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DALLAS — Texans should expect cheaper electricity bills this summer, price trackers say.
Power prices soared in 2022, after Russia's attack on Ukraine upset the global energy market. The market has since stabilized, Energy Ogre chief operating officer David Kinchen says.
"We're starting summer from a very good position of strength, with relatively low gas prices and a good set of storage numbers," Kinchen said, noting that European natural gas reserves are essentially full.
Most Texas power plants use natural gas as fuel, meaning ratepayers' bills are all-but-directly tied to its fluctuating price.
In 2022, while fuel was most expensive, Texans used more electricity than ever. The state broke its peak electricity demand record 11 times last year.
Summer temperatures arrived earlier, forcing power plants to work harder for a longer stretch of time. This spring has been significantly cooler.
"You had a quantity problem with it being very hot and you had a price problem with fuel prices being very high," Kinchen said. "People got bill shock."
Kinchen said now is a good time for ratepayers to lock in to a fixed electricity rate.
Texas' growing population is likely to set electricity demand records again in 2023, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said. A seasonal report warns the state's grid doesn't have enough power to meet demand under an extreme scenario where the sun doesn't shine, the wind doesn't blow and natural gas pipelines break.
But there are some factors which might bolster confidence in Texas' grid. Generators' equipment should be in better shape this year, for example.
Typically, power plants go offline during the spring so workers can mend aging machinery. In 2022, Texas asked generators to delay planned outages so they'd continue producing power during an unusually hot May.
The move prompted concerns from industry monitors, who feared delaying maintenance might lead to more significant problems over time.
Generators have since caught up on routine work, Vegas said.
"We've seen a real active maintenance season this spring," Vegas said. "We feel we're in good shape coming into the summer and we're seeing the planned outages down at levels we expect for this time of year."
The grid manager will also pay power plants to maintain new reserve generators which can come online and begin feeding electricity to the grid in just ten minutes, Vegas said.
And ERCOT introduced a new communications strategy Wednesday, which aims to alert Texans days in advance of potentially tight grid conditions. Vegas added he does not expect ERCOT will need to issue many voluntary conservation requests this summer.
"We want to just help people be aware and informed of what's going on," Vegas said. "We want to be more transparent. We want to be more open and get more people comfortable with hearing from us under conditions that are not emergency conditions." | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-electricity-bills-should-be-cheaper-this-summer-experts-say/287-624f85cf-dfdb-4738-9314-c6dcbb2e55a6 | 2023-06-01T00:10:44 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-electricity-bills-should-be-cheaper-this-summer-experts-say/287-624f85cf-dfdb-4738-9314-c6dcbb2e55a6 |
VACAVILLE, Calif. — In a last minute decision, the office of mayor John Carli announced the city will fly the pride flag above city hall, and he will sign a proclamation observing June as Pride Month.
The proclamation, to be signed Thursday, declares "June 2023 ‘LGBTQ Pride Month’ as a time to recognize and support, include and safeguard the LGBTQ community in the City of Vacaville."
Residents and the Solano Pride Center accused Carli of not openly supporting the LGBTQ+ community due to the inaction taken before June.
The mayor and members of the Solano Pride Center met May 24 to discuss the proclamation of acknowledgment, but Carli says the proclamation he was given was “different from those that the prior mayor issued” and recent court rulings led him to consult with legal counsel before making a decision or taking action.
The United States Supreme Court case he’s referring to is Shurtleff v. City of Boston, a case asking if a city, in this case Boston, can refuse to fly a private religious organization’s flag on city flagpoles or if the refusal violates the First Amendment.
The court ruled because the city had not previously rejected flags and had exercised little to no control over flag content, it was not government speech and “that refusal discriminated based on religious viewpoint and violated the Free Speech Clause,” according to then Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer who wrote the opinion.
Vacaville does not have any clause or guidelines for what flags can be flown over city hall, but Carli's office says city council "may consider a flag policy at a future meeting."
Long time resident of Vacaville and veteran Aurda Orr says she felt betrayed by Carli waiting to make the decision and believes recognizing June as Pride Month only supports the community.
"To have the city publicly acknowledge that it stands in solidarity with us promoting equality and providing a safe community for all means a lot," she said. "We're a valued member of the community just like everyone else is. Let's all stand together, love one another and make this a better country."
The Solano Pride Center said if the city hadn't make the proclamation, it would be the only one in Solano County not recognizing June as Pride Month.
"It has always been my intention to include our LGBTQ residents and visitors. We are a city open to all, recognizing and affirming each individual and what they bring to our beloved community," said Carli in a press release.
The center said it will still hold the 3rd annual Vacaville Pride event on June 3 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Andrews Park at 614 E Monte Vista Ave. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/vacaville-mayor-to-recognize-pride-month/103-51bf8961-9296-4594-ba5d-0564816548e5 | 2023-06-01T00:10:50 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/vacaville-mayor-to-recognize-pride-month/103-51bf8961-9296-4594-ba5d-0564816548e5 |
Caddo Mills High School sophomore, Victoria Mendez, took her first steps months after suffering a severe concussion.
Mendez is a member of the JV women’s soccer team. It was during a soccer game against Mabank High School on February 15 that Mendez hit her head on the turf, causing trauma. She had to be carted off the field and taken to the hospital.
Doctors later diagnosed Mendez with a post-concussion syndrome known as Functional Neurological Disorder or FND.
Mendez spent weeks at the hospital after she lost the ability to walk. However, her mother, Karen Mendez said her daughter’s physical ability and mental health deteriorated after she was discharged from the hospital.
“It was really bad. She could not walk. She got to the point that the only thing she could use was her wheelchair,” Karen said. “She was having trouble using her walker, so she had gone down all the way just to the wheelchair. She was really frustrated that she was losing the ability to move more and more. Her knees were hurting really bad. It was just getting really, really tough on her.”
Less than a month ago, Victoria was finally cleared by her medical insurance provider to start therapy.
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“She’s been in inpatient rehab for a little bit more than three weeks in Dallas at Children’s Hospital,” Karen said. “It's a really hard program. When she was admitted, she wasn't allowed to have her phone, wasn't allowed to have any type of media or anything. It was really, really strict. She had no visitation at all when she was just in here by herself.”
The focus was to strengthen her body, and mind, and keep her grades up.
“It was crazy. It was really hard,” Victoria said.
"The only person that would really actually visit her was her teacher," Karen said. "Her coach. He's the one that kept helping her with her classes and moving school forward. And making sure she had all her classes done in time."
Victoria was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday after completing her rehab therapy program.
“I had the support from my family and friends so, it was possible,” Victoria said.
"She's amazing right now. She feels great," Karen said. "She can walk on her own. She needs no assistance. I should actually even say she's back to her normal self."
Victoria was welcomed back home by her family, friends, teammates, and coaches.
"We tried to get as much of, you know, the people that have been after her and just praying for her and keeping her in her in their prayers and keeping up with her," Karen said.
“I love how she never gives up,” Raymundo Gonzalez said. Gonzalez is Victoria’s uncle. “She has never lost hope and always put God first.”
While Victoria will have to continue with outpatient therapy, doctors have cleared her to start working out again.
"All she thinks about is that she wants to go back to soccer. There's a school conditioning summer workout program, and she wants to do that," Karen said. "She's cleared to do that. They're still holding back on contact sports, but she's pretty much good to work out and be on her own."
Victoria said she is looking forward to spending more time with her teammates. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/caddo-mills-soccer-player-walks-again-months-after-severe-concussion/3268515/ | 2023-06-01T00:10:51 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/caddo-mills-soccer-player-walks-again-months-after-severe-concussion/3268515/ |
Carter In The ClassroomFocusing on unique things school districts are doing to help children succeed. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/carter-in-the-classroom/__trashed-29/3268620/ | 2023-06-01T00:10:57 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/carter-in-the-classroom/__trashed-29/3268620/ |
This Saturday, June 3, there's an event that helps expose students to the art of dance, while patrons get a chance to 'cut a rug' themselves.
'The Big Dance' is a fundraiser for Dallas Black Dance Academy classes and outreach programs. Money raised helps reduce class tuition by 40%.
"Dance is not a luxury, it's a necessity," Dallas Black Dance Academy Director Katricia Eaglin said. "Dance provides an opportunity for a person to build discipline and confidence at any age."
The Dallas Black Dance Academy teaches ballet, modern, and jazz techniques to as many as 300 students before the pandemic, and outreach to more than 2,000 DFW area students.
"I started there when I was 2 1/2," former Dallas Black Dance Academy student Dr. Nikki Longwell said.
Longwell didn't go on to be a professional dancer, but she is on a much bigger stage as Vice President of Medical Excellence Janssen Global Medical Affairs.
"People still to this day watch me stand when I'm giving a presentation and say, 'Were you a dancer?'" Longwell said. "It gave you confidence before I even knew what confidence was."
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Not every student goes on to be a professional dancer. Most don't. Each student takes dance with them in their respective fields.
Academy alumni include doctors, lawyers, and business leaders.
"Along with the discipline and the confidence that dancers receive in dance, it also helps them learn how to finish. So we have a 100% graduation rate," Eaglin said. "I really want everyone to know that they are helping to develop productive members of society that are going to change the world."
The Latin-themed 'The Big Dance' is Saturday, June 3. There will be live bands and performances by Dallas Black Dance Theatre dancers.
For tickets click here. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/dallas-black-dance-theatre-the-big-dance-fundraiser-helps-make-classes-accessible/3268537/ | 2023-06-01T00:11:03 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/dallas-black-dance-theatre-the-big-dance-fundraiser-helps-make-classes-accessible/3268537/ |
Your kids can tell you. STAAR looked very different this year. More writing, and thought, than just filling in those bubbles.
The changes take longer to grade, but it's going well.
"Let me knock on wood," said Mike Morath, Texas Education Commissioner.
"We've had no operational disruptions to assessments. the transition to online has been without any kind of incident statewide."
Morath is also dealing with new ways to grade school districts.
The A-F letter grade that schools get each year is being added up differently.
Schools will get an estimate of their score next week, the public won't get final numbers until almost October.
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We had huge learning loss, and a slight rebound, and now when we really need to see the progress, the tests are graded differently. We asked Morath, "Why?"
"You either save up all your changes and make them at one point or you make them year, over year, over year," he said.
TEA says they've heard the concerns and have created additional data to help schools and parents compare the new scores to the last year. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-education-agency-implementing-changes-to-grading-guide-for-schools-staar/3268489/ | 2023-06-01T00:11:28 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-education-agency-implementing-changes-to-grading-guide-for-schools-staar/3268489/ |
Eight Stockton University athletes earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Track & Field/Cross Country honors for the 2022-23 seasons Wednesday after earning a cumulative GPA of 3.65 or higher.
Lauren Maldonado (Egg Harbor Township H.S.), Shahyan Abraham, Kierstin Clem, Olivia Harris and Jessie Klenk earned the honor on the women’s side, and Mike Carfagno (EHT), Max Klenk and Cooper Knorr earned the honor on the men’s side.
Maldonado, a senior with a 3.65 GPA, finished her career with five all-New Jersey Athletic Conference honors in the relays, including a first team selection. Maldonado ran legs for two relays that hold school records. Her indoor 4x400-meter relay finished in 3 minutes, 59.23 seconds and outdoor 4x800 had a time of 9:30.79. She also ran in four cross country races during her career.
Carfagno, a junior with a 3.99 GPA, competes in the throws. He is a three-time NJAC honorable mention in the shot put. He has two career wins in the shot put and 12 top-three finishes.
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Abraham, a senior with a 3.94 GPA, qualified for the NCAA Championships in the indoor weight throw and outdoor shot put this year. She was 13th in the outdoor season and 19th in the indoor. She earned a total of nine all-NJAC honors, including five first team.
Clem graduated in three years with a 3.84 GPA. She was a three-time all-NJAC runner with two first team selections. Harris, a senior with a 4.0 GPA, was a four-time NJAC selection. Klenk posted a 3.89 GPA while earning two bachelor’s degrees. She was a nine-time all-NJAC all-runner with a pair of first team selections.
Klenk posted a 4.0 GPA and graduated earlier this month with two bachelor’s degrees. He competed in 13 different events during his career, including the decathlon and pentathlon. Klenk won three all-NJAC honors. Knorr, a graduate student with a 3.75 GPA, became just the third Osprey male to qualify for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. Knorr was a three-time all-NJAC runner. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/8-stockton-athletes-earn-csc-academic-awards/article_b069d360-fff9-11ed-95c9-df43c0e281b3.html | 2023-06-01T00:14:57 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/8-stockton-athletes-earn-csc-academic-awards/article_b069d360-fff9-11ed-95c9-df43c0e281b3.html |
Egg Harbor Township’s Madison Dollard delivers against Cherokee in a South Jersey Group IV semifinal game Wednesday. She struck out 13 in the top-seeded Eagles’ loss.
Matthew Strabuk, Staff Photographer
Egg Harbor Township’s Annaliese Valentino tries to tag out Quinn Rosario at third base on Wednesday, but the ball got away. EHT committed five errors in the game.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — A highly competitive Cherokee High School softball team and a few miscues in the field by Egg Harbor Township on Wednesday ended the Eagles’ dream of winning this year’s state Group IV title.
Fourth-seeded Cherokee scored three runs in the fifth inning and four more in the seventh to upset top-seeded Egg Harbor Township 8-4 in a South Jersey Group IV semifinal game.
EHT, the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament champion and ranked second in The Press Elite 11, ends at 23-2.
Sarah Masters hit a two-run triple in the fifth inning to give the Chiefs the lead for good at 4-3. Kasey McNee hit a two-run double in the seventh for Cherokee.
The Chiefs (20-4), ranked sixth in the Elite 11, will travel to second-seeded Lenape or third-seeded Kingsway Regional on Saturday for the South Jersey Group IV championship.
“We had a lot of errors (five) and you can’t have that many when you’re playing a good team and you’re playing in the playoffs,” Egg Harbor Township coach Kristi Troster said. “We just had a couple mental breakdowns that you can’t have, especially when you’re playing a team that can hit, and they have a good pitcher.
“Under normal circumstances if we score four runs we beat any team that we play, but today defensively we did not do our job.”
EHT pitcher Madison Dollard looked as dominant as ever at times, allowing seven hits, with 13 strikeouts and one walk. Dollard also had three hits, including a double, and Anna Valentino added two hits.
EHT right fielder Sofia Spatocco hit an RBI triple in the third inning, and EHT scored twice more in the inning to go up 3-1. EHT scored on an overthrow to go up 2-1, and Valentino singled down the right field line to bring in another run.
Spatocco scored the Eagles’ fourth run on a wild pitch after leading off the seventh with a single.
“We went into it with a good mindset, and I felt confident,” said Spatocco, a 15-year-old sophomore. “We pulled it together (after Cherokee went up 1-0), and the energy made it easier to hit. It looked like we would win. I think after a couple errors and (Cherokee) hits, it kind of got into our heads. We thought after (losing) in the state finals last year that we had it this year. But we went down early.”
Cherokee pitcher Sammie Friel, who threw left-handed and batted right-handed, gave up 10 hits, struck out eight and walked one.
The Eagles got to the semifinal with an 11-1 first-round win over 16th-seeded Williamstown and a 10-3 quarterfinal victory over eighth-seeded Gloucester County Institute of Technology.
Payton Colbert went 3 for 3 against Williamstown in the five-inning game and Madison Biddle added two doubles. Madison Dollard, Kaci Velardi and Sienna Walterson each had two hits.
Dollard gave up seven hits against GCIT, with 10 strikeouts and four walks. Biddle, Velardi and Natalia Stewart each led with two hits.
Cherokee beat 13th-seeded Eastern Regional 2-0 in the first round as Sammie Friel scattered five hits, struck out eight and walked four.
Kasey McNee went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs.
The Chiefs topped fifth-seeded Southern Regional 3-1 in their quarterfinal game as Friel tossed a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts and one walk.
Egg Harbor Township went 25-2 last year and lost to Watchung Hills 2-1 in nine innings in the state Group IV championship game. The Eagles beat Kingsway Regional 7-3 for the South Jersey title.
EHT was The Press softball Team of the Year in 2022. Biddle was The Press Player of the Year, and Troster was the Coach of the Year. Colbert, Walterson and Dollard were each first-team Press All-Stars.
South Jersey Group IV Softball Semifinal Game Between Cherokee and Egg Harbor Township
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Egg Harbor Township’s Madison Dollard delivers against Cherokee in a South Jersey Group IV semifinal game Wednesday. She struck out 13 in the top-seeded Eagles’ loss.
Egg Harbor Township’s Annaliese Valentino tries to tag out Quinn Rosario at third base on Wednesday, but the ball got away. EHT committed five errors in the game. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/cherokee-upsets-top-seeded-egg-harbor-township/article_57038062-fff6-11ed-bc6f-0fc0a3df858f.html | 2023-06-01T00:14:58 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/cherokee-upsets-top-seeded-egg-harbor-township/article_57038062-fff6-11ed-bc6f-0fc0a3df858f.html |
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Contact Us | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/newark-police-officer-survives-head-on-collision-with-suspected-drunk-driver-officials-say/3576672/ | 2023-06-01T00:25:57 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/newark-police-officer-survives-head-on-collision-with-suspected-drunk-driver-officials-say/3576672/ |
A police officer has a long road to recovery but is lucky to be alive after his vehicle was struck head-on by a suspected drunk driver in Delaware over the weekend, officials said.
James Haddix, a 38-year-old Aberdeen Police Officer who resides in Newark, Delaware, was driving along the Christina Parkway in Newark around 4:30 a.m. Sunday when another vehicle slammed into his unmarked police car head-on, according to investigators.
Officials said it took first responders about 45 minutes to get Officer Haddix out of his vehicle. Paramedics gave him blood to keep him alive while rescuers worked to get him out.
“It’s a miracle that he survived this,” Aberdeen Police Chief Henry Trabert told NBC10.
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The driver of the other vehicle, 24-year-old Johnathan Hendrix of Middletown, Delaware, was arrested and charged with DUI. He’s also recovering from his own injuries.
Chief Trabert said Haddix likely has a long road to recovery but is expected to survive. Trabert told NBC10 Haddix was in and out of consciousness before surgery but was still able to tell him that he couldn’t wait to get back on patrol.
"Great cop. Army vet. Father of five,” Chief Trabert said. “We're getting such an outpour of support from the community since this has been reported."
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Haddix’s fellow officers are currently raising money for his family.
Chief Trabert also said Haddix’s own father was killed by a drunk driver when Haddix was only 7 years old. While he is upset by what happened, Chief Trabert also said Sunday’s incident was a good reminder of the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/officer-survives-head-on-crash-with-dui-driver-officials-say/3576761/ | 2023-06-01T00:26:04 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/officer-survives-head-on-crash-with-dui-driver-officials-say/3576761/ |
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Contact Us | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-foster-mom-recounts-the-most-rewarding-experience-of-her-life/3576676/ | 2023-06-01T00:26:10 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-foster-mom-recounts-the-most-rewarding-experience-of-her-life/3576676/ |
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Contact Us | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/walnut-garden-a-space-once-destroyed-during-2020-protests-reopens-as-urban-oasis-in-center-city/3576693/ | 2023-06-01T00:26:16 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/walnut-garden-a-space-once-destroyed-during-2020-protests-reopens-as-urban-oasis-in-center-city/3576693/ |
The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research is pressing for ways to make it easier for African Americans to participate in clinical trials.
The organization held a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill to let members of Congress know that it has been difficult to enroll Blacks in clinical trials, even though they are most likely to suffer from Sarcoidosis.
A survey showed Black patients often do not have access to transportation, child care, or time off from work to make regular trips to a hospital as part of a trial.
And, the data shows they are the ones who most need the care.
“Unfortunately, the Black community has the highest prevalence and the worst outcomes of Sarcoidosis,” CEO of the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research Mary McGowan said. “So, we see hospitalization rates that are 18 times higher. Overall, the African American community is three times more likely to get Sarcoidosis than the Caucasian community.”
The foundation has created the “Ignore No More” campaign to shed light on the problem.
It is also seeking a $5,000 tax credit and more flexibility from FMLA for clinical trial participants. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/31/foundation-for-sarcoidosis-research-pushes-for-african-americans-to-participate-in-clinical-trials/ | 2023-06-01T00:28:27 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/31/foundation-for-sarcoidosis-research-pushes-for-african-americans-to-participate-in-clinical-trials/ |
BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – A Bedford County man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting and attacking a woman in Bedford County in 2019, according to Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Bethany Harrison.
On Tuesday, Steven Lorent was sentenced by a Bedford Circuit Court judge on the following charges:
- Felony, object sexual penetration - 50 years, with 25 suspended
- Felony, strangulation - 5 years
- Misdemeanor, domestic assault and battery - 12 months
The active terms of incarceration are to be served concurrently with a total active prison sentence of 25 years.
The suspended sentence of 25 years is conditioned upon Lorent submitting to and following the terms of supervised probation for five years upon his release, remaining on good behavior for 10 years, registering as a sex offender with state police, and having no contact with the victim.
We previously reported that in April 2019, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office was called to a residence on Little Creek Road for the report of a sexual assault. Police say a neighbor called 911 when the victim ran to his house, pleading for help.
[READ MORE: Man charged with sexually assaulting, attacking woman in Bedford County]
Lorent was not at the residence when deputies arrived at the scene and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The victim said that he took her cell phone when he left, so she went to a neighbor’s house to get help.
According to the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the woman was eventually transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment, and the hospital found injuries consistent with sexual assault, strangulation and assault and battery.
Lorent was later found at a residence in Huddleston. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/31/man-to-serve-25-years-for-sexually-assaulting-attacking-woman-in-bedford-county/ | 2023-06-01T00:28:33 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/05/31/man-to-serve-25-years-for-sexually-assaulting-attacking-woman-in-bedford-county/ |
NSB Ian flood study concludes no significant development impact; says moratorium not needed
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — After Tropical Storm Ian brought devastating flooding to the city last year, New Smyrna Beach residents showed a “sentiment,” according to former Mayor Russ Owen, that some new, large city developments could have contributed to the situation.
The city then adopted a development moratorium until June 27 and hired engineering firm Jones Edmunds & Associates to conduct a study into the effectiveness of the city’s stormwater regulations and how these residential developments might have played a part in increased flooding in surrounding areas.
The firm presented the results of that study Wednesday night to the City Commission and approximately 100 residents at the Brannon Center, and they did not align with that “sentiment.”
Previous coverage:Nearly 500 NSB residents attend flooding presentation following development moratorium
'No' to proposed ordinance:After resident feedback, NSB votes to stop development restrictions ordinance
Beach rescues:Volusia Beach Safety rescues 301 people from rip currents during Memorial Day weekend
The study concluded that flooding in the city, especially in neighborhoods surrounding large new developments, would have been just as significant without those developments, according to the firm’s managing director and vice president Brett Cunningham.
In addition, Cunningham said, based on the study’s findings, the city can remove the moratorium, which is limited to residential developments of 10 acres or more, or 25+ homes, in FEMA-designated flood zones A and AE, covering most of the city.
What did the study find?
Cunningham explained that the study was conducted in several parts: Data collection; review of stormwater code and standards; an exposure analysis of the flooding; and a new development analysis.
One of the most significant findings of the exposure analysis, he explained, was how New Smyrna Beach saw between 20 and 21 inches of rain from the storm last year.
“Typically, stormwater regulations or stormwater facilities are designed to control up to, say, 25- to 100-year events,” Cunningham explained. “And what we got was significantly more than that.”
A 100-year storm event would have brought between 13 and 15 inches of rain, according to Cunningham's presentation. The 20-21 inches seen last year during Ian fell under an even more unlikely 500-year storm event range.
A 100-year storm event means in any given year, there is a 1% chance of that storm event happening, which puts a 500-year storm event (like Ian) at 0.2%.
Cunningham presented two maps illustrating the areas of the city that flooded in shades of blue, as well as 1,348 yellow dots representing reported flooding from residents, almost all of which were in the flooded areas.
The other map showed what the 100-year event would have looked like, while a third map showed that several of the city areas affected by Ian saw more inches of flooding than they would have seen with the 100-year storm event rainfall.
Flooding would have been the same without developments, study says
Cunningham then explained how the new development analysis was conducted.
He and his team took two such developments in the city, Venetian Bay and Coastal Woods, and analyzed what both of these developments’ surrounding neighborhoods would have looked like after the storm had they not been there and compared that to what these areas looked like after Ian.
“We took these two areas and took away the homes, the grating, stormwater ponds, we took everything back to what it was before there was a development and simulated Ian again,” Cunningham said.
When asked by Commissioner Jason McGuirk what the result of that simulation was, Cunningham said there were “no significant post-development increases.”
Like other surrounding towns, Cunningham said the city’s stormwater regulations and standards mostly account for the possibility of 100-year storm events and are effective. One of his recommendations in that regard was for the city to expand its regulations so all developments account for that possibility, too.
Other recommendations included, but were not limited to:
- Reducing exemption thresholds.
- Clarifying some of the regulations’ language.
- Developing a standard for safe conveyance of offsite flows.
What did the presentation say about the moratorium?
Cunningham explained why, according to his study’s findings, the city could discontinue the development moratorium.
Among the reasons he mentioned were:
- The fact that stormwater code and standards in the city are “among the most protective in the state.”
- Many parcels were developed prior to modern or current stormwater regulations and are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas that are at or below the 100-year flood stages.
- Ian was well in excess of what is currently considered to be the 100-year rainfall volume.
- A high coastal surge (between 4 and 6 feet) was coincident with the rainfall.
Residents had a chance to ask questions of Cunningham and other city officials before Mayor Fred Cleveland adjourned the meeting.
The city will now review the study’s results further with Cunningham and his team and come up with a plan of action on the study’s recommendations regarding both stormwater regulations and whether or not to continue with the moratorium. | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2023/05/31/nsb-ian-flood-study-concludes-residents-officials-hear-findings-regarding-moratorium-and-damage/70273462007/ | 2023-06-01T00:28:59 | 0 | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2023/05/31/nsb-ian-flood-study-concludes-residents-officials-hear-findings-regarding-moratorium-and-damage/70273462007/ |
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) — Police made a big gambling bust in Starkville.
The bust happened Tuesday night, May 30 in the Rolling Hills subdivision.
According to the Starkville Police Department, 12 individuals face illegal gambling charges.
Police have yet to identify the suspects but said they’re from Canton, Columbus, Jackson, Macon and Starkville.
Officers also seized guns and pills, according to Police. | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/gambling-bust-made-tuesday-night-in-starkville/article_d8a8381a-0000-11ee-a6d5-a34c1eb00dfb.html | 2023-06-01T00:29:52 | 0 | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/gambling-bust-made-tuesday-night-in-starkville/article_d8a8381a-0000-11ee-a6d5-a34c1eb00dfb.html |
NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WTVA) — The New Albany Police Department has a new look with its new building.
The city bought the old Fred’s store on Main Street and renovated it for the city’s police and utilities departments.
It replaces the decades-old building on Bankhead Street, which is now a historic city landmark.
The new facility comes with a brand-new training room, a new kitchen, an interrogation room, a shower and a spare room with workout equipment.
"For the first time, the guys can, if they have an incident on patrol, most of them don't live close enough to be able to kinda go home and change,” Police Chief Chris Robertson said. “They can come and take a shower and change at the station."
An upgrade is an understatement. The new building has so many features the old department didn’t. He’d need a whole day to explain, the police chief said.
Once the new building is fully decorated, the city will hold an open house for the public. | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/new-home-for-new-albany-police-is-a-huge-upgrade/article_252e7940-fffe-11ed-8c59-078c39ae0ab8.html | 2023-06-01T00:29:58 | 1 | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/new-home-for-new-albany-police-is-a-huge-upgrade/article_252e7940-fffe-11ed-8c59-078c39ae0ab8.html |
PONTOTOC, Miss. (WTVA) — The health organization Mississippi Care partnered with the City of Pontotoc to provide healthy food options to people in need.
Nearly one in five Mississippians do not have fresh vegetables or fruit in their regular diet, including one in four children, according to Feeding America.
"Our motto is produce for every plate and a garden for every yard,’ Pontotoc Community Garden Manager Julia McDowell said.
She continued, “We have a lot of produce that is grown in Pontotoc County, but we still have high rate of cancer and high blood pressure, heart disease and we really want to help resolve some of these things by encouraging people to eat healthy.”
Anyone who is in need of fresh fruits and vegetables, can come to the Pontotoc Farmers Market this Saturday at 7 a.m. or call 662-760-6703. | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/pontotoc-community-garden-aims-to-help-those-in-need/article_624a0ed0-fff8-11ed-ac4c-57c2bd231c9b.html | 2023-06-01T00:30:04 | 1 | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/pontotoc-community-garden-aims-to-help-those-in-need/article_624a0ed0-fff8-11ed-ac4c-57c2bd231c9b.html |
BELL COUNTY, Texas — CASA of Bell & Coryell Counties was presented a check for $50,000 from Wings, Pizza and Things following a successful CASA Classic Golf Tournament on Wednesday, May 31.
The sold-out golf tournament was held back on May 22 and hosted 172 golfers, with even more attending the dinner after.
The Dent family, who owns Wings, Pizza and Things, along with Honorable Judge Cheryll Mabray, were honored at the dinner as they have provided a lot of support for CASA throughout the years.
Guests were able to enjoy great food and also participate in a sports memorabilia auction that featured a wide variety of raffle prizes at the dinner.
The $50,000 was the most the event has ever raised and it all comes back to the passion the Dent family has for this cause.
Mike Dent explained how he spent a lot of time during his youth in the foster care system, so he holds organizations like CASA so near and dear to his heart
Dent stated, "I got into the restaurant business to change peoples' lives," and with a donation of this size, he is doing just that. | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/2023-casa-classic-golf-tournament-raises-a-record-50000/500-42de9b98-6cc3-4556-9c22-f50bf896423b | 2023-06-01T00:31:50 | 0 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/2023-casa-classic-golf-tournament-raises-a-record-50000/500-42de9b98-6cc3-4556-9c22-f50bf896423b |
An American Community Bank financial adviser has been accredited to work with employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Tira Clement, a financial adviser for American Financial Services, American Community Bank's wealth management division, earned the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor designation. It reflects proficiency in working with employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401Ks.
Developed by retirement plan experts and financial advisors, the credential demonstrates knowledge and expertise in administering the commonly employee-sponsored benefit. Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisors can help business clients maintain compliance, review financial status, recommend solutions to any retirement issues that crop up for employees and find potential concerns in established plans.
“A 401K retirement plan is an important benefit for a business, so my CPFA designation should help to reassure a local business owner or plan administrator that I can offer real insight and assistance with their retirement plan," she said. "Plus, I can help their participants as well."
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She works at the Crown Point office of the bank, which also has offices in Munster, Hammond, Dyer and Schererville.
“With this designation, I offer local Northwest Indiana businesses a unique and valuable skill set that is not held by many financial advisors," she said.
Established as The First Polish Building Loan & Savings Association in the St. Casimir School in Hammond in 1910, the bank originally served Northwest Indiana's large Polish community. It's now a third-generation family-owned bank that changed its charter to a state of Indiana commercial bank in 2015.
Previously known as the American Savings and Loan Association and American Savings FSB, the community bank mainly deals in deposits and mortgages but also does commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, mortgage-backed securities and investment securities like bonds.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Pierogi stand, Brown Skin Coffee and Alpha Family Resale opening; Ixxa and Dan's Pierogies updating
Open
Open
Closed
Renovated
New mural
Opening
Opening
Coming soon
Coming soon
Expanded
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219 News Now 5/19/23
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Unbeatable Eatables, DRIPBaR Crown Point, Taco Depot and Flashback Antiques open; Da Burger House closes | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/american-community-bank-financial-adviser-earns-employer-sponsored-retirement-plan-accreditation/article_e266c0f2-fff0-11ed-81f5-776c41d3f8b9.html | 2023-06-01T00:33:05 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/american-community-bank-financial-adviser-earns-employer-sponsored-retirement-plan-accreditation/article_e266c0f2-fff0-11ed-81f5-776c41d3f8b9.html |
NEW YORK — Former Vice President Mike Pence will officially launch his widely expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week, adding another candidate to the growing GOP field and putting him in direct competition with his former boss.
Pence will hold a kickoff event in Des Moines on June 7, the date of his 64th birthday, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details ahead of the official announcement. He is also expected to release a video message as part of the launch.
His team sees early-voting Iowa as critical to his potential path to victory and advisers say he plans to campaign aggressively for the conservative, Evangelical Christian voters who make up a substantial portion of the state's Republican electorate. Pence is an avowed social conservative and is staunchly opposed to abortion rights, favoring a national ban.
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The campaign is expected to lean heavily on town halls and retail stops aimed at showcasing Pence's personality as he tries to emerge from former President Donald Trump's shadow.
Pence, who served in Congress and as Indiana's governor before he was tapped as Trump's running mate in 2016, had been an exceedingly loyal vice president until he broke with Trump over the 2020 election.
Trump, desperate to overturn his loss and remain in power, had tried to convince Pence — and his supporters — that Pence could somehow reject voters' will as he presided over the ceremonial counting of the electoral college votes on Jan. 6, 2021, even though the vice president has no such power. As the count was underway, a violent mob of Trump's supporters stormed the building, smashing through windows, assailing police and sending Pence, his family and his staff, racing for cover as members of the mob chanted "Hang Mike Pence!"
Pence has said Trump's "reckless words" endangered his family and everyone else who was at the Capitol that day. He has said "history will hold Donald Trump accountable."
"For four years, we had a close working relationship. It did not end well," Pence wrote in his book, "So Help Me God."
Pence has spent the two-and-a-half years since then strategically distancing himself from Trump as he has laid the groundwork for the campaign. While he consistently praises the record of the "Trump-Pence administration," he has also stressed differences between the two men, on both policy and style.
He has called on his party to move on from Trump's election grievances and warned against the growing tide of populism in the Republican Party. He admonished "Putin apologists" unwilling to stand up to the Russian leader over his assault on Ukraine in response to comments from Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running a distant second to Trump in the polls.
He has also argued in favor of reforms to programs like Social Security and Medicare — which both Trump and DeSantis have vowed not to touch — and criticized DeSantis for his escalating feud with Disney.
Pence also testified last month before a federal grand jury investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Pence has spent months visiting early-voting states, delivering policy speeches, speaking at churches and courting donors ahead of his expected run.
The week will be a busy one for GOP announcements. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is planning to launch his campaign Tuesday evening at a town hall event in New Hampshire and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will announce on June 7 in Fargo. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/government-politics/mike-pence-to-launch-campaign-for-president-in-iowa-june-7/article_1d91913e-fffb-11ed-ad54-3717bfbd4a9a.html | 2023-06-01T00:33:11 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/government-politics/mike-pence-to-launch-campaign-for-president-in-iowa-june-7/article_1d91913e-fffb-11ed-ad54-3717bfbd4a9a.html |
FOREST PARK, Ga. — Atlanta State Farmers Market vendors, who were concerned about a spike in thefts, have seen those thefts go down after 11Alive stepped in to help a month and a half ago. However, after weeks of relief-- they are, again, worrying about their safety.
The most recent surveillance videos provided by vendors show a passenger getting out of his vehicle, opening another car, and taking items in broad daylight.
"We handle cash so it's scary," vendor Erica Hernandez said. "I just never imagined the brazenness in crime and how much they get away with it and how often it occurs. I just don't feel safe. I don't want my kids to witness or something to happen to my kids. My parents come here, families come here. I don't want anything to happen to anybody. So we need to come together."
After 11Alive's last story in early April, Forest Park Police started handing out flyers and went around with loudspeakers, reminding people to lock their cars.
Vendors said police did increase patrols as well.
Despite those efforts, since April 15, police reports show there have been six reported car break-ins, along with one bike and more than $1,500 stolen.
Hernandez believes the numbers are likely higher because vendors there don't always feel comfortable reporting a crime.
"They always ask, 'Why do you leave your things outside?' We're trying to lock everything up with a lock and they still get in. I can't control everything. We distribute to restaurants, we distribute to mom-and-pop shops so it's not like cash can be avoided," she said.
Hernandez said she wants to have a sit-down conversation with supervisors of the market to discuss different safety measures they can put in place.
"I don't see any action being done," she said. "I'm sure that's not the case. I'm sure they have ideas of what to do but we're not included-- the people that are directly affected."
11Alive called and emailed the Georgia Department of Agriculture. The department has responded to our inquiry and is working to get back to us. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/atlanta-state-farmers-market-vendors-crime-continues/85-01a41f44-57cf-4206-846c-c6c51d041b5a | 2023-06-01T00:33:32 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/atlanta-state-farmers-market-vendors-crime-continues/85-01a41f44-57cf-4206-846c-c6c51d041b5a |
ATLANTA — Days before the family of a 16-year-old girl would have to lay her body to rest, they're mourning for the moments in which her spirit shined bright and the joy she brought to their lives.
"I don't want to smile - not right now. I want to see that baby again," Rodney Williams, the grandfather of Bre'Asia Powell said before a balloon release was held in her honor.
She was shot and killed while celebrating the start of summer over Memorial Day weekend with a group of teens. Police said she seemed to have been caught in the crossfire at a gathering that took place at 2:30 a.m. Sunday at Benjamin E. Mays High School.
"She had dreams in her eyes," Williams said. "She used to always say 'Grandad, I'm going to be the star.'"
Powell enjoyed basketball, volleyball, dancing and was embedded into the Atlanta community. She was an enthusiast of the Atlanta Teen Leaders Academy and was supposed to start the city's summer youth employment program this week.
Her grandfather said there was more to his grandbaby than her hobbies -- it was her passion that she put behind them that made people fall in love.
"That was just my baby, she wanted to do everything," he said.
Powell leaves behind five siblings and her mother, who she was close with. Williams said she is taking this loss hard.
"She's broken right now," he said. "It's going to be a long road. We're gonna need all friends and family to come. Hang around now."
At the balloon release Wednesday evening, Powell's mother garnered strength to speak about her daughter.
"She lit up the whole room. Look at the love I have out here," the mom said as she reference the crowd gathered.
She said she was thankful to have Bre'Asia as a child and also urged parents to hold their children accountable to help stop gun violence.
Williams said this is not the first time gun violence has impacted his family.
"My son got killed, my sister got killed -- and now my grandbaby," Williams said somberly.
The family is now left grieving their "superstar" and leaning on the community for support. They are hoping the teens who were at the gathering come forward with information that helps police make an arrest and bring their family closure.
People can celebrate Powell's spirit and her life in several public events the family is hosting. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made. The community can can reach out here to the family to find out ways to contribute. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/breasia-powell-grandfather/85-f2c4d76d-b2bd-4ec2-92d4-690303b2ca2a | 2023-06-01T00:33:38 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/breasia-powell-grandfather/85-f2c4d76d-b2bd-4ec2-92d4-690303b2ca2a |
COBB COUNTY, Ga. — After months of work, the Cobb County Adult Detention Center now offers the General Education Development (GED) test onsite for its detainees.
Previously, detainees at the jail ready to take the GED were taken to other jails in the metro area.
"It took four months of hard work and coordination to ensure our detainees had the proper documentation needed to get funding for the test and to ensure rigorous site standards at the jail were met," said Capt. Yaminah Holt, who oversees detainee programming at the county jail. "I'm happy to announce that one of our detainees passed the first onsite GED test this week."
The county sheriff's office partnered with employment website CobbWorks and the Cobb County School District to make the onsite testing possible.
The first onsite GED test at the jail occurred Tuesday, May 23. Testing will be available at the detention center every Tuesday for detainees, Holt said.
According to a release sent by the sheriff's office, studies show people with a GED have higher earning potential and are less likely to face unemployment.
While the onsite testing is new, the detention center began offering GED instruction courses to inmates in 2022.
The detention center is one of several jails and organizations working to provide opportunities to those behind bars.
"We are in a day in time where we have to think outside the box," Holt pointed out. "We have to be able to reach our detainees, our communities in different ways, and by doing so, we have started with this form of rehabilitation."
Georgia State University's Perimeter College celebrated on May 5 the graduation of its first-ever class of incarcerated students from Walker State Prison in Rock Spring. The graduating class is part of the Georgia State University Prison Education Project (GSUPEP).
Other examples in the metro include a welding program offered by the Henry County Sheriff's Office for inmates at the county jail.
In Cobb County, the onsite GED test is a way for the jail to help its detainees.
"In the long run, it's going to not only better that individual, but it's going to make them a more productive person when they get out. They will have the bare minimum that they need to join the workforce," said Holt.
Detainees that take the GED test must be qualified, Holt explained. They are first interviewed and tested to determine their education level before assigning them to an instruction course. The individuals are kept in the jail's compliance dorms, have been in custody for at least 30 days, and comply with the facility's rules.
The future scholars taking part in the onsite GED testing have been very receptive and enjoy the opportunity.
"The joy that they have shown and the eagerness is very welcoming, and it just shows that we are going in the right direction in providing them the assistance they need," said Holt. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/cobb-county-adult-detention-center-ged-onsite-test/85-a8ec53c9-6b57-4714-8321-74e51c0754da | 2023-06-01T00:33:45 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/cobb-county-adult-detention-center-ged-onsite-test/85-a8ec53c9-6b57-4714-8321-74e51c0754da |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Cole Hauser, one of the stars of the show Yellowstone, stopped by Theo's in Fayetteville while in town for the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Theo's posted a photo of Hauser on Wednesday, May 31, with the caption, "In case y'all didn't know - Theo's is Rip approved! Thank you so much, Cole Hauser for coming in! We are definitely fans of Yellowstone so it was a treat for us!"
Hauser plays Rip Wheeler, known as the "fixer" of the Dutton Family in the widely acclaimed show streaming on Peacock.
Hauser's son is heading to TCU in the fall, which of course Arkansas plays in the tournament on Saturday.
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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/yellowstone-actor-cole-hauser-stops-by-theos-in-fayetteville/527-4a2efbba-b368-4ff6-aff1-5e3a65abf3d9 | 2023-06-01T00:36:39 | 1 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/yellowstone-actor-cole-hauser-stops-by-theos-in-fayetteville/527-4a2efbba-b368-4ff6-aff1-5e3a65abf3d9 |
AUSTIN, Texas — Raul Meza's alleged crimes span over 40 years, with victims from age 8 to 80. Even though time has passed, the memory of the investigation stays with the detectives who were on the case.
"There's many parts of it I'm sure are forgotten, but there are other parts, it reminds you – it's like it was last week," said Bruce Mills, former homicide detective for the Austin Police Department.
After the homicide on May 20, police will be looking into up to 10 cases, dating back to 1996, potentially involving Meza. Mills, who was a homicide detective on Meza's case in 1982, said investigators will have to look for similarities to piece together these cases.
"Certainly you will look at your unsolved cases, not just locally, but anywhere that fit that or have characteristics of this type of case," Mills said.
Mark Gillespie, a former forensic director for APD, said evidence will also be a large part of the investigation.
"The key, I think, in many of these cases, especially with cold cases, are physical evidence," Gillespie said.
But he said time can be the greatest issue when investigating evidence.
"Evidence could be degraded, you know, could be destroyed," Gillespie said. "Every time it's handled, you run the risk of contamination or loss of evidence."
He said the same is true for talking to witnesses.
"One of the biggest challenges they'll have is just time itself," Gillespie said. “Time has an effect on memories, on recollection.”
Gillespie said a solution could be bringing other investigators back to help with the cases – investigators like Mills, who still remember it to this day.
"It's one of those, it's never out of your memory," Mills said. "I mean, if I happened to drive through southeast Austin, I recall the case."
Mills said if they needed him to interview Meza or need his help, he would be willing.
"I want to stay close to it, to see this individual never has an opportunity to commit that type of crime again," Mills said. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/bruce-mills-cold-case-investigations-raul-meza/269-e1578d48-786e-4167-8e1d-059ebf7caa70 | 2023-06-01T00:39:54 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/bruce-mills-cold-case-investigations-raul-meza/269-e1578d48-786e-4167-8e1d-059ebf7caa70 |
AUSTIN, Texas — As summer break begins, programs designed to provide free meals for those 18 and under are starting up.
The Austin Independent School District and the Central Texas Food Bank are among those helping provide meals to underprivileged children in need of food while school is not in session.
"There are 50 sites that we are offering breakfast and lunch at,” said AISD’S executive director of Food and Services and Warehouse Ryan Mikolaycik.
You do not need to be an AISD student to receive the meals. They are expected to serve more than 100,000 meals over the next few months.
“We have an opportunity to really feed the belly, and feed the families and we are excited about that. These families, with the high cost of living, they really need a source of food, and the kids need a place they can come and feel safe and get food," said Mikolaycik.
The Central Texas Food Bank is getting ready to serve more 260,000 meals, including providing nearly 5,000 daily.
"This summer, we will provide meals to 60 sites throughout our service area," said president and chief executive officer of the Central Texas Food Bank, Sari Vatske.
Vatske said they are seeing pandemic levels of food insecurity right now.
Experiencing what Vaske calls a "a triple threat, not having access to free or reduced meals, the cost of cooling a home increases, and daycare options continue to be expensive."
Both Mikolayski and Vatske said they will continue to serve the community to make sure kids don't go hungry.
"We are doing everything we can try to meet the increase need this summer," said Vatske.
"We are here for the kids of Austin," added Mikolaycik. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/central-texas-summer-programs-offering-meals-for-kids/269-1f1848bd-32a6-49e5-b5e7-2c4c939297a8 | 2023-06-01T00:40:00 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/central-texas-summer-programs-offering-meals-for-kids/269-1f1848bd-32a6-49e5-b5e7-2c4c939297a8 |
AUSTIN, Texas — Raul Meza Jr.'s crimes go as far back as adolescence.
On New Year's Eve in 1975, 19-year-old Derly Ramirez was working at a South Congress Avenue convenience store when 15-year-old Meza Jr. robbed him.
"Then Raul led me back into the cooler, where he made me kneel down and then he shot me in the back. He thought he killed me, but I didn't die," Ramirez said. "The trajectory of the bullet was such that it caused the least amount of damage luckily, because it entered just to the left of the right scapula and exited just above my collarbone. You can see it here."
Ramirez lost a lot of blood but recovered in weeks, while Meza Jr. got out of prison in 1980.
For Ramirez, the physical and emotional scars remain given that Meza Jr.'s name is resurfacing and is tied to other crimes, like the murder of 8-year-old Kendra Page in 1982.
"He had tried to contact me through his lawyer in the past and I refused vehemently, because again I told the lawyer, 'Whenever you are able to get Kendra's permission, I'll think about it,'" Ramirez said. "It's never really gone, and it won't be. And again, I'm just so sad that this happened. And it brings back all those memories flooding back as to what could have happened, what should have happened and couldn't."
Ramirez admits he never reached out to Kendra's parents because it would have been sad and painful as a survivor.
Now that Meza is arrested for the murder of 80-year-old Jesse Fraga in Pflugerville, he hopes "justice is served" this time around. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/derly-ramirez-raul-meza-1975-victim/269-56de085b-0ecb-42f9-8e8b-2acd8d316eb5 | 2023-06-01T00:40:06 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/derly-ramirez-raul-meza-1975-victim/269-56de085b-0ecb-42f9-8e8b-2acd8d316eb5 |
DALLAS — Texans should expect cheaper electricity bills this summer, price trackers say.
Power prices soared in 2022, after Russia's attack on Ukraine upset the global energy market. The market has since stabilized, Energy Ogre chief operating officer David Kinchen says.
"We're starting summer from a very good position of strength, with relatively low gas prices and a good set of storage numbers," Kinchen said, noting that European natural gas reserves are essentially full.
Most Texas power plants use natural gas as fuel, meaning ratepayers' bills are all-but-directly tied to its fluctuating price.
In 2022, while fuel was most expensive, Texans used more electricity than ever. The state broke its peak electricity demand record 11 times last year.
Summer temperatures arrived earlier, forcing power plants to work harder for a longer stretch of time. This spring has been significantly cooler.
"You had a quantity problem with it being very hot and you had a price problem with fuel prices being very high," Kinchen said. "People got bill shock."
Kinchen said now is a good time for ratepayers to lock in to a fixed electricity rate.
Texas' growing population is likely to set electricity demand records again in 2023, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said. A seasonal report warns the state's grid doesn't have enough power to meet demand under an extreme scenario where the sun doesn't shine, the wind doesn't blow and natural gas pipelines break.
But there are some factors which might bolster confidence in Texas' grid. Generators' equipment should be in better shape this year, for example.
Typically, power plants go offline during the spring so workers can mend aging machinery. In 2022, Texas asked generators to delay planned outages so they'd continue producing power during an unusually hot May.
The move prompted concerns from industry monitors, who feared delaying maintenance might lead to more significant problems over time.
Generators have since caught up on routine work, Vegas said.
"We've seen a real active maintenance season this spring," Vegas said. "We feel we're in good shape coming into the summer and we're seeing the planned outages down at levels we expect for this time of year."
The grid manager will also pay power plants to maintain new reserve generators which can come online and begin feeding electricity to the grid in just ten minutes, Vegas said.
And ERCOT introduced a new communications strategy Wednesday, which aims to alert Texans days in advance of potentially tight grid conditions. Vegas added he does not expect ERCOT will need to issue many voluntary conservation requests this summer.
"We want to just help people be aware and informed of what's going on," Vegas said. "We want to be more transparent. We want to be more open and get more people comfortable with hearing from us under conditions that are not emergency conditions." | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-electricity-bills-should-be-cheaper-this-summer-experts-say/287-624f85cf-dfdb-4738-9314-c6dcbb2e55a6 | 2023-06-01T00:40:12 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-electricity-bills-should-be-cheaper-this-summer-experts-say/287-624f85cf-dfdb-4738-9314-c6dcbb2e55a6 |
Steel production declined by 8,000 tons in the Great Lakes region last week, the fourth straight weekly decrease, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Locally, steel mills in the Great Lakes region, clustered mainly along the south shore of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana, made 568,000 tons of metal in the week that ended May 27, down from 576,000 tons the previous week.
Steel mills remained well below 80% capacity, a key threshold for financial success for the steel sector. After years of record profitability, the industry has been dealing with falling prices, increased economic uncertainty and rising import levels after tariffs were rolled back in favor of quota systems with some trading partners. The United Steelworkers union and Cleveland-Cliffs have been pursuing new trade protections for the first time in years after a collapse in the tin market that led to the idling of tin mills, including in Gary.
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Overall, domestic steel mills made 1.737 million tons of steel last week, up 0.5% from 1.728 million tons the previous week and down 1.9% compared to 1.771 million tons the same time a year prior.
Nationally, steel production in 2023 totals 35.35 million tons, a 3.9% decrease from the 36.77 million tons manufactured through the same period last year.
U.S. steel mills have run at a capacity utilization rate of 75.1% through Saturday, down from 80.5% at the same point in 2022, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Steel capacity utilization was 77.2% last week, down from 81.1% a year earlier and up from 76.8% the week prior.
Steel production in the southern region, which encompasses many mini-mills and rivals the Great Lakes region in output, totaled 744,000 tons last week, up from 728,000 tons the week before, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Volume in the rest of the Midwest rose to 223,000 tons, up from 212,000 tons the week prior. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/great-lakes-steel-production-falls-by-8-000-tons/article_ac320960-ffbe-11ed-ba1f-fbaa26c44ab6.html | 2023-06-01T00:41:42 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/great-lakes-steel-production-falls-by-8-000-tons/article_ac320960-ffbe-11ed-ba1f-fbaa26c44ab6.html |
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Mica Rodriguez, 14, was last seen in Hammond's Hessville neighborhood Saturday evening. Anyone with information regarding Rodriguez's location…
HAMMOND — Police are asking the public to help locate Mica Rodriguez, 14, who was last seen around 5:40 p.m. Saturday in the Hessville area.
Rodriguez is approximately 5 feet tall, weighing 100 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, Hammond police said in a Facebook post Wednesday evening.
St. John Police CIT Officer Dustin Wartman is trained in mental health intervention.
Anyone with information regarding Rodriguez's location should call 911 and contact Sgt. Sergio Aldana at 219-852-2973.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Aaron Doeing Jr.
Age : 18
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304714
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: FRAUD - OBTAINING PROPERTY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Adam Hollingsworth
Age : 36
Residence: Ford Heights, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304719
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Anastasia Clark
Age : 23
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304826
Arrest Date: May 22, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Anthony Peters
Age : 36
Residence: Chicago Heights, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304722
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Cameron Mills
Age : 29
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304752
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - TOUCH W/NO INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Candice Makiling
Age : 32
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304770
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Candice Shaw
Age : 40
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304771
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Winfield Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Charles Ward
Age : 31
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304815
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - PRESENCE OF CHILD < 16 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Colton Wilkey
Age : 26
Residence: Lowell, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304825
Arrest Date: May 22, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Damien Kent
Age : 35
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304794
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Daniel Gianoli
Age : 46
Residence: Lansing, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304788
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lowell Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Daniel Velasquez
Age : 27
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304749
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: THEFT OF A FIREARM
Highest Offense Class: Felony
David McGuire Jr.
Age : 42
Residence: Riverdale, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304746
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: THEFT - (NIBRS FRAUD OFFENSE)
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Dessiree Reese
Age : 39
Residence: Lowell, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304791
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lowell Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - PRESENCE OF CHILD < 16 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Devante Ricks
Age : 30
Residence: South Holland, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304709
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Devion Perry
Age : 25
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304801
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Griffith Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - MODERATE BODILY INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Devonte House
Age : 28
Residence: Dolton, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304720
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: RESISTING - INTERFERING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT DEF. USES A VEHICLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Dimitri Person
Age : 30
Residence: Villa Park, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304748
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: POSSESSION - FIREARM - BY A SERIOUS VIOLENT FELON
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Eddie Turnage
Age : 59
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304803
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: New Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Edgar Hernandez Rodriguez
Age : 36
Residence: Lansing, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304808
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Munster Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - PRESENCE OF CHILD < 16 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Emmanuel Rivera
Age : 41
Residence: Beloit, WI
Booking Number(s): 2304798
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: OWi
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Eric Rangel Jr.
Age : 27
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304747
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: HOMICIDE - MURDER
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Fernando Mancillas Munoz
Age : 34
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304797
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: HPDB
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Freddie Forsythe
Age : 49
Residence: Lake Station, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304779
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake Station Police Department
Offense Description: SEX CRIME - POSSESS CHILD PORNOGRAPHY (b) ENHANCEMENT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Glen Johnson II
Age : 33
Residence: Lake Station, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304688
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: INTIMIDATION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Henry Jones Jr.
Age : 58
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304760
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: OPERATING A VEHICLE AFTER DRIVING PRIVILEGES ARE SUSPENDED
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jaime Najera
Age : 49
Residence: Schererville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304793
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Schererville Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
James Webb
Age : 52
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304751
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: FRAUD - DECEPTION - IDENTITY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jelani Pruitt
Age : 27
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304789
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: BURGLARY - PROPERTY - RESIDENTIAL ENTRY - BREAKING AND ENTERING
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jennifer Mischka
Age : 38
Residence: Lansing, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304713
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Dyer Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jermaine Wade Sr.
Age : 51
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304696
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Jerome Cannon
Age : 37
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304697
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: INTIMIDATION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jesus Barajas
Age : 30
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304727
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Munster Police Department
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Joshua Chism
Age : 28
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304783
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Crown Point Police Department
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - FIREARM
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kenneth Jones
Age : 44
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304700
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Gary Police Department
Offense Description: CONFINEMENT; OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony; Misdemeanor
Kirk Wright
Age : 37
Residence: Rockford, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304818
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Other
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Kurt McCammon Jr.
Age : 35
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304795
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Cedar Lake Police Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kymari Cheeks
Age : 24
Residence: South Bend, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304733
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Lisette Corral
Age : 41
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304690
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: FRAUD - FORGERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Louie Campbell
Age : 44
Residence: Munster, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304816
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Munster Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - USING A DEADLY WEAPON; BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL; DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Felonies
Michael Hill
Age : 34
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304809
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Merrillville Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - PRESENCE OF CHILD < 16 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Michael-Anthony Kruse
Age : 30
Residence: Lowell, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304732
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - W/INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Milan Tanasijevich
Age : 39
Residence: Schereville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304726
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Schereville Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Monique Bradford
Age : 53
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304698
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - TOUCH W/NO INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Montel Smith
Age : 29
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304753
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Gary Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Muhammad Najeeullah
Age : 51
Residence: Highland, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304792
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Dyer Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Nadarangua Jackson-Carson
Age : 19
Residence: Chicago Heights, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304687
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Naja Wilder
Age : 22
Residence: Blue Island, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304744
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - W/PERMANENT INJURY OR DISFIGUREMENT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Novae Gatewood
Age : 53
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304693
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Paris Finney
Age : 35
Residence: Hebron, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304694
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: LACC
Offense Description: DEALING - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Quintin Transou Jr.
Age : 37
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304721
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Merrillville Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Raymond Colburn
Age : 53
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304790
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Crown Point Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Rene Rodriguez
Age : 51
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304814
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Robert Jones
Age : 54
Residence: Weeki Wachee, FL
Booking Number(s): 2304768
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Cedar Lake Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Robert Kirk
Age : 61
Residence: Highland, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304811
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Highland Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Robert Ramos
Age : 67
Residence: St. John, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304740
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Ronald Myers
Age : 57
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304804
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - POCKET-PICKING - $750 TO $50,000
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Semaj Reynolds
Age : 26
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304780
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Gary Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Theron Harris Jr.
Age : 21
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304724
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake Station Police Department
Offense Description: RESISTING - INTERFERING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT DEF. USES A VEHICLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Travis Walker
Age : 38
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304743
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Trina Weaver
Age : 39
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304728
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Victor Sanchez
Age : 22
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304766
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: WEAPON - POSSESSION - DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE (EXPLOSIVES) - UNLAWFUL POSSESSION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Vincent Michalik
Age : 20
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304817
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Merrillville Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST A PERSON < 14 YEARS OLD - BY ADULT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
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Get local news delivered to your inbox! | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond/hammond-police-searching-for-missing-teen/article_54f88d38-0007-11ee-90f0-5b6425513710.html | 2023-06-01T00:41:48 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond/hammond-police-searching-for-missing-teen/article_54f88d38-0007-11ee-90f0-5b6425513710.html |
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Amid a rainy afternoon across the Tampa Bay area, a driver hydroplaned on Interstate 275 in Pinellas County and then crashed into a firetruck and ambulance, troopers say.
Nobody involved in the crash was hurt, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release.
The 39-year-old was driving at around 3:35 p.m. northbound on I-275, south of 54th Avenue North in the left lane while a city of Largo firetruck was traveling in the same direction in the center lane, FHP says. The Sunstar ambulance, meanwhile, was stopped along the northbound shoulder next to the right lane of the interstate.
The man's car reportedly hydroplaned into the center lane and crashed with the firetruck. This then caused the car to redirect to the shoulder and collide with the rear of the ambulance, troopers say.
All three vehicles ended up on the shoulder of the interstate, authorities say.
Torrential rainfall prompted a flood advisory Wednesday for parts of the Tampa Bay area and is made a mess of the evening commute.
Around the same time of the crash, traffic cameras showed I-275 traffic in Pinellas County going slow with heavy buildups, especially around 5th Avenue North to 54th Avenue North.
At 5 p.m. Wednesday, about 2 to 4 inches of rain were recorded in parts of the St. Petersburg area, according to the National Weather Service.
This amount of rain in a short period of time prompted the advisories for parts of Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
This dreary weather is forecast for the next several days as a low-pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico continues to push in ample moisture across the region. Although the National Hurricane Center is monitoring it for tropical development, its odds are low and instead, the disturbance will help to bust our drought.
Afternoon showers and storms are forecast through the next several days, with the threat of minor flooding to continue.
10 Tampa Bay's Andrew Krietz contributed to this report. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/car-hydroplanes-i-275-crash-firetruck-ambulance/67-ce522012-0a2e-4ca0-82a8-0afab2b31910 | 2023-06-01T00:46:09 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/car-hydroplanes-i-275-crash-firetruck-ambulance/67-ce522012-0a2e-4ca0-82a8-0afab2b31910 |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – If approved by the Vancouver City Council, the newest location of a fourth Safe Stay Community would be at a parking lot owned by the Washington Department of Transportation near Discovery Middle School.
Last week, the school district’s superintendent sent a letter to families to let them know about the city’s virtual information session on Wednesday to address any concerns.
But according to Vancouver Homeless Response Manager Jamie Spinelli, the property is ideal for a fourth Safe Stay site because of its location: There are people already camping nearby and it’s close to public transit.
The very first Safe Stay site opened in 2021 in a fenced area at Northeast 51st Circle and 112th Avenue — about a block from a YMCA and 1.5 miles from an elementary school.
Although nearby residents originally had concerns about the location, Spinelli said calls to police have gone down 30% in the area since its opening.
“The people who live on this site have now just become more eyes and ears for this location, and they want safety and security just like everyone out here does,” she said. “They keep an eye on strange things that might be happening in the neighborhood from outside here….[like] weird cars. They very much understand that kids live around here and they want that to be safe to them as well as themselves…”
Spinelli said they run background checks on potential site residents, and anyone with a sex offender history is not allowed to live at the sites. There’s also a ban on camping around any site.
Since the first site’s opening, the nearby YMCA and students at the elementary school have chosen to help the folks at the site by making them food and even throwing a holiday party.
Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops. | https://www.koin.com/local/clark-county/vancouvers-4th-safe-stay-site-to-offer-safety-security-despite-local-concerns/ | 2023-06-01T00:48:32 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/clark-county/vancouvers-4th-safe-stay-site-to-offer-safety-security-despite-local-concerns/ |
Washington Jefferson Park to reopen Friday
More than a year after closing Washington Jefferson Park to the public, Eugene on Friday will begin to take the fences down and allow visitors to return.
It may take a few days to complete, according to Kelly Shadwick, a spokesperson for the city.
A portion of the park between West 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue will stay fenced as the city and the neighborhood explore new ways to use the space. One consideration is a new dog park.
The park was closed March 16, 2022, after serving as a temporary city-sanctioned campsite for about a year. At its peak occupancy, the park had 280 residents.
The park could be a chaotic place and often drew complaints from neighbors. But it provided a low-barrier, reliable and allowable place to sleep in a city where the unhoused outnumber open shelter beds.
How much did restoration cost?
The city has spent $1.2 million on restoration, including the cost of fencing to keep people out of the area, according to Shadwick. The city used $743,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding and $28,384 in Oregon Homeless Funding to cover some of the costs.
Restoration of Washington-Jefferson Park included:
- Deep cleaning and painting hard surfaces.
- Removal of turf and topsoil in the park between West 2nd Avenue and West 6th Avenue.
- New topsoil and grading work.
- New grass seeding.
- Irrigation and electrical repair.
- New sidewalks, lighting, garbage cans and park signs.
How did the park serve the unhoused?
As COVID-19 hit Eugene in March 2020, the city suspended its usual enforcement of illegal camping, per CDC guidance that advised allowing people to stay in place during the public health emergency.
That summer, regular enforcement of the city’s camping ban returned, while CDC guidance remained the same. Then, in December 2020, at least 100 people were removed from land beside the Interstate 105 bridge on the border of the Whiteaker neighborhood and given no alternate shelter.
Weeks later, the city again changed its policy, following public pressure, to temporarily allow for urban camping and shared a detailed list of criteria residents of city parks would have to follow to be allowed to stay.
As Gov. Kate Brown lifted the state's emergency declaration in early 2022, the city again ended its temporary camping policy and returned to enforcement of the camping ban per city code.
Contact reporter Tatiana Parafiniuk-Talesnick at Tatiana@registerguard.com or 541-521-7512, and follow her on Twitter @TatianaSophiaPT. | https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/local/2023/05/31/eugene-oregon-washington-jefferson-park-to-reopen-friday-covid-19-homeless-camping/70267262007/ | 2023-06-01T00:58:24 | 0 | https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/local/2023/05/31/eugene-oregon-washington-jefferson-park-to-reopen-friday-covid-19-homeless-camping/70267262007/ |
ODESSA, Texas — As of about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, City of Odessa crews were working to fix a water main break.
Due to the break, residents in the area of 2300 N Jackson Ave. and 2300 Andrews Highway could experience low water pressure.
The city initially reported crews were on the scene of the break at 8:35 a.m.
We will update this story as more details are released. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/water-main-break-could-impact-water-pressure-for-some-odessans/513-059134a9-7871-4d22-bf8e-cd28ece2a75a | 2023-06-01T01:02:45 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/water-main-break-could-impact-water-pressure-for-some-odessans/513-059134a9-7871-4d22-bf8e-cd28ece2a75a |
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple officially filed his paperwork at 2 p.m. Wednesday for the 2023 mayoral election.
Whipple said on Facebook he filed to serve another term because his work is not done.
Four years ago, I promised to make Wichita a city that works for everyone. While many cities across the country crumbled under the pressure of COVID, Wichita took advantage of the moment. Now Wichita is once again the economic leader in Kansas, our violent crime rate has been cut in half, and, for the first time in history, Wichita scored a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index.
I’m filing to serve a second term because our work isn’t done. We must build upon our success and protect our progress by continuing the energy and momentum that are attracting the jobs of the future.”
Brandon Whipple
City Council member Bryan Frye also filed Wednesday.
Lily Wu filed Friday.
Other candidates include Julie Rose Stroud, Anthony Gallardo, Celeste Racette, Lily Wu, Tom Kane, Shelia M Davis, and Jared Cerullo, who have already filed, according to the election office. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/brandon-whipple-says-work-not-done-files-for-2023-mayoral-race/ | 2023-06-01T01:03:35 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/brandon-whipple-says-work-not-done-files-for-2023-mayoral-race/ |
BOISE, Idaho — After years of planning, work and consideration, the new Interfaith Sanctuary on State Street is ready to roll. KTVB checked in with Executive Director of Interfaith Sanctuary, Jodi Peterson-Stigers, who has led in that role since 2015.
“We've made it all the way through the appeal processes. We have a demo application that's active, so demo is beginning and then I think we're in the final stages of getting our building permit," Peterson-Stigers said. "I know that our designs were in review still, but moving forward,”
If you look back to the inception of this project, its gone through a lot of alterations in the last few years.
“Yeah, it's changed a lot. The reason why for Interfaith Sanctuary, to who this project is now being built for, it's gone through a lot of different transformations," Peterson-Stigers said.
So, what's the feeling like now that Interfaith has gone through all the processes, the appeals, the committees, the votes?
“Forward motion is so good," Peterson-Stigers said. "It feels really good to be like, you know, moving to like picking out the wood mills and picking out like, actually really starting to design a special new place where we serve our homeless in a much more dignified and safe way."
Still, there is a fundraising goal to get the whole site created.
“It's now at $14.5 million. The project goal at the beginning was $2.5 million, and then we saw slightly increase to about $5 million," Peterson-Stigers said. "Then when some of the newer conditions got put on, we saw some adjustments go up to about $8 million.”
Inflation has impacted construction costs, but the conditions the City of Boise has put on the project in order for it to be built is a major factor too. One example, a specialized fence between the building and backdoor neighbors.
“The cost of that is going to be between $280,000 and $330,000. The original fence would have been about $100,000,” Peterson-Stigers said.
A redesign of the building in recent months significantly added to the costs. About $9 million is raised, leaving about $5 million left in the funding goal. It’s clear the final idea is much different than the original concept years ago. Still, the same small team at Interfaith is pushing through the same.
“I often think that people might imagine that Interfaith Sanctuary is like this big machine and that we have like an office full of fundraisers and quite honestly, there's two people in our admin office. There's my director of administration and there's me,” Peterson-Stigers said.
Construction and work can begin on the project, 30% of funding is required in the construction account, which Interfaith has. The goal is to raise more as the campaign goes on. Still, there is work to do and Peterson-Stigers said the team is more than happy to take it on.
“These specific conditions and what's being asked if this is the shelter that can be approved, this is the shelter we will build, but it is expensive,” Peterson-Stigers said. “I've learned a lot about our community and really the support is much larger than the opposition, much larger, which is why we're raising funds and we're going to get this thing done, but we're going to need the community to lean in to make it all possible, but it'll get done.”
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- Still reading this list? We're on YouTube, too | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/interfaith-sanctuary-site-more-expensive-than-originally-pitched-includes-expanded-plans/277-505efd76-ce1e-4b46-8385-7b39b670aa0b | 2023-06-01T01:13:18 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/interfaith-sanctuary-site-more-expensive-than-originally-pitched-includes-expanded-plans/277-505efd76-ce1e-4b46-8385-7b39b670aa0b |
BOISE, Idaho — May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Throughout the month, KTVB has been shining a spotlight on some of the members in our community who are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent and the impact they're having in our community.
What some folks might not know is KTVB’s Shirah Matsuzawa is half Japanese and half Samoan, and her parents opened the first Japanese restaurant in downtown Boise 31 years ago, Shige Japanese Cuisine.
“In 1992, we opened downtown,” Shige Matsuzawa said. “I like to show Japanese culture and the food.”
“I believed in him, he's the best chef and that's why I married him because he can cook,” Debbie Matsuzawa said. “We took that risk in 1992 because when we moved to Boise, there was hardly any Japanese, so it was his way of sharing his love for his Japanese food and share that with the community.”
Housed in the-then Capitol Terrace Building off 8th and Main, at that time, it was a risk because not too many Idahoans ate Japanese food. In fact, some people even told the Matsuzawa’s they would never make it because no one ate sushi in Boise.
“When we opened, there were people who wanted to eat sushi, but they don't like raw fish,” Shige Mastuzawa said. “They don't like seaweed, so we put on the menu soy paper, and lots of cooked stuff.”
As sushi became more popular, Shige’s began expanding. Over the years, they opened a floating sushi bar in Boise and Meridian, as well as a Japanese Steakhouse and saketini bar.
They even built quite the reputation for their parties, like a luau celebrating the restaurant's 20th anniversary. The luaus were a chance for Debbie Matsuzawa to share her Polynesian culture with the Treasure Valley.
“The Polynesian culture is all about sense of family love and respect,” Debbie Matsuzawa said. “I went to high school at Bishop Kelly and when I said I'm Samoan, people didn't know where Samoa is.”
That's changed over the years.
“Compared to 31 years ago, there was hardly any Japanese over here, let alone Japanese restaurants,” Debbie Matsuzawa said. “We were the first downtown and now [Japanese restaurants] are everywhere, and as a Polynesian, this is a change – TV people celebrating the Polynesian Asian culture – this is a big change because this never happened like 30 years ago, let alone 20 years ago, here in Boise so, this is great.”
Shige Japanese Cuisine was downtown for 26 years, before Shirah's parents flipped the 'closed' sign for good.
Today though, you can still find them in Meridian at Shige Sushi Express, rolling sushi side by side.
“A lot of customers coming to Meridian, and it’s generations. Parents come, and children come, and grandchildren come,” Shige Matsuzawa said. “I'm so happy to see people.”
“They were kids downtown, and they show up over here their parents, you know, they're bringing their kids here and it's amazing, like they have 4-year-old’s already eating sushi,” Debbie Matsuzawa said. “This is something that 30 years ago I didn't see a 4-year-old eating sushi.”
What hasn’t changed over the three decades, the way Shige greets every person who walks through the door 'Irasshaimase,' which means 'welcome' in Japanese.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
Download the KTVB mobile app to get breaking news, weather and important stories at your fingertips. | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/celebrating-aapi-heritage-first-japanese-restaurant-downtown-boise-shige-japanese-cuisine/277-3b279f5e-9fd7-42ca-9140-4f0e54ae5102 | 2023-06-01T01:13:24 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/celebrating-aapi-heritage-first-japanese-restaurant-downtown-boise-shige-japanese-cuisine/277-3b279f5e-9fd7-42ca-9140-4f0e54ae5102 |
BOISE, Idaho — Late spring is typically the time when the weather focus shifts to the warmer temperatures and thunderstorms. Typically, people don't think about the snow - unless they're the ones in charge of monitoring river levels.
That's what the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation do. The two government entities control water levels on the Boise River and ensure that the reservoirs are full.
Both agencies, along with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, study how much snow remains on Idaho mountains post-season and the duration the rivers will be at their current height.
In general, snowmelt is winding down in the higher elevations. At the Bogus Basin SNOTEL site (pictured below), snow is expected to last only one more week - the first week of June.
The black line in image below represents 2022-2023 snow levels and presence. When the black line reaches the x-axis (the flat line/bottom of the graph), that indicates zero trace of snow.
The Chocolate Gulch SNOTEL site (pictured below) is the closest site to Sun Valley, where all the seasonal snow has already melted. The graph displays this as the black line meets x-axis. It's a late snowmelt for the area, but not the latest they've observed.
Finally, the Jackson Peak site (pictured below), east of Lowman is still recording the presence of snow. The black line has yet to reach the bottom of the graph. This elevation at this site is about 1,000 ft. higher than Bogus Basin and Chocolate Gulch.
So, without even leaving the KTVB studio, it can be determined that the amount of snow remaining, is at 6,500 ft in elevation or higher. However, these individual sites don't necessarily provide and all-inclusive picture.
For example, if the site is located on the western side of the mountain, but all the recent storms have been coming in from the east, then the eastern side will have a lot more snow.
So, for greater comprehension, a small group of scientists from the aforementioned agencies evaluate some of these SNOTEL sites via helicopter, to visually observe how much snow is left.
"There are just enough potential risks there, so we want to make absolutely sure," said Jon Roberts, Water Management Program Manager for the Army Corps of Engineers. "So, we have scientists and engineers go out and actually check and verify the extent prior to filling a reservoir system in some of these large, populated or impactful areas," said Roberts.
Roberts mentioned that these flights serve as a final assessment before making the decision to fill the reservoirs. But understanding flood risk is also a major factor the agencies must heavily weigh.
"So, we often hear about problems in winter with rain or snow events that can drive a lot of flash flooding," said Roberts. "The same thing can happen when we're doing our final fill. If we combine it with just the little bit of snow that's left, and then we have no space in the reservoir system, it can cause problems for everyone downstream."
"So, that's the primary reason we're really checking...to confirm there's no risk left before safely filling the reservoirs," continued Roberts.
Roberts added the heli-flight provided the agencies the information to conclude that even if there were a substantial amount of late spring rainfall, there is currently not enough snow to cause flooding in Boise.
However, the official flood stage for the Boise River is at 7,000 cubic feet per second (CFS), as of May 31. We start seeing impacts along the greenbelt at 4,000 CFS. So, we'll likely avoid flooding in Boise this season, but the river will still be running high.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/checking-confirm-theres-risk-left-officials-evaluate-idaho-snowmelt/277-4b929de2-fe9d-4e6f-82ae-ebf62fa46f30 | 2023-06-01T01:13:30 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/checking-confirm-theres-risk-left-officials-evaluate-idaho-snowmelt/277-4b929de2-fe9d-4e6f-82ae-ebf62fa46f30 |
The Casper-Natrona County International Airport’s service to Salt Lake City will stick around at least a few more months after the Casper City Council on May 24 agreed to set aside up to $50,000 to temporarily subsidize the flight.
That $50,000 will join an additional $1.84 million in subsidies pledged by Natrona County since late 2021. (The county wasn’t on the hook for all of the money — the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Commission, which subsidizes air service across Wyoming, agreed to cover 40% of that total. Private donors have also pitched in to support the effort.)
It’s not uncommon for flights to receive some sort of financial support from outside sources, especially during economic rough patches. The airline industry has been struggling to recover from loss of business from the coronavirus pandemic and a national pilot shortage, Glenn Januska, the airport’s director, told city councilors during an April work session.
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The flight to Salt Lake City, serviced by airline carrier SkyWest (which does business as Delta Airlines), is one of just two flights the airport offers. The other is a United Airlines flight to Denver.
Without the subsidy from the city, the airport likely would have lost the Salt Lake City flight, Januska indicated previously.
The hope is that it’ll only be a one-time payment. Some officials believe that come the third quarter of the year, the flight has a good shot at become financially self-sufficient.
On July 7 SkyWest will be replacing the service’s roughly 50-seat plane with a larger, hopefully more profitable model. Consumer demand also tends to pick up in the summer.
Why hand over the extra money over if Natrona County already agreed to subsidize the flight? Representatives from the Fly Casper Alliance, a new advocacy group backing the airport, previously told the council the $50,000 would help show SkyWest that there’s broad community interest in keeping the flight.
If the larger plane helps the flight make enough money this summer, the service stays. If not, SkyWest will likely cut bait and discontinue the flight anyway.
No one knows for sure what to expect.
SkyWest is projecting a $200,000 loss for the third quarter, though Januska said it’s not uncommon for the company to underestimate their profits.
Of the $1.84 million the county’s pledged in minimum revenue guarantees since 2021, as of March, the airline only needed $932,536.
“I think they’re being more pessimistic based upon past history, because we have outperformed what they’ve shown in the past,” Januska said.
And the new plane will offer 26 extra seats. Januska said an average of five more passengers on each Salt Lake City flight could mean the difference between a loss and a profit.
What happens if the flight does better than expected?
Casper wouldn’t be getting any of the money back. But councilors on May 24 asked that any leftover funds go toward Fly Casper Alliance’s marketing campaign, which is trying to bring the airport more customers.
City Manager Carter Napier during the meeting indicated the $50,000 would come out of unallocated direct distribution money granted to Casper from the Wyoming state government. | https://trib.com/news/local/casper-greenlights-subsidy-of-up-to-50-000-for-airports-salt-lake-city-flight/article_b705e764-0007-11ee-9458-275207993372.html | 2023-06-01T01:18:39 | 1 | https://trib.com/news/local/casper-greenlights-subsidy-of-up-to-50-000-for-airports-salt-lake-city-flight/article_b705e764-0007-11ee-9458-275207993372.html |
NANTICOKE, Pa. — Flames forced four people from a home in Luzerne County.
Residents were grilling at the house on Grand Street when they heard a hissing noise.
The fire started in a shed before spreading to the house.
One person was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
The fire has been ruled accidental.
Want to see what Newswatch 16's newscast was like in 1976? Head on over to WNEP's YouTube. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/fire-damages-home-in-luzerne-county-grand-street-nanticoke-luzerne-county-wnep/523-268c06d1-1811-462e-8d2e-e368c7887fd0 | 2023-06-01T01:22:39 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/fire-damages-home-in-luzerne-county-grand-street-nanticoke-luzerne-county-wnep/523-268c06d1-1811-462e-8d2e-e368c7887fd0 |
CAPE CORAL, Fla— A Cape Coral 5th Grader is getting nationally recognized. Eliza Odom from Diplomat Elementary School was named AAA’s 2022-2023 School Safety Patroller of the Year.
Each year nearly 700,000 children participate at more than 35,000 schools across the country.
Eliza’s mom Mellissa is an ESE Resource teacher at Diplomat. She said Eliza has wanted to help others ever since she was a little girl.
Eliza has raised thousands of dollars to help kids with heart challenges, put together meal kits for hurricane victims, and even look after neighbors’ homes when they’re gone. Ask Eliza what her favorite thing is, and she’ll say helping the ESE students.
“I walk in there- they’ll like yell and come and run up and give me a hug,” said Eliza.
That volunteer work stood out to AAA. That’s why they named Eliza Florida’s Top School Safety Patrol Officer of the Year for Florida and for the whole country.
Melissa said the award came as a shock, “Well, I cry. I always cry, but no, I’m super proud of her, and she never ceases to amaze me.”
Eliza said her acts of service are all inspired by her mom, “Because she has a big heart and is very sweet and kind.”
Sherri Womack is an ESE resource teacher and safety patrol coordinator at Diplomat. Ever since Eliza won the award, she said there’s been increased interest in her program.
“I had other 4th graders that already came up to me and were like, ‘Oh, we’re interested. We would like to apply for next year’ because they think it looks really cool,” Womack said. | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/lee-county/2023/05/31/diplomat-elementary-student-recognized-as-aaas-school-safety-patroller-of-the-year/ | 2023-06-01T01:24:10 | 0 | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/lee-county/2023/05/31/diplomat-elementary-student-recognized-as-aaas-school-safety-patroller-of-the-year/ |
No further legal action is expected against a company named in the lawsuit where a Fort Wayne cardiologist was ordered last week to pay a former patient $2.67 million.
Allen Superior Judge Craig J. Bobay dismissed Cardinal Health Inc. of Dublin, Ohio, as a defendant on Nov. 28, 2018 – four years after the lawsuit was filed. Bobay’s order came about a month after Cardinal Health entered mediation with Zandra Chapman and her husband, Lee Chapman, who included the company as a defendant when they filed the lawsuit in Allen Superior Court in October 2014.
The two filed the lawsuit about two years after Zandra Chapman had an outpatient heart catheterization performed by Dr. Shashi Ahuja using a Mynx Vascular Closure Device. A jury last week found Ahuja responsible for severe damage to her right calf following the medical procedure.
She was hospitalized and went through multiple medical procedures and surgeries, including an orthopedic surgeon advising her to have her right leg amputated above the knee. She declined to have that done.
About six months before the Chapmans filed the suit, Cardinal Health bought AccessClosure Inc., which the lawsuit said designed, manufactured and marketed the Mynx device. The suit said the device malfunctioned during the procedure. Because Bobay dismissed Cardinal Health – and by extension AccessClosure – with prejudice, the companies couldn’t be brought back into legal action related to the case, according to state law.
Court records do not indicate what conclusions came out of the mediation.
The Chapmans’ attorney, Lance Cline, declined Wednesday to comment on the status of Cardinal Health or AccessClosure or anything regarding the suit. Cline said he wanted to protect his client’s privacy.
The Fort Wayne Medical Society lists Ahuja as retired. A phone number listed online for his practice was disconnected.
Cardinal Health did not respond Wednesday to calls and emails. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/no-futher-legal-action-against-company-named-in-malpractice-lawsuit-coming/article_95d19442-fff0-11ed-b735-df7f34d5ed50.html | 2023-06-01T01:25:45 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/no-futher-legal-action-against-company-named-in-malpractice-lawsuit-coming/article_95d19442-fff0-11ed-b735-df7f34d5ed50.html |
A proposed $20 million medical clinic for Fort Wayne’s southeast side received Wednesday a financial boost from the Legacy Joint Funding Committee.
The committee members approved a $2 million grant toward the Neighborhood Health Clinics Inc. project, which is planned to be the organization’s third clinic in the city. It’s slated to go into the former L.C. Ward Education Center at 3501 Warsaw St. in the Oxford neighborhood.
Construction is expected to start around the end of the year and finish in early 2025, Neighborhood Health CEO Angie Zaegel said.
Money in the Legacy Fund came from the lease and sale of Fort Wayne's old power utility. The committee is made up of City Council members and mayoral appointees who meet twice a year to consider funding requests.
The clinics at 1717 S. Calhoun St. and 3350 E. Paulding Road are bursting at the seams, said Sarah Neace, director of mission advancement.
Zaegel said about 4,000 of the Neighborhood Health's clients live in the 46806 zip code, which would be within walking distance of the new clinic. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/proposed-southeast-fort-wayne-clinic-receives-2-million-from-legacy-fund/article_f0aca826-0012-11ee-adad-93a112ef4fe9.html | 2023-06-01T01:25:52 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/proposed-southeast-fort-wayne-clinic-receives-2-million-from-legacy-fund/article_f0aca826-0012-11ee-adad-93a112ef4fe9.html |
DMC, former and current owners to pay $29.7M settlement in alleged Medicare kickback scheme
The Detroit Medical Center and its current and previous owners agreed to pay a $29.7 million settlement to resolve allegations the companies operated a kickback scheme and falsified Medicare claims for roughly three years, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors alleged that DMC's Sinai-Grace and Harper University hospitals set up an arrangement to encourage physicians to refer Medicare patients to DMC facilities.
DMC selected 13 physicians who had referred large numbers of patients to its hospitals and provided the services of DMC-employed practitioners to those physicians at no cost or below fair market value between 2014 and 2017.
The Justice Department said DMC "provided kickbacks" to those referring physicians.
"This outcome makes clear that when doctors refer patients for care at hospitals, they must do so based on their own professional judgment and the medical needs of their patients, not personal financial benefit," said U.S. Attorney DawnIson for the Eastern District of Michigan in a statement. "Our office stands ready to scrutinize even the most complicated financial arrangements and to pursue justice wherever appropriate."
A whistleblower, former Wayne State University Medical School employee Dr. Jay Meythaler, will receive $5.2 million as part of the $29,744,065 settlement. Meythaler could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday night.
"Paying and accepting kickbacks encourages providers to put personal financial gain before the needs of their patients," said Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in a statement.
"As this case demonstrates, those who enter into such improper arrangements and put the safety of their patients at risk will be held accountable."
DMC responded to the resolution with a statement Wednesday night, noting that DMC, Vanguard and Tenet "admitted no liability in settling the matter."
"Once we became aware of the allegations, Tenet and DMC fully cooperated with the government throughout its investigation," the DMC statement said. "The matter was resolved fully to avoid the expense and operational distraction. We remain committed to full compliance with all state and federal health care program requirements and providing high-quality care to serve our community."
DMC operated as a nonprofit hospital system until late 2010, when it transferred its facilities to Vanguard Health Systems Inc. In 2013, Tenet Healthcare Corp. acquired Vanguard's hospitals, including DMC.
Tenet and Vanguard agreed to pay the $29.7 million settlement along with DMC, according to the Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors alleged the companies violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals through Medicare or other federal health care programs.
The settlement also resolves claims filed by Meythaler under the False Claims Act, which states it is illegal to submit false or fraudulent claims to Medicare or Medicaid.
Meythaler raised those claims through whistleblower provisions in the act that allow private parties to file actions on behalf of the federal government and receive a portion of the settlement.
"The Justice Department will pursue improper arrangements that have the potential to compromise physicians’ medical judgment," Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston said in a statement. "Physicians should evaluate where to send patients for medical services based on the quality of care the patients will receive, not the financial benefits that the physicians will reap."
DMC has faced mounting scrutiny from state and federal authorities and high-level staff departures in recent years.
In April, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour division found DMC owed 13 employees $46,864 in back wages and damages for working through meal periods in 2022.
Last year, Sinai-Grace and DMC's Detroit Receiving hospital were found to be out of compliance with federal health standards. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services warned they could lose their ability to participate in the federal programs, although the hospitals later passed inspection. Both hospitals meet CMS criteria, according to the online CMS database.
Federal inspectors in 2018 found that Detroit Receiving stopped surveying surgical site infections, even for patients exposed to dirty surgical instruments, because of staff cuts.
An oversight board established to ensure DMC’s owners maintained their commitment to the community raised red flags over the years, warning of deteriorating conditions, a damaged reputation, a declining interest in training and a lost accreditation program. Ultimately, the board said Tenet met most of its commitments but warned it was unable to monitor the quality of care at DMC.
ckthompson@detroitnews.com | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/05/31/dmc-former-and-current-owners-to-pay-29-7m-settlement-in-alleged-medicare-kickback-scheme/70275341007/ | 2023-06-01T01:27:05 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/05/31/dmc-former-and-current-owners-to-pay-29-7m-settlement-in-alleged-medicare-kickback-scheme/70275341007/ |
7 Day Forecast
May in Tucson was slightly warmer than usual, accompanied by above-average rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.
The official climate report for May wasn't out Wednesday, but preliminary Weather Service data indicates that temperatures were about a half a degree above the normal average for the month.
In a typical May hear the temperature average is 76.8 degrees, but this year was about 77.3 degrees.
Also in the Tucson-area for the month: No day reached 100 degrees.
That's not as uncommon as some Tucsonans would expect, says Aaron Hardin, a forecaster for the Tucson office of the National Weather Service. There have been 50 instances since record-keeping began here that May has been free of triple-digit highs. That was also the case recently in 2019, 2016 and 2013.
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May also measured a higher-than-average rainfall.
Typically, Tucson records 0.2 inches of rain in May. This year the city received about 0.53 inches.
Looking ahead to June, forecasters predict below normal temperatures for the first couple of weeks.
Although not every day is expected to be below average, the overall average temperature is anticipated to be lower than normal.
Tucson is projected to experience fairly normal levels of rain in June, with some areas east of the city potentially receiving slightly above-average rainfall, particularly in Cochise, Graham and Greenlee Counties. The official start of monsoon season in Tucson is June 15.
Go to www.weather.gov/twc/ the website for the Weather Service in Tucson for up-to-the-minute weather data.
Eddie Celaya is a cannabis writer and host of the "Here Weed Go!" podcast. He graduated from Pima Community College and the University of Arizona and has been with the Arizona Daily Star since May 2019. | https://tucson.com/news/local/may-in-tucson-was-a-little-warmer-and-wetter-than-usual/article_95e104b2-ffe7-11ed-ada3-a7fb76ab3b24.html | 2023-06-01T01:27:35 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/may-in-tucson-was-a-little-warmer-and-wetter-than-usual/article_95e104b2-ffe7-11ed-ada3-a7fb76ab3b24.html |
PHOENIX — The system of universal vouchers enacted by Republican lawmakers will cost Arizona taxpayers $900 million next school year, 63% more than budgeted just a month ago.
By the end of the next school year there will be about 100,000 students getting state funds to attend private and parochial schools, the director of the system, the Empowerment Scholarship Account, Christine Accurso, said in a new memo to legislative budget staff.
That compares with about 58,000 who are now in the program and another 3,000 who have submitted applications.
The about $900 million Accurso said the state must come up with to pay for the vouchers is about one dollar out of every eight now earmarked for public education.
It’s up from the $552 million estimate prepared just months ago by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
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Cost shifts from parents to taxpayers
Despite that, state schools chief Tom Horne argued Wednesday there really is no additional cost to the state.
“The 39,000 additional students that are being projected for the next year are going to be educated someplace. They’re either going to be educated in the public schools or they’re going to be educated in ESAs,” said Horne, a Republican elected in November.
The $900 million estimate, he said, includes money following those students from traditional schools to private schools.
That is not accurate, however.
Horne’s own staffers acknowledged that three out of every four of the students who have applied for the new universal vouchers to date already were going to private schools — and on their parents’ dime. Now their tuition will be borne by taxpayers.
Even assuming Horne’s projections that just half of the additional 39,000 students expected to sign up before the end of the next school year already are in private schools, with the median voucher running $10,000, that alone adds up to an additional $200 million.
Hobbs left vouchers in budget
The fact that there’s been a burst of parents seeking to shift the costs of their children’s private school tuition to the state should come as no surprise to lawmakers. They were warned earlier this year by their own budget staffers, before Arizona’s new spending plan was adopted, that would happen.
“We expect that most of the growth in universal ESA participation will likely occur among private school and home school students,’’ said the report by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. “They have already decided to opt out of the public school system and would be likely to receive a financial gain from ESA program participation.’’
It was that logic that caused Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, in her first budget request in January, to call on lawmakers to repeal universal vouchers approved last year.
Prior to that, vouchers were designed specifically to help students who fit certain categories who may need help beyond what they could get in public schools. These included students with special needs, foster children, children living on reservations, and those attending schools the state rates as “D” or “F.”
The Republican-controlled Legislature, at the behest of then-Gov. Doug Ducey, voted in 2022 to lift all restrictions, making state funds available to all who want.
Hobbs proposed to return to the way the situation was before. She sought to redistribute the cost of the expanded program — at that time pegged at about $144 million — for other education priorities.
But closed-door negotiations between Hobbs and legislative leaders failed to rescind the expansion. Republicans also refused to put a cap on the number of new students who could enroll, to help control costs.
In the end, Hobbs signed the state government’s $17.8 billion spending plan for the coming year, saying she got other key victories, including $300 million in one-time funding for K-12 education.
On Wednesday, informed of the new estimate, Hobbs went back to her January talking points.
“The school voucher program in its current form is not sustainable,’’ she said in a prepared statement. “Legislative Republicans need to explain why they are forcing this runaway spending on Arizona taxpayers and making working families foot the bill for private school tuitions. We need to bring an end to the wasteful school voucher spending that threatens to decimate our state’s finances.’’
What’s next?
Lawmakers will be back at the Capitol on June 12. But whether Hobbs will try to renegotiate the deal she agreed to just a month ago — one heavily criticized by many members of her own party — is less than clear.
“We are evaluating our options,’’ said the governor’s press aide, Christian Slater.
House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria, questioned the 100,000 students figure prepared by Horne’s staff, saying his numbers are closer to 68,000.
“ADE’s new round-number estimate provokes natural skepticism,’’ Toma said. He said he wants legislative staffers to review the data and methodology “before we can comment on it further.’’
There was no immediate response from Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert.
More money per student for some schools
The report from Horne’s department also contends that students switching from public schools to private ones save money for the state. That is based on a law that the base voucher — the amount that is available for a student with no additional needs like special education — is supposed to be set at 90% of what the state pays on a per-student basis if that same student were attending public schools.
But that is misleading.
The 90% figure is based on aid to charter schools, or private, for-profit schools that qualify as public schools that cannot charge tuition. The state gives them an additional $1,986 for each K-8 student and $2,314 for high schoolers above what they give to traditional public schools, which changes the calculus.
Figures provided by the Arizona Association of School Business Officials show that puts the basic voucher for this year at $6,764 for elementary and middle school students, or $424 more per student than state aid to district schools.
Vouchers for high schoolers are worth $7,532, about $540 more than the state provides to public schools.
Partisan legislative reaction
Several Republicans who support vouchers said they were not concerned about the price tag.
In fact, Rep. Jacqueline Parker of Mesa said in a Twitter post that $900 million is “not enough yet,’’ calling it “a drop in the bucket to the other $7+ billion spent on the useless indoctrination camps that are ‘government schools.’”
Rep. Cory McGarr of Marana said “this is an admission if given the choice parents will choose ESAs.’’
But the memo may have energized Democrats, who were unhappy about Hobbs giving in on the issue of universal vouchers during the budget talks.
“I say let’s not forget our original fight and not give in this time, me included,’’ said Sen. Catherine Miranda of Phoenix in a Twitter post. She wants to raise the issue again when the Legislature reconvenes on June 12.
Competition issues
John Ward, an internal auditor for the Arizona Department of Education, said his agency was not hiding the true cost of the expanded voucher program when lawmakers adopted the budget a month ago with its $552 million cost estimate. He said state law requires only that a report be prepared every year by May 30 of anticipated voucher enrollment and the cost for the coming school year.
“We just completed that analysis a few days ago,’’ Ward said. “It was at that point that we had our estimate of 100,000 students by the end of next fiscal year — June 30, 2024 — at a cost of $900 million.’’
Horne sidestepped the question of whether there is enough money in the $17.8 billion state budget to support the increase in the number of private school students now expected to rely on state funds for their education.
“Right now, we’re relying on basic state aid,’’ he said, based on the premise that these students were going to public schools until now. “If we conclude that more is needed, we will have to deal with that at the time.’’
At least part of the reason there has been a big influx of applications for vouchers is due to Horne himself.
State lawmakers agreed to set aside $10 million to administer the voucher program. But Horne acknowledged he has been using some of that for advertising the universal vouchers.
Asked how much, he responded, “I’m not prepared to say.”
Horne, who at one time was a member of the Paradise Valley Unified School District governing board, has become a major champion of vouchers.
“Competition is good for everyone,’’ he said. Horne said it helps keep public schools to do better.
That presumes, however, there is true competition. Traditional public schools must accept anyone living in their district. Even charter schools — privately run for-profit schools — also generally cannot discriminate against applicants.
Private and parochial schools, however, are free to accept — or reject — any student for any reason, including those who may be the hardest to teach because of learning disabilities or language skills.
Horne brushed aside the question of whether the comparisons are fair.
“If a public school is worried about losing students to ESAs or to charter schools, it’s motivated to improve its academic performance so it won’t lose those students,’’ he said.
Horne contended that in public schools, “The test scores have not been good right now because the focus has been too much on things other than academics. I can name them: critical race theory, social-emotional learning, inappropriate sexual lessons, all kinds of things that detract from academics.’’
Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com. | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/arizona-taxpayers-cost-for-school-vouchers-leaps-to-900m-a-year/article_8315fe9e-ffcb-11ed-8a30-1fba57c87105.html | 2023-06-01T01:27:42 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/arizona-taxpayers-cost-for-school-vouchers-leaps-to-900m-a-year/article_8315fe9e-ffcb-11ed-8a30-1fba57c87105.html |
Tucson barters in the unexpected.
Our roadside motels have mural galleries and standout food trucks. Here, fine dining can happen at a pop-up; wagyu beef can be found at a butcher, like a reverse speakeasy, in the commercial kitchen of a bar. Our favorite panaderias might be called hidden gems anywhere else; here they are our community’s lifeblood.
Yet, with each unexpected pairing comes the thrill of surprise; delight in yet another place that, of course, happens here and nowhere else — not like this.
So when your favorite Indian restaurant is opening another location on Fourth Avenue, it’s only somewhat a surprise when the owner says it isn’t actually the second location, but the third: his brother has already opened a spot, called Twisted Indian, inside of a Chevron gas station, off of Interstate 10.
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Twisted Indian, 1999 E. Ajo Way, is the only Indian restaurant on the south side. Their menu and recipes are identical to what you’d find at Indian Twist, its fine-dining counterpart in midtown, but on a smaller scale to reflect their smaller kitchen.
The restaurant is a family affair. Jimmy Aujla owns Indian Twist, and his brother, Ben Sihota, and sister-in-law, Manveen Sihota, own the Chevron off I-10 and Ajo Way (as well as a few other gas stations).
“There’s a lot of Indian people who drive the trucks on I-10,” Manveen said. “That was the idea. We had a lot of people that demanded: we’re Indian-owned, why don’t we have some Indian food in here? The kitchen was an existing kitchen for Mexican food and fried chicken, but there was demand for Indian food. That’s how we started.”
In the past, you’d be able to get tacos alongside your chicken tikka, but their chef that cooked Mexican food left. Now, Manveen’s son Raj Sihota does it all: manage the restaurant, take orders, cook the food.
While the most popular things on the menu are the classics — chicken tikka, butter chicken, samosas and garlic naan — Raj’s favorite menu item, the kadai curry, is more veggie-forward and less rich. The gravy is made with a base of grilled onions rather than cream, and you can order it with either paneer or chicken.
“I'm a meat lover,” Raj said. “It's just that is my favorite thing on the menu because that just makes me, you know, remember my childhood, because that's how my mom used to cook it ... when I was a little kid. So that's just my favorite thing.”
The open kitchen allows for diners to watch Raj as he assembles the ingredients for the curry and cooks in front of you: there’s modest seating inside the gas station, and he offers ice water steeped with lemon and cucumber in a big jug at the counter.
The naan will come in the kind of lined basket most commonly associated with burgers and fries. Raj makes it his own way, charring it lightly directly over the flame. Some things remain the same: your samosas will still come with some chutneys: cilantro and tamarind.
For dessert, you can order a mango lassi or some gulab jamun, but you can also partake in some other locally-made options. The owners of Twisted Indian stock desserts from local baker Danny’s Keto (Raj’s favorite are the lemon cakes) and Kettlelicious Kettle Corn.
“The community of Tucson is so connected, and they always want to support local businesses,” Raj said. “That's why we ... want to step up as local business owners to support other local businesses. So we don't just grow alone. Everybody grows with us.”
Twisted Indian
Location: 1999 E. Ajo Way
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. Saturday
For more information, follow them on Facebook. | https://tucson.com/news/local/this-gas-station-has-the-only-indian-restaurant-on-tucsons-south-side/article_cf70f548-ff10-11ed-abc8-cf638e220385.html | 2023-06-01T01:27:48 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/this-gas-station-has-the-only-indian-restaurant-on-tucsons-south-side/article_cf70f548-ff10-11ed-abc8-cf638e220385.html |
PORTLAND, Ore. — The debt ceiling agreement in Washington, D.C. could result in big changes for Oregon Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) beneficiaries.
If the agreement passes through Congress, it would create work requirements for childless adults between the ages of 50 and 54. Those SNAP recipients would be required to work or volunteer for 80 hours a month to qualify for the benefits.
But there are some groups of people excluded from the requirements. People who are homeless, veterans or lived in foster care will not have work requirements.
Some people believe the changes could negatively impact many Oregonians.
"There are certainly many families on our program that receive SNAP benefits,” Birch Community Services Operations Manager Andrew Rowlett said. “And so that might affect them pretty dramatically."
U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows 730,000 Oregonians were recipients of SNAP as of February 2023.
Numbers of recipients are even bigger in Washington where 904,000 people utilize the program.
"If an individual doesn't have the capacity to be able to work or volunteer for those 80 hours, that could alter their life course pretty significantly," Rowlett said.
The Birch Community Services serves as a food bank and financial consultant for many struggling families, he said, the non-profit works to ensure families can obtain food while saving money to restore their finances.
Rowlett said some people may struggle to fulfill 80 hour monthly work or volunteer requirements. He said proposals like this SNAP policy, creates umbrella solutions for unique situations.
"You know SNAP for example, it's really kind of a blanket solution. It doesn't have the ability to be as dynamic and really address each individual situation."
USDA data shows hundreds of thousands of Oregonians have joined SNAP in the past five years. 50,000 Washington residents joined the program in the past year.
The average SNAP recipient receives $254 a month in benefits. Households receive close to $500 monthly. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/debt-limit-agreement-could-be-detrimental-to-oregonian-snap-recipients/283-d6e69d48-3da2-4adf-8b5f-ed552904fffe | 2023-06-01T01:42:00 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/debt-limit-agreement-could-be-detrimental-to-oregonian-snap-recipients/283-d6e69d48-3da2-4adf-8b5f-ed552904fffe |
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland City Council took public testimony Wednesday on a proposal from Mayor Ted Wheeler to ban homeless camps on public property during daytime hours.
As testimony began, Wheeler said that 176 people had signed up to speak for their allotted 2 minutes. The hearing was expected to last six hours, with a vote on the ordinance set for a later session.
Speakers see-sawed back and forth between those for and against the ordinance — punctuated by cheers, jeers, applause and peals of laughter from a boisterous crowd, drawing repeated warnings from Wheeler that he would switch the meeting to a virtual format if the interruptions continued.
More and more of the testimony came in opposition to the camping ban as the session wore on. Representatives from groups like Sisters of the Road and Street Roots railed against the ordinance. A similar refrain came up repeatedly during those comments: Where are people going to go? And if there are places to go during those daylight hours, how are they to know about them?
As proposed by Wheeler, the ordinance would prohibit homeless people from camping on city property between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. — requiring that tents and other belongings be dismantled and removed by those daytime hours.
The ordinance would also impose permanent bans on camping in a "pedestrian use zone," within 250 feet of schools or childcare centers, in the public right-of-way along city-designated high crash corridors and around city parks, including city-sponsored shelter sites.
Gas heaters in campsites would likewise be banned at all times, along with obstruction of access to a private property or business next to a public right-of-way, damage to the environment and accumulation of garbage.
Under the ordinance, the Portland Police Bureau could issue citations for violations. The first and second violations — which must be separated by at least 24 hours — would earn written warnings. The third and subsequent violations could result in a fine of $100 or less, jail time of 30 days or less, or both.
What isn't clear is how rigidly the violations would be enforced. Portland has, in the past, banned camping in high crash corridors and along school routes, but enforcement has historically been uneven.
Wheeler's office shaped the ordinance around a 2021 Oregon law, House Bill 3115, that aligned the state with an influential court ruling concerned with camping bans, Martin v. City of Boise.
The court case, and Oregon's law, functionally prohibit local governments from enacting total bans on homeless camps when there is not adequate shelter space available. Instead, cities can impose "reasonable" time, place and manner restrictions — leaving open the ability for people to sleep on public property when other options aren't available.
However, the framing of Wheeler's proposed ordinance is somewhat misleading. It is pitched as an update to Portland's restrictions in order to comply with Oregon law. However, the law does not require a daytime camping ban, it only requires that city ordinances governing camping on public property be in compliance with HB 3115's assessment of reasonable time, place and manner restrictions by July 1, 2023.
The daytime ban is seen as a first step in another plan that Wheeler announced last year to develop six sanctioned mass camping sites and then phase in a total ban on camping everywhere else in the city. None of the site have opened yet, although Wheeler's office released some details about the first planned site earlier this year.
Ahead of Wednesday's testimony, Commissioner Carmen Rubio proposed an amendment to the ordinance that would delay the date of implementation to the date that the second sanctioned camp site opens — giving homeless services providers time to prepare and providing homeless people impacted by the ordinance with more options on where to go.
But Rubio's proposal went over like a lead balloon. No other commissioners appeared willing to second her motion, until Wheeler — who made clear that he opposed it — seconded it "for discussion purposes."
During the brief exchange surrounding Rubio's proposal, Wheeler indicated that the first of these sanctioned sites is expected to open in July, with a staffer saying that the second site could open this coming fall.
Earlier in the day, the city council agreed to settle with plaintiffs who sued Portland over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act for failing to keep sidewalks clear of homeless camps. While entirely separate from the daytime camping ban, the settlement does include requirements that Portland work consistently to keep sidewalks clear of camps — something that is supported by the camping ban ordinance.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they emerge. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/portland-daytime-homeless-camping-ban-council-testimony/283-ab051a84-21c6-446f-991f-c02f6eac3992 | 2023-06-01T01:42:06 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/portland-daytime-homeless-camping-ban-council-testimony/283-ab051a84-21c6-446f-991f-c02f6eac3992 |
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Witnesses to a deadly police shooting in a Safeway parking lot in Vancouver on Tuesday afternoon described the incident as abrupt and frightening.
"All of a sudden I hear this pop, pop, pop, and then pop," Tina Palmer said.
Palmer was working at Ari's Hair Salon when she heard what she thought was fireworks. It turns out to be gunfire that was captured in a video recorded by an eyewitness.
"It is very frightening," Palmer said. "I don't like it."
Investigators said the incident unfolded around 5:30 p.m. when a police detective spotted an armed robbery suspect driving on East Mill Plain Boulevard in Vancouver.
The detective called for backup, and he and other officers watched the suspect park and go into the Safeway at the intersection of East Mill Plain and Andresen Road.
Several minutes later, the suspect came out of the store and began shooting at the law enforcement officers when he saw them, police said. Three Vancouver police officers and one deputy from the Clark County Sheriff's Office returned fire, killing the suspect.
"It's always shocking to see when something bad happens to somebody," John Devlin said.
Devlin is a manager at nearby Craft Cannabis. He said one of the dispensary's security cameras captured the deadly shootout.
"It kind of showed him reaching up with his arm," Devlin said. "He definitely had a weapon in his hand, pointing it at police and then from there they took action and we're pretty thankful for that."
Devlin said he and his colleagues are thankful because more than a dozen people were in the dispensary at the time of the shooting, but no customers were hurt. Tina Palmer escaped uninjured, as well.
"It's scary out there," Palmer said. "It doesn't matter where you live anymore."
The exchange of gunfire apparently caused some property damage; late Wednesday morning, a handyman could be seen repairing a door that was damaged in the shooting. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/vancouver/bystanders-recall-deadly-police-shooting-vancouver/283-bbe89468-34e3-4fe0-b9d0-b881f6428d88 | 2023-06-01T01:42:13 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/vancouver/bystanders-recall-deadly-police-shooting-vancouver/283-bbe89468-34e3-4fe0-b9d0-b881f6428d88 |
PORTLAND, Ore. — Pacific Power attorneys are making their case that blame for some of the most destructive Oregon wildfires around Labor Day 2020 should fall on climate change and the spread of other wildfires, rather than the utility company's electrical equipment.
The defense is continuing to call its witnesses in a landmark jury trial over wildfire responsibility. A group of 17 plaintiffs is seeking $1.6 billion in a class action lawsuit against PacifiCorp, Pacific Power's parent company, alleging the company caused fires by not turning off electricity in areas that were at extreme fire risk.
Wildfire investigations are still ongoing, so the Multnomah County jury is tasked with determining who — or what — is at fault, and if any damages should be paid out.
On Wednesday, Pacific Power called a top company executive, a climatology expert, a specialist in utility company best practices, and a lineman to provide testimony.
LeRoy Westerling, providing testimony about climate change and wildfire research, answered defense attorneys' questions intended to show that climate unpredictability was to blame.
"The 2020 Labor Day wildfires were an unprecedented example of this trend across a broader region than had been seen in the observational record," Westerling said.
At the heart of the lawsuit is a discussion about public safety power shutoffs — when a power company turns off power lines as a precaution before high winds sweep through an area.
Allen Berreth, Pacific Power’s Vice President of Transmission and Distribution, testified that the company didn’t order any power shutoffs in 2020 because it lacked the data.
"We weren’t getting enough information from Western Weather [Group] in regards to PSPS thresholds being exceeded in any specific area of our service territories," Berreth said.
Berreth and Pacific Power argued that power shutoffs are a tool of a last resort, as turning off electricity can also be dangerous for people who rely on power.
"Looking at that risk of not having energy, not having power in a community can increase the risk versus the risk we’re trying to avoid from a potential wildfire," Berreth said.
However, attorneys for the plaintiffs pressed Berreth on the company’s responsibility, including how much it spent on wildfire mitigation and if Pacific Power made the right call.
"I’m not aware of any specific evaluation was done after the fact to determine where across our service area if the thresholds were exceeded," Berreth said, in response to cross-examination.
Plaintiff’s attorneys have alleged that Pacific Power utility lines ignited some of the largest wildfires in 2020, while defense attorneys said the power company can only do so much to prevent severe weather.
"We didn’t get the rainfall in autumn that would shut down the fire season," Westerling testified.
The trial started in April and will continue into June. Previous witnesses have testified about a call between Oregon government officials and power companies before the wildfires exploded.
The sides have also used witness testimony to explain how they believe the major wildfires spread. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/wildfire/pacific-power-defense-lawsuit-labor-day-wildfires/283-773881ea-12f3-41f7-96d8-cd28b080fba3 | 2023-06-01T01:42:19 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/wildfire/pacific-power-defense-lawsuit-labor-day-wildfires/283-773881ea-12f3-41f7-96d8-cd28b080fba3 |
LACEY, Wash. — Lacey firefighters are anticipating battling a fire at the abandoned Ostrom mushroom site for days to come.
SkyKING video showed the roof had partially collapsed on the facility and smoke could be seen rising from inside the building.
Lacey Fire District 3 said the thermal column on the fire could be seen for miles around.
Crews responded to the building at 8322 Steilacoom Road at around 4 p.m. Wednesday for a smoke investigation. The fire district called a second alarm soon after and six different agencies responded.
A parent night for the sixth grade at nearby Nisqually Middle School was canceled due to the smoke coming from the fire.
The fire district said there is a "significant fire load." People are asked to avoid the area.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
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/abandoned-mushroom-farm-fire-lacey/281-0d73e58b-9db6-4e43-9176-8878aa864c91 | 2023-06-01T01:43:29 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/abandoned-mushroom-farm-fire-lacey/281-0d73e58b-9db6-4e43-9176-8878aa864c91 |
SEATTLE — From Memorial Day to Labor Day, five advisory buoys will flash in Lake Union when seaplanes are set to take off or land, warning boaters to move 200 feet east or west for safety reasons.
The Recreational Boating Association of Washington launched the "Mind the Zone" campaign in 2022 to inform boaters about the guidance and says pilots reported people moving away more quickly last summer. They hope this summer to continue the education process, especially as more new boaters hit the water.
"Lake Union isn't getting any bigger, but the people that come to Lake Union, there are more and more of them, so we just want to make sure everybody can recreate safely on Lake Union- and part of that is just awareness," Recreational Boating Association of Washington (RBAW) Vice President Andrea Pierantozzi said. "When you're on the water, you really just have your head on a swivel, they say. Know where you are, if the light flashes, move 200 feet east or west and just watch the seaplane land and go on about your floating."
RBAW says a lot more people bought boats during the pandemic. Meanwhile, more people moved into areas near Lake Union - leading to more traffic on the waterway.
Kate Anderson, Director of Member Experiences for Freedom Boat Club of Seattle & Greater Puget Sound (FBC), says FBC fills its members in on the policy and includes a laminated guide on each boat so they can enjoy the magic of Lake Union safely.
"It's incredibly magical right, people who aren't from Seattle or visit for the first time, to be this close to a seaplane and see it land and take off, it's a really fun and different experience," Anderson said. "It never gets old, I've lived in Seattle for years and it's always a fun thing to see."
Anderson says the co-existence of boats and seaplanes contributes to the iconic nature of Lake Union. Greg Wadsworth of Kenmore Air says the "Mind the Zone" collaboration has helped ensure safety for all involved.
"Having the buoys in place gives us that space and just makes the pilots a little more comfortable with the fact that nobody's gonna cross into the space just as they're coming in," Wadsworth said. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/boaters-urged-give-seaplanes-room-lake-union/281-f7aa82e0-4ebb-4d38-b780-426ea2e970b7 | 2023-06-01T01:43:30 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/boaters-urged-give-seaplanes-room-lake-union/281-f7aa82e0-4ebb-4d38-b780-426ea2e970b7 |
TACOMA, Wash. — Statewide, nearly 14,000 vehicles have been stolen so far this year, according to the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force.
New data shows that in April, Pierce and King counties combined had about 65 vehicles stolen a day.
For one Tacoma family, a recent car theft cost them a lot.
Last week, Mary Bridge Children's Hospital became Taya Marie Adam's home away from home. It is where family frequently sat by the 13-year-old's side.
"My daughter has really bad scoliosis. So, we had to get her surgery for spinal fusion to kind of correct that,” said Ashley Ricks, Taya Marie’s mother.
On Friday, Ricks left her daughter and made the 15-minute drive to the family's house to change clothes. She left her car running in the driveway with plans to hurry back to the hospital. But that's not what happened.
"It’s kind of was like a dream. Like, what? Is this really happening? My car is driving away for me,” said Ricks.
As she stepped outside, she saw someone stealing her car.
That same day Ashley and her husband spotted the car at an encampment along Tyler Street in Tacoma, so they stopped.
"The people got upset that we were asking questions about the homeless encampment and then brandished a gun. So, we had to get out of there,” Ricks said.
"Why would you do this to my family, especially when I am in a lot of pain in the hospital,” said Adam.
Her family called police when their car was stolen on Friday, and by Sunday a neighbor thought they spotted it nearby.
"And sure enough, it was,” said Ricks.
According to the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force, 1,303 vehicles were reported stolen in King County and about 656 in Pierce County in April.
Ricks said behind each theft is a story.
“A story of a family or people just trying to get by,” said Ricks who added that her family lives paycheck to paycheck.
"While I am in the worst pain imaginable, it is really heartbreaking. I am just really glad no one got hurt and that my family is alright,” said Adam, who is now at home, recovering from her surgery.
Though the family did get their car back, they say it is not in good condition. Ricks said she usually never leaves her car running unattended. She did it on Friday because she was in a rush to get back to the hospital. She said it is something she won’t do again. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/auto-theft-tacoma-family-medical-struggles/281-1d9a43e7-d3dc-4d38-afb9-c8d40f6136fe | 2023-06-01T01:43:31 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/auto-theft-tacoma-family-medical-struggles/281-1d9a43e7-d3dc-4d38-afb9-c8d40f6136fe |
ALABASTER, Ala. (WIAT) — Alabaster residents Jennifer and Graysen Wilson regularly visits parks in Alabaster, but they were disappointed to see pictures on social media of restrooms at Alabaster Parks vandalized.
“It’s just sad and disappointing that someone will go out of their way to mess up facilities that are here to make the community a nicer place,” Jennifer Wilson said.
Alabaster Parks and Rec director Tim Hamm says this has become a constant problem in Alabaster.
“Breaking soap dispensers, graffiti on the wall more time than not it’s on the inside but it’s also on the outside of the building as well.”
Hamm tells CBS 42 it takes crews sometimes three to four hours to clean up the restrooms after they’ve been vandalized and costing the city thousands of dollars to clean and fix the restrooms.
Hamm says young adults to teens are the ones who have been recently caught vandalizing the parks restrooms.
“I don’t know why they do it, I don’t think there is a specific reason, besides I’m bored and I’m gone do something that I feel is fun and not really think about how that is effecting others,” Hamm said.
He is asking parents to step in by being alert of where children are at all times and discussing with them the severity of potential crimes they could face if caught vandalizing city property.
“Help us keep the parks cleans not for us but help us keep the parks clean for those coming to use them.”
Charges have been filed against multiple individuals related to recent vandalism and other cases remain under investigation. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/alabaster-deals-with-vandalism-at-city-parks/ | 2023-06-01T01:44:06 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/alabaster-deals-with-vandalism-at-city-parks/ |
'Reaping now what they've sown': Community leaders react to racist slur at Shasta meeting
The chaos that erupted at Tuesday’s Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting resulted from the lack of decorum and civility that's now common at many public meetings and a county that’s bereft of leadership, former and current local elected leaders told the Record Searchlight.
Nathan Pinkney, a Black man, was escorted from the chamber by a security guard after Chairman Patrick Jones got upset with him for speaking out from his seat in the audience and said he was disrupting the meeting.
Pinkney objected vociferously to Alex Bielecki, a white man, using the N-word while addressing the five-member board during a discussion on building tiny homes in Shasta County. Pinkney then became even more upset when Jones didn’t chastise Bielecki, saying he didn’t like the racial epithet, but Bielecki had a Constitutional right to use it.
Rules to address supervisors are outlined on the speaker request form people fill out before they talk:
"The Board wishes to ensure that business is conducted in an orderly fashion and that all have an equal opportunity to observe and participate in the proceedings. Each person who addresses the Board of Supervisors shall not use loud, threatening, profane, or abusive language which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the Board meeting. Any such language or any other disorderly conduct which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the Board meeting is prohibited."
Redding City Councilwoman Julie Winter said people speaking out from the chamber, interrupting other speakers, supervisors bickering back and forth among themselves and with those in the audience has happened for years and it boiled over in an ugly way on Tuesday.
“It’s important to have good and safe public discourse. You need to have decorum and when you start to lose that decorum, you sort of end up having a circus atmosphere,” Winter said.
“They’re reaping now what they’ve sown over the years,” she added.
Winter and two other former Redding mayors, Missy McArthur and Brent Weaver, said Jones should have condemned Bielecki for using the N-word.
“I would have said 'we don’t appreciate that kind of language and please refrain from using that language.' I mean, I would have chastised the speaker,” McArthur said.
Winter said she would have immediately “dropped the gavel” on Bielecki and “told him that word is not allowed in this chamber. It’s a racial slur that has a violent connotation.”
Had Jones done that, things would not have escalated, Winter added.
“It wouldn’t have happened if I’d been running the meeting because there would have been justice happening,” she said.
Winter does not blame Pinkney for his outburst, under the circumstances.
“I think Mr. Pinkney was justifiably outraged,” she said.
McArthur said she would not have kicked Pinkney out of the meeting, but rather would have asked him to address the board from the speaker’s podium.
“I would have called out Nathan to say, please refrain. If you have comments, please turn in your name and we would be happy to hear from you,” McArthur said.
Weaver called Tuesday a sad day for Shasta County.
“It’s just another example of where leadership has not represented the character and goodness of our community,” he said. “But I will say this, these things have a way to go in waves. Right now, we are going through a tough time in local politics and I’m confident that good leaders will come forward.”
Susan Wilson, president of Shasta County Citizens Advocating Respect, said she was disappointed more people in the chamber didn’t speak out against Bielecki’s racist slur.
“I think if I had been in that room, I would have stood up and said, ‘This has to stop,’ she said.
Wilson agreed that a lack of leadership led to what unfolded Tuesday.
“To be honest, the leadership of our county should respect that word as a hate word that is not to be used in our supervisors’ meetings,” she said.
Supervisors Tim Garman and Mary Rickert did speak out at Tuesday’s meeting, calling Bielecki’s comment inappropriate and offensive, and apologizing for it.
But Wilson wants to see a united board come out and reject it.
The whole board needs to say, “You will be gaveled to silence if that happens,” Wilson said.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/05/31/community-leaders-react-to-racist-slur-at-shasta-county-meeting/70275225007/ | 2023-06-01T01:46:18 | 1 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/05/31/community-leaders-react-to-racist-slur-at-shasta-county-meeting/70275225007/ |
Cottonwood woman sent to prison for hit-and-run death of bicyclist
A Cottonwood woman was sentenced to three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to hitting and killing a bicyclist with her pickup and then leaving the scene of the crash in May 2021.
Victoria McDaniel, 29, of Cottonwood had pleaded guilty to one count of hit and run causing a death and a count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in the death of Michael “Micky” Don Strausbaugh, 65, of Anderson on May 25, 2021.
She was sentenced on Friday by Shasta County Superior Court Judge Adam Ryan.
Strausbaugh was riding his bicycle along Gas Point Road east of Happy Valley Road when he was struck by a vehicle. After the collision, the vehicle left the crash and Strausbaugh was left seriously injured on the roadside, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A CHP report said the crash happened at about 11 a.m. when a passerby saw Strasbaugh lying near the roadway and his crumpled bicycle was located nearby.
More:Coroner identifies bicyclist killed in hit-and-run in Cottonwood
One person stopped to administer CPR, but when medics arrived Strausbaugh was declared dead at the scene shortly before 11:30 a.m., according to the CHP report.
There were no witnesses to the crash and the vehicle involved left the scene, but the officer wrote in the report that there were pieces of paint chips at the scene and a Dodge hood emblem was found nearby.
That afternoon, an anonymous witness provided information that eventually led officers to McDaniel, the report says.
The officer went to a property on Jewell Lane in Cottonwood and found a Red 1998 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup that had damage to the right front bumper, the grille, hood and windshield, the report says. The officer also said that it appeared someone used red spray pain to cover the damage.
McDaniel initially told the officer that she was driving west on Gas Point Road and saw a person lying on the side of the road. She said she called 911 to report the incident, but did not tell emergency dispatchers that she was the driver who struck the cyclist, the report says.
More:UPDATE: Arrest made in connection with fatal hit-and-run in Cottonwood
But during questioning by the officer, McDaniel eventually confessed to hitting Strausbaugh.
"She stated while driving, suddenly she heard a 'crack' sound, but it didn't feel like she hit anything. McDaniel saw a bicycle flying up high into the air to her right," the report says.
"She stated she saw the male bicyclist lying on the shoulder, not moving and the bicycle all crumpled up," the report says.
She told the officer she drove on to a fire station and knocked on the door, but no one answered. She said she headed back east on Gas Point Road until she could get a cell phone signal to call 911 to report seeing a male lying next to the road.
McDaniel also gave emergency dispatchers her name and phone number but did not tell them she hit the cyclist, the report says. She said she left and went back to work in Redding after the incident, the report says.
"I asked McDaniel about the fresh spray paint covering the damage to her truck. McDaniel stated she spray-painted her truck the previous night because she was scared and was trying to cover up the damage. I asked McDaniel if she planned on going to the CHP, police or calling 911 to turn herself in and she stated 'No,'" the report says.
McDaniel's attorney, Michael Borges of Redding, asked the court to sentence McDaniel to probation and several of her friends and coworkers submitted letters on her behalf. They said she was hard-working, kind and remorseful for what happened, according to court documents.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today! | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/05/31/cottonwood-woman-sent-to-prison-for-hit-and-run-death-of-bicyclist/70271256007/ | 2023-06-01T01:46:19 | 0 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2023/05/31/cottonwood-woman-sent-to-prison-for-hit-and-run-death-of-bicyclist/70271256007/ |
TRACY, Calif. — A man was found dead near a construction site and his death is being investigated as a homicide, according to the Tracy Police Department.
Police say they went to Corral Hollow Road south of Interstate 580 near the Tracy Hills construction site around 8 a.m. for reports of a body.
Once at the scene, officials pronounced the man dead. The man's cause of death has not been released, but officials say it's being investigated as a homicide and they believe it's an isolated incident with no risk to the community.
Officials are asking drivers along Corral Hollow Road to watch their speed while detectives investigate.
Anyone with information about this case can contact Detective Lissette Ortiz at Lissette.Ortiz@TracyPD.com or (209) 831-6569. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/man-dead-tracy/103-c7ee28e4-015a-4a16-b210-601b82e5c359 | 2023-06-01T01:47:11 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/man-dead-tracy/103-c7ee28e4-015a-4a16-b210-601b82e5c359 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Over a dozen Northgate Boulevard businesses gathered Wednesday in front of the “Victory & Rhythm” mural located in the Gardenland Northgate neighborhood to hear which 20 small businesses in the area would receive support from the city of Sacramento.
“We're here to celebrate our small businesses,” said Sacramento Councilmember Karina Talamantes. “We're celebrating the ones that are receiving the grants and we're here to celebrate them and their investment in our community.”
Through the program ACCESO Sacramento, 20 businesses received $2,500 one-time grants. In total, $50,000 in support is going to the businesses.
The money is just a fraction of the $5 million given to the Northgate Boulevard business corridor from the city through American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The money is to help small businesses along Northgate Boulevard recover from the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We're an older community, we've been in Sacramento for a long time,” said Talamantes. “Many times our community feels like ‘hey, they forget about us.’ And this is a commitment from the city to show that we're invested in our small business corridors which are often forgotten neighborhoods. This is one step in many projects that I have [and] my team has in mind, and collaborating with partners to really bring more beauty, to bring safety, to bring life, to bring 'cultura' and culture to this area. This is the first step.”
ABC10 spoke with Marbella Salas, president of the Gardenland Northgate Neighborhood Association, in March about the program and its importance to the community she’s lived in for over three decades.
“They feel like the pressure [is being] taken off for them because it's a relief,” said Salas. “When you're looking at how small these businesses are, they're family owned… they don't have employees, they're living to survive. So this is a big assistance.”
One of the businesses who received a grant was Algo Bueno.
“I'm just really excited,” said Melina Jimenez, owner of Algo Bueno. “It's going to be such a great help for the business, the ideas, and what more we want to put into it [their business].”
Jimenez says they plan to use the money to make some upgrades to their restaurant.
“Pretty much just some upgrades in the building. It is an older building and we've already invested so much in it,” she said. “Just invest a little bit in it. For air conditioning purposes, electrical work, and things like that. It's gonna be such a huge help for us.”
Who received the grant:
- 524 Mexican Restaurant
- Algo Bueno
- Beanheads Coffee
- Carnitas Michoacan and Super Taqueria
- Delmy's Beauty Salon
- El Mercadito Mexican Market
- El Potrillo Western Wear
- It’s My Hair Salon
- Jamaica Irie Spice, Inc.
- Lucy’s Beauty Salón
- Marina's Restaurant
- Marisol Hair Salon
- MSC Integration
- Nails The Luxe
- Northgate Launderland
- Paramees LLC
- Ramona’s
- Salon de Belleza Luna Luz
- Star’s Beauty Salon
- WD Battery
How the money can be used
According to the program's webpage, the money must be used for the following:
- General business operations
- Payroll expenses
- Supplier payments
- Rent, lease, or mortgage payments for the business property,
- Personal protective equipment and/or sanitation supplies and equipment
- Investment in software or technology to maintain online operations, or the purchase of equipment to expand or modify operations.
To learn more about ACCESO Sacramento, click here. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/northgate-boulevard-businesses-receive-support-through-grant/103-940a429d-f467-4f1e-8658-2ff2bef433de | 2023-06-01T01:47:17 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/northgate-boulevard-businesses-receive-support-through-grant/103-940a429d-f467-4f1e-8658-2ff2bef433de |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Victor Wembanyama’s NBA summer debut might come in Sacramento.
The San Antonio Spurs, who hold the No. 1 pick in the June 22 draft and are widely expected to choose Wembanyama, are among six teams that will play in Sacramento at the California Classic, one of the smaller summer leagues that precedes the one where all NBA teams participate in Las Vegas.
Also in the California Classic: the Charlotte Hornets, who hold the No. 2 draft pick. The Spurs and Hornets will open their schedules in Sacramento against one another, meaning the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft could face off in their summer league opener — just not in Las Vegas.
“This event is the perfect kick-off to the NBA Summer League, giving fans the opportunity to watch the next generation of basketball talent and enjoy a world-class entertainment experience,” Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé said.
The event in Sacramento starts July 3, or four days before the one with all teams taking part in Las Vegas. San Antonio plays Charlotte in Sacramento on July 3, with the other matchups that day being Miami against the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State taking on the Kings.
On July 5, Golden State plays Charlotte, San Antonio plays the Lakers and Miami faces Sacramento.
The NBA Summer League in Las Vegas starts July 7.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/wembanyamas-nba-summer-debut/103-281ac484-292e-4288-920f-6bb3b818ea60 | 2023-06-01T01:47:24 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/wembanyamas-nba-summer-debut/103-281ac484-292e-4288-920f-6bb3b818ea60 |
Dan Brunke finished with a team-leading 23 assists to go with five service points to lead the second-seeded Pinelands Regional High School to a 2-0 victory over seventh-seeded Holmdel in the South Jersey Group II quarterfinals Wednesday.
The Wildcats (21-6) won by set scores of 25-15, 25-16.
Brogan Duelly led with 12 kills for Pinelands. Matt Davis added 10 kills and five digs. Ethan Woods finished with eight digs, three kills, three service points and two aces. Ryan McCorry added six digs, six service points and two aces. Zack Kay contributed seven service points and three aces, and Ryan May added six digs.
Holmdel fell to 14-10.
Pinelands will host third-seeded Manchester Township in the semifinals Saturday.
(4) Jackson Liberty 2, (5) Pleasantville 0: Cristofer Evangelista led with 12 assists to go with six digs, three blocks and a kill for the Greyhounds (28-6). Jonathan Baez added eight digs, six service points, five kills and three aces. Jeremiah Hernandez contributed eight digs. Jake Reynoso added six digs and three service pints. John Howard finished with five digs, four kills, three blocks and three service points. Giovanni Saavedra added five digs.
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Elijah Elias led with 15 assists for Jackson Liberty (18-7).
South Jersey Group IV quarterfinals
(1) Southern Reg. 2, (9) Howell 0: The Rams (28-1) won by set scores of 25-16, 25-22. Ethan Brummer led with 24 assists. Lucas Kean added 13 kills, eight digs and eight service points. Jack McKenna finished with 11 kills, six service points and four digs. Landon Davis finished with five digs, and Caden Schubiger added four.
Howell fell to 17-5.
Southern hosts fifth-seeded CherryHill East in the semifinals Saturday.
Boys lacrosse
South Jersey Group III quarterfinals
(4) Clearview Reg. 11, (5) Mainland Reg. 6: Landon Scully scored three for Clearview (13-4), No. 9 in The Press Elite 11. Sean Ralph and Andrew Buck each scored twice and added an assist. The Mustangs finished their season 12-5. No further information was available.
South Jersey Group I quarterfinal
(1) Rumson-Fair Haven 18, (8) Lower Cape May Reg. 1: Cole Cashion scored five for host Rumson-Fair Raven. Grayson Golden, Luke Lydon, Zach Iwan and Brody Page each scored twice. Rumson goalies Marshall Halfacre (four saves) and Mickey Walker (two) split time in goal for the win. The eighth-seeded Caper Tigers fell to 16-3.
Rumson-Fair Haven hosts fourth-seeded Haddonfield in the semifinals Saturday. Haddonfield defeated fifth-seeded Madison 6-4 in its quarterfinal.
South Jersey Group IV quarterfinal
(4) Southern Regional 12, (5) Monroe 7: Southern (13-6), ranked fifth in The Elite 11, built a 6-2 halftime lead. Hayden Lucas led the host and fourth-seeded Rams with four goals and two assists. Liam Griffin scored three and added an assist, and Joey DeYoung tallied twice and had two assists. Tyler Murawski scored two, Konnor Forlai scored one and added an assist, and goalie Nick Roesch had 14 saves for the win. Fifth-seeded Monroe dropped to 15-5.
Southern will travel to top-seeded Eastern Regional on Saturday for a South Jersey Group IV semifinal. Eastern beat eighth-seeded Manalapan 15-5 in its quarterfinal.
Boys tennis
South Jersey Group IV quarterfinals
(2) Lenape 5, (7) Vineland 0
Singles: Milan Karajovic d. Gregory Burgess 6-0, 6-0; Ethan Kaligis d. Lawrence Hill 6-1, 6-1;Logan Knasiak d. Angel Espinosa 6-0, 6-0
Doubles: Kunal Gupta and Nikhil Venkatachalapathy d. Rohan Patel and Michael Cagno 6-0, 6-0; Tanish Gupta and Justin Lee L d. Marco Baruffi and Justin Mastro 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 1-0 (11-9).
Records: Vineland 19-6; Lenape 16-4
Other matches
Cedar Creek 3, Buena Reg. 2
Singles: Jake Harris B d. Kyle O'Connor 6-2, 6-3; Daniel Perez C d. Dominic Longona 6-1, 6-1; Stephen Pepper B d. Owen Nowalsky 6-2, 6-1
Doubles: Lorenzo Fortunato and Shane Houck C d. Matthew Lillia and Joshua Sharpe 6-2, 6-3; Chris Lam and Jacob Kurtz C d. Nick Sanchez Orrego and Gabe Ridolfo 6-2, 6-2
Records: Cedar Creek 16-7; Buena 12-6
Southern Reg. 4, Toms River North 1
Singles: Ohm Patel T d. Paul Schriever 6-1, 6-3; Sean Kahl S d. Aryan Patel 6-0, 6-2; Rohil Gandhi S d. Collin Nichols 6-0, 6-0
Doubles: Connor Addiego and Joseph Woehr S d. Reed Loney and Leonardo Ugarte 6-2, 6-0; Sam Fierra and Matt Pleyn S d. Mycah Subai and Aidan Winn 6-2, 6-0
Records: Southern 18-5; TRN 9-6 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/pinelands-volleyball-advances-to-semifinals-with-win-over-holmdel-wednesdays-roundup/article_79dc1c82-fffd-11ed-826b-ffa5c24ee45c.html | 2023-06-01T01:50:36 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/pinelands-volleyball-advances-to-semifinals-with-win-over-holmdel-wednesdays-roundup/article_79dc1c82-fffd-11ed-826b-ffa5c24ee45c.html |
Federal court allows international mining giant to oppose tribes in Oak Flat lawsuit
The U.S. District Court in Arizona granted mining giant Resolution Copper permission on Monday to join the U.S. government as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by grassroots group Apache Stronghold.
The Native organization has been fighting to prevent Resolution from building a huge copper mining operation that would obliterate Oak Flat, one of the Apaches peoples' most sacred sites. Oak Flat, or Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, "the place where the Emory oak grows," is also culturally important to other Southwestern tribes, and is one of Arizona's remaining riparian zones and a popular site for recreational users.
The 2,200-acre site, currently a campground on the Tonto National Forest about 60 miles east of Phoenix, has been at the heart of a nearly 20-year-long struggle among tribes, environmentalists, the U.S. government and Resolution Copper, which is owned by multinational mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP.
Congress approved a land swap of other environmentally sensitive lands in Arizona for Oak Flat between Resolution and the U.S. Forest Service in December 2014 after a 10-year effort by Resolution to make the deal. Apache Stronghold filed suit in January 2021 to halt the swap.
Luke Goodrich, an attorney for Apache Stronghold said the latest ruling means the U.S. will now team up with Resolution to fight Apache Stronghold.
"It's clear that several judges think that destroying a sacred site would be unlawful," Goodrich said, referring to the suit's latest during an appeals hearing at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March.
The move comes on the heels of retracted or clarified statements about the process by both the CEO of Resolution Copper's owner and an attorney for the federal government as well as continued calls to support Apache Stronghold and Apache tribes from religious leaders and Native rights groups.
Oak Flat: sacred, beloved, coveted
Oak Flat occupies a narrow valley with altar sites, petroglyphs, lifegiving water and places to hike and rock climb, and is sacred to Apaches, culturally significant to other tribes and beloved by environmentalists and outdoors enthusiasts.
The site also holds one of the world's largest copper deposits, which is increasingly valuable as the need for copper explodes in the push by the Biden administration to replace fossil fuel generation with renewable energy plants. Resolution Copper said it believes the mine would be an important engine for economic growth in the Arizona Copper Triangle and a major contributor to the clean energy transition.
The Forest Service was directed by Congress in 2014 to develop an environmental impact statement and consult with tribes with religious, political and cultural claims to the site. The Forest Service published the final version of that review on Jan. 15, 2021, which cleared the way for the swap to be finalized within 60 days of issuance.
The Biden administration then withdrew the statement and called on the Forest Service to produce a new one that included more robust tribal consultations.
In January 2021, Apache Stronghold filed suit in federal district to stop the swap. The Native rights group took the case to the appeals court after a judge ruled against their claims. The court rejected Apache Stronghold's assertion that the mine would pose a substantial burden to First Amendment religious practice rights.
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court also denied Apache Stronghold's case, but in November, the court agreed to rehear the case in front of the entire panel of 11 judges.
At the hearing on March 21, judges raised questions ranging from the serious — such as the impact to Apache religious practice if the mine turns Oak Flat into a 2-mile-wide, 1,000-foot-deep crater through a process known as block cave mining — to the silly. One judge asked if any religious protection laws would apply if "God says I need to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery to go to heaven?"
Legal arguments:Resolution copper mine goes back before appeals court in a major religious rights case
Statements on environmental impact statement conflict
During that hearing, a government attorney said the Forest Service would publish the new environmental impact statement sometime in spring or early summer 2023. Issuing the new review would start the 60-day clock. Anytime within that period, the administration could close the deal and hand Resolution the keys to Oak Flat.
That set off a flurry of statements and actions by Apache Stronghold, tribes and environmentalists angry that the government might not honor the court's order that 60 days' notice would be given before the final EIS would be published. Such a move would affect stakeholders and plaintiffs in the Apache Stronghold suit and two others filed in 2021 by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmentalists.
The other two suits are on hold, awaiting the release of the new environmental impact statement.
Copper mine fight:Tribal leaders converge in front of White House with message: 'Save Oak Flat'
In May, the U.S. government wrote the 9th Circuit Court and took the statement back. "The Department has not identified a timeframe for completing its review," the letter said.
Apache Stronghold leader Wendsler Nosie said the government didn't offer any reason for delaying the review or say how much longer it would take.
"If you want answers for that, you'll have to ask the government," he said.
Goodrich, senior counsel at Becket, a religious liberty law firm that represents Apache Stronghold, said the government's retraction of something said in a courtroom is a "pretty big deal," because attorneys carefully prepare their testimony and evidence beforehand.
"The attorney wouldn't have said that if she didn't have permission," Goodrich said.
Rio Tinto chairman: 'Pressure is on' to get the copper ore flowing
In May, Reuters reported that Rio Tinto's board chair Dominic Barton said the firm was getting "immense pressure to proceed because of the copper reserves that are there,” during a meeting of Rio Tinto’s Australian shareholders. Barton told reporters that the pressure was coming from "parts of the U.S. government."
Resolution shared the transcript of Barton's complete comments with The Arizona Republic. Barton said Rio Tinto was being pressured, but was committed to "steadfastly holding to the process to make sure that if we are to do something, it has to be done properly in the way that we go through it."
Barton and Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm are new to their jobs because their predecessors departed in the wake of a 2020 incident that shook the world's Indigenous peoples, cultural heritage protectors and their allies. Rio Tinto blew up 46,000-year-old rock shelters in Western Australia's Juukan Gorge, which were heritage sites of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples. The multinational firm has been under scrutiny ever since to ensure such incidents don't reoccur.
Although Resolution Copper is now an official member of the team pushing for the congressional deal to be completed, the company's involvement is not expected to speed the court's ruling. A spokesperson for the company said, "As a party (to the suit), we will help ensure that the record of information before the court is fully developed."
The spokesperson also said that they intend to respectfully engage with the groups opposed to the mine to "address and deepen our understanding of their concerns."
Resolution has consulted with tribes over the past decade and has used traditional Indigenous knowledge to influence the project's design, the spokesperson said, and would keep Oak Flat open for as long as it is safe to do so.
Nosie issued a statement saying that the U.S. is required to maintain a trust relationship with Native peoples of the land.
"Any disagreement between us would be resolved between the United States and us, the Apaches," he said. But he was disappointed that the government is bringing in two foreign mining companies to battle Apache people.
"Resolution Copper does not care about us, they have destroyed the world, people have suffered, land has been exploited regardless of its sacredness and now the U.S. Government is siding against us with them."
More entities are taking the Apaches' side, including the National Congress of American Indians. The nation's largest Native advocacy group will present a panel on the Oak Flat issue during its mid-year conference on June 5 in Prior Lake, Minn.
Goodrich said Apache Stronghold's struggle with the government to preserve Oak Flat is already a "David against Goliath" scenario. Bringing in Resolution just makes that a "David against two Goliaths" battle.
But Goodrich, who said he is confident Apache Stronghold would prevail said, "The bigger they are the harder they fall."
Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on Twitter at @debkrol.
Coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation.
My articles are free to read, but your subscriptions support more such great reporting. Please consider subscribing today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2023/05/31/resolution-copper-defendant-in-oak-flat-lawsuit/70273753007/ | 2023-06-01T01:51:57 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2023/05/31/resolution-copper-defendant-in-oak-flat-lawsuit/70273753007/ |
Federal agency commits $15.2 million for landscape work near the Grand Canyon, Sky Islands
Large swaths of public land around Arizona's Grand Canyon and in the mountainous areas in southeast Arizona will receive $15.2 million in federal funding for ecosystem restoration, the Bureau of Land Management said.
The two areas, called the Yanawant and Sky Islands Restoration Landscapes, are among the 21 areas the federal agency identified as priorities for investment.
"We chose these 21 restoration landscapes because we know how important they are and how much these places are in need. We chose them because the public expects us to keep these areas healthy and functioning, and we agree," said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning during the Wednesday announcement.
The 21 priority areas are located across the West in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. In total, BLM will distribute $161 million from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. State offices will be responsible for managing the funds.
An additional $40 million from the IRA has already been invested for the same purpose, so the total is closer to $200 million, said Tomer Hasson, BLM senior policy advisor.
"BLM has long practiced public lands restoration," said Hasson. "What's exciting about this announcement is that it represents the ability to do this work deeply, to focus in particular places."
"We are not leaving other places behind. To the extent that there are funds available, we will be spending them in other areas," he added.
The large scale of the landscapes identified will allow the federal agency to open up conversations with tribes, states and local communities on how to manage them, Hasson said. Priority areas were also identified in relation to where restoration investments "would be supported and leveraged by partners."
The treatments across the public lands selected will vary depending on the threats and restoration needs identified on the ground. Funding is already being allocated, though a significant amount of money will also be distributed in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
"The takeaway is that with today's investment we're going to be able to pass these lands to future generations better than we found them," Stone-Manning added.
Arizona's unique Sky Islands
The Sky Islands Restoration Landscape, almost 4 million acres stretching from Arizona's southern border to the Gila Mountains, will receive $9.6 million from the new federal program.
The Sky Islands, a series of isolated mountain ranges, are part of a vast ecological region that connects ecosystems in northwest Mexico to those on the Colorado Plateau. The mountainous area creates a wildlife corridor, and is home to dozens of federally protected species.
The Chiricahua mountains, also part of Arizona's Sky Islands, were not included in the BLM restoration landscape.
Because of the changes in elevation, rising up to 6,000 feet over the desert flats, and the unique characteristics of some of these mountain ranges, the Sky Islands offer numerous habitats for different species that rarely occur in the same region.
Within the program, the region will receive investments to "reduce fuel loads, improve groundwater management in the San Pedro River drainage, protect critical wildlife migration corridors, and support recovery of threatened and endangered wildlife," said a regional BLM press release.
Funding will also go to increase fencing near the San Pedro River "to take care of some long-standing cattle trespass issues we've had in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area," Stone-Manning said.
Protecting Yanawant near the Grand Canyon
An area northwest of the Grand Canyon will receive $5.6 million from the program.
The BLM restoration region, named the Yanawant landscape, lies directly north of Grand Canyon National Park, and consists of over 3 million acres. About half of it is BLM land.
The area, a diverse region including many ecosystems from desert scrub to ponderosa pine forests, is at "significant risk for catastrophic fire," said Hasson. The investment will increase fuel reduction work with partner agencies and park services to "diminish and identify threats to tourism, local economies and one of the wonders of the world."
Other areas of investment cited in the official press release were the removal of invasive species and "encroaching conifers," and restoring native grasses.
The BLM co-manages the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in the region north of the Canyon and oversees other public lands in the area, including Yanawant.
Clara Migoya covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to clara.migoya@arizonarepublic.com.
Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can support environmental journalism in Arizona by subscribing to azcentral today | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2023/05/31/two-arizona-landscapes-get-15-2-m-of-blm-funding-for-restoration-work/70275029007/ | 2023-06-01T01:52:03 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2023/05/31/two-arizona-landscapes-get-15-2-m-of-blm-funding-for-restoration-work/70275029007/ |
DALLAS — All Dallas Independent School District students will be required to use clear backpacks in the 2023-2024 school year, the district announced on Wednesday.
The district said the new policy is part of its plan to enhance security at its campuses.
"A clear backpack policy alone does not ensure complete security. This proactive measure is just one of several updates to enhance student and campus safety," the district said in a news release Wednesday, May 31.
The district said it will be providing each student with a "durable clear backpack at no cost" in order to support families. Parents can still purchase their own for their students.
The district said mesh backpacks will be accepted, although it prefers that students use clear ones.
Students will also be allowed to have a small, non-clear pouch inside their clear backpacks to hold items such as cellphones, money and hygiene products.
The district had previously required clear backpacks for students in sixth through 12th grade in the 2022-2023 school year. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-isd-to-require-clear-backpacks-all-students-2023-2024-school-year/287-7f65c7ae-98e4-4ac2-93ae-30926d200745 | 2023-06-01T01:59:24 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-isd-to-require-clear-backpacks-all-students-2023-2024-school-year/287-7f65c7ae-98e4-4ac2-93ae-30926d200745 |
DALLAS — If a smile is the beginning of love, then tonight's Wednesday's Child,10-year-old CJ, is spreading love everywhere he goes!
"I'm kind and I'm loving, and I can do anything in my life to fulfill my purpose," he said confidently.
CJ wants to play left tackle in the NFL one day. He says when he makes his millions, he is going to make sure to help homeless people.
"He's very loveable. He's very kind. He will give you anything. You ask. He'll share it,” said Kennetta Harrison, CJ's CPS caseworker.
"She's really awesome and she's loving. She gives me love and is sort of like a mom to me," said CJ.
Harrison treats CJ like her own child, and it means everything to him. During the interview, he faced her and told her what she meant to him.
"Ms. Kennetta, you're like my mother. You're kind and loving, and I like that you'll give me anything. I just have to be good for you," he told her, as Harrison wiped away tears.
CJ knows how to make you feel special. When asked if he felt loved, he said our WFAA news crew had shown him love.
Like we said, this child knows how to make you feel special. His prayer for two years has been that someone will see just how special he is.
"I want any kind of family. As long as they give me love, I'm good," he said. "I want to be in a place where I have a family who loves me."
CJ really means it when he says he would be happy with any family. He wants parents who will show him love through the good and the bad. He longs to feel that security.
CJ has a tender heart and would love nothing more than to slide into the hearts of loving parents who will adopt him.
"I want him out of the system," said Harrison.
Until CJ's adopted, she continues to fight for him.
"He is my son. Until I'm able to get him to his forever family, he’s my son. I take care of him. I watch over him. I do what is needed for him."
As long as he knows he's loved, CJ will welcome any family into his life with a smile!
For more information on how to adopt CJ, please send all approved home studies to LaQueena Warren at LaQueena.Warren@dfps.texas.gov. Please remember to include CJ's name within the subject line.
If you're not licensed, please visit adoptchildren.org to find out more information on how to become licensed to foster and/or adopt or contact LaQueena Warren at 817-304-1272. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/outreach/wednesdays-child/wednesdays-child-10-year-old-cj-says-he-wants-to-be-adopted/287-6d8c4bb1-4cd8-4a52-8c2a-f8a99c188794 | 2023-06-01T01:59:30 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/outreach/wednesdays-child/wednesdays-child-10-year-old-cj-says-he-wants-to-be-adopted/287-6d8c4bb1-4cd8-4a52-8c2a-f8a99c188794 |
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Julius Gonzalez dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player. But a week after the 14-year-old was promoted from Mountain Sky Jr. High School, his life was cut short.
“I wish no parent has to go through this,” the teen's mother, Nelly Carruthers Pena, told 12News on Wednesday. “Losing a child is like taking a piece of you.”
Julius was killed in a car crash on May 25. He was a passenger in a vehicle that was allegedly struck by a truck that Glendale police said took off near 53rd and Grand Avenues.
Three other teens in the vehicle were also seriously injured. Two of them remain hospitalized in the ICU a week after the wreck.
Investigators say the car the teens were in spun out of control and crashed trying to avoid hitting a vehicle that was making a left turn.
Authorities are now looking for a white, lifted Chevy extended cab pickup with front-end damage. The truck might have an American flag decal in the rear window.
A simple ride turned deadly
Julius’s family said the teen loved sports. He grew up playing soccer and last season, had been a part of the basketball team at his school. They said the 14-year-old was looking forward to trying out to join the team at Thunderbird High School next academic year.
“His passion was basketball,” his mother said. “But he liked to stay active and do other things.”
That’s why Julius and his 16-year-old brother, Julian Gonzalez, enrolled in boxing classes. They had practice last Thursday at 7:30 p.m. but never made it there.
Just before 7 p.m., they were involved in the deadly car crash.
“The original plan was just us three, me, my brother and my girlfriend were going to go,” said Julian. “But [my girlfriend] wanted to pick up a friend, so we went over there.”
Julian said he was in the left lane driving northwest on Grand Avenue. Near 53rd Avenue, he noticed a white truck heading southeast on Grand Avenue attempting to make a left turn.
To avoid impact, Julian told 12News he merged to the right lanes, “so there was more distance between us, and I thought we were okay.”
“But he hit my back tire,” Julian said. “I saw the road and that’s when I woke up, trapped in the car.”
Glendale police said the car the teens were in spun out of control and rolled over. They said three unrestrained occupants were ejected.
Investigators said Julian was going more than 45 miles per hour but determined he was not under the influence.
“I wasn’t racing; I wasn't on any type of drugs,” Julian told 12News. “I didn’t lose control and hit a curb. We were hit. I just hope they can find the person that hit us and left.”
Justice for a son, brother, and friend
Julius Gonzalez is remembered as the life of the party. His family said he was funny, goofy, and “just a good kid.”
“He was someone who had goals in life,” his brother said. “He loved his family and friends. He was always a fun person to be around.”
The 14-year-old was also known for his luscious curly hair.
“He always wanted to make sure his curls were popping,” Julius’s mother said. “He probably had more hair products than what I would use, just so he could have those curls.”
Julian suffered serious injuries during the crash, including a broken arm, severe road rash and almost lost his right eye. But that pain, he said, doesn't compare to losing his brother."
“It hurts really bad because it was me and him,” the brother said. “I was going to grow up with him. Now I won't.”
The family is pleading for justice and that the driver that hit them turns themselves in.
“This was a baby that was lost,” Julius’s mother said. “He was just 14 years old. He had a whole life ahead of him. To the person that did this, touch your heart. Just do the right thing and come forward.”
“I know he’s in a better place, but it's sad he had to go so soon,” Julian said.
The family is fundraising for funeral expenses. They have created this GoFundMe account for anyone that would like to donate.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/family-of-teen-killed-in-glendale-crash-ask-hit-and-run-driver-to-turn-self-in/75-1e73ddf5-9f4c-4528-a952-ebaa0ebc430c | 2023-06-01T01:59:42 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/family-of-teen-killed-in-glendale-crash-ask-hit-and-run-driver-to-turn-self-in/75-1e73ddf5-9f4c-4528-a952-ebaa0ebc430c |
BUCKEYE, Ariz. — It's been nearly two years since Daniel Robinson was reported missing.
The geologist was last seen on June 23, 2021, leaving a job site near Sun Valley Parkway and Cactus Road in Buckeye. His Jeep Renegade was found nearly a month later rolled over in a ravine by a rancher, four miles from the site.
>> Editor's note: The video above is from a January broadcast.
RELATED: Family and friends hold candlelight vigil for missing 25-year-old geologist Daniel Robinson
Robinson's missing person case is open and active, the Buckeye Police Department said Wednesday, releasing more details in the case.
Detectives were able to uncover location data in Robinson’s cell phone placing the phone at the crash site at approximately 10:05 a.m. the morning Daniel went missing, police said. Detectives continue to process his electronic devices including personal computers, a work computer and an I-pad.
Detectives have also followed leads from people who said they might have had contact with Robinson before he went missing but police said those tips have not led to anything.
Back in February, detectives searched a well after a report of human remains but found nothing.
David Robinson, Daniel's father, has been heavily involved in the search for his son by holding regular search parties and combing the desert for evidence.
The FBI has been briefed on the case twice, police said.
Anyone with information on this case is urged to the Buckeye police tip line at (623)349-6411.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/new-details-daniel-robinson-missing-person-buckeye-arizona/75-45386af6-210a-48cf-807f-5ae706d2c68f | 2023-06-01T01:59:48 | 0 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/new-details-daniel-robinson-missing-person-buckeye-arizona/75-45386af6-210a-48cf-807f-5ae706d2c68f |
PHOENIX — While dealing with a crisis of their own, Brittney and Brett Durkin are also dealing with Phoenix police’s staffing shortage.
Over the weekend, their 15-year-old son was sucker punched with brass knuckles outside the In-N-Out at Desert Ridge.
“Four of his bottom teeth were knocked out and one of his top front teeth was shoved back in,” Brett Durkin said.
The Durkins are now trying to find who that person was, telling 12News they were advised by police to gather any evidence they could because of staffing.
“The big concern is to is after talking to the cops and taking it out burger management, you know, the cops have so little resources anymore. They said that, not just people that are up to no good, but kids in general, just know that that area isn't patrolled heavily,” Brett Durkin said.
Police are investigating the incident as an aggravated assault. Right now 17 detectives and one civilian investigator are working all the aggravated assaults in the city.
Sgt. Brian Bower with the Public Affairs Bureau for the Phoenix Police Department said it’s common for victims to help gather evidence.
"It doesn't delay the investigation, I think that's really important for people out there to know is even though we may be short amount of manpower out there, that there's a lot of stuff that victims and witnesses can do to help the investigation,” Bower said.
Of the 3,125 sworn positions the Phoenix Police Department is budgeted for, more than 560 are open right now, up from 501 in July of 2022.
“They’re going to constantly fluctuate up and down. But it’s always a promise to know that we had in the month of April, 200 applicants that completed their packet, we had over a dozen laterals complete their packets to come work for Phoenix as well,” Bower said.
In 2023, 49 officers have either retired or resigned from Phoenix police between January and April, according to Phoenix City Council Subcommittee meeting documents.
That’s down from 2022 when 93 officers had retired or resigned from the department in the same four months.
Bower credits a $20,000 pay increase for officers nearly a year ago as helping with recruitment.
“We’re working with social media marketing, where we’re trying to boost the Phoenix brand and explain why Phoenix is the better choice, not just for local people here, but we’re also reaching across the country,” Bower said.
On Wednesday, Phoenix City Council continued their discussion of $1.7 million in contracts to have two separate marketing agencies provide advertising to promote Phoenix Police Department’s open positions to mostly the Southwestern states.
However, law enforcement staffing is a struggle for agencies across the country.
“We have an apex of two trends happening, which is, there is obviously a hostility towards law enforcement residually across the country, and it manifests itself with the legislatures and the city councils that fund their law enforcement agencies to not fund adequately,” Bernard Zapor, retired ATF Special Agent in Charge and current ASU faculty said. “And then secondly, to get people interested in this career.”
Zapor notes the lack of sworn personnel on the streets, in proactive bureaus and investigating leaves officers fatigued across the country, and has ripple effects on victims.
“This is very dangerous for our public safety across the US, it's symptomatic as to what is happening. And of course, it completely erodes our constitutional mandate for justice,” Zapor said.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/phoenix-police-actively-recruiting-looking-to-fill-560-vacancies/75-bd949704-9988-48b0-9b63-4585a33be897 | 2023-06-01T01:59:55 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/phoenix-police-actively-recruiting-looking-to-fill-560-vacancies/75-bd949704-9988-48b0-9b63-4585a33be897 |
A man died after being shot by police while an officer is recovering after being shot in the hand during a struggle inside a home in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, officials said.
The ordeal began shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday when 24th District police officers responded to a report of gunshots along the 2800 block of Ruth Street. When the officers arrived they found shell casings on the ground in front of a property and heard a commotion coming from inside the home.
As the officers entered the home, they were met by a group of people who were leaving the property. Those people then pointed toward an area inside the home, investigators said. The officers approached the area as they attempted to clear the property and found an unidentified man hiding in a crawl space, according to officials.
The officers repeatedly told the man to leave the crawl space but he refused, investigators said. The officers then struggled with the man as they continued to try and get him to leave, according to police. One of the officers used a Taser on the man but it was not effective, officials said. As the man tried to take the Taser from the officer, a shot was fired, according to investigators. One of the officers, a 27-year-old man, then fell to the floor, suffering from a gunshot wound to the hand.
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Two of the other officers and a sergeant then pulled out their weapons and opened fire, shooting the man who was in the crawl space multiple times, investigators said. The officers then left the home with the injured officer and a barricade situation was declared.
The wounded officer was taken to Temple University Hospital where he is currently in stable condition and is expected to be released.
A SWAT team later entered the home along the 2800 block of Ruth Street and found the unidentified man in the crawl space suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Police have not yet confirmed if the man who was shot by police was the same person who shot the officer. They are currently interviewing witnesses as well as the officers involved in the incident.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philadelphia-police-officer-shot-in-the-hand-in-kensington-source-says/3576784/ | 2023-06-01T02:06:29 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philadelphia-police-officer-shot-in-the-hand-in-kensington-source-says/3576784/ |
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Contact Us | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/springside-chestnut-hill-academy-students-organize-art-exhibit-to-benefit-afghan-orphans/3576743/ | 2023-06-01T02:06:35 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/springside-chestnut-hill-academy-students-organize-art-exhibit-to-benefit-afghan-orphans/3576743/ |
BALTIMORE — A 3-year-old boy is in the hospital after shooting himself with a BB gun.
Just before 8 p.m., Baltimore Police responded to a local hospital for reports of a child who had been shot with a BB gun.
Officers discovered that the 3-year-old boy shot himself with a BB gun inside a house in the 1500 block of Richland Street.
According to police, the boy is stable.
Detectives are investigating how the boy got a hold of the BB gun and who was watching him at the time.
Child Abuse detectives are investigating this incident. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/police-investigating-after-3-year-old-suffers-self-inflicted-bb-gun-wound | 2023-06-01T02:07:07 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/police-investigating-after-3-year-old-suffers-self-inflicted-bb-gun-wound |
BALTIMORE — In Baltimore City, a gunshot wound is sadly something many young men share.
Quante Jones survived his. And today, he credits his encounter with a local nonprofit with changing his life.
"They just came to my door," Jones told WMAR. "And it took me about ten months to come to the building, but when I came, I liked it."
Jones shared his story at an open house Wednesday night for the nonprofit Roca - with donors and local officials in the crowd. At the event, organizers showed their 'safe space' for young people in Mount Vernon.
"An immediate response for these young people is necessary," said Kurt Palermo, executive vice president for Roca. "It’s critical. It’s what so many of them have to have in order to keep them safe."
As leaders acknowledge, there is no catch-all for Baltimore’s violence, but they hope, from their headquarters in Baltimore and on the ground, they can chip away at it.
Leaders aim to provide a safe space for the city’s at-risk youth ages 16 to 24, using methods like cognitive behavioral therapy to set them on a better path.
"Along with some tough love," said Erek Barron, U.S. attorney for Maryland, in attendance Wednesday night, "we must invest in community-based prevention and intervention programs."
According to Roca’s data - almost everyone they engage with has a prior arrest - but about three quarters had no new arrests after two years.
Roca gets public and private funding to do what it does, including a few million from Baltimore City and the state.
Another million dollars came from the state budget this year to help Roca expand into new territory like Baltimore County, as noted by Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, also in attendance.
"If you feel like you’re alone, this is somewhere you’ll feel like you have family that want to see you do good," Jones added.
Roca recently completed its fourth full year in the city; it has been in Baltimore since 2018 and is also active in New England. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/the-direct-approach-roca-baltimore-talks-youth-violence-results | 2023-06-01T02:07:13 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/the-direct-approach-roca-baltimore-talks-youth-violence-results |
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Kyran Hawthorne, 30, of Gary
CROWN POINT — Detectives discovered 250 grams of a "powdery substance" that tested positive for narcotics in the home of a Gary man Friday, according to charging documents.
Kyran Hawthorne Sr., 30, of Gary, faces nine counts of drug and weapon-related charges for allegedly making and dealing methamphetamine out of his home, unlawfully carrying a weapon and possessing marijuana, according to court documents.
St. John Police CIT Officer Dustin Wartman is trained in mental health intervention.
Police executed a search warrant around 4:15 p.m. on the 4100 block of Massachusetts Street where they found two handguns and marijuana in addition to the powdery substance. The substance tested positive for MDMA and methamphetamine. In the drawers of the kitchen, police found lithium batteries, glass beakers and a digital scale, consistent with dealing and manufacturing methamphetamine, charges state.
In the basement of the residence, investigators saw a dryer vent hose taped over the drain of a sink in the basement. The charges state the dryer hose ran to another vent in the basement, in what appeared to act as a ventilation system.
"It appeared that the residence was being actively used for the manufacture of methamphetamine," the documents allege.
Hawthorne was under home detention at the time with an ankle monitor in relation to a different criminal case.
Hawthorne was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail. He is not eligible for bail until June 15, according to online court records.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Aaron Doeing Jr.
Age : 18
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304714
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: FRAUD - OBTAINING PROPERTY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Adam Hollingsworth
Age : 36
Residence: Ford Heights, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304719
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Anastasia Clark
Age : 23
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304826
Arrest Date: May 22, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Anthony Peters
Age : 36
Residence: Chicago Heights, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304722
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Cameron Mills
Age : 29
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304752
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - TOUCH W/NO INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Candice Makiling
Age : 32
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304770
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Candice Shaw
Age : 40
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304771
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Winfield Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Charles Ward
Age : 31
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304815
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - PRESENCE OF CHILD < 16 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Colton Wilkey
Age : 26
Residence: Lowell, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304825
Arrest Date: May 22, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Damien Kent
Age : 35
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304794
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Daniel Gianoli
Age : 46
Residence: Lansing, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304788
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lowell Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Daniel Velasquez
Age : 27
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304749
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: THEFT OF A FIREARM
Highest Offense Class: Felony
David McGuire Jr.
Age : 42
Residence: Riverdale, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304746
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: THEFT - (NIBRS FRAUD OFFENSE)
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Dessiree Reese
Age : 39
Residence: Lowell, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304791
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lowell Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - PRESENCE OF CHILD < 16 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Devante Ricks
Age : 30
Residence: South Holland, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304709
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Devion Perry
Age : 25
Residence: Griffith, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304801
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Griffith Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - MODERATE BODILY INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Devonte House
Age : 28
Residence: Dolton, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304720
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: RESISTING - INTERFERING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT DEF. USES A VEHICLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Dimitri Person
Age : 30
Residence: Villa Park, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304748
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: POSSESSION - FIREARM - BY A SERIOUS VIOLENT FELON
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Eddie Turnage
Age : 59
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304803
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: New Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Edgar Hernandez Rodriguez
Age : 36
Residence: Lansing, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304808
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Munster Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - PRESENCE OF CHILD < 16 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Emmanuel Rivera
Age : 41
Residence: Beloit, WI
Booking Number(s): 2304798
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: OWi
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Eric Rangel Jr.
Age : 27
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304747
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: HOMICIDE - MURDER
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Fernando Mancillas Munoz
Age : 34
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304797
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: HPDB
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Freddie Forsythe
Age : 49
Residence: Lake Station, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304779
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake Station Police Department
Offense Description: SEX CRIME - POSSESS CHILD PORNOGRAPHY (b) ENHANCEMENT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Glen Johnson II
Age : 33
Residence: Lake Station, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304688
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: INTIMIDATION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Henry Jones Jr.
Age : 58
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304760
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: OPERATING A VEHICLE AFTER DRIVING PRIVILEGES ARE SUSPENDED
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jaime Najera
Age : 49
Residence: Schererville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304793
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Schererville Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
James Webb
Age : 52
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304751
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: FRAUD - DECEPTION - IDENTITY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jelani Pruitt
Age : 27
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304789
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: BURGLARY - PROPERTY - RESIDENTIAL ENTRY - BREAKING AND ENTERING
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jennifer Mischka
Age : 38
Residence: Lansing, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304713
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Dyer Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jermaine Wade Sr.
Age : 51
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304696
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Jerome Cannon
Age : 37
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304697
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: INTIMIDATION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Jesus Barajas
Age : 30
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304727
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Munster Police Department
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Joshua Chism
Age : 28
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304783
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Crown Point Police Department
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - FIREARM
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kenneth Jones
Age : 44
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304700
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Gary Police Department
Offense Description: CONFINEMENT; OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony; Misdemeanor
Kirk Wright
Age : 37
Residence: Rockford, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304818
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Other
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Kurt McCammon Jr.
Age : 35
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304795
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Cedar Lake Police Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Kymari Cheeks
Age : 24
Residence: South Bend, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304733
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Indiana State Police
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Lisette Corral
Age : 41
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304690
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: FRAUD - FORGERY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Louie Campbell
Age : 44
Residence: Munster, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304816
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Munster Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - USING A DEADLY WEAPON; BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL; DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Felonies
Michael Hill
Age : 34
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304809
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Merrillville Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - PRESENCE OF CHILD < 16 YEARS OLD
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Michael-Anthony Kruse
Age : 30
Residence: Lowell, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304732
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - W/INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Milan Tanasijevich
Age : 39
Residence: Schereville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304726
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Schereville Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Monique Bradford
Age : 53
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304698
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: East Chicago Police Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - SIMPLE - TOUCH W/NO INJURY
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Montel Smith
Age : 29
Residence: East Chicago, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304753
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Gary Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Muhammad Najeeullah
Age : 51
Residence: Highland, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304792
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Dyer Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Nadarangua Jackson-Carson
Age : 19
Residence: Chicago Heights, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304687
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Naja Wilder
Age : 22
Residence: Blue Island, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304744
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: BATTERY - AGGRAVATED - W/PERMANENT INJURY OR DISFIGUREMENT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Novae Gatewood
Age : 53
Residence: Hobart, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304693
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: POSSESSION - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Paris Finney
Age : 35
Residence: Hebron, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304694
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: LACC
Offense Description: DEALING - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Quintin Transou Jr.
Age : 37
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304721
Arrest Date: May 18, 2023
Arresting Agency: Merrillville Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Raymond Colburn
Age : 53
Residence: Crown Point, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304790
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Crown Point Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Rene Rodriguez
Age : 51
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304814
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Robert Jones
Age : 54
Residence: Weeki Wachee, FL
Booking Number(s): 2304768
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Cedar Lake Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Robert Kirk
Age : 61
Residence: Highland, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304811
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Highland Police Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Robert Ramos
Age : 67
Residence: St. John, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304740
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Ronald Myers
Age : 57
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304804
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: THEFT - PROPERTY - POCKET-PICKING - $750 TO $50,000
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Semaj Reynolds
Age : 26
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304780
Arrest Date: May 20, 2023
Arresting Agency: Gary Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Misdemeanor
Theron Harris Jr.
Age : 21
Residence: Gary, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304724
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake Station Police Department
Offense Description: RESISTING - INTERFERING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT DEF. USES A VEHICLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Travis Walker
Age : 38
Residence: Chicago, IL
Booking Number(s): 2304743
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Lake County Sheriff's Department
Offense Description: OWI
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Trina Weaver
Age : 39
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304728
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Victor Sanchez
Age : 22
Residence: Hammond, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304766
Arrest Date: May 19, 2023
Arresting Agency: Hammond Police Department
Offense Description: WEAPON - POSSESSION - DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE (EXPLOSIVES) - UNLAWFUL POSSESSION
Highest Offense Class: Felony
Vincent Michalik
Age : 20
Residence: Merrillville, IN
Booking Number(s): 2304817
Arrest Date: May 21, 2023
Arresting Agency: Merrillville Police Department
Offense Description: DOMESTIC BATTERY - SIMPLE - AGAINST A PERSON < 14 YEARS OLD - BY ADULT
Highest Offense Class: Felony
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Originally published May 31 on IdahoCapitalSun.com.Six of the eight top attorneys assigned to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare have quit or been fired by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador since March.
Some of those lawyers made a loud exit, pointing to Labrador’s increasingly complicated relationship with a department he is legally required to represent.
Labrador promised in his campaign for attorney general to overhaul how the office operates. Since taking office, he has created a new position in the office’s executive team and pledged to change how the office provides legal advice.
He also turned a critical eye to Health and Welfare. He opened an investigation into what he believes may have been illegal activity surrounding pandemic-era grants to child care providers; sought records to investigate child protection cases; and his office has fought attempts by Health and Welfare officials to block Labrador’s investigative demands.
The head of Health and Welfare — Idaho’s largest state agency — said the departures have already caused problems for the department and the people it serves.
“The loss of so much specialized legal knowledge, expertise, experience and history at one time has compromised the department’s ability to carry out the laws and policies that the legislature has enacted via statute,” Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen wrote in an email responding to questions from the Idaho Capital Sun. “This will create a direct negative impact to the Idaho families, vulnerable adults and children that the legislature has directed the department to serve.”
Labrador argues that the departures are an isolated purge of personnel who weren’t the best candidates for those jobs under his administration.
“What should be telling is that, in every other division, we haven’t had this issue, so that tells you that the problem is not with that office or with my leadership, but it’s with the culture in that division,” Labrador said in an interview. “In fact, many of these divisions are very excited about the changes that are happening.”
When he took office in January, Labrador said employees would need to submit letters of continuing interest if they wanted to continue working for the office under his administration. He also assembled an advisory committee to evaluate the agency. Members of that committee, including two of Labrador’s newly hired executive team, would interview every employee who wanted to stay with the AG’s office.
“These interviews are designed to ensure that each employee is the right person, with the right experience, in the right job for the people of Idaho,” an announcement from Labrador’s office said.
HEALTH AND WELFARE DIRECTOR: ‘IT WILL TAKE YEARS’ TO REPLACE DAGS’ INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGEJeppesen said in emailed answers to questions from the Idaho Capital Sun that the exodus of attorneys from Labrador’s office has caused “delayed work and less robust legal analysis” for Health and Welfare.
The loss of attorneys who handled complex lawsuits against Health and Welfare “will make it more difficult to adequately defend the state and the interests of the people the state serves,” he wrote.
Labrador told the Idaho Capital Sun in interviews last week that he believes the turnover will bring improvements.
Labrador said he isn’t leaving the positions open as attorneys leave.
“Several have been filled,” he said in an interview Friday.
Jeppesen said Labrador has filled only two of the six attorney jobs so far. Both are new to Health and Welfare “and do not come with knowledge or expertise in the many complex and nuanced services that the Idaho Legislature requires via statute for the department to provide to Idaho families, vulnerable adults and children,” Jeppesen wrote.
The department immediately hired two of the former DAGs after their release from the AG’s office.
Labrador said in an interview last week that he finds it suspicious that those DAGs could seamlessly transition from his office to the department — if they previously stayed within the scope of their jobs as DAGs instead of veering into policy work.
A spokesperson for Health and Welfare said the former DAGs now have different roles at the department, such as updating human resources policies and working on public health accreditation projects.
THE RIFT BETWEEN HEALTH AND WELFARE AND LABRADOR’S OFFICEThe recent exodus of DAGs who were assigned to Health and Welfare administration began in March, after Labrador launched an inquiry into the department’s handling of federal grants to schools and child care providers — specifically, investigating whether funds went to organizations that serve preschool-aged children.
That inquiry has led to litigation between Labrador’s office — which employs Health and Welfare’s DAGs — and Health and Welfare, which those DAGs are legally obligated to represent.
Daphne Huang was the lead DAG assigned to child care programs for Health and Welfare at the time.
Huang sent an email in late March to a supervisor, “memorializing our conversation,” that described an increasingly tense relationship between Huang and other agency attorneys and their boss, Labrador.
“It saddens and deeply troubles me how (Labrador and two executive hires he made upon taking office) have conducted themselves in managing this Office of great staff doing excellent work with agencies that also do excellent work,” Huang wrote. “I don’t think (Labrador’s executive team) is concerned with our ethical responsibilities under professional rules of conduct to which we are all bound. They instead appear intent on dismantling government, and doing so without regard for the people who believe in public service who fall in their wake. They have drawn the Office into adversity with its clients based on anti-government pursuits irrespective of how the law applies to the facts.”
She wrote that Labrador and his executive team had “created many ethical conflicts, which — in my decades-long career working for three other Attorneys General — I have not encountered, and in which I cannot in good conscience participate.”
One of the members of Labrador’s executive team, David Dewhirst — his chief deputy attorney general, who has since left to work for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — responded to Huang’s email by asking her to resign that day, March 29.
For one thing, he wrote to Huang, she had issued a legal memo Labrador disagreed with, regarding those federal grants for schools and child care providers.
He said her legal memo showed “either a profound lack of sound attorney judgment or a willingness to unquestionably provide post hoc legal cover for IDHW’s potentially unlawful activities. That opinion, like your email … appears to be an attempt to paper the record after the fact.”
Huang responded to him, saying the legal memo was a routine analysis based on state statute and the statute’s reference to federal guidelines.
“You disagreed with my memo and that is your prerogative,” she wrote to Dewhirst. “But I stand by my statement to you that it was wholly unclear to me that a memo about providing grants to serve children, and its consistency with the 2022 legislature’s appropriations bill, needed to be vetted through (Labrador’s executive team).”
She refused to resign, saying that it was not her choice to leave the AG’s office.
Another deputy attorney general, Madison Miles, left the job this month, along with three more DAGs who were assigned to the department.
“To say that this is bittersweet is an understatement,” Miles wrote in a May 12 farewell email to Health and Welfare’s top administrators.
“I honestly never thought this day would come, and I’m saddened and quite a bit angered that it has. I truly wish things were different, for all of us,” she wrote.
LABRADOR: REPLACING THE ATTORNEYS ‘MAKES GOVERNMENT MORE EFFICIENT’Several of Idaho’s former lead attorneys retired or left their jobs following the 2022 Republican primary election, in which Labrador unseated longtime Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.
The departures included the lead attorney in consumer protection and the primary attorney to represent Idaho in abortion cases before the Idaho Supreme Court.
The recent departures have been more concentrated to Health and Welfare.
The Sun asked Labrador if the exodus could be a sign of low morale, or a result of his inquiry into whether the department broke the law under the guidance of his DAGs.
He said he doesn’t think it “has anything to do with that.”
“I think it makes government more efficient to get rid of people who do not understand what the proper role of government is, and that don’t understand there are limits to what unelected bureaucrats can do in their offices — and to replace them with lawyers (who understand that role),” Labrador said. “I think the only people that benefit from that are the people of Idaho.”
WHAT’S THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IDHW AND THE IDAHO ATTORNEY GENERAL?The Idaho attorney general’s office functions as the law firm for state government, according to Idaho law. The AG’s office assigns some of its legal staff to agencies to guarantee that every piece of state government has representation — from Idaho’s largest agency, the Department of Health and Welfare, to smaller agencies like the Department of Insurance.
The deputy attorneys general have expertise in certain areas of the law, so that they can answer legal questions that arise in day-to-day state government work and can argue the state’s position in court.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is a frequent target for litigation, as it oversees programs that are heavily regulated and touch an estimated one-third to one-half of all Idahoans. Many of those Idahoans are vulnerable and therefore have more legal protections.
For example, the department is still working through a massive settlement from a lawsuit filed in 1980 over Idaho’s child and adolescent behavioral health care services — while, at the same time, just starting its defense in a federal lawsuit over whether the department discriminated against transgender Idahoans on Medicaid. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/lawyer-exodus-from-ag-s-office-has-compromised-idaho-health-and-welfare-director-says/article_089c2b24-ffe5-11ed-bfc3-03326c203e35.html | 2023-06-01T02:11:17 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/lawyer-exodus-from-ag-s-office-has-compromised-idaho-health-and-welfare-director-says/article_089c2b24-ffe5-11ed-bfc3-03326c203e35.html |
The weekend’s recreation and summer celebrations ended with more than 200 traffic stops and 65 people booked in jail in Coconino County.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office is looking back on Memorial Day weekend -- the unofficial kickoff of the summer season -- having responded to a “significant increase in incidents.”
Some of that increase was due to the unsafe operation of the kind of vehicles that people love to bust out in the summer sunshine. Over the weekend alone, CCSO responded to seven off-highway vehicle (OHV) crashes. It stopped more than 70 OHV drivers, and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) made a concentrated effort to pass on safety information for drivers of everything from four-wheelers to sand rails. CERT set up an informational checkpoint -- to that end -- on Forest Road 240 near Munds Park.
Meanwhile, CCSO partnered with officers from the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and Arizona Game and Fish to increase forest patrols.
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Where the pines and cedars end and the water begins, officers were just as busy. Friday through Sunday, deputies contacted 80 vessels on Arizona’s waterways. They responded to and are investigating two different boat-related collisions.
In addition to the spike in outdoor activity, CCSO reported a steep increase in calls for service generally. In just three days, it responded to 993 calls.
Eighty-two people received traffic citations and 12 were arrested after deputies conducted 221 traffic stops.
Based on deputy field reports, five drivers were arrested over the weekend for driving while impaired. One of those drivers is now facing charges for aggravated DUI after being stopped on Lake Mary Road for speeding. They had two children younger than the age of 6 unrestrained in the vehicle, according to CCSO.
In the other four cases, the average driver tested at almost twice the legal limit after drinking and driving. The average breath alcohol of the suspects was .140 BrAC, according to reports assembled by CCSO.
The legal limit in Arizona is .08 BrAC.
The sheriff’s office received a grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to be applied specifically to DUI enforcement prior to the holiday weekend. That grant, according to CCSO, helped fund the equipment and overtime that allowed for increased patrols during Memorial Day weekend. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/coconino-county-deputies-respond-to-nearly-1-000-calls-for-service-on-holiday-weekend/article_8e703c42-ffc0-11ed-b83d-a7239e6af868.html | 2023-06-01T02:11:30 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/coconino-county-deputies-respond-to-nearly-1-000-calls-for-service-on-holiday-weekend/article_8e703c42-ffc0-11ed-b83d-a7239e6af868.html |
Northern Arizona University (NAU) will be starting its free Summer Seminar Series for 2023 on June 8, featuring presentations by faculty in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS)
The six-week series “offers an exploration of the cultural, social and geopolitical dimensions of today’s complex world.” This year’s topics include humor and climate change, Latino politics in the U.S. and healthy aging. Question and answer sessions with the SBS speakers will be held directly after each presentation.
The series runs on Thursdays between June 8 and July 20, with the exception of July 6. Each seminar will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Room 200 of the SBS West Building, with free parking available in lots P61 and 47A. They will also be available to stream on Zoom.
“The series reflects the commitment of SBS to remain politically attuned, understand the world around us and embrace new technologies and perspectives to address issues that are critical to our community,” according to the announcement.
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Seminars are free and available to the public. The program is supported by the SBS Dean’s Office, NAU’s Office of the President and contributor donations.
The seminars will start with “Learning from the pandemic and beyond: Recognizing emotional labor in our public sector organizations” by Sara Rinfret (June 8) and “Re-envisioning the climate story: why it’s important to laugh at tragedy” by Peter Friederici (June 15).
These will be followed by “The internal cost of Russia’s war with Ukraine” by Gretchen Knudson Gee on June 22 and “Technology’s impacts on mind and brain: myths, facts and strategies,” presented by Michelle Miller on June 29.
July’s topics will be “Promoting healthy aging in everyday life,” by Eric Cerino (July 13) and “Emerging issues in Latino politics” by Stephen Nuño-Perez (July 22).
More information about the seminars, including links to attend online, can be found at nau.edu/SummerSeminarSeries. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/education/northern-arizona-universitys-free-summer-seminars-start-june-8/article_b978f802-ff3e-11ed-b371-bf10bd281187.html | 2023-06-01T02:11:36 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/education/northern-arizona-universitys-free-summer-seminars-start-june-8/article_b978f802-ff3e-11ed-b371-bf10bd281187.html |
Victoria Core, 14, of the Flagstaff Snow Shark Swim Team was selected to attend USA Swimming’s Western Zone Select Camp, an invitational camp that identifies and develops top teenage talent, according to a press release.
USA Swimming's 56-member roster consists of boys and girls ages 12-15 selected based on their performance in the 2022 Long Course Season. Western Zone camp will take place at San Diego State University June 15-18. The camps consist of both in-water practices and classroom sessions that cover various information designed to motivate and empower athletes as they continue their swimming careers.
Core is an eighth-grader who attends Northland Preparatory Academy. With the Flagstaff Snow Sharks she attends eight practices a week between the Northern Arizona University and Flagstaff High School pools -- along with twice-per-week dryland training overseen by Flagstaff’s Orthopedic Spine Institution.
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Core joined the Flagstaff Snow Sharks when she was 6 years old and started swimming competitively at 7.
Over her seasoned swimming career, she has been selected to represent Arizona with All- Stars (2023), Age Group Western Zones (2022), and Speedo Sectionals (Austin, Texas, 2023). Core is also an accomplished distance swimmer, holding four Arizona state titles in the long course and short course season (400i-meter, 800m freestyle, 1500m free and 1,000- yard free events) as a 13- and 14-year-old.
This summer she will also attend three sessions of Nike Swim Camp held at Northern Arizona University -- which she credits diversifying her exposure to college-level coaching.
The Zone Select Camps provide the top athletes aged 12 to 15 years old the opportunity to capitalize on their extraordinary achievements in the sport. Through an automated selection process, athletes are chosen based on their times and IMX scores to train and learn with other high-achieving athletes in the zone.
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the country, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competitions, including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, promote the sport, achieve competitive success.
For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org. | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/local-roundup-flagstaff-swimmer-selected-for-2023-western-zone-select-camp-roster/article_11a3ca4c-0012-11ee-8168-179d48704b17.html | 2023-06-01T02:11:48 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/local-roundup-flagstaff-swimmer-selected-for-2023-western-zone-select-camp-roster/article_11a3ca4c-0012-11ee-8168-179d48704b17.html |
Four Northern Arizona athletes punched tickets over the weekend during the West Regional in Sacramento to the outdoor NCAA championship meet.
Alyssa Colbert on Saturday, the final day of competition, qualified for the national championship meet in the 100-meter, running a time of 11.19 to destroy the previous school record. She also competed in the quarterfinals of the 200m, where she finished 22nd overall with a time of 23.54.
Colbert was a member of the 4x100m Lumberjacks relay team, which also set a new school record Saturday. She was joined by Kyairra Reigh, LaTrouchka Duke, and LiNay Perry as they combined to run a time of 44.40 to finish 20th overall.
Colbert will join David Dunlap, Colin Sahlman, and Nico Young in Austin, Texas, at the national meet. Dunlap will compete in the 200m, Sahlman will compete in the 1500m and Young will run the 5000m.
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The championships will take place June 7-10.
Friday was a big day for the Lumberjacks. Sahlman started things off strong for the Lumberjacks, finishing fourth in his heat of the 15000m in 3:50.01 to earn his spot. Dunlap kept the momentum going, turning in a personal best time of 20.28 in the 200m for a second-place finish in his heat and a trip to Austin. Young won the second heat in a time of 13:33.77, easily securing his place at the national championships. Theo Quax wasn't far behind his teammate in the 5000m, finishing in a time of 13:40.79 to miss out barely on advancing out of the West Regional.
Awards
A total of 41 Northern Arizona student-athletes from men's and women's indoor track and field and men's and women's basketball were selected to the winter Big Sky Conference All-Academic team, the league announced Wednesday.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must have met and/or exceeded the following minimum requirements: 1) Participated in at least half of the team's competitions; 2) Achieved a 3.2 cumulative grade point average at the conclusion of the most recently completed term; 3) Completed at least one academic term at his/her current Big Sky institution.
For indoor track and field student-athletes, they must have participated in at least half of the team's competitions or competed at the conference championship meet.
Women's indoor track and field led the way with 17 representatives.
Of the Northern Arizona honorees, 34 of them had a cumulative GPA of at least 3.50. Fifteen student-athletes hold a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA.
In all, the Big Sky had a total of 496 selections across four different sports, and the Lumberjacks had the seventh-most representatives.
The four squads saw success not only in the classroom, but in competition as well. Both men's and women's indoor track and field were crowned Big Sky Champions, while both basketball teams advanced to the Big Sky tournament title game. The women's squad clinched a share of the regular-season title and went on to make the program's first-ever WNIT appearance.
Women's basketball
Sophie Glancey, Fr., psychology sciences
Nyah Moran, So., strategic communication
Olivia Moran, So., health, science and fitness wellness
Montana Oltrogge, Gr., business economics
Emily Rodabaugh, Jr., master's in organizational leadership
Regan Schenck, Sr., human relations
Men's basketball
Diego Campisano, R-Fr., undecided
Oakland Fort, Fr., MBB, undecided
Keith Haymon, R-Jr., MBB, master's of organizational leadership
Nik Mains, R-Sr., master's human relations
Jack Wistrcill, Fr., MBB, undecided
Men's indoor track and field
Parker Bays, R-Sr., psychology
Trenton Givens, So., management
Corey Gorgas, R-So., psychological sciences
Erik Le Roux, Fr., accountancy
Desmond Lott, So., psychological sciences
Malachi Marshall, Fr., health sciences - public health
John Murphy, 5th Yr., human relations
Jack Normand, Jr., computer science
Kang Nyoak, So., exercise physiology
Wil Peralta, Jr., health sciences - nutrition and foods
Theo Quax, R-Jr., civil engineering
Kyle Smith, So., criminology and criminal justice
Nico Young, So., health sciences - nutrition and foods
Women's indoor track and field
Jesselyn Bries, Sr., educational foundations
Kenya Coburn, Jr., communication studies
Alyssa Colbert, So., communication studies
Maggi Congdon, So., civil engineering
Alaina Diggs, R-Jr., psychology
La Trouchka Duke, So., communication studies
Jenna Figueroa, 5th Yr., educational foundations
Sariyah Horne-Kemp, Fr., secondary education - history and social studies
Alonna Johnson, 5th Yr., human relations
Lily Margolis, Jr., strategic communication
Bryn Morley, R-Jr., environmental and sustainability studies
Kyairra Reigh, So., health sciences - nutrition and foods
Annika Reiss, Jr.,
Brenna Rodriguez, Fr.,business economics
Meagan Van Pelt, R-Jr.,
Madeline Wilson, Jr.,
Odessa Zentz, Fr., | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/nau-roundup-four-lumberjacks-advance-to-outdoor-ncaa-championship-meet/article_2e2c2452-000d-11ee-81cf-b3d95f0ec3f2.html | 2023-06-01T02:11:55 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/nau-roundup-four-lumberjacks-advance-to-outdoor-ncaa-championship-meet/article_2e2c2452-000d-11ee-81cf-b3d95f0ec3f2.html |
AUSTIN, Texas — The quarterfinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee start Wednesday morning. But on Tuesday, two students from the Austin area made it through the preliminary round.
Twelve-year-old Tarini Nandakumar from Challenger School-Avery Ranch and 14-year old Shrethan Botla from Meridian World Middle School both had some pretty hard words to spell on Tuesday.
According to his biography on the bee's website, Botla is very adventures and enjoys trying new things. He started spelling in kindergarten, and his other hobbies include hanging out with friends and playing video games. His favorite sport is soccer, and his favorite subject is math. He is also fascinated with medical science and hopes to be a doctor one day.
Nandakumar has previously competed in the bee in 2021, where she tied for 16th place, and 2022, where she tied for 49th place. According to her bio, she has many hobbies, including reading, dancing, building with LEGOs and playing with her pets. Her favorite food is pizza, and her favorite sport is badminton.
Both Botla and Nandakumar are sponsored by Sweet Success ATX.
The bee's quarterfinals air from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. CST Wednesday on Ion Plus. The semifinals will air from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. CST Wednesday on Ion, and the finals will air from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. CST Thursday on Ion. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/scripps-national-spelling-bee-quarterfinals-austin/269-0ec48733-75ca-4761-a236-f68658e7708e | 2023-06-01T02:17:01 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/scripps-national-spelling-bee-quarterfinals-austin/269-0ec48733-75ca-4761-a236-f68658e7708e |
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The University of North Florida Police Department was notified of a death on campus on Tuesday afternoon. Police responded to Building 2 where they found a member of the Physical Facilities staff dead.
UNF said the staff member died of natural causes. Family members and coworkers of the deceased have been notified.
"The University is heartbroken to lose a member of the Osprey community, and extends its support, thoughts and prayers to members of the family," the university said in a statement.
Any faculty or staff members who might need grief counseling are asked to call the Employee Assistance Program at (877) 240-6863. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/staff-member-found-dead-on-university-of-north-florida-campus/77-bb13373c-9f5c-4d69-a7a0-3804f75a44b1 | 2023-06-01T02:21:56 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/staff-member-found-dead-on-university-of-north-florida-campus/77-bb13373c-9f5c-4d69-a7a0-3804f75a44b1 |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Both Tampa and St. Petersburg will kick off the start of June by recognizing Pride month.
In St. Petersburg, city officials will raise the Pride flag at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 1, at St. Pete City Hall located at 175 5th St. N.
"Intentional inclusivity has always been one of our administration's core principles," Mayor Ken Welch said.
"Our annual Pride festivities, culminating with Florida's largest Pride parade and festival, highlight our city's support for our LGBTQ+ community, and all who have experienced marginalization. I'm proud to be leading a city that embraces our LGBTQ+ community. Our citizens are valued for who they are, not who they love or how they identify. [All] of us are St. Pete."
Other events include St. Pete Pride at the Pride Parade on Saturday, June 24, and the Pride In Grand Central Street Fair on Sunday, June 25.
In Tampa, the mayor and city leaders will also host an LGBT flag-raising ceremony to celebrate and recognize the importance of Pride Month. The event will start at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 1, at Old City Hall, located at 315 E Kennedy Blvd.
The city of Tampa said the month is dedicated to "the uplifting of LGBT voices, a celebration of LGBT culture, and the support of LGBT rights." | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/tampa-bay-pride-month-thursday-june-1/67-a89cf50e-82ad-4baf-9997-1c354ee2049c | 2023-06-01T02:22:01 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/tampa-bay-pride-month-thursday-june-1/67-a89cf50e-82ad-4baf-9997-1c354ee2049c |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Following weeks of disputes regarding allegations of an overstepping of authority, Pope Francis issued a statement Wednesday appointing a Fort Worth bishop as his representative over an Arlington monastery he is investigating.
"As Pontifical Commissary, Bishop [Michael] Olson is the Pope’s representative in this matter," a statement from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth states. "In doing so, the Dicastery recognized and acknowledged that Bishop Olson has been, and continues to be, entrusted with full governing responsibility for the Monastery."
The decree comes in response to a challenge of Olson's authority to investigate what the Diocese called "admitted-to" violations of the Sixth Commandment, and the vow of chastity by Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes, who leads the Discalced Carmelite Nuns monastery in Arlington.
Following Olson's commencement of an investigation into Agnes, the monastery filed a lawsuit challenging his authority over them.
The nuns sought for a temporary restraining order keeping Olson from his investigation into the monastery, as well as a declaratory judgment defining the legal relationship between the two parties.
The Vatican decree authoritatively rejects their appeal -- at least in the non-secular realm.
The lawsuit filed by the nuns detailed a litany of allegations against Olson.
"Defendant Michael Olson is the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth and he and his agents are abusing their power, inflicting moral violence and psychological distress on the Plaintiff’s and the Sisters by undertaking an illegal, unholy, unwarranted, explicit, and systematic assault upon the sanctity and autonomy of the Plaintiff’s and the Sisters," the suit read.
The suit argued, as its own autonomous religious institution, the monastery was not under the control of Olson or the Diocese of Fort Worth.
"The Monastery belongs to the Order of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, a contemplative order of pontifical right established in the late 16th Century," the suit detailed.
The suit also claimed Olson told Agnes' primary caregiver that she was prevented from speaking to her, either directly or through an intermediary, despite her health needs. Agnes reportedly lives with a PICC line, wears a feeding tube 24 hours a day, and is hooked to an IV drip 10 hours a day.
Furthermore, due to Olson taking Agnes' technology, the suit stated that the monastery was unable to pay its bills or operate financially, as all of the log-in information was located on her devices.
"This insane amount of abuse has created tremendous emotional trauma and psychological distress on the Plaintiffs and the Sisters and is directly affecting the Reverend Mother’s physical health," the suit stated. "These actions are beyond the pale of decency, have no basis in law, are unconscionable and unheard actions for a Bishop."
Pontifical right, the suit said, is a term given to religious institutions created or approved by The Pope. These institutions depend exclusively on the Pope in matters of discipline and internal governance -- and not on representatives such as Olson.
"This is critically important because the Monastery and the Plaintiffs are not under the control of Defendants and instead any internal governance must be reserved exclusively to the Pope," the suit argued.
Wednesday's decree from Pope Francis reaffirms Olson's authority over the monastery in the eyes of the church and allows Olson to act in lieu of the Pope as his representative in the matter.
Reached for comment on that decision, Matthew Bobo, the attorney on behalf of the monastery, said the decree issued is restricted to only the governing function of the Catholic Church. He said it has no authority over the law of Texas whatsoever, and that it should not affect the civil lawsuit filed by the monastery.
"The unjust, illegal and immoral actions taken by Bishop Michael Olson in this matter have been explicitly outlined in the past few weeks, and the decree issued by the Catholic Church from Vatican City changes none of the facts of the case," Bobo said in a statement. "We will continue to press on representing the sisters according to the law of the State of Texas, for which Bishop Michael Olson is subject to."
Bobo also raised issued with the decree itself, in that the case number and year in the top left-hand corner were neither correct nor associated with the case, in that the sister's monastery was incorrectly referred to as the Monastery of Saint Joseph of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns, and in that the nuns' canon lawyer has not received the decree, which is required by canon law.
"All of these grave errors raise the issue of the validity of this decree," Bobo concluded in the statement. | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/pope-sides-with-fort-worth-bishop-dispute-local-monastery/287-98fdbd7c-341a-4223-ac92-ed2c78135419 | 2023-06-01T02:24:26 | 1 | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/pope-sides-with-fort-worth-bishop-dispute-local-monastery/287-98fdbd7c-341a-4223-ac92-ed2c78135419 |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — After finding the human remains of a Portland woman in the woods earlier this month, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information into what they are calling a “suspicious death.”
The victim was identified as 22-year-old Ashley Real. Authorities say they are still attempting to determine her cause of death.
According to officials, deputies responded to a death investigation in the 29000 block of SE Judd Road in the Eagle Creek area on May 7. A man fishing at a nearby pond called 911 after discovering Real’s body in a heavily wooded area.
Authorities are asking for any tips from the public on suspicious activity that have been observed in the area between the end of March and the beginning of May — they also would like to talk to anyone that’s had contact with Real this year.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the CCSO tip line by phone at 503-723-4949 or by using the online email form — reference CCSO Case # 23-009521. | https://www.koin.com/local/clackamas-county/suspicious-death-investigation-underway-after-womans-remains-found-near-eagle-creek/ | 2023-06-01T02:28:46 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/clackamas-county/suspicious-death-investigation-underway-after-womans-remains-found-near-eagle-creek/ |
AUSTIN, Texas — Seven people were hurt in a bee swarm attack on Monday evening at Richard Moya Park in southeast Austin, near the airport. One couple told KVUE they know how risky a bee attack can be.
Five years ago, Vern Roberts was mowing his backyard when his wife, Mary, heard him shuffling on the ground. She ended up walking around the front of the house to find him.
"I see my husband and a much bigger cloud of bees following him. I see him just as he's falling, and it wasn't long before there was a bunch of bees trying to attack me," Mary Roberts said.
Nurses estimate Vern Roberts had more than 600 stings while Mary Roberts had almost 50.
"Everybody wanted pictures. They'd never seen anybody with that many bee stings," Mary Roberts said.
Walter Schumacher is the founder of American Honey Bee Protection Agenc. He warned that we've recently experienced a lot of rain and sun, which makes for lots of bees. This leads to hives.
But he emphasized that a swarm isn't dangerous.
"What's dangerous is when a beehive is not attacked but interrupted or disturbed," Schumacher said. "So the more you swat and do those kind of things, the more bees are attracted because they're attracted by motion."
Cpt. Darren Noak with Austin-Travis County EMS said bees are not out to attack for any reason. If you bump into bees while working around the house, take that as a warning sign.
"So heed those warnings and kind of get out of the area at that time. One of the things you can do is kind of hold your breath and leave the area," Noak said. "If the bees are starting to swarm and even attack, you need to run."
You also need to protect your body.
"No. 2, you want to protect your face and hand area, your nose, your mouth, your eyes as best as possible," Noak said. "An actual myth though is, you know, jump in some water and submerge yourself ... That's a myth."
These are all tips you can use while we are in the midst of swarming season. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/bee-swarm-attack-tips/269-5ea9a615-3be5-47a3-a28d-f0efc980c929 | 2023-06-01T02:34:25 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/bee-swarm-attack-tips/269-5ea9a615-3be5-47a3-a28d-f0efc980c929 |
DALLAS — The City of Dallas and its partners will host official Pride flag raising ceremonies at Dallas Love Field and Dallas City Hall to kick off Pride month.
Dallas Love Field's flag raising will take place at 9 a.m. on June 1. Dallas City Hall's flag raising will happen at noon.
The City of Dallas rainbow Pride flag will fly above city buildings throughout the month of June.
Among the partners attending the event are:
- Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez, District 6
- Council Member Chad West, District 1
- Council Member Paul Ridley, District 14
- Dallas Mavericks
- Dallas Wings
- City of Dallas LGBT Employee Association of Dallas
- Dallas Police Department
- Dallas Fire & Rescue
- Dallas Love Field Airport
- Dallas City Hall on the Go
The Dallas Pride Parade is on Sunday, June 4. The Alan Ross Texas Free Parade will start at 2 p.m., circling the Cotton Bowl through Fair Park. There were more than 150 entries for this year's parade. Be ready for floats, bands, costumes and more.
PS: Be on the lookout for WFAA! We'll be riding along the parade route with Black Tie Dinner.
For more DFW pride events, click here.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/dallas-city-buildings-pride-flags/287-b9787042-da8d-44f6-9f16-e909b6c92881 | 2023-06-01T02:34:31 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/dallas-city-buildings-pride-flags/287-b9787042-da8d-44f6-9f16-e909b6c92881 |
HUMBLE, Texas — Graduation day is supposed to be one of the biggest highlights for high school seniors, but for some students at Summer Creek High School, the day turned unexpectedly sour.
Students who were part of the Spanish National Honor Society were prepared to walk across the stage over the weekend with sashes that let everyone know they got good grades and completed more than 100 volunteer hours, but those sashes were stripped away from them before the ceremony began.
In a video, you can see administrators folding the confiscated sashes behind the stage.
"We put in our time -- 100-plus hours we put in -- and just for it to get taken away like that," graduate Olivia Silva said. "It’s so disrespectful and so humiliating."
Judith Bautista, the teacher in charge of the Spanish National Honor Society, was angry about what happened. She said she got approval for the students to wear the sashes in April. She said there was a special ceremony for the students on Cinco De Mayo where they were presented with the sashes.
Bautista said she tried to speak to administrators at the graduation ceremony to address the problem.
"The only thing he said is, 'Bautista, we will talk about it on Tuesday' and let me get out," she said.
Bautista feels as if her students were being targeted.
In the same video that showed the confiscated sashes being folded behind the stage, other students were seen wearing different sashes that represented their culture and other organizations. Those students were even allowed to walk across the stage with them on.
Bautista was so hurt about the situation that she made a video for social media that was shared thousands of times.
"To me, personally, it's racial discrimination and this is something I have been having to fight for to represent my community," she said.
KHOU 11 News reached out to the school district, which said the incident was a miscommunication and the person checking student outfits had no idea the sashes were approved.
"We feel terrible they were not allowed to wear the Spanish National Honor Society sashes," Humble ISD's chief communication officer, Jamie Mount, said. "They should have been allowed to wear them."
The district said it has reached out to the students and offered them a free portrait of them in their sashes, but the students said it's too late. They said that special moment across the stage is gone.
"I, personally, don’t think nothing will fix that," Silva said.
Humble ISD has about 38% Hispanics in the district.
The League of United Latin American Citizens, also known as LULAC, is getting involved. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/humble-isd-spanish-national-honor-society-sashes-stripped/285-67718fc1-836a-4b9f-b9c2-8b9df427f937 | 2023-06-01T02:34:37 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/humble-isd-spanish-national-honor-society-sashes-stripped/285-67718fc1-836a-4b9f-b9c2-8b9df427f937 |
SAN ANTONIO — An off-duty SAPD motorcycle officer who was working a funeral procession was hit by by a vehicle Wednesday morning, San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Woody Woodward said.
It happened around 10:13 a.m. on the 12200 block of Somerset Road on the southwest side of San Antonio.
SAPD said at the scene that the officer was trying to move from the back of the procession to the front. Traffic going in the opposite direction was supposed to be stopped and police say the driver of a pickup truck failed to stop.
The officer was trying to manuever around the truck to avoid an accident when he lost control and was ejected from his motorcyle. He ended up landing underneath a truck.
Police say he was alert and talking to the paramedics. He has some lacerations to the knee and back pain, but should recover. He was taken to the hospital.
Police urged drivers to stay alert, slow down and follow instructions when funeral processions are passing.
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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/off-duty-sapd-motorcycle-officer-working-funeral-procession-hit-vehicle-safd-sapd-san-antonio-police-texas/273-b7bbce0a-6c93-43fc-b088-8f8532d37406 | 2023-06-01T02:34:43 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/off-duty-sapd-motorcycle-officer-working-funeral-procession-hit-vehicle-safd-sapd-san-antonio-police-texas/273-b7bbce0a-6c93-43fc-b088-8f8532d37406 |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Following weeks of disputes regarding allegations of an overstepping of authority, Pope Francis issued a statement Wednesday appointing a Fort Worth bishop as his representative over an Arlington monastery he is investigating.
"As Pontifical Commissary, Bishop [Michael] Olson is the Pope’s representative in this matter," a statement from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth states. "In doing so, the Dicastery recognized and acknowledged that Bishop Olson has been, and continues to be, entrusted with full governing responsibility for the Monastery."
The decree comes in response to a challenge of Olson's authority to investigate what the Diocese called "admitted-to" violations of the Sixth Commandment, and the vow of chastity by Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes, who leads the Discalced Carmelite Nuns monastery in Arlington.
Following Olson's commencement of an investigation into Agnes, the monastery filed a lawsuit challenging his authority over them.
The nuns sought for a temporary restraining order keeping Olson from his investigation into the monastery, as well as a declaratory judgment defining the legal relationship between the two parties.
The Vatican decree authoritatively rejects their appeal -- at least in the non-secular realm.
The lawsuit filed by the nuns detailed a litany of allegations against Olson.
"Defendant Michael Olson is the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth and he and his agents are abusing their power, inflicting moral violence and psychological distress on the Plaintiff’s and the Sisters by undertaking an illegal, unholy, unwarranted, explicit, and systematic assault upon the sanctity and autonomy of the Plaintiff’s and the Sisters," the suit read.
The suit argued, as its own autonomous religious institution, the monastery was not under the control of Olson or the Diocese of Fort Worth.
"The Monastery belongs to the Order of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, a contemplative order of pontifical right established in the late 16th Century," the suit detailed.
The suit also claimed Olson told Agnes' primary caregiver that she was prevented from speaking to her, either directly or through an intermediary, despite her health needs. Agnes reportedly lives with a PICC line, wears a feeding tube 24 hours a day, and is hooked to an IV drip 10 hours a day.
Furthermore, due to Olson taking Agnes' technology, the suit stated that the monastery was unable to pay its bills or operate financially, as all of the log-in information was located on her devices.
"This insane amount of abuse has created tremendous emotional trauma and psychological distress on the Plaintiffs and the Sisters and is directly affecting the Reverend Mother’s physical health," the suit stated. "These actions are beyond the pale of decency, have no basis in law, are unconscionable and unheard actions for a Bishop."
Pontifical right, the suit said, is a term given to religious institutions created or approved by The Pope. These institutions depend exclusively on the Pope in matters of discipline and internal governance -- and not on representatives such as Olson.
"This is critically important because the Monastery and the Plaintiffs are not under the control of Defendants and instead any internal governance must be reserved exclusively to the Pope," the suit argued.
Wednesday's decree from Pope Francis reaffirms Olson's authority over the monastery in the eyes of the church and allows Olson to act in lieu of the Pope as his representative in the matter.
Reached for comment on that decision, Matthew Bobo, the attorney on behalf of the monastery, said the decree issued is restricted to only the governing function of the Catholic Church. He said it has no authority over the law of Texas whatsoever, and that it should not affect the civil lawsuit filed by the monastery.
"The unjust, illegal and immoral actions taken by Bishop Michael Olson in this matter have been explicitly outlined in the past few weeks, and the decree issued by the Catholic Church from Vatican City changes none of the facts of the case," Bobo said in a statement. "We will continue to press on representing the sisters according to the law of the State of Texas, for which Bishop Michael Olson is subject to."
Bobo also raised issued with the decree itself, in that the case number and year in the top left-hand corner were neither correct nor associated with the case, in that the sister's monastery was incorrectly referred to as the Monastery of Saint Joseph of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns, and in that the nuns' canon lawyer has not received the decree, which is required by canon law.
"All of these grave errors raise the issue of the validity of this decree," Bobo concluded in the statement. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/pope-sides-with-fort-worth-bishop-dispute-local-monastery/287-98fdbd7c-341a-4223-ac92-ed2c78135419 | 2023-06-01T02:34:49 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/pope-sides-with-fort-worth-bishop-dispute-local-monastery/287-98fdbd7c-341a-4223-ac92-ed2c78135419 |
SAN ANTONIO — Texas veterans have filed the most disability claims related to burn-pit health issues, compared to the rest of the country, according to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.
Congressman Tony Gonzales joined McDonough in a roundtable discussion with VA health care leaders and veterans in San Antonio, stressing there are resources for those who’ve suffered the impacts of hazardous waste from serving overseas.
“Anyone that put on a uniform deserves that ability to have that health care that they need and deserve,” Gonzales said, who is a veteran himself.
McDonough revealed nearly 600,000 veterans nationwide have filed claims under the PACT Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in August. He said Texans accounted for more than 62,000 of the claims.
Burn Pits 360, a Texas-based non-profit organization, spent more than a decade advocating statewide and in Washington D.C. for expanded health care benefits, which led to the passage of the PACT Act.
The law intends to aid 3.5 million eligible veterans who’ve suffered the health impacts from hazardous waste.
The VA’s website lists over 20 burn pit and other toxic exposure presumptive conditions that could qualify a veteran to receive care.
Army Sgt. Mario Lopez is a survivor, bearing the scars of war from an attack in Afghanistan 15 years ago.
“About 30 minutes into the mission, we get hit with an estimated 300 pound IED (improvised explosive device),” Lopez said.
The veteran suffered burns on 54% of his body and was forced to have his right arm amputated.
While in the Middle East, Lopez lived four months near burn pits, where everything from feces, food to clothes was disposed.
“That’s when I got injured and I was on the burn pit detail every once in a while,” Lopez said. “I had no idea that it was toxic, I thought -- that it was fine.”
McDonough acknowledged the VA is working on improving outreach efforts, increasing staffing and innovating ways of screening veterans for different illnesses.
“We’ll get you the care that you deserve, the benefits that you’ve earned,” McDonough said. “You’ve waited long enough, let’s get this done.”
As for Lopez, his faith and passion for art has helped him through a long journey of healing. He urges fellow veterans to take advantage of the PACT Act and voice their concerns.
“Yeah, we’ve got to win a war but we also go to take care of our soldiers because it could cost more in the long run,” Lopez said.
McDonough also visited with Mayor Ron Nirenberg and VA facilities in Austin and Houston.
To learn more about the PACT Act go here. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/san-antonio-pact-act-veterans-toxic-waste/273-47a8a814-f8be-4606-b2bc-7f50b68ab0f7 | 2023-06-01T02:34:56 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/san-antonio-pact-act-veterans-toxic-waste/273-47a8a814-f8be-4606-b2bc-7f50b68ab0f7 |
SAN ANTONIO — Officials are searching for a missing 15-year-old girl who was last seen May 30 on the 6000 block of Mountain Spring Drive, officials say.
Sydney Alexis Sears was last seen wearing blue and white plaid pajama pants, grey shirt and black Nike slides with a pink checkmark, SAPD says. She is also right-handed with scars on her left forearm and right bicep.
Sears is described as being 5'0 and weighs 100 pounds with blue eyes and straight shoulder length blonde hair.
Anyone with information on Sears' whereabouts is asked to contact the San Antonio Missing Person's Unit at (210) 207-7660. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/sapd-missing-teen-girl-san-antonio/273-5736a91f-1eda-44e2-8755-37ed2df656ae | 2023-06-01T02:35:02 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/sapd-missing-teen-girl-san-antonio/273-5736a91f-1eda-44e2-8755-37ed2df656ae |
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KSNW) — Andrew Patterson pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of attempted murder in the second degree and two counts of criminal threat for plans to hurt his coworkers.
Ahead of sentencing, he has requested to be evaluated to determine if he needs to be treated at Larned State Hospital before being sentenced.
The Hutchinson Police Department (HPD) says on May 31, 2022, they learned that Patterson wanted to harm employees of a business where he worked.
They located Patterson during a traffic stop and arrested him. During the stop, the HPD says officers found detailed plans of an act to carry out mass violence against employees.
Hutchinson police got a search warrant for Patterson’s home and found additional evidence related to the plan.
A sentencing date for Patterson has not been set at this time. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/hutchinson-man-asks-to-be-evaluated-ahead-of-sentencing/ | 2023-06-01T02:35:19 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/hutchinson-man-asks-to-be-evaluated-ahead-of-sentencing/ |
Food carts across the city may have used chicken that was not inspected properly by federal officials or labeled correctly, according to a lawsuit.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan stated in a criminal complaint that a local food distributor may to blame for chicken that was sold to customers not having gone through proper inspection. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York alleged that N and M Food Wholesale Supply prepared chicken kebab skewers out of a room in a warehouse — without federal inspection.
The distributor was also accused of not properly labeling or packaging more than 900 pounds of that poultry.
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"Every individual deserves the assurance that the food they purchase is properly inspected and safe to eat," said Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Paul Kiecker. "FSIS remains committed to public health and we will take swift action to protect American consumers."
In Nov. 2018, N and M purchased about 375 pounds of chicken shish kebabs that hadn't been federally inspected, then offered it for sale, according to the criminal complaint. About 165 pounds of that to wholesale customers. Similar incidents occurred in Aug. 2020, Feb. 2021 and May 2021, prosecutors claimed.
In the most recent incident, N and M allegedly removed about 280 pounds of federally inspected chicken leg meat from its packaging. Then, in its warehouse, the distributor cut and trimmed fat from the pieces, marinated the meat, skewered them and then wrapped them up to put them back in their original boxes, which had labels marking that those had been inspected.
Days after the incident, the meat that had been improperly labeled was voluntarily destroyed by the distributor, prosecutors said.
The company admitted to wrongdoing and will face further legal action if they violate legal action if they violate government regulations again. Attorney information for N and M and its owners was not immediately clear. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/chicken-sold-to-nyc-food-carts-wasnt-properly-inspected-by-distributor-prosecutors/4383252/ | 2023-06-01T02:48:41 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/chicken-sold-to-nyc-food-carts-wasnt-properly-inspected-by-distributor-prosecutors/4383252/ |
What to Know
- The 32-year-old West Haven Democrat pleaded guilty in November to three counts of wire fraud conspiracy, admitting he, his wife and others billed the city for services never rendered.
- The thefts began in mid-2020 when DiMassa was both a state representative and an aide to the West Haven City Council, authorized by his city job to approve reimbursements for coronavirus-related expenses.
- DiMassa embarked on a public service career, working for the city and winning three terms in the state House of Representatives — jobs he resigned from after his 2021 arrest.
A former Connecticut state representative was sentenced to 27 months in prison on Wednesday for stealing more than $1.2 million from the city of West Haven — most of it in federal coronavirus-related aid — and using a good chunk of it to fuel his gambling addiction.
“I stole that money. That is on me,” Michael DiMassa said as he apologized during sentencing before Judge Omar Williams in federal court in Hartford. “It’s hard to find the word to express how I feel. I feel ashamed, embarrassed, mortified.”
The 32-year-old West Haven Democrat pleaded guilty in November to three counts of wire fraud conspiracy, admitting he, his wife and others billed the city for services never rendered.
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DiMassa could have gotten more than four years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. But the judge gave him credit for fully accepting responsibility, cooperating with investigators and testifying against a co-defendant.
DiMassa — in dark gray suit, maroon shirt and black-and-red striped tie — also was ordered to pay the city nearly $866,000 in restitution. He remains free on bond and must report to prison by July 31.
Despite DiMassa’s contrition, West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi, a fellow Democrat, blasted him during the sentencing hearing. She said the pandemic aid he stole could have gone to businesses that really needed it.
News
“The city placed its trust in Mr. DiMassa,” Rossi said. “Our trust was misplaced. He is a liar, a thief, a con artist and a degenerate gambler.”
The criminal cases brought scrutiny on West Haven officials and how the city spent more than $1 million it received in federal COVID-19 relief funds. Rossi, who was criticized for not adequately overseeing the city’s coronavirus-related spending, has said the thefts led to personnel changes and more internal controls.
The thefts began in mid-2020 when DiMassa was both a state representative and an aide to the West Haven City Council, authorized by his city job to approve reimbursements for coronavirus-related expenses.
The easy access to money and his gambling addiction sent DiMassa into a “precipitous downward spiral,” his lawyer, John Gulash, wrote in court documents.
Gulash compared DiMassa with Howard Ratner, the gambler played by Adam Sandler in the movie “Uncut Gems.” He said DiMassa bet on things as frivolous as how long the national anthem would take at the Super Bowl, or what color Gatorade would be poured on the winning coach.
He did much of his gambling at the Mohegan Sun casino in eastern Connecticut.
Gulash said the thefts destroyed the good reputation DiMassa built over the years.
He graduated with honors from Notre Dame High School in West Haven, named the school’s “Man of the Year.” He also graduated magna cum laude from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven with a business management degree, Gulash said.
DiMassa embarked on a public service career, working for the city and winning three terms in the state House of Representatives — jobs he resigned from after his 2021 arrest.
Prosecutors said DiMassa stole the money in different schemes with three co-defendants, all of whom were convicted and ordered to pay varying amounts of restitution.
DiMassa and his wife, Lauren, made off with nearly $148,000 by submitting phony requests for city payments to a youth violence prevention program, authorities said. Those funds were not federal coronavirus aid.
Lauren DiMassa, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child and has two teenage daughters from a previous marriage, pleaded guilty last year. She recently began a six-month prison sentence handed down in March. She also was ordered to pay nearly $148,000 in restitution.
Michael DiMassa and a business partner, John Bernardo, also a former West Haven city employee, pilfered nearly $637,000 in coronavirus relief funds, prosecutors said. They formed a company that fraudulently billed the city for legal, lobbying and consulting services never rendered, they said.
Bernardo pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced to 13 months in prison in March. He also must pay nearly $59,000 in restitution, the amount authorities say he personally pocketed.
DiMassa and another business owner, John Trasacco, conspired to submit fraudulent invoices from Trasacco’s companies to the city, netting nearly $432,000 in COVID-19 aid. Nearly all of that went to Trasacco, whose jury conviction for fraud drew him an eight-year prison sentence in March.
Trasacco was ordered to pay back the city nearly $144,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Miller on Wednesday called DiMassa’s actions a betrayal to the city and his constituents. But he also credited DiMassa for testifying against Trasacco and helping secure his conviction.
DiMassa, who has been battling testicular cancer, apologized again while speaking to reporters outside the courthouse.
“There’s so much I could say and so many people I could apologize to,” he said. “And words don’t do it justice. I hope to follow all the guidelines imposed by the court today, serve my time and to try to turn this into a positive thing for others.” | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-connecticut-lawmaker-gets-27-months-in-prison-for-stealing-over-one-million-in-covid-aid/4383036/ | 2023-06-01T02:48:47 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-connecticut-lawmaker-gets-27-months-in-prison-for-stealing-over-one-million-in-covid-aid/4383036/ |
HERSHEY, Pa. — A well-loved tradition returned on Wednesday in Dauphin County.
The Nittany Lions football team made a special visit to Penn State Health Children's Hospital for the first time in more than three years.
The players made the trip to the hospital in Derry Township to spend the afternoon with patients, Four Diamonds Kids and Children's Miracle Network participants.
Both parents and players say seeing the kids' reactions is the best part of the day.
"Hearing the kids and all the Penn State football team players cheer[ing], it's just a great atmosphere to hear right now," said Pamela Baranowski, the mother of a Miracle Network patient.
"It was awesome just for us to be able to turn their frown upside down and just make everything better for them. [The] highlight of my day [was] giving a signed football to a little kid in post-op, his jaw dropped and face [lit] up," said Penn State linebacker Dominic DeLuca.
Before the pandemic, football players visited the Children's Hospital every year. They hope to continue the tradition moving forward. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/penn-state-football-players-visit-children-penn-state-health-childrens-hospital/521-0a22d93e-b680-4c50-b930-3ac4f9c8b583 | 2023-06-01T02:50:06 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/penn-state-football-players-visit-children-penn-state-health-childrens-hospital/521-0a22d93e-b680-4c50-b930-3ac4f9c8b583 |
Stolen service dog Mya is returned to her owner after a 6-month searchJacob Anthony Chansley, a.k.a. Jake Angeli, visits the Arizona state CapitolFirst Presbyterian Church is on fire in Douglas, ArizonaBodycam footage shows Tucson police shooting, killing man | https://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2023/06/01/phoenix-clears-debris-block-zone-during-second-cleanup/12006727002/ | 2023-06-01T02:53:15 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2023/06/01/phoenix-clears-debris-block-zone-during-second-cleanup/12006727002/ |
Tovrea Castle in Phoenix sustains $90K in damages; reward offered for tips on burglary
An unknown individual broke into the Tovrea Castle on May 20 and caused approximately $90,000 in damage, according to a Silent Witness flyer.
Damages include the castle’s basement doors and a historical exhibit. The culprit left southbound toward Washington Street with a fire extinguisher, the flyer reads.
The case is being investigated as a burglary, according to the Silent Witness website.
The suspect is described as a cleanshaven white man 30 to 40 years old. A photo released of the suspect shows he was wearing a dark-colored T-shirt and matching slacks.
"This is the second incident at the historical property in the last couple of weeks," read a statement from Silent Witness.
Situated on the eastern outskirts of Phoenix, the Tovrea Castle is a 95-year-old landmark owned by the city.
There is a $1,000 cash reward available to tipsters whose information leads to an arrest in the case.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 480-WITNESS (948-6377), or 480-TESTIGO (837-8446) for Spanish speakers. Anonymous tips may also be made at silentwitness.org. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/05/31/tovrea-castle-in-phoenix-sustains-90-thousand-in-damages-reward-offered-for-tips-on-burglary/70275551007/ | 2023-06-01T02:53:21 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/05/31/tovrea-castle-in-phoenix-sustains-90-thousand-in-damages-reward-offered-for-tips-on-burglary/70275551007/ |
The South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team (S.C.I.N.T.) has been working on several narcotics investigations involving several individuals, locations, and vehicles throughout the past few months.
In late May 2023, a traffic stop was conducted on one of the above mentioned vehicles. The vehicles' occupants possessed Sixty-four M-30 fentanyl pills, scales, and packaging material. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/s-c-i-n-t-continues-to-remove-illegal-narcotics-from-coos-county/article_9749b5c4-000a-11ee-b908-37dbf02066d1.html | 2023-06-01T03:01:59 | 0 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/s-c-i-n-t-continues-to-remove-illegal-narcotics-from-coos-county/article_9749b5c4-000a-11ee-b908-37dbf02066d1.html |
PITTSTON, Pa. — It was a night that almost didn't happen for Michael Turner, the newest Chief of Wyoming Area Regional Police.
"Coming from where I was in December till today, a lot of emotions playback," Chief Turner said.
Before the regional police force was formed, Turner served as the chief for West Pittston.
In December 2022, he was involved in a severe car crash that almost took his life.
He had several broken bones and almost lost the ability to walk.
"The first question I asked the surgeon out of surgery is am I going back to work, and he reassured I would be. Did he expect me to go back in three and a half months, no," Chief Turner said.
Turner returned to his new role as Lieutenant of Wyoming Area Regional Police ahead of schedule to serve under now-former Chief D. F. Pace.
"It became immediately apparent to me his selflessness, his humility, and his willingness to serve the community, so when it came time to selecting my management team, it was a no-brainer as to who would be the second in command, and I'm very happy that he's going to be taking the reins of this newly formed regional police department," Pace said.
Now as chief, Turner plans to continue his department's promises of service, honor, and integrity.
"My number one concern is to hold people accountable for if they are committing crimes in our regional coverage area and two attack whoever is thinking about dealing or selling narcotics we are going to get them," Chief Turner said.
Along with swearing in Chief Turner, Wyoming Area Regional Police swore in Christopher Mercavitch as a new lieutenant, two new department sergeants, and promoted one officer to detective.
They also plan to add to the newly established police force by bringing in seven new officers once they graduate from Lackawanna Colleges Police Academy.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/new-police-chief-defies-odds-by-surviving-serious-car-crash-michael-turner-wyoming-area-regional-police-wnep/523-359d510c-30bb-43ea-aea0-54b3db8916ca | 2023-06-01T03:07:20 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/new-police-chief-defies-odds-by-surviving-serious-car-crash-michael-turner-wyoming-area-regional-police-wnep/523-359d510c-30bb-43ea-aea0-54b3db8916ca |
GIRARDVILLE, Pa. — It was a large evacuation in Schuylkill County.
Crews are still on the scene on Main Street in Girardville.
They've been there since around 5 p.m. for reports of an explosive device.
Officials have not said how long they will be there or if any explosive devices were found.
Want to see what Newswatch 16's newscast was like in 1976? Head on over to WNEP's YouTube. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/evacuation-after-reports-of-explosive-device-in-schuylkill-county-main-street-in-girardville-wnep/523-2991402f-ccde-47d7-a97f-808e11983b92 | 2023-06-01T03:07:26 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/evacuation-after-reports-of-explosive-device-in-schuylkill-county-main-street-in-girardville-wnep/523-2991402f-ccde-47d7-a97f-808e11983b92 |
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