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A crash involving a tractor-trailer and a box truck on the New Jersey Turnpike southbound snarled traffic ahead of the Delaware Memorial Bridge Wednesday morning.
One lane of traffic was able to get by on the righthand shoulder of the southbound lanes as emergency responders investigated the two-vehicle crash around 7 a.m.
About an hour later only the two left lanes remained closed.
The crash happened about a mile and a half south of the New Jersey Turnpike Delaware Memorial Bridge Toll Plaza ahead of the bridge in Salem County.
SkyForce10 overhead showed driver's side of the box truck smashed against the tractor-trailer. The roof of the box truck was crunched backwards and debris was strewn across the roadway.
This story is developing. Check back here for updates. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/trucks-collide-on-nj-turnpike-near-del-memorial-bridge/3285093/ | 2022-06-29T12:30:51 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/trucks-collide-on-nj-turnpike-near-del-memorial-bridge/3285093/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/woman-out-for-night-with-friends-killed-when-ejected-patron-fires-into-philly-bar/3285066/ | 2022-06-29T12:30:57 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/woman-out-for-night-with-friends-killed-when-ejected-patron-fires-into-philly-bar/3285066/ |
BELLE ISLE, Fla. – A man who served 19 years in prison for violent bank robberies was arrested Tuesday in connection with another bank robbery in Belle Isle, according to police.
The Belle Isle Police Department said Nacoe Ray Brown went to McCoy Credit Union around 12:40 p.m. and gave a note to the bank teller demanding money and saying he had a gun.
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Later on, police and Orange County deputies found Brown at a Comfort Suites next door preparing to leave the hotel.
The police department said he was released from a 19-year prison sentence for multiple violent bank robberies. Records show he was released in 2020.
He faces charges of robbery with threat of a weapon and third-degree grand theft. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/man-who-served-19-years-in-violent-bank-robberies-arrested-after-belle-isle-theft-police-say/ | 2022-06-29T12:33:45 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/man-who-served-19-years-in-violent-bank-robberies-arrested-after-belle-isle-theft-police-say/ |
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — One person is dead following a moped crash in southwest Wichita on Tuesday afternoon.
Sedgwick County Dispatch said the call came in shortly before 4:30 p.m. The crash happened at MacArthur and Hoover Road.
Police say the motorcyclist, a man in his early 40s, collided with a pole. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
EMS and first responded to the scene. Police are talking with witnesses who saw the crash to find out what led up to the crash.
An investigation is ongoing. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/one-dead-in-motorcycle-crash-in-southwest-wichita/ | 2022-06-29T12:39:00 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/one-dead-in-motorcycle-crash-in-southwest-wichita/ |
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Kansas Insurance Department (KID) has made a $2 million distribution to local Sedgwick County Firefighter Relief Associations (FRAs).
The funds are being distributed to eight local FRAs in Sedgwick County, pursuant to the Kansas Firefighters Relief Act. A total of $2,054,954.93 has been distributed.
The funds are generated by a 2% tax paid by insurance companies on fire and lightning insurance premiums written in Kansas. The FRAs primarily use these funds for insurance premiums and safety enhancements. Some FRAs may use these for the health, accident, disability and life insurance premiums of local firefighters.
“Firefighters work to keep us safe, and the Kansas Firefighters Relief Act acknowledges those efforts by providing additional protections for firefighters and their loved ones,” Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt said. “The Act not only gives first responders needed safety nets, but it also allows local communities to provide their citizens with improved firefighting equipment and resources.”
Safety enhancements like new firetrucks, fire station building improvements, and firefighting gear can be purchased using these funds.
For more information, and to see the statewide distribution of the 2022 Kansas Firefighters Relief Act funds, you can visit the insurance department’s website by clicking here. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/sedgwick-county-firefighters-to-receive-2m-in-funding/ | 2022-06-29T12:39:06 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/sedgwick-county-firefighters-to-receive-2m-in-funding/ |
Noblesville City Council vote sinks plan for gravel pit and lake at Potter's Bridge Park
The Noblesville City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposal by a local gravel company and the Hamilton County parks department to dig a deep pit at Potter's Bridge Park that would be filled as a lake and donated to the parks after five years.
By a 7-2 vote, councilors denied a zoning change that would have permitted Beaver Materials to excavate rock and dirt on 50 acres on Allisonville Road, in what several lawmakers called the toughest decision of their tenures.
"It's a great idea but the wrong time," Councilor Darren Peterson said.
"I don't believe it is the right site," Councilor Megan Wiles said.
Small dent:100-plus affordable apartments planned in Noblesville. 'Need for thousands more' remains
Both Peterson and Wiles suggested the site would be a perfectly suitable addition as parkland to Potters Bridge Park without the lake and the years long industrial disruption of the excavation.
Councilors Mike Davis and Greg O'Connor voted for the zoning change.
The controversial proposal would allow Beaver to excavate gravel on farmland it recently bought next to Potter's Bridge Park, then donate the land to park system. The pit would be filled with water and be the centerpiece of park restorations alongside the White River.
More:Noblesville panel opposes gravel pit at Potters Bridge Park
The plan was opposed by residents in several nearby subdivisions and others. A group, “Don’t Leave it to Beaver," feared noise, pollution, dust, traffic and water contamination from the digging operation and a drop in real estate values. The Indiana Covered Bridge Society and the Hoosier Environmental Council. also opposed the plan.
The Hamilton County Commission and the Hamilton County Council favored the plan. Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen stayed neutral. It’s the second time that Beaver Materials had submitted the plan to the city. In 2020, the Plan Commission sent the project to the council with no recommendation but before the council could vote, Beaver withdrew its application.
Don't Leave it to Beaver said in a statement that citizen involvement made the difference.
"The community opposition to the gravel pit was always an uphill battle and an underdog story," the statement read. "Thank you to all who put up a yard sign, and to all who educated their friends, neighbors, and family on the risks this project posed to our community."
"We hope that tonight’s victory inspires citizens to become more outspoken and involved in their government’s processes"
Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on Twitter and Facebook. | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/2022/06/29/council-vote-sinks-plan-gravel-pit-and-lake-potters-bridge-park-potters-bridge-park-gravel-pit-propo/7762162001/ | 2022-06-29T12:42:14 | 0 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/2022/06/29/council-vote-sinks-plan-gravel-pit-and-lake-potters-bridge-park-potters-bridge-park-gravel-pit-propo/7762162001/ |
Hellertown Area Library can retain Lower Saucon Township residents as part of its service territory until the end of 2023.
Or the library could seek “special approval” from the state librarian to remove the township sooner.
That’s according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which sent a letter to the nonprofit library board earlier this month outlining some steps as a means of settling a lengthy impasse between the library and township.
In a two-page letter dated June 13, the department’s Office of Commonwealth Libraries said Lower Saucon, which joined the Hellertown library in 2014 after being affiliated with Bethlehem Area Public Library, remains part of Hellertown for 10 years.
If it would want to remove Lower Saucon before Jan. 1, 2024, Hellertown library would need “special approval” from the state to exclude the township. And any approval excluding Lower Saucon would likely mean a reduction in state aid for the library, according to the letter. Hellertown library officials would need to amend its plan for state aid to reflect the removal of Lower Saucon.
A state spokesperson was not available Monday or Tuesday for further comment. Lower Saucon officials could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
The library board did not address the state’s letter Tuesday night during its monthly meeting. Board members said they had received the correspondence about one week ago.
Uncertainty about what will happen with Lower Saucon and the library remains. While township residents continue to have access to the borough library’s services, the issue of future services, as well as the library’s funding, remains unresolved. The state’s letter also said even if Lower Saucon officials elect to support another state-aided library, its residents would be eligible for services at the Hellertown library through the Access Pennsylvania library card program.
Still, the uncertainty has prompted many people in the township who support the library to take to social media and show up at council meetings demanding that Lower Saucon provide its full share of funding.
Concerns over the library reached a head when Lower Saucon council voted 4-1 in January not to adopt a new, five-year library services agreement. It opted to donate $50,000 for 2022 instead of paying more than $100,000 each year under the agreement. The library board accepted less than one-fifth of the $50,000 but rejected the balance, leaving a financial gap to cover its operating budget.
Hellertown council then approved $75,000 in emergency funding on top of nearly $60,000 the borough had budgeted for 2022, for a total of around $135,000. Library officials sought about $107,000 from Lower Saucon, meaning the two communities’ outlay was to be nearly $170,000 this year.
The library board also remains concerned about a possible lawsuit against the library by the township if access to service is denied to Lower Saucon residents. That threat was first voted on by Lower Saucon council in January.
First Call
“Nothing has changed from January,” said Ken Solt, library board president. “That has not been rescinded, so it still hovers over us.”
Lower Saucon officials have voiced a preference for establishing a regional or county library system, and they have also extended overtures to become affiliated with the Southern Lehigh Public Library.
Also Tuesday, state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh and Northampton, said she secured $50,000 to help the library deal with funding issues. In a news release, Boscola noted the unresolved funding issues put the library’s services and programs at risk. Library director Noelle Kramer said the money can be used for operating expenses.
“Hopefully,” Boscola said, “this grant will allow the two communities the time to come together, which will be a positive for all of their residents.”
While the Hellertown library serves the borough and Lower Saucon Township, it does not receive funding from the Saucon Valley School District, which, like the library, encompasses both communities.
The Libraries office also said in its letter that it supports the library’s efforts for continued talks with Lower Saucon to reach an agreement.
Morning Call journalist Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com. | https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-hellertown-area-library-update-20220629-7qg5in3pwve7fmhmogljd7jjmm-story.html | 2022-06-29T12:45:18 | 1 | https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-hellertown-area-library-update-20220629-7qg5in3pwve7fmhmogljd7jjmm-story.html |
A 20-year-old woman died after apparently falling to the subway tracks at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan late Tuesday, police say.
It's not yet clear what happened, but police say the woman toppled to the tracks on the southbound 7 train platform just before a train pulled in around 10:40 p.m.
She was hit, and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The woman's identity has not been released.
No criminality is suspected.
Copyright NBC New York | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/20-year-old-woman-dies-in-subway-track-fall-at-grand-central-police/3754407/ | 2022-06-29T12:53:53 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/20-year-old-woman-dies-in-subway-track-fall-at-grand-central-police/3754407/ |
WATERLOO — A Waterloo teen has been arrested on gun charges while awaiting trial for two other incidents where he was found with guns this year.
Police arrested Robmarciono Omarion Robinson, 17, on Thursday for felon in possession of a firearm. He is charged as an adult, according to court records. Bond was set at $50,000. He was also detained on pretrial violations.
Officers with the police department’s Violent Crime Apprehension Team spotted a person with warrants in the area of Charles and Linn streets around 4:55 p.m. Thursday. Robinson was standing near him. When the teen saw officers, he dropped a satchel he was carrying and walked away, court records state.
Police found a loaded 9 mm Taurus Millennium handgun inside the satchel.
At the time, Robinson was out on bond from an April 25 incident where police executed a search warrant at 121 Wellington St. and found digital evidence that that he possessed a 9 mm Glock Model 26.
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He was also awaiting trial in a February incident where police found Robinson sitting in a parked car with a 9 mm Glock Model 17 in his lap. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/teen-arrested-for-third-gun-in-less-than-a-year/article_85c61d2d-e247-5b47-bf95-5c94f52f9c9e.html | 2022-06-29T12:53:58 | 1 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/teen-arrested-for-third-gun-in-less-than-a-year/article_85c61d2d-e247-5b47-bf95-5c94f52f9c9e.html |
WATERLOO – Hawkeye Community College’s chief executive officer was given a 3% raise Tuesday night by the board of trustees.
President Todd Holcomb’s salary rises from $254,500 to $262,135 beginning Friday as part of a modification to his three-year rolling contract.
“I love being here and being a part of this college’s mission,” Holcomb said. “I see endless possibilities for our future and love helping all our students exceed.”
Before arriving at Hawkeye in 2019, Holcomb led Western Nebraska Community College as its president for about a decade.
CEDAR FALLS — Family and friends gathered Tuesday for a luncheon and awards ceremony honorin…
Chair Jay Nardini said the pay increase is in line with the institution’s other union and nonunion faculty and staff pay hikes of 3% and keeps Holcomb's salary competitive with other community colleges with similar enrollments in Iowa.
The raise comes after the board’s annual evaluation of its president last month.
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Nardini said Holcomb’s review was “excellent” because of his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the visioning for the college's smart automation center and Grundy Hall renovation.
His communication style and the respect he garners from his colleagues were other reasons.
“Frankly, I don’t know when he finds time to sleep,” Nardini said.
Grundy County Memorial Hospital is marking its upcoming 70th anniversary by kicking off a $31 million project to improve its surgery, laboratory and imaging departments.
In addition to the raise, Holcomb’s car allowance, expense account and 403B retirement contribution also increase from $9,600 to $10,000, from $6,600 to $7,000, and from $10,100 to $11,000, respectively.
His annual compensation package now totals $290,135.
“This really is an exciting time for the college. I love this college, and I love the challenges that are associated with (the job),” Holcomb told the trustees. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/hawkeye-community-college-president-gets-3-raise/article_eb7b97c0-2ada-550c-9996-65d3b9a3e60d.html | 2022-06-29T12:54:04 | 1 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/hawkeye-community-college-president-gets-3-raise/article_eb7b97c0-2ada-550c-9996-65d3b9a3e60d.html |
WATERLOO — The request for a Bitcoin mining site in Black Hawk County was stopped in its tracks Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.
The four members of the board present for the meeting unanimously voted against an ordinance to rezone property from an agricultural land use to a commercial manufacturing district. Supervisor Tom Little was absent.
J.P. Baric, the CEO of North Carolina-based MiningStore, is on a mission to construct a data center at 8226 W. Griffith Road in Hudson after success with a mining site in Grundy County that makes about $32,000 a day, according to The Gazette.
Bitcoin mining works like this: Computers calculate complex mathematical equations to confirm Bitcoin transactions, similar to how a bank confirms payments by a person to a store. These transactions form blocks and, as they are confirmed by the computer “miners,” it creates a blockchain – currently worth around $200,000.
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Although the site makes thousands of dollars a day, the daily power bill exceeds $5,000, according to The Gazette. The article states an average home uses about 11,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. The mining site uses about 54 million kilowatt-hours a year, using the amount of electricity needed to power about 4,900 homes – equal to 95% of households in Grundy County.
The number of computers at the site requires multiple fans to cool down the facility from the about 90 degree temperature. The heat and sound of the fans were a main concern to the residents next to the potential site.
Baric said the fans create 80 decibels of sound from 35 feet away, similar to the sound of a washing machine. Resident Joni Snyder said she visited the site and took videos of the sound from right next to the building to a half mile away. Supervisors and people attending the meeting were surprised at the level of sound.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noise above 70 decibels over a prolonged period of time can damage your hearing. The sound can be compared to anything from city traffic inside a car to a gas-powered lawn mower. Baric said these concerns were valid and noted he would minimize the sound by installing sound-deadening vents and keeping the fans and computers clean.
Residents were also worried about the effects of the heat emitted from the data center. Barbara Glasener’s family owns a farm near the site. Glasener expressed fear that the temperatures would create a “microclimate” which could lure insects and potentially damage crops. She was also worried the warmth would attract wild animals during the cold weather.
Every resident who spoke to defend their properties said the farmland is not a place for the data center. Instead, they suggested, it would be a better fit in an industrial park. The proposed area is 0.96 acres, which Baric said limits agricultural land use and keeps costs low.
“I understand his concern. You’re getting the best that he can do for his company so he can make the most profits,” Glasener said. “That’s what business is about. It’s minimizing your costs to maximize your profits. But that’s also what agriculture is about.”
Baric added that the project would create economic vitality in the community by generating cash flow. He related it to Black Hawk County’s 2028 vision statement. That calls for an effort to build desirable communities, promote economic vitality, and achieve environmental sustainability as well as to use technology for serving, working together, and transforming how the county leads.
Supervisor Chris Schwartz said the mining facility is not a part of the 2028 vision and said the project would be a “giant energy hog for (the) environmental future” as the county moves toward renewable energy usage. Residents seconded his worries.
“I’m concerned that you’re opening up Pandora’s Box by doing this,” Glasener said. “More precedents could be set that we might not be able to stop.”
Supervisor Linda Laylin said she voted no with her colleagues because the board usually supports the planning and zoning commission, which previously denied the request, as well. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/black-hawk-county-denies-request-for-bitcoin-data-center/article_03b6387e-ceaa-5a45-9ae1-c04022e87df4.html | 2022-06-29T12:54:11 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/black-hawk-county-denies-request-for-bitcoin-data-center/article_03b6387e-ceaa-5a45-9ae1-c04022e87df4.html |
With his signature hyperthin pencil ’stache and impeccably tailored suits, legendary filmmaker John Waters doesn’t exactly look like a punk. And at 76 years old, he’s not going to be stage-diving anytime soon.
Yet, for the past seven years, Waters has been the consummate host of the Bay Area’s pre-eminent DIY music festival: Mosswood Meltdown.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, really: The man whom Beat icon William S. Burroughs once fondly referred to as the “Pope of Trash” has made a career out of subculture spectacles. His infamous trash trilogy films, starring drag muse Divine, defined an era of cult movies; his battles with the Maryland State Board of Censors became nearly as notorious as his filmography.
The idea to ask Waters to emcee Mosswood Meltdown — or Burger Boogaloo, as it was known when it was founded in 2009 — came to co-founder Marc Ribak in a “silly, stupid dream,” Ribak told SFGATE. (The festival changed its name and cut ties with former promoter Burger Records in July 2020 after the label’s founders and multiple artists were accused of sexual misconduct.)
The dream was one partly inspired by “Desperate Living,” Waters’ 1977 darkly comedic take on “The Wizard of Oz.” In it, Ribak found himself in the middle of a Kansas cornfield, a throng of people running around in a panic as a tornado loomed on the horizon. Suddenly, Waters appeared out of nowhere, riding on a flatbed train car with a microphone stand.
“It was so crazy. Everyone was freaking out,” Ribak said, cracking himself up between sentences. “Then here was John Waters — our heavenly savior. He basically saved the day by pulling up on this train car and telling people how to escape.”
That was just before the fifth annual festival in 2014. Ribak couldn't stop thinking about it. A week later, he got in touch with Waters’ management.
“I told his agent what I was thinking, for John to announce groups at the park,” Ribak said. Waters got back to him almost right away. “He said, ‘This is my crowd.’ The punk scene, he kind of identified with that crowd more than others. He was into it.”
These days, Waters is as busy as he’s ever been. He just wrapped up a 10-city book tour for his debut novel, “Liarmouth,” traveled across the globe for performances of his spoken word show “False Negative” and, earlier this month, attended the New York City opening of the Criterion Channel’s re-release of “Pink Flamingos.” Next year, an exhibition of his joyously filthy filmography will be shown at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, where he’s also due to receive a long-overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
But the author and director, who has had an apartment in Nob Hill since 2008, still makes time to return to Oakland every year to host the festival, which kicks off this weekend with headliners Bikini Kill and Kim Gordon and more than a dozen other musicians.
“It’s like I’m coming back to an event that feels like Christmas. Or more like Halloween, I guess,” Waters told SFGATE from his landline phone in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he’s spent the past 58 summers. “I definitely feel like this is my family.”
This interview, conducted on June 14, has been edited for clarity and length.
SFGATE: Has anything gone down at the festival that’s shocked even you?
John Waters: Hmmm. Not something that’s shocked me in a bad way. Something that’s shocked me in a great way is when I see punks that are still full punks and they’re 70 years old. Or when I see people’s grandchildren that are punks when they’re 10 years old. It just means that it’s a great crowd … a very loyal crowd that uses their anger for style and fun and joy and comes up with a kind of music that can’t really be duplicated.
SFGATE: What are your thoughts on this new era for Mosswood Meltdown? What makes the festival stick out from other events in the Bay Area?
Waters: Well, I think it’s exciting. You know, I think that this group rebels against rules of any kind. Especially just as much from the regular world as it does from the liberal world. So they’re having fun with it — and punk rockers always did. They always challenged whatever the rules were, but they had fun with it and they loved what they made. Even if they hated something, they did it with humor.
SFGATE: What bands are you most looking forward to seeing at the festival this year?
Waters: Well, certainly I always love to see Bikini Kill. I’m really excited about that. And Kim Gordon, I know a little bit, but I’ve never seen her on her own, and I think she’s going to be great. I saw her in Provincetown on the street last summer so I’m dying to see her. And it’s always great to see Shannon [Shaw, of garage rockers Shannon and the Clams], who is really not only a great talent, but she’s my friend. And a lot of the bands, you know, I haven’t seen, so I like to check out the artists I’ve never seen before.
SFGATE: How did you and Shannon become friends?
Waters: It totally started at the festival. She’s been there almost every year, and usually I have dinner with her, and Marc [Ribak] and Amy [Carver] the night before. She’s been an insider there, she’s great at giving me advice, and I’ve seen her talent so many times. It’s so amazing, and it crosses over to so many different things she does. She’s just a joyous person that is the perfect mascot, I think, for the festival.
SFGATE: She’s going to help you celebrate the reopening of what’s now called Thee Stork Club in Oakland on July 1. How did you get involved with that?
Waters: My involvement with it is that I’m just going. [laughs] There were articles that said I owned it and stuff like that. I’m not a creative consultant or anything, really. I’m just going to go that night and be the welcoming host. I’m looking forward to it! It’s going to be the coolest club in Oakland, I’m sure.
SFGATE: I heard you have a handful of dive bars that you like to go to whenever you’re back in San Francisco.
Waters: Well, they’re all gone now, or I haven’t been to them in a while. All the ones in Baltimore are gone. So I don’t know, I have not been on a dive bar circuit in San Francisco for a while, but yeah, I used to go to lots of them.
SFGATE: What were they?
Waters: Oh God, I knew you were going to ask that, and I can never remember the names. What was that one I liked? It was right near the Roxie, about a block up [Editor's note: He’s likely talking about Delirium]. I’ve been to Zeitgeist. I like going there in the summer.
SFGATE: What are some of your other favorite things to do in the city?
Waters: I ride the bus everywhere. San Francisco is the only place where I take public transportation. I see so many insane people getting on the bus. Now it’s even more insane. I like to go to friends’ places, really. I certainly go to restaurants and all. When I was young, I went to the original Stud, when it was the first hippie gay bar for men. And that was really exciting. I’ve been to all of the sex clubs, but they’re all gone. So basically, I just like to hear about them now. I know there’s new ones, but I haven’t been to them.
SFGATE: What’s exciting to you culturally right now? What artists are you into?
Waters: Well, I put my 10 best list in Artforum every year, so I’m always looking for feel-bad European films that I like. And San Francisco is still a great movie town. You know, I go to the Roxie when I’m there. Unfortunately, a couple of the theaters have closed, which is always shocking to me. I hosted Orville Peck’s show this year. I’m a fan of all the Baltimore rockers, like Beach House and all the groups that are coming from Baltimore that have ended up staying there.
SFGATE: Which movie theater closures in the city stuck out to you?
Waters: I was surprised the Embarcadero closed, and the Clay. I know that the Castro’s opening up, but we’re not quite sure what they’re doing with that. A lot of theaters are going away, but that’s it everywhere. Things change, and we have to reinvent the art circuit.
SFGATE: What are your thoughts on the state of queer art right now, especially as the far right keeps attacking drag culture in particular?
Waters: Whenever the far right attacks anything, it just helps. Censorship can be your best friend, if it’s coming from a stupid one. And I say we should have “Don’t Say Straight” day in some of the schools, when you can’t talk about line dancing, sports or the missionary position, just to counter it. I think censorship only brings attention to it, and it always backfires. It ruined [’60s pop singer and outspoken homophobe] Anita Bryant’s career — there’s a perfect example.
SFGATE: How do you want queer people to approach controversial and taboo topics in what seems like increasingly sanitized forms of media?
Waters: It’s just self-righteous. I think that we have to have a sense of humor about ourselves before we can make fun of others, and then we can. But I make fun of things I love. I make fun of the rules and the world that I live in, and that is always thought to be a world of outsiders. But sometimes they have more rules than my parents, so I like to make fun of that, too.
SFGATE: Are you still pals with Patricia Hearst? Has she ever had you out to San Simeon?
Waters: I have, and I’ve been better — I’ve been to Wyntoon, which is the Hearst estate that’s not open to the public. It was amazing, and beautiful. Like a fairytale. She’s a good friend, and a good comedian. It’s so long ago, what happened to her, you know. She was always telling the truth.
SFGATE: What advice do you have for young creatives trying to make it work in increasingly cost prohibitive regions like the Bay Area?
Waters: It’s like always, there’s poverty in poor hipster neighborhoods where bohemia begins. There’s always a way out of that through art. In “Cecil B. Demented,” one of my films, there’s a line that goes, “Technique is nothing more than failed style.” And that’s true. You don’t need money to have wit and humor and any kind of revolutionary fashion. As a matter of fact, money sometimes screws it up. I’ve seen some projects have too much money, and you can tell if they had less, it would have been better. So, use what you got, and make a dollar holler, as they say in Baltimore.
SFGATE: What’s the key to a decadeslong career like your own?
Waters: That I’m not mean-spirited. I make fun of the things that I love, and I start with myself first. I always make fun of myself first. I think, mainly, because I’m joyous about rebellion.
SFGATE: You just had a new book come out, “Liarmouth.” What was it like to write your first novel?
Waters: It was fun to tell a story where I could go deeper into the insane feelings of each character every time they said something. There’s so many more ways you can describe it than in a movie, you just have to show it or say it. In a book, you can linger on things in a way. And that was a new freedom.
SFGATE: Looking back at some of your own movies, which one do you like to revisit most? Why?
Waters: I think “Serial Mom” is my best movie. I learned a lot from doing it. We had enough money to finally make it look the way we wanted. I would pick that.
Now, I think, of course, the best Divine movie … Well, Divine is great in all of ‘em. You can see his career change so much because we established this monster character that was thought up to scare hippies, and basically, he became later … he got great reviews for playing a frumpy housewife or an alcoholic housewife. The very opposite of that image. So that just shows what a good actor he was to me.
SFGATE: Anything else you think our readers should know about?
Waters: Other than, “Come to the Mosswood thing!” that’s the best I can do. I do Camp John Waters [a summer camp for adults], which is sold out. That’s in Kent, Connecticut. About 500 people come and live as my characters and live their lives for four days. We have guest counselors every year — this year it’s Deborah Harry and Colleen Fitzpatrick, who played her daughter in “Hairspray” and went on to be Vitamin C, the pop star. It’s really amazing. People have contests, we speak, we have dinners. Then I do a 20-city Christmas tour, so I’ll be back with a musical. I’m writing that. I’m writing new shows. I’m so busy, I think I’m overexposed. Maybe you shouldn’t hear about me for a while.
Mosswood Meltdown is at Mosswood Park in Oakland on July 2 and 3. | https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/john-waters-talks-sf-and-mosswood-meltdown-17263451.php | 2022-06-29T13:02:45 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/john-waters-talks-sf-and-mosswood-meltdown-17263451.php |
YORK, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from July 2019.
You may have heard about the old woman who lived in a shoe, but beginning late July, you may get the chance to sleep in one.
The owner, Jeff Schmuck, of Haines Shoe House in York County announced in a Facebook post on June 24 that the historic landmark is being sold.
"A change is coming! The Shoe House is under contract with new owners taking possession late July," Schmuck said in the post.
According to Schmuck, the new owners are a local family that plan to turn the landmark into an Airbnb, while still having the atmosphere of a museum and its artifacts. It will still be available to the public for rental purposes.
The famous roadside attraction, located on the side of Route 30, was built in 1948 by Mahlon Haines, who was the owner of a chain of shoe stores in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Haines Shoe House will continue normal operations until Sunday, July 24. Self-guided tours run Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Schmuck added, "So, if you always wanted to see The Shoe, or bring friends/family, now is the time!"
In its history, the house has seen seven owners, and has been used for free public housing, sightseeing tours, and an ice cream shop. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/historic-haines-shoe-house-sold-airbnb-york-county/521-f155627e-e6dd-465f-aebd-fb1bf50c4196 | 2022-06-29T13:08:57 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/historic-haines-shoe-house-sold-airbnb-york-county/521-f155627e-e6dd-465f-aebd-fb1bf50c4196 |
YORK, Pa. — Fourth of July is just around the corner. Both law enforcement and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission are highlighting Operation Dry Water, a coordinated effort to emphasize recreational boater safety and boating under the influence.
Authorities say that before you head to the water, you need to make sure that you know the waterway that you’re going to travel on. They are also reminding people of the dangers of mixing alcohol with fun on the water.
Officials say it's something they see a lot in Pennsylvania and it's one of the leading contributors to crashes on the waterways.
They're expecting lots of traffic on the water this holiday weekend, and are warning boaters to be aware of your surroundings.
"Know where the dams are, know where the spillways are at, whether it's you know, here in Harrisburg, whether it's in Sunbury, whether it's down in Lancaster county, know where the huge issues are on the waterways," said Brian Enterline, the Fire Chief at the City of Harrisburg.
Officials also say to make sure that you have your personal floating device on board, just in case!
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is expected to be on the water patrolling and making sure everyone is being safe. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/safety-tips-to-keep-in-mind-ahead-of-the-4th-of-july-weekend-boats-kayak-independence-day/521-81b6263e-52d6-44cb-a755-66ebcc9f1b44 | 2022-06-29T13:09:03 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/safety-tips-to-keep-in-mind-ahead-of-the-4th-of-july-weekend-boats-kayak-independence-day/521-81b6263e-52d6-44cb-a755-66ebcc9f1b44 |
SCHERERVILLE — A water break Tuesday afternoon has triggered a precautionary boil water advisory for local residents through at least Saturday, the town had announced.
"The affected areas include those located north of Joliet St. and East of Calhoun Street, and also Forest Ridge Dr. from Joliet St. to 75th Avenue including Quail Court," town officials said.
"Water used for human and animal consumption should be brought to a hard boil for 5 minutes before using," according to the warning.
The water break occurred around 3 p.m. Tuesday near Joliet Street and Forest Ridge Drive, according to the town.
"Due to the conditions of the repair, water system pressure may have dropped below 20 PSI," the warning says.
"Under rules set forth by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Schererville Water Department is required to issue a precautionary boil water advisory for human and animal consumption until testing is completed and found to be free of contaminants," the town said. "We anticipate receiving passing results by Saturday July 2, 2022."
Valpo man accused of having sex with 15-year-old co-worker, court records show
New era for school choice in Indiana begins Monday
Valpo-area dad finds kids naked with babysitter; family friend charged, police say
Defendant shot man 5 times in head during marijuana deal, court records allege
Man found shot to death in idling car, police say
Drunken driver was topping 105 mph, Porter County police say
Woman set up underage sex party at Portage hotel; more charges expected in case injuring officers, cops say
Man with a gun shot by Gary officer, police say
Chicago Stamping Plant temporarily laying off workers this summer
Valpo man guilty of molesting 8-year-old; rape case pending, officials say
UPDATE: Man dies after going into waves to help teen in distress, officials say
Porter County police release photos of wanted man
Man accused of shooting into Schererville home, forcing woman to help him hide gun
Illicit drug courier caught in NWI sentenced to prison
Just keep your returns: Stores weigh paying you not to bring back unwanted items
Local subdivisions impacted include Prairie Estates, Foxwood Villas, Prairie Ridge, Foxwood north of Joliet Street and Foxwood south (Forest Ridge Dr. and Quail Ct. only).
Here are the new Indiana laws to know before they take effect July 1
Animals
The owner of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, mountain lion or bear must prevent all direct physical contact between the animal and a member of the general public, no matter the age of the animal. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each person who comes into contact with the animal. (House Enrolled Act 1248 )
The owner of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, mountain lion or bear must prevent all direct physical contact between the animal and a member of the general public, no matter the age of the animal. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each person who comes into contact with the animal. (House Enrolled Act 1248)
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Annexation
The Aberdeen subdivision may seek to officially become part of Valparaiso, even though the neighborhood is not currently contiguous to the city. A pre-annexation financial study must be completed so Aberdeen residents know the fiscal impact of being voluntarily annexed by Valparaiso. (House Enrolled Act 1110 )
Doug Ross, file, The Times
Ag equipment
Counties, cities or towns can designate agricultural zones as Economic Revitalization Areas (ERA) on the same basis as outdated business districts or distressed residential neighborhoods. New farm equipment or new agricultural improvements located in an ERA are eligible for a property tax abatement for up to five years. The exemption does not apply to farmland. (Senate Enrolled Act 119 )
AP file photo
Bone marrow
The Indiana Department of Health is authorized to establish and promote a bone marrow donor recruitment program to find eligible Hoosiers willing to donate bone marrow to individuals fighting leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cell conditions. (Senate Enrolled Act 398 )
John Luke, file, The Times
Campus speech
State colleges and universities cannot designate outdoor areas of campus where First Amendment activities are prohibited. Higher education institutions may impose reasonable and content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions on other campus speech that's narrowly tailored to serve a significant interest of the school. (House Enrolled Act 1190 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Caregivers
An adult relative caring for a child after the child has been removed from a dangerous home situation is entitled to directly participate in court hearings concerning services needed by the child, or terminating the parent-child relationship. Previously, only state-licensed foster parents had a statutory right to intervene in legal proceedings pertaining to abused or neglected children. (Senate Enrolled Act 410 )
Times file photo
Catalytic converters
A catalytic converter is redefined as a "major component part" of a motor vehicle and only licensed automobile salvage recyclers are permitted to buy or sell used catalytic converters. Automobile salvage recyclers also must keep the same records for catalytic converters as valuable metal dealers and cash payouts for detached catalytic converters are capped at $25 per transaction per day. (Senate Enrolled Act 293 )
Jonathan Miano, file, The Times
Coerced abortion
A new crime of "coerced abortion" punishes anyone who knowingly or intentionally coerces a pregnant woman to have an abortion with up to 2 1/2 years in prison. State law already required "the voluntary and informed consent of the pregnant woman" prior to obtaining an abortion. (House Enrolled Act 1217 )
AP file photo
Data breach
Businesses, banks and similar entities that suffer a data breach must notify their customers within 45 days of the breach being discovered, instead of simply providing notification "without unreasonable delay." (House Enrolled Act 1351 )
AP file photo
Dementia training
Home health aides who provide care to individuals with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or a similar cognitive disorder must complete at least six hours of dementia care training within 60 days of hire. Current home health aides with at least one year of experience must participate in at least three hours of dementia training. (Senate Enrolled Act 353 )
Joe Ruffalo, file, The Times
Double voting
The penalty for fraudulently casting more than one ballot in the same election is set at up to 2½ in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The penalty does not apply to individuals casting a valid replacement ballot as permitted by law. (Senate Enrolled Act 328 )
AP file photo
Expungement
Individuals charged with crimes who either are acquitted following a trial or the charges are dismissed will have their court records automatically expunged within 60 days of disposition, unless the county prosecutor requests a one-year expungement delay. Any non-prosecution of criminal charges within 180 days following an arrest must be expunged immediately. (Senate Enrolled Act 182 )
Jonathan Miano, file, The Times
Foreign land purchases
Foreign business entities are barred from purchasing Indiana agricultural or timber land, with certain exceptions. Businesses organized under Russian law or controlled by Russian nationals are prohibited from acquiring any real estate in Indiana. (Senate Enrolled Act 388 )
AP file photo
Health officers
The Indiana Department of Health no longer is entitled to remove a local health officer on the basis of intemperance. Health officers still may be removed for failing to collect vital statistics, follow rules, keep records, make reports, respond to official inquires or for neglect of official duty. (House Enrolled Act 1169 )
Provided
Handguns
Adults age 18 and up legally entitled to possess a handgun are not obligated to obtain a state permit to carry a handgun in public. Indiana carry permits remain available for out-of-state reciprocity purposes. Handguns continue to be prohibited in schools, courthouses, and any residence or business that chooses to bar handguns. (House Enrolled Act 1296 )
AP file photo
Housing shortage
A 13-member Housing Task Force is directed to study issues relating to housing and housing shortages in Indiana. The task force must submit recommendations for policy changes to the General Assembly and the governor no later than Nov. 1. (House Enrolled Act 1306 )
Tony V. Martin, file, The Times
Hunting
The holder of an archery hunting permit is allowed to use a bow and arrow or a crossbow. Previously, crossbow hunters were required to obtain a separate license. (Senate Enrolled Act 186 )
Times file photo
Inmate calls
The in-state rate for telephone calls placed by inmates at Indiana Department of Correction facilities drops to 12 cents per minute from 24 cents per minute. County jail telephone rates are capped at 21 cents per minute statewide, instead of ranging from 22 cents per minute to $4.70 per minute. (House Enrolled Act 1181 )
Times file photo
Lead testing
Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, doctors must offer a blood lead screening test to the parents of children between nine months and six years old if the child has not previously been tested for lead poisoning. Parents are not required to have their children tested for lead. (House Enrolled Act 1313 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Low-level felons
Judges once again may sentence level 6 felony offenders to state prisons operated by the Indiana Department of Correction, replacing a mandate that individuals found guilty of minor felony crimes only serve their six-month to 2 1/2-year sentences in county jails. (House Enrolled Act 1004 )
Provided by Indiana State Prison
Lowell investment
The town of Lowell is authorized to segregate its recent water utility sale proceeds from other town funds, contract with an investment adviser, and deploy the funds in most kinds of investments offering higher returns than fixed-income securities, except corporate stock and other equity securities. (House Enrolled Act 1011 )
Kale Wilk, file, The Times
Medicaid
Pregnant individuals whose family incomes are less than 208% of the federal poverty level are entitled to receive low- or no-cost health coverage through Indiana Medicaid for the duration of their pregnancy, and up to 12 months after giving birth. (House Enrolled Act 1140 )
AP file photo
Nuclear power
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is directed to adopt rules by July 1, 2023, permitting small modular nuclear reactors to be used to generate electricity in the Hoosier State. The law does not mandate any utilities switch to nuclear power but opens the door by putting in place the regulations that would guide its development and use. (Senate Enrolled Act 271 )
AP file photo
Pregnant inmates
Restraints used on a prison inmate in her second or third trimester of pregnancy need to be the least restrictive restraints necessary. A pregnant inmate must be unrestrained while in labor, delivering a baby and during the immediate post-delivery period, unless she is an immediate danger to herself or others, or a substantial flight risk. (House Enrolled Act 1294 )
Connor Burge, file, The Times
Property tax
The $3,000 property tax deduction for mortgaged property is eliminated beginning Jan. 1, 2023, and the homestead deduction is increased to $48,000 from $45,000. The senior citizen tax deduction may be claimed on homes worth up to $240,000, instead of a maximum of $200,000. (House Enrolled Act 1260 )
Photo provided
Public comment
School boards must allow any person physically present at a school board meeting to address the board if the person is interested in doing so in accordance with the board’s public comment rules, including any time limits. Boards still can take "reasonable steps to maintain order in a meeting," including "removal of any person who is willfully disruptive of the meeting." (House Enrolled Act 1130 )
Dan Carden, file, The Times
Rape
The definition of rape is expanded to include a person who disregards the other person's attempts to physically, verbally, or by other visible conduct refuse the person's sexual acts. Rape in Indiana also consists of the use of force, or imminent threat of force, to compel sexual conduct; sex with a person unaware sexual conduct is occurring; or sex with a person unable to consent to sex due to mental disability. (House Enrolled Act 1079 )
Times file photo
Semiquincentennial
A 23-member commission is established to organize events and commemorations across the state celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. (Senate Enrolled Act 12 )
Library of Congress
Simulated child porn
The production, distribution, possession or viewing of a video or image depicting obscene sexual conduct involving a person who appears to be less than 18 years old — even if the person is over 18, or doesn’t exist — is the legal equivalent of child exploitation, possession of child pornography and similar felony crimes. (House Enrolled Act 1363 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
State fossil
The mastodon is designated as the official fossil of Indiana. Dozens of mastodon fossils have been found throughout Indiana, including the bones of at least five mastodons now held by the Indiana State Museum that were discovered in 2005 by workers digging a pond in the Porter County town of Hebron. (House Enrolled Act 1013 )
Provided
Tax cuts
The utility receipts tax, a 1.46% charge paid by businesses and consumers on a portion of their electricity, natural gas, water, steam, sewage and telephone bills, is eliminated July 1. Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, the state income tax rate drops to 3.15% from 3.23%, with the possibility of future reductions to 2.9%. (House Enrolled Act 1002 )
Doug Ross, file, The Times
Tourism
The definition of "agritourism" is expanded beyond agricultural activities to include camping, canoeing, kayaking, river tubing and winter sports activities. An agritourism participant release form may be signed electronically, instead of only on paper. (Senate Enrolled Act 343 )
Connor Burge, file, The Times
Township trustees
A township trustee who fails to perform the duties of his or her office is subject to removal by court order if the removal is endorsed by the township board, county commissioners and county council, and other conditions are met. (Senate Enrolled Act 304 )
Dan Carden, The Times
Trans sports
All children assigned male at birth are barred from participating in any elementary, middle or high school athletics designated as a "girls" or "female" sport — no matter the child's gender identity or physical characteristics. (House Enrolled Act 1041 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Tribal law enforcement
A police officer employed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in South Bend may exercise law enforcement authority anywhere in the state, so long as the officer meets the standards of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and the tribe consents to statewide police powers. (Senate Enrolled Act 347 )
Turn signal
A mandate that drivers signal all turns or lane changes at least 200 feet ahead of time, or 300 feet if the vehicle is traveling in excess of 50 mph, is deleted on Jan. 1, 2023, in favor of a requirement that motorists signal all turns and lane changes "a reasonable time" before completing them. (House Enrolled Act 1167 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
University gifts
Public and private colleges and universities in Indiana must report to the state, and disclose on their website, all gifts from foreign entities that already must be reported to the federal government upon receipt. (Senate Enrolled Act 388 )
Kale Wilk, file, The Times
Vaping taxes
A tax of 15% is imposed on the wholesale price of closed system cartridges used for vaping. Under a 2021 law, the tax rate was scheduled to be 25%. An additional tax of 40 cents per ounce is assessed on alternative nicotine products, such as electronic cigarettes. (Senate Enrolled Act 382 )
Richard Vogel, file, Associated Press
Virtual instruction
Public schools may only hold up to three student-directed virtual instruction days during the 180-day school year absent extraordinary circumstances and a waiver approved by the Indiana Department of Education. (House Enrolled Act 1093 )
John Luke, file, The Times
Youth ag
A public school or school corporation may purchase up to $10,000 in food each year from a youth agricultural program, up from the former annual maximum of $7,500. (House Enrolled Act 1320 )
AP file photo
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In this house at Tucson's eastern edge, they found peace.
Paul and Linda McCartney bought the long-vacant two-story ranch house and 151 acres of arid solitude on East Redington Road in 1979. The frenetic world that demanded so much of them was far, far away.
Few knew of their home's existence. Shrouded in desert glory, their four children grew up here, visiting in the spring and fall months until 56-year-old Linda Louise McCartney lost her battle with breast cancer here under a velvet, starry night in the spring of 1998.
Paul McCartney's connection with Tucson was through his wife, the former Linda Eastman. She attended the University of Arizona, where she began her prolific photography career. Linda was enamored with the desert beauty and tranquility.
Former Tucsonan Tom Tompkins, who now lives in Colorado, knows more about the Redington Road ranch house than perhaps the McCartneys. Tompkins was the remodeling contractor McCartney hired to restore the old house. Interestingly, the Pima County records on the property owners are still officially sealed to the public.
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This is Tom Tompkins' story.
It was 1982 when Paul's Tucson attorney S. Leonard Scheff drove me out to the edge of the Tucson valley. This would be my first look at renovating the old adobe and pole-frame ranch house that had belonged to the Ellinwoods, a pioneering Tucson newspaper family. (The Ellinwoods owned the Arizona Daily Star for 35 years.)
Up to the Y where Redington Road veered from Tanque Verde, the attorney pounded me on the need for security. I would have to keep every worker in the dark while I staged the remodeling project.
When attorney Scheff, who is now retired, turned onto Redington Road, he suddenly gushed, "I can't keep a secret like this! The job is for Paul McCartney!" (Scheff had been the attorney for Linda McCartney's Tucson divorce in June 1965.)
The secret was safe with me.
Paul visited when I started remodeling the ranch house. I remember how he loved the weathered door on the west side of the house. The sun, wind, and rain had eroded furrows a quarter-inch deep in the wood.
The same weekend Paul visited, the well-meaning caretaker belt sanded the door. Paul was a little upset, while everyone around him was hugely upset for Paul. The style we were striving for was Early Cowboy. What one architect had envisioned as a $2 million-dollar Swiss chalet came in at $125,000, according to my good faith estimate, and we kept the job under the budget.
We made the back porch rail out of galvanized pipes embedded in concrete and all-put-together with elbows and tees. Bunkhouse treatment went best with the old ranch.
Paul made a point of meeting with me, not to discuss the job, but to talk about life. The attorney told me Paul's father had been a working man and that Paul admired people who did things with their hands. Paul was as relaxed as I was nervous when he approached me in the front yard fenced with Oleander.
I asked Paul if he had trouble with people invading his privacy. He thought for a minute, and then he said, "Well, there is one man who lives up the road which shows up sometimes. But he needs love — like everyone."
There was a problem with one person in the job's chain of command who was supposed to get the building permit — and hadn't. Paul was returning – with Linda and the family – in early March when the smell of the cactus flower was on the breeze. We still had trenches saw cut in the floors for new plumbing by mid-February, and most of the walls were torn open for new electrical, none of which could be covered without a building inspection.
This was my first job after getting my general contractor's license. While Tucson was the wild west and people often did things without permits, I was loathe to try to get the new electrical service connected without a green tag. Everything would devolve from that failure, and I would be banned from the business. I needed sleep, but couldn't.
It wasn't Paul doing it to me, but it is what happens when you work for the rich and famous. Overwhelmed with indignation, I complained to the attorney. And he responded, "The hammer's gonna fall." We felt the yank all down the chain. But by the time we could call for an inspection, Paul was already on his way. The cacti were in full bloom.
Paul offered a suggestion: "Why don't we rent a house in the neighborhood?"
Houses on Redington Road were a half-mile apart in 1983. I was invited to the rental house for a meeting that never materialized. Just as I walked through the front door, Paul's four-year-old son took a trampoline bounce off the couch and landed on a glass coffee table – thankfully with safety glass an inch-and-a-half thick. The nanny looked too jetlagged to give the boy one more shocked look. The kids ran circles around her.
Linda McCartney imperiously wagged her pointer finger up and down in my direction. "Hey, Jerry, Jim, Carl, whatever your name is" – her playful self-parody expanded my consciousness — "they called and said the meeting's off." I was relieved. I liked Linda and wanted to bounce on the couch and laugh.
I had never met such a high-energy family. Paul and Linda were getting ready to take their Jeep to the supermarket. One supermarket sighting and all the security I enforced with my crew would be blown.
The link in the chain that was responsible for picking the light fixtures never did. To get the final inspection passed, we put cheap porcelain bulb holders with oversized light bulbs on every electrical box in the house – which was genuinely Early Cowboy.
A year later, I returned to the job site to match a kind of paisley stucco texture in the kitchen that the plaster crew had never mastered, and I realized nobody had bothered to change out the light fixtures. Paul was pleased with my job and was pleased with simplicity – for which I've always respected him.
I later heard from Paul's attorney that somebody down the road went past the no-trespassing signs at the locked gate right up to Paul's front door and knocked.
Paul said, "I wish you would not just come to my door like this. Did you see the signs?"
"I just want to rap about sound systems," the guy replied.
"No, I think you should want to go."
"Not compare notes?"
"Well, look, I'm just very busy getting my family moved in. You don't seem like a bad fellow, but you do understand, don't you?"
At this point in the telling, I felt the stranger must have exhausted Paul's patience.
Then Paul brightened and said," You know, they wired speakers in every room, and now — I have my console here — I need to hook it all up. Can you help?"
"Oh, man, I'd love to."
"Come on inside," Paul graciously replied.
Award-winning writer Jerry Wilkerson lives in SaddleBrooke. He was press secretary for two U.S. Congressmen and a WBBM Chicago CBS Newsradio and Chicago Daily News correspondent. He is a retired police commissioner and U.S. Navy veteran. Email: franchise@att.net | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/for-subscribers-contractors-first-job-renovating-paul-mccartneys-tucson-ranch/article_660ea05a-b245-11ec-9bc2-c3aedf02700a.html | 2022-06-29T13:21:46 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/for-subscribers-contractors-first-job-renovating-paul-mccartneys-tucson-ranch/article_660ea05a-b245-11ec-9bc2-c3aedf02700a.html |
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
I admit I am an old woman now.
And as a little old lady, there are some things I‘ve started being afraid of.
I fear slipping in the shower when I’ve never given it a thought previously. I worry I am developing dementia because I am constantly looking for my phone. And I am afraid people are just being nice when they say the silver hair I grew out during COVID-19 looks good. But as scared as I occasionally am, there are some things I am not afraid of.
I am not afraid of women being able to decide for themselves whether to have a baby. I am not afraid “thousands” of immigrants will be storming my home an hour from the border. I am not afraid of a vaccine that might protect me, and others, from a virus. I am not afraid my LGBTQ friends are trying to sneak into classrooms to “turn” schoolchildren.
I have no fear of public schools and still want my tax dollars to support them. I am not afraid of contraception offered without question at any age. I know the undocumented, who prefer to hide from view, are not breaking down the doors to vote fraudulently. I remain open to alternate points of view when backed by science and evidence. I can even face children’s books that include the word “gay” unabashed.
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What surprises me, is that I am braver than many of the men who are currently serving in our Legislature, Senate, and Supreme Court. I’d say some of them are as scared as a little girl, but that would be insulting. Little girls are brave. In actuality, I think some of the leaders probably are, and should be, afraid.
For example, are any of the men worried that partners they had unprotected sex with, including the one-night stands, could go public to expose their hypocrisy? There were a lot of lusty college students in love back in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Are they sure none were forced to choose an abortion? Alternatively, free DNA tests could reveal who owes back child support (including nine months in utero and hospital costs) for a baby they never bothered to find out was conceived.
If I were them, I’d also be afraid of the consequences of gun rights. Some of the guns they support were carried by those storming the Capitol in January of last year. Did any stop to ask, “Republican or Democrat? Gun supporter or nonsupporter?”
As I age, I’ve grown less afraid of people who look, sound, or identify differently than me. I wish I could help the little old men in power feel less scared of transgender folks, so they can focus on real issues.
Because as I grow older and wiser, there are things I am afraid of. I am afraid of lawmakers who think guns will help a teacher or her students feel safe. I am more than squeamish about the redrawing of district lines and new voter registration laws. I am scared to death about the disproportionate arrests and shootings of people of color. I wince for those who now face the consequences of honoring their oath of office rather than their political party’s wishes. I cry at the impact of the archaic border wall on wildlife — unnecessary when we had effective, high-tech surveillance.
I am more than afraid of the gradual defunding of public schools. The children who need the most support are the very ones whose parents are in the least likely position to select and transport their child to charter, private and parochial schools.
And, I admit, as an old lady, there are some silly things I am still afraid of. I still scream if I ever see a roach approach.
But right now?
I am more afraid of lawmakers than I am of the insect world.
Kathleen Bethel is a retired principal, SARSEF CEO and UA administrator, and past Public Voices Fellow with the OPED Project. She lives in Tucson. | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-brave-old-lady-versus-legislators/article_6f046e0c-f308-11ec-9900-b77c12034e22.html | 2022-06-29T13:21:59 | 0 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-brave-old-lady-versus-legislators/article_6f046e0c-f308-11ec-9900-b77c12034e22.html |
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Make no mistake: Roe v. Wade was overturned because Samuel Alito and five other Christian-conservative Supreme Court justices decided to advance their religion’s dogma on our nation. Their decision was devoid of logic, science, history, experience, compassion and common sense.
This judicial malpractice also happened in 1857 when Chief Justice Roger Taney, the first Roman Catholic on the Supreme Court, wrote the infamous Dred Scott decision. Agreed to by six other justices, it held that a slave (Dred Scott) who had resided in a free state/territory (where slavery was prohibited) was not entitled to his freedom because African Americans were “an inferior order” (ie: property). Therefore, they could never be citizens of the United States. It also held as unconstitutional the Missouri Compromise (1820), which declared as free all territories west of Missouri and north of latitude 36°30′.
Was that racist ruling also, at its core, religiously based? We’ll never know for sure. But, what we do know is that in 19th century America, both before and after the Civil War, the Bible was frequently cited to argue that the slavery and subjugation of Blacks were justified.
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Historians said Taney’s opinion “… ignored precedent, distorted history, imposed a rigid rather than a flexible construction on the Constitution, ignored specific grants of power in the Constitution, and tortured meanings out of other, more-obscure clauses,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Sound familiar? This is also the criticism Alito’s opinion is receiving from legal scholars.
The Supreme Court religionists undid Roe v. Wade because their faith demands it. They offered legal theories as pretexts and smokescreens to disguise inappropriate faith-based motivations.
Their fundamentalist Christian beliefs tell them that:
Ensoulment occurs at conception. Accordingly, this sperm-egg union deserves immediate personhood protections and rights.
Women’s lives must be controlled because their status is one-dimensional and subordinate in nature.
The Great Commission (Matthew 28: 16-20) was a firm directive from Jesus to his disciples to Christianize the world. It was a command, not a suggestion. Passing biblically based laws fulfills this obligation.
These justices are totally comfortable punting abortion back to the states where they know their religious intentions will be “faithfully” carried out. Conservative Christian-packed state legislatures and conservative Christian governors will now control what should be women’s private health-care decisions.
As if reversing Roe v. Wade was not radical enough, Justice Clarence Thomas pushed his personal theocratic intentions even further when he said, in a concurring opinion, that prior rulings on same-sex marriage, private sexual preferences and contraception should all be reconsidered. So much for precedent!
These six justices were either lying to or misleading senators when asked whether they would consider overturning Roe v. Wade at their confirmation hearings. They should have also been asked these questions: Is your primary loyalty to the U.S. Constitution — to which you swore an oath of allegiance — or to the dogma and directives of your religion? Will your decision-making be grounded only in secular reasoning? If not, why not? Will you be able to make judicial decisions that directly violate your God’s perceived desires and your personal deeply held Christian beliefs? If yes, please explain.
Americans who respect our God-free federal Constitution are fearful that self-serving Christian fundamentalists, a minority of our nation’s population, are imposing their religious dogma on an otherwise secularly based pluralistic nation. Their overrepresentation on the Supreme Court and in state legislatures encourages and allows them to bully the rest of us. They disregard the constitutional obligations they owe constituents who do not share their faith. It’s unfortunate that democracy is not a word or concept found in their Bible.
By embracing and privileging one particular religion’s ideology in its decision-making, a majority of justices of the Supreme Court have betrayed our nation’s trust and respect. This has caused the entire court to lose much of its credibility.
Gil Shapiro lives in Oro Valley. He was the spokesperson for Freethought Arizona from 2005 to 2016. Contact him at: gdshapiro@comcast.net | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-roe-v-wade-was-overturned-by-religious-extremists/article_6ee79bcc-f710-11ec-b1bd-eb157f2817ed.html | 2022-06-29T13:22:05 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-roe-v-wade-was-overturned-by-religious-extremists/article_6ee79bcc-f710-11ec-b1bd-eb157f2817ed.html |
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
There’s a supposedly unbridgeable divide in America on abortion. We either believe that a woman has a moral right to do with her body as she pleases or that a fetus has a moral right to live.
I disagree, not about the moral divide, but rather that the political divide is unbridgeable. Progress means compromise, reuniting our country on a divisive issue that extends from our local women’s clinics and church pews all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court has now ruled that Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were wrongly decided, but when we read the decision it’s more about states’ rights than abortion. Roe v. Wade is widely regarded as legislation from the bench, a disruption of the delicate power balance among our three branches of federal government. But now the feds are officially out of the abortion business; it’s not in our Constitution. We conservatives like this but remember, this column is about compromise so keep reading.
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The Supreme Court has availed Arizona the opportunity to find its comfort zone, hopefully between the legislative paths of Utah (near zero abortion) and New York (abortion up to labor). Let the other 49 states make their decisions and we’ll concentrate on our own backyard.
Unfettered Arizona confusingly has two abortion laws, one 158 years old, the other 157 years younger. Surely, we can dismiss the territorial day’s precedent and deal with today’s reality: the Arizona law taking effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with limited exceptions. This law appears to be onerous, but let’s take a closer look.
Roe v. Wade legislated trimesters: 0-13 weeks, abortion allowed; 14-27 weeks, maybe; and 28-40 weeks, no abortion. So that court decision both allowed and banned abortions. A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks, but given advances in medicine over the last half century, extremely preterm infants are born 23 through 28 weeks. Introducing more complexity, there’s an abortion pill, which is a combination of two different medications that safely and effectively ends an already-existing pregnancy within the first 11 weeks. This approach is becoming more preferred than surgical abortion, recommended to be performed up to 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Therefore, little has changed; neither the recent Supreme Court decision nor Arizona’s 15-week law has any effect on those of you of child-bearing age. To their credit, the two abortion clinics in Tucson have paused their “operations” waiting for clarity of law, but they will resume soon.
So let’s lower the volume of the rhetoric. The right should cease celebrating a shallow victory and the left should stop insisting that there is a war on women.
Pragmatism is the road to compromise. My desire for a near total ban on abortion is an impossible dream; our citizenry would never agree to pass such a law and would never submit to one. America tried to ban alcohol once, how did that go? I’m old enough to remember the “wire coat hanger, kitchen table” time before Roe v. Wade. Let’s agree that we don’t want a return to the good old days.
Absent from today’s conversation is the other party that is involved in 100% of all abortions, the father of the fetus. All we hear is “real men support women’s rights” with no mention that “real men support their soon-to-be child.” Let’s also agree that the financially-responsible, loving future father has a voice.
I look forward to our Arizona debate. No doubt our new law will be tweaked and even referendums are on the horizon. It feels great that after 50 years of federal suppression, Arizona is allowed to forge its own future. We ask those from other states to stay home and sit on their wallets.
Jeffrey McConnell is a 77-year old male California refugee. He lives in Tucson. | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-time-for-compromise-on-abortion/article_aeb709b6-f703-11ec-9be3-c3a25fce4371.html | 2022-06-29T13:22:11 | 0 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-time-for-compromise-on-abortion/article_aeb709b6-f703-11ec-9be3-c3a25fce4371.html |
Even with gas teetering at around $5 a gallon, AAA predicts this July Fourth weekend will be a record-breaker for travel by car.
AAA’s annual Independence Day Travel Forecast shows that 47.9 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home over the holiday weekend, which is Friday, June 30 through Monday, July 4. That’s an increase of 3.7% over last year.
Out of that total number of people traveling, 42 million people are expected to drive, which is a 1.1 percent over 2021 which saw 41.8 million drive to their holiday destinations. That figure also represents 88% of the travel forecast this weekend.
This all comes even as gas prices are up nearly 50% over last summer. On Thursday, the average price for gas in the Lehigh Valley was $4.89 a gallon, according to AAA.
Tips from AAA
- Get your car ready: They expect to respond to more than 446,000 calls for roadside assistance over the Independence Day holiday weekend. Make sure to get a full vehicle inspection ahead of any long trip but especially for components like a vehicle’s battery and engine. Bring with you a well-stocked emergency kit, just in case.
- Beat the rush. Get out on the road before the crush of travel. Based on AAA booking data, Friday, July 1 is shaping up to be the busiest day for air travel during the holiday weekend (June 30 – July 4) with Monday, July 4 being the lightest. For those hitting the road, the Thursday and Friday before the holiday are anticipated to be peak traffic days.
Daily worst and best times to travel
Speaking of beating the rush, here’s how you can navigate around the crush of travel this weekend.
- Thursday: Worst, between 2 and 8 p.m.; best is 7 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
- Friday: Worst, between noon and 9 p.m.; best is before 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
- Saturday: Worst is between 2 and 4 p.m.; best is before noon and after 7 p.m.
- Sunday: Low congestion expected all day
- Monday: Low congestion expected all day | https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-july-fourth-record-breaking-travel-20220629-tnwapvaqxjhk5nr7j33xgrru7m-story.html | 2022-06-29T13:28:51 | 1 | https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-july-fourth-record-breaking-travel-20220629-tnwapvaqxjhk5nr7j33xgrru7m-story.html |
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — You may have heard of Chandler Crouch by now -- he's the guy, who for the last few years, has been helping people protest their property values, which ultimately determine how much they pay in property taxes.
Well, the Tarrant Appraisal District has apparently heard of him, too.
And the top two employees of TAD don't seem to like him very much, as they filed a personal complaint against Crouch on county time and with a Texas Department of licensing and Regulation letterhead.
As a result, TAD officials are meeting Thursday to consider terminating Randy Armstrong, TAD's director of residential appraisal and author of the complaint, and TAD Chief Appraiser Jeff Law, who was reportedly aware of Armstrong's complaint filing.
The complaint accused Crouch of "misrepresentation of facts and abuse of his dual positions as both at property tax consultant" and realtor, saying he misled members of the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board during an appraisal hearing last year.
The complaint said Crouch had a property listed for about $2.5 million in Colleyville, while he testified to the review board that the market value of the home of was around $880,000.
But Crouch, in a response posted on his website, said it's not a violation "to list a house for sale and represent the client in a protest hearing," as happened for the Colleyville home.
And Crouch said the $2.5 million figure on his online listing was a combination of three property tax accounts, not just the one house. The properties included two homes, two barns, 4.72 acres and an apartment.
"This is not close to an equal comparison," Crouch said of the TAD members accusing him of valuing a $2.5 million listed property at $880,000.
The complaint also accused Crouch of "mockery of the current tax system," claiming he "will bring shame to the Texas Association of Property Tax Consultants, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Institute for Professionals in Taxation and the Texas Property Tax Industry as a whole."
Crouch wrote that the complaint was absurd, illogical and purely emotional.
"How are any of these other entities relevant to anything concerning a TDLR complaint?" Crouch said.
Armstrong's complaint said that Crouch would potentially harm TAD's annual property value performance study, that his tactics and continued mocking and criticism of the property tax system shouldn't be allowed, and that he believes these actions warrant a thorough and serious investigation.
Crough agreed there should be an investigation, but into the TAD instead. And he claimed Armstrong trying to stop him from mocking and criticizing the tax infringement system was a First Amendment rights violation.
TAD board members will meet to discuss the issue at 9 a.m. Thursday at 2500 Handley-Ederville Road in Fort Worth.
WFAA has interviewed Crouch several times in recent years to explain to process of protesting property values in North Texas. In April, he told WFAA that North Texas homeowners should protest their tax appraisals, saying "about 50% of houses are overvalued if you just look at it."
In 2021, Crouch's realty business helped 22,000 people protest their property tax values, getting values knocked down about 90% of the time.
“Everyone should protest every single year, for a few reasons," Crouch said. "Number one, you just don’t have anything to lose.” | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/property-taxes-north-texas-tarrant-county-appraisal-district-chandler-crouch-complaint-randy-armstrong/287-9ff8c9b2-9f39-49c7-b694-13e96fb2fac4 | 2022-06-29T13:35:27 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/property-taxes-north-texas-tarrant-county-appraisal-district-chandler-crouch-complaint-randy-armstrong/287-9ff8c9b2-9f39-49c7-b694-13e96fb2fac4 |
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — You may have heard of Chandler Crouch by now -- he's the guy, who for the last few years, has been helping people protest their property values, which ultimately determine how much they pay in property taxes.
Well, the Tarrant Appraisal District has apparently heard of him, too.
And the top two employees of TAD don't seem to like him very much, as they filed a personal complaint against Crouch on county time and with a Texas Department of licensing and Regulation letterhead.
As a result, TAD officials are meeting Thursday to consider terminating Randy Armstrong, TAD's director of residential appraisal and author of the complaint, and TAD Chief Appraiser Jeff Law, who was reportedly aware of Armstrong's complaint filing.
The complaint accused Crouch of "misrepresentation of facts and abuse of his dual positions as both at property tax consultant" and realtor, saying he misled members of the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board during an appraisal hearing last year.
The complaint said Crouch had a property listed for about $2.5 million in Colleyville, while he testified to the review board that the market value of the home of was around $880,000.
But Crouch, in a response posted on his website, said it's not a violation "to list a house for sale and represent the client in a protest hearing," as happened for the Colleyville home.
And Crouch said the $2.5 million figure on his online listing was a combination of three property tax accounts, not just the one house. The properties included two homes, two barns, 4.72 acres and an apartment.
"This is not close to an equal comparison," Crouch said of the TAD members accusing him of valuing a $2.5 million listed property at $880,000.
The complaint also accused Crouch of "mockery of the current tax system," claiming he "will bring shame to the Texas Association of Property Tax Consultants, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Institute for Professionals in Taxation and the Texas Property Tax Industry as a whole."
Crouch wrote that the complaint was absurd, illogical and purely emotional.
"How are any of these other entities relevant to anything concerning a TDLR complaint?" Crouch said.
Armstrong's complaint said that Crouch would potentially harm TAD's annual property value performance study, that his tactics and continued mocking and criticism of the property tax system shouldn't be allowed, and that he believes these actions warrant a thorough and serious investigation.
Crough agreed there should be an investigation, but into the TAD instead. And he claimed Armstrong trying to stop him from mocking and criticizing the tax infringement system was a First Amendment rights violation.
TAD board members will meet to discuss the issue at 9 a.m. Thursday at 2500 Handley-Ederville Road in Fort Worth.
WFAA has interviewed Crouch several times in recent years to explain to process of protesting property values in North Texas. In April, he told WFAA that North Texas homeowners should protest their tax appraisals, saying "about 50% of houses are overvalued if you just look at it."
In 2021, Crouch's realty business helped 22,000 people protest their property tax values, getting values knocked down about 90% of the time.
“Everyone should protest every single year, for a few reasons," Crouch said. "Number one, you just don’t have anything to lose.” | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/property-taxes-north-texas-tarrant-county-appraisal-district-chandler-crouch-complaint-randy-armstrong/287-cd0203fc-f412-47b4-a3bb-a9618338eead | 2022-06-29T13:35:33 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/property-taxes-north-texas-tarrant-county-appraisal-district-chandler-crouch-complaint-randy-armstrong/287-cd0203fc-f412-47b4-a3bb-a9618338eead |
The tractor-trailer carrying the migrants in San Antonio may have been cloned.
KHOU 11 Investigates talked to the owner of a South Texas trucking company who claimed someone stole his federal and state identification numbers and put them on the truck found outside of San Antonio.
The truck has been making headlines since Monday evening. It has especially caught Felipe Betancourt, Jr.'s eye in Alamo, Texas.
“It's sad, you know, just knowing how many people died inside that truck,” Betancourt said.
Bentancourt sent KHOU 11 cell phone video showing how strikingly similar the truck found in San Antonio is similar to the one his father uses to ship products for his company Betancourt Trucking and Harvesting. He notes, though, that there is one big difference.
“That truck does not belong to us. I know that wasn't my truck because my truck’s been here in the valley running grain and sorghum since last Friday,” Betancourt said.
The truck in San Antonio is the same color and has the same identifying numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Transportation.
The duplication is known as cloning.
CEO of the Texas Trucking Association John Esparza says it’s a real problem.
“There's been a rash of these cloning activities. I know roughly 73% of these cases, as far as cloning goes, are passenger vehicles,” Esparza said.
Esparza said like with VINs, technology is making it easier to do.
“It seems to me that if it's on the rise that more and more people are figuring out how to do that. With things occurring out there, you have to be more concerned that this will happen again, and we've got to raise awareness over what has occurred,” Esparza said.
With the exception of updating their registration numbers, there is not much that truckers can do to protect themselves, Esparza said.
Betancourt says the ordeal is frustrating and worrisome.
“I mean, nobody has spoken to us about that. We are not worried about the investigation. We have nothing to hide. We welcome any law enforcement, anybody that wants to speak to us. We're willing to cooperate with them,” Betancourt said.
Betancourt believes his truck’s identification numbers may have been cloned during a shipment to Laredo last week. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/truck-carrying-migrants-in-san-antonio-may-have-been-cloned/285-003164ee-bd86-4fba-8072-ab5667bd48af | 2022-06-29T13:35:39 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/truck-carrying-migrants-in-san-antonio-may-have-been-cloned/285-003164ee-bd86-4fba-8072-ab5667bd48af |
He got booted for discussing climate change. But he's undeterred, with science on his side
Richard Lavallee is a software engineer, Arizonan and former Republican. He says he started to feel overwhelmed by the idea of climate change after years of hearing about burning rainforests and melting glaciers. His daughters also influenced his sense that this was a serious problem.
Then he watched a PBS Frontline special about the consequences of climate change and the fossil fuel industry's role in delaying solutions, and knew he had to act.
“After I watched this show, I was determined to share my experience with anybody around," Lavallee said. "But I’ve had a difficult time finding people who really want to talk in-depth about something like climate change in their lives. They feel it's too huge."
He took to the neighbor-networking app NextDoor to start a conversation about the climate, thinking that it would be a way to converse with those around him and hear diverse opinions while avoiding the echo chambers of social media sites like Facebook.
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He posted a three-question poll asking his neighbors to weigh in on whether climate change is happening, whether there are solutions and, if so, whether we should implement them.
Lavallee says the post quickly racked up about 1,000 comments, with sentiments ranging from anger to aggression to fatalism to curiosity. Then it was deleted by the admins for being too political and he was temporarily banned from the site.
While he feels resilient to negative personal attacks and plans to strike up the conversation again once he's allowed back on the site, he is concerned about the level of climate denial, apathy and confusion he witnessed in what he thought would just be a civil community chat about a shared and well-known problem.
Studying fluctuations in climate beliefs
Lavallee is not alone in his distress about widespread climate denial. A study published June 21 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences came about when three researchers at three different universities in three separate parts of the country realized they were stuck on the same question: Why, with public access to accurate scientific information about climate change at an all-time high, do misperceptions stubbornly persist?
To find an answer, they set up an experiment in which they asked more than 4,000 study participants about their views on climate change and their political affiliations. Then, over a four-week period, participants were asked to read one article per week that had been categorized as either factual science news, partisan coverage of climate change, skeptical opinion content or an unrelated topic.
"We found that exposure to science news about climate change does make people better informed about what climate change is and the threats it represents," said Ethan Porter, one of the authors of the study and an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. "However, that initial accuracy boost fades pretty quickly. What we observed is that people’s views tend to kind of snap back to their original opinion (over time)."
They also found that exposure to accurate science news content increased participants' support for government action to address climate change, such as expanding the renewable energy grid. This was true for both Republican and Democratic participant groups.
But knowledge gains regarding the cause of climate change and what should be done about it faded over time, and exposure to skeptical opinion content seemed to speed that up. Republican participants were especially quick to revert to their original beliefs after reading an anti-science opinion piece. At the same time, partisan coverage of climate change had no measurable effect compared to reading an unrelated article, and trust in scientists remained unchanged overall.
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Porter thinks this vanishing impact of efforts to educate the public could be due to the fact that the serious battle against climate change we have ahead of us can be a hard pill to swallow. It's less overwhelming and less complicated to just believe it isn't happening. That way nothing has to change.
“There’s something reassuring about skeptical climate change articles, to be sure. I think that may play a role."
This comfort in climate denial creates a fertile environment for misinformation, as Lavallee found out when he started his quest to understand why this problem still exists.
One reason is that the fossil fuel industry has been quick to recognize opportunity in the idea that the problem is not really a problem. Two examples of many include the evidence that oil giant BP invented the term "carbon footprint" as a way to minimize the impact of emissions and shift responsibility for them onto the individual, and a 1992 video bankrolled by the Western Fuels Association that argued that more carbon dioxide would be good because it's an ingredient for plant growth (it is, but that's not its only role in our atmosphere).
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The answer, Porter postulates, is persistence. As relentless as corporate-funded misinformation campaigns can be, the dissemination of accurate science news can make in-roads if it is as ever-present in our lives as plastics and fuels marketing. Groups like the Yale Program in Climate Change Communication, which tracks attitudes about climate change over time across the country, have seen this in action.
He recommends finding reputable news sources and trying to consume a steady diet of verified information — articles that cite evidence-based sources, quote actual scientists and are produced by real journalists whose jobs depend on them publishing accurate information. Being aware of fact-checking sites like PolitiFact and FactChat also helps.
“Science news can have effects even on people who were skeptical, to begin with, which is a positive finding," Porter said. "It’s not the case that someone describing a scientific result is merely shouting into the wind. I would encourage people to read science news even if it sometimes feels like you’re taking a test or you’re back in school. The facts about climate change are pretty dire. It’s time to grit your teeth and read the bad news."
That's exactly what Richard Lavallee has been trying to do.
Sparking the community conversation
While waiting out his ban from the neighborhood networking site, Lavallee has been thinking about the comments he received on his post and considering how to approach bringing up the topic there again. He's looking for sincere dialogue and for people to respect each other's perspectives.
"Maybe half the people were in favor of recognizing the problem, not that they know exactly what to do, but they’re interested even if they're overwhelmed," Lavallee said. "My focus is on exposing the issues we haven’t been talking about and then softening resistance to it."
Much of the climate denial Lavallee encountered on NextDoor was based on a misunderstanding of the science: that it's rigged, that there's not a strong consensus on the human causes of climate change, that it's a political hoax designed to take control away from the people.
“That’s the crux of the denial argument, that the science isn’t clear. Even though that’s been debunked and it’s very clear."
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As just one example of that clarity, in April the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest assessment report. The 3,600-page document authored by 278 scientists from 65 countries over five years — a collective unlikely to be swayed by any one region's politics or benefactors — states in no uncertain terms that the climate is warming, it is because of humans and there will be dire consequences if we don't rein in fossil fuels. Beyond this, there is an overwhelming and enduring consensus on climate change among scientists, with fewer than 3% expressing contrasting takes.
Outside of a long-winded report, the effects of climate change can be felt directly in stronger storms, longer droughts and more extreme overnight heat. On June 11 this year, Phoenix set a new record for the earliest date that temperatures failed to drop below 90 degrees, in addition to logging a new record high for that date of 114 degrees.
The past nine years ranked among the Earth's top 10 hottest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. All over the world, based on weather data often going back more than a hundred years, high-temperature records have been falling like dud fireworks at an ever-accelerating pace.
This holiday weekend, as family and friends gather around the grill and attempt to cool off in the pool, temperatures could hit 106 degrees in parts of Arizona. While grabbing another burger or trying to keep beverages chilled, it may be hard to steer clear of comments imbibed with climate denial.
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In Porter's view, we all have a responsibility to engage in combating climate misinformation. But he recognizes it's important to budget your energy for these difficult conversations. Sometimes, he says, it can be ok to pass on confronting someone and instead respond by posting accurate information on your social media feed where they might see it and feel safer exploring new ideas.
Conquering misperceptions may not be enough, however. Climate fatalism and apathy can be obstacles to enacting sweeping climate action.
Lavallee noted that, on his NextDoor post, some neighbors expressed an understanding that climate change is real, but a sense of powerlessness to stop it. There's only so much the U.S. could do, some said, about high emissions in other parts of the world. (Fact check: per capita emissions in the U.S. are double the rate in China.) Others expressed faith that technology or a higher being would sort it all out.
There was also a strong sense of anti-socialism, Lavallee said, with some commenters seeming to view the idea of any sort of centralized action as "evil."
Lavallee says he recognizes the need to avoid the slippery slope of giving up too much control to the government. But he thinks any solution to the climate crisis will likely require us to "behave more as a unit."
Regardless of political beliefs, he sees this as a crucial conversation "we just flat out need to have." Armed with accurate science news and a desire to leave his grandchildren a livable world, that's exactly what he'll be doing this Independence Day.
"It’s like a hole on a boat. It doesn’t matter how it happened, we have to find it and fix it so we don’t all sink."
Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles or email her at joan.meiners@arizonarepublic.com. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2022/06/29/there-many-causes-climate-denial-but-science-solution/7735214001/ | 2022-06-29T13:38:45 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2022/06/29/there-many-causes-climate-denial-but-science-solution/7735214001/ |
Unsheltered and unhoused in the heat: 'The urgency now is greater than it’s ever been'
Vicky Asplaugh and her husband, David, have been staying outside the Human Services Campus for more than six months.
Back in early January, Vicky, 61, was hospitalized for five days with pneumonia. It was the first time she ever had gotten pneumonia, and she thinks she got it from sleeping without a bed out in the cold.
"They didn't have enough beds and I had to sleep outside the center," she said. "I was terrified being out there, and it was really cold."
Vicky and her husband are still living there, but now they’re dealing with a very different crisis: the heat.
Phoenix’s hot summers are manageable for those who are housed and have access to indoor cooling facilities. But for the unhoused — people who are spending their days and nights outdoors with little respite — triple-digit days can quickly become life-threatening.
“Heat’s deadly every year in Phoenix,” said Dr. Christopher Pexton, medical director at Circle the City, a health care provider for people experiencing homelessness. With prolonged exposure to the heat, “it can get to the point where people get heatstroke, which is literally when their internal temperature gets so hot that their organs don’t function.”
Last year, a record 307 people died due to the heat in Maricopa County, and more than 40% of them were people experiencing homelessness. Researchers estimate that people who are unhoused are at 200 to 300 times higher risk of heat-associated deaths than the rest of the population.
A new model:Shelter near Sky Harbor offers heat relief for the unhoused, and much more
This year, there have already been six heat deaths confirmed and 62 under investigation as of June 18, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. That's likely an undercount of the true number, advocates say.
Even with more heat relief funding, emergency shelter space, and relentless community organizing to fill in outreach gaps, many advocates are more worried than ever about where the death toll will be by the end of the summer. As the number of people who fall into homelessness increases as pandemic safety nets expire, they believe so will the number of people who fall through the cracks of the existing homelessness services system.
“From my perspective, the urgency now is greater than it’s ever been,” said Ash Uss, executive director of From the Ground Up, a community-based organization fighting homelessness. “For anyone on the street, this has always been a crisis, but the quantity of people struggling right now is unbelievable,” she said.
In early June, about 900 people were living unsheltered in the blocks surrounding the Human Services Campus' Brian Garcia Welcome Center in an area where they can stay and access a number of resources and social services from nonprofits. It's known as “The Zone”.
This is on top of the 819 beds that area already fill up across five indoor shelter areas near The Zone, according to a Human Services Campus capacity count from June 12.
The roughly 900 people currently is a slight decrease from March and April, when there were more than 1,000 people living outside the shelters, but still triple the number of people from a year ago, when about 300 people were living in The Zone in July 2021, according to data from weekly street outreach counts.
Now, wailing sirens have become an everyday reality in The Zone.
“The way ambulances are coming and going in The Zone while we’re out there — we’ll see half a dozen ambulances come out — it’s terrifying,” said Eric Brickley, event manager for Feed Phoenix. Brickley, who goes by Half, conducts outreach in The Zone any day it is hotter than 115 degrees.
In the past few years, homelessness has soared everywhere in the Phoenix area, not just downtown. During COVID-19, the number of unhoused people skyrocketed, growing to 5,029 in 2022 from 3,767 in 2020, about a 33% increase, according to the latest available point-in-time count conducted in January.
In addition, Phoenix is experiencing longer and hotter summers than ever before. In the past five decades, there are now, on average, nine more days of the year when Phoenix logs temperatures over 110 degrees.
Rapidly rising rents, the expiration of pandemic protections like eviction moratoriums, and a lack of affordable housing have created a perfect storm that has put an increasing number of people at risk of homelessness, advocates say.
From July 2020 to 2021, Arizona had five of the top 15 cities that experienced the fastest population growth, with Maricopa County being the sixth-fastest growing county, according to census data.
Meanwhile, rent hikes of anywhere from $200 to $800 a month are continuing to squeeze out low income tenants who have few options to fall back on. Evictions too, are almost back to their pre-pandemic highs.
“It’s all so interconnected,” Uss said. “We’re one of the fastest growing counties yet one of the least affordable places to live.”
Help coming in the budget:Phoenix to spend $63M more on police, homeless services next year. Here's how the funds will be doled out
'I cannot handle another summer in the heat'
Vicky Asplaugh gets in line every morning outside of the Brian Garcia Welcome Center, queuing up for a chance to sleep indoors on a mat in one of the several makeshift or overnight shelters at the Human Services Campus.
She spends most of the day under one of the shaded canopies at the campus, waiting, with some of her possessions next to her at all times.
“I’m scared I’m going to get heat exhaustion because I’ve had that before,” Asplaugh said of the time that she spends outside during the day. “You can get it if you don’t drink enough water.”
The Human Services Campus is an umbrella organization for a number of social service and shelter providers. There are emergency shelters with actual beds, such as Central Arizona Shelter Services, as well as makeshift day shelters like the one offered at St. Vincent de Paul’s dining room, where mats are laid out for people to cool down on.
A few large shade structures line the edges of the campus, but there are still hundreds of people staying along the streets farther out, along Madison Street between Ninth and 13th avenues.
Tents, tarps, shopping carts full of personal belongings, suitcases and makeshift furniture line a couple of blocks there, surrounded by office and industrial buildings, and very little shade.
“I cannot handle another summer in the heat,” said Dana Faulkinbury, who found an apartment through a housing voucher the day before she spoke to The Arizona Republic. “I don’t know what all these people in the tents are going to do this summer.”
An increasing number of people who fall into homelessness are also older, experiencing homelessness for the first time, or have several medical conditions.
Many of the older patients Pexton treats at his clinic are more vulnerable to the effects of the heat because of chronic conditions like kidney disease, liver disease and diabetes. Their conditions make them a lot more sensitive to changes in temperature, and decreased mobility makes it harder for them to get to cooling stations, Pexton said.
“We’re being a lot more aggressive with treatments and making sure people have the right medications, correct places to store them, and educational resources to manage those conditions,” he said. “But it’s sort of like we’re trying to outpace a wave and it’s hard to keep up.”
Community organizations step in to help
On Arizona’s hottest days, Feed Phoenix, a community support organization dedicated to ending food and hunger insecurity in Phoenix, tries to meet unhoused, unsheltered individuals where they are.
“We focus our efforts down in that area because the industrial aspect of the area really intensifies the temperature, and then you're at the asphalt,” Brickley said. “So we're bringing out ice, water and Gatorade. Anything that can decrease people's temperature.”
After spending four hours prepping and washing new water bottles and stocking up on Gatorade and ice, they bring it down to The Zone, and anywhere from six to 20 people will distribute it. “It takes us about 2 to 3 hours to get about a half a mile, walking all these blocks, driving and towing trailers or wagons and whatever we can do to maximize feet on the ground with this lifesaving stuff.”
Year-round, the organization hosts recurring community support events to provide food, water, hygiene items, clothing and more. During the summer, heat is a “distinct, severe crisis,” Brickley said.
“The best resource would be housing,” he said. “And then to step it down would be a safe space for people to exist, shaded and comfortable away from the sun. Those things aside, we start to look at those other materials like handheld goods, which are not a solution for anyone. But if we just keep stepping it down, it's a tent, a tarp. Coolers.”
Brickley acknowledges that tents and tarps are temporary fixes but realizes any shade, no matter the durability, can make a life or death difference. That could mean erecting a shaded structure on private property and decreasing the temperature in that shaded structure.
“That could literally be a fan and a $40 dollar Walmart pop up,” he said. “That with some ice or some water is going to change the direction of someone's existence who is currently suffering heat stroke to be able to live on another day.”
Hot, hot and hotter:Valley 101 explores summer and the monsoon in Arizona
Snow cones and a ride to the clinic
Just past noon on a recent Friday, Austin Davis, the leader of AZ Hugs for the Houseless, an initiative of Arizona Jews for Justice, pulls into the Tempe Beach Park parking lot in a silver minivan. It is 103 degrees, and he begins to unload two jugs of ice water and a couple of coolers of plastic water bottles.
At picnic tables in a shaded area next to Luis Gonzalez Field, he and a volunteer from Shot in the Dark AZ scoop snow cones — using a Gatorade jug full of shaved ice that Water ‘n Ice filled up for $20 — and hand them out to unhoused, unsheltered individuals. There are two flavors, strawberry and green apple, but the most popular choice by far is “a little bit of both.”
This is only a small portion of Austin’s busy day, the schedule of which is constantly changing as he fields phone calls from unhoused friends with special requests for a ride to a clinic, for a referral to a detox center, for a tent, for art supplies. After he’s done serving snow cones, he’ll hike down to the river bottom to bring spray bottles and ice water to people living in encampments who he noticed didn’t make it up to the park. His day typically lasts eight to 10 hours.
Without transportation or a phone, it can be difficult for people to navigate the heat relief resources available, he said.
“Last summer when we were doing this work, one thing that I really found to be true is that there are a lot of folks who are not close to (heat-relief) services,” Davis said. “There may be cooling centers, but if you're a mile or two away from one and you have a physical disability, or even if you're just feeling the heat exhaustion, it's really difficult to get to those resources.”
On a recent day, he said he spent a good amount of time during the hottest part of the day "just driving around the Valley, going to canals and alleyways and bridges and little encampments and actively trying to find people.”
When he finds someone who is experiencing heat exhaustion, he’ll begin to spray them with lukewarm water in order to avoid shocking them. The water gradually grows colder and colder until it’s ice cold, he said.
“I've had situations where I'll have someone feeding someone water and electrolytes while I'm spraying them down for 20 to 30 minutes,” he said.
In more severe cases, he’ll drive people to the hospital.
With an $8,600 grant they are set to receive from Phoenix District 7 Councilmember Yassamin Ansari’s office, one of AZ Hugs’ next projects is to turn Austin’s minivan into a mobile cooling unit.
“Hopefully within this month, we're going to be putting solar-powered generators in the van and fans, misting units, air conditioning units.”
City solutions expand for heat relief
Last year, Phoenix was criticized after struggling to find a last minute replacement — out-of-circulation city buses that functioned as mobile cooling centers — for the Phoenix Convention Center, which provided heat relief to hundreds of people in the summer of 2020 but closed its doors as a cooling center in 2021.
This year, Ansari said she’s worked proactively with the city to provide heat relief and shelter in her district, well before the summer heat arrived.
Four new shade structures and three more shade structures with an evaporative cooling at the Human Services Campus, a 100-bed “sprung structure,” an enclosed and air conditioned shade structure that can serve 120 people during the day downtown, and a new overnight shelter model serving 200 people at 28th and Washington streets were among some of the new investments made this year, according to Ansari.
Amy Schwabenlender, executive director of the Human Services Campus, credits the dip in the number of unsheltered people downtown to the opening and ramping up of those new shelters, several of which opened in the past two months.
This is also Phoenix’s first summer with an Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, which was introduced in October as the first of its kind in the nation.
“Our heat relief outreach teams are working more than they ever have before,” said David Hondula, the director of the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation. “We've increased the number of shifts that we're doing by a factor of about 40 from last year to this year.”
"These teams have case managers from the city’s homeless services division who can guide people to cooling centers and initiate conversations about IDs, showers, rehab, and all of the other strategies that are really what we need to be focusing on and helping folks get off the streets.”
This is also the first time the city has directly allocated supplies to community organizations. “By the time the summer is done, it'll be more than $600,000 in supplies distributed to and through community organizations to help protect community members when it's hot,” Hondula said. “Not only supplies that help people like water bottles, chlorine towels, hats, misters, etc., but also supplies that can help organizations do their own work, like wagons, insulated backpacks, in some cases evaporative coolers for their locations, and certainly more signage for public cooling centers.”
Hondula said that the city accounts for more than 50 of the heat relief network sites, including all of its libraries and many of its parks, recreational facilities, and senior and community centers.
Many of these cooling centers are operated on business hours, but the heat doesn’t end at 5 p.m. “So we’re seeing a lot of creativity with folks in some cases hiring new staff or getting grants to run their buildings, run their air conditioners, after those traditional business hours to help meet the demand at those other times of day.”
Band-Aid fixes or root cause solutions?
James Fenical was staying in an apartment with his son, nephew and a friend. But at the beginning of the year, Fenical fell into homelessness after being evicted.
“My friend Gary and I have been staying at the park since January 10 when I got evicted from my apartment for having too many people in it,” said Fenical, who is staying at the shelter at 28th and Washington with his two dogs, Duke and Shadow.
“There’s so much homelessness now. Do you know the cost of rent now? We’re looking for an apartment, and we found an apartment for $900 plus utilities, for a studio,” said Fencil, who has a budget of $600 a month, a fixed amount of money that he receives from homeless services provider Community Bridges Inc.
Despite the ramping up of responses for heat relief and temporary shelter, advocates say they are “basic needs” responses to a much broader public health and housing crisis.
“Heat relief stations, while they may provide some respite, they may save some lives, those are Band-Aids. Emergency shelters are Band-Aids. They’re meant to be temporary,” Schwabenlender said.
At the root of the existing homelessness crisis is a lack of stable and permanent housing, she said. “It’s much more challenging to help someone resolve homelessness than it is to keep people housed. So how do we allow them to stay where they already are?”
In metro Phoenix, where wage increases have fallen far behind rent increases, there is little that low-income tenants or tenants on fixed incomes can do other than move out or lose their homes.
“If you are on a fixed income, if you are a single mom working minimum wage jobs, if you are the majority of people who don’t make 100 grand or more a year, you’re screwed,” said Stacy Champion, a longtime advocate for people experiencing homelessness. “The majority of people are one catastrophic event away from becoming homeless.”
Hondula said, “There are so many folks new to homelessness in Phoenix,” adding that ultimately, quality housing is the solution to heat vulnerability.
“We have heartbreaking conversations with folks who are just 100 or 200 yards away from the door to a public cooling center or from a cold water fountain on the outside of a city building who just weren't aware that those resources were there, because they just got to town or just had to relocate where they're set up.”
Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.
Reach the reporter at amy.qin@arizonarepublic.com or 480-417-9311. Follow her on Twitter @AmyQin12.
Madeleine Parrish covers equity issues for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at madeleine.parrish@gannett.com.
Reach breaking news reporter Haleigh Kochanski at hkochanski@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @HaleighKochans. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/06/29/unsheltered-phoenix-heat-advocates-worried-homeless/7491888001/ | 2022-06-29T13:38:46 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/06/29/unsheltered-phoenix-heat-advocates-worried-homeless/7491888001/ |
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A $400,000 donation will help Wichita State University (WSU) Tech’s culinary arts students get cooking.
On Tuesday, June 28, Cargill presented a $400,000 grant to WSU Tech to support the creation of a new culinary arts institute in downtown Wichita.
“Cargill’s donation to the WSU Tech Foundation will be used to outfit NICHE’s culinary theater with professional cookware and equipment and will also, even more importantly, provide scholarship support to students from underrepresented communities who are looking to pursue careers in culinary arts and hospitality,” said Dr. Sheree Utash, President of WSU Tech.
According to a news release from WSU Tech, earlier this year, the school “broke ground” on the new National Institute of Culinary and Hospitality Education (NICHE) campus, a “state-of-the-art culinary school” which will be based out of the historic Henry’s Building downtown. The campus will be the center of learning for the school’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality and Events Management programs, featuring commercial kitchens, classrooms, a demonstration kitchen, and an open-to-the-public food hall.
“Our culinary team is deeply engaged with WSU Tech, supporting curriculum development and serving as adjunct faculty,” said Chef Pete Geoghegan, Culinary Director of Cargill’s North American protein business. “We are proud to grow our support providing physical and financial resources to ensure students have the opportunity and access to the skills and training to pursue a rewarding career in culinary arts and hospitality.”
Cargill’s North American protein headquarters and Culinary Innovation Center are based in Wichita. The company has had a presence in the Wichita area for over 20 years and employs more than 900 residents.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Cargill as a partner in this new venture known as NICHE,” said Utash. “We believe Cargill’s involvement will elevate all aspects of this project and the associated academic programs. Their commitment to innovation and sustainability directly align with our values, and we know their investment will have a positive impact on student experience and outcomes.”
According to Utash, partnerships like this “continue to push [WSU Tech] to provide life-changing opportunities to individuals in our community, to deliver excellence in education, and to develop the workforce of now and the future. WSU Tech and the WSU Tech Foundation are proud to partner with Cargill to elevate Wichita’s reputation as a ‘food city,’ it’s what we want to do. We want to be the capital city of opportunity and the food city, all in one.” | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/cargill-donates-400k-to-wsu-tech-culinary-program/ | 2022-06-29T13:53:04 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/cargill-donates-400k-to-wsu-tech-culinary-program/ |
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Traffic on westbound Kellogg near West Street was tied up for over an hour due to a motorcycle crash. It happened around 7 a.m.
A motorcyclist suddenly slowed down in traffic and was thrown from the bike. The motorcyclist was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Traffic was reduced to two lanes as crews worked the scene.
For the latest Wichita traffic, click here. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/crash-on-westbound-kellogg-near-west-street-causes-traffic-tie-up/ | 2022-06-29T13:53:10 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/crash-on-westbound-kellogg-near-west-street-causes-traffic-tie-up/ |
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Salvation Army and Evergy teamed up on Tuesday to pass out fans for elderly residents or others without access to air conditioning.
About 500 fans were donated, and overall about 2,600 fans were passed out.
Well, it’s important that customers understand that there are ways to keep cool and not have to be sweltering or suffering in the high temperature, heat, and high humidity throughout the summertime. So it’s a passion of ours to make sure all of our customers stay safe,” Sheril Farmer, Evergy Community Relations manager, said.
Those who picked up a fan were thankful.
“I’ll sleep at night because it gets hot in the daytime, and I try to rest during the day. Can’t do it. The fan’s going to be a lot better difference,” Michael Loggins, ran recipient, said.
Those who attended were also provided with food and rental assistance. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/salvation-army-distributes-fans-to-those-in-need/ | 2022-06-29T13:53:16 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/salvation-army-distributes-fans-to-those-in-need/ |
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Wednesday, June 29, in honor of Linn County volunteer firefighter Joshua Haynes of Rural District 1 Fire Department, who died while battling a fire in Pleasanton, Kansas.
“I am directing flags statewide be flown at half-staff to honor Joshua Haynes, a volunteer firefighter from Linn County,” Kelly said in a news release. “My deepest condolences are with Joshua’s loved ones and the Linn County community during their time of loss. His bravery and service to our state will never be forgotten.”
Haynes will be interred during services held on June 29.
To sign up for email alerts about when the governor orders flags to half-staff, click here. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/why-are-flags-at-half-staff-today-4/ | 2022-06-29T13:53:22 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/why-are-flags-at-half-staff-today-4/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Fair unveiled the plan to incorporate its 2022 theme: Celebrating Indiana's Automotive Excellence, presented by Tom Wood Automotive Group.
Fairgoers will be able to see celebrity cars from movies and books, world-class classic car collections showcasing Indiana-made vehicles, hands-on exhibits and more.
(NOTE: The video above is from a previous report on the theme of the 2022 Indiana State Fair.)
Here's the full list of auto-themed experiences planned for the 2022 Indiana State Fair:
- World of Speed, presented by Subaru of Indiana Automotive, located in the Harvest Pavilion
- Celebrity car appearances include the Batmobile, Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, Ghostbuster Ectomobile and more.
- Indiana Automobile Exhibit, in partnership with the Indiana Automotive Collective
- A curated collection of classic, early-20th century cars with roots in the Hoosier state.
- SPEED: Science in Motion Exhibit
- The hands-on exhibits will test attendees' potential as a Formula One driver.
- Ford Model T Rapid Assembly, located in front of the Indiana Farmers Coliseum
- Assemblers build a drivable 1926 Ford Model T in just under 10 minutes right before fairgoers' eyes.
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum Presents Traditions, located inside of the Farm Bureau building
- The many iconic traditions of the Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 will be on display.
- Daily car exhibit, located along Main Street.
The Indiana State Fair runs from July 29 - Aug. 21 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center, located at 1202 E. 38th St. It will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Click here to see the full list of performers on the Hoosier Lottery Free Stage, including Pat Benatar, Jesse McCartney, Travis Tritt, KC & The Sunshine Band and more.
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- Colorado man gored by bison at Yellowstone | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indiana-state-fair-2022-automotive-programming/531-7e31ae21-5ba3-4486-bb2c-2e4a5b828def | 2022-06-29T13:56:16 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/indiana-state-fair-2022-automotive-programming/531-7e31ae21-5ba3-4486-bb2c-2e4a5b828def |
ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Town of Erwin announced it will host the 6th annual Welcome Home Veterans Parade Saturday, July 2 at 10:30 a.m.
The event aims to recognize all veterans and encourages those who have served to participate in the parade by joining with a float. Master Sgt. Billy Joe Bradley Jr., who served from 1975-2012 in the U.S. Army, is the grand marshall of the event that will run through the historic downtown and end at Veterans Memorial Park.
Those who participate will meet at the Morgan Insulation Property no later than 10:15 a.m. Veterans who are interested should call 423-743-6231.
Breakfast will precede the parade, according to a news release from organizers. Hardees, Food City and DAR will provide the free meal starting at 9 a.m.
Hot dogs and other refreshments will follow, provided by Food Lion. Children and families are welcome to join in on the festivities with a splash dance at the corner of Love and Main from 11 a.m. until 12 p.m. Free snow cones will be provided by North Ridge Community Church. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/erwin-hosting-6th-annual-welcome-home-veterans-parade/ | 2022-06-29T14:00:47 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/erwin-hosting-6th-annual-welcome-home-veterans-parade/ |
HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK)—Medal of Honor Recipient and World War II Veteran Hershel “Woody” Williams, 98 has died on Wednesday. Williams was born on Oct. 2, 1923, and grew up in Quiet Dell in Marion County, West Virginia.
Williams was the last living WWII Medal of Honor recipient. He joined the United States Marine Corps and served in the Battle of Iwo Jima with the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division. Williams received the Medal of Honor on October 5, 1945, from President Harry S. Truman for his “actions, commitment to his fellow service members, and heroism,” the Woody Williams Foundation website says.
Following his service in WWII, Williams worked to serve veterans and their families as a Veterans Service Representative for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 33 years. He also served as the Commandant for the Veterans Nursing Home in Barboursville, West Virginia for almost 10 years and has served on the Governor’s Military Advisory Board for West Virginia.
Williams was named a Distinguished West Virginian in 1980 and in 2013 and is a member of the West Virginia Hall of Fame. The Huntington VA Medical Center was also renamed the Hershel “Woody” Williams VA Medical Center in his honor in 2018.
Williams also founded the Woody Williams Foundation which is a non-profit organization that establishes Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments and conducts outreach programs for Gold Star Families.
In March 2020, the U.S. Navy commissioned a warship, the USS Hershel “Woody” Williams, in his honor in Norfolk, VA.
Williams was preceded in death by his wife Ruby in 2007. He is survived by his two daughters.
A statement from the Woody Williams Foundation says that Woody “went home to the be with the Lord” and that he “peacefully joined his beloved wife Ruby while surrounded by his family at the VA Medical Center which bears his name.” | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/last-world-war-ii-medal-of-honor-recipient-wv-native-hershel-woody-williams-dies-at-98/ | 2022-06-29T14:01:21 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/last-world-war-ii-medal-of-honor-recipient-wv-native-hershel-woody-williams-dies-at-98/ |
HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) – As everyday expenses continue to rise, many are finding themselves struggling to make ends meet. However, Appalachian Power officials say they’re faced with the same struggles and are seeking help.
Spokesperson Phil Moye says they’ve requested a $297 million upward adjustment in its Expanded Net Energy Cost Rate. This would raise electric bills by close to 8.5% or almost an additional $12 a month for a home that uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours.
The Public Service Commission will make the final decision, but first, they held a public hearing in Cabell County, to hear the ratepayer’s concerns.
Many who came forward say they are against this rate hike and that this could be the choice between keeping the lights on or putting food on the table.
“I already live in low income. I can barely afford what I do now. $600 every two weeks. After bills, sometimes I go a week without eating,” says Huntington resident Bethany McComas.
Others say they’re worried about the quality of service they’re receiving now. They believe if they have to pay for a rate increase, it should be to improve on liability, infrastructure, or energy technology.
Huntington resident Eric Singley says “In this case, it’s just a fluctuation in fuel prices which is something that AEP themselves can mitigate for and manage and that’s my biggest issue.”
PSC will meet again at the evidentiary hearing on August 2, 2022, at 9:30 a-m. Following this will be the commission’s final decision on the matter. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/the-public-speaks-out-against-possible-appalachian-power-rate-hike/ | 2022-06-29T14:01:27 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/the-public-speaks-out-against-possible-appalachian-power-rate-hike/ |
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK)—On Wednesday, the world lost a true hero.
Medal of Honor Recipient and World War II Veteran Hershel “Woody” Williams passed away at the age of 98.
Williams was the last living WWII Medal of Honor recipient. He joined the United States Marine Corps and served in the Battle of Iwo Jima with the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division. Williams received the Medal of Honor on October 5, 1945, from President Harry S. Truman for his “actions, commitment to his fellow service members, and heroism,” the Woody Williams Foundation website says.
Leaders across the state of West Virginia have released statements honoring Williams, and we’ve collected them to be read below.
“I ask all West Virginians to join Cathy and I in praying for Woody, his family, friends, loved ones, and the entire military community across West Virginia and the United States of America. Pray that, while the weight of this loss is profound, we all will be able to take solace in the fact that Woody’s contributions to our nation inspired generations, cultivated similar bravery, and saved lives. Woody Williams will go down in history as one of the greatest West Virginians who ever lived, and we salute him for everything he gave to our state and our nation.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my life and during my time as Governor to be able to spend a lot of time with Woody Williams over the years. Woody was a living legend and was the embodiment to the world of what it means to be a West Virginian.
We are a state of service – with one of the highest rates of military enlistees per capita in the nation – because we are a state where people are willing to lay it all on the line to help their neighbor. We are selfless, courageous, and share a sense of duty to our state and our nation. Woody Williams was the shining example of these traits. America is the land of the free and the home of the brave because of the acts of valor displayed by Woody Williams in the spring of 1945. The tales of his bravery in Iwo Jima doubtlessly inspired generations of West Virginians to follow the call of duty in defense of our nation and our freedoms.
But while Woody earned his Medal of Honor by fighting on behalf of America in one of the most important battles in the history of civilization as we know it, we also ought to remember that his service didn’t end when he returned home at the end of that conflict over three-quarters of a century ago. In the decades after, Woody used his platform to lead the charge in another battle: an effort to honor America’s Gold Star families – those whose loved ones paid the ultimate price in defense of our freedoms – through his Woody Williams Foundation. Woody shepherded the construction of 102 Gold Star memorials in all 50 states across America to forever honor everyday Americans who have sacrificed so much. While Woody may be gone from this Earth, his selfless contributions to our state and nation will live on forever.
Woody was part of what was undoubtedly the greatest generation that ever lived. The bravery displayed by men like Woody Williams across America and throughout West Virginia will likely never be matched, and we have to make sure their sacrifices are never forgotten. There are still many World War II Veterans alive in West Virginia, but they won’t be with us forever. We should all take this as an opportunity to reflect on how much these Veterans mean to us. If you know a World War II Veteran, thank them, love them, talk to them, hear their stories while they’re still with us – it is so important. We need to keep their memories alive because, when the world was at its darkest hour, they were our shining light.”
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice
“Woody Williams was the embodiment of a true American hero. Americans like Woody answered the call to serve our great nation and their sacrifices allow us to enjoy the freedoms we hold dear. Gayle and I are devastated by the loss of our dear friend who meant so much to so many across our great state and entire nation. We join all West Virginians in praying for Woody’s family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time.
Last Sunday, I was honored to visit with Woody one last time. We called VA Secretary Denis McDonough so he could thank Woody directly for his unparalleled service to our nation. In true Woody fashion, he wanted to discuss the importance of completing the Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery in Dunbar – his most recent Veterans project – to ensure that the families of our fallen soldiers and Veterans have a safe place to lay their loved ones to rest, protected from the weather throughout the year. I am determined to carry on the legacy of my dear friend by getting the shelter built.
Woody was a tireless advocate for all Veterans and their family members. Over the years, my staff and I worked with Woody on too many issues to name, including for Gold Star Families, improving our Veterans hospitals and healthcare, and recognizing the contributions of our servicemembers. I will miss riding with Woody during our annual motorcycle ride for Gold Star Families; he was always my wingman. One of my most cherished memories with Woody is traveling to California and Virginia with him when his ship was commissioned and christened. During those moments, Woody showed the world the true nature of being a West Virginian with his humility and grace. As the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient, Woody represented the last of the Greatest Generation. With the passing of Woody, their legacies and honor are laid to rest.”
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin
“West Virginia lost one of its proudest sons today, and the United States lost a true hero. I am so sad to learn that my friend Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, passed away at the age of 98. Woody embodied exactly what the Greatest Generation was all about: Service to country above self. Not only are his acts of valor on the battlefield well-documented, but the lives he touched in the years since serving had a lasting impact on every person he met. He inspired many to love their country, enter the service, and reminded everyone why our ‘nation under God’ is the greatest on earth. One of the best West Virginians we’ve ever known is now gone, but his lifetime of service and incredible legacy will be with us forever.”
West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito
“Today, we have lost an American hero. Woody Williams embodied the ‘Greatest Generation.’ The Americans who volunteered to fight for their country. As a Medal of Honor recipient, Woody never quit helping his country and those who served.
Woody is a hero in every sense of the word. I am grateful to have called him my friend. Woody will be sorely missed, but his legacy of service, dedication, and patriotism will live on through the countless lives he’s touched. May God be with his family during this time, and may we never forget the unyielding commitment Woody had for the United States of America. God bless Woody Williams.”
West Virginia Rep. Carol Miller
“We are saddened by the passing of Medal of Honor Recipient and World War II Veteran Hershel “Woody” Williams – a true American hero. He has been an inspiration to me, personally, and to many across our state and our nation. Woody Williams has been instrumental in supporting West Virginia’s military members and families – especially through his work for Gold Star Families. He leaves behind a legacy of service and will certainly be missed.”
Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin
“We have been honored to have an original American hero living in our midst. Woody Williams fought to preserve all that is good about our nation. He taught us that we are “one nation under God.” He taught us dignity and integrity. He taught us kindness and humility. Woody Williams and I were not related, but I was always honored to share his last name. His example will live in our institutions and in our hearts for an eternity.”
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/west-virginia-leaders-react-to-death-of-woody-williams/ | 2022-06-29T14:01:33 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/west-virginia-leaders-react-to-death-of-woody-williams/ |
ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines is taking extra steps to try to alleviate flight disruptions ahead of what's expected to be an incredibly busy Fourth of July travel weekend.
On Tuesday, Delta issued a systemwide fare difference travel waiver from July 1-4, meaning customers planning to travel on these dates can rebook their flights before or after the holiday weekend with no fare differences or change fees.
Rebooked flights need to happen by July 8, 2022 and the trips need to be between the same origin and destination as the original flights.
In a statement on its website, Delta said the company is "working around the clock to rebuild Delta’s operation while making it as resilient as possible to minimize the ripple effect of disruptions." The airline said it expects to deal with passenger volumes on July 4 weekend not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic put a major damper on air travel.
Kyle Potter, executive editor of Minnesota-based Thrifty Traveler, said he's never seen an airline offer such a waiver, outside of perhaps a specific storm event.
"This is unprecedented," Potter said. "I think Delta hopes this is kind of a release valve, to decrease some of the pressure that they're under to carry all these passengers, in hopes it gives them a little extra breathing room to recover."
Flights can be modified using the My Trips feature on delta.com or through the Fly Delta app.
Delta waivers are usually only issued for limited geographic areas in the event of weather events that cause widespread flight disruptions. Tuesday's surprise move underscores the ongoing stress impacting the airline industry. For weeks, flight delays and cancellations have impacted thousands of flights across the country.
Earlier this month, Minnesotans traveling home from Vancouver, British Columbia were left stranded after Twin Cities-based Sun Country canceled their return flight.
Over Memorial Day weekend, Delta was responsible for the most cancellations, with more than 800 flights canceled over five days. Earlier this month, Delta said it was reducing cancellations by hiring more pilots and flight attendants and scheduling crews to quickly adjust to disruptions.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the department could enforce additional actions against airlines that fail to live up to consumer-protection standards.
Meanwhile, Delta pilots plan to picket at airports across the country on Thursday to protest protracted contract negotiations, including Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/delta-air-lines-july-fourth-holiday-travel-weekend-waiver/89-22dd8605-6101-43d8-90b1-c7b5d0bf6b74 | 2022-06-29T14:01:33 | 0 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/delta-air-lines-july-fourth-holiday-travel-weekend-waiver/89-22dd8605-6101-43d8-90b1-c7b5d0bf6b74 |
AUBURN, Maine — The Auburn Police Department reported Tuesday evening that Route 4 has reopened for travel after an incident occurred earlier in the afternoon, according to a Facebook post.
Auburn Police reported a serious crash at approximately 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on Route 4 in Auburn, which shut down travel in the northbound lane for several hours. Traffic was detoured later in the afternoon.
The incident appeared to involve a Hannaford tractor trailer truck and at least one car that was significantly damaged.
The investigation is ongoing. No further information is being released at this time. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/lewiston-auburn/route-4-reopened-after-serious-motor-vehicle-crash-in-auburn-maine/97-5e838ba2-50e7-4afe-945e-82c90403f457 | 2022-06-29T14:01:39 | 1 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/lewiston-auburn/route-4-reopened-after-serious-motor-vehicle-crash-in-auburn-maine/97-5e838ba2-50e7-4afe-945e-82c90403f457 |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Hot dog fans, rejoice! You will soon be able to drink a new seltzer with a unique flavor... hot dog water.
Fort Worth-based Martin House Brewing Company is launching the new flavor at Glizzy Fest, an event honoring the American favorite. If you're wondering what a "glizzy" is, it's slang for a hot dog.
The Awesome Sauce: Bun Length Hot Dog Water Seltzer will be 5.2% ABV.
The brewery is behind other unique flavors such as the Best Maid Sour Pickle Beer, Murph Juice, a BBQ sauce beer, Buffalo Wangz, a buffalo wing sauce sour beer, and even an "Elf"-themed beer brewed with spaghetti, syrup and M&Ms.
Glizzy Fest will happen on July 16 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Martin House Brewing Backyard.
A John Cougar Mellencamp cover band, Texan Fool, will be performing and a few hot dog-themed food trucks will be serving up "glizzies."
There will also be 25 other beers on tap at the event if hot dog water isn't your thing. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/martin-house-brewing-prepares-to-launch-hot-dog-water-flavored-seltzer/287-a3c20cf9-49dd-47f2-9231-2bcb53759d1b | 2022-06-29T14:01:45 | 0 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/martin-house-brewing-prepares-to-launch-hot-dog-water-flavored-seltzer/287-a3c20cf9-49dd-47f2-9231-2bcb53759d1b |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/denton-city-council-sends-strong-message-regarding-abortion-reproductive-health/3003076/ | 2022-06-29T14:02:03 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/denton-city-council-sends-strong-message-regarding-abortion-reproductive-health/3003076/ |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/health-experts-warn-public-ahead-of-holiday-weekend-as-covid-cases-rise/3003043/ | 2022-06-29T14:02:10 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/health-experts-warn-public-ahead-of-holiday-weekend-as-covid-cases-rise/3003043/ |
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old in Daytona Beach, according to the police department.
The Daytona Beach Police Department said Wednesday there has been an arrest, but did not release information on the suspected shooter.
[TRENDING: Loud music and take-out alcohol. Here are all the new Florida laws going into effect | Florida dominates list of best East Coast beach towns | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Officers responded near Forest Glen Boulevard and Oak Tree Circle where they found Telan Mann fatally shot early Thursday.
Mann was shot multiple times, according to police.
No other details have been released. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/arrest-made-in-fatal-shooting-of-19-year-old-in-daytona-beach/ | 2022-06-29T14:04:24 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/arrest-made-in-fatal-shooting-of-19-year-old-in-daytona-beach/ |
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The Flagler County sheriff will be undergoing surgery after he injured his knee while executing a search warrant in April, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said Sheriff Rick Staly joined the Special Investigations Unit and SWAT team to serve a narcotics search warrant.
[TRENDING: Loud music and take-out alcohol. Here are all the new Florida laws going into effect | Florida dominates list of best East Coast beach towns | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Staly hyperextended his knee during the search, tearing part of the meniscal cartilage, according to the sheriff’s office.
The outpatient procedure is on Friday.
During the surgery, Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge will be acting sheriff. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/flagler-county-sheriff-undergoing-knee-surgery-after-injury-during-narcotics-search/ | 2022-06-29T14:04:30 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/flagler-county-sheriff-undergoing-knee-surgery-after-injury-during-narcotics-search/ |
Owner of Pineapples in Eau Gallie to fly into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket
Stroll down the stairwell from the second-story Moon Room at Pineapples in Eau Gallie, and you'll encounter an MTV-themed mural of an astronaut holding a flag on the lunar surface amid a cosmic backdrop.
Look closely: The astronaut's spacesuit bears the name "S. Young" — and he sports a distinctive goatee behind his helmet visor.
Life imitates art for Pineapples owner Steve Young, who opened the Highland Avenue three-story restaurant-bar-music venue in April 2021.
Flying with Blue Origin:Winter Park couple soars into space aboard Blue Origin, lists house for $16 million
Blue Origin:again delays upcoming New Glenn rocket's first launch from Florida
The longtime Indialantic resident, who recently sold the telecommunications-installation giant Y-Com, has been selected for a seat on a future Blue Origin rocket-capsule trip into space.
"With the sale of the company came lots of stupid money. And with stupid money, you can do stupid things," Young said during an interview in the Moon Room.
"I have always been a bit of a braggart-slash-showoff. And what's better than to be able to say you went to space when your buddies can't?" he asked, laughing.
Young, 59, has been confirmed as a customer aboard a future flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, said Sara Blask, company spokesperson.
New Shepard is a reusable suborbital rocket that launches from a spaceport pad outside rural Van Horn, Texas, and climbs 62 miles above the Earth's surface beyond the Kármán line — delivering its passengers several minutes of weightlessness. Then the parachute-equipped, fully autonomous capsule descends to the West Texas desert.
Previous New Shepard space tourism passengers include Amazon-Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, "Star Trek" icon William Shatner and “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan.
Blue Origin successfully completed its fifth human spaceflight on June 4. The six-person crew included former NASA test lead Katya Echazarreta, who became the first Mexican-born woman to fly into space.
Young's flight date has not been announced. Neither have the identities of Young's five fellow crew members, Blask said.
He did not divulge how much his seat cost aboard the rocket.
Young designed Pineapples, a three-story dining-entertainment venue with rooftop deck, as a modern version of the long-defunct Dr. Joe's Intra-Coastal next door. The business employs about 120 workers as an economic anchor of downtown Eau Gallie.
His father, Gene, and uncle Bill founded Young’s TV Cable in 1972 in Melbourne. After Steve Young graduated from Melbourne High in 1981, he went into the business and ascended to the top leadership position by the early 1990s, expanding and evolving Y-Com into a fiber optics-installation giant.
"I took a $1 million annual company and turned it into $100 million," Young said.
"We are the largest telecom contractor in the state of Florida. And the new owners are taking it to new heights," he said.
Development:Developer buying Dr. Joe's Intra-Coastal with plans to remodel, reopen in Eau Gallie
Rooftop venue in Titusville:Axiom-1 spectators watch launch from The Space Bar, a new Titusville hotel rooftop venue
Young completed the sale of Y-Com last year. He applied for an astronaut's seat with Blue Origin in September, then learned he was approved in November.
Since finalizing paperwork in December, he has awaited his launch date announcement — and he was sworn to secrecy until he broke the news Monday on Facebook.
"I have been officially told that I can now share some EXCITING news. I am taking a real life rocket ride into space," Young said in his post.
In March, Winter Park residents Sharon and Marc Hagle became the first married couple to take a commercial spaceflight aboard Blue Origin's fourth crewed mission.
Young's wife, Melodie, will accompany him to West Texas, but she will not fly aboard the rocket. He will initially attend New Shepard briefings, followed by two days of astronaut training.
"Most of that is all spent in the capsule, letting you know what to do in-case-of-this and in-case-of-that. It's all safety features," Young said.
"The launch takes place very early in the morning. And then, land — and they have a celebration," he said.
Young said he is "not nervous at all" about his upcoming launch.
"With all the great minds and all the safety precautions, I feel safer than driving in Miami," he said.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/florida-restaurant-owner-fly-into-space-blue-origin/7756226001/ | 2022-06-29T14:08:12 | 1 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/florida-restaurant-owner-fly-into-space-blue-origin/7756226001/ |
Red tide: Check latest tests to see if it's safe to swim at your favorite Brevard County beach
Florida red tide occurs almost annually, especially along portions of the Gulf Coast, according to the National Ocean Service.
Brevard County is no stranger to the red tide algae, Karenia brevis.
In October 2018, red tide rose to "high” levels in Brevard, Indian River and St. Lucie counties, according sampling by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The result? Fish kills and people avoiding the beaches.
At high enough concentrations, red tide can cause respiratory problems and skin irritations, among other symptoms.
The FWC regularly tests for red tide at several locations. The map updates every hour from data received from FWC.
Can't see the map?
What do the red tide concentration numbers mean?
- Background: The level of Karenia brevis cells per liter of water is less than 1,000, which isn't expected to cause any ill effects. If levels exceed 1,000 cells per liter, people can experience respiratory irritation and shellfish harvesting may be closed.
- Medium: Levels range from 100,000 to 1 million cells per liter. At this concentration, fish start to die and satellites pick up the increase in chlorophyll at the water's surface.
- High: More than 1 million cells per liter. The water turns red and the marine death toll escalates.
So should you swim if red tide is present?
In cases involving severe or chronic respiratory conditions, like emphysema or asthma, the irritation can become serious. Most humans can safely swim in red tide, but it can cause skin irritation and burning eyes.
Respiratory irritation associated with blooms of Karenia brevis is usually temporary, but serious illness can occur in people with asthma, COPD or other respiratory diseases.
Some people who swim in red tide experience skin irritation and rashes, and some swimmers have reported eye irritation from the sea foam.
Download the Florida Today app to stay informed. Look at our special subscription offers here. | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2022/06/29/florida-red-tide-map-shows-test-results-brevard-county-public-health-advisories-beaches-open-safe/7689564001/ | 2022-06-29T14:08:18 | 1 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2022/06/29/florida-red-tide-map-shows-test-results-brevard-county-public-health-advisories-beaches-open-safe/7689564001/ |
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A crowd of mourners stood under an awning in the rain at Pearsall Park on Tuesday night, grieving for the victims of human smuggling.
The dismal weather suited the occasion.
“It hits home,” said Maria Gallardo, 56, who was attending with her daughter and several other family members.
At least 51 people have died in what Mayor Ron Nirenberg described as a “horrific human tragedy.”
A locked semi-trailer filled with dozens of migrants was found parked alongside Quintana Road on the Southwest Side on Monday night.
They were discovered by nearby workers who heard noises coming from the tractor-trailer about 5:30 p.m. Monday, said San Antonio Police Chief William McManus. When the workers opened the back doors to the trailer, they discovered nearly 100 migrants inside, including children, McManus said.
The migrants were from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.
Huddled together under a broad awning, around 60 attendees at the candlelight vigil listened as speakers shared a range of emotions about the deaths: sadness, anger and, most of all, frustration with what they see as defective immigration policy.
Gov. Greg Abbott is waging a “war on migrants,” said Kamala Platt, 63, a professor at Arizona State University and a volunteer for the advocacy organization SA Stands. She described his administration’s immigration policy as “mean-spirited and ridiculous.”
“They just come here to work and look for a dream,” said Gallardo. “We’re all human … We need to find a way that there won’t be so many lives lost.”
caroline.tien@hearst.com | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Semi-trailer-migrant-deaths-Texas-17273072.php | 2022-06-29T14:16:42 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Semi-trailer-migrant-deaths-Texas-17273072.php |
Ways to Save: Places to upcycle in the Fayetteville area
As prices continue to rise, people are in search of ways to save money.
In addition to thrift stores, the Fayetteville area is home to a few liquidation stores that purchase leftover inventory for a fraction of the cost and resell at a discount.
Downeast Liquidations of Fayetteville, at 301 N. Racepath, St., is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. Black Friday Liquidators, at 3421 Murchison Road, Suite F, in Fayetteville, has hours that vary. They are closed on Thursdays.
LL Flooring, at 1916 Skibo Road, is a lumber liquidator open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Furniture Liquidators, at 826 Lillington Highway in Spring Lake, is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and closed on Sunday.
Upcycling is one way that people can both save and make money. Whether you need clothes, books, appliances or accessories, thrifting is often something that people do in order to get what they need but also save money.
Here are seven local thrift stores in the Fayetteville area:
Thrift Stores
Salvation Army
The Fayetteville Salvation Army Family Store, 433 Robeson St. in Fayetteville, is open 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Goodwill
There are two Goodwill thrift stores, one at 9550 Cliffdale Road and the other at 3801 Raeford Road. The stores are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Goodwill sells clothes, furniture, appliances, linens and more.
Nearly New Thrift Shop
Nearly New, at 810 Bragg Blvd., offers new and used furniture, mattresses and appliances. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Timely Treasures Thrift Store
Timely Treasures, at 1003 Honeycutt Road, offers a variety of merchandise from clothes and linens to knives and pots. The store is open daily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Helping the Orphans Thrift Store
There are four area Helping the Orphans Thrift Store locations: 1027 Pamalee Drive and 2805 Bragg Blvd in Fayetteville; 1183 N. Bragg Blvd. in Spring Lake, and 3736 Legion Road in Hope Mills.
The thrift store offers clothes, toys, dishes, shoes and more. Each location is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday.
Nifty Thrifty
Nifty Thrifty, at 3333 N. Main Street, Suite 110, in Hope Mills, has products such as clothes, wall decor, furniture and more. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Then N Now
Then N Now, at 8140 Cliffdale Road, has merchandise ranging from fine china and crystals to computers and clothes. It is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
REA
REA, at 1052 Lillington Highway in Spring Lake, is open 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and is closed Sunday and Monday. REA has a variety of inventory ranging from mattresses to toiletries.
Consignment shops
Once Upon A Child
Once Upon A Child, at 4560 Yadkin Road in Fayetteville, buys and sells gently used baby clothes, shoes, toys and baby gear. It's open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon - 5 p.m. Sunday.
Plato's Closet
Plato's Closet, 4550 Yadkin Road in Fayetteville, is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Plato's Closet buys and sells gently used adult clothing. Some popular brands it purchases include Adidas, Forever 21, Converse, Torrid and Free People.
2nd & Charles
2nd & Charles, at 1920 Skibo Road in Fayetteville, is a consignment shop that sells media entertainment. Some of its inventory includes vinyl records, DVDs and books.
In addition consignments, 2nd & Charles also purchases books, video games, graphic novels and musical instruments. The hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.
Staff writer Akira Kyles can be reached at akyles@gannett.com. | https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/save-money-through-upcycling-fayetteville-area/7652040001/ | 2022-06-29T14:17:56 | 0 | https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/save-money-through-upcycling-fayetteville-area/7652040001/ |
LYNCHBURG, Va. – A man that’s considered armed and dangerous is wanted in connection to a fatal shooting at Lynchburg’s Salvation Army, according to the Lynchburg Police Department.
On Tuesday at about 7:11 p.m., officers were called to 2215 Park Avenue in regards to a man who had been shot.
Upon arrival, police found the victim, who has been identified as 33-year-old Estevez Marez Cabell, of Lynchburg, outside near the gymnasium.
Cabell was then transported to Lynchburg General Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Authorities say the suspect, 25-year-old Malik Ray-Shawn McDaniel, of Lynchburg, remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous.
The Lynchburg Police Department currently holds the following warrants for his arrest:
- Second-degree murder
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony
- Discharging a firearm in a public place
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Dubie at (434) 455-6102 or Crime Stoppers at 888-798-5900. Enter an anonymous tip online at http://p3tips.com or use the P3 app on a mobile device.
We’re told this is an ongoing investigation. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/29/armed-and-dangerous-man-wanted-in-connection-to-fatal-shooting-at-the-salvation-army-in-lynchburg/ | 2022-06-29T14:18:26 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/29/armed-and-dangerous-man-wanted-in-connection-to-fatal-shooting-at-the-salvation-army-in-lynchburg/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – Join us at 9 a.m. for an update on what’s happening right now and what you need to know today.
Not free at 9? Don’t worry, we’ll post the complete show when it’s finished so you can watch whenever you’d like!
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ROANOKE, Va. – Join us at 9 a.m. for an update on what’s happening right now and what you need to know today.
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Copyright 2021 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/29/watch-live-the-morning-sprint-june-29-2022/ | 2022-06-29T14:18:28 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/29/watch-live-the-morning-sprint-june-29-2022/ |
FENTON, Mich. (WJRT) - Investigators say a fire that destroyed two businesses near downtown Fenton started outside the building and spread.
Fenton firefighters responded to reports of a dumpster fire before 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of Mill and Adelaide streets. However, they arrived to find a car, tree and part of a barn on fire.
The gas tank in the car ruptured, which caused burning gasoline to spread across the parking lot toward the El Topo Latin American restaurant and a speakeasy attached to it.
Investigators will continue looking into what sparked the fire.
El Topo posted on Facebook late Tuesday, saying the restaurant and The Relief & Resource Co. will be closed until further notice while they assess the damage. They thanked fire crews for putting out the flames.
Two firefighters sought medical attention for heat exhaustion, but no other injuries were reported from the fire. Firefighters from several departments in Genesee and Oakland counties assisted at the scene. | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/cause-of-fire-that-destroyed-two-fenton-businesses-under-investigation/article_acdb0e4e-f79e-11ec-80e4-2b6fd80c255b.html | 2022-06-29T14:24:53 | 1 | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/cause-of-fire-that-destroyed-two-fenton-businesses-under-investigation/article_acdb0e4e-f79e-11ec-80e4-2b6fd80c255b.html |
FLINT, Mich. (WJRT) - The weather was absolutely perfect Tuesday to get outdoors, especially near the water.
A group of Flint-area kids got the chance to do just that -- and also learn and have a little fun at the same time.
The Fli River Anglers held their second annual Kids on the Fly event with a group of kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint.
The kids were at Mott Lake on Tuesday afternoon, where they learned about Fly Fishing and even got to take home their own personal fly fishing rod and reel.
Usually, the event is held along the banks of the Flint River. But because of the recent oil spill, it was moved upstream to Mott Lake. Because of that incident the kids got a real life lesson on the importance of clean water awareness.
The kids wrapped up the day with an ice cream party. Click here for more information about the event and how to support the organization. | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/fli-river-anglers-host-annual-kids-fishing-event-at-mott-lake/article_7934fe14-f7a4-11ec-b8d8-3b4f2cea6990.html | 2022-06-29T14:24:59 | 1 | https://www.abc12.com/news/local/fli-river-anglers-host-annual-kids-fishing-event-at-mott-lake/article_7934fe14-f7a4-11ec-b8d8-3b4f2cea6990.html |
A 41-year-old Long Island man has been arrested on a charge of aggravated harassment as a hate crime for allegedly defacing a lawn campaign sign for Republican gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin over the weekend, authorities said Wednesday.
Vincent Mckie, 41, was apprehended outside his Huntington home Tuesday afternoon in the Saturday vandalism of the campaign sign on the corner of West Pulaski Road and Oakwood Road, where McKie lives, officials said. Cops say he drew a swastika on it.
The word "Gambino" and "187," a possible reference to the California penal code for murder, were also found painted on the sign, police said.
Mckie also was charged with criminal mischief. He is expected to be arraigned later Wednesday. Attorney details for him were not immediately available.
Zeldin, who won his party's nomination in Tuesday's primary election and will challenge Democrat Kathy Hochul for the job in November, condemned the vandalism in a tweet prior to his Tuesday night victory.
"In the US, we settle our scores at the ballot box, & this type of raw hate must never have any home in NY or the US," Zeldin wrote. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/long-island-man-charged-with-hate-crime-in-lee-zeldin-campaign-sign-vandalism/3754726/ | 2022-06-29T14:25:23 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/long-island-man-charged-with-hate-crime-in-lee-zeldin-campaign-sign-vandalism/3754726/ |
Changes likely for Multi-County Juvenile System after Tuscarawas withdraws from system
CANTON TWP. – The Multi-County Juvenile Attention System (MCJAS) will likely see changes in 2023 after Tuscarawas County announced its intention to withdraw from the system at the end of the year.
Stark County Commissioner Bill Smith said during a joint board of county commissioners meeting Tuesday that he and the other finance committee members will work through next year's budget to determine what changes are necessary.
"There's going to undoubtedly be potentially more changes next year to keep that budget number in line," Smith said.
He said many different scenarios will need to be considered as Tuscarawas carries a "very large financial number" into the system. Specific changes were not discussed.
"We'll have to take a real hard look at it quickly," he said.
MCJAS provides services for delinquent, unruly, dependent, neglected, and abused children referred by juvenile or family court judges. The system serves Stark, Wayne, Carroll and Columbiana counties.
Tuscarawas has been a member of MCJAS since 1973. The county paid $1.4 million toward the operation in 2022. MCJAS's total budget for 2022 is $8.4 million. That amount is about $214,000 less than the system's 2021 budget.
Tuscarawas County Commissioner Kerry Metzger said it was a tough decision to withdraw. It came at the recommendation of Tuscarawas County Probate/Juvenile Judge Adam Wilgus. Metzger said Wilgus has a background in finance and determined it was not cost effective for Tuscarawas to remain in MCJAS.
"In some ways, I have mixed feelings with this because for years I worked here in the district to try to maintain MCJAS as it was back in the 2000s ... but over time, circumstances have changed, and it had become very difficult on the financial side for us to continue," he said.
Tuscarawas will start contracting detention services from Muskingum County next year.
Stark County Commissioner Richard Regula said he was disappointed in Tuscarawas' decision.
He said when Stark County's sales tax issue failed in 2003, forcing the county to cut its budget by 25%, Stark officials were told they could not make cuts with MCJAS because it was not a Stark County agency. Now, that Stark's budget is in a better position, it's disappointing to see Tuscarawas leave, he said.
MCJAS Superintendent James McKenzie said he and his team work to make the system as efficient as possible for all counties.
"We are truly doing our best to make this cost effective for everybody," he said.
As of Tuesday, there were 48 children in the system, McKenzie said.
Reach Paige at 330-580-8577 or pmbennett@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @paigembenn. | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/stark-county/2022/06/29/multi-county-juvenile-system-likely-undergo-changes-2023/7756370001/ | 2022-06-29T14:26:44 | 0 | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/stark-county/2022/06/29/multi-county-juvenile-system-likely-undergo-changes-2023/7756370001/ |
More than 150 area businesses will be looking for employees at a job fair this week that comes at a critical time as employers attempt to fill empty positions.
Montgomery County Workforce Development Services, in partnership with Greene County, is holding the event at Wright State University’s Nutter Center from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday. The mobile workforce unit will be on-site and staff will be available to review resumes, print additional copies of resumes, as well as offer other assistance to job seekers, officials said.
“We want people to know that there are jobs out there and between Montgomery County and Greene County, there are teams that are willing to support job seekers and help them make that connection,” said Kara Hamby, Public Information Officer with Montgomery County Businesses Services. “We got the workforce for it, it’s just a matter of connecting them with those employers and finding the right fit.”
Multiple industries will be represented at the job fair including manufacturing, health care and hospitality, Hamby said. She said Montgomery County can provide certain training to people who are looking to get into a new job.
Jamie’s Tire and Service is a local business that will be at the job fair Wednesday. It has shops in Greene and Montgomery counties and its marketing manager, James Gilcher, said hiring today is different compared to previous years.
“I wouldn’t say we are hurting to find people, there are plenty of workers out there,” Gilcher said. “But you have to put in a little more effort as an employer right now to catch their attention and get them an offer they want to take.”
He said the company has taken a serious look at what it pays employees and the incentives it offers to keep them around. He said job fairs can be good opportunities to meet potential employees.
“We’re of the mindset that we’re always looking for good talent,” Gilcher said. “In the past, we’ve (found) some really good people going to this type of event.”
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
He said sometimes people don’t think about applying to a company or industry until they meet someone who is in it and job fairs are a good place for that to happen.
Gilcher said experience is helpful for some jobs available at Jamie’s Tire and Service, but it’s not a requirement. The business has grown to six stores.
“We are looking for new people to come in and grow with us and get to that next level.”
Staff reporter Nick Blizzard contributed to this report
About the Author | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/giant-job-fair-today-at-wright-states-nutter-center-what-you-need-to-know-to-find-a-new-job/MHAOUALNAFC47AYD4VSRC7TGQA/ | 2022-06-29T14:28:50 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/giant-job-fair-today-at-wright-states-nutter-center-what-you-need-to-know-to-find-a-new-job/MHAOUALNAFC47AYD4VSRC7TGQA/ |
LARGO, Fla. — Excavation is ongoing at a construction site in unincorporated Largo after receiving a tip about a cold case, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
It's happening Wednesday morning at a location on 120th Street North near Ulmerton Road.
The agency could not provide any additional information about the work or what cold case may be involved.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/largo-cold-case-tip-excavation/67-494647de-ea1b-4e6c-a263-d98c5bf48511 | 2022-06-29T14:31:54 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/largo-cold-case-tip-excavation/67-494647de-ea1b-4e6c-a263-d98c5bf48511 |
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — Troopers say a large dead pig spotted early Wednesday morning on the road had escaped from a nearby home.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the animal made its way to 66th Street, just north of 58th Avenue, when it was hit by a Toyota Corolla driving northbound.
The pig died at the scene. The driver was not injured, and the car had minor damage. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/pig-hit-killed-pinellas-park/67-3757f117-591a-4e90-99a9-7b99c1b3455a | 2022-06-29T14:32:00 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/pig-hit-killed-pinellas-park/67-3757f117-591a-4e90-99a9-7b99c1b3455a |
If there is one thing that is essential to Idaho — that makes Idaho the place that it is — it is its public lands.
Our buildings aren’t so tall. Our weather can be a little tricky. But here there are mountains and lakes, deserts and vast forests where you can disappear and find the solitude lacking in so much of the rest of the world.
So the Idaho land board’s vote this week to auction off Cougar Island on Payette Lake diminishes who and what we are. This is just the latest step in a long process that’s been ongoing since statehood. Idaho started with about 3.7 million acres of endowment land. Today it’s down to about 2.5 million.
But that isn’t the board’s fault. The board — made up of the governor, secretary of state, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction and state controller — carried out the charge the Idaho Constitution has given it. The fault is in the Constitution.
The board is legally constrained by the Idaho Constitution. Article IX, Section 8 reads, in part: “It shall be the duty of the state board of land commissioners to provide for the location, protection, sale or rental of all the lands heretofore … in such manner as will secure the maximum long term financial return … .” This language allows the board to consider nothing but money — how much money could the state get now by selling it, and how does that compare to leasing it now and possibly selling it in the future? It cannot ask: Is the general welfare of the state harmed by the sale of this land?
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And so, this time and many others, Idaho has been harmed by its land board carrying out a narrow, poorly tailored legal mandate. This is most obvious to the people who live near the land being sold.
Valley County Commissioner Sherry Maupin told the land board that access to the island and other important endowment lands is vital for the tourism industry which is the county’s economic backbone. She said locals had interest in pursuing options for acquiring the land for the public, though it would take time to raise grant funding.
But, Department of Lands staff testified, the market for high-end real estate is hot now and may cool off in the near future. The state indeed can probably get the best financial return by auctioning it immediately. And if that’s true — and there’s no reason to think it isn’t — then the land board really doesn’t have any choice.
That’s why Idaho’s future would be best served by amending the Idaho Constitution.
The Constitution should be amended to mandate that the land board consider not only the financial returns from endowment lands, but also their recreational, historic, ecological and conservation value. Colorado adopted a similar amendment in 1996, and since then it’s protected about 10% of its endowment lands as stewardship lands.
If the land board had such a mandate, we suspect they would conclude that the people of Idaho won’t best be served by turning Cougar Island into a private retreat for a wealthy buyer.
As Department of Lands staff testified during the hearing, the primary value for such wealthy buyers is precisely the ability to exclude everyone else. Cougar Island isn’t as valuable broken up into different lots with different owners. What brings the big bucks is the ability to kick everyone else out.
This would still allow the vast majority of Idaho endowment lands — many of which are not scenic, historically significant or important to conserve — to be sold. Some land of no particular importance in an area surrounded by existing development — sure, it might make sense to sell that to raise a little money for schools. But an island on one of Idaho’s most beautiful lakes? That would be better utilized as a place for the public.
Every time a special piece of endowment land is sold into private hands, something is irretrievably lost. Cougar Island will be our next loss, and compared with the few million it will raise — an undetectable drop in a single year’s over-$3 billion public schools bucket — the permanent loss to future generations is immeasurable.
An amendment would allow the land board to act as a better caretaker for the people’s trust. It would allow them to make the determination that some things just should not be sold. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/idaho-view-idaho-is-not-for-sale-amend-the-constitution-so-money-isn-t-the/article_6798b814-f71b-11ec-90d0-83c8b88888d3.html | 2022-06-29T14:37:00 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/idaho-view-idaho-is-not-for-sale-amend-the-constitution-so-money-isn-t-the/article_6798b814-f71b-11ec-90d0-83c8b88888d3.html |
Countless events and activities are waiting to fill your summer. The Twin Falls Tonight Concert Series is one — an event that’s fun for the whole family.
The concert series is held from 6 to 9 p.m. every Wednesday through July 27 at the Downtown Commons, near to City Hall.
Raising Cain, a local rock band kicked off the series Wednesday. Downtown Commons was full of people who danced to the music, shopped the vendors and visited among the crowd.
Jensen Jewelers CEO Tony Prater, who is involved with numerous city events, said that on average the event brings in about 2,000 attendees. This year’s first concert had some 1,100 attendees, an impressive turnout, Prater noted, considering the HWY 30 Music Festival had started the same day.
“First concert was a success,” Prater said. “We were up against some other big guns. It shows that community concerts are a big deal.”
Many of the bands that perform are not local. Prater said that in order for bands to participate, they must submit an audition via Youtube.
“We make sure we have a good quality product,” Prater said.
Prater said he and his wife, Robin Dober, try to find bands wherever they can, especially when they travel. They also try to rotate the bands every few years to keep things fresh.
When looking for bands, they have to keep a budget in mind. Many people may think the city pays for the local concert series, but in reality, it’s all from donations and sponsors.
According to Prater, it costs around $4,000 to host an event.
Though the city doesn’t help in those aspects, it does help by allowing use of the new Downtown Commons.
“We love the Commons,” Prater said. “It’s great to have a home, so to speak.”
Prater and Dober dedicate most of their summers to make these concerts happen.
Prater said they have a handful of volunteers and are always looking for more help.
“We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t love Twin Falls and if we didn’t love giving back to the community,” Prater said. “Giving back is what it’s all about for us.
“I love to see the people. It’s always good to see my 1,500 friends out there.”
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Twin Falls Tonight
Local band, Raising Cain, performs at Twin Falls Tonight on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
Local band, Raising Cain, performs at Twin Falls Tonight on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
Local band, Raising Cain, performs at Twin Falls Tonight on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls Tonight
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
BRAYDEN WEEKS TIMES-NEWS
Want to know more?
To learn more about the Twin Falls Tonight Concert Series, to apply to be a performer or vendor, or to volunteer, visit twinfallstonight.com.
Opinion: If you didn’t have doubts about former Congressman Raul Labrador’s capacity to serve as Idaho’s attorney general before the House Jan. 6 Committee convened its televised hearings, you should have a bunch of them now.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls.
The Twin Falls Tonight Concert series brings people to enjoy live music and vendors on Wednesday, June 23, 2022, at the Downtown Commons in Twin Falls. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/twin-falls-tonight-concert-series-a-great-way-to-enjoy-summer-evenings-in-downtown-twin/article_6f0ce9f8-f3a6-11ec-974f-a36ee68e12b7.html | 2022-06-29T14:37:03 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/twin-falls-tonight-concert-series-a-great-way-to-enjoy-summer-evenings-in-downtown-twin/article_6f0ce9f8-f3a6-11ec-974f-a36ee68e12b7.html |
AUSTIN, Texas — The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade – the landmark abortion case – has Texans wondering what's next.
The state of Texas has a Safe Haven law called "Baby Moses." If parents aren't able to care for their child, it allows them to leave the baby with an employee at a designated safe space.
The baby receives appropriate medical care and is placed with an emergency provider.
But if you're thinking of bringing your baby to a safe haven, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- The baby cannot be any older than 60 days and has to be safe and unharmed.
- You can take the baby to any hospital, fire station or EMS station. But you have to physically hand them over to an employee.
- The only question you may be asked relates to your family medical history, to make sure the child receives the proper care.
Babies taken to a fire station or EMS station may be taken to a hospital to receive medical care.
No one leaving an unharmed infant at a safe haven location will be prosecuted for abandonment or neglect under Texas law.
From 2018 to 2022 so far, 62 babies were surrendered using the Baby Moses law, with 21 of those in 2020, roughly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information, visit Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), Baby Safe Haven or The Baby Moses Project, or call the Texas Baby Moses Hotline at 1-877-904-SAVE (1-877-904-7283).
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-baby-moses-safe-haven-law/269-6e9109f7-91ef-40ef-9215-a57863a82ab1 | 2022-06-29T14:37:15 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-baby-moses-safe-haven-law/269-6e9109f7-91ef-40ef-9215-a57863a82ab1 |
Owner of Florida dog, Candy, disappointed with jury's ruling to side in favor of defendant
A Florida jury ruled in favor of a defendant's self-defense argument Friday, saying the fatal shooting of a family dog in 2016 was justified.
The trial over the fatal shooting of Candy, a 5-year-old Staffordshire terrier mix dog, resumed late last week following a small delay after three jurors tested positive for COVID-19. Circuit Judge Lee Haworth decided to continue the trial in person at the South County Courthouse in Venice with all eight jurors.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours Friday before deciding that defendant Zachary Deaterly was justified in shooting Candy.
Plaintiff Rodney Jacobson had sued Deaterly over the Nov. 18, 2016, incident where he claimed Deaterly had killed his dog for no other reason than barking. Jacobson's attorney, Matthew Tympanick, had asked the jury for $450,000 in damages.
Deaterly testified that he had been approaching Jacobson when Candy suddenly sprang from some palmetto plants, snarling and lunging at him. The two had been on Deaterly's family property when the incident happened.
Deaterly said he tried stomping the ground, yelling and kicking at Candy to get her to stop, all while calling Jacobson for help. Jacobson had done nothing, he added.
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Deaterly, scared of being hurt, then used his gun to fire three shots — the last one hitting Candy. Jacobson rushed Candy to two veterinarian clinics before she died.
"Mr. Deaterly is grateful for the noble work of the judge, the jurors, the court staff and the Sheriff’s deputies assigned to oversee the trial, and is happy with the just result reached by the unanimous jury," Bryan Kessler, Deaterly's attorney, said in an emailed statement.
Kessler added Deaterly had received death threats throughout the course of the lawsuit after he was "subjected to intentional smear campaigns" which accumulated into a four-minute news segment the Friday before the trial began.
Stay up-to-date:Sarasota judge to rule within a week on injunction barring Herald-Tribune from ID'ing deputies
Conversations to see pets as more than property
In the United States and Florida, under the law, animals are considered to be personal property.
However, data collected by The Humane Society of the United States in 2017-18 shows that 80% of pet owners consider their pets to be family members and only 3% consider them property.
Dr. Holly Barbour, 73, sat in the gallery of the South County courthouse in Venice every day of the trial. While she is disappointed with the outcome, she half-expected it.
“This wasn’t about the money for them," Barbour said about Jacobson and Watson.
Barbour hopes with all her heart that this case starts conversations to change the law to see pets as more than property.
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“I think that we need to come to a consensus as humans that mammals, which we know to have a complete range of human emotions, … are indeed sentient beings," Barbour said.
According to an article by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, in order for animals' status to be elevated under the law, they have to be considered legal persons. The Animal Legal Defense Fund is a nonprofit started by attorneys to protect animals and advance their interests through the legal system.
Gabriela Szymanowska is a Report For America corps member covering criminal justice, the courts and the legal system for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter. | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/candy-dog-trial-florida-jury-rules-favor-self-defense-claim-fatal-shooting-family-pet/7686354001/ | 2022-06-29T14:48:03 | 0 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/candy-dog-trial-florida-jury-rules-favor-self-defense-claim-fatal-shooting-family-pet/7686354001/ |
Schools for Brain Health program coming to Manatee County
Brain development will be a focus for the School District of Manatee County thanks to the new Schools for Brain Health program.
Wednesday, the nonprofit Brain Health Initiative announced in a release that the new initiative will be first implemented at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy, then extended to five other schools in Lakewood Ranch and Bayshore.
The program will feature evidence-based interventions, geared towards areas such as executive-functioning skill development, cognitive/brain training, mindfulness training and brain health literacy, for students, parents and staff alike.
More:Brain study to examine minds of Lakewood Ranch residents
The impact of the programs on brain health for all stakeholders will be subsequently analyzed by the initiative.
“We’ve been very excited to join forces with the Brain Health Initiative to provide our students, parents/caregivers, and staff with the very latest technology, programming, and data to improve performance while addressing the overall brain health and wellness of our school family,” Manatee County Superintendent Cynthia Sanders said in the release.
Additionally, brain health and performance perception and prioritization surveys will be offered annually to high school students of participating schools and parents. There will also be a confidential brain health and performance check-up will be available annually for all stakeholders.
From the surveys, data will be utilized to determine the brain health and well-being needs of the school community, and to put together a yearly brain health strategic plan.
Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy, a K-12 public charter, will be the prototype for the program. According to Principal Bradley Warren, it “fits perfectly with our W.I.S.H. model that focuses on Wellness, Innovation, Science and Health,” and is “an investment in our collective future.”
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According to Dr. Stephanie Peabody – founder and executive director of the Brain Health Initiative – “brain health and performance will be integrated in every aspect of the pilot school’s culture,” which includes, but is not limited to, the learning environment, after-school programs and outdoor learning spaces.
Via the program, Manatee County schools (and in the future, schools throughout the region) will have the opportunity to be certified as a Brain Health School Center of Excellence. This will allow the schools to become model environments of brain health enhancement and brain performance optimization, while also decreasing the risk of brain illness for all stakeholders.
The Brain Health Initiative was founded in 2020 as a joint effort with Massachusetts General Hospital – part of the Harvard Medical School system – and brings staff from the Harvard system and the state of Florida together in order to improve brain health and performance outcomes in the Suncoast.
Considering the mental health struggles associated with the onset of the pandemic (a recent meta-analysis of 17 studies found that children are experiencing unusually high rates of anxiety, depression and other mental health problems since the pandemic began) this program could be a welcome sign for families and schools.
"This novel comprehensive focus on brain health and performance and the partnership between Lakewood Ranch Prep and the Brain Health Initiative will ensure that the entire school family – including staff, students, parents/caregivers, grandparents, and the greater community – have ready access to state-of-the-art methods to increase brain health and performance outcomes," Warren said. | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/manatee/2022/06/29/schools-brain-health-program-coming-manatee-county-florida/7712883001/ | 2022-06-29T14:48:09 | 1 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/manatee/2022/06/29/schools-brain-health-program-coming-manatee-county-florida/7712883001/ |
Affordable housing development in North Sarasota given boost by Barancik grant
A project that could bring more than 370 affordable rental units to North Sarasota got a recent boost through the commitment of a $250,000 grant from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation.
The development will be on a 114-plus-acre parcel of land off Dr. Martin Luther King way near the Emma E. Booker Elementary School – surplus county land that the Sarasota County Commission agreed last year to sell to Gracewater Community Development to include affordable housing.
Gracewater is partnering with Community Assisted and Supported Living Inc. (CASL) and Blue Sky Communities to create a self-sustaining community to include a grocery store, pharmacy, medical clinic and wrap-around services for families, such as childcare and afterschool centers.
The Barancik grant provides significant help with start-up costs like architectural design and also as leverage for matching funds from everything like low-interest loans to state low-income tax credit financing, said Phillip “P.J.” Brooks, chief operating officer for CASL.
Affordable Housing:County commission identifies potential developer for affordable housing in north Sarasota
More:Sarasota County to review six proposals for affordable and mixed-income housing in Newtown
While construction is at least two years away, he added, the project has the potential to be a “game-changer” in the area for the sheer number of affordable housing rental units expected eventually to be built on the site.
“It’s very exciting to get something like this rolling,” Brooks said. | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2022/06/29/barancik-grant-boosts-affordable-housing-development-north-sarasota/7749490001/ | 2022-06-29T14:48:15 | 0 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2022/06/29/barancik-grant-boosts-affordable-housing-development-north-sarasota/7749490001/ |
Venice gives initial OK to most significant change to land development rules since 1970s
VENICE – The Venice City Council has taken a step toward adopting the most significant change to the city’s land development rules since the 1970s.
The regulations are scheduled to come back to the council for final approval on July 12.
The initial OK for the 600-plus page document came on a 5-1 Tuesday.
Mayor Ron Feinsod, who had said over the past several meetings that he thought the council should hold more workshops and delay a decision until after the council’s summer break, voted in dissent. Feinsod has previously said he cannot attend the July 12 meeting.
Related:Venice land development regulations highlight rift on council
Before the vote, Feinsod pulled out four hard-copy drafts of the evolving code – from January 2021, June 2021, April 2022 and May 2022 – and noted each draft had no underlines to reflect additions or strikethroughs to reference deletions from the previous iterations.
He also noted that there was no hard copy of the draft the board voted on Tuesday and said he received a text message that it was available online after 7 p.m.
“I’m old-fashioned,” Feinsod said, then described how he used a highlighter and sticky notes to compare the drafts.
Earlier: Proposed Venice land use rules still stir questions on building height
Council Member Helen Moore countered that all drafts – with sections that featured additions and deletions from previous iterations – were available online at the city web site.
“They have been online all along,” she said, then added that each draft reflected a tighter focus.
“The final product has gotten narrower and narrower every time,” Moore said. “That’s the record.”
Council Member Jim Boldt, the city’s liaison to its planning board, moved that the board approve the first reading, which Vice Mayor Nick Pachota seconded.
“This is not carved in concrete,” Boldt said. “There will be changes over the years.”
Moore referred to a process which during public meetings had become contentious – especially a final public workshop June 22.
“My comment is to the staff in entirety, present, past, the leadership, the hours, the sincerity, the absence of agenda and yet the public beatings that you’ve taken – all of you – should not have happened,” Moore said. “You have my admiration and thanks for years dedicated to this.
“I feel that the meeting last Wednesday at 5 p.m. was a disservice and disgrace – that's not including what was said about anyone else.”
Council Member Mitzie Fiedler agreed with Moore.
“I think that the staff has done a wonderful job and the Planning Commission has done a wonderful job,” Fiedler said. “I think you’ve taken a lot of unnecessary hits and you’re still upright.
“You’ve just responded in a perfect, professional tone, as did the Planning Commission.”
Moore’s alluded to earlier in the day when retired judge Don O'Connell started public comment by admonishing the board – primarily Feinsod -- for disparaging remarks directed at developer Pat Neal and local attorney Jeff Boone.
Referencing the message the mayor reads at the top of each meeting that says personal attacks will not be allowed, O’Connell said, “Either you have to stop reading that statement or start enforcing that statement.”
Boone followed O'Connell by characterizing comments directed at him that evening as “malice per se,” then later added. “There will be a time for me to respond to what was said; right now is not that time.”
The council made several changes to the draft before approval, including a design alternative to allow parking spaces to shrink from 10 feet wide to 9 feet and a height exception of up to 75 feet for structures in the Knights Trail Road Transitional Area north of PGT Industries.
In other action
Also on Tuesday, the City Council:
• Continued until Sept. 27 a public hearing on an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of three pickleball courts in the Venetian Golf & River Club.
• Approved a new special event the Venice Pride Festival at Centennial Park, which will be Saturday, Nov. 12.
• Gave a 20-year service award to Venice Police Lt. Jessica Chappa, who announced her retirement.
• Swore in four new Venice Police officers, Alden Codina, Matthew DiGiacomo, Diana Kaouris and Michael Slowik.
• Appointed Fiedler to succeed Joe Neunder as the city’s representative on the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization and Council Member Jim Boldt to succeed Neunder as the city’s representative to the Manasota League of Cities.
• Discussed developing a new method to conduct performance evaluation for the city’s Charter Officers – the city manager and city clerk.
• Voted to dissolve the Charter Review Board, now that the referendum on proposed charter changes was set for the November ballot.
Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune. | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/venice/2022/06/29/venice-city-council-votes-new-development-regulations-initial-approval/7753667001/ | 2022-06-29T14:48:21 | 1 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/venice/2022/06/29/venice-city-council-votes-new-development-regulations-initial-approval/7753667001/ |
Ohio’s abortion clinics are suing to stop enforcement of the “Heartbeat Bill,” which bans abortion after five or six weeks’ gestation.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed suit Wednesday in the Ohio Supreme Court on behalf of Ohio’s six abortion clinics and one doctor. Those include the Women’s Med Center of Dayton and the Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio clinic in Cincinnati. The doctor is Sharon Liner, medical director for the Cincinnati clinic.
It names as defendants Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, state health officials, and prosecutors in counties that are home to abortion clinics. Those include prosecutors Joseph Deters in Hamilton County and Mathias Heck in Montgomery County.
The lawsuit seeks to again block Senate Bill 23, known as the “Heartbeat Bill,” which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. It became law in 2019 but swiftly blocked by a federal judge. That injunction, however, was lifted June 24 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Right now, Ohio patients seeking care beyond six weeks are forced to travel hundreds of miles to access abortion, carry pregnancies to term against their will, or seek care outside the medical system,” Jessie Hill, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Ohio, said in the announcement. “Senate Bill 23 was blocked for nearly three years, and after being in effect for just a few days, the real-world ramifications are horrific. This law must be stopped.”
The suit seeks to have SB 23 declared unconstitutional and return to the previous Ohio standard, which banned almost all abortions 22 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual period.
Plaintiffs argue that many women have no physical indicators of pregnancy at six weeks, and varying menstrual patterns make dates of conception uncertain. Banning almost all abortions discriminates against women, particularly against the poor and minorities who receive the majority of abortions and can least afford their denial, the suit says.
“Even for those patients who do know they are pregnant early on, many face significant logistical obstacles that make it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain an abortion before six weeks,” the lawsuit says. “More time is often needed to obtain leave from work, arrange for childcare (since the majority of women who obtain abortions already have at least one child), find transportation to a provider, secure funds for the abortion and/or travel, and actually travel to a provider.”
Other Ohio laws make that even more difficult, such as requiring an in-person trip to a clinic at least 24 hours before an abortion, due to requirements for counseling, an ultrasound, and information on the procedure.
In the six months before SB 23 went into effect, fewer than 1% of abortions performed in the Cincinnati clinic were done before 6 weeks’ gestation, the suit says. That clinic has had to cancel more than 600 appointments since SB 23 took effect, including some who didn’t hear the news until they arrived at the clinic.
“Many patients broke down in tears at the clinic when denied an abortion,” the lawsuit says.
Some threatened to commit suicide; one patient said she’d try to end her pregnancy by drinking bleach, and another asked how much vitamin C she’d need to take to end her pregnancy, the suit says.
The lawsuit argues that the Ohio state constitution provides broader protections than the U.S. constitution.
“This sweeping measure (SB 23), which prevents nearly every pregnant person from accessing essential care, is blatantly unconstitutional under Ohio’s state constitution which has broad protections for individual liberties,” Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a news release.
About the Author | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/ohio-abortion-providers-file-lawsuit-to-block-heartbeat-bill-again/LQXOHRX2VZGM7KODH6HLCANJDM/ | 2022-06-29T14:50:28 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/ohio-abortion-providers-file-lawsuit-to-block-heartbeat-bill-again/LQXOHRX2VZGM7KODH6HLCANJDM/ |
Scott Walker-appointed Natural Resources Board member Frederick Prehn can remain past his term, Supreme Court rules
MADISON – Frederick Prehn can remain on the state’s Natural Resources Board beyond the expiration of his term, under a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling issued Wednesday.
The decision allows Prehn to remain as a voting member of the board, which sets policy for the Department of Natural Resources, until the state Senate holds a hearing for his replacement.
A majority of the justices ruled against the request by Attorney General Josh Kaul, who sought last year to force Prehn to vacate his seat on the board, upholding the decision of a Dane County circuit judge.
In the ruling, the justices said the expiration of a term does not create a vacancy, meaning that holdovers in any position appointed by the governor can remain until a confirmation hearing is held by the state Senate.
Prehn, of Wausau, justified his decision to remain on the board based on a 1964 state Supreme Court decision that says appointed board members can remain seated after their term expires until a replacement is confirmed by the state Senate.
Prehn's term expired in May 2021 and Republican leaders in the Senate have refused to schedule a confirmation hearing for Gov. Tony Evers appointee Sandra Dee Naas. The Legislature is not scheduled to meet again until 2023.
Wednesday’s ruling all but ensures that Republicans who control the state Senate will continue to avoid confirming large slates of the Democratic governor's appointees to key cabinet positions and other state positions — a breakdown in the regular order of state government that emerged in 2019 when Republican senators rejected the appointment of Evers’ agriculture secretary and have let others languish for years.
The statute Prehn is using to retain his seat has been used two other times by board members: Jim Tiefenthaler Jr. and Steven Willett in the 2000s.
The 1964 state Supreme Court decision was upheld last year by a Dane County judge after Kaul filed suit in that court.
Prehn's attorney Mark Maciolek argued against state lawyers in a March hearing, during which the court heard arguments from both sides. Attorneys sparred over when a vacancy occurs and at which point a governor can make an appointment to fill a position.
State law defines a vacancy as happening when someone dies, moves, resigns or goes through a formal removal process, according to state statutes.
His lawyer also argued that appointees are able to stay in their position indefinitely after their term expires, until such a point that the state Senate confirms an appointee or they decide to leave the position, therefore creating a vacancy.
But Justice Rebecca Dallet questioned whether Prehn would ever leave the position if the Senate were to not confirm his replacement — something that could set precedent for thousands of other appointees.
Prehn's continued holdover on the board has caused tension along the way for other members and arguments between Prehn and DNR Secretary Preston Cole during meetings. In September, the tension between the board and the department culminated in a canceled meeting, because the department didn't provide any agenda items. The cancellation was the first to happen in 21 years.
Environmental organizations and Wisconsin residents have also pushed back against Prehn's holdover, with opponents saying Prehn's decision to remain on the board is "politicizing" natural resources management and taking away the voice of voters who elected Evers.
During the time Prehn has held on to the seat following the expiration of his term, several hot-button issues have come before the board, including the controversial wolf quota last fall, in which Prehn was heavily involved in the decision to raise the quota for hunters, despite the advice of DNR scientists. That decision was inevitably halted by the federal courts, who relisted the grey wolf as an endangered species before the hunting season began.
Also taken up were regulations for PFAS, a family of toxic chemicals being found in water systems throughout Wisconsin, potentially impacting the health of Wisconsinites.
In February, the board passed regulations for the compounds in drinking and surface water, but failed to approve standards for groundwater, upon which nearly 1 million people in Wisconsin rely on as the primary source of water for their homes.
Prehn was heavily involved in the failure of the groundwater rule, casting doubt on the science brought forward by the DNR and the Department of Health Services. He also accused Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg of stoking "hysteria" in the community by announcing earlier this year that all of the city's six drinking wells had levels of PFAS above the recommended health advisory limit for the state.
Records case also moves forward
Prehn is also involved in a second case seeking text messages related to his refusal to step down from the board. In March, Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell said that Prehn is a public figure, and therefore his communications are subject to the public records law.
As a part of that case, a number of records have become public, including text messages between Prehn and former Gov. Scott Walker, in which Prehn seeks advice about whether or not to holdover in the months leading up to the expiration of his term.
Walker advised him to remain.
Other emails disclosed have included a number of email communications between Prehn, lawmakers, lobbyists and others. They show that Prehn also sought advice and shared information with Madison lobbyist Scott Meyer, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, who has refused to schedule a confirmation hearing for Naas.
Prehn also communicated that there were several issues that he wished to vote on, so he was planning to retain his seat to do so. Among those topics were water issues, such as PFAS, as well as the wolf management program, which could be brought before the board later this year.
A status conference for that case is set for 1:45 p.m. July 6.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/06/29/wisconsin-supreme-court-allows-frederick-prehn-remain-dnr-board/7745477001/ | 2022-06-29T14:56:22 | 1 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/06/29/wisconsin-supreme-court-allows-frederick-prehn-remain-dnr-board/7745477001/ |
The Pringle Nature Center — located in Bristol Woods County Park, 9800 160th Ave. in Bristol — is hosting an International Mud Day Celebration from 2 to 4 p.m. today. Pringle will have Mud pits and lawn games to encourage young kids to enjoy some fun in the mud. (There will also be a sprinkler on site for cleaning up afterward.) Admission is free, and everyone is welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For more details, go to pringlenc.org/events.
Start your morning with the Kenosha Library System. An all-ages story time starts at 9:30 a.m. in Schulte Park, 4400 87th Place. Story time is 9:30 to 10 a.m., followed by bubbles and music until 10:45 a.m. Admission is free. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair.
The Kenosha Pops Concert Band continues its 100th season tonight on the band shell in Pennoyer Park, at 35th Street and Seventh Avenue at the lakefront. The Pops — performing “A Salute to the Big Bands and the 1940s” — will share the concert with the Hartland Community Band, which is performing a selection of tunes. Admission is free. Note: Bench seating is provided. Audience members may also bring lawn chairs and/or blankets.
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All aboard! Kenosha’s Downtown electric streetcars are running seven days a week again, offering wonderful lakefront views. The streetcars run 11:05 a.m. to 6:35 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:35 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The fare is $1 for ages 13 and older and 50 cents for kids ages 5-12 (free for kids age 4 and younger). An all-day pass is $3.50. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-events-for-wednesday-june-29/article_c568eec8-f65d-11ec-89d7-478e4533c48c.html | 2022-06-29T15:03:14 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-events-for-wednesday-june-29/article_c568eec8-f65d-11ec-89d7-478e4533c48c.html |
The Kenosha Pops Concert Band continues its landmark 100th season with “A Salute to the Big Bands and the 1940s.”
Each week, the band is taking audiences “through the decades” with songs from the past century.
Tonight, the spotlight is on the 1940s, when big bands overseen by Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Stan Kenton and Milwaukee native Woody Herman ruled the airwaves.
A lot of those bandleaders are featured in “Big Band Favorites,” Bob Lowden’s arrangement of songs from big band masters: Dorsey (“I’m Gettin’ Sentimental Over You”), Kenton (“Here’s That Rainy Day”), Goodman (“Stompin’ at the Savoy”), Miller (“In the Mood”) and Herman (“Woodchopper’s Ball”).
The piece opens with Pops’ trombone player John Schoettler “doing his Tommy Dorsey imitation,” said Craig Gall, the band’s musical director.
Speaking of Dorsey — known as the “Sentimental Gentleman of Swing” because of his smooth-toned trombone playing — Pops Assistant Conductor Kathy Ripley will lead the band on “T.D.’s Boogie Woogie,” written by Dorsey.
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Ellington’s music is heard in the medley “Salute the Duke,” featuring the tunes “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Satin Doll,” “Flamingo” and “Perdido.”
The Pops will also perform music from the 1949 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Broadway musical “South Pacific,” “one of the biggest hits of the ‘40s,” Gall said.
Also from the 1940s is Jerome Kern’s “Long Ago (And Far Away).” The song — with lyrics by Ira Gershwin — is from the 1944 movie “Cover Girl,” starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and has been recorded by everyone from Bing Crosby and Perry Como to Rod Stewart (in 2005).
Tonight on the band shell, guest vocalist Melissa Cardamone will sing “Long Ago.” She is also the master of ceremonies for the concert.
Ripley will also conduct John Williams’ march from the 1979 movie “1941.”
“I love this march,” she said. “John Williams is a master — and he just turned 90 years old.”
Gall will lead the band on two pieces close to his heart: “Serenata,” a late 1940s piece by Pops favorite Leroy Anderson, and Roland Kohler’s polka “In schoner Erinnerung.”
The Anderson piece “was a mainstay of the Pops when I first joined the group,” said Gall, who is in his 20th season as the band’s conductor. He first joined the band almost 30 years ago. Anderson, he added, “arranged it for band himself. It’s a fantastic, energetic piece.”
As for the polka, the title means “in fond memory” in English, “which fits in nicely with our 100th anniversary and looking back at music from the past century,” Gall said. The polka, however, is a recent tune, composed in 2019.
Double the music
The Pops Band starts at 7 p.m., and at 7:45 p.m., a second group — the Hartland Community Band, directed by Jack Schulze — will take over on the band shell.
The Hartland band, which formed in 1994, last visited the Pops for a performance in 2015.
Tonight, the Hartland band’s program includes “Portrait of Freedom” by Steven Reinke and “Bluejackets on Parade” by Edwin Franko Goldman, who has a fun connection to community bands: The Goldman Band Shell in Allentown, Pa., is named in his honor. For more than 100 years, the band shell has been the home of the Allentown Band, of which Goldman was the first guest conductor in 1927.
The Hartland Band is also performing selections from “West Side Story,” “Amazing Grace” and “Fantasy on ‘The Marine’s Hymn’” by James D. Ployhar.
Two of the Hartland Band’s pieces feature vocalists: “Singin’ in the Rain” and the 1984 song “God Bless the USA,” a huge hit for Lee Greenwood. Be careful, however; this song is a notorious earworm! | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-kenosha-pops-band-salutes-the-big-bands/article_765b70b2-f6e9-11ec-935c-274c1abd77b7.html | 2022-06-29T15:03:20 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-kenosha-pops-band-salutes-the-big-bands/article_765b70b2-f6e9-11ec-935c-274c1abd77b7.html |
At 11 a.m. Wednesday, Chesterfield County Fire Chief Loy Senter will make a statement regarding the passing of firefighter Alicia A. Monahan, who died Saturday while teaching a swift water rescue class in the Nantahala River in North Carolina.
LIVE AT 11 AM: Chesterfield fire chief makes statement regarding firefighter who died during swift water training
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An 18- and 14-year-old were pronounced dead by authorities who found them lying on railroad tracks in Hopewell Friday night with several gunshot wounds, police said Saturday.
The 1,550-square-foot home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms is the result of a partnership between Virginia Housing and the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech.
Chesterfield County fire officials announced the off-duty death on Saturday of one of their veteran firefighters but said they have not yet confirmed whether she was killed during a training exercise in North Carolina.
Chesterfield County police are investigating the death of an 18-month-old boy who died Tuesday after being left unattended in a vehicle for several hours. The boy's father later committed suicide, police said.
Richmond police have identified the man shot to death in the Carver neighborhood last week.
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Last year, Queally was at the center of debate regarding the names of two campus buildings and their ties to racism. | https://richmond.com/news/local/live-at-11-am-chesterfield-fire-chief-makes-statement-regarding-firefighter-who-died-during-swift/article_ede61c8e-f7ae-11ec-a8b3-07c18160fd37.html | 2022-06-29T15:03:21 | 0 | https://richmond.com/news/local/live-at-11-am-chesterfield-fire-chief-makes-statement-regarding-firefighter-who-died-during-swift/article_ede61c8e-f7ae-11ec-a8b3-07c18160fd37.html |
ATLANTA — Traffic on Interstate 85 looked a little different than usual on Sunday.
The backup on the highway due to a crash up ahead led many people to get out of their cars and walk around.
Among the travelers was Hailey Ann Smith, owner of Harpist for the King.
Smith, who was on her way to perform at a wedding, had the bright idea to make the best of the situation and decided to play her harp.
Other people gathered around to listen, and some even sat on the top of their cars to enjoy the show.
Interstate Angel: Woman plays harp in the middle of I-85
Smith began playing the harp at just four years old. Over the course of her career, she has performed in churches, weddings, conferences and graduations. Never on an interstate.
The harpist took to Facebook to talk about her “divine appt.”
“It’s not every day you get to play your baby grand harp on the middle of I85.#InterstateAngel,” Smith wrote.
The best news of all? Smith was able to make it to the wedding. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/interstate-instrument-woman-plays-harp-traffic-jam-i-85-atlanta/85-43fecefd-a719-4dd1-b9b2-397e21bee8c2 | 2022-06-29T15:03:21 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/interstate-instrument-woman-plays-harp-traffic-jam-i-85-atlanta/85-43fecefd-a719-4dd1-b9b2-397e21bee8c2 |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Hot dog fans, rejoice! You will soon be able to drink a new seltzer with a unique flavor... hot dog water.
Fort Worth-based Martin House Brewing Company is launching the new flavor at Glizzy Fest, an event honoring the American favorite. If you're wondering what a "glizzy" is, it's slang for a hot dog.
The Awesome Sauce: Bun Length Hot Dog Water Seltzer will be 5.2% ABV.
The brewery is behind other unique flavors such as the Best Maid Sour Pickle Beer, Murph Juice, a BBQ sauce beer, Buffalo Wangz, a buffalo wing sauce sour beer, and even an "Elf"-themed beer brewed with spaghetti, syrup and M&Ms.
Glizzy Fest will happen on July 16 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Martin House Brewing Backyard.
A John Cougar Mellencamp cover band, Texan Fool, will be performing and a few hot dog-themed food trucks will be serving up "glizzies."
There will also be 25 other beers on tap at the event if hot dog water isn't your thing. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/martin-house-brewing-prepares-to-launch-hot-dog-water-flavored-seltzer/287-a3c20cf9-49dd-47f2-9231-2bcb53759d1b | 2022-06-29T15:03:27 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/martin-house-brewing-prepares-to-launch-hot-dog-water-flavored-seltzer/287-a3c20cf9-49dd-47f2-9231-2bcb53759d1b |
SAN ANTONIO — In May, San Antonio City Council adopted a resolution supporting the freedom to read and access information at libraries.
As book challenges and bans continue to spread throughout Texas and country, Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Library Director Ramiro Salazar will speak on "the importance of protecting access to library collections that reflect the whole of our diverse community," a press release says.
The news conference is taking place at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at Bazan Branch Library on 2200 West Commerce Street.
The conference will kick off SAPL's Freedom to Read Campaign and it will also showcase the newly renovated Bazan Branch Library.
You can watch this livestream in the video player above when it becomes available.
More on KENS 5: | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/mayor-nirenberg-joins-library-director-to-speak-about-protecting-access-to-library-collections/273-4ea2ea2a-a3a2-4b47-b25d-95612109e658 | 2022-06-29T15:03:33 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/mayor-nirenberg-joins-library-director-to-speak-about-protecting-access-to-library-collections/273-4ea2ea2a-a3a2-4b47-b25d-95612109e658 |
SAN ANTONIO — A man was shot in the face in what the San Antonio Police Department believes was a case of road rage.
The man was driving along Interstate 35 South near Alamo Street just before 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday when another car pulled up beside him. Someone on the passenger side started shooting, authorities said.
The victim was hit just below his right eye, but managed to get out of the car and run to a bus station on South Frio Street where someone called police.
The man was taken to a hospital, but his condition was not reported.
SAPD is still trying to identify the suspects.
More on KENS 5: | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/road-rage-man-shot-in-face-downtown-san-antonio-texas/273-7fe6e762-6918-43ca-ac27-209e976c14dd | 2022-06-29T15:03:40 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/road-rage-man-shot-in-face-downtown-san-antonio-texas/273-7fe6e762-6918-43ca-ac27-209e976c14dd |
SAN ANTONIO — A man was shot in the face in what the San Antonio Police Department believes was a case of road rage.
The man was driving along Interstate 35 South near Alamo Street just before 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday when another car pulled up beside him. Someone on the passenger side started shooting, authorities said.
The victim was hit just below his right eye, but managed to get out of the car and run to a bus station on South Frio Street where someone called police.
The man was taken to a hospital, but his condition was not reported.
SAPD is still trying to identify the suspects.
More on KENS 5: | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/road-rage-man-shot-in-face-downtown-san-antonio-texas/273-bbdf9f9f-70fc-40ed-baf1-5e10b528fc97 | 2022-06-29T15:03:46 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/road-rage-man-shot-in-face-downtown-san-antonio-texas/273-bbdf9f9f-70fc-40ed-baf1-5e10b528fc97 |
CONKLIN, N.Y. — A missing golden retriever named Lilah, discovered deep inside a culvert pipe in upstate New York, could not be lured out by her owner with peanut butter dog treats or cheese.
In the end, State Trooper Jimmy Rasaphone decided to crawl about 15 feet (5 meters) into the pipe under a rural road to rescue Lilah, despite the extremely tight fit.
"He crouched down and literally disappeared into the hole with a lead that had a choker on it," said Lilah's owner, Rudy Fuehrer, who called 911 for help on Sunday morning. "He was able somehow to manipulate his arms and get the choker around the dog's head."
The trooper and retriever both emerged soaking wet, but safe.
The 13-year-old dog had been missing since Friday afternoon. Fuehrer was walking his two other dogs — both Lilah's offspring — a few hundred feet down the road from his house Sunday when he heard a plaintive yelp.
"I said, 'Oh my God, that's Lilah!'" he recalled Tuesday.
Fuehrer, who lives near Binghamton, tried the get the weary and confused dog out but eventually called 911.
Rasaphone and his partner showed up within minutes. Rasaphone said he'd go into the pipe since he was the smallest of the three of them. Fuehrer estimates the pipe's diameter was under 2 feet (60 centimeters). He was able to pull Lilah out after Rasaphone emerged.
Fuehrer said he was grateful Rasaphone had the compassion and initiative to go nose-to-nose with his dog in a drainage pipe.
And he said Lilah is recovering nicely and out walking.
"Needless to say, I took her out on a leash," he said, "because I didn't want any more escapades." | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/trooper-crawls-into-drainage-pipe-to-rescue-missing-dog/71-34bc5a86-3f4d-4bdc-b5a0-1590c022c9ca | 2022-06-29T15:03:52 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/trooper-crawls-into-drainage-pipe-to-rescue-missing-dog/71-34bc5a86-3f4d-4bdc-b5a0-1590c022c9ca |
JARRELL, Texas — Jarrell city officials scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday regarding the trench collapse at a construction site.
Officials said two men likely died Tuesday afternoon when dirt from a trench collapsed and buried them at a new home development site.
Nick Spinetto said the men fell 24 feet into a two foot wide space in the area of 13700 North I-35 around 8:30 a.m.
Spinetto said the men were part of a crew that was digging to lay down a sewer line.
Spinetto said emergency workers would not be able to get to the men until there was no longer a risk of more dirt collapsing. The men were completely buried by the dirt. Spinetto said it was unlikely they survived.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration was investigating the cause of the collapse.
The men's identities had not been released as of Wednesday morning. | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/jarrell-officials-to-update-recovery-efforts-at-site-of-trench-collapse/500-0bf2d6ad-2e8a-480b-8074-b847a0df7e2b | 2022-06-29T15:07:48 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/jarrell-officials-to-update-recovery-efforts-at-site-of-trench-collapse/500-0bf2d6ad-2e8a-480b-8074-b847a0df7e2b |
NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. — The number of firefighters combatting the Rices Fire in Nevada County is expected to double by Wednesday, officials said.
Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit Chief Brian Estes said nearly 700 firefighters are expected in the morning to help suppress the fire.
Estes said the fire has been burning to the north and to the northeast, toward the Yuba River drainage. Firefighters are currently trying to keep the blaze from dropping into that drainage.
“If it does go into the over the Yuba River drainage and crosses that drainage that crosses into Yuba County from Nevada County then we could have some tremendous impacts to the communities of Dobbins, Oregon House and Brownsville,” Estes said.
The Rices Fire sparked around 2 p.m. Tuesday off Rice's Crossing Road and Cranston Road west of North San Juan.
At least four structures have been destroyed and about 520 buildings are threatened along with South Yuba State Park. Crews are still assessing the structural damage and structures threatened within the burn area.
Cal Fire said the fire has burned 769 acres and has no containment.
Evacuations were issued for parts of Nevada County due to the fire, impacting roughly 355 homes and other buildings in the evacuation zones, according to Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon.
“We make sure that we have lots of law enforcement personnel in the areas to make sure that the people that are in that area are supposed to be there," Sheriff Moon said. "We want to make sure that we don't have any looting.”
The Rices is already a massive operation, and Estes said it’s vital to contain it before more fire spreads.
Crews from other agencies including the Roseville Fire Department and Cal Fire San Mateo - Santa Cruz Unit are headed to Nevada County to assist in fighting the fire.
“I think we're gonna see a trend for Northern California to start to see more large fires, and so we have a long summer ahead of us," Estes said.
KEY FIGURES:
- Acres: 769
- Containment: 0%
- Total Personnel: 640
STAY INFORMED:
Evacuation Map
Nevada County
The Nevada County Office of Emergency Services issued evacuation orders for certain areas due to the fire. Yuba County Office of Emergency Services also issued evacuation advisories for some areas due to the fire. View the evacuation map below for updates.
Evacuation Centers
- Madelyn Helling Library at 980 Helling Way
- Nevada County Fairgrounds at McCourtney Road open to animal shelters
Road Closures
- Pleasant Valley Road at Birchville
- Pleasant Valley Road at Bridgeport
- Birchville Road at Hwy. 49
FIRE MAP
This wildfire map was created using data from NASA, NGA, USGS and FEMA.
WILDFIRE PREPS
According to Cal Fire, the 2021 fire season started earlier than previous years, but also ended earlier, as well. January 2021 saw just under 1,200 acres burned from nearly 300 wildfires. Fires picked up in the summer when the Dixie Fire burned in five Northern California counties — Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Lassen and Tehama. The Dixie Fire started on July 13 and wasn't contained until Oct. 25, burning nearly 1 million acres. It has since become the second-largest wildfire in state history and the largest non-complex fire.
Overall, 2.5 million acres were burned in 2021 from 8,835 wildfires. Over 3,600 structures were destroyed and 3 people were killed.
If you live in a wildfire-prone zone, Cal Fire suggests creating a defensible space around your home. Defensible space is an area around a building in which vegetation and other debris are completely cleared. At least 100 feet is recommended.
The Department of Homeland Security suggests assembling an emergency kit that has important documents, N95 respirator masks, and supplies to grab with you if you’re forced to leave at a moment’s notice. The agency also suggests signing up for local warning system notifications and knowing your community’s evacuation plans best to prepare yourself and your family in cases of wildfires.
Some counties use Nixle alerts to update residents on severe weather, wildfires, and other news. To sign up, visit www.nixle.com or text your zip code to 888777 to start receiving alerts.
PG&E customers can also subscribe to alerts via text, email, or phone call. If you're a PG&E customer, visit the Profile & Alerts section of your account to register.
What questions do you have about the latest wildfires? If you're impacted by the wildfires, what would you like to know? Text the ABC10 team at (916) 321-3310.
Watch more from ABC10: Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District speaks on enforcing 'safe and sane' fireworks for 4th of July | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/rices-fire-map-nevada-county/103-c81a2c1e-21c9-4f97-838e-2f4ec7f78dba | 2022-06-29T15:23:22 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/rices-fire-map-nevada-county/103-c81a2c1e-21c9-4f97-838e-2f4ec7f78dba |
ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines is taking extra steps to try to alleviate flight disruptions ahead of what's expected to be an incredibly busy Fourth of July travel weekend.
On Tuesday, Delta issued a systemwide fare difference travel waiver from July 1-4, meaning customers planning to travel on these dates can rebook their flights before or after the holiday weekend with no fare differences or change fees.
Rebooked flights need to happen by July 8, 2022 and the trips need to be between the same origin and destination as the original flights.
In a statement on its website, Delta said the company is "working around the clock to rebuild Delta’s operation while making it as resilient as possible to minimize the ripple effect of disruptions." The airline said it expects to deal with passenger volumes on July 4 weekend not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic put a major damper on air travel.
Kyle Potter, executive editor of Minnesota-based Thrifty Traveler, said he's never seen an airline offer such a waiver, outside of perhaps a specific storm event.
"This is unprecedented," Potter said. "I think Delta hopes this is kind of a release valve, to decrease some of the pressure that they're under to carry all these passengers, in hopes it gives them a little extra breathing room to recover."
Flights can be modified using the My Trips feature on delta.com or through the Fly Delta app.
Delta waivers are usually only issued for limited geographic areas in the event of weather events that cause widespread flight disruptions. Tuesday's surprise move underscores the ongoing stress impacting the airline industry. For weeks, flight delays and cancellations have impacted thousands of flights across the country.
Earlier this month, Minnesotans traveling home from Vancouver, British Columbia were left stranded after Twin Cities-based Sun Country canceled their return flight.
Over Memorial Day weekend, Delta was responsible for the most cancellations, with more than 800 flights canceled over five days. Earlier this month, Delta said it was reducing cancellations by hiring more pilots and flight attendants and scheduling crews to quickly adjust to disruptions.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the department could enforce additional actions against airlines that fail to live up to consumer-protection standards.
Meanwhile, Delta pilots plan to picket at airports across the country on Thursday to protest protracted contract negotiations, including Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/delta-air-lines-july-fourth-holiday-travel-weekend-waiver/89-22dd8605-6101-43d8-90b1-c7b5d0bf6b74 | 2022-06-29T15:27:42 | 0 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/delta-air-lines-july-fourth-holiday-travel-weekend-waiver/89-22dd8605-6101-43d8-90b1-c7b5d0bf6b74 |
SAN ANTONIO — Officials said 46 people have been found dead and 16 others were taken to hospitals with heat-related illnesses after a tractor-trailer rig containing suspected migrants was found Monday on a remote back road in southwest San Antonio.
The deaths were the latest in what has become a global series of mass deaths occurring during human trafficking attempts. Big rigs emerged as a popular smuggling method in the early 1990s amid a surge in U.S. border enforcement in San Diego and El Paso, Texas, which were then the busiest corridors for illegal crossings.
Below is a look at the deadliest smuggling incidents. If that is what the latest event in San Antonio is confirmed to be, it would become the worst in U.S. history.
— June 27, 2022: 46 suspected immigrants were found dead in a sweltering trailer on a remote back road in southwestern San Antonio.
— July 23, 2017: Eight immigrants were found dead in a sweltering trailer at a San Antonio Walmart parking lot. Two others died later in hospitals. The driver was sentenced to life in prison.
— Feb. 20, 2017: 13 African migrants suffocated inside a shipping container while being transported between two towns in Libya. A total of 69 migrants, most from Mali, were packed into the container, according to the local Red Crescent branch.
— Aug. 27, 2015: Austrian police discovered an abandoned truck containing the bodies of 71 migrants, including eight children, from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. The truck, found along a highway, had crossed into Austria from Hungary.
— April 4, 2009: 35 Afghan migrants suffocated inside a shipping container in southwestern Pakistan. Authorities said that more than 100 people were packed inside the container.
— April 9, 2008: 54 Burmese migrants suffocated in the back of an airtight refrigerated truck in Ranong, Thailand.
— May 14, 2003: 19 migrants died inside a sweltering tractor-trailer while they traveled from South Texas to Houston.
— June 18, 2000: 58 Chinese immigrants were found dead inside a truck in the English port town of Dover. The Dutch truck had transported the immigrants across the English Channel from Belgium. Two people survived. | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/san-antonio-semitruck-migrants-deaths-texas/273-b935dd49-b18f-4ba4-ba9b-256a5be64589 | 2022-06-29T15:27:48 | 0 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/san-antonio-semitruck-migrants-deaths-texas/273-b935dd49-b18f-4ba4-ba9b-256a5be64589 |
Legal fireworks hours begin Wednesday evening across the state and Lake County 911 officials are asking residents who are not fans of the explosions to be patient and only call 911 in the event of an emergency.
Fireworks are allowed by law to be ignited starting 5 p.m. Wednesday for two hours after sunset and then continue for the same hours through Sunday, Lake County 911 says.
The explosive devices can then be ignited from 10 a.m. through midnight during Monday's holiday.
Those who have not had their fill by that time are allowed under state law to continue igniting fireworks from 5 p.m. through two hours after sunset until July 9.
Here are the new Indiana laws to know before they take effect July 1
Animals
The owner of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, mountain lion or bear must prevent all direct physical contact between the animal and a member of the general public, no matter the age of the animal. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each person who comes into contact with the animal. (House Enrolled Act 1248 )
The owner of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, mountain lion or bear must prevent all direct physical contact between the animal and a member of the general public, no matter the age of the animal. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each person who comes into contact with the animal. (House Enrolled Act 1248)
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Annexation
The Aberdeen subdivision may seek to officially become part of Valparaiso, even though the neighborhood is not currently contiguous to the city. A pre-annexation financial study must be completed so Aberdeen residents know the fiscal impact of being voluntarily annexed by Valparaiso. (House Enrolled Act 1110 )
Doug Ross, file, The Times
Ag equipment
Counties, cities or towns can designate agricultural zones as Economic Revitalization Areas (ERA) on the same basis as outdated business districts or distressed residential neighborhoods. New farm equipment or new agricultural improvements located in an ERA are eligible for a property tax abatement for up to five years. The exemption does not apply to farmland. (Senate Enrolled Act 119 )
AP file photo
Bone marrow
The Indiana Department of Health is authorized to establish and promote a bone marrow donor recruitment program to find eligible Hoosiers willing to donate bone marrow to individuals fighting leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cell conditions. (Senate Enrolled Act 398 )
John Luke, file, The Times
Campus speech
State colleges and universities cannot designate outdoor areas of campus where First Amendment activities are prohibited. Higher education institutions may impose reasonable and content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions on other campus speech that's narrowly tailored to serve a significant interest of the school. (House Enrolled Act 1190 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Caregivers
An adult relative caring for a child after the child has been removed from a dangerous home situation is entitled to directly participate in court hearings concerning services needed by the child, or terminating the parent-child relationship. Previously, only state-licensed foster parents had a statutory right to intervene in legal proceedings pertaining to abused or neglected children. (Senate Enrolled Act 410 )
Times file photo
Catalytic converters
A catalytic converter is redefined as a "major component part" of a motor vehicle and only licensed automobile salvage recyclers are permitted to buy or sell used catalytic converters. Automobile salvage recyclers also must keep the same records for catalytic converters as valuable metal dealers and cash payouts for detached catalytic converters are capped at $25 per transaction per day. (Senate Enrolled Act 293 )
Jonathan Miano, file, The Times
Coerced abortion
A new crime of "coerced abortion" punishes anyone who knowingly or intentionally coerces a pregnant woman to have an abortion with up to 2 1/2 years in prison. State law already required "the voluntary and informed consent of the pregnant woman" prior to obtaining an abortion. (House Enrolled Act 1217 )
AP file photo
Data breach
Businesses, banks and similar entities that suffer a data breach must notify their customers within 45 days of the breach being discovered, instead of simply providing notification "without unreasonable delay." (House Enrolled Act 1351 )
AP file photo
Dementia training
Home health aides who provide care to individuals with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or a similar cognitive disorder must complete at least six hours of dementia care training within 60 days of hire. Current home health aides with at least one year of experience must participate in at least three hours of dementia training. (Senate Enrolled Act 353 )
Joe Ruffalo, file, The Times
Double voting
The penalty for fraudulently casting more than one ballot in the same election is set at up to 2½ in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The penalty does not apply to individuals casting a valid replacement ballot as permitted by law. (Senate Enrolled Act 328 )
AP file photo
Expungement
Individuals charged with crimes who either are acquitted following a trial or the charges are dismissed will have their court records automatically expunged within 60 days of disposition, unless the county prosecutor requests a one-year expungement delay. Any non-prosecution of criminal charges within 180 days following an arrest must be expunged immediately. (Senate Enrolled Act 182 )
Jonathan Miano, file, The Times
Foreign land purchases
Foreign business entities are barred from purchasing Indiana agricultural or timber land, with certain exceptions. Businesses organized under Russian law or controlled by Russian nationals are prohibited from acquiring any real estate in Indiana. (Senate Enrolled Act 388 )
AP file photo
Health officers
The Indiana Department of Health no longer is entitled to remove a local health officer on the basis of intemperance. Health officers still may be removed for failing to collect vital statistics, follow rules, keep records, make reports, respond to official inquires or for neglect of official duty. (House Enrolled Act 1169 )
Provided
Handguns
Adults age 18 and up legally entitled to possess a handgun are not obligated to obtain a state permit to carry a handgun in public. Indiana carry permits remain available for out-of-state reciprocity purposes. Handguns continue to be prohibited in schools, courthouses, and any residence or business that chooses to bar handguns. (House Enrolled Act 1296 )
AP file photo
Housing shortage
A 13-member Housing Task Force is directed to study issues relating to housing and housing shortages in Indiana. The task force must submit recommendations for policy changes to the General Assembly and the governor no later than Nov. 1. (House Enrolled Act 1306 )
Tony V. Martin, file, The Times
Hunting
The holder of an archery hunting permit is allowed to use a bow and arrow or a crossbow. Previously, crossbow hunters were required to obtain a separate license. (Senate Enrolled Act 186 )
Times file photo
Inmate calls
The in-state rate for telephone calls placed by inmates at Indiana Department of Correction facilities drops to 12 cents per minute from 24 cents per minute. County jail telephone rates are capped at 21 cents per minute statewide, instead of ranging from 22 cents per minute to $4.70 per minute. (House Enrolled Act 1181 )
Times file photo
Lead testing
Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, doctors must offer a blood lead screening test to the parents of children between nine months and six years old if the child has not previously been tested for lead poisoning. Parents are not required to have their children tested for lead. (House Enrolled Act 1313 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Low-level felons
Judges once again may sentence level 6 felony offenders to state prisons operated by the Indiana Department of Correction, replacing a mandate that individuals found guilty of minor felony crimes only serve their six-month to 2 1/2-year sentences in county jails. (House Enrolled Act 1004 )
Provided by Indiana State Prison
Lowell investment
The town of Lowell is authorized to segregate its recent water utility sale proceeds from other town funds, contract with an investment adviser, and deploy the funds in most kinds of investments offering higher returns than fixed-income securities, except corporate stock and other equity securities. (House Enrolled Act 1011 )
Kale Wilk, file, The Times
Medicaid
Pregnant individuals whose family incomes are less than 208% of the federal poverty level are entitled to receive low- or no-cost health coverage through Indiana Medicaid for the duration of their pregnancy, and up to 12 months after giving birth. (House Enrolled Act 1140 )
AP file photo
Nuclear power
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is directed to adopt rules by July 1, 2023, permitting small modular nuclear reactors to be used to generate electricity in the Hoosier State. The law does not mandate any utilities switch to nuclear power but opens the door by putting in place the regulations that would guide its development and use. (Senate Enrolled Act 271 )
AP file photo
Pregnant inmates
Restraints used on a prison inmate in her second or third trimester of pregnancy need to be the least restrictive restraints necessary. A pregnant inmate must be unrestrained while in labor, delivering a baby and during the immediate post-delivery period, unless she is an immediate danger to herself or others, or a substantial flight risk. (House Enrolled Act 1294 )
Connor Burge, file, The Times
Property tax
The $3,000 property tax deduction for mortgaged property is eliminated beginning Jan. 1, 2023, and the homestead deduction is increased to $48,000 from $45,000. The senior citizen tax deduction may be claimed on homes worth up to $240,000, instead of a maximum of $200,000. (House Enrolled Act 1260 )
Photo provided
Public comment
School boards must allow any person physically present at a school board meeting to address the board if the person is interested in doing so in accordance with the board’s public comment rules, including any time limits. Boards still can take "reasonable steps to maintain order in a meeting," including "removal of any person who is willfully disruptive of the meeting." (House Enrolled Act 1130 )
Dan Carden, file, The Times
Rape
The definition of rape is expanded to include a person who disregards the other person's attempts to physically, verbally, or by other visible conduct refuse the person's sexual acts. Rape in Indiana also consists of the use of force, or imminent threat of force, to compel sexual conduct; sex with a person unaware sexual conduct is occurring; or sex with a person unable to consent to sex due to mental disability. (House Enrolled Act 1079 )
Times file photo
Semiquincentennial
A 23-member commission is established to organize events and commemorations across the state celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. (Senate Enrolled Act 12 )
Library of Congress
Simulated child porn
The production, distribution, possession or viewing of a video or image depicting obscene sexual conduct involving a person who appears to be less than 18 years old — even if the person is over 18, or doesn’t exist — is the legal equivalent of child exploitation, possession of child pornography and similar felony crimes. (House Enrolled Act 1363 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
State fossil
The mastodon is designated as the official fossil of Indiana. Dozens of mastodon fossils have been found throughout Indiana, including the bones of at least five mastodons now held by the Indiana State Museum that were discovered in 2005 by workers digging a pond in the Porter County town of Hebron. (House Enrolled Act 1013 )
Provided
Tax cuts
The utility receipts tax, a 1.46% charge paid by businesses and consumers on a portion of their electricity, natural gas, water, steam, sewage and telephone bills, is eliminated July 1. Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, the state income tax rate drops to 3.15% from 3.23%, with the possibility of future reductions to 2.9%. (House Enrolled Act 1002 )
Doug Ross, file, The Times
Tourism
The definition of "agritourism" is expanded beyond agricultural activities to include camping, canoeing, kayaking, river tubing and winter sports activities. An agritourism participant release form may be signed electronically, instead of only on paper. (Senate Enrolled Act 343 )
Connor Burge, file, The Times
Township trustees
A township trustee who fails to perform the duties of his or her office is subject to removal by court order if the removal is endorsed by the township board, county commissioners and county council, and other conditions are met. (Senate Enrolled Act 304 )
Dan Carden, The Times
Trans sports
All children assigned male at birth are barred from participating in any elementary, middle or high school athletics designated as a "girls" or "female" sport — no matter the child's gender identity or physical characteristics. (House Enrolled Act 1041 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Tribal law enforcement
A police officer employed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in South Bend may exercise law enforcement authority anywhere in the state, so long as the officer meets the standards of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and the tribe consents to statewide police powers. (Senate Enrolled Act 347 )
Turn signal
A mandate that drivers signal all turns or lane changes at least 200 feet ahead of time, or 300 feet if the vehicle is traveling in excess of 50 mph, is deleted on Jan. 1, 2023, in favor of a requirement that motorists signal all turns and lane changes "a reasonable time" before completing them. (House Enrolled Act 1167 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
University gifts
Public and private colleges and universities in Indiana must report to the state, and disclose on their website, all gifts from foreign entities that already must be reported to the federal government upon receipt. (Senate Enrolled Act 388 )
Kale Wilk, file, The Times
Vaping taxes
A tax of 15% is imposed on the wholesale price of closed system cartridges used for vaping. Under a 2021 law, the tax rate was scheduled to be 25%. An additional tax of 40 cents per ounce is assessed on alternative nicotine products, such as electronic cigarettes. (Senate Enrolled Act 382 )
Richard Vogel, file, Associated Press
Virtual instruction
Public schools may only hold up to three student-directed virtual instruction days during the 180-day school year absent extraordinary circumstances and a waiver approved by the Indiana Department of Education. (House Enrolled Act 1093 )
John Luke, file, The Times
Youth ag
A public school or school corporation may purchase up to $10,000 in food each year from a youth agricultural program, up from the former annual maximum of $7,500. (House Enrolled Act 1320 )
AP file photo
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CHESTERTON — Officials hope to address ongoing safety threats along the local stretch of Ind. 49 by lowering the speed limit for semi-trucks from 50 to 40 mph, the town has announced.
The state has also agreed to give police spots to patrol traffic in the area by constructing three turnaround cross-over areas in the median between East Porter Avenue and the Indiana Toll Road.
"The sheer dynamics of Ind. 49 in Chesterton and the way you’re coming over hills and around curves, lowering the speed limit to 40 is not meant to punish the truckers, because they’re very important and vital to our society today," Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson said.
"But by the sheer dynamics, it gives them more stopping distance at traffic lights and we hope that greatly improves safety."
"We didn’t want to punish motorists, Chesterton residents and people passing through, by making them do 40," the chief said. "The dynamic really affects the truckers because of their weight and their stopping distances."
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"If the speed for trucks is 50, they’re doing 58, and that’s way too fast to stop in time when they’re coming over the overpass or around those curves," Richardson said. "If it says 40, we hope they stay between 40 and 46 or 47 and then they’ll have the right stopping distance."
Town officials mentioned last month's incident of a northbound semi-truck running a red light on Ind. 49 and seriously injuring retired Chesterton High School swim coach Kevin Kinel, who was crossing the highway in his vehicle with the green light at East Porter Avenue.
The new median turnarounds will give Chesterton police officers a safe place to monitor traffic, officials said.
"Unlike a little further down Ind. 49, when you get into Valparaiso, we don’t have turnaround lanes that we can sit in and monitor speeds and traffic lights," Richardson said.
"Having the tools to do the correct enforcement and the turnaround lanes will aid us in slowing down the traffic," he said. "They’ll be strategically placed, so we can monitor traffic lights and the speed and the truck lane."
The reduced speed limit and turnarounds will be in place "as soon as possible," a town official said.
Here are the new Indiana laws to know before they take effect July 1
Animals
The owner of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, mountain lion or bear must prevent all direct physical contact between the animal and a member of the general public, no matter the age of the animal. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each person who comes into contact with the animal. (House Enrolled Act 1248 )
The owner of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, mountain lion or bear must prevent all direct physical contact between the animal and a member of the general public, no matter the age of the animal. Violations are subject to a $1,000 fine for each person who comes into contact with the animal. (House Enrolled Act 1248)
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Annexation
The Aberdeen subdivision may seek to officially become part of Valparaiso, even though the neighborhood is not currently contiguous to the city. A pre-annexation financial study must be completed so Aberdeen residents know the fiscal impact of being voluntarily annexed by Valparaiso. (House Enrolled Act 1110 )
Doug Ross, file, The Times
Ag equipment
Counties, cities or towns can designate agricultural zones as Economic Revitalization Areas (ERA) on the same basis as outdated business districts or distressed residential neighborhoods. New farm equipment or new agricultural improvements located in an ERA are eligible for a property tax abatement for up to five years. The exemption does not apply to farmland. (Senate Enrolled Act 119 )
AP file photo
Bone marrow
The Indiana Department of Health is authorized to establish and promote a bone marrow donor recruitment program to find eligible Hoosiers willing to donate bone marrow to individuals fighting leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cell conditions. (Senate Enrolled Act 398 )
John Luke, file, The Times
Campus speech
State colleges and universities cannot designate outdoor areas of campus where First Amendment activities are prohibited. Higher education institutions may impose reasonable and content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions on other campus speech that's narrowly tailored to serve a significant interest of the school. (House Enrolled Act 1190 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Caregivers
An adult relative caring for a child after the child has been removed from a dangerous home situation is entitled to directly participate in court hearings concerning services needed by the child, or terminating the parent-child relationship. Previously, only state-licensed foster parents had a statutory right to intervene in legal proceedings pertaining to abused or neglected children. (Senate Enrolled Act 410 )
Times file photo
Catalytic converters
A catalytic converter is redefined as a "major component part" of a motor vehicle and only licensed automobile salvage recyclers are permitted to buy or sell used catalytic converters. Automobile salvage recyclers also must keep the same records for catalytic converters as valuable metal dealers and cash payouts for detached catalytic converters are capped at $25 per transaction per day. (Senate Enrolled Act 293 )
Jonathan Miano, file, The Times
Coerced abortion
A new crime of "coerced abortion" punishes anyone who knowingly or intentionally coerces a pregnant woman to have an abortion with up to 2 1/2 years in prison. State law already required "the voluntary and informed consent of the pregnant woman" prior to obtaining an abortion. (House Enrolled Act 1217 )
AP file photo
Data breach
Businesses, banks and similar entities that suffer a data breach must notify their customers within 45 days of the breach being discovered, instead of simply providing notification "without unreasonable delay." (House Enrolled Act 1351 )
AP file photo
Dementia training
Home health aides who provide care to individuals with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or a similar cognitive disorder must complete at least six hours of dementia care training within 60 days of hire. Current home health aides with at least one year of experience must participate in at least three hours of dementia training. (Senate Enrolled Act 353 )
Joe Ruffalo, file, The Times
Double voting
The penalty for fraudulently casting more than one ballot in the same election is set at up to 2½ in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The penalty does not apply to individuals casting a valid replacement ballot as permitted by law. (Senate Enrolled Act 328 )
AP file photo
Expungement
Individuals charged with crimes who either are acquitted following a trial or the charges are dismissed will have their court records automatically expunged within 60 days of disposition, unless the county prosecutor requests a one-year expungement delay. Any non-prosecution of criminal charges within 180 days following an arrest must be expunged immediately. (Senate Enrolled Act 182 )
Jonathan Miano, file, The Times
Foreign land purchases
Foreign business entities are barred from purchasing Indiana agricultural or timber land, with certain exceptions. Businesses organized under Russian law or controlled by Russian nationals are prohibited from acquiring any real estate in Indiana. (Senate Enrolled Act 388 )
AP file photo
Health officers
The Indiana Department of Health no longer is entitled to remove a local health officer on the basis of intemperance. Health officers still may be removed for failing to collect vital statistics, follow rules, keep records, make reports, respond to official inquires or for neglect of official duty. (House Enrolled Act 1169 )
Provided
Handguns
Adults age 18 and up legally entitled to possess a handgun are not obligated to obtain a state permit to carry a handgun in public. Indiana carry permits remain available for out-of-state reciprocity purposes. Handguns continue to be prohibited in schools, courthouses, and any residence or business that chooses to bar handguns. (House Enrolled Act 1296 )
AP file photo
Housing shortage
A 13-member Housing Task Force is directed to study issues relating to housing and housing shortages in Indiana. The task force must submit recommendations for policy changes to the General Assembly and the governor no later than Nov. 1. (House Enrolled Act 1306 )
Tony V. Martin, file, The Times
Hunting
The holder of an archery hunting permit is allowed to use a bow and arrow or a crossbow. Previously, crossbow hunters were required to obtain a separate license. (Senate Enrolled Act 186 )
Times file photo
Inmate calls
The in-state rate for telephone calls placed by inmates at Indiana Department of Correction facilities drops to 12 cents per minute from 24 cents per minute. County jail telephone rates are capped at 21 cents per minute statewide, instead of ranging from 22 cents per minute to $4.70 per minute. (House Enrolled Act 1181 )
Times file photo
Lead testing
Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, doctors must offer a blood lead screening test to the parents of children between nine months and six years old if the child has not previously been tested for lead poisoning. Parents are not required to have their children tested for lead. (House Enrolled Act 1313 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Low-level felons
Judges once again may sentence level 6 felony offenders to state prisons operated by the Indiana Department of Correction, replacing a mandate that individuals found guilty of minor felony crimes only serve their six-month to 2 1/2-year sentences in county jails. (House Enrolled Act 1004 )
Provided by Indiana State Prison
Lowell investment
The town of Lowell is authorized to segregate its recent water utility sale proceeds from other town funds, contract with an investment adviser, and deploy the funds in most kinds of investments offering higher returns than fixed-income securities, except corporate stock and other equity securities. (House Enrolled Act 1011 )
Kale Wilk, file, The Times
Medicaid
Pregnant individuals whose family incomes are less than 208% of the federal poverty level are entitled to receive low- or no-cost health coverage through Indiana Medicaid for the duration of their pregnancy, and up to 12 months after giving birth. (House Enrolled Act 1140 )
AP file photo
Nuclear power
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is directed to adopt rules by July 1, 2023, permitting small modular nuclear reactors to be used to generate electricity in the Hoosier State. The law does not mandate any utilities switch to nuclear power but opens the door by putting in place the regulations that would guide its development and use. (Senate Enrolled Act 271 )
AP file photo
Pregnant inmates
Restraints used on a prison inmate in her second or third trimester of pregnancy need to be the least restrictive restraints necessary. A pregnant inmate must be unrestrained while in labor, delivering a baby and during the immediate post-delivery period, unless she is an immediate danger to herself or others, or a substantial flight risk. (House Enrolled Act 1294 )
Connor Burge, file, The Times
Property tax
The $3,000 property tax deduction for mortgaged property is eliminated beginning Jan. 1, 2023, and the homestead deduction is increased to $48,000 from $45,000. The senior citizen tax deduction may be claimed on homes worth up to $240,000, instead of a maximum of $200,000. (House Enrolled Act 1260 )
Photo provided
Public comment
School boards must allow any person physically present at a school board meeting to address the board if the person is interested in doing so in accordance with the board’s public comment rules, including any time limits. Boards still can take "reasonable steps to maintain order in a meeting," including "removal of any person who is willfully disruptive of the meeting." (House Enrolled Act 1130 )
Dan Carden, file, The Times
Rape
The definition of rape is expanded to include a person who disregards the other person's attempts to physically, verbally, or by other visible conduct refuse the person's sexual acts. Rape in Indiana also consists of the use of force, or imminent threat of force, to compel sexual conduct; sex with a person unaware sexual conduct is occurring; or sex with a person unable to consent to sex due to mental disability. (House Enrolled Act 1079 )
Times file photo
Semiquincentennial
A 23-member commission is established to organize events and commemorations across the state celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. (Senate Enrolled Act 12 )
Library of Congress
Simulated child porn
The production, distribution, possession or viewing of a video or image depicting obscene sexual conduct involving a person who appears to be less than 18 years old — even if the person is over 18, or doesn’t exist — is the legal equivalent of child exploitation, possession of child pornography and similar felony crimes. (House Enrolled Act 1363 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
State fossil
The mastodon is designated as the official fossil of Indiana. Dozens of mastodon fossils have been found throughout Indiana, including the bones of at least five mastodons now held by the Indiana State Museum that were discovered in 2005 by workers digging a pond in the Porter County town of Hebron. (House Enrolled Act 1013 )
Provided
Tax cuts
The utility receipts tax, a 1.46% charge paid by businesses and consumers on a portion of their electricity, natural gas, water, steam, sewage and telephone bills, is eliminated July 1. Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, the state income tax rate drops to 3.15% from 3.23%, with the possibility of future reductions to 2.9%. (House Enrolled Act 1002 )
Doug Ross, file, The Times
Tourism
The definition of "agritourism" is expanded beyond agricultural activities to include camping, canoeing, kayaking, river tubing and winter sports activities. An agritourism participant release form may be signed electronically, instead of only on paper. (Senate Enrolled Act 343 )
Connor Burge, file, The Times
Township trustees
A township trustee who fails to perform the duties of his or her office is subject to removal by court order if the removal is endorsed by the township board, county commissioners and county council, and other conditions are met. (Senate Enrolled Act 304 )
Dan Carden, The Times
Trans sports
All children assigned male at birth are barred from participating in any elementary, middle or high school athletics designated as a "girls" or "female" sport — no matter the child's gender identity or physical characteristics. (House Enrolled Act 1041 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
Tribal law enforcement
A police officer employed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in South Bend may exercise law enforcement authority anywhere in the state, so long as the officer meets the standards of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and the tribe consents to statewide police powers. (Senate Enrolled Act 347 )
Turn signal
A mandate that drivers signal all turns or lane changes at least 200 feet ahead of time, or 300 feet if the vehicle is traveling in excess of 50 mph, is deleted on Jan. 1, 2023, in favor of a requirement that motorists signal all turns and lane changes "a reasonable time" before completing them. (House Enrolled Act 1167 )
John J. Watkins, file, The Times
University gifts
Public and private colleges and universities in Indiana must report to the state, and disclose on their website, all gifts from foreign entities that already must be reported to the federal government upon receipt. (Senate Enrolled Act 388 )
Kale Wilk, file, The Times
Vaping taxes
A tax of 15% is imposed on the wholesale price of closed system cartridges used for vaping. Under a 2021 law, the tax rate was scheduled to be 25%. An additional tax of 40 cents per ounce is assessed on alternative nicotine products, such as electronic cigarettes. (Senate Enrolled Act 382 )
Richard Vogel, file, Associated Press
Virtual instruction
Public schools may only hold up to three student-directed virtual instruction days during the 180-day school year absent extraordinary circumstances and a waiver approved by the Indiana Department of Education. (House Enrolled Act 1093 )
John Luke, file, The Times
Youth ag
A public school or school corporation may purchase up to $10,000 in food each year from a youth agricultural program, up from the former annual maximum of $7,500. (House Enrolled Act 1320 )
AP file photo
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GARY — Anita Green watched as the dust settled around the fake wall used for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Carolyn Mosby Senior High-Rise.
Green, who has lived in the affordable housing complex since 2017, called the renovation "wonderful." While her third-floor unit is "pretty decent," she said the proposed new layout will be easier to navigate using her walker.
Michelle Hudson, building resident and tenant council president, is excited for the additional counter space in the updated kitchens.
"This building has been here a long time," Hudson said. "We all need this (renovation); we all need something uplifting. ... This is a great stepping stone for all of us."
Built by the Gary Housing Authority in 1970, the Carolyn Mosby apartment building was the city's first public housing high-rise and the first public housing complex built specifically for the elderly. Today the eight-story structure consists of 142 units, serving adults over 55 who have an income of 30%, 50% and 60% of the annual median income.
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In 2017, the GHA began to discuss a potential renovation with the Wisconsin-based Gorman & Company developers. Established in 1984, Gorman & Company specializes in affordable housing, workforce housing and the reuse of historic buildings.
The almost $22 million renovation began with some initial demolitions last month. Eventually all the units will be gutted, receiving new bathrooms, kitchens and floors. A community space and fitness room will be added to the eighth floor, and the first-floor lobby will be redone. About 20% of the units will be redesigned to be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, meaning a person with a physical disability could live there. All of the units will become "visitable," meaning people with disabilities can access them, Gorman Illinois Market President Ron Clewer explained.
Clewer estimated the entire project would take about 18 months.
Current residents will remain in the building but may be relocated to different units while the construction is underway.
The complex was named after Carolyn Mosby, a Gary native and elected official who died in 1990 after a long battle with cancer. Mosby was both a state representative and senator in the Indiana General Assembly. She was known as an advocate for both seniors and minority businesses. Originally named after its street address, 666 Jackson, the building was renamed in Mosby's honor in 1990. The address was also changed.
"We are fully updating the building but doing it through a historic approach," Clewer said.
The building's exterior, designed during the modern architecture movement, will remain largely untouched. The outside will be power-washed, some landscaping will be done and a sidewalk will be added.
The renovation is Gorman's first "executed project" in Indiana, Clewer said. One of the company's big focuses is workforce development, making sure construction jobs go to local community members.
Clewer said about $10 million of the development's budget is for hard construction costs, the labor and materials needed for the renovation. Gorman set the goal of ensuring 30% of the $10 million goes towards minority-owned enterprises. The project is also compliant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 3 Program, meaning all the people Gorman contracts with are asked to hire low-income workers.
"From my perspective it's clear, that their (Gorman's) attention and their efforts towards establishing MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) participation, as well as making sure they pay attention to the Section 3 workforce development aspects of this particular project, to me, ensures that they are responsible partners," Gary Mayor Jerome Prince said.
Gorman's goal is to invest project costs back into the community, Clewer said.
"We are hopeful this success will show how committed we are to both affordable housing and to projects well-done," Gorman spokesperson Melissa Badini said. "It is not just about throwing up boards — it is about quality."
Prince said he is excited about the project both because of the benefits it will bring to the city at large and "more importantly, for the residents who live here because they deserve it the most." | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/watch-now-historic-senior-housing-in-gary-undergoing-renovations/article_7aa5671c-b8be-5393-bc77-d5a63701af51.html | 2022-06-29T15:28:40 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/watch-now-historic-senior-housing-in-gary-undergoing-renovations/article_7aa5671c-b8be-5393-bc77-d5a63701af51.html |
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/tenet-healthcare-does-something-good-for-the-lgbt-community-in-north-texas/3003037/ | 2022-06-29T15:33:32 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/something-good/tenet-healthcare-does-something-good-for-the-lgbt-community-in-north-texas/3003037/ |
PLEASANTVILLE — Police are looking for a man who has been missing for nearly three weeks.
Shain Nelson was last seen at his home in the 600 block of Oneida Avenue, police said Tuesday. Nelson's mother said two men unknown to her were with him before his disappearance.
Nelson's mother also told investigators she last heard from her son via a text message, in which he told her he was OK and was in the city, police said.
Anyone with information can call Detective Haliema Leach at 609-641-6100, dial 911 or email supervisor@pleasantvillepd.org. Anonymous tips can be sent via pleasantvillepd.org or crimestoppersatlantic.com. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pleasantville-police-seek-missing-man/article_e667cc32-f6ff-11ec-afb4-cf23133ccaf9.html | 2022-06-29T15:35:26 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pleasantville-police-seek-missing-man/article_e667cc32-f6ff-11ec-afb4-cf23133ccaf9.html |
VINELAND — Inspira Medical Center Vineland will now offer elective percutaneous coronary intervention procedures, commonly known as "PCIs," having been granted a license for the them and made possible by regulation changes within the state Department of Health.
The license was officially awarded June 20, over a year after the Department, in February 2021, made it attainable for community hospitals to perform the procedures, Inspira representatives said in a news release Tuesday.
For 25 years, the medical company has provided full-service diagnostic cardiac catheterizations, and its interventional cardiologists have performed emergent PCI procedures since 2009. Adding elective PCIs to its services helps make Inspira's cardiac division stronger for patients, the representatives said.
“As an organization committed to serving as a trusted health care partner, Inspira is always looking for ways to elevate and expand the care we provide across our region in a safe and compassionate environment,” company President and CEO Amy B. Mansue said in a prepared statement. “This license is a true testament to the tireless efforts and commitment of our staff members, as well as the expertise of our interventional cardiology team to provide the highest quality of care and clinical excellence.”
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Medical professionals describe elective PCIs as "minimally invasive" ways to treat blocked arteries, reducing the risks of heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases. They're scheduled operations cardiologists employ to relieve clogged coronary arteries by using stents in patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease, Inspira's representatives said.
Dr. Kurt Kaulback calls the state's decision to allow elective PCIs pivotal in providing the best-possible cardiovascular treatments for patients in the Garden State, helping make New Jersey a healthier state.
“The ability to offer elective PCI at yet another Inspira Health location is monumental and will enhance and save the lives of many patients in our community," said Kaulback, who is the clinical director of Network Cardiovascular Services at Inspira Health and member provider with Cardiac Partners at Cooper and Inspira.
The change likely stems from legislation Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law in February 2021 to help improve healthcare for patients suffering from cardiovascular issues.
The law allows hospitals that do not perform cardiac surgery to apply for elective PCI licensure. Facilities wishing to gain permission would need to receive a license to do so from the Department of Health. The law opens the possibility for medical centers to perform a range of procedures, including full-service diagnostic cardiac catheterization and elective angioplasty services, provided the facility meets specific criteria. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/inspiras-vineland-hospital-opens-doors-to-elective-pci-cardiac-patients/article_2d272c38-f720-11ec-800c-930165b2f948.html | 2022-06-29T15:35:32 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/inspiras-vineland-hospital-opens-doors-to-elective-pci-cardiac-patients/article_2d272c38-f720-11ec-800c-930165b2f948.html |
NORTH CAPE MAY — Lower Township police are planning to prohibit street parking along Beach Drive and Shore Road all day Sunday for a fireworks show later that night.
"No Parking" signs will be posted along the streets to stop parking between 8 a.m. and the event's conclusion, which police anticipate being around 11 p.m.
The area will also be closed from Town Bank Road to Lincoln Boulevard, given a heavy pedestrian volume on the bay front attending the event, from 3 p.m. until the event finishes, police said.
Additionally, David C. Douglass Park will be closed Sunday and reopen Monday, police said.
The last block of Washington Boulevard, from Atlantic Avenue to Beach Drive, will be posted “No Parking” from 10 a.m. Saturday until Monday while amusement rides are set up and broken down. Vendors and amusement rides will stay open until about 10:00 p.m., police said.
Police are reminding drivers that they'll be issued parking citations for blocking driveways, fire hydrants and intersections. Legal parking will be available throughout the township's North Cape May section, including handicap parking on Holmes Avenue, between Atlantic Avenue and Beach Drive, and Town Bank Road, between Fairview Road and Beach Drive, police said.
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Police will be set up at a command center at Lincoln Boulevard and Beach Drive in the event of emergencies, including a missing child, police said.
Tuesday is the planned rain date for the event, which will follow the same schedule should the date be needed. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/parking-restrictions-prepared-for-north-cape-may-fireworks-festival/article_a88897d6-f7ac-11ec-919c-b37d80860965.html | 2022-06-29T15:35:38 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/parking-restrictions-prepared-for-north-cape-may-fireworks-festival/article_a88897d6-f7ac-11ec-919c-b37d80860965.html |
CEDAR FALLS — Her dad did business all over the state. His dad was the mayor.
Public life was second nature to Marlene Behn and her late husband, Parke Behn.
So was their years of service — she on the Cedar Falls Board of Education, he on the boards of local hospitals. That service to community led to support in tough times — during the death of a child, and Parke’s own illness and death a decade ago. That service also led a surviving child to a career of service to her country in the U.S. Army.
Marlene Behn, 80, is now receiving the rewards of a lifetime of service, as recognized by her Eight Over 80 honor.
Born in Sheldon in far northwest Iowa, “we moved seven times in 10 years,” she said. “My father was a station hog buyer for Armour & Co. And so they were opening buying stations throughout the state of Iowa. He was a great guy, outgoing.
“We were always involved in our community and church. So I learned civic responsibility from a very early age. My mother had to suffer, because we three girls always thought our life would come to an end every time we had to move.”
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That forced them to make new friends. “And it worked,” she said. “And we were always involved at school, activities.” The family ended up in Monticello in Jones County in east-central Iowa.
“That’s where Parke and I met. ... I was a sophomore and he was a junior. He’d lived there most of his life.”
Parke went to Cedar Falls and the State College of Iowa, now the University of Northern Iowa. Behn went to Drake University in Des Moines and transferred to the University of Iowa where she became a drummer in the university’s renowned Scottish Highlanders pipe and drum marching band. But they kept up their courtship. Ultimately, they wed in June 1964.
She taught school in Waterloo, and Parke was selling insurance. Then Parke shifted gears and went to J.S. Latta Co., where he met Harry “Bud” Grant. Together, they helped co-found Professional Office Services in 1970.
After five years teaching at old Orange High School, Behn decided to stay home and the couple started a family, adopting a son, Brock. Shortly after, daughter Beth was born. Behn became active in Junior League, which was a gateway to broader community involvement.
“I think the training they (Junior League) provided young women was excellent,” she said. “I got involved with public affairs. I liked that.” She first ran for Cedar Falls school board in 1977, when their children were in kindergarten and second grade.
“Parke and I always felt a sense of civic responsibility,” she said. “His dad was mayor of Monticello at one time. My parents, even though we moved often, were always involved in the community and the church. They were great role models.
“I always kind of thought I would run for school board,” she said. “Joy Corning was a great role model for me.” Corning, then school board president, would go on to serve as an Iowa state senator and lieutenant governor.
Another mentor was Peg Anderson, who gave up her school board seat to unsuccessfully run for mayor; Behn succeeded her on the board. When Corning was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1984, Behn succeeded her as school board president.
In the meantime, Parke served on and chaired both the Sartori Memorial Hospital and Covenant Health System boards and served on the Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare board. He was instrumental in Sartori’s affiliation with Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, both part of the Wheaton Franciscan system and now all part of the MercyOne network in Des Moines. He also was president of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony board and part of the committee which oversaw construction of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center.
Parke and Marlene Behn were named Cedar Falls Representative Citizens of the Year in 1996 for extraordinary community involvement.
Throughout her board service, there were always challenges, usually involving changes in where children attended school. One of the first big decisions was closing the Humbert Elementary School and converting it into the district’s present administrative service center.
“There have been several times in my volunteer career that I found myself in situations that were controversial,” Marlene said. “But again, I always felt that I was working with strong leaders, and we did (our) research and made decisions that we thought would benefit the community and the organization.
Behn also was involved with social service agencies, including Family and Children’s Council, and philanthropic organizations like the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa.
“I just feel fortunate I’ve been able to work with so many wonderful people, and learned from people, and (been) acquainted with a lot of friends,” she said.
Those friends were a source of support when times got tough in 1990. Their son, Brock, died of a chronic heart condition at their Minnesota lake home at age 20. It was a few months after Parke had a heart attack and bypass surgery. Behn’s mother had died a short time before Brock’s passing.
“It was the six months from hell,” Behn said. “It was a terrible time.”
But doors opened about the same time. Daughter Beth left for the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and Behn had accepted a district sales leadership position with the Doncaster women’s clothing company.
Parke passed away in 2011, but lived to see Beth advance in her Army career through her various commands, including two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan – and begin a family. Beth and her spouse, Dr. Julie Shappy, have two children – Parke, 15, and Twila, 12.
Behn also gets periodic tours of duty, too – as a grandma.
Yet another reward for a tradition of service and devotion to family as well as community. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/watch-now-marlene-behn-duty-honor-service-is-a-family-affair/article_4de43324-909a-597a-a93d-0037a01ab253.html | 2022-06-29T15:35:46 | 1 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/watch-now-marlene-behn-duty-honor-service-is-a-family-affair/article_4de43324-909a-597a-a93d-0037a01ab253.html |
A new Taco Bell item is being tested at one U.S. location, and it features a Cheez-It cracker 16 times bigger than the original size.
Taco Bell said it is testing a Big Cheez-It Tostada and putting a twist on its Crunchwrap Supreme.
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“There are few things that everyone can agree on…but the iconic flavors from Taco Bell menu items and Cheez-It snacks appeal to all,” Liz Matthews, Taco Bell’s chief food innovation officer, said in a release. “We’re thrilled about this new concept with Cheez-It, which gives our fans the chance to experience the real cheese and crunch they love from both of our brands in a whole new way.”
For the tostada, the Cheez-It square will be topped with beef, sour cream, diced tomatoes, lettuce and shredded cheese.
In the Crunchwrap Supreme, the massive Cheez-It will replace the tostada shell.
The items are being tested at a California location for the next two weeks or until supplies last.
16x bigger than a regular @cheezit cracker. Read that again… pic.twitter.com/3GthG0DAkD
— Taco Bell (@tacobell) June 28, 2022
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/16-times-bigger-cheez-it-cracker-meets-taco-bell-for-new-menu-item/ | 2022-06-29T15:36:16 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/16-times-bigger-cheez-it-cracker-meets-taco-bell-for-new-menu-item/ |
The Fourth of July weekend calls for all sorts of items such as grills, canoes, camping gear orevent tickets.
Ahead of the weekend, Floridian shoppers can have a sales-tax break for Freedom Week, which runs from July 1-7.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a tax relief package, HB 7061, that included Freedom Week in May 2021. The tax-free period during the first week of July eliminates taxes on outdoor recreation and entertainment such as kayaks, bicycles, sleeping bags and movie or concert tickets for events after Freedom Week ends too.
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Sales taxes will be lifted on the following items:
Tickets for events scheduled through Dec. 31
- Live music events, fairs, festivals, sporting events, cultural events and movies in theaters
- Entry and annual passes to museums, ballets, plays and musical theater performances
- Dues and fees for gyms and physical-fitness facilities
Fishing gear and supplies
- The first $5 of the price of bait or fishing tackle sold individually
- The first $30 of the price of tackle boxes or bags
- The first $75 of the price of single fishing rods or $150 when sold as a set
Water gear
- The first $25 of the price of snorkels, goggles and swimming masks
- The first $50 of the price of safety flares
- The first $75 of the price of life jackets, coolers, paddles and oars
- The first $150 of the price of water skis, wakeboards, kneeboards, inflatable water tubes and floats capable of being towed
- The first $300 of the price of paddleboards and surfboards
- The first $500 of the price of canoes and kayaks
Camping gear
- The first $30 of the price of camping lanterns and flashlights
- The first $50 of the price of sleeping bags, portable hammocks, camping stoves and collapsible camping chairs
- The first $200 of the price of tents
Other items
- Items for individual or team sports - other than footwear and uniforms - with prices of $40 or less
- The first $15 of the price of sunscreen or insect repellant
- The first $30 of the price of water bottles
- The first $100 of the price of sunglasses
- The first $200 of the price of hydration packs and binoculars
- The first $250 of the price of outdoor gas or charcoal grills and bicycles | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/floridas-freedom-week-heres-a-list-of-what-to-buy-tax-free/ | 2022-06-29T15:36:22 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/floridas-freedom-week-heres-a-list-of-what-to-buy-tax-free/ |
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man was hospitalized Wednesday after being shot in an attempted carjacking early that morning on South Orange Blossom Trail, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded around 4:20 a.m. to the 8800 block of S. Orange Blossom Trail where they said the victim, a man in his 20s, had been shot after a pair of men approached him and demanded his vehicle.
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The man drove away from the scene and was later taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, deputies said. It was not clarified whether he transported himself the entire way.
No suspect information nor any more details were available at the time of this report, deputies said.
This is a developing story. Check back with News 6 for the latest updates. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/victim-of-attempted-carjacking-makes-it-to-hospital-after-being-shot-driving-away-deputies-say/ | 2022-06-29T15:36:28 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/29/victim-of-attempted-carjacking-makes-it-to-hospital-after-being-shot-driving-away-deputies-say/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/young-woman-killed-after-man-tossed-out-of-bar-opens-fire-from-outside/3285415/ | 2022-06-29T15:37:31 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/young-woman-killed-after-man-tossed-out-of-bar-opens-fire-from-outside/3285415/ |
Twelve years ago a handful residents in the Timberline neighborhood east of Flagstaff declined to grant Coconino County the easements required for the completion of flood mitigation projects.
Now, current residents are bearing the consequences.
For Brian Skinner, who lives off a Brandis Way side street in the north area of Timberline, the consequence is watching as a deep gully he and his neighbors have nicknamed the Mini Grand Canyon cuts deeper and deeper into his driveway.
“Every time it rains, this road blows down, and it just gets a little bigger, a little bigger,” Skinner said.
Currently, the Mini Grand Canyon is about 20 feet deep and as many feet wide. As it channels stormwater from the Peaceful Watershed, its headcut encroaches on the access road to Skinner’s property. It’s also exposed a Doney Park water line, requiring the line to be covered in concrete blocks for protection, and exacerbated flooding downstream.
According to Brandis Way resident Trina Kramer, the Mini Grand Canyon got its start after the destructive Schultz Fire flooding. At this time, Coconino County undertook a massive $30 million flood mitigation project that spanned five years and five watersheds.
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The channels, alluvial fans and sediment basins that were constructed were designed to help control flood waters in the Timberline neighborhood. Their placement was dictated by the watersheds themselves, and in some cases, that meant running channels behind the lines of private property, requiring homeowners to grant the county easements in order to complete the project.
When a former resident refused the county mitigation projects that were recommended for the area, they instead “did their own attempted fixes” that diverted the flow of water, “caused a huge ditch” and flooded downstream neighbors.
“Then they wouldn't allow the county to come in and fix it, put in concrete lines or block line mitigation,” Kramer said. “And it’s just gotten worse and worse and worse.”
Kramer said these past resident’s diversions also continue to cause flooding and road damage down Dunlap Road. She finds the whole scenario frustrating.
“It was their right to say no, that the local government cannot come onto their property,” she said. “The problem is that’s very selfish and inconsiderate of those downstream of the issue.”
Ultimately, the diversions put in place by the former resident created such problems for their downstream neighbors that the conflict escalated past civility. The former resident “had guns drawn on them,” and eventually were sued by their downstream neighbors. The downstream neighbors won.
“Rightfully so,” Kramer said.
Years after the fact, the original resident has moved out, and Kramer and Skinner are left with the Mini Grand Canyon, which continues to grow. During the monsoon activity over the weekend, Skinner said the ditch was noticeably deeper.
“Every time it flows, it just eats it a little more,” he said.
When compared to adjacent watersheds that received county mitigation, the difference is clear, Kramer said.
“The channels where the mitigation is work,” she said.
After the weekend’s flooding, she was pleased to see county crews out Monday morning re-grading the damaged portion of Dunlap Road and clearing debris from existing channels. Kramer said she had spoken with county officials who are working on a concrete solution for the flooding effects on Dunlap.
“We’ve had a ton of support from the county,” Kramer said.
But fixing the Mini Grand Canyon won’t be an easy task, if even possible. This late in the game, the erosion may not be “mini” enough.
“We're going to look at if there are any immediate measures we can take to try to slow down the erosion,” said Lucinda Andreani, director of Coconino County Public Works. “I won’t say arrest the erosion, but slow down.”
The first step will be to revisit the issue that sprang up 12 years ago: consent. The Peaceful Watershed — where the Mini Grand Canyon is — is not the only area where residents declined mitigation. The same is true of the Copeland Wash farther south.
“We're hoping that both the Copeland and Peaceful areas will reconsider.” Andreani said. “We're going to push really hard to get federal resources to try to assist with long-term mitigation there.”
According to Andreani, the “on-forest” portions of mitigation systems, such as sediment-reduction facilities, are already complete. With residential agreement, the county could proceed to continue that mitigation system from the forest to the highway. But even if all went well and residents agreed to mitigation, there’s little the county can do to actualize such a system during the heightened flood risk of this year’s monsoon season.
“It’s a big process,” Andreani said, noting requiring the legal negotiation of easements and federal cooperation for funding. “Assuming everybody cooperates and signs the easements, at the earliest mitigation wouldn’t get constructed until next spring."
Despite what seems like an obvious need to Kramer and Skinner, getting agreement from every resident on the wash between the forest and highway may not be as easy as it sounds.
Kramer said there’s a lot of distrust and feelings of isolation among the Timberline neighborhood.
“We still rarely see somebody out here who's able to make a difference,” she said.
Still, she remains hopeful that seeing the how effective county mitigation has been in normal circumstances, along with the way that the county has hastily conducted post-flooding repairs will help other neighbors realize that mitigation is “a good thing.”
“There was a problem before, and look, the day after they're out here fixing it,” she said as the country road grader scraped through thick ashy mud on Dunlap Road. “This is going to make a difference for all of these homes.” | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/conflicts-over-flood-mitigation-made-a-mini-grand-canyon-near-brandis-way/article_9d7f3c2a-f71e-11ec-9701-97bbb2a2bf18.html | 2022-06-29T15:38:29 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/conflicts-over-flood-mitigation-made-a-mini-grand-canyon-near-brandis-way/article_9d7f3c2a-f71e-11ec-9701-97bbb2a2bf18.html |
For Flagstaff High School graduate Teague Van Dyke and his father Ty, playing college baseball was a shared goal. Monday, it become a reality.
With family, friends and coaches in attendance, Van Dyke officially signed to play with Umpqua Community College, an NJCAA school in Roseburg, Oregon, at his home on Monday.
“I’m super thankful looking back at life for everything that happened,” he said. "I’m just super excited to start the next process of playing and being a college baseball player.”
Van Dyke began his high school career at Coconino before transferring to Flagstaff, where he was a big part of playoff teams his junior and senior year.
As a junior, he hit .308 in 20 games, with 16 hits and 14 RBI. He also pitched 20 1/3 innings in relief, striking out 17 and allowing just eight earned runs with a 2.75 ERA. The Eagles went on to finish the 2021 regular season 18-1, winning the Grand Canyon Region with an undefeated 12-0 mark.
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In his senior year, Teague hit .329, led the team in RBIs (33) and walks (15), and struck out 23 in 27 1/3 innings pitched. After two consecutive losses to Coconino to end of the regular season, the Eagles defeated the rival Panthers in the 4A Conference play-in to move on to the state tournament.
The recruitment process was all about finding the best fit, with the right coach and program. Ty said they had options in Maryland, Seattle, California and Arizona.
“There were times when we were anxious about seeing all these other kids who were signing and committing to schools, and we still hadn’t committed because we just had not been in front of the right program with the right guy at the helm,” Ty said.
One of Ty’s college teammates had kids that played for Umpqua head coach Jeremiah Robbins, and said he really made a positive impact on their lives. Teague got connected, and the family visited the campus last month.
While there, they also took in an American Legion amateur baseball game that had over 700 people in attendance. By the time the trip was over, they knew they had found what they were looking for.
“After we were there and realized it was a baseball town and heard more from coach Robbins, we really could tell that this was the home,” Teague said. “We didn’t know it was the home, but after talking there and being there we knew that it was the place to be.”
Ty said he could tell how excited Robbins was to have them there.
“When the coach saw him throw and do a bullpen, I could see him smiling and nodding, and the coach was then in return excited to have him,” Ty said. "That’s a huge feeling of when you feel wanted, and the coach really made us feel like he was excited and honored to have us.”
Robbins is a three-time NAIA World Series champion in his previous role as head coach of the Lewis-Clark State College Warriors. He has also been named the American Baseball Coaches Association’s NAIA Coach of the Year multiple times.
The RiverHawks finished last season 32-19 to go with an 18-10 Northwest Athletic Conference record.
“Teague has a chance to be a front-line guy for us,” Robbins said via email. “His mentality will allow him to get better everyday. He has a very bright future! We are excited to have him in the RiverHawk baseball family.”
Before moving 17 and a half hours away to Roseburg in the fall, Teague plans to spend his last few months at home enjoying time with family and friends while training. He will have the chance to pitch and hit in the fall, just as he did in high school, according to Robbins.
Umpqua’s fall semester begins Sept. 26.
“I'm really excited for baseball to start. We start right in the beginning of the fall when we go up there, so I'm ready to just get it on and start the next chapter in life," Van Dyke said. | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/flagstaff-high-school-graduate-teague-van-dyke-to-play-for-umpqua-baseball/article_06b9f69c-f730-11ec-b587-23b8a6e27cdf.html | 2022-06-29T15:38:35 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/flagstaff-high-school-graduate-teague-van-dyke-to-play-for-umpqua-baseball/article_06b9f69c-f730-11ec-b587-23b8a6e27cdf.html |
The Coos Bay Downtown Association recently announced that phase one of the Utility Art Box Project is complete. Local artists gathered on June 4 in downtown Coos Bay to paint at five different locations on multiple utility boxes. The theme was “under the water” and “tidepools.” The color palette was blue, green, purple, white and black.
The CBDA put out a call to artists and was pleased with the submissions that we received. The selected artists were Laura Noel, Monica Deatherage, Bailee McMahon, Megan Gray, Kaylen Bennett and Shayla Van Tassell.
Phase two of the Utility Art Box Project has begun. Look for the Call to Artists on the CBDA website and Facebook page. Art work submissions will be due by July 16 and the painting will be completed by the 12 of August. The theme is “beaches” and “scenes from the bay.” The color palette is blue, green, yellow, white and black.
The Design Committee of the CBDA has worked very hard to bring local art to beautify downtown Coos Bay. They are also responsible for the gorgeous flower baskets that you see downtown, the rotating banners, the Wayfinding signs and most recently the running legs bike racks at the Coos Bay Visitor Center and Pre-Mural sites.
Thank you to Sherwin Williams for providing all of the paint and painting supplies for phase one of the project. Pacific Power also sponsored the project which was pivotal to its success and we are so grateful for both of their support. We couldn’t do it without them. Sherwin Williams has graciously agreed to sponsor the paint and painting supplies for phase two of the project.
The mission of the Coos Bay Downtown Association is to foster the development of downtown Coos Bay by strengthening local business, encouraging new business, and connecting the community through partnerships. The Coos Bay Downtown Association is committed to promoting Coos Bay as an attractive place to live, work, and visit by continually enhancing the quality life of the downtown area.
For more information about the Coos Bay Downtown Association, visit www.coosbaydowntown.org. You can also follow them on Facebook @coosbaydowntown. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/cbda-utility-art-box-project-phase-one-complete-phase-two-to-begin/article_aafdebf2-f599-11ec-8d06-ff0d83c50170.html | 2022-06-29T15:45:01 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/cbda-utility-art-box-project-phase-one-complete-phase-two-to-begin/article_aafdebf2-f599-11ec-8d06-ff0d83c50170.html |
Former Oregon State Rep. Betsy Johnson is running for governor of Oregon as an independent in the November election. Her campaign is focused on improving public schools, affordable housing for workers and make Oregon appealing to job creators.
Johnson served in the Oregon House and Senate for more than 20 years, retiring as chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee to run for governor. She has a reputation as an advocate for her constituents.
Johnson has also served on the boards of numerous local, regional and national organizations, including the Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Oregon Public Broadcasting Foundation and the High Desert Museum. She also ran a commercial helicopter company for 20 years. She is currently on the Board of Visitors of Northwest School of Law and serves as president of the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation, named after her late father.
Johnson said she decided to run for governor because she has had a front row seat to the deterioration of the state she loves. There are issues of homelessness, crime, lawlessness in Portland, the education system lowering standards for students, lack of affordable housing, and more.
“I believe we cannot continue in this way,” Johnson said. “And nothing is more disruptive to the status quo than having a nonaffiliated governor.”
Johnson is running as an independent. She left the Republican Rarty because she felt they became too extreme. As a Democrat, she felt the party went too far to the left, especially with issues such as defunding the police. She said she is running as an Oregonian.
One of the main things Johnson plans to do as governor is support law enforcement and make them accountable.
“They have to be responsible and professional, but we need to augment the amount of sworn officers that we have,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to get a hold of the lawlessness that has plagued Oregon.”
Johnson said she has maintained that Oregon cannot succeed if Portland fails. She said something must be done to get people off the streets and into affordable homes.
“Lincoln City is probably not atypical of what we’re seeing all up and down the coast where people that work in the hospitality industry especially are being forced to go farther and farther away from their job and commuting longer and longer distances,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to get more housing in the pipeline.”
Johnson believes there needs to be more accountability in Oregon’s schools. Oregon is graduating students who do not need to demonstrate competency in core subjects, Johnson added. When kids are not meeting the state’s standards, Oregon lowers those standards, she added. She plans to take the issue on and demand performance out of schools.
If elected, the Johnson administration would value jobs and job creators. She wants Oregon to be a welcoming place for job creators and retain the established jobs as well.
For Johnson, the important part is getting Oregon’s maverick spirit back and for people to be proud to be part of Oregon.
Johnson wants people to imagine a governor who would be willing to reject the paralytic partisan politics that have caused the state not to move forward on finding solutions to some of the big problems. She’s willing not to sign budgets or sign legislation unless there is bipartisan support.
“It’s all too often, in my experience, we start at no,” Johnson said. “I want us to be a welcoming place for jobs and job creators. I want us to get our economy back in play. I want us to be responsive to the needs of the businesses that are here.
While she was in the Legislature, Johnson was a budget writer.
“I know a lot about the state’s budget and would be very enthusiastic to comb through those budgets and make sure every taxpayer dime that’s being spent is yielding results that are accountable and audible,” Johnson said.
There is currently a petition to put Johnson on the ballot in November. Her campaign needs around 25,000 signatures by mid-August. She believes she will receive more than that, as the response has been overwhelming. People can download petitions for her campaign website.
For more information on Johnson’s campaign, visit https://www.runbetsyrun.com/ | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/governor-candidate-betsy-johnson-talks-independent-campaign/article_33cf3b38-f59b-11ec-ac4e-9b0f17e64571.html | 2022-06-29T15:45:07 | 1 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/governor-candidate-betsy-johnson-talks-independent-campaign/article_33cf3b38-f59b-11ec-ac4e-9b0f17e64571.html |
The police blotter is a public record of incidents as reported by law-enforcement agencies. All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are innocent until proven guilty. The information printed is preliminary and subject to change.
Tuesday, 6/21/2022:
North Bend
10:22 am, 1900 block of Virginia Ave, dispute. A 46 year old male was cited for disorderly conduct II.
11:20 am, 2000 block of Broadway Avenue, theft/menacing. A 46 year old male was charged with menacing, robbery I, theft II and unlawful use of weapon. Subject transported to Coos County jail.
1:24 pm, 2600 block of Broadway Avenue, stolen camp trailer.
7:23 pm, 1600 block of Virginia Avenue, criminal trespass. A 48 year old male was cited in lieu of custody.
Coos Bay
7:20 am, 2100 block Sherman Avenue, arrest. A 31 year old male was charged with violation of stalking order and lodged at Coos County jail.
8:03 am, 200 block of S Schoneman Street, theft of bike.
11:06 am, 200 block of S Broadway Street, theft. A 46 year old male was charged with theft II and criminal trespass I. Subject was transported to Coos County jail.
11:18 am, 900 block of S Empire Boulevard, theft from vehicle.
1:21 pm, Radar and Ocean, accident. A 33 year old female was cited.
2:26 pm, 1000 block of Seagate, criminal trespass. A 52 year old male was cited for criminal trespass II.
4:28 pm, 900 block of Newmark Avenue, theft of gas.
4:44 pm, 1400 block of Newmark Avenue, theft of mail.
Coquille
11:50 am, 800 block of N Central Boulevard, ID theft.
4:42 pm, 11th and Baxter, violation of restraining order. A 38 year old male was charged with violation of restraining order and transported to Coos County jail.
8:54 pm, 5th Street and Elliott Street, assault.
Reedsport
Wednesday, 6/22/2022:
North Bend
1:02 am, 3200 block of Tremont Avenue, warrant service. A 23 year old male was cited on three Coos County Sheriff office warrants.
1:16 pm, 500 block of Wall Street, criminal mischief. Damage to vehicle.
5:26 pm, Newmark and Ken Ware, tree down.
8:32 pm, Florida Avenue and Union, vicious dogs.
Coos Bay
9:09 am, 700 block of N 10th Street, theft of bicycles.
9:21 am, 1600 block of 10th Street, A 25 year old male was charged with three counts DV strangulation, DV assault IV, DV assault II, DV menacing, burglary I, theft I and two counts of criminal mischief II.
10:28 am, 2000 block of Newmark Avenue, theft of firearm.
4:16 pm, N Morrison and Taylor, traffic stop/warrant service. A 29 year old female was cited in lieu of custody.
6:51 pm, 2700 block of Woodland Drive, motor vehicle hit and run accident with dispute.
9:53 pm, 500 block of S Empire Boulevard, theft of firearm.
9:58 pm, 700 block of S Empire Boulevard, harassment/was just attacked by subject. A 46 year old male was cited for harassment in lieu of custody.
Coquille
6:19 pm, 96900 block of Highway 42 S, criminal trespass. A 54 year old male was cited for criminal trespass II and resisting arrest.
Reedsport
4:45 pm, Reedsport Police Department, civil dispute.
5:58 pm, Rainbow Plaza, disorderly conduct.
7:11 pm, Sugar Shack Bakery, disorderly conduct.
9:34 pm, 900 Greenwood Avenue, disorderly conduct.
Thursday, 6/23/2022:
North Bend
2:09 pm, North Bend area, ID theft.
6:25 pm, 2000 block of Union Avenue, fraud.
Coos Bay
6:22 am, 900 block of Montgomery Avenue, warrant service. A 43 year old female was cited in lieu of custody.
7:48 am, Pacific Avenue and North Bend High School, indecent exposure.
11:37 am, 100 block of Hall Street, warrant service. A 59 year old male was cited in lieu of custody.
2:21 pm, 300 block of S 4th Street, theft of fuel.
3:49 pm, 200 block of Baxter Street, Coos County Sheriff Office conducted a warrant service. A 62 year old male was cited in lieu of custody.
4:46 pm, Elrod and Highway 101, traffic signal outage.
5:48 pm, 1300 block of Newmark Avenue, stolen vehicle.
6:14 pm, 2000 block of Newmark Avenue, hit and run accident. A 61 year old male was cited in lieu of custody.
7:29 pm, Market and Broadway, traffic lights out.
Coquille
1:30 pm, 773 E 10th Street, hit and run motor vehicle accident.
4:40 pm, 600 block of E 8th Street, theft.
9:44 pm, 300 block of E 6th Street, brush fire.
10:28 pm, 1200 block of N Dean Street, theft of dog.
Reedsport
9:14 am, 2500 Gardens Avenue, theft.
10:22 am, Reedsport Police Department, disturbance. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/police-blotter/article_e71a8e42-f599-11ec-93f8-3fb6831bfe01.html | 2022-06-29T15:45:13 | 0 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/police-blotter/article_e71a8e42-f599-11ec-93f8-3fb6831bfe01.html |
Dighton to celebrate second annual Firecracker Festival July 9
DIGHTON — You can still have a blast in town after the 4th of July.
That's because, after the success of last year's inaugural event, Dighton is bringing back the Firecracker Festival.
The second annual festival will be held on Saturday, July 9, from noon to 6 p.m., at Dighton Town Hall, 979 Somerset Ave.
Organized by the Dighton Parks and Recreation Commission, the Firecracker Festival will have food, games, and entertainment for the whole community to enjoy.
This year, there will be face painting by Marc Koehler, a petting zoo with Sheffield Way Farm, and games and prizes organized by Parks and Recreation.
There will also be Touch-a-Truck with the Dighton Police and Fire Departments, as well as a "Splash the Selectmen" water tower.
Town committees/commissions and community groups will also be holding a meet and greet.
Food and beverages will be provided by the Dighton Lions Club, Pop's Brick-oven Pizza, Jim’s Famous Fried Dough and Del’s Lemonade.
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Dighton's Madalyn Stevens will be performing the national anthem.
Wayne Potash and Toe Jam Puppet Band will give musical performances, and there will be a circus act performed by Doctor Finnegan’s Circus.
Performances will be emceed by Off the Cuff Entertainment.
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"After a successful festival last year, we are delighted that we have the opportunity to hold the festival once again," Dighton Parks and Recreation Chairman Kevin Smith said in a press release. "It is a wonderful opportunity for Dighton residents to come together, have fun, socialize and get to know local organizations and committees. We encourage all residents to attend the Firecracker Festival and we cannot wait to see you all there."
For more information, visit dightonportal.com or the Town of Dighton Facebook page. | https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/entertainment/local/2022/06/29/dighton-celebrates-2022-firecracker-festival-town-hall-july-9/7760479001/ | 2022-06-29T15:46:30 | 0 | https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/entertainment/local/2022/06/29/dighton-celebrates-2022-firecracker-festival-town-hall-july-9/7760479001/ |
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday, criticizing Gov. Greg Abbott’s policies on immigration and human smuggling and urging the president to meet with Texas sheriffs to address fallout from the rising number of immigrants crossing the border.
In the letter, Salazar said Abbott has used the issues of immigration and human smuggling as “one big campaign stunt.”
“Governor Abbott has wasted excessive assets and personnel on an ineffective farce of an effort,” said Salazar, a Democrat. “I know it’s ineffective, because my deputies and surrounding county sheriffs deal with the aftermath every single day in the form of vehicle pursuits and even rescue operations with dozens of victims at a time.”
He said Abbott has jailed countless immigrants on “worthless charges that have only served to clog an already over-taxed state prison system, which has had a trickledown effect on overcrowded local jails.”
The letter comes one day after 51 migrants from Mexico and Central America were killed in a sweltering tractor-trailer on the city’s Southwest Side in one of the deadliest such episodes in recent history.
Eleven other people who were rescued from the trailer and were hospitalized, including an adolescent boy who was in critical condition at University Hospital. Authorities estimate that up to 100 people could have been packed inside at one point.
The dead were 39 men and 12 women. Twenty-two were from Mexico, seven were from Guatemala and two were from Honduras, Mexican officials said. The rest are still being identified.
On Tuesday, federal authorities arrested three people in connection with the deaths.
Homero Zamorano, 45, was arrested after officials say he abandoned the tractor-trailer and fled the scene while high on meth. Zamorano may appear Wednesday in federal court on human-smuggling charges. He has a long criminal history.
Authorities also arrested two men — Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez — who were seen leaving an address in San Antonio listed on the tractor-trailer's registration. Authorities obtained a warrant to search the home and found numerous firearms inside.
Both men are Mexican citizens in the country illegally after overstaying their tourist visas, federal court documents show. They were charged with illegal possession of a firearm and remain in federal custody.
On Monday evening, almost immediately after the migrants were found dead, Abbott placed blame of the incident on Biden and his border policies.
“These deaths are on Biden,” Abbott said in a Tweet. “ They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”
On Tuesday, Biden blamed the disaster on the criminal smuggling industry. He touted an international anti-smuggling campaign his administration launched with regional partners that has sent hundreds of agents to the border to curb the practice.
The campaign has led to 2,400 arrests in three months, he said.
“Initial reports are that this tragedy was caused by smugglers or human traffickers who have no regard for the lives they endanger and exploit to make a profit,” Biden said in a statement. “This incident underscores the need to go after the multi-billion dollar criminal smuggling industry preying on migrants and leading to far too many innocent deaths.”
Staff Writer Benjamin Wermund contributed to this report.
eeaton@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Bexar-sheriff-Abbott-migrant-deaths-17274072.php | 2022-06-29T15:48:17 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Bexar-sheriff-Abbott-migrant-deaths-17274072.php |
Itching to walk above War Memorial Drive? This trail extension is 'about 99% complete'
PEORIA – Work on an extension of the Rock Island Greenway is nearing completion.
"The project stands about 99% complete," said Nick McMillion, a communications specialist for the city of Peoria's Public Works department.
The new section of trail extends from Harvard Avenue into Glen Oak Park, where it connects with an existing trail. It crosses a former railroad bridge over War Memorial Drive.
From 2021:Years in the making, this Peoria trail will now extend into the heart of the city
Workers have finished clearing the trail of plants and debris and have laid down fresh gravel. While most of the new trail area is already accessible to the public, the bridge will remain blocked off until fences on either side can be completed. Supply chain delays on materials for the fence have prevented the project from being fully completed, McMillion said.
When those missing materials will arrive is uncertain.
"It could be next week, it could be three weeks from now," McMillion said.
Once they do arrive, he said, the bridge should be completed and accessible to the public within a week.
Want more to do?:Here are 16 of our favorite things about Peoria
The Rock Island Greenway stretches about 13 miles from Downtown Peoria to Alta and is maintained by the Peoria Park District. It is connected to the larger state-maintained Rock Island Trail, which extends northwest another 26 miles from Alta to Toulon. The trail is named after the now-defunct railroad that once ran through the same land.
Ongoing work on the Rock Island Greenway extension is the most recent part of a project that began when Peoria and Peoria Heights purchased the Kellar Branch of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad in 1984.
Last year, the City Council voted to spend $622,787 on the project. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/rock-island-greenway-trail-extension-nearly-complete-peoria/7705712001/ | 2022-06-29T15:52:44 | 0 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/rock-island-greenway-trail-extension-nearly-complete-peoria/7705712001/ |
MADISON HEIGHTS, Va. – Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal pedestrian crash in Amherst County that happened Tuesday.
According to Virginia State Police, the crash occurred Tuesday at about 10 p.m. in the 4600 block of South Amherst Highway.
A 2013 Dodge Charger was traveling south on Amherst Highway when a pedestrian was walking across the travel lane, police said.
Virginia State Police said that the Dodge was not able to avoid the pedestrian and hit them.
The pedestrian, Clyde E. Shores, 53, died at the scene, police said.
VSP said the driver of the Dodge, Dana J. Lewis, 44, suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene.
According to VSP, no charges will be placed and the crash remains under investigation.
Stay with 10 News as this breaking news story develops. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/29/one-dead-after-pedestrian-crash-in-amherst-county-police-say/ | 2022-06-29T15:52:55 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/29/one-dead-after-pedestrian-crash-in-amherst-county-police-say/ |
SALEM, Va. – The Salem Fair is celebrating opening day by inviting families to come to experience a wide range of activities.
The fair’s opening night is on June 29, and the last day of the fair is July 10.
On weekdays, the fair will be open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and on weekends, the fair will be open from noon to 11 p.m.
Wendy Delano, the Director of Civic Facilities, said how exciting the fair is for everyone.
“I look forward to every day, just because every day is something different and seeing the people come in,” Delano said. “Seeing the kids’ faces and how happy they are to be here and enjoying the rides. Families are able to come out and continue traditions. It is just a wonderful time.”
The Salem Fair is America’s largest free gate fair, featuring over 40 rides and more than 30 food vendors.
Some of the rides at the fair this year include the Apple worm, Crazy Chopper, Hang Ten, Nemo, Puppy spin, and more.
You can fill your stomachs with food from different vendors: burgers, corn dogs, crab cakes, fries, funnel cakes, gyros, pizza, and more will be available at the fair.
The Salem Fair will also feature free shows daily. Some of the performances you can enjoy include Scott’s World of Magic, Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, and Puppy Pals Stunt show.
July 5 is WSLS Day at the fair. If you bring two pairs of new socks, wristbands will be reduced to $19 – the ticket price on this day is $28. All sock donations will go to the Roanoke Rescue Mission and Mrs. Dorsey’s Clothes Closet in Salem. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/29/salem-fair-celebrates-opening-day-with-a-line-of-up-family-friendly-activities/ | 2022-06-29T15:53:03 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/06/29/salem-fair-celebrates-opening-day-with-a-line-of-up-family-friendly-activities/ |
A 33-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter were among four people hurt in a chain-reaction crash in Brooklyn a day ago that may have been triggered by one driver suffering some sort of medical episode, police said Wednesday.
Officers responding to a 911 call about the collision at the Ralph Avenue and East 66th Street intersection around 5:40 p.m. Tuesday found a 67-year-old man, the driver who may have had a medical issue, with body trauma. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition after the crash.
According to the preliminary investigation, police say it appears that the driver was traveling south on Ralph Avenue and entered a left turn lane as he approached Avenue L. He then went through a steady red light and kept driving on Ralph Avenue, where he sideswiped a vehicle that had the mom and child inside.
The impact sent the 67-year-old driver's vehicle flying toward the northbound lane of Ralph Avenue, where it collided with a Ford pickup truck. The truck driver was also taken to a hospital with complaints of pain, though the injuries to him and the mother and child were considered less serious than the ones to the 67-year-old driver.
Police say their investigation is ongoing. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/mom-4-year-old-girl-among-4-hurt-in-chain-reaction-crash/3754865/ | 2022-06-29T15:56:22 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/mom-4-year-old-girl-among-4-hurt-in-chain-reaction-crash/3754865/ |
TOBYHANNA, Pa. — Tobyhanna State Park has room for swimming, biking, and even the occasional sandcastle competition.
The fourth annual sandcastles competition was one of the activities put on by the Pocono Homeschool Enrichment Group (PHEG).
Greentown student Aida Charlie Getting is one of the participants.
"Me and my homeschool group, we do a sandcastle contest every year and that's what we are doing today, and we make up two teams and are doing a sandcastle contest," she said.
The fourth annual sandcastle contest has the boys taking on the girls to see who can come up with the more creative design.
PHEG Co-Founder Amber Getting is a part of the group that keeps students involved with one another.
"We are just a group of moms, really, who all homeschool independently and have found each other over the last few years," Getting said. "We've been good together for about six years now and our group has grown to be pretty solid and very comfortable."
Group members help families with figuring out the curriculum and organizing year-round activities, such as the sandcastle contest.
"I think we've had a very hard few years, with the pandemic, and it's been really nice to have each other, especially outdoors," Gouldsboro student Lily Gauvreau said.
Christine Gauvreau, a co-founder of PHEG, thought the kids' interactions were wonderful.
"Even all ages, they support each other the older kids really look out for the younger ones and they're all like siblings," she said.
Getting agreed.
"My kids have had some of these friends for five or six years now and those are friendships that I hope with last a lifetime for them," she said.
One of the youngest students, Sophia Porcano, summed the day up best.
"Wow, it's so cool!" Porcano said.
See news happening? Check out our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/its-so-cool-sandcastle-contest-forms-long-lasting-friendships-students-homeschool-moms-mothers-kids-children/523-92b099fa-9b2d-488c-a434-59ecb6ecce7e | 2022-06-29T16:12:22 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/its-so-cool-sandcastle-contest-forms-long-lasting-friendships-students-homeschool-moms-mothers-kids-children/523-92b099fa-9b2d-488c-a434-59ecb6ecce7e |
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