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Ty’Sean Richardson always wanted to be a superhero. It’s clear from the decorations in his bedroom, but Ty’Sean was involved in an automobile accident in December, and would soon after pass away. Ty’Sean’s mom Gina made the decision to fulfill Ty’Sean’s goal of becoming a superhero, and made him an organ donor.
"I did it to see the silver lining in what happened. I did it to make it worth something, you know rather than him just passing away and not having anything come out of it."
On his way to donate his organs, Ty’Sean wore a batman cape on his chest and held Spiderman under his arm. He would then show the world what being a superhero is all about.
"And then we took him to down to the operating room, and after we did that we took the cape and the Spiderman upstairs, and presented it to one of the pediatric kids."
Ty’Sean’s organ donations saved the lives of six people. It’s a gift Nancy Ryan from the Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network was so moved by, they’re now providing capes to donors like Ty’Sean.
"How grateful are the recipients? They remember it for the rest of their natural lives, and they’ve had those extra years to live because of someone’s selfless decision to donate."
You only have to be 16 to register as an organ donor, and no one is too old to enroll. Through the Registry you can donate your organs, eyes, and/or tissues for the purposes of transplant and/or research upon your passing.
"10 out of 10 times you don’t need your organs anymore when you pass away. Even if it’s only one…give it to someone. It could save them and they could get more time with their family."
If you would like to become a donor there's many ways to sign up. This is a website that provides plenty of information about donating: passlifeon.org | https://www.wktv.com/news/local/how-to-become-a-superhero/article_898d2cd2-0644-11ee-b3ce-9bcfeb4ce336.html | 2023-06-09T01:31:49 | 1 | https://www.wktv.com/news/local/how-to-become-a-superhero/article_898d2cd2-0644-11ee-b3ce-9bcfeb4ce336.html |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Milwaukie man barricaded himself in his house for several hours on Wednesday after a “violent altercation” involving gunfire earlier in the day, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said.
Shannon Pompella, 50, was eventually taken into custody and charged with second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held without bail at Clackamas County Jail.
Just after 7 p.m., deputies responded to multiple reports of gunfire in the area of SE 79th Avenue & SE Otty Street near Milwaukie, authorities said. Pompella had allegedly assaulted another man after a disagreement. After Pompella got into his Ford pickup, the other man threw a rock at the truck, which prompted Pompella to fire a handgun in the direction of the other man, officials said.
After the altercation, Pompella left the scene and returned to his home. CCSO says deputies interviewed the other man before responding to Pompella’s residence.
When Pompella refused to leave his home, SWAT and the Crisis Negotiation Team were called to the scene, according to authorities. He finally exited the residence and was taken into custody without incident at 10:30 p.m., after hours of negotiation, officials said.
CCSO says the investigation is ongoing and is seeking additional information on the case. They encourage anyone with information to contact the office’s tip line by phone at 503-723-4949 or by using the online email form at https://www.clackamas.us/sheriff/tip — reference case #23-011938. | https://www.koin.com/local/clackamas-county/milwaukie-man-barricaded-himself-for-hours-after-violent-altercation-authorities/ | 2023-06-09T01:35:03 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/clackamas-county/milwaukie-man-barricaded-himself-for-hours-after-violent-altercation-authorities/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Hate the traffic on I-205 lately? So does the Mayor of West Linn.
In a letter to the Oregon Department of Transportation, Mayor Rory Bialostosky requested immediate relief for the daily traffic caused by a recent closure of the I-205 northbound on-ramp from southbound Highway 43.
The construction that caused Bialostosky’s complaint is currently scheduled through June 26, but immediately caused concerns for local drivers when the detour through Exit 6 stretched traffic on the road.
In his letter, Bialostosky said the detour is “not working.”
“Residents have been unable to get to appointments and have been delayed returning home, commute times have been dramatically increased, and our youth have been unable to get to recreational activities and practices,” he wrote. “In the event of an emergency, I am extremely concerned that response times from our emergency service providers will be delayed. This is not OK.”
He said he supports the efforts ODOT has made to improve the exit, but he thinks better planning is necessary.
“Residents have been reaching out to the city, but as you know, the city does not have authority over the impacted streets under ODOT’s jurisdiction,” he said. “I believe that this instance shows the precarious nature of our local street system when ODOT takes actions that West Linn has no control over.”
Residents can contact ODOT themselves by calling 1-888-ASK-ODOT or filling out an online form.
Residents can also call the non-emergency dispatch line for traffic violations: (503) 635-0238. | https://www.koin.com/local/not-ok-west-linn-mayor-says-he-is-extremely-concerned-by-i-205-exit-closure/ | 2023-06-09T01:35:09 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/not-ok-west-linn-mayor-says-he-is-extremely-concerned-by-i-205-exit-closure/ |
SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued a Silver Alert for a missing Sullivan County man.
According to the TBI, 64-year-old Michael L. Gosey has a medical condition that may impair his ability to return safely.
His 2007 Toyota Camry was located in the area of Lakeview Marina, according to the TBI.
Gosey is 5-foot-9 inches tall, weighs 175 pounds, and has blue eyes and brown hair.
Anyone who sees him is asked to call the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office at 423-279-7330 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tbi-issues-silver-alert-for-sullivan-county-man-2/ | 2023-06-09T01:35:10 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tbi-issues-silver-alert-for-sullivan-county-man-2/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Four men from Honduras were taken into custody in Portland on federal drug charges related to a recent fatal fentanyl overdose in Washington County, officials say.
Manuel Velazquez-Estrjo, Jorge Rivera-Nunez, Dennis Palma-Hurbina and Gretsel Ramos-Balladares were taken into custody Thursday afternoon. Prior to their arrest, authorities warned the public that a recent batch of fentanyl in the area had been “particularly dangerous.”
Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office searched a hotel room and found 6.25 pounds of powdered fentanyl, 4.24 pounds of rainbow fentanyl pills, 310.5 grams of meth, and $11,707 in cash.
The sheriff’s office says the drugs were associated with 15 overdoses — four of which were fatal — that occurred within five days. Six of the overdoses and one of the deaths were in Beaverton while five overdoses and two of the deaths were in unincorporated Washington County. There was also one overdose death in Hillsboro.
According to officials, a narcotics team identified the men through “multiple levels of drug dealers.”
All four were taken to the Multnomah County Jail and are pending federal indictment.
Stay with KOIN 6 as we receive more information. | https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/4-men-accused-of-selling-particularly-dangerous-fentanyl-batch-that-led-to-15-overdoses/ | 2023-06-09T01:35:15 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/4-men-accused-of-selling-particularly-dangerous-fentanyl-batch-that-led-to-15-overdoses/ |
The Duneland Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for its annual community awards.
Every year, the chamber of commerce representing businesses in Beverly Shores, Burns Harbor, Chesterton, Dune Acres and Porter gives out awards, including the Duneland Distinguished Woman Award.
This year's Duneland Chamber Community Awards Luncheon will take place on July 19.
Nominations can be posted on the chamber's website or mailed upon request. They're due by June 30.
The chamber gives honors that include the Putting Duneland on the Map Award, the Business Renovation Award, the Construction Award, the Humanitarian of the Year Award, the Volunteer of the Year Award, the Golden Achievement Award, the Serviceman of the Year Award and the Ashley’s Jewelry Duneland Distinguished Woman Award.
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The Putting Duneland on the Map Award goes to someone who brought state or national recognition to the Duneland area in northern Porter County.
The Business Renovation Award honors a significant investment in a remodeling project, the Construction Award major new construction, the Humanitarian of the Year Award humanitarian service in Duneland and the Volunteer of the Year Award the dedication of time to serving the Duneland Chamber and community at large. Serviceman of the Year goes to an emergency services provider while the Golden Achievement Award recognizes a Duneland resident who's at least 60 years old and has "demonstrated a substantial commitment to the Duneland community by providing significant service and leadership to church, business, civic or service organizations, community involvement and development."
The Duneland Distinguished Woman Award celebrates a Duneland resident "who demonstrates a spirit of humanitarianism, provides valuable service to her business or profession, and exhibits initiative and creativity while assisting other women in reaching their full leadership potential."
The Duneland Chamber of Commerce's nominating committee will review all nominations save for those for Duneland Distinguished Woman Award, which will be reviewed by former recipients.
For more information, call 219-926-5513 or visit www.dunelandchamber.org.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Pierogi stand, Brown Skin Coffee and Alpha Family Resale opening; Ixxa and Dan's Pierogies updating
Open
Open
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New mural
Opening
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Coming soon
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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/duneland-chamber-of-commerce-seeks-award-nominations/article_d8bf18de-0611-11ee-a55f-1f3aaf215799.html | 2023-06-09T01:35:17 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/duneland-chamber-of-commerce-seeks-award-nominations/article_d8bf18de-0611-11ee-a55f-1f3aaf215799.html |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The city of Hillsboro’s safe rest pods were always meant to be temporary, and after staying for longer than the city initially intended, they’ll soon be moved to a new location in Cornelius.
The 30 pods can house up to 40 people, but at their current location at the corner of Southwest 17th Avenue and Tualatin Valley Highway, they don’t have a way to connect to electricity. That means fans and air conditioning units can’t be used in them during the hot summer.
At the new location, they’ll be able to connect to power, allowing residents to live comfortably in the heat.
“The original plan was to end around this time knowing that temperatures are going to get really hot… so that is the main reason for their move at this point to a site where they can be electrified with heating and cooling,” said Mandy Gawf, community services coordinator with the city of Hillsboro.
After the pods first opened in October, the plan was to keep them up until March. Since the site was still available, the city of Hillsboro kept them up longer.
Their last day at the 17th Avenue location is June 30.
Washington County’s Director for the Department of Housing Services Jes Larson said she expects the pods will open at 397 N. 4th Ave. in Cornelius sometime in August.
Since they opened, the safe rest pods have remained relatively full. When the pods are moved, the people living in them will need to find new homes.
“We are committed to making sure no one loses shelter because of the transition of the locations. So, we will be looking, always, to housing as the first best plan. There’s other shelter capacity across the county that’s open throughout the summer,” Larson said.
She said the county will also partner with motels to provide people with shelter in the interim. Caseworkers are working with everyone who currently lives in the safe rest pods to help ensure they have a plan for shelter.
Ideally, the goal is to get as many people into permanent housing as they can.
Hillsboro had hoped to open a permanent shelter at the 17th Avenue and Tualatin Valley Highway site by the end of 2023, but the timing isn’t going as planned. Gawf said the city is still in the design phase and the shelter won’t be built until after the end of the year. There’s still not a clear timeline.
When it is built, Gawf said the city would like for the shelter to have both individual pods and a village-style model. She said there will be buildings for indoor shelter and laundry facilities.
The Cornelius site will be another temporary location for the safe rest pods. The ultimate plan is for Washington County to build an access center at the site which will provide meals, connections to services, and a place homeless people can store their belongings and take showers.
These access centers will also serve as shelters during inclement weather.
Larson said the plan is for Washington County to build four of these access centers around the county.
The county has already begun conversations with neighbors about the temporary pod shelter that will be moving in. Larson said they’ve heard different feedback, some support it and others are concerned.
“We work hard to get out as much information as we can quickly, share the components of the programming around 24-hour staffing, security, even details like a fence and parking for staff,” Larson said.
There are community meetings planned with neighbors in Cornelius on June 28 and July 11. Larson said the county has been passing out flyers and encouraging people to participate.
Both Larson and Gawf said when the safe rest pods are erected in Cornelius, residents will still have access to resources like they do in Hillsboro. They’ll also still be able to take public transportation. The TriMet 57 bus line runs past both the Cornelius site and the site in Hillsboro the pods are vacating.
Larson said the plan has always been to move the safe rest pods to several sites over time. | https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/hillsboro-safe-rest-pods-will-close-at-end-of-june-move-to-cornelius/ | 2023-06-09T01:35:21 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/hillsboro-safe-rest-pods-will-close-at-end-of-june-move-to-cornelius/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. — Reactions are mixed for a new daytime camping ban that passed 3-1 by the Portland City Council on Wednesday.
The new ordinance, which was proposed by Mayor Ted Wheeler, bans camping on city property between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. — requiring that tents and other belongings be dismantled and removed by those daytime hours.
The ordinance also creates a complete camping ban on parks, within 250 feet of schools or childcare centers and along city-designated high crash corridors. It includes sidewalks as well, to keep them clear for pedestrians.
People living on the streets can be warned to move their tents twice, but on the third violation they can be fined up to $100 or face up to 30 days in jail, or both.
"I don't want to go to jail, plus there's other reasons I don't want to go to jail,” Lion Ryan, who is homeless, said. “Because it's dangerous in jail."
City officials said the ordinance will focus on members of the homeless community that refuse services.
But some people worry the ordinance will greatly affect their lives.
"I'm not too sure what I'm actually going to do," Ryan said.
Ryan is one of thousands of homeless Portland residents trying to navigate the new ordinance.
"My thoughts really is... I'll comply and not live on the streets in a way that they will catch me," Ryan said.
Commissioner Rene Gonzalez said Wednesday that almost no one will go to jail due to the ordinance.
That’s led downtown business owners to question if there are "teeth" to the punishment for those who violate the ordinance.
"That just means there's no teeth,” Bob, a downtown business owner said. “I mean they don't have $100 to pay so they just won't pay it. So, what's there going to be, a bench warrant? It doesn't make any sense, it'll be ineffective, completely ineffective."
He said sales from his store have dropped 20% in the past year. Bob said that’s due to people being afraid to visit his downtown location.
"I don't know why it's taken so long for the city to start addressing this problem. It's just been getting worse and worse. We actually have a maintenance person that hangs around here, and he's got two five-gallon buckets full of used needs that he's picked up in the last two years."
He said the ordinance should be for 24 hours a day instead of 12 hours, which was approved.
Bob believes there is too much government funding being allocated to resources to help those experiencing homelessness.
Day shelters like Rose Haven don’t believe there is enough funding.
"This is going to be really hard for us as a day shelter,” Rose Haven Development Director Liz Starke said. “Which, the city doesn't fund day services currently. And we are already serving 120-150 people a day here."
Starke expects there to be severe repercussions from the ordinance.
"Many of the people that we are serving are already experiencing intersecting physical and mental health issues," Starke said.
Starke said Rose Haven ordered 200 "shelter bags" to give to people living on the streets. The bags can unzip for people to sleep in and have a hood to protect people’s heads. They also have pockets where people can put their belongings.
The city said it will begin implementing the ordinance in July, in a “phased in approach”.
Multnomah County officials said they are also looking into the ordinance's impact on county libraries, where many people who are homeless congregate. Officials said it is too early to know the extent of the impact. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/portland-daytime-camping-ban-mixed-reactions/283-fe821b60-ae32-4547-a0a6-fe2bd9ecbc34 | 2023-06-09T01:50:17 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/portland-daytime-camping-ban-mixed-reactions/283-fe821b60-ae32-4547-a0a6-fe2bd9ecbc34 |
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is scheduled to deliver the State of the County on Friday, according to a release by county officials.
Demings will deliver the speech at the Linda W. Chapin Theatre within the Orange County Convention Center, the release shows.
The speech is expected to discuss the county’s “accomplishments,” with a look forward at future projects in the county.
In addition, a “cultural cuisine experience” will be offered to attendees, featuring foods like biscuits and gravy, titiwi, huevos rancheros, miso soup, tamagoyaki and upma.
Live entertainment is also expected to cap off the evening.
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The State of the County will kick off at 8 a.m. For more information, visit the county’s website here.
For a full list of dishes offered in the cuisine experience, click here.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/09/orange-county-mayor-demings-to-deliver-state-of-the-county/ | 2023-06-09T01:54:20 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/09/orange-county-mayor-demings-to-deliver-state-of-the-county/ |
Andrea Von Kampen with Steady Wells, 8 p.m. Saturday, Bourbon Theatre. Andrea Von Kampen last played Lincoln in December, joining friends and family at her annual Christmas concert. The singer-songwriter, who’s on a Midwest tour, will be back home Saturday for a Bourbon show. She’ll most likely play from “That Spell,” her superb 2021 album, along with cuts from the soundtrack of “A Chance Encounter,” the indie romantic drama in which she starred as a singer-songwriter.
Angela Hagenbach Quintet, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jazz in June, Sheldon Museum of Art Sculpture Garden. The Angela Hagenbach Quintet from Kansas City will return to Jazz in June for the first time since 2013. Hagenbach, a fashion model turned Brazilian jazz singer, has a rich contralto voice that moves easily between genres, excelling in her interpretations of jazz standards and Latin jazz. She’s toured with Clark Terry and recorded both standards and her original compositions.
Bernard Allison, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Zoo Bar. The guitar-slinging, singer-songwriter son of legendary bluesman Luther Allison, Bernard Allison is based in Paris and plays up to 250 dates a year in the U.S. and Europe. An energetic showman, and a prolific recording artist, he’ll hit the Zoo Bar on Wednesday with his signature blend of vintage and modern Chicago and Texas blues, R&B and roots rock.
Prof, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Bourbon Theatre. Minneapolis rapper Prof hits Lincoln on Wednesday on “The Workhorse Tour” promoting his just-released seventh album “Horse.” A determinedly independent artist, Prof has seen his albums, filled with his impressive lyrical flow, hit the top 10 on multiple charts and is known for his raucous live shows.
Photos: Jazz in June kicks off with first evening of music
Reach the writer at 402-473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com. On Twitter @KentWolgamott
L. Kent Wolgamott, the recipient of the 2018 Mayor’s Arts Award, has written about arts and entertainment for Lincoln newspapers since 1985, reviewing thousands of movies and concerts and hundreds of art exhibitions. | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/music/heres-whats-going-on-in-lincolns-music-scene-june-8-14/article_aeacac02-056a-11ee-9919-470fb98ccde5.html | 2023-06-09T01:55:40 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/music/heres-whats-going-on-in-lincolns-music-scene-june-8-14/article_aeacac02-056a-11ee-9919-470fb98ccde5.html |
DALLAS — An agreed final judgment shows that, after settling with the State, North Texas influencer Brittany Dawn Davis has to pay $400,000 in penalties and restitution.
Davis had settled in May after the State accused her of scamming thousands of customers by not delivering fitness and nutrition plans.
The total payment is broken down into $300,000 in civil penalties and $100,000 in restitution. The judgment states she has to pay the civil penalties and restitution within the next three years. The $131,320 in attorneys' fees levied against her will not become due and payable unless Davis fails to comply with the permanent injunctions levied against her.
Through permanent injunction, the judgment states Davis may not offer or sell any nutrition or fitness plans with personalized nutrition assessments, reassessments, one-on-one coaching or workout routines unless she will actually be providing them.
Davis had sold plans ranging from $92 to $300 but the lawsuit alleged she didn't provide the personalized coaching and guidance that had been promised. She also charged a shipping fee even though the plans were emailed.
Another permanent injunction states Davis may not represent herself as having any special knowledge or training to address eating disorders when she does not.
Davis is also forbidden from charging a shipping fee for goods or services delivered exclusively by email, the judgment adds.
Davis also has to admit wrongdoing, though, the settlement says she was overwhelmed and didn't' have malicious intent.
Cori Reali bought one of Davis' plans after finding her on Instagram in 2014.
“I started to feel those red flags pop up and I just had to literally make the decision like I’m done. This isn’t working for me," Reali said. “I gained like eight to nine pounds in that first week, which is detrimental to someone who has battled eating disorders.”
Reali had worked with the attorney general's office during the leadup to the trial and says accountability means far more for her than whatever financial compensation she'll end up receiving.
“I’m not trying to get my $90 back. It was never about the money for me," Reali said. "It’s not just one. It’s not just two. It’s thousands and thousands of us that have been impacted."
Should Davis fail to comply with these injunctions, the judgment states the full unpaid balance of civil penalties, restitution and attorneys' fees will immediately become due to the State.
In the stipulations of the judgment, it states that "Davis admits wrongdoing but was overwhelmed by the unexpected number of customers who purchased programs from her website."
"Defendants claim their failure to provide all services that were ordered was due to the volume of consumers," the document reads. "While Defendants admit wrongdoing, they maintain that at no time did Defendants fail to provide purchased services due to any malicious intent."
Davis has close to 500,000 Instagram followers and 1.3 million on TikTok. She built her following by posting fitness and health content and sharing how she overcame an eating disorder.
By 2019, though, thousands of people had complained that Davis wasn’t delivering them the customized plans they’d paid for. Davis went on Good Morning America to apologize.
“Jumped into an industry that had no instructional manual,” she said in 2019. “I’m basically going through uncharted territory.”
Then, a year ago, the attorney general’s office filed a deceptive trade practices act lawsuit.
Davis has continued to post on social media and has even gained half a million TikTok followers in the year since the state filed its suit, according to SocialBlade.
Davis has now pivoted her business to spirituality, selling tickets to Christian retreats for up to $300 per ticket. Davis and her attorney declined to comment on the settlement.
Reali says anyone buying should research her past.
“Be cautious honestly because a scammer is a scammer is a scammer," she said. | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/north-texas-fitness-influencer-pay-more-than-500000-part-settlement/287-3d410af8-7508-4ecc-a780-ad87016e3f44 | 2023-06-09T01:55:43 | 0 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/north-texas-fitness-influencer-pay-more-than-500000-part-settlement/287-3d410af8-7508-4ecc-a780-ad87016e3f44 |
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Maize High football team graduated its star quarterback and star receiver last season. Some may call it a rebuild, but the Eagles are far from it.
Seniors graduate, and others step up like wide receiver Bryson Hayes, who had a breakout sophomore season.
“It’s a grind,” explained Hayes. “You have to be willing to grind and put fourth the effort.”
Through 10 games played, Hayes recorded 19 receptions for 582 yards and eight touchdowns, meaning he averaged a touchdown on 42% of his catches.
But what is more impressive is that he accomplished those stats in his first year playing wide receiver.
“It was pretty hard, but Avery (Johnson) made it so much easier,” said Hayes. “He just put the ball right in my hands every time, but it was a change.”
A change from playing running back his whole career.
“It’s a whole new position, but also having Bryce (Cohoon) there, he taught me everything I needed to know, plus great coaching at Maize High, so it worked out well.”
With Bryce Cohoon graduated and at Syracuse to play ball and Avery Johnson at Kansas State, Hayes is ready to become the leader the Eagles need.
“Everybody I talk with is like are you guys going to be ready this year, and I am like ‘yeah, we’ll be ready,'” explained Hayes. “We have the team to do it and the coaches to do it. We’ll be ready.”
Ready for another breakout season and more college offers, like the ones Hayes recently received from the University of Kansas and Iowa State University. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/breakout-maize-receiver-bryson-hayes-is-ready-to-step-into-leadership-role/ | 2023-06-09T01:57:04 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/breakout-maize-receiver-bryson-hayes-is-ready-to-step-into-leadership-role/ |
Lakeland's 28th Summer Sunrise Watermelon 5K series starts Saturday
LAKELAND — Hundreds of runners will gather on the shores of Lake Hollingsworth on Saturday to kick start the 28th Summer Sunrise Watermelon 5K series.
The Lakeland Runners Club will kick off its first of three races in the series at 7 a.m. Saturday on Lake Hollingsworth Drive at Jonila Avenue. The Summer Sunrise Watermelon series was "born out of a desire to have low-cost local races during the hot summer months when it can be difficult to stay motivated," according to the race's website. Runners can still register for Saturday's race by attending either Friday's packet pickup or Saturday prior to the race's start. Registration costs $20 per a single race; $55 for adults and $30 for children age 18 and younger for the full series.
Proceeds from the summer run series have been used by Lakeland Runners Club to provide scholarships to Polk County high school seniors. Since 2012, the club has awarded around $107,500 in scholarships.
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Swan City Piano FestivalDiverse slate of pianists coming to Lakeland this week
The packet pick-up is Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Cleveland Heights Golf Course clubhouse, 2900 Buckingham Ave.. Individuals can also sign up or pick up packets Saturday from 5:45 to 6:30 a.m. at Lake Hollingsworth Park, 929 Lake Hollingsworth Drive.
All race finishers receive medals, but only those individuals who participate in the full series will receive T-shirts and are eligible for age group awards as they are based on the cumulative time of the three races.
The other two races in the 2023 series are July 8 and Aug. 12. The awards ceremony will be held in Lake Hollingsworth Park after the Aug. 12 race.
For more information, visit the Lakeland Runners Club website at lakelandrunnersclub.org. | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/06/08/hundreds-will-open-lakelands-summer-sunrise-watermelon-5k-series/70301792007/ | 2023-06-09T02:03:17 | 0 | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/06/08/hundreds-will-open-lakelands-summer-sunrise-watermelon-5k-series/70301792007/ |
Polk Sheriff Judd: Trip to border with DeSantis offered education on immigration 'crisis'
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a surprise trip to Arizona on Wednesday to criticize federal immigration policies, he took two law-enforcement officials from Florida along with him.
One was Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Judd, a close ally of DeSantis and a frequent critic of President Joe Biden’s approach toward controlling illegal immigration, rewarded the governor with effusive words. Judd joined Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and sheriffs from Arizona, Idaho and Texas in speaking at a roundtable event Wednesday afternoon in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
Judd opened by saying that he entered law enforcement at age 18 and has worked in the field for decades, the past 19 as sheriff in Polk County.
“And I've worked for a lot of governors,” Judd said. “Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake about it. This is simply the best governor that the state of Florida has had in the last 50 years.”
DeSantis launched his long-awaited run for president two weeks ago, and he has made harsh assessments of Biden and his policies a central element of his campaign. Though Wednesday’s trip was billed as an official governmental action and not a campaign event, Judd came close to offering an implicit endorsement of DeSantis.
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“Once again, I've seen lots of governors,” Judd said. “I've seen lots of presidents. I've seen a lot of leaders. I've never seen the leader of the quality of Ron DeSantis, our governor, who makes things happen, and his sole focus is protecting and serving the people and keeping them safe. And Florida is the example. When people are safe, and they feel safe, they thrive. And our great state does tremendous. But we need to do that all across the United States of America.”
'We're all border counties'
Judd joined other law-enforcement leaders in saying that illegal crossings at the southern border affect communities throughout the country.
“When you said we're all border counties — we're all border counties,” Judd said, repeating a phase spoken by one of the other sheriffs.
Judd gave examples of crimes he said have been committed in Polk County by illegal immigrants. He mentioned a February undercover operation in which the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies made 213 arrests related to prostitution and solicitation.
PCSO has previously reported that 24 of the 113 people arrested on prostitution charges may have been victims of human trafficking. At Wednesday’s event, Judd said that the group included women from Cuba who had been illegally smuggled over the border from Mexico and then forced into sex work in Florida to repay their smugglers.
Judd also mentioned a vehicle crash that occurred May 9 in Mulberry, resulting in three deaths and serious injuries to an 18-year-old woman. The driver responsible, Elmer Bryan Giron-Canil of Mulberry, is a Guatemalan who was in the country illegally, Judd said.
“This guy here, had he been in his country of origin, had he not been smuggled across the Mexican border, we wouldn't have had this young lady in this crash and three people dead,” Judd said, holding a mug shot of Giron-Canil. “Of course, he's treated and released.”
The Florida Immigration Coalition points to studies, including a 2021 report from the Cato Institute, showing that felony arrest rates are lower for undocumented immigrants than for legal immigrants and native-born citizens.
Judd said that Mexican drug cartels are connected to trafficking operations in Polk County. He cited the 2021 arrests of six people allegedly selling crystal methamphetamine and other drugs in the county.
The sheriff said that illegal activity linked to Mexican cartels is occurring “while our president and the administration stands silent and allows the people of this country to be victimized.”
'What's really happening at the border'
Judd flew to Tallahassee on Wednesday morning and joined DeSantis’ team on an official state flight to Arizona, PCSO spokesperson Scott Wilder said. Judd spent Wednesday night in Tallahassee and flew back Thursday morning. Wilder did not have the total cost for the trip as of Thursday afternoon.
Speaking by phone Thursday, Judd said it was his first trip to the Mexican border and offered important insight into what he called a "crisis." He described seeing a watchtower across the border manned by a man identified by a local sheriff as a drug cartel member using binoculars to direct crossings away from patrol agents.
Judd said the sheriff told him and others that his crews have seen smugglers, known as coyotes, driving vehicles with license plates from Florida, Georgia and other states. He lamented seeing material for a border wall sitting discarded after Biden halted the construction former President Donald Trump had begun.
Though the discussion was broadcast and featured frequent denunciations of Biden, Judd rejected the idea that it was a political event or an element of DeSantis’ presidential campaign. He called it a policy and strategy session in which law-enforcement officials shared ideas on how to combat the effects of illegal immigration.
Judd said the education he received and contacts he formed made the trip valuable for Polk City residents.
“We have operational contacts that we didn't have,” Judd said. “But we really have the ability for me to shed light on what's really happening at the border, as opposed to only what people can see on the news. And I can tell you after seeing it personally and watching the news, you don't get the full impact. The news is skewed.”
Judd said he hasn’t yet endorsed a candidate for president, but he strongly hinted that DeSantis will have his support.
“No, I have not formally declared an endorsement for him yet,” Judd said. “But I can certainly tell you, when I look at the productivity of all of those that are entering into the political fray for the Republican nomination and I set the politics aside and I look at the systems and practices and the work — all of them together don't compare with the accomplishments that Gov. DeSantis provided during his first four years as governor.”
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/06/08/joining-desantis-at-border-polk-sheriff-judd-decries-immigrant-crime/70301280007/ | 2023-06-09T02:03:23 | 1 | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2023/06/08/joining-desantis-at-border-polk-sheriff-judd-decries-immigrant-crime/70301280007/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — It was a beautiful day on Monument Circle Thursday for the 57th annual Strawberry Festival and a great day for Dave Calabro to hear some good news.
The Cathedral Women of Christ Church Cathedral baked more than 15,000 shortcakes for the event and Dave wasted no time digging in.
"Like I said, calories don't count when you're doing it for charity," said Elise Shrock, director of communications for Christ Church Cathedral.
The church donates profits from the festival to dozens of charities each year.
Several volunteers shared the good news about their charities with Dave while he snacked on his strawberry shortcake.
One man was enjoying the festival in the sunshine with his family before heading to the Indianapolis Indians game.
Another man was celebrating a homecoming after moving back to Indianapolis from Chicago.
You can watch more from Dave's visit to the Strawberry Festival in the video player above and see recent "Good News" segments in the links below. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/good-news/good-news-57th-annual-strawberry-festival-monument-circle-dave-calabro/531-c4684ce5-dc01-4faf-81af-ff3275db5257 | 2023-06-09T02:07:11 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/good-news/good-news-57th-annual-strawberry-festival-monument-circle-dave-calabro/531-c4684ce5-dc01-4faf-81af-ff3275db5257 |
INDIANAPOLIS — Police are investigating a crash that killed a motorcyclist on the northeast side of Indianapolis Thursday.
Officers responded to the crash at East 34th Street and North Hawthorne Lane around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. An officer at the scene tells 13News the motorcyclist was reportedly speeding westbound on 34th Street when he struck a vehicle that was turning onto Hawthorne Lane. The man fell from the motorcycle and landed in the eastbound lane of 34th Street, where he was run over by a second vehicle.
The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police tell 13News the drivers of both cars are cooperating with officers who continue to investigate the crash. Investigators do not believe either driver was impaired, but will conduct blood draws, per department protocol. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/motorcyclist-killed-in-east-34th-street-hawthorne-lane-crash/531-3f8c8ac4-806f-4197-9f8a-c08d960cca62 | 2023-06-09T02:07:17 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/motorcyclist-killed-in-east-34th-street-hawthorne-lane-crash/531-3f8c8ac4-806f-4197-9f8a-c08d960cca62 |
Diana Lynn Olson, 71, of Twin Falls died Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls. Arrangements are under the care of White-Reynolds Funeral Chapel, Twin Falls.
Dwayne "Tiny" Walker, 79, of Hagerman and formerly of Gooding died Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Bennett Hills Assisted Care in Gooding. Arrangements are under the care of Demaray Funeral Service - Gooding Chapel.
Everett M. Barsamian, 69, of Gooding and formerly of Wendell, died Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Bennett Hills Care Center in Gooding. Arrangements are under the care of Demaray Funeral Service - Gooding Chapel.
Michael James Bird, 60, of Burley died Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Cassia Regional Medical Center in Burley. Arrangements are under the care of Joel Heward Hansen Mortuary, Rupert.
Gary Hofstrand, 91, of Twin Falls died June 8, 2023, at St. Luke's Magic Valley Hospital in Twin Falls. Arrangements are under the care of Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home, Twin Falls. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/death-notices/article_351d81a8-061f-11ee-b118-1b8c86901b33.html | 2023-06-09T02:09:57 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/death-notices/article_351d81a8-061f-11ee-b118-1b8c86901b33.html |
SAN ANTONIO — Thousands of miles away from her homeland of Ukraine, Olena Romanko whips up succulent pastries, all while wondering if her mother is safe after a major dam was destroyed, leading to massive flooding
“My native city, Oleshky is underwater now. It’s huge catastrophe for our region and for all of Ukraine,” Romanko said.
Romanko, alongside her two children, evacuated the war-torn nation as refugees and settled in San Antonio 10 months ago. Her culinary skills have come in handy as she runs her own shop called Pashina Craft Bakery, named after her father’s side of the family.
“It’s interesting experience for me because baking was my hobby in Ukraine,” Romanko said.
Romanko has not heard from her husband since moving to Texas. She believes he remains imprisoned in Russian-occupied Crimea.
She fears for the tens of thousands of people in the Kherson region impacted by flooding following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant along the Dnipro River.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of attacking the dam, which provides fresh water for residents and cools Europe’s largest nuclear plant. But Russian officials have blamed Ukraine for sabotaging the infrastructure.
Romanko said her mother was forced to flee her home due to rising flood waters. She’s now living with a neighbor but resources such s food and water are limited.
“She sits now in third floor with old lady. She has water and food probably in two days. And no connection, no mobile connection, no nothing,” Romanko said.
Zelenskyy noted Russian shelling occurred during residential evacuations in the flooded communities. He also accused Russian forces of shooting at those attempting to assist people in the affected areas. The Ukrainian military has utilized drones to drop off water bottles and other survival essentials to stranded citizens. Humanitarian aid organizations such as the Red Cross have ramped up efforts to assist those in peril.
“Total full water and many people sit on roofs. There’s people who cannot go and cannot walk,” Romanko said.
Even though she’s now living in the U.S., Romanko’s Ukrainian pride has grown even more with the support of the San Antonio community.
Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine commenced February 24, 2022, marking a major escalation in the conflict since 2014. Tens of thousands of military personnel and civilians have been killed as a result.
Romanko hopes patrons consider the importance of Ukraine’s freedom from Russia.
“I hope that Ukraine will get victory and I feel huge thankful to the US and American people,” Romanko said.
Romanko’s brother is among those serving on the frontlines. She is hoping o raise $6,000, which will go toward Ukraine’s military war effort.
Pashina Craft Bakery is located at 205 E. Hildebrand Avenue on San Antonio’s north side. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/ukraine-woman-homeland-dam-flooding-san-antonio/273-fe3c4687-17a1-478e-a1e3-d79ea7139733 | 2023-06-09T02:11:53 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/ukraine-woman-homeland-dam-flooding-san-antonio/273-fe3c4687-17a1-478e-a1e3-d79ea7139733 |
BOISE, Idaho — Idahoans can experience a piece of the Indian culture this weekend in Boise.
Subarna Guha grew up dancing and now she’s getting ready to share a piece of her culture with the Treasure Valley. She, along with the Hindu Cultural Association are organizing what they call the first of its kind Indian cultural dance event, Ganga to Kaveri.
It's happening at the BSU Special Events Center on June 11.
“The valley hasn't seen this kind of event,” Guha said. “Idaho now has grown so much…I wanted to show there is a 5000-year-old culture that we will present, and I just wanted to show the showcase the history of it, which I feel that some people might have read in the books, and some people are not aware of it.”
Her guru, Aparupa Chatterjee, flew to Boise to support and perform in the big event. Chatterjee is the artistic director of the non-profit Odissi Dance Company.
“For a teacher, there's nothing more important than to see the student, you know, passing on the tradition, so it makes me feel very happy and it makes me feel very content,” Chatterjee said.
Performers from all over the country, as well as India will be in Boise for the big night.
“There are eight different forms of Indian classical dance and, you know, when I have seen in my experience, when people know about dance in India, they go for movies or Bollywood, but that is just, you know, a day-to-day dancing,” Chatterjee said. “In this event, we are showcasing a skill set.”
Mayor Mclean, Rep. Ilana Rubel and the Idaho commissioner, are also scheduled to attend, according to Guha.
“At the end of the event, it should touch their heart, they should come and tell me or anyone,” Guha said. “I have learned a lot from this event, and I want to keep learning more.”
To find out more information about the event, click here.
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/local-indian-cultural-dance-event-this-weekend-the-valley-hasnt-seen-this-kind-of-event/277-43dc7a6b-b3e1-440c-8c2b-356676b30f3a | 2023-06-09T02:17:41 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/local-indian-cultural-dance-event-this-weekend-the-valley-hasnt-seen-this-kind-of-event/277-43dc7a6b-b3e1-440c-8c2b-356676b30f3a |
SANDPOINT, Idaho — Schweitzer Mountain is primed to be the Idaho's first ski resort under a large-scale conglomerate ownership, according to Ski Idaho.
Alterra Mountain Company entered an agreement with the resort, according to a Schweitzer Mountain press release. Schweitzer expects the sale to finalize in 2023 making them the 17th year-round resort in Alterra's portfolio.
MKM Trust currently owns Schweitzer; the Seattle-based ownership will maintain real estate holdings not related to ski operations, according to the press release.
"What they [Alterra] like to do is kind of take a hands-off approach. They're keeping the management team in place up in Schweitzer. The pricing for season passes, lift tickets, lodging - all that is staying the same," Ski Idaho Publicist Tony Harrison said. "Schweitzer [will get] all this great capital available to help them become the best version of themselves that they can be."
Alterra is based in Denver, Colorado, according to Schweitzer Marketing Manager Taylor Prather. The resort has done business with Alterra since 2021 by offering the conglomerate's Ikon Pass - a reciprocal ski pass accepted at a number of resorts including Alterra-owned mountains.
"Alterra is a ski operating business. So, they are very much focused on the core experience for not only guests, but employees. When they talk about their business, they are very employee centric, making sure that their employees feel like they're taken care of. Ultimately, that translates to a great guest experience," Prather said.
Alterra has a reputation for preserving the individuality of the resorts they own and operate, according to Ski Idaho President Brad Wilson. He does not expect Alterra to make noticeable changes to the resort experience outside project and capital investments.
Download the KTVB mobile app to get breaking news, weather and important stories at your fingertips.
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/local-mkm-trust-agrees-to-sell-schweitzer-mountain-operations-to-colorado-based-conglomerate/277-257376d6-3610-41e2-aeac-0d8491aae490 | 2023-06-09T02:17:47 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/local-mkm-trust-agrees-to-sell-schweitzer-mountain-operations-to-colorado-based-conglomerate/277-257376d6-3610-41e2-aeac-0d8491aae490 |
Fifty years to life in prison.
That's the sentence handed down to the man convicted in the deadly shooting inside a Long Island grocery store in 2021 that wounded three workers, one of which died.
Gabriel DeWitt Wilson was found guilty in May on seven of nine counts, including a second-degree murder charge in connection to the deadly shooting that took place on April 20, 2021 inside a West Hempstead Stop & Shop. The victim who died was 49-year-old Ray Wishropp, a father of seven who worked as a manager at the store. Two other victims, a man and a woman, were wounded.
The Wishropp family braced themselves for court, as Wilson was to be sentenced. The man who shot and killed their beloved son quickly learned his fate: 50 years to life.
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Following the sentencing, Wishropp's family spoke briefly.
"My cousin died two years ago, having to go through the trial, if felt like he died the other day," Wishropp's cousin, Alex Bernard, said.
News
Rupert Wishropp "Justice. We get justice today."
Prosecutors say Wilson, who worked at the supermarket, was angry that his work transfer had not been granted. On the day of the shooting, he left the store abruptly and returned 40 minutes later with a gun, shooting Wishropp in the chest and injuring his two co-workers.
"He fired it seven times. The carnage only stopped because he ran out of bullets," Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
At his sentencing, Wilson spoke, saying in part, "It wasn't my intention. I accept the punishment."
His defense attorney, who tried to argue for a more lenient sentence because Wilson was shot in the head when he was 19 and suffered a traumatic brain injury, said his client had planned to apologize to the family on Thursday.
Wilson's mother did not speak to reporters, but in the past has argued that her son's disability should have played a part in his trial.
Wishropp leaves behind seven children, the oldest 31 years old and the youngest 8.
"If [Wilson] had changed his mind, I would have had my son and he would have had his freedom," Rupert Wishropp said. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-sentenced-to-50-years-for-deadly-2021-ny-stop-shop-shooting/4407155/ | 2023-06-09T02:24:38 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-sentenced-to-50-years-for-deadly-2021-ny-stop-shop-shooting/4407155/ |
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PHOENIX — Hundreds of Rio Verde Foothills residents have gone without water service for six months and counting.
There's one possible solution left on the table, a bill that could come to a vote when the Legislature resumes work on Monday.
But neighboring Scottsdale could be an obstacle.
Mayor David Ortega doesn't want to be part of a solution, according to his own statements and public documents, even though every proposed solution relies on the Scottsdale water pipeline that was shut off on Jan. 1.
Ortega's opposition could scuttle an agreement.
One Scottsdale councilwoman said she believes the seven-member City Council, which includes Ortega, would approve a deal.
"We've just got to get the job done, with or without him," two-term Councilwoman Solange Whitehead said in an interview.
"There's seven of us. We're seven, not one."
Ortega: Critics are 'emotional'
In a 40-minute interview at his City Hall office, Ortega dismissed his critics as "emotional" and described Rio Verde Foothills' predicament as the result of a "gambling addiction."
"You're getting the emotions," he said after I described the urgency of helping Foothills residents as akin to a house on fire.
"We cannot afford the luxury of treating water as an emotional issue."
Ortega didn't hide his disdain for the area's very existence.
"There has been a lot of gambling done in the county by wildcat builders, by realtors and even lenders out there," said Ortega, an architect who was elected mayor in 2020.
"Scottsdale doesn't need to be part of that gambling addiction."
'Mayor thinks we're idiots'
The fire metaphor is real. Rio Verde Foothills has no fire hydrants.
Meredith DeAngelis said small wildfires in the East Valley over the past week were visible from her subdivision. With summer almost here, the state is on wildfire alert.
"Everyone smelled the smoke," she said. "It's terrifying."
When Scottsdale was still delivering water to the Foothills' standpipe, she said, water haulers would supply water to firefighters. The standpipe isn't an option anymore.
"I feel like (the mayor) thinks we're idiots for buying our homes out there," DeAngelis said.
Symbol of water struggles
Symbol of The high desert subdivision next door to Scottsdale has become a national symbol of Arizona's struggle to manage its water supply.
The area is known as a "wildcat subdivision" because Arizona law allows home construction there without a guaranteed source of water. Some residents rely on wells; many others depend on water hauled from a nearby standpipe that the City of Scottsdale supplied for decades.
City documents and emails show that Scottsdale had warned Foothills residents for several years that water service to the standpipe could be cut off if drought conditions worsened. The water shortage on the Colorado River prompted a cutoff on Dec. 31.
That cutoff presented a challenge to elected officials at the city, county and state levels: Find a way to legally convey water to an unincorporated subdivision that doesn't have a governmental entity that can sign an agreement to accept, pay for and bill for the water.
How mayor has opposed helping RVF
During our interview, Ortega was alternately lecturing and scolding but was always sure of his position.
Scottsdale City Attorney Sherry Scott sat in on the interview.
Here are three takeaways from the interview:
-Ortega confirmed that he blocked the city water director's proposed agreement late last year to allow a private water company to provide water to the Foothills through Scottsdale's pipes - at no cost to the city. That could have averted the Jan. 1 shutoff.
"Staff had no authority to negotiate anything," he said. "When I saw that, I objected to that. Nothing would have been finalized without the City of Scottsdale's permission."
He repeated his oft-stated suspicions that Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin had negotiated the deal with EPCOR, the private water supplier, behind his back.
-Last month, Ortega told top executives with EPCOR that they shouldn't count on him to help Foothills homeowners.
"The City of Scottsdale has no authority, no responsibility, no interest whatsoever, in the unincorporated county areas abutting Scottsdale," Ortega said in a May 16 letter to EPCOR obtained by 12 News through a public records request.
"Ultimately, our water system is not at the disposal of entities," he said during the interview.
Ortega included maps with his letter that showed fire hydrants that could provide water.
EPCOR, a Canadian company that has extensive operations in the Valley, is working on a long-term solution for the Foothills water supply that needs state regulators' approval.
-Ortega has opposed two pieces of legislation requiring Scottsdale to serve as a pass-through for water to the Foothills - a so-called "treat and transport" agreement at no cost to the city.
"It's completely normal for us to enter into those agreements," Whitehead said. "The No. 1 thing we need to do is to work together."
The first bill was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. The second bill (HB 2561), sponsored by Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin, is still alive and could get a vote when the Legislature returns next week.
Hobbs endorsed it publicly at a news conference, but Ortega disputed that.
"There are all sorts of flaws and complications in this (bill)," he said. "It's folly. It's sheer folly."
The mayor has accused Kolodin, as well as other Republican lawmakers, of betraying Scottsdale residents.
'Let us solve the problem'
"I never had any sort of duty or obligation to David Ortega. I have a duty and obligation to the voters of my district," Kolodin said in an interview.
"He is the mayor; of course, he's entitled to speak. But if I had my preference, he'd let us solve the problem."
Kolodin, an attorney and Scottsdale resident, shepherded the complex bill through House passage with supermajority support. The legislation now awaits a final vote in the Senate.
The bill's provisions are unprecedented.
The state would form a temporary water district, with government appointees on a five-person board, serving Rio Verde Foothills residents for a limited time.
"As a conservative ... there are very few things that I think are the legitimate role of government," Kolodin said.
"But in this state, in Arizona, our core function is to make sure that Arizonans have water."
But, like any proposed Rio Verde solution, the bill isn't a sure thing.
Many lawmakers have questions. Changes to the bill are still possible. And the Legislature's work schedule for the next month is unpredictable.
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Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/scottsdale-mayor-could-stand-in-way-of-restoring-water-to-rio-verde-foothills/75-d544943a-eff7-4cda-8d26-a246deb5abb5 | 2023-06-09T02:42:31 | 0 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/scottsdale-mayor-could-stand-in-way-of-restoring-water-to-rio-verde-foothills/75-d544943a-eff7-4cda-8d26-a246deb5abb5 |
The nose of a brand-new white van pointed toward the sky, bursting from the rear end of an upturned tan train car, one of many piled one over the other and crushed to resemble accordions — the aftermath of a 167-car freight train's derailment overnight.
Some neighbors in Williams heard a terrible crashing sound in the late hours as at least 23 rail cars careened off the tracks around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train appeared to be hauling vehicles as its cargo.
Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the derailment to assist the BNSF Police Department and personnel, making sure that no one was injured. According to Coconino County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jon Paxton, there was no evidence of hazardous materials spilled.
BNSF has confirmed that no one was injured during the derailment.
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On Thursday morning, a BNSF police officer was stationed by the nearest railroad crossing, keeping curious passers-by safely off of the tracks. Unable to comment on the incident himself, the police officer was one of many employees responding to the wreckage. Heavy equipment and cranes were being employed throughout the day Thursday, working to remove the overturned cars.
According to Lena Kent, the general director of public affairs at BNSF, crews are hoping to have the tracks clear enough to move freight by 2 a.m. Friday.
In the meantime, the incident cramped plans for travelers heading out of Los Angeles and Chicago.
According to Olivia Irvin, the senior public relations manager for Amtrak, the Amtrak Southwest Chief Train that departed from Las Angeles prior to the derailment was stopped and turned around in Needles, California. An Amtrak passenger train that departed from Chicago was turned around and sent back to the windy city from Albuquerque.
Trains that were scheduled to depart from Los Angeles and Chicago on Thursday had their trips canceled completely in both directions.
According to Irvin, in anticipation of increased passenger demand, Amtrak is adding additional cars to the Southwest Chief trains that are scheduled to depart on Friday.
Meanwhile on Thursday, a steady stream of side-by-sides and off-road vehicles trickled down Pinetree Drive in Williams, where one home stands just a few feet away from one of the wrecked train cars.
Most of those people are neighbors, such as Jan Larson, who lives close to the tracks but a safe distance from the derailment.
“I heard a lot of weird noises at night, but I’m a couple miles up the road,” she said, marveling at the wreckage and how close one of her neighbor’s homes came to being crushed by an overturned train car.
Farther up Pinetree Drive, a Christian youth camp, the West Branch of the Bill Rice Ranch, is getting ready to receive campers. It opened in 2014 and is used to hearing the train.
Thursday morning, however, none of the staff noticed the derailment until they saw images on the news.
“Almost nobody noticed until we pointed it out,” said West Branch Camp Director Troy Carlson.
He said campers often ask jokingly if the train is derailing when it’s particularly loud, but he never imagined he’d see wreckage right behind their property. Over Carlson’s shoulder, a number of overturned cars were in view. Farther up the tracks, a single orange BNSF engine still stood erect ahead of the trail of cars.
Carlson said he was glad there didn’t seem to be anything on fire or spilled.
For now, it appears that the derailment didn’t damage any private property.
Gallery: BNSF train derails east of Williams, spilling 20+ cars
Train Derails Near Williams
Several cars of a BNSF freight train that was transporting a variety of new vehicles are damaged and off the rails Thursday morning after the …
Train Derails Near Williams
Several cars of a BNSF freight train that was transporting a variety of new vehicles are damaged and off the rails Thursday morning after the …
Train De-Rails Near Williams
Several cars of a BNSF freight train that was transporting a variety of new vehicles sit damaged and off the rails Thursday morning after the …
Train De-Rails Near Williams
Two BNSF freight train cars are off the track and on their sides Thursday morning after the train derailed near Williams late Wednesday evenin…
Train De-Rails Near Williams
A BNSF freight train car sits precariously on one side of its wheels Thursday morning after the train derailed near Williams late Wednesday ev…
A BNSF train with 20+ cars derailed overnight east of Williams.
Train De-Rails Near Williams
BNSF crews work to remove damaged freight train cars from the track after a train transporting new vehicles derailed near Williams late Wednes…
Train De-Rails Near Williams
Several cars of a BNSF freight train that was transporting a variety of new vehicles are damaged and off the rails Thursday morning after the …
Train De-Rails Near Williams
A BNSF freight train transporting a variety of new vehicles sits derailed east of Williams Thursday.
Train De-Rails Near Williams
Cars of a BNSF freight train that derailed near Williams Wednesday evening sit on the track at its crossing with South Garland Prairie Road Th… | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/bnsf-cargo-train-derails-near-williams-at-least-23-cars-topple-off-tracks/article_25d24794-0636-11ee-8890-6fd28848ee98.html | 2023-06-09T02:44:16 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/bnsf-cargo-train-derails-near-williams-at-least-23-cars-topple-off-tracks/article_25d24794-0636-11ee-8890-6fd28848ee98.html |
UNIONTOWN, Pa. — An arrest warrant has been issued for a 14-year-old boy after a fatal shooting in Uniontown on Tuesday.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Man killed in Uniontown shooting
According to Pennsylvania State police, Antonyo Owens, 14, is wanted for criminal homicide in connection to the shooting death of Anthony Jones, 38.
Owens is actively being sought by police and is considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Pennsylvania State police, Uniontown City police or 911.
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BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — Beaver County residents want to see the cracker plant shut down until a list of problems is addressed. They took their concerns to county commissioners, who said they share many of the same concerns, but their hands are tied.
“I think they need to be held accountable, and they need to either stop production or reduce the emissions,” said Natalie Leslie. “It’s just not safe for the environment here.”
Natalie Leslie is from Chippewa Township. She says she’s been following the development of the cracker plant since she was in middle school. She’s in college now at Penn State.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Shell Cracker Plant in Beaver County will be in ‘shutdown mode’ for weeks to come
“It’s really infuriating to see the Shell plant taking over our lives and our environment with no regard to humans or the community here,” said Leslie. “Our environment is deteriorating, and they don’t seem to care at all. It’s just really disheartening to see.”
She joined a group of people in the park across from the Beaver County Courthouse. They shared stories about how the cracker plant is polluting the air and adversely impacting their health.
“Growing up along the Ohio River with all the energy plants and other plants along the river, the area has always jokingly been known as ‘cancer valley,’” said Amanda Kemmer. “The number of cancer clusters in young adults is astounding. Myself included.”
Then, they made their way over to the courthouse for the county commissioners’ regular meeting. For more than an hour, they expressed their concerns.
“We as residents expect better notification,” said one resident. “Expect better communication, and we’re asking you to participate in that so that it can happen.”
Better air monitoring and real-time notifications of emissions are two demands listed on a petition with more than 60,000 signatures.
A Shell spokesperson says it has not received the petition yet.
“We respect people’s right to express their point of view and welcome any constructive engagement on our practices,” said Shell Spokesperson Curtis Thomas. “After making significant improvements that will help us operate more effectively and safely, the SPM plant has resumed production. We’ve learned from previous issues and we will continue to report out and comply with all regulations while also applying lessons learned and best practices to ensure our operations have the least amount of negative impact on people and the environment.”
County commissioners say they don’t have the authority to regulate Shell or its plant.
RELATED >>> Shell Cracker Plant in Beaver County to resume operations after $10 million fine
“We’re on the phone with the cracker plant every other week trying to get updates,” said Beaver County Commissioner Tony Amadio. “But what you have to understand is the county commissioners do not have the jurisdiction or the ability other than to do what you’re doing right now. Open support. We don’t have the essence of the law. That’s on a state and federal level.”
“The people who can hold them accountable are the state regulators and the federal regulators who permit them to operate that plant,” said Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning. “We’ve had conversations with the DEP. We’ve had conversations with Shell. We’ve let them know our disappointment. I will defend the industry, but I can’t defend how they’ve started out.”
The plant started operations in November 2022 and has been cited numerous times by state regulators. Most recently Shell had to pay a $10 million fine to the Department of Environmental Protection and local communities. Residents say they’re still waiting to find out how that money will be spent.
“We can’t even get answers on what’s being done with the fines from Norfolk Southern let alone the fines from Shell Petrochemical,” said Beaver County Commissioner Chairman Daniel Camp. “Those fines, when they say they’re coming to Beaver County, that doesn’t mean they’re coming to this board of commissioners. They’re going to the Governor’s Office. They’re going to the DEP, and they’re going to regulate what they’re going to do with that $10 million even though the $6 million is supposed to come back to Beaver County, we don’t know how. We’ve said our peace. We want live air quality monitoring not only in the one-mile radius but throughout the whole county and throughout the Southwestern region it would have to be an organized plan.”
County commissioners concluded by saying they’re open to a town hall and that their job is to bring everyone to the table including representatives from Shell and the DEP.
“We hold well-publicized virtual Town Hall meetings,” said Thomas. “The last one was April 24th, and we had a record number of community attendees. We will continue our commitment to have these meetings on a regular basis. We answer questions from the public, and during several of these meetings, including the last one, had an extensive conversation about Shell’s emergency response plans and the way we would work with local emergency response coordinators in the event of an emergency.”
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NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — Earlier this week, a woman dropped off a cat in distress at the clinic at Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue in New Kensington. Immediately, volunteers knew something was very wrong. Veterinarians found a piece of electrical wire twisted around the cat’s leg - so much so that it was cutting off circulation.
“We have him bandaged up right now…” said Julia McCurry of Frankie’s Friends. “We’re not sure if the limb can be saved at this point, due to the infection.”
It’s been a rough few days for Sparky the Cat, who is believed to be less than a year old and facing the possibility of having his leg amputated. Volunteers believe this was 100 percent intentional.
“Unless he can grow thumbs and twist it on himself…this wasn’t an accident,” McCurry said.
Sparky is able to hobble around the clinic as staff members try to make him comfortable. They said sparky was found in a trailer park in Sarver and have seen cases like this before. Last year, Channel 11 met Vic, who was found with a rubber band wound tightly around his leg.
Volunteers rely on donations to help care for these animals in need but said that even with help from the public, these situations never get easier.
“What type of person would do this to this cat? This is a sweet little guy who just wants attention – so obviously, I mean, he doesn’t deserve this,” McCurry said.
Once he is healed, Sparky will be placed up for adoption. If you would like to know more or can help with the investigation, give Frankie’s Friends a call.
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PITTSBURGH — Day eight of the trial against Robert Bowers, the man accused of shooting and killing 11 worshippers at a Squirrel Hill synagogue, continues today with more witnesses taking the stand.
On Wednesday, more police officers took the stand and testified about the final moments of the shooting.
The evidence was graphic, and the testimony was difficult to hear. The prosecution said the details are crucial to making its case that this was a cold, calculated act by Robert Bowers.
A lot of evidence was also presented by the FBI and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING TRIAL: FULL COVERAGE ⇒
Warning: the details coming out of this trial are difficult to hear and may be upsetting to some.
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health effects from the trial, go to 1027healingpartnership.org to find help resources. As always, call 911 to report threats.
- Phone: 412-697-3534
- Email: info@1027HealingPartnership.org
- Web: 1027healingpartnership.org
We have a team of reporters inside the courthouse and have live updates below throughout the day.
UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: Officer Anthony Burke is called to stand
Officer Anthony Burke, one of four officers who was injured on the day of the shooting, is called to the stand. He is the last witness of the day.
“I was at the gym when I got the alert,” Burke said. “I went home to get gear. I met up with the team, forming an emergency entry team led by Andrew Miller.”
Burke said that when he entered, he could hear a female screaming “erratically.”
In an exchange of gunfire with the suspect, Officer Burke was shot in the hand.
“I was more focused on trying to conduct a rescue, focused on getting Tim out,” Officer Burke said. “I didn’t realize I was shot until I tried to grab my rifle. There was a large wound on my hand.”
A tourniquet was placed on Officer Burke’s arm.
“I asked them to put my pistol in my left hand so I could use that,” he said. “I couldn’t stop the bleeding coming from my hand. I was trying to conserve energy. It was painful.”
Officer Burke said they were in the room for a period of time before the second round of gunfire started.
“I heard a male’s voice and I could hear SWAT team members communicating with him,” Burke said. “He stated he was hurt and wanted to give up. He wanted us to come in and get him.”
Officer Timmons began negotiating with the shooter.
“Shooter made statements that he could not stand by and watch these Jews do this to the country,” Burke said. “I mentioned to Saldutte, those statements were concerning and there might be an IED threat or another attack.”
Officer Burke said he was still bleeding.
“After a period of time in the room, I felt woozy from the loss of blood. My arm was completely numb, it was throbbing in pain,” Burke said.
UPDATE 2:57 p.m.: FBI special agent takes stand
Cedric Jefferson, a special agent in the FBI in Washington, D.C., takes the stand.
Jefferson has been a special agent for eight years.
He was assigned to Pittsburgh from 2015 to 2019 and worked out of Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia. He was the team leader for the West Virginia Teams.
Jefferson responded to Bowers’ apartment.
Five firearms were recovered from the apartment and ammunition was found in the bedroom.
Jefferson said there was a “substantial amount of ammunition in that apartment.”
Special agents stayed at the apartment for about eight hours, according to Jefferson. The gun safe was open.
UPDATE 2:36 p.m.: UPMC Presby police officer takes stand
Shawn Gladde, who was a senior police officer at UPMC Presby in 2018, is called to the stand.
Gladde said there are protocols when it comes to gunshot victims who come into the hospital.
Police are responsible for the evidence or bullet fragments that come out of the victim, and the evidence is stored in the police office.
Evidence was collected from individuals being treated at Presby on the day of the shooting.
UPDATE 2:27 p.m.: FBI Laboratory specialist takes stand
Erin Casey, who works in the FBI’s Laboratory Visual Information Specialists Operational Projects Unit, is called to the stand.
Casey documents crime scenes and builds the scenes digitally and accurately. She also adds in evidence trajectory and body locations.
Casey did not go to the scene but studied the data that was sent to her.
She created the scans to a full scale of the synagogue.
UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: Thomas returns to stand after lunch
Curtis Thomas returns to the stand after lunch with the LG Android phone.
It was last logged on Nov. 26, 2018 after investigators figured out the password.
There were nine text messages. All of them were deleted and preserved until the phone ran out of data.
Thomas confirms the user of the phone visited GAB.com from the phone that morning.
A photo with two handguns, a magazine, keys, a wallet, and a tool item with knives and clippers was added to the phone but later deleted.
The defense asked Thomas if there was anything incriminating on the phone.
“Our job is to just pull all the data, we don’t decide what may be important to these investigations,” Thomas said.
UPDATE 12:00 p.m.: Electronics examiner for the FBI takes stand
Curtis Thomas was the fifth witness called to the stand.
Thomas has worked at the FBI for nearly 20 years.
Thomas said he was given an LG Android cell phone from the FBI and was asked to gain access, but locally they couldn’t get through the password.
He testified that the phone was encrypted, therefore they needed to figure out the passcode. It would lock you out if you entered the wrong password over 15 times and would then erase the data if you got to that point.
Thomas said it took 2-3 hours to get the right passcode and the FBI was able to open the device.
UPDATE 11:30 a.m.: FBI forensics expert discusses DNA testing of evidence
Marcy Plaza is the fourth witness to take the stand on Thursday.
Plaza is employed by the FBI in Quantico in forensics and has been in the field for about 15 years.
She testified that DNA testing is a five-step process:
- Collection where they attempt to collect cells on the evidence
- Extraction by putting chemicals on the cells to gain access to the DNA inside
- A test to find out how much DNA was pulled out
- Amplification where millions of copies are made of what was found
- DNA separation where millions of those copies are separated by size to look and analyze
The FBI tested the DNA for all the 11 victims and the defendant
Plaza testified that she looked at the evidence and decided what would be tested for DNA, then reviewed it upon the end.
A report showing her DNA results was shared with the jury and introduced into evidence:
- Bower’s DNA was found on a Glock pistol. Areas on the slide of pistol were swabbed.
- Another Glock tested also had Bowers DNA
- His DNA was also found on a pair of earmuffs and three pairs of safety glasses from his vehicle
- Straps on the AR-15 were swabbed. Bowers was found to have the most DNA on the strap, but there was a smaller amount of Irv Youngers DNA as well as someone else’s
The defense asked about the determination of who decides which areas need to be tested. Plaza said it’s up to the biologists, most likely areas that a shooter would have handled, like the textured portions of the grip, trigger, etc. She said there was also staining and that’s why they tested the strap.
UPDATE 9:27 a.m.: Comcast employee talks about Bowers’ records
Matthew Reid, supervisor of corporate investigations & security for Comcast, is today’s third witness.
Reid said he reviewed records pertaining to Robert Bowers.
He said Bowers had high-speed internet service with Comcast starting on Nov. 9, 2016 and disconnected on Nov. 3, 2018.
UPDATE 9:16 a.m.: Tree of Life president testifies
The second witness to take the stand Thursday is Alan Hausman, a member of Tree of Life.
Hausman has been with the congregation since 2010 and is currently the president of the congregation.
Hausman said Tree of Life would rent space in the building for any events for Jewish holidays and celebrations.
New Light and Dor Hadash had long-term agreements with Tree of Life.
“We had a large, underutilized building. Other congregations were in need of space, and we were in need of money to assist in keeping up the space,” Hausman said.
He said they were trying to come up with a metropolitan model by housing multiple congregations under one roof.
“We had lunches together, shared services together. It was a very positive experience,” Hausman said.
He was on the board when they voted on the leases with both other congregations.
The three-year lease agreement between Tree of Life and Dor Hadash started in December 2017. Hausman said the lease was terminated after the attack.
UPDATE 9:05 a.m.: Co-President of New Light Congregation takes stand
Witness No. 1 on Thursday is Stephen Cohen, Co-President of New Light Congregation
The congregation rented their space from Tree of Life starting in 2017 after the building they owned became a financial burden. To keep the congregation together, they sold the building and moved into Tree of Life.
Sept. 12, 2017 is when the lease, which was entered into evidence, started. They moved in on Nov. 5, 2017.
The lease was they would rent the space until 2020 with a probability of extension.
One of the conditions of the lease was if the building was unusable for more than 120 days we could terminate the lease
“The building was unusable because of the attack,” Cohen said.
New Light is an agreement new agreement with another congregation.
Cohen said New Light owns a cemetery in Shaler and plots are open to anyone of the Jewish faith.Richard Gottfried and Melvin Wax are buried in their cemetery.
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It’s a growing crime that involves stealing someone’s property and violating their privacy.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing a bill that calls to stiffen penalties for porch pirates.
A Ring surveillance video captured a woman snatching a package from a porch on Beeler Street near Forbes Avenue. It happened during daylight hours. She’s already carrying other bags then manages to get away with more stuff.
“It’s really a crime of convenience, and in many cases, people are coming from outside the area,” said Senator Frank Farry (R) of District 6 in Bucks County.
Farry is pushing to pass Senate Bill 527. It calls to crack down on thieves with a new theft of mail offense.
“We have to put some teeth in this, most of the offenses are summary offenses if they catch the person,” Farry said.
Farry said the legislation would tack on additional penalties and increase punishment for repeat offenders.
The bill has gained a lot of support. It comes up for a vote in a few weeks.
Farry said it’s necessary given the crime that seems to be growing across the state.
An estimated 2 million Pennsylvanians have been a victim of porch pirates.
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WASHINGTON — A key Senate committee temporarily paused on taking up a bill that would require social media companies to report illegal fentanyl activity on their platforms to law enforcement.
The Senate Judiciary Committee was originally scheduled to take up the Cooper Davis Act on Thursday, but the Chair said it is being held over due to ongoing negotiations about the bill.
“I want to state for the record these are active negotiations,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I know this has been held over several times, but it is for a good purpose. We’re trying to build a consensus or close to it to support this important legislation.”
The bill is named after a 16-year-old from Kansas who died from a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl that a friend bought through Snapchat.
“This is a crisis and sadly our children do not know what they’re up against,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), the Republican sponsor of the Senate bill. “If our nation is going to win this fight, we need Big Tech companies to crack down on drug dealers pushing this poison on their platforms to vulnerable teenagers like Cooper Davis and thousands of others.”
“Tragically, we’ve seen the role that social media plays in that by making it easier for young people to get their hands on these dangerous drugs – we have to put a stop to it now,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Democrat sponsor of the Senate bill.
Supporters of the bill say it’s needed to help stop the illegal sale of fentanyl online.
“It’s been at least 29 states where we’ve been able to track a social media drug dealer who sold a pill, a fake pill, that’s killed their customer,” said Shabbir Imber Safdar, Executive Director for the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM). “It’s a really big problem and there’s a lot more we and the platforms can be doing about it.”
The group strongly supports the Cooper Davis Act.
“All this does is say when a social media platform discovers drug dealing, instead of silently terminating the user, they let the DEA know because when they silently terminate the user and they make a new account, they can possibly and will likely end up killing somebody else,” said Safdar.
But the measure is facing pushback from critics who argue it could lead to unchecked surveillance of everyday people, with social media companies handing over their online activity to law enforcement.
“The issue here is the lack of protections provided around that transfer of information,’ said Cody Venzke, Senior Policy Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “There’s no notice provided to the user. Data has to be preserved indefinitely.”
The ACLU argues while Congress should take steps to address the fentanyl crisis, legislation about it should be within its constitutional authority.
“This bill would deputize social media platforms, email providers, platforms of all stripes to be informants for government agencies,” said Venzke. “There is the concern that they would absolutely be incentivized to over-report.”
Venzke also said while the bill applies to fentanyl, methamphetamine, and counterfeit substances, it could also be amended to include more if it were to pass into law.
It’s unclear when the Senate Judiciary Committee may take up the bill again.
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NEW DERRY, Pa. — A company is planning to convert an old elementary school in New Derry into a treatment center.
11 News talked with some neighbors, who say this has no place in an area with houses, schools and playgrounds.
David Spears has lived across from 314 Pittsburgh Street since 2009.
“At that time, it was a school,” Spears said. “Actually, I went to this school when I was in kindergarten.”
A few years later, it was bought by Wicklow Logistics -- a fracking company.
The building is being sold again, this time to Angel’s Light Addiction Specialists, and could soon become one of their treatment clinics.
“I don’t think it would be very safe to put that in there,” Spears said.
Spears isn’t alone. While Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek was talking to him in his front yard, seven other neighbors showed up to talk about why they don’t want an addiction treatment facility at this location.
“They need to cordon this off. They need to have 24-hour security inside and out,” said Melissa Kaufman, who lives behind the building. “There needs to be something that’s going to show the neighborhood that ‘hey, we get it. We understand. This is what we’re going to do.’”
Neighbors worry the facility will be used as a halfway house and feel the company chose the location for a specific reason.
“They also said they were using, deliberately using the fact that there was no zoning for this area and they were going to do basically whatever they wanted,” Kaufman said.
They also worry because it’s close to ball fields and playgrounds, and because Derry Township doesn’t have its own police force. They use State Police.
“Police at Kiski are 45 minutes away, and that’s the short one,” Kaufman said.
The township held a public meeting with Angel’s Light representatives last month in hopes to calm some of these fears.
On Monday, township supervisors sent a letter to Angel’s Light, saying the company fell “woefully short” at that meeting.
They held another meeting this week. No one from Angel’s Light was there.
Supervisors tell Channel 11 they have not heard back since sending the letter.
“Who knows whether they’re going to be able to stop them from coming in,” Spears said. “Probably not.”
“Not one person is against helping people,” Kaufman added. “We just want to know that our children are safe, our senior citizens are safe, individually we are safe. That’s the bottom line.”
Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek called Angel’s Light Thursday afternoon to get a comment on this proposed new facility but did not hear back.
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WASHINGTON — Wild animals can pose risks to human health, and the government needs to do more to examine and assess the threats, according to a new national study.
The Government Accountability Office is one federal watchdog that studies issues like zoonotic disease outbreaks.
“These are diseases that can spread from animals to humans,” GAO Director Steve Morris, explained.
His latest report has real world impacts for our communities.
“It’s caused millions of deaths and it’s really cost governments and economies billions of dollars,” Morris said.
He gave examples including an Ebola outbreak caused by rodents from Africa, Avian Influenza, which impacted thousands of people, and recent Coronaviruses, which claimed millions of lives.
“We’ve identified a little over about 200 of these diseases, but there’s potentially thousands out there that we really don’t know about,” Morris said.
The GAO looked at how these diseases spread and what the government is doing to identify and detect them, both domestically and possibly coming in from other countries.
There is some good news – the report said the government has taken a number of steps to try to find out more information about these types of diseases.
But watchdogs believe there’s more work to be done, including improving coordination when creating a national surveillance effort.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevent does work to prevent diseased animals from coming to the U.S. It can restrict certain species from places where there are already outbreaks. The GAO also thinks those officials can be too reactive.
“We think there’s opportunities here for CDC to be a little more proactive to identify the risks of various types or categories of wildlife and take any appropriate action before the outbreak occurs,” Morris added.
Investigators included different agencies that have a role in this process in their study. Officials from several of the departments said they are working to collaborate. Read the agency responses here.
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BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — A woman is facing charges after a man was hit by a car in Monaca and severely injured.
The victim, Christopher Alexander, is spending his 40th birthday inside UPMC Presby. He has a shattered leg, internal bleeding, broken ribs and facial fractures.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Family seeking answers after man hit by car in Monaca crosswalk, severely injured
We learned police have charged the accused drunk driver. The victim’s family said they are now relieved to get some closure.
Alexander remains in the hospital after police say he was hit by a drunk driver Saturday night.
“He is thankful to be alive but he’s in a lot of pain,” said Thomas Vukich, Alexander’s uncle.
Channel 11 first told you that Alexander was walking home from the American Legion in Monaca when he was hit while in the crosswalk at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 6th Street.
The family says they weren’t getting any answers until our story aired earlier this week.
Police have charged 29-year-old Carly Lescallette. They say she was the driver behind the wheel.
″We are sleeping a little bit better knowing justice will come out of this for Christopher,” said Carla Vukich, Alexander’s aunt. “Monaca police did ensure us that they are doing everything in the investigation, make sure everything was thorough.”
According to the criminal complaint, Lescallette had several drinks before driving that night. Police say her blood alcohol content was between .13% and .16% which is double the legal limit.
After this crash, Alexander’s family says he will need long-term care.
“He has years of recovery all because she made a bad decision to get behind the wheel drunk,” Thomas Vukich said. “It’s unfortunate two lives are going to be changed forever because of the accident, hers and his.”
There’s an arrest warrant out for Lescallette. She faces several charges including aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence.
The family says they’ve received an outpouring of support from the community as Christopher recovers here at the hospital. A fundraiser is set for July 8 to help him with his medical bills.
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For the second time in 13 months, a family member of City Councilman Dan Corrales has bid on a City of Midland contract.
On the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting there is a resolution rejecting all bids received for dry cleaning and laundry services for Facilities, Fire, Garage, Landfill, Police, Transportation, Vehicle Services and Water & Wastewater departments.
The city had issued a request for bids, and the lowest bid came from Snowhite Cleaners with Larry H. Carrasco, providing the authorized signature. Carrasco is Corrales’ father-in-law.
The agenda packet includes “conflict of interest reporting requirements” and a “conflict of interest questionnaire” with “Jesus D. Corrales” listed.
In May of 2022, the Midland City Council voted 5-1-1 to deny awarding a nearly $300,000 laundry contract to Pristine Organic Cleaners, owned by Michelle Corrales (Dan’s wife). John Norman voted against denial and Corrales abstained from voting.
At the time Dan Corrales said, “I don’t want to pull the bid. … If I pull it, I am saying I did something wrong. … I did nothing wrong.”
Snowhite’s bid was for $122,797.
“After consulting with the department managers associated with the departments and divisions listed in the first paragraph, staff is recommending rejecting all bids received for the dry cleaning and laundry service contract and instituting a pilot program for one year offering a stipend to the city employees who require dry cleaning and laundry services,” General Services Director Regina Stephenson wrote in a memorandum in the agenda packet. “This stipend program will help pay for the dry cleaning and laundry costs for qualified employees. The stipend amount will be determined by the type of work the employee performs and the frequency that they need to have their uniforms cleaned”
The frequency has been established by the study done from March 2022 to February 2023,” Stephenson wrote. The memorandum also stated the cost of having some employees of those departments have their uniforms laundered or dry cleaned from March 2022 to February 2023 was $72,057.”
“The stipend for (110) employees is estimated at approximately $129,000 annually,” the memorandum stated.
Councilman Corrales was provided the opportunity to comment Thursday. | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/councilman-s-father-in-law-bids-city-dry-cleaning-18143151.php | 2023-06-09T02:53:35 | 1 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/councilman-s-father-in-law-bids-city-dry-cleaning-18143151.php |
Midland County said in a press release that protests are permitted at the Midland County Courthouse flagpoles if protestors follow certain guidelines.
After becoming aware of protests scheduled for Friday at the Midland County Courthouse, Midland County said in a press release that it is crucial that all individuals have the opportunity to have their voices heard.
The protests taking place have to do with the death of Joshua Rene Salcido, who was gunned down in northeast Midland in 2021. A first “Justice for Josh” protest took place Monday night.
“The courthouse flagpoles, symbolizing the essence of justice and democracy, will serve as a designated space for peaceful protests. This initiative aims to provide a platform for citizens to express their concerns and foster public dialogue,” Midland County said in a press release.
While Midland County is allowing protests at the flagpoles located at the south side of the courthouse building, they have set guidelines that protestors must follow while demonstrating, “to ensure that daily activities and business at the courthouse can continue uninterrupted,”
- Location: Protests will be held exclusively at the flagpoles situated on the south side of the courthouse building. This designated area offers a central and visible space for individuals to gather and express their views.
- Peaceful Conduct: All protests must be conducted in a peaceful and respectful manner. Participants are expected to engage in civil discourse and respect the rights and safety of others.
- Amplification and Megaphones: In order to maintain the proper functioning of courthouse operations, the use of amplification devices or megaphones during protests will not be permitted. This restriction is necessary to prevent disruptions to ongoing legal proceedings and other activities within the building.
- Time Limit: To ensure a balance between the right to protest and the efficient operation of the courthouse, all protests must cease at 7 p.m. This time restriction allows for the orderly conclusion of activities and ensures necessary tranquility for the surrounding community. | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/midland-county-sets-parameters-friday-justice-18143170.php | 2023-06-09T02:53:41 | 1 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/midland-county-sets-parameters-friday-justice-18143170.php |
Scenes form presidential candidate Nikki Haley's visit to Martin Co. Mercedes Cordero ,
MRT.com/Midland Reporter-Telegram June 8, 2023
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1of 14 Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley visited an H&P rig in Martin County on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Haley is running for president.
Mercedes Cordero/Midland Reporter-Telegram Show More Show Less
2of 14 Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley visited an H&P rig in Martin County on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Haley is running for president.
Mercedes Cordero/Midland Reporter-Telegram Show More Show Less 3of 14
4of 14 Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley visited an H&P rig in Martin County on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Haley is running for president.
Mercedes Cordero/Midland Reporter-Telegram Show More Show Less
5of 14 H&P rig in Martain County Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Mercedes Cordero/Midland Reporter-Telegram Show More Show Less 6of 14
7of 14 Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley visited an H&P rig in Martin County on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Haley is running for president.
Mercedes Cordero/Midland Reporter-Telegram Show More Show Less
8of 14 Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley visited an H&P rig in Martin County on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Haley is running for president.
Mercedes Cordero/Midland Reporter-Telegram Show More Show Less 9of 14
10of 14 Former South Carolina governor and current Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley (far left) tours an oil and gas drilling rig June 8, 2023 east of Midland, Texas. Also pictured Stephanie Reed, partner at Formentera Partners, and King Lee, drilling engineer with Cutbow Operating, LLC. Photo courtesy of Formentera Partners / The Oilfield Photographer, Inc. James Durbin/Formentera Partners / The Oilfield Photographer, Inc. Show More Show Less
11of 14 Former South Carolina governor and current Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley (fifth from right) poses for a group photo with representatives from Helmerich and Payne, Inc., Cutbow Operating, LLC, and Formentera Partners after touring an oil and gas drilling rig June 8, 2023 east of Midland, Texas. Photo courtesy of Formentera Partners / The Oilfield Photographer, Inc. James Durbin/Formentera Partners / The Oilfield Photographer, Inc. Show More Show Less 12of 14
13of 14 Former South Carolina governor and current Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley tours an oil and gas drilling rig June 8, 2023 east of Midland, Texas. Photo courtesy of Formentera Partners / The Oilfield Photographer, Inc. James Durbin/Formentera Partners / The Oilfield Photographer, Inc. Show More Show Less 14of 14
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley was in Martin County on Thursday where she toured an H&P drilling rig and discussed American energy independence during a press conference.
Haley's trip to the Permian Basin also was expected to include a fundraiser in Midland. Hosts include Bryan Sheffield, Scott Sheffield, Scharbauer, Jenni and Dan Hord, Shelley and Jack Harper, Cody Campbell, Javaid Anwar and Don Evans, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram report.
Mercedes Cordero is the online editor for the Midland Reporter-Telegram and the Plainview Herald. | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/presidential-candidate-nikki-haley-visits-permian-18143001.php | 2023-06-09T02:53:47 | 1 | https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/presidential-candidate-nikki-haley-visits-permian-18143001.php |
GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. (WJRT) - On June 8, 1953, 116 people were killed when a tornado tore through the Beecher community in northern Genesee County.
This storm injured more than 840 people. The Beecher tornado went down in history as one of the worst weather-related disasters in U.S. history.
Janice Martin lived through that storm when she was 2 years old. The F-5 tornado pushed through her Beecher neighborhood on East Kurtz Street.
"My mom just grabbed a hold of musters because she saw the dark clouds in the rain," said Martin. "Mother Nature unleashed her fury. So she called them in. That's when she saw the funnel and by that time it hit our house."
Martin's mother fell to the ground, slamming her head on the cement floor while trying to get them to safety.
"The one thing I do remember is trying to get the stairs off my mom and looking up and seeing our neighbor, Mr. Fatan, who got our mom out of the bath basement," Martin said. "After that, I don't remember much."
The Beecher tornado stayed on the ground for 27 miles, creating a trail of death and destruction. In a matter of minutes, generations of families were wiped out.
Even though their family home was destroyed, Martin and her family survived the ordeal.
"If we had gotten into the basement, that wall when the tornado hit, it collapsed into the basement and we would have been killed. That's one of the things that my mom said was that if we'd have been anyplace else we'd have been done," Martin said.
She still holds on to many reminders of that deadly day, including a number of papers covering the aftermath.
While the tornado hit seven decades ago, she can't help but to be transported back to June 8, 1953, at times when the weather takes a turn for the worse.
The Beecher tornado was one of eight tornadoes to touch down in Michigan that day. The tornado caused $19 million in damage, equivalent to $215 million in 2023. | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/woman-recalls-beecher-tornado-aftermath-on-70th-anniversary/article_74bb4126-0631-11ee-b313-3ff0a8199e26.html | 2023-06-09T03:05:59 | 1 | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/woman-recalls-beecher-tornado-aftermath-on-70th-anniversary/article_74bb4126-0631-11ee-b313-3ff0a8199e26.html |
FAIRFIELD, Calif — A man was arrested a week after allegedly hitting a motorcyclist on Highway 12 in Fairfield and driving off, according to the Fairfield Police Department.
The man was identified by police as Lester Hogan Atkinson of Fairfield. The 20-year-old motorcyclist is in critical condition.
Police say the crash happened May 31 around 10:50 p.m. when the motorcyclist was heading westbound on 12 heading toward Pennsylvania Avenue. Atkinson was said to be driving southbound on Pennsylvania Avenue heading toward 12.
According to witnesses, shortly before the accident, Atkinson ran a red light to make a westbound turn onto west SR 12. After hitting the motorcyclist, he did not stop and continued westbound onto SR 12. The motorcyclist was left with life-threatening injuries.
The suspected car was found and recovered in Vallejo Wednesday when Atkinson was arrested. A gun was found inside his home.
Police are still asking for help from witnesses, encouraging anyone with information to contact the Fairfield Police Dispatch Center at (707) 428-7300.
WATCH MORE: New affordable housing arrives to Fairfield | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/fairfield/man-arrested-hitting-motorcyclist-hwy-12-fairfield/103-a5480c39-e97d-4b00-b8b2-a49a4f3bddac | 2023-06-09T03:13:10 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/fairfield/man-arrested-hitting-motorcyclist-hwy-12-fairfield/103-a5480c39-e97d-4b00-b8b2-a49a4f3bddac |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento police say one person is hurt following a shooting in North Sacramento.
Police say reports of a shooting came in around 5:20 p.m. Thursday. Officers responded to the 5000 block of Shady Leaf Way where they found a man with at least one gunshot wound.
Police say he was taken to the hospital. His condition is not currently known.
It's unclear what led up to the shooting. Police say it remains an active investigation.
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento-shooting-one-person-hurt/103-54fcea7e-c133-4d09-925d-adbd8165e96e | 2023-06-09T03:13:16 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento-shooting-one-person-hurt/103-54fcea7e-c133-4d09-925d-adbd8165e96e |
ANTELOPE, Calif. — An Antelope family's pride flag has been vandalized for a second time, and the sheriff's office says it's being investigated as a hate crime.
A video taken Wednesday and sent to ABC10 shows three people burning and spraying a pride flag on display at the Martinezmoles house. The burnt remains of the flag were left on the doorstep of Johanna Martinezmoles.
Burn marks are still seared into the pavement a day after the vandalism.
“My kids are scared. They are scared... what if they threw something at our house? What if they set our house on fire with a flag attached to it,” said Martinezmoles.
She says the same thing happened to them last year.
“We are led to believe that they live in this community and go to our local schools. My husband is the wrestling coach at Antelope Crossing Middle School, he is a substitute teacher here in town. Most likely these are children that go to school with our kids,” she said.
Sacramento County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Amar Gandhi was on the task force that investigated the crime when it first happened in March 2022.
“A hate crime is a hate crime whether it’s committed by a group of 8th grade looking kids or a 65-year-old. The motivation behind it is disgusting and it’s something we are going to investigate all the way through,” said Gandhi.
The Sacramento LGBT Community Center says it's not shocked hateful things continue to happen. Priya Kumar, who works for the center's marketing department, says it’s unfortunate incidents occur during Pride Month.
“The sad thing about the time right now is that there is anti LGBTQ+ rhetoric going around the country, but while it might be more rampant in other states and counties, it’s also present in Sacramento,” said Kumar.
Despite the act of hate at their home, the Martinezmoles family will continue to be an ally. A friend bought her a box of flags after it happened last year.
“It’s hard, it’s a trying time. This is Pride Month and that is our way to represent and show support,” said Martinezmoles.
And while the flag stand was ripped out of the stucco and just the holes remain, a new sign appears on the family’s home with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.
The family says they want to give the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office time to investigate before considering hanging up another flag. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/pride-flag-burned-antelope/103-bfa3f9dd-af83-4d5a-9f2b-67ef836d4b9e | 2023-06-09T03:13:22 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/pride-flag-burned-antelope/103-bfa3f9dd-af83-4d5a-9f2b-67ef836d4b9e |
GOLDSBORO, Pa. — People are taking to water with their boats and fishing rods, as water levels remain shallow across central Pa.
“Stream flow conditions, and this is true across the basin, are really below normal right now," said Ben Pratt, a water resource engineer with the Susquehanna River Basin.
Pratt says a lack of water is causing low stream flows across the Susquehanna River Basin. He adds river water flow is among the lowest levels since data started to be collected over 130 years ago.
“There’s probably not many of us who are walking the earth today who have seen conditions in Harrisburg the way they are right now," said Pratt.
Water levels in nearby creeks could make things challenging for kayakers. While it only takes a few inches for kayaks to float, Mike Parker with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission says the exposed rocks and sediment could add additional obstacles.
“You’re going to be getting out more, you’re going to be lifting that kayak up, you’re going to be walking around areas that are non-navigable because the water is so low," said Parker.
Some shallower creeks can also cause fish to congregate in deeper pools. Despite looking like the best fishing hole ever seen, Parker says people should not cast their rods.
“Ethically, think in your mind that if those fish are already stressed out, maybe you shouldn’t fish there," said Parker.
He adds that good fishing and boating conditions can still be found at lakes and ponds across Central Pa.
“Lake water levels are regulated by dams, and most of our lakes are doing quite well right now," said Parker. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/dry-weather-could-impact-summer-recreation-along-the-water-in-central-pa-water-boating-york-county/521-33510e43-f67c-4338-9a7a-568fc125800d | 2023-06-09T03:17:16 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/dry-weather-could-impact-summer-recreation-along-the-water-in-central-pa-water-boating-york-county/521-33510e43-f67c-4338-9a7a-568fc125800d |
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VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — The three Vancouver police officers and Clark County deputy involved in the fatal shooting in a Safeway parking lot last month have been identified by the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.
Colton Price, Brandon Riedel Aron Yoder were the three Vancouver officers identified in the shooting. Zach Nielsen from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office was also identified. The four officers have been placed on leave and the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
On May 30, Joshua Wilson, 43 was spotted going into Safeway at Mill Plain Boulevard and Andresen Road in Vancouver. While he was in the store, officers arrived and “formed an arrest team” near his car in the parking lot, officials said. When he came out, Wilson ignored their orders to stop and ran off.
Authorities said videos show “Wilson reaching behind his back” and then is seen “pointing a pistol directly” at an officer. He “engaged with gunfire from three officers and one deputy,” officials said.
Despite officers rendering first aid to Wilson, he died at the scene “and did have a pistol in his possession.”
Videos of the incident will not be made public until the officer interviews are concluded, Chief Criminal Deputy Troy Brightbill of the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office said. Brightbill is also the commander of the Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team.
Before the shooting, Wilson was being sought for a burglary on May 20 plus armed robberies in Vancouver on May 21 and 29, officials said. | https://www.koin.com/local/clark-county/officers-involved-in-vancouver-safeway-shooting-identified/ | 2023-06-09T03:19:11 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/clark-county/officers-involved-in-vancouver-safeway-shooting-identified/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Two men were rescued by Coast Guard officers Wednesday night after their boat capsized off the Oregon Coast, authorities said.
Around 7:30 p.m., the Coast Guard said they received a report from the wife of a captain of a 26-foot commercial fishing boat, who said that her husband had not made it back to the marina in time.
A rescue boat crew was dispatched from Station Chetco River, as well as a helicopter from Air Station North Bend. Local police confirmed that the operator’s truck and trailer were still at the boat ramp.
The captain’s wife told the Coast Guard that a friend had called the operator of the vessel around 3 p.m., which was the last time anyone had heard from anyone on the boat. The call allowed the Coast Guard to utilize cell phone forensics to narrow down the search area, according to authorities.
The capsized boat was located by the aircrew near Neskia Beach just after 11 p.m. The two men sitting on the overturned hull were not wearing life jackets, the Coast Guard said. By 11:30 p.m., both individuals were safely recovered, but they were showing signs of hypothermia, according to officials.
The men were brought to Station Chetco River at 2 a.m. They were seen by awaiting EMS responders before being released.
In total, the two men spent almost eight hours on top of the hull of the boat.
“This case highlights the importance of creating a float plan, or simply just telling a friend or family member who is staying back where you are going and when to expect you back,” said Lt. Michael Jeffko, command duty officer for Sector Columbia River. “With the excellent search planning and coordination between our watchstanders in the command center and the rescue crews at Station Chetco River and Air Station North Bend, we had a successful outcome. Our crews train for these incidents and their flawless execution resulted in two lives saved.” | https://www.koin.com/local/oregon-coast/2-men-rescued-after-commercial-fishing-boat-capsized-off-oregon-coast/ | 2023-06-09T03:19:17 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/oregon-coast/2-men-rescued-after-commercial-fishing-boat-capsized-off-oregon-coast/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Drag Queen Storytime, an event hosted by local drag queens who read children’s books to promote reading and diversity, has recently come under fire across the nation – causing libraries to cancel events for fear of their readers’ safety.
Among these casualties is Tigard Public Library, which canceled its upcoming Sunday, June 11 event due to “repeated threats of violence,” according to Tigard police. The library will also be closed to the public for the entire day.
Police say they received information indicating that “the safety of our community may be jeopardized” if the event were to take place.
“We value the safety of the kids, families, and all patrons who rely on the Tigard Public Library to be an inclusive and welcoming place,” officials said. “Our vision as a city is to be an equitable place where all can participate and prosper, and the City will continue to work toward that goal.” | https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/tigard-public-library-cancels-drag-queen-storytime-due-to-threats-of-violence/ | 2023-06-09T03:19:23 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/tigard-public-library-cancels-drag-queen-storytime-due-to-threats-of-violence/ |
CLEARWATER, Fla. — An alarming number of manatees are continuing to starve to death in Florida water and leaders are talking about solutions.
Thursday night those with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium hosted a number of researchers and marine life experts including those with the Ocean Conservancy to figure out ways to improve water quality.
"Manatees are really an indicator of a healthy Florida environment," J.P. Brooker, the Director for the Florida Conservation for Ocean Conservancy explained.
Currently manatees are starving to death.
"It’s a staggering heartbreaking number for Floridians," Brooker stated.
Brooker said in just two years, the state has lost 25 percent of its manatee population. There are around 6,000 manatees in Florida. Brooker said it traces back to water quality.
"We’re putting too much stuff in the water and that’s creating a condition where manatees can’t thrive," Brooker said.
When fertilizer from your lawn or pet waste gets into the waterways, it creates nutrients that feed harmful algal blooms like red tide.
"Harmful algal blooms block the light and that kills the seagrass," Brooker stated.
Seagrass is a manatee’s main food source. Brooker said manatees need to eat about 10 percent of their body weight everyday to survive.
"That’s 100 pounds per manatee," Brooker added.
With recent harmful algal blooms, manatees aren't able to eat the seagrass they need to survive because it's dying and limited.
"When we create these conditions where seagrass doesn’t get sunlight, it dies and manatees starve," Brooker stated.
FWC keeps track of how many manatees die every year in Florida. So far this year, 313 have died.
Here's the five year breakdown:
- 2022, there were 574 manatee deaths.
- 2021, there were 779 manatee deaths.
- 2020, there were 309 manatee deaths.
- 2019, there were 276 manatee deaths.
- 2018, there were 463 manatee deaths.
FWC reports the five-year average is 463 deaths.
Clearwater Marine Aquarium helps rescue manatees and soon they will be more involved as they are building a rescue and rehab center that is set to open in December.
"They have to be rescued and more often than not, they are starving and dying," Dr. James Powell, with Clearwater Marine Aquarium, said.
Dr. Powell met with other leaders with the Ocean Conservancy and they both underscore that people in Florida need to make it a priority to keep the waterways healthy for manatees.
"They really are an indicator of overall ecosystem health," Brooker added.
Experts said on top of being careful, when you use fertilizer, picking up your pet's waste and participating in beach cleanups can help improve our water quality. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/manatees-deaths-alarming-rate-florida/67-9246f44f-e686-4a87-99c2-c33df63b3182 | 2023-06-09T03:24:15 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/manatees-deaths-alarming-rate-florida/67-9246f44f-e686-4a87-99c2-c33df63b3182 |
VENICE, Fla. — It's pretty common to find a shark tooth in Venice, "the Shark Tooth Capital of the World," but not one to this magnitude.
While diving near the end of May, Michael Nastasio found the largest megalodon tooth he's ever discovered yet just a few miles off of Venice Beach. Measuring 6.25 inches, combined with the colors, Nastasio said it's rare to find a tooth like this in the area.
"It's the tooth that our dreams are made of," he said.
When he saw it, Nastasio said he couldn't believe his eyes.
"I had to come to the surface to even catch my breath," he added.
Nastasio found the tooth about 35 feet below. He said it's a memory he'll never forget.
Megalodons roamed the oceans 10 million years ago. Many people who visit Venice can find shark teeth ranging from sand, lemon, Mako, bull, whitetip and megalodons. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/florida-diver-finds-megalodon-tooth-venice/67-7dd5542d-df0d-43d2-bcf4-b76fd4f47ee3 | 2023-06-09T03:24:21 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/florida-diver-finds-megalodon-tooth-venice/67-7dd5542d-df0d-43d2-bcf4-b76fd4f47ee3 |
ST. CLOUD, Fla. – A St. Cloud woman is now paranoid and missing hundreds of dollars in cash after she was robbed.
Holly Gronau left work Thursday, June 1 and drove to Chase Bank on 13th Street to withdraw money for rent.
“I don’t want anyone to see that I have this money, so I put it in my purse, and I zipped it up,” she said.
Gronau then made a quick stop at Vape Depot not far from the bank. She parked her car right in front of the store windows.
Within five minutes, Gronau said someone snatched her purse, which had her car keys and $850 inside.
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“I came back out to my car, and I looked in my car, and I’m like, ‘Where is my purse? Where is my stuff?’” Gronau said. “My heart, like, sunk.”
According to an incident report, St. Cloud police obtained surveillance footage from Vape Depot and street cameras. The video revealed a silver Chevy following her from Chase Bank to the Vape Shop.
Police said that when Gronau arrived at the store, the suspect vehicle parked five spots away.
When she went inside, they pulled up right next to her car, opened the door, then grabbed the items and took off.
“How bold can you be to do it in broad daylight?” Gronau said.
She feels violated knowing that she was followed and is thankful she didn’t go straight home after leaving the bank.
“It’s literally the scariest feeling I’ve ever felt in my life,” Gronau said.
Gronau is a mother. She said her son has medical needs, and this robbery could’ve impacted him.
“In my head thinking if I would have pulled out even more money, that (could have) been my grocery money. That (could have) been my son’s co-pay. That (could have) been his medication that I would not have been able to afford. Then, I don’t know what I would’ve done,” she said.
A locksmith made her a new set of car keys Thursday since her first set was stolen.
On the door handle of the car is dust police used to find finger prints in hopes of identifying the suspect.
“He didn’t just take rent money; he took a lot of confidence from me as a person,” Gronau said.
She warns other Chase Bank members who frequent that location to be cautious, pay attention and don’t make the same mistakes she did.
She fears this can happen to someone else if the suspect is not caught.
Detectives were not able to identify the driver from the surveillance video or the finger prints, but they are still investigating.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/09/the-scariest-feeling-ive-ever-felt-st-cloud-woman-followed-robbed-after-bank-visit/ | 2023-06-09T03:25:32 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/09/the-scariest-feeling-ive-ever-felt-st-cloud-woman-followed-robbed-after-bank-visit/ |
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A vigil took place Thursday evening in Ocala for a mother of four killed last week.
Ajike Owens, 35, was killed after her neighbor, Susan Lorincz, 58, shot a gun through the front door of her apartment while Owens knocked.
On Tuesday, Marion County officials said that they had taken Lorincz into custody after the woman claimed self defense in the fatal shooting.
Meanwhile, friends and family released purple balloons on Thursday in honor of Ajike’s favorite color.
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“If anyone knew Ajike, she would do anything. About Ajike, she will do whatever it takes to take care of her children,” said a friend from Owens’ church.
Several people told stories to the crowd, detailing how Owens positively affected their lives.
“Ajike, she was, that is one of my biggest support systems. She would give me anything if she had it,” a friend told the crowd.
A woman whose children attend the same school as Owens’ children described what a great parent she was.
“I just want to tell her that you are so beautiful, and I thank you for you know, helping me with my children,” the woman said.
Owens’ family attorney Anthony Thomas said the family is seeking Lorincz’s manslaughter charge be upgraded to a murder charge.
“We’ve learned from other neighbors and witnesses that this woman was a menace to that entire neighborhood. Not only did she bully A.J.’s children, she bullied all of the children,” Thomas said.
Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to deliver the eulogy at Owens’ funeral scheduled for Monday.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/09/vigil-held-for-ocala-mother-who-was-shot-killed-by-neighbor/ | 2023-06-09T03:25:38 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/09/vigil-held-for-ocala-mother-who-was-shot-killed-by-neighbor/ |
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Photos: Denfeld celebrates its graduates
Hunters recognized about 170 graduates during commencement Thursday night.
Class speaker Sariyah Crawford gestures while talking during commencement ceremonies at the Denfeld Auditorium on Thursday in Duluth.
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Clint Austin
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Corbin Dickey changed his headgear while walking across the stage during commencement ceremonies at the Denfeld Auditorium on Thursday in Duluth.
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Kaylea Guddeck walks across the stage during commencement ceremonies at the Denfeld Auditorium on Thursday in Duluth.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
Graduate Ava Anderson receives a hug from a faculty member during commencement ceremonies at the Denfeld Auditorium on Thursday in Duluth.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
Graduates fill the front rows of the auditorium during commencement ceremonies at the Denfeld Auditorium on Thursday in Duluth.
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Class speaker Margaret Duncan gestures while addressing her classmates during commencement ceremonies at the Denfeld Auditorium on Thursday in Duluth.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
Senior class advisor Adair Ballavance speaks during commencement ceremonies at the Denfeld Auditorium on Thursday in Duluth. Ballavance is retiring at the conclusion of the school year.
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Brayden Rock watches his classmates during the processional at commencement ceremonies at the Denfeld Auditorium on Thursday in Duluth.
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We see that you have javascript disabled. Please enable javascript and refresh the page to continue reading local news. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/photos-denfeld-celebrates-its-graduates | 2023-06-09T03:25:55 | 0 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/photos-denfeld-celebrates-its-graduates |
SEATTLE — It's a quiet day in the Lake Geneva Neighborhood near Auburn.
"Over the years we have made this into our little garden oasis," said Jeremy Robinson.
An oasis giving Jeremy Robinson a front-row seat to some of the speeding issues he's seen in his 23 years living in this home. Specifically, cars running the stop sign at South 349th Street and 46th Avenue.
"I've said for years that something was going to happen at this intersection and now something has," said Jeremy.
On Monday, a 15-year-old girl driving a car full of teenage girls ran the stop sign.
"A white full-size truck was coming up doing approximately 10 miles per hour and was T-boned," said Jeremy.
Jeremy captured the crash from a home security camera.
Video shows neighbors running to help and pulling the 76-year-old man out of the truck.
"He didn't have a chance, she hit him so hard," said Brenda Robinson.
The 18-year-old passenger of the car flew through the windshield. Both she and the man were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The King County Sheriff's Office said the 15-year-old driver showed signs of impairment.
"I heard what sounded like a bomb going off so I just stopped and grabbed a phone and called 911," said Brenda.
There are two sheriff's deputies assigned to this area called the George Sector which is unincorporated Federal Way and Auburn.
Brenda Robinson said it's not enough, "We were told a long time ago we were pretty much on our own. They can only do so much."
The Robinsons hope the county can add stop signs or speed bumps to the road.
"At the end of the day it's safety with the kids, the people in this neighborhood and we're really just fed up," said Jeremy.
Because Brenda said one thing is certain.
"Definitely it will happen again, there's no doubt," she said.
According to the King County Sheriff's Office, three teenage girls ranging from 14 to 18 years old were taken to the hospital as well as the man driving the truck. Their conditions are unknown at the time. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/neighbors-want-safety-precautions-after-crash-south-king-county/281-53c4336e-4f3e-424a-ac10-96b26389c54e | 2023-06-09T03:27:32 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/neighbors-want-safety-precautions-after-crash-south-king-county/281-53c4336e-4f3e-424a-ac10-96b26389c54e |
SUMNER, Wash. — Jake Loden says he remembers just how bad it was getting around his neighborhood on Thompson Street because so many people parked there to take the train.
“It was actually worse in the afternoon as people got off,” he recalled. “This whole Thompson street was backed up all the way to Loyalty Park and it was impossible for neighbors over here to be able to pull out onto the street.”
The lack of parking has been an ongoing issue for riders looking to take the train at the Sumner station.
But Sound Transit says it’s moving forward on building a solution.
Back in 2008, voters approved plans to invest over $350 million into building three parking garages in Sumner, Auburn, and Kent, adding around 1,500 new parking spaces altogether.
Contracts for the design and construction of the Auburn garage were approved today in an initial committee vote by Sound Transit, and contracts for the Kent location are still being discussed.
However, since the pandemic, Sound Transit ridership has declined, and the city of Sumner has also set up parking zones with time limits in neighborhoods near the station to keep riders from leaving their cars there.
With these developments, Loden now thinks Sumner may not need the parking garage anymore.
“I’m not seeing the foot traffic I saw from pre-pandemic, so I can’t say for certain that it needs a parking garage,” he said. “But I don’t know when people start coming back and it becomes a problem again, we’ll be thankful it’s there. But it sounds like it’s already in motion at this point, so what can we do?”
Sound Transit sent KING 5 a statement saying, “The parking facilities and station access improvements planned for Sumner, Auburn and Kent were approved by voters in 2008. After the Great Recession and a global pandemic, Sound Transit is ready to deliver on these projects, which will increase the ability of South King County and Pierce County residents to access Sounder train service in the future and avoid the heavily congested I-5 corridor.”
Sound Transit says construction on the Sumner garage will begin by the end of the year and will be open to the public in early 2026. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/sumner-residents-skeptical-sounder-parking-garage/281-28a479e1-f585-4fe1-a41f-ff69e6f1086e | 2023-06-09T03:27:38 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/sumner-residents-skeptical-sounder-parking-garage/281-28a479e1-f585-4fe1-a41f-ff69e6f1086e |
SEATTLE — With seven of the nine Seattle City Council seats up for re-election this year, a new survey shows voters want to see candidates focus on downtown recovery efforts.
A survey released Thursday gathered the opinions of 500 people throughout the City of Seattle who are likely to vote in this year’s city council elections. The survey was done by EMC Research and commissioned by the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA). The combination of telephone and email, and text-to-web outreach was conducted May 17-23, 2023. Results show more work needs to be done to improve the safety and economic recovery of downtown.
“I think what we saw very clearly in the results with this research is we still have a lot of work to do to make downtown feel safe and healthy and vibrant, to attract even more people,” said Kylie Rolf, the vice president of Advocacy and Economic Development for the Downtown Seattle Association.
Survey findings show that of the people polled, 5% said they have visited downtown Seattle more often since the pandemic, 73% said they have visited less often, and 21% said their visitation has not changed.
Of the people who said they are going downtown less often, the top four reasons included crime, safety concerns, remote work, and homelessness. The DSA said public safety will be top of mind for people voting in this year's city council election.
“They get that connection between a healthy downtown and a healthy city and overall quality of life, and that rings true across all council districts,” said Rolf.
KING 5 spoke with people in Seattle who shared their thoughts on downtown recovery efforts. One person said they believed more people would visit downtown if public transportation was easier and safer.
“You start hopping on the train at night and you got a bunch of people sleeping and stuff, and I get they are unsheltered and need a warm place or a cool place to stay, but I feel like it also just affects a lot of people that are commuting and tourists,” said Horacio Hernandez-Tobon, who lives in Seattle.
Others say they feel safe downtown and believe the pandemic showed the importance of supporting local businesses.
“I think that kind of woke some people up to be like, ‘Oh wow, we really need to support like our small businesses and our local restaurants and things like that, or we won't be able to see those kinds of places anymore,’” said Natalie Muller, a Tacoma resident who spends a lot of time in Seattle.
As seven city council seats are up for re-election this year, people hope the city will deal with the challenges facing downtown one step at a time.
“My hope for downtown Seattle is that they can minimize the problem because it starts with minimizing it,” said Hernandez-Tobon
The survey showed that when asked to grade how Seattle City Council was doing with downtown recovery efforts, 34% gave the council an A-C grade, while 66% gave the council a D-F grade. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/survey-seattle-residents-want-city-to-increase-downtown-recovery-efforts/281-73abe183-a953-449f-aca5-969e8ad84084 | 2023-06-09T03:27:44 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/survey-seattle-residents-want-city-to-increase-downtown-recovery-efforts/281-73abe183-a953-449f-aca5-969e8ad84084 |
How 'Three-Gun' Wilson led Prohibition fight against bootleggers and jellyfish officials
“Let no one tell you the temperance-prohibition laws cannot be enforced,” Harold “Three-Gun” Wilson, deputy Prohibition administrator for Delaware, announced at a meeting in Seaford of the Sussex Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.
According to the Dec. 12, 1930, edition of the Milford Chronicle, Wilson maintained, “They [prohibition laws] can be and they are [enforced] except in places where jellyfish officials bend the knee to grafting politicians.”
Wilson was born in Cawker City, Kansas, in 1884, and when he was a small child, his family moved to Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. After attending Tufts College near Boston, Wilson worked as a reporter, editor and publisher.
In 1920, Prohibition began when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution took effect, and intoxicating beverages were outlawed in the United States. To help enforce the newly enacted laws restricting alcoholic drinks, Wilson was appointed to the Chief Prohibition Enforcement Office in Massachusetts.
Determined to enforce the liquor laws at whatever the cost, he arrested a number of high-ranking associates of the governor of Massachusetts, and the jellyfish officials were out for his scalp. Forced to resign as a Prohibition enforcement agent, Wilson continued his crusade from the sidelines, while he wrote an account of his experiences in a book, "Dry Laws and Wet Politicians."
Accused of being a publicity hound, it was said that Wilson acquired the nickname “Three-Gun” when he was given a pair of pistols by an admirer, adding them to the one that he already carried.
COLUMN:Exposing coastal secrets: Bathroom pavilions, beer hopping and pet preferences
STATE DOG:So long, Golden Retriever. Delaware has new official state dog
In 1930, Wilson was appointed a Prohibition enforcement agent for Delaware. It immediately became apparent that a new sheriff was in town, when Wilson proclaimed that he would rally public support to put the “filthy, lazy, desperado who is commercializing in liquor” in jail.
Wilson believed that most of the Delaware Prohibition agents were known to the bootleggers, and he recruited agents from Philadelphia and New Jersey. These agents worked for several weeks to determine the locations of several Wilmington speakeasies, which enabled Wilson to raid over a half-dozen of these illegal establishments and make 23 arrests.
Next, he sent undercover agents into the southern part of the state, and in February 1931, they had gathered enough evidence to conduct raids on eight houses and gas stations in Delmar and Seaford.
Wilson and his agents moved on to Lewes, where the Sunday Morning Star reported that, “A 25-gallon still is said to have been found in operation in the home of George Showell … A large quantity of mash was also seized. Showell was not in the house to ‘welcome’ the agents but the latter soon expect to apprehend him. The agents then raided the home of Rhoda Gunby … and found a small quantity of liquor.”
The Gunby home was across the street from the Lewes Auditorium, where Wilson gave a stirring speech before a packed house of several hundred people.
According to the Delaware Coast News, “Mr. Wilson stated that bootleggers were a very low type of person and…he had found them to be yellow and cowardly and undersized either mentally or physically.”
Having made several arrests and given a rousing speech, Harold “Three-Gun” Wilson left Lewes and returned to Wilmington, but he did not remain there long.
The flamboyant “Three-Gun” Wilson had worn out his welcome in Delaware, and what may have been the work of jellyfish officials, he was transferred to Nebraska until 1933, when Prohibition was repealed and his services were no longer needed.
Principal sources
Milford Chronicle, Dec. 12, 1930.
Wilson, Harold D., "Dry Laws and Wet Politicians," Boston: Internal Publishers, 1922, pp i, 9-17, 28-30.
Sunday Morning Star, Feb. 22, 1931. | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2023/06/08/delaware-prohibition-agent-battles-bootleggers-jellyfish-officials/70289844007/ | 2023-06-09T03:28:54 | 1 | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2023/06/08/delaware-prohibition-agent-battles-bootleggers-jellyfish-officials/70289844007/ |
Ocean City takes lead on sports complex planning, and here's what could happen next
The town of Ocean City is breathing life back into a highly debated Worcester County sports complex project.
Ocean City council members recently discussed their interest in taking the reins on the development of the sports complex, as well as appointing a special task force to pursue plans.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan will lead the task force, or blue-ribbon committee, mentioned City Manager Terry McGean at the May 30 work session, when council members voted unanimously in favor of taking the lead on the project.
The purpose of the task force will be to evaluate the scope of the project, location of the indoor and outdoor facility, and funding sources.
Original proposed site was near Stephen Decatur High
The plan for the 95.521 acres of property, originally slated to be located west of Stephen Decatur High School on Route 50 in Berlin, is to build a multipurpose, indoor-outdoor athletic complex with eight to 10 tournament quality outdoor athletic fields, a 125,000-square-foot indoor facility, restrooms, parking and concession stands.
The site is intended to be used for both recreation and travel sports, as well as county clinics and leagues. Additional park amenities would include walking trails, ponds and a playground.
Now, Ocean City is looking at possible locations outside of the proposed site next to Stephen Decatur Middle and High Schools. The final location will remain in close proximity, as short as a 15-to-20-minute drive, to the resort town.
RELATED:How much would Worcester County athletic complex cost? Study raises stakes with estimate
Voters make their voice heard on sports complex issue
The Worcester County Commissioners voted 4-3 in favor of the purchase of land for $7.1 million to construct the sports complex on April 19, 2022. Since then, the project has been met with equal parts support and criticism from townspeople and public officials.
Voters narrowly rejected bond issuance for design and construction costs of a Worcester County Sports Complex in November 2022, removing that as a possible source of funding. Voting for were 11,063, or 48.47%, with 11,760, or 51.53%, voting against, as previously reported by Delmarva Now.
RELATED:Worcester voters reject controversial sports complex funding
As part of the 2022 election, Worcester County held a referendum on property acquisition for the sports complex. Although the referendum to approve the purchase failed county wide, it later passed in the Ocean City District.
According to a Phase 2 feasibility study conducted by the Maryland Stadium Authority Board of Directors, the proposed sports complex is projected to add between 830 and 980 net new jobs to the local economy. Additionally, the study predicted between 54 to 64 tournaments would be held at the sports complex over the course of one year, with a total number of attendees ranging from 423,325 to 501,525 on a yearly basis.
The estimated cost for construction of the full complex is $153,525,000, excluding land acquisition. Based on the breakdown for tax revenue generated by the project, the case can be made that the state could fund up to 80% of the cost.
Worcester County ceased efforts related to the development of the complex.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com. | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2023/06/08/ocean-city-to-take-the-lead-on-worcester-county-sports-complex/70281362007/ | 2023-06-09T03:29:00 | 1 | https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2023/06/08/ocean-city-to-take-the-lead-on-worcester-county-sports-complex/70281362007/ |
SAN ANTONIO — Two years ago Public Utility Commission Chairman Peter Lake told lawmakers the Texas power market needed a complete overhaul to incentivize companies to build more reliable, or "dispatchable", power plants in Texas. The main mechanism of that overhaul is now signed into law...sort of.
"We are not tweaking on the edges, or making marginal changes, we are taking a blank-slate approach for a full redesign of this market to drive reliability full stop," Lake told lawmakers in 2021.
Texas has seen consistent growth in wind generation over the last decade but hasn't seen a large "baseline" natural gas plant built since 2017. Wind turbine power is only available when the wind is blowing where as natural gas plants can turn on as long as they have fuel.
That promise was delivered slowly. The Public Utility Commission continued to work on the redesign throughout 2022 an initially said it would be ready in October. But as 2022 came to an end, that redesign still wasn't ready and lawmakers wanted to weigh in once again.
Lawmakers from both the House and Senate asked the Public Utility Commission to hold off on implementing the redesign on Dec. 5 of 2022 according to the Texas Tribune. The PUC did hold off and delayed enforcing any market changes until the end of the legislative session.
Finally, on Wednesday, Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 1500 which provided new guidelines for the final product.
That final product is called the "Performance credit mechanism." This would provide bonus payments to power generators such as natural gas plants that can turn on "on demand" and that can commit to be available when the Texas grid needs them most. The payments would only be provided when the power plants were online during tight grid conditions. Still, Michele Richmond told KENS 5 in early May multiple companies saw it as an incentive to build more plants because it would help ensure they made a profit.
"The performance credit mechanism has actually seen almost 5000 megawatts of new gas generation investment announced. It's the only thing that has garnered investment, and the legislature doesn't need to pass a single bill to more forward," Richmond said.
That said, the Texas Legislature did pass HB 1500 and just two weeks before the legislative session ended the Senate added a variety of amendments which placed additional requirements on the Performance credit mechanism plan. The Governor signed the bill into law with those changes.
As of Wednesday, when this story aired, the changes were so new that Richmond wasn't able to comment on the end result of the bill.
Companies such as WattBridge, Calpine, and The Lower Colorado River Authority had already announced potential new projects prior to May 6.
“We are encouraged that the PUC has laid the foundation to ensure Texas maintains a reliable power supply through market-based mechanisms, and we are excited to move forward with projects that will deliver on that mission. We look forward to the PUC’s final actions,” said Caleb Stephenson, Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations of Calpine, in April. “Our hope is that the legislature will respect the regulatory certainty offered by the PUC and avoid discriminatory programs or direct government procurement that would undermine competition in Texas.”
The final version of HB 1500 would add more than a dozen guidelines to the mechanism. Experts are reviewing the legislation now to see how rules affect proposed projects.
"It establishes guardrails for the performance credit mechanism," Governor Abbott said before signing the bill.
Abbott also signed SB 2627 into law as well as three other bills designed to increase grid reliability.
SB 2627 is specifically designed to bring more reliable power to Texas by providing up to $10 billion in loans and grants to incentivize the construction and maintenance or reliable power plants. The bill would specifically provide low-interest loans for up to 10,000 megawatts of power generation and would provide for completion bonus payments as well.
"It provides completion bonuses to incentivize new dispatchable generation be built as quickly as possible," Abbott said.
Richmond previously told KENS 5 a baseline power plant can take between two-and-a-half and four years told build. | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/texas/two-years-after-uri-abbott-signs-bills-bring-more-power-plants-texas-will-they-come/273-0738cf1f-0393-4c21-a461-75833bc5864e | 2023-06-09T03:30:13 | 0 | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/texas/two-years-after-uri-abbott-signs-bills-bring-more-power-plants-texas-will-they-come/273-0738cf1f-0393-4c21-a461-75833bc5864e |
JOHNSON COUNTY, Texas — Video footage posted on TikTok showed a chaotic scene at a Johnson County rodeo where a bull ran wild, knocking over several women while charging around the arena floor.
The incident took place Wednesday evening in Cleburne during the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Footage shows the black bull running loose around the field and you can see several women knocked over after being charged by the bull as others in the crowd are running away.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Posse was formed in 1951 and held their first rodeo event in 1953.
"Ladies steer scramble got a little wild!" one TikTok video description state. "Dont (sic) try this at home preformed by professionals."
Multiple videos of the rampage were posted on Facebook and TikTok, gathering hundreds of thousands of views as well as hundreds of comments and shares. | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/tiktok-video-shows-bull-storming-through-crowd-women-johnson-county-rodeo/287-e814d5a7-676b-4c5a-9c97-6acd32b56e6a | 2023-06-09T03:30:20 | 0 | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/tiktok-video-shows-bull-storming-through-crowd-women-johnson-county-rodeo/287-e814d5a7-676b-4c5a-9c97-6acd32b56e6a |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Joran van der Sloot arrived in Birmingham Tuesday afternoon to face charges of fraud and extortion in connection to Natalie Holloway’s disappearance.
Van der Sloots’ day began early Thursday morning as he was escorted out of a prison in Peru to begin the trek to America. He was then loaded onto a U.S. government jet and made the approximately 6-hour flight to Birmingham.
The first sight of van der Sloot was as he walked down the steps of the jet in jeans and a t-shirt and was loaded into a caravan of waiting SUVs.
A statement released by Nicole Navas Oxman from the U.S. Department of Justice, reads, “I can confirm Joran van der Sloot has been temporarily surrendered to the United States pursuant to the Extradition Treaty Between the United States of America and the Republic of Peru.”
This is the only comment the U.S. Department of Justice has released.
After leaving the airport, the caravan made their way to the Hoover City Jail, where Van der Sloot was driven past the gate into a holding area and out of sight.
On Friday at 11 a.m. in the Hugo L. Black Courthouse, van der Sloot is set for his initial court appearance and will begin what has been a long journey to justice in Alabama.
As van der Sloot spends his first night in Alabama, Natalee Holloway’s mother Beth released the following statement that reads in part:
“Today, as Joran van der Sloot’s extradition to the United States is finally realized, I am overcome with mixed emotions. As a mother who has tirelessly pursued justice for the abduction and murder of my precious daughter, I stand before you today with a heart both heavy with sorrow and yet lifted by a glimmer of hope.”
CBS 42 has obtained the following court record document containing information on van der Sloot’s indictment, which can be read below: | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/joran-van-der-sloots-arrival-to-birmingham-sparks-a-glimmer-of-hope-for-holloway-family/ | 2023-06-09T03:34:09 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/joran-van-der-sloots-arrival-to-birmingham-sparks-a-glimmer-of-hope-for-holloway-family/ |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Kaulton Park in west Tuscaloosa will soon get a major upgrade.
Plans include a new playground, more lighting, a large pavilion and also upgrades to the baseball field, new security cameras and upgrades to the bathrooms.
City councilwoman Raevan Howard says construction work at Kaulton Park will get underway in August.
“I am very excited that we will have new playground equipment,” Howard said. “As you look here, it’s a beautiful park but we don’t have a nice big pavilion and seating as you would at other parks so [including] a pavilion will provide shade and a place people will host events.”
Sherry Elmore and her family are thrilled to hear the good news.
“I think that’s great and a good opportunity, I bet it will also bring property value to our homes,” Elmore said. “And it’s good for the kids around here to come to this newer park and I think it’s a great opportunity for it.”
The project will cost just over $1 million and construction will be finished in spring 2024. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/kaulton-park-in-tuscaloosa-to-receive-major-upgrades/ | 2023-06-09T03:34:15 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/kaulton-park-in-tuscaloosa-to-receive-major-upgrades/ |
MERIDIAN — Meridian Mayor Robert Simison has announced his bid to run for re-election this November.
Speaking in front of a small gathering at Generations Plaza in the heart of downtown on Thursday, Simison launched the campaign for his second tour of duty as mayor of the Ada County community west of Boise with over 125,000 residents.
In the crowd were some prominent local names including former Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney; former Meridian Mayor Tammy de Weerd; and state senator and former Meridian City Councilmember Treg Bernt.
“I just want to say thank you first of all to everyone coming out today,” Simison said. “It really means a lot to me when I look out here and I see the people that are here. Those that have been longtime supporters, some new supporters, family, friends.”
Simison said that as of now no one has thrown their hat in the ring to oppose him for the mayor’s seat in this year’s election.
Born and raised in Pocatello, Simison, 49, is a graduate of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He bought his house in the Treasure Valley in 2007 and was elected mayor in 2019 after working for de Weerd as her chief of staff for over a decade.
Over the first year of his term, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and Meridian became the “epicenter of a fierce debate over in-person learning,” the Idaho Press reported in 2021. In the years since his election, Simison has spoken up about polarization locally.
“Elections, and the expansive list of issues around them, are dividing us, making it challenging to find commonality among our neighbors, coworkers and families,” Simison said in his 2022 state of the city address. “In Meridian, despite these challenges, we continue to move forward and create our own future.”
He has been calling on the legislature to help fund schools and has asked the Idaho Transportation Department to take a look at lowering the 55 mph speed limit on Eagle Road.
During his tenure, Simison has made the Linder Road overpass one of the top two priority projects in Meridian. The design of the overpass is expected to finish this fall, although the construction still needs to be funded.
Public safety has also been a priority. The city broke ground on the Meridian Police Department’s first precinct last summer. On Thursday, Simison also said that two fire stations are set to open this fall.
Housing has been an issue for Meridian. The AARP sent a report to the city last year characterizing its mix of housing as “alarming.” Over 80% of the homes in Meridian are detached single-family houses.
During Thursday’s announcement, Simison said some of the city’s top accomplishments over the past three-plus years include establishing an SRO program at elementary schools, creating a crisis intervention team with mental health professionals to fight substance abuse, and implementing three new urban renewal districts to emphasize responsible growth. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/meridian-mayor-will-run-for-second-term-in-office/article_ff08d682-0649-11ee-9192-832e520d0d7c.html | 2023-06-09T03:36:36 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/meridian-mayor-will-run-for-second-term-in-office/article_ff08d682-0649-11ee-9192-832e520d0d7c.html |
BOISE — The sound of a gentle ringing bell was met by cheers from the people gathered on the fifth floor of JUMP on Thursday. The ring signified the successful repair of a broken item and was one of many over the next couple hours.
The city and JUMP hosted Boise’s first Repair Café on Thursday evening; another one will be held Aug. 10.
At the event, community members brought in a variety of household items such as vacuums, a popcorn maker, a lamp, a purse strap, a boombox, books, clothes with broken zippers, a Nespresso machine, an electric mobility scooter, and a coffee grinder that had been jammed up after it was used to grind peppercorns — an inadvisable use of the appliance.
Although Thursday’s event was Boise’s first of its kind, more than 2,500 Repair Cafés are held worldwide, according to repaircafe.org.
The concept began with Martine Postma, who organized the first Repair Café in Amsterdam in 2009 as a way to advance sustainability at the local level, the website states. Postma later founded Repair Café International Foundation, which has supported local groups since 2011.
Melissa Stoner and Catherine Milner, of Boise’s Curb It program, had been looking for ways to help reduce waste and the idea of extending items’ lifespans came up. The Repair Café concept came to their attention, and “it seemed like a natural fit here in Boise,” Stoner previously told the Idaho Press.
The city worked together with JUMP to recruit volunteers with various skills, such as woodworking, fixing electronics and sewing. On Thursday evening, these volunteers manned a variety of repair stations, where those who came in were sent to see if their item could be restored.
Dan Beyer, the JUMP Make Studio program manager, worked with the city to put on the event, utilizing not only the space but the many tools available from Make Studio. Beyer said JUMP wants to do more events like the Café that bring together the community.
Mary Glynn Wilford of Boise brought in her popcorn maker that she had only had since Christmas. It stopped working around January, she said.
“I was so disappointed,” Wilford said. “... I love my popcorn.”
Volunteer Bill Lloyd said the bearing on the device’s lower motor was stuck. Lloyd had been an electrical engineer, and got involved through his history with volunteering with the Discovery Center.
On the other side of the room, Adam McCoy and Caleb Ashcraft worked on a nearly 20-year-old Bose sound system.
McCoy got involved because he knew Stoner and is a self-described “tinkerer.”
“Increasingly, I’ve been more frustrated that modern manufacturers don’t let us repair their products,” McCoy said.
Ashcraft is the manager of the Boise State University MakerLab and echoed the frustration over the difficulty of repairing modern electronics in favor of constantly buying new.
“The right to repair is an ever-growing movement,” he said.
Acceptable items had to be less than 50 pounds and able to be carried in, such as clothing, linens, toys, small kitchen appliances, vacuums, tools, wood, and ceramics. The Café didn’t accept bicycles, firearms, knives, large appliances or anything that could be hazardous.
Thursday’s event and the one in August will help inform future Cafés, Stoner said. She’s hoping to expand the Repair Café to a larger series next year.
“We’re seeing this as kind of a pilot series this year,” she said.
Liz Neighbor of Boise brought in her iron that she’s had for about 10 years that had just recently stopped working. The cord had severed, and for some time she could fix it enough with electrical tape.
She was glad when she heard about the Repair Café on the news so she could get her iron back, she said of the event, “and it saves the landfill from getting overloaded.”
Those who are interested in volunteering at a Repair Café in Boise can contact Milner at cmilner@cityofboise.org. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/repair-caf-aims-to-reduce-waste-one-trinket-at-a-time/article_20941ee0-0660-11ee-804d-6f9d66374233.html | 2023-06-09T03:36:42 | 0 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/repair-caf-aims-to-reduce-waste-one-trinket-at-a-time/article_20941ee0-0660-11ee-804d-6f9d66374233.html |
GREENFIELD, Ind. — Alyvia Parker always knew she wanted to be a firefighter.
"I want to be an EMT firefighter, like a paramedic. I think that would be really cool," said Parker as she took off her fire-resistant hood, still wearing her incident gear and boots.
Parker joined more than a dozen students from Greenfield-Central Junior High School for a two-day teen academy learning how to be a firefighter or an EMT.
"I've always been interested in stuff like that. And just to like feel the experience of stuff you can actually do when you're an actual firefighter. This camp is amazing," said Parker.
Organizers are hoping to gain more interest in joining the ranks.
"Department applications have gone down everywhere, so we're trying to spark that interest. We're trying to get those little kids interested in firefighting like in the old days where everyone wants to grow up and be a firefighter and this is a great way to give them a taste," said Luke Eichholtz with Greenfield Fire Territory.
Eichholtz said the fire territory has already had a cadet program for years, but started a teen academy a couple of years ago as a way to recruit.
On a sunny Thursday afternoon, teens watched as firefighters demonstrated and explained how they extricate victims from a vehicle using heavy machinery.
Teens also got to experience going into a foggy training tower learning how to carry a hose, put out any hotspots and find victims.
"It was kind of chaotic at first because when you're the ladder crew and there's an engine crew in there, you've got to find a way to get them out of the way, so if there is, like, a victim you can get them out, too," said Ethan Anderson.
Anderson, 12, said this challenge was his favorite.
"Going through the confidence course was a little bit scary, because you had to go through tight spaces, and when you put the pack on it made it harder because it changed which way you had to go," said Anderson.
They also learned how to communication under pressure.
"You have to communicate with your partners, because if you don't know where they are and if you come out and there is a man down, there could be a man down, you could lose somebody," said Parker.
On Wednesday, teens got their CPR certification, bleeding-control training and basic first-aid training.
"That's also really great, because if you have a family member and you're at home and something happens, you know those things and it's really helpful to save somebody," said Parker.
Eichholtz said the need for more first responders is great.
"Fires aren't going away. Medical runs aren't going away. We get busier every year. So having young people interested in doing this that come out of high school ready to be firefighters and EMTs and go to paramedic school is crucial to keeping our station staffed and trucks with trained people on them," he said.
Anderson wants to become a firefighter, just like his dad.
"He used to take us to the station all the time, so I've just grown up around that stuff and it was the way I wanted my life to go," said Anderson.
Parker, who comes from a family of doctors, said she wants to keep her family tradition going.
"I've always been interested in stuff like this. I've always wanted to help people, like, I help people all the time. It's like my favorite thing to do," she said. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/greenfield-junior-high-students-learn-what-its-like-to-be-a-firefighter/531-2deb203f-2c5f-4912-98bb-b5087a94a334 | 2023-06-09T03:42:51 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/greenfield-junior-high-students-learn-what-its-like-to-be-a-firefighter/531-2deb203f-2c5f-4912-98bb-b5087a94a334 |
TURBOTVILLE, Pa. — "It's a good place to come out to, to see some friends and get to eat some good food," said Jacob Troup of Danville.
The ninth annual Turbotville Area Community Carnival got off to a slow start when smoke from Canadian wildfires led to smaller crowds.
It's not been overly busy. Last evening that hill behind you, you couldn't see it," said John Wolfe, carnival committee member.
Skies were clearer Thursday night, and the crowds returned.
But organizers had to cancel the planned fireworks because of lingering dry and smoky conditions.
"It sounds to me like the weather is going to get better each day, and then Saturday, it looks like it's going to be great," added Wolfe.
"All the kids usually come after graduation, which fell last week this year, but it's the main event of the year for the town beside the August Fest," said Gus Jones of Turbotville.
After a couple of rounds of Ski ball, Jones told us the smoke-filled sky had pretty much gone away.
This made for a great night to come out with his family.
"No, I think it's all leaving pretty much the way it seems, so it didn't seem too bad today, so we weren't worried about it," said Jones.
A couple stands away boy scouts from Troop 622
Scoutmaster Duane Knopp uses this stand to raise money for his troop.
"I mean, I understand the fireworks are canceled tonight. You know, it's kind of a bummer, but I understand with the whole how dry it is plus the smoke the reasoning behind it, so it might limit how many people come out, but I don't think it'll affect us too much," Knopp said.
Committee members say no matter the weather, the Turbotville Area Community Carnival will continue on until Saturday.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/northumberland-county/smoke-clears-for-festival-but-fireworks-get-canceled/523-6aeaf602-0ec7-4456-afeb-6f082f0e044b | 2023-06-09T03:43:05 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/northumberland-county/smoke-clears-for-festival-but-fireworks-get-canceled/523-6aeaf602-0ec7-4456-afeb-6f082f0e044b |
TEMPLE, Texas — Three people have been displaced from their home in Temple after a lightning strike caused a damaging house fire, according to a statement by the City of Temple.
The City said Temple Fire and Rescue responded to a report of a structure fire in the Wyndham Hills Subdivision at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 8.
Crews reportedly found heavy smoke coming from a two-story home. When firefighters entered the home, they said they found heavy fire in the upper level and attic.
Temple Fire and Rescue said crews were able to get the fire under control quickly, and the blaze was extinguished completely by 5:13 p.m., but the house was still heavily damaged.
Firefighters said no one was home at the time of the fire, but three residents of the home will be displaced because of the fire damage.
No injuries were reported in the fire.
The City of Temple reported the cause of the fire was determined to be a lightning strike, and nearby neighbors saw the strike occur.
Temple Fire and Rescue said they responded to the fire with 10 units and 22 personnel. The Temple Police Department and Temple EMS were also on scene.
Related stories from 6 News: | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/lightning-strike-causes-house-fire-temple/500-6eb4a9a2-4567-4e40-8b77-aadb70416067 | 2023-06-09T03:56:27 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/lightning-strike-causes-house-fire-temple/500-6eb4a9a2-4567-4e40-8b77-aadb70416067 |
Domestic violence offenders operate off this "course of conduct," says Tom Tremblay, former chief for the Burlington Police Department in Vermont. In the wake of their violent behavior, they leave physical and emotional scars on bewildered investigators, frustrated prosecutors and wounded victims.
Tremblay, a former state public safety commissioner and director of a sexual assault investigation unit, presented a Trauma-Informed Sexual Assault Investigations training Tuesday and Wednesday to a group of social workers, police officers and first responders at Purdue University Northwest.
The course was facilitated by Lake County's Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), a community-based group of advocates from the Fairhaven Rape Crisis Center, Haven House NWI, Franciscan Health and more who provide resources and advocacy to ensure that all victims of sexual violence are never silenced.
Trauma-informed approaches, Tremblay said, ensure that victims of sexual assault are approached with compassion and care throughout the process of reporting an assault. The training explored myths surrounding rape culture, the effects of trauma on the brain, effective interview techniques for investigators and how trauma can affect investigations.
Attendees were asked to confront their own biases surrounding domestic violence or sexual assault cases and re-examine how the cases have historically been handled by the law.
Tremblay said this is his second time conducting the training in Northwest Indiana. After he retired from being a law enforcement leader and investigator, he felt compelled to educate others on the nuances of trauma in sexual assault investigations. He has brought his knowledge to departments throughout the country. In his 25 years on the police force, he understood the complexities behind these cases and felt convicted about respecting due process of the law.
"We have to start by believing victims, that something has happened," he said. "Not that someone is guilty. And we have to start measuring justice not just by arrest and conviction, but how we help victims heal."
Kelly Vates, executive director of Fairhaven Rape Crisis Center, is one of the leaders of SART. While she is a fierce advocate for victims of assault and abuse, she is also a victim. She said she experienced sexual violence from a young age, and when she finally escaped and began to heal, she realized she could use her experiences to heal others and change her life.
"What I want survivors to hear is, there is life without pain," she said.
Vates volunteered at a domestic violence shelter before establishing Fairhaven in 2005. At the time, she had "$500, one program and a whole lot of faith."
One in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience sexual violence, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Griffith police Detective Robert Carney said he attended the two-day training to understand more about how trauma affects victims. Sexual assault investigations have been flawed, he said, but knows there are ways to ensure that victims are treated with compassion and due process is respected.
"These crimes should be believed like any other," Carney said. "There are ways we can better understand victims and trauma."
Ultimately, preventing sexual assault and domestic violence is a community effort, Vates and Tremblay said. The training concluded with a discussion on ways to enhance safety, accountability and education surrounding these topics, and breaking the stigma of reporting a sexual assault.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
April Wright
Fallon Stone
Kecelyn Sydner
Hilario Torres Jr.
Shawn Washington
Steven Petrisko
Roosevelt Pickett Jr.
Andre Patterson
Kenneth Mack Jr.
Rachel McKinney
Patrick Noonan
Bradley Kelly
Jason Howard
Tena Johnson
Leslie Hawkins
Chanel Copeland
Tameera Dillon
Elvee Evans III
Totianna Gaston
Olivia Blakeley
Steven Bogner
Kristina Bohn
Tammy Berry
Christopher Arroyo
Melvin Pumphrey III
Dakota Robinson
Michael Sullivan
Shauntwain Johnson
Karley Jensen
Cali Huerta
Cindy Irons
Jack Hampton
John Huber
Chauncey Hackett Jr.
Antwon Butler
Aundra Butler
Whom to contact
If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or thehotline.org. Call Fairhaven's 24-hour hotline at 219-218-2552.
Kelly Vates and Tom Tremblay speak to about 80 attendees of a Trauma-Informed Sexual Assault Investigations training hosted Tuesday and Wednesday by Purdue University Northwest. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/courageous-conversations-preventing-sexual-assault-in-nwi-communities/article_649eac50-0588-11ee-b4df-d79c349a970a.html | 2023-06-09T04:03:34 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/courageous-conversations-preventing-sexual-assault-in-nwi-communities/article_649eac50-0588-11ee-b4df-d79c349a970a.html |
On a hazy grey Thursday evening as the sun fell, dozens of people gathered at the Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church for a prayer vigil and honored Huguenot High School graduate, Shawn Jackson, and his stepfather, Renzo Smith - who were fatally shot outside of the Altria Theater on Tuesday moments after Jackson's commencement ceremony - as well as others who are affected by gun violence.
The shriek and wailing of police and ambulance sirens from only a few days ago were replaced with prayer and song as supporters and congregants walked through the heart of the VCU campus that only days ago was a crime scene.
Yellow police barricade tapes gave way to the golden hue of candles as participants sang, "This little light of mine." For safety, an off-duty Richmond police officer was also in attendance throughout the vigil.
“We figured that since we're a church here at Monroe Park, although we don't have a direct connection to the lives lost, that we want to talk for a space here for people to come, to feel safe, to pray, to mourn," said Paul Evans, the associate rector of the church who helped organize the vigil.
“Whether or not they're with us, we are praying for them. And we want them to know that we care that they're welcome here,” Evans said. “We hope very much that people will know us as a place of healing.”
Assistant Bishop Gayle Harris of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia led the prayers, noting the shooting occurred on the 157th day of 2023 -- but that it was the 279th mass shooting in the U.S. this year.
“Tuesday a sense of security and comfort in our community was shattered," she said. “We are shocked and should be; we can’t afford to be complacent.”
Harris called on people to be a blessing to the world, which she said is measured through how we respond in moments like these, and that one way to be a blessing was to demand government officials enact sensible gun laws.
Harris said she had received emails and calls from people around the world, including one from Israel today about gun violence in the U.S.
The shooting was the second to take place at a Richmond Public School event this year. Amari Pollard of Henrico was arraigned on Wednesday in Richmond General District Court on two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting. Several other people were shot and injured including Jackson's 9-year-old sister, Renya Jackson Smith, who was struck by a car during the mayhem.
"What has become of America?” Harris asked. “We're living in a time of multiple pandemics: Pandemic COVID, pandemic of gun violence, the pandemic of lies and distortions that keep us from effectively addressing these issues,” she said.
Said Susan Moffett, one of the vigil participants, “I'm here for a need for solace, a need to be with others. Gun violence is sad for all of us. I think we need to do more than just feel bad about it. We need to try to act, and I think leaders need to speak out.“
Kyle Reed, a VCU grad who formerly worked at Grace & Holy Trinity Church, attended to show support for his community.
“It’s just senseless violence. Having one of the happiest days of your life turned upside down and then having to live with that memory forever, it’s a lot to take in.”
Elsewhere in Monroe Park, others also gathered in prayer circle.
Richmonders Morgan Bogert and Jadon Franklin led a separate group of people from different churches and faiths.
“We’re just praying over people who might have been here and were affected by the chaos and anxiety that happened, as well as people whose families were connected to the shooting.” Bogert said.
“We just believe that the best response to violence and loss is to call in the name of Jesus,” Franklin added. “Nobody in history has dealt with loss and tragedy better than Jesus, so we depend on him.”
Photos: Richmond reacts to mass shooting after graduation ceremony
Assistant Bishop Gayle Harris of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia leads the singing of "Amazing Grace" during a vigil hosted by Grace & Holy Trinity Church on Thursday.
A person tends to a makeshift memorial on Thursday that was built in remembrance of Shawn Jackson and Renzo Smith who lost their lives during a shooting at the Huguenot High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, June 6. | https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-courts/vigil-huguenot-shooting-shawn-jackson/article_af69a2c2-061d-11ee-8beb-3f68ff06075d.html | 2023-06-09T04:05:03 | 1 | https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-courts/vigil-huguenot-shooting-shawn-jackson/article_af69a2c2-061d-11ee-8beb-3f68ff06075d.html |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Thursday evening, former president Donald Trump announced that he had been indicted on charges of 'mishandling classified documents' at his Florida estate.
While the Justice Department was not able to immediately publicly confirm the indictment, two people that were familiar with the situation and were not authorized to talk about it publicly explained that the indictment included seven criminal counts.
One of those people also said that prosecutors contacted Trump's lawyers just before he had made the announcement of his indictment on the Truth Social platform.
In response to the news of Donald Trump's indictment, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders released the following statement via Twitter on Thursday evening:
"The Biden Administration is weaponizing the DOJ to go after their number one opponent. It’s a two-tiered system of justice aimed directly at Donald Trump and conservatives. The American people should choose our next President, not politicized prosecutors hand-picked by Joe Biden."
Former president Donald Trump is due to be in court on Tuesday afternoon. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/governor-sanders-react-indictment-trump/91-f8b3b4a9-1267-417f-9712-1afe1d737c3c | 2023-06-09T04:10:11 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/governor-sanders-react-indictment-trump/91-f8b3b4a9-1267-417f-9712-1afe1d737c3c |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Felipe Baca was living off of Reservoir Road in Little Rock when his apartment was hit by the tornado in March, causing a street to fall on his apartment and into his bedroom.
Although he found a new place to stay, it wasn't for very long.
On June 3, less than two months later, Barca's new living space, a duplex off Markham Street near UAMS, was set on fire.
"Perhaps it's just I am in a vulnerable, raw place after the tornado, but with that storm affecting everyone, I felt we were all going to make it through," Barca said. "With this, I felt out on a limb by my lonesome for a minute there."
Felipe was at work when he got the call about his home being engulfed by flames.
The fire damaged the front of his house the most. All his belongings, replaced because of the tornado, were destroyed by the fire.
But Baca is choosing to see the good in a difficult situation.
"I am clearly blessed and looked out for because two terrible things have happened, and I wasn't home for either one," Baca said.
A GoFundMe was posted to help with Baca's misfortune, generating more than $2,000 in 48 hours.
Baca hopes to use that kindness to help him afford a new place to stay and replace some of his things.
"If you're having a great day," Baca said. "Try to share that with someone else because the person standing next to you might be smiling through tears."
Police have arrested someone in connection to the fire. We're still working to confirm the details of the arrest. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/little-rock-man-looks-to-rebuild/91-6e8a134e-c538-4d04-8ded-520c2ca8aa4d | 2023-06-09T04:10:17 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/little-rock-man-looks-to-rebuild/91-6e8a134e-c538-4d04-8ded-520c2ca8aa4d |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philadelphia-school-district-says-schools-will-shift-to-virtual-learning-on-friday-due-to-poor-air-quality/3582244/ | 2023-06-09T04:18:05 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philadelphia-school-district-says-schools-will-shift-to-virtual-learning-on-friday-due-to-poor-air-quality/3582244/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/teacher-accused-of-posing-as-girl-on-snapchat-to-solicit-nude-photos-from-underage-girls/3582246/ | 2023-06-09T04:18:12 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/teacher-accused-of-posing-as-girl-on-snapchat-to-solicit-nude-photos-from-underage-girls/3582246/ |
Police: Love triangle sparked woman's death in St. Clair County
A 44-year-old St. Clair County resident is facing charges after fatally attacking another woman in an alleged love triangle, officials announced Thursday.
Deputies were called to a home on South Main Street in Capac around 4 a.m. Tuesday after a man living there reported an assault earlier in the evening "and that one of the parties was not waking up," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Upon arriving, they found a 44-year-old Almont woman unconscious but breathing, according to the release.
They also found the caller and another 44-year-old woman, identified as Raquelle Casillas of Mussey Township.
Casillas and the other woman "had been reportedly disputing on and off for days over a shared relationship with the male," sheriff's officials said.
As detectives arrested Casillas, the Almont woman was transported to McLaren Lapeer Region Hospital, where doctors noted severe head trauma, according to the release. She was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Casillas has been arraigned on a charge of open murder. She remains at the St. Clair County Detention and Intervention Center after being denied bond. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/06/08/police-love-triangle-sparked-womans-death-in-st-clair-county/70304869007/ | 2023-06-09T04:31:44 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/06/08/police-love-triangle-sparked-womans-death-in-st-clair-county/70304869007/ |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — There is nothing stronger than the power of a mother's love.
Betty Buck sold her lucrative and family-owned beer business so that she could start a foundation that would honor her Navy son and help other families.
Four Aprils ago, she took a call.
“Mom, it's D-Day”, said her son Danny.
"Oh, he is being deployed again," she thought.
No. It was death day.
“Nobody knew, nobody knew that he was sexually attacked on a ship in Japan,” said Betty Buck, from her foundation office in Annapolis.
She spent five hours on FaceTime that morning.
But she knew this wasn’t going to end well.
At the end, the Navy man shot himself in the heart.
“As bad as it sounds, it was a gift he gave me, for five hours, he brought up all the good times he had with his family,” said Buck.
Danny gave his mom orders to carry on. Betty ended up selling the beer business and starting the HM2 Buck for Hope Foundation.
She is the lone employee, taking calls, answering emails, and helping those in the military who have suffered from sexual abuse or are in a bad state of mind.
On June 24, the foundation will hold a big fundraiser at Byzantium Center, featuring the sounds of Neil Diamond.
For help or to help, click here. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/mother-starts-foundation-to-honor-late-navy-son | 2023-06-09T04:35:37 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/mother-starts-foundation-to-honor-late-navy-son |
BALTIMORE — Like people, pets are just as sensitive to the air quality around them.
They can’t tell us when they are feeling sick so, it's hard to tell how the recent air has been impacting them, and like people, dogs with health conditions are even more sensitive.
“What we do worry about with the animals is some of the same things we worry about with people, pulmonary problems, asthma, things like that," said Dr. John Fioramonti, of Towson Veterinary Hospital.
Normally, dog parks are full of life in the afternoons, but this week, they are more like ghost towns.
“It kind of reminds me of the beginning of COVID. Where very few people out in the streets, lots of the restaurants and bars all of their doors and windows are closed, and then, of course, this time of day there is a lot of people at the park, so now there’s none," said dog owner Daniel Debord.
Veterinarians recommend keeping pets inside as much as possible until the air quality improves to avoid any illnesses.
"You could have allergic reactions; you could have scar tissue in the lungs; you could have a lot of irritation, coughing, and hacking," said Dr. Fioramonti.
Samantha Collado says it's important to think about more than just ourselves.
“You know, it's smoke outside it might be hard for me to breathe. We just got to remember they’re also there too, and they have less protection, so I don’t see any doggie masks being available or made, so you just have to be really careful for them as well too,” said Collado.
Not only should pet owners keep their pets inside as much as possible, but they should also keep any windows they have closed to limit any outside air from getting into their home to help protect them and their pets. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/poor-air-quality-causes-concerns-for-pet-health | 2023-06-09T04:35:43 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/poor-air-quality-causes-concerns-for-pet-health |
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Elizabethton City Council gave initial approval to the town’s 2023-24 budget, which includes a 5% property tax increase.
The council voted 6-1 on Thursday to raise the property tax rate by eight cents, from $1.57 to $1.65 per $100 of assessed value.
City Manager Daniel Estes told News Channel 11 that city leaders were able to balance the budget without a tax increase but they wanted to prioritize infrastructure investments.
“When we looked at the bottom line, the council decided they wanted to make a stronger emphasis for the upcoming year on paving,” Estes said.
Estes said every penny of the $240,000 dollars generated by the increase will flow into the city’s repaving budget. He said the city will begin repaving G Street next spring when TDOT work on Elk Avenue ends.
“(G Street) has become the default detour place to go to if you wanted to avoid the TDOT construction,” said Estes. “So that causes wear and tear there.”
Not all council members were happy about the increase. Council Member Kim Birchfield voted against the budget, citing concerns from citizens.
“I’ve just had a lot of calls saying, ‘We’re old. We got to pay for medicine, groceries. We’re taxed to death. Please vote against this,'” Birchfield told News Channel 11.
Property taxes won’t be the only thing going up.
The council also approved a $1.50 increase to the city’s base water and sewer rates, raising the minimum rate to $19.82.
“It’s one of those necessary evils,” said Mayor Curt Alexander. “Our cost of chemicals, our cost of treating the water, our cost of paying people has gone up. So we’re merely trying to recover our costs of doing business.”
Estes says though raising rates is never easy, this year it’s necessary.
“People expect us to deliver every time you know, whenever you turn on the tap, the water has to come out,” Estes said. “And to do that we have to have the staff here to run it adequately.”
The council will vote one more time before formally adopting the budget. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/elizabethton-approves-property-tax-water-rate-hike/ | 2023-06-09T04:37:47 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/elizabethton-approves-property-tax-water-rate-hike/ |
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — A new mural was unveiled in downtown Kingsport that designates the city as the birthplace of Long Island iced tea.
The artwork was painted on the backside of The Reserve cocktail bar, 201 E. Center St., by local artist Helen Shivell.
The mural features the claimed key ingredients in the original recipe: maple syrup, lemon, and lime.
Visit Kingsport says that, contrary to popular belief, Long Island iced tea originated on Kingsport’s Long Island, not New York’s. The group claims the drink was created in the 1920s by Charlie “Old Man” Bishop and later tweaked by his son Ransom, who added lemon, lime, and cola.
In 2018, Visit Kingsport launched a marketing campaign that involved a taste-testing battle between Kingsport and New York bartenders. Kingsport claimed victory but a New York bar owner called it a “rigged competition.”
Nevertheless, Visit Kingsport hasn’t backed down from its claim of the Model City being the true home of the original Long Island Iced Tea.
On Thursday evening, people gathered in the alleyway behind The Reserve for the unveiling of the mural.
“This is just a continuation of our promotion of being the home of the original Long Island tea,” said Lara Potter of Visit Kingsport. “It is an opportunity to talk about the tea, but more importantly, we’re talking about the history of Kingsport.”
Visit Kingsport has also created a Long Island Iced Tea Trail featuring special items that are being offered by local restaurants and businesses, from “Long Island pie” to “Long Island chicken sandwiches” to the adult beverage itself.
“We love for our local businesses to be supported,” Potter said. “We love for all Kingsport businesses to be supported because it’s a win-win for everybody. When they’re succeeding, we’re succeeding.”
Restaurants and businesses will be offering the Long Island Iced Tea Trail items during June.
More information about the Long Island Iced Tea Trail can be found on Visit Kingsport’s website. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/long-island-iced-tea-mural-unveiled-in-downtown-kingsport/ | 2023-06-09T04:37:53 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/long-island-iced-tea-mural-unveiled-in-downtown-kingsport/ |
The Ohio Department of Transportation has announced that, after “numerous traffic violations” in the work zone for state Route 72 in Greene County, it will implement new countermeasures and law enforcement will step up patrols in the area.
In a release, ODOT said that among the violations were heavy truck drivers trying to navigate local roads and people driving through the work zone in the wrong direction.
Route 72 is closed at the U.S. 35 interchange to all northbound heavy truck and thru-traffic motorists, and traffic is detoured using U.S. 35 and U.S. 42 in Xenia.
ODOT said that officers will cite drivers violating the posted detour or driving the wrong way through the work zone.
In addition, crews will put up additional signs to bring attention to the construction area and provide more advance notice.
Route 72 is open in the southbound direction, as well as a single 12-foot northbound lane by flaggers as needed during hours of operation.
Work on the project is expected to continue through the 2024 construction season, widening the shoulder in various sections replacing a box culvert, rehabilitating a culvert and a bridge, and resurfacing the entire 5.78-mile-long corridor, ODOT said. Construction is scheduled to be complete in August 2024.
About the Author | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/more-patrols-signs-after-numerous-traffic-violations-at-sr-72-work-site/Q524E6HPW5EN7J62FVM2QHUGLY/ | 2023-06-09T04:49:53 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/more-patrols-signs-after-numerous-traffic-violations-at-sr-72-work-site/Q524E6HPW5EN7J62FVM2QHUGLY/ |
SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. — Families in one Brevard County neighborhood are now cleaning up the mess left behind by a confirmed tornado that touched down Wednesday afternoon.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
The tornado damaged several homes in the South Patrick Shores area.
WFTV’s Drone 9 captured images of the community almost 24 hours later.
READ: Search and rescue task force spotlights importance of disaster preparation
The National Weather Service surveyed the area Thursday and determined an EF-1 tornado formed there, damaging at least 40 to 50 homes.
A damage survey confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down near South Patrick Shores June 7th. The tornado started near the Lighthouse Landing subdivision then moved ENE out over the Atlantic. It was on the ground for ~1 mile, had a max width of ~300 yards, & peak winds 90-100 mph. pic.twitter.com/9NFPyvE9W8
— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) June 8, 2023
“If you were sitting in a dishwasher on the spin cycle, everything was going cyclonic,” South Patrick Shores resident James Yancy said of the storm. “Some of my wife’s favorite trees died…they’re not dead yet, but they will be.”
However, Yancy says his home was spared any significant damage.
READ: Tropical Storm Arlene forms in the Gulf of Mexico
William Ulrich is a Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Melbourne. Channel 9 was there as they surveyed damage along Pelican Drive Thursday.
“Based off a couple of homes that we’ve seen here that lost more than 50-percent of their roof, we estimated those wind speeds to be approximately 90 to 100 miles-per-hour,” Ulrich said.
According to Brevard County officials, two homes had major roof damage; another 12 had minor roof damage. Dozens more had storm-related issues with porches, awnings, and downed trees.
READ: Orange County looking for input on how to make parks more inclusive
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Although most of the damage was to private property, county officials say they’re in the process of forming their own damage estimate that could determine whether residents will be eligible for federal assistance.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/brevard-county-residents-cleaning-up-after-confirmed-tornado/QH56D5DGKBFXJFJNYDLI7Z236Y/ | 2023-06-09T05:02:17 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/brevard-county-residents-cleaning-up-after-confirmed-tornado/QH56D5DGKBFXJFJNYDLI7Z236Y/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. — If you’re looking for something to do this weekend in Central Florida, we got you covered.
Check out our list of 9 things to do below.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
Into the Woods
The Broadway hit ends its only engagement in Florida this weekend at the Dr. Phillips Center. Click here for details and tickets.
Summerween
Get a jump start on your spooky season at Boxi Park Saturday and Sunday. There will be live music, face painters, costume parades and more. Click here for details.
READ: Registration for Dr. Phillips fall classes now open
The Broads’ Way
Drag queen superstars Ginger Minj and Gidget Galore will perform “The Broad’s Way,” taking you on a journey through some of Broadway’s greatest musicals. Doors open at 7 p.m. at The Abey on S. Eola Drive in Orlando. Click here for tickets and details.
Cruel Intentions
Osceola Arts kicks off its limited run of “Cruel Intentions,” a musical based on the steamy 1999 film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Shows are this weekend and next weekend only. Click here for tickets.
Brooks and Dunn
Brooks and Dunn will hit the Amway Center Stage Saturday at 7 p.m. with special guests Scotty McCreery and Megan Moroney. Click here for tickets.
READ: Volusia County schools offering free Summer meals for kids
Drag Story Time
Momma Ashley Rose will be leading a story time at the Mexican Consulate in Orlando along with Special Guest Zara Nouveau Saturday at noon at Consulmex Orlando. Registration is required. Click here for details.
Carlos Mencia
Comedian Carlos Mencia will be at Orlando Improv Friday and Saturday. Click here for tickets and details
Registration for Dr. Phillips fall classes now open
READ: White Castle wants your Sliders recipe for a new contest
Momma and Friends Pride
2 p.m. on Sunday, June 11, at Art/ifact Studio in Lakeland. Hosted by Momma Ashley Rose with special guests Miss Rose Dynasty 2023 Juno Vibranz, Mistah Aphrodite, Jessa Belle Light, Keirra Ka’oir Summers. Proceeds go to the Rose Dynasty Foundation to help with security for their events. Tickets are on sale now here.
Forbidden Kingdom Music Festival
Bass and dubstep artists will rock out the Orlando Amphitheater Friday and Saturday. Click here for tickets and details.
READ: Orlando Salsa Festival returns to Amway Center this fall
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/here-are-9-things-do-this-weekend-central-florida/3ZJLUCENNJAAJG2JARM5ODK6QI/ | 2023-06-09T05:02:22 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/here-are-9-things-do-this-weekend-central-florida/3ZJLUCENNJAAJG2JARM5ODK6QI/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.
The $50 million-plus revamp of Winter Park Village continues to bear fruit, with Ohio-based owner Casto Southeast announcing three new high-profile tenants for the 32-acre, mixed-use lifestyle center this week.
SEE: Tornado damages homes in Brevard County
Women’s lifestyle and apparel brand Free People, jewelry designer Kendra Scott and medical skincare brand SkinCeuticals will open locations at Winter Park Village this summer.
With the newly announced tenants, Colliers Senior Vice President Alexie Fonseca, who is leading the retail team that is the exclusive leasing partner for the property, told Orlando Business Journal there are just two available spaces left and both of those are in negotiations — meaning the lifestyle center is closing in on full occupancy.
Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/heres-whats-coming-next-revamped-winter-park-village/XIPMYXT3JRGVZGGDIYEKMI2SUY/ | 2023-06-09T05:02:28 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/heres-whats-coming-next-revamped-winter-park-village/XIPMYXT3JRGVZGGDIYEKMI2SUY/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.
An Orlando Business Journal poll reveals a few destinations where Floridians wish Brightline would expand.
SEE: Tornado damages homes in Brevard County
Currently, the Miami-based intercity rail service is wrapping up construction on its 170-mile Orlando expansion, which it is targeting service for this summer.
The only other east coast expansion currently being considered is the Sunshine Corridor, which would allow Brightline to connect with Tampa and potentially have stops at the Orange County Convention Center and near Walt Disney World Resort.
Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/heres-where-some-floridians-wish-brightline-would-expand-next/ATLUNQYF2NAR5KOEUSV2A6RSSI/ | 2023-06-09T05:02:35 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/heres-where-some-floridians-wish-brightline-would-expand-next/ATLUNQYF2NAR5KOEUSV2A6RSSI/ |
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — This week, Kissimmee moved forward with its $12 million plan to convert a motel into affordable housing.
On Tuesday, city commissioners voted to approve a purchase agreement for the Super 8 Motel along West Vine Street.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
“It was a unique opportunity to provide access to resources in one location. And the goal is to provide services, support services, case management, as well as emergency bridge housing, and affordable housing all on one site,” Kissimmee Deputy City Manager Desiree Matthews said.
The plan is to renovate a good portion of the motel.
Read: Man arrested, accused of firing shot into Kissimmee bar injuring 1
People currently living in the motel were worried they could be kicked back out on the streets.
“I almost feel like now, since I have a roof over my head, and I hear what the city is now trying to do. It makes me wonder, hey, if I’m going to be back out there again,” resident Joseph Key said.
Read: Deputies: Missing 4-year-old girl found dead in Kissimmee pond
But city officials said the people living in the motel now will not have to leave as long as they can qualify for affordable housing. If they don’t, the city said they will have resources to help them with ways to qualify or get relocated.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/kissimmee-approves-12m-plan-convert-motel-into-affordable-housing/WIX2RRIPIREPLG77PPBZAAUD4I/ | 2023-06-09T05:02:41 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/kissimmee-approves-12m-plan-convert-motel-into-affordable-housing/WIX2RRIPIREPLG77PPBZAAUD4I/ |
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Even as inflation is cooling, the rental crisis is hitting communities from coast to coast.
The problem is only made worse by the growing demand and limited supply of affordable housing.
“There’s not a single state or Congressional district in the country with enough deeply affordable homes to meet demand,” said Kim Johnson, Policy Manager at the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
According to NLIHC, the U.S. has a shortage of 7.3 million affordable rental homes that extremely low-income people can access and afford.
On Wednesday, a group of House Democrats announced the creation of the first-ever Congressional Renters Caucus aimed at addressing these needs.
“The average American renter is considered rent-burdened, meaning they pay over 30 percent of their income to rent,” said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Renters Caucus. “Legislatively, we’re exploring various measures to provide assistance for rent-burdened individuals, increase affordable housing options nationwide and combat discrimination against renters.”
Read: Namesake of Marion County’s animal abuser registry law memorialized with statue
Members say the purpose is to look at how the federal government can pass policies that help struggling renters.
“How can we use the resources that we have here to make sure we are not leaving holes through which families, renters, drop through to the bottom,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-C), a member of the Caucus.
Lawmakers from both parties agree there is a housing and rental crisis.
Read: Orange County looking for input on how to make parks more inclusive
Democrats are calling for stronger renter protections and rental assistance efforts.
Republicans have been pushing for tax incentives and fewer government regulations to help create more housing supply.
“Zoning laws and regulatory barriers are often uncoordinated, unnecessary or overly cumbersome and can ultimately work against the goal of providing affordable housing by creating excessive development costs,” said Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) during a Senate hearing in March.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/lawmakers-form-congressional-renters-caucus-tackle-rental-crisis/GYXD65MEFJBGHIDBMQF5EOW42I/ | 2023-06-09T05:02:42 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/lawmakers-form-congressional-renters-caucus-tackle-rental-crisis/GYXD65MEFJBGHIDBMQF5EOW42I/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.
Leu Gardens may get a Foxtail Coffee shop that would share space with a Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream cafe and gift shop.
SEE: Tornado damages homes in Brevard County
Orlando City Council is set to vote on a lease agreement with Foxtail for a 550-square-foot cafe and gift shop with a 280-square-foot storage area in the roughly 50-acre, city-owned botanical garden, according to city documents.
The co-branded cafe would go inside the former gift shop space of the Welcome Center of Leu Gardens and Foxtail would have access to a shared kitchen at the site.
Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/leu-gardens-get-foxtail-coffee-kellys-homemade-ice-cream/YW5PYU3EZVC4PIHLW226SXT4SA/ | 2023-06-09T05:02:48 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/leu-gardens-get-foxtail-coffee-kellys-homemade-ice-cream/YW5PYU3EZVC4PIHLW226SXT4SA/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.
A new project is lining up for a vacant nearly 1-acre site along one of Winter Park’s main thoroughfares.
SEE: Tornado damages homes in Brevard County
The city of Winter Park planning and zoning board on June 6 approved a zoning request by the city that would allow for the development of commercial uses along Kentucky Avenue. Plans show a 9,450-square-foot, warehouse-style building slated for 1934-1970 Kentucky Ave., per city documents.
The new building would rise just south of a stretch of West Fairbanks Avenue that includes Lombardi’s Seafood and several other commercial and retail users. The single-story building would include 22 surface parking spaces.
Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/new-winter-park-building-works/NMI6TT3KTBC3FINKNRVOEFBM2U/ | 2023-06-09T05:02:54 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/new-winter-park-building-works/NMI6TT3KTBC3FINKNRVOEFBM2U/ |
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — For the first time in three years, Osceola County opened its Section 8 housing program. But even county officials admit that demand is high and it won’t be enough.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
People were already standing in line at Osceola County’s housing office in Kissimmee two hours before it opened, trying to get in line.
Around 1,800 people already have Section 8 in Osceola County. On Thursday alone, hundreds of people showed up at the office to apply, all saying rising housing costs is bringing them there even though they know the odds of landing a voucher aren’t that great.
“I’m along and I receive $900. What do you do with $900,” said Antonia Marcana Rivera, who is seeking housing assistance
READ: Brevard County residents cleaning up after confirmed tornado
The county said out of what will likely be thousands of applications, 300 will be randomly picked by lottery and put on a waiting list. It could be months or years before people are pulled off that list and put into Section 8 housing.
The county is prioritizing the elderly and disabled adults after 11,000 people applied last time around.
Lendell Crespo, who has autism, said he held down a job for nine years, but the program might be his only chance to afford living independently. The vouchers subsidize rent, meaning only 30% of his income would go toward a place to live.
READ: Kissimmee approves $12M plan to convert motel into affordable housing
“I’ve been living with my mom for a long time, and it’s great that she’s had a roof over my head,” he said. “But I got to realize that she’s not going to always be around.”
County officials said they still want to help people who don’t make it onto that waitlist. Officials said there are other programs and resources for those in need, including one-time rental assistance.
The Section 8 application closes again Saturday at 11:59 p.m.
READ: Search and rescue task force spotlights importance of disaster preparation
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/osceola-county-reopens-section-8-program-bringing-out-hundreds-applicants-need/EH6OJGSCMFCJRBZD7HTISFTIB4/ | 2023-06-09T05:03:01 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/osceola-county-reopens-section-8-program-bringing-out-hundreds-applicants-need/EH6OJGSCMFCJRBZD7HTISFTIB4/ |
MARION COUNTY, Fla. — The Ocala community is honoring the life of a local mother who was shot and killed in front of one of her children as the woman who pulled the trigger sits in jail.
Reports released Thursday document tension building between the two women over the past year.
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Newly released 911 calls also offer a clearer picture of the events from the day when Susan Lorincz called 911 claiming she felt threatened because kids were trespassing on her property. By the time police got to her home, they said Ajike Owens had already been shot.
In a 911 call, a frantic Lorincz tells dispatchers Owens was screaming at her from outside her door.
Read: Woman who deputies say shot and killed neighbor in Marion County taken into custody
“I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I just grabbed my gun and shot at the door! I thought she was gonna kill me.”
According to court records, Lorincz bought a gun after a different fight with Owens a year ago. The records also show Lorincz looked up Stand Your Ground laws around the time of the shooting and the day she was arrested.
‘Not justifiable’: Deputies arrest woman accused of shooting neighbor through door in Marion County
Deputies said she also admitted to calling the neighborhood kids the N-word.
Deputies said Lorincz shot Owens through her front door after Lorincz yelled at Owens’ kids, swung at them with an umbrella and threw objects at them for playing in a yard next to her home.
On Thursday, Lorincz faced a judge for the first time. She’s being held on a manslaughter charge.
Read: Why isn’t accused Marion County shooter Susan Lorincz facing murder charges?
Lorincz did not have a bond set on Thursday. A judge will decide the amount in a future hearing.
Meanwhile, Marion County is preparing to honor Owens’ life at a church Thursday a day after more intimate ceremonies were held by the football team her kids played with.
Channel 9 will have updates from the vigil on Eyewitness News Tonight.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — A key Senate committee temporarily paused on taking up a bill that would require social media companies to report illegal fentanyl activity on their platforms to law enforcement.
The Senate Judiciary Committee was originally scheduled to take up the Cooper Davis Act on Thursday, but the Chair said it is being held over due to ongoing negotiations about the bill.
“I want to state for the record these are active negotiations,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I know this has been held over several times, but it is for a good purpose. We’re trying to build a consensus or close to it to support this important legislation.”
The bill is named after a 16-year-old from Kansas who died from a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl that a friend bought through Snapchat.
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“This is a crisis and sadly our children do not know what they’re up against,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), the Republican sponsor of the Senate bill. “If our nation is going to win this fight, we need Big Tech companies to crack down on drug dealers pushing this poison on their platforms to vulnerable teenagers like Cooper Davis and thousands of others.”
“Tragically, we’ve seen the role that social media plays in that by making it easier for young people to get their hands on these dangerous drugs – we have to put a stop to it now,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Democrat sponsor of the Senate bill.
Supporters of the bill say it’s needed to help stop the illegal sale of fentanyl online.
“It’s been at least 29 states where we’ve been able to track a social media drug dealer who sold a pill, a fake pill, that’s killed their customer,” said Shabbir Imber Safdar, Executive Director for the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM). “It’s a really big problem and there’s a lot more we and the platforms can be doing about it.”
Read: Namesake of Marion County’s animal abuser registry law memorialized with statue
The group strongly supports the Cooper-Davis Act.
“All this does is say when a social media platform discovers drug dealing, instead of silently terminating the user, they let the DEA know because when they silently terminate the user and they make a new account, they can possibly and will likely end up killing somebody else,” said Safdar.
But the measure is facing pushback from critics who argue it could lead to unchecked surveillance of everyday people, with social media companies handing over their online activity to law enforcement.
“The issue here is the lack of protections provided around that transfer of information,’ said Cody Venzke, Senior Policy Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “There’s no notice provided to the user. Data has to be preserved indefinitely.”
Read: Officer saves woman who mouthed ‘help me’ during traffic stop
The ACLU argues while Congress should take steps to address the fentanyl crisis, legislation about it should be within its constitutional authority.
“This bill would deputize social media platforms, email providers, and platforms of all stripes to be informants for government agencies,” said Venzke. “There is the concern that they would absolutely be incentivized to over-report.”
Venzke also said while the bill applies to fentanyl, methamphetamine, and counterfeit substances, it could also be amended to include more if it were to pass into law.
It’s unclear when the Senate Judiciary Committee may take up the bill again.
Read: Orange County looking for input on how to make parks more inclusive
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MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Dozens in the Ocala community honored the life of Ajike “AJ” Owens, the woman allegedly shot dead by her neighbor.
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During a vigil Thursday night, many shared how they’ll always remember Owens, but also what they want to see next.
Her four children were in attendance as hundreds shared stories about what kind of mother Owens was, while family and friends also shared how tough this tragedy has been for her children.
READ: Records: Woman bought gun after previous altercation with neighbor she’s accused of killing
See photos of the vigil in the gallery below:
PHOTOS: Vigil held to honor slain Marion County mother shot by neighbor
Deputies said Susan Lorincz shot Owens through her front door after Lorincz yelled at Owens’ children, swung at them with an umbrella and threw objects at them for playing in a yard next to her home.
There is also a cry for more charges for Lorincz, who is claiming Stand Your Ground and facing a manslaughter charge.
Read: Woman who deputies say shot and killed neighbor in Marion County taken into custody
“We don’t believe the current charges are enough,” Owens’ friend Takema Robinson said. “We are asking folks to continue to apply pressure.”
Family and friends have set up a website, JusticeforAJOwens.org in an effort to bring forth more charges.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/vigil-held-honor-slain-marion-county-mother-shot-by-neighbor/FZZXUNCGJRGCNFLZWBYPLTRWAU/ | 2023-06-09T05:03:14 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/vigil-held-honor-slain-marion-county-mother-shot-by-neighbor/FZZXUNCGJRGCNFLZWBYPLTRWAU/ |
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Starting Monday, Volusia County Schools will provide free meals to local kids 18 years of age or younger to help cover the gap in food service during the summer.
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School Way Cafe, a department of Volusia County Schools, will provide breakfast and lunch at certain school sites on Mondays through Thursdays until July 27, with some sites running through August 3.
As the 2022-2023 School Year winds down, here are some important dates to remember: Last day of school for students is Friday, June 2. The last day of school is also an early release day! Last day for teachers is Tuesday, June 6. pic.twitter.com/F3HHZVh1R7
— Volusia County Schools (@volusiaschools) May 30, 2023
READ: At least 21 teenagers hospitalized after part of elevated walkway collapses near a Texas beach
Kids who are participating in summer programs will receive breakfast and lunch at the schools they’re attending.
For security purposes, the parents or guardians of children who won’t be on campus during the summer will have to place an order for meals 24-hours in advance by contacting the front office of the participating school. The children must check in at the office during the designated meal time and eat the meal on site.
READ: Kissimmee approves $12M plan to convert motel into affordable housing
Summer meals are available thanks to a program offered through the United States Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
For more information, click here.
See a complete list of the participating schools and their dates of operation below:
Daytona Beach
• Campbell Middle School, 625 S. Keech St., Daytona Beach, FL 32114 (June 12 - July 20)
• Champion Elementary, 921 Tournament Dr., Daytona Beach, FL 32114 (June 12-Aug. 3)
• David C. Hinson Sr. Middle, 1860 N. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32117 (June 12 - July 27)
• Mainland High, 1255 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32114 (June 12 - July 27)
• Palm Terrace Elementary, 1825 Dunn Ave., Daytona Beach, FL 32114 (June 12 - June 29)
• R.J. Longstreet Elementary, 2745 S. Peninsula Dr., Daytona Beach, FL 32118 (June 12 - July 27)
• Seabreeze High School, 2700 N. Oleander Ave., Daytona Beach, FL 32118 (July 5 - July 27)
• Turie T. Small Elementary, 800 South Street, Daytona Beach, FL 32114 (June 12 - July 27)
• Westside Elementary, 1210 Jimmy Ann Dr. Daytona Beach, FL, 32117 (June 12 - July 27)
Debary
• Debary Elementary, 88 W. Highbanks Rd., Debary, FL 32713 (June 12 - Aug. 3)
DeLand
• DeLand High, 800 North Hill Ave., DeLand, FL 32724 (June 12 - July 27)
• Edith I. Starke Elementary, 730 S. Parsons Ave., DeLand, FL 32720 (July 5 - July 27)
• Freedom Elementary, 1395 S. Blue Lake Ave., DeLand, FL 32724 (June 12 - Aug. 3)
• George Marks Elementary, 1000 N. Garfield Ave., DeLand, FL 32724 (June 12 - July 27)
• Volusia Pines Elementary, 500 E. Kicklighter Rd., Lake Helen, FL 32744 (June 12 - June 29)
Deltona
• Deltona High, 100 Wolf Pack Run, Deltona, FL 32725 (June 12 - July 27)
• Deltona Lakes Elementary, 2135 Providence Blvd., Deltona, FL 32725 (June 12 - July 27)
• Deltona Middle, 250 Enterprise Rd., Deltona, FL 32725 (June 12 - July 27)
• Discovery Elementary, 975 Abagail Dr., Deltona, FL 32725 (July 5 - July 27)
• Friendship Elementary, 2746 Fulford St., Deltona, FL 32738 (June 12 - Aug. 3)
• Pine Ridge High, 926 Howland Blvd., Deltona, FL 32738 (July 5 - July 27)
• Pride Elementary, 1100 Learning Ln., Deltona, FL 32738 (June 12 - July 27)
• Spirit Elementary, 1500 Meadowlark Dr., Deltona, FL 32725 (June 12 - July 27)
• Sunrise Elementary, 3155 Phonetia Dr., Deltona, FL 32738 (July 5 - July 27)
Edgewater
• Edgewater Public Elementary, 801 S. Old County Rd., Edgewater, FL 32132 (June 12 - July 27)
• Indian River Elementary, 650 Roberts Rd., Edgewater, FL 32141 (June 12 – Aug. 3)
Holly Hill
• Holly Hill School, 1500 Center Ave., Holly Hill, FL 32117 (June 12 - July 27)
New Smyrna Beach
• Chisholm Elementary, 557 Ronnoc Ln., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168 (June 12 - June 15)
• Coronado Elementary, 3550 Michigan Ave., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169 (June 12 - July 27)
• New Smyrna Beach High, 1015 10th St., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168 (July 5 - July 27)
Orange City
• Orange City Elementary, 555 E. University Ave., Orange City, FL 32763 (June 12 - July 27)
• University High, 1000 W. Rhode Island Ave., Orange City, FL 32763 (July 5 - July 27)
Ormond Beach
• Pathways Elementary, 2100 Airport Rd., Ormond Beach, FL 32174 (June 12 - July 27)
Osteen
• Osteen Elementary, 500 Doyle Rd., Osteen, FL 32764 (June 12 - July 27)
Pierson
• Pierson Elementary, 657 N. Center St., Pierson, FL 32180 (July 5 - July 27)
• T. Dewitt Taylor Middle/High, 100 E. Washington Ave., Pierson, FL 32180 (June 12 - July 27)
Port Orange
• Atlantic High, 1250 Reed Canal Rd., Port Orange, FL 32129 (June 12 - July 27)
• Cypress Creek Elementary, 6100 S. Williamson Blvd., Port Orange, FL 32128 (June 12 - July 27)
• Silver Sands Middle, 1300 Herbert St., Port Orange, FL 32129 (June 12 - Aug. 3)
• Spruce Creek Elementary, 642 Taylor Rd., Port Orange, FL 32127 (June 12 - July 27)
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/volusia-county-schools-offering-free-summer-meals-kids/7QEZEDYIEJGSPEDGNYBM3HFJ3A/ | 2023-06-09T05:03:21 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/volusia-county-schools-offering-free-summer-meals-kids/7QEZEDYIEJGSPEDGNYBM3HFJ3A/ |
PHOENIX — Firefighters are working to contain a massive pallet fire in west Phoenix.
The Phoenix Fire Department said more than 100 firefighters from four agencies are battling the third alarm blaze at a business near 35th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.
Firefighters tell 12News that hazmat crews were called to the scene because of possible explosions coming from the business. Crews are using a defensive strategy called a "Big Water" operation to attack the flames from an elevated position.
There are no injuries reported at this time.
Fire crews are working to determine what caused the blaze.
This is a developing story. Stay with 12News for updates.
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Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/firefighters-battling-massive-fire-in-west-phoenix-35th-avenue-and-buckeye-road/75-bc7bff63-44d7-4804-85b0-1f5e9b9f4931 | 2023-06-09T05:06:24 | 0 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/firefighters-battling-massive-fire-in-west-phoenix-35th-avenue-and-buckeye-road/75-bc7bff63-44d7-4804-85b0-1f5e9b9f4931 |
James McMurtry has been making albums for more than 30 years. But he only makes those records so he can stay on the road.
The Texas singer-songwriter has had to get in the van and head out across the country to make money with his music.
“It’s been that way for us for a long time,” McMurtry said. "I never made money off records. I had to tour cheap back before Napster. It’s really been from the get-go. The Columbia records never did recoup. We had to learn to tour cheap right off the bat.”
The three records McMurtry cut for Columbia Records, beginning with 1989’s “Too Long in the Wasteland,” didn’t make much money for him or the label. But they established McMurtry as one of the best songwriters of his generation and set him up for a life in vans, which has become a little more wearying as he enters his 60s.
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“It’s a little tougher, but the vans ride smoother than they used to,” he said. “I don’t like buses. I’ve only been on a few of them. I’d rather be in a van and have everybody get their own hotel room every night.”
Perhaps inevitably, the road contributes to songs that McMurtry writes, like “Canola Fields,” the lead track from 2021’s “The Horses and the Hounds,” his most recent album.
“That came through the windshield,” he said. “We spent a lot of time back and forth in western Canada. They got this crop that has these beautiful chartreuse blossoms that go out all the way to the horizon. We didn’t know what it was. Then, one time, there was a sign ‘Canola Processing.' And in October or November, we saw it raked up into rows and a bunch of machines scooping it up. So we figured out it was a row crop.”
The songs, however, aren’t written on the road.
“I’ll get a phrase and turn it over in my head, but I'm not really writing a song,” he said. "I write when our tour draw starts falling off and I start working on an album. We’re still doing pretty good off this last one, so it may be a while.”
That means songs from “The Horses and the Hounds” will figure prominently in the set that McMurtry and his band will play at The Royal Grove on Thursday.
“We play pretty much the same set through a tour, maybe a couple tours,” McMurtry said. "When it gets boring for us up there, we change it. It’s just about set flow, what song naturally follows another.
“… This new record is connecting with people a little more than a lot of them. The nature of what makes a song popular is the listener. If the listener can connect with the character in the song and see themselves in it, they want to listen to it again and again."
Of late, after we did this interview last month, McMurtry has been encoring wearing a dress in protest of anti-drag laws enacted in Florida and Tennessee and introduced in at least 13 other states. That includes Nebraska, where Sen. Megan Hunt was able to get the measure indefinitely postponed.
The audience reaction, by all reports, has been enthusiastic. And the shows have been generating positive reviews from writers and fans, even if the band doesn’t enjoy the show.
“You can be having a horrible time up there and people think that it’s great,” he said. "You have to try to connect with the audience and the energy they have, which is easier in a band situation, where they’re moving sometimes. Solo shows — they’re all looking at you.”
When McMurtry’s not on tour, he has a twice-weekly residency at the venerable Continental Club in Austin, Texas, with his band on Tuesdays and solo on Wednesdays.
“It keeps the chops up. But the main thing is it builds the audience. Austin has become such a tourist town. A lot of people come in and just go to the Continental Club. They don’t care who is playing. A lot of them have never heard of James McMurtry before. That’s what you want.
“You have to keep your audience growing. Some of them are getting old and won’t be around or won’t come out.”
McMurtry, who first played Lincoln in the early ’90s, will be back in town Thursday at yet another new venue for him, one of hundreds of places he’s played over the years. Asked if there’s anywhere he hasn’t played that he still wants to visit, he said:
“I’ve played every place in the agency books and some that aren’t. I'd like to play in Hawaii so I can say I’ve played all 50 states. I’ve played Alaska. But I’ve never been to Hawaii.”
He sure won’t be taking a van to the islands. But he’ll probably find one there to keep making a living from his music. | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/music/life-on-the-road-texas-singer-songwriter-james-mcmurtry-gets-in-the-van-to-make/article_df222dee-0498-11ee-a214-0bab0298f7f2.html | 2023-06-09T05:07:10 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/music/life-on-the-road-texas-singer-songwriter-james-mcmurtry-gets-in-the-van-to-make/article_df222dee-0498-11ee-a214-0bab0298f7f2.html |
L. Kent Wolgamott caught up with musician Margo Price at The World of Bob Dylan conference in Tulsa last week.
L. KENT WOLGAMOTT, Journal Star
The jacket Bob Dylan wore when he went electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is one of the many artifacts on display at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla.
L. KENT WOLGAMOTT, Journal Star
Rodney Crowell performs at Cain's Ballroom last week in Tulsa, Okla.
L. Kent Wolgamott, the recipient of the 2018 Mayor’s Arts Award, has written about arts and entertainment for Lincoln newspapers since 1985, reviewing thousands of movies and concerts and hundreds of art exhibitions.
TULSA, Okla. — I spent four evenings last week at Cain’s Ballroom, the venerated “Home of Bob Wills” that hosted a "who's who" of country music and Western swing in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s and was the site of one of the most notorious performances by the Sex Pistols on the 1978 tour that ended with the punk band’s implosion in San Francisco.
During those days, I stood next to the leather jacket Bob Dylan wore when he went electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival while watching the video of his performance and read the words of “This Land Is Your Land” in Woody Guthrie’s handwriting.
On the way back from Cain’s to the hotel, I stood on a sidewalk talking about Allen Ginsberg, his mother Naomi and their mental health issues and treatment with Dr. Stevan Weine, who has just released the groundbreaking “Best Minds: How Allen Ginsberg Made Revolutionary Poetry From Madness.”
One afternoon, I got to touch the Neve 808 console that Daniel Lanois used to record Dylan’s “Time Out of Mind” and a pair of U2 albums and hear Leon Russell songs from the spectacular speakers in the studio that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer/songwriter/pianist/producer built in his hometown.
I caught the official unveiling of “Switchyard,” a magazine edited by Lincoln East and Nebraska Wesleyan grad Ted Genoways. And one afternoon, I had fried pork chops, fried okra, mac and cheese and cornbread at Wanda J's Next Generation Restaurant, a soul food eatery on Greenwood Ave., the heart of Black Wall Street, which was destroyed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
All that came around Switchyard, a new festival from the University of Tulsa that folds into its annual The World of Bob Dylan conference, which features panels and presentations about Dylan’s life, work, legacy, literary examination — this year’s main topic was banned and challenged books — and nighttime music at Cain’s and in the conference hotel.
The Cain’s major shows — by Rodney Crowell, Oklahoma’s own John Fullbright and the combination of Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, and Robbie Fulks — were superb, with Fulks at his hilarious finest closing out the Switchyard music.
The Dylan jacket was just one of the highlights of the Bob Dylan Center, the home of Dylan’s archives that opened to the public last year with its captivating presentation of Dylan artifacts. They include the giant tambourine that inspired “Mr. Tambourine Man,” and audio and video presentations that included a clip of the 1976 “Hard Rain” Rolling Thunder Revue concert in Fort Collins, Colorado — my first Dylan show.
I’ll have a lot more on the Dylan Center soon. And I’ll also talk more about the Woody Guthrie Center, where the “This Land Is Your Land” lyrics reside, that's on the same block as the Dylan Center.
One Guthrie point, however, needs to be made now: If you’re looking for the “This Machine Kills Fascists” guitar(s), they no longer exist — either lost, given away or broken during Guthrie’s lifetime.
The Neve console is in The Church Studio, the studio that Russell built in an old church that has been refurbished and updated. The studio, which also houses some Russell artifacts — like his signature top hats — is open for public tours, while it also functions as a top-end studio, where, recently, the Dropkick Murphys recorded “Okemah Rising,” their second album.
As for the Dylan conference, music journalist and culture critic Greil Marcus delivered a fascinating keynote address linking Dylan with film noir — it’ll be on his Substack soon — and Margo Price, who talked about her love for and ties to Dylan in a public interview, played a few songs. And I got the chance to chat with her about being farm kids — “It never goes away, no matter how far away you try to get,” she said. “We’re farm kids forever.”
By Saturday, my last day at the conference, I’d got the sense that Switchyard felt much like the early days of South By Southwest. Back then, that conference fit into a single hotel, there weren’t a bunch of daylong parties so attendees went to the panels, there were less than a dozen venues for shows and plenty of opportunities to explore Austin.
That, I found out, was exactly the aim of Switchyard, which will move to early May in 2024 to avoid conflict with Tulsa Race Massacre commemorative events and expand via the inclusion of an already-running free music festival.
Back in 1941, Wills, singer Tommy Duncan and the rest of the Texas Playboys recorded the western-swing classic “Take Me Back to Tulsa.” Switchyard may very well take me back to Tulsa next year.
Best Bob Dylan albums of all time
Best Bob Dylan albums of all time
#25. Good As I Been To You (1992)
#24. Shot Of Love (1981)
#23. Together Through Life (2009)
#22. Infidels (1983)
#21. Slow Train Coming (1979)
#20. New Morning (1970)
#19. Tempest (2012)
#18. Planet Waves (1974)
#17. Rough And Rowdy Ways (2020)
#16. Street Legal (1978)
#15. Bob Dylan (1962)
#14. Modern Times (2006)
#13. Oh Mercy (1989)
#12. Love And Theft (2001)
#11. Another Side Of Bob Dylan (1964)
#10. Nashville Skyline (1969)
#9. John Wesley Harding (1967)
#8. Time Out Of Mind (1997)
#7. The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964)
#6. Desire (1976)
#5. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
#4. Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
#3. Blood On The Tracks (1975)
#2. Blonde On Blonde (1966)
#1. Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
Reach the writer at 402-473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com. On Twitter @KentWolgamott
L. Kent Wolgamott, the recipient of the 2018 Mayor’s Arts Award, has written about arts and entertainment for Lincoln newspapers since 1985, reviewing thousands of movies and concerts and hundreds of art exhibitions.
The jacket Bob Dylan wore when he went electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is one of the many artifacts on display at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla. | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/on-the-beat-dylan-cains-switchyard-and-soul-food-in-tulsa/article_f4120368-0561-11ee-84bd-3f3ed1053bc0.html | 2023-06-09T05:07:16 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/on-the-beat-dylan-cains-switchyard-and-soul-food-in-tulsa/article_f4120368-0561-11ee-84bd-3f3ed1053bc0.html |
Rudi is a little boy who has seen something in the forest so terrifying he won’t speak. Matthias, his father, has left his job in a German sheep slaughterhouse after he headbutted a manager who called him a lazy Gypsy, returning to the small Transylvanian town where Csilla, his ex-lover, is a cello-playing, bread-factory manager who befriends foreign workers who are reviled by most townspeople.
Their intertwined stories are powerfully, if bleakly, told by writer-director Cristian Mungiu in “R.M.N.,” a film so specific to its place and people that it resonates across borders around the world.
That resonance is at its height during a long segment in the film's final act in which the townspeople gather in a cultural center for a meeting about the foreign workers and spew angry, racist allegations about the Sri Lankans who have come to work at the factory, taking minimum-wage jobs that the locals refused.
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But its sense of cultural and personal displacement is present from the opening sequence in which Matthias (Marin Grigore) slips back into Romania after the headbutting incident and finds himself sleeping on the couch, away from his estranged wife Ana (Monica Birladeanu), who he threatens and accuses of coddling his silent son.
At the same time, Csilla (Judith Slate), who is working with the factory owner to obtain European Union funding to expand their business, hires three Sri Lankan workers while rehearsing the local children and string players for a Christmas program in the Catholic church that’s at the heart of the town.
Taking place around the holidays, the film finds clashes at Christmas dinners, costumed stage fights at New Year’s, suicide and conflict between Matthias and the two women as he attempts to train his son not to be a “sissy” but rather become a tough guy like his dad.
A leader in the Hungarian New Wave, Mungiu is an unsparing filmmaker, creating bleak films that are, at the core, moral examinations: His 2007 masterpiece “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” follows a woman and her male friend as they try to arrange an illegal abortion; 2013’s “Beyond The Hills” is an indictment of the surety of religious faith set in a village; and 2017’s “Graduation” looks at a Budapest doctor/father trying to “save” his daughter, who may or may not want the freedom he desires.
In “R.M.N.,” Mungiu turns his raw, unblinking vision to the clash of ethnicities within the racist nationalism with the film’s polyglot of languages — Romanian, Hungarian, German, English, French and Sinhalese — hammering home that point.
The examination of personal morality is just as convoluted. Matthias is brutal but wounded, seemingly caring but unable to act or express it. Csilla is the film’s angel, a sophisticate who watches movies on Christmas, cares for the workers but has her issues with commitment; while, to choose another of many examples, the local priest tries to be simultaneously humane and exclusionary.
As would be expected, there’s no “happily ever after” in “R.M.N.” Rather, its bleak ambiguity becomes gripping as the townspeople’s assault on the foreign workers escalates and things fall apart, for the individuals and community, to quietly devastating effect. | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/review-powerful-r-m-n-looks-at-ethnic-racial-and-personal-clashes-in-romanian-village/article_610c7b0e-048d-11ee-80c5-5f6c2c38318e.html | 2023-06-09T05:07:22 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/review-powerful-r-m-n-looks-at-ethnic-racial-and-personal-clashes-in-romanian-village/article_610c7b0e-048d-11ee-80c5-5f6c2c38318e.html |
TIGARD, Ore. — Officials with the city of Tigard canceled a Pride Month event scheduled for the Tigard Public Library on Sunday and shut the building down for the day due to threats of violence.
The library was scheduled to host a "Drag Queen Storytime" event on Sunday, June 11. The library and the Tigard Police Department made almost identical statements about the decision to cancel:
"Drag Queen Storytime at Tigard Public Library on Sunday, June 11, 2023 is cancelled, due to repeated threats of violence and information indicating the safety of our community may be jeopardized. Out of an abundance of caution, the library will also be closed to the public for the day."
The library went on to say this:
"We value the safety of the kids, families, and all patrons who rely on the Tigard Public Library to be an inclusive and welcoming place. Our vision as a city is to be an equitable place where all can participate and prosper, and the City of Tigard will continue to work towards that goal."
KGW reached out to the library for more information. They confirmed that the event had been sponsored by the city as one of many Pride Month activities. They declined to make any further statements for the time being.
Last month, Atkinson Elementary School in Southeast Portland canceled a planned after-school LGBTQ+ Pride event for similar reasons.
"Unfortunately, what was intended to be a celebration has become a point of controversy," Atkinson interim principal Beth Essex wrote in an email sent out to families. "Inaccurate rumors about this event have been shared on social media, leading to sensationalized media inquiries and shameful, hate-infused vitriol aimed at some of the most vulnerable members of our community."
This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they emerge. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/tigard-library-pride-drag-queen-threats-canceled/283-649d1f91-727a-4a3a-bef6-8d331882972f | 2023-06-09T05:10:21 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/tigard-library-pride-drag-queen-threats-canceled/283-649d1f91-727a-4a3a-bef6-8d331882972f |
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A California jury has returned a $63 million verdict against Chevron after finding the oil giant covered up a toxic chemical pit on land purchased by a man who built a house on it and was later diagnosed with a blood cancer.
Kevin Wright, who has multiple myeloma, unknowingly built his home directly over the chemical pit near Santa Barbara in 1985, according to his lawsuit.
Starting in 1974, Chevron subsidiary Union Oil Company of California had operated a sump pit for oil and gas production, a process that left the carcinogenic chemical benzene on the property, court papers said.
Wright bought the land and built the house in 1985. Nearly three decades later, he was diagnosed with the cancer that attacks plasma cells in the blood and can be caused by benzene exposure, court documents said.
The jurors in Santa Barbara on Wednesday returned the $63 million verdict, said Jakob Norman, an attorney for Wright. Norman called the case a "blatant example of environmental pollution and corporate malfeasance."
Chevron said Union Oil Company would appeal the judgment.
"We strongly disagree with the jury's decisions to award compensatory and punitive damages," Chevron said in a statement Thursday.
Wright's cancer is in remission, his attorneys said, but he regularly undergoes chemotherapy treatments to hold the illness at bay.
"They cut corners, and my life was turned upside down as a result," Wright said in a statement provided by his attorneys. "Chevron's continued denial of the harm they caused is a shameful reminder that this company values only profits, not people." | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/chevron-toxic-pit-california-verdict/103-b5597dba-2c1f-4e4a-a0db-f4bc5de5ed83 | 2023-06-09T05:15:46 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/chevron-toxic-pit-california-verdict/103-b5597dba-2c1f-4e4a-a0db-f4bc5de5ed83 |
PENRYN, Calif. — Plans for a new winery are upsetting some neighbors in Placer County, with worries including arsenic exposure and noise pollution.
The developer says he has already gone above and beyond in addressing those concerns.
Now, project approval comes down to Placer County supervisors later this month.
Earlier this month, Mike Fournier drove ABC10 around his 175-acre property in the Placer County community of Penryn, giving a tour of the land where he wants to build a winery. His land includes 53 acres for growing grapes plus a vista of the rolling Sierra Foothills, which Fournier showed off by raising us some 50 feet off the ground in his rough terrain scissor lift.
“It’s too bad, by the way, that it’s hazy today because normally we see the Sutter Butte, Mt. Diablo, Sacramento,” he said.
This is where Fournier wants to build Project 8 Winery, also known as Lecavalier Cellars.
His plans for Project 8 include a production facility and wine caves, plus a 75-foot-tall building with a tasting room and fine-dining restaurant offering the panoramic view.
“The topography, the terroir is very good for what we’re doing, and we think that we can do something iconic here,” said Fournier.
He says the vast majority of the immediately surrounding neighbors are in support of the project, but there are a group of neighbors who have a list of concerns they say have not been adequately addressed.
A little over three-quarters of a mile away, as the crow flies, is neighbor Patty Neifer’s house. She’s all for a new vineyard and tasting room in Penryn but she thinks these plans go too far.
“When an 80-foot, gigantic tower is being proposed that would fit more in Las Vegas than it would in Penryn or Newcastle, that's where we draw the line,” she said. “With that comes noise pollution, light pollution, everything from the traffic increasing and just changing the whole look of an entire community.”
Joining Neifer at her house that afternoon in late May was Gabriele Windgasse. She lives a few miles away but is on the Horseshoe Bar-Penryn Municipal Advisory Council, whose members studied Project 8. She thinks the county hasn’t done enough testing for arsenic, a naturally occurring toxic material that — with long-term exposure — can cause cancer and other health issues.
"This is naturally occurring arsenic. It is deep in the ground,” she explained. “If there's dust that has arsenic in it, that can be a concern, but also in drinking water.”
Windgasse isn’t only a neighbor; she’s also an expert, with a doctoral degree in public health and is an adjunct assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University.
She points to soil sample test results in the project’s Environmental Impact Report, particularly one result showing a high concentration of arsenic, taken from soil that had been about 20 feet beneath the surface.
“If the surface is low-arsenic but you excavate high-arsenic soil and then place it as fill on top, you have created a public health hazard. So my question has been for many months now: What about the fill material? What is the concentration of the fill material? Where were these 20 feet of excavated soil placed?” she questioned. “What is the potential concern for the workers who work there during the construction, the workers who work there during the operation, the visitors and the neighbors?”
Just down the road from Neifer’s house is where Janet Kellman lives.
“I'm able to speak about what arsenic can do,” she said.
Kellman and her husband have lived in Penryn for 42 years, and just five years ago learned their drinking water had high levels of arsenic. The couple has since been diagnosed with cancer, which they believe is linked to the arsenic. She, like Windgasse, is concerned about potential arsenic levels in the fill material at Project 8 Winery.
"I'm really not thinking so much about the people that come and have a lovely glass of wine and dinner and all of that. I'm thinking about the people that work there. I'm thinking about the people that live around there, where the land is going to be disturbed in such a way that we do not know what will be released from the rock and into the air,” she said. “I just feel it's too big of a project for this area.”
ABC10 took these women’s questions to Fournier, who acknowledged the arsenic that’s present in the soil throughout Placer County.
“Ultimately, when in doubt, do the right thing. Do what's safe for people, and that's what we intend to do,” he said.
He pointed to additional arsenic testing that his company paid for, above and beyond the requirements.
“We got results that came back very favorable, showing that it was more of an anomaly, the level that we got on that one test pit. That having been said, we even went further. We went, over the winter, we took the runoff water and we had it analyzed to make sure there was no arsenic leaching off the site,” said Fournier. “Plus, we will do more. You know, we're going to do a soil management plan, we're going to do a dust monitoring plan. Ultimately, we don't want our employees exposed to arsenic.”
He said they’ll continue testing during construction - and that much of the fill material will be capped with a road and the pad for a building.
“The reality is, there's a lot of arsenic in Placer County, and this is not a negative thing. It's just the reality,” said Fournier. “We're going to do it right. We've capped it right in the past. We will cap it right in the future. If we discover more that is material, then we will do what the agencies require us to do.”
Neifer, Windgasse and Kellman say Fournier’s answers don’t satisfy their concerns. Windgasse points out what she says are flaws in the secondary testing Fournier’s company paid for.
“In this report, it says very clearly that each and every sample of those was received outside of the EPA-recommended holding time. That means the samples were analyzed when they were too old to be analyzed for arsenic. This data is not acceptable to investigate the arsenic and subsoil concern,” she said, adding, “I'm not convinced that these five soil cores represent the areas where they will take out fill, so they will excavate many other areas for which we have no idea what is the arsenic concentration there.”
Fournier said he believes the results of the second test are still sound.
“The reality is, was the testing done exactly? No, because we had previously done the boring, but we added the soil samples,” he said. “Let's be realistic: arsenic is not like a solvent. It's not like acetone or gasoline; it doesn't just evaporate out of the sample. We consulted our expert; they said, ‘This will give you a really good yardstick. It will give you a good reference. Are you going into a toxic supersite? Or are you having something that will be easily manageable with best practices?’”
As for concerns over light pollution, Fournier said he hired a lighting designer to ensure the lights in the tasting room point downward or inward and don’t shine out.
Regarding noise pollution, he assures neighbors the tasting room and restaurant would be enclosed with thick windows and no balcony – only an emergency staircase.
For traffic, he says map apps will take most visitors on the short, quick, well-paved route just minutes from I-80 – along Taylor Road and westbound on Callison Road – and not through the more winding, rural roads of Penryn – eastbound on Callison Road to the winery. Furthermore, he added, his company plans on paying for the creation of a left-turn lane on the currently-two-lane Taylor Road, for drivers turning onto Callison Road, toward Project 8.
Fournier said some of these and other changes have come from meetings with neighbors in the area more immediately surrounding his property.
However, neighbors who still have concerns say they have heard all these answers before, hashing out the conversation in public meetings, and are not satisfied. Windgasse's letters, and the county's responses thereto, are on pages 338-350 HERE.
The Placer County Planning Commission green-lighted the project in April, sending it to county supervisors for a final vote, including the adoption of a zoning text amendment with modifications, such as limiting the height exceptions to large wineries over 20 acres producing more than 20,000 cases per year. Supervisors could choose to approve it outright or pause the process to request more information or changes.
The proposed octagon building, which is 29,250 square feet, has multiple levels, including one proposed underground and five above-ground.
Several people spoke at the planning commission meeting, both in favor of the project and with concerns about the project — including about the height of the tower, the ability of fire crews to respond to an emergency at the location and noise concerns, among others. The public comments lasted for more than two and a half hours.
If his project is approved, Fournier said he’d like to break ground next year, with the first phase opening sometime in the spring of 2025. The winery would be located at 7615 Callison Road in Penryn. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/proposed-winery-placer-county/103-38009968-ad2f-46e7-aa62-ad726e9c59a4 | 2023-06-09T05:15:52 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/proposed-winery-placer-county/103-38009968-ad2f-46e7-aa62-ad726e9c59a4 |
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for the family of a nursing home resident with dementia that had sued over his care, declining to use the case to broadly limit the right to sue government workers.
The man's family went to court alleging that he was given drugs to keep him easier to manage in violation of his rights. The justices had been asked to use his case to limit the ability of people to use a federal law to sue for civil rights violations. That outcome could have left tens of millions of people participating in federal programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, without an avenue to go to court to enforce their rights.
The Supreme Court has previously said that a section of federal law — “Section 1983” — broadly gives people the right to sue state and local governments when their employees violate rights created by any federal statute.
The court by a 7-2 vote reiterated that Thursday, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that Section 1983 “can presumptively be used to enforce unambiguously conferred federal individual rights." Both liberal and conservative justices joined her majority opinion while conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.
The court had been asked to say that when Congress creates a federal spending program — giving states money to provide services such as Medicare and Medicaid — they shouldn’t face lawsuits from individuals under Section 1983. The court rejected that invitation.
The specific case the justices heard involves the interaction of Section 1983 and the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act, a 1987 law that outlines requirements for nursing homes that accept federal Medicare and Medicaid funds. The court was being asked to answer whether a person can use Section 1983 to go to court with claims their rights under the nursing home act are violated. The answer is yes, the court said.
The Biden administration had argued to the high court that Congress did not intend to allow Section 1983 lawsuits when it enacted the nursing home legislation.
The case in front of the court involved Gorgi Talevski, who was a resident of Valparaiso Care and Rehabilitation, a government nursing home in Indiana. His family said the nursing home found it difficult to care for Talevski, and so gave him powerful drugs to restrain him, then involuntarily transferred him to another facility. The facility says Talevski repeatedly acted violently and in a sexually aggressive manner and that drugs were prescribed by doctors.
Talevski’s family sued under Section 1983, saying his rights had been violated. A trial court dismissed the case, but a federal court of appeals said it could proceed. Talevski died in 2021.
"So if we had lost this case, it would have been absolutely catastrophic for the most vulnerable people in our society. And that's about 100 million people. Those that are beneficiaries of any social safety net program, especially Medicaid," Susie Talevski, Gorgi's daughter, told 13News Thursday evening.
The opinion was one of four the court issued Thursday, including a 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in Alabama in a congressional redistricting case. That case had been closely watched for its potential to weaken the landmark Voting Rights Act. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indiana/supreme-court-rules-for-indiana-nursing-home-patients-family-declines-to-limit-civil-rights-lawsuits/531-d0e53030-2a2c-4a84-af77-67d9043a6177 | 2023-06-09T05:18:39 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indiana/supreme-court-rules-for-indiana-nursing-home-patients-family-declines-to-limit-civil-rights-lawsuits/531-d0e53030-2a2c-4a84-af77-67d9043a6177 |
DALLAS — An agreed final judgment shows that, after settling with the State, North Texas influencer Brittany Dawn Davis has to pay $400,000 in penalties and restitution.
Davis had settled in May after the State accused her of scamming thousands of customers by not delivering fitness and nutrition plans.
The total payment is broken down into $300,000 in civil penalties and $100,000 in restitution. The judgment states she has to pay the civil penalties and restitution within the next three years. The $131,320 in attorneys' fees levied against her will not become due and payable unless Davis fails to comply with the permanent injunctions levied against her.
Through permanent injunction, the judgment states Davis may not offer or sell any nutrition or fitness plans with personalized nutrition assessments, reassessments, one-on-one coaching or workout routines unless she will actually be providing them.
Davis had sold plans ranging from $92 to $300 but the lawsuit alleged she didn't provide the personalized coaching and guidance that had been promised. She also charged a shipping fee even though the plans were emailed.
Another permanent injunction states Davis may not represent herself as having any special knowledge or training to address eating disorders when she does not.
Davis is also forbidden from charging a shipping fee for goods or services delivered exclusively by email, the judgment adds.
Davis also has to admit wrongdoing, though, the settlement says she was overwhelmed and didn't' have malicious intent.
Cori Reali bought one of Davis' plans after finding her on Instagram in 2014.
“I started to feel those red flags pop up and I just had to literally make the decision like I’m done. This isn’t working for me," Reali said. “I gained like eight to nine pounds in that first week, which is detrimental to someone who has battled eating disorders.”
Reali had worked with the attorney general's office during the leadup to the trial and says accountability means far more for her than whatever financial compensation she'll end up receiving.
“I’m not trying to get my $90 back. It was never about the money for me," Reali said. "It’s not just one. It’s not just two. It’s thousands and thousands of us that have been impacted."
Should Davis fail to comply with these injunctions, the judgment states the full unpaid balance of civil penalties, restitution and attorneys' fees will immediately become due to the State.
In the stipulations of the judgment, it states that "Davis admits wrongdoing but was overwhelmed by the unexpected number of customers who purchased programs from her website."
"Defendants claim their failure to provide all services that were ordered was due to the volume of consumers," the document reads. "While Defendants admit wrongdoing, they maintain that at no time did Defendants fail to provide purchased services due to any malicious intent."
Davis has close to 500,000 Instagram followers and 1.3 million on TikTok. She built her following by posting fitness and health content and sharing how she overcame an eating disorder.
By 2019, though, thousands of people had complained that Davis wasn’t delivering them the customized plans they’d paid for. Davis went on Good Morning America to apologize.
“Jumped into an industry that had no instructional manual,” she said in 2019. “I’m basically going through uncharted territory.”
Then, a year ago, the attorney general’s office filed a deceptive trade practices act lawsuit.
Davis has continued to post on social media and has even gained half a million TikTok followers in the year since the state filed its suit, according to SocialBlade.
Davis has now pivoted her business to spirituality, selling tickets to Christian retreats for up to $300 per ticket. Davis and her attorney declined to comment on the settlement.
Reali says anyone buying should research her past.
“Be cautious honestly because a scammer is a scammer is a scammer," she said. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/north-texas-fitness-influencer-pay-more-than-500000-part-settlement/287-3d410af8-7508-4ecc-a780-ad87016e3f44 | 2023-06-09T05:27:45 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/north-texas-fitness-influencer-pay-more-than-500000-part-settlement/287-3d410af8-7508-4ecc-a780-ad87016e3f44 |
FORT WORTH, Texas — From his fourth floor office in downtown Fort Worth, Tarrant County Administrator G.K. Maenius gazed at the picturesque county courthouse.
He has had the same view for 35 years.
Beneath the window sits an antique sofa his wife selected for his office when he first took on the role of county administrator in 1988.
“It was really tough, but it’s time for me to go,” Maenius told WFAA.
On Thursday, Maenius, the longest serving county administrator in Texas and the only county administrator in Tarrant County history, announced he’ll retire on Sept. 30, 2023.
“I’m proud of the way the county is today,” Maenius said. “It’s been a long journey, and we’ve seen a lot of things happen during the last 35 years.”
Maenius told WFAA he wanted to retire a few years ago, but when the COVID-19 pandemic began, he made the decision to remain in his position and ensure the county would get through the challenging time.
“This organization is a great organization, and steady leadership is what this organization has always stood for,” Maenius said. “I hope it’s going to be the same moving forward.”
During his tenure, the county’s population has doubled and Maenius has watched county leaders come and go.
According to the county, Maenius was instrumental in paving the way for Panther Island, AT&T Stadium, an expansion of American Airlines headquarters and the new Texas A&M campus in downtown Fort Worth.
In that time, he has worked with four county judges – Roy English, Tom Vandergriff, Glen Whitley and Tim O’Hare – and overseen a county government that now has more than 4,600 employees and an operating budget of approximately $900 million.
“G.K. Maenius is a Tarrant County institution,” O’Hare said. “He is a man of the utmost integrity and is simply irreplaceable. Everyone in Tarrant County owes G.K. a debt of gratitude for helping shape Tarrant County. His leadership and experience will be missed. On behalf of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, past and present, thank you G.K. for a job well done.”
Maenius told WFAA his decision felt like the right time to step down, pause and begin a new chapter. Upon retirement, Maenius said he’ll remain in Fort Worth and plans to continue serving the community in some capacity, perhaps in the private sector or by assisting an organization.
Maenius said he sees a bright future ahead for Tarrant County, but said the county is facing several challenges.
“We have overcrowding in our jail facilities, a need to improve the health of the community, we’ve played a very active role in economic development. With the new leadership we have today, there’s gonna be an emphasis on economic development and transportation, which really go hand in hand,” Maenius said. “Change puts a new set of eyes on areas. They may be able to see things that we have overlooked.”
Maenius, a lover of history, acknowledges change is inevitable and that steady leadership is critical to get through it, he said.
“This is a great county,” Maenius said. “It’s given me an opportunity to practice my profession, and it has been a great ride.” | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/tarrant-county-administrator-gk-maenius-announces-retirement-35-years/287-5f4054ec-3aaa-4a6a-bb60-65b2213af180 | 2023-06-09T05:27:51 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/tarrant-county-administrator-gk-maenius-announces-retirement-35-years/287-5f4054ec-3aaa-4a6a-bb60-65b2213af180 |
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