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VALPARAISO — Over the next few months, some major changes will be coming to downtown Valparaiso.
After first being announced in January of 2022, work is slated to begin on the Linc apartment complex by the start of the summer. The project consists of three four-story apartment buildings, housing a total of 127 units. The buildings will form an "L" shape and the first floor will be filled with eight retail suites.
The Linc will sit on the north side of Lincolnway between Michigan Avenue and Morgan Boulevard, where the Round the Clock restaurant is currently located. Demolition of the Round the Clock will begin in May.
In the coming weeks, work will also begin on the Lincoln Highway Parking Garage, which will be located across the street from the Linc, at the northeast corner of Lincolnway and Morgan Boulevard.
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Downtown residents learned more about both projects during a Monday evening open house held at the Valparaiso City Hall. George Douglas, Valparaiso's director of redevelopment and economic development, said the city sent open house invitations to residents that live within 300 feet of the project area.
"(The city) wanted to educate and update the neighbors who will be most-impacted by the construction," Douglas explained.
In preparation for the start of construction, the city has been working to establish more parking around the downtown perimeter. Two public city lots are being developed as part of the Linc project. Valparaiso Planning Director Beth Shrader said the city has entered into agreements with private lots to replace the parking spots that will be lost. A map of the new "Downtown Parking Loop" is available at valparaiso.in.us/1762/Downtown-Parking-Loop. Sidewalk closures and other construction updates will be posted on the city's website at valparaiso.in.us/1760/The-Projects.
Hageman Group LLC, the Linc developer, initially hoped to begin construction on the apartment in the fall of 2022, however inflation-related cost increases and supply-chain issues delayed the project. During the Monday open house, Hageman Managing Director Tom Dickey said the projects' initial cost estimate of $27.5 million has gone up by about $10 million.
"This last year, in the construction industry has been the highest inflation that we've probably seen in decades," Dickey said. "It's been a challenging time to get a project going."
The Linc will include studio apartments, one bedroom units, two bedroom units and just a few three bedroom units. Monthly rent prices will range from $1,200 for a studio to $2,400 for a three bedroom.
Buildings 'A' and 'B' will be located along Lincolnway and will likely be complete by November 2024. Building 'C' will be located along Jefferson Street and will be completed by January 2025.
Dickey said building B will be the Linc's "mothership." The first floor of building B will contain the leasing office, a lounge, a kitchen, a fitness area, a game room, a group exercise room, a mail room and a dog wash. An outdoor courtyard will also be located outside building B and a dog park will be located outside building A.
Work on the Lincoln Highway Parking Garage is also slated to be complete by the end of 2024; the project has an estimated cost of about $14 million.
The garage will consist of five levels and 362 parking spots. One hundred and twenty-seven spaces will be reserved for Linc tenants; 73 others will be "flex" spots, meaning Linc residents will use the spots in the evenings, on weekends and during holidays. Hageman will pay for maintenance and upkeep of the reserved spots. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/work-on-valpos-new-downtown-apartment-complex-parking-garage-to-begin-this-spring/article_7a97e5e4-e91d-11ed-92e9-9ba2ddcfb003.html | 2023-05-04T12:46:55 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/work-on-valpos-new-downtown-apartment-complex-parking-garage-to-begin-this-spring/article_7a97e5e4-e91d-11ed-92e9-9ba2ddcfb003.html |
Palm Coast's growth aspirations boosted by expected $54 million in state budget projects
PALM COAST − Despite attracting its first residents only 51 years ago, Palm Coast has edged past Deltona to become the most populous city in the Volusia-Flagler region, according to University of Florida researchers.
And it's going to get bigger. A lot bigger. Palm Coast may be a top 20 city in the state by 2050, a projection embraced by Mayor David Alfin.
That explosion in growth shows no sign of slowing as the Legislature in its 2023-2024 budget, expected to be approved soon, has set aside at least $54 million for the city, according to state Rep. Tom Leek, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
That includes money for several projects, including $25 million to extend Matanzas Woods Parkway west into largely vacant land that's primed for development.
No longer a 'pine-covered swamp'
The city is the largest in the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach metropolitan statistical area, according to data from the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. The UF figures reflect a trend showing Palm Coast and Flagler County consistently growing at a faster clip than Deltona and Volusia County.
The U.S. Census Bureau has not yet released its 2022 estimates at a city level.
With 96,504 residents, Palm Coast is now the 26th-largest city in Florida. It's a far cry from 1970, when corporate giant International Telephone & Telegraph, or ITT, announced it would be developing huge tracts of pine forests, cattle ranches, and potato farms in a rural county located between historic St. Augustine and the sunshine and auto-racing mecca Daytona Beach.
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Alfin, the city's mayor since 2021, intends to capitalize on Palm Coast's population feat.
“I’ll spare no amount of energy to make sure everybody knows it. It’s good for the community," he said.
More than that, though, Alfin is stoked about what appears to be another growth surge. The first homes are being built in new developments west of U.S. 1, including Sawmill Branch near Matanzas Woods Parkway, and Reverie, a couple of miles to the south.
Those subdivisions are part of the larger Palm Coast Park development of regional impact, or DRI, which is undergoing an amendment expanding its right to build housing units.
The city's Planning and Land Development Regulation Board on April 19 approved a plan to allow Palm Coast Park − a swath of 4,677 acres, or more than 7 square miles − to construct 6,454 dwelling units, up from 3,600 when the development was first approved in 2004.
Alfin said that's only a part of an even larger future-growth exercise the city is undertaking: plotting out the buildout of the city's land.
“We’re master-planning a doubling of the geographic footprint of the city, 40,000 acres," Alfin said. “We call it the frontier project or initiative. There is no other swath of land this size that exists on the east side of Florida that can be master-planned."
The goal is to build a sustainable community with "the highest quality of life in this region, in Florida, that is the model for the region and state," said Alfin, a Realtor who moved to Palm Coast in 2012.
University of Florida researchers peg Flagler's growth rate at 48% by 2050. Palm Coast represents 78% of Flagler County's population, so if that proportion remains the same, the city's population figures to top 142,000 by then.
Other cities will grow, too. This is Florida, after all. But that rate of growth could push Palm Coast into the top 20 in population. At least nine cities just ahead of Palm Coast − including Boca Raton, Clearwater, and Palm Bay − are in counties that are expected to grow at much slower rates.
What attracts people to Palm Coast?
A new City Council member, Theresa Carli Pontieri, 38, said she moved to Palm Coast in 2015, shortly after graduating from law school. With some of her work stretching north to Jacksonville, and her husband employed as an Osceola County firefighter, Palm Coast was a good location to settle. Plus, she has an aunt and cousins living in the city.
“The No. 1 thing, other than having family here, was the affordability. I was pretty fresh out of law school when I moved here,” Pontieri said. “I couldn’t afford a house in St. Johns County.”
Palm Coast offered a chance to be close to the beach and other amenities, such as walking trails and parks, she said.
“Where we live is absolutely beautiful," she said.
Pontieri enjoys walking her three dogs, Bacon, Bailey and Max, to Princess Place Preserve, a state park, where they can “roll around in the mud and dirt.”
She said Palm Coast offers natural resources, walking on both the beach and the sidewalk along State Road A1A, as well as the European Village, a commercial development consisting of restaurants, bars, and boutiques.
“It’s the feel of a close-knit community,” Pontieri said.
Pursuing an economic niche for Palm Coast
According to a University of Florida report, about 29% of Flagler County’s population was age 65 and older in 2021. That was up from 24.5% in 2010.
Alfin is concerned about that.
“We’re older than we were and we need to reverse that trend," the mayor said. "I love the older population and the retirees, but any city that’s out of balance in that category is going to suffer sustainability."
The city needs to also attract young residents, and Alfin believes Palm Coast is onto something that might fill the bill.
He believes a combination of hospitals and universities – educating and training future medical professionals – might be a niche with which Palm Coast can capitalize on. Jacksonville University, the University of North Florida, and Daytona State College all have started training programs for nurses and other medical professionals in Palm Coast.
“We are building our brand as a regional destination for healthcare services training and associated medical technical skills," Alfin said. "We need to attract a younger resident for the future. That’s why this health care training service model works for us, to balance our future."
Keep options open
Pontieri, who calls herself a data-driven decision-maker, said she is awaiting more information from feasibility studies before fully committing to the medical-education concept fully.
“I would love to see higher education and medicine in Palm Coast, but I want to make sure we don’t have blinders on, make sure if we have other options we keep them open," she said, noting the city's I-95 corridor and access to rail could also be attractive to other industries.
Either way, it's crucial the city pursue a balance of commercial and residential development, she said.
She seeks to diversify the city's tax base and work with the economic development department to bring in light industrial, and commercial development. She also wants to make sure the infrastructure is in place "before we allow the influx of homes we are anticipating."
Friends in high places
It helps that the city has strong connections with the Florida lawmakers.
The potential $54 million funding comes during a year when Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, is serving as House Speaker. The money must first pass expected votes in the House and Senate, and then survive the veto pen of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who, while serving as a congressman for the Volusia-Flagler region, maintained a residence in Palm Coast briefly.
Leek, an Ormond Beach Republican, is planning to run for the state Senate seat that includes Flagler County at the center of its district.
Other projects included in the $54 million include:
- $550,000 for the redesign of Old Kings Road to include more than 4 miles of pedestrian/bicycle path to improve safety and "harden the west side of Palm Coast to hurricane flooding."
- $18.4 million for the widening of a 1.4-mile stretch of Old Kings Road, going from 2 to 4 lanes between Kings Way to Farnum Lane. This will also include sidewalks and streetlights for safety, landscaping, and water quality improvements.
- $2.5 million to help with relocating and rebuilding Palm Coast Fire Station 22.
- $2.5 million to build a new Palm Coast fire station, to be No. 26.
Alfin hopes Palm Coast residents understand the reason for his optimism.
“We’re literally at the doorstep of an opportunity that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the state of Florida. This is a really special moment for us," he said. "Whatever we do, the legacy is we should be a model for the state that others can follow.” | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/flagler/2023/05/04/now-largest-city-in-volusia-flagler-palm-coast-projects-more-growth/70146671007/ | 2023-05-04T12:49:10 | 1 | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/flagler/2023/05/04/now-largest-city-in-volusia-flagler-palm-coast-projects-more-growth/70146671007/ |
Daytona Beach's deputy city attorney is heir apparent to retiring city attorney
DAYTONA BEACH — Barring an unexpected turn of events, it appears Deputy City Attorney Ben Gross will become Daytona Beach's next city attorney in a little over a month.
Gross signed an employment agreement with the city on April 26, and city commissioners are expected to approve the contract at their May 17 meeting.
They had been slated to vote on the five-page agreement at their meeting Wednesday night, but City Manager Deric Feacher said he wanted to delay that decision because the city commissioner who helped develop the contract was unable to attend this week's meeting.
Daytona Beach city commissioners have sole authority to hire and fire city attorneys, and evaluate them annually.
Why Daytona Beach is in the market for a new city attorney
Current Daytona Beach City Attorney Robert Jagger has decided to retire, and his departure from the city's top legal department position will be effective June 15.
Jagger has worked for the city for 15 years, first as a deputy city attorney, and for the last seven years as the city attorney.
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Gross has worked for the city of Daytona Beach for the past 23 years. He was an assistant city attorney from 2000 until 2016, and then seven years ago he became the deputy city attorney.
Prior to joining Daytona Beach's legal department, Gross was an assistant city attorney for Port Orange for about four-and-a-half years and that city's acting city attorney for five months. He was also an assistant city attorney in Vero Beach for four years.
He earned both his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Florida.
Daytona Beach city attorney contract terms
Gross' proposed contract offers him an annual base salary of $227,000, and he would also receive automobile and cell phone allowances. Jagger’s annual salary is $251,812.
Gross would be advanced an accrual of 192 hours of personal leave time, and he would be insured in the city's general liability insurance program.
Gross will take over as city attorney on June 16 if city commissioners choose him. If city commissioners were ever to terminate his employment, he would be entitled to a lump sum severance payment equal to 20 weeks of his salary.
The city wouldn't be required to provide severance if he was fired because he was convicted of a felony or his membership in the Florida Bar expired or was revoked. The contract also says the city would not be required to provide him severance if he voluntarily resigned.
You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2023/05/04/changing-of-the-guard-inside-daytona-beachs-city-attorney-office/70173387007/ | 2023-05-04T12:49:22 | 1 | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2023/05/04/changing-of-the-guard-inside-daytona-beachs-city-attorney-office/70173387007/ |
A veteran McKinney Fire Captain has died after sustaining serious injuries in a collision while off duty, the department announced.
The McKinney Fire Department announced that Captain Jamie “Bull” Graham had died on Thursday morning.
This is a great loss to all who knew and loved him," the department said in a Facebook post on Thursday. "Captain Graham was a man of great faith and we thank you for your prayers during this difficult time. Rest easy Captain. We will take it from here."
A McKinney city spokesperson said on Wednesday that Graham was on life support after he was critically injured in an off-duty motor vehicle crash.
"Captain Graham’s family and his fire department family are with him at a local hospital," read a post from the McKinney Fire Facebook page.
No additional details were given about the crash that injured Graham.
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Graham has been with the McKinney Fire Department since 1999. He was promoted to Captain in 2016.
McKinney Fire described Graham as a leader in the department's Special Operations group and has been involved in extrication training nationwide. He is also a member of Texas Task Force 2 which helps with urban search and rescue situations. Graham also works as an instructor at the Collin College Fire Academy. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/mckinney-fire-captain-dies-after-off-duty-crash/3250543/ | 2023-05-04T12:50:01 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/mckinney-fire-captain-dies-after-off-duty-crash/3250543/ |
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Wildland firefighters with the Florida Forest Service’s Bunnell District spent Wednesday night working to contain a brush fire burning in Volusia County, warning Thursday morning that drivers on major roadways nearby should be careful in the smoke.
FFS Bunnell tweeted that the fire near Shunz Road — what’s being called the “Orange Hammock Fire” — is sending thick smoke across State Road 415 and Interstate 95.
@FFS_Bunnell wildland firefighters have worked through the night on the #orangehammock fire in Volusia. Thick smoke impacting 415 and I95. If you encounter smoke on the roadway SLOW DOWN, drive slow, and avoid any distractions. Acreage and containment not available at this time. pic.twitter.com/VNshMAXDIM
— FFS Bunnell (@FFS_Bunnell) May 4, 2023
The district’s last Wednesday update described a 50-acre fire that had been 5% contained by way of seven dozers, three brush units, two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft. The latest post Thursday states the fire had grown to approximately 500 acres and was 20% contained, adding there were no present threats to homes or businesses.
The #orangehammock fire in Volusia County near 415 is approximately 500 acres and 20% contained. @FFS_Bunnell wildland firefighters worked through the night with significant fire behavior, weather, and vegetation/terrain challenges. No threat to homes or businesses at this time. pic.twitter.com/yBn0RRZFD7
— FFS Bunnell (@FFS_Bunnell) May 4, 2023
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Drivers who encounter smoke were advised to slow down and avoid distractions.
FFS Bunnell’s posts about the Orange Hammock Fire began just a couple of hours prior to the dozer fleet tweet, all of which were overshadowed by messaging sent out Wednesday morning notifying residents burn authorizations would not be issued “due to significant weather factors.”
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/05/04/brush-fire-sends-thick-smoke-across-state-road-415-interstate-95-in-volusia-county/ | 2023-05-04T12:50:40 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/05/04/brush-fire-sends-thick-smoke-across-state-road-415-interstate-95-in-volusia-county/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Cinco de Mayo is a time to enjoy any and all tacos while sipping a margarita.
From live music to dancing, there’s a lot to do to celebrate the occasion here in the Orlando area.
If you would like an event added, be sure to send us an email by clicking here. Here are some places you can visit on Friday:
Cinco on the Street in Thornton Park
For the second year, the 808 in Thornton Park is hosting a street party with drinks, music and more. Click here to get your tickets at a cheaper price than at the door.
Dance the night away at this street party at Promenade at Sunset Walk
Merengue, salsa and bachata will fill the air across two stages at this event. Admission and parking are free for the event, which starts at 5 p.m.
Street vendor market, food and more in Orlando
With the goal “to bring people together to celebrate and learn about the rich cultural heritage of Mexico and the Hispanic community in Central Florida,” a street market, games and bar sponsored by Rx Med Care, Ovadia Law and more will be happening along East Colonial Drive. The event is happening at Rx Med Care from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Click here to learn more.
Party and taco-eating contest at Tin Roof Orlando
Start the day partying at Tin Roof Orlando and stay for a taco-eating contest at night. The winner will get a $100 bar tab. Click here to learn more.
Don’t Tequila My Vibe at The Whole Enchilada
Live music, face painting and all-day specials at the Whole Enchilada in Winter Garden. What more could you ask for? There will be deals on Friday and Saturday. Click here to learn more.
Live music and cocktails at Boxi Park in Lake Nona
A live band and samba dancers are hitting Boxi Park from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for a night of fun. Click here for the full schedule.
Margarita deals at Pepe’s Cantina
Pepe’s Cantina is offering $5.99 house margaritas and tequila shots from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Miller’s Ale House
The restaurant chain is offering $2.99 house margaritas all day.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/05/04/heres-where-you-can-celebrate-cinco-de-mayo-in-the-orlando-area/ | 2023-05-04T12:50:46 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/05/04/heres-where-you-can-celebrate-cinco-de-mayo-in-the-orlando-area/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Many Orange County residents are against a plan that would bring a commercial dog-breeding facility to the Lake Pickett area.
Juan Valencia, the man who wants to build the kennel in Orange County, is facing negative feedback from neighbors who are concerned over what they believe is a “puppy mill.”
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Valencia told News 6 that he wants people opposing his idea of bringing his breeding facility, Bright Pets, to understand that it’s not going to be run like a puppy mill or a pet store.
“We want to do it right, and it’s going to be a state-of-the-art where the dogs will be in the best conditions ever possible,” Valencia said. “All our dogs are FCI, which is higher than ATC. Not all the breeders have it. Puppy mills definitely, they don’t know what they’re breeding. They don’t know where the adult dogs are coming from. We do know where they’re coming from. They’re coming from top breeders around the world.”
Valencia said he’s been in the breeding business for 17 years starting in Canada, but he now plans to move to Central Florida with his 64 dogs across seven different breeds. Among the breeds are Yorkshires, Dachshunds and Maltese.
Some residents, however, believe that a new breeding facility is just going to worsen animal overpopulation issues.
“It will set a precedent, and the commercial aspect of it to be permitted here in our community is just — we’re just flabbergasted,” Orlando resident Jeannie McKnight said.
An issue for Michele Wacker and Mcknight is that both women live close to where the breeding facility would be located in Orlando’s Lake Pickett area.
“Orange County already has a pet-overpopulation problem. In fact, we’re building a new animal control in 2024. The taxpayers are paying for it, and we banned the retail sale of puppies that are sourced from facilities just like Mr. Santa is going to build up the street,” Wacker said. “You do not build a 5,000-square-foot metal monstrosity with almost 60 kennels in it to breed dogs for yourself. He’s obviously breeding dogs to sell.”
Valencia said that his biggest challenge is getting opponents to understand his proposal.
“The challenge for us is people taking the time to understand our project. That’s the biggest challenge because people don’t want to — they just made up an idea, and they don’t want to hear the story,” he said.
According to Valencia, the facility is different from a puppy mill because he makes sure to provide good living conditions and care for his dogs.
“That space will allow us to have two indoor playgrounds where dogs can play and two outside playgrounds where dogs will spend limited time outside,” Valencia said. “The main difference is the standards that we have. We do a lot of research. We have a veterinarian that’s gonna be in charge of our dogs.”
However, Wacker, who ran a rescue organization in Orlando a few years ago, said she’s not convinced.
“He only has to breed to supply inventory to sell the puppies, so the only difference between him and a pet store is that he breeds his own inventory. It’s still a pet store,” Wacker said.
Valencia has a hearing scheduled for Thursday before the zoning department for an exception.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/05/04/lake-pickett-area-residents-fight-proposed-pet-breeding-facility/ | 2023-05-04T12:50:52 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/05/04/lake-pickett-area-residents-fight-proposed-pet-breeding-facility/ |
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Crews in DeKalb County are on the scene of a single-story house fire in Stone Mountain.
11Alive Skytracker flew over the scene on Oxbow Road just after 6 a.m. Thursday morning, as flames billowed from the home.
DeKalb County Fire said that two people made it out of the home safely; however, the total number inside is unknown.
In addition, they said two firefighters were transported due to burns.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
Also download the 11Alive News app and sign up to receive alerts for the latest on this story and other breaking news in Atlanta and north Georgia. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/crews-battling-massive-house-fire-in-dekalb-county/85-7fdbad45-f978-4aca-b880-92700b23c7b8 | 2023-05-04T12:52:54 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/crews-battling-massive-house-fire-in-dekalb-county/85-7fdbad45-f978-4aca-b880-92700b23c7b8 |
ATLANTA — Five women were shot Wednesday in Midtown Atlanta when a gunman opened fire inside a waiting room at a medical building.
One of the victims died and the four others were hospitalized, three of them in critical condition and needing emergency surgery.
In the second update provided Wednesday evening by officials at Grady Hospital, where the victims were taken, they said three of the women with the most serious injuries who had undergone surgery were now in the ICU.
The fourth injured victim was in stable condition and recovering in Grady's trauma center.
RELATED: 'I just had a hunch' | Residents helped alert police to suspect in Cobb County neighborhood
The shooting caused a massive emergency response in one of Atlanta's busiest commercial and residential centers, then gave way to an hours-long manhunt that ended in a Cobb County neighborhood.
So far, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, little is specifically known about the victims. 11Alive will update this article with details as we learn them.
What we know about the Midtown Atlanta shooting victims
- Amy St. Pierre: The victim who was killed has been identified as a 39-year-old CDC employee.
A friend of Amy's told 11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross that the mother of two was "an amazing, funny, brilliant person" and a "warm, kind, funny soul."
The CDC said Wednesday in a statement the agency was "deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of a colleague killed today in the Midtown Atlanta shooting."
"Our hearts are with her family, friends, and colleagues as they remember her and grieve this tragic loss," the statement added.
What we know about the other victims so far
As of Thursday morning, all we know so far are their ages and that all were women. Those ages are:
- 71 years old
- 56 years old
- 39 years old
- 25 years old | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/midtown-atlanta-shooting-victims-what-we-know/85-80cd5df4-b005-4610-801c-1c622a9375d2 | 2023-05-04T12:53:00 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/midtown-atlanta-shooting-victims-what-we-know/85-80cd5df4-b005-4610-801c-1c622a9375d2 |
Despite multiple warnings from police, and even new software upgrades, Kias and Hyundais continue to be stolen at an alarming rate. The trend started as a social media challenge, and in New York City, one borough in particular is getting hit hard.
There are more cars being stolen in 2023 across all boroughs than at the same time last year. While the numbers of murders, robberies and burglaries are down compared to 2022, NYPD stats show, there were 1,283 reports of grand larceny auto in April. That's up nearly 37% from April 2022, when there were 939 such reports (an increase of 344).
The Bronx in particular has seen a dramatic spike in car thefts, as the borough has reported more of them than any other NYC borough.
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So what’s driving the surge? Police have said social media and people's busy lives have played a factor.
Surveillance video can show how quickly a car is able to be stolen after a driver leaves it running to run an errand. That's the scenario that happened to Karla Posas, whose son used her car to deliver food. During one delivery, her son ran the meal inside only to find out his Honda was stolen by a teenager.
"It’s more than a vehicle it’s something you work for. You pay for it," said Posas. "He just said he went inside for not even for a second and when he came out he saw the kid that took the car. Ran in the car and took it."
The NYPD says nearly half of all stolen cars come down to three brands: Kia, Hyundai and Honda.
"Thieves like particular cars. If they can find a way to steal that car, they will continue to steal that car," said NYPD Lt. Daniel Gallagher.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said there are 500 more cases of car thefts this year compared to last.
"The numbers have skyrocketed. That is what the city is battling right now in crime. Stolen cars specifically Kias and Hyundais," said Chell.
Police have pointed to "Kia Challenge" videos making the rounds on social media as part of the reason for the spike in car thefts, but said that people leaving their cars running while they do a quick errand is driving the problem.
"It’s normally younger teens that are stealing them and basically driving them around the neighborhood for joy riding," said Gallagher.
Police said they need help from the community, asking those who own a Kia to reach out to the company for the free anti-crime upgrade. The department also stressed never leaving a car running with the keys inside.
While nearly all stolen cars are being recovered, police told NBC New York the vehicles are often recovered after the thieves wreck the cars — leaving the owners with a hefty bill. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/fueled-by-kia-challenge-going-viral-online-car-thefts-in-nyc-have-surged/4302645/ | 2023-05-04T12:54:34 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/fueled-by-kia-challenge-going-viral-online-car-thefts-in-nyc-have-surged/4302645/ |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After hours of discussion and public comment on Tuesday night, the city of Fayetteville approved a grant in support of two more school resource officers (SRO).
Community members gathered in support of the federal grant, emphasizing the security and positive relationships students have with officers. Parents say in light of recent mass shootings nationwide, students and parents have anxieties and fears about going to school.
"When I look at what's happening in Denver and places like that, I don't want that to happen here and be the mayor of a city where something like that happens. We're going to try to prevent it to the best of my abilities and this council's ability," Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan proclaimed.
A similar ordinance passed in August of 2022 to hire two new SROs every year until every Fayetteville campus has one. Currently, they have 16 schools with only seven SROs, and Superintendent Dr. John L Colbert says more officers are needed in the district.
"It's very important in so many ways— firstly, there is a safety aspect. It just makes the students feel comfortable. They know that they can have a police officer in the building who can be there to address any issue that may come up. That makes them feel safe that the person is there," Colbert said.
One parent at the council meeting agreed that "Clearing a path for well-trained SROS to walk our hallways daily, along with strong mental health services and recommended security measures will help patch our vulnerabilities."
The approved grant will create 11 sro positions starting in the 2024-2025 school year. As of now, Fayetteville public schools will cover the cost.
"The other piece is covered by the city, so we do go ahead and cover their salary during the time they work for the schools ... that's how we help cover the cost of the SROS," Colbert explained.
Fayetteville public schools have not assigned SRO’s to elementary schools, just a rotating one if something were to happen. For some parents, this raises some concerns. One Fayetteville parent said, "How can you expect our teachers, our administrators, our front office staff to do their best if they don't feel safe? How can you ask that of our children?"
"Hopefully once we go ahead and implement the SROs that have been approved, we'll be able to assign them to a middle school and they would rotate to cover the elementary schools until we get an SRO at each of those particular schools," said Colbert.
If this federal grant is approved it will go into effect in the 2024-2025 school year.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/fayetteville-city-council-vote-school-resource-officer/527-45670b40-3093-4416-8f80-efb6705f0d17 | 2023-05-04T13:02:56 | 1 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/fayetteville-city-council-vote-school-resource-officer/527-45670b40-3093-4416-8f80-efb6705f0d17 |
Five Manatee County educators honored with Congressional Teacher Awards
BRADENTON — Eight teachers in Florida’s 16th Congressional District, including five from Manatee County, received Congressional Teacher Awards, Congressman Vern Buchanan's office announced on Monday.
The Congressional Teacher Awards, established by Buchanan in 2014, are given out annually to exceptional Suncoast teachers for their achievements on behalf of students.
“While they may not always receive the appreciation or recognition they deserve, teachers have one of the most important and difficult professions of all,” Buchanan said. “That is why I established the Congressional Teacher Awards – to honor educators for the crucial role they play in our community and inspiring our younger generations.”
This year’s award recipients from Manatee County:
· Lori Catalani for her accomplishments as a third-grade teacher at Sea Breeze Elementary School in Bradenton.
· Stephanie Wajszczuk for her accomplishments as an ESE teacher at Ballard Elementary in Bradenton.
· Kathleen Brown for her accomplishments as a math teacher at Braden River Middle School in Bradenton.
· Kendall Carrier for his accomplishments as a music teacher at Parrish Community High School.
· Ann Fleury for her accomplishments as a math teacher at Lakewood Ranch High School.
Teachers in Hillsborough County who were recognized include Nicole Seace, a science teacher at Winthrop Charter School in Riverview; Thomas Waistell, an English teacher at Rodgers Middle Magnet School in Riverview; and Lori Haley, a Spanish teacher at Joe E. Newsome High School in Lithia.
“On behalf of all of my constituents in the 16th Congressional District, I congratulate each of these outstanding teachers and offer my sincere appreciation for their service and dedication,” Buchanan said.
A total of 16 teachers who teach and live in Florida’s 16th District were nominated for the award by their principals. An independent panel of judges from Manatee and Hillsborough counties chose the recipients of the Congressional Teacher Awards.
The eight winners received a certificate and recognized by the congressman in the Congressional Record.
Submitted by Savannah Plafker | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/congressman-vern-buchanan-salutes-eight-teachers-from-16th-district/70160654007/ | 2023-05-04T13:03:11 | 1 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/congressman-vern-buchanan-salutes-eight-teachers-from-16th-district/70160654007/ |
The Burleigh County Commission is considering asking voters to keep and potentially raise a local sales tax.
The commission this week came to a consensus to form a committee that will write policy on how a new sales tax would be used. The committee also will determine how much the proposed tax would be and develop language for a possible ballot measure.
Any proposal to keep or raise the sales tax would need to be approved by voters next year. The commission will review the committee's work when it finishes and decide whether to move forward with a ballot measure.
The seven-person committee will be composed of County State’s Attorney Julie Lawyer, Deputy Finance Director Justin Schulz, Emergency Management Director Mary Senger, Commissioners Wayne Munson and Steve Schwab, and two private-resident volunteers.
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The county has a half-cent sales tax in place that is set to expire at the end of 2024. Voters approved the tax in 2014 to pay for the $79 million Burleigh Morton Detention Center.
The idea to extend, replace or raise the sales tax was brought up at a special meeting late last month in preparation for the county’s budget season. The county has had budget shortfalls the last three years and is considering several options to head off similar problems in coming years, including raising property taxes.
Commissioner Wayne Munson said that “We had great feedback from the business community on (keeping the sales tax).” The idea Munson presented was that the sales tax could be used to "pay down" property taxes in the county.
Schwab suggested raising the sales tax to 1 cent.
"I think that sales tax is a more fair tax," he said.
Schwab said that keeping the half-cent sales tax or raising it to a penny could help the county fund major projects such as the Provident Building -- a six-story building in downtown Bismarck owned by the county. An attempt by the county to move offices into the building earlier this year was stopped due to the high cost of renovations. The county right now rents space in the City/County Building for those offices.
Commissioner Brian Bitner said, "I'm in favor of reducing property taxes at any chance we get, and that would be a way of doing that."
The committee’s next step is to select the two resident members to serve on the board. Details on that process are forthcoming. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/burleigh-county-to-from-committee-to-advance-sales-tax-initiative/article_cfcae136-e924-11ed-95e6-a7a889fbcee3.html | 2023-05-04T13:07:12 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/burleigh-county-to-from-committee-to-advance-sales-tax-initiative/article_cfcae136-e924-11ed-95e6-a7a889fbcee3.html |
Southbound drivers on Interstate 95 in Richmond are experiencing significant delays after a multi-vehicle crash Thursday morning.
The Virginia Department of Transportation first reported the crash around 8:15 a.m. Thursday. According to VDOT, the southbound right lane and right shoulder are currently closed just north of the Chamberlayne Avenue exit, with backups for 2 miles as of 8:40 a.m.
VDOT's live traffic cameras show fire and emergency responders on scene.
Drivers are cautioned to seek alternate routes if possible and expect delays.
This morning's top headlines: Thursday, May 4
Donald Trump called a writer’s claims that he raped her at a Manhattan department store “the most ridiculous, disgusting story.” His comments came in a deposition shown in court Wednesday. The former president said the allegations were “made up” and that the assault never happened. Lawyers for accuser E. Jean Carroll played about 30 minutes of excerpts from Trump's deposition, including his emphatic denial of the longtime advice columnist’s accusation that he attacked her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. In other developments, Trump’s attorneys said they would not call any witnesses.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian President Putin will face an international war crimes court when Ukraine wins the war. He was speaking on a visit to the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Putin. Zelenskyy’s visit to The Hague, Netherlands, came a day after he denied that Ukrainian forces were responsible for what the Kremlin called an attempt to assassinate Putin in a drone attack. Zelenskyy told reporters on Wednesday Ukraine “didn’t attack Putin. We leave it to (the) tribunal.” But the prospect of Putin being sent to The Hague is remote, as the court does not have a police force to execute warrants and the Russian president is unlikely to travel to any of the ICC’s 123 member states that are under an obligation to arrest him.
Israelis have blocked roads and demonstrated against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary. The protesters hope Thursday's events will ramp up pressure on lawmakers days after parliament reconvened following a month-long recess. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense pressure and the opposing sides are trying to reach a compromise agreement. But in a sign of the mistrust of his intentions, tens of thousands have continued to protest every Saturday night since. Thursday’s midweek protest was expected to be smaller, but demonstrators are hoping to remind legislators of their presence and their ability to disrupt the country over their opposition to the overhaul.
There will be dissenters among the cheering crowds when King Charles III travels by gilded coach to his coronation. More than 1,500 protesters will be dressed in yellow for maximum visibility and they plan to gather beside it to chant “Not my king” as the royal procession goes by on Saturday. Graham Smith of the campaigning group republic says the coronation is “a celebration of one man taking a job that he has not earned.” Republican activists see the coronation as a moment of opportunity. Opinion polls suggest opposition and apathy to the monarchy are both growing now that Charles has replaced Queen Elizabeth II who died in September after 70 years on the throne.
The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years. But the Fed also signaled that it may now pause its streak of 10 rate hikes, which have made borrowing for consumers and businesses steadily more expensive. In a statement after its latest policy meeting, the Fed removed a sentence from its previous statement that had said “some additional” rate hikes might be needed. It replaced it with language that said it will weigh a range of factors in “determining the extent” to which future hikes might be needed.
Authorities say a man suspected of killing five of his neighbors in Texas hid out in a house just 20 miles away from the slayings while he and his domestic partner plotted his escape to Mexico. Details of Francisco Oropeza's actions during part of a four-day manhunt were revealed Wednesday at a probable cause hearing for 53-year-old Divimara Lamar Nava. The 38-year-old Oropeza was arrested late Tuesday at the house near the city of Conroe after authorities acting on a tip found him hiding under a pile of laundry. Lamar Nava was arrested at the same house on Wednesday.
Police say they have arrested a man accused of opening fire inside the waiting room of an Atlanta medical practice. One woman was killed and four were wounded. Authorities swarmed the city’s bustling midtown neighborhood in search of the shooter. Police say the suspect was captured Wednesday evening. They identified him as 24-year-old Deion Patterson. Authorities did not say what they thought his motive was. A 39-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. Workers and others in the bustling commercial district took shelter for hours during the manhunt.
Florida Republicans have approved bills to ban diversity programs in colleges and prevent students and teachers from being required to use pronouns that don’t correspond to someone’s sex, building on top priorities of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The proposals were given final passage by the Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate on Wednesday. DeSantis is expected to sign the bills into law. DeSantis has driven a hardline conservative agenda as he seeks to bolster support of Republican primary voters ahead of his expected White House run. The state’s Legislative session, which is scheduled to end this week, has been dominated by divisive cultural issues.
Elon Musk threatened to reassign NPR’s Twitter account to “another company,” according to the non-profit news organization. NPR stopped tweeting from its main account after Twitter abruptly labeled NPR’s main account as “state-affiliated media” last month, a term that’s also been used to identify outlets controlled or heavily influenced by authoritarian governments. Twitter then changed the label to “government-funded media.” NPR said that both labels were inaccurate and undermined its credibility — noting the nonprofit news company operates independently of the U.S. government. The last tweets on NPR’s main account are from April 12 — when the news organization shared a thread of other places readers and listeners can find its journalism.
Jackson Mahomes, the brother of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was briefly jailed on aggravated sexual battery charges over an alleged altercation at a restaurant in late February. Online court records show that 22-year-old Jackson Mahomes was charged Tuesday with three counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of battery. He was released on Wednesday after posting $100,000 bond. During a brief virtual court appearance, a judge set another court date for May 11. His lawyer said in a statement that the court prohibited him and his client from commenting. The investigation stems from accusations against Jackson Mahomes regarding an alleged Feb. 25 incident at a restaurant in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.
Jaylen Brown scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics rolled past the Philadelphia 76ers 121-87, spoiling the return of reigning league MVP Joel Embiid. The Celtics tied the series at one game apiece as the Eastern Conference semifinals series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Friday. Malcolm Brogdon added 23 points, connecting on six of Boston’s 20 3-pointers. Derrick White and Marcus Smart added 15 points apiece. Jayson Tatum played most of the game in foul trouble and was held to seven points. Boston ratcheted up its defense and limited a 76ers team that hit 17 3-pointers in its Game 1 win to just 6 of 30 from beyond the arc on Wednesday.
Ivan Barbashev scored two goals, including one that put Vegas ahead for good, and the Golden Knights overcame Leon Draisaitl’s four goals to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 in Game 1 of the second-round series on Wednesday night. A complete recap of Wednesday's NHL action. | https://richmond.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/traffic-alert-interstate-95-chamberlayne-crash/article_4b13e8ec-ea79-11ed-831f-9b8757aa68db.html | 2023-05-04T13:11:44 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/traffic-alert-interstate-95-chamberlayne-crash/article_4b13e8ec-ea79-11ed-831f-9b8757aa68db.html |
ATLANTIC CITY — City Council approved a resolution at a special meeting Wednesday to fund a cultural exchange journey to South Africa for five city high school students and two youth services staff members.
The resolution gave the administration permission to pursue a memorandum of agreement with A Leadership Journey, a nonprofit founded by Atlantic City native Akeem Lloyd, and to spend up to $35,000 in American Rescue Plan funds on the trip.
Lloyd said Wednesday he started A Leadership Journey seven years ago to help young people participate in mental and emotional health activities and wellness education, with a focus on learning more about social justice.
"We want them to understand that young people have always been part of social movements," Lloyd said, "and how their voice can make a difference in their community and the world at large."
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Lloyd was "one of my kids at the Boys & Girls Club" in the early 2000s and is now a motivational speaker based out of South Carolina, Mayor Marty Small Sr. said.
When Small saw Lloyd at a recent event at Stockton University, he heard about the South Africa trip and quickly put together a plan to send city kids, he said.
ATLANTIC CITY — The saga surrounding a single blighted building that has played out at city …
The trip from June 2 to 18 will be free for students chosen after an interview process, Small said.
For more information, visit aleadershipjourney.org.
CitiStat meeting
It is illegal to double park on Atlantic Avenue, and it will be especially important people not do so once the "road diet" happens and there are only two travel lanes on the road, officials said during Wednesday's CitiStat meeting.
At the last meeting two weeks ago, an attendee asked what could be done to stop the practice, which causes safety concerns on one of the city's busiest roads.
Police Chief James Sarkos said the city has a zero-tolerance policy on double parking there and will crack down on anyone caught doing it.
ATLANTIC CITY — Eric Alvarez, the owner of Popa Pizza, said he is in favor of any projects t…
"It's not going to be tolerated," Sarkos said.
The "road diet" will eliminate two travel lanes, leaving just one lane in each direction for motor vehicles, add a bike lane on each side of the avenue and eliminate most left turn lanes. It is being done to increase safety, especially for pedestrians, officials have said.
The first phase from Maine Avenue in the Inlet to Tennessee Avenue at the public library is in process now.
Police calls
Police calls are up 31% year to date, and arrests are up 150%, Sarkos said.
So far this year, police have responded to 41,956 calls for service, compared with 32,135 at the same time last year. The department has made 2,204 arrests compared with 482 in the same period last year, Sarkos said.
ATLANTIC CITY — Several streets are being repaved, causing a need for detours in the city, o…
Police have recovered a total of 60 illegal firearms so far this year, Sarkos said. That includes 50 handguns, 2 rifles, 3 shotguns and 5 ghost guns, he said.
Overall complaints
The city has received a total of 308 complaints year-to-date about a variety of problems, such as potholes, broken streetlights and poor property conditions, Director of IT Patrick Quinlan said.
Of those, 168 have been handled and closed, including 41 reported in the past two weeks and 127 from earlier periods. A total of 267 are still in progress, Quinlan said.
The most common problem reported in the past two weeks was high grass and weeds.
To report a concern, go to the city website at acnj.gov and click on "Report a Concern: CitiStat."
ATLANTIC CITY — Bad landlords and absentee property owners present an ongoing challenge for …
CitiStat meetings are biweekly. The next one is 5 p.m. May 17 at Stockton University's Fannie Lou Hamer Room in the Scarpa Academic Building on the Atlantic City campus.
New Jersey Avenue demolition
Andra Williams was back at Wednesday's CitiStat meeting to ask for more information on the electrical problem that is preventing demolition of an abandoned building at 226 N. New Jersey Ave.
The building is being used by homeless people and drug users who have broken into her church nearby, she has said. She first brought the issue to the attention of city leaders during a November CitiStat meeting.
Director of Licensing and Inspections Dale Finch said electric meters for the abandoned building and for a store next to it, as well as a third meter, are on an exterior wall of the abandoned building.
"Electrical lines go through the building," Finch said, and have to be rerouted.
Locking city parks
"Someone has to lock city parks at night," resident Joyce Mollineaux said during Wednesday's CitiStat meeting. "Brown's Park was redone four to five years ago for children to enjoy. We need the parks locked up and patrolled."
City parks are supposed to be locked from 10 p.m. to early in the a.m., but the city has not had staff working late enough for someone to do that job, officials have said.
During Friday's Clean and Safe Atlantic City meeting, residents complained about drug use in Brown's Park and not feeling safe taking children there, even during the day.
"Earlier this week we set a committee up and met with Director (of Health and Human Services Jarrod) Barnes," Business Administrator Anthony Swan said. "We are working on that issue." | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic-city-briefs-city-funds-trip-to-south-africa-for-5-high-school-students/article_0d7858c2-e9ef-11ed-911a-33205aba5c69.html | 2023-05-04T13:14:14 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic-city-briefs-city-funds-trip-to-south-africa-for-5-high-school-students/article_0d7858c2-e9ef-11ed-911a-33205aba5c69.html |
Wayne State Police clear cop in dog shooting after video review
A Wayne State Police officer faced the choice of being bit by a 55-lb. dog or opening fire, said the university's police chief Wednesday after he reviewed the officer's bodycam video of the incident and ruled that the shooting was justified.
Following the April 28 incident that made national news, the university released 24 seconds of bodycam video from the officer who wounded Ace, the 10-year-old goldendoodle that his owners said was an emotional support dog. Officers had reportedly been called to a townhouse in the Lester Morgan Cultural Gardens apartments in the city's Cultural Center at about 9:30 p.m. on a domestic violence run and wellness check.
In the bodycam clip, the dog can be seen lurking outside a nearby townhouse. The officer says "watch that dog over there," less than three seconds before the barking animal charges toward him and his partner. With the dog feet away, the officer fires two shots and the animal yelps and retreats.
Wayne State Police Chief Tony Holt said he feels badly about the shooting, but said his officer "had no recourse."
"It's a terrible situation," Holt said. "I really feel for the dog's owners, and the officer feels extremely remorseful about it, too. But he didn't have a choice. I reviewed the video and he did nothing wrong. This dog didn't come up wagging his tail, as you can see on the video — in just a few seconds, the dog came charging up ferociously, and the officer protected himself.
"I can't have my officers doing nothing and waiting until they get bit by a big dog," Holt said. "People say, 'Oh, it's just a goldendoodle, but that's a 55-pound dog."
Reached via text, the dog's owner said she was unable to provide an immediate response Wednesday, although she confirmed the animal had survived the shooting.
Police were called to the townhouse in the 500 block of Frederick after getting a report about domestic violence, Holt said.
"The caller said the daughter was having a dispute with her boyfriend, and then when our officers were on the way, there was another call saying that the daughter wasn't answering her cellphone, so the run also became a wellness check," Holt said.
"The officers got to the door, it was dark and raining," Holt said. "All of a sudden, this dog is charging at them. You can imagine how much ground a dog can cover in a few seconds. The dog was on top of him and he had no other choice, other than to deploy his weapon or say, 'How bad do I think this dog will chew on me?'"
Holt said no dogs have been shot by Wayne State University police since 1984.
"It's not like this is some kind of recurring problem here," the chief said. "This was just a very unfortunate incident, and while people get emotional whenever dogs are shot, because we all love dogs, we're going to stick with the facts of what the body-cam shows."
ghunter@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2134
Twitter: @GeorgeHunter_DN | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/05/04/wayne-state-cop-cleared-in-dog-shooting-after-video-review/70180100007/ | 2023-05-04T13:18:39 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/05/04/wayne-state-cop-cleared-in-dog-shooting-after-video-review/70180100007/ |
Forum on hazardous waste to be held Thursday in Belleville
A public forum on hazardous waste transportation and storage in Wayne County and hosted by three U.S. House members will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in Bellville.
The meeting, which will be held in the Ted Scott Campus Auditorium of the Wayne County Community College District on Haggerty Road near Tyler Road and Interstate 275, aims to answer questions and provide information about hazardous waste storage in Wayne County communities.
It comes about two months after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The company came under fire after it said it planned to transport some of the waste from the derailment to Michigan. The hazardous material was slated to go to the Detroit Industrial Well in Romulus and U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal in Belleville.
A couple of weeks later, a section of another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Van Buren Township.
Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, and Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, are hosting Thursday's forum.
A panel discussion with federal and state government officials and representatives from Northfolk Southern and a waste management company will be held during the meeting.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @CharlesERamirez | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2023/05/04/forum-on-hazardous-waste-to-be-held-thursday-in-belleville/70182527007/ | 2023-05-04T13:18:45 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2023/05/04/forum-on-hazardous-waste-to-be-held-thursday-in-belleville/70182527007/ |
BALTIMORE — A neighborhood movie theater that closed during the pandemic is about to make a big comeback. In true Hollywood fashion it makes its return with a complete makeover.
The old CineBistro movie theater at The Rotunda in Hampden has been reborn as Warehouse Cinemas. Besides a new name, it has new owners, a new look, and several new features to entice people out of their living rooms and into the new theater.
Warehouse Cinemas is a homegrown Maryland-based chain out of Frederick. Its operators want to offer experiences that moviegoers can't get anywhere else, whether at home or another theater.
Some of the other things warehouse cinemas will offer include a mix of blockbusters and indie films, $7 movies all day for all movies on Tuesdays, and a movie version of a book club called Film League in which once a month people can gather to watch a film and talk about movies.
Thanks to big Hollywood blockbusters, the box office for cinemas continues to rebound after moviegoing took a hit during the pandemic. The London research firm Gower Street Analytics projects a worldwide box office of $32 billion in 2023.
While the box office is up 23% from 2022, it’s still down by 20% before the pandemic. Warehouse Cinemas President and CEO Rich Daughtridge believes if you build a movie theater, the audience will come.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for the movie theater industry. When we had the opportunity to take over this space, it’s been about a year in the making with construction, but it’s time because I think movies are back. People are looking to get out of the house for out-of-home entertainment,” Daughtridge said.
However, Daughtridge says they're also providing more than a basic theater.
“We replaced all the seating. So, there were nice rockers seats that were here before, we replaced them with leather recliners with a foot rest, that include a seat warmer. We also fine-tuned the picture and sound if you will, we have 4K projectors,” Daughtridge said.
Besides experiencing the sights and sounds of watching a film in one of seven new state-of-the-art theaters, the operators set out to tempt moviegoers by stimulating all five of their senses including smell and taste.
“We have a combined restaurant space and a cinema space. You can come and hang out in the restaurant and get a cocktail, beer, wine on the wall, get a great corn dog or grilled cheese, and go to the movie, but you don’t have to watch a movie necessarily,” Daughtridge said.
Moviegoers are invited to quench their thirst and check out 40 self-serve taps which provide a variety of 32 beers, four selections of wine and four types of cocktails.
“You essentially prepay a dollar amount, and then you pay per ounce on the beer wall. It activates a tap on the beer wall you pour as many ounces as you would like. You try that, you go down the wall, and try as many and then when you’re satisfied with the one you like, you basically pour the full beer, or cocktail or wine, and take it in the auditorium with you,” Daughtridge said.
Meanwhile, neighborhood moviegoers have been anxiously waiting for this theater to reopen for more than two years.
“We didn’t want to open until it was ready, and what we sort of saw as a vision for the space. When I walked in this morning, and actually seeing the floors painted and seeing some of the signs go up, it really has come together. So, I think it will be worth the wait,” Daughtridge said. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/warehouse-cinemas-makes-its-debut-at-the-rotunda-in-hampden | 2023-05-04T13:24:45 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/warehouse-cinemas-makes-its-debut-at-the-rotunda-in-hampden |
Indy animal shelters overcrowded, offer free pet adoptions during May event
If you're looking for a new friend named "Lasagna," "Sir Cornelius" or "Notorious D.O.G," a local animal shelter event will help you connect.
Two Indianapolis animal shelters, IndyHumane and Indianapolis Animal Care Services, are offering free adoptions to entice potential pet owners to take home a new animal as shelters hit crisis levels of overcrowding.
The price cuts are part of the national BISSELL Pet Foundation's "Empty the Shelters” event, a national grant-funded initiative to move pets out of shelters into loving homes. The foundation can provide funding twice a year to participating shelters that apply.
The details:What you should know about Indianapolis Animal Care Services adoption, surrenders and more
IndyHumane is waiving adoption fees through May 15 for adult cat and dog adoptions. Indianapolis Animal Care Services is continuing its free adoptions for all 130 adoptable animals until further notice.
Available pets can be found on the IndyHumane and Indianapolis Animal Care Services websites.
To check out the other 14 Hoosier shelters offering pet adoption deals, pet lovers can head to the BISSELL Pet Foundation website.
"Emergency" conditions:Indy's animal shelter faces 'dire' overcrowding. How to help even if you don't adopt.
After staffing and kennel shortage issues, Indianapolis Animal Care Services only intakes animals in emergency situations, noting all animals are at risk to be euthanized.
How to adopt
According to its Facebook, IndyHumane is appointment only. Patrons can fill out an adoption application online.
IndyHumane, 7929 N. Michigan Road, is open from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The shelter is closed on Mondays.
Interested pet owners can drop into Indianapolis Animal Care Services at 2600 S. Harding St. or expedite their trip by filling out an adoption application online for a specific animal.
The shelter has walk-up adoptions daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Friday through Sunday. On Thursdays, they are open an extra hour, closing at 6:30 p.m.
Contact IndyStar Pulliam Fellow Cate Charron at ccharron@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @catecharron. | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2023/05/04/indianapolis-animal-shelter-indyhumane-drop-fees-to-boost-dog-cat-adoptions/70178378007/ | 2023-05-04T13:24:51 | 0 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2023/05/04/indianapolis-animal-shelter-indyhumane-drop-fees-to-boost-dog-cat-adoptions/70178378007/ |
DULUTH — Not quite a week before local Democrat-Farmer-Labor leaders meet to endorse candidates ahead of November’s elections, two more candidates for the Duluth School Board have stepped forward.
Valerie Joeckel, a family coach for a local nonprofit that serves homeless families and longtime advocate for unhoused people in the Duluth area, is running for the District 3 seat that represents central Duluth.
Stephanie Williams, a business adviser for the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund and one of the founders of the BIPOC Business Directory that launched last year, among other achievements, is running for an at large seat that represents the whole school district rather than a district.
Both are seeking DFL endorsements.
The board seat Joeckel is seeking is occupied by Paul Sandholm, a retired Duluth teacher who was first voted to the board in 2019. Sandholm told the News Tribune that he does not plan to run for reelection.
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Joeckel said she used to be homeless, and that she believes the board could use a representative with that sort of life experience.
“I have a unique position where I’ve gone from homeless to housed, and now I’m in a position where I house the homeless,” Joeckel said. “It is a unique perspective to have in light of the other experiences that are represented on the board.”
Joeckel said she was encouraged to run last month. “I looked into it a little bit, thought about it, and took the encouragement as a good sign that someone else thought I might be a good fit,” she said.
Williams, who is Black and said she’s been an advocate for the BIPOC community for years, said she’s passionate about advancing students of color.
“I know that the graduation rates for people of color in the city of Duluth is not great,” she said. “We need representation on the school board. We need to be in the room where decisions are being made. Our kids, my community, we need a voice, and it’s been a while since we’ve had someone that looks like me on the board. And so I want to … be the change.”
Williams announced her candidacy on Facebook on Tuesday.
The at large seat for which Williams is running is occupied by Alana Oswald, another former district employee who announced her reelection plans on Facebook in early February. Oswald has held that seat since 2015, and is also seeking a DFL endorsement.
"It's always good for voters to have a choice to compare and contrast," Oswald said Wednesday.
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Also running for a board seat is Sarah Mikesell, who works in the quality management department at St. Luke’s hospital. Mikesell is running to represent District 2, which encompasses many of Duluth’s eastern neighborhoods. She, too, is seeking a DFL endorsement.
The incumbent is David Kirby, a retired physician who was first elected in 2015. He is not seeking reelection.
Candidates will be able to formalize their run for office when the filing period for school board elections opens later this month. That period is May 23 through June 6.
School district and city elections are scheduled for Nov. 7. | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/2-more-candidates-for-duluth-school-board-step-forward | 2023-05-04T13:27:17 | 0 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/2-more-candidates-for-duluth-school-board-step-forward |
DALLAS — A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after law enforcement arrested him with more than $1 million worth of methamphetamine from a stash house in Dallas, officials said.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Omar Jorge Valle Estrada, a 37-year-old citizen of Mexico, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in December 2022.
DOJ officials said evidence presented in the trial showed that law enforcement surveilled Estrada at a stash house on Holcomb Road in Dallas. Estrada was driving a white Chevy Malibu and used a code word to gain access to the property, which was being used as storage for nearly $10 million worth of Mexican methamphetamine, the DOJ said.
Two men came out of the home with duffel bags and put them into Estrada’s passenger seat, according to the DOJ. After Estrada left the home, law enforcement pulled him over for operating with an expired registration and recovered 120 pounds of crystal methamphetamine inside the duffel bags. Experts put the street value of the methamphetamine, which was 99% pure, between $1.1 and $2.2 million.
Codefendants Angel Cabrera and Joaquin Salinas – who admitted they were concealing millions of dollars of methamphetamine inside boxes of cauliflower – pleaded guilty prior to trial.
Salinas received a life sentence, and Cabrera received a sentence of more than 21 years.
The DOJ said that during Salinas’ sentencing hearing, testimony showed that the Salinas had ties to Sureños XIII criminal street gang and the Puro Tango Blast street and prison gang.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-meth-house-man-sentenced-30-years-omar-jorge-valle-estrada/287-f22b4627-02fc-4670-810c-b5466c3356da | 2023-05-04T13:27:23 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-meth-house-man-sentenced-30-years-omar-jorge-valle-estrada/287-f22b4627-02fc-4670-810c-b5466c3356da |
News Tribune, May 4, 1983
- Paulucci Enterprises, Jeno Paulucci's investment company, announced plans yesterday to build a $500 million office-housing-recreation complex called Heathrow in central Florida. Paulucci Enterprises owns Heathrow Land Development Corp., which intends to build 4,325 housing units in the complex.
- The tourism commercials for Duluth that actor Telly Savalas recorded last year will be broadcast beginning next week on Twin Cities radio and television stations. The Duluth Convention and Visitors Bureau is spending $60,000 on the ads, hoping they will attract tourists this summer.
News Tribune, May 4, 1923
- Thirty-two boats, headed for the Duluth-Superior harbor, passed Sault Ste. Marie yesterday and are expected to reach Duluth sometime today. Ten of the boats are loaded with coal and are reported to be making their way slowly through ice near Whitefish Point.
- The Superior Health Department is making rapid progress cleaning up barns throughout the city. As each barn is cleaned, the owner is notified that he must install a concrete floor with sewer connections and fly-proof concrete manure boxes. | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/bygones-duluth-telly-savalas-commercials-aired-40-years-ago | 2023-05-04T13:27:27 | 0 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/bygones-duluth-telly-savalas-commercials-aired-40-years-ago |
HOUSTON — Passengers leaving Houston's Bush Intercontinental Aiport to head to Atlanta Wednesday weren't the only ones ready for vacation.
Hoping to catch a Delta flight out of the Bayou City was a group of bees that were found hanging on one of the wings of the aircraft.
And we're not talking just a dozen or so bees. A picture from Twitter user Anjali Enjeti shows a swarm of hundreds of bees that found shelter on the wing of the aircraft.
Through Twitter, Enjeti described how the airline announced it was getting a beekeeper to remove the bees but later the captain said the beekeeper was not allowed to touch the plane and pest control was not allowed to spray them off either.
After exhausting other bee-removal options and delaying the flight for about three hours, the airline said it was finally able to safely shake the bees loose by using some ground equipment.
Delta said "bee-lieve it or not," this kind of swarming of bees upon an aircraft is rare, but not unheard of.
"I've taken bee swarms off of tugboats, airplanes, concrete walls," said Mike Sexton, AKA The Bee Man.
He said during this time of year, bee swarms are more active.
"They usually start in the south and they move towards the north," Sexton said.
As the bees get tired along the way, they take a rest, which could be what happened on the plane's wing.
“Whenever bee swarms start, they’re going to gorge themselves with a bunch of honey and the old queen is going to take off with a bunch of workers so they're not going to eat again until they actually get to a new home, so in the meantime they rest and conserve their energy, so they land on anything,” Sexton said.
Over in Sugar Land, beehives were actually built at Sugar Land Regional Airport's undeveloped property after bees spent years using the airport as its residence.
The airport decided not to get rid of the bees in an effort to make a positive impact on the community and environment.
Each hive at the Sugar Land Regional Airport will house nearly 40,000 bees and pollinate around three to five acres of land, the city said. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/delta-airplane-bees-houston/285-eebd12f2-7d52-4f1a-983d-95cd5138ff1b | 2023-05-04T13:27:29 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/delta-airplane-bees-houston/285-eebd12f2-7d52-4f1a-983d-95cd5138ff1b |
BEREA, Ohio — A German Shepard was reunited with its family after it was rescued from a river in the Berea portion of the Metroparks.
Metroparks police responded to reports of a dog stuck on rocks near the Barrett Road Overlook Tuesday evening. The dog became stuck on a small rock in the middle of a swiftly flowing river.
Members of the Berea Fire Department, Southwest Emergency Response Team (SERT) and Cleveland Metroparks Police Water Rescue Team responded and assisted in the rescue of the dog.
The rescue became more difficult due to high water levels from recent rainfall, but the dog was rescued safely without additional complications.
Additional pictures from the rescue can be seen below. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dog-reunited-with-family-rescue-metroparks-river/95-b5cb0e6a-b40a-476b-a628-9faa66f92612 | 2023-05-04T13:27:35 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dog-reunited-with-family-rescue-metroparks-river/95-b5cb0e6a-b40a-476b-a628-9faa66f92612 |
DULUTH — The Duluth Public Library is hosting its first Nostalgic Newsstand Magazine Sale .
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, collectors, history buffs and the folks “just looking” can snag works spanning from the late 1880s through the aughts.
Expect to see vintage Cornhill Magazine, the Engineering News-Record from the 1920s and the New Yorker.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the main library Green Room, 520 W. Superior St. The cost is $1 for four magazines and $3 for a bound set. The funds will go to support the library.
And, fret not. It’s generally national material for sale, not local history, said Gina Temple-Rhodes, local history librarian. (They’re keeping the 1940s Saturday Evening Post with the Aerial Lift Bridge on the cover.)
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The library is also holding onto more periodicals than it’s selling.
The event is an effort to free up storage space. Library staff decided which items to include in Saturday’s event based on the item’s condition and what’s available online. Some are 90 years old, and magazines aren't meant to last forever, Temple-Rhodes said.
“We’ve been storing for a long time, and they're a public resource that we’d like to share,” Temple-Rhodes said.
Asked about her takeaways reviewing some of the magazines, she called them a snapshot in time. “It’s one thing to read a book about the 1950s. With these, you’re looking at the article people were reading in that time period,” she said.
Learn more about the sale at tinyurl.com/4sftmpyd.
Magazines available
- American Magazine, 1906-1956
- Arts and Decoration, 1928-1941
- Architectural Record, 1907-1990
- Cornhill Magazine, 1860-1909
- Engineering News-Record, 1890-1920
- English Illustrated, 1890-1904
- Foreign Affairs, 1923-1975
- Literary Digest, 1899-1922
- New Yorker, 1939-2000
- Overland Monthly, 1891-1917
- Redbook, 1966-2000
- Saturday Evening Post, 1919-1978
- Saturday Review, 1925-1986
- Seventeen, 1970-2018
- Sports Illustrated, 1963-2000
- Sunset Magazine, 1913-1990 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/duluth-library-to-host-retro-magazine-sale | 2023-05-04T13:27:37 | 1 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/duluth-library-to-host-retro-magazine-sale |
KENOSHA — There’s never been a better time to “See the Elephant.”
But first, we need to explain. There are no actual elephants involved, nor a zoo or a circus.
This “elephant” can be found in Kenosha’s Civil War Museum and — on Tuesday, May 9 — visitors can see the elephant free of charge.
“Seeing the Elephant” is the 360-degree film at the heart of the museum’s permanent exhibit, “The Fiery Trial.”
The movie was filmed in 2012 at the Old World Wisconsin outdoor history museum in Eagle.
“Seeing the Elephant” is the term Civil War soldiers used to describe their first experience with combat.
As film narrator Bill Kurtis explains (yes that Bill Kurtis, the longtime Chicago TV news anchor), seeing an elephant can be exciting but also very dangerous.
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The movie is shown at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday and then at the top of each hour at the museum. Viewers stand in a circular area, and the movie takes place all around them. (The movie starts at noon on Sundays.)
360-degree experience
Doug Dammann, site coordinator for the Kenosha Public Museums, advises visitors to “let your ears be your guide” when watching the film.
“It’s participatory,” he said. “That’s why we have visitors stand and not sit. We want them to look around.”
Indeed, the action moves all around, jumping from front to back and then to the front again.
That 360-degree experience means you can watch the movie again — and again — and notice new things.
The Civil War Museum is one of just a handful of venues that feature 360-degree films, and Dammann said it’s a popular attraction.
“I love that we get seventh-graders in here and, when the film is over, they applaud,” he said.
In addition to the visuals — including the screen being obscured by smoke from rifles — the movie makes effective use of sound effects to bring viewers into the Civil War battle unfolding all around them.
The story follows three characters: a young man seeking adventure, a patriotic family man and an abolitionist. We meet them from enlistment to their first taste of combat.
All three face battle together and ultimately deal with the consequences of war.
As Dammann explains, “These guys were excited and expecting glory, but when they got to battle they found chaos and mayhem, and they weren’t too anxious to ‘see the elephant’ again.”
The exhibit
The rest of “The Fiery Trial” also works to help museum visitors connect to the Civil War era, from the pre-war rhetoric and preparations to soldiers returning home after the fighting ended.
“It’s an immersive experience,” Dammann said. “We try to do that with the architecture, flooring and murals to draw people into a sense of being there in that time period.”
That’s why you’ll hear birds singing and people discussing the coming war as you move through “The Fiery Trial.”
And don’t be startled when you sit in a train car and the passenger seated next to you starts chatting. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/360-degree-film-takes-visitors-inside-a-civil-war-battle/article_f8951eea-e6e2-11ed-aa98-179f78b39fb0.html | 2023-05-04T13:27:38 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/360-degree-film-takes-visitors-inside-a-civil-war-battle/article_f8951eea-e6e2-11ed-aa98-179f78b39fb0.html |
SAN ANTONIO — A family injured by a tree limb that fell at the San Antonio Zoo earlier this spring has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages.
Crystal and Librado Rodriguez, of Temple, are suing over injuries they and their two children suffered on March 15, according to a complaint filed on Tuesday against the San Antonio Zoological Society, which runs the zoo, and Alamo City Arbor Care, Inc., which maintains the facility's trees.
The lawsuit alleges gross negligence resulting in serious injuries that will have lasting effects on the couple and their children, possibly for the rest of their lives.
"The Defendants knowingly allowed rotted, overweight, dangerous branches to sit above walkways with the knowledge that people would be under them without taking the steps necessary to eliminate this hazard or to warn the patrons of the hazard," the lawsuit states. "The predicable and obvious consequences of this hazard occurred when these Plaintiffs walked under the tree and the branch broke above them, striking them and causing serious injuries."
>>Read the full petition below.
The suit alleges the branch that fell on the family weighed up to 2,000 pounds, and was hanging over a walkway. It also points to signs near the tree that said it was being preserved, alleging zoo officials knew the tree required special care.
It also places some blame on Alamo City Arbor Care, claiming that they inspected and maintained trees at the zoo.
"It is apparent from the condition of this tree and the limb that broke off that it was rotted and in a dangerous condition that had been developing for some time," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also calls for a temporary restraining order to prevent the zoo and tree company from destroying any evidence. That includes surveillance footage and maintenance records, but a special emphasis was placed on the remains of the tree.
"As the pictures included herein show, the Defendants immediately after this incident occurred hired a company to remove all remnants of the branch and the tree itself," the suit states. "They hauled this material off after sending it through a wood grinder. This crucial evidence has been destroyed even though the Defendant was aware of the seriousness of the incident, that multiple people were injured (including life threatening injuries) and that they stated publicly that they were going to do an investigation into the incident."
The suit claims that all four members of the family suffered serious injuries, but the couple's daughter was injured most severely. It points to "permanent bodily injuries to her wrists, arms, skull, orbital bones, lungs, back and other parts of her body."
An attorney for the zoo told KENS 5 in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuit, and said safety remains a priority for the facility.
"This was an unfortunate accident that was not caused by any action or inaction by San Antonio Zoo or its employees," the statement goes on to read. "We look forward to demonstrating that through the legal process."
>TRENDING ON KENS 5 YOUTUBE: | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/family-hurt-tree-limb-san-antonio-zoo-lawsuit-texas-sues/273-dfab085e-7795-4bd8-b737-c7fd86bfc0d0 | 2023-05-04T13:27:41 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/family-hurt-tree-limb-san-antonio-zoo-lawsuit-texas-sues/273-dfab085e-7795-4bd8-b737-c7fd86bfc0d0 |
BRISTOL — The "Growing with Bristol" community group is hosting an Arbor Day event Saturday, May 6, in Hansen Park.
The free activities are 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the park, 19806 86th Place.
This family-friendly event "is perfect for those who want to get their hands dirty and learn more about planting trees and gardening," organizers said.
Participants will have the opportunity to plant tree seeds in egg cartons, which they can take home and watch sprout. They will also have the chance to make planters out of newspaper and receive free bulbs to take home and plant. (Note: If possible, please bring an egg carton. The rest of the materials will be supplied.)
As a bonus, "the first 150 attendees will receive a goodie bag filled with an Arbor Day Scavenger hunt, stickers and a fun bookmark to continue the fun at home," organizers said.
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Hansen Park is off of Highway 45, south of Highway AH in Bristol.
For more information, go to growingwithbristol.com. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/arbor-day-celebration-on-may-6-in-bristol/article_48d42172-e6d3-11ed-aa04-9fc5e9d2341e.html | 2023-05-04T13:27:44 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/arbor-day-celebration-on-may-6-in-bristol/article_48d42172-e6d3-11ed-aa04-9fc5e9d2341e.html |
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth firefighter was taken to a hospital after battling an early-morning fire Thursday, but he's expected to be OK, officials said.
The fire happened at a vacant church building in the 5900 block of Tension Drive in east Fort Worth, near East Rosedale Street and East Loop 820. Firefighters were dispatched to the church around 2 a.m.
When they arrived, they saw heavy smoke and fire coming from the roof. Firefighters started battling the fire, and then an outside wall partially collapsed, falling on one of the firefighters standing outside, officials said.
The firefighter was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
During the fire, a nearby vacant home also caught fire, stemming from the original fire. Crews around 4:30 a.m. were still working to get the fires under control.
Officials did not yet know the cause of the fire. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/fort-worth-texas-firefighter-injured-while-battling-fire-at-vacant-church/287-37aabcec-c800-4030-9a74-a73c0b9d0f69 | 2023-05-04T13:27:47 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/fort-worth-texas-firefighter-injured-while-battling-fire-at-vacant-church/287-37aabcec-c800-4030-9a74-a73c0b9d0f69 |
BRISTOL — The Pringle Nature Center, 9800 160th Ave. inside Bristol Woods County Park, is hosting events, including:
Spring StoryWalk, available through May: Presented with the Kenosha Public Library, the StoryWalk allows families to follow along with a nature storybook as they hike in Bristol Woods County Park. This spring, visitors can read “Spring is Here” by Will Hillenbrand and look for signs of spring on the trails. Visit the park any time and begin behind at the yellow trail behind Pringle Nature Center. This is a free, self-guided program you can do at any time.
Nature Hike, 10 a.m. Saturday, May 6: Nature hikes focus on a different trail or theme each month. This month, Pringle's naturalist will lead a slow-paced, one-mile walk in the woods focusing on spring ephemeral wildflowers. This is a free event open to all ages. No registration is required.
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Ephemeral Wildflower Hike, 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13: Hikers will look for ephemeral wildflowers, which bloom for a short time each spring in Bristol Woods. Participants will learn about these diminutive but beautiful plants on a naturalist-led hike. For ages 16 and older. The cost is $10 per person. Pre-registration is required and pringlenc.org/events.
For more details about Pringle’s upcoming programs, go to pringlenc.org/events. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/bristols-pringle-nature-center-offers-programs/article_64e05738-e60f-11ed-974c-c7bdc706c088.html | 2023-05-04T13:27:50 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/bristols-pringle-nature-center-offers-programs/article_64e05738-e60f-11ed-974c-c7bdc706c088.html |
PLEASANT PRAIRIE — Chiwaukee Prairie Walks are offered once a month, on the first Saturday, May through September.
The season starts with a walk from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, May 6.
Naturalist Kay McClelland will lead the monthly Chiwaukee Prairie Walks, which are free and open to everyone.
Information includes "a little history, a little geology, and lots of plant names and facts," McClelland said. "Over the months, you will look at and identify more than 100 different flowering plants, grasses, and some sedges. There will likely be a plant list available each time as well as occasional other handouts."
Participants should meet at the intersection of 121st Street and Second Avenue in Pleasant Prairie. Park on Second Avenue. Wear good walking shoes or boots and long pants.
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Also encouraged: Sunscreen, insect repellent (to keep away ticks) and a hat.
The 482-acre Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area is a remnant lake plain wet prairie, designated as a wetland of international importance.
Visitors are invited to enjoy nature study, birding, photography and hiking.
To get there, take Sheridan Road (Highway 32) to 116th Street, east to First Court, south to 121st Street and west to Second Avenue.
It is the mission of the Chiwaukee Prairie Preservation Fund to acquire, restore, manage and preserve Chiwaukee Prairie and support research and environmental education.
Note: The walks will happen during light rain but not if there is lightning. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/chiwaukee-prairie-walks-start-on-may-6/article_26cf59ca-e6d8-11ed-8bf9-4becf20a8c7d.html | 2023-05-04T13:27:56 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/chiwaukee-prairie-walks-start-on-may-6/article_26cf59ca-e6d8-11ed-8bf9-4becf20a8c7d.html |
KENOSHA — A few days before Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” opened at the Rhode Center for the Arts, director Chynna Chung was hoping the musical would set a new attendance record for the Lakeside Players community theater troupe.
Mission accomplished.
As the show heads into its final three performances, almost every seat in the Downtown theater has been filled.
"So far, 2,595 tickets have been sold total," Chung said Sunday evening. "There are still tickets left for this coming weekend for all performances, but they are starting to get low. It's been very exciting, and we're all super proud of the show." (For those keeping score at home: The previous ticket sale record for Lakeside Players was 2,400, for "Rent.")
It's not a huge surprise the show's a hit: It was extended for a third weekend before it opened, due to robust advance ticket sales, and Disney musicals are popular.
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Chung credits all the hard work by the cast and crew.
“We have more light cues than we’ve ever used before and more special effects than we’ve ever had," she said.
Throw in “our gorgeous set and very talented cast,” and it all adds up to what Chung calls “the biggest show we’ve ever done.”
The show’s cast, she said, "is the most diverse cast we've ever had here, from age to experience levels" and features a mix of people making their stage debut, alongside longtime theater veterans.
Jamie Fry-De Jager, who plays Belle, spent a decade in New York with the USO Show Troupe and studying musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.
Having moved back to the Midwest, she's making her Lakeside Players debut.
The Mount Carroll, Ill., resident commutes almost three hours to Kenosha for this show.
It’s worth that drive to be in “my favorite show,” she said. “I’ve been in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ many times, but I’ve never played Belle before. It’s a dream role.”
Joining Fry-De Jager on stage is Aaron Kohlmeier as the Beast.
It’s his first show in two decades and he, too, is playing his dream role.
“I did theater at St. Joe’s High School and Carthage College,” he said, “and I was in Kids From Wisconsin for one year. Then I got married and had a family and got busy.”
After watching their kids performing in several shows, Aaron — and his wife, Nikki — decided to try out for this show.
“We were last on stage together in 2003 at Carthage in ‘Footloose,’” Nikki Kohlmeier, who plays Mrs. Potts, said.
The Kohlmeiers aren't the only family working on the production together.
Chynna Chung's husband, Bryan, is the show's music director.
"We love working together, and we both share a passion for community theater," she said.
"I've been doing this since I was 3 years old," Chung added. "My grandpa was in community theater in Delavan, and we were very close. I joke that the theater was my babysitter, and I feel that connection to him every time I walk through a theater. It's in my blood." | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/final-weekend-for-beauty-and-the-beast-at-kenoshas-lakeside-players/article_54ca99e8-e782-11ed-88b8-c31605902c6d.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:02 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/final-weekend-for-beauty-and-the-beast-at-kenoshas-lakeside-players/article_54ca99e8-e782-11ed-88b8-c31605902c6d.html |
KENOSHA — “Legally Blonde: The Musical” is based on a popular film, but that's not the only reason it's so popular.
“It’s just fun,” said Carthage College Professor Martin McClendon, who is directing the college’s production of the show.
The Broadway show “is filled with high-energy music,” he added. “Audiences will have a great time for two hours and laugh themselves silly.”
Also, the show "offers a lot of strong female parts, which is great for college and high school theaters, and it's family friendly" said Music Director Matthew Hougland, who joined the Carthage faculty in September of 2021 to help develop the college’s musical theater program.
When “Legally Blonde” was announced to the students last spring, “the room was chaos, with yelling and screaming and pure joy,” Hougland said.
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Even though the film — starring Reese Witherspoon as sorority girl Elle Woods, who tries to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III by joining him and getting a degree from Harvard Law School — came out more than 20 years ago, Carthage students “have all seen the movie,” Hougland said. “There was also an MTV special and a reality show about casting the show.”
To get the cast ready for the dance numbers, McClendon and Hougland set up a "musical theater boot camp" of sorts.
"We started off with a full week of music rehearsals," McClendon said. "After that, we did two weeks of choreography work. Only after that did we spend the rest of the time putting all the music together with the scene work."
The cast members, Hougland said, "have to master the musical material in this show to make it successful."
One dance number features cast members jumping rope — while singing.
Ella Bergfeld, who plays fitness trainer (and murder suspect) Brooke Wyndham, said mastering singing while jump-roping “is a fun challenge.”
The high-energy choreography — designed by Danny Dwaine Wells II, working with assistants Joshua Heinlein and Stephen Patterson — "mirrors the high-energy music in the show," McClendon said.
As for why romantic comedy films seem to translate so well to the musical theater world, Hougland attributes it to "the heightened reality of that world. You throw in some music and big production numbers, and you have a show."
"That's what opera is, too. We're doing the same thing, but we wrap it all around comedy." | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/final-weekend-for-legally-blonde-the-musical-at-carthage-college/article_a2c7393e-e77e-11ed-83bf-b7b22e8f394d.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:09 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/final-weekend-for-legally-blonde-the-musical-at-carthage-college/article_a2c7393e-e77e-11ed-83bf-b7b22e8f394d.html |
SOMERS — Audience members who go to see “Spring Awakening” in the Main Stage Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside are guaranteed to stay awake.
Unless you can sleep through what Rachael Swartz calls "a rage against the machine."
The musical, which opened on Broadway in 2006, uses a rock 'n' roll score — with music by songwriter Duncan Sheik — to tell a story with roots in 19th century Germany.
Yes, you read that correctly.
“Spring Awakening” was first written in 1891 by German dramatist Frank Wedekind but, due to its subject matter, was not performed until 1906 in Berlin.
The story includes sexual discovery, masturbation, homosexuality, suicide and abortion, all related to the general oppression of young people in the harsh environments at school and home.
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Not surprisingly, due to that content, the play has often been censored or banned.
Still, Swartz enthusiastically exclaims: "I love this show."
So, apparently, do the theater students at UW-Parkside.
"They were so excited about it and fought really hard to do great work," she said of the cast and crew.
Swartz saw the musical adaptation of the play "during the first national tour of the show, in 2007," she said. "I thought it was incredible, to have this modernist literature and that raucous score. This show contains moments of absolute joy and humanity. It packs so much into a tiny, two-hour package."
The 2006 production won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has since been performed all over the world.
When it opened on Broadway, Entertainment Weekly said the “landmark musical is an electrifying fusion of morality, sexuality and rock ‘n’ roll that is exhilarating audiences across the nation like no other musical in years.”
Still relevant today
Despite being written more than 100 years ago, "this is still timely stuff," Swartz said. "It continues to be relevant."
The rock music, she added, "pairs so well with teen angst. We have a full pit orchestra for this show, which was really important to me. We have two students performing, along with professional musicians."
The music — featuring a guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and violin, viola and cello — "helps root us in the time period of the play, which is still set in 1890s Germany, and gives us such an exciting sound. It fascinates me, to be telling a story over a hundred years old in a contemporary way through this rock 'n' roll music."
The 25 students in the cast, Swartz said, are also excited "to be playing characters their own age, as opposed to playing 50-year-olds. There's a good gender balance of roles, too."
Performing challenging works like "Spring Awakening" is a good reminder "that musical theater isn't all fluff," Swartz said. "We get our hands dirty, too, and tell difficult stories. There's a misconception that musicals are always happy, but Rodgers and Hammerstein confronted domestic violence in 'Carousel' and racism in 'South Pacific.' American musicals have always been a space to challenge societal norms."
Finding hope
At its heart, Swartz said, "Spring Awakening" is "a cautionary tale of adults not allowing young people to be heard."
"With all the issues we have today — gun violence, the mental health crisis, abortion rights access — I feel like we've been telling this story for more than 100 years," she said. "This is a new era, but these are human issues that a playwright in 1890s Germany was already talking about."
The play uses the original text — with some of the German dialogue serving as a backdrop on the set — and the rock songs "reflect the inner world of the characters. It works really well together."
Though the subject matter is heavy, Swartz said the play "is entertaining. We find moments of humor and joy within this play. And there's a hopeful message at the end of the musical that's not in the original play. It doesn't end on a downer; it ends on hope." | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/final-weekend-for-spring-awakening-musical-at-uw-parkside/article_14bbab12-e79b-11ed-a812-4b85a725adb7.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:15 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/final-weekend-for-spring-awakening-musical-at-uw-parkside/article_14bbab12-e79b-11ed-a812-4b85a725adb7.html |
KENOSHA — The free folk music hootenanny gathering is back on Friday, May 5.
The free event, open to everyone, is 7 to 10 p.m. at the Anderson Arts Center, 6603 Third Ave. on Kenosha’s lakefront
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
“As we continue to carry on the tradition started by Marialyce Kornkven over 30 years ago, please bring an acoustic instrument or your voice,” said organizers Kristin Kornkven and Bob Estes. “We have the music books and music stands. Everyone is welcome.”
"This month, we’ll be singing songs in honor of spring, Mother's Day, Pete Seeger's birthday, in remembrance of Harry Belafonte, and in celebration of Cinco de Mayo," they said. "In addition, as usual, we’ll sing some of our favorite folk songs.
Everyone is welcome to this informal get-together. Participants are welcome to bring an acoustic instrument or just come to sing along; song sheets with chords and lyrics are provided.
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For more information or updates, “like” Kenosha Hootenanny on Facebook.
If you have any questions, email or call (or text) Kristin Kornkven at 262-237-2941. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/hootenanny-is-may-5-at-kenoshas-anderson-arts-center/article_9666720e-e7ab-11ed-b1d8-8b49e598b419.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:21 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/hootenanny-is-may-5-at-kenoshas-anderson-arts-center/article_9666720e-e7ab-11ed-b1d8-8b49e598b419.html |
Here's a sampling of things we love this week:
We'll drink to that!
Break out the margaritas on May 5 — it’s Cinco de Mayo! The holiday on Friday marks the commemoration of the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over the French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. But that's the history lesson. Somehow, a military celebration has turned into a giant fiesta. We have no complaints, however; any excuse for a party is something worth celebrating.
First Fridays are back
First Friday celebrations return to Downtown Racine starting this week. From 4 to 9 p.m. on the first Friday of each month (May-December), shops are open with specials. New this year: Each First Friday has a theme. May 5 is a Cinco de Mayo celebration, featuring free nacho and margarita samples throughout Downtown, along with Cinco “5” specials at more than 20 Downtown Racine retailers. Also, admission is free to the Racine Art Museum, 441 Main St., on First Fridays. The museum is open noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. on May 5 for First Friday. For more First Friday details, go racinedowntown.com.
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Play ball! (very soon)!
We're still three-plus weeks away from Opening Day at historic Simmons Field, but the Kenosha Kingfish baseball team is hosting its inaugural Kingfish Kickoff event. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, visitors can enjoy free ballpark food, take photos with team mascot King Elvis, shop the team's "garage sale," meet Team Manager J.T. Scara and pick up tickets for the 2023 season. For more information about the May 6 event, go to Kingfishbaseball.com, call 262-653-0900, or go to Simmons Field, 7817 Sheridan Road.
Free snacks!
To celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week, the Visit Kenosha tourism bureau is offering free sausage and cheese samples from the Brat Stop (while supplies last) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, May 7-13, at the Wisconsin Welcome Center, on I-94 at Highway 165. While you're munching on Wisconsin's official foods, pick up some free travel literature, too, and start planning your next adventures. For more about freebies during Tourism Week, go to visitkenosha.com.
Cruising season
What's a sure sign that better weather is coming soon? The Lake Geneva Cruise Line (cruiselakegeneva.com) is up and running for another season. Options include ice cream sundae tours, Sunday brunch tours, supper club dinner tours and the popular mail boat tour. Who doesn't love a boat ride on Geneva Lake, followed by some shopping and dining? No one we know.
We've got you, babe
"The Beat Goes On: A Cher Tribute Featuring Lisa McClowry" is on stage Friday at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Ill. McClowry performs live as Cher — including how Cher talks, walks, mannerisms and makeup — and sings all the iconic hits, including "If I Could Turn Back Time, "I Got You, Babe," "Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves" and "Half-Breed." Tickets for the 7 p.m. May 5 show are $25 (plus fees) at geneseetheatre.com.
Classic musicians on tour
If you love classic performers, this week is for you: On Friday, May 5, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are performing at Milwaukee's Riverside Theater. That same night in the same city, John Waite takes the stage at the Pabst Theater. And, on Tuesday, May 9, it's the legendary rock band with horns, Chicago, at the Riverside Theater. Who says popular music is only for the young? Frankie Valli has been singing since the early 1960s (with such hits as “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”), John Waite has been a fixture of rock radio for decades, and Chicago released the band's 38th studio album last summer. For tickets and more details on all these shows, go to pabsttheatergroup.com. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/hot-takes-what-we-love-this-week-may-4-11-2023/article_71cd3f8e-e604-11ed-9874-5f696a2b7d01.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:27 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/hot-takes-what-we-love-this-week-may-4-11-2023/article_71cd3f8e-e604-11ed-9874-5f696a2b7d01.html |
“May the Fourth Be With You” on “Star Wars” Day. This holiday, which comes up every year on May 4th, is the perfect excuse to watch your favorite “Star Wars” film again and/or challenge your friends and family members to a friendly “Star Wars” trivia contest. On Disney+, you can stream enough “Star Wars” material to get you through a voyage around our nearest star system. We do hope you at least get up and walk around periodically while watching all these “Star Wars” sagas. We wouldn’t want you looking like Jabba the Hutt.
Looking for live music tonight? Pat Garrett’s Pick & Pull Songwriters Open Mic starts at 8:30 tonight at Union Park Tavern, 4520 Eighth Ave. It’s free, and everyone is welcome.
“Legally Blonde: The Musical” continues its run tonight in the Wartburg Theater at Carthage College, 2001 Alford Park Drive. The final three performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, May 4-6. Tickets are $14 for adults, $10 for senior citizens (55 and older) and $8 for students. Go to carthage.edu/arts/box-office. For more about this show and more local theater, see today’s Get Out & About entertainment section.
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The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is hosting the 28th Parkside National Print Exhibition, on display through July 28 in the Emile H. Mathis Gallery. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Admission is free. For more details, go to uwp.edu/therita/artgalleries.cfm.
New exhibits are now on display at the Anderson Arts Center, 6603 Third Ave. The new exhibits feature works from the Racine Art Guild, plus solo show winners from the Winter Juried Show 2022 and works from the Area Artists Group and Kemper Lakefront Studios. The Anderson Arts Center is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, go to kempercenter.com. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-area-events-for-thursday-may-4/article_a0a3e79e-e952-11ed-8192-63ab6b4da12f.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:33 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-area-events-for-thursday-may-4/article_a0a3e79e-e952-11ed-8192-63ab6b4da12f.html |
KENOSHA — The Transparent Watercolor Society of America’s exhibit is on display at the Kenosha Public Museum, starting May 6.
The show features paintings from top watercolor artists, working in a wide range of styles.
The group’s annual National Juried Exhibition is a summer staple at the Kenosha museum, 5500 First Ave., and it’s available to view for free through Aug. 6.
Paintings from transparent watercolor artists from across the country are showcased. Works include a wide variety of subjects, from landscapes and portraits to abstracts.
Transparent Watercolor Society of America is a national organization "devoted to advancing the stature of transparent watercolor as a major expression and to foster its appreciation."
According to TWSA: All watercolor pigments applied in a transparent manner allow light to penetrate the layers of glazes and reflect back through the pigments from the paper below. The whites are brilliant paper left unpainted. This light, reflecting off the white of the paper, makes the medium work.
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No white paint is accepted.
Artists are required to preserve the white of the paper’s surface wherever a white statement is intended.
To learn more about TWSA, go to watercolors.org.
The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-public-museum-hosting-transparent-watercolor-society-of-america-exhibit/article_accf7b78-e6dc-11ed-959f-63a3adbe0f83.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:40 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-public-museum-hosting-transparent-watercolor-society-of-america-exhibit/article_accf7b78-e6dc-11ed-959f-63a3adbe0f83.html |
KENOSHA — The Kenosha Symphony Orchestra is performing "Masters of the Romantic" 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at Reuther Central High School’s Ralph J. Houghton Performance Center, 624 57th St.
The concert will feature violinist Yang Liu, performing Bruch’s "Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor."
Liu also performed with the Kenosha Symphony strings on the group's live-streamed concert in October 2020.
Liu will not only perform with the orchestra, but he will also lead a masterclass for local students.
The masterclass is 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, at Kenosha's Indian Trail High School, 6800 60th St. Three students will take part. The masterclass is free and open to the public.
Saturday’s concert also "opens heroically with Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and concludes with Mendelssohn’s beautifully romantic Scottish Symphony," concert organizers said.
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Tickets for Saturday's concert are $30 for adults. Children and college students with a student ID are admitted free of charge.
For more details and to buy tickets, go to kenoshasymphony.org. Tickets are also available at the door.
The symphony, which formed in 1940, enjoys a long history in Kenosha and "has a high level of musicianship," said Pete Rodriguez, the symphony's president and a French horn player. "We really have a high-caliber group, and the vast majority of players perform with this group and others, like the Milwaukee Ballet and Festival City Orchestra."
The symphony's programs "are designed to appeal to the whole community," Rodriguez added.
The symphony is always looking for volunteers and for board members.
"If you don't want to be on the board," Rodriguez said, "you can join a committee and work on a project. We're always looking for new ideas and more connections to the local community." (For more details on volunteering, or performing, with the group, send an email to admin@kenoshasymphony.org.) | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-symphony-performing-may-6/article_cffaca2e-e6c5-11ed-98bd-e3019ec84fb3.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:46 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-symphony-performing-may-6/article_cffaca2e-e6c5-11ed-98bd-e3019ec84fb3.html |
KENOSHA — The Southport Light Station Museum, 5117 Fourth Ave., is open for the season, offering tours and climbs through Oct. 29.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Visitors are welcome to climb the 1866 Southport Lighthouse. The tower is 55 feet above the lighthouse grounds, giving climbers a view of Lake Michigan and beyond into Illinois and Racine County. The Chicago skyline is visible on clear days.
There are 72 spiraling steps to the lantern room. The lighthouse climb is $10 for adults and $5 for ages 8-12. Children must be 8 or older to climb.
All ages are welcome inside the free maritime museum. Located in the keeper's house, the museum documents Kenosha's lighthouse keepers, shipping and fishing history, and local shipwrecks.
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For more information, visit kenoshahistorycenter.org. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenoshas-southport-lighthouse-opens-may-4-for-summer-season/article_8d46d772-e6de-11ed-b76e-77c90fa39721.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:52 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenoshas-southport-lighthouse-opens-may-4-for-summer-season/article_8d46d772-e6de-11ed-b76e-77c90fa39721.html |
SOMERS — The spring semester concert season continues at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside with the UW-Parkside Wind Ensemble and Community Band, performing a joint concert starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 4, in Bedford Concert Hall.
Both groups are conducted by Professor Laura Rexroth.
The Wind Ensemble is made up of UW-Parkside students. The Community Band is made up of adult musicians from this area.
The program features "The Creation of Faith" by Australian composer Jody Blackshaw and the Wisconsin premiere of the three-part “Urgent Voices” by Tim Mahr.
Both "Urgent Voices" and "The Creation of Faith" are "challenging from a technical and musical standpoint," Rexroth said, "and they both contain beautiful, different and exciting colors that will engage the listener."
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Also on the program is the frantic “Head Rush,” described by composer Jay Bocook as “a rousing, joyfully schizophrenic five-minute work scored for wind ensemble” with “constantly evolving textures and rhythmic devices that culminate with the full force of the ensemble into a finale that is bursting with energy.”
All pieces on Thursday's program "are connected to spring," Rexroth said, "including the energy of the rebirth we feel at this time of year from nature — and the positive energy of making change when it is needed."
The combined band is also performing: "The Hounds of Spring" by Alfred Reed, "Smiling After the Rain" by Yukiko Nishimura and "Homage to Perotin," from "Medieval Suite" by Ron Nelson.
Audience members, Rexroth added, will "hear a wide variety of pieces that will give you a chance to rejuvenate, energize and feel good!"
'Abyssinian Mass' performances
The UW-Parkside choirs and jazz ensembles are teaming up for two performances of "Abyssinian Mass" by Wynton Marsalis, conducted by James Kinchen.
Marsalis, a Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning trumpeter, was commissioned to write the sprawling work for the 2008 bicentennial celebration of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.
The concerts are 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday, May 7-8, in Bedford Concert Hall.
The piece — which runs about two hour — digs deeply into what Marsalis calls "the soil" of the black church: its shouts, its dirges, its spirituals, its hymns of praise.
Marsalis has said he used "the joyful stylings of the African-American gospel tradition to deliver a musical message of universal humanity."
He says he tried to put it all in there: praise, exultation and the blues, Saturday night and Sunday morning.
"The Abyssinian Mass tries to cover a lot of different types of music and put them together and show how they come from one expression," he told NPR in a 2013 interview about the work. "Everyone has a place in the house of God."
Tickets for all these performances are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, available online at uwp.edu/therita. For more information, call the box office at 262-595-2564 or email boxoffice@uwp.edu. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/uw-parkside-community-band-performs-may-4/article_0005b588-e6e6-11ed-9869-b7b79ac3beb9.html | 2023-05-04T13:28:58 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/uw-parkside-community-band-performs-may-4/article_0005b588-e6e6-11ed-9869-b7b79ac3beb9.html |
For the second day in a row, an accident has shut down lanes on I-35 Northbound at Toepperwein Road on the city's northeast side.
Traffic is currently backed up to at least O'Connor Road (Exit 171) at 6 a.m.
We have reached out to officials to find out exactly what happened.
We will update this story when we have more information.
This is a developing story.
Learn more about KENS 5:
Since going on the air in 1950, KENS 5 has strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians.
KENS 5 has brought numerous firsts to South Texas television, including being the first local station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a local morning news program.
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.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
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/accident-shuts-down-i-35-at-toepperwein-for-second-morning-crash-highway-road-traffic-northeast-sana-ntonio-texas/273-99eebea3-7348-4ece-8b87-9af3f7bc78b0 | 2023-05-04T13:29:01 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/accident-shuts-down-i-35-at-toepperwein-for-second-morning-crash-highway-road-traffic-northeast-sana-ntonio-texas/273-99eebea3-7348-4ece-8b87-9af3f7bc78b0 |
SAN ANTONIO — A missing school bus from the East Central ISD was recovered by police Thursday morning.
Officials said they're not sure when the bus went missing, but they located it by pinging it.
The bus was found in the parking lot of the Poco Loco Supermercardo at 6050 Ingram Road on the northwest side of town.
Officials said the bus was not damaged.
Police believe it was taken from the transportation yard.
The parking lot where it was found has several surveillance cams, so they're hoping to find out morewhen they review the video.
This is a developing story.
Learn more about KENS 5:
Since going on the air in 1950, KENS 5 has strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians.
KENS 5 has brought numerous firsts to South Texas television, including being the first local station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a local morning news program.
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.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
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/east-central-isd-school-bus-stolen-but-now-recovered-theft-school-district-transportation-sapd-san-antonio-texas/273-b107cbbc-265a-4c0e-8d6d-0e09a61f70a3 | 2023-05-04T13:29:07 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/east-central-isd-school-bus-stolen-but-now-recovered-theft-school-district-transportation-sapd-san-antonio-texas/273-b107cbbc-265a-4c0e-8d6d-0e09a61f70a3 |
SAN ANTONIO — A fire broke out late Wednesday night in a home that is used to board mentally ill residents, according to officials.
San Antonio firefighters were called out to the 2300 block of E. Crockett just east of downtown around 11:08 p.m.
The Battalion Chief said that crews were met with a working fire a front bedroom of a residential structure.
Officials said a bed caught fire and then spread to the walls and ceiling of the room before they were able to extinguish the blaze.
The Battalion Chief says the homeowner owns multiple homes and uses them to "board mentally ill residents."
Investigators will be on the scene because the homeowner says the fire started in a room belonging to someone with a history of setting fires.
Officials say five people made it out of home without injuries.
They will be displaced until repairs to the home are made.
No word on the amount of damages caused by the fire.
This is a developing story.
Learn more about KENS 5:
Since going on the air in 1950, KENS 5 has strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians.
KENS 5 has brought numerous firsts to South Texas television, including being the first local station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a local morning news program.
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.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
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/fire-at-home-for-mentally-ill-residents-spread-from-bed-to-walls-and-ceiling-flames-safd-san-antonio-texas/273-4d01c12f-aa5f-4bd9-b1e2-6d50a0f314de | 2023-05-04T13:29:13 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/fire-at-home-for-mentally-ill-residents-spread-from-bed-to-walls-and-ceiling-flames-safd-san-antonio-texas/273-4d01c12f-aa5f-4bd9-b1e2-6d50a0f314de |
SAN ANTONIO — A suspect in the murder of a special education teacher that happened back in April near a taco truck has been arrested.
Roland Contreras, Jr, 32, had been on the run until he was caught late Wednesday night, when San Antonio Police announced they now have him in custody.
Police say their Covert Response Unit located Contreras and took him into custody and charged him with murder.
We first told you about this back on April 6.
Police say Gabby Del Angel was with her husband getting food from a taco truck on Southwest Military Drive when her husband got into an argument with Contreras.
Her family tells us her husband knew Contreras and had a history with him.
At some point during the argument, police say Contreras pointed a handgun at Del Angel’s husband and started to run after him.
Del Angel’s husband was able to get back in the Jeep and tried to drive away, but that’s when police say Contreras fired the gun, hitting Del Angel in her chest.
After the shooting, Contreras left the scene.
At the time, police believed he barricaded himself at his home on Humboldt on the southwest side for 12 hours.
Police tried talking with the suspect, only to find out he wasn’t even inside.
"Gabby was beautiful, she didn't deserve this. Give her justice, give her peace before we put her in the ground."
Del Angel was a special education teacher and mother of three.
Contreras’ bond has been set at $200,000.
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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/suspect-in-murder-of-special-education-teacher-arrested-death-sapd-san-antonio-texas/273-78fd2868-806d-45b5-b8e0-39402248360e | 2023-05-04T13:29:19 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/suspect-in-murder-of-special-education-teacher-arrested-death-sapd-san-antonio-texas/273-78fd2868-806d-45b5-b8e0-39402248360e |
'Something magical about this year.' What to see, do at Artisphere 2023 in downtown Greenville
- Artisphere takes place May 12 - 14
- 143 total visual artists will showcase their creative works during the three-day festival
- "There's a real excitement," said Kerry Murphy, director of Artisphere. "There's something magical about this year."
An estimated 90,000 people are expected to fill the streets of downtown Greenville to celebrate craftsmanship ranging from ceramics to printmaking by some of the best artists and up-and-coming creatives in the Southeast.
Artisphere, presented by TD Bank, will take place May 12 to 14 for the 19th consecutive year. Organizers said the event will showcase 143 artists across 18 genres of craftsmanship.
This is a free event and will span from Court Street and Main to Wardlaw and Main during the three-day festival.
Last year, Artisphere returned to a full-capacity festival. In 2021, the three-day art celebration was socially distanced, and a virtual festival took place in 2020. This year will be Artisphere's first festival that integrates events and exhibitions that expand into Falls Park since 2019.
"The art is phenomenal but there's so much more," said Kerry Murphy, director of Artisphere. "There are a lot of things we reenvisioned for changes from last year. There's a real excitement. There's something magical about this year."
Artisphere will kick off with an opening night party at District 365 on May 11 with food, drinks and music by Steel Toe Stiletto.
Money generated by Artisphere impacts artists and Greenville
Since Artisphere's inception in 2005, the festival has contributed more than $700,000 to nonprofit organizations and local students and emerging professional and visual performing artists. Those dollars help facilitate workshops, paid performances, and awards to those involved, according to Murphy.
In 2022, each participating artist averaged $14,376 in sales, and since 2005, local artists' sales have amassed around $1.6 million, Murphy added.
In total, Artisphere has had an overall economic impact of $11.9 million on the city of Greenville since 2005, said City Council member Dorothy Dowe.
Artisphere does not take a commission on sales and charges between $475 and $650 for an artist's booth.
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What to know for Artisphere 2023: rules, regulations and frequently asked questions
- Be sure to request expressed permission from the artist before taking any photos of displayed work.
- Main Street at River and Markley and other access point roads will be closed beginning at 4 a.m. on Thursday morning prior to Artisphere beginning.
- Only service animals are allowed within the festival site. No roller skates, skateboards, bikes, and personal transportation allowed.
- Lawn chairs, blankets, and coolers are prohibited on festival grounds.
- Public restrooms are available on festival grounds at Oneal and Wardlaw streets.
- Public transportation is available on 12 Greenlink bus routes, providing access into downtown Greenville on Friday, May 12 from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and on Saturday, May 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Parking at all city-owned garages is $6, and prices vary for parking at privately-owned garages. Parking at County Square (301 University Ridge) is free throughout the weekend and is a short walk to Artisphere.
Here is an interactive guide to parking for this year's art festival:
What to eat at Artisphere at the Culinary Arts Cafe
A selection of tacos, hot dogs, crepes, empanadas and more will be available as five Greenville-based restaurants will be on-hand at Artisphere's Culinary Arts Cafe.
Barberitos, Society Sandwich Bar & Social Club, Abanico, Bonjour Crépe, Latin Flavorz will provide food for purchase during the three-day arts festival. A full viewing of participating restaurant menus can be found here.
Hospitality passes are available for purchase, as well, as it provides VIP access to refuel after a big day in a tented lounge with free food, drinks and cooling fans.
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What live music will play at Artisphere Performing Arts Schedule
12 acts are set to perform at the Main Stage, during Artisphere weekend including indie folk band The Pinkerton Raid, country combo The Kentucky Gentlemen, and Americana artists Run Katie Run.
Here is a link to the entire performing arts schedule for Artisphere 2023.
Pop Up Street Music Stages
Broad & Main Street
- May 12 — noon to 7 p.m.
- May 13 — 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- May 14 — 11:30 a.m to 5 p.m.
Falls Park Drive
- May 12 — noon to 7:30 p.m.
- May 13 — 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- May 14 — 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
River & Main Street
- May 12 — 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- May 13 — 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- May 14 — noon to 5:30 p.m.
Exhibits and Demos
Throughout Artisphere 2023, an assortment of demonstrations, presentations and displays will take place during the weekend. Here is a list of events:
Artists on the Rise
Located at Main Street and Wardlaw, the Fine Arts Center Exhibition will showcase young artists and teachers from the Fine Arts Center of Greenville. There will be an Artists on the Rise stage playing youth and student-based jazz, orchestra, voice and wind acts happening throughout the weekend.
The Donaldson Career Center Culinary Arts event will include pimento cheese sandwiches, Cajun boiled peanuts, strawberry cobbler and more.
Artisphere Festival Store
The official Artipshere 2023 store will offer gifts, custom commemorative posters, T-shirts made by Dapper Ink, private-label Artisphere wine made by Kendall Jackson, and more festival-inspired memorabilia.
Artisphere Festival Store is open all hours of the festival and located on the festival site grounds.
3D Chalk Art
Chris Carlson and his 3-dimensional animal art that appears to pop out of the sidewalk will be on display at the 3D Chalk Art demonstration.
Artists of the Upstate
A local art exhibition supported by a grant from the Metropolitan Arts Council that displays Upstate-based artists and the quality and diversity in the Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson art communities.
50 total local artists will be represented in this showcase, a list of participating visual artists can be found here.
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Art lab
A handful of weekend-long workshops offer short courses on wheel throwing, installation art, and printmaking with a mini press on Friday evening. Saturday courses will offer a Japanese ceramics lesson, watercolor-resist techniques, and a rug hooking session.
On Sunday two separate earring-making classes will run, and a printmaking course will be offered.
Kidsphere
Kidsphere music will take place at South Main Street, directly in front of City Hall. Activities include a Green Beats, swag station and DRUM street beats parades which involve an interactive music sculpture, crafts creation and a percussion studio.
Kidsphere Arts & Crafts take place on Friday from 3 to 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also, masquerade masks, a textile town and handmade Mother's Day card making. This event will take place on South Main Street and Grill Marks at 209 S. Main Street.
The parade begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Two more parades will be held on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. and again at 5:15 p.m. and the last parade is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and more for The Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on Twitter @ajhappened. | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/greenville-artisphere-festival-downtown-music-food-fun/70103782007/ | 2023-05-04T13:30:22 | 1 | https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/greenville-artisphere-festival-downtown-music-food-fun/70103782007/ |
Lake Wales City Commission changes land code, paving way for controversial pipe facility
Months of passionate debate ended quietly Tuesday night as the Lake Wales City Commission voted 5-0 without discussion to revise a land-use code, enabling a proposed pipe-manufacturing plant to proceed without a special permit.
Commissioners adopted an amendment to a section of the city’s land-development regulations, completing a process that drew heavy scrutiny because of the implications for the planned Advanced Drainage Systems facility in the south end of Lake Wales.
Many residents of Lake Wales and surrounding communities have raised objections to the project, which would occupy 97 acres of former citrus groves on land owned by Hunt Bros., a prominent agriculture company.
The City Commission had voted to approve the revision, which was recommended by the city’s planning staff, at its previous meeting. The second hearing and binding vote took place Tuesday night.
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Advanced Drainage Systems, an Ohio-based company, seeks to build the plant on a property bordered by 11th Street (County Road 17B), Hunt Brothers Road and the Florida Midland Railroad line. The facility would melt plastic pellets and fashion them into industrial-sized drainage pipes.
Lake Wales has been considering a rewrite of its land-use code since confusion arose over whether the current designation for the site, Industrial-1, would allow the level of industrial activity ADS plans. The parcel has had that designation for more than a decade, having been changed for a previous project that didn’t materialize.
An ADS executive has described the plant as “light industrial,” but plans to store plastic material outdoors would put it in the category of heavy industrial. Under the revision, heavy manufacturing would be permitted by right under the site's designation of Industrial-1.
The change means that the ADS plant will only need approval from the city’s planning staff.
Undoing an error
The city amended an ordinance last year, intending to delete the requirement of a special permit for such activity, but a “scrivener’s error” kept the old rule in place.
That would have required ADS to receive a special-use permit from the Planning and Zoning Board. The planning staff developed the revision to the land-use code, but the Planning and Zoning Board voted 4-2 against recommending the change at its March 28 meeting.
Nonetheless, the City Commission approved the revision after hearing last month at a work session from Tom Cloud, an outside lawyer hired as a consultant. Cloud told commissioners that it was appropriate to revise the land-use code and that the city might even face legal vulnerability if the commission failed to do so.
Lake Wales has also contracted with Merle Bishop, the retired growth management director for Polk County and Winter Haven, to review its land-use codes and provide an expert-witness report.
That was the background Tuesday night as the City Commission held a second reading on the proposed change. Before commissioners voted, they again heard from some residents strongly opposed to the ADS plant, and therefore to the land-use revision.
Charlene Bennett, a regular speaker at commission meetings, suggested that “basic racism” had determined the location of the proposed plant. The site is near two neighborhoods with large minority populations.
“Across the country, we know how much communities of color and people who don't have the wherewithal to fight have long been subjected to industries and toxic sorts of environments, things that surround them that they had no choice (about),” Bennett said.
She later asked, “If this ADS plant were right next to Dinner Lake Shores, where the mayor lives, and those folks were all fighting it, would you say yes to it, then? Vice Mayor (Robin) Gibson and I, we live over there, right around Lake Wailes. If it was going to be next to us over there, would you move forward?”
An ADS executive has said the company chose the property because of its size and proximity to the rail line. The plant will receive the plastic pellets by rail.
Another resident, Cassandra Richards, echoed Bennett’s assertion, saying that “most of these plants that you will find, it’s going to be next to our neighborhoods — or a poor, white neighborhood, people who do not have the means to fight financially.”
Catherine Price, a frequent critic of the City Commission, emphasized her concerns about the city’s permitting process for industrial activity.
“The special exemption permit that y'all are voting on tonight was specifically designed to provide a thoughtful, methodical legal process for making responsible changes to the current zoning situation,” Price said.
The longtime resident said the permitting process would consider compatibility with neighboring properties and such factors as noise, traffic and water supplies.
Promise of 200 jobs
Ruth Search, another resident, expressed concern that the code revision would allow heavy manufacturing to be approved for a parcel zoned for light industrial without any public hearings.
“This is concerning, not only because of this property, but it is also concerning with properties being annexed from the county to the city of Lake Wales,” she said, “because (if) a developer or a purchaser of the land put a plan before the county and was turned down, then they take the plan to the city of Lake Wales and the city says, ‘Come on over.’ ”
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The commission did hear from one proponent of the amendment and the ADS plant, Javier Marin, vice president of business development for the Central Florida Development Council.
Marin offered a series of statistics about employment and economic diversity, stating that manufacturing accounts for only 8% of jobs in Lake Wales. He emphasized that ADS has pledged to invest $250 million and said that the plant would create about 200 jobs. He said those jobs would yield about $15 million in total compensation and the plant would indirectly generate another 111 jobs.
“Our recommendation is that the leadership of the city of Lake Wales invest time and effort into diversifying your employment and your economy,” Marin said.
With the public comments completed, Mayor Jack Hilligoss asked for any discussion of the agenda item among the commission and got no response. Commissioners approved the amendment in quick succession without any further discussion.
The vote marked one of the final official duties for Commissioner Terrye Howell, who did not seek a third term this year in Seat 3. Keith Thompson, who defeated Michelle Threatt in last month’s election, was sworn in during Tuesday’s meeting.
Gibson, who beat challenger Danielle Pride Gibson in the Seat 5 race, was installed for a fourth term.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/lake-wales-commission-revises-land-code-pipe-plant-wont-need-permit/70169096007/ | 2023-05-04T13:30:46 | 1 | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/lake-wales-commission-revises-land-code-pipe-plant-wont-need-permit/70169096007/ |
Once a bustling aquatic center, this shuttered Peoria park soon will see new life
Lakeview Park's aquatic center will be demolished
The old aquatic center at Lakeview Park in Peoria will be torn down and a new splash pad will be built to serve as the park's feature aquatic attraction.
There is no set location for the new splash pad yet at Lakeview Park, but $600,000 in grant funding from the state has been secured for the project. A "best case" scenario for the splash pad to be up and running is summer of 2024. Lakeview Family Aquatic Center's pool closed after the 2017 season.
Peoria Park District Executive Director Emily Cahill said there is also no set timetable yet for the demolition of the aquatic center, but the hope is it will get done sometime in the next "12-18 months."
"We certainly hope it happens in the next 12-18 months, but it is a mechanism of both funding and resource availability to get that done," Cahill said.
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While the splash pad is still very much in early development stages, park district officials are already excited about what it will bring to Lakeview Park.
"The budget will allow us to make sure this is an inclusive, high-quality splash pad with multiple amenities," Cahill said. "Our target is to have restrooms close, which is always nice so people aren't tramping through a building with wet swimsuits or whatever else. So, we do want this to be an experience that is really easy for people to access and enjoyable."
Cahill added that what makes the splash pad concept really attractive to the park district is that it allows for a longer season than a traditional pool.
"You can generally leave a splash pad open for 12-15 weeks in central Illinois rather than eight, which is about what a pool season is," Cahill said. "It's an opportunity for us to serve the community longer. Certainly the operating hours on a splash pad can be longer because they don't have to be lifeguarded."
The Lakeview Park splash pad will serve as a good "pilot" splash pad for the district, Cahill said, as there are hopes to open more splash pads at other parks in the future.
When the grant money arrives, Peoria Park District will begin working with designers on a plan for the splash pad, which will then be brought to the public for input before it is finalized, Cahill said.
Illinois River Bluff Trail to be extended
The Illinois River Bluff Trail will be extended from Detweiller Park in Peoria up through Camp Wokanda in Chillicothe, as part of a $255,000 park district project that will use land acquisition grants to fill gaps in the trail.
Cahill said the grant money received for the project will be used to purchase a 40-acre plot of land that will connect a gap in the trail.
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"We've been working on this with both staff and volunteer time for multiple years, and so when we had the opportunity and there was some interest expressed in selling the land to the park district, we were able to apply for these dollars through the open spaces, land and development grant and ask assistance from the state to purchase the property," Cahill said.
Cahill said the district is hoping to finalize the grant paperwork and land acquisition "relatively quickly" so it can begin planning how to connect the trail's gaps.
She added this project fits a growing nationwide trend of ecotourism.
"It is certainly a hot topic these days, the idea of ecotourism where people are traveling to experience different trail systems and being able to experience topography there, and obviously it's called the Illinois River Bluff Trail for a reason. ... The views and vistas that are available along that trail are magnificent," Cahill said. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/peoria-lakeview-park-splash-pad-plans-river-bluff-trail-extended/70176807007/ | 2023-05-04T13:31:50 | 1 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/peoria-lakeview-park-splash-pad-plans-river-bluff-trail-extended/70176807007/ |
Farmworker advocates question poor on-farm housing
Martha Lopez has visited two on-farm housing units in her three years as a field organizer for PCUN, Oregon’s farmworker union. In the first, Lopez saw mold on the ceilings, a refrigerator that didn’t keep food cool enough, and a bathroom that one woman shared with five men. The lone female occupant confided she often asked her husband to stand watch while she bathed.
The second was dirtier, more run-down, Lopez said. But her observations were from the outside. The men who lived there didn’t invite her in.
Agricultural workforce housing, which is generally shared housing accommodations provided by farms as a benefit and condition of employment, was a staple of migrant farming during World War II and into the 1960s.
Now, it houses a shrinking proportion of farmworkers, often for short periods during harvest season.
But people who use and supply agricultural housing say the system isn't working as it should. And regulations that govern agricultural housing still allow for undignified living situations: portable toilets instead of indoor plumbing, cramped quarters, outdoor kitchens or none at all.
Labor advocates say such housing isolates workers, reduces them to their labor and strips them of their dignity.
Farm operators who provide the housing say current regulations are cumbersome, unclear and ill-enforced.
Oregon OSHA, the state agency in charge of housing registration, rulemaking and enforcement, is in the early stages of reviewing and updating its labor housing rules. Whether it will create new rules or tighten current ones is yet to be determined.
Permanent laws about agricultural housing have been updated twice since in the last decade – once in 2018 to address pesticide exposure, and once last year as part of Oregon OSHA’s permanent heat and smoke rules.
Labor advocates say the update is overdue and are asking the agency for more, and stricter, regulations. Growers fear the cost associated with such changes.
There is agreement, however, that if the state is going to create new rules, it must also more strongly enforce the ones it already has.
Lopez’s job is to meet with farmworkers, hear their concerns and tell them what resources are available. Still, the visits to workers at their homes stuck with her.
“I didn’t know those things happened,” she said. “That there were people that lived in that type of place and lived in those conditions.”
Farm labor housing 'a unique situation'
Any agricultural producer who provides housing to employees as a benefit of employment must register their housing with Oregon OSHA.
According to the agency’s database, some 400 registered housing sites shelter about 10,000 agricultural workers throughout the year, roughly 8-10 percent of the state's workforce.
Labor housing as a system is remnant of the "Bracero" program, which brought migrant workers from Mexico to work on U.S. farms during busy seasons beginning in 1942. Federal regulations about farm labor houses were enacted in 1949 in response to allegations of abuse against Bracero program workers.
Farmworker housing was intended to house migrant workers who followed work depending on the season. That is still its primary purpose. Growers say they wouldn't have a seasonal workforce if they didn't provide housing.
Farmworker housing is classified in two ways: as H2A housing, which is reserved for seasonal workers from other countries working under the H2A visa program, or non-H2A housing, which is meant to house domestic workers.
Agricultural employers operate under a different set of rules than, say, a homeowner who leases their property. The seasonality of farm labor has given farmworker housing the moniker "labor camps." Most units are dorm-style complexes, or bunk houses, designed to accommodate multiple workers.
It's not just workers who use them.
A playground at one housing complex's play area, just outside a barn-red building with half a dozen doors, sits atop a bed of cherry pits. They’re small, round, and as soft and absorbent as bark. The pits came from cherries grown at Orchard View Cherries and processed in The Dalles.
Orchard View stretches more than 3,000 acres through the hills of the Columbia River Gorge. Its housing is immense: more than 1,600 beds are spread across more than a dozen units.
The play structure is evidence that residents here are not just workers, but their kids and families, too. Orchard View knows that, and even prefers it.
“We house families, not just people,” Brenda Thomas, Orchard View president, said.
Orchard View considers its housing facilities “above average,” Omeg said.
They know not everyone can afford the amenities Orchard View provides – including a full, regulation-sized soccer field they spent $20,000 to level, and play structures at every unit.
It costs more to house families, rather than just workers. But it’s worth the cost, Mike Omeg, Orchard View director of operations, said.
Families at Orchard View live there for roughly two months during cherry harvest season, from late spring to early summer. That isn’t long enough for most workers to find housing in The Dalles, a community already stretched for housing. So employers like Orchard View provide it, for free.
Growers say on-farm housing serves a different purpose than permanent, residential housing and regulations should reflect that.
“Labor housing is a unique situation,” Omeg said. “It needs to be treated as such.”
Omeg, Thomas and operations manager Ann Billette are proud of the housing they provide to workers and their families. And they want their employees to feel proud to work there.
They acknowledge not all growers invest so much into the housing they provide.
A different set of housing rules
Oregon OSHA’s 20 pages of agricultural housing rules are designed to account for high occupancy: at least one shower head, with hot and cold water, must be provided for every 10 people. Bunk beds are allowed as long as each occupant has at least 40 square feet of sleeping space (“no triple bunks,” the checklist clarifies, in parentheses).
Oregon residential code, which is used by many municipalities including Woodburn, where many Willamette Valley farmworkers live permanently, is hundreds of pages of technical language and building regulations.
“There are rules that are less than [local] residential codes” for on-farm housing, Ira Cuello-Martinez, interim executive director at PCUN, said.
Toilets, for example, can be chemical or portable, as long as they are cleaned and maintained regularly and “within 200 feet” of the living space.
Kitchens, if provided, can be outside. Employers can provide a stove or hot plate. If they do, they must provide two burners for every 10 people.
Some of the housing units at Orchard View have outdoor kitchens. It’s not ideal, Billette said, and they’re working to move all kitchens inside. Outdoor stoves are under a covered porch, protected from the elements, and are only used during the summer months. It was the only way they could meet capacity regulations and house as many people as they needed to, Billette said.
They also agree with labor advocates like Cuello-Martinez that there’s a difference between minimum health and safety standards and quality of life.
They disagree, though, on who should regulate quality of life. Some things, Omeg said, should be discretionary, not mandatory.
To those who see it at its worst, farmworker housing is a dignity issue. Even housing that complies with OSHA's standards doesn't always provide a dignified home environment.
Cuello-Martinez said seasonality should not be an excuse for poor living conditions.
“It’s still a place where people live,” he said. “It’s a place for human beings, who deserve a dignified job and home.”
OSHA ag housing inspections effective but infrequent
Before COVID-19, Billette said, Oregon OSHA visited every year to inspect or consult.
But since the pandemic, Oregon OSHA’s visits have waned.
The Statesman Journal filed public records requests and then analyzed five years worth of on-farm housing inspections and violations.
In 2019, Oregon OSHA performed 50 inspections at registered on-farm housing units, according to data obtained by the Statesman Journal.
In 2020, Oregon OSHA performed seven inspections. And inspectors have yet to catch up to pre-pandemic numbers. Oregon OSHA has performed fewer inspections in the past three years combined than in 2019 alone.
Those numbers are only part of the story, Oregon OSHA spokesperson Aaron Corvin said. The agency had to quickly pivot to make new rules to protect workers from COVID-19, communicate those rules and enforce them to the best of its ability.
"There is no question that COVID-19 reduced our overall enforcement activity – not just our enforcement activity with respect to ALH (ag labor housing)," Corvin said.
Until recently, he said, the bulk of resources were "directed at reducing the risks to workers of COVID-19 in the workplace."
Corvin said Oregon OSHA "successfully handled" more than 30,000 workplace complaints, across all sectors, throughout the pandemic. The agency typically fields about 2,000 complaints a year, Corvin said.
Oregon OSHA conducts some on-farm worker housing inspections based on complaints or referrals, either from other agencies or from employees themselves. But it also has an inspection schedule it maintains every year.
According to Oregon OSHA guidelines, the agency schedules inspections based on whether a registered housing facility has been inspected in the past 24 months. That does not mean it is trying to inspect each registered housing unit every two years, Corvin said. To do that, the agency would have to conduct roughly 200 inspections per year.
Instead, Corvin said, OSHA's focus is on "allocating ... enforcement resources in a way that enables us to visit locations that are in use and that have not yet been visited."
Guidelines for H2A housing mandate annual inspections before occupants arrive.
Non-H2A housing is a "dynamic situation," Corvin said, that doesn't adhere to such schedules. Some units are occupied year-round; some are occupied for months or weeks at a time. In some cases, multiple employers operate the same housing location at different times of the year.
A housing complex in Mt. Angel, for example, is registered to Catholic Community Services and six different agricultural operators. Catholic Community Services manages the property, a spokesperson said, and different employers offer it to employees in different seasons.
Oregon OSHA conducts in-person consultations prior to initially registering a labor camp. Growers are required to renew registration every year and continue to meet the state's regulations.
Consultations are another tool for checking on the conditions of agricultural labor housing, Corvin said. But Oregon OSHA's guidelines say consultation priority should be given to H2A operators or new housing units, and "operators who request consultations every year will be placed on a low priority and only provided consultation services as time permits."
Housing providers also are required to report if they make any significant structural changes to the property, which would trigger an inspection.
Inspection records show it is more likely that registered housing with a documented, serious violation will make it onto the agency’s inspection schedule within 24 months. Since 2018, 10 violations (out of 400) are considered “repeat.” Each offender has been inspected again within two years.
Concern about problems OSHA is missing
Inspections do yield results. More than half the violations reported since 2018 were caught during routine, scheduled inspections.
But a majority of “serious” violations Oregon-OSHA has recorded since 2018 were based on complaints or referrals. They were caught because someone reported the employer or the facility.
Growers and labor advocates alike say they’re concerned about the problems OSHA is missing. Oregon Law Center has dozens of photos of unsafe, dilapidated housing units outreach workers have seen. It includes broken or missing windows, mold, mattresses on floors.
And there’s danger in trusting a complaint-based system, Lopez said. Employees may fear retaliation.
Workers are legally protected from retaliation if they report their employer — a fact Corvin said OSHA works hard to communicate.
Lopez said she has heard stories of farmworkers filing complaints and ending up on an unofficial blacklist.
“There are people who have told us, ‘I reported, and then my photo was shared with contractors and I don’t have work,’” Lopez said. “There’s still fear.”
And the stakes are higher when housing is attached to employment. So, Lopez said, plenty of workers stay quiet.
Gov. Kate Brown commissioned an agricultural housing task force last year to address issues with agricultural housing and propose solutions.
One of its recommendations was to improve communication between agencies so other agencies that interface with agricultural housing, like the Department of Agriculture or the Bureau of Labor and Industries, can identify and report any possible violations.
Improved interagency coordination would help fill the gaps in Oregon OSHA’s “limited resources,” the task force determined.
Oregon OSHA has 85 inspectors agency-wide. Not all of them conduct ALH inspections, Corvin said. Regional field managers prioritize workplace inspections based on risk. The higher the perceived risk, the higher the priority.
Marion County accounts for a small portion of on-farm housing in the state and an even smaller portion of violations. Twenty-one out of 382 recorded violations since 2018 were reported in Marion County. Only three of those violations, all at Northern Lights Wreath Company in Silverton, were considered “serious” and resulted in fines.
Unregistered housing suspected to be the worst
Unregistered housing that growers don't register or let their registration expire came up frequently in task force meetings.
"I can't stress enough: The places that aren't registered, we need to get to those places," OSHA administrator Renee Stapleton said during a fall meeting.
Indeed, the highest penalty in recent years, $825,000 split evenly among five employers, was given to hemp operators in Josephine County who housed workers in a condemned building. The facility was not registered and the building — a shed with holes in the roof and one useable exit — had been deemed "structurally unsafe."
Corvin said unregistered housing is a "priority" for Oregon OSHA. Operators who don't follow registration requirements are "likely already outside the boundaries of other requirements."
They also are harder to find, so complaints and referrals become especially important. Corvin said OSHA makes "every effort" to respond to allegations of unregistered housing "as quickly as possible."
Growers like Meyer and Omeg said cases like the one in Josephine County are unacceptable. Oregon OSHA should "shut people down" for that, Omeg said.
Updates coming to OSHA's housing rules
Oregon OSHA is in the early stages of updating its agricultural housing rules.
Corvin said the ALH Advisory Committee will meet "regularly" this year — meetings are scheduled for the last Wednesday of every month — and propose rule changes in 2024.
In public meetings and interviews with the Statesman Journal, advocates said it's time for big changes.
One of the rules advocates want is a blanket requirement to provide air conditioning in each unit.
The current heat and smoke rules dictate all housing facilities must have a “cooling area” where employees can cool down. That area can be a common room with air conditioning or good ventilation or a shaded area outside, as long as at least half the occupants can use it at any time.
Employers also must protect windows from direct sunlight and make fans available for anyone who wants them.
It’s not enough, advocates say. Farmworkers have recorded bedroom temperatures of more than 100 degrees even in the early morning hours — too hot to sleep comfortably and recover from a day's work.
But big, structural changes require money growers say they don’t have.
High Rolls Ranch and Orchard View Cherries both provide air conditioning in all their units. After Oregon OSHA issued its permanent heat rules, Orchard View spent roughly $100,000 to update the electrical systems in its housing units to accommodate AC, Omeg said.
But labor advocates say the cost of providing safe, humane housing is one growers should be prepared to cover.
“If you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t have it,” Cuello-Martinez said.
Part of Gov. Tina Kotek’s housing package includes $5 million to help growers improve existing on-farm housing.
It’s a start, Omeg said. But a farm the size of Orchard View could spend the state’s entire budget itself and still have work to do.
Farmworker demographics and housing needs are changing
On-farm housing is remnant of a time when most farmworkers were migrant and seasonal.
That is no longer the case in Oregon.
Most farmworkers — roughly 80%, by Oregon Law Center’s estimation — are permanent residents of their communities. Their housing needs are different.
Cuello-Martinez said his ideal scenario is one in which no farmworker has to live where they work. Instead, he said, the state should direct resources to organizations like the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, FHDC, which builds low-income and farmworker-specific housing.
FHDC owns 11 community-based housing complexes, including its newest, Colonia Paz, which opened last summer in Lebanon, Oregon.
Rent for a two-bedroom unit is capped at $722 per month, property manager Mario Carbajal said at the complex's grand opening. It cannot exceed 30% of the household’s income.
Lopez lived in one of FHDC's housing units. It’s how she got her current job at PCUN, she said. FHDC provided childcare and free education, all of which helped her get where she is.
A bill in the Legislature would allocate $10 million to community-based farmworker developers like FHDC — down from an original proposal of $20 million.
Maria Elena Guerra, FHDC’s executive director. She attends agricultural housing facilitation team meetings and is vocal about paying more attention to the kind of housing her organization provides.
It’s frustrating, she said in an interview with the Statesman Journal, that money for on-farm housing passed “with not much effort,” but House Bill 3555 was cut in half and awaits its fate in the House Ways and Means committee.
“Here we are, with all the benefits we provide to a community, to an entire system, and we still have to prove that it’s needed,” Guerra said. “I didn’t hear that happening for on-farm support.”
But Omeg and Meyer say they wouldn’t have a workforce without seasonal workers, and they wouldn’t have seasonal workers without seasonal housing. “For seasonal employees, community housing is not a viable option,” Omeg said.
Shannon Sollitt covers agricultural workers throughReport for America, a program that aims to support local journalism and democracy by reporting on under-covered issues and communities. Send tips, questions and comments to ssollitt@statesmanjournal.com | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/farmworker-advocates-question-poor-on-farm-housing/70085876007/ | 2023-05-04T13:40:56 | 0 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/farmworker-advocates-question-poor-on-farm-housing/70085876007/ |
It's legal to sell some homemade foods in Arizona but not tamales. Here's a look at what the state allows
In Arizona, people can make cakes, cookies, fruit pies, tortillas, breads and other food in their homes for commercial sale under the Cottage Food Program administered by the state Department of Health Services.
The Legislature passed a bill in April that would have expanded the program to include a long list of additional foods that require refrigeration and include perishable ingredients like butter, eggs and meats.
Among them are many foods often already sold, albeit illegally, outside stores and in parking lots, such as tamales, empanadas, pupusas and posole.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, however, vetoed the bill, citing concerns it would lead to an increase in food-borne illness.
When did the Cottage Food Program start?
The program began in 2011 after the Legislature changed the law to allow people to produce certain non-perishable food, known as "shelf stable," for sale. The law was amended in 2018 to add fruit jams and jellies, dry mixes made with ingredients from approved sources, honey, dry pasta and roasted nuts.
What are some foods currently approved under the program?
There are about 19 types of foods currently approved for sale under the program. The common types include bread, fruit jams and jellies, tortillas, cakes with hard icings or frostings, cookies, brownies and fudge, scones, honey and kettle corn.
What are the requirements to sell food under the program?
People who want to sell homemade foods must first complete a food handler training course and then register for the program, which is free. Homemade foods for sale must be labeled with the name and registration number of the food preparer, a list of all ingredients and the production date. The label must also include a disclaimer stating that the product was produced in a home kitchen that may process common food allergens and is not subject to a public health inspection. There is no cap on sales.
How is the program enforced?
The Arizona Department of Health Services investigates complaints about the sale of food not approved under the program "from a place of education, not punitiveness," said Jesse Lewis, a spokesperson for the department. Program staff explain the process to help food vendors become complaint and do not fine people who are not in compliance, she said.
The department does refer complaints to counties, which have their own process to investigate and take action, Lewis said. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2023/05/04/what-is-arizonas-cottage-food-program-learn-the-basics/70177239007/ | 2023-05-04T13:41:32 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2023/05/04/what-is-arizonas-cottage-food-program-learn-the-basics/70177239007/ |
Flagstaff City Council postpones vote on new hospital
The project from Northern Arizona Healthcare would include housing, retail and more.
After a nearly eight-hour-long city council meeting Tuesday night, Flagstaff councilmembers voted to postpone a vote on the city's proposed new hospital campus.
Flagstaff City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to approve phase one of the project and whether to rezone the land on May 16.
Northern Arizona Healthcare proposed a new hospital and health and wellness village to be built on more than 170 acres north of Fort Tuthill County Park and west of Interstate 17.
Dozens of community members spoke during the hours-long public comment section of the meeting, a majority of whom were in favor of the plan, while others called for more research to be done before a decision is made.
The first phase of the proposed plan includes a new 700,000-square-foot hospital to replace the aging location north of downtown Flagstaff. If approved, construction is expected to cost $800 million and be completed in 2027.
The second phase of the project will include housing, a hotel and healthcare-centered retail and restaurants to complete the health and wellness village.
The city's Planning and Zoning Commission was split when discussing the proposal earlier this month, ultimately recommending that city councilmembers deny the application for the project.
The Flagstaff hospital is currently the only Level 1 trauma facility north of Phoenix and serves more than 50,000 square miles across northern Arizona.
Reach the reporter atLLatch@gannett.com. The Republic’s coverage of northern Arizona is funded, in part, with grants from Vitalyst Health Foundation and Report from America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax deductible donation atsupportjournalism.azcentral.com. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/05/04/flagstaff-city-council-postpones-vote-on-building-new-hospital/70181263007/ | 2023-05-04T13:41:44 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/05/04/flagstaff-city-council-postpones-vote-on-building-new-hospital/70181263007/ |
The basics, the benefits, the landfill: What to know about Tempe Coyotes election
Tempe voters will decide this month whether to support or oppose three propositions that would allow construction of an Arizona Coyotes retail, residential and entertainment district with an arena at the corner of Tempe Town Lake.
The election concludes May 16.
Republic reporters, particularly Sam Kmack, who covers Tempe, have been digging into the issues.
Here are some recent articles to help voters make up their minds, and for others outside the city to understand the topics being debated.
The basics
How to make sense of Tempe's Coyotes deal and where to vote on it
Election Day is May 16, but ballots have already gone out. Here's a quick breakdown of what residents are voting on and other election information.
All about economic benefits: Two competing studies
Tempe-Coyotes deal: A guide to dueling economic studies
Two institutes released very different financial forecasts for the Coyotes project. Here's a breakdown to help readers make sense of it.
Tempe-Coyotes deal to bring major economic gains, massive tax revenue for city, ASU study says
ASU's Seidman Research Institute concluded that the deal would bring tens of millions more in tax revenue than was previously forecast by the team.
Cost-benefit of Tempe's Coyotes deal doesn't pencil out, new study says
The Grand Canyon Institute found that for every $2.70 of new tax revenue Tempe puts into it, the project will generate just $1 for the city.
All about the landfill
Is the Tempe-Coyotes site a 'toxic' landfill? Probably not, but there's more to the story
Supporters of the deal have long claimed the project site is a 'toxic' landfill. Opponents say it's just a compost yard. Here's the truth.
All about traffic
Tempe-Coyotes deal will not have crippling traffic impact, experts and study say
Just one nearby intersection will see significant delays by 2030. But that will be the case even if the project doesn't happen.
The debate
Tax breaks, economic impacts among points of contention as supporters, opponents debate Tempe's Coyotes arena deal
Groups on either side of Tempe's $2.1 billion deal went head to head. Watch the highlights here and read what happened.
The flight zone, the lawsuits, the Tempe-Phoenix feud
Phoenix sues Tempe to stop Arizona Coyotes development deal
Phoenix announced the lawsuit just four months after Sky Harbor officials signaled that they were willing to support the Coyotes project.
These 2 sticking points kept Phoenix and Tempe from a deal on Coyotes development project
It seemed the feud was over between Phoenix and Tempe, but a recent lawsuit proved it's very much alive. Here are the issues that divide the cities.
Will Phoenix's lawsuit affect the date of Tempe's Coyotes election?
The May 16 election will still take place. Phoenix's lawsuit can't stop that, but could undo the outcome down the line.
Groups on both sides of Tempe-Coyotes deal caught off guard by Phoenix lawsuit
Members of the election's two largest campaign groups are fired up about the airport-related lawsuit that could kill the $2.1B Coyotes arena deal.
Arizona Coyotes countersue Phoenix for $2.1B over Tempe arena deal challenge
The countersuit was announced just a week after Phoenix sued Tempe to stop the team's planned development near Town Lake.
A brief history of the feud that could kill Tempe's Coyotes deal
The fuse was lit in 1994 and has burned slowly for three decades amid lawsuits, confusion, a lack of enforcement and past deals gone wrong.
The fundraising
Here's how much political fundraising groups for and against Coyotes' arena district in Tempe have raised
Tempe Wins, a PAC in favor of the Arizona Coyotes' arena district, outraised Tempe First, a residents' fundraising group opposing the project.
PACs face off over proposed Coyotes arena district in Tempe. The battle of words is getting ugly
A PAC that supports the hockey deal sent a cease-and-desist letter to an opposing group that called the team's owner a "corrupt billionaire."
The politicking
NHL commissioner says the Coyotes won't go anywhere if arena deal is approved
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman voiced his support for the Arizona Coyotes arena proposal in person in Tempe.
Tempe-Coyotes deal will not face probe after Arizona lawmaker withdraws complaint
Arizona state Rep. Steve Montenegro took back his complaint against the deal just one day after requesting an attorney general investigation.
Want to know more about the issues?
Send questions to sam.kmack@arizonarepublic.com or to newstips@arizonarepublic.com. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2023/05/04/tempe-coyotes-election-voting/70177818007/ | 2023-05-04T13:42:03 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2023/05/04/tempe-coyotes-election-voting/70177818007/ |
The Flagstaff Family Food Center gave out 7,745 pounds of food this April -- the most it has ever distributed in a single month.
Last year, the organization shattered previous food distribution records, handing out more than 67,000 pounds of groceries to individuals and families in need in northern Arizona.
“It’s not just the highest April, it’s the highest number that we’ve ever experienced,” said Ethan Amos, executive director of the Flagstaff Family Food Center (FFFC). "Spring is normally a slower time. The summer is usually when things rev up. The fact that we’re sitting here in spring and have the highest number ever is quite significant, especially considering last year was our busiest year ever."
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He added: "If that’s an indicator of what’s to come, we’re going to need a lot more food to be ready to feed these people.”
As FFFC labors to meet the sharp increase in demand, its biggest fundraiser is perhaps more critical than ever.
In May, the U.S. Postal Service hosts Stamp out Hunger. It's an annual food drive that has Americans giving thousands of pounds of food to local food banks across the country.
The premise is simple. Community members are invited to leave food in a bag or box under their mailbox, along with any outgoing letters or packages, to be picked up by their mail carrier. The mail carriers deliver the donations to a food bank.
In northern Arizona, that’s FFFC.
“The potential to get tons of food is just so realistic. The unfortunate part is that we can’t control when we get these fliers,” Amos said.
The fliers -- which describe the program and offer instructions for would-be donors to follow -- he mentioned are provided by the Postal Service. Each flier is stapled onto a food collection bag by FFFC volunteers and staff and returned to the post office. The bag-flier packets are then loaded onto mail trucks and distributed a few days prior to the big collection day.
This year, collection will start on Saturday, May 13.
According to Amos, the fliers arrived this week, and FFFC has to return them by Tuesday. In years past, he said, the nonprofit has had several weeks to organize a stapling effort.
The tight turnaround time has Amos worried. He said that’s because last year the event felt similarly rushed.
According to Amos, the Postal Service gives food banks about 40,000 fliers to staple and return. Last year, the team was able to return a fraction of those fliers before the deadline for a total of about 8,000.
As a result, the event brought in about 14,000 pounds of food instead of a historical average of about 40,000 pounds.
In an ordinary month, 14,000 pounds of food would keep food box distribution and service to partners like Flagstaff Shelter Services running smoothly.
Imagine how long 40,000 pounds could last.
“If we don’t get more than 20,000 pounds of food through this USPS food drive, I think I would be concerned about where our food will come from for the latter part of June and July,” Amos said. “If we get 40,000 pounds of food, we’re taken care of for three months. We’re going to have lots of fall food drives. This helps offset the pressure before we get there.”
In addition to filling a gap in time, Stamp out Hunger is by far the largest food drive for FFFC. Compared to the next largest event, Stuff the Bus in the fall, this spring push to fill the pantry is titanic.
“Stuff the Bus will get us up to almost 2,000 pounds of food. That’s a huge event for us because it also generates tons of financial giving. In addition to the food drives, the cans and the poundage of food -- which includes turkeys and holiday foods -- there’s sometimes upwards of $60,000 to $70,000 that comes in,” Amos said. “This USPS food drive, comparing food drive to food drive, it’s 10 times bigger than our [second]-biggest event.”
Amos said despite the rush to get fliers in mailboxes, he is grateful to the Postal Service.
“The drivers come say hi. They’re so happy to do this. One of them last year came and said, ‘We got a good one! We’ve got a good one!’ He gets out and there’s tons of food in there. They’re just as excited as we are,” Amos said.
Community members do not need to have a bag-flier packet to participate. According to Amos, anyone in Flagstaff can purchase canned goods or shelf-stable meal ingredients, and leave them under their mailbox on pickup day.
Still, he knows the fliers are a powerful vehicle for getting the word out, and people typically use the bags attached to their fliers. That’s why FFFC has purchased 50 staplers and issued call-outs on social media for volunteers willing to help spread the word.
“You can watch TV and staple and do 200 in an evening session. It does wonders for us,” Amos said.
Extra sets of helping hands will be needed on the big day, Friday, May 19, as well.
“I would say it takes 50 people from when we send out that flier to when a food can goes into the family pantry,” Amos added.
Volunteers interested in signing up for a two-hour shift unloading or sorting donations can visit www.hotfood.volunteerhub.com. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-family-food-center-readying-for-largest-food-drive-of-year/article_b11bcc30-e9f3-11ed-bac2-c30185a9cc6a.html | 2023-05-04T13:44:27 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-family-food-center-readying-for-largest-food-drive-of-year/article_b11bcc30-e9f3-11ed-bac2-c30185a9cc6a.html |
Average daily flows
Snake River at Palisades 4,501 cfs
Snake River at Heise 6,262 cfs
Snake River at Blackfoot 3,950 cfs
Snake River at American Falls 7,099 cfs
Snake River at Milner 0 cfs
Little Wood River near Carey 1,652 cfs
Jackson Lake is 27% full.
Palisades Reservoir is 45% full.
American Falls Reservoir is 82% full.
Upper Snake River system is at 59% of capacity.
As of May 3 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/average-daily-streamflows/article_76363f2c-e9dc-11ed-95f2-434978ba8ef1.html | 2023-05-04T13:50:41 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/average-daily-streamflows/article_76363f2c-e9dc-11ed-95f2-434978ba8ef1.html |
DEPUTY, Ind. — A southern Indiana school district is crediting the heroic actions of students and a bus driver after a school bus caught fire Tuesday afternoon.
Deputy Elementary students in the Madison Consolidated Schools district were on their way home when flames erupted from the front of the bus.
The district said quick action from longtime bus driver Jessie Ritzline and students helped get everyone safely off the bus with no injuries.
"We practice these things with our students and bus drivers in hopes that something like this never happens," Ashley Schutte, communications coordinator for Madison Consolidated Schools, told CNN affiliate WDRB. "Miss Jessie, our bus driver, is incredibly humble, and she is so very proud of those kids."
The Deputy Volunteer Fire Department arrived and put out the fire, while other school buses helped get the kids home.
The district is also thanking families for how the situation was handled.
"That's not an easy to call to receive, and they were all very calm, very support and very patient," Schutte said. "They trusted our process, and they trusted us to get those kids home safely."
Investigators are still trying to figure out why the bus caught fire.
Classes at Deputy Elementary continued as scheduled Wednesday.
Deputy, Indiana, is roughly 80 miles south of downtown Indianapolis. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/bus-driver-saves-southern-indiana-elementary-students-fire-deputy-madison-consolidated-schools/531-5952bce4-6d7b-43fa-bde4-760f85b3e384 | 2023-05-04T13:50:59 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/bus-driver-saves-southern-indiana-elementary-students-fire-deputy-madison-consolidated-schools/531-5952bce4-6d7b-43fa-bde4-760f85b3e384 |
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — A semi crash closed Interstate 69 near Martinsville Thursday. The driver was not injured, according to local medics, but traffic was blocked on both sides of the highway.
The crash occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m. at the 138 mile marker in the area of the Ohio Street interchange.
The Pepsi beverage trailer came to rest in the median perpendicular to traffic with its cab blocking one side of I-69 and its trailer blocking the other side.
Drivers were able to use the Ohio Street exits to bypass the crash scene.
Environmental crews are checking for fuel leaks.
The highway is expected to be blocked for the rest of the morning. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/rolled-semi-closes-i-69-near-martinsville-northbound/531-f13ad397-45b6-436f-b3d3-85e6c0b0024b | 2023-05-04T13:51:05 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/rolled-semi-closes-i-69-near-martinsville-northbound/531-f13ad397-45b6-436f-b3d3-85e6c0b0024b |
DALLAS — A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after law enforcement arrested him with more than $1 million worth of methamphetamine from a stash house in Dallas, officials said.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Omar Jorge Valle Estrada, a 37-year-old citizen of Mexico, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in December 2022.
DOJ officials said evidence presented in the trial showed that law enforcement surveilled Estrada at a stash house on Holcomb Road in Dallas. Estrada was driving a white Chevy Malibu and used a code word to gain access to the property, which was being used as storage for nearly $10 million worth of Mexican methamphetamine, the DOJ said.
Two men came out of the home with duffel bags and put them into Estrada’s passenger seat, according to the DOJ. After Estrada left the home, law enforcement pulled him over for operating with an expired registration and recovered 120 pounds of crystal methamphetamine inside the duffel bags. Experts put the street value of the methamphetamine, which was 99% pure, between $1.1 and $2.2 million.
Codefendants Angel Cabrera and Joaquin Salinas – who admitted they were concealing millions of dollars of methamphetamine inside boxes of cauliflower – pleaded guilty prior to trial.
Salinas received a life sentence, and Cabrera received a sentence of more than 21 years.
The DOJ said that during Salinas’ sentencing hearing, testimony showed that the Salinas had ties to Sureños XIII criminal street gang and the Puro Tango Blast street and prison gang.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/dallas-meth-house-man-sentenced-30-years-omar-jorge-valle-estrada/287-f22b4627-02fc-4670-810c-b5466c3356da | 2023-05-04T13:53:14 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/dallas-meth-house-man-sentenced-30-years-omar-jorge-valle-estrada/287-f22b4627-02fc-4670-810c-b5466c3356da |
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — May 4 is "National Self-Employed Day," and while being your own boss may sound like a dream to many, one business owner who made the leap a few years ago will tell you it takes a special person.
“You have to be motivated, hungry and passionate about what you do,” said Zack McLarnon. “And you have to work really, really hard.”
McLarnon worked for years as a recruiter for financial institutions, and though he made a good living, he said he wanted something new.
“It was a grind. It took a toll on me and I got bored,” McLarnon told WFAA.
Having invested in a Brazilian tannery, his wife, Lauren McLarnon, had the idea in 2016 to use leather scraps from that business to create handbags and a new company named Parker & Hyde.
Parker is the name of their son, and Hyde is a reference to the hides used to make the purses.
Seven years later, their business of five employees has grown and they recently started a new line of products closer to Zack McLarnon’s heart: Golf shirts with the Parker & Hyde branded logo. He said the goal is to turn the business that operates out of a warehouse in Farmers Branch into a $100 million company. He credits social media with helping grow Parker & Hyde’s name and products.
“I did not know what a hashtag was when we started this company, but I was told we had to have a social media presence,” Zack McLarnon said.
As for what advice he has for others also looking to become their own boss, Zack McLarnon said the first step is to have an idea. Then, the willingness to take a risk. But do not think being boss is easy.
“You have to have that hard work and determination day in and day out,” Zack McLarnon said.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/parker-hyde-national-self-employed-day/287-52d3b98a-77d2-438b-80e4-132b71ac2a20 | 2023-05-04T13:53:15 | 0 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/parker-hyde-national-self-employed-day/287-52d3b98a-77d2-438b-80e4-132b71ac2a20 |
It’s a new month so you know what that means: it’s time to announce a new charity recipient.
For the entire month of May, each day Your Local Weather Authority is spot on with the forecast, we will donate $100 to the Virginia Institute of Autism.
The organization strives to help individuals overcome the challenges of autism while providing love and support through a variety of programs and services, which can be found here.
How does 3 Degree Guarantee work, anyway?
- If our forecasted temperature for a given day is within 3 degrees of the actual temperature, we’ll donate $10 to a specific charity
- If our forecasted temperature is exactly on the dot, we’ll donate $100 to a specific charity
Click here to stay up-to-date with how we’re doing on our forecasts.
Interested in becoming a charity recipient? Click here to apply. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/04/meet-mays-3-degree-guarantee-recipient-virginia-institute-of-autism/ | 2023-05-04T13:53:57 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/04/meet-mays-3-degree-guarantee-recipient-virginia-institute-of-autism/ |
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Seven suspects have been charged and arrested in relation to a residential burglary in which firearms and other valuables were stolen, according to the Lynchburg Police Department.
It happened on Feb. 13, 2022, just before 3 a.m. in the 1600 block of Shaffer Street, police said.
The resident told the police that multiple suspects broke into their home and stole several valuable items before fleeing in a vehicle, which was later reported stolen, according to the police department.
“Over the next year plus, officers and detectives conducted an extensive investigation that utilized a variety of resources, investigative techniques, and partners to identify and obtain arrest warrants for each of the involved suspects,” the police department said in a press release.
On April 26, 2023, the Lynchburg Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Virginia State Police came together to conduct Operation Royal Flush. The operation led to the arrest of all seven suspects involved, six of which are under 18.
- Bishop Arrington, 18, of Lynchburg
- A juvenile male, 17, of Lynchburg
- A juvenile male, 17, of Lynchburg
- A juvenile male, 17, of Lynchburg
- A juvenile male, 17, of Lynchburg
- A juvenile male, 16, of Lynchburg
- A juvenile male, 15, of Lynchburg
Each suspect has been charged with breaking and entering, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, grand larceny of a firearm, grand larceny of property, criminal street gang participation and felony property damage.
In addition to this, Bishop Arrington was also charged with criminal street gang participation involving a juvenile and criminal street gang recruitment of a juvenile.
A juvenile male was charged with grand Larceny of a vehicle and felony eluding.
“The Lynchburg Police Department is committed to reducing violent crime in our community and aggressively pursuing criminal street gang members,” the police department said.
You may have noticed a difference in how we’ve been reporting on crime. To learn more, click here or email trust@wsls.com | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/04/seven-gang-members-arrested-in-connection-with-home-burglary-in-lynchburg/ | 2023-05-04T13:54:03 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/04/seven-gang-members-arrested-in-connection-with-home-burglary-in-lynchburg/ |
WASHINGTON, USA —
Pothole turned hole in road: West Seattle Bridge ramp will be closed 10 days during repairs
The ramp to northbound state Route 99 from the West Seattle Bridge could be closed for the next 10 days after a large pothole caused several flat tires.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) tweeted just after 7 a.m. Wednesday that the ramp was closed until further notice as crews evaluated repairs for a pothole that created a hole in the road. WSDOT officials said the ramp will be closed for 10 days for repairs.
The 5-by-4 foot pothole was discovered around 10 p.m. Tuesday night after several drivers had to pull over on the side of the roadway to replace their tires. Read more
Tokitae is one step closer to returning home to the Pacific Northwest.
In a joint report released Monday by the Miami Seaquarium, which is managed by The Dolphin Company, and Friends of Lolita, plans to relocate the orca are moving forward.
Tokitae, who was captured in the 1970s at age four, spent the last 53 years in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium where she performed under the name Lolita. She is known to the Lummi nation as Sk’aliCh’elh’tenaut. Read more
Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a woman who previously lived in the Bremerton area and was found dead in Phoenix, Arizona on April 29.
Lauren Heike, 29, was hiking on a trail near East Libby Street and North 65th Place in north Phoenix when Phoenix Police Lt. James Hester said she was attacked from behind. Heike died from her injuries.
Officers responded to a call of an injured person about 10:30 a.m. The fire department declared Heike dead at the scene. Read more
For the first time, the founder and former executive director of the Seattle-based West African Community Council (WACC), a nonprofit that serves West African immigrants, is publicly defending himself after accusations of embezzlement.
“No money is missing," said Issa Ndyiade, 43. "No money is stolen. I did not commit fraud.”
In December, Ndyiade was ousted from the WACC after a court-appointed receiver uncovered approximately $2.3 million in donations that were deposited in an off-the-books account. Read more
Every year since he was five, Russell Bennett has given gifts to others for his birthday.
It's a tradition that started in 2011 when his mom, Sunday Tollefson, encouraged his friends to donate diapers or wipes in lieu of birthday gifts.
Back then, he got just over a thousand donations.
This year, for his 18th birthday, his goal was 23,000 diapers and wipes. He exceeded it by collecting 25,000. Read more
RELATED: Western Washington Forecast
Have the "5 things you need to know" delivered to your inbox. Sign up for the daily morning email here. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/5-things-thursday/281-0bd01b70-934d-4132-88ee-4dde5b005138 | 2023-05-04T13:55:33 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/5-things-thursday/281-0bd01b70-934d-4132-88ee-4dde5b005138 |
SPANAWAY, Wash. — A woman was killed and a man is hospitalized after a car flew in the air and crashed into a Spanaway home overnight Thursday.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said deputies were called just after 12:30 a.m. to a home in the 4600 block of 225th Street Court East in Spanaway for a car that crashed into the building. Two people were in the car at the time of the crash. A woman was killed, while a man was hospitalized in critical condition, according to authorities.
A neighbor told KING 5 Thursday morning he heard the entire crash as it unfolded.
"I heard it get airborne, lift off the ground and I heard it flying through the air and I heard it impact the house," the neighbor said. "The shocking thing is that when (the car) got airborne. I could hear it for a long time. It traveled for a long time. When it hit the corner of the house - I would say the gutters on the house are 10 feet in the air. That car was 11 feet in the air. In order for it to do that you have to be doing speeds of over 100 (miles per hour) at least I would say."
After the deadly collision happened, the neighbor woke up his neighbors to alert them.
"You could feel the impact," the neighbor said. "I woke up the neighbors and they all came out. You could feel the concussion shake the ground. It hit hard."
Investigators have not released what led up to the crash. The posted speed limit on the residential Spanaway street is 35 miles per hour.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Download our free KING 5 app to stay up-to-date on news stories from across western Washington. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/car-crash-spanaway-home/281-4eeb9585-e7fb-4e00-8689-e30b222b7c70 | 2023-05-04T13:55:39 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/car-crash-spanaway-home/281-4eeb9585-e7fb-4e00-8689-e30b222b7c70 |
TACOMA, Wash. — Editor's note: The video above was published on April 14.
Former Seattle SuperSonics star Shawn Kemp is expected to be arraigned Thursday morning after he was charged with first-degree assault in connection with a shooting at Tacoma Mall in March.
Kemp was initially arrested at the scene on March 8 but was released the next day pending further investigation.
Police said officers responded to the shooting following an altercation between two groups of people at the Tacoma Mall around 2 p.m. on March 8.
According to court documents, police recovered a .357 caliber revolver that a witness said was discarded in bushes near a store at the mall. The witness reportedly shared a video with police that showed a man, identified as Kemp, firing shots.
Kemp was interviewed by investigators and reportedly said a cell phone was taken from his vehicle earlier in the day. Kemp said he was able to ping the location of the stolen cellphone and tracked it to a location in Fife.
According to the documents, Kemp made contact with people in an SUV at the tracked location and asked them if they had the cell phone before the SUV left the area.
Kemp told police he pinged the location of the cellphone again and tracked it to the Tacoma Mall parking lot. Kemp said he parked near an SUV he recognized from earlier and approached it. He said he demanded the driver give his property back. At this time, the rear passenger window came down and a single shot was fired, according to Kemp’s statement.
Kemp said he “retreated” to his vehicle after he was shot at in the Tacoma Mall parking lot and returned fire.
A detective noted in the court documents that Kemp’s statements “were not corroborated” by surveillance video. Police said surveillance video showed Kemp getting the revolver that was later recovered out of his backpack as soon as left his vehicle to confront the driver of the SUV.
The SUV is seen fleeing the area in the surveillance video, according to police. They said it was recovered days later and had been stolen. Police said there is a person of interest.
When Kemp was detained at the mall, detectives recovered Kemp’s cell phone, which Kemp had on him. Police said there were a series of text messages that Kemp had gotten his stolen keys back from a woman who found them and that Kemp found his phone. Thirteen minutes before Kemp arrived at the Tacoma Mall, police said he sent a message reading, “I’m about to shoot this [expletive].” | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/former-supersonic-shawn-kemp-arraignment/281-d113c567-be69-4038-8d28-8a27ed1f8fd8 | 2023-05-04T13:55:45 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/former-supersonic-shawn-kemp-arraignment/281-d113c567-be69-4038-8d28-8a27ed1f8fd8 |
Harbor Springs starts new short-term rental licensing waitlist
HARBOR SPRINGS — Throughout Michigan, many lakeshore municipalities have been working to regulate and limit short-term rentals, and Harbor Springs is no exception.
During Monday night’s city council meeting, another installment was made to the long series of discussions on how to regulate and limit short-term rentals in Harbor Springs. The city defines a short-term rental as a rental where someone stays for one to 30 days, and they are often posted and advertised on websites like Airbnb and Vrbo.
City manager Victor Sinadinoski said the planning commission has addressed different possibilities, to ensure that licensing was handled accurately and fairly.
The planning commission recommended the council approve changes in the ordinance, including setting a cap on short term rentals to 61 licenses allowed in single-family housing districts, and establishing a waitlist for license applications. In all other districts, including business districts, an unlimited number of short-term rental licenses can be handed out. All short-term rentals in Harbor Springs are required to have a license to operate.
The commission also recommended that the ordinance allow for the short-term license to be used through the calendar year in the case of the license-holder's death, but that whoever takes over the rental would have to reapply for the license themselves the next year.
All short-term rental properties are required to reapply annually for their license regardless to ensure all rental properties maintain compliance with the regulations and expectations, city assessor and zoning administrator Jeff Grimm said.
He said that in the event of a license-holder's death, the person hoping to take over the property would have to reapply with the city and would have to sit on the waitlist.
Grimm said it was his understanding from watching the discussions that the idea of having a single license holder was to help shorten the length of time people spend on the waitlist, making sure the licenses can change hands more frequently.
A recommended goal from the planning commission was also to reduce the number of short-term rentals being operated in Harbor Springs to 5 percent. This would not be a rule, but rather a goal.
Councilmember John Lio said he thinks this number is arbitrary, and he would rather wait until after the ordinance is changed and the waiting list is set up before deciding whether or not the city should start scaling back on how many rentals will be permitted.
“We have a lot of moving parts. If there was a compelling need to do it today, I think it would be different, but I don’t think I see a need to do it today,” he said.
People operating without a license on the different web services are being monitored by a company hired by the city as well. However, if someone is operating a short-term rental just through word-of-mouth and not posting on different websites, the city is hoping to rely on citizens to help report anyone operating without a license.
Those operating without a license are given one warning before legal action is taken. Grimm said the city would issue the owners a violation. He said it was his understanding the city then would need sufficient evidence the property was being operated as a short-term rental and then take the offenders to court.
“If somebody’s just renting it, not putting it on Airbnb, just word of mouth, we’re not going to know unless the community tells us,” Mayor Matthew Bugera said.
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Sinadinoski echoed Bugera’s statement, saying the city has to rely heavily on the residents.
“That’s just the nature of the beast,” Sinadinoski said. “We don't have those arms to be everywhere at all times, so it really relies heavily on residents making that complaint. There is some obligation on residents and neighbors to kind of be the police in a way, to call the police — and that's just this is how we do things. It's just not feasible otherwise.”
During the meeting, they also explained that operating properties need to advertise when a home is being used and post the information of a local agent. According to the ordinance, a local agent needs to be available for 24 hours a day and able to be at the property within 60 minutes, for the entire time the space is rented. This information must be posted in case the renter, homeowner, law enforcement or another citizen sees issues at the home.
Long-term rentals operate under different rules and regulations in the city ordinance.
The ordinance was approved with changes to the rules during the meeting. Those interested in adding their names to the waitlist can do so at city hall. The waitlist is first come, first served.
— Contact education reporter Karly Graham atkgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at@KarlyGrahamJRN. | https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/harbor-springs-starts-new-short-term-rental-licensing-waitlist/70174086007/ | 2023-05-04T14:05:27 | 1 | https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/harbor-springs-starts-new-short-term-rental-licensing-waitlist/70174086007/ |
Every morning, NBC 5 Today is dedicated to delivering you positive local stories of people doing good, giving back and making a real change in our community. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/something-good/coppell-high-school-senior-receives-top-honor-in-100th-annual-scholastic-competition/3250585/ | 2023-05-04T14:20:55 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/something-good/coppell-high-school-senior-receives-top-honor-in-100th-annual-scholastic-competition/3250585/ |
What to Know
- Republican state lawmakers and other New Jersey opponents of offshore wind turbines are calling for a 30- to 60-day moratorium on construction work at such sites to see if it would lead to a decrease in whale deaths.
- Four state senators hosted a online hearing about offshore wind energy generation and whale deaths on Wednesday. It came three weeks after the most recent East Coast whale death was reported in Virginia and despite the assurances of most scientists and conservationists that there is no correlation between offshore wind generation and such deaths.
- Democrats, who control the Legislature and governorship in New Jersey, held a similar hearing recently.
Republican state lawmakers and other New Jersey opponents of offshore wind turbines called Wednesday for a 30- to 60-day moratorium on construction work at such sites to see if it would lead to a decrease in whale deaths.
Four state senators hosted a online hearing about offshore wind energy generation and whale deaths, three weeks after the most recent East Coast whale death was reported and despite the assurances of most scientists and conservationists that there is no correlation.
The two-hour hearing came a week after Democrats, who control the Legislature and the governorship, held a similar hearing and many of New Jersey's major environmental groups said the greatest danger to whales is climate change, not offshore wind generation.
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“I've been labeled a climate change denier and a tin-foil hat wearer,” said Jim Hutchinson, managing editor of The Fisherman, a widely read New Jersey publication. “We're defamed, denied, discarded and disparaged at every step along the way.”
“One thing our side of the aisle gets accused of is not following the science,” said Republican state Sen. Michael Testa. “So what is the harm of waiting 30 or 60 days?”
Since Dec. 1, 32 dead whales have washed ashore between Massachusetts and Florida, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The most recent death came on April 9, when a fin whale washed up on a sandbar in Virginia, according to NOAA spokeswoman Allison Ferreira.
New Jersey has aggressively approved and cleared the way for a nascent offshore wind energy industry, with three offshore wind projects already approved and more being sought.
What began in January as a request by the environmental group Clean Ocean Action for the Biden Administration to temporarily halt offshore wind site preparation work while the deaths are investigated rapidly grew into a politically polarized divide.
“We’ve gone too far, too fast,” Cindy Zipf, the group’s executive director, said of efforts to approve offshore wind in New Jersey. “Over 2.2 million acres is being allocated to offshore wind and 10,000 miles of cables. We became alarmed that it was plausible that activity going on offshore had to do with the whale die-offs. We felt there was a reason for investigation.”
Most of the state's major environmental groups support the expansion of offshore wind energy generation and have declined to join Clean Ocean Action in its call for a moratorium.
Numerous federal agencies, including the NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Marine Mammal Commission and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, have said there is no evidence linking offshore wind prep with whale deaths.
Many panelists and witnesses at Wednesday's online hearing accused the administrations of President Joe Biden and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, both Democrats, of turning a blind eye to concerns about offshore wind in a rush to establish the industry.
“You can't find evidence if you don't look for it,” said Trisha DeVoe, a conservation biologist who works with the Miss Belmar Whale Watching business.
“We're being told, ‘Just accept what we tell you,’” added state Sen. Anthony Bucco.
Meghan Lapp of the Rhode Island-based seafood company Seafreeze, said the turbines will interfere with the radar fishing vessels commonly use, preventing them from operating among the structures, and other panelists said insurers will not cover vessels if they do so.
“Offshore wind is the single greatest existential threat to commercial fishing in the United States right now,” Lapp said.
As Republicans were holding their forum, a group led by former Democratic state Senate President Steve Sweeney held an event touting the economic and employment potential of offshore wind.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., who represents part of the Jersey Shore and who led last week's Democratic-led forum, said pausing offshore wind projects wouldn't prevent whale deaths.
“We know that the climate crisis is the biggest threat to marine mammals and their habitats,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “The food source whales depend on is moving closer to the busy shipping lanes near the Port of New York and New Jersey as ocean temperatures rise, leaving them vulnerable to vessel strikes and entanglements.”
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-gop-seeks-wind-projects-whales/4303075/ | 2023-05-04T14:26:44 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-gop-seeks-wind-projects-whales/4303075/ |
Two teenage boys are dead and two more are in the hospital after a gruesome late-night crash allegedly caused by a wrong-way intoxicated driver in Jericho.
The accident happened on North Broadway just before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Nassau County police said Amandeep Singh, 34, was southbound in the northbound lanes in a Dodge Ram when he struck a sedan carrying the four teens.
Two boys, both 14, died at the scene, while the others, 16 and 17, were hospitalized with internal injuries. The principal of Roslyn Middle School sent a note to parents Thursday morning confirming the two deceased boys were students there.
News 4 has learned that at least one of the two boys who died was a nationally ranked and highly touted tennis player, who starred on the local high school's varsity team despite only being in middle school. The four boys in the car were apparently headed home after a dinner to celebrate victory in a tennis competition.
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After being hit by the pickup truck, the boys' car then hit another vehicle carrying a woman, 49, and a 16-year-old boy. They were treated and released.
The driver of the pickup, Singh, is facing charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, DWI and assault, and is due to be arraigned Thursday. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/two-teen-athletes-dead-in-horrifying-long-island-wrong-way-crash/4302905/ | 2023-05-04T14:26:51 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/two-teen-athletes-dead-in-horrifying-long-island-wrong-way-crash/4302905/ |
A giant word, spelled out in welded metal, conveying some kind of message. Each letter in the word — standing about 3-4 feet high — would be placed throughout Lincoln, inviting the public on a scavenger hunt of sorts.
That was Lincoln East senior Blake Allen's vision for his senior capstone project at The Career Academy from the start.
"I wanted to do something different than what everyone else was doing," said Allen, who is pursuing the welding pathway at the career school housed at Southeast Community College.
Then in February, a fellow Lincoln East student and TCA welder died by suicide and Allen's vision changed. He decided to devote his project to spreading awareness about mental health.
"It took a hit on me," Allen said about losing his classmate. "Everyone was kind of in shock ... I decided I wanted to do something more."
He reached out to Liz Shea-McCoy, an arts advocate who has spearheaded numerous public art projects in the city that have filled Lincoln with hands and bikes and hearts.
He reached out to television stations and the newspaper to spread the word. He contacted Lincoln Public Schools' communications department and Hope LNK, an organization devoted to elevating the conversation around mental health and suicide prevention.
Then, he went to work.
So far, he's welded the first two-dimensional block letters of the word, which Allen doesn't want to reveal publicly until it's finished. He wants people to come away with something when they put the letters together.
"I just want (people) to have their own takeaway and to know ... there is still a reason to be here and to keep fighting," he said.
Allen is still working to find homes for the letters. He's thought of East, his home high school, and local mental health nonprofits as potential locations.
He presented the project at a TCA showcase last week and although his deadline to finish the project is coming up, Allen plans to continue working on it at home if needed.
"Typically, students don't really have a clear-cut project picked out until our fourth or fifth week being here in class," said Kenna Grove, one of Allen's TCA teachers. "Blake came running up to me like the second time I saw him for the semester ... he already had a sketch-out, he already had a plan put in place, kind of what his vision was."
And, at the end of the day, he ultimately hopes to auction off the letters and donate the money to organizations devoted to mental health.
Many TCA students decide to give back to the community in some way for their capstone assignment, which is a culminating year-end project that brings together the knowledge they've learned in their respective pathways, Grove said.
"They really do get better and better every year," she said. "It really does make me really excited for the future; it makes me really energized to see what the creations can potentially become."
Shea-McCoy said she met with Allen and promised to help him and gave him some ideas.
"Lincoln loves their public art projects," she said. "This one is going to grab people's hearts in a different kind of way."
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen (left) works alongside classmates while they work on their capstone projects on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen braces on a work bench as he makes a weld on one of the letters of his capstone project on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen uses an angle grinder to cut off a piece of metal as he works on his capstone project on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
Sparks and smoke rise from the workbench where Lincoln East senior Blake Allen welds together two pieces of metal on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen uses an angle grinder to precisely cut through a piece of metal on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
Sparks and smoke rise from the workbench where Lincoln East senior Blake Allen welds together two pieces of metal on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen measures a piece of metal as he works on his capstone project on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at The Career Academy in Lincoln. Lincoln East senior Blake Allen has been welding large letters to spell out a word. He plans to place the letters around the city for his capstone project at The Career Academy. His project honors a fellow welder and Lincoln East student who died by suicide earlier this year.
Photos: Career Academy student dedicates capstone project to spreading uplifting message
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen's is creating an uplifting message for Lincoln with his senior welding capstone project at The Career Academy. Take a look.
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen (left) works alongside classmates while they work on their capstone projects on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen braces on a work bench as he makes a weld on one of the letters of his capstone project on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen uses an angle grinder to cut off a piece of metal as he works on his capstone project on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Sparks and smoke rise from the workbench where Lincoln East senior Blake Allen welds together two pieces of metal on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen cuts through a piece of metal using an angle grinder on April 12 at The Career Academy in Lincoln.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen uses an angle grinder to precisely cut through a piece of metal on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen cracks a smile while speaking with a classmate on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Sparks and smoke rise from the workbench where Lincoln East senior Blake Allen welds together two pieces of metal on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen measures a piece of metal as he works on his capstone project on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at The Career Academy in Lincoln. Lincoln East senior Blake Allen has been welding large letters to spell out a word. He plans to place the letters around the city for his capstone project at The Career Academy. His project honors a fellow welder and Lincoln East student who died by suicide earlier this year.
Zach Hammack, a 2018 UNL graduate, has always called Lincoln home. He previously worked as a copy editor at the Journal Star and was a reporting intern in 2017. Now, he covers students, teachers and schools as the newspaper’s K-12 reporter.
Lincoln East senior Blake Allen braces on a work bench as he makes a weld on one of the letters of his capstone project on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College.
Sparks and smoke rise from the workbench where Lincoln East senior Blake Allen welds together two pieces of metal on April 12 at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/career-academy-students-vision-an-uplifting-message-for-lincoln-in-big-metal-letters/article_6440207a-e9dd-11ed-a23c-8ffeab1c7823.html | 2023-05-04T14:30:27 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/career-academy-students-vision-an-uplifting-message-for-lincoln-in-big-metal-letters/article_6440207a-e9dd-11ed-a23c-8ffeab1c7823.html |
Boogie at Riddle Point, laugh at Comedy Attic, walk into galleries, along Hidden River
Soon, most of the students at Indiana University will leave for the summer (congratulations, graduates) and, hopefully, warmer weather (without any rain, please) will make being outdoors much more fun. If it's not warm enough for you yet, indoor activities include performances of "Madeleines" by the Jewish Theatre, four performances by comedian Dan Cummins at the Comedy Attic and Meet the Instruments at the library. Ready to get outside? Options include a couple walks — along the Hidden River Pathway and Friday's Gallery Walk — as well as the Riddle Point Boogie on Saturday at Lake Lemon.
5 performances of 'Madeleines' begin Thursday
“Madeleines” by Bess Welden, a new prize-winning play, will be performed by Jewish Theatre of Bloomington at 7:30 p.m. May 4, 6, 11, 13 and 3 p.m. May 7 in the Rose Firebay of the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St.
The play tells the story of a family of Jewish women grappling with how to love each other through haunted pasts, laughter and tears, and the solace of baking together, which includes their mother's treasured recipe for the small French cakes called madeleines. Francesca Sobrer returns to Bloomington to direct “Madeleines,” which features Bloomington actor and director Martha Jacobs in a double role.
Bess Welden will perform in the May 13 performance and will participate in a talkback that evening. Darrell Ann Stone will facilitate talkbacks on May 6 and 13.
Tickets are $30 and are available at the Bloom Box Office, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., online at https://buskirkchumley.org/tickets or by phone at 812-323-3020.
Only in Bloomington:Constellation Stage & Screen offers original plays, premiere performances for 2023-24
Also starting Thursday — Dan Cummins at the Comedy Attic
Stand-up comic and podcaster Dan Cummins will spend four days — 8 p.m. Thursday, 7 and 9:15 p.m. Friday and 9:15 p.m. Saturday — at Bloomington's Comedy Attic, 123 S. Walnut St., as part of his 2023 Burn It All Down Tour. Tickets are $35 per person. For tickets and more info, go to comedyattic.com.
Explore the Hidden River Pathway on a guided tour
Have you wondered about the construction of the underground culverts that are part of the Hidden River Pathway Project? If so, learn more on a guided walking tour 3:30-5 p.m. Friday with City of Bloomington Utility staff leading the way.
Meet at the Waldron Hill Buskirk Park near the intersection of Smith and Lincoln streets. The group will shuttle upstream to start the tour near Sixth Street and Indiana Avenue. From there, attendees will walk over the culvert that carries Clear Creek beneath downtown Bloomington. Learn fun facts about stormwater and about updates to the city’s underground infrastructure. For more, call 812-349-3617 or email stormwater@bloomington.in.gov. Registration closes on May 4.
Gallery Walk 5-8 p.m. Friday
On Friday night, stroll the monthly Gallery Walk, which includes up to 14 art galleries in the downtown area. One of the galleries, The Venue Fine Art and Gifts, will feature "Bloom" paintings by Anna Afshar, who creates works in watercolor, oil, acrylic and mixed media. Gallery Walk is 5-8 p.m. Friday.
Express gratitude at Art of Giving Saturday in Switchyard Park
Bloomington Parks and Rec's Art of Giving will be an opportunity for kids and their parents to learn the importance of gratitude and expressing themselves through crafts, homemade cards and other creations 1-3 p.m. Saturday at Switchyard Park Pavilion. For more information, go to https://bit.ly/420K6cG. It's for kids ages 3-12 with a parent. Cost is $5.
Riddle Point Boogie Saturday: music, food trucks, libations
The Lake Lemon Conservancy District will host the Riddle Point Boogie, a festival to raise awareness and money for the conservation of Lake Lemon, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday. Chicago Farmer & the Fieldnotes will headline with more music from Joe’s Truck Stop, The Hammer & The Hatchet, Them Lasses and Low Landers. The Riddle Point Boogie Beer Garden will be hosted by Upland Brewery, Oliver Winery and Cardinal Spirits.
There will be food trucks — including Arepa Burger, Hungry Hippie Hot Dogs, 812 BBQ and Kona Ice — and vendors at the all-ages festival. Kids younger than age 12 get in free. Parking is included in the price of tickets, which are $45 per person. For tickets, go to soundboardstreams.com/event/lemon.
Gates open at noon, music starts at 2 and runs until 10 p.m. Riddle Point Park is at 2599 N. Tunnel Road, Unionville.
Meet the Instruments Sunday at the public library
Drop in and “meet the instruments” with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra 2-3 p.m. Sunday at the Monroe County Public Library, 303 E. Kirkwood Ave. Learn about different instruments in the orchestra through this instrument petting zoo. See how they make sounds, and get a chance to try them out yourself. For ages 4–10.
Learn how to garden without a yard on May 10 at the library
Join Maggie 6-7 p.m. May 10 to learn how to garden without a yard, through container gardening, at the Monroe County Public Library, 303 E. Kirkwood Ave. Learn how to transplant plants into a 5-gallon bucket as well as about soil, sun and water needs for plants — and which plants are best for container gardening. Participants will leave with a 5-gallon bucket to get started. For ages 16 and older. Register at mcpl.info/calendar. | https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/entertainment/local/2023/05/04/this-weekend-in-bloomington-in-theater-comedy-guided-tour/70176497007/ | 2023-05-04T14:35:42 | 0 | https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/entertainment/local/2023/05/04/this-weekend-in-bloomington-in-theater-comedy-guided-tour/70176497007/ |
Delaware's school board election guide: Who's running in New Castle County?
Quiet, monotonous meetings once left largely unattended have become battlegrounds for political issues all across the country. Mask mandates, book bans, social justice issues and other national debates have made it to the boardroom. And districts in Delaware’s largest county have been no stranger to unruly debates, packed meetings and sharp tensions.
Now, such a trend continues to trickle down to local elections.
New Castle County hosts the heaviest competition in school board races this year — as Appoquinimink, Red Clay and Christina public schools post contentious races for open seats.
Pushes to strip mask mandates and return to in-person learning dominated rooms in the pandemic. Other student-rights issues, like giving transgender students access to bathrooms or affirming anti-discrimination policies, have also become politically charged in New Castle’s school-board discourse.
Delaware PTA expects to focus on a few major issues this election, the group told Delaware Online, like health and safety in schools, learning loss recovery, school funding and boosting family engagement. However, general opposition to social justice themes — from banning books, challenging critical race theory or other representation — are expected to appear in new packaging, members said, from discussions of a "Parent Bill of Rights" to concerns of "indoctrination.”
High learning:New plan promises experience outside the classroom will earn college credit in Delaware
All of these hot-button issues have, however, brought more eyes to school boards.
"That's a good thing," said Sadé Truiett, the PTA’s vice president of advocacy, back in March. "We want people involved in our school boards, for people to really be speaking about the things that matter to our kids in our schools."
School board races are considered nonpartisan, though the races have become increasingly rife with political discourse and party influence.
This year’s election comes on Tuesday, May 9. We took a look at the backgrounds of candidates across the ballot. Keep exploring this voter guide from Delaware Online/The News Journal to learn more.
How do I vote in Delaware school board elections? The basics
Voters must be at least 18 years old and live in the district where they hope to cast a ballot. Proof of ID and address will be requested, which could come as a driver's license, ID card or U. S. mail with street address. Being registered to vote in state and federal elections is not required, nor is having children in schools.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., May 9, with various locations across each district. Voters can also request an absentee ballot.
Learn more about your district below.
[Go to: Appoquinimink, Christina, Red Clay, Smyrna ]
Appoquinimink School District
At-Large seat
Tashiba A. Graham, 40, Townsend
Background: Tashiba Graham is vice president of operations and innovation for a healthcare system in Pennsylvania. The mother of two has a youngest son in the Appoquinimink School District.
Issues: According to Graham, the focus of her campaign is advocating for students with special needs, school safety and teacher retention. She shared her intention to introduce regular assemblies to combat bullying and violence in schools and address general mental wellness among students.
Graham has stated her support for paying teachers and staff members a more competitive salary and improving incentives for new candidates while also evaluating what factors are working to keep staff members in the district. Engaging family members on resources available for students is another priority of hers.
In response to ACLU-DE voters guide questionnaire regarding national movements restricting certain curriculum material, Graham remains adamant that policies must be put in place to keep the district’s curriculum factual and comprehensive and protect the rights and inclusion of LGBTQ+ students. Graham has been supported by Appoquinimink Educational Support Professionals, First State Action Fund, ACLU of Delaware and more.
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Timothy W. Johns, 57, Middletown
Note: This candidate did not return any requests for contribution from Delaware Online/The News Journal.
Background: Timothy Johns is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Heaven’s Gate Ministries, which he runs with his wife, Monique, in Newark. As co-founder, Johns oversees nonprofit charity work and established a leadership institute, where he has worked as an educator for 12 years. The U.S Army veteran is a father of four adult children.
Issues: Johns says he's mainly concerned with bridging the achievement gap between students of different backgrounds and accessibilities, while setting students up for success in the global marketplace with leadership skills.
Johns has stated during a public Q&A session that he believes conversations related to sexual orientation and gender identity are “family matters" and should be left out of the classroom. He proposes setting up a public forum where debates about curriculum censorship can take place and be evaluated fairly.
Restorative justice is another hallmark of Johns’ campaign, he told ACLU-DE in its voter guide, which includes training staff members and SROs about de-escalation techniques. He also proposes enhancing parent participation within the district by holding parent education classes focused on child development and communication.
Raymond J. Petkevis, 45, Middletown
Background: Raymond Petkevis is a real estate broker for Keller Williams Realty around the Middletown area and recently started a position as Delaware’s principal broker for REAL, a virtual-based real estate company. His two children are students in Appoquinimink.
Issues: Petkevis has mainly expressed concerns about violence in schools, citing outreach from community members worried about student safety. To combat this, reevaluating measures of rule enforcement and the district’s code of conduct have been suggested by the candidate.
The district’s teacher shortage and dwindling test scores are intertwined with issues related to violence in the district, according to Petkevis. In response to Citizens For Delaware Schools', he also recommended potentially soliciting funding from local developers to go toward the district’s resources and implementing financial responsibility into the curriculum for high school students.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
- Alfred G. Waters Middle, 1235 Cedar Lane Road, Middletown
- Bunker Hill Elementary, 1070 Bunker Hill Road, Middletown
- Marion E. Proffitt Training Center, 118 S. 6th St., Odessa
- Middletown high, 120 Silver Lake Road, Middletown
- Old State Elementary, 580 Tony Marchio Drive, Townsend
- Olive B. Loss Elementary, 200 Brennan Blvd., Bear
- Townsend Elementary, 126 Main St., Townsend
From Kent:Caesar Rodney’s bid to raise school taxes rejected by voters
Christina School District
District C
Christine Gilbert, 54, Newark
Background: This Delaware native has lived in Newark alongside her husband of 27 years since 1997, according to her campaign website. The alumna of Red Clay Public Schools holds a bachelor's degree in dance, as well as another bachelor's degree in English and a master's in education from the University of Delaware. Gilbert is a certified teacher, with experience from K-12 special education to high school English Language Arts, though currently a stay at home mother to her four children. Her two daughters and two sons attended private schools in Delaware.
Issues: “Let me be clear," wrote this candidate on her Facebook page, operating as a landing pad for other campaign materials. "The school’s role is to educate, NOT indoctrinate. Reading, writing, mathematics (not Common Core), true history (not Critical Race Theory or whatever name they’ve morphed it to).”
Gilbert said plummeting test scores in the district motivate her to run, alongside hopes to boost graduation rates and college readiness. She lists safety, effectiveness, curriculum and transparency as her priorities on her website. Among top-of-mind issues, she also noted parents and guardians "will have their voices heard."
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Douglas Danger Manley, 38, Newark
Background: Manley works at a cybersecurity startup as a software engineer, an industry and occupation he’s found himself in for about 17 years. The Newark resident is also a volunteer firefighter with Mill Creek Fire Company, where he’s been for the past decade. He’s now its president, after having served on the board for three years.
Managing a $3-4 million budget with Mill Creek, Manley told The News Journal/Delaware Online he’s used to dealing with a fixed amount of funding from state and local governments — which leave a “need to squeeze every bit of value out of that funding as we can to provide our services.”
Issues: Manley has no children, and he sees that as an asset. He says this will allow him to maintain a public-service perspective. The candidate shared his focus on supporting resources for Christina School District, sharpening communication and community engagement. He also said protecting students will be a priority, especially gay or transgender children — but he hopes the district “focuses on its mission of education and doesn't get lost in the mire” of various culture wars.
District E
Y.F. Lou, 36, Newark
Background: The single father of two children, enrolled in Christina, works with the state’s health department, where he said his work focuses on improving healthcare for the most vulnerable in long-term care facilities. He also serves as a volunteer firefighter for Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company. Lou's family moved to Delaware from China when he was young, an experience the candidate believes will allow him to advocate for Christina's diverse student body, as he said in a late-March candidate forum. He attended public school in Lewes, graduated from University of Delaware, and has been a full-time Newark resident since 2012. Lou also attended both University of Southern California and John’s Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health for graduate degrees.
Issues: With an 8-year-old at West Park Elementary — and a 5-year-old headed there in the fall — Lou finds himself motivated by three key issues: safety, community engagement and a goal to "broaden our students’ horizons."
For Lou, safety includes keeping guns out of schools, "fostering a safe and welcoming environment for all of our students especially those most vulnerable," as well as monitoring environmental health and safety, such as lead. Community and stakeholder engagement, as he put it, focuses on how the pandemic created opportunities to capitalize on for information sharing and family engagement. In terms of broadening horizons, the candidate hopes to see more support of art programs to keep students "curious and innovative."
Yong Peng, 53, Newark
Background: Peng works for the federal government as a software engineer, having previously worked for companies like Delmarva Power and Bank of America. Peng, in one candidate forum, called himself a “happy immigrant” focused on giving back to Delaware. Peng was born in China and came to the U.S. to study. The 15-year resident of Newark has a doctorate in physics, having worked in research and teaching at a few universities before his current line of work. Peng said he has also worked as a math tutor in Wilmington.
Issues: Peng said he sees a “crisis in public education.” Two issues are top-of-mind for the father of two. One, he perceives too much focus on topics that are “ignoring the core curriculum,” which are reading, writing and math. He didn't elaborate. Two, he believes school policies are failing at “enhancing the parent's right to oversee their children’s education.” Peng said his daughter used to study in Christina School District, though no longer, and now he is running for the future of the community.
Polling places, open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
- Pulaski Elementary School, 1300 Cedar St., Wilmington
- The Bancroft School, 700 N. Lombard St., Wilmington
- Brader Elementary School, 350 Four Seasons Parkway., Newark
- Christiana High School, 190 Salem Church Road, Newark
- Downes Elementary School, 220 Casho Mill Road, Newark
- Keene Elementary School, 200 Cpl. Steven J Ballard Way, Newark
- Maclary Elementary School, 300 St. Regis Drive, Newark
- Marshall Elementary School, 101 Barrett Run Drive, Newark
- Mcvey Elementary School, 908 Janice Drive, Newark
- Newark High School, 750 E Delaware Ave., Newark
- Shue-Medill Middle School, 1500 Capitol Trail, Newark
- Wilson Elementary School, 14 Forge Road, Newark
Red Clay Consolidated School District
District A
Aje English-Wynn, 34, Wilmington
Background: This Delaware native works as a research analyst with the city of Wilmington, within the mayor's office. Before that, English-Wynn worked in the Department of Labor as a deputy principal. This career, the candidate said, meets more than 10 years of experience in mentorship and advocacy connected to K-12 education and the community. A "proud alumna" of Red Clay schools herself, English-Wynn also has a young child entering the district this fall. She said the Wilmington district prepared her for later degrees from Wilmington University and Delaware State.
Issues: The alumna said the impact of both "a supportive community and quality education" are keys to students succeeding. She noted three issues motivating her campaign: equity and access, parent engagement and support for educators.
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John Shulli, 50, Wilmington
Background: Born and raised in Wilmington, Shulli returned to his home state after 26 years in the U.S. Army and Department of Defense — 22 of which were spent overseas. He works in a civilian job on A.I. policy for the Pentagon, as well as teaches part time as a colonel in the Army Reserve. He graduated from John Dickinson High School before attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona.
Issues: Shulli said he's motivated to run by the "severe" learning loss faced since the pandemic and highlighted in state and district's statistics. The district must, as he sees it, "restore our children’s academic standings so they can compete in a local, regional, national and global jobs market."
District D
Carlucci Coelho, 53, Wilmington
Background: Coelho said he came to the U.S. hoping to work as an artist. He has worked in real estate since 2017, as well as the nonprofit sector. He earned a two-year degree in fashion business, according to his website, alongside a parallel degree in costume and set design while studying in Portugal. Though he doesn't have kids enrolled in the district, Coelho said he's been close to the community for over 30 years. Coelho also ran for state representative as a Republican last year, but did not secure a win in District 13.
Issues: Coelho stressed that he is against any kind of bullying, citing that protecting safety in schools is paramount in his platform. Another motivating issue is budgeting, making sure money is distributed "to those schools and programs who need the most." He also said he supports strong academics alongside more vocational training in every school.
In other background, in response to a question for the ACLU-DE voter's guide about the teaching of U.S. history and whether students have the right to learn free of viewpoint-based censorship, Coelho said parents should have "the choice of accepting or denying what their own kids have the right or not to read. These children have parents who have different views about life and we must respect all parents views." Also when running for state representative, the candidate expressed support for a failed 2022 bill aimed at barring transgender athletes to compete in school sports, saying: "Woman sports is woman sports."
Jose Matthews, 27, Elsmere
Background: Matthews has represented District D on the Red Clay School Board since 2018. Working in the healthcare field in different capacities over the last six years, his day job is working a community liaison for Rockford Center, a community mental health organization. The incumbent lives in Elsmere with his husband, who is a teacher.
Issues: Matthews said he wants to keep up his work. In his first term, he said, the board tackled many issues related to equity around the pandemic, one being transparency. He said he "was one of the biggest supporters on the board to make sure we continue to provide a Zoom option both to watch the meetings and to participate in public comment." If elected, he hopes to continue to offer that access.
Red Clay has fallen behind other northern New Castle County districts, Matthews said, in terms of keep up with building maintenance and competitive salaries. He plans to make that competitiveness a priority, even if it means the district's first referendum in nearly a decade. He also aims to maintain a focus on family and parent engagement.
Polling places, open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
- Activity Center at Hockessin PAL, 7259 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin
- AI DuPont High School, 50 Hillside Road, Wilmington
- Baltz Elementary School ,1500 Spruce Ave., Wilmington
- Cab Calloway School of Arts, 100 N. DuPont Road, Wilmington
- Dickinson High School, 1801 Milltown Road, Wilmington
- Forest Oak Elementary School, 55 S Meadowood Drive, Newark
- Joseph E Johnson School, 2100 Gilpin Ave., Wilmington
- Marbrook Elementary School, 2101 Centerville Road, Wilmington
- McKean High School, 301 McKennans Church Road, Wilmington
- North Star Elementary School, 1340 Little Baltimore Road, Hockessin
- Warner Elementary School, 801 W 18th St., Wilmington
Smyrna School District
At-Large seat
Marie Fontaine St. Pierre, 39, Smyrna
Background: A Realtor for nearly six years, Fontaine St. Pierre has a 17-year-old son who attends Smyrna High School. For four years, she's handled zoning variance requests on the town of Smyrna's Board of Adjustment. She’s a member of the Alpha Beta Gamma sorority at Delaware Technical Community College, the Holly’s Club and the Boys and Girls Club board.
Issues: Fontaine St. Pierre decided to run for the board because she wants to serve as “a liaison between parents, teachers and the community, providing the best resources for our children's education, and allowing parents to have the most influence in their children's life.” She wants to recognize and prioritize instructors' interests and concerns.
She said the most important issues in the district are continuing to push for high-quality, intellectually-rigorous education to prepare students for the competitive labor market, providing safe schools, confronting bullying and cyberbullying and expanding self-esteem initiatives for students.
As for controversial issues such as critical race theory, transgender policies and parental involvement in a district’s curriculum choices, she said, “An inclusive educational system offers various advantages, including enhanced educational quality for all students and assisting students in becoming more responsive to an inclusive attitude. This could also help with behavioral issues, self-esteem, social skills, and community involvement. All students have the right to a challenging core education and outstanding instruction from well-trained educators. Students should be allowed to have an open and honest discussion about America's past, and they deserve to see themselves and the issues that impact them reflected in their classrooms and books.”
She encourages parents to attend board meetings to address issues and share comments and insights.
Bobbi Jo Webber, 44, Kenton
Background: A farmer for over 25 years along with her husband on their family’s farm, she has two children, a son who is a freshman at Smyrna High School and a daughter in sixth grade at Clayton Intermediate School. She’s volunteered for 10 years at Sunnyside Elementary and at Clayton Intermediate School, running fundraisers, helping teachers in classrooms and hosting free field trips at her family’s farm.
Issues: Webber wanted to run for school board to improve safety, success of students, transparency and teacher compensation. She believes teachers and staff should hold students accountable for misconduct and follow through with consequences, but also favors hiring constables “who will help pull some of that responsibility off of the teachers so that they can focus on education.” She wants the administration to notify parents “about important issues that occur in the schools – the good and the bad.” She favors competitive pay: “We cannot lose these amazing educators we have to neighboring districts because of financial reasons.”
In regard to issues like critical race theory, transgender policies and parental involvement in a district’s curriculum choices, she said, “All races and groups should be represented in our classes. Our students should be exposed to a well-rounded curriculum. Bias and unfounded opinion do not belong in the classroom.”
On transgender policies, Webber said, “I believe that students can express themselves in a way that they feel is appropriate, although personal expression cannot become a distraction for other students. I do not approve of transgender students using the locker room or restroom of their choice of gender. I feel it could develop into an unsafe and distracting situation for other students."
In curriculum decisions, she said parents and community members should have their opinions represented, but they also need to trust educators to make decisions that will benefit students’ education.
Polling places, open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
- Smyrna Elementary, 121 S. School Lane, Smyrna
- Smyrna Middle School, 700 Duck Creek Parkway, Smyrna
- Kenton Ruritan Club, 249 S. Main St., Kenton | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/delaware-school-board-election-guide-know-whos-running-new-castle-de/70153801007/ | 2023-05-04T14:35:56 | 0 | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/delaware-school-board-election-guide-know-whos-running-new-castle-de/70153801007/ |
MIDLAND, Texas — The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has enforced a boil water notice for Airline Crossing MHP as of May 4, 2023.
This notice was required due to having less than 20 psi to install the shutoff valves on their water storage tanks. All the water for drinking, cooking and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to consumption in order for the destruction of all harmful and dangerous bacteria. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.
The public water systems will notify customers immediately when the boil water notice is no longer in effect. If anyone has any questions, contact Airline Crossing MHP at 432-694-2534.
People can also look up tips and rules for boiling water on the CDC website. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/boil-water-notice-enforced-for-residents-of-airline-crossing-mhp-in-midland/513-5ded2a0c-6f97-471d-b2df-8b7b0ef79a7d | 2023-05-04T14:36:54 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/boil-water-notice-enforced-for-residents-of-airline-crossing-mhp-in-midland/513-5ded2a0c-6f97-471d-b2df-8b7b0ef79a7d |
Name: Luke Pietluck
School: Wilmot High School
Parents: Wayne and Nicole Pietluck of Burlington
Most memorable high school moment: For our senior year, my friends and I all got lead roles in our school's play & musical. From our many practices to our few shows our group of friends grew closer and stronger making so many memories while getting to entertain others.
Most influential teacher: Mrs. Molly Robins of AP Calculus AB; have never had a teacher that not only is gifted and passionate with teaching their subject, but that also cares personally for every single student she meets.
School activities/club: International Club, Key Club, Ministry Club, National Honor Society, peer helpers/tutors, performing arts/theater, Spanish Club, Skills USA
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School athletics: Cross country, track
Honors, letters or awards: Leading Scholar Award, Track Captain, and Michigan Tech Excellence Award
Out-of-school activities/hobbies: Snowboarding, hiking, technology, Spanish, and music.
College choice: Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich.
Intended major/field of study: Computer Engineering
Role model: My father
Three words that best describe my role model: Strong, hardworking, talented
What I hope to accomplish in my lifetime: I hope to complete college with a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and a minor in Spanish allowing me work for a tech company where I can make useful technology for all while traveling the world. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-teen-2023-luke-pietluck-of-wilmot-high-school/article_e92625b6-e206-11ed-a54d-d70613f59934.html | 2023-05-04T14:37:17 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-teen-2023-luke-pietluck-of-wilmot-high-school/article_e92625b6-e206-11ed-a54d-d70613f59934.html |
The Burleigh County Commission is considering asking voters to keep and potentially raise a local sales tax.
The commission this week came to a consensus to form a committee that will write policy on how a new sales tax would be used. The committee also will determine how much the proposed tax would be and develop language for a possible ballot measure.
Any proposal to keep or raise the sales tax would need to be approved by voters next year. The commission will review the committee's work when it finishes and decide whether to move forward with a ballot measure.
The seven-person committee will be composed of County State’s Attorney Julie Lawyer, Deputy Finance Director Justin Schulz, Emergency Management Director Mary Senger, Commissioners Wayne Munson and Steve Schwab, and two private-resident volunteers.
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The county has a half-cent sales tax in place that is set to expire at the end of 2024. Voters approved the tax in 2014 to pay for the $79 million Burleigh Morton Detention Center.
The idea to extend, replace or raise the sales tax was brought up at a special meeting late last month in preparation for the county’s budget season. The county has had budget shortfalls the last three years and is considering several options to head off similar problems in coming years, including raising property taxes.
Commissioner Wayne Munson said that “We had great feedback from the business community on (keeping the sales tax).” The idea Munson presented was that the sales tax could be used to "pay down" property taxes in the county.
Schwab suggested raising the sales tax to 1 cent.
"I think that sales tax is a more fair tax," he said.
Schwab said that keeping the half-cent sales tax or raising it to a penny could help the county fund major projects such as the Provident Building -- a six-story building in downtown Bismarck owned by the county. An attempt by the county to move offices into the building earlier this year was stopped due to the high cost of renovations. The county right now rents space in the City/County Building for those offices.
Commissioner Brian Bitner said, "I'm in favor of reducing property taxes at any chance we get, and that would be a way of doing that."
The committee’s next step is to select the two resident members to serve on the board. Details on that process are forthcoming. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/burleigh-county-to-form-committee-to-advance-sales-tax-initiative/article_cfcae136-e924-11ed-95e6-a7a889fbcee3.html | 2023-05-04T14:39:50 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/burleigh-county-to-form-committee-to-advance-sales-tax-initiative/article_cfcae136-e924-11ed-95e6-a7a889fbcee3.html |
Check out these top stories and more in The Times and nwi.com.
County commissioners change president, oust attorney: https://bit.ly/42fQc8G
'Thank you for the opportunity to serve': Gary mayor releases statement after primary loss: https://bit.ly/3HCEE7m
Man shot in vehicle in Hammond, condition unknown: https://bit.ly/3nsNeyL
Stay connected with all your Region News at www.nwi.com.
Video provided in partnership with The Times, JEDtv and WJOB. Sponsored by Strack & Van Til. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/219-news-now-man-shot-in-vehicle-in-hammond-condition-unknown/article_041f6a3f-3a43-5335-8496-8a312f8c957c.html | 2023-05-04T14:40:24 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/219-news-now-man-shot-in-vehicle-in-hammond-condition-unknown/article_041f6a3f-3a43-5335-8496-8a312f8c957c.html |
HIGHLAND — The Park Department plans to modify several concession stands to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
If funding is approved, the work would be done next year via a Community Development Block Grant, Park Superintendent Alex Brown said.
"We're happy to get this $104,000," Brown told the Town Council recently.
If approved, the project would involve five of the town's six concession stands. The stand at the Meadows subdivision has already been done, he said.
Most of the concession counters are 44 inches high, whereas the ADA requires a maximum height of 36 inches, Brown said.
"We need to modify the counters at those five locations" and lower the sales windows, Brown said.
Depending on the architect's estimate, some ADA adjustments might also be done in the restrooms at a couple of the stands, he added.
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"Main Square’s needs no modifications," Brown said. "(It) was completed after ADA requirements were known."
In other business, the council approved an agreement with NIES Engineering to design a 2023 street improvement and resurfacing project.
A letter from NIES said the work will include nine road segments along Terrace Drive, Cedar Lane, Briarwood Lane, Teakwood Lane, Lakeside Drive and four dead ends on Delaware Place.
"We propose to provide design engineering services for a not-to-exceed fee of $25,500," the letter said.
The letter also notes the Indiana Department of Transportation has preliminarily awarded a Community Crossings Matching Grant of $274,438 to the town for the project.
According to NIES, part of its agreement includes survey work for intersection sidewalk ramps and the overall specifications for the contractor bidding process. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/highland-plans-concession-stand-modifications/article_d0417f24-e46c-11ed-bdab-5b6aabf8a15a.html | 2023-05-04T14:40:30 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/highland-plans-concession-stand-modifications/article_d0417f24-e46c-11ed-bdab-5b6aabf8a15a.html |
General embracing innovation through Northwest Louisiana commercial capabilities effort
At a recent Subcommittee on Strategic Forces hearing on budget requests for Department of Defense Nuclear Weapons Programs, the Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), four-star Gen. Thomas Bussiere, highlighted efforts to promote innovation and solve challenges within AFGSC.
Gen. Bussiere testified that AFGSC created a Commercial Capabilities Integration and Transition (CCIT) program 18 months ago with the help of Congress. The CCIT ensures that AFGSC can integrate the best and most innovative technologies into their strategic warfighting arsenal. The program is an evolution of a Shreveport-based pilot initiative led by two-star Air Force Gen. Jason Armagost. Under his and Gen. Bussiere’s leadership, the CCIT has worked closely with BRF to bring technology solutions to the Air Force via its collaborative effort with BRF’s Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (EAP).
Through technology scouting and analysis, CCIT has been successful in pairing Air Force challenges with private sector solutions, allowing startups and small businesses to directly connect with customers within AFGSC. Potential solutions are assessed and validated for AFGSC’s key challenges. BRF’s EAP, a business accelerator serving innovative startups with high-growth potential, provides financial analysis and business services when a company applies via CCIT to provide their capabilities to AFGSC.
In its pilot year, the effort led by CCIT screened over 300 technology companies, resulting in over three dozen companies receiving Air Force contracts totaling $80 million to research, test, evaluate and, if successful, adopt the companies’ technologies for AFGSC defense use. CCIT often utilizes the Air Force’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts program to put new companies on contract. Additionally, many of these companies, once on Air Force contracts, can leverage their SBIR contracts to receive additional private investments to advance their work with AFGSC.
“CCIT, now an official AFGSC division due to the program’s success, will work to produce innovative, dual-use technologies for the Air Force at an even larger scale,” said BRF President and CEO John F. George Jr., M.D. “One example of its success is the CCIT’s work with Shreveport-based Outerlink Global Communications, which now has a contract to bring their advanced satellite communication system, IRIS, to the B-52 Bomber. Another local company, ARCHEM, currently with office spaces at BRF, is on contract to develop a non-carcinogenic fuel additive, which will give the B-52 greater fuel efficiency and allow it to fly at higher altitudes, out of the range of enemy Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) and enemy hand-held Surface-to-Air Missiles.”
Since the CCIT program’s beginning in 2021, over 200 high-paying Northwest Louisiana jobs have been created by companies engaging with AFGSC.
“At BRF and EAP, our defense mission is to build a regional defense industry cluster in Northwest Louisiana to promote innovation and solve Air Force challenges while enhancing the economic vitality of the region and state,” George said. “For every $1 of appropriations awarded to AFGSC in 2022 for this innovation effort, $3.56 of Air Force invested capital went to companies generating jobs, research and economic impact in Northwest Louisiana for a total impact of $132 million.”
“Our partnership with the CCIT and our already robust network of innovative companies here in Northwest Louisiana and beyond are working to ensure that the Air Force has continued access to cutting edge technologies and the best commercial solutions,” said Dave Smith, EAP Executive Director. “The technologies we have already seen come out of this effort, many of which were first used by AFGSC right here in Northwest Louisiana, are now also being deployed across the U.S. Air Force and other areas for our nation’s defense.”
About BRFBRF, headquartered in Shreveport, is an innovation hub and economic development organization establishing North Louisiana as a preferred destination for high-growth initiatives. Diversifying the region’s economy is its mission. It fulfills this mission through initiatives that start new businesses, recruit new businesses and retain current businesses in the region, and through supporting the development of a science and technology-based workforce. | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/general-embracing-innovation-through-northwest-louisiana-commercial-capabilities-effort/70183247007/ | 2023-05-04T14:44:02 | 1 | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/general-embracing-innovation-through-northwest-louisiana-commercial-capabilities-effort/70183247007/ |
SEDGEWICK COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — The Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners voted on Wednesday to accept a grant from the Kansas Supreme Court Office of Judicial Administration to create a Veterans Treatment Court.
The specialized court offers qualified veterans who are convicted of certain felonies related to mental illness or substance abuse the option of serving time in treatment rather than jail.
“A lot of times as mental health issues or maybe even physical issues that come from their military service that are contributing to some of the criminal decisions are making,” Deputy District Attorney Aaron Breitenbach said.
To qualify, veterans must:
- Live in Sedgwick County.
- Have discharged from the military honorably or under conditions other than dishonorably.
- Be convicted of a qualifying felony resulting from a mental health or substance abuse disorder.
- Agree to a probation term of 18 months.
Crimes of conviction cannot be:
- Serious felonies, Levels 1-3.
- Domestic violence, If the offender has prior felony DV convictions.
- Any crime involving a drive-by shooting or serious bodily harm.
- Felony sex offenses.
The model is similar to drug court. It connects people to the resources they need.
In drug court, over 50% of the people who have graduated are successful long-term. Advocates for veterans’ treatment court expect the same outcome.
The goal is to provide peer counseling, treatment, accountability and structure to a veteran struggling with mental health and addiction.
“Whether it’s for mental health or unstable housing, or PTSD or drug addiction, with these veteran services being made available to them, make them more likely to be a success on probation? The answer is we believe that the answer would be yes,” Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said.
The court will work closely with the VA to provide additional resources.
“We can put all this together at one time and move people out of the court system and the possible jail time and put them into a situation where they can be rehabilitated and move back as productive citizens,” Commissioner David Dennis said.
Dennis served as an Air Force colonel for almost 30 years and says supporting veterans is important to him.
“They’ve signed a blank check with their life and said, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Dennis said. “And now we owe them back to make sure that as they come back out of combat or any other situation that was traumatic to them, that we can help them.”
Drug court is acting as a testament to the potential this court can be for vets.
“100% of the time, when I’ve been to drug court graduation, the people that stand up and talk say, this turned my life around,” Dennis said. “I am only alive and standing here today because of drug court. And we can do the same thing to our veterans.”
Benefits are seen for the individual and in cost.
Bennett says it costs about $29,000 per year to keep someone in jail in Kansas. Drug court is cheaper than that, and they are less likely to re-enter the court system after getting treatment.
“If you can spend less money on those people getting them out of the system and keeping them out of the system, you have a cost-benefit overall to the entirety of the criminal justice system,” Bennett said.
Bennett says very few people who commit crimes are in the right mind or sober when they do it.
Funding for the court runs through July of 2025 with a goal of making this resource permanent.
The target date to start court is July 1. It is a collaboration between these partners:
- Sedgwick County Department of Corrections
- Kansas Judicial Branch
- The 18th Judicial District
- Robert J Dole VA Medical Center
- The Office of the District Attorney of the 18th Judicial District
- Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
- Sedgwick County Public Defender’s Office-SBIDS | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/veterans-treatment-court-coming-to-sedgwick-county/ | 2023-05-04T14:45:07 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/veterans-treatment-court-coming-to-sedgwick-county/ |
ATLANTIC CITY — A city resident was wounded by a shooting that happened early Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Police responded to the 400 block of Westminster Place around 1:50 p.m. after receiving both reports of gunfire and a ShotSpotter alert. The man, a 31-year-old city resident, was found with gunshot wounds and evidence that a shooting happened, police said in a Wednesday news release.
The man was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, for non-life-threatening injuries.
No other information about the man's condition was released late Wednesday night.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 609-347-5766 or submit an anonymous tip texted to tip411 (847411), beginning the text with ACPD. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/atlantic-city-man-wounded-in-shooting/article_0b21de1e-ea7a-11ed-b99d-870756cc950a.html | 2023-05-04T14:45:36 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/atlantic-city-man-wounded-in-shooting/article_0b21de1e-ea7a-11ed-b99d-870756cc950a.html |
Ohio’s two historically Black universities, Wilberforce University and Central State University, will celebrate their 2023 commencements this weekend and next weekend.
Wilberforce will celebrate the 2023 commencement on Saturday, May 6 beginning at 10 a.m. at Wilberforce’s Alumni Multiplex. During the 2023 commencement, Wilberforce will recognize the alumni who received their degrees 50 years ago in 1973. Wilberforce is a private university.
Former state Rep. Stephanie Howse-D, who served from 2015 to 2021 in House District 11, which includes parts of Cleveland and Garfield Heights, will give the keynote address. Howse is now a Cleveland City Council member.
Central State, Ohio’s only historically Black public university, will hold 2023 commencement on Saturday, May 13 at McPherson Stadium on Central State’s campus beginning at 9 a.m.
Over 500 Central State students will receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, College of Business, College of Education, and the John W. Garland College of Engineering, Science, Technology, and Agriculture, Central State said. This is the first class of students graduating with an MBA from Central State, according to the university.
Michael Eric Dyson, a professor, writer, and prominent media personality, and Cynthia Jackson-Hammond, president Emeritus, Central State University, will be awarded honorary doctorate degrees during the ceremony. Dyson will be speaking during the ceremony.
The CSU commencement will also broadcast live-stream on Facebook Live.
About the Author | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/wilberforce-central-state-set-graduations-for-next-two-weekends/B3JNNPDA3RAVBEDF2F5I6L5H6I/ | 2023-05-04T14:49:06 | 0 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/wilberforce-central-state-set-graduations-for-next-two-weekends/B3JNNPDA3RAVBEDF2F5I6L5H6I/ |
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Kingsport Parks and Recreation Department is giving parents the chance to have a night out with their Glow Party event.
Parents can drop off their kids at the Lynn View Community Center for a few hours where they can participate in some exciting “glow” activities.
Activities will include glow dodgeball and kickball. Kids are encouraged to dress in neon or white clothes so they glow underneath the black lights in the gym while playing.
The Glow Party will be on May 12 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event is designed for children ages 6 to 12 and will cost $5 per child.
Registration for the Glow Party is required and can be done here. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/kingsport-hosts-parents-night-out-glow-party/ | 2023-05-04T14:53:12 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/kingsport-hosts-parents-night-out-glow-party/ |
DALLAS (KDAF) — Atlanta-based vegan burger joint, Slutty Vegan is making its way to the Big D!
Founder Pinky Cole has posted pictures of the new burger spot, on 2707 Main St. in Deep Ellum. All the food at this establishment is vegan from the burgers, to the sandwiches , even the desserts.
Slutty Vegan has been enjoyed by many around the nation, some notable names include Snoop Dog, Taraji P. Henson, Tyler Perry , and even Queen Latifah.
Currently Slutty Vegan has 10 existing locations throughout the nation. The Dallas location is expected to open this summer.
Be on the lookout for some sexy burgers ladies and gentleman. Take a look at the menu to see what to expect this summer! | https://cw33.com/news/local/vegan-eatery-slutty-vegan-is-coming-to-downtown-dallas/ | 2023-05-04T14:53:48 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/local/vegan-eatery-slutty-vegan-is-coming-to-downtown-dallas/ |
After years of asking for support, a $250,000 grant to the Beck Center will be a “uniter”
Beck Cultural Exchange Center leaders have asked the state of Tennessee for funding and support for years, and it's finally paid off. The museum has received a $250,000 grant.
“It's a big deal,” Beck Executive Director Renee Kesler told Knox News.
“It gives us a chance to really make an impact and a big statement so that the state, and along with others, will continue to fund Beck at that level so that we can take what we do to a higher level,” she said.
The funding will elevate Knoxville's premier center for African American history and culture by paying for educational programming such as interactive walking, biking and driving tours throughout the community, curating new exhibits and integrating technology into existing exhibits, Kesler said.
The state Legislature approved the budget in April. The grant was included in the $56.2 billion budget for 2023-24.
Kesler noted the museum has over 50,000 artifacts highlighting local and regional Black history and is one of a few African American museums in Tennessee.
Kesler is hopeful the state’s support of a Black-led organization and museum will be a “uniter” that is the start of continued backing and acknowledgement, resulting in a greater reach.
“This is an institution that everybody can get behind,” she said. “We're creating a beloved community where we can have good dialogue, good conversation, good education, and we can celebrate the rich history of this region in East Tennessee.”
“We have so much extraordinary history that we have yet to uncover and discover and yet so many voices that have been silenced that we get to un-silence,” Kesler added.
State Rep. Sam McKenzie, a Knoxville Democrat, worked with Gov. Bill Lee’s administration to secure the grant for the Beck Center, according to a news release.
“In a tough legislative session, it’s good to have a few victories,” McKenzie said. “Hopefully, there will be more grants in the future to showcase the great work the Beck Cultural Exchange Center does in Knoxville.”
Kesler expressed gratitude for McKenzie, state Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, a Knoxville Republican, and others who have supported Beck throughout the years as the organization sought state funding.
What's next for the Delaney Museum at Beck
The $250,000 grant will primarily go toward programming unrelated to the Beck Center's new Delaney Museum project, which has raised over $1 million, Knox News reported in February.
Construction and renovation of the Delaney Museum should begin this summer with the museum opening in 2024.
“I'm so excited for the Delaney Museum and the possibility that it has to (bring) people from all over the world (to Knoxville) to see the extraordinary efforts that we have put into preserving one of the greatest artists of all time,” Kesler said.
“I'm also excited about what it means for our local community to be proud of something that's just absolutely beautiful and wonderful,” she added.
Located next door to the Beck on Dandridge Avenue, the museum will celebrate the legacy of world-renowned artist Beauford Delaney, his elder brother Samuel Delaney, a Beck founding member, and the Delaney family history in Knoxville.
The museum is the only remaining Delaney ancestral home in Knoxville and will have an artist-in-residence program to bring fresh talent to Knoxville to showcase African American artists. An augmented virtual reality tour of a Beauford Delaney exhibit in Paris is also planned.
Beauford Delaney's talent and influence that stems from the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s and '40s is starting to receive its due recognition.
A pastel portrait by Beauford Delaney sold for a whopping $40,000 earlier this year during a sale presented by Knoxville's Case Auctions, shattering expectations.
Born in Knoxville in 1901, Delaney is considered among the greatest abstract painters of the 20th century, according to the Knoxville Museum of Art. He died in 1979 in Paris.
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. Twitter @dturner1208.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/beck-cultural-exchange-center-gets-grant-from-tennessee-knoxville/70173868007/ | 2023-05-04T14:53:53 | 0 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/beck-cultural-exchange-center-gets-grant-from-tennessee-knoxville/70173868007/ |
Civil War novel by Knoxville author digs deep into moral choices
When author George WB Scott was researching his first novel, “I Jonathan, A Charleston Tale of the Rebellion,” he discovered that his great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side served at the Battle of Secessionville just outside Charleston in 1862. “He makes a brief cameo appearance,” said Scott.
“The storyline begins before the attack on Fort Sumter, through the battle and occupation of Fort Wagner and beyond the war’s end.”Scott’s novel is the story of a young man who grew up in Boston and is returning from a year in Paris when he finds himself alone in Charleston as the city prepares for war. “He has lost his parents and all the money he has and is marooned in Charleston,” he said. “It is a fictional story using real events.”
The book is about personal loyalty in the world we are given, and the basis of right and wrong, according to Scott.
“I like adventure novels that take place in history, but I wanted to dig a bit deeper,” he said. “I feel like the Civil War was a very important period to look at that.
“The Southerners held Fort Sumter against the entire Union Navy for four years. I felt that was a story, and there were all of these ancillary stories that happened,” continued Scott. “The inventions during the war: there was a submarine, the different weapons … and another thing I learned about was the blockade running and techniques and tricks that both sides used.”
The basic story, according to Scott, is about more than just Jonathon’s experiences, but about his choices and the coming of age in times of social stress. “He meets a complete spectrum of people,” said Scott. “His first friend is a free Black mason who has his own business and helps him find a job with a Scots-Irish trader. There was a lot of immigration, particularly in Charleston.”
Scott said the main character explores the dilemma of supporting the South or joining the Northern army and fighting his friends.
“I wanted to take a look at it from a new perspective. I grew up in the South, and I wanted to look at it with new eyes,” Scott said. “It started to shape up that the experience of Charleston was in a way heroic, and in a way it was humiliating.”
Scott runs his own video production business servicing different businesses and nonprofits and has been hard at work on his Civil War novel for 10 years.
“I wrote a childhood memoir in 2004,” he said. “The next novel will be out in September and takes place in Prague in the 10th century. I do deal with big issues. My childhood memoir talked about how people relate to people in their hometowns.”
“I Jonathan, A Charleston Tale of the Rebellion” has been well received at book signing events downtown. Upcoming book events are scheduled for 10 a.m.-1 p.m. May 6 at Union Ave Books and during the Farmer’s Market on May 20 in front of the Preservation Pub.
“When I talk to people, so many people like Charleston, the Civil War, and some like the concept of the book and the love story,” said Scott.
“I Jonathan, A Charleston Tale of the Rebellion” is available at Knoxville’s Union Ave Books, Historic Charleston Foundation Shop and Amazon. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/civil-war-novel-by-knoxville-author-digs-deep-into-moral-choices/70154258007/ | 2023-05-04T14:53:59 | 0 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/civil-war-novel-by-knoxville-author-digs-deep-into-moral-choices/70154258007/ |
Why Young-Williams hopes to take over animal control services for Knoxville and Knox County
Young-Williams Animal Shelter is looking to start a new chapter in its history by taking over the animal control services for the city of Knoxville and Knox County and instituting a new vision for how it operates.
Right now, the nonprofit shelter's functions include housing lost, stray, injured, neglected and abused pets, taking in owner-surrendered animals, providing low-cost spay/neuter services and providing adoption services. That mission differs from the animal control services the city and county provide, which includes apprehending lost, stray or owner-surrendered animals, answering complaints about animals, and investigating cruelty, neglect and hoarding cases.
Sparking the new initiative is a shift in thinking to a “community-based model,” moving from “cite and seize” to “enable and assist," Young-Williams CEO Janet Testerman told Knox News.
Why does taking over animal control benefit Young-Williams?
Testerman pointed to a years-long effort to improve the functioning of the shelter, starting from a lengthy assessment conducted in 2017 that helped the agency reach a coveted no-kill status in 2018. That designation comes only after a shelter can save 90% or more of the animals it takes in. Young-Williams says its save rate last year was 93.53%.
"It is very challenging for municipal shelters," Testerman said. "We have to take in every stray and lost animal."
Taking over animal control functions was not one of the recommendations made in the 2017 report, but Testerman said she took the initiative to make that happen “simply because it is the only piece of the (animal welfare) pie we don’t already manage.”
If animal control is consolidated into the shelter, then everyone is working toward the same goal – keeping pets with their owners, Testerman said. "It’s more difficult to keep animals out of the shelter than to bring them in. ... We want to keep pets with their people. Forty percent of the people who give up their pets don’t want to."
So instead of acting like police, the new vision for animal control, if elected officials approve it, will more closely resemble social work, Testerman said.
"The shelter would become a one-stop shop, following situations from start to finish, using ... diversion and safety net programs."
Those include the Pet Resource Center, which helps with behavior problems, acute medical care, longer-term boarding, pet food assistance and rehoming, and the Pets For Life program instituted last summer in lower-income, high-intake ZIP codes to offer support so pets are not relinquished to the shelter.
How would consolidation of services work?
Young-Williams would hire 17 people: 15 officers, one supervisor and one director. Those would replace the nine animal control officers paid for by the city of Knoxville and six paid for by the county.
The experts would work to reunite pets with owners in the field instead of resorting to impoundment, as well as do pet licensing at homes and connect owners to the shelter's microchipping program.
Testerman said current animal control staffers can apply for the positions, and she thinks Young-Williams’ pay will be competitive if not higher. The benefits would change.
The shelter’s animal control officers would be authorized to write citations.
"If there is criminal activity taking place, or if it’s a cruelty case, they would call law enforcement," Testerman said, adding that is the way the current animal control officers handle cases. "Nothing would change. The transition would be seamless, there would be no increase in response time."
What steps do the city and county need to take, and what is the timeline?
The consolidation proposal has been under discussion for several years but kicked into higher gear in April when Young-Williams staff conducted an informational meeting at the shelter for city council and county commission members.
The proposal will have to be approved by those two bodies. Testerman, a city council member, said the Animal Control board that currently oversees operations at the city could expand to include the county, similar to the joint city-county planning commission.
The city and county fiscal year budgets are in the approval process right now, so budget amendments would be necessary, Testerman said. Her hope is that the change would be budget-neutral for taxpayers.
"Any time you eliminate the duplication of services and processes, it becomes more cost-efficient," she said. "It would mean officers could spend more time on cruelty and neglect cases rather than just the collection of animals. It boils down to being proactive rather than reactive."
The ultimate goal is to have Young-Williams assume the operation of animal control services by late fall, Testerman added, noting the shelter will then need to hire and train staff.
"Folding animal control into a shelter isn’t anything new," she said. "It will be better for pets and for pet owners. We do want to be more proactive, to meet people where they are. We do a lot of diversion and we want to continue doing that work."
Liz Kellar is a public safety reporter. Email lkellar@knoxnews.com. Twitter @LizKellar.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/young-williams-hopes-to-take-on-animal-control-knoxville-knox-county/70155806007/ | 2023-05-04T14:54:05 | 0 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/04/young-williams-hopes-to-take-on-animal-control-knoxville-knox-county/70155806007/ |
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease closes Detroit preschool
A Detroit preschool is closed for the rest of the week due to an outbreak of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, officials said.
Seventeen cases of the disease were reported at the Focus: HOPE Center for Children, an early childhood development center in Detroit, officials said in a statement. The disease is common in children under 5 years old and symptoms include fever, mouth sores and a rash, according to the CDC. Most children recover within seven to 10 days.
"Upon being notified of these cases, Focus: HOPE officials notified the Detroit Health Department immediately and upon their directives closed the Center For Children to conduct a deep clean using industrial strength cleaning solutions to ensure sanitation and cleanliness," the statement said.
The center was closed Wednesday and is scheduled to reopen Monday after a thorough cleaning, they also said.
"As we reopen, Focus: HOPE will continue to monitor children and encourage parents and families to do the same at home," the statement said.
The closure comes at the same time that a Detroit public school was closed due to an outbreak of a different disease.
The Marcus Garvey Academy is closed until next week after a kindergartner there died from a disease that has yet to be identified. The school, located on the city's east side, serves students in pre-K through eighth grades.
Officials said students in early grade levels at the school have experienced an unusually high rate of flu symptoms, including fevers, and vomiting.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @CharlesERamirez | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/05/04/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-closes-focus-hopes-center-for-children/70182936007/ | 2023-05-04T14:59:26 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/05/04/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-closes-focus-hopes-center-for-children/70182936007/ |
Historic storm drops more than 2 feet on U.P., making May snowiest on record
For most of Michigan, the month of May brings flowers and not snow showers. Marquette and other parts of the Upper Peninsular may be the historic exception, receiving more than two feet of heavy, wet snow over the course of a two-day storm this week.
Around 28.7 inches of snow fell between Sunday morning and Tuesday afternoon at the Marquette office of the National Weather Service. A record-setting 26.2 inches fell between May 1 and 2, making it the snowiest May on record according to local meteorologist Don Rolfson.
Roughly 19.8 inches of snowfall came on Monday, the largest snowfall recorded in a calendar day for the month of May in over 50 years, Rolfson said. Other areas across the north and central Upper Peninsula also got a lot of snow. Herman Township in Baraga County received 52 inches between April 29 and May 2.
While it isn't unusual for Marquette to get some May flurries, a storm of this scale is abnormal, Rolfson said.
"It's late spring now so, it's gotta just be a really unusual situation to get snowfall like this," Rolfson said. "Everything kind of came together, it was just old enough to have that happen."
The snow was very wet, making it heavy, slushy and difficult to move off of the roads, he said. Around 13 inches remained on the ground at the Marquette NWS station Thursday morning.
The May storm might wrap up the snow season, which totals 265.1 inches at the Marquette NWS station, 69.4 inches above normal, Rolfson said.
Rain fell with the snow earlier this week and combined with snowmelt to leave 5.77 inches of liquid in Marquette, he said. Water levels in rivers and creeks are rising and portions of Alger, Baraga, Dickinson, Iron, Marquette, Gogebic, Keweenaw, Northern Houghton, Ontonagon and Houghton counties are under a flood watch until Friday morning, according to the weather service.
"There's still plenty of water in the snow that melts and the rivers are running high so as the snow melts, there'll be some risk of additional river flooding," Rolfson said.
hmackay@detroitnews.com | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/05/04/snowiest-may-on-record-for-parts-of-the-up-that-saw-over-2-ft-this-week/70182587007/ | 2023-05-04T14:59:32 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/05/04/snowiest-may-on-record-for-parts-of-the-up-that-saw-over-2-ft-this-week/70182587007/ |
Oakland Hills hires construction, architect firms to replace clubhouse lost in fire
There is no timetable for the new clubhouse, though it's not likely to open until 2026, at the earliest.
The membership at storied Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township is getting close to breaking ground on a new clubhouse, more than a year after a massive fire destroyed its old one in February 2022.
Oakland Hills has hired Lansing-based Clark Construction Company and Southfield-based Neumann/Smith Architecture as it looks to build an updated replica of the historic 90,000-square-foot clubhouse that was built in 1922. Through the years, the club has hosted a who's who from the world of golf, politics, business and entertainment, according to a letter sent to the membership earlier this week.
Membership voted in December to approve spending $50 million on the rebuild, as part of the overall project which is expected to cost more than $80 million. That will cost each full member $42,137 in additional dues, or $165 per month spread out over at least 20 years.
According to the letter sent to membership by the Oakland Hills Country Club Final Design and Construction Committee, the club submitted an application for site-plan approval to the township on April 17. A hearing before the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees is planned for mid-May, according to the letter. The township has a planning commission set for May 15 and a Board of Trustees design-review meeting set for May 17.
According to the letter, Oakland Hills expects the township review process to last two to three months.
"Every phase of the project tells a story, whether it is a reflection on the past, reasoning for the present, or a hope for the future," members of the design and construction committee said in the letter, which was emailed to members Tuesday. "While we have made great progress, there is still much more to do."
Oakland Hills also has hired an interior design firm and retained Hanse Golf Course Design, led by famed architect Gil Hanse, who recently completed a major $12.1 million restoration of the famous South Course. The clubhouse runs right up next to the first and 10th tees so additional landscaping will be needed from Hanse's firm. The opening tee box is now bordered by a giant hole, where the clubhouse once stood.
More:Oakland Hills members OK $80M renovation plan in response to clubhouse fire
The approved $81.6 million project, covered in large part by insurance, is set to include $50.2 million for a clubhouse; $8.8 million for a new maintenance barn; $5.9 million for site work and excavating; $5.2 million for architect, engineer and design work; $4 million for clubhouse furnishings and equipment; $3.6 million for general-contractor overhead and insurance; $1.3 million to rebuild the first tee; $1 million to purchase the Hainer house (late Mike Hainer was a former club president) off Maple Road; and $556,000 for financing and builders insurance.
No exact timetable has been provided by Oakland Hills, a private club which has not publicly commented on the financial details of the project. The clubhouse likely won't be done until 2026 at the earliest.
The 2023 Michigan Amateur and 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur will be contested at Oakland Hills without a clubhouse.
Oakland Hills also is set to host the U.S. Open in 2034 and 2051, the U.S. Women's Open in 2031 and 2042, the U.S. Women's Amateur in 2029, the U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur in 2038 and U.S. Amateur in 2047.
"From ashes will come triumph," said John Bodenhamer, the United States Golf Association's chief championships officer. "It really is an amazing time of renewal, and we look forward to celebrating all of that and more with our partner at Oakland Hills Country Club. We look forward to making more memories."
On the morning of Feb. 17, 2022, a fire ripped through Oakland Hills' stately clubhouse, which was deemed a total loss by day's end. Many of the club's historic artifacts, including replica championship trophies, were salvaged by quick-acting staff members and local firefighters.
Oakland Hills, built by legendary architect Donald Ross in 1918 (the North Course opened in 1942), has hosted the U.S. Open six times, the PGA Championship three times, and the 2004 Ryder Cup, among other marquee events.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tonypaul1984 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2023/05/04/oakland-hills-hires-construction-architect-firms-to-replace-clubhouse-lost-in-fire/70182711007/ | 2023-05-04T14:59:38 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2023/05/04/oakland-hills-hires-construction-architect-firms-to-replace-clubhouse-lost-in-fire/70182711007/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A scary good time awaits! Consider this a warning, because the Paranormal Cirque II is ready to scare and entertain.
The show opens at the Vancouver Mall Thursday night entertaining horror fanatics with its R-rated circus. The circus will run in Vancouver through Monday, May 8.
Then on Thursday, May 11 it will be arriving in Happy Valley and showing there until Monday, May 22.
According to the Paranormal Cirque’s website, the show is “a crazy yet fun fusion between Circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings you back to when we dream … and when we had nightmares and fantasies.”
Tickets range from $20-$60 and can be purchased online here.
Watch the full preview in the video player above to see what you can expect. | https://www.koin.com/local/kohr-explores-paranormal-cirque-ii-brings-r-rated-scares-to-vancouver-happy-valley/ | 2023-05-04T15:01:57 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/kohr-explores-paranormal-cirque-ii-brings-r-rated-scares-to-vancouver-happy-valley/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon isn’t one of the nation’s top 10 states, or even a top-20 state, according to a new ranking from U.S. News and World Report.
The media company released its annual state rankings earlier this week. To determine which U.S. states were the best, the website looked at 71 metrics across eight categories including health care, education, infrastructure, and crime and corrections.
Between the states of Maryland and Tennessee, U.S. News and World Report ranked Oregon at No. 23 overall. In 2021, the state earned the No. 21 spot.
Here’s how the Beaver State performed in each individual category, from best ranking to worst.
- Infrastructure: No. 3
- Natural environment: No. 11
- Health care: No. 21
- Economy: No. 25
- Fiscal stability: No. 27
- Opportunity: No. 30
- Crime and corrections: No. 39
- Education: No. 39
U.S. News and World Report named some of Oregon’s highlights, such as Portland’s expanding tech industry, the Willamette Valley’s high-quality winemakers and natural areas like Crater Lake National Park and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
“Historically, the Pacific Ocean coastal state’s economy has been based on fishing, timber and inland agriculture,” the media company added. “In modern times, it has been transitioning to service industries and manufacturing.”
According to the rankings, Utah is the best state overall. Likely to the dismay of many Oregonians, neighboring states Washington and Idaho took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively.
Washington performed the best in the fiscal stability, natural environment and infrastructure categories. Idaho earned the best scores in the economy, fiscal stability and crime and corrections category.
U.S. News and World Report ranked Louisiana, Alaska and Mississippi as the worst states overall. | https://www.koin.com/local/see-how-oregon-ranks-on-u-s-news-and-world-reports-list-of-the-best-states/ | 2023-05-04T15:02:02 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/see-how-oregon-ranks-on-u-s-news-and-world-reports-list-of-the-best-states/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Known on the street as “tranq,” Xylazine has been linked to at least one overdose death in Multnomah County in 2022.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse lists Xylazine as a sedative used in veterinary practices and it is not approved for human use.
According to harm reduction experts, people might not even be aware they’re taking it.
In addition to increasing the risk of overdose when mixed with other drugs, continued use of Xylazine can also lead to flesh wounds, skin ulcers, abscesses and related complications. It can also cause some serious blood conditions.
Haven Wheelock — a harm reduction manager at Outside In, a nonprofit in Portland working with people who use drugs wherever they are in their journey or life — says one recent death does not make a crisis and she urges the public to continue to have compassion.
“I do think it’s something that public health should be monitoring for, that health care should be aware of and know that if they start seeing some of these wounds or complicated overdose events, they should know that that is a possibility. But I think one fatality does not necessarily indicate that it is the new thing sweeping our community,” said Wheelock.
She adds, however, that since it’s not prevalent in the community we don’t exactly know how to deal with it. Wheelock says we don’t have good withdrawal protocols and don’t yet know how to treat someone who is using “tranq” and wants to stop.
In the meantime, Wheelock says the best way to protect yourself is the intervention methods reduction specialists continue to share like testing your drugs, never using alone and carrying Naloxone.
The confirmed 2022 death is the second death in Multnomah County officials believe is linked to the drug. The first death occurred in the spring of 2021. The death reported in April occurred in September 2022, but wait times for toxicology reports make the process for identifying these deaths take longer. | https://www.koin.com/local/tranq-not-yet-sweeping-portland-community-harm-reduction-expert-says/ | 2023-05-04T15:02:02 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/tranq-not-yet-sweeping-portland-community-harm-reduction-expert-says/ |
FLINT, Mich. (WJRT) - A 27-year-old last seen in February was found dead on Flint's north side last week.
The Flint Police Department reported on Thursday that investigators found the body of 27-year-old Todd Walsh in the 4000 block of North Dort Highway near Richfield Road on April 27.
Walsh was last seen leaving his residence in the 1900 block of Colon Street near Franklin Avenue on Feb. 1. Police did not provide information on how long his body was laying at the address on Dort Highway or how he ended up there.
A medical examiner has not determined a cause or manner of death for Walsh.
Anyone with information about how Walsh died or where he was after Feb. 1 should call the Flint Police Department at 810-237-6977 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-422-JAIL. | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/flint-man-missing-since-february-was-found-dead/article_3e44a850-ea87-11ed-8d60-cff25318853f.html | 2023-05-04T15:16:08 | 0 | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/flint-man-missing-since-february-was-found-dead/article_3e44a850-ea87-11ed-8d60-cff25318853f.html |
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Another group of conservationists plans to sue US government unless they save manatees
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Three environmental groups and an engineer from Puerto Rico plan to sue the feds to force them once again to call manatees "endangered."
On Tuesday, the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic, Miami Waterkeeper and Frank S. González Garcia, an engineer in Puerto Rico, where manatees also live, sent a notice of their intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect manatees under the Endangered Species Act.
They say the feds never should have reclassified the marine mammal from "endangered" to the less-serious status of "threatened" in 2017. That change, they say, set sea cows on a fatal path to starvation that's claimed some 2,000 manatees in the past two years. Many of the deaths have been in Brevard County, where once-lush seagrass supported about a third of the state's manatees.
“I’m appalled that the Fish and Wildlife Service hasn’t responded to our urgent request for increased protections for these desperately imperiled animals,” Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a prepared statement. “It’s painfully clear that manatees need full protection under the Endangered Species Act, and they need it now.”
Manatees in trouble:Islands near Merritt Island park now a 'manatee graveyard' as Florida sea cows starve
Protective lawsuit:Bear Warriors file lawsuit to force Florida to protect sea cows
‘Save the manatees’:Decades-old debate about manatees’ future in Florida rages on as sea cows starve
Tuesday’s legal notice follows conservationists’ November petition urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reclassify the species from threatened to endangered. The service is required by law to determine within 90 days whether the petition warrants reclassifying manatees. But more than 150 days passed with no finding, so now the groups have put the feds on notice that they plan to sue.
The agency prematurely reduced protections in 2017, the groups said, resulting in the species' dramatic decline.
The potential suit adds to another lawsuit filed in November by the nonprofit Bear Warriors United Inc. They filed suit in the Middle District of Florida in Orlando against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, accusing the agency of failing to protect manatees under the Endangered Species Act by allowing pollution from septic tanks and sewage systems.
"They never considered that maybe all the seagrass would collapse," Lesley Blackner, a a Palm Beach attorney representing Bear Warriors, said Wednesday of the 2017 reclassification of manatees to threatened. "What was the hysteria for down-listing it?"
Environmentalists argue manatees are a Florida icon that draws and inspires people to get involved in marine conservation. But for some boaters, fishermen and others who use coastal waters, the animal also unnecessarily limits how docks get built, as well as when, where and how people can boat.
Boaters, especially in Brevard, have objected to slow-speed zones and other restrictions. By focusing almost exclusively on boating activities, they say, conservationists missed the larger environmental issues challenging the sea cow, and what impacts a rebounding population might have on their food supply. So much has been done, according to boaters, at their expense that the animals have nearly doubled their population from 20 years ago and have therefore eaten themselves into a crisis.
Biologists say manatees remain malnourished, because of seagrass loss due to severe, chronic algae blooms, especially in the Indian River Lagoon.
“The government’s lack of urgency in responding to the mass deaths of manatees is deeply concerning," Ben Rankin, a student attorney at the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic, said in a prepared statement. “This cherished species badly needs protection from the federal government, and it shouldn’t take a lawsuit to get the Fish and Wildlife Service to perform its legal duties.”
Pollution from sewer plants, leaking septic systems, fertilizer runoff and other sources is fueling the collapse of the Indian River Lagoon, biologists warn, leading to the unprecedented manatee die off.
The most recent groups threatening to sue point to herbicide pollution, too.
A 2021 study by University of Florida found more than half of manatees sampled are chronically exposed to glyphosate, an herbicide (commonly sold as Roundup) applied to sugarcane and aquatic weeds. Discharges from Lake Okeechobee have resulted in higher glyphosate levels in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, some research has found.
“The science is clear that this species is declining precipitously, and therefore clearly merits uplisting,” Rachel Silverstein, executive director and waterkeeper of Miami Waterkeeper, said in the press release. “Reclassifying the manatee as endangered and addressing water quality issues across the state is imperative to all Floridians and our unique wildlife.”
Boat strikes are another leading threat to manatees, typically accounting for 1 in 5 deaths, or more in some years.
Manatees were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The Fish and Wildlife Service announced its final rule downlisting the species from endangered to threatened on March 30, 2017.
Through April 28, at least 268 manatees have died in Florida this year, including 15 deaths in Brevard, according to state statistics. That compares with 535 that had died at this point last year and 708 that died in 2021. The five-year average is 406 manatee deaths.
The manatee death toll got so bad in 2021 that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared the die-off an Unusual Mortality Event, freeing up more federal funding and protection for the species. Then in the winter of 2022, in a first-of-its kind pilot project to try to stave off further starvation, state and federal biologists fed manatees at the FPL plant. They repeated the same feeding process this past winter.
But the problem isn't just in Florida.
“It has been months of agony and unjustified time lost for manatees in Puerto Rico,” said Frank González Garcia, an engineer who's concerned with the loss of natural resources. “Recent fatal accidents and unprecedented toxic water discharges aggravate the already precarious living and survival conditions of this beloved species.”
Jim Waymer is an environment reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Waymer at 321-261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com. Or find him on Twitter: @JWayEnviro or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jim.waymer | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/lagoon/2023/05/04/more-conservationists-plan-to-sue-the-feds-to-protect-the-manatees/70179660007/ | 2023-05-04T15:20:27 | 1 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/lagoon/2023/05/04/more-conservationists-plan-to-sue-the-feds-to-protect-the-manatees/70179660007/ |
The historic bandshell was the stage for performances from 14 schools in the district, showcasing many of the different arts and music skills of students.
TWIN FALLS — Students, teachers, parents, and school personnel enjoyed a carnival-like evening during the school district’s Engage in Education event on Tuesday at City Park.
The historic bandshell was the stage for performances from 14 schools in the district, showcasing many of the different arts and music skills of students.
Students from Sawtooth Elementary’s fifth-grade guitar band played well-known songs on their acoustic guitars.
Drama students from Robert Stuart Middle School did improv theater, essentially ad-libbing a number of comedy scenes.
A stunning 45-student choir from Perrine Elementary performed a song from their upcoming show, “Dig It: the Musical,” which featured costumes from ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Greece, as well as skeletons.
Students from Bickel’s third, fourth and fifth grades got things started by performing a song as a choir, followed by leading the crowd in the popular Cha-Cha Slide dance.
Bickel’s music teacher Cecilee Turman said the students had been practicing for several weeks, and it was a great opportunity for them to showcase what they’d learned.
“It’s fun to get together and see all these wonderful kids doing all these (things) they’ve worked so hard on,” Turman told the Times-News.
The district has built opportunities for performance into the school curriculum, and each school has its own calendar packed with recitals, choirs and band. The event at City Park brings everything in to one place, so people can enjoy the efforts of all the schools at once.
“It’s a good venue for this, so all the community can be here at one time,” Turman said. “We don’t just have to see our own school, we can see all the other schools, too. That’s one of my favorite things.”
Superintendent Brady Dickinson said it was a great afternoon to mingle, to go around and talk to all the different school personnel.
“It’s really the only event we have where you can come to one place and see something from every school,” Dickenson said. “It’s a great way to interact as a community and support kids.”
The event began in 2022 as a way to bring people together after several years of disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, and it went so well they decided to make it an annual event.
The park around the bandshell was lined with tables for each school, and administrators and school board trustees served served hot dogs and snow cones to countless attendees.
Engage in Education brings school community together
Students show off their skills at the Engage in Education festival
Students showcase their skills at Engage inEducation festival
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Engage in Education brings school community together
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Students show off their skills at Engage in Education
Members of Synergy from Canyon Ridge High School perform at the City Park Bandshell during the Engage in Education event, held Thursday, May 3, 2023 at City Park. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/engage-in-education-brings-school-community-together/article_66f6684a-ea84-11ed-a66c-6ffb5096f5fb.html | 2023-05-04T15:23:20 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/engage-in-education-brings-school-community-together/article_66f6684a-ea84-11ed-a66c-6ffb5096f5fb.html |
Editor’s note: This feature ran April 18, 2013, in the Times-News and at Magicvalley.com.
A few headstones in the Artesian City Cemetery are the only evidence that a town ever existed here.
Cattleman James E. Bower is credited with settling the area where Dry Creek flows out of the South Hills in Cassia County and into Twin Falls County on its way to the Snake River.
Bower came to Idaho in 1873 with a large herd of A.J. Harrell’s cattle, and settled in the Shoshone Basin just north of the Nevada border. By 1876, Harrell claimed some 800 acres of homestead and desert land at the mouth of Dry Creek Canyon.
According to the memoirs of long-time Murtaugh resident Oliver Johnson, Bower was described as “a small man with beady eyes and had a mean reputation typical of hard men who settled the West.”
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Locally, Bower was known to have killed more than a few men, according to Johnson.
Bower confessed to being an accomplice in the 1895 murder of two Oakley sheep herders, John Wilson and Daniel Cummings. His confession eventually led to the pardon and release of the infamous “Diamondfield” Jack Davis.
But that’s another story.
In 1895, Bower drilled two water wells for his livestock near his home just east of Dry Creek. But instead of potable water, Bower hit a pocket of 110-degree water with seemingly endless potential.
By 1909, Bower sold off a large portion of his property and two dozen families moved into the area. That year, Idaho Real Estate and Produce Co. announced the development of Artesian City on 560 acres of former Bower property, at that time owned by Frank Somsen.
Artesian opened in September 1909, with the promise of electricity, a health spa and retreat, and frost-free irrigation for fruit orchards — all from the artesian water.
Folks quickly established a general store, a school, a hotel, a livery stable, a dance hall, a post office and a cemetery.
But the town was short-lived.
The post office shut down in 1913. An interurban railroad that was to run from the Murtaugh train depot to Artesian and on to Oakley, never got past the planning stage.
The town, however, had one success.
In its heyday, the Artesian Natatorium — the “Nat,” for short — was the favorite hot springs resort in the Magic Valley. The Nat, consisting of two indoor swimming pools — opened in April 1916.
Promoters invited the public to visit Artesian, where “the air is pure (and) the climate is delightful.”
The Nat operated until 1925. Some say the hot springs dried up when irrigation wells were drilled in the area. Others say interest in the spa waned, and it went out of business. The artesian wells were capped and the townsite has been reclaimed by farmland.
Mychel Matthews is the managing editor at the Times-News. Contact Matthews at mmatthews@magicvalley.com or 208-735-3233. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/headstones-are-all-that-remain-of-artesian-city/article_be4b27b2-a7c7-11e2-b113-0019bb2963f4.html | 2023-05-04T15:23:26 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/headstones-are-all-that-remain-of-artesian-city/article_be4b27b2-a7c7-11e2-b113-0019bb2963f4.html |
PORTLAND, Ore. — Thieves targeted Gnarlys, a vegan burger food cart in Portland's Central Eastside neighborhood, twice in the span of a couple of days. They stole propane tanks that cost more than $1,000. Without them, owner Chris Hudson said he couldn't open, which cost him more than the stolen tanks.
"Being closed for us is a big deal. Every day matters," Hudson said. "Then I showed up yesterday morning and the tanks were completely gone. I bought a hardened chain that supposed to be harder to cut with bolt cutters and I bought a fancy lock and they just cut right through it. No problem."
He moved the cart to the area in mid-March. Hudson expected he might run into some problems when he moved from Southeast 82nd Avenue to be closer to customers, but he was working to address security gaps as best he could.
"Hopefully step up a little bit of security, but that’s another thing, all of that costs money as well," he said. "I could spend a few thousand dollars for a heavy duty shed and lock it up real tight, and we could spend a bunch of money on a fence, but ... who's got an extra five grand?"
To help, friends and customers donated and bought gift cards. Hudson said he appreciated the gesture.
"There's a lot of small businesses around that are dealing with this and struggling when something like this happens," he said. "So you know, just keep the small businesses in mind when you’re making decisions about stuff."
The Central Eastside is an area just on the east side of the Willamette River. At the direction of dozens of business owners and city leadership, the city of Portland conducted a 90-day reset plan for the district in an effort to address safety, cleanliness, vandalism and crime. It ran from January 26 to April 26.
"Absolutely, we've seen a difference," said Clare Briglio, the executive director of Central Eastside Together.
Briglio said they've learned and accomplished quite a bit in that time.
"The city devoted millions of dollars in human resources and material resources to help us clean up the Central Eastside and make it a safe place for all who live, work, and visit," Briglio said.
Elements they want to focus on moving forward include hiring a new private security contractor for the district, finding alternatives to help homeless people in this neighborhood, continuing graffiti clean-up, and starting a new project to improve lighting.
While this work won't prevent every problem, Briglio said many in the area are beginning to feel a sense of relief.
"Cleaner streets, cleaner spaces that feel more safe, overall really does help shift that and so our work with the Enhanced Service District is to continue that momentum and we do not want to give that up," Briglio said. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/theft-food-cart-portland-central-eastside-90-day-reset/283-f337acec-26af-40c2-a203-cfc141c07569 | 2023-05-04T15:24:45 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/theft-food-cart-portland-central-eastside-90-day-reset/283-f337acec-26af-40c2-a203-cfc141c07569 |
A woman is in critical condition after an attempted carjacking in Wynnefield early Thursday morning.
At 3:18 a.m. Philadelphia Police responded to the 2800 block of Belmont Avenue where they found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound to the left arm, police said.
The woman, 25, was a passenger inside a Hyundai when an attempted robbery occurred resulting in a shooting. She was transported to the hospital where she was placed in critical condition, according to police.
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Police said the suspects are two Black men who fled the scene.
At this time there have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.
There have been 276 carjackings, including attempts, in 2023 so far as of May 3, according to the police.
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This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/attempted-carjacking-leaves-woman-in-critical-condition-police-say/3559644/ | 2023-05-04T15:25:22 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/attempted-carjacking-leaves-woman-in-critical-condition-police-say/3559644/ |
For at least the third time already this month, a road rage shooting has been reported on a major Philadelphia highway.
Around 3:45 a.m. Thursday, a driver from Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery County, reported being shot at after merging his Ford F-250 pickup truck from the Bridge Street on-ramp onto I-95 southbound, Pennsylvania State Police said.
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Bullets struck the truck several times, police said. The driver, however, wasn't hurt and was able to pull over and call police.
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The gunfire came from someone inside a gray Honda Civic, state police said.
This shooting came after Monday night's shooting along I-95 in South Philadelphia that left a person with a graze wound and Tuesday night's shooting along the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), near 30th Street, that caused a driver to crash, according to police.
Anyone with information on the shootings can contact state police investigators at 215-452-5216.
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/road-rage-shooting-i-95-philadelphia/3559615/ | 2023-05-04T15:25:23 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/road-rage-shooting-i-95-philadelphia/3559615/ |
YORK, Pa. — Anyone could technically clean a dog.
But to make your furry friend feel fresh and sport a clean canine cut, hiring an expert may be the way to go.
FOX43's Tyler Hatfield went to Sydeny Thomas, owner of Sniffany's of York, to lean what it takes to be a dog groomer.
“It's like trying to catch a cat with a fire hose," said Thomas. "Truth be told, they're like toddlers, they're a constantly moving target.”
Tyler got the chance to try it on his first four-legged client, a cocker spaniel named Duncan.
Tyler and Sydney started with a quick cut before his bath to remove as much hair as possible to make for a quicker drying process.
To do this, dogs are strapped onto a hydraulic grooming table. This allows the groomer to move the table to any height or position for their comfort. The table also protects the dog from falling off, and allows them to sit or stand comfortably.
When it's time for a bath, Thomas said dog groomers use lukewarm water in order to protect the dogs' body temperature.
For drying, there are multiple techniques involved, depending on the breed. Differences between techniques include the shape of the dryer nozzle and speeds.
Once dry, the dog groomer works on the finishing touches with clippers and scissors.
Thomas loves her job, but she says it isn't a walk in the park.
“The biggest thing is that to have an open mind and know it's not all fun and games," said Thomas. "It's not just you coming to work and play with puppies all day.”
But the relationship with the dogs keeps bringing her back.
"They have unconditional love," said Thomas. "It's like you come to work and this is love.” | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/being-dog-groomer-tyler-tries-it/521-67ad8e96-e026-4963-92ef-b98b651e8acc | 2023-05-04T15:26:29 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/being-dog-groomer-tyler-tries-it/521-67ad8e96-e026-4963-92ef-b98b651e8acc |
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Chambersburg Police have charged a 35-year-old Maryland man with the rape of a child in 2019.
Jose Manueal Lopez, of Hagerstown, was charged with two felony counts of rape of a child following a police investigation of allegations brought by a 12-year-old victim, who reported the alleged sexual assaults to authorities in June of 2021.
The victim said Lopez raped her multiple times when she was "10 or 11 years old," according to a criminal complaint affidavit.
The victim detailed two times where Lopez raped her, according to police. One alleged sexual assault occurred in the victim's bedroom, the second in the living room of her home while her mother was at work, according to police.
The victim's mother confirmed some of the details of the victim's allegations in an interview with investigators, according to the complaint.
Police filed charges against Lopez on April 25. He was taken into custody on Tuesday, according to Chambersburg Police. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/franklin-county/jose-lopez-arrest-child-rape-chambersburg-pa/521-cba4e2ab-59f0-4218-821d-09cd53e48025 | 2023-05-04T15:26:35 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/franklin-county/jose-lopez-arrest-child-rape-chambersburg-pa/521-cba4e2ab-59f0-4218-821d-09cd53e48025 |
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