Battalion Chief Rob Shoplock said this past spring saw one of the wettest seasons in recent history which may be good in some circumstances, but could cause large fuel loads later in the season. He also pointed out that the tall grass areas around Eagle are also worrisome when it comes to fires.
"I think the biggest danger is people see some of the green grass and say, 'Well, this isn't combustible, we're not going to have any issues.' But the truth of the matter is these fuels dry out in less than an hour," Shoplock said.
Lighting off fireworks nearby grassy areas while there are warmer, dry temperatures outside could be a recipe for disaster warned Shoplock.
"It's very dangerous because it is dry inside there. That moisture content is evaporated out and then those fuels just take off," Shoplock said.
Ada County Commissioners renewed a resolution to ban fireworks in areas of Ada County, specifically fireworks in the foothills where vegetation is a fire hazard. Commissioners passed the ban with a 2-1 vote Tuesday night.
"The danger in the threat level of fire not just occurring, but rapidly spreading is far greater than it's been in the past few years," Shoplock said. He added Eagle Fire has extra members on duty during the Fourth of July holiday ready to go in case a fire starts. He said he expects to see more people getting together this year, compared to the past two years, which could make crews busier.
The Boise Foothills saw some of that danger last year with the Goose Fire, which burnt more than 425 acres. Ada County Sheriff's Office said the fire was started after a group of juveniles played with fireworks north of the Eagle Bike Park. The fire was started in unincorporated Ada County.
While the ban may not always stop people from playing with fireworks in these areas, Shoplock and other fire crews around Ada County say it is needed.
"We're trying to avoid great losses of either land, grass, resources, houses, whatever we can," said Joe Bongiorno, the deputy chief of fire prevention for Meridian Fire Department.
Bongiorno said any little spark has the potential to set nearby grass off and burn. He calls the summer, especially around the Fourth of July, one of the department's busier seasons.
"We recommend buying 'Safe and Sane' fireworks and then utilize them in the intended use," Bongiorno said. "Cul De Sacs in neighborhoods work really great because typically they're 100 feet in diameter and have a lot of space."
Safe and sane fireworks don't fly into the air or explode, which reduces the risk of someone getting hurt and of course, starting a fire.
He also reminds people to dispose of fireworks properly by soaking them in a water bucket immediately after use.
"About every year, we end up with at least one structure fire because people will just pick up their fireworks and throw them in the garbage can," Bongiorno said.
Anyone caught lighting illegal fireworks could face a misdemeanor citation. They could be fined anywhere between $100-$500 depending on where they live, as well as potentially facing jail time.
Ada County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Patrick Orr told KTVB that deputies and officers with the Kuna, Eagle and Star Police Departments will prioritize calls for service on the Fourth of July based on public safety concerns.
"While we will have normal patrol staffing on the holiday and the days around it, we want deputies to concentrate on issues that have the most impact on our community (persons and property crimes) and be able to respond to emergencies like every other day of the year, so our response to the dozens of illegal fireworks calls and complaints will be limited," Orr said.
He added if a law enforcement officer sees someone lighting off illegal fireworks, they will confiscate their remaining illegal fireworks.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/ada-county-fire-crews-offer-advice-fireworks-ahead-fourth-of-july/277-35080b6b-9875-456b-b611-a2e54a0d40f9 | 2022-06-23T05:36:16 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/ada-county-fire-crews-offer-advice-fireworks-ahead-fourth-of-july/277-35080b6b-9875-456b-b611-a2e54a0d40f9 |
GARDEN CITY, Idaho — Boise Fire Department is responding to a structure fire in Garden City.
The fire is W. Marigold Street, between N. Glenwood St. and N. Garrett St.
There are no reported injuries and the homeowner said the fire began in the bathroom, according to Ada County Dispatch.
Boise Fire Department, Garden City Police, and Ada County Paramedics responded to the incident, according to Ada County Dispatch.
Marigold is currently blocked of for first responders.
This is an ongoing incident, check back for more details. | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/firefighters-responding-to-structure-fire-in-garden-city/277-aa68d542-fd85-4e42-80e4-1aadec8ee6ab | 2022-06-23T05:36:22 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/firefighters-responding-to-structure-fire-in-garden-city/277-aa68d542-fd85-4e42-80e4-1aadec8ee6ab |
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