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Father’s Day Weekend is filled with ways to entertain your dad (and yourself), from car shows to beer gardens to free Milwaukee Zoo admission.
That’s all wonderful, and I hope you get out there and enjoy it.
But let’s not forget the importance of making a simple connection.
Like calling your dad, just to chat. You remember phone calls, right?
Of course, not all dads are big on conversation, unless it involves the Green Bay Packers, that funny noise the car is making or, in my dad’s case, how the stock market is doing that day.
I can count on one hand the number of telephone conversations my father and I shared.
Whenever I called home, if he answered, he would immediately say, “Here’s your mother,” and hand her the phone.
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But one of our conversations stands out in my mind.
Pay phone with a view
The most interesting father/daughter phone call we shared didn’t last long, but it was a phone call from a unique spot.
I was calling home from a pay phone on a trail in Yellowstone National Park.
Seriously.
In June 1996, my husband, Rex, and I hiked to a waterfall in Yellowstone and there, standing near the falls, was a pay phone.
Knowing this would likely be the only time I could phone someone from a waterfall in a national park, I put in some coins and called home. My dad answered, hearing me say, “You’ll never guess where I’m calling from!”
We didn’t talk for long — seeing as this was still back in the days of long distance charges — but it remains the only time I’ve called someone from a trail in Yellowstone. Or from any park, for that matter. I still don’t know why that phone was there, unless it was for use in waterfall emergencies.
That explains why I get a little verklempt whenever I’m watching an old movie or a vintage episode of “Law & Order” and see a character calling someone from a pay phone.
It’s not the same now that you can call anyone from practically anywhere at any time. A lot of the romance of calling someone is gone when the only thing you have to worry about is keeping your phone’s batteries charged.
This is my very long way of reminding you that Sunday is Father’s Day.
This is my ninth Father’s Day without a father, so I can’t call my dad from this newsroom, a trail in a national park or from just two blocks away.
If I could, he’d no doubt hand the phone to my mom. But even if it’s just for a few seconds, those calls are precious.
Go ahead, call your dad. You never know when it will be the last time you hear his voice saying, “Here’s your mother.” | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/on-fathers-day-make-sure-to-call-your-dad/article_b7ba6670-0b8e-11ee-8b93-1fbdd4748128.html | 2023-06-16T14:06:35 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/on-fathers-day-make-sure-to-call-your-dad/article_b7ba6670-0b8e-11ee-8b93-1fbdd4748128.html |
Name: Brooke Smith
School: Central High School
Parents: Gordon and Julie Smith of Bristol
Most memorable high school moment: Earning First Place at DECA state
Most influential teacher: Amy Popp in AP English Language and English 12 Honors; Mrs. Popp is my most influential teacher because she led me to realize my potential. By persuading me to speak out in class and teaching me how to research and write, Mrs. Popp truly educated me. Her teaching skills pushed me to explore my passion for education. She began occasionally referring to me as the Secretary of Education after I told her that is a dream of mine. Her comments helped me realize that my dreams can be a reality.
School activities/clubs: DECA, forensics, freshman mentors, Key Club, leadership team, National Honor Society, student government, Youth in Governance member, Daily Morning Announcements, School Store Human Resource Manager, Association of Business Students (ABS)
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School athletics: Cheerleading
School offices held: Key Club President; Student Council Community Service Officer; Senior Class Vice President
Honors, letters or awards: Suma Cum Laude; Academic Excellence (Certificate, Chenille Letter, Silver Medal, and Plaque); High Honor Roll; DECA 1st place state champion in Business Services Marketing; DECA state 3rd place finalist in School-Based Enterprises; DECA International Medalist in Business Services Marketing; Youth in Governance Certificate of Merit
Out-of-school activities/hobbies: Camping; hiking; kayaking; volunteering; writing; racquetball; spending time with friends
College choice: Undecided
Intended major/field of study: Educational Policy
Role model: Gordon Smith (father)
Three words that best describe my role model: Dedicated, Brave, Hardworking
What I hope to accomplish in my lifetime: I hope to accomplish milestones within my career in education by influencing a system of education that promotes overall joy and intelligence in all students. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-teen-2023-brooke-smith-of-central-high-school/article_6a4044be-097c-11ee-991d-17f7ccf21b54.html | 2023-06-16T14:06:41 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-teen-2023-brooke-smith-of-central-high-school/article_6a4044be-097c-11ee-991d-17f7ccf21b54.html |
GREENSBORO — With the warmer weather, police say they are seeing an increasing number of large "car club" gatherings prompting complaints of trespassing, careless driving and property damage.
These aren't the traditional clubs that come to mind, where owners of a certain type or brand of car hold an event. Police are referring to groups of drivers of various vehicles who like to meet up, often in parking lots and quickly move from one location to another once law enforcement arrives.
"You can gather, but think about where. You may be trespassing," said Assistant Chief Rick Alston of the Greensboro Police Department.
Greensboro police have responded to multiple complaints the past several weekends and seized one vehicle after the driver was arrested on various charges, Alston said during an interview.
It's when some people begin driving carelessly and dangerously, he said, that the situation can cause problems for the entire group and any nearby neighborhoods.
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Such gatherings can quickly grow from dozens to a couple hundred cars depending on the location, Alston said. The gatherings will also quickly disperse and move to another large parking lot.
With a shortage of patrol officers, Alston said the department is trying to balance priorities and their responses to residents' complaints about the gatherings.
"We're just as concerned as they are," Alston said.
Alston encourages residents and business owners to contact the department or call 911, especially when it appears that a gathering is starting.
"Call and tell us what you're seeing," Alston said.
The issue isn't new and other law enforcement agencies around the Triad have dealt with similar complaints. In November, High Point police were reaching out to business owners after tips about "car swinging" events.
High Point police said “car swinging” is when drivers meet in a parking lot or shut down an intersection to do donuts and burnouts. These events typically draw crowds of people and can be dangerous, as well as disruptive to traffic and businesses, police said.
Police said people caught trespassing or disrupting traffic could get a ticket, be arrested or have their vehicle towed.
Business owners concerned about groups coming to their parking lots can fill out a “No Trespassing” form available at the High Point Police Department at 1730 Westchester Drive. The form will allow officers to request unauthorized people to leave a property, arrest people for trespassing on the property, and issue citations or warrants against people trespassing on the property.
"The goal is to stop an event when it's only a small number of people, compared to 80 to 100 cars," Alston said. "If you see individuals gathering in a lot that shouldn't be there and start to engage in bad behavior, call us so we can come out and address it." | https://greensboro.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/not-your-dads-car-club-greensboro-police-ask-you-to-alert-them-about-gatherings-that/article_0fcd9b20-070c-11ee-ad00-63a0ab706a66.html | 2023-06-16T14:13:09 | 1 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/not-your-dads-car-club-greensboro-police-ask-you-to-alert-them-about-gatherings-that/article_0fcd9b20-070c-11ee-ad00-63a0ab706a66.html |
GREENSBORO — Guilford County commissioners reworked a proposed budget to find $15.4 million more for K-12 schools while keeping the county’s property tax the same.
By a vote of 8-1, the Board of Commissioners voted on Thursday night to approve a $926.5 million budget for fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1. It is about $65.5 million more than what was approved for the fiscal year 2023 budget.
Next year’s budget maintains a tax rate of 73.05 cents per $100 of property valuation. For a $250,000 house, this would mean a tax bill of $1,826.25.
The budget includes a total of 2,938.3 positions — a net increase of 36.1 positions, according to a county news release. This is equivalent to about 5.3 positions per 1,000 residents, which the county said is among the lowest position-to-resident ratios in the state.
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Commissioners heeded the pleas of classified school employees — such as bus drivers, teacher assistants and custodians — who rallied and packed the commissioners’ chambers two weeks ago seeking money for pay increases.
Commissioner James Upchurch, who voted against the budget plan, said the county tax rate is too high and that there needed to be a long-term plan to fund employee wages.
“Every commissioner’s district got something in the budget,” said Melvin “Skip” Alston, who chairs the board. “It’s about our people and our citizens getting something.”
Under the adopted budget, Guilford County Schools will receive $395 million — or nearly half of the county’s operating budget. Commissioners reduced the annual school capital maintenance budget to $6.5 million instead of $10 million.
Superintendent Whitney Oakley praised the cooperation between the county and the school district.
“We will be able to implement 40% of our new compensation model to align classified pay ranges with the current labor market,” Oakley said.
GTCC also received an additional $500,000, bringing its total operating budget to slightly more than $20 million.
Commissioners also included $319,250 to add five additional positions to the county's tax department. Tax Director Ben Chavis said the positions were needed to conduct the next property revaluation in 2026, as well as an auditor for tax-exempt properties.
Residents in the Colfax Fire District, which will be served by the Kernersville Fire and Rescue Department beginning July 1, will see their tax rate increase by 1.69 cents to 13.59 cents per $100 of property value.
Commissioners also cut spending to various departments by $500,000 and added nearly $7 million due to projected revenue increases.
They also provided $255,000 for community-based organizations for a total of $1.9 million. This includes $140,000 for the town of Oak Ridge to repair ramps for the disabled and to complete security improvements.
Other budget highlights include:
• $12.2 million for staff recruitment and retention through the county’s competitive pay plan and reinstatement of performance-based merit increases.
• $5 million to add 59 positions to the Department of Health and Human Services in preparation for the expansion of Medicaid. Approximately 200,000 Guilford County residents are expected to qualify for Medicaid under the upcoming statewide expansion.
• $3.5 million for mental health and medical services for people in the Greensboro and High Point jails and the Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
• $1.1 million to add 10 school nurses.
• $600,000 to implement a new specialized Child and Family Support and Early Intervention Team of seven social workers and staff. This team will work with community groups and service providers to improve child safety and address the disproportional representation of children and families of color in the welfare system.
• $575,000 to support efforts to reduce infant mortality and improve infant well-being, especially among communities of color.
• $550,000 for the Minority and Women Business Enterprise Department to establish a Capital Access Program to provide financial support to small businesses owned by minorities and women.
• $430,000 to increase access to health care through a mobile clinic.
Commissioner Mary Beth Murphy said she was “incredibly proud” of the budget.
“We accomplished a tremendous amount with very limited resources,” she said. | https://greensboro.com/news/local/guilford-schools-pay-increase-budget/article_0128fbce-0bd4-11ee-aaea-73ed3f0050da.html | 2023-06-16T14:13:15 | 0 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/guilford-schools-pay-increase-budget/article_0128fbce-0bd4-11ee-aaea-73ed3f0050da.html |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/north-texans-work-to-repair-damage-after-severe-storms-large-hail/3279110/ | 2023-06-16T14:13:49 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/north-texans-work-to-repair-damage-after-severe-storms-large-hail/3279110/ |
Every morning, NBC 5 Today is dedicated to delivering you positive local stories of people doing good, giving back and making a real change in our community. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/something-good/north-texas-teen-walks-at-graduation-after-spinal-cord-injury/3279092/ | 2023-06-16T14:13:55 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/something-good/north-texas-teen-walks-at-graduation-after-spinal-cord-injury/3279092/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. — When temperatures rise, energy bills can also increase.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
Orlando Utilities Commission and Ocala Electric Utility have provided the following tips to stay cool and save money:
Read: Feeling the summer heat? Here are tips to prevent heat exhaustion
- Keep your thermometer set to 78 degrees when you’re home and 83 degrees or higher when you’re away for more than four hours.
- Turn off or unplug any unnecessary lights and electronic devices.
- Keep your ceiling fan on and adjust them to turn counterclockwise during the summer.
- Change air conditioner filters monthly.
Read: Beat the heat: 9 ways to protect yourself from extreme heat
- Convert to LED light bulbs in your home.
- Keep blinds, shades and drapes closed during the day to reduce heat from the sun.
- Seal any drafts in your home to avoid cold air escaping, like doors, windows and holes where pipes run through.
- Schedule a free energy audit with your electric provider.
- Adjust your AC temperatures gradually rather than cranking it up all at once.
SEE: 9 ways to protect yourself from extreme heat
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/9-tips-save-electric-costs-this-summer/GXRRDE6NQZFRPPLKV4MK5PTRDQ/ | 2023-06-16T14:24:54 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/9-tips-save-electric-costs-this-summer/GXRRDE6NQZFRPPLKV4MK5PTRDQ/ |
GROVELAND, Fla. — Anyone who visits Groveland on Friday night could see an array of Juneteenth celebrations.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
The community will be coming together at 5 p.m. at Lake David Park to celebrate the federal holiday.
Read: Here are 9 ways to celebrate Juneteenth in Central Florida
Juneteenth marks the official end of slavery in the United States.
The theme of the third annual celebration is “Discovering Our Roots” and features cultural dance, stepping performances, vendors and barbeque.
Read: Volusia County sheriff issues ‘loser alert’ over hate group’s plan for Juneteenth
More information on the event can be found here.
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/city-groveland-host-juneteenth-celebration-friday-night/YN2R6QCN4FBNBPLQGIDRHYYEAU/ | 2023-06-16T14:25:00 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/city-groveland-host-juneteenth-celebration-friday-night/YN2R6QCN4FBNBPLQGIDRHYYEAU/ |
LEESBURG, Fla. — The state fire marshal’s office is trying to figure out what caused a fire at the Leesburg Masonic Lodge.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
Channel 9 flew a drone over the location and saw massive damage and everything destroyed inside of the building.
Photos: Masonic lodge in Leesburg destroyed by fire
Leesburg firefighters resounded Wednesday night to battle the blaze.
Officials released videos showing flames shooting into the air along West Main Street.
Watch: State attorney details criminal history of man accused of attempted rape
A member of the lodge told Channel 9 that photographs and woodwork over 100 years old were destroyed inside the lodge.
“A lot of history that was inside this building. Not just the lodge but the city, and Lake County, and It’s all, it’s all gone,” said Larry Duff.
Watch: Tropical wave near Africa could slowly develop over next several days
No one was at the lodge when the fire started.
Members told Channel 9 they will rebuild on the same site.
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/its-all-gone-masonic-lodge-leesburg-destroyed-by-fire/R64GM66EIFF6VOY5JWOLJ63SDQ/ | 2023-06-16T14:25:07 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/its-all-gone-masonic-lodge-leesburg-destroyed-by-fire/R64GM66EIFF6VOY5JWOLJ63SDQ/ |
When a young Black entrepreneurial chef and a community elder got together to dream up ways to make change at the center of food apartheid and social justice, they found themselves at the heart of something even bigger: an avenue to give Black Knoxvillians the tools for their own wellness.
Tiara-Lady Wilson and Femeika Elliott birthed Rooted East, a Black-led Knoxville collective of people and organizations whose mission toward food justice is to restore power to the Black community through self-sufficiency, gardening and education.
The term "food apartheid" was coined by food justice activist Karen Washington "to ask us to look at the root causes of inequity in our food system on the basis of race, class and geography," Washington said on her website.
Wilson told Knox News that while they work with volunteers across racial lines, Rooted East being Black-led is intentional, and it’s necessary.
“We want people to know this because far too often people are sitting around tables talking about Black people's disparity, and Black people and those struggling are not even at the table," Wilson said. "I've been blessed enough to walk into a room and say, 'Hey, none of you all live on this side of town. None of you all are talking to people who are going through this, so how dare you think that you can solve this problem without the people who are suffering?' So I think the fact that we are Black-led speaks volumes because we are equipped as Black people to solve our own problems.”
Fighting food insecurity is one of those problems that Rooted East, along with Chris Battle of Battlefield Farm and Gardens, is trying to solve. Elliott felt that they could do more and take things further as a movement. In her eyes, the game-changer is helping children and families learn to grow their own food.
“I felt like we could do more toward food and land justice, and as a collective we felt we were really the only ones qualified to speak on this. Obviously, we have other food organizations and other justice organizations that operate within the city, but we felt it was best that we speak on this issue and bring it to light by way of community," Elliott said.
Blessed with green thumbs, Elliott and Wilson knew the answer was to start with gardening. Knowing many people are without access to the resources to plant their own food, including space and tools, Laila Malik, a fellow gardener and organizer, began a community garden in back of Wilson’s house in East Knoxville.
From there, they have mobilized others willing to donate garden bed space, and have acquired more than 50 garden beds across East Knoxville. The goal by the end of 2023 is to have 100 beds in the community.
This goal includes other community gardens at sites like Payne Avenue Missionary Baptist Church which is in the works.
Wilson said that her idea to make space at her own home, equipped with community beds, birthed a vision with which she and Elliott hit the ground running: providing a safe space for the community to learn or begin to garden.
Mission centered in 37914 and 37915 ZIP codes in East Knoxville
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 48,697 out of 3.4 million growers in the United States identified as Black in 2017, including Elliott and Wilson. That number, pulled from the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, is down from 1 million a century ago.
The ZIP code 37915 lacks a grocery store, according to Wilson and Elliott. That makes it a food desert, an area without access to affordable, nutritious food. Food deserts are concentrated in low-income and historically marginalized neighborhoods, and health problems and chronic disease rates are high in these communities because of the lack of access to healthy foods.
About 10% of American households experienced food insecurity at some time during 2021, according to data from the Department of Agriculture.
Rooted East aims to tackle these problems by prioritizing those members who reside in that geographic area.
Members get garden beds that come with the soil, volunteers and services to help grow fresh produce and education to learn how to do the work.
“If we need to supply any resources as far as expenditures, we make sure that's free for our community members or melanated folks in this area because this is where food apartheid runs rampant compared to everywhere else in Knoxville,” said Elliott.
In 2022, at not even a year old, Rooted East won a $20,000 grant in the United Way of Greater Knoxville’s Hackathon for Food Security contest.
Rooted East organizers told Knox News those funds have gone a long way toward carrying out the mission. They have put the money toward the gardening project, but also toward continuing education and the space to teach others the skill of gardening. On top of those services, self-sufficiency classes such as life skills, wound care, and first aid disaster preparedness also are offered.
“Not too many people are giving up their space for free to teach these classes even though the classes are free for those in the impacted areas. We do have fees for those outside this geographic region that do want to participate and that's what helps us to keep doing what we're doing and to buy the tools and buy the things that we need in order to drive the gardening in each other's yard,” Wilson said.
Being Black-led with white allies willing to step back and listen makes it happen
Purposeful planning and organizing have always been part of Wilson's and Elliott’s vision, and that includes keeping Black people front and center, but they believe white people should be allies who are willing to listen.
“We are doing this because a lot of people don't want to have these hard conversations around race. And that's another thing that Rooted East is doing. Like how do you walk into Black spaces? Because a lot of people will be like, man, that's not my job to teach folks. But again, who will if not us?" said Wilson.
Wilson said that white community members who volunteer with Rooted East are always willing to listen, never making it about them.
“They don't ever make it about them and they also know their place and how to operate in Black spaces, so we are a family, but they also know that fine line and boundaries while organizing within Black spaces. It's sacred number one. And so if you show up as someone who's there to support us, understand that it's not about you, right? And you're there to have your ears open twice as much as your mouth,” Wilson said.
Juneteenth an extension of their mission to empower and free 'em all
America celebrates the end of slavery in America on "Juneteenth," the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger led the Union Soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of the war and the freedom of all enslaved people. But Rooted East is leading its day of observance on June 18, and that's intentional.
After President Joe Biden signed legislation last year establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, many Black people in Knoxville and across America felt it was long overdue, or they didn't care about it in the first place.
Wilson said Black people have always been honoring their ancestors.
"A lot of people just got a free day off at our ancestors' expense. We have been celebrating this; we were celebrating it before. Thank you for this federal holiday but no thank you if it means someone other than us is going to try to make a dollar off of it. Money needs to be going back into the Black community specifically for Juneteenth," said Wilson.
In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Knoxville saw the largest Juneteenth event in its history led by Black Coffee Justice when thousands of white and Black Knoxvillians gathered at Caswell Park in East Knoxville.
Wilson and Elliott met with them and other organizations in an effort to reach across the table and respect others also doing the work of organizing Juneteenth celebrations. They said respect during that process is vital to being unified as a community. While parades and other events are happening, this year the Rooted East founders wanted to do something different.
“I knew we had to do something. In 2023 we're coming out of COVID. You know people need that fellowship and we knew that we could make it more like a family reunion,” said Elliott.
On June 18, Rooted East is hosting "Rooted in History" at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens, a day of healing and celebration in observance of freedom. The event includes family-friendly, inclusive content for all walks of life and an inaugural Black Knoxville photograph where the community will come together in all-white attire and take a group photo to preserve the tradition of culture and tradition.
Elliott told Knox News that while doing research they were unable to find a historic photo of Black people celebrating Juneteenth in the city.
“There was no artifact, but we are still looking. But we thought what if we did this photo and begin our own history, this is something that can be archived and stay around for years and generations to come.”
Wilson said they want to provide a safe and welcoming environment for people to come as they are.
“We want our Black, LGBT and any and everyone to feel like if they want to show up they can. Anybody can come and be themselves whether they come in their church clothes after church, or they're coming in a T-shirt and jeans. This will be that event for everybody.”
And while Tennessee observes emancipation on the 8th of August in remembrance of the date - Aug. 8, 1863 - when Military Governor Andrew Johnson freed his personal enslaved people, Rooted East organizers believe that Juneteenth is an opportunity to address the confusion around the two dates.
Wilson said the idea is to get everyone on the same page.
“We might have been free in Tennessee in 1863, but our brothers and sisters down in Texas weren't, right? And that's the same premise that still is today. We're not free until all of us are free. And if we're not doing what we can do to free those that aren’t, then what are we doing.”
Angela Dennis is the Knox News race, justice and equity reporter. Email angela.dennis@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AngeladWrites. Instagram @angeladenniswrites. Facebook at Angela Dennis Journalist.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe. | https://www.knoxnews.com/in-depth/news/local/2023/06/16/black-knoxville-gardeners-are-tackling-food-apartheid-through-rooted-east/70313769007/ | 2023-06-16T14:29:24 | 0 | https://www.knoxnews.com/in-depth/news/local/2023/06/16/black-knoxville-gardeners-are-tackling-food-apartheid-through-rooted-east/70313769007/ |
Cherokee tribe asks Knox County to support renaming Clingmans Dome. What to know
Later this month, the Knox County commissioners will vote on whether to join a growing list of jurisdictions in Appalachia supporting changing the name of Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, to its native Cherokee name, Kuwohi.
The effort is being led by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. Tribe leaders have been working with counties on both sides of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park enlisting support for their eventual application for a name change to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Knox County is their first stop in Tennessee.
Knox News told the story last fall in an exclusive interview with Chief Richard Sneed. Here is a refresher and an update on the tribe’s efforts.
What is Clingmans Dome?
The mountain is the highest point in the national park and the highest point in Tennessee. It’s noted by the paved spiral observation tower that straddles the state line.
The 6,643-foot peak is one of the most popular destinations in the most-visited national park in the country, with the Appalachian Trail crossing its summit. When the weather cooperates, both the peak and the tower provide one of the best views in the Smokies.
Fun fact: The "dome" in the name Clingmans Dome does not refer to the observation tower; that’s just the name of the mountain.
Who was Clingman?
The name Clingmans Dome honors Thomas Clingman, a U.S. congressman and senator from North Carolina who advocated for slavery and was expelled from the Senate because of his support for the Confederacy. He would later become a brigadier general in the Confederate Army.
Clingman was an avid explorer who measured several of the peaks that eventually made up the national park. The peak was named for him in 1859.
What is Kuwohi?
Thousands of years before the mountain was named after a North Carolina senator, it was a holy place for generations of Cherokee. It was where medicine men came to pray, where the headwaters of the Little River form and where the tribe hid from U.S. soldiers during the forced Trail of Tears march to the West.
Brett Riggs is a professor at Western Carolina University who specializes in the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee, he said, believed mountains were holy places where the earth touched the heavenly realm. No place was more important than Kuwohi as tribal traditions say the mountain is the greatest and tallest, a place where the creator gave fire to the Cherokee.
He likened it in importance to the Judeo-Christian telling of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
How do you pronounce Kuwohi?
The name is pronounced “ku-whoa-hee,” which translates to “the mulberry place.”
Tribe not trying to rewrite history
The tribe isn’t trying to remove the name because of who Clingman was, but rather because of what was lost.
“Look, history is complicated as hell. It just is,” Cherokee Chief Richard Sneed told Knox News last fall. “So, in this case it’s not an issue of trying to rewrite history. It’s restoring (a name) to a land that was the sacred homeland of all Cherokee.
“It’s important for people to realize that this area – and an area that stretched across seven states – was all Cherokee at one time,” he continued. “So, I think more than anything, having it restored to its original name is essentially honoring the people who were here first.”
What’s the process to rename Clingmans Dome?
The U.S. Board on Geographic Names is the 15-member panel tasked with ruling on changes. The board will seek community input, as well as the opinion of the national park, among others groups, before voting. The process typically takes at least six months.
The tribe planned to submit an application this spring but has been delayed and hopes to submit it by the end of the summer, Lavita Hill, tribe treasury specialist, told Knox News. They will try to get resolutions supporting the project from nearby counties, starting in Knox.
The effort doesn't rest solely on Knox County's support, but the more jurisdictions the tribe can get to sign on, the better the effort looks for the federal government's decision makers.
When will the Knox County commission vote?
The resolution before the commission is sponsored by Commission Chairwoman Courtney Durrett, a Democrat, and Gina Oster, a Republican. The work session meeting – where it will be discussed and possibly tentatively approved – is June 20. The full commission and final tally will be June 26.
Renaming U.S. landmarks isn’t uncommon
- First Peoples Mountain, Yellowstone National Park (previously Mount Doane)
- Engine Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (previously Indian Creek or Injun Creek)
- Denali, Denali National Park and Preserve (previously Mount McKinley)
- Black Elk Peak, Black Hills National Forest (previously Harney Peak)
Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Email tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com. Twitter @tyler_whetstone.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/clingmans-dome-in-smokies-cherokee-asks-knox-county-support-name-change/70312638007/ | 2023-06-16T14:30:00 | 0 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/clingmans-dome-in-smokies-cherokee-asks-knox-county-support-name-change/70312638007/ |
LAVON, Texas — The roof of a bank in Collin County collapsed after storms rolled through North Texas.
The bank, an Independent Financial located in Lavon, Texas, had significant damage to its drive-thru portion of the building due to strong winds, officials said. The Collin County Sheriff's Office told WFAA there were no injuries reported in the roof collapse.
The Lavon Fire Department and three officers responded to the scene.
Collin County did have a Tornado Warning issued around 10:15 p.m. on Thursday night, but it is not confirmed that the damage to the bank is tornado-related.
The bank told WFAA it was following its normal protocols to notify customers of the interruption in service.
More details were not immediately available.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/lavon-texas-bank-collapse/287-82e8da09-5660-4384-b8b6-7a86151198af | 2023-06-16T14:30:05 | 1 | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/lavon-texas-bank-collapse/287-82e8da09-5660-4384-b8b6-7a86151198af |
Under the radar: Meet the Tennessee teens who have a shot at a world title in Paris
Just a mention.
That would have been so special for the AeroHawks, who had just been crowned as the greatest high school rocketry team in America, finishing ahead of 797 teams from 45 states in the process.
The joyous tears had been wiped away. The photos with the trophy had been taken. The invitation to fly to Paris for the International Rocketry Challenge had been accepted, and a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron had been scheduled.
The AeroHawks, full of honor students who dream of becoming engineers, pilots, doctors and lawyers, had come home to Hardin Valley Academy in Knoxville from the championships in The Plains, Virginia as surprise victors, having overcome enough obstacles for an inspiring movie script.
There they were, seven brilliant kids and a couple of proud coaches, listening to the morning school announcements.
And there was no mention of the AeroHawks.
"No one ever knows about us at this school," said Bailey Mounts, a sophomore who wants to go to study medicine. "I'm proud of what we accomplished, but no one really knows."
Members of the rocketry team said some of their own parents had no idea their victory was significant in any way.
During the same week, the school's state tournament-bound baseball and soccer teams had been paraded through the hallways with cheerleaders waving pom poms, students clapping and "We Are the Champions" blaring over the sound system.
"They didn't even win," said Mickey Dandena, a senior rocketeer who is on her way to the University of Tennessee to study mechanical engineering. "It's infuriating."
If anyone would have cared to look how the AeroHawks won, they would have found a story about a coach whose life changed after he was scratched by a cat, an Amish furniture store that prompted a major move, a student who was born in Africa and a citizen of Canada and a champion rocket that got stuck in a tree, fell apart and failed to launch.
On July 20, they'll be in Paris where AeroHawks captain Zaen Grissino-Mayer said his goal is to taste as many types of cheese as possible.
And win the world title.
Cat scratch changes his life
In the world of rocketry, Tim Smyrl is Nick Saban (sorry Vols fans).
Like the uber-successful University of Alabama football coach, Smyrl has won multiple (three) national championships with different (two) schools, which is pretty good for a former small college football player.
Now 48, Smyrl traces his love for fast things in the sky to watching the Space Shuttle flights as a child. His father, Norman, was an analytical chemist, and his mother, Sherry, was an opera singer. He had a lot of left-brain (science) and right-brain (art) stimulation.
Still, he didn't get involved in rocketry right away. First, he tried working in veterinarian clinic, and was working in a clinic in Knoxville. That didn't work out so well.
In 1998, he was giving a checkup to an ordinary house cat, which didn't like being poked and prodded. The cat scratched Smyrl's neck, and he came down with a case of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). Three surgeries later, he was looking for a new career.
In 2001, Smyrl got an internship teaching science and coaching football at Austin-East High School in Knoxville. He was assigned to work with at-risk students who needed remedial help in physical science. One of his students was pregnant. Another had a criminal record.
One day, he noticed the school had a cache of leftover rockets from a previous ROTC program. He thought about how fun it would be to teach stuff students didn't normally learn: altitude, velocity, wind patterns. The students loved the "fire, noise and explosions," he said.
"I asked my students who was the first man in orbit, and none of them knew," Smyrl said. (The answer is Yuri Garigan.)
And he launched the program that would change his life and the lives of so many students along the way.
"It captured their imaginations," he said. "They got lost in the lesson rather than their daily lives."
He eventually got a full time teaching job (and he served as the rocketry coach) at South Forsyth High School in Georgia. Then he moved to Creekview High (also in Georgia) where he established himself as one of the best rocketry coaches in America. In 15 years, his teams qualified for the national championships 11 times and won two titles. Two of his students eventually became military drone pilots and another is an aerospace engineer major who is studying overseas (and will meet the team when they're in France.)
Rocket man comes to Knoxville
Smyrl's wife got a job with her mother selling Amish furniture in Knoxville.
So Tim Smyrl left behind his legendary rocketry career in Georgia and moved back to Knoxville. He became a teacher at Hardin Valley Academy, one of 16 public high schools in Knox County with about 2,100 students.
He started the rocketry program at Hardin Valley Academy by setting up a table at the school's "Club Day," at which students sign up for after-school programs.
Ten students showed up to his first meeting. So did the man who became his assistant coach, Tony Alemar, a former U.S. Navy pilot and father of freshman rocketeer Adrain.
The team didn't have a name yet.
"I went (to Club Day) searching for something," Tony Alemar said. "In seven seconds, I saw his (Smyrl's) table."
When 10 kids signed up, the team was split into two: seven on the first team, three on the second. They each paid an $80 fee for rocket parts. (By the way, the Hardin Valley Academy second team finished 10th at nationals this year.)
Smyrl's goal was to get the team to the American Rocketry Challenge, the yearly competition in The Plains. To be invited, a team has to finish in the top 100 in America.
Here's how they compete. They make rockets out of cardboard cylinders (like the kind you would keep a movie poster in). The top of the rocket has a pointed cone in which a raw egg is inserted. The bottom of the rocket has a motor.
The teams are given height and time requirements. Then they shoot off their rockets. If they reach the exact height (somewhere around 850 feet, which is about the height of Rockefeller Center in New York City), and the rocket parachutes back to earth in the allotted time (between 42-45 seconds), they earn a perfect score of zero. Any miscalculations, traveling 851 feet, for example, or failing to land between 42 and 45 seconds, results in points being added.
And the egg has to remain uncracked.
Becoming a team
Of course, the most important part of high school rocketry has nothing to do with rockets.
A group of kids, otherwise invisible in a crowded public high school, came together.
Mickey Dandena was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She joined the rocketry club to get practice with engineering fundamentals. She came away with friends.
She was so shy at the beginning, she never talked.
"I'm really nervous when it comes to social interactions," she said.
Over time, she learned her teammates were a lot like her. "I noticed we have the same sense of humor," she said.
Now, she's a team leader with rapier wit and a big smile. One recent day at practice she was debating which was the best song for their team, Elton John's "Rocket Man" or David Bowie's "Space Oddity." The debate did not have a conclusion. Interesting note: their rocket is called "Starman" (a song title, also by Bowie).
Zaen Grissino-Mayer said his rocketry teammates will never forget what they've been through together. They love going to Zaxby's or Hard Knox for dinner. They play soccer together after rocketry meetings.
"I have friends I'm literally traveling the world with," he said. "This is the American dream."
Somehow Coach Smyrl's love for rocketry brought them all together.
"He helped us understand how to be a team," Mounts said.
Everything goes wrong ... until it doesn't
The AeroHawks' dream of winning a national championship almost didn't happen.
In the week before the trip to The Plains, the team's No. 1 rocket got caught in gusts of wind and got stuck in a tree adjacent to the school — twice. The casing on the rocket cost $70 apiece, and there is no budget for new ones. So, to retrieve the rocket, they had to tape together a pole vault pole and a pole custodians use to clean ceilings, plus a ladder.
But that wasn't their biggest problem.
When they arrived in The Plains, Smyrl noticed that in transport, one of the rocket's fins (which keep it straight in the air) had snapped off. They had to re-glue it and pray.
But that wasn't their biggest problem.
As the AeroHawks counted down their first launch of the national championships, with hundreds of people watching ...
Nothing happened.
The rocket failed to ignite. It had never done that before. No other rocket in the championships had failed to ignite.
That was their biggest problem.
If your rocket doesn't fly, there is no meeting with Macron.
Grissino-Mayer stood over the dormant rocket. His teammates sprinted to their prep table for more supplies to rebuild the motor.
"Your stomach drops to the floor," Mounts said.
"I thought I was going to pee," Dandena said.
That's when Grissino-Mayer saved the day. He realized the clamps holding the igniter had been pulled away from the explosives inside the rocket. He made an adjustment, and, sweating, he started the countdown.
This time, they had a lift off.
Like a fairytale
Five hours later, the AeroHawks had no idea if their scores were low enough to win.
The announcer started to call out the top 20.
When it came down to the final few teams, there were all the members of the AeroHawks, kids who might never have been noticed in school, all arm-in-arm, holding hands in the middle of a large table.
Some of the teammates said that moment was the highlight of the whole competition, arms locked with their teammates.
It came down to Hardin Valley Academy vs. Tharptown High School from Russellville, Alabama.
Remember, the lowest score wins. Tharptown finished with 14.8.
And Hardin Valley ...
13.4.
"We started screaming," said Mounts, who yelled so much she lost her voice. The AeroHawks parents in attendance were crying.
Assistant coach Tony Alemar said tears welled in his eyes as he hugged coach Smyrl.
"I had to put my sunglasses on," the former military man said.
They came home champions, even if they didn't receive a heroes' welcome.
"This is something that happens to other people," Dandena said. "It felt like something out of a fairytale." | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/tennessee-knoxville-hardin-valley-academy-rocket-team-us-champions-paris/70305805007/ | 2023-06-16T14:30:06 | 1 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/tennessee-knoxville-hardin-valley-academy-rocket-team-us-champions-paris/70305805007/ |
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Want to show off your chili cooking skills for a good cause?
The San Angelo Elks Lodge 1880 is hosting its 11th annual Chili Cook-off event June 17, 2121 S. Chadbourne St. with proceeds benefitting the Sweetheart Program.
"This is a neat event for us because it's a partnership with the San Angelo chili pod and it's something we do every year," Elks Lodge public relations chair Harry Thomas said. "And the winners will enjoy the afternoon and get points towards the world championship in Terlingua."
Participants are required to pay a $25 entry free, where they can then arrive at 9 a.m. to create their dishes using chili grind meat on-site.
At 2 p.m., chili will be judged by Goodfellow Air Force Base members based on taste, texture, presentation and color.
Winners will then receive prizes and a chance to enter the International Chili Cookoff in Terlingua.
For those who want to participate in other ways, the Elks Lodge is also asking for donations of baked goods for the food auction.
$5 hamburgers will also be on sale around noon for those who are interested.
The proceeds will go towards the Sweetheart Project, an organization put in place to provide a summer camp for children and young adults with disabilities.
"A lot of these children have been with their caregivers basically since birth," Thomas said. "And that means their caregivers have never had a break."
Over the course of seven one-week camp sessions, children are able to go swimming, participate in projects, visit SeaWorld in San Antonio and then graduate at the end.
The Elks hope to continue hosting similar events to benefit those in need.
"The bottom line is we wanna be part of the community and we wanna find fundraisers that help us support the special needs children's community," Thomas said.
The proceeds will benefit next year's summer camp. | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/san-angelo-elks-lodge-1880-to-host-chili-cook-off-fundraiser-event/504-da828dd4-7887-4115-995c-737c17dd5eda | 2023-06-16T14:30:11 | 1 | https://www.myfoxzone.com/article/news/local/san-angelo-elks-lodge-1880-to-host-chili-cook-off-fundraiser-event/504-da828dd4-7887-4115-995c-737c17dd5eda |
An East Tennessee man went missing in Germany in WWII. He'll be laid to rest in Maryville
A Loudon County native killed during World War II is being laid to rest in Maryville, after his remains had been unidentified for nearly 80 years.
Army Cpl. Joe A. Vinyard will be interred June 17 at Grandview Cemetery according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Smith Funeral & Cremation Services will perform graveside services.
Vinyard was a M4 Sherman tank crewmember assigned to Company A, 774th Tank Battalion in Germany. Vinyard went missing after his crew’s tank was hit by German forces in December 1944. The War Department issued a presumptive finding of death for Vinyard in April 1946. He was 23 years old.
Through continued DNA testing of unidentified remains from WWII, the DPAA was able to account for Vinyard on Sept. 9, 2022.
The sole missing crewmember
In December 1944, Vinyard and his tank crew were engaged in a battle with German forces in the Hürtgen Forest near Gey, Germany, when they were hit by an anti-tank artillery round.
The crew escaped the tank, but when they regrouped, Vinyard was not there. A crewmember reported seeing Vinyard get out of the tank. Vinyard never returned and there were no remains in the tank, according to initial inspections.
Investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950 by the American Graves Registration Command found remains in two destroyed tanks near the Gey area. The remains couldn’t be identified and were buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium. VInyard was declared non-recoverable in 1950.
One set of the remains was disinterred in July 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory in Nebraska to undergo testing and analysis. Using DNA from a relative, it was determined the remains were Vinyard.
Vinyard’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
More information about Vinyard and the DPAA’s mission to account for those who went missing while serving can be found at dpaa.mil.
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. Twitter @dturner1208.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe. | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/tennessee-wwii-soldier-remains-identified-and-laid-to-rest/70316582007/ | 2023-06-16T14:30:12 | 1 | https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/tennessee-wwii-soldier-remains-identified-and-laid-to-rest/70316582007/ |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This Saturday the City of Little Rock and the rest of the country will celebrate Juneteenth, a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans
“This shouldn’t be just a Black holiday; we’re celebrating freedom for all Americans," said Brian Rodgers with the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.
The holiday also gives people a chance to understand the history of Little Rock's 9th Street.
“The neighborhood really started pre-civil war when it was known as Hazel Street,” Rodgers explained.
Following the fall of Little Rock in 1863 during the Civil War, 9th Street began to take shape.
“So, they start to begin Black businesses, Black hospitals, Black lawyers, Black doctors, and all of these are concentrated on the west end of 9th Street,” he described.
As the decades passed, 9th Street became vibrant for business and entertainment— most notably inside the current flag and banner building in the Dreamland Ballroom.
“Musical stars like Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole. They danced and they danced until 2 or 3 in the morning, and they ate and had a great time. There were restaurants and liquor stores that catered to that nighttime crowd,” Rodgers added.
Unfortunately, long gone are the glory days of Dreamland Ballroom. However, ahead of the Juneteenth Holiday, Rodgers and the Mosaic Templars have their eyes on the future.
“We would like to see this area become a historic neighborhood where we focus on bringing back some of those things that existed here,” he said. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/little-rock/history-little-rocks-9th-street-juneteenth/91-6d8f8747-d49e-4600-9af1-73fa118b120b | 2023-06-16T14:30:23 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/little-rock/history-little-rocks-9th-street-juneteenth/91-6d8f8747-d49e-4600-9af1-73fa118b120b |
FORT WORTH, Texas — The city of Fort Worth has been sued by a group of short term rental operators over regulations, calling them unconstitutional and a "violation of economic liberty and property rights."
The Fort Worth Short Term Rental Alliance (FWSTRA) announced the lawsuit being filed Thursday, which features 113 homeowners who have joined the lawsuit against the city. The FWSTRA said the path that the city took was far more than an overreach.
“The Constitution defends property owners against irrational government. Property rights are being undermined and will not go unchecked by concerned citizens,” said FWSTRA President Adrienne Bennett, who is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Five months ago, the city council passed new rules requiring those listed on AirBnb and Vrbo to register, pay hotel taxes and comply with zoning regulations. Those residential neighborhoods mat petition for a zoning change. Operators in the Como neighborhood tried in May and were denied.
According to the city warning notices, fines of up to $2,000 per day could be levied against property owners who provide their homes to guests for stays shorter than 30 days, the FWSTRA said in a release.
WFAA has reached out to the city of Fort Worth for comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit comes days after Dallas City Council also banned short-term rentals. Legal battles are expected to come over that ruling, as well.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/fort-worth-short-term-rental-lawsuit/287-6781dc75-6562-4043-8670-531a18d23c91 | 2023-06-16T14:39:51 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/fort-worth-short-term-rental-lawsuit/287-6781dc75-6562-4043-8670-531a18d23c91 |
LAVON, Texas — The roof of a bank in Collin County collapsed after storms rolled through North Texas.
The bank, an Independent Financial located in Lavon, Texas, had significant damage to its drive-thru portion of the building due to strong winds, officials said. The Collin County Sheriff's Office told WFAA there were no injuries reported in the roof collapse.
The Lavon Fire Department and three officers responded to the scene.
Collin County did have a Tornado Warning issued around 10:15 p.m. on Thursday night, but it is not confirmed that the damage to the bank is tornado-related.
The bank told WFAA it was following its normal protocols to notify customers of the interruption in service.
More details were not immediately available.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/lavon-texas-bank-collapse/287-82e8da09-5660-4384-b8b6-7a86151198af | 2023-06-16T14:39:57 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/lavon-texas-bank-collapse/287-82e8da09-5660-4384-b8b6-7a86151198af |
KATY, Texas — A church in Katy proudly displays Pride flags to celebrate the LGBTQ community and their right to equality.
“It’s a sign and symbol of love and hope,” says First Christian Church Reverend Heather Tolleson. "It's about celebrating who you are and an opportunity where everybody can be exactly who they are at all times.”
But on Wednesday, she said church security cameras caught someone stealing the flags. And not just one -- but seven of them.
"It was broad daylight," Tolleson said,
Video surveillance appears to show someone drive up in a black truck, walk toward the flags and then walk back with them before taking off.
“Zip tie from yesterday, they cut out," Tolleson showed reporter Zack Tawatari. "Our flags are held up by a couple of zip ties each."
Tolleson said she thinks people steal flags to incite fear and intimidate.
This isn’t the first time the church has had its flags stolen. In fact, they say they’ve had 16 stolen in just the last 10 days, but they said nothing is going to stop them from displaying their pride.
"I think there's something particularly interesting about the LGBTQ+ community in that every single day you wake up, and there's a fear for your security," she said.
Fear is something the church – and its community – haven’t given into. Dating back to protests last September during a drag bingo night.
"We get hate mail," Tolleson said. "Sometimes we get comments on social media that are rough."
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said they are aware of the flag-stealing incident and are investigating. If you have any information, you’re urged to call 713-221-6000. You can also Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/pride-flags-stolen-katy-church/285-f16ec1ce-db07-4894-a68e-fec7f69f1878 | 2023-06-16T14:40:03 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/pride-flags-stolen-katy-church/285-f16ec1ce-db07-4894-a68e-fec7f69f1878 |
Volleyball fans in Nebraska may get the chance to enjoy an alcoholic beverage while taking in a pair of matches in Memorial Stadium later this year.
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will consider allowing for the sale and consumption of alcohol inside Memorial Stadium on Aug. 30, what’s been billed as Volleyball Day.
The two outdoor games slated to be played before 90,000-plus fans were announced in February by Husker Athletic Director Trev Alberts, volleyball Coach John Cook and Gov. Jim Pillen.
The festivities will start at 4:30 p.m. when the University of Nebraska at Kearney takes on Wayne State College in an exhibition match.
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At 7 p.m., the Huskers will play the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the headlining match, which will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
A concert featuring country music artist Scotty McCreery will follow.
While officials had hinted that fans would be able to buy a cold beer while taking in the spectacle, the regents’ June 22 agenda made it official on Thursday.
“We have discussed the possibility of alcohol sales from the outset of our planning for this event, and we appreciate the Board of Regents considering this item at their meeting next week,” Alberts said in a statement.
“Volleyball Day in Nebraska will be an exciting day for our fans, and we want to provide them as many concession offerings and amenities as possible,” he added.
If regents give their approval, Volleyball Day will mark the second time since 2021 that booze will be sold for a special event inside Memorial Stadium, even as university brass have been hesitant to say when, or even if, alcohol could become a part of the regular concession offerings for Husker football games.
A Garth Brooks concert in August 2021 drew more than 90,000 people and gave Husker fans a look — as well as a taste — of one possible future for the venue.
Months later, regents rescinded the ban on alcohol sales at Husker Athletics contests, giving administrators flexibility to determine when and where to let fans buy a cold one.
After turning on the taps at Pinnacle Bank Arena for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships in March 2022 — there were no negative incidents reported — the Board of Regents unanimously approved beer sales for men’s and women’s basketball games through the 2023-24 season.
The decision to do so was based on the evolving expectations of fans and not as a revenue driver, Alberts told reporters at a news conference.
Alberts said Husker Athletics learned plenty of important lessons from the Garth Brooks concert about how to manage the sale and consumption of alcohol in Memorial Stadium.
“We will rely on that previous experience as we plan for this event,” he said. “Ultimately, if alcohol is approved, our goals will be to provide an efficient point of sale experience for our fans, and to manage the event in a safe and responsible way.”
Other items to be considered by regents:
* Although it’s not currently listed on the June 22 agenda, regents will likely consider approving the hiring of Rodney D. Bennett to become the 21st chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The agenda can be amended up to 24 hours before the meeting is scheduled to begin.
On May 22, Bennett was named the priority candidate to replace Chancellor Ronnie Green, who will retire at the end of the month. Under state law, Bennett was required to go through a 30-day vetting period and hold public forums before his hiring can be finalized.
The vetting period will end on June 21. Bennett took part in more than 20 events in Lincoln between June 5-9.
* A proposed change to regents’ bylaws would put Carter in charge of providing policy direction and oversight to Husker Athletics.
Lincoln Regent Tim Clare and Regent Rob Schafer of Beatrice recommended the change, which would put the Board of Regents closer to the decision-making process in the athletics office.
Members of the UNL Faculty Senate raised concerns about the plan and what it would mean for the state’s flagship campus, however.
A public hearing will be held to discuss the measure before it is put to a vote. If approved, the change would go into effect on July 1.
* The board will set a guaranteed maximum price of $85 million for the new Rural Health Education Building at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The facility, which will train health care workers wishing to practice in rural areas of Nebraska, is funded through $50 million in state appropriations and $35 million in private donations.
* Regents will consider terminating the continuous appointment of Eric Dodds, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at UNL, following a vote by other tenured faculty members in the department and an administrative hearing.
If the board approves the measure, Dodds would be the second tenured faculty member to be fired in the last six months. In December, regents removed Julie Stone, an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/nebraska-regents-to-consider-alcohol-sales-during-volleyball-day-at-memorial-stadium/article_4015b704-0b85-11ee-b91c-df82086e5932.html | 2023-06-16T14:47:27 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/nebraska-regents-to-consider-alcohol-sales-during-volleyball-day-at-memorial-stadium/article_4015b704-0b85-11ee-b91c-df82086e5932.html |
ROANOKE, Va. – Celebrate Juneteenth with a family reunion at Eureka Park in Roanoke. The Roanoke Cultural Collective is hosting the event on Saturday, June 17 from 12 to 5 p.m.
You and your family can join the community in a day filled with music, dance, food and history.
They are starting the morning off with a request from the mother of Juneteenth with a breakfast of prayer. The day will continue with performances from a number of local organizations like Angels of Zion, Explosion Athletics and Custom Vibes.
Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office will be handing out free food to the youth.
Bernadette Lark, Arts and Culture Lead for the Roanoke Cultural Collective, says, “This weekend, we want to be such an inspiration to encourage people to come out in the community, participate, but know that it is safe and accessible. We want to bring back the optimism that it is okay to come out and gather and know that we are in this together.”
Lark recommends if you plan on coming to the park, to bring your own seating or picnic blanket and plan to have a good time with the community. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/06/16/juneteenth-celebration-taking-place-this-weekend-in-roanoke/ | 2023-06-16T14:53:14 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/06/16/juneteenth-celebration-taking-place-this-weekend-in-roanoke/ |
Kemp Center's ArtZeum exhibit features farm animals theme
Free to the public and open through Aug 12
The latest edition of the Kemp Center for the Arts’ ArtZeum series is open to the public, with a unique new theme: farm animals. The ArtZeum exhibit aims to combine art and interactive activities in an accessible way for kids. Arts Council WF CEO Kristen Shiplet said exhibits like ArtZeum help introduce kids and families to the arts and the local art scene.
“I just love to see new families come in that have never been to the Kemp Center for the Arts. This gets them down here, they have a little more exposure to art, and then hopefully make a connection with us, the Arts Council, and participate in other programs that we have,” Shiplet said.
In addition to farm-themed toys and decorations, ArtZeum also offers instruments and art stations for children to explore and create with. The room the activities take place in is set with a backdrop of a collection of photos.
The photos are the work of National Geographic photographer R. J. Kern, from his series “The Unchosen Ones.” In addition to the play and education youngsters get from the activities, the photography exhibit presents a more thought-provoking activity for older visitors. Shiplet said Kern’s work inspired the exhibit theme.
“R. J. Kern is a National Geographic agriculture photographer. And he has this photography series called 'The Unchosen Ones,' which he went and interviewed and photographed 4H kids at different county fairs up in Minnesota, and then he went back four years later to interview them and photograph them again to see were they still showing the same animal, were they still in 4H, did they have a new hobby, did they graduate high school, kind of to check in with them, see where they were. So this photography series was kind of the starting point for the farm animals theme,” Shiplet said.
Shiplet noted that while the activities are designed for children, all ages can find something to enjoy in the exhibit.
“It truly is all-ages. We have toddlers, it’s really meant for your 3-to-8-year-olds, but any age can do the activities. We love to see parents, grandparents, caregivers jump in and do the music stations, create the artwork, participate in the activities that we have,” Shiplet said.
The exhibit is free to the public and is open through Aug 12 at the Kemp Center for the Arts, 1300 Lamar, Wichita Falls.
For more information about the Arts Council, Kemp Center and other programs visit https://www.artscouncilwf.org/. | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/kemp-centers-artzeum-exhibit-features-farm-animals-theme/70325913007/ | 2023-06-16T14:56:26 | 0 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/kemp-centers-artzeum-exhibit-features-farm-animals-theme/70325913007/ |
SAN ANTONIO — Police believe a car was hit by a train just north of the Five Points area early Friday morning.
The accident happened at Ashby and Aganier around 3 a.m.
Police say they suspect the driver was under the influence of something when the car was hit by the train. Investigators say they have ruled out alcohol as a cause.
The man was the only person in the car and he was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
At last check, police had not filed any charges, but they say charges are possible once the man is cleared from the hospital.
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Since going on the air in 1950, KENS 5 has strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians.
KENS 5 has brought numerous firsts to South Texas television, including being the first local station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a local morning news program.
Over the years, KENS 5 has worked to transform local news. Our cameras have been the lens bringing history into local viewers' homes. We're proud of our legacy as we serve San Antonians today.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/car-hit-by-train-just-north-of-five-points-area-san-antonio-texas/273-7a6c103c-3759-45d6-b807-ec211f725cb6 | 2023-06-16T14:58:27 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/car-hit-by-train-just-north-of-five-points-area-san-antonio-texas/273-7a6c103c-3759-45d6-b807-ec211f725cb6 |
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Pets Alive! will offer discounted adoption fees at an event on Saturday.
The event takes place from noon to 4 p.m. at the Petco Ingram at 6100 NW Loop 1604. It is in partnership with Petco's Cat, Kitten, and Friends Adoption Event sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
During the event, people looking for a pet can save money with a reduced adoption fee of only $25. Cats, kittens, dogs and puppies will all be available for adoption on Saturday.
San Antonio Pets Alive! provided some photos of pets that will be available for adoption. Scroll through the gallery below to see if your next furry friend is among them!
San Antonio Pets Alive! hosts adoption event
Click here to learn more about the event.
MORE ON KENS 5:
Learn more about KENS 5:
Since going on the air in 1950, KENS 5 has strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians.
KENS 5 has brought numerous firsts to South Texas television, including being the first local station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a local morning news program.
Over the years, KENS 5 has worked to transform local news. Our cameras have been the lens bringing history into local viewers' homes. We're proud of our legacy as we serve San Antonians today.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/find-your-next-furry-friend-at-weekend-adoption-event-with-discounted-fees-san-antonio-texas/273-b63798ff-dcb3-4f72-b26e-4bf755c2083b | 2023-06-16T14:58:33 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/find-your-next-furry-friend-at-weekend-adoption-event-with-discounted-fees-san-antonio-texas/273-b63798ff-dcb3-4f72-b26e-4bf755c2083b |
BALTIMORE — There is stiff resistance to ongoing efforts by BGE to replace gas regulators around some Baltimore neighborhoods.
On Thursday eight community associations throughout the City announced plans to file legal action, alleging illegal practices by BGE.
"BGE has extorted consent from customers by unlawfully threatening to disconnect and terminate gas service," said Thiru Vignarajah, a former City State's Attorney candidate who is representing impacted residents.
The dispute stems from a2021 lawrequiring new gas service regulators to be installed outside rather than inside a home.
BGE sought an extension to comply citing 100,000 homes that could be affected.
While BGE would not comment on pending litigation, they said many statements made by Vignarajah "are based on inaccurate information."
BGE also released this statement to WMAR-2 News.
"Unobstructed access to our gas equipment, including all piping up to the gas meter, is vital to maintaining and upgrading our infrastructure. Customers taking gas service authorize BGE to access, modify, and repair gas equipment under the terms of BGE’s Gas Service Tariff and are required to provide this access; if they fail to do so they may enter the gas service disconnection process. BGE does not want to discontinue gas service and we communicate with customers multiple times regarding the necessary work in order to avoid this outcome."
Vignarajah fired back on that interpretation of the gas service tariff, which essentially is a statewide contract between BGE and its customers.
"Nothing in Maryland regulations or the governing service agreement allows BGE to terminate service if a customer simply declines to give permission to BGE to undertake major new installations or to deface their home," he explained.
BGE says replacing its aging low-pressure gas infrastructure with a higher-pressure system provides more reliable and resilient natural gas service.
"This work cannot happen without the upgrade to or addition of gas regulators to maintain a safe level of pressure between the gas system and customers’ homes and appliances," said BGE. "Externally placed regulators are safer because in the event of an unintended gas release incident, gas vents directly into the atmosphere as opposed to building up inside a structure where it is susceptible to ignition that can have catastrophic results."
Neighbors, though, are expressing environmental concerns with the plan citing the State's goal to move on from fossil fuels.
In response BGE said it "supports the State’s ambitious net-zero emissions goals."
"Customers can choose to discontinue their gas service and electrify their homes and businesses, which would negate the need for internal or external regulators," BGE said.
Groups also accuse the utility company of using the project to charge customers more money.
"BGE has pivoted 180 degrees from vocally objecting to external gas regulators before the General Assembly to now insisting upon them, realizing they can use the unwanted infrastructure investments to add a profit-gouging surcharge to customer bills," stated Vignarajah.
So far the neighborhoods opposing BGE's work include Butcher’s Hill, Federal Hill, Fells Point, Mt. Vernon and Pigtown.
Ultimately the work by BGE falls under control of the Maryland Public Service Commission.
Meanwhile the Office of People's Counsel, an independent state agency representing utility consumers, launched a petition for the commission to quickly regulate how gas companies operate in the future.
"Gas utility planning has not changed even though electric technologies—like electric heat pumps—are outperforming gas technologies and the State’s climate goals require the State to move off of fossil fuels. A Commission proceeding is necessary to ensure gas utility planning and practices are consistent with the public interest, Maryland climate policy, and the statutory requirement that rates utilities charge customers are just and reasonable." | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/baltimore-communities-accuse-bge-of-unlawfully-threatening-to-terminate-gas-service | 2023-06-16T14:58:38 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/baltimore-communities-accuse-bge-of-unlawfully-threatening-to-terminate-gas-service |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland continues to experience its lowest unemployment rate in nearly half-a-century.
This according to new preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
In May Maryland gained 2,500 jobs causing the unemployment rate to fall to 2.4 percent.
The public sector experienced the most growth in May, increasing by 1,500 jobs.
Some sectors experienced a loss including Trade, Transportation, and Utilities.
In April Maryland gained 8,000 jobs leading to a 2.5 percent unemployment rate. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/maryland-gained-2k-jobs-in-may-unemployment-rate-falls-to-2-4 | 2023-06-16T14:58:45 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/maryland-gained-2k-jobs-in-may-unemployment-rate-falls-to-2-4 |
MAYS LANDING — A judge agreed to release an Ocean County man charged with having sex with a teenager while parked outside the Brigantine Observation Towner over the weekend.
Thomas G. Aljian Jr., 55, of Stafford Township, will appear in court again on July 25, court officials said on Thursday. He was released from Atlantic Count jail on Wednesday with conditions.
Aljian is charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child after he was caught by a Brigantine police officer engaging in sexual activity with the teenager inside his parked car.
The officer patrolling the area near East Beach Avenue and 14th Street North early Saturday morning spotted the vehicle and approached it, causing the teenager, 15, to run toward the north-end sea wall. He would later be caught by police there and brought to headquarters for questioning.
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Aljian confessed to meeting the teenager through the dating application Grindr, adding the two were "making out in his truck," believing the 15-year-old to be 19, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The 15-year-old gave officers a false identity when questioned, police said in announcing Aljian's arrest.
Officers returned to where Aljian's vehicle was, finding a used condom near there and collecting it as evidence, the affidavit states.
Meanwhile, at the police station, the teenager admitted he and Aljian had engaged in sexual activity inside the car, the affidavit states.
The teen later went to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, for a "SANE Exam," which is often used in sexual assault cases, the affidavit states. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/brigantine-assault-jail-release/article_040b29f0-0ba9-11ee-8ab8-47e6600ef510.html | 2023-06-16T15:01:19 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/brigantine-assault-jail-release/article_040b29f0-0ba9-11ee-8ab8-47e6600ef510.html |
Swimmers should be cautious when wading in New Jersey's bay waters because of a higher chance of encounters with a jellyfish species capable of a painful sting, the state Department of Environmental Protection said on Friday.
Clinging Jellyfish, which can range in size from as small as a dime to as large as a quarter, have been increasingly spotted in New Jersey's bays and rivers since 2016.
The DEP's warning comes while bay waters in New Jersey remain cool, making the breed of jellyfish more likely to be found in them.
"Fortunately, populations of clinging jellyfish and their distribution have been largely stable since the species was first confirmed in New Jersey in 2016,” state DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said on Friday. “However, clinging jellyfish pack such a potentially powerful sting that it is important for the public to be vigilant and take precautions when recreating in coastal bays and rivers where they are found.”
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Clinging jellyfish are Pacific Ocean natives. The species likely migrated to the East Coast through ballast water discharged from ships or attaching themselves to vessel hulls possibly as early as the late 1800s, the DEP said.
They've been seen from Maine to New Jersey.
Locally, the jellyfish have been found mostly within a handful of Cape May County's waters, which include a salt pond in North Wildwood next to the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, the Lower Township Thorofare and the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge.
They've also been found in Barnegat Bay.
The animal is not likely to be found floating in the ocean.
Reactions to their sting vary among humans, but commonly felt is an initial burn feeling.
"Monitoring of invasive species is critical for science and management, especially when they potentially pose a threat to human health,” said Dr. Paul Bologna, a Montclair State University marine biologist monitoring the animal through a partnership with the state. “Clinging jellyfish are small, but they can produce severe pain in people who are stung in the shallow bays of New Jersey and New England."
The species are typically found in the bay waters and rivers between mid-May and late-July, or when water temperatures either reach or exceed 82 degrees Fahrenheit, scientists say.
To limit possible painful encounters with the animal, swimmers should avoid watery areas with algae and underwater seagrass. Long-sleeved swimming attire should also be used when in those areas, the DEP said.
Their stings can be treated by rinsing it with salt water. Their tentacles, if left on the body, should be removed using gloves, a plastic card or a thick towel.
Severe symptoms should be treated through immediate medical attention.
To track their movement, state officials are testing the waters for their DNA, showing them where the jellyfish has been or is currently.
“Environmental DNA allows us to detect invasive species at much lower numbers than our usual sampling methods, so we can more quickly address the issues faced by all who make use of New Jersey's coastal waters,” said Anthony Vastano, a laboratory researcher in the Rutgers eDNA Lab. “It's an amazing technology that, beyond detecting invasive species, has the potential to quickly characterize the entire cnidarian community by simply collecting a bottle of water, filtering it down, and analyzing the sample back at the lab." | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/newjersey-warning-jellyfish-environment/article_d78c3f5e-0c48-11ee-b3ce-cb726f597430.html | 2023-06-16T15:01:25 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/newjersey-warning-jellyfish-environment/article_d78c3f5e-0c48-11ee-b3ce-cb726f597430.html |
More lanes, roundabouts: The plan for State Road 32 between Noblesville and Westfield
Transportation officials plan to widen State Road 32 in Hamilton County to four lanes, switch seven intersections to roundabouts and build asphalt paths on both sides of the street.
The $80 million project will be on 5 miles of Indiana 32 connecting Westfield and Noblesville, according to a recent public presentation hosted by the Indiana Department of Transportation in Westfield.
Construction is expected to start in 2026.
Officials said the rebuilding will reduce crashes and speed up travel time, which are projected to double in length in 20 years.
The federally funded program will be overseen by INDOT.
SR 32 will be increased from one lane in each direction to two with a raised median. With seven roundabouts added only two stop lights will remain on the stretch of the road, according to INDOT.
Controversy5 HSE administrator jobs hang in balance amid latest school board criticism
A study by project engineer Crawford Murphy & Tilly found that there were 110 crashes a year on the road, nearly 70% of them rear-end collisions caused by stop-and-go traffic. The most crashes were at the intersection with Little Chicago Road/Hazel Dell Parkway, with the Carey Road-Gassy Branch Road intersection second.
The roundabouts are expected to reduce rear-end accidents, as well as side-impact collisions.
Engineers estimated without the road upgrades, increased traffic volume would lengthen travel times during rush hours from about seven minutes to as high as 19 minutes in 20 years. The upgrades could be expected to keep the time under 10 minutes.
Eight-foot-wide asphalt paths for pedestrians and bicyclists will be built on both sides of the road with a grassy buffer separating them from the street.
Development along the road is proceeding rapidly, especially in Noblesville, with several projects in the works.
Among them:
- Promenade Trails at Little Chicago Road will have 151 apartments and 59 cottage rentals for people 55 years
- Meijer plans to build a supermarket next to the Promenade developments.
- Midland Pointe, on the southeast corner of SR 32 and Hazel Dell Parkway, will be 249 townhouses and stacked flats and offer 40,000 feet of retail space. Wawa has already signed on, along with a Crew Car Wash.
- The city is seeking a developer for a large piece of land on the southwest corner of the intersection.
Roundabouts will be added at the following intersections:
- Carey Road/Grassy Branch Road.
- Gunther Boulevard.
- Moontown Road/Gray Road.
- Pebble Brook Boulevard/Hazel Dell Elementary School.l
- Hazel Dell Road/Little Chicago Road.
- Mill Creek Road.
- Hague Road/Pleasant Street extension.
Call the reporter at 317 444-6418. | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/2023/06/16/state-road-32-construction-lanes-roundabouts-westfield-noblesville-hamilton-county/70327046007/ | 2023-06-16T15:03:07 | 1 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/2023/06/16/state-road-32-construction-lanes-roundabouts-westfield-noblesville-hamilton-county/70327046007/ |
The Pittsburgh Pirates (34-33) have started their road trip in the worst way possible after getting swept by the Chicago Cubs. Now, they will try and turn things around against the Milwaukee Brewers (34-34).
The Pirates’ bullpen imploded yet again after giving up six earned runs between the fifth and sixth inning Thursday night.
As a result, the Pirates lost to the Cubs 7-2, but now have a chance against the Brewers to solidify their one-game lead in the N.L. Central.
The first pitch at American Family Field is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.
Read more from our partners at Sports Now Group Pittsburgh.
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DENVER — A Denver Police Department officer was struck by a firetruck and seriously injured during the Denver Nuggets parade in downtown on Thursday morning.
The crash happened about 11:30 a.m. near the end of the parade route at West 13th Avenue and Cherokee Street.
The officer was on the front passenger side of the truck, protecting fans from the truck, which was carrying several Nuggets players, when he was caught under the wheels, said Police Chief Ron Thomas at a briefing at Denver Health.
Video taken by Brian Willie and shared with 9NEWS showed the officer was conscious and moving after the crash. The officer was taken to a hospital with a serious lower-leg injury, where he was undergoing surgery to save his leg, Thomas said.
Mayor Michael Hancock identified the officer as Sgt. Justin Dodge. Thomas said Dodge is a veteran who's highly decorated and had been assigned to the SWAT division for a number of years.
Minutes before the crash, Sky9 showed fans over barriers in place to keep people out of the road. Fans were pressing up alongside the firetruck, with Denver Police officers closely lined up along the truck's sides.
After the officer was injured, Nuggets players including Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, and other parade participants who were on that firetruck, got off and into a DPD vehicle to continue to the Civic Center rally.
Thomas said fencing was in place to keep people out of the street, along with police officers along the parade route and around vehicles carrying Nuggets players, but that fans were able to "overcome" that. He said it wouldn't be fair to blame those fans who were celebrating the Nuggets.
"The only safety challenge we faced at that point was the injury that happened to the officer as he was protecting these community members from the firetrucks," Thomas said. "The officer was doing his job, protecting the public, and unfortunately was injured."
Denver Police said the cause of the crash was under investigation.
> Below: Video courtesy of Brian Willie shows the aftermath of the officer getting hit:
This is a developing situation. This article will be updated as information is confirmed.
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KUSA can be found on paid Internet video streaming services such as Hulu TV, YouTube TV, and Playstation Vue. If you've cut the cord in favor of one of these services, your plan needs to include NBC for you to watch 9NEWS. At this time My20, KTVD, is not on these services, but you can watch all our news shows on our free streaming app, 9NEWS+. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/denver-police-officer-hit-firetruck-nuggets-parade/73-8b92e454-c898-4999-b128-1efc6c82013f | 2023-06-16T15:26:54 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/denver-police-officer-hit-firetruck-nuggets-parade/73-8b92e454-c898-4999-b128-1efc6c82013f |
CANADIAN LAKES, Mich. — A dog adopted in West Michigan has gone from almost 100 pounds to just over 30 pounds less than a year after being rescued.
"He's a happy boy now," Mike Steinhelper, one of his owners, says.
Winston the beagle is living his best life in Canadian Lakes.
"He's very keen on making up for lost time hunting squirrels," Mike says.
When Winston isn't staring out the window looking for squirrels, he likes to nap, go on walks and explore his neighborhood.
"He loves being out on the deck, especially if a boater comes by or a fisherman," Mike says.
Winston is about 11 or 12 years old, and he wasn't always this active.
"He weighed 96 pounds," Mike says.
He was rescued by Pound Buddies last summer in Muskegon county, back when he was named Rolo.
"We've learned bits and pieces here and there," Mike says. "He was kind of just left outside 24/7 with a big giant bowl of food that was maybe filled once a week."
He was adopted by Mike and Karen Steinhelper last August. They've rehabbed two other obese beagles before.
"We feel lucky, we're in a position where we can help them," Mike says.
"He has a happy look in his eye and bounces around plays with the other dogs and everything. So it's definitely feels like we accomplished something in order to help him," Karen says.
It took months of physical therapy to get him down to 33 pounds, which is a healthy weight for a beagle.
"He really started coming into his own when he was about 50 or 60 pounds really, having a good time exploring and he could start doing the things he wanted to do," Mike says.
They hope that others feel inspired by Winston's story to give other shelter animals a second chance.
"If a person has any inkling that they think they would want to adopt a dog in need or a dog with special needs, go for it," Karen says. "There are people who can support you and help you."
"It's kind of cliché that you'll get more out of it than they will, but you'll both get a tremendous amount out of it," Mike says.
Winston is expecting to finish up physical therapy this summer.
The Steinhelpers have been documenting Winston's journey, as well as the daily lives of their entire beagle brigade, on this Facebook page. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/rescued-beagle-in-michigan-goes-from-96-to-33-pounds-in-less-than-a-year/69-e6ccdba7-d108-44c8-b082-df01c18fbe0d | 2023-06-16T15:27:00 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/rescued-beagle-in-michigan-goes-from-96-to-33-pounds-in-less-than-a-year/69-e6ccdba7-d108-44c8-b082-df01c18fbe0d |
Traffic alert: Popular shortcut from Route 74 onto Richland Avenue in York about to change
A big traffic change is coming for drivers who use Madison Avenue as a shortcut to get to Richland Avenue in the west end of the City of York.
The city will be installing a stop sign Monday that will require drivers who use Madison Avenue to stop when they reach the corner of Linden and Richland avenues, according to a news release.
The stop sign that required westbound traffic on Linden Avenue to stop before proceeding onto Richland Avenue will be removed, the release states.
The intent is to provide a safer neighborhood for residents along Madison Avenue, the city says.
Drivers who are traveling southbound on Carlisle Road are encouraged to use Linden Avenue instead of Madison Avenue.
Meanwhile, officials recently made changes to another intersection in the city.
The intersection of North Newberry Street and Madison Avenue near Ferguson Elementary School and Farquhar Park is now an all-way stop, according to a separate news release.
The two new stop signs were added.
The intent is to improve safey around the school and park, the release states.
Weekend road closure:East Market Street by Interstate 83 to close this weekend for bridge work: PennDOT
For subscribers:Roundabout at New Salem square? PennDOT is considering it, and residents are concerned | https://www.ydr.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/madison-avenue-shortcut-to-richland-avenue-in-york-pa-to-get-stop-sign/70328986007/ | 2023-06-16T15:28:55 | 0 | https://www.ydr.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/madison-avenue-shortcut-to-richland-avenue-in-york-pa-to-get-stop-sign/70328986007/ |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Tuscaloosa Police and the Violent Crimes Unit are investigating after a shooting at an apartment complex left one person dead.
Tuscaloosa Police said law enforcement were called to the scene of the shooting shortly after 3 a.m. Friday. Officers said the fatal victim was taken from the apartment complex to the Tuscaloosa Police West Precinct following the shooting.
No one is in custody at this time.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting and the victim’s identity is unknown at this time. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/one-dead-after-shooting-at-tuscaloosa-apartment-complex/ | 2023-06-16T15:29:34 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/one-dead-after-shooting-at-tuscaloosa-apartment-complex/ |
Mayor Jim Kenney and City Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore Richardson will host “Summer Palooza Take Two” on Friday as they look to address how the city plans to keep kids safe during summer break.
Officials will take the podium around 11:30 a.m. Friday, at they city’s Juvenile Justice Center on West Coulter Street. They’re expected to tout the city’s free and low cost recreation programs and announce the locations of two new Community Evening Resource Centers.
Kenney will highlight the city’s summer camps and enrichment programs, before taking questions. A “Cooking with Cops” activity is scheduled to follow the event.
The news briefing comes as the Parks and Recreation department confirms 300 incidents involving gun violence at or near their facilities since 2019.
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City Council approved a measure in April to install more security cameras amid the wave of violence. They announced the installation of 100 cameras throughout 14 so-called “Safe Play Zones” in an effort to deter crime, and capture evidence when crime inevitably happens.
Meanwhile, council passed a measure to put a permanent curfew in place this past December. As it stands, children under the age of 18 need to be home or accompanied by an adult after 10 p.m. We expect to learn whether that curfew is helping reduce crime and any changes council intends to make.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-summer-safety-events-kids/3587087/ | 2023-06-16T15:35:10 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-summer-safety-events-kids/3587087/ |
Forgotten no more: Pekin woman and first slave freed by Abraham Lincoln now being honored
PEKIN — A Black woman who was born a slave, Nance Legins-Costley and her extraordinary story didn’t make it into the history books.
The longtime Pekin resident’s freedom was the subject of a pivotal court case that resulted in the abolition of indentured servitude — another name for slavery — in Illinois in 1841. Nance Legins-Costley and her three oldest children were freed, along with all other indentured servants in Illinois, as a result of Bailey v. Cromwell, a case brought before the Illinois Supreme Court.
The watershed case has added significance because Legins-Costley was represented by a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. In effect, Legins-Costley and her children were the first slaves freed by Lincoln, more than 20 years before he, as president of the United States, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing slavery in the secessionist Confederate states.
It’s an important story in U.S. history, but it was only kept alive because a few facts about Legins-Costley were repeated locally for many years. Amateur historian Carl Adams was floored when he came across a single sentence about Legins-Costley in 1994.
“It was published in the Tazewell Express, which was a free shopper mailed out once a month,” said Adams. “I came across a thumbnail sketch of Tazewell County history, and it said, ‘This was the home of a slave girl named Nance, first slave freed by Abraham Lincoln in 1841,’ and I’m going, ‘What? I am a Lincoln fan and I’ve never heard of it before.’ And I read it over and over."
That sentence launched an epic research project. In 2021, the Journal Star learned of the effort and published an article on Nance Legins-Costley that gained local and national attention. This year, Pekin and Peoria have erected memorials in her honor.
Adams compiled his research into a self-published book aimed at youthful readers, an effort to educate generations to come. This year, with the help of Adams' book, teens at Pekin Community High School spent many hours learning about Pekin’s forgotten figure and her incredible legacy. The resulting student work displayed on a website created by the school recounts not only historical facts, but also expresses profound emotion about the injustices Legins-Costley endured during her lifetime.
“I was so pleased when I heard that Pekin High School did immersion education into this. The graduating seniors from Pekin Community High School now know all about Nance," said Adams. “For me, it was like hitting the bull's-eye – I got through to teenage kids.”
Tracking down key facts
Adams' search for information about Legins-Costley was greatly aided by the fact that her family was owned by a wealthy and influential man named Col. Thomas Cox. The resulting paper trail provided clues about Legins-Costley's early life.
“The hardest thing to do was nail down her last name — nobody knew her last name. Everybody knew her as the slave girl named Nance,” said Adams
His first breakthrough came when he discovered a receipt for the sale of Legins-Costley's parents.
More:Chimps, arson and the birth of splatter films: Rise and fall of Peoria drive-in theaters
“A young man, a high school history teacher named Darrel Dexter, wrote a book called 'House Divided: Union County, Illinois,' and I opened the book and there was a handwritten receipt with the name of Thomas Cox published in this book. The receipt said ‘for my Negro man Randall and one Negro woman and one baby, Ruben.’ That was where Thomas Cox purchased the Legins family.”
Adams surmised that Nance Legins-Costley's mother, Anachy, was pregnant at the time because Cox paid $70 above the appraisal price of $700. Adams was later able to determine that Legins-Costley was born in Kaskaskia about five months later, in December 1813.
A thwarted rebellion
At that time, Illinois was not a state. It was part of the Northwest Territory, where slavery was forbidden as per the federal Northwest Ordinance. The ordinance was not enforced, however, and a system of indentured servitude reinforced the cruel institution. According to law, servitude could extend as long as 99 years — a lifetime.
Though Legins-Costley is believed to have been unable to read and write, she still knew enough to fight for her rights. Adams surmised that, having grown up listening to the conversations of men who stayed in a hotel owned by Cox, she learned the politics of the day. When Nance was just 13 or 14 years old, she fought against being sold into another household. Cox was in debt and forced by the courts to sell off some of his property, including his indentured servants. While other members of the Legins family went quietly, Legins-Costley did not, but her rebellion ended when she was locked in a windowless salt house for a week.
Finally: Freedom
In 1829, Legins-Costley moved with her new owners, Nathan and Ann Eliza Cromwell, to Tazewell County, where they helped found Pekin. Though the teenager kept working for the family, she continued to fight for her freedom. As Cox contested the ruling against him and tried to regain his possessions, Legins-Costley testified that she had not consented to being sold.
In 1836, Cromwell, by then a widower, decided to move to Texas. Legins-Costley was 23, the mother of one with another child on the way. Cromwell asked a merchant named David Bailey if she could stay behind and work in his store. Bailey, an abolitionist whose father-in-law had been a conductor on the Underground Railroad, struck a deal where a $400 debt he owed Cromwell would be canceled if he took Legins-Costley in. Part of the deal was that Cromwell had to produce documentation of her indentured servitude. But Cromwell didn’t provide the paperwork before he left Pekin, and then died on his journey.
Though Legins-Costley immediately claimed her independence, she was not free in the eyes of the law. A few years later, a relative of Cromwell went to court in an effort to get the $400 from Bailey, who defended himself by saying Cromwell didn’t keep his end of the bargain when he failed to provide the required paperwork. During the course of the legal wrangling, a judge deemed Legins-Costley a possession, prompting Bailey to take the case to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Bailey asked attorney Abraham Lincoln to take the case. In 1841, Lincoln won the case by pointing out that anti-slavery language was used repeatedly in legislation describing the territory, and then the state, of Illinois. "It is a presumption of law, in the State of Illinois, that every person is free, without regard to color. ... The sale of a free person is illegal.”
When the jury found in favor of Bailey, not only were Legins-Costley and her three children freed, but so was every other indentured servant in the state of Illinois.
Details from a life well lived
Legins-Costley, who had married Benjamin Costley in 1840, had five more children after being freed. She lived in Pekin for most of her life, though she may have lived in Alton for a few years and moved to Peoria toward the end of her life.
Details about the family’s life in Pekin have been found in newspaper clippings and a variety of county records. Jared Olar, a historian at the Pekin Public Library, and several amateur researchers have added detail to the narrative of Nance Legins-Costley’s life.
“Susan Rynearson found the title deed dated 1849 for Nance Costley — she became the owner of the land she lived on in 1849. She is the first African-American woman to own land in Pekin,” said Olar. The land was purchased from members of the Cromwell family. Census records show Legins-Costley and her family living on the land for many years.
While it’s presumed that Legins-Costley was unable to read or write, her children are believed to have been formally educated.
“Leander (Legins-Costley's son) was able to read and write — the census even said so,” said Olar.
In 1866, Leander Costley, a railroad porter, wrote a letter published in the Peoria Transcript and the Peoria National Democrat. He defended himself after a derogatory article was written about an unnamed Black man, a railroad employee, who supposedly had a flirtation with a white woman. The article was written by the Democratic Party, which was the party of slavery at that time, said Olar. Leander wrote:
“… The whole article ... is a square lie from beginning to end in detail and in aggregate, and the principal difference between the author of it and myself is that God put my black on the outside and his inside.”
There is evidence that Legins-Costley continued to be a formidable force when it came to defending her rights. An 1862 newspaper article noted that a “Mrs. Costley, colored, whipped a Marshal and was fined in police court today, $2.” Just a week before, another article detailed a fight between a Black family and a German immigrant family in Pekin. Olar surmises that the two incidents could have been related.
Fiery nature aside, there is evidence that Legins-Costley was well respected. A paragraph in the 1870 city directory mentioned her as a notable citizen:
“With the arrival of Major Cromwell ... came a slave. That slave still lives in Pekin and is known ... (as) ‘Black Nancy.’ She came here a chattel. ... But she has outlived the age of barbarism, and now, in her still vigorous old age, she sees her race disenthralled; the chains that bound them forever broken, their equality before the law everywhere recognized and her children enjoying the elective franchise.”
Nance's most famous son
Nance Legins-Costley’s oldest son, William Costley, was 23 years old when he joined the 29th Illinois Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops, the only Black regiment from Illinois and the largest of the state’s regiments. It fought many battles during the Civil War, and was sent to Texas in 1865 to free 250,000 Black Americans who had not been informed of the Emancipation Proclamation signed two years prior. William Costley was present at the ensuing celebration — the first Juneteenth — which today is a national holiday.
William Costley was also well known in Pekin for shooting a man who was assaulting his wife in the streets in 1870. Costley was charged with murder, but was acquitted by an all-white jury that said his actions were “justifiable homicide for protecting a woman in need.”
The importance of telling untold stories
William Costley’s grave is in Minnesota, where he relocated in the 1880s, but for many years no one knew where Legins-Costley and her husband were buried. It was only when amateur genealogist Bob Hoffer began researching the whereabouts of his wife’s relatives that Moffatt Cemetery was rediscovered. The site of about 2,600 graves, the cemetery was rezoned and developed commercially in the 1950s.
Hoffer’s search led him to old coroner’s records, which detailed where many residents were buried. Nance Legins-Costley's name was among those buried in Moffatt Cemetery.
While it’s not known if her body is still there beneath the asphalt and buildings, an adjacent plot of land has become Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Park, where a monument detailing Legins-Costley’s legacy has been erected along with other monuments detailing others buried in Moffatt Cemetery. The park was dedicated on Wednesday.
In Pekin, another set of monuments honoring Legins-Costley and her oldest son, William Costley, was recently erected in a pocket park in the 400 block of Court Street in downtown Pekin. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. June 17 as part of Tazewell County’s Juneteenth celebration.
While Nance Legins-Costley’s story is no longer untold, there are still many more stories that need to be brought to light, said the Rev. Marvin Hightower, president of the Peoria NAACP. Speaking at the dedication for Moffatt Cemetery on Wednesday, Hightower said we must continue to find and tell forgotten stories from the past.
“I believe, as the Bible says, that the truth will make us free. And that’s why I believe that history is important.”
More:'Slow detective process': Archaeologists uncover Native American artifacts in East Peoria
Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/nance-legins-costley-first-slave-freed-by-lincoln-now-being-honored/70327223007/ | 2023-06-16T15:36:09 | 1 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/nance-legins-costley-first-slave-freed-by-lincoln-now-being-honored/70327223007/ |
LOCAL
Major portion of Glen Avenue in Peoria is set to reopen to traffic
JJ Bullock
Journal Star
At long last, some of Glen Avenue's road construction will end this week.
The road construction on Glen Avenue between Knoxville Avenue and Sheridan Road will be completed by the end of the day on Friday, reopening the road to traffic.
Roadwork on Glen Avenue began last summer. The project included the road getting new sidewalks, storm sewers, curb and gutters.
The road will also be transferred from the county to the city upon completion of the construction.
Glen Avenue is not completely free from construction, however. The road is also being repaired between War Memorial Drive and University Street, as part of a two-year, $13.6 million project.
More:'Waiting game': These major Peoria roads need rebuilds. Here's why they're on hold for now | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/portion-of-glen-avenue-will-reopen-in-peoria-illinois/70327602007/ | 2023-06-16T15:36:15 | 1 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/portion-of-glen-avenue-will-reopen-in-peoria-illinois/70327602007/ |
PORTAGE — A Chicago child wading in Lake Michigan off the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Beach was swept away by the current and drowned Thursday, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
The tragedy unfolded when the Porter County 911 Center received a report of a child missing in Lake Michigan near the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Beach shortly before 5 p.m., according to a statement released by IDNR.
"Responders from multiple agencies arrived and located the child in the water near Ogden Dunes at 5:11 p.m.," the statement said.
"The child was removed from the water and taken to a waiting ambulance," according to IDNR. "Lifesaving measures were started, and the boy was transported to Northwest Health–Portage hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy was completed this morning and the cause of death has been ruled an accidental drowning."
"The identities of those involved are being withheld to allow for proper family notifications," IDNR said.
"Investigations have revealed the boy was playing in waist-deep water before entering deeper water," according to the IDNR statement. "A witness reported it appeared the child was caught in a current that pulled him away from shore. A family member entered the water in attempt to rescue the boy but also was caught in a current and lost sight of the boy."
The National Weather Service had put a beach hazard statement in effect at the time of the incident, IDNR said.
The drowning remains under investigation by Indiana Conservation Police.
7 ways to avoid drowning
7 ways to avoid drowning
1. Check the conditions ahead of time.
3. Flip, float and follow.
4. If you're caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore.
5. Don't panic.
6. If you see someone struggling in the water, get them something that floats.
7. Stay away from rock walls, piers and other structures. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/chicago-child-drowns-off-portage-lakefront/article_3f4847b0-0c57-11ee-82eb-3b12eee3fc04.html | 2023-06-16T15:39:27 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/chicago-child-drowns-off-portage-lakefront/article_3f4847b0-0c57-11ee-82eb-3b12eee3fc04.html |
Several principals will be making career changes at Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) schools next year, with two retiring and another three moving to leadership positions at other district schools.
Sinagua and Summit
Tari Popham of Sinagua Middle School is retiring after 36 years in education.
She was the school’s first principal after it shifted from being a high school in 2009.
Summit High School’s current principal, Chris Koenker, will be moving to lead Sinagua Middle School to take on the role after being at Summit for a decade.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to work with your students and your families," he said in this year's graduation ceremony. "...Through the good times and the hard times, I've always known that the Summit family will be there for me. This is a special school that has helped me grow as a teacher, a principal and a person."
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The district has not yet announced Koenker’s replacement at Summit.
Coconino High School
Stacie Zanzucchi is retiring after 12 years leading Coconino High School and almost 30 in teaching and leadership roles in schools across the district.
"As a high school administrator, I had the ability to interact with so many people: kids and teachers and parents and district personnel," the principal said earlier this summer. "I've learned so much, and I'll take all of those with me."
One of the high school’s current assistant principals, Tadd Ragan, will be moving into the principal role and was officially appointed by the governing board at its March 28 meeting.
Ragan has previously worked as an assistant principal at Sinagua Middle School, participated in the NISL Beat the Odds Leadership Academy and has been named a Rodel Aspiring Leader.
“Tadd is a transformational leader whose focus is on creating a school culture which fosters staff collaboration and high expectations for student success,” the minutes of the governing board read. “As principal, he will guide and support staff in creating innovative and engaging instruction and inform decisions with data and input from stakeholders.”
It was also noted that Ragan plans to continue support for CHS’s International Baccalaureate, Professional Learning Communities and Restorative Practices programs.
DeMiguel and Thomas
After 16 years as principal of DeMiguel Elementary, Ninon Wilson will be leaving the school to become an assistant principal at CHS.
Her appointment was approved at the board’s May 23 meeting.
“Ninon is passionate about ensuring all students are successful in their education and is excited to continue her work with FUSD in a new leadership role supporting students and staff at CHS,” the minutes said.
“It is very, very bittersweet,” Wilson said during the meeting. “It’s part of my heart and DeMiguel will always be. But I am ready for a challenge and I'm so excited. I just know I'll do the best I can do.”
Wilson will be replaced by Ginni Biggs, who is being moved from her role as principal of Thomas Elementary.
A May 25 update from district Superintendent Michael Penca to Thomas families said the district had made the decision to transfer Biggs, though not “without consideration of its impact” to the school.
“I am grateful for Ginni Biggs’ service to Thomas Elementary for the last five years and know she will provide support to the next principal so we can kick off a successful 2023-2024 school year in August," he wrote.
Biggs has been in education for 25 years and started working at FUSD in 2005. Before leading Thomas, she had been an instructional coach at Leupp, Kinsey and Killip elementary schools.
“I am committed to supporting the academic growth and development of our students, fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment, and collaborating with parents, teachers and staff to create and maintain an exceptional educational experience for all students,” she wrote in a social media post introducing herself to DeMiguel families.
Biggs’ replacement as principal of Thomas has not yet been announced.
“I am confident the next principal will continue a focus on quality instruction and intervention to address each student’s needs and value family engagement and partnership,” Penca wrote in his announcement, adding that the position would be posted internally that week.
Christi Macias, a parent of four FUSD students, including at Thomas, commented at Tuesday's board meeting to express her concerns with Biggs move. She asked that parents be included in the selection of the school's next leader.
"At the very minimum, we ask for the following in an administrator," she said. "We would like someone who is experienced with the unique and diverse issues that come along with leading Thomas: a Title One, primarily minority school. ...We need someone who's empathetic, diverse, thoughtful and eager to engage with our families. ...We want someone who wants to rebuild the trust within our school family and surrounding communities -- the trust that was broken with this untimely transfer."
More about district schools can be found at fusd1.org. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/education/five-flagstaff-unified-school-district-schools-switching-principals/article_2d554ca6-095f-11ee-8e21-4332aa846b90.html | 2023-06-16T15:39:27 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/education/five-flagstaff-unified-school-district-schools-switching-principals/article_2d554ca6-095f-11ee-8e21-4332aa846b90.html |
The Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) board continued developing its plans for a new Marshall Elementary School at a work session Tuesday before its regular meeting.
The primary question the board was considering with this project is where to place the new elementary school: on the current site, across the street at the former Flagstaff Middle School or an entirely new location.
Under the current timeline, construction on the new building is expected to begin in 2024, with the school opening in the summer of 2025.
The district hosted a community forum on the topic May 5 and is still seeking feedback through a survey. It then held another two engagement sessions -- one with school staff and one with fifth-graders -- in mid-May.
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A total of 62 people had responded to the district survey by Tuesday evening, with five attending the May meeting in person and 88 views on the recording of the event. Members of the design team had also visited the neighborhood, having conversations with those who lived near the current school.
Board member Carole Gilmore expressed concern with the level of community awareness of the project, saying she’d spoken to several who resided in Marshall’s boundaries and hadn’t heard there were plans for a new school.
“I'm just concerned,” she said. “It’s sort of my neighborhood and there’s still people that don’t even know it’s being discussed. The immediate community is responsive, but the Marshall boundary lines go way over the hilltop and past the hospital.”
Tuesday’s meeting discussed a similar set of pros and cons for all three options as the public forum, with a presentation from David Schmidt of the DLR Group and board members giving their opinions. The board has not yet chosen a location, as it is expected to vote at its next meeting on June 27.
Staying in the neighborhood
The recommendation district Superintendent Michael Penca passed along from the bond oversight committee was that the board choose between the current location or Flagstaff Middle School rather than finding an entirely new location. This preference was echoed in the community feedback the project had received so far, with most saying their main priority was to keep the school in its current neighborhood.
Penca summarized this view as “we want the school to remain in this area, because it’s so desirable as a neighborhood school and there’s so many community assets."
He and Marshall Principal Janelle Reasor said students at every grade level use those assets, primarily Thorpe Park, in a variety of learning activities.
The majority of community feedback preferred the middle school site, as it did not border any backyards and was generally seen as “the least disruptive" of the options.
While the bond committee did not recommend either of the two locations specifically, most board members also said they preferred to use the Flagstaff Middle School location across the street.
Toward the end of the discussion, member Kristine Pavlik listed several reasons she thought the middle school was a better location for the new Marshall.
“I like the idea of moving towards the middle school site,” she said. “I think a lot of our concerns can be mitigated; we've heard there are answers and solutions to the concerns we have had. Just thinking of Marshall as its own distinct school, I’d really love for it to be in its own distinct space as opposed to mashed up with the high school. ... I think it's a really cool possibility.”
Her main concern had been finding a sunny area for the playground (meaning quicker snowmelt and more outdoor recess), which she said was addressed by the middle school being larger than the planned new elementary.
Marshall’s new building is expected to be about 55,000 square feet, the same size as its current location, while the middle school is about 79,000 square feet. That extra space could be used for courtyards or play spaces, Penca said.
Flood planning
The discussion also included additional information from Guillermo Cortes with SWI about how the Rio de Flag’s floodplain might affect construction choices.
To build on the current school site, the design would include raising the building by 2-3 feet to avoid a 100-year floodplain.
Cortes explained that 100-year floodplains mean a 0.1% chance of happening each year, and are typically considered in the design process. Construction does not typically consider 500-year floodplains because of the cost of doing so.
Bringing in and engineering about 78,000 cubic yards of soil for this purpose would be the main cost difference between building at the current Marshall or the Flagstaff Middle School, Schmidt said. He estimated that total “could be in the high hundred thousands -- 8 [or] 900,000, up to maybe $1.2 million.”
Otherwise, he said, “a lot of the [costs] are actually a wash between the two sites.” Gilmore later asked for a cost evaluation for moving the “tremendous rock” present on the middle school site.
Flood analysis was based on a FEMA map completed before last summer’s Pipeline Fire, and its burn scar could mean additional flood impacts on the site.
“This floodplain map could completely change,” Cortes said. “It could be all 100-year, it could be all 500-year, just depending on what the burn scar does.”
The existence of the current Marshall building also changes the flood map, which Cortes said needs to be taken into account in the design process in order to avoid negatively impacting the surrounding neighborhood.
The flood map was board member Eric Sather’s main reason for saying he was “leaning towards the middle school site.”
“I think keeping the school in that neighborhood is of paramount importance, and I really just like the fact that whatever happens with this flood map zoning that school will be protected,” he said.
Based on the map presented, Gilmore asked whether the back part of the current lot, where there is currently a baseball field, had been considered, as it had a higher elevation and was out of the floodplain.
Middle school costs
While the current Flagstaff Middle School is entirely out of the floodplain, its raised elevation and bedrock would mean a different set of challenges for building a new middle school.
Accessibility is one of the major concerns with this site, though Schmidt said that lowering the building’s north end by about 2 1/ feet and raising the parking lot could bring the elevations across the site together enough (within about 5 feet) to build a series of sloped sidewalks that would allow easy access into the building. The current Flagstaff Middle School has stairs and steeper ramps connecting to the parking lot, which right now is 8-10 feet lower than the building.
The sloped sidewalk approach is meant to move toward universally accessible design on the new campus -- which Schmidt described as designing for various levels of abilities, rather than creating separate uses for disabled and nondisabled users of the space.
He also noted that sloping sidewalks had been similarly used in the new Killip Elementary, which has a larger, though less sudden, elevation difference between the north and south ends of its campus.
The Flagstaff Middle School building currently on the site is being leased out in sections -- Flagstaff Junior Academy’s middle school, Northern Arizona University’s early childhood program and FUSD's preschool evaluation team currently operate out of it — though Penca said the site is overall costing the district more than it is earning. He also noted at the meeting that these uses moving elsewhere, should FUSD use this location for Marshall, would reduce traffic on the streets surrounding the site.
He estimated the district makes about $100,000 a year from leasing the building, while spending about $270,000 in utilities and maintenance, a total that doesn’t include larger repairs done in previous years such as a new roof for the gymnasium or replacement stairs.
A 2018 facility assessment found that about $3 million in improvements would be needed by 2028.
“There’s going to be continued costs associated with keeping that middle school,” Penca said. “It was built in 1970 and ... we haven’t used it in the district since 2010, so it’s not our priority for maintenance.”
While member Christine Fredericks said she agreed “it's logical to use the middle school plot,” she wanted to ensure that the district was helping the other organizations using the building through the transition. Penca said FUSD had been working with them and had given advance notice.
Board president Dorothy Denetsosie Gishie agreed.
“The [middle] school is old and is costing us more money than what our partners are paying to rent the facility,” she said. “It looks like we do have enough room to be able to be build a new school, and there will be challenges wherever the school is built. We have the expertise and the knowledge to be able to make it fit for all of our students.”
Having a building that isn’t used by the district as a school also affects FUSD’s ability to get funding from the state's school facilities oversight board, Penca added, as it is based on square feet and enrollment. He said this would also be a concern, should the new Marshall be leased out after the new building is completed at a different site.
Combining campuses
Penca outlined potential plans for the current Marshall if the new building were to move across the street. The hope would be to use the 6 acres to add to Flagstaff High School’s 13-acre campus, potentially reducing some of that school’s impact on the neighborhood. Uses he mentioned included additional parking (though not the entire plot) or outdoor learning.
“When we think about FHS’s impact on the neighborhood, parking is still a challenge, for recreation spaces, green spaces, outdoor learning spaces, snow removal, places to pile snow, all those challenges we have because that’s such a dense campus,” he said. “We would have an opportunity to re-envision how to incorporate that 6 acres into FHS’s campus.”
The board is expected to take action on the Marshall site June 27, with “community sharing and engagement of Marshall design ideas” planned for July. The DLR Group will then present the design to the board in August.
More information about the project, including ways to take the survey, can be found at fusd1.org. A recording of the meeting is available on FUSD's Vimeo, with the work session beginning at about 25 minutes. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/education/fusd-board-considers-locations-for-the-new-marshall-elementary/article_8d092b40-0b99-11ee-a52f-1b7cf0dd0385.html | 2023-06-16T15:39:33 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/education/fusd-board-considers-locations-for-the-new-marshall-elementary/article_8d092b40-0b99-11ee-a52f-1b7cf0dd0385.html |
Several events will commemorate Juneteenth in Flagstaff and across northern Arizona this weekend, honoring the day on which Union soldiers in freed upwards of 250,000 Black Americans still enslaved in Texas after the end of the American Civil War.
The community is invited to join the Coconino County African Diaspora Advisory Council (ADAC), in partnership with the Southside Community Association and Lived Black Experience Community Project, for the 2023 Juneteenth Celebration.
The three-day event will mark the second annual three-day Juneteenth celebration in Flagstaff.
“We’re excited to once again celebrate Juneteenth Freedom Day with our Coconino County community,” said Khara House, a member of Flagstaff City Council who also chairs the county ADAC. “The NAACP noted that freedom is a thread and fight woven though this nation’s history. It’s an honor to both carry on that fight for freedom and celebrate the thread of connection we all share in the hope of enjoying the freedoms and liberties promised throughout our nation’s history.”
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This week, House also introduced a measure within the council to officially recognize the Juneteenth holiday within Flagstaff.
On Tuesday, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to recognize and officially celebrate Juneteenth in the county.
A Juneteenth holiday was designated federally by the Biden administration in 2021.
“The commission of diversity awareness has been doing a lot of work on this in partnership with the Indigenous commission on the recommendation for Juneteenth as well as a recommendation for the official commemoration of Indigenous Peoples Day,” House told the city council.
The events in Flagstaff begin with a formal Juneteenth gala today at the DoubleTree by Hilton, located 1175 W. Route 66. Tickets for the gala are $50 and are available for purchase through Eventbrite.
On Saturday, a Juneteenth Community Celebration will be hosted at the South Beaver School at 506 S. Beaver St. and will feature live entertainment and informational tables, including the AZ Historical Society, County Diversity Councils and more.
The three-day celebration will conclude with a Juneteenth Gospel Concert on Sunday at Christ’s Church of Flagstaff on 3475 Soliere Ave.
Moreover, at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the National Park Service is also hosting several Juneteenth-related events throughout June 19.
At 10 a.m. a Ranger Talk at Verkamp’s Visitor Center will explore the history and meaning of Juneteenth across the nation and at the canyon.
The program will be followed immediately by a 2.5-mile ranger-led Freedom Walk from the Historic Village to Grand Canyon Visitor Center. This walk is meant to symbolize the 2.5 years it took for the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.
Then, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors and community members are invited to visit the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Plaza to learn more about Juneteenth and take in live music presented by the Aaron McCall Band.
Finally, at 3 p.m., the park is hosting a special presentation at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center by Margaret Hangan, Project Archaeologist for Tonto National Forest. Her program, “African American History and Migration to Northern Arizona,” will explore the mechanisms that brought people of African descent to the western United States, with an emphasis on the Grand Canyon region.
Juneteenth, celebrated annually on June 19, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/juneteenth-to-be-celebrated-in-flagstaff-at-south-rim-this-weekend/article_bfd59330-0bba-11ee-8af6-7f893afa8f07.html | 2023-06-16T15:39:39 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/juneteenth-to-be-celebrated-in-flagstaff-at-south-rim-this-weekend/article_bfd59330-0bba-11ee-8af6-7f893afa8f07.html |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the nation’s largest public utility from replacing a Tennessee coal-burning power plant with one using natural gas.
The federal utility moved forward with the plan despite concerns raised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the utility’s analysis of alternatives was faulty and that the project is at odds with President Joe Biden’s clean energy goals.
Biden has called for a carbon-pollution-free energy sector by 2035. That’s a goal TVA has said it can’t achieve without technological breakthroughs in nuclear generation and energy storage. The federal authority has a goal of 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035 over 2005 levels and net-zero emissions by 2050.
The lawsuit claims TVA violated a requirement of federal agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act to give serious consideration to other alternatives. The challenge also argues that TVA did not afterward sufficiently consider the failures at certain coal and gas plants that led to rolling blackouts at Christmas time last year. Additionally, the lawsuit says the public utility didn’t appropriately account for renewable energy incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Instead of studying the environmental and financial impacts of its decision, the Tennessee Valley Authority relied on flawed reasoning and faulty assumptions to downplay the effects of its planned gas plant,” said Amanda Garcia, director of the Tennessee office of the Southern Environmental Law Center, which filed the lawsuit for the conservation groups.
On Thursday, Tennessee Valley Authority spokesperson Scott Brooks said the utility followed the environmental law in question.
“TVA takes our environmental compliance obligations seriously, and the Cumberland Fossil Plant Retirement Environmental Impact Statement fully complied with all NEPA requirements,” Brooks said.
TVA plans to retire the first of two coal burning units at the Cumberland plant by the end of 2026 and expects to have the 1,450-megawatt gas plant up and running before then. TVA also plans to retire Cumberland’s second coal-burning unit by the end of 2028. It has proposed a plan to replace part of that lost production with a 900-megawatt gas plant in Cheatham County, Tennessee, along with a 400-megawatt battery storage system.
TVA has said the new gas plants will provide the flexibility needed to add 10,000 megawatts of solar to its overall system by 2035 and still meet peak demand periods.
For the Cumberland plant, the utility’s review process compared the costs and benefits of two types of natural gas plants as well as a solar array with battery storage. It determined that the solar array would cost $1.8 billion more and could not be completed by the utility’s 2026 deadline.
The groups that sued contend that TVA overestimated the amount of solar and battery storage needed, dramatically driving up the cost estimate, and failed to factor in costs for the gas plan, such as the planned future use of carbon capture and hydrogen blending at the facility.
They also pointed out that the TVA signed contracts with two gas companies months before it completed the environmental impact study that was supposed to guide its decision.
The utility corporation said the contracts were necessary to allow preliminary planning work. They were not binding agreements to choose gas, Brooks the TVA spokesperson has said. They were contingent on TVA’s final fuel decision.
A gas pipeline application remains pending with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
TVA’s energy mix — topping out at about 38,000 megawatts — includes 43% nuclear, 26% natural gas, 13% coal, 14% hydroelectric and 4% of other types of renewables, such as solar, according to a May filing with the Securities Exchange Commission.
A similar lawsuit seeks to block a gas-burning TVA plant at the retired coal-burning Johnsonville Fossil Plant, claiming the utility violated federal law last year by failing to properly assess the environmental and climate impacts. TVA has declined to comment on the case.
Last month, TVA announced plans to build a new natural gas plant to replace its coal-burning Kingston Fossil Plant — the site of a massive coal ash spill in 2008 — one day after the Biden administration proposed strict new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2023/06/16/coal-natural-gas-tva-lawsuit-tennessee/f4b21ff8-0c58-11ee-8132-a84600f3bb9b_story.html | 2023-06-16T15:39:54 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2023/06/16/coal-natural-gas-tva-lawsuit-tennessee/f4b21ff8-0c58-11ee-8132-a84600f3bb9b_story.html |
WATERLOO — Working in a wound clinic isn’t for the faint of heart — or anyone with a weak stomach. That makes nurse practitioners like Amanda “Mandy” Vervaecke champions for patients and their families.
Vervaecke leads a team of “wound warriors” at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital Wound and Hyperbaric Center. She’s considered a superstar among her patients and colleagues, but to her way of thinking, “my patients are the heroes of the story. I’m along for the ride.”
Vervaecke, 53, is being honored as one of The Courier’s Top 10 Cedar Valley Nurses for 2023.
“Her compassion and sense of humor is equally shared with the entire Wound Clinic staff. Not only does Mandy orchestrate healing wounds, she is also instrumental in healing hearts,” reads her recommendation for the award.
“You’re working with a patient who is in pain, who doesn’t feel good. I look at wound care like gardening. When you first get there, it looks bad and smells bad. Then you get to work. By the end, it’s perfect and healed,” said Vervaecke, of Denver.
Vervaecke is a good listener, as well as compassionate and caring. That personal touch is a strong component in the healing process.
“I believe in leaving no stone unturned in helping someone heal a wound. You have to look at the total picture and to have good communication with patients,” she explained. “We see our patients once or twice a week and sometimes as often as daily, if necessary. That means we get to know our patients really well. I care about them, and I want to provide the best care for them. I like hearing their stories. I fall in love every time.
“They become like family, and it gives me great pride when a patient is healed and walks out and rings the bell. That’s my joy,” Vervaecke said.
Vervaecke grew up in Cedar Falls and graduated from Cedar Falls High School. She earned her bachelor of science degree in nursing from Allen College in 1995, and continued her education, receiving her master’s degree in nursing in 2003.
The registered nurse worked the overnight shift in the surgical ward at Allen Hospital (now UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital), then moved into the recovery room and went back to school to become a nurse practitioner. She also completed a residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
“I wanted the next challenge,” she said, smiling. “I love being a nurse practitioner.”
Vervaecke is certified and trained to provide primary patient care without direct supervision of a physician. “As a nurse practitioner I have more autonomy, and I can write prescriptions,” she explained. NPs can diagnose and treat conditions and determine treatment options for patients’ wounds, as well as educating patients about wound care to reduce infection and promote healing.
She works with wound patients in both clinic and hospital settings.
Her days are spent assessing wounds, determining treatments, cleaning and bandaging wounds, collaborating with other medical professionals about patients and providing treatment.
In nominating Vervaecke as a Top Cedar Valley Nurse, a colleague praised her for “truly” promoting “the concept of personal and professional teamwork in Allen’s Wound Clinic.”
“I love to work, and I’m dedicated to my patients. You’ve got to trust when somebody is taking care of you. I’m compelled to help when I see someone suffering,” Vervaecke explained.
Vervaecke has two daughters, Julia, 23, and Alice, 21. When she has free time, she likes to spend it relaxing with her two dogs and two cats. “And I love to run — 5Ks — and travel. I love to spend my time with my family. That’s my joy.”
Photos: 2023 Cedar Valley Top Nurses recipients at award ceremony | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/business/health-care/amanda-vervaecke-patients-are-heroes-of-the-story-for-this-wound-warrior/article_5f9b8679-507d-5521-a144-712967490b74.html | 2023-06-16T15:48:20 | 1 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/business/health-care/amanda-vervaecke-patients-are-heroes-of-the-story-for-this-wound-warrior/article_5f9b8679-507d-5521-a144-712967490b74.html |
BLOOMINGTON — A 44-year-old man is facing felony charges after prosecutors said he tried cashing a fraudulent check at an east Bloomington bank.
Columbia McNeary of Peoria appeared in a Thursday bond court hearing before Judge Scott Black, who found probable cause for his arrest.
Assistant State's Attorney Aaron Merriman told the court that McNeary entered First State Bank and Trust, 204 N. Prospect Road in Bloomington. Charging documents state McNeary delivered a check payable to himself in the amount of $3,245.45, billing an account that the bank handles for All Seasons Golf Learning Center.
Merriman said bank employees were aware of fraudulent activity concerning that account.
McNeary is charged with two counts burglary, a Class 2 felony; forgery, a Class 3 felony; and financial institution fraud, a class 3 felony.
His bond was set at $5,000 with 10% to apply for release. He also ordered McNeary to have no contact with the First State Bank and Trust branch.
An arraignment is scheduled for June 30. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/peoria-man-accused-of-handing-fraudulent-check-to-bloomington-bank/article_4b961666-0bb0-11ee-a556-63d721953e02.html | 2023-06-16T15:49:08 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/peoria-man-accused-of-handing-fraudulent-check-to-bloomington-bank/article_4b961666-0bb0-11ee-a556-63d721953e02.html |
SEATTLE — We are learning more about Eina Kwon, the Belltown restaurant owner remembered for her lovely demeanor.
Kwon was shot and killed in an unprovoked attack this weekend, and a friend who organized this Gofundme said her 2-year-old son will now have to grow up without his mom.
As Kwon's husband makes funeral arrangements for her and their baby girl who tragically died too, KING 5 has been attempting to arrange interviews with city leaders, but they have not yet opened themselves up to media questioning.
Instead of a press conference, Seattle Police Department's Chief Adrian Diaz released a video he produced by his department for Youtube.
“We are doing everything we can to make this community safe," Diaz said. "Putting our officers in the right places, where we believe the shootings might be occurring. We wanna prevent and intervene, but we also wanna focus on enforcement.”
Meantime, Mayor Bruce Harrell told KING 5 he was busy traveling Thursday, so his office instead referred us to a statement, reading in part, "[We] must remain relentless in our efforts to take guns off our street, increase law enforcement and behavioral health resources, advance community-based solutions to gun violence, and hold those who cause harm accountable for their actions.”
Andrew Lewis, the city councilmember representing District 7 where the crime occurred, provided a statement which said in part, "It’s clear we must be doing more to keep our community safe. That’s why I supported full funding for Chief Adrian Diaz’s police hiring plan.”
Michael Hoyle, who owns the retail shop next door to the Kwons' restaurant, told KING 5 he was friends with the victims.
“I know lip service when I see it," Hoyle said. "I know action when I see it. "Small business is suffering... to be frankly honest, I’m angry. I want action.”
Instead of throwing up his hands, he’s rolling up his sleeves. Hoyle said he set up a meeting with a city council member for next week to share his ideas for a safer downtown by building a network of safety kiosks.
“You can go up to this screen and report a crime, or drug dealing, or something that’s happening in your neighborhood, and nobody has to know but they will send the right department," Hoyle said.
Hoyle is calling on public service positions to increase to meet the demand these may bring.
"We create a new department," Hoyle said. "This is the smartest city in the world – I don’t care – all the tech businesses are here. Why don’t we have the solutions?”
Hoyle hopes the funding can come from the city's budget through the mayor's Downtown Activation Plan.
If successful in his proposal, Hoyle is considering dedicating the network of kiosks to his dearly departed friend Kwon.
“She was an amazing woman," Hoyle said.
Formal charges will likely be filed on Friday against the alleged shooter in this crime, a 30-year-old man. He waived his right to appear in court Wednesday where a judge found probable cause to hold him for first-degree murder. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/how-city-leaders-respond-belltown-shooting/281-b235cb0d-51f9-4a5a-947d-b1e50fbaba9e | 2023-06-16T15:52:49 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/how-city-leaders-respond-belltown-shooting/281-b235cb0d-51f9-4a5a-947d-b1e50fbaba9e |
SEATTLE — Three people were shot overnight in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, sending one person to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Seattle Police Department officers responded to reports of shots fired just after midnight, and found three people who had suffered gunshot wounds, an SPD spokesperson confirmed to KING 5.
A 20-year-old female victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and had been hit by multiple gunshots. A 58-year-old man sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot, and another female who appeared to have been shot refused to be evaluated and left the scene.
"We weren't able to have any kind of contact with her in terms of knowing if she needed medical assistance because she was walking away," an SPD public information officer said at the scene.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/triple-shooting-ballard/281-b160241b-3a6b-4ce4-8dcc-e3eaa9dec011 | 2023-06-16T15:52:55 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/triple-shooting-ballard/281-b160241b-3a6b-4ce4-8dcc-e3eaa9dec011 |
ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County leaders are hearing from some who are looking for a slice of the tourist development tax.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
The list of groups asking for the tourism revenue is long and there’s only so much money to hand out.
County leaders will take a closer look Friday at how to split up millions of dollars in tourist development taxes.
Watch: ‘It’s all gone’: Masonic lodge in Leesburg destroyed by fire
That’s the money that visitors pay to stay in hotels, motels and short-stay rentals.
Last year, the county collected more than $330 million.
Watch: New indoor ‘Adventure Park’ attraction to open in Central Florida next month
The Citizen Advisory Task Force will hear from several groups hoping to be awarded some of the money.
The groups include the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, UCF Sports and the Amway Center.
Read: Here are 9 ways to celebrate Juneteenth in Central Florida
Channel 9 is working to gather more information on the meeting and will provide updates on Eyewitness News.
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/orange-county-leaders-look-dish-out-millions-tourist-development-tax-dollars/MRINBZQNKFCL7IDZBT2CB6FAYI/ | 2023-06-16T15:55:31 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/orange-county-leaders-look-dish-out-millions-tourist-development-tax-dollars/MRINBZQNKFCL7IDZBT2CB6FAYI/ |
TITUSVILLE, Fla. — The Titusville Fire Department said a person has survived after a car fell into a sinkhole Friday morning.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
Firefighters arrived at the corner of Cleveland and Abbot Avenue around 6 a.m. and found the truck inside a sinkhole.
Read: 2 dead after Orange County wrong-way crash at SR-417
The fire department said the person inside the vehicle had gotten out before crews arrived.
There were no reported injuries.
Fire officials said a water main break was involved, and repairs are underway.
Read: ‘It’s all gone’: Masonic lodge in Leesburg destroyed by fire
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/see-truck-falls-into-sinkhole-titusville/JXMF33VDUVGRNJMXD3ZY5OUFEY/ | 2023-06-16T15:55:32 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/local/see-truck-falls-into-sinkhole-titusville/JXMF33VDUVGRNJMXD3ZY5OUFEY/ |
LAKE PLACID, Fla. — Have you seen Andrea Roura?
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a Missing Child Alert Friday morning for the 17-year-old girl last seen in Lake Placid.
Roura was last seen in the area of Lincoln Road and Coleman Avenue, authorities say. She has been missing since May 20.
She is described to be 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighs 225 pounds and has brown hair with brown eyes. The FDLE says she is known to have a scar on her bottom left ear and left shoulder. She also may be wearing glasses.
Anyone with information regarding Roura's whereabouts is asked to contact the Highlands County Sheriff's Office at 863-402-7200 or 911. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/highlandscounty/missing-child-alert-issued-for-teen-girl-last-seen-lake-placid/67-ce0a14e5-338c-4ceb-a460-01b1de98fc1f | 2023-06-16T15:56:39 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/highlandscounty/missing-child-alert-issued-for-teen-girl-last-seen-lake-placid/67-ce0a14e5-338c-4ceb-a460-01b1de98fc1f |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — After extensive debate, Arkansas legislators passed new pay increases for some state employees on Wednesday.
Typically, bills of this nature have overwhelming support, but the one passed on Wednesday differed.
"They are disappointed," said John Bridges, executive director for the Arkansas State Employees Association. "They are probably beyond disappointed."
State employees expected a pay scale increase this year, but Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders requested a process review, delaying salary increases.
"What Governor Sanders requested of us was to go and study the pay scale," Arkansas Personnel Director Kay Barnhill said. "Particularly look at target classifications."
On Friday, Sanders sent a letter saying "exceptional employees" would get a salary increase.
Those deemed "highly effective" will receive a 4.5% base salary increase, while those considered "role models" will receive a 5% base salary increase.
This is all based on a five-category performance review system:
- Unacceptable
- Needs improvement
- Solid performer
- Highly effective
- Role model
For context, there are 15 departments and 11 independent agencies.
In total, there are approximately 22,742 employees.
There are 15,959 employees categorized as solid performer, needs improvement, or unacceptable, while 4,300 are considered highly effective employees and 1,456 are deemed role models.
Several state employees voiced their concerns to us, saying supervisors could only give out so many exceptional rankings for employees.
The state confirmed that this "bell curve" standard started in 2018 but was stopped in May.
"There was a memo sent to the chiefs of staff at all the departments," Barnhill said. "Advising them to make sure they rated employees based on the categories they deserved."
Bridges said thousands of employees are without a pay increase, and several are upset. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/arkansas-legislators-pass-pay-raises/91-98c4f9be-b0a3-45d0-a981-fbcc7e96e0aa | 2023-06-16T16:00:49 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/arkansas-legislators-pass-pay-raises/91-98c4f9be-b0a3-45d0-a981-fbcc7e96e0aa |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This Saturday the City of Little Rock and the rest of the country will celebrate Juneteenth, a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans
“This shouldn’t be just a Black holiday; we’re celebrating freedom for all Americans," said Brian Rodgers with the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.
The holiday also gives people a chance to understand the history of Little Rock's 9th Street.
“The neighborhood really started pre-civil war when it was known as Hazel Street,” Rodgers explained.
Following the fall of Little Rock in 1863 during the Civil War, 9th Street began to take shape.
“So, they start to begin Black businesses, Black hospitals, Black lawyers, Black doctors, and all of these are concentrated on the west end of 9th Street,” he described.
As the decades passed, 9th Street became vibrant for business and entertainment— most notably inside the current flag and banner building in the Dreamland Ballroom.
“Musical stars like Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole. They danced and they danced until 2 or 3 in the morning, and they ate and had a great time. There were restaurants and liquor stores that catered to that nighttime crowd,” Rodgers added.
Unfortunately, long gone are the glory days of Dreamland Ballroom. However, ahead of the Juneteenth Holiday, Rodgers and the Mosaic Templars have their eyes on the future.
“We would like to see this area become a historic neighborhood where we focus on bringing back some of those things that existed here,” he said. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/history-little-rocks-9th-street-juneteenth/91-6d8f8747-d49e-4600-9af1-73fa118b120b | 2023-06-16T16:00:55 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/history-little-rocks-9th-street-juneteenth/91-6d8f8747-d49e-4600-9af1-73fa118b120b |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Razorback fans will be able to crack open a cold one outside of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium this fall at the new Big Red's outdoor sports bar.
University of Arkansas Director of Athletics, Hunter Yurachek, posted an update on the construction to his social media. In the post, Yurachek claims this will be the largest outdoor sports bar in an on-campus venue.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/outdoor-sports-bar-to-open-this-fall-razorback-stadium/527-e88a4bee-07f0-4810-b09a-22a66e3932bf | 2023-06-16T16:01:01 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/outdoor-sports-bar-to-open-this-fall-razorback-stadium/527-e88a4bee-07f0-4810-b09a-22a66e3932bf |
In its eighth year of presenting free Shakespeare plays, Coos Bay Shakespeare in the Park will present the well-known Shakespeare comedy Much Ado About Nothing two consecutive weekends in June -- June 17, 18, 24, and 25 – beginning at 3 p.m. at Mingus Park, 725 N. 10th Street, Coos Bay.
In Messina, as Don Pedro and his executive team return from a recent thwarting of a hostile takeover, a message comes to Leonato that the team intends to visit his office for a month. They arrive with Count Claudio, who is attracted to Leonato’s daughter, Hero, and Benedick, a bachelor who enjoys engaging in witty arguments with Hero’s cousin, Beatrice.
At the office Halloween party, Claudio & Hero’s engagement is arranged. However, the Prince's brother, Don John wishes to spoil the happiness and plots with Borachio and Conrade to deceive Claudio into believing Hero is unfaithful.
Meanwhile, Claudio, Hero, Don Pedro, and Leonato decide to trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love.
Will Claudio and Hero see through the deception and still marry? Will Benedick and Beatrice eventually realize their love for one another? Will the family business be saved? Come find out live onstage at Mingus Park!
The venue is outdoors and is lawn seating so audience members should provide their own chairs or blankets and dress appropriately for the weather. There is no charge but donations will be gratefully accepted to help cover costs of scenery, costumes, etc. The actors, director, and all those who are involved in the productions are volunteers and receive no compensation. The actors come from the community, people from all different walks of life, including experienced actors and those new to the craft. They represent a wide range of ages and come from several of the local Coos Bay/North Bend theater groups including the Logos Players, Dolphin Players, and On Broadway Thespians.
“Part of our mission statement is to be able to give opportunities for those interested in Shakespeare and to make inclusive theater available for our community, especially those who couldn’t otherwise afford to attend the theater,” said Kristin Hovenkotter Greco, president of the volunteer board of directors. “Our original thought was: this is something other communities have, our communities deserve it too. And we wanted to provide a place for people from the different theater groups to come together and do outdoor performing arts for our community, to collaborate on free cultural opportunities.”
In addition to bringing members of the various local theater groups together in this effort, the group has developed a partnership with Southwestern Oregon Community College, which sponsors the group by providing indoor rehearsal space, community education classes about Shakespeare, a theater production class, and SWOCC staff and students are involved in the plays.
In 2015 the group received a grant from Oregon State Parks’ Art in the Park program. The first presentation in 2016 was a compilation of scenes from several different plays performed by the different theater groups presented at Shore Acres State Park. The following year the play moved to Mingus Park, which has become home to the group, where they presented Henry V, followed in the ensuing years by Twelfth Night, As You Like It, in 2020 a livestreamed production of King Lear, and in 2021 The Tempest. Last year’s production was Macbeth. Most of these productions can be viewed on their YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0X2HV1pVSokfWK0mmdkamA?app=desktop.
Coos Bay Shakespeare in the Park is a 501(c)3 non-profit. In addition to individual donations, a number of area businesses and grants support their work. This year’s sponsors include The Coquille Tribal Fund, the Coos Cultural Coalition, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, the City of Coos Bay Public Works and Community Development Department, Banner Bank, 7 Devils Brewing Co., Itty Bitty Inn, Roto Rooter, Cedar Electric, Bigfoot Beverages. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/coos-bay-shakespeare-in-the-park-announces-summer-production/article_0990b328-0c52-11ee-b41c-db1f9b2e72ec.html | 2023-06-16T16:01:44 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/coos-bay-shakespeare-in-the-park-announces-summer-production/article_0990b328-0c52-11ee-b41c-db1f9b2e72ec.html |
LOCAL
USA Cycling returns to Oak Ridge June 22; here's how it'll impact traffic, neighborhoods
The time period for the impacted areas will be 7 a.m. to around 5 p.m.
The Oak Ridger
Oak Ridge is set to host its 5th annual USA Cycling Individual Time Trial National Championships on Thursday. Elite cyclists from across the nation will converge on the city to showcase their skill and determination as they compete for the championship title.
And because of the cycling championships there will be road closures and impacts on some Oak Ridge neighborhoods.
The cycling event will take place on a closed-loop course along Melton Lake Drive and can be viewed by spectators. The women's race starts at 9:30 a.m.; the men's race at approximately noon.
All roads affected will re-open after 5 p.m., according to a news release.
Melton Lake Drive
- 7 a.m.: Partial shutdown of Melton Lake Drive begins. The closure runs from Amanda Drive to Emory Valley Road
- 8:30 a.m.: Melton Lake Drive will be closed from Palisades Parkway to Rolling Links Boulevard. Union Valley Road will also be closed. Residents of the Rivers Run, Rockbridge and Royal Troon neighborhoods may enter and exit right onto Melton Lake Drive toward Edgemoor Road until full closure.
- 9:25 a.m.: Full closure of Melton Lake Drive from Palisades Parkway to Edgemoor Road, including the neighborhoods. Residents of Palisades Parkway may turn left onto Melton Lake Drive toward Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Neighborhood Impact
- 9 to 9:25 a.m.: Neighborhood residents may enter and exit during this window via Rolling Links Boulevard toward Edgemoor Road and will be assisted by the Oak Ridge Police Department. Please practice extra caution during this time. Cyclists will warm up along the course, including the neighborhoods.
- 9:25 a.m.: The Rivers Run, Rockbridge and Royal Troon neighborhoods, including the Rolling Links Boulevard entrance, will be shut down.
- 11:25 to 11:55 a.m.: Residents may enter and exit the neighborhood using Rolling Links Boulevard via Edgemoor Road between 11:25 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. In case of an emergency, an emergency medical service (EMS) and fire truck will be on standby. Any recurring services, including but not limited to home care, lawn care, or repair, will need to be rescheduled or arrive prior to 9:25 a.m. All vehicles along the race route must be in the driveway and off the road.
Emory Valley Road Access
- 8:30 a.m.: Emory Valley Road will be closed from the Artesia Drive intersection to Melton Lake Drive. Spectators will have walking access to Melton Lake Drive from Emory Valley Road. Otherwise, there will not be access via that route. Organizers suggest viewers park in the grassy lot at Melton Lake with the assistance of USA Cyclig and ORPD. They will also have walking access from Emory Valley Road as mentioned above. Residents of Amanda Drive or Emory Valley Road will need to take Antioch Drive, Baylor Drive or Baltimore Drive, etc. to exit the neighborhood. | https://www.oakridger.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/usa-cycling-returns-heres-how-itll-impact-traffic-neighborhoods/70325486007/ | 2023-06-16T16:01:56 | 1 | https://www.oakridger.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/usa-cycling-returns-heres-how-itll-impact-traffic-neighborhoods/70325486007/ |
University of Arizona gets final approval to acquire controversial online school
The Arizona Board of Regents voted unanimously Thursday to give a final greenlight to the University of Arizona's controversial plans to acquire an online college.
"There's been a lot of work done, and I can't name the hundreds and hundreds of people who have been involved in this," said UA President Robert Robbins. "I'm personally very excited about this."
The university announced in the summer of 2020 it would acquire the assets of Ashford University, a for-profit online college, and create the University of Arizona Global Campus, a nonprofit online school affiliated with UA.
It later fast-tracked those plans, even as the online school faced several controversies, including questions from the U.S. Department of Education about its federal student aid eligibility and a lawsuit alleging Ashford had used misleading enrollment tactics to recruit prospective students.
UA officials have said the deal will help the university provide broad educational access to students it cannot otherwise reach.
"There are 40 million Americans that have some college experience but no degree," Robbins said. "This is part of our land-grant mission. It is part of our offering to serve these students, and we're looking forward to having these students be wildcats for life."
But critics, including some faculty in Tucson, have framed it as an ill-planned and potentially risky affiliation — even as Robbins and other UA officials have said concerns around the online school were addressed before the university's purchase.
On Thursday, Robbins thanked the regents for "being patient through the journey" of bringing the school into UA.
The regents asked no questions and offered no comments. The vote was over in minutes.
What does the deal mean for UA?
UA intends to operate UAGC as a separate business unit from the university. That means it will have its own tuition and fees schedule, retain its own faculty and maintain its own admission requirements. Graduates from the program will receive UA degrees with a UAGC designation.
Robbins will be accountable to the Arizona Board of Regents for the school's academic, operational and financial performance. According to a written summary from ABOR, he must periodically report the school's finances to the board.
UAGC had about 40,000 students in the fall of 2021, according to the UAGC website.
In comparison, UA's online degree programs — those that deliver diplomas saying University of Arizona — had more than 7,500 students in the spring of 2022, according to the UA website.
Arizona State University and Grand Canyon University had around 60,000 and 85,000 online students last year, respectively.
Sasha Hupka covers higher education for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip on Arizona's universities, community colleges or trade schools? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter: @SashaHupka. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2023/06/16/university-of-arizona-gets-final-approval-to-acquire-online-school/70327582007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:08 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2023/06/16/university-of-arizona-gets-final-approval-to-acquire-online-school/70327582007/ |
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — UPDATE: Gwinnett Police said on Friday morning, June 16, that the 14-year-old girl was found safe.
Original story below. 11Alive has removed her photos and references to her name out of respect for her privacy.
A 14-year-old Gwinnett County girl who didn't come home from school on May 24 has now been missing for two weeks, under what police describe as "circumstances outside her normal behavior."
She is a student with perfect attendance, but was last seen leaving Parkview High School at about 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 24.
RELATED: 14-year-old girl missing for over a week after leaving Gwinnett high school and never coming home
Gwinnett Police are now releasing new photos of her, including a security camera picture from as she was leaving school.
The department believes she may be endangered.
"She was last seen walking toward the student parking lot after taking an exam. (Her)cell phone was turned off a few hours later. She has had no activity on social media. She does not have access to money or a car. These circumstances are outside her normal behavior, as she has perfect attendance in school," GCPD said in a release.
She is described as standing 5-foot-3 and weighing 145 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. When she left school on May 24, she was wearing a white shirt, brown tights and white and brown shoes.
GCPD said: "Detectives are actively following up on all leads, and if anyone has any information to share in this case, please contact GCPD detectives at 770-513-5300. To remain anonymous, tipsters should contact Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit www.stopcrimeATL.com. Crime Stoppers tipsters can receive a cash reward for information in this case." | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/missing-in-georgia/missing-gwinnett-county-14-year-old/85-03ee92c4-6005-4b81-9008-7b74da838621 | 2023-06-16T16:02:08 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/missing-in-georgia/missing-gwinnett-county-14-year-old/85-03ee92c4-6005-4b81-9008-7b74da838621 |
What's planned to honor fallen Granite Mountain Hotshots 10 years after Yarnell Hill Fire
PRESCOTT — The end of June will mark a decade since the Yarnell Hill Fire took the lives of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots on June 30, 2013.
Initially started by a lightning strike two days earlier, the blaze devastated the small community of Yarnell and eventually became the deadliest wildfire in Arizona history.
Throughout the past 10 years, much has been done to honor the lives of those lost that day. While the firefighters are memorialized every year, there are additional events lined up this year to mark the milestone.
Here is what's planned to commemorate the tragedy's 10th anniversary.
Wednesday, June 28
A permanent addition to Prescott's public art catalog will be revealed at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 28, with a new mural honoring the Granite Mountain Hotshots located on the side of the Chamber of Commerce at the corner of West Goodwin Street and South Montezuma Street.
Designed by Arizona artist Katia Von Kral, the collage-style mural will feature portraits of the men in addition to telling the story of what they did as hotshots, ranging from the tools they used for firefighting to the creed they lived by.
Before starting, Von Kral made several trips to the Granite Mountain Interagency Crew Learning and Tribute Center to learn as much as she could about the men, their work and their importance to the community.
"I wanted to make sure I encompassed what seemed to be the most important aspects about the hotshots," she said.
The mural will also provide an educational opportunity through scannable QR codes that explain what visitors see on the wall.
While anything revolving around the Granite Mountain Hotshots will always be tinged with an element of sadness, Von Kral hopes this artwork will honor and continue their legacy.
"I want there to be some level of healing," she said.
Perhaps more than anything, Von Kral hopes people will take away a lesson from the words of Eric Marsh, superintendent of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, when he was first seeking to establish his crew in town:
"Be a hotshot in everything that you do."
Thursday, June 29
The Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew Learning and Tribute Center will celebrate the center's fifth anniversary at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, June 29.
Located in Prescott's Gateway Mall, the center tells the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, preserving and displaying artifacts and memorabilia while also educating visitors about wildland fires, firefighting and prevention.
Brendan McDonough, the lone surviving Granite Mountain Hotshot, is expected to speak alongside Prescott Mayor Phil Goode and fire Chief Holger Durre. McDonough will also be signing copies of his memoir about the tragedy.
The ceremony will also feature the Central Arizona Pipes and Drums and the Granite Mountain Winter Guard in addition to offering refreshments.
Friday, June 30
A private memorial for families and loved ones of the fallen firefighters will take place before the public ceremony begins at 3 p.m. Friday, June 30, outside the Yavapai County Courthouse.
The event will conclude at 4:42 p.m. when 19 bells will be rung to signify each life lost.
Scheduled speakers include Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Prescott Mayor Phil Goode, Prescott fire Chief Holger Durre, State Forester Thomas Torres and Ryder Ashcraft, the son of fallen hotshot Andrew Ashcraft.
Brendan McDonough, the lone surviving member of the group, will read the Hotshot Prayer.
The memorial will also feature a reading of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Day proclamation, presentations by the Honor Guard, pipes and drums, and a flyover from Luke Air Force Base.
Ahead of the event, the city will close Goodwin Street from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and a portion of Cortez Street from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday. City officials recommend adjusting travel plans accordingly.
Outside of Prescott, there will also be memorials at the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting in Phoenix and the Los Angeles County Fire Museum in Bellflower, California. Doors for the event in Los Angeles will open at 3 p.m. with services starting at 4 p.m.
'Order from chaos':As wildfire behaviors change, these experts work behind the scenes
Reach the reporter at LLatch@gannett.com.
The Republic’s coverage of northern Arizona is funded, in part, with grants from Vitalyst Health Foundation and Report from America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/a-decade-since-yarnell-hill-fire-here-is-how-the-granite-mountain-hotshots-will-be-memorialized/70319352007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:14 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/a-decade-since-yarnell-hill-fire-here-is-how-the-granite-mountain-hotshots-will-be-memorialized/70319352007/ |
12 Arizona death row inmates have been exonerated since the 1970s. Here are their stories
Barry Jones was released from prison June 15 after spending almost 30 years on death row. Jones joins 11 former death row inmates in Arizona who have been exonerated since 1975, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Five have been exonerated since 2000. Here's a rundown.
Barry Jones, freed in 2023 at age 64
Barry Lee Jones was released from Arizona's death row on June 15, 2023. His release came after a deal in which his convictions and death sentence in the 1994 death of a 4-year-old were thrown out and he pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge. Jones had been convicted of murder, child abuse and sexual assault.
A Pima County judge ordered his release after approving a deal between his defense team and prosecutors, who said a medical reexamination of the case didn’t support a finding that Jones caused the girl's injury.
Wins release:He was on death row for 29 years. His case pingponged through the courts. Now, he's free
Debra Milke, freed in 2015 at age 51
Debra Milke spent 23 years on Arizona's death row after the December 1989 murder of her 4-year-old son, Christopher, in Phoenix. She was accused of arranging for two male friends to kill the boy so that she could collect an insurance payout.
A court decision freed her from prison in March 2015 after a Maricopa County prosecutor's appeal was denied. Milke's conviction and death sentence were thrown out in March 2013 by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court returned the case to Maricopa County Superior Court because the original prosecutor had failed to disclose evidence that might have helped Milke's attorneys challenge testimony from a Phoenix police detective.
The detective, Armando Saldate, claimed Milke had confessed to him, but there were no witnesses to the confession, and it was not recorded. Prosecutors did not turn over the detective's personnel record, which showed misconduct in other cases.
Robert Charles Cruz, freed in 2005 at age 48
Robert Charles Cruz, a former Tempe businessman, won freedom in 2005 after more than 14 years behind bars. Jurors returned verdicts acquitting him of murder and other charges in the 1980 contract killing of Phoenix print-shop owner Patrick Redmond and his mother-in-law, Helen Phelps. Maricopa County prosecutors claimed that Cruz hired and paid three killers as part of a plot to take over the business and win lucrative printing contracts from Las Vegas casinos.
Cruz claimed that he was framed. He was tried five times in the murders. Two trials ended in mistrials; convictions from two other trials were overturned. Jurors said the overriding reason for acquitting Cruz was the lack of credibility of some of the witnesses.
Lemuel Prion, freed in 2002 at age 41
In 1997, Lemuel Prion was arrested in the murder of 19-year-old Diana Vicari five years after her arms were found in a plastic garbage bag in a dumpster just north of downtown Tucson. He was convicted in Pima County Superior Court in January 1999 of first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated assault in the killing, and sentenced to death.
Prion's conviction was overturned in August 2002. The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling said the trial judge should have permitted Prion's lawyer to introduce evidence indicating that another man may have committed the murder.
Ray Krone, freed in 2002 at age 45
Ray Krone spent 10 years in prison in the 1991 rape and murder of Kim Ancona, a Phoenix bartender. Krone was convicted in Maricopa County Superior Court through bite-mark testimony, a form of evidence that has since been called into question and led to Krone being dubbed the "Snaggletooth Killer."
Krone was convicted twice of Ancona's murder and spent nearly three years on death row. In 2002, DNA testing excluded Krone and pointed toward a different suspect, Kenneth Phillips. Charges against Krone were dismissed that year.
Andre Minnitt and Christopher McCrimmon, exonerated in 2002 and 1997 at ages 31 and 25
Andre Minnitt and Christopher McCrimmon were among three men convicted in the 1992 killing of Frederick Gee, 45; his uncle, Hwang Ze Wan, 77; and clerk Raymond Arriola, 32, at El Grande Market in Tucson.
Minnitt and McCrimmon were initially arrested in the robbery of Mariano's Pizza. In 1993, Minnitt and McCrimmon were tried together for the El Grande Market killings and both were sentenced to death in Pima County Superior Court.
The third defendant, Martin Soto-Wang, was 17 at the time of the killings and tried separately. The convictions of Minnitt and McCrimmon were overturned in 1996 when the Arizona Supreme Court found the trial judge pressured a juror into making a decision and should have declared a mistrial.
In 1997, Minnitt and McCrimmon were retried separately. McCrimmon was acquitted, and Minnitt's trial ended in a mistrial. In 1999, Minnitt was convicted again and sentenced to death. A 2002 Arizona Supreme Court ruling found that the conviction violated principles of double jeopardy. McCrimmon and Minnitt both served sentences for the robbery of Mariano's Pizza; McCrimmon has since been released.
Who's responsible?Condemned Arizona killers are back in court over a sentencing flaw
David Wayne Grannis, freed in 1996 at age 38
David Wayne Grannis was convicted of first-degree murder, alongside Daniel Webster, in the 1989 death of Tucson investment broker Richard Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe had picked up Grannis and Webster while they were hitchhiking outside of Tucson.
Grannis claimed that until his arrest he did not know Sutcliffe had been killed, but Webster testified that he had killed Sutcliffe in self-defense. Grannis and Webster were convicted together and sentenced to death.
The 1991 conviction in Pima County Superior Court was overturned in 1995 by the Arizona Supreme Court, which ruled that photos of homosexual activity, presented as evidence, may have biased the jury. In a unanimous opinion, the high court wrote that the photos should not have been admitted at the trial because their value as evidence was far outweighed by the danger of prejudice.
Grannis was freed in 1996 after Pima County Superior Court Judge Bernardo Velasco dismissed murder charges against him in a retrial, Grannis' lawyers said. Webster was retried separately and sentenced to life in prison.
James Robison, exonerated in 1993 at age 70
James Robison spent two years on death row for the 1976 car-bomb murder in central Phoenix of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles. He was exonerated in December 1993.
Robison's conviction was overturned by the Arizona Supreme Court in 1990. A jury in a retrial acquitted Robison after 2 1/2 days of deliberations after a nearly two-month trial in Maricopa County Superior Court. Members of the panel later said they didn't believe that the prosecution proved its case against Robison beyond a reasonable doubt. They also said that they found John Harvey Adamson, who testified as a witness in the Robison trial, to lack credibility. Adamson had testified that he planted the bomb and Robison detonated it.
Jimmy Lee Mathers, freed in 1988 at age 43
Jimmy Lee Mathers was one of three men convicted in Yuma County Superior Court and sentenced to death in the June 8, 1987, shotgun slaying of Sterleen Hill and the wounding of her husband, Ralph, in Yuma. Mathers' attorney appealed in September 1988. In 1990, the Arizona Supreme Court voted 5-0 to uphold the other men's convictions and 3-2 to acquit Mathers for lack of evidence.
Joe Morales, freed in 1978 at age 33
In 1976, Joe Morales and Ruben Melendez were tried together in Maricopa County Superior Court and convicted of the murder of Tony Calistro in a Glendale park. Both men were sentenced to death. Morales was exonerated in 1978 because the judge did not allow the defense to cross-examine a witness. Morales was retried in 1979 and sentenced to life. This conviction was overturned because prosecutors failed to share evidence that may have proven Morales' innocence. At his third trial, he was acquitted.
Jonathan Charles Treadaway Jr., freed in 1978 at age 24
Jonathan Charles Treadaway Jr. was convicted and sent to death row for the 1974 killing of 6-year-old Brett Jordan in Phoenix. He was tried twice in Maricopa County. The Arizona Supreme Court threw out the conviction, and he was freed after a second trial in 1978. DNA tests, conducted more than two decades after the murders of Doris Morris, 3, and Brett Jordan, linked Treadaway to semen found in Doris' underpants and hairs found on Brett's body, police said. Treadaway died before the final DNA tests could be completed. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/arizona-death-row-inmates-who-have-been-exonerated-since-the-1970s/70327845007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:20 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/arizona-death-row-inmates-who-have-been-exonerated-since-the-1970s/70327845007/ |
Mohave County considering hand count of ballots for next election
MOHAVE COUNTY — The Mohave County elections department is formulating a plan to see what it would take to conduct a hand count of the county's general election ballots after the Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in support of the move.
"We want to restore the faith the voter has in the election process," District 5 Supervisor Ron Gould told The Arizona Republic.
"Because people are feeling disenfranchised, whether it's legitimate or illegitimate, and when people feel disenfranchised they don't want to participate," Gould said.
A day after the vote, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes sent a letter to the supervisors warning that the institution of a full hand count could violate state law.
"I am concerned that any plan to initiate a full hand count of ballots for a future election would put these officials in serious legal jeopardy, including possible criminal liability, for violations of state law," Fontes wrote. "I urge any county official to consider the negative consequences to election systems, voters and taxpayers that would result from the introduction of election procedures that will increase the risk of error and have no legal basis or proof of concept.”
Aside from questions of legality, Mohave County elections Director Allen Tempert was blunt about the logistical challenges that a possible hand count could bring, including the sheer manpower that would be required to verify each individual ballot.
"It takes seven people to do a ballot correctly," Tempert said.
"I can't get enough people to work the voting polls for me, let alone get enough volunteers to help me with other things," he said.
Tempert said while he used to get around 400 to 450 volunteers a year, that number is now closer to 300. To oversee the verification process, there also needs to be equal representation of Democrats and Republicans to ensure votes are counted correctly.
In a county heavily dominated by Republican voters, Tempert said they already have trouble getting enough representation from Democrats to oversee ballot counting as it is.
Nearly half of all registered voters in the county are Republicans, 74,871, compared to just 19,183 registered Democrats, according to the Secretary of State's office.
"I'm going to have an awfully hard time to get a workforce that will do this and dedicate themselves to be able to do this and do it correctly," Tempert said.
Sen. Sonny Borrelli, who represents parts of the county, and Sen. Wendy Rogers both spoke before the vote and stressed why they think Mohave County needs to switch to hand-counting ballots.
They argued that electronic voting machines are vulnerable to hacking and the government has no jurisdiction over them.
"This is a national security issue," Borrelli told the board. "If we cannot have free and fair elections, we are in trouble."
District 4 Supervisor Jean Bishop was the lone "no" vote against putting together this report and intends to maintain that perspective when the decision about a hand count is brought back to the board, she said.
"We can't do it," Bishop said. "So why spend the money and the time and the staff to do a study that we already know the answer to?"
Bishop is most concerned with ensuring the ballot count is legal. Depending on how long the hand count takes, it could stretch beyond the window of time allotted to tabulate results and deliver them to the Secretary of State's Office under state statute.
Further, bringing in hundreds of unvetted volunteers raises significant confidentiality and security questions. Relying on so many individuals also creates ample opportunity for human error, which could further delay and complicate the process, she argued.
And while District 3 Supervisor Buster Johnson supported the move to at least see what it would take for a hand count, he isn't yet confident that it would be the best move for the county.
"Logistically, it's just going to be a huge thing to do," Johnson said.
In addition to the cost and manpower, Johnson raised concerns about potentially requiring background checks for volunteers to help bolster security. Officials are unsure what the cost of a hand count would be.
Johnson also took note of Borrelli's mention of a potential lawsuit similar to the one in Cochise County. If they already lost in court, why should Mohave County follow down the same path, Johnson wondered.
Moreover, the county's voting record is solid, further begging the question of why a change is needed at all.
As Tempert pointed out during the June 5 meeting, Mohave County has never had any election discrepancies in the more than two decades he's worked here.
"You're fixing a problem in Mohave County where there is no problem," Johnson said.
Reach the reporter at LLatch@gannett.com.
The Republic’s coverage of northern Arizona is funded, in part, with grants from Vitalyst Health Foundation and Report from America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/mohave-county-considering-hand-count-of-ballots-for-2024-election/70319188007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:26 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/mohave-county-considering-hand-count-of-ballots-for-2024-election/70319188007/ |
New elections director appointed in county that tried illegal hand count of ballots
The new elections director of a southern Arizona border county that tried to implement an illegal hand count of ballots in the November General Election, said he will follow the law and the advice of the county attorney about future hand count efforts.
Bob Bartelsmeyer, who began his role as Cochise County elections director on May 30, was previously the elections director for La Paz County, a position he stayed in for one year. He also worked in the elections department in Mojave County and served in elections roles in states across the country including Missouri, Florida and New Mexico.
It was reported that after former President Donald Trump lost the reelection in 2020, Bartelsmeyer shared posts on his personal Facebook page supporting conspiracy theories about the loss. He said his personal opinions will have no bearing on his position.
He also admitted that those posts were based on incorrect information.
“I assured David Stevens, the recorder, and the supervisors I will no longer post on social media my opinions because here, I am a nonpartisan election official,” he said.
Bartelsmeyer said he would follow the elections procedures manual and statutes. He noted a random hand count of a sample of ballots is currently required by the state to test the accuracy of the voting machines, a process that includes the participation of the county political parties.
“I have no problem going with 100% of beyond what is the minimum to whatever the party chairs agree upon how to count. I am going to follow the legal advice of the county attorney,” he said.
Many challenges lie ahead for the new director
Bartelsmeyer faces numerous challenges before the March primaries and the 2024 presidential election.
One challenge is finding enough poll workers for the polling locations throughout the county.
“I have not found any county that doesn't have a challenge when it comes to poll workers,” he said.
He will also have to hire his team of two other employees including an elections manager and an elections assistant. The most recent elections manager quit last week.
Bartelsmeyer said the county has enough funding for three full-time positions, and some part-time positions as the elections season approaches.
Another challenge is electors who do not trust the elections process, he said.
During Cochise County Board of Supervisors meetings, a vocal group has continued to voice their doubt about the accuracy and certification of voting machines, despite a lack of valid evidence.
The new director will also have to adapt to a larger-scale election as Cochise County which had more than 77,000 registered voters in the November election is around seven times larger than La Paz, which had around 11,000 registered voters in that same election. Bartelsmeyer said although the county sizes are different, the processes are the same.
Former Elections Director quit after facing harassment
Bartelsmeyer replaced Lisa Marra, who resigned after refusing to conduct an illegal hand count of ballots in the November General Election. In May, she received a $130,000 settlement following claims of a toxic work environment. She claimed that two members of the Board of Supervisors pressured her to participate in the illegal hand count.
Marra now works as the Deputy Director of Elections with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.
Bartelsmeyer said he is not concerned about harassment for following the law, and he wants to be transparent with the community. He said he would like to have an open house in the near future so community members can see firsthand the process of counting ballots.
Current Interim Elections Director will leave position
Bartelsmeyer was hired by Recorder and Interim Elections Director David Stevens. This week, Stevens told the board that he will leave the position as soon as his contract allows. According to the board, he must stay on for 90 days after giving in his notice.
Stevens said that while he could have kept the interim position until the end of his term, he has decided to leave the Interim Director position noting that he is not being paid to do the job in addition to his county recorder duties.
“There is not a need for me to do this job anymore, I never wanted the job to begin with,” he said, adding that he has done what the role required as well as hired a qualified director.
How the county recorder and elections director share elections responsibilities
The county recorder maintains voter registration records and manages early voting, while the Elections Department oversees in-person elections. However, both departments oversee different aspects of mail-in voting elections.
Stevens said while the Recorder’s Office receives the mail-in ballots, the Elections Department creates and orders the ballots. The Recorder’s Office orders the envelopes and the voting instruction documents. The Recorder’s Office verifies signatures and the Election Department tabulates them.
“The two of us have to work together,” Stevens said.
After Stevens vacates the position in mid-August, Bartelsmeyer will report to the county administrator.
Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republic’s coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/new-elections-director-appointed-in-arizona-county-after-illegal-hand-count/70326890007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:32 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/new-elections-director-appointed-in-arizona-county-after-illegal-hand-count/70326890007/ |
What does nonbinary mean? What pronouns do nonbinary people use? What to know
June is Pride Month, which celebrates the history and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community through celebrations, advocacy and education.
Pride Month recognizes a broad spectrum of identities related to sexuality and gender identity. One of those gender identities is nonbinary.
When a person identifies as nonbinary, they don't identify as female or male.
Here are the basics of the nonbinary gender identity.
What does nonbinary mean?
People who are nonbinary are "individuals who do not identify their gender as man or woman," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Adolescent and School Health.
A person who is nonbinary may use one of the following — or another — more specific term to describe their gender identity: agender, bigender, demigender, pangender, genderqueer or genderfluid. These terms only describe a person’s gender identity, not their sexuality.
What pronouns do nonbinary people use?
Not all nonbinary people use the same pronouns. Some nonbinary people use gender-neutral pronouns, such as they/them. Others may be OK with the interchangeable use of gender-neutral and gendered pronouns, such as she/they, he/they or she/he/they.
Happy Pride 2023:12 events celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in Phoenix in June
What courtesy titles and salutations are appropriate for nonbinary people?
Mx. is a courtesy title, also called an honorific, that can describe "those who do not identify as being of a particular gender, or for people who simply don't want to be identified by gender," according to Merriam-Webster.
Dictionary.com offers some suggestions for gender-neutral salutations, alternatives to words like "Sir" and "Madam." These alternatives include using the person's professional title or their name or, if you need to get someone's attention, simply saying "Excuse me" or "Hello."
Is the nonbinary identity something new?
Although the term "nonbinary" is becoming more common and nonbinary people are becoming more visible, nonbinary people have always existed.
"Non-binary and trans people have always been here," according to historian Catherine Armstrong, who wrote an article for The Conversation in 2021 about the lack of historical records about LGBTQ+ people in Western society.
"People who belong to groups that fear being ostracised and persecuted often only reveal their true selves to a few people. As a result, the visibility of LGBTQ+ people, even during moments in history when they have faced hostility, is often limited," Armstrong wrote. "Coupled with that is a dearth of historical records because authors of these historical accounts were often prejudiced and did not want to record the experiences of those considered shameful under the values of their time."
Who are some people that identify as nonbinary?
Singers Demi Lovato and Sam Smith as well as actor Elliot Page all identify as nonbinary.
Two Broadway performers, Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee, became the first known nonbinary people to win Tony Awards in June 2023.
The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimated that as of June 2021, there were at least 1.2 million nonbinary people in the U.S. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/what-does-nonbinary-mean-heres-what-to-know/70314680007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:38 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/what-does-nonbinary-mean-heres-what-to-know/70314680007/ |
Juneteenth started as a celebration of freedom. Here's why it's now a national holiday.
On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in the Galveston area of Texas learned of their freedom.
The news came two and half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, and more than two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, bringing an end to the Civil War.
This event gave rise to the Juneteenth holiday.
When is Juneteenth?
Always held on June 19, Juneteenth will land on a Monday in 2023. The name combines "June" and "nineteenth." It is also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Juneteenth Independence Day and Black Independence Day, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Juneteenth 2023 events around Phoenix:Ways to celebrate Black culture and excellence
When was Juneteenth first celebrated?
The inaugural Juneteenth celebration was in 1866 in Texas, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Within a few years, Juneteenth celebrations in Texas had grown to include thousands of people, according to archival newspaper research by Newspapers.com.
How long has Juneteenth been a federal holiday?
In 2021, Congress passed legislation that President Joe Biden signed to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday. Efforts had been building since at least 1994 to make Juneteenth a national holiday, according to the Congressional Research Service. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was the last federal holiday to be added before Juneteenth. That was in 1983.
When did Arizona adopt Juneteenth as a holiday?
In 2016, Arizona's Legislature passed a bill recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday. It was the 45th state to do so. The first state to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday was Texas, in 1980, according to the Congressional Research Service.
How is Juneteenth celebrated?
According to the Congressional Research Service, this is how Juneteenth was first celebrated: "Texans celebrated Juneteenth beginning in 1866 with community-centric events, such as parades, cookouts, prayer gatherings, historical and cultural readings, and musical performances. Over time, communities have developed their own traditions. Some communities purchased land for Juneteenth celebrations, such as Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas. As families emigrated from Texas to other parts of the United States, they carried Juneteenth celebrations with them."
Nowadays, Juneteenth celebrations often feature a mix of celebration and education. Celebrations come in the form of barbecues, parades and block parties. Recitations of the Emancipation of Proclamation are also common at Juneteenth events.
Black History in Phoenix:10 iconic landmarks and the stories behind them | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/when-is-juneteenth-history-national-holiday/70315709007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:44 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/06/16/when-is-juneteenth-history-national-holiday/70315709007/ |
Arizona's tallest tower? Proposal heads to Phoenix City Council for a vote
A downtown Phoenix project that could include Arizona’s tallest building soon will go before the Phoenix City Council, which could give the green light to the $535 million project.
In the meantime, the development team is meeting with neighborhood groups to discuss the plans, which were first pitched about five years ago.
Scottsdale-based developer Aspirant Development, which is part of Empire Group, proposed a development called Astra at Second Avenue and Van Buren Street, directly west of the downtown YMCA building. The two-acre site is currently a parking lot. The project includes a 541-foot tower, which would become the tallest building in the state.
The former Chase tower at First and Van Buren streets is currently Arizona’s tallest building, standing 483 feet.
Hotel, apartments and office space planned
The proposal calls for a luxury hotel, office, apartments and ground-floor restaurant and retail space. The apartments are planned to include both traditional units and co-living units, where residents rent a bedroom and bathroom and share a common space with roommates who are on separate leases.
It would be built in two phases and total 697 apartment units, 229 hotel rooms, 185,000 square feet of office and 36,000 square feet of commercial space for restaurants or stores.
At a meeting of the City Council's Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee, Phoenix officials said the office space and retail could accommodate about 2,500 permanent jobs at the development.
City tax abatement incentive sought
The plans were dormant for a while but resurfaced after the city modified its rules for a development incentive that the project is seeking. The incentive, called a government property lease excise tax, or GPLET, allows a developer to deed the land back to the city to forgo paying property tax on the site for a standard period, generally eight years. At the end of the period, the deed goes back to the property owner and taxes are paid as normal.
The council updated its GPLET policy in 2022 and included new requirements for developments seeking the incentive, Phoenix Economic Development Director Chris Mackay said at the subcommittee meeting. Now, developers are required to make a contribution, equal to 200% of what the city’s portion of the abated property tax would have been, to an affordable housing trust fund. In Astra’s case, that contribution will be about $5.5 million.
During the period of the GPLET, the developer also must pay the area’s school districts a payment equal to what the tax would have been on the undeveloped property, so the districts do not lose out because of the abated property tax.
At the meeting, Joan Kelchner, president of the Roosevelt Action Alliance, a neighborhood advocacy group, said the project had been presented to the group a few years ago but has changed since the alliance first gave its recommendation of approval.
Kelchner said members of the group were happy that the project included co-living options but said she would like the developer to be held to high standards for landscaping and sustainability.
Coming up:Big plans are in the works for a former garden on Central Avenue near Indian School Park in Phoenix
Nick Wood, the zoning attorney for the project, said the development team had met with several community groups years ago when the project was first proposed and would be meeting with several groups before the June 28 council meeting to present the plan and hear community input.
At the subcommittee meeting, Mackay said the development includes a pedestrian paseo from Taylor Mall to the east, through the development to connect to the western side.
Mackay said it was a priority to make the development walkable and address neighborhood preferences that the project does not create a “mega-block” difficult for pedestrians to get around.
Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari said at the meeting that the additional height and density of the project is a benefit and appropriate for the downtown setting.
Moving forward on projects with height and density downtown will help further the goal of “making Phoenix a world class city,” Ansari said.
Full council vote planned for June 28
The subcommittee, which includes Ansari and councilmembers Laura Pastor, Ann O’Brien and Debra Stark, unanimously voted in favor of recommending the item go to the full council for a vote. The item is scheduled for the council’s June 28 meeting.
Subcommittee members said they were glad to see the inclusion of the co-living units, which can be much more affordable for people than a market-rate apartment in downtown. X Phoenix, another downtown apartment complex, already offers co-living leases, and Mackay said the option has been popular across demographics, including people who are nearing retirement and want to live in a more social environment near downtown amenities.
According to documents submitted to the city, the Astra developer aims to begin construction in the summer of 2024, with completion expected in 2027.
Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/06/16/astra-at-second-avenue-plan-downtown-phoenix-could-include-tallest-building-arizona/70328221007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:50 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/06/16/astra-at-second-avenue-plan-downtown-phoenix-could-include-tallest-building-arizona/70328221007/ |
Here's how worms turn food waste into soil at a south Phoenix farm
Vv Acevedo reaches into one of the dirt piles that line the Arizona Worm Farm and pulls out a handful of dirt. It’s full of squirming worms buried just beneath the surface.
Located near South Mountain, the farm breeds red wiggler worms for vermicomposting, which is the process of using worms to break down food waste into nutrient-rich soil that fertilizes plants.
“As your plants are growing, they’re putting all of that energy and nutrients into the leaves and the fruit and everything that falls,” said Acevedo, director of education at the farm. “It doesn’t have a way of returning back into the soil. That’s where the worms come in. They will help break all that down and return those nutrients into the soil.”
The farm is working to combat food waste with its vermicomposting efforts, selling worms to promote commercial and backyard vermicomposting, and educating consumers and businesses about the process.
Food waste is any food that gets thrown away, wastes resources, adds to landfills and increases environmental impact through methane gas production.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website defines food waste as “the edible amount of food, postharvest, that is available for human consumption but is not consumed for any reason.”
Food waste is a huge problem. Each year, 119 billion pounds of food are wasted in the U.S. with nearly 40% of all food in America wasted, according to Feeding America, a nonprofit that addresses hunger.
The Arizona Worm Farm started in 2017 and is halfway through a 10-year plan to create a self-sustaining, zero-waste environment with a focus on vermicomposting. The farm works with a number of businesses to collect food waste and dispose of it in a more sustainable way.
“We get green waste from salad producers that don’t put them in those bags that go in your grocery store, we get horse manure from carefully curated stables, and we get ground landscape waste from the city of Phoenix from a landfill diversion program,” said Zach Brooks, owner of the Arizona Worm Farm. “If we bury it (garbage) in a hole, we don’t make use of that. If we take it and capture that resource … we can continue to use that resource to feed ourselves.”
While vermicomposting recaptures nutrients from food waste and uses them to grow new plants, the process also recaptures water in the food that allows it to grow. That is especially important in Arizona during a megadrought.
The Arizona Worm Farm uses a no-till method, meaning no chemicals, herbicides, pesticides or commercial fertilizer can be used. The farm uses only worm castings – or excrement – which produce microbial activity.
“Those microbes convert what’s in the compost into what the plants need at the exact time that the plants need it,” Brooks said.
The farm receives 320 cubic yards of food waste from partners each week. Workers layer that in a custom mix, wet it, turn and monitor it for six months until it is ready to sell to businesses and backyard gardens.
Businesses can enroll in programs that pick up their food waste and have it taken to a composting facility, like the worm farm, instead of throwing it in with other waste and paying to have it hauled to a landfill.
Individuals have a few options to participate in vermicomposting and repurposing their food waste. They can start bin-sized operations where they throw food scraps in with worms and let the wrigglers do their job.
“Our main goal is to get more people backyard gardening, more people using natural things in their garden as an alternative to chemical fertilizers,” said Sarah Spainhower, head worm breeder at the farm.
Another option for backyard gardeners is to take their food waste and worms and add them directly to their garden. The worms digest the food waste and produce castings, which provide nutrients to the garden. The castings cultivate slower, healthier organic growth and lead to more delicious fruits and vegetables, according to Brooks.
Vermicomposting can take place in a raised bed or garden. People can add fruits, vegetables or leftover food and cover that with an inch of fallen leaves and water, and the worms will take care of the rest.
“Compost, worms and castings operate at the root level. So they’re feeding your plants without doing anything to burn your plants,” Brooks said. “They won’t over fertilize them, and they don’t pollute our waterways.”
Why breed and sell worms?
Brooks’ original idea for the farm was to raise chickens, but he couldn’t breed worms fast enough to feed the hens, as they devoured hundreds at feeding time. In the process, he found out how good worms are for soil.
“When we saw how great worms were in the gardens and what they could do, we decided that we needed to make those worms available to everybody in Phoenix and beyond,” Brooks said.
The Arizona Worm Farm breeds and grows 80,000 worms a week and touts itself as one of the largest producers of worms in the United States. Spainhower said the process of getting the worms ready to sell takes about three months. They put about 600 worms in each breeding tray, which can result in 6,000 to 8,000 worms. In the busy spring season, the farm can easily sell 60,000 worms a week, she said.
Interest in composting has been growing
A report from the Environmental Protection Agency showed an increase in composting efforts from 1960 to 2019 with 680,000 tons composted in 1960 and 3.3 million tons in 2019.
The report also broke down the distribution of 66 million tons of waste generated across three categories in 2019: food retail, food service and households. Of that, 39.6 million tons ended up in landfills, 5 million tons were donated to food banks and 3.3 million tons went to composting.
Michigan State University expanded a vermicomposting effort to 1 million red wiggler worms and is seeing success in reducing the university’s food waste.
The effort was originally a research project by now-retired horticulture professor John Biernbaum and has grown from about 20,000 pounds of food composted a year to 140,000 pounds in 2021.
Dig beneath the soil:Turning garbage into food? Worm farm in south Phoenix grows sustainably in the desert
High cost limits participants
But vermicomposting comes with costs.
Brooks said it costs about $44 per ton for a business to have its garbage picked up and taken to a landfill.
“To bring it here and sustainably process it is $100 a ton,” he said. ”So you can say, ‘That’s two and a half times as much money,’ or you can say, ‘I’m spending $400 a month now. It would cost me $1,000 a month. I can afford that $600 to make sure that we are taking care of our garbage.’”
The Arizona Worm Farm uses plastic bags to package its compost. Brooks said he would prefer to use compostable coffee bags, but said they are 10 times more expensive than plastic.
“It’s hard for a company my size to do that, but ultimately we need companies that can afford to do it,” Brooks said.
Another limitation of composting on a larger scale is separating everything that is not compostable. San Francisco, for example, has a mandatory recycling and composting ordinance, which requires residents and businesses to separate recyclables and compostables from waste that goes to landfills. Arizona does not have a similar ordinance, though some people use composting services or compost at home.
The combination of vermicomposting and thermophilic composting – the process of letting bacteria break down food waste – can process every bit of food and landscape waste that a family produces, according to Brooks.
“You can do that in an apartment and you can do that in a dorm,” Brooks said. “Now, is it going to fit nicely in your designer kitchen? Maybe not, so are there practical limits to it? Probably. Could most of us do it? Absolutely.”
Brooks said people may believe it’s easier to throw food away than to compost.
“As much work as it is to package your garbage and put it in the garbage and take it out to the curb to be picked up, it’s less work to feed your worms,” Brooks said.
In Phoenix, the farm has taught more than 4,640 people to compost and garden, he said. However, with 5 million people in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Brooks said the farm has a long way to go.
On its website, the farm has posted videos about its methods and processes that have been viewed by more than 700,000 people worldwide. The farm also has hosted conferences on worm management for farmers.
Beyond vermicomposting
Waste Not, a Scottsdale company that combats food waste, has partnered with the Arizona Worm Farm in the past. The nonprofit specializes in food rescue, diverting food that would otherwise be wasted to people in need. Last year, the organization rescued 2.4 million pounds of food and conserved more than 220 million gallons of water, executive director Hillary Bryant said.
A 2021 report on United States food loss and waste from the EPA concluded that simply recycling and composting aren’t enough; there needs to be a reduction in waste.
The EPA food recovery hierarchy, used by Waste Not, recommends reducing overproduction of food as the main way to combat food waste, followed by feeding people in need, feeding animals, industrial uses and composting. Sending food waste to landfills is a last resort.
Arizona has one of the highest shares of food waste in the U.S., according to Bryant and an analysis by lawn-care company LawnStarter.
Bryant said collaboration between local organizations that tackle different parts of the food system – like the Arizona Worm Farm – is essential.
“It’s really important to make those connections and to make sure that food is being used in some way and not just ending up in the landfill, so there are lots of collaborations that we are actively trying to make,” Bryant said. “Making sure that all of these people in the food system, all these companies talk to each other is very important because if we can’t use it, I know someone else can.” | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/06/16/worms-food-waste-soil-farm-south-phoenix/70323393007/ | 2023-06-16T16:02:56 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2023/06/16/worms-food-waste-soil-farm-south-phoenix/70323393007/ |
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — State Police in Franklin County euthanized an escaped cow that was seen running along the median between the north and southbound lanes of Interstate 81 near Shippensburg Thursday morning, a spokesperson confirmed Friday.
According to a statement issued by Trooper Megan Frazer, a State Police spokesperson, responding troopers attempted to corral the animal with their vehicles as it ran free along the interstate, but were unable to do so.
The troopers then exited their vehicles and deployed a Taser in an attempt to slow the animal, before one of the troopers used a firearm to euthanize it—a method approved by American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines, Frazer said.
A passing driver recorded video of the incident and posted it to Facebook, generating a debate in the comments between those who felt the troopers could have avoided shooting the animal and those who noted the potential danger to passing traffic. (Note: Due to the content of the video, viewer discretion is advised.)
In a statement issued Friday, Frazer said State Police have "extensive guidance in place for how and when animal destruction may be undertaken," and noted that the guidance requires an administrative review of all incidents of this nature.
A review of the incident "to determine if applicable policy was adhered to" is currently underway, Frazer added.
Frazer said State Police policy does allow for the destruction of farm animals "under certain conditions," and added that "a large animal running freely near vehicles traveling at interstate speeds, by its very nature, presents a serious danger to the motoring public."
There was no additional information available on the incident, Frazer said. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/franklin-county/state-police-statement-euthanized-cow-franklin-county-i-81/521-adb4a71f-7d70-4d7d-a525-5bb219187f7b | 2023-06-16T16:04:15 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/franklin-county/state-police-statement-euthanized-cow-franklin-county-i-81/521-adb4a71f-7d70-4d7d-a525-5bb219187f7b |
LANCASTER, Pa. — Police are searching for an elderly endangered Lancaster man who has gone missing for the second time since April.
Nathaniel Padgett, 72, has a mental health diagnosis and is considered endangered, according to Lancaster Police. He was last seen Thursday, walking north on N. Plum St.
Padgett is approximately 6'1" and 180 pounds. He last wore a red hat, green plaid shirt, dark blue jeans, black shoes and a black leather jacket.
Police say Padgett went missing in April, and was found a few hours later in Baltimore. Authorities are unsure if he will attempt to return to Baltimore.
If anyone has any information on Padgett's whereabouts, please contact Lancaster Police at 717-735-3300. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-county/lancaster-police-search-missing-man-nathaniel-padgett/521-8d3d1037-c500-48f9-b92a-c7536c66fae9 | 2023-06-16T16:04:22 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-county/lancaster-police-search-missing-man-nathaniel-padgett/521-8d3d1037-c500-48f9-b92a-c7536c66fae9 |
LANCASTER, Pa. — The 15th annual Lancaster Pride Festival is back and bigger than ever.
On Saturday, the festival will take place in the Lancaster County Convention Center.
Lancaster Pride says they are expecting more than 5,000 attendees. The organization says that their message for this year's festival is simple: Love trumps hate.
"We will not back down; we're gonna celebrate who we are," said Tiffany Shirley, president of Lancaster Pride. "Regardless of any person's feelings towards us, we're here, we're proud and we're gonna keep partying and having fun and celebrating who we are.”
Guests can walk through the convention center and visit nearly 200 LGBTQIA+ vendors and businesses.
Vendors said this weekend is more than just showing off their organizations. They want to be immersed into the community.
"We wanna make sure that everyone is included and represent everybody," said Mars Dvorak, co-owner of Pride Painters. "To see the excitement of everyone wearing their flag, it's really, really heartwarming."
Guests can also watch drag performances during the festival.
Samuel Castro performed at the festival for several years. He said he is excited to give people an opportunity he never had.
“I grew up in the 90s... when queer people were starting to get accepted but not quite yet," said Castro. "I don’t remember a time growing up when someone could bring me a smile and make me feel safe. Being able to look into someone's eyes and saying, 'I'm giving you a little bit of hope and things will be okay for your future,' is something that means the world to me."
He also said these drag performances are more important than ever.
“For me to put on this performance means that I am utilizing any small platform that I have," said Castro. "I think the biggest thing at the moment is, while people want to take a step back, we must take three steps forward."
This festival is the largest fundraising event for Lancaster Pride. However, organizers say the most important part on Saturday is creating a safe place for everybody to enjoy.
"We want to see everybody come. Allies, the queer community, anybody who wants to come and celebrate, you are welcome,” said Shirley. "Regardless of how you're feeling or if you're learning who you are, we welcome you with open arms... we're here to celebrate you and we appreciate you and we love you.” | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-pride-festival-15th-year/521-af1cd98e-090a-4b9d-b39c-d863d9e50d0f | 2023-06-16T16:04:28 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-pride-festival-15th-year/521-af1cd98e-090a-4b9d-b39c-d863d9e50d0f |
BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) – After posting some of its best revenues from slots and table games to date in April, the Bristol Casino saw a slight dip in May.
The Virginia Gaming Commission reported that the casino had a total adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of $12,926,089 in May, down from $14,040,790 in April. Earnings from slot machines made up the vast majority of that total AGR, contributing $11,009,426.
Table games contributed significantly less with a May total of $1,916,663.
The gaming commission reports the Bristol Casino features 921 slot machines and 29 table games that contribute to the AGR.
The AGR represents the Bristol Casino’s earnings after paying out winnings.
The May revenue from the casino also translated to $775,565 for the “Southwest Virginia Regional Improvement Commission” (RIC). The RIC funds public sector efforts in the casino’s 14 localities, which include 12 Southwest Virginia counties and the cities of Norton and Bristol. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/bristol-casino-revenues-down-in-may-from-april/ | 2023-06-16T16:09:08 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/bristol-casino-revenues-down-in-may-from-april/ |
Make Music Day returns Wednesday. How to find free performances all over Salem, Keizer
Free, live outdoor performances will take place all over Salem and Keizer June 21, the longest day of the year, as part of Make Music Day Salem.
The annual event runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is part of a global celebration of music-making in more than 1,000 cities worldwide.
Locally, more than 160 musicians will give about 250 performances at about 60 venues.
The celebration comes from the Fete de la Musique, an event that began in France in 1982.
It began as a call to musicians in Paris to get out in the streets and perform on the summer solstice. It has since spread to Europe and parts of Africa, as well as cities in the United States.
This will be Salem’s eighth consecutive year participating as one of more than 100 cities in the U.S. celebrating Make Music Day.
Musicians will perform in larger venues, such as the Gerry Frank-Salem Rotary Amphitheater, as well as alleys, parks and porches.
Genres range from Celtic to country, from folk to funk and from rock to religious.
Performers this year include event favorite Wild Ire, an organ bike, members of the Oregon Symphony, and Portland’s Unipiper.
“There will be every kind of music you can imagine, scattered not just downtown but all around,” said Mark Green, an event co-founder and volunteer.
There also will be participatory events, where people can try things and learn, Green said. Those include a harmonica play-along, bucket drumming, shower karaoke and a “found sound” event where people can make music using household items.
Make Music Day operates on a budget of about $7,000, which pays for permits, insurance and sound systems. The event doesn’t pay musicians, although venues may.
“The idea is for it to be on the first full day of summer, outside and free to participate,” Green said.
Tracy Loew covers the environment at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips:tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on Twitter at@Tracy_Loew | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/salem-keizer-make-music-day-returns-june-21-how-to-find-free-performances/70319536007/ | 2023-06-16T16:14:50 | 1 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/salem-keizer-make-music-day-returns-june-21-how-to-find-free-performances/70319536007/ |
Salem to pay $25K to protester accusing police of unlawful force, wrongful arrest
The City of Salem has agreed to pay $25,000 to a local activist who said police unjustly shot him with non-lethal munitions and falsely arrested him during a counterprotest outside Planned Parenthood in 2021.
The settlement comes four months after attorneys representing Clifford Eiffler-Rodriguez filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Salem Police Department, accusing them of excessive and unconstitutional use of force.
Violence at protest outside Planned Parenthood
The incident took place during one of many confrontations outside Salem's only Planned Parenthood on Wolverine Street and Lancaster Avenue.
In 2021, Pastor Ken Peters’ The Church at Planned Parenthood began gathering regularly at the Salem clinic to protest abortion services, often aligning with the extremist group the Proud Boys for security.
.Planned Parenthood officials told the Statesman Journal the protest was “designed to shame and intimidate our patients, and keep them from accessing health care, no matter what the consequences."
The group attracted counterprotesters.
Clifford Eiffler-Rodriguez attended the counterprotest of the church group on Aug. 10, 2021, and voiced his opposition to the group using a megaphone.
Proud Boy members were seen firing paintballs and spraying chemical irritants at counterprotesters, according to reporting from the Statesman Journal.
When Salem Police, including several officers in riot gear, arrived, Eiffler-Rodriguez dispersed but kept using the megaphone.
According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court Feb. 10, a Salem Police officer pushed Eiffler-Rodriguez with a baton and then officers fired 40mm non-lethal munition rounds and pepper balls from point-blank range.
"They shot him at least three times in the chest, once in the left thigh, and once on his upper right arm," states the lawsuit Oregon Justice Resource Center attorney Alex Meggitt filed. "Each impact had enough force to break the skin. The bruising from the impact munitions would last for weeks."
No other protesters were near Eiffler-Rodriguez at the time.
Salem Police Officer Judy Dan then tackled and arrested him. Eiffler-Rodriguez was charged with harassment and interfering with a police officer.
Activist faces doxxing, criminal charges dismissed
Eiffler-Rodriguez told the Statesman Journal in June that he has lasting scarring from being shot in the chest three times with munitions. He said extremist groups targeted him after his arrest became public by doxxing — publicly posting his address — along with harassing his family and sending him threats.
Even though the criminal charges against him were suddenly dropped by the Marion County District Attorney's Office "in the interest of justice" five months later, news of his arrest for "allegedly assaulting a female officer" remains pervasive online.
He said he never received medical treatment for his injuries and went to work the next day sore and bruised.
Eiffler-Rodriguez's attorney said the incident exemplified excessive and unconstitutional force by police.
Meggitt said Eiffler-Rodriguez was not committing any crimes and not engaging in riotous behavior.
He said Salem Police's pattern of allowing officers to use “crowd control” and “less than lethal” weapons against individuals who are engaged only in passive resistance and who pose little or no threat of harm to others showed a lack of training and was unconstitutional.
Eiffler-Rodriguez in the lawsuit alleged the encounter exemplifies the disparate way Salem police react to protests — by ignoring the violent actions of extremist groups like the Proud Boys and overreacting to racial and social justice protesters.
The lawsuit states Proud Boy Tusitala “Tiny” Toese was at the event and was not detained by police, despite having an open warrant for his arrest. Toese was later arrested and convicted of assault, riot and weapon charges in Portland.
Police deny wrongdoing, case ends in settlement
After the lawsuit was filed, Salem Police declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit, citing its policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
But in their legal response to the lawsuit, attorneys for the city said Eiffler-Rodriguez was arrested after he was shouting obscenities through a megaphone and ignored multiple orders to move back.
State records show Dan resigned from the police department in May. In the lawsuit, city attorneys said Dan did not knowingly violate any constitutional rights and was entitled to qualified immunity.
They said Eiffler-Rodriguez's arrest was lawfully supported by reasonable suspicion and probable cause.
Eiffler-Rodriguez said he had hoped the case would go to trial so the action of Salem Police on that day would be brought to light.
"I grew up there," he said, referring to the neighborhood near the protest. "To just see that casual disregard that officers had ... that day for the neighborhood and the community as a whole kind of just makes me sick to the stomach."
He wanted the lawsuit to hold the department accountable.
But when faced with the cost and possible financial liability of going to trial, he agreed to settle the case, he said, adding thatthe settlement might have some power in making leaders reconsider how police interact with protesters.
He still goes to protests and testifies to the city council but remains on guard. Despite the danger during protests, he said he feels compelled to keep going.
"I'm gonna keep going because I have to," Eiffler-Rodriguez said. "I have to see this community get better."
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/salem-lawsuit-planned-parenthood-protest-police-unlawful-force-proud-boys-clifford-eiffler-rodriguez/70327328007/ | 2023-06-16T16:14:52 | 0 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/salem-lawsuit-planned-parenthood-protest-police-unlawful-force-proud-boys-clifford-eiffler-rodriguez/70327328007/ |
Construction starts on Highway 99 between Rickreall and Monmouth, runs through October 2024
The project includes adding a left turn in the intersection with Orrs Corner Road and a roundabout in the intersection with Clow Corner Road.
Construction on Highway 99 West between Rickreall and Monmouth will begin this week and continue through 2024, the Oregon Department of Transportation said.
The estimated cost of the projects is $11.3 million.
Construction is expected to take place from Sunday nights at 7 p.m. until Friday mornings at 6 a.m. ODOT said there will be lane closures and there will be flaggers to direct traffic.
The first part of the project will be a left turn lane at the intersection of Highway 99 and Orrs Corner Road just south of Rickreall.
ODOT said that construction, preparing the intersection with Clow Corner Road and moving utilities at both locations will run through October.
The second part of the project involves building a roundabout at Clow Corner Road and Highway 99.
The roundabout with Clow Corner will be constructed to the east of Highway 99. Clow Corner will close to the east of Highway 99 for about five months during construction.
ODOT said Clow Corner will then close to the west while the roundabout is connected and the existing highway is removed.
That is expected to start in February 2024 and last through October 2024.
The roundabout is designed with a bypass lane in the center to allow oversized vehicles to travel through, although that will require a permit. That will only be accessible by moving a barrier.
Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/polk-county/2023/06/16/construction-highway-99-orrs-corner-road-otis-rickreall-monmouth-oregon/70327505007/ | 2023-06-16T16:14:54 | 0 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/polk-county/2023/06/16/construction-highway-99-orrs-corner-road-otis-rickreall-monmouth-oregon/70327505007/ |
The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday approved Aug. 8th’s single-issue special election by a 4-3 ruling.
The court had been considering a case challenging the legality of the Legislature-induced election since the complaint was filed over a month ago. Legal representatives from the One Person One Vote campaign against Issue 1 asserted that the Legislature had limited its own ability to call special elections when it passed a sweeping election reform bill late last year.
The court found that the power granted to the Ohio General Assembly within the Ohio Constitution to propose amendments and put it toward voters “at either a special or a general election as the General Assembly may prescribe” overrides any laws passed in the Ohio Revised Code.
The decision marks the final hurdle for the special election on Issue 1, which came from a months-long and high-profile legislative process. The single-issue election will ask all Ohio voters to approve an amendment that will raise the voter threshold required to pass future amendments from a simple majority to 60% and create a more strenuous process for citizen-initiated amendments to appear on the ballot.
Voters hoping to participate in the Aug. 8th election need to be registered by July 10. Early voting begins July 11.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
About the Author | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/august-single-issue-special-election-can-continue-ohio-supreme-court-says/G6FMS4P5GBD6HIXUJDRQBZ4JMY/ | 2023-06-16T16:15:07 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/august-single-issue-special-election-can-continue-ohio-supreme-court-says/G6FMS4P5GBD6HIXUJDRQBZ4JMY/ |
SEATTLE — 34-year-old Eina Kwon is being remembered by family and friends as an “incredible human being” after she was shot and killed in a seemingly random attack in Belltown Tuesday.
Multiple people called 911 around 11 a.m. on Tuesday to report the shooting at Fourth Avenue and Lenora Street. Callers said a suspect had run up to a white car and shot into the driver's side, and that an injured man was lying on the street. Multiple callers were able to provide a description of the suspect to 911 dispatch.
The man and Kwon, who was eight months pregnant, were rushed to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. Kwon was rushed into surgery and her baby was emergently delivered. Kwon died from her injuries, which included gunshot wounds to the chest and head. Her baby lived for a short time but also died.
The other victim was treated for their injuries and later released.
"She was just an incredible human being, selfless, works every day," said business owner Michael Hoyle.
Hoyle and his wife own the businesses next door to Kwon's sushi restaurant Aburiya Bento House.
"She's been the most selfless, loving person every time we walked by, she's always coming out here at the same time every morning to put out her sign just like I put out my sign," said Hoyle. "I'm still kind of in a shell shock. It's that's the only word I can use. It's just, it's devastating."
Kim Ramirez, a friend and frequent customer, said they were celebrating the fact that her daughter was going to have a baby around the same time as Kwon.
"We used to tease her about the fact that ya know it was time for her to – I mean how could she deliver plates with her belly stickin' out, right," said Ramirez. "They were part of our family, our extended family. And we love them. Really nice people."
Ramirez said Kwon was pregnant with her second child.
Officers were able to locate a person matching the suspect's description not long after the incident. As officers approached, the suspect "raised his hands up in the surrender gesture and repeated, 'I did it, I did it,'" according to court documents.
The suspect waived his right to appear in court on Wednesday. A judge found probable cause to hold him for first-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office expects to file charges on or before Friday. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington/eina-kwon-pregnant-woman-killed-belltown-shooting-remembered/281-9ad3cd98-589e-4981-b063-cff9fe7028be | 2023-06-16T16:24:02 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington/eina-kwon-pregnant-woman-killed-belltown-shooting-remembered/281-9ad3cd98-589e-4981-b063-cff9fe7028be |
SEATTLE — Available phone numbers with the 206 area code are running out - so Seattle is getting a new one: 564.
The Utilities and Transportation Commission approved the plan Thursday to address a need for new phone numbers in the Seattle area.
Current phone numbers with the 206 area code aren't going to change. The 564 area code will be assigned to new phone numbers once 206 area code numbers are depleted.
The North American Numbering Plan Administrator estimates that numbers with the 206 area code will run out by the end of 2025. The Utilities and Transportation Commission directed the cell phone industry to develop a nine-month implementation plan to make sure that the new area code will be ready six months ahead of when 206 phone numbers are expected to run out.
The commission originally approved the 564 area code as an overlay for areas in western Washington that needed additional phone numbers in 2000, but didn't actually need to implement it as an option until 2017, when 360 numbers began to run out.
The area code is already in use on the Olympic Peninsula, southwest Washington, eastern Pierce and King Counties and also in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom Counties.
Part of the overlay area code implementation meant Washington residents needed to switch to 10 digital dialing in the western part of the state in 2017, due to the potential for a 564 number and a number with a different area code to have the same seven preceding digits.
Callers within the 509 area code were the only ones in the state who could do seven-digital dialing until last fall, when the 988 number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline went into effect. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington/seattle-new-area-code-564/281-0b9aaf92-4aff-4e3b-93b0-e84e560bf345 | 2023-06-16T16:24:08 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington/seattle-new-area-code-564/281-0b9aaf92-4aff-4e3b-93b0-e84e560bf345 |
CORBETT, Ore. — "Help!"
That's the word Taylor Root said he heard as he was walking down the Larch Mountain Trail near Multnomah Falls. He had just passed by a woman and her mom a moment before, and everything seemed normal.
"That's when I start running. I'm like, 'Oh, something just happened,'" Root said, recalling the rescue.
Root had a GoPro strapped to his chest that was already recording content for his YouTube channel when the cry for help rang out.
He said he ran up the hill about 100 to 200 feet and found a woman bent down on the trail holding on to one of her mom's legs. That woman's mom had fallen backwards, with her feet up towards the trail and her head down the hill. Root bent down and grabbed the other leg.
"So trying to pull her back up, there was no way. I gave her a couple of pulls and was like this was not gonna happen," he said.
Root and the daughter tried coming up with different ways to pull the woman's mom back up.
"I can't pull up," the mom was heard saying in Root's video.
"No, mom it's going to be OK. We're going get you," the daughter responded.
The two came up with a plan.
"Can you maybe grab her other foot and I can grab her hand?" the daughter asked Root in the video. "Mom, it's going to be OK."
"The other fearful part of it was," Root told KGW, "not falling over ourselves."
That's when the mom gave a response that shocked Root.
"Let me go!" the mom told the two.
"You're not going anywhere," Root responded.
"We got you, OK?" the daughter reassured her mom.
They came up with a different plan to grab her arms.
"Try to hold on both feet," Root told the woman.
"I can't, I only have one arm," the daughter told Root.
They eventually got a hold of the mom's hand and she was able to rotate her body so her arms were facing the trail and her legs were hanging down.
"So I just kind of lean forward and grab her arm and I start pulling," Root recalled.
With one big pull, the two pulled the mom up on the trail to safety. From the time Root heard the first cry for help to her feet safely on the trail was one minute and 40 seconds.
"It was a really intense situation that I'm glad to be done with," Root said.
In the video, you can hear Root ask the mom after she's back on the trail if she's OK.
"I'm fine," she said.
Root told KGW that he was in the right place at the right time.
"If I was 100 feet farther down the trail, I wouldn't have heard her because that waterfall is so loud," Root said.
He didn't ask how the woman fell off the trail, but said when the woman and her daughter appeared to be fine, he headed back down the trail and went home. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/woman-rescued-larch-mountain-trail-gorge/283-8994f3e4-d8dc-4ca7-a048-ad77dc6cb5e8 | 2023-06-16T16:24:15 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/woman-rescued-larch-mountain-trail-gorge/283-8994f3e4-d8dc-4ca7-a048-ad77dc6cb5e8 |
PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – State police are investigating a two-vehicle crash that left an 18-year-old girl dead in Pittsylvania County on Thursday.
The crash occurred at US 29, at its intersection with Route 649, according to authorities.
Police said a 2008 Mazda 6 was pulling across US 29 to make a left turn and failed to yield the right of way when the Mazda was struck by a 2004 Ford F-250 heading south.
VSP said the driver of the Mazda, identified as 18-year-old Leighana Malpass of Chatham, died at the scene.
Joseph Irby, 25, of Gretna, drove the Ford, and was not injured.
State police said the crash remains under investigation. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/06/16/18-year-old-dead-after-pittsylvania-county-crash/ | 2023-06-16T16:24:28 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/06/16/18-year-old-dead-after-pittsylvania-county-crash/ |
Detroit bus driver who killed pedestrian downtown fired
Detroit — A bus driver who was involved in eight crashes during her 26-year career, including a June 2 fatality downtown, has been fired, a Detroit Department of Transportation official said Friday.
Geraldine Johnson, 59, of Detroit, was charged Wednesday with a moving violation causing death, a misdemeanor, after running down pedestrian Janice Bauer, 67, of Grosse Pointe Park. Bauer was hit while crossing the street at Congress and Griswold.
DDOT Director of Transit Mikel Oglesby released a statement Friday announcing Johnson's firing.
"Since this terrible accident occurred two weeks ago, we have been engaged in a full review of Ms. Johnson's record and of all related departmental policies and procedures," Oglesby said. "Once that review is completed, we will be better positioned to respond to questions about her driving and employment history with DDOT. Following the accident, Ms. Johnson was terminated."
If convicted, Johnson faces up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
During Johnson's arraignment, 36th District Court Magistrate Dawn White said the defendant had been involved in eight crashes involving her personal vehicle or a bus. Among Johnson's previous incidents was a 2015 fatality, said White, who called Johnson's driving record "quite troubling."
Johnson was in at least one crash a year — either while driving a bus or her personal vehicle — since 2018, White said, although an assistant prosecutor said not all the crashes had been Johnson's fault.
White set a $100,000 personal bond for Johnson during her arraignment and banned her from driving.
Bauer was a longtime employee of the SMART regional bus system, where she served as the ADA Program Coordinator, helping people with disabilities secure rides on SMART's buses.
"This case is tragic on every level," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement when the charges were filed against Johnson. "Janice Bauer lost her life. The alleged facts are that defendant, Geraldine Johnson, literally ran her over with the city bus she was driving and caused her death."
ghunter@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2134
Twitter: @GeorgeHunter_DN | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/06/16/detroit-bus-driver-who-killed-pedestrian-downtown-fired/70329602007/ | 2023-06-16T16:27:57 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/06/16/detroit-bus-driver-who-killed-pedestrian-downtown-fired/70329602007/ |
State police investigating shooting on Southfield Fwy. in Detroit
Michigan State Police are investigating a shooting Thursday night in which eight shots were allegedly fired at a car on the Southfield Freeway in Detroit, officials said.
No one was injured, they said.
Troopers were called at about 10:25 p.m. Thursday to a location on the northbound Southfield Freeway at Intestate 96 in Detroit for a report of a shooting.
They arrived and found a 2012 BMW with bulletholes in a window and trunk lid.
The victim told police that a maroon or red SUV pulled up alongside his vehicle and began shooting. He said the SUV then sped north on the Southfield Freeway.
Investigators said they checked the Detroit Police Department's ShotSpotter aerial surveillance system and learned that eight gunshots had been fired on the freeway between Schoolcraft Road and I-96.
Police closed the freeway to sweep for evidence and found five pistol casings.
Anyone who has information about the shooting should call the Michigan State Police tip line at (855) MICH-TIP or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) SPEAK-UP.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @CharlesERamirez | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/06/16/state-police-investigating-shooting-on-southfield-fwy-in-detroit/70329190007/ | 2023-06-16T16:28:03 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/06/16/state-police-investigating-shooting-on-southfield-fwy-in-detroit/70329190007/ |
3 arrested after leading Warren police on multi-city chase in stolen car
Three people were arrested Thursday after leading Warren police on a 50-minute car chase through multiple cities and then fleeing on foot, officials said.
According to a preliminary investigation, officers at about 4:05 p.m. Thursday were on patrol in the area of Stephens and Hayes Roads when a black 2015 Chrysler 300 drew their attention. A driver and two passengers were inside the vehicle. The officers checked Secretary of State records and found that the vehicle had been reported stolen in April from Farmington Hills.
Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but it sped away. The officers pursued at moderate speeds, officials said, and the vehicle led them through several streets in Warren and Detroit.
At one point, the suspect vehicle got onto Interstate 75 and then exited at Jefferson Avenue in Detroit while continuing to flee. The vehicle stopped suddenly in the Interstate 94 and Kelly Road area in Harper Woods.
Officials said the vehicle's three occupants got out of the car and ran in various directions.
Warren police with the help of a Michigan State Police canine unit searched for the suspects. All three of the car's occupants were located and arrested without incident, police said. The three were taken to the Warren Police Department.
One of the suspects is a 20-year-old Warren resident and the other two are Detroit residents, ages 19 and 20. Police said all three have previous felony convictions.
Investigators searched the Chrysler and found a handgun, ammunition, narcotics and cash.
Detectives said they would submit their findings to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office to determine charges. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2023/06/16/3-arrested-after-leading-warren-police-on-a-chase-thursday/70329622007/ | 2023-06-16T16:28:09 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2023/06/16/3-arrested-after-leading-warren-police-on-a-chase-thursday/70329622007/ |
As a result of Barnett's departure, Battalion Chief Jim Vaughn, a 25-year NFD veteran, will fill the vacant assistant chief position; Lt. Greg Eft will fill Vaughn's previous position; and firefighter Preston Gloede will be promoted to lieutenant.
An assistant fire chief is responsible for managing department-wide operations, personnel needs, fleet operations, training and other administrative duties.
Photos: Emergency crews train on air disaster readiness at Bloomington airport
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Contact Drew Zimmerman at 309-820-3276. Follow Drew on Twitter: @DZimmermanLee | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/normal-assistant-fire-chief-retires-after-24-years/article_614e2d8e-0ba8-11ee-9710-135c54cc1f86.html | 2023-06-16T16:28:13 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/normal-assistant-fire-chief-retires-after-24-years/article_614e2d8e-0ba8-11ee-9710-135c54cc1f86.html |
Michigan DNR announces updated hunting regulations for 2023 season
In an effort to boost opportunities for a dwindling number of deer hunters in Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources has made several changes to hunting regulations for the upcoming season.
But the new rules aren't likely to reverse the trend in deer hunting's popularity, said Chad Stewart, the DNR's deer, elk and moose management specialist.
"While the approved regulations for the 2023-2025 deer seasons are geared toward increasing opportunities for a declining hunter base, we recognize that we'll have to continue to evaluate all possible options to sustainably manage Michigan's deer herd in the future," Stewart said in a statement.
Michigan's deer population has tremendous potential to grow, Stewart said. Deer breed every year, and most adult deer have two fawns per year. Fawns that are born in the summer can also breed in the winter and have babies the following summer.
As the deer population grows, Michigan could begin to see an increase in deer-vehicle collisions and crop damage, said Stewart.
Hunting is one of the primary tools the DNR uses to manage the deer herd growth in Michigan. But the state's population of deer hunters is largely made up of people over 50, with fewer hunters in their 20s, 30s and 40s, which is a national trend.
Since the late 1990s, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of firearm season hunters — Michigan's most popular season — dropping from about 800,000 hunters in the late 1990s to under 500,000 today, DNR data shows.
As hunters continue to age out of the sport, the DNR expects the number of firearm season hunters to drop close to 400,000 over the next 10 years.
The new regulations include the end of a restricted zone in the Upper Peninsula where deer were monitored for Chronic Wasting Disease and an increase in the number of deer that may be harvested in the state's Liberty Hunt for youth hunters and hunters with disabilities.
The changes were approved at a meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission held last week in Roscommon.
The complete updated regulations are:
- Restricted tag of the deer combo license. The four-point antler point restriction on the restricted tag of the deer combo license has been reinstated in 19 Lower Peninsula counties: Barry, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Lenawee, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Ottawa and Shiawassee. Under the updated regulation, all deer combo licenses in southern Lower Peninsula counties will now have an unrestricted regular tag and a four-point restricted tag.
- Liberty Hunt. Hunters participating in the Liberty Hunt, a firearm deer hunt on private or public land for youth and hunters with disabilities, will now be allowed to harvest more than one deer. While the limit for bucks remains at one, hunters can pursue multiple antlerless deer. It is important to note that a separate license will be required for each deer harvested during this hunt.
- U.P. CWD Surveillance Zone. The Upper Peninsula Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Zone (including parts of Delta, Dickinson and Menominee counties) has been removed. As a result, hunters in this area can resume baiting and feeding practices. The hunter's choice antler point regulations, which include an unrestricted tag for the deer license and point restrictions for the regular/restricted tag of the deer combo license, have been reinstated. The restrictions on the deer combo license are three points on a side for the regular tag and four points on a side for the restricted tag.
- Late archery season and crossbows. The proposal to allow crossbows in the late archery season in the Upper Peninsula was rejected. That means hunters are still prohibited from using crossbows during the late archery season in the Upper Peninsula. This includes hunters in the previous CWD Surveillance Zone where crossbow use in the late archery season had previously been allowed.
- Antlerless harvest in northern DMUs. The proposal to reinstate antlerless harvest opportunities in several northern deer management units (007, 031, 042, 048, 066, 127 and 131) using archery equipment was rejected. Antlerless harvest remains largely prohibited in those units, with exceptions only for qualified individuals during the Liberty Hunt and through Deer Management Assistance Permits, where authorized.
September 9-10 marks the start of Michigan's first hunting season, Liberty Hunt, which is geared toward youth hunters and individuals with a qualifying disability.
The two primary hunting seasons, archery and firearms, begin October 1 and November 15.
The DNR said full summaries of approved deer regulations will be available closer to the start of hunting season. For more information on deer management, hunting opportunities, and other resources, visit Michigan.gov/Deer. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/06/16/michigan-dnr-updated-deer-hunting-regulations-2023-season/70318524007/ | 2023-06-16T16:28:15 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/06/16/michigan-dnr-updated-deer-hunting-regulations-2023-season/70318524007/ |
Michigan State increases tuition by 3%
In-state Michigan State University undergraduate students will pay 3% more in tuition for the 2023-24 school year following approval Friday by the Board of Trustees.
The tuition increase was approved 8-0. There was no discussion.
In a statement, MSU officials said that the university is investing an "unprecedented" $224 million in student financial aid, which is a $16.4 million increase over last year. That means the additional financial aid will offset the 3% tuition for most students from low-income families; no out-of-pocket increases are expected for students from homes with incomes of $75,000 or less, MSU said.
"Year after year, MSU continues to make significant investments in financial aid programs to better support our students and widen the access to a world-class Michigan State education," said Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff.
The tuition increase was approved in June 2021 when trustees approved undergraduate tuition for three years, said MSU spokesman Dan Olsen.
"This is the last year that the tuition was preapproved," Olsen said. "This allowed undergraduate families and students to better prepare for and anticipate tuition rates for their undergraduate careers with MSU."
MSU's tuition increase comes one day after University of Michigan increased tuition by 2.9% for the next academic year.
kkozlowski@detroitnews.com | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/06/16/michigan-state-university-tuition-increase-2023-2024/70325873007/ | 2023-06-16T16:28:21 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/06/16/michigan-state-university-tuition-increase-2023-2024/70325873007/ |
Dearborn police seek tips in Thursday hit-and-run of pedestrian
Dearborn police are searching for a vehicle and its driver involved in a hit-and-run that left a 58-year-old pedestrian in critical condition early Thursday.
Investigators said the crash happened between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. near a bus stop on Greenfield Road just south of Ford Road. An unknown vehicle struck the pedestrian and left the scene, they said.
The was taken to a hospital with severe injuries, according to police.
Detectives believe the vehicle has damage to its front end due to the collision, but didn't disclose the make or model of the car.
Anyone with information about the crash or the suspect vehicle should call the Dearborn Police Department at (313) 943-2241 or CrimeStoppers at 1 (800) SPEAK-UP.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @CharlesERamirez | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2023/06/16/dearborn-police-seek-tips-in-thursday-hit-and-run-of-pedestrian/70329282007/ | 2023-06-16T16:28:27 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2023/06/16/dearborn-police-seek-tips-in-thursday-hit-and-run-of-pedestrian/70329282007/ |
Salina's Jerry Ivey, Centennial, Hawthorne parks have splash pads for kids
With summer in full swing, there are plenty of ways to get out and enjoy the sun in Salina. With rising temperatures, staying cool is just as important.
Those with younger children who might be too small for the Kenwood Cove Aquatic Park can still get in on water fun at Salina splash pads.
Jerry Ivey Memorial Park, Centennial Park and Hawthorne Park all come equipped with youngster-friendly splash pads. Families can beat the larger crowds at the pool and look on as their children meet new friends.
Each pad has features that can keep a kid busy for hours, like a built-in water gun, moving sprinklers and buckets suspended high in the air that dump out periodically.
Here's what to know before heading to the park splash pads with your tots.
When are splash pads open?
Splash pads operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and are open seasonally from May to September.
At each splash pad, a notice is posted with these rules and regulations:
- The splash pads are unsupervised. All children under the age of 10 must have adult supervision.
- Climbing or swinging on spray features is strictly prohibited.
- Toddlers must wear swim diapers.
- Keep glass, bikes, skateboards, roller skates or roller blades off the splash pads.
- No running, for the safety of other kiddos.
- No food or drink on the splash pads.
- Keep animals off the splash pads.
- Do not drink the splash pad water.
If people have questions or concerns, they can contact Salina Parks and Recreation at 785-309-5765.
Kendrick Calfee has been a reporter with the Salina Journal since 2022. You can reach him at kcalfee@gannett.com or on Twitter @calfee_kc. | https://www.salina.com/story/entertainment/local/2023/06/16/multiple-salina-parks-feature-splash-pads-summer-fun/70322899007/ | 2023-06-16T16:28:30 | 1 | https://www.salina.com/story/entertainment/local/2023/06/16/multiple-salina-parks-feature-splash-pads-summer-fun/70322899007/ |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Crofton woman allegedly robbed two mall jewelry stores in as many weeks.
The latest happened June 12 at the Artisans Fine Jewelry in Arundel Mills Mall.
Anne Arundel County Police say Julia Libby, 32, walked into the store asking to see two watches.
As an employee was about to show the watches, Libby tried grabbing them and running off.
The employee, however, held on to the jewelry prompting Libby to show a handgun underneath her shirt.
Despite being threatened, the employee refused to give up the watches which led Libby to run off empty handed.
Libby was arrested later that day in another jurisdiction with a handgun in her possession.
Police say Libby was already wanted for carrying out a similar robbery on May 31 at the Kay Jewelers in Westfield Annapolis Mall.
On that particular occasion, she did get away with stolen jewelry.
Since March online court records show Libby being tied to at least five additional theft related incidents throughout Anne Arundel and Prince George's Counties.
Aside from the two jewelry store robberies, Libby has five other trials scheduled throughout July. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/crofton-woman-accused-of-robbing-two-mall-jewelry-stores-in-as-many-months | 2023-06-16T16:31:49 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/crofton-woman-accused-of-robbing-two-mall-jewelry-stores-in-as-many-months |
BALTIMORE — Two Baltimore locations - the Snipes store on Perring Parkway, and Hotel Revival downtown - will play host to a major three-day Juneteenth celebration organized by Snipes, the popular shoe and streetwear store.
The three-day "Black Is Not a Monolith" event will begin in Brooklyn, New York, before coming to Baltimore's Perring Parkway store on June 17, and a panel discussion and mixer on June 19 at Hotel Revival. Snipes says the event "will shine a vibrant spotlight on the diverse identities within the Black community and pay homage to the relentless spirit of Black entrepreneurs who have fearlessly conquered uncharted territories."
Snipes has 10 locations in Baltimore, and recently opened the store at Parkway Crossing, on Cleanleigh Drive, after Shoe City shut down.
The June 17 event will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Parkway Crossing store. It will feature complimentary food, live DJs and offerings fromCloudy Donut Co., which has stores in northeast Baltimore and in New York City.
The first customers will get a limited-edition SUPLMNT water bottle as a gift with purchase, one of only 200 to be produced.
The June 19 event at Hotel Revival, on West Monument Street, will run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., with doors opening at 4 p.m.
It will be a panel featuring "influential leaders, trailblazing entrepreneurs, visionary artists, and inspiring influencers," with "unique perspectives and experiences, providing valuable information and tools to empower the minority community."
The panel will be moderated by Baltimore native and sneaker artist Akio Evans. Panelists include Zewiditu Jewel of the Black-owned, vegan Cloudy Donut Co.; Sherelle Hogan, CEO and Founder of Pure Heart Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children impacted by parental incarceration; Brian Ward (Brian the Balloon Artist), owner of Art on Display, a custom balloon art and design company promoting positivity through creative displays; and Jairus Morris, founder and CEO of Suplmnt, a company focused on educating and empowering urban communities about the importance of water hydration. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/snipes-celebrating-juneteenth-with-panel-discussion-in-baltimore | 2023-06-16T16:31:55 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/snipes-celebrating-juneteenth-with-panel-discussion-in-baltimore |
WEST POINT, Miss. (WTVA) — Juveniles with guns have become a big concern for many law enforcement agencies.
But how are juveniles getting access to these guns?
"A lot of these weapons we’re seizing that these juveniles have are coming from car burglaries,” Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said. “They’re coming from house burglaries.”
He continued, “It’s scary, you know. It’s one thing to have a handgun, but when you see these high-powered rifles that’s being shot in our neighborhood. You know, a bullet don’t discriminate.”
The sheriff urges the public to lock the doors to their homes and cars. | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/juveniles-with-guns-are-a-big-concern-for-many-in-law-enforcement/article_48408bcc-0bc4-11ee-a2c5-53d36a607bc9.html | 2023-06-16T16:34:46 | 1 | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/juveniles-with-guns-are-a-big-concern-for-many-in-law-enforcement/article_48408bcc-0bc4-11ee-a2c5-53d36a607bc9.html |
PITTSBORO, Miss. (WTVA) — A Derma man is accused of threatening to kill Calhoun County Sheriff Greg Pollan and county prosecutor Tina Scott.
That's according to the sheriff.
Authorities arrested Gary Howell, 40, Thursday night, June 15 and charged him with two counts of making terroristic threats.
He allegedly made the threats in a series a text messages Monday evening, June 12 and investigators were then made aware of the messages. | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/man-accused-of-threatening-to-kill-calhoun-county-sheriff-and-prosecutor/article_d4e9a6c4-0c57-11ee-8a6e-4be891c6f15e.html | 2023-06-16T16:34:52 | 1 | https://www.wtva.com/news/local/man-accused-of-threatening-to-kill-calhoun-county-sheriff-and-prosecutor/article_d4e9a6c4-0c57-11ee-8a6e-4be891c6f15e.html |
County officials are taking a look at how the Allegheny County Jail might be redesigned and are asking for the public’s opinion.
Since 2022, a team has been looking at how the building could be repurposed to promote the goal of a smaller population that optimizes employees’ and prisoners’ safety, health and well-being. They also want to better prepare prisoners for successful re-entry to the community by adding space that supports services.
They’ve taken steps toward that goal, including talking with people who were formerly incarcerated about the project, and are now surveying the public.
The survey is open through July 9 and can be taken here.
For more information, click here.
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Visit Journal Sentinel's booth at Milwaukee's Juneteenth celebration
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and our Listen MKE partners WUWM will have a booth at Milwaukee’s Juneteenth celebration Monday that will feature an opportunity for visitors to win a free portrait session with photojournalist Angela Peterson and have their photo added to a gallery on our website.
Milwaukee’s 52nd Juneteenth Day jubilee parade and street festival is themed “I Am Juneteenth” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday. The parade route will run from 14th and Atkinson Ave and ends at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Locust Street.
The Journal Sentinel booth is located at North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Burleigh Street. In addition to an opportunity to meet staff from both news organizations, highlights include:
- All-day: An interview booth where community members will be able to share their Juneteenth stories and memories with WUWM reporters. In addition, WUWM will have swag and both news organizations will have resources available to community members inside the tent.
- From 11 a.m. to noon: A photo booth where visitors can have their “I Am Juneteenth” photos taken and added to photo gallery at jsonline.com/Juneteenth.
- From 1 to 2 p.m.: Meet and greet with award-winning Journal Sentinel photojournalist Angela Peterson, see some of her photos and register to win a free portrait session.
Meet-and-greet, portrait session feature Peterson
Peterson is an award-winning photojournalist whose career with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel began in 2003. Her photography captures authentic moments, imparting stories about people on their life's journey.
She served as photo editor for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning story “One in a Billion,” about the quest to find a cure for a sick young boy by mapping his DNA. Most recently, her work captured the essence of people and places in "Lesson Lost,” “Cycles of Violence,” “Life Correction: The Marlin Dixon Story,” and “A New Prescription.” These stories were produced in partnership with the O’Brien Fellow in Public Service Journalism at Marquette University. This fall she will be a 2023-24 O'Brien Fellow with a project focusing on housing.
Visitors can sign-up to win a portrait session with Peterson. She will contact the winner and gather information about them, what they do, favorite or historic locations (lakefront, downtown Milwaukee, etc.), and then decide on an outdoor location. The portrait session will last no longer than an hour. The Journal Sentinel will provide a print and digital file of the portrait.
Contact Jim Fitzhenry at (920) 993-7154 or jfitzhen@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter at @JimFitzhenry, Instagram at @jimfitzhenry or LinkedIn. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/journal-sentinel-will-have-booth-at-juneteenth-with-listen-mke-partners/70323716007/ | 2023-06-16T16:45:04 | 1 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2023/06/16/journal-sentinel-will-have-booth-at-juneteenth-with-listen-mke-partners/70323716007/ |
MILWAUKEE COUNTY
Milwaukee City Hall, Zeidler Municipal Building to reopen at 11 a.m. Friday
Hannah Kirby
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee City Hall and the Zeidler Municipal Building will be closed to the public for hours this morning because of a water main break disrupting services at them, according to Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson's office.
Those buildings will reopen to the public at 11 a.m. Friday.
As of 10:30 a.m., temporary connections have been set up to supply water to the buildings, the mayor's office said in a news release.
A "significant section" of the water main needs to be replaced on Kilbourn Avenue and that work may take up to 24 hours to complete, the release stated. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2023/06/16/milwaukee-city-hall-zeidler-municipal-building-closed-to-the-public/70329362007/ | 2023-06-16T16:45:10 | 0 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2023/06/16/milwaukee-city-hall-zeidler-municipal-building-closed-to-the-public/70329362007/ |
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four stranded people were rescued from the Ponce de Leon Inlet jetties on Thursday.
The Coast Guard and Volusia County Beach safety crews arrived on the scene around 5 p.m. after a good Samaritan reported seeing a group of people on the jetties waiving their hands for help.
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After the rescue, the group was taken to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Coast Guard Station. No injuries were reported.
The names of the four people have not been released.
It is unclear what caused the four to become stranded, but the Coast Guard urged beachgoers to be mindful of their surroundings and keep an eye out for impending storms.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/16/4-stranded-rescued-from-ponce-de-leon-inlet-jetties/ | 2023-06-16T16:47:55 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/16/4-stranded-rescued-from-ponce-de-leon-inlet-jetties/ |
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies are investigating after six high-end luxury vehicles were stolen in Orange County this past month, including one owned by a local reality TV star, the sheriff’s office said in a tweet.
According to deputies, five of those vehicles were taken from valets at restaurants along Sand Lake Road as well as hotels in the area. A sixth car, a Mercedes G Class, was also taken in Winter Park.
One of the vehicles stolen was a 2022 Bentley Bentayga, owned by real estate broker and “Ladies of Orange County” star Cora Johnson, according to an incident report.
A report shows Johnson had parked the SUV, valued at around $300,000, with a nearby valet service at a parking garage at 8351 International Drive near ICON Park on May 17.
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Johnson said that the valet attendant told her that the car was taken, but he hadn’t called the police about it.
“He just gave me a dumbfounded look. I said, ‘Did you call the (explicit) police?’” Johnson told News 6. “He’s like, ‘Well, they knocked the cones down.’ I said, ‘You’re more worried about the cones than our almost $300,000 car?’”
Deputies said that the valet attendant told Johnson the lockbox with her keys inside had been pried open.
Johnson also had around $23,100 worth of belongings inside the car, according to the report.
The sheriff’s office said they are working on leads connecting to all the car theft cases but urged valet operators to remain vigilant. Deputies also said residents and visitors should not leave valuable belongings in their cars when dropping them off at valet services in the area.
No other information is available at this time.
In the last month, 5 high-end luxury vehicles (like those pictured below) have been stolen from valets at restaurants along Sand Lake Rd & hotels in the area. A Mercedes G Class was also stolen in Winter Park. Detectives are working leads, but valet operators should be extra… pic.twitter.com/AybLZE2jhd
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) June 16, 2023
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/16/6-luxury-cars-stolen-from-valets-in-orange-county/ | 2023-06-16T16:48:01 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/16/6-luxury-cars-stolen-from-valets-in-orange-county/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando reality TV star woman had her car stolen last month after leaving it with a valet at the ICON Park parking garage, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said that on May 17, the woman — identified as Cora Johnson — had driven to a parking garage at 8351 International Drive near ICON Park to grab dinner with a friend.
Johnson parked her car — a 2022 Bentley Bentayga valued at around $300,000 — with the nearby valet service but when she returned to the parking garage nearly two hours later, she found that her car was missing, according to an incident report.
The sheriff’s office confirmed with News 6 that Johnson’s vehicle is one of six luxury vehicles stolen in the county in the last month. Deputies said five high-end vehicles were stolen from valets at restaurants along Sand Lake Road and hotels in the area.
Johnson, a real estate broker and star on the reality television show “Ladies of Orange County,” said that the valet attendant told her that the car was taken, but he hadn’t called the police about it.
“He just gave me a dumbfounded look. I said, ‘Did you call the (explicit) police?’” Johnson told News 6. “He’s like, ‘Well, they knocked the cones down.’ I said, ‘You’re more worried about the cones than our almost $300,000 car?’”
In a report, deputies said that the valet attendant told Johnson that the lockbox with her keys inside had been pried open.
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The report shows that Johnson had around $23,100 worth of belongings inside of the car, including a MacBook, a Louis Vuitton suitcase and duffel bag, a Chanel purse, Versace slippers and a Gucci belt.
Johnson stated that she tried to track the Bentley’s location data, but the group involved in the theft managed to disconnect it.
She added that the goods in her car were being taken to her house to help prepare for the show.
Additionally, Johnson told News 6 that she learned the car was later reported as stolen by deputies.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/16/reality-tv-stars-bentley-stolen-in-orange-county-after-leaving-it-with-valet/ | 2023-06-16T16:48:12 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/06/16/reality-tv-stars-bentley-stolen-in-orange-county-after-leaving-it-with-valet/ |
ABSECON — The Hi Point Pub, which has been closed since last spring, took a step toward reopening after City Council approved a liquor license transfer for the property.
City Council, after tabling a resolution at a previous meeting, endorsed the liquor license transfer at its Thursday meeting, voting unanimously to approve it.
Its new owner, Lilly Cortes-Peterson, a city resident, said that her closing on the property was scheduled for Friday. A notice of sale was logged in the Atlantic County Clerk's Office in late-February.
Cortes-Peterson couldn't immediately be reached for further comment on Friday.
Peterson bought the bar about a year after the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, citing numerous violations and ties to fatal car crashes, pulled its liquor license, prompting its last owner to sell it.
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We don’t like anything that encourages people who have been drinking to get in their cars an…
It was known best for being open for alcoholic beverage purchases 24 hours daily. That component, after the bar shut down, prompted a controversial ordinance approved last year, in which City Council agreed to a city-wide last call at 2 a.m.
It was listed for sale through Murray & Associates at about $1.3 million.
The purchase makes the bar "veteran owned" and "family operated," Cortes-Peterson previously said.
ABSECON — The Hi Point Pub, a city bar that has been closed since last year, has been sold, …
The bar was due to reopen by this month, but a delay in its closing pushed the intended day back to sometime in July, Cortes-Peterson previously said. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/absecon-newjersey-hipoint-liqour/article_7893508a-0c59-11ee-8ea1-8fa51ed3c3f1.html | 2023-06-16T16:50:10 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/absecon-newjersey-hipoint-liqour/article_7893508a-0c59-11ee-8ea1-8fa51ed3c3f1.html |
Monday is Juneteenth, the federal holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States. What follows is a selection of events comemmorating the holiday in South Jersey. Information about additional events can be sent to newstips@pressofac.com.
Saturday, June 17
OCEAN CITY JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION: 1 to 5 p.m.; live music, comedy, vendors, bounce houses, food trucks and more; Haven Avenue between 7th and 8th streets, Ocean City; free. festivalnj.com.
Sunday, June 18
JUNETEENTH PERFORMANCE: 6 p.m.; East Lynne Theater Company is hosting a staged reading titled “Citizen James, or The Young Man Without a Country” to celebrate Juneteenth; one-man show about acclaimed novelist and civil rights activist James Baldwin; Cape May Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes St.; donation only. EastLynneTheater.org.
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Monday, June 19
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION AT MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Harriet Tubman Museum at Macedonia Baptist Church, Lafayette Street, Cape May. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/monday-is-juneteenth-here-are-a-few-ways-south-jersey-is-celebrating/article_5e218216-0b8d-11ee-a80f-8baaf1b30a0b.html | 2023-06-16T16:50:13 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/monday-is-juneteenth-here-are-a-few-ways-south-jersey-is-celebrating/article_5e218216-0b8d-11ee-a80f-8baaf1b30a0b.html |
The Tri-Cape baseball team's Carpenter Cup Classic quarterfinal game was postponed Friday due to inclement weather, the tournament announced on Twitter.
Tri-Cape was scheduled to play Mercer County at 12:30 p.m. at Dick Allen Field at FDR Park in Philadelphia. That game, along with a quarterfinal game between Delaware South and Inter-Ac/Independents, will be played at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The Delaware Southy-Inter-Ac/Independents game will be played at the park's Richie Ashburn Field.
SCHEDULE UPDATE 🚨
— Carpenter Cup Classic Baseball (@CarpenterCupBB) June 16, 2023
Today’s afternoon quarterfinal games have been postponed due to the impending threat of rain. Both games will be played at 10:30am on Saturday at Dick Allen and Richie Ashburn Fields. Updated schedule ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/iT7CY2116W
Tri-Cape, which consists of standout players from the Cape-Atlantic League and the Tri-County Conference, won the championship the last two years. The team was the first in 30 years, and the second in the 37-year history of the single-elimination tournament, to repeat.
The semifinals are set for Monday and the final Tuesday, games both days to be played at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Tri-Cape defeated Lehigh Valley (Pa.) 7-4 in the first round Thursday. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/tri-capes-carpenter-cup-quarterfinal-postponed-to-saturday/article_f6b59b9c-0c56-11ee-949b-37df0ef1e307.html | 2023-06-16T16:50:15 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/highschool/tri-capes-carpenter-cup-quarterfinal-postponed-to-saturday/article_f6b59b9c-0c56-11ee-949b-37df0ef1e307.html |
Texas Hippie Coalition, 6 p.m. Sunday, The Royal Grove. It’s been four years since Red Dirt metallists Texas Hippie Coalition played Lincoln. That year, THC (get it?) was touring behind “High in the Saddle,” an album of party rock produced by Lincoln native Bob Marlette. They’re now out with “The Name Lives On,” a slab of their blend of heavy metal and Southern rock.
Metro Jazz Quintet, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jazz in June, Sheldon Museum of Art sculpture garden. Nebraska’s Metro Jazz Quintet will offer classic jazz tunes from composers such as Ellington, Gershwin and Porter. The group is made up of some of the top jazz artists in the state and was named the Lied Center for Performing Art’s Jazz Club Artist.
Michael Charles, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Zoo Bar. Australian bluesman Michael Charles brings his fluid, fiery guitar playing and fresh songs back to the club he first played in 2010. Brought to the U.S. in 1989 by Buddy Guy, Charles is a songwriter who consistently adds new material and sounds to the blues — and he can really play.
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/heres-whats-going-on-in-lincolns-music-scene-june-16-21/article_2164281c-0a1e-11ee-8036-ebbc23a6c396.html | 2023-06-16T16:53:40 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/heres-whats-going-on-in-lincolns-music-scene-june-16-21/article_2164281c-0a1e-11ee-8036-ebbc23a6c396.html |
Leo Montaño is a man of consistency.
Every day at 7 a.m., the 88-year-old takes a six-mile bicycle ride.
And despite having retired more than 10 years ago, he still clocks in at work regularly.
He started his business, Tucson Alternator Exchange, in 1979, after nearly three decades of experience in the automobile industry.
The father of eight, grandfather of 23 and great-grandfather of 15 tripled the size of his business on East 20th Street over the years.
The business manufactures new alternators and refurbishes used ones, and Montaño still works on generators.
“The old classics still use generators,” he said. “Alternators didn’t come along until the 1960s and I still get business from people whose cars were built in the 1950s.”
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His career began when he was 15 years old and went to work for his uncle at Tucson Generator Exchange, where he would clean generators in cleaning chemicals with his bare hands.
Sixteen years later, he went into business with a partner and opened Alternator Generator Exchange in South Tucson.
He started his own business in 1979 at 1401 E. 20th St., near Kino Parkway and 22nd Street.
Tucson Alternator Exchange is still at that location and Montaño goes in on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for a few hours.
In 1999, he handed the business over to his sons, Steven and Leonardo.
“When I come in, they try not to bother me,” Montaño said. “They let me do what I want to do.”
Total retirement doesn’t appeal to him yet.
“I’m only 99% retired,” Montaño said. “This keeps my mind active.”
His wife of 69 years, Rose Marie, helped him out when he started the business by bookkeeping.
“We agreed to get into it because he knew the business and had a good name following,” she said. “I made sure the money was coming in.”
The couple met at Salpointe Catholic High School and were part of the school’s first graduating class in 1953.
They married the following year.
“I was making $2 an hour at the time,” Montaño recalled. “But I got a raise of 10 cents an hour when my wife was pregnant.”
They have eight children, Julie, Christina, Letitia, Daniel, Steven, Deanna, Leonardo and Rosaleen.
All but two of the children still live in Tucson.
“We have a lot of family gatherings,” Montaño said.
Tucson Alternator Exchange manufactures and sells alternators and generators but does not service cars.
The more power cars need, for things such as power windows, doors, seats and roofs, the better alternators need to perform.
The business has 16 employees and multi-generational customers.
The secret to his business’ longevity, Montaño said, is to always be straight.
“Be honest,” he said. “That’s how you get a reputation.”
Contact reporter Gabriela Rico at grico@tucson.com | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/tucson-business-fathers-day-personalities-family-automotive/article_3b8063c0-059e-11ee-b991-73ad32cb0018.html | 2023-06-16T17:01:13 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/tucson-business-fathers-day-personalities-family-automotive/article_3b8063c0-059e-11ee-b991-73ad32cb0018.html |
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