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MODESTO, Calif. — One person is dead and two people are injured after a shooting in Modesto on Thursday night, according to the Modesto Police Department.
Just after 11 p.m. on Thursday, officers responded to calls from a person saying shots were being fired at their vehicle. Officers found the car near McHenry Avenue and Briggsmore Avenue.
There were three people in the vehicle that were hit by gunfire, according to police. One person died and two other people had non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to local hospitals.
The Modesto Police Department said the incident does not appear to be random, but there is no threat to the community. Police are still investigating the shooting.
ABC10: Watch, Download, Read
Watch more on ABC10
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/modesto/highway-108-briggsmore-avenue-police-presence/103-851502dd-5e5e-42be-9bfd-9283594ea5ab
| 2022-05-06T15:41:19
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/modesto/highway-108-briggsmore-avenue-police-presence/103-851502dd-5e5e-42be-9bfd-9283594ea5ab
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SAN DIEGO — A revered tribal elder in the Native American community has a message for all of San Diego. In this Zevely Zone, I profile a voice so strong even Oprah shared his message.
Bankers Hill may be the last place you'd expect to receive a history lesson, but it is where Native American customs and traditions are still alive. With every song, the Red Warrior drum group remembers Native American history. "A lot of people don't even know about Native Americans anymore and they think we have disappeared," said tribal elder Randy Edmonds.
In the early 1950's, Mr. Edmonds was relocated by the U.S. government to California. "They wanted us to be white, speak English, learn English, read English books, learn about English history," said Mr. Edmonds. The 88-year-old elder was taught in history class as a child that Native Americans were savages. His family also found injustice in the healthcare system. "This is my mother. She passed away from tuberculosis at the age of 23," said Mr. Edmonds while showing me pictures from his childhood.
Mr. Edmonds was five years old when his mother died. He wishes she could have received care from the San Diego American Indian Health Center. "We see people from every from every nation, tribe band," said Paula Brim who sits on the board at the health clinic and is also a citizen of the Choctaw Nation. "If you look at any kind of data table, try to find Native Americans in that we are such a small percentage of the population that they don't even bother gathering the data," said Paula.
At the San Diego American Indian Health Center, the under-served populations matter the most. The health clinic is open to anyone, not just Native Americans.
They offer COVID tests and free vaccinations for the public. According to their website, the San Diego American Indian Health Center (SDAIHC) is a patient-centered health home that provides comprehensive medical, dental, behavioral health, and community wellness services that are available to all San Diegans.
Founded in May 1979, they honor the wisdom of community leaders who believed urban American Indians living in our city should have community-based health care rooted in traditional cultural values.
Mr. Edmonds is hoping we can still learn from our past. He feels it is a shame that he lost his mother at such a young age. "Yes, she could have been healed probably if we had the health services for her," said Mr. Edmonds. Since his relocation to California, Mr. Edmonds has become one of the state's most revered elders. He showed me a picture of him standing next to two famous celebrities. "You are going to have to explain this to me because it looks like you are standing next to Oprah Winfrey," I said. Mr. Edmonds smiled and said, "That is her."
He narrated Crow: The Legend an animated short film with Oprah and John Legend. John Legend played a crow; Oprah Winfrey played a bug, and he narrated the film. "I think I am the only Native American in the United States who has won an Emmy, that I know of," said Mr. Edmonds.
He is now a 2019, Daytime Emmy Award Winner. "That's me," said Mr. Edmonds. Films like Crow: The Legend, along with traditional drum songs and health clinics share a message for us all. "We have not gone anywhere we are still here," said Mr. Edmonds.
The San Diego American Indian Health Center (SDAIHC) will host the 34th annual Balboa Park Pow Wow on May 14 and 15, 2022, from 10:00am to 6:00pm, at the corner of Park Blvd. and President’s Way. Randy Edmonds will serve as the event emcee, and each day, the Pow Wow will showcase traditional activities such as Kumeyaay Bird Singing, Gourd Dancing, Inter-Tribal Dancing, and Honoring of community leaders.
For more information, please click here.
Watch more Zevely Zone content below:
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/native-american-voice-so-strong-even-oprah-shared-his-message/509-5312bc31-4564-44a6-94be-230568d20d42
| 2022-05-06T15:41:25
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/native-american-voice-so-strong-even-oprah-shared-his-message/509-5312bc31-4564-44a6-94be-230568d20d42
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Traffic back to normal along repaired portion of freeway
The Texas Department of Transportation announced traffic is once again flowing over the 6th Street overpass after repairs were finished Thursday night.
According to the press release, "Crews were able to open the Northbound Elevated Freeway US 287/281 at Broad Street to traffic at approximately 11 p.m.
According to the release:
The main lanes of I-44/US 287 over 6th Street are now open to traffic again after a $500,000 emergency contract was finished tonight.
The US 281 Northbound closure at Jacksboro Highway will also be removed so traffic can transition North to the Elevated Freeway and onto I-44 without stopping. As of 5-5-2022 at 11:40pm, US 281 was still exiting at Jacksboro.
Finally, the Eastbound US 82/Kell Freeway Falls Flyover ramp to the NB US 287 remains closed tonight. Traffic control will stay in place until it can be rearranged to allow vehicles to use the ramp again.
According a previous Times Record News report, the overpass was damaged on March 25, when a flatbed 18-wheeler carrying a gear box for a turbine lost its load. All traffic from southbound Lloyd Ruby overpass was diverted to lower Broad Street while repairs were made.
More:Damage to WF freeway from truck mishap could take months to repair
TxDOT announced on April 5 they were seeking an emergency contractor to place bids. A few days later they signed a contractor to make the repairs.
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https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/traffic-back-to-normal-along-repaired-portion-of-freeway/9671149002/
| 2022-05-06T15:44:45
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https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/traffic-back-to-normal-along-repaired-portion-of-freeway/9671149002/
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Presbyterian College suspends students, removes fraternity after racist taunting at lacrosse match
Presbyterian College expelled four students and suspended another for one year and removed a fraternity from campus following an investigation into a Feb. 11 incident that involved racist, misogynist and hateful taunting of the Howard University women's lacrosse team, according to a statement released Thursday.
According to the college, a small number of students taunted members of the Howard University women’s lacrosse team during pre-game warmups. Howard is a historically Black university, Presbyterian College is associated with the Presbyterian Church-USA.
Calls and emails to the athletic directors at Presbyterian College and Howard University were not immediately returned.
The college said in its statement that evidence revealed some students and staff near the incident took immediate, proactive measures to address the behaviors.
"We are profoundly sorry for what our guests from Howard University experienced that day. Our hearts are heavy for them and for women and people of color throughout the PC community, many of whom felt less safe because of the actions of a select few," Presbyterian College President Matthew Vanderberg wrote in a statement.
"Standing together as a unified community, PC categorically condemns racism, misogyny, and hate, all of which have no place in civilized society and are anathema to our most deeply held institutional values."
As a direct result of the incident and investigation:
- PC is permanently separating four students from the college, effective today.
- One student received a one-year suspension from PC.
- Two students received probated suspensions and must complete educational programs and counseling.
- Two students received penalties for alcohol-related policy violations.
- PC determined that two students were not involved in any misconduct.
The investigation also determined several members of the school's chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity were involved in the event. The participation in addition to an unrelated hazing incident resulted in permanently removing the chapter from campus and eliminating any possible path to reestablishment.
Alexis Hamilton is a Beaufort, SC native covering higher education in the Upstate. Reach her at 727-514-5734 or ahamilton@gannett.com
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https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2022/05/06/students-suspended-following-incident-presbyterian-college-event-howard-university/9666242002/
| 2022-05-06T15:52:11
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https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2022/05/06/students-suspended-following-incident-presbyterian-college-event-howard-university/9666242002/
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The driver of a sedan with a baby on board died after the car became partially wedged under a tractor-trailer near the foot of the Commodore Barry Bridge in Chester, Pennsylvania, Friday morning.
The crash took place around 7:15 a.m. near Route 291 and Jeffrey Street, police in the Delaware County city said. That is right near the ramps for U.S. Route 322.
The truck had come from the Route 322 off-ramp when the sedan "struck the side of the truck, causing the sedan to become wedged underneath the trailer," Chester Police Capt. Matthew Goldschmidt said in a news release.
The driver of the car died at the scene, police said. Another adult in the car and an infant in the car were treated for minor injuries. The truck driver wasn't injured.
The exact cause of the crash remained under investigation Friday.
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/deadly-chester-322-car-crash/3230595/
| 2022-05-06T16:13:30
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/deadly-chester-322-car-crash/3230595/
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The top baby names of 2021 are out – and names with Philadelphia ties made the top 10 in both the boys’ and girls’ lists.
We’re not sure how much of an influence James Harden, Bryce Harper or Benjamin Franklin had on the names parents chose for their newborns, but all three featured in the Social Security Administration’s charts.
James featured at No. 5 and Benjamin at No. 7 on the boys side, while Harper came in at No. 10 on the girls side.
Meanwhile, Liam topped the boys list for the fifth year in a row, while Olivia was the top girl name for the third year running, according to the SSA.
Check out the top 10 names for each sex in the chart below, and see how popular your name has been over the years here.
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/names-with-philly-ties-make-top-baby-names-of-2021-list/3230599/
| 2022-05-06T16:13:33
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/names-with-philly-ties-make-top-baby-names-of-2021-list/3230599/
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Two people have been charged in the case of a woman who was sexually attacked on a popular New Jersey recreation trail in the middle of the afternoon earlier this week, law enforcement sources said Friday.
Specific charges against the duo -- a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man, both of whom live in Morristown but are originally from Latin America, the sources say -- weren't immediately released. The arrests come after a woman was attacked on the typically low-crime town's Traction Line Recreation Trail around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.
The names of the two charged haven't been released. Prosecutors had said they approached the woman on the trail that afternoon and asked her for cash.
She didn't give them any. One suspect then shoved her to the ground and sexually attacked her while the other stood by and did nothing, officials said.
Prosecutors say the victim didn't know either of them. But police said she got a good look at the one who sexually attacked her before he and his friend biked away and likely hopped on a train. Police say the friend who stood by and did nothing wore a black hooded sweatshirt with a peculiar phrase, "a--holes live forever."
The trail where the attack took place is popular among runners, dog walkers and local families -- and has some rethinking their routes, including Beth Cooper.
"Super scary," Cooper said.
Local
Morristown resident Wes Shun said he was shocked by news of the attack.
"It's a safe trail," Shun said. "Lot of people on this trail, so I'm kind of shocked by this news."
Morris County Sheriff Jim Gannon also said an attack of that nature in the area was "unusual."
"In broad daylight and an open area, it's very much unusual in our experience, so we’re very much concerned," Gannon said.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/17-year-old-boy-pal-charged-in-unusual-sex-attack-on-popular-nj-walking-trail/3676375/
| 2022-05-06T16:20:07
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/17-year-old-boy-pal-charged-in-unusual-sex-attack-on-popular-nj-walking-trail/3676375/
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Cloe Alvarado, 32, of Brooklyn N.Y. refused to eat, brush her teeth, shower or go grocery shopping -- trapped by heavyhearted despair and vivid nightmares two years ago.
After undergoing two previous miscarriages, Alvarado was finally pregnant with her son in August 2020 but felt incapable of taking care of herself mentally and endured debilitating anxiety attacks, yet she found a solution through light therapy.
"I was sometimes in bed for 30 hours without sleeping and some days sleeping for two hours. I was not functioning," Alvarado said to NBC New York during an interview.
Alvarado was suffering from perinatal depression that comes during or after pregnancy and is different than "baby blues," which is associated with feelings of worry or exhaustion within the first two weeks after delivery.
What is Perinatal Depression?
Perinatal and postpartum depression lasts longer than a couple of weeks and generally requires personalized treatment, such as talk therapy or antidepressants. On very rare occasions, postpartum psychosis may occur with extreme mood disorders, hallucinations and paranoia.
"You feel like the baby's here now, I should be happy. I should want to connect. I should want to bond and enjoy my little baby. Then, you don't, you don't know why and you feel ashamed, guilty and not say anything," explained Alvarado.
News
It's estimated that 1 in 8 women develop long-lasting symptoms, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
About 20 weeks in, this NYC mother joined a clinical trial at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research focusing on bright light therapy.
Let There be Light
"This study is using a novel approach that integrates bright light therapy, sleep scheduling and other interventions to reset the sleep-wake cycle to improve sleep and reduce depression," Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis, principal investigator of the trial, told News 4.
Light therapy, or phototherapy, is a method utilizing outdoor or artificial light sources to treat mental health conditions, such as seasonal affective disorder.
The goal of this research is to mix light therapy with a prescribed sleep schedule in order to quicken recovery and prevent postpartum depression in mothers experiencing mild to moderate symptoms.
With just under 60 participants spread across four hospitals, including UNC Chapel Hill, UVA University of Virginia and Brown University, patients are given an artificial light source and watch to monitor their rest.
"The intense increase and decrease of pregnancy hormones trigger depression by disrupting many brain systems, including circadian rhythms (sleep-wake cycles), inflammatory processes, and ultimately brain circuitry," said Dr. Deligiannidis, who notes women with perinatal depression may have a higher brain sensitivity to stress.
Mother on a Mission
After weeks of light therapy, Alvarado finally was making headway in changing her outlook on life and addressing the mental health stigmas that came with it, not being afraid or ashamed to seek help.
"They [clinical trial team] gave me purpose to my days. Not only was I a mother suffering through a perinatal mood disorder, but I was also a mom suffering through a pandemic with a husband with multiple sclerosis," said Alvarado, who currently works for The Citywide Doula Initiative, providing no-cost services to residents in underserved communities hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
After participating in this trial, Alvarado feels reborn herself, grateful for her one-year-old, and does not recognize the person she was when pregnant.
Hoping to promote a new non-invasive standard of care treatment, this clinical study will continue for the next couple of years and is currently enrolling women around 20 weeks of pregnancy who either feel depressed or have sleeping difficulties.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/brooklyn-mother-finds-power-in-light-therapy-after-depression-changed-my-life/3675599/
| 2022-05-06T16:20:14
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/brooklyn-mother-finds-power-in-light-therapy-after-depression-changed-my-life/3675599/
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Margaritaville developer: Melbourne complex will be compatible with Indian River Lagoon
The developer of Margaritaville Landing and Riverwalk says environmental planning for the hotel-marina project has been extensive — including underwater dive studies to examine seagrass and aquatic life — to help protect the imperiled Indian River Lagoon.
Thursday night, the Melbourne Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended approval of a site plan and rezoning package allowing construction of the Margaritaville complex off U.S. 1. These were the much-discussed project's first Melbourne City Hall votes.
Specifically, the Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the following for the previously developed, vacant riverfront property:
- Site plan to construct a seven-story, 146-room resort hotel with amenities, a two-story restaurant, and a 221-slip marina and event lawn.
- Conditional use to allow building height of 87 feet. That's 39 feet above the 48-foot limit in the surrounding commercial zoning district.
- Conditional use to reestablish a marina on the 3-acre footprint of the long-defunct Intracoastal Marina.
"The other things that we'll have to talk about during staff-level review would be when they come in for their site construction plans. That's when we'd look at all the details: the permitting, the stormwater, the drainage," Planning Manager Cheryl Dean told the board.
"That comes later. This is about the idea of approving the height and approving the marina, and the overall concept of the site plan," Dean said.
Developer Harry Mirpuri said it may cost $60 million to $65 million to build the upland portion of Margaritaville Landing and Riverwalk, plus another $10 million to $12 million to rebuild the former marina.
The Planning and Zoning Board serves as an advisory board. Next, the Melbourne City Council will likely cast decisive Margaritaville votes on May 24 and June 14. Mirpuri hopes to start site work by the third or the fourth quarter, with construction finished in fall 2024.
"We really fought hard to bring this project to Melbourne. I will tell you that this is a one-off project," Mirpuri told the board.
"This is going to certainly add a lot of stimulus to the economy. And obviously, create a greater destination than what we have that's existing," he said.
Planning and Zoning Board member Ray Shackelford asked about traffic impacts. According to a traffic study submitted by the developer, Margaritaville would generate about 3,084 new vehicle trips per day, an agenda memo said.
More:Melbourne Margaritaville resort details released, including 7th-floor rooftop restaurant
More:Margaritaville brand booming across Florida, with sites planned in Melbourne, Gainesville
Planning and Zoning Board member Marcus Smith referenced a Thursday email to City Council members from David Botto, who chairs the Marine Resources Council intergovernmental committee. Botto called for Margaritaville to adopt low-impact development and appropriate management practices to protect the ailing Indian River Lagoon.
"It is widely recognized that the present dire condition of the IRL is the result of years of land use and development decisions made without considering their polluting impact on the lagoon," Botto said in the email.
"We are concerned that the subject development, if approved as presented, may be an example of the development mismanagement that got us where we are today," Botto said.
"However, it could be an example of intelligent development that ensures no additional pollution post-development," he said.
Botto said MRC officials are available to discuss development options and practices that may apply to the Margaritaville site plan.
More:From Mediterranean food to a speakeasy, here are 5 new restaurants to try in downtown Melbourne
More:TUI, Melbourne's first-ever European airline, lands inaugural flight from United Kingdom
Dean told the board that city, state and federal officials will make sure Margaritaville is built to protect the water and follow codes during construction planning review and permitting.
Mirpuri said his team has spent more than two years behind the scenes meeting all requirements from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
And Mirpuri said Margaritaville's 221-slip marina will be less intense than its predecessor, the long-defunct Intracoastal Marina.
He said crews will remove the old boat ramp so people cannot launch vessels from the site; no major boat repairs will be performed dockside; and the stormwater system will be designed to capture runoff on-site and exceed code requirements.
"We're not impacting the (marina) basin at all. We're not dredging it at all. In fact, we're lowering the footprint that was existing — from the 300-odd slips with the marina storage facility and dry-dock and marina services — to just a marina. Nothing more," Mirpuri told the board.
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
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https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/margaritaville-developer-melbourne-hotel-complex-indian-river-lagoon/6561647001/
| 2022-05-06T16:58:47
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https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/margaritaville-developer-melbourne-hotel-complex-indian-river-lagoon/6561647001/
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HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Sherry Noppe, the woman missing since Tuesday along with her dog, was found alive by searchers early Friday morning in George Bush Park, according to Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heap.
Noppe was found at 3 a.m. by a group of volunteers who were alerted by the sound of her dog, Max, barking in the woods, Heap said.
Noppe was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Katy to be evaluated. Officials said she was a little shaken up and had cuts and bruises but should make a speedy recovery.
"She's doing surprisingly well for how long she's been out there and the conditions that we were expecting," daughter Courtney said. "The heat. The rain. We're very grateful."
Noppe is still being checked out, but is expected to make a full recovery. She has some cuts and bruises and was pretty shaken when they found her.
A friend of the family is calling it a miracle and said Max the dog is a hero for helping signal searchers with his barking.
"With Max, that dog had no leash, no collar, and stayed by her side for three days," Noppe's son, Justin said. "And that just shows you the loyalty the dog has."
Deputies and Texas EquuSearch have been searching the 2,700-acre park on ATVs and on foot since earlier this week.
When they got a hit from a K-9, the searchers turned off their ATVs and heard Max barking.
Noppe was last seen on a surveillance camera early Tuesday afternoon walking Max, a black Labrador, near her Parkland Village neighborhood in Katy, which backs up to George Bush Park.
After two days, searchers continued looking into the night as storms rolled through the area Thursday. A small group of volunteers who are friends with Noppe's children were able to find her thanks to Max's barking, her children said.
"I'm grateful for them not giving up, for pushing on," daughter Courtney said. "They really were committed."
Her children believe Noppe remained in the same location for a lengthy period of time, which was approximately 50 to 100 yards into the woods off a trail in the park.
As for Max, he was being evaluated at a veterinarian and was due for a bath. While Max is special for his loyalty to Noppe during the days she was missing, he has a deeper connection to her children.
"Max was our brother's dog, he passed away two years ago," Justin said. "He's the last thing that we really have of him. To get them both back is a silver lining."
Her children also added their gratitude for the Katy community for their efforts to find their mother.
"It was like it was everyone's mother, not just our mother," son Justin said. "It touches everyone deeply."
Tips about possible sightings had poured in over the last few days.
“We’ve had two sightings that are more credible than others, we’ve had about 200 non-credible sightings," Jake Stovall with Gulf Search & Rescue said earlier this week.
A Facebook page called Find Sherry had thousands of members. One post included a photo of a chair, a dog bowl and bottle of water with Noppe's name on it that someone left on a trail with hopes that Noppe would see it.
Noppe was recently diagnosed with dementia but despite her memory loss, was said to be very familiar with the park's trails.
Watch the family's update on their mother Sherry Noppe and Max the dog.
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/missing-katy-woman-found-in-george-bush-park-harris-county-texas/285-70e9b932-4ec0-4550-b445-c2b057ee6aa4
| 2022-05-06T17:16:47
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/missing-katy-woman-found-in-george-bush-park-harris-county-texas/285-70e9b932-4ec0-4550-b445-c2b057ee6aa4
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When fire struck an apartment building on North Main Street in Herkimer just before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, many of its tenants were just going to bed.
“Smelled smoke and opened the door. There was a little bit in the hallway. I figured somebody burned toast or something again, typical thing, went back in the apartment. Next thing you know, firefighters kicking the door in, 'Got to go! Got to go! Fire!" said tenant, Bryant Jackson.
"I was lying down. I was lying down in my bedroom," says tenant, Mary Dedman. “They knocked on the door, said, ‘fire, smoke!’ Everybody had to get out."
Firefighters arrived after a tenant called 911 around 11:20 p.m., to report an odor of smoke. Firefighters first tried an interior attack, but were soon pushed out by the fire. Twenty five to 30 firefighters from four departments were at the scene. It took them six hours to put out the fire. Herkimer Fire Chief Michael Moody says they were able to save the exposures.
“We were able to contain the fire to the building of origin and the exposures on the north and south side were not affected other than a little bit of water damage," said Moody.
Fire destroyed the third floor of the apartment building. The first and second had severe water damage, according to the chief.
“At the peak of the fire, we were flowing more than 2,000 gallons a minute into the building,' said Chief Moody.
He says they had to reach out a bit to get adequate water to the fire.
“Because we had three master stream operations going at the same time, the water mains on Main Street are not sufficient to support that kind of water flow, so we had to go to some parallel streets to grab some water from there," said Chief Moody. "It really didn't hinder anything. We were able to get sufficient water.”
They were also able to get all 21 tenants who were home at the time out of the building, including four children, ages 5,6,8 and 12. The Red Cross is helping them.
“This is one of the buildings we consider a high hazard building. High occupancy, older building. So it's very fortunate that no one was injured or worse, either civilians or firemen," says Chief Moody.
Just before noon, a state fire investigator put up a drone to get another view of the destruction as tenants watched -- their belongings destroyed -- their spirit, unscathed. Asked if he was able to salvage anything from his apartment, Jackson said, with a chuckle, referring to the clothes he was wearing, “You see it. I got it!"
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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https://www.wktv.com/news/local/fire-at-herkimer-apartment-complex-leaves-17-adults-4-children-homeless/article_436a78ca-cca9-11ec-870b-8b1ca3de807f.html
| 2022-05-06T17:18:21
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https://www.wktv.com/news/local/fire-at-herkimer-apartment-complex-leaves-17-adults-4-children-homeless/article_436a78ca-cca9-11ec-870b-8b1ca3de807f.html
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A 27-year-old Lincoln man was sentenced on Thursday to up to 43 years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at his central-Lincoln home last summer, according to court filings.
Brandt Mullen had pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault and felony child abuse after he was arrested for the crimes in August.
On Thursday, a Lancaster County judge sentenced the Lincoln man to 25 to 40 years for the sexual assault conviction and one to three years for child abuse, according to filings. Mullen, who has been incarcerated since his arrest, received credit for 275 days served.
The sentence comes more than nine months after a 14-year-old girl told police she and her 15-year-old friend met Mullen while riding a city bus, and he invited them back to his house near 23rd and G streets to smoke marijuana, police said in court records.
Only the 15-year-old entered the house with Mullen, Lincoln Police Investigator Robert Norton said in the affidavit for Mullen's arrest. The 15-year-old later told her friend that she had been having sex with Mullen since first meeting him, Norton said.
People are also reading…
Officers went to Mullen's house on July 25, where he said he knew the 15-year-old but had never had sex with her, according to the affidavit.
Mullen told police the 15-year-old wasn't in his house, but officers detained him and entered the home, where they found the girl, who later told investigators Mullen had sexually assaulted her and threatened to hurt her if she told anyone, Norton said in the affidavit.
The 27-year-old was arrested Aug. 4 and taken to the Lancaster County jail, where he remained until Thursday, when he was transferred into the custody of the state corrections department.
Tom Casady's list of the 10 most infamous crimes in Lincoln history
Crimes of the times
This is simply one man’s perspective from the early 21st century (first written in 2010). I had to make a decision about crimes that occurred at locations that are inside the city today, but were outside our corporate limits at the time they occurred. I chose the latter.
Before beginning, though, I have to deal with three crimes that stand apart: the murders of three police officers in Lincoln. I’m not quite sure how to place them in a list. They all had huge impacts on the community, and on the police department in particular. Because these are my colleagues, I deal with them separately and in chronological order.
Patrolman Marion Francis Marshall
Shot in the shadow of the new Nebraska State Capital, Gov. Charles Bryan came to his aid and summoned additional help.
Lt. Frank Soukup
Marion Marshall was technically not a Lincoln police officer, so Lt. Soukup was actually the first Lincoln police officer killed on duty. One of his colleagues who was present at the motel and involved in the gunbattle, Paul Jacobsen, went on to enjoy a long career and command rank at LPD, influencing many young charges (like me) and leaving his mark on the culture of the agency.
Lt. Paul Whitehead
In the space of a few months, three LPD officers died in the line of duty. Frank Soukup had been murdered, and George Welter had died in a motorcycle crash. Paul Whitehead's partner, Paul Merritt, went on to command rank, and like Paul Jacobsen left an indelible mark at LPD and the community.
No. 1: Starkweather
The subject of several thinly disguised movie plots and a Springsteen album, the Starkweather murders are clearly the most infamous crime in Lincoln’s history — so far. One of the first mass murderers of the mass media age, six of Charles Starkweather’s 11 victims were killed inside the city of Lincoln, and the first was just on the outskirts of town. I didn’t live in Lincoln at the time, but my wife was a first-grader at Riley Elementary School and has vivid memories of the city gripped by fear in the days between the discovery of the Bartlett murders and Starkweather’s capture in Wyoming.
The case caused quite an uproar. There was intense criticism of the police department and sheriff’s office for not capturing Starkweather earlier in the week after the discovery of the Bartletts' bodies. Ultimately, Mayor Bennett Martin and the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners retained a retired FBI agent, Harold G. Robinson, to investigate the performance of local law enforcement. His report essentially exonerated the local law officers and made a few vanilla recommendations for improving inter-agency communication and training.
Now I know that many readers are mumbling to themselves “how obvious.” Hold your horses, though. It’s not quite as obvious as you might think. I had two experiences that drove this fact home to me. The first was a visit by a small group of journalism students. Only one member of the class had any idea, and her idea was pretty vague. You need to remember that the Starkweather murders were in 1957 and 1958 — before the parents of many college students were even born.
The second experience was a visit by a Cub Scout den. I was giving the kids a tour of the police station one evening. We were in the front lobby waiting for everyone to arrive. As I entertained the boys, I told the moms and dads that they might enjoy looking in the corner of the Sheriff’s Office display case to see the contents of Starkweather’s wallet — discovered a couple of years ago locked up in the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office safe. After a few minutes, one of the confused fathers asked me who Starkweather was, and why it was significant.
No. 2: Lincoln National Bank
On the morning of Sept. 17, 1930, a dark blue Buick carrying six men pulled up in front of the Lincoln National Bank at the northwest corner of 12th and O streets. Five of the men entered the bank, while a sixth stood outside by the Buick, cradling a machine gun. Observing the unusual events, a passerby called the police. The officer who responded, Forrest Shappaugh, was casually instructed by the machine-gun-toting lookout to just keep going, which he wisely did. Returning with reinforcements, he found that the robbers had already made good on their getaway, netting $2.7 million in cash and negotiable securities.
Ultimately, three of the six suspects were arrested. Tommy O’Connor and Howard Lee were convicted and sentenced. Jack Britt was tried twice but not convicted by a hung jury. Gus Winkeler, a member of Al Capone’s gang, winged a deal with County Attorney Max Towle to avoid prosecution in exchange for orchestrating the recovery of $600,000 in bearer bonds. The following year, Winkeler was murdered in Chicago, the victim of a gangland slaying. The final two robbers were never identified.
The Lincoln National Bank robbery stood as the largest cash bank robbery in the United States for many decades. It precipitated major changes at the Lincoln Police Department. Chief Peter Johnstone was rapidly “retired” after the robbery, the department’s fleet was upgraded to add the first official patrol cars, the full force was armed and a shotgun squad was organized. Forty-four years later when I was hired at LPD, the echo of the Lincoln National Bank robbery was still evident in daily bank opening details, and in the Thomspon submachine guns and Reising rifles that detectives grabbed whenever the robbery alarm sounded at headquarters.
No. 3: The Last Posse
My first inkling about this crime came when I was the chief deputy sheriff. One of my interns, a young man named Ron Boden (who became a veteran deputy sheriff), had been doing some research on Lancaster County’s only known lynching, in 1884. I came across a reference in the biography of the sheriff at the time, Sam Melick, to the murder of the Nebraska Penitentiary warden and subsequent prison break. Melick had been appointed interim warden after the murder and instituted several reforms.
Several years later, a colleague, Sgt. Geoff Marti, loaned me a great book, Gale Christianson’s "Last Posse," that told the story of the 1912 prison break in gory, haunting and glorious detail.
To make a long story short, convict Shorty Gray and his co-conspirators shot and killed Warden James Delahunty, a deputy warden and a guard on Wednesday, March 13, 1912. They then made their break — right into the teeth of a brutal Nebraska spring blizzard. Over the course to the next few days, a posse pursued. During the pursuit, the escapees carjacked a young farmer with his team and wagon. As the posse closed in, a gunfight broke out and the hostage was shot and killed in the exchange, along with two of the three escapees.
There was plenty of anger among the locals in the Gretna-Springfield vicinity about the death of their native son, and a controversy raged over the law enforcement tactics that brought about his demise. Lancaster County Sheriff Gus Hyers was not unsullied by the inquiry, although it appears from my prospect a century later that the fog of war led to the tragedy.
Christianson, a professor of history at Indiana State University who died earlier this year, notes the following on the flyleaf:
“For anyone living west of the Mississippi in 1912, the biggest news that fateful year was a violent escape from the Nebraska state penitentiary planned and carried out by a trio of notorious robbers and safe blowers.”
Bigger news on half the continent than the sinking of the Titanic during the same year would certainly qualify this murder-escape as one of the most infamous Lincoln crimes in history.
No. 4: Rock Island wreck
The Aug. 10, 1894, wreck of a Rock Island train on the southwest outskirts of Lincoln was almost lost in the mist of time until it was resurrected in the public consciousness by author Joel Williams, who came across the story while conducting research for his historical novel, "Barrelhouse Boys."
The wreck was determined to be the result of sabotage to the tracks, perhaps an attempt to derail the train as a prelude to robbery. Eleven people died in the crash and ensuing fire, making this a mass murder, to be sure. G.W. Davis was arrested and convicted of the crime but later received a full pardon. The story was told in greater detail earlier this year by the Lincoln Journal Star.
A historical marker is along the Rock Island Trail in Wilderness Park, accessible only by foot or bike from the nearest trail access points about a half-mile away at Old Cheney Road on the north, or 14th Street on the south.
Here’s the big question that remains unanswered: Was there really significant evidence to prove that George Washington Davis committed the crime, or was he just a convenient scapegoat? The fact that he received a gubernatorial pardon 10 years later leads me to believe that the evidence must have been unusually weak. If he was railroaded, then my second question is this: who really pried loose the tracks with the 40-pound crowbar found at the scene?
No. 5: Commonwealth
On Nov. 1, 1983, the doors to Nebraska’s largest industrial savings and loan company were closed and Commonwealth was declared insolvent. The 6,700 depositors with $65 million at stake would never be fully compensated for their loss, ultimately receiving about 59 cents on the dollar for their deposits, which they all mistakenly believed were insured up to $30,000 through the Nebraska Depository Insurance Guaranty Corporation, which was essentially an insurance pool with assets of only $3 million.
The case dominated Nebraska news for months. The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of three members of the prominent Lincoln family that owned the institution, the resignation of the director of the State Department of Banking and the impeachment of the Nebraska attorney general and the suspension of his license to practice law. State and federal litigation arising from the failure of Commonwealth drug on for years.
At the Lincoln Police Department, the Commonwealth failure led to the formation of a specialized white-collar crime detail, now known as the Technical Investigations Unit. At the time, municipal police departments in the United States had virtually no capacity for investigating financial crime and fraud of this magnitude, and we quickly became well known for our expertise in this area. The early experience served LPD very well in the ensuring years.
No. 6: Candice Harms
Candi Harms never came home from visiting her boyfriend on Sept. 22, 1992. Her parents reported her as a missing person the following morning, and her car was found abandoned in a cornfield north of Lincoln later in the day. Weeks went by before her remains were found southeast of Lincoln.
Scott Barney and Roger Bjorklund were convicted in her abduction and murder. Barney is in prison serving a life term. Bjorklund died in prison in 2001. Intense media attention surrounded the lengthy trial of Roger Bjorklund, for which a jury was brought in from Cheyenne County as an alternative to a change of venue. I have no doubt that the trial was a life-changing event for a group of good citizens from Sidney, who did their civic duty.
I was the Lancaster County sheriff at the time, involved both in the investigation and in the trial security. It was at about this time that the cellular telephone was becoming a consumer product, and I have often thought that this brutal crime probably spurred a lot of purchases. During my career, this is probably the second-most-prominent Lincoln crime in terms of the sheer volume of media coverage.
No. 7: Jon Simpson and Jacob Surber
A parent’s worst nightmare unfolded in September 1975 when these two boys, ages 12 and 13, failed to return from the Nebraska State Fair. The boys were the victims of abduction and murder. The case was similar to a string of other murders of young boys in the Midwest, and many thought that these cases were related -- the work of a serial killer. Although an arrest was made in the case here in Lincoln, the charges were eventually dismissed. William Guatney was released and has since died.
No. 8: John Sheedy
Saloon and gambling house owner John Sheedy was gunned down outside his home at 1211 P St. in January 1891. The case of Sheedy, prominent in Lincoln’s demiworld, became the talk of the town when his wife, Mary, and her alleged lover and accomplice, Monday McFarland, were arrested. Both were acquitted at trial. The Sheedy murder is chronicled in a great interactive multimedia website, Gilded Age Plains City, an online version that builds upon an article published in 2001 by Timothy Mahoney of the University of Nebraska.
No. 9: Patricia McGarry and Catherine Brooks
The bodies of these two friends were found in a Northeast Lincoln duplex in August 1977. Their murderer, Robert E. Williams, was the subject of a massive Midwest manhunt during the following week. Before his capture, he committed a third murder in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, and raped, shot and left for dead a victim who survived in Minnesota. He is the last man to be executed in Nebraska, sent to the electric chair in 1997.
No. 10: Judge William M. Morning
District Court Judge William Morning was murdered in February 1924. He was shot on the bench by an unhappy litigant in a divorce case. His court reporter, Minor Bacon, was also shot, but a notebook in his breast pocket deflected the bullet and saved his life.
Many other crimes
Choosing Lincoln's 10 most infamous crimes was a challenge. Although the top two were easy, the picture quickly became clouded. We tend, of course, to forget our history rather quickly. Many of the crimes I felt were among the most significant are barely remembered today, if not completely forgotten.
Some readers will take issue with my list. In choosing 10, here are the others I considered, in no particular order. They are all murders:
-- Mary O'Shea
-- Nancy Parker
-- Charles Mulholland
-- Victoria Lamm and Janet Mesner
-- Martina McMenamin
-- Regina Bos (presumably murdered)
-- Patty Webb
-- Marianne Mitzner
I also thought about the five murder-suicides in which a mother or father killed multiple family members before taking their own life. Though tragic, these crimes did not command the same kind of attention as the others, perhaps because there was no lengthy investigation, no tantalizing whodunit, no stranger-killer, nor any of the details that come out in the coverage of a major trial.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @andrewwegley
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-man-gets-up-to-43-years-in-prison-for-sexually-assaulting-15-year-old/article_07f4dee3-6a2f-5cb7-a4cc-4a95390d2bde.html
| 2022-05-06T17:26:15
| 0
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-man-gets-up-to-43-years-in-prison-for-sexually-assaulting-15-year-old/article_07f4dee3-6a2f-5cb7-a4cc-4a95390d2bde.html
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Three Lincoln teenagers who police say fled the scene of an attempted burglary in a stolen van were detained early Friday morning after the vehicle got stuck in the mud, according to authorities.
Lincoln Police Sgt. Chris Vollmer said the owner of Exotic CBD, 4640 Bair Ave., received an alert at around 2:30 a.m. Friday and drove to the business, where the owner saw the van fleeing the parking lot and relayed information to dispatchers.
The teens didn't gain entry into the business.
Police later spotted the van driving near 14th Street and Alvo Road, Vollmer said. As police pursued, the vehicle fled from officers before getting stuck in the mud on an access road.
Vollmer said the van was stolen from the 5200 block of Orchard Street sometime Thursday night.
Three juvenile males who police contacted in the van were detained. Vollmer said police were still gathering information Friday morning. They have not yet been referred to juvenile court.
People are also reading…
The incident comes less than a week after police tied three Lincoln teens to a weekend smoke shop burglary of more than $10,000 worth of product.
Tom Casady's list of the 10 most infamous crimes in Lincoln history
Crimes of the times
This is simply one man’s perspective from the early 21st century (first written in 2010). I had to make a decision about crimes that occurred at locations that are inside the city today, but were outside our corporate limits at the time they occurred. I chose the latter.
Before beginning, though, I have to deal with three crimes that stand apart: the murders of three police officers in Lincoln. I’m not quite sure how to place them in a list. They all had huge impacts on the community, and on the police department in particular. Because these are my colleagues, I deal with them separately and in chronological order.
Patrolman Marion Francis Marshall
Shot in the shadow of the new Nebraska State Capital, Gov. Charles Bryan came to his aid and summoned additional help.
Lt. Frank Soukup
Marion Marshall was technically not a Lincoln police officer, so Lt. Soukup was actually the first Lincoln police officer killed on duty. One of his colleagues who was present at the motel and involved in the gunbattle, Paul Jacobsen, went on to enjoy a long career and command rank at LPD, influencing many young charges (like me) and leaving his mark on the culture of the agency.
Lt. Paul Whitehead
In the space of a few months, three LPD officers died in the line of duty. Frank Soukup had been murdered, and George Welter had died in a motorcycle crash. Paul Whitehead's partner, Paul Merritt, went on to command rank, and like Paul Jacobsen left an indelible mark at LPD and the community.
No. 1: Starkweather
The subject of several thinly disguised movie plots and a Springsteen album, the Starkweather murders are clearly the most infamous crime in Lincoln’s history — so far. One of the first mass murderers of the mass media age, six of Charles Starkweather’s 11 victims were killed inside the city of Lincoln, and the first was just on the outskirts of town. I didn’t live in Lincoln at the time, but my wife was a first-grader at Riley Elementary School and has vivid memories of the city gripped by fear in the days between the discovery of the Bartlett murders and Starkweather’s capture in Wyoming.
The case caused quite an uproar. There was intense criticism of the police department and sheriff’s office for not capturing Starkweather earlier in the week after the discovery of the Bartletts' bodies. Ultimately, Mayor Bennett Martin and the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners retained a retired FBI agent, Harold G. Robinson, to investigate the performance of local law enforcement. His report essentially exonerated the local law officers and made a few vanilla recommendations for improving inter-agency communication and training.
Now I know that many readers are mumbling to themselves “how obvious.” Hold your horses, though. It’s not quite as obvious as you might think. I had two experiences that drove this fact home to me. The first was a visit by a small group of journalism students. Only one member of the class had any idea, and her idea was pretty vague. You need to remember that the Starkweather murders were in 1957 and 1958 — before the parents of many college students were even born.
The second experience was a visit by a Cub Scout den. I was giving the kids a tour of the police station one evening. We were in the front lobby waiting for everyone to arrive. As I entertained the boys, I told the moms and dads that they might enjoy looking in the corner of the Sheriff’s Office display case to see the contents of Starkweather’s wallet — discovered a couple of years ago locked up in the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office safe. After a few minutes, one of the confused fathers asked me who Starkweather was, and why it was significant.
No. 2: Lincoln National Bank
On the morning of Sept. 17, 1930, a dark blue Buick carrying six men pulled up in front of the Lincoln National Bank at the northwest corner of 12th and O streets. Five of the men entered the bank, while a sixth stood outside by the Buick, cradling a machine gun. Observing the unusual events, a passerby called the police. The officer who responded, Forrest Shappaugh, was casually instructed by the machine-gun-toting lookout to just keep going, which he wisely did. Returning with reinforcements, he found that the robbers had already made good on their getaway, netting $2.7 million in cash and negotiable securities.
Ultimately, three of the six suspects were arrested. Tommy O’Connor and Howard Lee were convicted and sentenced. Jack Britt was tried twice but not convicted by a hung jury. Gus Winkeler, a member of Al Capone’s gang, winged a deal with County Attorney Max Towle to avoid prosecution in exchange for orchestrating the recovery of $600,000 in bearer bonds. The following year, Winkeler was murdered in Chicago, the victim of a gangland slaying. The final two robbers were never identified.
The Lincoln National Bank robbery stood as the largest cash bank robbery in the United States for many decades. It precipitated major changes at the Lincoln Police Department. Chief Peter Johnstone was rapidly “retired” after the robbery, the department’s fleet was upgraded to add the first official patrol cars, the full force was armed and a shotgun squad was organized. Forty-four years later when I was hired at LPD, the echo of the Lincoln National Bank robbery was still evident in daily bank opening details, and in the Thomspon submachine guns and Reising rifles that detectives grabbed whenever the robbery alarm sounded at headquarters.
No. 3: The Last Posse
My first inkling about this crime came when I was the chief deputy sheriff. One of my interns, a young man named Ron Boden (who became a veteran deputy sheriff), had been doing some research on Lancaster County’s only known lynching, in 1884. I came across a reference in the biography of the sheriff at the time, Sam Melick, to the murder of the Nebraska Penitentiary warden and subsequent prison break. Melick had been appointed interim warden after the murder and instituted several reforms.
Several years later, a colleague, Sgt. Geoff Marti, loaned me a great book, Gale Christianson’s "Last Posse," that told the story of the 1912 prison break in gory, haunting and glorious detail.
To make a long story short, convict Shorty Gray and his co-conspirators shot and killed Warden James Delahunty, a deputy warden and a guard on Wednesday, March 13, 1912. They then made their break — right into the teeth of a brutal Nebraska spring blizzard. Over the course to the next few days, a posse pursued. During the pursuit, the escapees carjacked a young farmer with his team and wagon. As the posse closed in, a gunfight broke out and the hostage was shot and killed in the exchange, along with two of the three escapees.
There was plenty of anger among the locals in the Gretna-Springfield vicinity about the death of their native son, and a controversy raged over the law enforcement tactics that brought about his demise. Lancaster County Sheriff Gus Hyers was not unsullied by the inquiry, although it appears from my prospect a century later that the fog of war led to the tragedy.
Christianson, a professor of history at Indiana State University who died earlier this year, notes the following on the flyleaf:
“For anyone living west of the Mississippi in 1912, the biggest news that fateful year was a violent escape from the Nebraska state penitentiary planned and carried out by a trio of notorious robbers and safe blowers.”
Bigger news on half the continent than the sinking of the Titanic during the same year would certainly qualify this murder-escape as one of the most infamous Lincoln crimes in history.
No. 4: Rock Island wreck
The Aug. 10, 1894, wreck of a Rock Island train on the southwest outskirts of Lincoln was almost lost in the mist of time until it was resurrected in the public consciousness by author Joel Williams, who came across the story while conducting research for his historical novel, "Barrelhouse Boys."
The wreck was determined to be the result of sabotage to the tracks, perhaps an attempt to derail the train as a prelude to robbery. Eleven people died in the crash and ensuing fire, making this a mass murder, to be sure. G.W. Davis was arrested and convicted of the crime but later received a full pardon. The story was told in greater detail earlier this year by the Lincoln Journal Star.
A historical marker is along the Rock Island Trail in Wilderness Park, accessible only by foot or bike from the nearest trail access points about a half-mile away at Old Cheney Road on the north, or 14th Street on the south.
Here’s the big question that remains unanswered: Was there really significant evidence to prove that George Washington Davis committed the crime, or was he just a convenient scapegoat? The fact that he received a gubernatorial pardon 10 years later leads me to believe that the evidence must have been unusually weak. If he was railroaded, then my second question is this: who really pried loose the tracks with the 40-pound crowbar found at the scene?
No. 5: Commonwealth
On Nov. 1, 1983, the doors to Nebraska’s largest industrial savings and loan company were closed and Commonwealth was declared insolvent. The 6,700 depositors with $65 million at stake would never be fully compensated for their loss, ultimately receiving about 59 cents on the dollar for their deposits, which they all mistakenly believed were insured up to $30,000 through the Nebraska Depository Insurance Guaranty Corporation, which was essentially an insurance pool with assets of only $3 million.
The case dominated Nebraska news for months. The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of three members of the prominent Lincoln family that owned the institution, the resignation of the director of the State Department of Banking and the impeachment of the Nebraska attorney general and the suspension of his license to practice law. State and federal litigation arising from the failure of Commonwealth drug on for years.
At the Lincoln Police Department, the Commonwealth failure led to the formation of a specialized white-collar crime detail, now known as the Technical Investigations Unit. At the time, municipal police departments in the United States had virtually no capacity for investigating financial crime and fraud of this magnitude, and we quickly became well known for our expertise in this area. The early experience served LPD very well in the ensuring years.
No. 6: Candice Harms
Candi Harms never came home from visiting her boyfriend on Sept. 22, 1992. Her parents reported her as a missing person the following morning, and her car was found abandoned in a cornfield north of Lincoln later in the day. Weeks went by before her remains were found southeast of Lincoln.
Scott Barney and Roger Bjorklund were convicted in her abduction and murder. Barney is in prison serving a life term. Bjorklund died in prison in 2001. Intense media attention surrounded the lengthy trial of Roger Bjorklund, for which a jury was brought in from Cheyenne County as an alternative to a change of venue. I have no doubt that the trial was a life-changing event for a group of good citizens from Sidney, who did their civic duty.
I was the Lancaster County sheriff at the time, involved both in the investigation and in the trial security. It was at about this time that the cellular telephone was becoming a consumer product, and I have often thought that this brutal crime probably spurred a lot of purchases. During my career, this is probably the second-most-prominent Lincoln crime in terms of the sheer volume of media coverage.
No. 7: Jon Simpson and Jacob Surber
A parent’s worst nightmare unfolded in September 1975 when these two boys, ages 12 and 13, failed to return from the Nebraska State Fair. The boys were the victims of abduction and murder. The case was similar to a string of other murders of young boys in the Midwest, and many thought that these cases were related -- the work of a serial killer. Although an arrest was made in the case here in Lincoln, the charges were eventually dismissed. William Guatney was released and has since died.
No. 8: John Sheedy
Saloon and gambling house owner John Sheedy was gunned down outside his home at 1211 P St. in January 1891. The case of Sheedy, prominent in Lincoln’s demiworld, became the talk of the town when his wife, Mary, and her alleged lover and accomplice, Monday McFarland, were arrested. Both were acquitted at trial. The Sheedy murder is chronicled in a great interactive multimedia website, Gilded Age Plains City, an online version that builds upon an article published in 2001 by Timothy Mahoney of the University of Nebraska.
No. 9: Patricia McGarry and Catherine Brooks
The bodies of these two friends were found in a Northeast Lincoln duplex in August 1977. Their murderer, Robert E. Williams, was the subject of a massive Midwest manhunt during the following week. Before his capture, he committed a third murder in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, and raped, shot and left for dead a victim who survived in Minnesota. He is the last man to be executed in Nebraska, sent to the electric chair in 1997.
No. 10: Judge William M. Morning
District Court Judge William Morning was murdered in February 1924. He was shot on the bench by an unhappy litigant in a divorce case. His court reporter, Minor Bacon, was also shot, but a notebook in his breast pocket deflected the bullet and saved his life.
Many other crimes
Choosing Lincoln's 10 most infamous crimes was a challenge. Although the top two were easy, the picture quickly became clouded. We tend, of course, to forget our history rather quickly. Many of the crimes I felt were among the most significant are barely remembered today, if not completely forgotten.
Some readers will take issue with my list. In choosing 10, here are the others I considered, in no particular order. They are all murders:
-- Mary O'Shea
-- Nancy Parker
-- Charles Mulholland
-- Victoria Lamm and Janet Mesner
-- Martina McMenamin
-- Regina Bos (presumably murdered)
-- Patty Webb
-- Marianne Mitzner
I also thought about the five murder-suicides in which a mother or father killed multiple family members before taking their own life. Though tragic, these crimes did not command the same kind of attention as the others, perhaps because there was no lengthy investigation, no tantalizing whodunit, no stranger-killer, nor any of the details that come out in the coverage of a major trial.
|
https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/three-lincoln-teens-detained-after-attempted-smoke-shop-break-in-police-say/article_86d3491a-dca4-5c12-b04e-7b75d5111298.html
| 2022-05-06T17:26:21
| 0
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/three-lincoln-teens-detained-after-attempted-smoke-shop-break-in-police-say/article_86d3491a-dca4-5c12-b04e-7b75d5111298.html
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CAMP MURRAY, Wash. — First responders preparing for a massive earthquake planned on repeating the 2016 Cascadia Rising exercise, complete with troop and machinery movements.
However, COVID-19 outbreaks in the fall caused the Federal Emergency Management Agency to downscale those plans for 2022.
So instead of helicopters and dispatchers, a group of 200 emergency officials, with another 500 online, participated in an exercise at Camp Murray with an oversized map of the Pacific Northwest.
Think of it as a big board game. The goal: try and get resources to western Washington following a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami.
”Those blue lines are our roads that we think will survive based on science, based on criteria,” said FEMA Region 10 Administrator Willie Nunn. "The orange lines may or may not be passable."
He said the map exercise still enables first responders to interact and learn what to expect in a natural disaster.
”This allows us to look at what's real, what we can do, what more resources we're going to need, and how do we come together as a team,” said Nunn.
The 2016 exercise, a week-long event involving thousands across the state, found more preparation was needed and communication lines needed to be improved between agencies, based on an analysis of the event.
”We just saw how fragile our infrastructure systems were. And it really became crystal clear that much of the Cascadia response is going to be a huge logistics challenge,” said Washington’s Emergency Management Director Robert Ezelle.
Ezelle said working out some of those logistics can be done with the map exercise, a three-day event.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/fema-map-earthquake-exercise-washington-first-responders/281-32298c4d-4d99-45bc-84d1-be20dece4c76
| 2022-05-06T17:34:37
| 1
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/fema-map-earthquake-exercise-washington-first-responders/281-32298c4d-4d99-45bc-84d1-be20dece4c76
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DALLAS — A grand jury has indicted two Dallas police officers accused of assaulting protesters who were marching in support of George Floyd during the summer of 2020, sources told WFAA.
Sr. Cpl. Melvin Williams and Sr. Cpl. Ryan Mabry, both SWAT officers with Dallas police, were initially charged in the case in February.
On Friday, a Dallas County grand jury indicted Williams and Mabry on multiple charges in the case, sources confirmed to WFAA.
Officials have not said how many charges each officer faces, or what charges they are being indicted for.
Dallas County prosecutors in February had filed charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and official oppression against both officers. It was unclear whether those were the charges they were indicted for Friday.
Williams had previously been terminated from the department on Jan. 25 for violating the department’s use of force policy when officials said he repeatedly punched a man in the head while trying to intervene in a large fight in the middle of Elm Street. Video captured the incident.
Mabry has been with the department since January 2010 and is currently assigned to the Tactical Operations Division. Officials said he is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.
Court documents have said Mabry and Williams fired foam "sponge" rounds -- a less-lethal type of ammunition -- at protesters in Downtown Dallas in May 2020.
Body camera footage of one such incident showed Mabry enter the field of view, then raise, point and shoot one round from a 40mm launcher containing an impact foam projectile in the direction of protester David McKee.
According to an affidavit, body camera footage also captured Williams "opening his 40 mm launcher and removing a spent cartridge from the launcher."
According to the same affidavit, McKee told investigators that “the first shot went through his carboard sign and struck his right bicep, and the second shot, fired moments after the first shot, struck his left testicle and thigh, and that the injury to his left testicle required surgery."
Among the other protesters injured by the sponge rounds was Brandon Saenz, who was hit in his left eye and had to have it surgically removed.
He was hit with a sponge round on May 30, 2020, as he protested near Dallas City Hall.
"Then all of a sudden I heard a boom and I got heat,” said Saenz.
Court documents said that sponge round was fired by Mabry.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/2-dallas-police-melvin-williams-ryan-mabry-officers-indicted-on-assault-charges-in-george-floyd-protests-in-2020/287-b25d081a-5ee2-46a1-93bd-fe56f63b471a
| 2022-05-06T17:47:26
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/2-dallas-police-melvin-williams-ryan-mabry-officers-indicted-on-assault-charges-in-george-floyd-protests-in-2020/287-b25d081a-5ee2-46a1-93bd-fe56f63b471a
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SAN ANTONIO — You may have seen shows like "Doomsday Preppers" that take prepping to the extreme. But with war, the pandemic, and dangerous weather, many people are doing emergency preps.
There are all sorts of reasons people decide to prep for the worst. Natural disasters like tornadoes and heatwaves, the breakdown of the electrical grid, future pandemics, and even nuclear war."
Because of the current war in Ukraine, Gary Lynch has been very busy.
"When Russia invaded Ukraine our phone just started blowing up literally the next morning, before I made it to the office, I was already missing phone calls because my phone only rings, you know, for certain hours," Lynch, the CEO of Rising S Company said.
Lynch's Rising S Company, located in north east, Texas builds all sizes of bunkers and bomb shelters from the size of a basic garage to a house bunker with the bare necessities or even the beast. The extreme multi-room bunker includes beds, the capacity to grow your own food underground, and a kitchen that has more cabinet space than most home kitchens. The costs for these bunkers of beauty?
"The cost to install them varies greatly depending on where it's going. But the base price of the shelter is they range from, 45,000 on up to eight, nine, $10 million," Lynch told us.
Hear more from Gary Lynch below:
But not everyone wants to go that extreme or expensive. What if you want to make sure you have enough food to get you through a few weeks? Check out a 200-serving food supply bucket with a 20-year shelf life for $144 online. It includes Tuscan buttered noodles, cheesy broccoli rice, potato soup and Italian tomato pasta."
Originating in Kerrville, there's the Hill Country Preppers started by Steve Lehman and his sister.
"Emergency preparedness has just been second nature to me the whole time. My sister and I started doing classes back in 2012, just trying to teach people emergency preparedness," Steve Lehman, the co-founder of the Hill Country Preppers told us.
They meet once a month to teach how to be prepared for any emergency. His stockpile of food, water, and first aid supplies even came in handy when Hurricane Harvey slammed Houston.
"We had 7000 refugees in town. And those 7,000 refugees emptied out our gas stations, our grocery stores and our pharmacies for a week," Lehman said.
Inventor and YouTube creator Colin Furze is from the UK. Seven years ago, he got mega creative! He quarried his entire garden and made an underground bunker below it. He can even use his flamethrowing guitar in it because the lining of the bunker is fireproof. There's even an underground tunnel system from his home into the bunker itself!
Here is a more from Colin Furze:
"I've always thought it would be brilliant if you could just go in a cupboard in the house, get on some steps and then go and get to. It would kind of enhance it a lot more," Furze told us.
So, whether its a bucket of food, supplies for a year, a beast of a bunker, or tunnels under your garden, maybe prepping for the worst isn't a bad idea.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/bunker-bomb-shelter-business-booming-texas-russia-ukraine/273-6e907c8b-6bf6-40dd-bad2-11764e0359e9
| 2022-05-06T17:47:32
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/bunker-bomb-shelter-business-booming-texas-russia-ukraine/273-6e907c8b-6bf6-40dd-bad2-11764e0359e9
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A brazen thief jacked two Apple MacBook laptops from a midtown Manhattan Best Buy around dinnertime on a Saturday last month and told the employee who tried to stop him on his way out, "Try me," as he flashed a knife, police say.
The NYPD said Friday it was looking for a bald man about 40 years old in connection with the April 23 robbery at the Best Buy on West 23rd Street.
Cops say he strolled into the retailer just before 8 p.m. that day, grabbed two MacBook laptops valued at about $1,990 from a display and went to leave. A 22-year-old store employee confronted him as he headed for the door, at which point police say the suspect showed the knife and said, "Try me."
The Best Buy employee backed off in fear of his safety, authorities said, and the robber left. No injuries were reported.
Police released surveillance footage of the suspect (above). Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/knife-wielding-macbook-bandit-tells-nyc-best-buy-worker-try-me-during-theft/3676473/
| 2022-05-06T17:53:44
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/knife-wielding-macbook-bandit-tells-nyc-best-buy-worker-try-me-during-theft/3676473/
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-wanted-in-brazen-theft-at-midtown-best-buy/3676485/
| 2022-05-06T17:53:51
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/man-wanted-in-brazen-theft-at-midtown-best-buy/3676485/
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Mayor Jessica Engelke and the North Bend City Council recognized more than 70 city volunteers at Tuesday night’s meeting. Engelke said the city is proud to spotlight the invaluable and generous contributions of the volunteers. They positively impact our various boards and committees or throughout our many departments, including fire, police, parks, municipal pool and library.
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- The World's E-edition for 5-6-22
- Sheriff's office looking for shooting suspects
- Mother's Day Saturday in North Bend
- OHA releases new COVID-19 vaccine Breakthrough Report
- Police Blotter
- Vehicle for hire ordinance moves forward
- Letter: Living in a post-truth world
- Tigers move closer to winning District 5 baseball crown
- Letter: Yellow Cab Taxi has highest safety standards in our area
- Spartans edge Marshfield in baseball thriller
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https://theworldlink.com/news/local/thank-you-to-north-bend-volunteers/article_599b290e-cbd3-11ec-bf59-37c7996b5217.html
| 2022-05-06T17:53:51
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https://theworldlink.com/news/local/thank-you-to-north-bend-volunteers/article_599b290e-cbd3-11ec-bf59-37c7996b5217.html
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The cold front will move across Central Alabama into the afternoon. It will set off scattered strong to possibly severe storms east of I-65. The threat is pretty low now due to coastal storms robbing the moisture from coming into Central Alabama. If a storm can develop over Eastern Alabama it could produce some gusty winds and large hail. The rest of Western Alabama to Birmingham will remain dry.
SPC has placed areas east if I-65 in a Level 2/5 Slight Risk for severe weather through the early afternoon. The main threats will be gusty winds and hail. Heavy rain is possibly with any storm too. There is a Level 3/5 Enhanced Risk for areas along and south of I-85 across SE Alabama and Georgia. The threats here will be strong winds, large hail and possibly a tornado.
The storms will end later this afternoon as the cold front sweeps across Alabama. Then we will become partly cloudy, breezy, and less humid with only a slight chance for a shower as clouds wrap around the backside of the upper-level low north of the state. High temperatures will be in the lower 80s.
Tonight, we will be partly to mostly cloudy with the wrap around flow. There will be a slight chance for a shower across Northern Alabama, but most of you will be dry. It will be cooler, breezy, and less humid with lows in the mid to upper 50s.
Mother’s Day Weekend Outlook: We will be partly cloudy on Saturday morning. Then it will become mostly sunny in the afternoon with less humid air and highs in the mid to upper 70s.
This will be great weather for the Birmingham Stallions game at 6 PM on Saturday.
Mother’s Day, Sunday will be sunny and warmer as an area of high pressure sits north of Alabama. High temperatures will be back in the lower to mid 80s.
Next Week Outlook: A ridge of high pressure will sit over the Southeast U.S. Monday through Wednesday. We will have plenty of sunshine each day and it will become hot. High temperatures will be in the upper 80s on Monday, but we could be in the lower 90s Tuesday and Wednesday. An upper-level low will move from the Atlantic into Georgia on Thursday and Friday. This will send clouds into Alabama along with a few showers possible on Friday. High temperatures will be in the 80s each day.
Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Ashley Gann, Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes and Meteorologist Alex Puckett
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/a-few-storms-today-then-perfect-weather-arrives-for-mothers-day-weekend/
| 2022-05-06T18:07:15
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/a-few-storms-today-then-perfect-weather-arrives-for-mothers-day-weekend/
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — CBS 42 and parent company Nexstar are highlighting efforts to end food insecurity across the country.
Here in Central Alabama, a local nonprofit is setting up three food pantries. The organization, “Margins: Women Helping Women,” is providing meals to those in need, even when food banks are closed. They’re located on English Knoll Road in the city’s West End neighborhood, and Valley Brook Road.
If you have a food drive going on that you’d like to spread the word about, you can give us the information by going to cbs42.com, click on “CBS 42 Cares,” and then go to “Feeding Alabama.”
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/local-nonprofit-setting-up-food-pantries-in-birmingham/
| 2022-05-06T18:07:21
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/local-nonprofit-setting-up-food-pantries-in-birmingham/
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WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The Arkansas Department of Health has issued a boil order for parts of northwest Washington County.
The area includes West UA Beef Farm Road from 16888 through 17254 in the Savoy area.
The boil order was issued due to the possibility that contaminated water may have entered the distribution system as a result of a loss in normal system pressure. This means the water is not safe for human consumption and all ice cubes should be discarded. The water used for drinking or food preparation should be boiled briskly for one minute before consumption and only boiled water should be used for making new ice.
The boil order will be lifted when enough bacteriological samples indicate that the water is free of bacterial contamination and an adequate disinfectant level is established throughout the distribution system.
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/boil-order-issued-section-northwest-washington-county-arkansas-savoy-west-ua-beef-farm/527-6daaa85e-fec6-4cd3-850b-5a9c794d45da
| 2022-05-06T18:34:34
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/boil-order-issued-section-northwest-washington-county-arkansas-savoy-west-ua-beef-farm/527-6daaa85e-fec6-4cd3-850b-5a9c794d45da
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FORT SMITH, Ark. — The City of Fort Smith Parks and Recreation Department announced via Facebook the delay of the Creekmore Express opening.
The miniature train ride was originally scheduled to start operating this Saturday, May 7.
The City says it has been unable to fill this position due to limited interest.
The train will begin operating once the position is filled.
Those interested in the job can visit the City's website to apply. For more information on the position, you can call 479-784-1006.
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/creekmore-express-delays-opening-unable-fill-conductor-position-train-park-ride-job/527-ce7e9554-b6e5-4916-8fd5-a5565c54d70a
| 2022-05-06T18:34:40
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/creekmore-express-delays-opening-unable-fill-conductor-position-train-park-ride-job/527-ce7e9554-b6e5-4916-8fd5-a5565c54d70a
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JOHNSON, Arkansas — More flood victims in Northwest Arkansas are being told to leave their homes following Thursday's, May 5, extreme downpour that caused widespread flooding.
In Johnson, families at Roxanne Place are being told they can no longer live in their homes due to flood damage and have only a few days to get out of the units. Renters in Fayetteville faced a similar dilemma and have also been told they must evacuate their apartments.
Thursday morning's floods caused water to rise in some cases people had multiple feet of water in their homes. Over 60 people had to be helped by swift water rescue teams.
5NEWS spoke with a man named John, a resident at Roxanne Place in Johnson. He says he and his family are trying to figure out if anything in their house is even salvageable. He feels like the deadline to get out of the apartment by Monday set by his landlord isn't making the situation better.
"In the middle of just trying to figure out what to do with your life, and what can you do to put it back together, you get a message saying now you have a timeframe."
John and other residents in the neighborhood 5NEWS spoke with say they understand why they must leave, but are still upset with trying to find affordable shelter in the meantime.
The Roxanne Place landlord will refund all tenants their May rent due to relocation.
Washington County officials have signed a disaster declaration in response to the flooding.
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ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/johnson-arkansas-roxanne-place-flood-damage-renters-asked-to-leave/527-f917bc04-437f-4b4c-bb72-51d424e28448
| 2022-05-06T18:34:47
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/johnson-arkansas-roxanne-place-flood-damage-renters-asked-to-leave/527-f917bc04-437f-4b4c-bb72-51d424e28448
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HOUSTON — An art collector in Austin hit the jackpot while hunting for hidden treasures at a local Goodwill.
Laura Young found a centuries-old bust on the floor under a table at the thrift shop back in 2018 and scooped it up for $34.99 At the time, she thought the old and worn sculpture was a good find, but had no idea it was an ancient piece of art with a mysterious background.
Young spent years trying to determine the sculpture's authenticity and origin. She met with art experts at the University of Texas at Austin, and contacted auction houses around the country.
One of them confirmed it was an ancient Roman artwork, but it was Sotheby's consultant Jörg Deterling who determined it dates from the late 1st century BC to the early 1st century AD.
After more detective work, they learned that the 2,000-year-old piece once belonged in the collection of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. That was later confirmed by art experts in Germany.
“There were a few months of intense excitement after that, but it was bittersweet since I knew I couldn’t keep or sell the (bust). Either way, I’m glad I got to be a small part of (its) long and complicated history, and he looked great in the house while I had him," Young said.
Experts say the artwork was once housed in the Pompejanum, a full-scale replica of a villa from Pompeii built by King Ludwig in Aschaffenburg, Germany in the 1840s. They believe the bust may portray a son of Pompey the Great (106–48 BC), who was defeated in civil war by Julius Caesar.
During World War II, Allied bombers targeted Aschaffenburg in 1944 and seriously damaged the Pompejanum.
How the Roman bust arrived in Texas remains a mystery. When the war ended, the US Army opened military installations in Aschaffenburg and it's possible a soldier brought the sculpture home to Texas when he returned.
“It’s a great story whose plot includes the World War II-era, international diplomacy, art of the ancient Mediterranean, thrift shop sleuthing, historic Bavarian royalty, and the thoughtful stewardship of those who care for and preserve the arts," said Emily Ballew Neff with the San Antonio Museum of Art.
As part of the agreement to return the sculpture to its rightful home in Germany, the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces agreed it could be displayed by SAMA until 2023.
“We are very pleased that a piece of Bavarian history that we thought was lost has reappeared and will soon be able to return to its rightful location, said Bernd Schreiber, president of the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens, and Lakes.
You can see the ancient bust at SAMA through next May.
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/texas-roman-bust-goodwill/285-c3cb566f-9258-47c5-a8c1-f2a3d9295f41
| 2022-05-06T18:34:53
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/texas-roman-bust-goodwill/285-c3cb566f-9258-47c5-a8c1-f2a3d9295f41
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Heavy rain fell all across Northwest Arkansas early Friday morning leading to flooding.
The residents of West End Apartments in Fayetteville found themselves waking up to emergency crews banging on doors and telling them to get out. The flooding at the complex resulted in nearly 30 residents being evacuated by emergency crews. One resident says when he jumped out of bed this morning, he and his sister had water up to their knees.
“She started screaming when she saw it saying, ‘oh God, please stop raining, please stop raining,’ she thought we were going to get washed away,” said Brett Clark a West End resident.
Clark immediately got to work, fighting the rushing water until it eventually subsided.
“It came in through the building and not through the door,” said Clark. “It came this way and it kept filling up one end, so I’d get it out and then it would fill up on the other end while I was getting it out and I did that back and forth all night for about seven hours.”
Flooding isn’t new to the area, residents and neighbors said there was another flood that impacted the complex in April 2017.
“It was crazy, it was unexpected,” said Alfonzo Robinson, a resident of West End Apartments.
But as the sun came out and rain slowed, residents began to dry out. In the early afternoon, clothes and rugs were out on lines and cars as people tried to dry off as quickly as they could before more rain moved in.
The property’s laundry room was open and management provided residents with quarters to wash and dry their clothes for free.
Later in the afternoon, the property manager, John Cloyed, could be seen putting fliers on doors. The notice was urging residents to vacate their homes and head to an emergency shelter set up at Genesis Church.
Cloyed said he and his team were “trying to figure out what short-term housing needs are going to be. More than likely we’ll have to move people out to make the repairs needed, and so we’re kind of looking at what that’s lookin’ like right now.”
Cloyed later said the shelter efforts are part of the Northwest Arkansas Continuum of Care which sets up emergency shelters in situations like this to gauge how many people will continue to need assistance and shelter.
The main concern for Cloyed, his team and residents is mold and water damage. The water entered units from the south side and most of the damage occurred to north-facing homes. However, as the water began to rise, the interior connecting walls were also impacted.
Residents are being urged to leave and any paid rent for the month of May will be refunded. Cloyed has drywall crews scheduled to be doing demolition and repairs as early as Friday.
According to a note left on residents’ doors, the complex is working to rebuild, but residents must vacate their apartments by Thursday night and clear out their apartments by Saturday, May 7.
“This whole place was flooded, recalls resident Joie Millwood. “It looked like an ocean.”
Millwood, originally from Hot Springs, Arkansas moved to Northwest Arkansas in September. He says he has never seen flooding as he did on Thursday morning.
“I lived here when I was a kid, Millwood said. “I’ve never seen nothing like this.”
For Millwood and his dog, their apartment meant everything.
“I was out in LA homeless,” said Millwood. “And I came here, and I was in tears.”
He received one of the letters on his door from property management reading:
“Due to this morning’s flooding, it has been determined that your apartment is no longer safe to inhabit.
You must vacate your apartment this evening. If you do not have family or friends to stay with, the Red Cross has a shelter open at Genesis Church on 205 W. MLK Blvd. in south Fayetteville. It is important to go there as soon as possible so that they do not close the shelter due to no one showing up.
Any personal belongings including furniture that you wish to keep will need to be removed from the apartment by Saturday, May 7th. Unfortunately, we do not have a specified time frame as to how long things will take. Therefore, any May rent paid will be refunded.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Hawk-I Property Management.”
Cloyed calling the evacuation is necessary to rebuild and prevent mold saying,“If we’ve got empty apartments that we can start working on you know, we’re looking at starting tomorrow.”
Cloyed says he has no clue how much it will cost for the complex to rebuild. However, with inflation, he assumes it will be a lot.
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For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/west-end-apartment-residents-drying-out-after-early-morning-water-evacuations/527-f3815cdd-9d41-4acf-90d2-c0f0ae9aba2a
| 2022-05-06T18:34:59
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/west-end-apartment-residents-drying-out-after-early-morning-water-evacuations/527-f3815cdd-9d41-4acf-90d2-c0f0ae9aba2a
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, musician Shaggy to share stage at Brown University graduation
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will deliver a commencement oration and receive an honorary doctorate degree during Brown University's commencement ceremonies later this month.
Pelosi is among "nine candidates who have achieved great distinction in a variety of fields" receiving honorary degrees, including former Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott and Jamaican-American reggae musician Shaggy.
“A Brown tradition since 1769, the annual presentation of honorary degrees offers our community the chance to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds,” Brown President Christina H. Paxson said in a press release.
“Having made tremendous impacts in government, public health, the arts, global affairs, science and technology, and more, this year’s distinguished recipients offer a superb example to our newest graduates," Paxson said.
Learning opportunity:How did Bill Clinton handle Putin? What he told Brown students
Brown will celebrate both its Class of 2022 graduates as well as the Class of 2020 during the commencement ceremonies. The 2020 graduates missed their in-person ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown's commencement and reunion weekend is May 27 to 29.
Events will also include a Baccalaureate address by public health leader Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and an honorary degree oration for the Class of 2020 by Orville Richard Burrell, who goes by the stage name Shaggy.
Here's a list of the other honorary degree recipients:
Dr. Seth Berkley — Physician and public health leader
Guido Imbens — Nobel Laureate and economist
Stanley Nelson — Oscar-nominated filmmaker
Alice and Thomas Tisch — Brown leaders and benefactors
Zeynep Tüfekçi — Technology scholar and educator
Stepping down:Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott resigns as Rhode Island health director
Brown will also honor the late telecommunications pioneer George H. Billings, a Class of 1972 graduate. On the day he died, Paxson conferred upon Billings a Doctor of Humane Letters and presented him a doctoral hood. Billings’ brother, John Billings, will accept a diploma in recognition of the honorary degree.
Pelosi will deliver a commencement oration during the university ceremony on Sunday, May 29, following two senior orations from members of the Class of 2022 and the presentation of honorary degrees.
Further details on Commencement forums and other events during the weekend will be posted in the coming weeks at www.brown.edu/about/commencement.
jperry@providencejournal.com
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On Twitter: @jgregoryperry
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/brown-university-award-honorary-degrees-house-speaker-pelosi-ex-ri-health-director-alexander-scot/9674599002/
| 2022-05-06T18:52:31
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/brown-university-award-honorary-degrees-house-speaker-pelosi-ex-ri-health-director-alexander-scot/9674599002/
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DALLAS — The teen boy in this week's Wednesday's Child wants to be adopted so much, his caseworker flew him to Dallas from another part in the state so he could be featured in our segment.
His name is Tim, and he's been in foster care most of his life.
Tim broke my heart, but he doesn't need our pity. He needs a loving family to adopt him.
"At home, I am an angel. Perfect," Tim said about his behavior at a residential treatment center for foster children.
Tim's been looking for his shot to be someone's son for a long time.
"I know I want a mom and dad at least," he said.
Tim has been in foster care for 10 years. He was just 3 years old when he entered the system. Today, Tim is 13.
His caseworker found a picture of him when he was 7 years old. Tim's big blue eyes shone brightly in the photograph.
Fast forward six years, and Tim is ready to be done with the state being his parent. His big blue eyes look tired now. He said it's hard for him to sleep, and he longs for the day he stops moving from placement to placement.
"Kind of like being in a prison without walls. You got runners, but then where you gonna [sic] go if you run? Absolutely nowhere but right back to where you ran from," he said.
Why has Tim been in care for so long? How did he fall through the cracks?
That's a story for another day.
Today, we focus on the mom he wants.
"Someone that cares, who's always worried. I may seem embarrassed sometimes (by her worrying) but she'll still be wondering if I'm OK. She'll ask how my day is every time I walk through the door," he said.
He wants a dad who will teach him how to be a man. He wants a father who will be his hero by simply paying attention to him.
"If I go outside, he'll go outside with me. He'll give me some normalcy."
And Tim wants siblings! Lots of them!
"Kind of gets boring playing by yourself," he said.
"Plus, you can learn from them," he said about possibly having older siblings.
Tim deserves never to be lonely again.
At the end of the day, what he has to offer a family is his smile, laughter, and hope.
"Freedom. Freedom to go out the door when I want and them not worrying about me coming back or not, because they know they can trust me," he said.
For more information on how to adopt Tim, please send all approved home studies to LaQueena Warren at LaQueena.Warren@dfps.texas.gov. Please remember to include Tim's names within the subject line.
If you're not licensed, please visit adoptchildren.org to find out more information on how to become licensed to foster and/or adopt or contact LaQueena Warren at 817-304-1272.
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/outreach/wednesdays-child-13-year-old-tim-adoption/287-be136409-cdd6-4cd3-acd0-f786705d7788
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A former Jefferson County Sheriff's deputy who resigned last spring after the agency discovered a social media post featuring the officer with a quarter-pound of marijuana had his law enforcement certification revoked on Friday.
The Nebraska Crime Commission, a panel of police and public officials who review revocations and oversee statewide law enforcement standards and compliance, approved former Deputy Mathew Bornemeier's revocation at a quarterly meeting in Lincoln on Friday.
Don Arp, the commission's executive director, said former Jefferson County Sheriff Matthew Shultz filed a serious misconduct report with the commission last spring after learning of the Facebook post.
Bornemeier resigned in lieu of termination, Arp said.
Nick Georgi, who replaced Schultz as the Jefferson County sheriff upon Schultz's abrupt retirement in April 2021, told the Journal Star that Bornemeier hadn't been criminally investigated for his alleged possession of marijuana and that there's no indication he acquired, used or sold marijuana while on patrol.
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He said the former deputy had been experiencing mental health issues at the time an internal affairs investigation was initiated, which preceded Bornemeier's resignation.
He is one of six former officers who voluntarily surrendered his law enforcement certificates ahead of Friday's meeting, Arp said.
Gabriel Wagner, a former officer at the Schuyler Police Department about an hour north of Lincoln, was terminated after a polygraph exam he took while applying to another department indicated that he had admitted to committing numerous thefts since he had received his law enforcement certification, according to the crime commission.
Some of Wagner's alleged thefts occurred as recently as last summer, Arp said.
Michelle Quinn, the former sheriff of Garden County, and Matthew Herbel, a former officer with the Scottsbluff Police Department, both became revocation-eligible after they were charged with third-degree domestic assault. Quinn has since been convicted, and Herbel entered a no-contest plea in his case.
Former Webster County Sheriff's Deputy Dianne Nichols was fired after a judge ruled that she could not be considered credible based upon her testimony in a criminal case. Nichols was accused of listening in on and recording conversations between a jailed defendant and his attorney, Arp said.
The criminal charges against the defendant were ultimately dismissed as a result of Nichols' alleged recordings, Arp said.
The sixth officer whose license was revoked Friday was Jeffrey Chitwood, a former lieutenant with the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office and an officer with the Minatare Police Department who resigned amid an internal affairs investigation into serious misconduct allegations lodged against him.
Arp said he could not describe the nature of the misconduct report. Sheriff Mark Overman, who filed the misconduct report against Chitwood with the crime commission, did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on the report he filed against Chitwood.
Former officers who have their certifications revoked are not permitted to work at any law enforcement agency in the state.
In Jefferson County, Bornemeier's departure from the sheriff's office came amid a tumultuous time for the agency, where Georgi is the third sheriff to head the department in the last 18 months.
Schultz had been sheriff for less than five months after taking over for Nels Sorensen, who had held the post for 18 years before retiring at the of 2020.
In the months since, Deputy Wilber Young was terminated and charged last year with neglect or delay to serve a felony arrest warrant for an incident stemming from November 2020.
A Jefferson County jury found Young not guilty of the crime at a trial last month. Young, 59, is now running for the sheriff's seat in a three-man contest among Republicans that includes Georgi, the acting sheriff who launched the internal affairs investigation into Young.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @andrewwegley
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-jefferson-county-deputy-among-six-officers-who-have-certifications-revoked/article_bc11937b-afba-5cdc-8ea4-d86d23320b77.html
| 2022-05-06T19:13:32
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A 27-year-old Lincoln man was sentenced on Thursday to up to 40 years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at his central-Lincoln home last summer, according to court filings.
Brandt Mullen had pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault and felony child abuse after he was arrested for the crimes in August.
On Thursday, a Lancaster County judge sentenced the Lincoln man to 25 to 40 years for the sexual assault conviction and one to three years for child abuse, according to filings. Mullen, who has been incarcerated since his arrest, received credit for 275 days served.
The two prison stints will run concurrently, and Nebraska's good time law will allow Mullen to be released in 2041, barring any violations that result in revocation of good time earned. He will be parole eligible in 12½ years.
The sentence comes more than nine months after a 14-year-old girl told police she and her 15-year-old friend met Mullen while riding a city bus, and he invited them back to his house near 23rd and G streets to smoke marijuana, police said in court records.
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Only the 15-year-old entered the house with Mullen, Lincoln Police Investigator Robert Norton said in the affidavit for Mullen's arrest. The 15-year-old later told her friend that she had been having sex with Mullen since first meeting him, Norton said.
Officers went to Mullen's house on July 25, where he said he knew the 15-year-old but had never had sex with her, according to the affidavit.
Mullen told police the 15-year-old wasn't in his house, but officers detained him and entered the home, where they found the girl, who later told investigators Mullen had sexually assaulted her and threatened to hurt her if she told anyone, Norton said in the affidavit.
The 27-year-old was arrested Aug. 4 and taken to the Lancaster County jail, where he remained until Thursday, when he was transferred into the custody of the state corrections department.
Tom Casady's list of the 10 most infamous crimes in Lincoln history
Crimes of the times
This is simply one man’s perspective from the early 21st century (first written in 2010). I had to make a decision about crimes that occurred at locations that are inside the city today, but were outside our corporate limits at the time they occurred. I chose the latter.
Before beginning, though, I have to deal with three crimes that stand apart: the murders of three police officers in Lincoln. I’m not quite sure how to place them in a list. They all had huge impacts on the community, and on the police department in particular. Because these are my colleagues, I deal with them separately and in chronological order.
Patrolman Marion Francis Marshall
Shot in the shadow of the new Nebraska State Capital, Gov. Charles Bryan came to his aid and summoned additional help.
Lt. Frank Soukup
Marion Marshall was technically not a Lincoln police officer, so Lt. Soukup was actually the first Lincoln police officer killed on duty. One of his colleagues who was present at the motel and involved in the gunbattle, Paul Jacobsen, went on to enjoy a long career and command rank at LPD, influencing many young charges (like me) and leaving his mark on the culture of the agency.
Lt. Paul Whitehead
In the space of a few months, three LPD officers died in the line of duty. Frank Soukup had been murdered, and George Welter had died in a motorcycle crash. Paul Whitehead's partner, Paul Merritt, went on to command rank, and like Paul Jacobsen left an indelible mark at LPD and the community.
No. 1: Starkweather
The subject of several thinly disguised movie plots and a Springsteen album, the Starkweather murders are clearly the most infamous crime in Lincoln’s history — so far. One of the first mass murderers of the mass media age, six of Charles Starkweather’s 11 victims were killed inside the city of Lincoln, and the first was just on the outskirts of town. I didn’t live in Lincoln at the time, but my wife was a first-grader at Riley Elementary School and has vivid memories of the city gripped by fear in the days between the discovery of the Bartlett murders and Starkweather’s capture in Wyoming.
The case caused quite an uproar. There was intense criticism of the police department and sheriff’s office for not capturing Starkweather earlier in the week after the discovery of the Bartletts' bodies. Ultimately, Mayor Bennett Martin and the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners retained a retired FBI agent, Harold G. Robinson, to investigate the performance of local law enforcement. His report essentially exonerated the local law officers and made a few vanilla recommendations for improving inter-agency communication and training.
Now I know that many readers are mumbling to themselves “how obvious.” Hold your horses, though. It’s not quite as obvious as you might think. I had two experiences that drove this fact home to me. The first was a visit by a small group of journalism students. Only one member of the class had any idea, and her idea was pretty vague. You need to remember that the Starkweather murders were in 1957 and 1958 — before the parents of many college students were even born.
The second experience was a visit by a Cub Scout den. I was giving the kids a tour of the police station one evening. We were in the front lobby waiting for everyone to arrive. As I entertained the boys, I told the moms and dads that they might enjoy looking in the corner of the Sheriff’s Office display case to see the contents of Starkweather’s wallet — discovered a couple of years ago locked up in the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office safe. After a few minutes, one of the confused fathers asked me who Starkweather was, and why it was significant.
No. 2: Lincoln National Bank
On the morning of Sept. 17, 1930, a dark blue Buick carrying six men pulled up in front of the Lincoln National Bank at the northwest corner of 12th and O streets. Five of the men entered the bank, while a sixth stood outside by the Buick, cradling a machine gun. Observing the unusual events, a passerby called the police. The officer who responded, Forrest Shappaugh, was casually instructed by the machine-gun-toting lookout to just keep going, which he wisely did. Returning with reinforcements, he found that the robbers had already made good on their getaway, netting $2.7 million in cash and negotiable securities.
Ultimately, three of the six suspects were arrested. Tommy O’Connor and Howard Lee were convicted and sentenced. Jack Britt was tried twice but not convicted by a hung jury. Gus Winkeler, a member of Al Capone’s gang, winged a deal with County Attorney Max Towle to avoid prosecution in exchange for orchestrating the recovery of $600,000 in bearer bonds. The following year, Winkeler was murdered in Chicago, the victim of a gangland slaying. The final two robbers were never identified.
The Lincoln National Bank robbery stood as the largest cash bank robbery in the United States for many decades. It precipitated major changes at the Lincoln Police Department. Chief Peter Johnstone was rapidly “retired” after the robbery, the department’s fleet was upgraded to add the first official patrol cars, the full force was armed and a shotgun squad was organized. Forty-four years later when I was hired at LPD, the echo of the Lincoln National Bank robbery was still evident in daily bank opening details, and in the Thomspon submachine guns and Reising rifles that detectives grabbed whenever the robbery alarm sounded at headquarters.
No. 3: The Last Posse
My first inkling about this crime came when I was the chief deputy sheriff. One of my interns, a young man named Ron Boden (who became a veteran deputy sheriff), had been doing some research on Lancaster County’s only known lynching, in 1884. I came across a reference in the biography of the sheriff at the time, Sam Melick, to the murder of the Nebraska Penitentiary warden and subsequent prison break. Melick had been appointed interim warden after the murder and instituted several reforms.
Several years later, a colleague, Sgt. Geoff Marti, loaned me a great book, Gale Christianson’s "Last Posse," that told the story of the 1912 prison break in gory, haunting and glorious detail.
To make a long story short, convict Shorty Gray and his co-conspirators shot and killed Warden James Delahunty, a deputy warden and a guard on Wednesday, March 13, 1912. They then made their break — right into the teeth of a brutal Nebraska spring blizzard. Over the course to the next few days, a posse pursued. During the pursuit, the escapees carjacked a young farmer with his team and wagon. As the posse closed in, a gunfight broke out and the hostage was shot and killed in the exchange, along with two of the three escapees.
There was plenty of anger among the locals in the Gretna-Springfield vicinity about the death of their native son, and a controversy raged over the law enforcement tactics that brought about his demise. Lancaster County Sheriff Gus Hyers was not unsullied by the inquiry, although it appears from my prospect a century later that the fog of war led to the tragedy.
Christianson, a professor of history at Indiana State University who died earlier this year, notes the following on the flyleaf:
“For anyone living west of the Mississippi in 1912, the biggest news that fateful year was a violent escape from the Nebraska state penitentiary planned and carried out by a trio of notorious robbers and safe blowers.”
Bigger news on half the continent than the sinking of the Titanic during the same year would certainly qualify this murder-escape as one of the most infamous Lincoln crimes in history.
No. 4: Rock Island wreck
The Aug. 10, 1894, wreck of a Rock Island train on the southwest outskirts of Lincoln was almost lost in the mist of time until it was resurrected in the public consciousness by author Joel Williams, who came across the story while conducting research for his historical novel, "Barrelhouse Boys."
The wreck was determined to be the result of sabotage to the tracks, perhaps an attempt to derail the train as a prelude to robbery. Eleven people died in the crash and ensuing fire, making this a mass murder, to be sure. G.W. Davis was arrested and convicted of the crime but later received a full pardon. The story was told in greater detail earlier this year by the Lincoln Journal Star.
A historical marker is along the Rock Island Trail in Wilderness Park, accessible only by foot or bike from the nearest trail access points about a half-mile away at Old Cheney Road on the north, or 14th Street on the south.
Here’s the big question that remains unanswered: Was there really significant evidence to prove that George Washington Davis committed the crime, or was he just a convenient scapegoat? The fact that he received a gubernatorial pardon 10 years later leads me to believe that the evidence must have been unusually weak. If he was railroaded, then my second question is this: who really pried loose the tracks with the 40-pound crowbar found at the scene?
No. 5: Commonwealth
On Nov. 1, 1983, the doors to Nebraska’s largest industrial savings and loan company were closed and Commonwealth was declared insolvent. The 6,700 depositors with $65 million at stake would never be fully compensated for their loss, ultimately receiving about 59 cents on the dollar for their deposits, which they all mistakenly believed were insured up to $30,000 through the Nebraska Depository Insurance Guaranty Corporation, which was essentially an insurance pool with assets of only $3 million.
The case dominated Nebraska news for months. The investigation ultimately led to the conviction of three members of the prominent Lincoln family that owned the institution, the resignation of the director of the State Department of Banking and the impeachment of the Nebraska attorney general and the suspension of his license to practice law. State and federal litigation arising from the failure of Commonwealth drug on for years.
At the Lincoln Police Department, the Commonwealth failure led to the formation of a specialized white-collar crime detail, now known as the Technical Investigations Unit. At the time, municipal police departments in the United States had virtually no capacity for investigating financial crime and fraud of this magnitude, and we quickly became well known for our expertise in this area. The early experience served LPD very well in the ensuring years.
No. 6: Candice Harms
Candi Harms never came home from visiting her boyfriend on Sept. 22, 1992. Her parents reported her as a missing person the following morning, and her car was found abandoned in a cornfield north of Lincoln later in the day. Weeks went by before her remains were found southeast of Lincoln.
Scott Barney and Roger Bjorklund were convicted in her abduction and murder. Barney is in prison serving a life term. Bjorklund died in prison in 2001. Intense media attention surrounded the lengthy trial of Roger Bjorklund, for which a jury was brought in from Cheyenne County as an alternative to a change of venue. I have no doubt that the trial was a life-changing event for a group of good citizens from Sidney, who did their civic duty.
I was the Lancaster County sheriff at the time, involved both in the investigation and in the trial security. It was at about this time that the cellular telephone was becoming a consumer product, and I have often thought that this brutal crime probably spurred a lot of purchases. During my career, this is probably the second-most-prominent Lincoln crime in terms of the sheer volume of media coverage.
No. 7: Jon Simpson and Jacob Surber
A parent’s worst nightmare unfolded in September 1975 when these two boys, ages 12 and 13, failed to return from the Nebraska State Fair. The boys were the victims of abduction and murder. The case was similar to a string of other murders of young boys in the Midwest, and many thought that these cases were related -- the work of a serial killer. Although an arrest was made in the case here in Lincoln, the charges were eventually dismissed. William Guatney was released and has since died.
No. 8: John Sheedy
Saloon and gambling house owner John Sheedy was gunned down outside his home at 1211 P St. in January 1891. The case of Sheedy, prominent in Lincoln’s demiworld, became the talk of the town when his wife, Mary, and her alleged lover and accomplice, Monday McFarland, were arrested. Both were acquitted at trial. The Sheedy murder is chronicled in a great interactive multimedia website, Gilded Age Plains City, an online version that builds upon an article published in 2001 by Timothy Mahoney of the University of Nebraska.
No. 9: Patricia McGarry and Catherine Brooks
The bodies of these two friends were found in a Northeast Lincoln duplex in August 1977. Their murderer, Robert E. Williams, was the subject of a massive Midwest manhunt during the following week. Before his capture, he committed a third murder in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, and raped, shot and left for dead a victim who survived in Minnesota. He is the last man to be executed in Nebraska, sent to the electric chair in 1997.
No. 10: Judge William M. Morning
District Court Judge William Morning was murdered in February 1924. He was shot on the bench by an unhappy litigant in a divorce case. His court reporter, Minor Bacon, was also shot, but a notebook in his breast pocket deflected the bullet and saved his life.
Many other crimes
Choosing Lincoln's 10 most infamous crimes was a challenge. Although the top two were easy, the picture quickly became clouded. We tend, of course, to forget our history rather quickly. Many of the crimes I felt were among the most significant are barely remembered today, if not completely forgotten.
Some readers will take issue with my list. In choosing 10, here are the others I considered, in no particular order. They are all murders:
-- Mary O'Shea
-- Nancy Parker
-- Charles Mulholland
-- Victoria Lamm and Janet Mesner
-- Martina McMenamin
-- Regina Bos (presumably murdered)
-- Patty Webb
-- Marianne Mitzner
I also thought about the five murder-suicides in which a mother or father killed multiple family members before taking their own life. Though tragic, these crimes did not command the same kind of attention as the others, perhaps because there was no lengthy investigation, no tantalizing whodunit, no stranger-killer, nor any of the details that come out in the coverage of a major trial.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @andrewwegley
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OREGON, USA — Before the pandemic hit Oregon, state law did not allow the parents of minors with disabilities to be paid as their child's caregiver, but during COVID-19, the Office of Disabilities Services applied for and received a federal waiver allowing it during the public health emergency.
With that public health emergency set to end on July 15, the exception will end as well, unless the state takes action to make the temporary policy permanent.
Families of children with serious, round-the-clock needs are calling for this change, with a dwindling number of qualified caregivers and nurse available outside of the home.
Calli Ross and her family have been advocating for policy change even before the pandemic.
"It is ridiculous that this program should be discontinued and parents should be left hanging once again," she said.
Her son, Tens, is seven years old. He was born with 1p36 deletion syndrome, in which a small segment of DNA is missing, and a form of primordial dwarfism. On top of that, he's had several health complications that have led to his total reliance on a ventilator to breathe.
"He's vent dependent. He is oxygen dependent. He requires a specific feeding schedule. He has moments of crisis where he stops breathing. He has seizures," said Ross.
Due to his disability, he qualifies for more than 500 hours a month of in-home intensive services through Medicaid. A pandemic rule-change allowed his parents and others like them to be paid to provide those services to their children. The Office of Developmental Disability Services (ODDS) told KGW the temporary waiver was put in place to reduce exposure to COVID-19.
"It's life-changing money, but not large. It’s not large, but it’s enough to help families," said Ross.
With the money, Ross said she doesn't have to choose between medications and food. Her family can afford to pay for things not covered by insurance, like a potty training chair or a wheelchair-accessible van. She's set aside some money for tools and intensive therapies for Tens.
If the temporary program ends, the hours Tens qualifies for might not be staffed, due to a shortage of caregivers that was made worse during the pandemic.
"What we are currently facing right now is a caregiver crisis where there are just not nurses or caregivers available," Ross said. "We have 540 hours that we qualify for the month through the state, and of those, we only have 180 staffed. The rest of the time, my son requires 24/7 care. My husband or myself are by his side, awake, ready to go ahead and rescue him should we need to do that."
Because of the lack of available, qualified caregivers and support staff, ending the program puts hundreds of other families in a tough spot.
"Nursing and outside help's not always the answer and I am the best most qualified caregiver," said parent Tina Stracener. "We do want the nursing support we need to keep [my daughter] at home, but I want to be the person who takes care of her primarily, and I really need to be compensated for that so I can continue to do it."
"Paid parent caregivers keep families stable. They keep children healthy and out of institutions," said parent Gabriel Triplett. "If the state of Oregon…does not act, we are going to see hundreds, if not more, disability families thrown into crisis."
One of the biggest fears families have is that without enough caregivers, they will have to make an impossible choice for their children: to consider having them institutionalized.
"I don’t know what is going to happen in July when this money is cut off," said parent Katherine Ball. "I think that we are going to be in a horrible mess. People will have to give up their children, go back to work... I mean, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but this has to be made a permanent decision. We’ve seen how much this has helped our families."
These families are now fighting to at least allow the option of a paid parent caregivers permanently. They appealed to the state's Medicaid Advisory Committee and that group is now recommending a permanent policy to ODDS.
"Our goal is to meet in front of the emergency board of legislators and get a six- month reprieve from July until they can make new legislation in February 2023," explained Ross.
A spokesperson for ODDS said, in a statement, that "The question of whether this temporary allowance should be made permanent is a complex policy issue with strong advocacy of differing opinions from many involved in the intellectual and developmental disabilities system and would require changes to state regulations and additional approval by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services."
The state confirms a meeting is set up with parent-advocates, and that ODDS is coordinating with legislative partners on a process for resolving this issue.
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/families-paid-parent-caregiver-program-oregon/283-1f9ef68c-d28d-4122-9941-d664753466ac
| 2022-05-06T19:14:59
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BOISE, Idaho — The Director for the Idaho Department of Water Resources has issued a methodology order for Snake River ground water users.
The order comes after initial data predicts a 162,600 acre-foot water shortfall for senior priority surface water users in the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESPA) region in the 2022 irrigation season.
The shortfall prediction led to IDWR's decision to curtail more than 328 groundwater rights in the coming weeks for junior water rights holders with priority dates after Dec. 25, 1979, if the holders of those water rights do not comply with the approved mitigation plan.
The curtailment process will begin on May 20, according to the order, unless ground water users agree to join an approved mitigation plan prior to that time.
There are currently seven approved mitigation plans for the ESPA surface water delivery call. The plans came from the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, Inc. (IGWA), Southwest Irrigation District, Goose Creek Irrigation District, Coalition of Cities and Water Mitigation Coalition.
According to the Director's order, these organizations will not need to show how they can mitigate projected water shortfalls.
In July, the Department's injury determination will be updated. Junior water users who may be affected by the order have been sent a copy of the order this week.
"By law, we have to keep people with senior water rights whole, and we want to make the junior ground water pumpers aware that despite the settlement agreements between the Surface Water Coalition ("SWC"), IGWA, and the Participating Cities, if junior ground water pumpers are not participating in an approved mitigation plan, they could be subject to curtailment this year," said Mathew Weaver, Deputy Director of IDWR.
A lot of the recent water litigation has resulted from conflict between Snake River surface water users with senior water rights, under the basic "first in time, first in right" principle of Idaho water law, and ground water users with junior water rights in the ESPA.
As a result, the Director of IDWR is required to issue an order at the beginning of each irrigation season, and then again in early July, to determine if there is any shortfall in the water supply to the senior surface water right holders; or to determine if junior ground water pumpers need to curtail their water use to mitigate the depletion of senior priority water rights.
Ground water users who decided to join an approved mitigation plan can avoid curtailment this year and in the future, and will be able to avoid future large-scale litigation issues related to water use in the ESPA area that could affect cities, commerce, industry, agriculture and the Southern Idaho economy, officials said.
For junior ground water users that choose to not join an approved mitigation plan or demonstrate to the Director how their water use will not cause injury to senior surface water users in the next 14 days, according to the order, their water rights will be curtailed.
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| 2022-05-06T19:15:06
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GARDEN CITY, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Community leaders are looking to make a difference in Garden City and the greater Treasure Valley.
That’s where the Garden City Climate Action Walk comes into play.
Scheduled for Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at COILED Wines, the walk will honor the latest initiative to bring light and awareness to the area, according to a news release. It will also highlight a mural collection that is being rolled out in the coming months. Each mural will showcase the work of local artists and their connection to clean air and water, open space and the outdoors of Idaho.
The project is being spearheaded in partnership with the Conservation Voters for Idaho and the Garden City Placemaking Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local artists through community interaction and vibrancy.
Ryan McGoldrick, program manager with Conservation Voters of Idaho, said the goal of the initiative is three-fold: to support talented local artists, encourage Garden City residents to get out and explore their community, and illustrate the need for bold federal climate action that makes necessary investments in Idaho.
While McGoldrick said Idaho and its residents are leaders on climate action, the area needs “robust federal investment” as it pertains to climate change.
The first two murals are currently in the works, and six total will be unveiled on nearby businesses when it’s all said and done. They’ll ultimately lead bikers and pedestrians on a route through Garden City’s Live-Work-Create District, located just west of the Boise River and north of Highway 184.
McGoldrick said although Boise already has many walkable neighborhoods and an array of public art on display, Garden City is right on the precipice of incorporating such facets into its community.
“It’s right at that exciting point where they’re trying to build that type of stuff,” he said. “The leadership, where we’re seeing the community going, frankly we’re excited about it.”
COILED Wines and Zion Warne Studios each currently have murals being painted by artists Lorelle Rau and Miguel Almeida. Those who attend Friday’s event can get an up-close look at their work and help bring awareness to arguably Idaho’s greatest asset — the outdoors.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more at IdahoPress.com
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| 2022-05-06T19:15:12
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/mural-display-looks-to-provide-positive-energy-climate-action-awareness-to-garden-city-idaho/277-74c5c40c-7787-414f-86d1-be79298acbee
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The 2300 SW Naito Stakeholder Group announced Friday it would be withdrawing its support for the Safe Rest Village that’s planned to go in near two schools in the area.
Association leaders are concerned the City of Portland and Multnomah County are not meeting safety requirements. With the village going in near the International School of Portland and Bridges Middle School, school officials said those precautions will help protect children nearby.
“We saw the village as an opportunity to build a truly welcoming community that worked together in support of each other,” said Bodo Heiliger, Head of the International School of Portland. He later noted the community’s concerns lie with the city — not All Good NW, the shelter operator for the villages.
According to the group, officials have failed to implement low-barrier safety requirements like screening potential residents for felony crimes against a person, sex crimes and a felony property crime.
When the community was first informed a Safe Rest Village would be added to their area, city leaders supposedly told them background checks would be required. However, Heiliger said this and some other low-barrier requests were denied two days ago.
Beven Byrnes, the principal and executive director of Bridges Middle School, said the school was able to get parents, guardians and staff support on the village by ensuring these background checks would be required/
Along with that, the city also denied the community’s request for a minimum 1,000 foot buffer zone between the village and the school that would be free of camping, drug use and other criminal activity.
14 other neighborhood associations are reportedly asking for the same safety requirements as Byrnes said many are concerned the villages will draw in camping, drug use, potentially predatory drug dealers and additional trash.
In late September, Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan first announced a sanctioned homeless camp would be going in, which is just one of 3 Safe Rest Villages throughout the city. Shortly after Ryan’s announcement, residents and business owner said they had “mixed feelings” about this village.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/community-group-revokes-support-for-safe-rest-village-near-school/
| 2022-05-06T19:20:19
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/community-group-revokes-support-for-safe-rest-village-near-school/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Mayor Ted Wheeler is delivering the annual State of the City address Friday afternoon, and his office said to expect some “big announcements.”
Wheeler said he will give his “honest opinion on how things are going in our city” and lay out his vision for the future of Portland.
“A few big announcements” are coming, according to a press release sent by his office ahead of the event, although officials did not elaborate further.
The virtual event is scheduled for noon and will be livestreamed in this article and on KOIN 6 News’ livestream events tab.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/wheeler-to-lay-out-big-announcements-in-state-of-the-city-address/
| 2022-05-06T19:20:26
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/wheeler-to-lay-out-big-announcements-in-state-of-the-city-address/
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Democrats have accelerated their plan to make the nation’s most populous state a sanctuary for women seeking abortions, propelled by the release this week of an early draft of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that has ignited a surge of activism among the state’s vast network of providers and advocacy groups.
The draft — which could change when a final ruling is issued, likely next month — would end nearly 50 years of federal abortion protections. Just hours after a leaked copy was published, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s top legislative leaders said they would seek voter approval to make abortions a constitutional right in California, a move designed to shield the state from future court rulings and a potential federal abortion ban should Republicans win control of Congress.
On Thursday, Democrats in the state Legislature fast-tracked a bill that would block other states’ laws from imposing civil or criminal penalties on people who provide or aid abortions in California, setting up another likely prolonged legal fight over state sovereignty.
The California Legislative Women’s Caucus has asked Newsom for $20 million to help pay for women from other states where abortion would be outlawed to come to California for the procedure — a sum the governor could announce in his revised budget proposal next week.
In just 48 hours after the draft ruling became public, California’s only statewide nonprofit that helps women travel to and within the state to get abortions raised $25,000 — a quarter of its normal annual spending — while fielding a flood of calls from people volunteering to give free rides or a place to stay to women looking to end their pregnancies.
For Madilynne Hoffman, California’s preparations are comforting. The 22-year-old mother of two ended her pregnancy in December at an abortion clinic in the state's Central Valley.
When she returned to a different clinic later for birth control, she said a protester followed her to her car. That experience, coupled with the draft court ruling, prompted her to look for volunteer opportunities at clinics.
“That’s really saddening to think that women have to fight for their bodies,” she said. “It should just be an automatic right."
California's legislative efforts represent the opening salvos in the next phase of the abortion rights battle, which will play out among state governments that are left to make and enforce their own rules if the federal protections are abolished. Already, Republican-led states like Oklahoma and Idaho have passed more restrictive abortion laws in anticipation of the court’s ruling.
Democratic-led states like California, meanwhile, are passing laws to expand abortion access.
The Democrats who control all levers of power in state government have written 13 bills that would authorize more medical providers to perform abortions, create scholarships for reproductive care doctors, block other states from accessing some California medical records, and create a fund for taxpayer money to help pay for women in states where abortion is illegal to come to California to get the procedure. A measure that makes abortions cheaper by banning co-pays and deductibles has already been signed into law.
Meanwhile, abortion providers are busy hiring more doctors and adding space to receive a predicted surge in patients. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, the nation’s largest Planned Parenthood affiliate, is renovating and building new facilities in Oakland, San Jose, Fresno, Visalia and Reno, Nevada. When they’re finished, it will boost their capacity from 200 to 500 patients per week.
“We’ve been preparing for it for over a year — and honestly since November 2016,” when Republican Donald Trump was elected president, said Andrew Adams, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte’s chief of staff and head of strategic communications.
Anti-abortion advocates are getting ready, too, by bolstering staffing and support at crisis pregnancy centers. These centers, which often locate near abortion clinics and are religiously affiliated, seek to convince women to forego abortion for adoption or other options.
Some of these centers in conservative states receive tens of millions of dollars in public money. California has been hostile to these centers, passing a law requiring them to tell clients about abortion services. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down that law in 2018.
“We believe that is the way people of faith and the pro-life community can really help to put our money where our mouth is,” said Jonathan Keller, president and CEO of the California Family Council, which opposes abortion. “No woman should ever feel like abortion is the best option for them.”
While abortion has been legal in every state, it’s not easily accessible everywhere, especially for people who live in poor or rural areas. Across the country, nearly 100 “abortion funds” exist to help these women pay for things like travel, lodging and child care they need to make their appointments.
Since Monday, a national digital fundraising platform for these groups has raised about $1 million, according to Sierra Harris, deputy director of network strategy for the National Network of Abortion Funds.
California has one statewide abortion fund, known as Access Reproductive Justice. The group helps roughly 500 women each year, about a third whom come from other states, according to Executive Director Jessica Pinckney. Each woman gets an average of $300 to $400 in assistance.
That doesn’t pay for everything. To fill the gaps, the group relies on a set of 50 core volunteers who stand ready to give rides, places to stay and extra cash. Those volunteers include Harris, who lives in Oakland.
Since the pandemic, most of the assistance Harris gives is cash. The mother of two small children, Harris recalled a time when she pitched in to buy another woman a plane ticket so she could travel to get an abortion. The woman was also a mother, and later sent Harris a card calling her an “angel.”
The woman said her help made it possible for her "to parent the child I have,’” Harris said. “I think about that all the time.”
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/roe-vs-wade-threat-california-abortion-refuge/103-5b229148-7bce-4a4a-ad89-24d408c59cf7
| 2022-05-06T19:23:41
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/roe-vs-wade-threat-california-abortion-refuge/103-5b229148-7bce-4a4a-ad89-24d408c59cf7
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Animal services authorities are looking for the person who fatally wounded one of inland Southern California’s wild burros with an arrow.
Riverside County Animal Services officers responding to multiple calls found the wounded burro April 30 in the Reche Canyon area, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Photos show that the arrow struck with sufficient force to penetrate all the way through the animal’s belly and out the other side.
The burro was transported to an equine hospital but lifesaving measures were unsuccessful, the agency said in a statement.
The arrow was given to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in hope that a fingerprint or some other information might help the investigation.
“This is highly disturbing that someone would purposely harm a defenseless animal and cause its death,” Animal Services Director Erin Gettis said. “If anyone has any helpful information, we urge them to contact us as we pursue felony animal cruelty charges.”
A burro was wounded in a similar incident in July 2018 but in that case veterinarians were able to save the animal and it was released back into the wild.
Watch more from ABC10:
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/wild-burrow-shot-southern-california/103-4a2ce1f8-f51a-4352-9d44-97ca3862575e
| 2022-05-06T19:23:47
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/wild-burrow-shot-southern-california/103-4a2ce1f8-f51a-4352-9d44-97ca3862575e
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A 35-year-old man has been charged with multiple counts of robbery and various weapons and theft offenses in connection to a string of robberies that took place in northern New Jersey throughout last week, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office announced Friday.
Joel Krecz, of Hackensack, was arrested Tuesday in Jersey City, while in possession of a handgun, following a joint investigation by multiple police departments in connection to five armed robberies reported between the late night hours of April 29 and the early morning hours of April 30, the prosecutor's office said. In each incident, a handgun was allegedly brandished and money was demanded from employees working at the businesses.
Krecz has been identified as the suspect responsible for at least five armed robberies, which are:
- The robbery of a store on Route 440 in Jersey City on April 29;
- The robbery of a liquor store on Summit Avenue in Union City on April 30;
- The robbery of a gas station on Route 3 in Secaucus on April 30;
- The robbery of a business on Paterson Plank Road in Union City on April 30;
- The robbery of a liquor store on Willow Avenue in Hoboken on April 30.
However, authorities are continuing to investigate at least one other robbery that allegedly took place at a store on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen on April 8.
“This arrest is the direct result of good, collaborative policing between patrol officers, detectives, and major case units,” Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said in a statement. “Our office is committed to working closely with every department in Hudson County to protect the safety of residents and business owners and see that those responsible for crime are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Krecz is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny pending his first court appearance, which is tentatively scheduled for Monday.
News
Attorney information for Krecz was not immediately known.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-arrested-charged-with-armed-robbery-spree-across-northern-nj-hcpo/3676679/
| 2022-05-06T19:23:53
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-arrested-charged-with-armed-robbery-spree-across-northern-nj-hcpo/3676679/
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PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler will deliver the annual State of the City address at noon Friday.
The address was scheduled be followed by a Q&A with Wheeler and Rukaiyah Adams, chief investment officer at Meyer Memorial Trust, but it was announced at the start of the event that Adams would not be able to make it.
The address comes at a time when the city is facing widespread public frustration with multiple crises including homelessness, gun violence and traffic accidents.
The tri-county region released a Point-in-Time count of the homeless population in the Portland region earlier this week, showing 6,633 people living without a home as of Jan. 26.
Wheeler released his proposed budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year earlier this week, placing a large emphasis on homeless services and public safety. It includes funding to expand Portland Street Response to 24/7 operation and for body-worn cameras for Portland police.
During a press conference on Thursday, Wheeler defended his recent record on homelessness, arguing that his use of emergency authority to ban camping along high-crash corridors was an essential step for safety.
He also said his decision to consolidate the city's homeless services under a new central office would lead to improvements in the city's previously siloed response efforts.
The budget proposal also prioritizes hiring more unarmed public safety specialists, which Wheeler said could help balance police resources by freeing up armed and sworn officers for urgent calls at a time when the police bureau is trying to staff up but facing high competition from other cities for officers.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-mayor-ted-wheeler-state-of-the-city/283-2e2fb45a-dbdc-4198-9ed6-ac917be4cf7b
| 2022-05-06T19:26:08
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-mayor-ted-wheeler-state-of-the-city/283-2e2fb45a-dbdc-4198-9ed6-ac917be4cf7b
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TIGARD, Ore. — Detectives found two men dead inside a hotel in Tigard early Friday morning and are investigating it as a double homicide.
The Tigard Police Department said they are working to identify a suspect they believe left the scene after the shooting.
Around 1:30 a.m., police responded to the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel on Southwest Hall Boulevard and Eliander Lane near Washington Square mall after people reported hearing possible gunshots.
Officers searched the building and found the two men dead inside. Police will not released their names until their families are notified but have said the two men are from Portland.
Tigard Police said they couldn't confirm whether they were guests of the hotel.
"You have families that are here, you have people on vacation, people on business trips, and it's a concerning situation obviously," said Kelsey Anderson, a spokesperson for Tigard police. "We're just really grateful that there's not an active threat and that this was isolated to the parts of the hotel where it happened."
Tigard Police said this shooting does not appear to be connected to another shooting at a hotel in Portland just a couple of hours after.
Around 3:30 a.m., police in Portland responded to a shooting at the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel on the South Waterfront at South River Parkway and Moody Avenue. Officers are also also investigating that as a homicide and have not said what led up to that shooting.
MOST-READ STORIES ON KGW.COM (MAY 6, 2022)
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-county/tigard-police-homicide-investigation-embassy-suites/283-b8db22f9-28b1-4dc9-b20e-1e15eb5af3c5
| 2022-05-06T19:26:14
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-county/tigard-police-homicide-investigation-embassy-suites/283-b8db22f9-28b1-4dc9-b20e-1e15eb5af3c5
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RUSK COUNTY, Texas — The National Weather Service has confirmed either an EF-1 or EF-2 tornado moved through Rusk County near Mount Enterprise during Thursday's severe weather.
A NWS representative from the Shreveport office confirmed a tornado did move through the area near Whispering Pines RV Park & Lodging in the Mount Enterprise community.
According to NWS, the team will have to review data before confirming the exact strength.
The NWS website states an EF-1 tornado can range from 73-112 MPH and cause moderate damage, including roof surfaces peeled off; mobile homes pushed foundations or overturned; moving autos pushed off road.
An EF-2 tornado ranges from 113-157 MPH and lead to considerable damage, such as roofs torn from frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars pushed over; large trees snapped or uprooted; light objects become projectiles.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/nws-confirms-tornado-moved-rusk-county-area/501-5d316f9f-3a56-4631-9c93-a9fe27ce957b
| 2022-05-06T19:34:49
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/nws-confirms-tornado-moved-rusk-county-area/501-5d316f9f-3a56-4631-9c93-a9fe27ce957b
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state's top lawyer, said Friday the state bar was suing him for professional misconduct related to his lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election.
"I have recently learned that the Texas State Bar — which has been waging a months-long witch-hunt against me — now plans to sue me and my top deputy for filing Texas v. Penn: the historic challenge to the unconstitutional 2020 presidential election joined by nearly half of all the states and over a hundred members of Congress," Paxton said in a statement released on social media. "I stand by this lawsuit completely."
A few hours after saying he was being sued by the bar, Paxton’s office announced an investigation into the Texas Bar Foundation for "facilitating mass influx of illegal aliens" by donating money to groups that "encourage, participate in, and fund illegal immigration at the Texas-Mexico border." The foundation is made up of attorneys and raises money to provide legal education and services. It is separate from the State Bar of Texas, which is an administrative arm of the Texas Supreme Court.
Representatives for the Texas Bar Foundation could not immediately be reached for comment.
Paxton, an embattled Republican seeking a third term, said state bar investigators who now appear to be moving on a lawsuit against him are biased and said the decision to sue him, which comes a week before early voting in his GOP runoff for attorney general, was politically motivated. He is facing Land Commissioner George P. Bush in the May 24 election.
"Texas Bar: I’ll see you and the leftists that control you in court," he said. "I’ll never let you bully me, my staff or the Texans I represent into backing down or going soft on defending the Rule of Law — something for which you have little knowledge."
In fact, the investigation into Paxton has been pending for months. Last July, a group of 16 lawyers that included four former state bar presidents filed an ethics complaint against Paxton arguing that he demonstrated a pattern of professional misconduct, including his decision to file a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential elections in battleground states where former President Donald Trump, a Paxton ally, had lost. The attorneys said the lawsuit was "frivolous" and had been filed without evidence. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed it, saying Texas had no standing to sue.
RELATED: Attorney General Ken Paxton's failed 2020 election lawsuit costing taxpayers thousands, report says
In March, the investigation moved ahead and Paxton was given 20 days to decide whether he wanted a trial by jury or an administrative hearing to resolve the complaint.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the state bar said the group had not been notified of a decision. Jim Harrington, a civil rights attorney and one of the lawyers who filed the ethics complaint, said he also had not been notified of a trial but that Paxton would have received notification.
"I was as surprised as you were to see that tweet this morning," Harrington said.
Because Paxton appears to have chosen a trial over an administrative hearing, the case would be tried in Travis County, Harrington said. The case would not be overseen by a judge from the heavily Democratic county, however. Instead, it will be overseen by a judge from outside the county but within the Texas Judicial Branch’s administrative region, which stretches north to Hill County, west to San Saba County, east to Austin County and south to Lavaca County.
Sylvia Borunda Firth, the State Bar of Texas’ president, said in a statement that the group is "dedicated to fostering ethical conduct in the legal profession and protecting the public through the attorney discipline system" which provides procedural rules to process, investigate and prosecute complaints.
“The system is designed to ensure fairness to all parties," she said. "Partisan political considerations play no role in determining whether to pursue a grievance or how that grievance proceeds through the system. Any claims to the contrary are untrue."
Borunda Firth said the bar’s 12-person volunteer committee called the Commission for Lawyer Discipline provides oversight to the group’s disciplinary counsel, which administers the discipline system with help from volunteer grievance panels across the state. The committee members determine whether an attorney violated the state’s rules of professional conduct and what sanction is appropriate.
“These unpaid volunteers devote countless hours to hearing and considering cases to ensure attorneys are fulfilling their obligations to the public," she said. "Without them, the attorney discipline system could not function. We are grateful for their service.”
Separately, Paxton faces multiple other scandals. He continues to fight a seven-year-old securities fraud case and last year came under FBI investigation for abuse of office after eight of his former deputies accused him of bribery. He’s also asking the Texas Supreme Court to throw out a whistleblower case against him by four of those former employees, who allege they were fired after they reported Paxton to authorities. Paxton has denied all wrongdoing.
Disclosure: State Bar of Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This story comes from our KHOU 11 News partners at The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government, and statewide issues.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/ken-paxton-says-hes-being-sued-by-the-state-bar-for-misconduct-over-his-lawsuit-challenging-the-2020-election/285-960f49ac-bcce-435c-a1c9-28d56e622ecc
| 2022-05-06T19:34:55
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About 80 migrants were found locked in a tractor-trailer during a traffic stop in Jackson County Friday morning, according to the sheriff's office.
Officials with the Edna Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office told KHOU 11’s sister station in Corpus Christi, KIII, the trailer was stopped US-59 heading north near County Road 202, just northeast of Ganado.
Several migrants were treated at the scene for possible dehydration, and several others ran from the scene. Multiple agencies are currently searching for the missing migrants.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office says as of 10:25 a.m., 32 people had been apprehended and they estimate another 50 who took off and are somewhere in the area.
Corpus Christi Fire Department Chief Robert Rocha told KIII that they are sending their AMBUS to the scene to help with medical attention. San Antonio and Fort Bend are also sending similar help.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/migrants-escaped-from-box-truck-need-medical-attention-in-jackson-county-corpus-christi-fd-says/285-8d1e4cd4-ab46-4553-b438-233b5c919f08
| 2022-05-06T19:35:01
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The Wire Mill bridge in Allentown will be closed for months beginning May 16.
The bridge, which connects Lehigh Street/Route 145 across the Little Lehigh Creek, was constructed in 1940. The bridge is owned by Lehigh County and will be entirely demolished and replaced by PennDOT.
The bridge is one of several in the region considered structurally deficient by the Lehigh Valley Transportation Authority, including Bethlehem’s Hill-to-Hill and Fahy Bridges and Allentown’s Cedar Crest Boulevard Bridge. The study called for spending $182.6 million on bridge projects and $131 million on highway projects.
Construction of the new bridge, not including the cost of engineering reviews, plans and inspections, will be around $4.8 million and will be paid for with federal, state and county dollars.
[ Some of Lehigh Valley's most-traveled bridges targeted for repair ]
Lehigh county wanted to replace the bridge years ago, county Director of Services Richard Molchany said. But the Wire Mill Bridge had been placed on a detour list of alternate routes while major work was undertaken to the Albertus L. Meyers/Eighth Street Bridge.
The wire mill bridge had previously closed for $300,000 in repairs in late 2017 to help it withstand wear-and-tear before being replaced.
Construction contractor Kinsley Construction erected a temporary pedestrian bridge along the western side of Lehigh Street to allow walking access along the creek. But car traffic will be detoured until the bridge reopens.
Three other bridges cross the Little Lehigh Creek in proximity to the Wire Mill Bridge: 10th Street, Basin Street and Eighth Street.
The announcement comes as Allentown’s Tilghman Street Bridge, closed for nearly four years for repairs, will reopen later this month.
The Wire Mill Bridge is expected to re-open on Dec. 2, and working hours on the bridge are between 6 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Reporter Anthony Salamone contributed to this report.
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https://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-nws-allentown-wire-mill-bridge-closed-lehigh-street-construction-december-20220506-clmczqy3xzfgnlklz74hyssfqy-story.html
| 2022-05-06T19:43:56
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https://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-nws-allentown-wire-mill-bridge-closed-lehigh-street-construction-december-20220506-clmczqy3xzfgnlklz74hyssfqy-story.html
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A South Philadelphia man who had gone missing was found dead by a couple of kids this week, police said.
The kids found 25-year-old Francis Decero lying in some bushes on Douglas Street on Wednesday, Philadelphia Police Department Officer Eric McLaurin said. They flagged down police officers, who went to the area and found Decero’s body, which had signs of trauma, McLaurin said.
Medics pronounced Decero dead at 4:01 p.m., he added.
Decero had been missing from his home on the 1100 block of Tree Street since the night of April 26, McLaurin said. His family located his car parked on the 2800 block of South 13th Street, McLaurin said.
Police have not made any arrests as they continue to investigate the death.
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/missing-south-philly-man-found-dead-by-kids/3230992/
| 2022-05-06T20:48:17
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/missing-south-philly-man-found-dead-by-kids/3230992/
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The building located at 1 Times Sq. is iconic, better known for the New Year’s Eve ball drop. However, it’s what’s on the inside that’s about to get a lot of attention.
That's because under the crystal ball and behind the flashy billboards, the building itself has been empty for decades. This will change.
“This is the center of the universe for America," Mayor Eric Adams said on Friday as he announced a major renovation project on the horizon.
A $500 million renovation to create a Times Square visitors' hub is in the works. The project will be the centerpiece to welcome the public inside One Times Square for the first time.
The plan calls for modernizing the building and making it more accessible -- all while providing different for people to enjoy Times Square.
Built in 1904, One Times Square was briefly used as the New York Times headquarters. Real estate company Jamestown bought the building in the 90s and now plans to lease 12 floors for branded experiences -- building immersive retail spaces with virtual and augmented reality technologies.
Michael Phillips, president of the Jamestown real estate company, said the plan aims at "repositioning a physical building at the intersection of the digital and physical environment moving forward.”
News
The renovation plans also call for another six floors to become a museum to share the history of Times Square, all while a brand new viewing deck will give visitors a bird's eye view of the "crossroads of the world."
“The eyes of the world may turn to Times Square on New Year's Eve but all year round this is a bustling neighborhood in the center of our city," Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said.
The ambitious plan will also include improvements to the Times Square Subway Station under the building.
However, all of the expected construction will not get in the way of New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The renovations are expected to take a few years, with a projected opening in the summer of 2024.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-mayor-eric-adams-announces-500m-times-square-redevelopment/3676769/
| 2022-05-06T20:52:46
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-mayor-eric-adams-announces-500m-times-square-redevelopment/3676769/
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Angela Housley was halfway through her pregnancy when she learned the fetus was developing without parts of its brain and skull and would likely die within hours or days of birth, if it survived that long.
The news came during her 20-week ultrasound.
“The technician got a really horrible look on her face,” Housley said. “And we got the really sad news that our baby was anencephalic.”
It was 1992 and abortion was legal in Idaho, though she had to dodge anti-abortion protesters outside the Boise hospital after the procedure. If the same scenario were to happen later this year, she would likely be forced to carry to term.
That's because Idaho is one of at least 22 states with laws banning abortion at the 15th week or earlier, many of them lacking exceptions for fetal viability, rape or incest, or even the health of the woman. Several of those bans would take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, as a leaked draft of the opinion suggests.
Such exceptions were once regularly included in even the most conservative anti-abortion proposals. But as the battle over abortion access heats up, experts on both sides of the issue say the exceptions were a temporary stepping stone intended to make anti-abortion laws more palatable.
Many of the current abortion bans are designed as “trigger laws," automatically going into effect if the high court overturns the nationwide right to abortion. That ruling is expected to be released by late June or early July.
Alabama and Oklahoma have enacted bans with no exceptions. Alabama's 2019 law is blocked in federal court but could be reinstated based on the Supreme Court's ruling. The Republican sponsors envisioned the legislation as a vehicle to challenge Roe in court, and said they could add rape and incest exceptions later if Roe is overturned.
“They’re basically using people — in this particular situation, women — as collateral damage," said Democratic Rep. Chris England, the chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. “In the debate, we tried to talk reasonably to them and say, ‘What happens if you win? This is the law, You’re not going to have the opportunity to change it before people get hurt.'”
Several other states, including Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, also have bans or trigger laws in place that lack exceptions for rape or incest, according to the Guttmacher Institute and Associated Press reporting.
Idaho and Utah have exceptions for rape or incest, but require the pregnant woman to first file a police report and then prove to the abortion provider the report was made. Only about a third of sexual assaults are reported to police, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
Texas and Idaho allow exceptions for “medical emergencies" but leave that interpretation up to physicians, making some critics fear doctors will wait to intervene until a woman is near death.
Public support for total abortion bans appears to be low, based on a Pew Research Center survey released Friday and conducted in March. The survey showed just 10% of U.S. adults say abortion should be illegal in all cases. When probed further, just 8% think abortion should be illegal with no exceptions. An additional 27% percent say abortion should be illegal in most cases.
Arkansas has two near-total abortion bans — a trigger law from 2019 and one passed last year that is blocked in federal court. Neither have exceptions for rape or incest, though they do allow abortions to save the woman's life. The state also never repealed its pre-1973 total abortion ban with no restrictions.
Republicans in the state were split on the issue last year, with Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Sen. Missy Irvin expressing reservations about the lack of protections for sexual assault survivors.
“Do you know how many young girls are on suicide watch because they were raped, because they were a victim of incest?” asked Irvin, who ultimately voted for last year’s bill.
The sponsor of last year’s ban, Republican Sen. Jason Rapert, defended the lack of exemptions, saying it still allowed the use of emergency contraception.
Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst for the abortion-rights supporting Guttmacher Institute, said that of 86 pending proposals for abortion restrictions this year, only a few — including one each in Idaho, New Jersey and West Virginia — include rape and incest exceptions.
The exceptions were always “incredibly limited,” she said. "You might think these exceptions are helpful. But in fact they’re so restricted, they’re very hard to use.”
Troy Newman, president of the national anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, said exceptions to abortion restrictions for rape and incest and to protect a pregnant woman’s life in the past have been “thrown in there to appease some centrists.”
Newman said his group, based in Wichita, Kansas, opposes rape and incest exceptions. Their rationale: “Don’t punish the baby for the crime of the father.”
The Ohio Legislature is weighing a trigger law that lacks sexual assault exceptions. During a hearing last month, the bill’s GOP sponsor, Rep. Jean Schmidt, caused controversy when she called pregnancy resulting from rape “an opportunity” for the rape victim to “make a determination about what she's going to do to help that life be a productive human being.”
She was responding to a question from Democratic Rep. Rich Brown, who asked if a 13-year-old impregnated during a rape would be forced to carry to term.
Rape “emotionally scars the individual,” Schmidt conceded, "but if a baby is created, it is a human life.”
Democratic Rep. Tavia Galonski countered that pregnancy is often traumatic and dangerous on its own, adding: “To then force a survivor of rape to carry a pregnancy to term and go through childbirth is utterly vile and only adds to the trauma they have already suffered.”
In South Carolina, supporters of a 2021 abortion ban added exceptions for rape and incest because it was the only way to get the law passed. During debate, Republican Sen. Richard Cash argued against the exceptions.
“Punish the rapist ... but it doesn’t belong on the baby,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Mia McLeod responded that it was obvious Cash had never been raped.
“Well, I have. You’re looking at a sexual assault survivor,” she said, adding that requiring rape victims to carry babies to term could lead them to desperate measures, including dangerous illegal abortions or suicide.
"I’m just asking that the men in this body give the women and girls of this state” a choice, McLeod said.
New Hampshire has banned abortion after 24 weeks of gestation except for when the woman's health is threatened, though the state will soon add an exception for fatal fetal anomalies. The Republican-led legislature has rejected attempts to add rape and incest exceptions.
Republican Rep. Beth Folsom, who said in January that she is a rape survivor, argued the exceptions aren't necessary because rape victims carefully track their menstrual cycles and wouldn’t wait 24 weeks to seek an abortion. An incest exception wasn’t needed, she added, because “that aggressor is going to make sure that young girl or woman has an abortion before anyone finds out.”
Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Pro-Choice Missouri, expressed concern that provisions in laws like the one in Texas that allow abortions past six weeks in medical emergencies, will require doctors to wait until a patient appears to be dying to perform an abortion.
“Any of those kind of pieces that are left up to interpretation are generally going to have a broad chilling effect on providers who don’t want to jeopardize their career and livelihood and practice and ability to care for other patients,” Schwarz said.
Many bans outlaw abortion after six weeks, when vaginal ultrasounds can first detect electrical activity in embryonic cells that may later become the heart. Proponents call them “heartbeat laws,” arguing that cardiac activity is a reliable indicator of life.
In Idaho, Housley has repeatedly testified against the state's abortion bans in the Legislature, but said the lawmakers were uninterested in hearing about her experience.
“My baby had a heartbeat, but that’s not the only thing a baby needs,” said Housley. Anti-abortion politicians "are not at all interested in the reality of this issue. They’ve hijacked this discussion, and that’s why we are where we are.”
Watch more Idaho politics:
See all of our latest political coverage in our YouTube playlist:
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-abortion-states-fight/277-7c1c590f-a3c8-4059-a4d7-6dbddceb6a86
| 2022-05-06T21:00:38
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-abortion-states-fight/277-7c1c590f-a3c8-4059-a4d7-6dbddceb6a86
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STOCKTON, Calif. — The Pixie Woods amusement park is reopening for its 68th year with a community event to celebrate the family-fun tradition returning to Stockton.
The city of Stockton is hosting a grand reopening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 7, to showcase the improvements made to the popular children’s park.
The park is open on Saturdays and Sundays through May, Thursday through Sunday in June and July, then Saturday through Sunday beginning in August through October.
“This is an exciting weekend for us every single year,” Connie Cochran, Communications Manager for the city of Stockton, said. “It's exciting because generations of families have been going there and parents are bringing back kids to enjoy Pixie Woods.”
Nearly $3 million in funding for the much-needed improvements to Pixie Woods was approved by members of the city council on earlier this month. According to city documents, the improvements include repairs to the park's Vintage Pixie Carousel, which will remain closed until further notice following the park’s reopening. There is also a new ride being built to replace the Pirates' Lagoon that will be cleared out during construction.
In the meantime, kids can enjoy a variety of fun-themed play areas, attractions, snack stands and sculptures around the park.
Repair status updates can be followed on the Pixie Woods page of the city's website. In the weeks leading up to the event, dozens of community volunteers helped clean up the winter cobwebs out of the park.
General park admission is $5 and children under two are free. There are additional charges for rides. Other services made available include family memberships plans, birthday parties, holiday events and more.
“Multiple generations have gone there and it's a place that people hold near and to their hearts and a very important part of our community,” Cochran said.
Watch more from ABC10:
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/pixie-woods-reopening-2022/103-589bcd30-f66e-4937-8cc3-1536e7134537
| 2022-05-06T21:08:55
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/pixie-woods-reopening-2022/103-589bcd30-f66e-4937-8cc3-1536e7134537
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Alliance unveils skatepark renovations, tribute to late skateboarder
ALLIANCE – The city's newly renovated skatepark reopened with a new name that honors a late skateboard enthusiast.
Alliance renamed its skatepark the Sean Scott Memorial Rotary Skate Park and unveiled the first phase of renovations on Friday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
"This was a lot of work done by a lot of people," Mayor Alan Andreani said.
More:Beech Creek looks to bounce back from pandemic as its busiest season begins
The skatepark was installed at Memorial Park across from McDonald’s on East State Street roughly 15 years ago. The wooden structure has seen heavy use from both bikers and skateboarders over time, resulting in damage to the equipment.
Parks Board President Harry Paidas said after years of constant repairs, the group faced a difficult decision on the skatepark's future. Some wondered if the skate park was used frequently enough to be worth investing in steel equipment. Paidas said he was "skeptical" about the idea until he visited Memorial Park on a Saturday and saw many skateboarders using it.
"I came back from that trip and said ... 'We've got to do something to save the park," he said.
Alliance received a grant from the state Department of Natural Resources in 2021 to help pay for the renovations. The Parks Board approached Morgan Engineering President Mark Fedor to see if the company would be able to manufacture some of the new equipment.
The board learned that Scott, a former Morgan engineer, had been an avid skateboarder. Scott and his wife, Melissa, played a key role in installing Alliance's skate park in 2007. The couple was visiting a skatepark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and found out it was shutting down. They approached the park's management about obtaining the used equipment for Alliance.
"They were willing to sell it to us for a nominal amount if we trucked it," Andreani said. "We got trucking firms involved, we got all sorts of people. Everybody came together and brought this together, from the civic organizations to various members of the community."
Scott died in 2021 at age 48. Fedor said many of Scott's co-workers wanted to find a way to honor his memory. Morgan Engineering donated $50,000 toward the skatepark redevelopment.
The park's new name honors Scott and also recognizes the Alliance Rotary Club for its efforts in creating the original park and helping with expenses.
Melissa Scott said her late husband would be "elated" to know that the park had undergone these renovations.
"He wouldn't want the fuss of having it named after him, but I know deep down he's smiling about it because all he wanted was for the kids of today to have what he didn't have," she said.
Andreani said many people in Mahoning and Columbiana counties use the skatepark. The goal is for it to continue to expand and become a "regional center."
Several new pieces of equipment have been installed and more will continue to come. Paidas said later expansions could include a pump track.
Reach Paige at 330-580-8577 or pmbennett@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @paigembenn.
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/alliance/2022/05/06/renovated-skatepark-alliance-named-after-late-enthusiast-sean-scott/9657721002/
| 2022-05-06T21:09:56
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/alliance/2022/05/06/renovated-skatepark-alliance-named-after-late-enthusiast-sean-scott/9657721002/
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LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. —
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has increased the rewards for information leading to the apprehension and arrest of former Lauderdale County Corrections assistant director Vicky White and escaped inmate Casey White (no relation).
Ivey authorized an additional $5,000 each, adding to the previous reward of $10,00 offered by the U.S. Marshals Service.
UPDATE: May 6, 2022:
Search continues for former Lauderdale County Corrections officer Vicky White and inmate Casey White.
The Williamson County, TN Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the care believed to be driven by Vicky White and Casey White was found in Williamson County. The car was reported as an abandoned vehicle the same day White escaped. It was towed by the Sheriff's Office, but at that time they did not know the significance of the vehicle.
Authorities said Vicky White sold her home a month ago, and she was supposed to retire on April 29, the day she and Casey White disappeared.
An update from the U.S. Marshals Service says:
"Casey Cole White, 38, was charged with capital murder in September 2020 in the brutal stabbing of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway. He was already serving a 75-year sentence for a 2015 crime spree that involved home invasion, carjacking, and a police chase. White confessed to the murder and was awaiting trial at the Lauderdale County Jail when he disappeared.
"Investigators have learned that during pre-sentence reporting in 2015 he made threats against his ex-girlfriend and her sister, warning that if he ever got out, he would kill them and that he wanted police to kill him. USMS and local law enforcement authorities have been in contact with his potential targets to advise them of the threats and the escape and have taken appropriate protective actions. Investigators with Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office have also recently learned through inmate interviews that the jail official and the inmate had developed a “special” relationship."
This relationship allegedly included extra food and other items that other inmates did not get.
NEW: Casey White stands 6 feet 9 inches and weighs approximately 330 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes. He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. He has numerous tattoos, including some affiliated with the Alabama-based white supremacist prison gang Southern Brotherhood.
Anyone with information on the Whites’ location is urged to call 9-1-1 or the USMS Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102. Anonymous tips may also be submitted via the U.S. Marshals Tip App.
The USMS has put together two example images to identify the height differentiation between Casey White and Vicky White in relation to each other as well as the vehicle they are believed to be driving.
Vicky White is 5 feet 5 inches and weighs approximately 145 pounds. She has blond hair (but may have tinted it a darker shade) and brown eyes and reportedly has a "waddling gait".
Investigators say Vicki White purchased a 2007 orange or copper-colored Ford Edge. It is believed that they could be traveling in this vehicle. It is unknown what license plate is on the vehicle, or if it even has a license plate. There is minor damage to the rear left bumper. Some Facebook users have leveled accusations of wrongdoing against the owners of that dealership. The U.S. Marshals would like to assure everyone that the owners have been very helpful in this investigation and that no one at the dealership is suspected of helping the pair avoid law enforcement.
White and White should be considered dangerous and may be armed with an AR-15 rifle, handguns, and a shotgun. These are actual photos of the vehicle they are believed to be in.
UPDATE: May 5, 2022:
An Alabama sheriff said Wednesday that a jail official communicated by phone with a murder suspect before helping him escape last week and that her actions suggest their plan had been in the works for some time.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said the communication indicates the two had some type of a relationship for possibly up to two years before the escape. The phone calls occurred after the inmate was transferred out of the county jail in 2020 because of a suspected escape attempt then and before his return to the jail in February for court proceedings in the ongoing murder case against him.
The sheriff says that his previous statement about Vicky White visiting Casey White at Donaldson prison were incorrect, and that the contact was by phone.
According to investigators, Casey White received additional food and other things that other inmates did not get.
A nationwide manhunt is ongoing for Casey White, who was awaiting trial on a capital murder case, and Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections for the jail in Lauderdale County, after the pair disappeared Friday. Singleton said the ongoing contact stretched back two years and that Vicky White's actions, such as selling her house recently and purchasing an apparent getaway car, indicated there was advance planning.
UPDATE: May 2, 2022 10:30 a.m.
In a news conference this morning, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said that a warrant has been issued for Lauderdale County Corrections Assistant Director Vicky White for the charge of Permitting or Aiding Escape in the First Degree. A warrant for Casey Cole White was issued for Escape Second Degree.
The case is now considered a major case by the U.S. Marshals Service and officials believe she was involved in inmate White's escape. Being designated a "major case" allows for additional resources on the case.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Sunday that it is offering up to $10,000 for information about an escaped inmate and a “missing and endangered” correctional officer who disappeared Friday after the two left a jail in north Alabama. Submit tips at 1-800-336-0102 or click here. Investigators emphasized that Casey Cole White is 6'9" tall, which would make him stand out.
They may be traveling in a 2007 orange or copper-colored Ford Edge. It is unknown what license plate is on the vehicle, or it may have no license plate. The subjects should be considered dangerous and may be armed with an AR-15 rifle, handguns, and a shotgun. These are actual photos of the vehicle they are believed to be in. There is minor damage to the rear left bumper.
Casey White stands 6 feet 9 inches and weighs approximately 330 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes. He should be considered armed and dangerous.
Vicky White is 5 feet 5 inches and weighs approximately 145 pounds. She has blond hair and brown eyes and reportedly has a waddling gait.
Anyone with information on the Whites’ location is urged to contact urged to contact law enforcement. You can call the USMS Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102. Anonymous tips may also be submitted via the U.S. Marshals Tip App.
During a news conference, Sheriff Singleton explained how the policies in place for inmate transport. Department policy states that inmates much be escorted by two deputies. Earlier in the day, two vans of inmates left for the courthouse, one with five inmates, one with seven each, with two officers. After they left, Director White asked for inmate Casey White to be brought for transport. She said she was the only firearms-certified deputy available.
Casey White was brought out and handcuffed and shackled and the two left at 9:41 a.m. Director White said she was taking him to the courthouse for a mental evaluation and would give him to other deputies. Video surveillance showed her car at a nearby intersection at 9:49 a.m. The video was not clear enough to show any individuals. Sheriff Singleton said that she would not have had time to go to the courthouse, drop him off, and get to that location.
On Friday, the sheriff said that no appointment had been scheduled and they never showed up at the courthouse.
Officials now believe that Director Vicky White was involved in the planning and executing the escape. They don't know yet if there was a previous relationship between the two or if any threats or coercion were involved. Sheriff Singleton said they are reviewing video and phone records to see if there was any unusual interaction between them. He did state that in her position, she does walk the halls of the detention center and has the opportunity to interact with any given inmate.
Inmate Casey White was transferred to the Lauderdale County Detention Center from the Alabama Department of Corrections for pending court hearings. He was charged with capital murder in the death of Connie Ridgeway in 2015. While inmate White was at LCDC in 2020, Officials heard rumors of an escape plan and found a shank in White's cell. He was transferred back to ADOC. The transport policy of two deputies per inmate was emphasized after this incident, and the sheriff says Director White was aware of it.
Inmate White is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous, and Sheriff Singleton cautioned all law enforcement officers to not take any chances with him.
According to the sheriff, Director White had been talking about retiring and sold her home earlier this year. Friday, April 29 was to be her last day of work. Her retirement paperwork had been filed with the state but not completed, as she had to have a conference with the personnel director. Without completed paperwork, benefits could not be released. Those who worked with her say this is not the Vicky White they knew.
May 2, 2022
The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office released new pictures of inmate Casey Cole White. According to the Sheriff's Office, this is the most current photo of inmate Casey Cole White. The search for White and Lauderdale County Corrections Assistant Director Vicky White (no relation) continues.
May 1, 2022: Reward offered
The U.S. Marshals Service said Sunday that it is offering up to $10,000 for information about an escaped inmate and a “missing and endangered” correctional officer who disappeared Friday after the two left a jail in north Alabama. Submit tips at 1-800-336-0102 or click here.
______________________________________________________________
Lauderdale County corrections officer Vicky White is missing in the line of duty. White is the Assistant Director of Corrections.
AD White left the detention center to escort inmate Casey White (no relation) at approximately 9:40 a.m. to the courthouse. Casey White is 38 years old, 6'6", 252 pounds. He was in custody on charges of capital murder in the death of Connie Ridgeway.
At about 11:30, AD White's patrol vehicle was located in a parking lot in Florence. In ALEA's Blue Alert, they state that, "Casey White is believed to be a serious threat to the corrections officer and the public."
According to a timeline released by the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office, at 9:20 a.m., White left the detention center to escort inmate Casey White to the Courthouse for a mental health evaluation. She reportedly told the booking officer that she was the only deputy available who was firearms certified and she was dropping him off to other deputies at the courthouse.
They never arrived.
If you have any information or have seen AD White or Casey White, please call 911.
U.S. Marshals, FBI, ATF, Secret Service, and ALEA are al working on the investigation. According to the timeline, AD White's car was searched but, "no evidence was located to assist [us] in the investigation."
Timeline released Saturday, April 30.
In a news conference on Friday, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said:
She was escorting inmate Casey White to an alleged mental health evaluation this morning at Courthouse. We have confirmed that there was no mental health evaluation scheduled. They left jail at 9:41 this morning. Shortly after 11:00 today, someone spotted her patrol vehicle parked in a parking lot at a local shopping center, so we know it was there as early as 11:00 or shortly after.
When she left the detention center, she informed the booking officer that she was going to drop the inmate off here at the courthouse with other deputies and that she was going to seek some medical attention because she wasn't feeling well. We confirmed that she never made that appointment. Wasn't exactly an appointment - she was going to one of the local Express Med kind of places and she never showed up there.
At 3:30 that booking officer reported to the other assistant director Missy Smith that they had been trying to contact Director White and couldn't get her, couldn't get in touch with her, couldn't get her to answer her phone. In fact, her phone was going to straight voicemail. So they became concerned and at that time knowing that she left that morning with inmate White they confirmed that he was not back at the detention center either. That was about 3:30 this afternoon. We immediately began our investigation, our search to see what we had going on. That's where we're at now. We are still aggressively investigating trying to find out what happened and trying to locate Deputy White and inmate White.
In reponse to reporter questions about policies for transporting inmates, Sheriff Singleton said, "She was along, which was a strict violation of policy. Our policy is any inmate under those charges are to have two sworn deputies escort them and that did not happen. Now, Director White was over the operations of the detention center. She coordinates all the transport from the detention center to the court, and so forth. So I'm sure her subordinates didn't question her when she told them she was bringing him to court for a mental evaluation. that she left that she was that he was being transferred. No matter No. We've confirmed there were no mental evaluations. No other court appearance."
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/blue-alert-lauderdale-co-corrections-officer-missing/525-6ede57c2-98cf-4ea1-a300-ade7eda93b74
| 2022-05-06T21:16:32
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/blue-alert-lauderdale-co-corrections-officer-missing/525-6ede57c2-98cf-4ea1-a300-ade7eda93b74
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HOUSTON — A small plane crashed into the backyard of a house near Hobby Airport in Southeast Houston. The crash scene isn't far from Dobie 9th Grade Center on Monroe Blvd.
Thankfully, the four people on the plane weren't hurt and neither was anyone on the ground, according to the Houston Fire Department.
The plane took off from Hobby around 2:19 p.m. A couple of minutes later, the pilot told the tower, "We are having problems with our engine. Need to turn back to the airport as soon as possible."
After the tower responded and asked what they needed, the pilot replied, "We are not going to make it."
The plane mowed down a fence but the pilot managed to bring it to a stop just a few yards from a couple of homes in the 8600 block of Heathglen Lane.
Lala Gonzalez said he was on his way home after picking his daughter up from school when a neighbor called and told him there was a little plane in his backyard.
"I come in here and the police they told me I can't go into my home, I need to wait," Gonzalez said. "They cut off the gas, the electricity, so I don't know until what time I can come in my home."
Sparks from the plane caused a fire that spread to a nearby gazebo.
From Air 11, a homeowner could be seen spraying the flames with a garden hose before fire trucks arrived. Firefighters were still on the scene putting out hot spots near the plane about an hour after the crash.
Hobby Airport identified the plane as a Cessna 421 C Golden Eagle. They said the crash did not affect operations at the airport.
Federal investigators are headed to the crash scene.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/small-plane-crashes-into-house-near-hobby-airport/285-0e298832-31b5-4cbb-838b-f464392e6a48
| 2022-05-06T21:16:38
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/small-plane-crashes-into-house-near-hobby-airport/285-0e298832-31b5-4cbb-838b-f464392e6a48
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https://www.postregister.com/news/local/arts-music-briefly/article_a1517899-3814-5022-a558-6602b5430bba.html
| 2022-05-06T21:47:36
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https://www.postregister.com/news/local/arts-music-briefly/article_a1517899-3814-5022-a558-6602b5430bba.html
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/this-is-my-body-8-year-old-speaks-on-behalf-of-abortion-rights-at-pa-rally/3231064/
| 2022-05-06T22:02:38
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| 2022-05-06T22:19:15
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CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Human skeletal remains were discovered on the east side of the Curry Creek Wildlife Preserve in Babcock Ranch.
According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), a land development company found the the skeletal remains while maintaining the preserve area.
Investigators are currently on scene to collect evidence. No identification of the remains has been made at this time.
This investigation is ongoing.
Count on NBC2 News for updates throughout the investigation.
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/06/human-skeletal-remnants-found-in-babcock-ranch-curry-creek-wildlife-preserve/
| 2022-05-06T22:20:24
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4101/3676843/
| 2022-05-06T22:22:29
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/mysterious-severe-hepatitis-cases-in-children-found-in-ny-cdc/3676783/
| 2022-05-06T22:22:35
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/mysterious-severe-hepatitis-cases-in-children-found-in-ny-cdc/3676783/
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NAMPA, Idaho — Six college-bound students from Nampa high schools were each awarded $3,000 scholarships Friday from the annual Mayor's Golf Tournament.
The 20th-annual tournament raises money for the Mayor's Teen Council, summer youth golf programs in Nampa and provides scholarships to senior high school student golfers towards the college of their choice.
The Nampa Golf Commission awarded the $18,000 in scholarships from the support of local sponsors, 33-hole sponsors and the 33 teams who participated in the tournament at the Centennial Golf Course.
Since the event began, more than $215,000 for scholarships and youth programs in Nampa have been raised.
Local sponsors for the Nampa Mayor's Golf Tournament included CapEd Credit Union, Texas Roadhouse, Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Republic Services, TDS Fiber, Homes of Idaho, Ford Idaho Center and Nampa Civic Center.
The six college-bound students each receiving $3,000 scholarships from the tournament are listed below:
- Camden Chandler, Skyview High School
- Christian Collins, Skyview High School
- Jayde Nielson, Columbia High School
- Kaedence Jenning, Nampa High School
- Sean Murphy, Skyview High School
- Allison Shupert, Columbia High School
Following the 2021 event, nine local students were each awarded $2,000 in scholarships.
Todd Durbin, June York, Steve Wilson, John Nielsen, Craig Stensgaard, Fred Sutton and Clint Beers are the current members of the Nampa Golf Commission. Councilman Victor Rodriguez represents Nampa City Council on the Golf Commission.
For more information on the Mayor's Golf Tournament, visit the City of Nampa's website by clicking here.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/nampa-students-3000-scholarships-mayors-golf-tournament/277-c5d52da4-1b73-4272-8a9b-f96af1db395b
| 2022-05-06T22:42:03
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https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/nampa-students-3000-scholarships-mayors-golf-tournament/277-c5d52da4-1b73-4272-8a9b-f96af1db395b
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Still not found in RI: Bird flu that has killed millions of chickens and turkeys
PROVIDENCE – An outbreak of bird flu that has killed huge numbers of poultry across the nation still hasn’t been detected in Rhode Island.
After discovery of the virus last week in Vermont, Rhode Island on Friday stood as the only state in New England where the highly contagious strain of avian influenza had yet to be found.
That doesn’t mean it’s not here, said state veterinarian Scott Marshall.
“It’s just a matter that we haven’t detected it,” said Marshall, who’s directing the local response to the virus for the state Department of Environmental Management.
How RI has been spared
The H5N1 virus was first detected in South Carolina on Jan. 14 and in subsequent weeks spread to the Midwest, the Northeast and other parts of the country. It is among the worst outbreaks of bird flu so far experienced in America, with some 37 million chickens or turkeys killed to control the spread of infection.
The virus is spread along migratory routes by wild birds. Vermont is inland from the coastal flyway that crosses through much of New England, which may explain why it took so long for the virus to show up there, said Marshall.
He believes Rhode Island has so far been protected because the poultry business here is small relative to those in states like Iowa or Minnesota.
The DEM is continuing to monitor the situation and the state is taking steps to prepare for infections with the expected approval of a tougher quarantine law.
A threat to humans?
While the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially said the virus was not a threat to humans, authorities confirmed its presence in a Colorado man last week. It was the first human case in the United States.
The man is a prison inmate who was in a work-release program culling poultry that had been exposed to the virus. It’s unclear if he was infected or if the virus was simply present in his nose and detected during a nasal test, according to the CDC.
Authorities say the public health risk to humans remains low.
“What would be incredibly concerning would be human-to-human transmission,” said Dr. Philip Chan, a consulting medical director for the Rhode Island Department of Health. “That's when all the red flags would go up.”
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/outbreak-bird-flu-still-not-detected-rhode-island-poultry-avian-influenza/9675238002/
| 2022-05-06T22:44:43
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/outbreak-bird-flu-still-not-detected-rhode-island-poultry-avian-influenza/9675238002/
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California likely will have an energy shortfall equivalent to what it takes to power about 1.3 million homes when use is at its peak during the hot and dry summer months, state officials said Friday.
Threats from drought, extreme heat and wildfires, plus supply chain and regulatory issues hampering the solar industry will create challenges for energy reliability this summer and in the coming years, the officials said. They represented the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, and the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state's energy grid.
State models assume the state will have 1,700 fewer megawatts of power than it needs during the times of highest demand — typically early evening as the sun sets — in the hottest months when air conditioners are in full use.
One megawatt powers about 750 to 1,000 homes in California, according to the energy commission. Under the most extreme circumstances, the shortfall could be far worse: 5,000 megawatts, or enough to power 3.75 million homes.
“The only thing we expect is to see new and surprising conditions, and we're trying to be prepared for those," said Alice Reynolds, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates major utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric.
The state — and residents — have multiple tools to avoid blackouts. Power can be purchased from other states and residents can lower their use during peak demand, but power shortages still are possible during extreme situations, officials said. Reynolds urged people to consider lowering their energy use by doing things like cooling their homes early in the day then turning off their air conditioners when the sun goes down.
In August 2020, amid extreme heat, the California Independent System Operator ordered utilities to temporarily cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers.
Mark Rothleder, senior vice president for the system operator, said the state would be more likely to experience blackouts again this year if the entire West has a heat wave at the same time. That would hinder California's ability to buy excess power from other states. Wildfires could also hinder the state's ability to keep the power on, he said.
California is in the process of transitioning its grid away from power sources that emit greenhouse gases to carbon-free sources such as solar and wind power. As old power plants prepare for retirement, including the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, the state has fewer energy options available.
Ana Matosantos, cabinet secretary for Gov. Gavin Newsom, declined to share details about what other actions the administration might take to ensure reliability, only saying Newsom was looking a “range of different actions." The Democratic governor recently said he was open to keeping Diablo Canyon open beyond its planned 2025 closing.
Meanwhile, supply chain issues caused by the pandemic are slowing down the availability of equipment needed to stand up more solar power systems with batteries that can store the energy for use when the sun isn't shining.
The state officials also pointed to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce into imports of solar panels from Southeast Asia as something with the potential to hinder California's move toward clean energy.
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-energy-shortfalls-in-hot-dry-summer/103-b189e7b3-a178-45f8-b99a-0bfc83aeb323
| 2022-05-06T22:48:54
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-energy-shortfalls-in-hot-dry-summer/103-b189e7b3-a178-45f8-b99a-0bfc83aeb323
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CALIFORNIA, USA — This story was originally published by CalMatters.
Students at Chico State University are no longer required to mask up indoors in order to prevent COVID-19. But Chico State public health professor Lindsay Briggs still requires students to wear masks in her class out of concern for her immunocompromised wife, who has lung problems.
“I told my students: ‘If you bring COVID into my classroom, and I bring it home, it is likely my wife will die,’ ” Briggs said.
Briggs isn’t alone in her concern. Across California State University, the country’s largest public four-year university system with close to half a million students, campuses are making different choices around COVID-19 protections as the pandemic moves into a new phase. For some immunocompromised students and staff — part of the third of California adults at a higher risk for serious COVID-19 complications and death — that means weighing the risks of attending in-person classes, and feeling neglected by university administration who they say didn’t consult them before easing restrictions.
Each of the system’s 23 campuses implements COVID-19 safety measures based on their communities’ needs, according to the Chancellor’s office. San Francisco State still enforces a mask mandate, as does Cal State LA, where the campus is peppered with signs reminding students and faculty to wear masks indoors. Meanwhile, Chico State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo removed their mask requirements in spring.
The changes in campuses’ practices coincided with months of declining COVID cases and hospitalizations in the state — though those numbers started ticking up recently. Public health experts said colleges could institute safety measures beyond requiring vaccines to protect immunocompromised students, including socially distanced classrooms, testing after breaks, encouraging mask use and online class options.“I think that masking can play a role in helping to control viral circulation and certainly protecting immunosuppressed people,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley infectious diseases professor.
The College Journalism Network talked with immunocompromised students and staff about life during the pandemic, and the uncertainty and frustration they feel as the world seems to be moving on. Their sense of safety, they said, is affected by the precautions taken both on their campuses and in the surrounding communities.
M.W. Kaplan, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
M.W. Kaplan was looking at a picture recently of themselves on a bus, but something looked off — Kaplan was wearing a mask, but no one else was.
Then the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student realized it was a photo from 2019 — before COVID, when most of the world wasn’t worried about catching a deadly virus.
Kaplan has a musculoskeletal pain disorder that causes neurological dysfunction and fatigue. They take a steroid that reduces the pain and inflammation associated with their condition, but also lowers their immunity, making them more susceptible to severe COVID-19 and other diseases.
“Even before the pandemic started, I got sick quite a lot. And especially during flu season, I wore surgical masks even then, especially if I thought I was sick or if I was going to be somewhere crowded where I knew that people were probably going to be sick,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan experiences headaches, sore throat, and nausea on a nearly daily basis. Kaplan calls this their baseline, and thinks COVID would be worse.
“Given how poor my health already is, I know that damage would make a very big, very obvious difference in my day-to-day life,” they said.
A communications major and president of the Cal Poly Disability Alliance club, Kaplan was enrolled in one in-person class for the fall and winter quarters. Being fully vaccinated and on a campus with a mask mandate, they felt just slightly uncomfortable in a classroom full of students. But when Cal Poly SLO announced it was removing the mask mandate in late March, Kaplan worried more about their safety and decided to switch their in-person class to a virtual one. It wasn’t hard to make the change, they said, since they know a lot of their professors in their department.
“They are incredibly accommodating and just generally very kind people,” said Kaplan. “So in that respect, I’ve been very lucky because I know people in a similar situation that have not had professors that were as accommodating.”
Cal Poly SLO’s decision to remove its mask mandate, they said, was “disheartening, but not shocking.”
“The lives of disabled people have never really been anyone’s priority,” they said.
Kaplan said Cal Poly SLO administrators did not consult the Cal Poly Disability Alliance club about removing the mask mandate — even after the campus newspaper, the Mustang News, published a story about the concerns of immunocompromised students.
Cal Poly SLO spokesperson Matt Lazier declined to comment on whether campus officials had talked to the club, citing student privacy.
“Cal Poly’s primary focus has been to do everything in its power to ensure the health and safety of all of its campus community members while also providing its students with a learn by doing experience that is as close to ‘normal’ as possible within current public health constraints,” Lazier said in an email.
For Kaplan, the dropping of the mask mandate illustrated a general lack of awareness about the issues disabled people face.
Healthy people might not think much about someone not wearing a mask, for example, but for Kaplan, it signals that they don’t value Kaplan’s life.
“It’s become really easy to tell who cares and who doesn’t based on whether they wear a mask, and what they say about wearing masks,” they said.
Ben Duarte, Chico State
Only 30% of Benjamin Duarte’s kidneys are functioning due to chronic kidney disease, and he grapples with diabetes and high blood pressure. These diagnoses made Duarte, an outreach specialist at Chico State’s STEM Connections program, approach his job differently in the last few years.
Duarte, 57, is both at a higher risk for a serious COVID-19 infection and passionate about his job, in which he helps recruit students from low-income and underrepresented communities into science, technology and math majors. He was recently nominated for a campus employee of the year award.
But continuing that work in an environment where he doesn’t feel protected by the university is difficult, he said — so much that he’s considering other career options, or retiring early.
Chico State’s president announced that the university was lifting the mask mandate in early March, citing Butte County’s “sharp decline in cases and hospitalizations” and the campus’ high vaccination rates.
Duarte spends most of the work day in his office wearing an N95 mask with his unmasked coworker. And although he mostly works on campus, he’s still often interacting with people on the phone or computer.
When students or staff ask why he is so strict about masking, he says he tells them, “Because if I get something from you I could die.”
He also gets upset when people compare COVID to the flu, as if that were less serious.
“Yeah, a flu can kill my kidney,” Duarte tells them. “I can’t go through that. If I get the flu, and I get diarrhea, I get dehydrated, that’s seriously taxing my kidneys.”
He has sent repeated emails to Chico State administrators asking them to give better guidance on how to deal with exposure, and has been critical about the way administrators have handled the pandemic since March 2020, questioning if they are qualified to make public health decisions in a crisis.
Sean Murphy, a university spokesperson, said there are at least three public health professionals on Chico State’s emergency’s operations team, including a registered nurse and a physician.
With most of his work done virtually, Duarte feels like he is missing out on a large part of what used to make his job fun: interacting with students.
“I’m tired of being inside,” he said. “I’m a people person; I like being around people and engaging.”
Olive Patton, San Francisco State
“My life has kind of changed very positively in the last two years,” says Olive Patton, “by everybody wearing masks around me.”
A second-year graduate student in sexuality studies at San Francisco State University, Patton has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, an inherited condition that affects connective tissues, compromises her immune system and gives her chronic pain, fatigue and brain fog.
As a child, Patton did gymnastics and dance and dislocated her joints often. She had pneumonia in elementary school and hip surgery in high school. At 16, she had bronchitis multiple times and had to go on steroids, she said.
“So pretty much the combination of having chronic pain and having a weakened immune system, I was pretty much sick at least every other week, pretty much all of my childhood,” Patton said.
Patton wasn’t diagnosed with EDS until she was 19. She is susceptible to the smallest of colds, but hasn’t worried too much about the risk to her health on campus because San Francisco State University still requires students, faculty and staff to wear masks. The city of San Francisco also has an 84.7% COVID-19 vaccination rate. That’s compared to 64.5% in San Luis Obispo, where Kaplan lives, and 51.4%% in Butte County, where Duarte lives.
“I think in San Francisco we’ve had a pretty good social climate around masks and distancing, and also, like, being really careful with checking vaccination cards,” Patton said. But leaving the city and seeing people holding large parties or making fun of others for wearing masks has been “a shock,” she said.
San Francisco State chose to keep its mask mandate and other safety measures such as weekly testing for those with vaccine exemptions in part to keep high-risk people and their family members safe, said Pam Su, associate dean of students at the university.
“We know that there are students and faculty who live with people who are immunocompromised, or have children who are not able to get the vaccine yet,” Su said.
Immunocompromised students who still have concerns about their safety can ask their academic department officials if they can take more of their classes online, Su said.
Though Patton’s classes are online, she still goes to campus because she is a fellow at the Paul K. Longmore Institute, an organization that studies and showcases disabled people’s experiences. Mask mandates, she said, remove the burden of asking another person to put on their mask, especially in a larger group.
“It’s also really intimidating to have to be the person to say, ‘I’m uncomfortable, people aren’t wearing masks,’ or, like, having to try to fight that,” Patton said.
Having virtual classes throughout the pandemic made Patton feel safer, and she believes they should have been an option even before the pandemic. They give disabled people a chance to learn in the comfort of their own home without putting themselves in danger, she said.
Although she does feel safe, Patton feels like she is a special case. As a graduate student in a small cohort, she said she has more options. Other students may not have the same flexibility, she said.
“I wish there was some way for other people to understand why it’s so important to take care of one another and to continue practices that keep other people safe,” she said. “It really doesn’t need to be this extremely political statement.”
Mendoza is a fellow with the CalMatters College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. This story and other higher education coverage are supported by the College Futures Foundation.
CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/cal-state-students-fear-covid/103-93ae853e-5cff-4638-ad8f-ba0d2c8206ea
| 2022-05-06T22:49:00
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/cal-state-students-fear-covid/103-93ae853e-5cff-4638-ad8f-ba0d2c8206ea
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CALIFORNIA, USA — This story was originally published by CalMatters.
California Democrats are locked in one of the most consequential disputes in modern state history over the future of the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed rail project after a decade of troubled construction.
The $105 billion bullet train project — for which $10.3 billion has been spent so far — would be the largest single investment in state history, the most ambitious civil works effort in the nation and now a symbol to many experts of how not to build a railroad, all of which define the stakes in the current impasse.
The feud has festered for 16 months, since Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the Legislature for a $4.2 billion appropriation in early 2021. The request has triggered a standoff with Assembly Democrats, who have steadfastly refused to hand over the last remaining funds from a 2008 bond measure for high-speed rail.
The battle involves who will exert control over the project’s future, how to improve its efficiency and how the remaining funds can yield the greatest benefits, which involve sharp disagreements that could be difficult to resolve.
“The project is not proceeding according to a robust plan, which results in waste and other inefficiencies,” said Bent Flyvbjerg, a business expert in mega projects at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and IT University of Copenhagen. “Given the political divisions, the cost growth, the schedule delays and the lack of a sound future revenue source, this project is going to the graveyard of famous boondoggles.”
Proponents of high-speed rail dispute such grave characterizations, asserting the project is solid.
“The naysayers are always going to be naysayers,” said Ray LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary under President Obama and a crusader for high-speed rail. “There’s construction underway. Hundreds of people are working on the project and have good paying jobs. There’s a plan now to go to Bakersfield. The future is very encouraging. It hasn’t stopped.”
A legislative standoff
But serious problems remain unresolved in the Central Valley, and new issues with utility relocations along the future tracks are again holding up construction.
The rail authority estimated in 2008, when voters approved $9 billion for the system, it would cost $33 billion and start running by 2020. But slow land purchases, delays in environmental documents, employee turnover and litigation over the last 14 years keep putting the goal further out of reach.
“There is no confidence in the project,” said Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Los Angeles Democrat. “We had an end date of 2020 and now we don’t have an end date.”
The latest estimate, made earlier this year, set the cost at $105 billion. The new price tag is based on some estimates made in 2019, not accounting for the spurt of inflation in construction materials and labor, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the non-partisan adviser to the Legislature. The risk is that the real cost is still not known.
In his negotiations with the Legislature, Newsom has offered several billion dollars of sweeteners to the urban centers to get the $4.2 billion. So far, the Assembly has not bitten.
Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Against this backdrop, Rendon and a majority of Democrats in the Assembly want to essentially detonate Newsom’s plan for the rail.
Asked in a recent interview what he could not accept, Rendon said, “I think this strict adherence to the current project is not really what we’re interested in.”
Newsom unveiled the “current project” in 2019, when he scaled back former Gov. Jerry Brown’s plans and adopted a blueprint for an electrified 171-mile partial operating system between Bakersfield and Merced. It would cost $23 billion, leaving the state with $2 billion to cover any setbacks, according to the 2022 business plan unveiled earlier this year.
“This project is big and complex and complicated and difficult and needs oversight,” said Laura Friedman, a Glendale Democrat and chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee. “It seems like there’s pressure being put on us to very quickly give them their money and just move on. ‘Legislature, get out of our way,’ which to me is really, really committing legislative malfeasance.”
The Senate has maintained its long silence on the rail project. Senate Transportation Committee chair Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat from Long Beach, declined an interview request and to answer written questions. In a statement, she said she is working on a “robust transportation funding package.”
Each side in the dispute believes the ultimate success of the project to connect downtown stations in Los Angeles and San Francisco with a 220 mile per hour train — an ambition that has existed for 40 years — hinges on their approach.
Competing California high-speed rail plans
In an Oct. 15 letter to Newsom, Rendon and Friedman offered to provide a $1 billion appropriation for upcoming construction and another $1.5 billion for cost overruns. As part of that offer, they sought an increase for high-speed rail segments in Southern California and an improved plan to connect the Central Valley segment to the Bay Area.
No deal was reached, though negotiations between staffs from the Legislature and the governor’s office have resumed in recent weeks. The budget for the next fiscal year would be adopted by July 1 with a possible revision in August.
In a statement, rail authority spokesperson Annie Parker noted that Newsom “proposed a $9.1 billion comprehensive transportation package” for transit and climate goals. It includes, she said, $4.9 billion for transit and other green transportation projects, as well as the $4.2 billion for the bullet train.
The bullet train, she added, “has been an economic engine.”
The rail authority’s need for the $4.2 billion immediately is not clear. The rail authority has about $1.5 billion in cash on hand, according to its financial reports, meaning it could keep the project going for at least a year.
Helen Kerstein, who monitors high speed rail for the Legislative Analyst’s Office, said the current standoff — though not an immediate threat — is important to resolve for the long-term future of the project.
But rail authority chief executive Brian Kelly has insisted that the agency needs the money now to provide stable planning and to make orderly advanced purchases of such items as trainsets that take a long time for delivery.
The views of Assembly Democrats, a majority of whom voted for a resolution last year that backed a recalibration of the program, rankles many supporters.
Of the urban legislators, former rail authority chairman Dan Richard said, “They will never be satisfied. I made agreements to give $470 million for Los Angeles Union Station and $700 million for electrification of Caltrain. We didn’t even get invited to speak at the dedication.”
The Assembly plan would also delay installation of a high voltage electrical system, until the Central Valley tracks connect somewhere. In the interim, it wants the rail authority to consider a new generation of battery-operated trains, which manufacturers say could reach 170 mph and higher in coming years. Kelly disputes that the battery trains could travel fast enough to comply with legal requirements.
A more basic question is whether the state can ever afford to make the costly connections to the coasts, involving lengthy mountain tunnels near seismic faults. Bakersfield to Los Angeles is priced at $50 billion and San Francisco to the Central Valley tie-in at Chowchilla $22 billion, according to upper end estimates in the 2022 draft business plan.
“There is a very significant outstanding question of where that money will come from and how to proceed at this point,” said Kerstein.
Legislators are worried that the 171-mile system would remain isolated.
“The idea that you would spend all your money on a train that doesn’t connect to anything and just hope that you’re going to get more money, I find a really frightening business proposition,” said Friedman.
Federal support likely insufficient
Bullet train proponents believe that the Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Law that was signed by President Biden last year could provide new money. But there is no designated carve-out for the California project, unlike for the Acela train from Boston to Washington, D.C. California might expect no more than $5 billion, grant experts say, a helpful amount but not a game changer.
A state-appointed peer review group raised serious concerns about the future of the project in an April letter to legislative leaders. It praised progress on environmental clearances and acknowledged the impact of COVID, but it faulted out-of-date cost estimates, lack of technical experience for upcoming contracts and legislative oversight.
“The cost and schedule experience so far does not yet support optimism about future performance,” wrote the author, Louis Thompson, the longtime chairman of the panel and a former Federal Railroad Administration executive and World Bank railroad expert.
Thompson went on, “Despite the possibility for additional federal funding, overall project funding remains inadequate and unstable making effective management extremely difficult. In addition, the authority has no clear guidance from the Legislature on the next steps in the project.”
Utility relocations derailing bullet train
Another complication is that construction in the Central Valley is bogging down, once again failing to meet a revised schedule. There are 119 miles currently under contract for roadbed and structures, which originally was supposed to be completed by 2017.
“There is visually nothing happening in the Central Valley,” said Jeff Denham, the former chairman of the House rail subcommittee, a Republican almond farmer who voted for the project when he was in the Legislature but later became a strident critic. “Equipment has been moved out.”
Construction has significantly slowed, said three officials working or consulting on the project, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized under state contracts to speak to the news media. They say the state’s schedule for completion of 119-miles by December 2023 is impossible and a more likely outcome would put completion anywhere from 2026 to 2030.
Parker, the rail authority spokeswoman, said it is working on construction updates and will present those to the rail board this summer. One of the three construction contracts, led by the Spanish firm Ferrovial, is expected to be “substantially complete” by the current deadline, she said.
A central problem involves utility relocations, which are far behind schedule and delaying the start of bridges and viaducts. The rail authority’s most recent progress reports validate the executives’ concerns.
In its April progress report, the rail authority said that 57% of 1,850 utility relocation projects remain uncompleted by three teams of contractors some 10 years after construction began.
After utility owners approve designs to move wires or pipes, the rail authority has six months to start work, according to the three executives. If it goes past that window, it must start the process over, they said. For many reasons, designs often go through reapproval.
Parker said the authority has been transparent about the overall problems, which originated from starting construction “out of sequence” with land purchases and utility relocations. She noted, “Currently, we are working through those challenges and we’re implementing procedures to prevent these issues from happening on future contracts.” She said that work has begun on some uncompleted utility relocations, leaving 28% yet to start.
Slow land purchases have loomed over the project for a decade. The state lacks 222 parcels out of 2,291 that it needs, the report said. Only 28 of the 66 structures across four counties have been completed.
The rate of construction spending by the teams led by Tutor Perini and Dragados are lagging far behind projections, the reports show. At current billing rates, it will take about four years to complete the remaining value of work under their contracts, according to the progress reports. It would put completion at about 2026.
Two years ago, Kelly was quoted in the news media saying construction would reach full speed by now and employ 1,700 to 2,000 craft workers. In its April report, employment was reported at 906. Parker said the estimate was made before the COVID pandemic.
The three current contracts cover only 119 miles of the 171 miles of the route that Newsom wants to build. New contracts and land acquisition would be needed for 52 additional miles. Tracks, a complex signaling system and a high voltage electrical system would come after bridges, track bed and viaducts are largely completed.
As a result, the rail authority is facing monumental challenges to carry its first passengers on the Bakersfield to Merced partial operating system by Newsom’s deadline of 2030 and within the current $23 billion budget.
“Rail is challenged regarding economic return under the best of circumstances,” said Flyvbjerg, the Oxford and Copenhagen universities expert who describes the California project as a case study of how not to build a bullet train. “So, the last thing rail projects need, in terms of economic return, is delays and cost overruns that further undermine that return.”
CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
ABC10: Watch, Download, Read
Watch more from ABC10: Second transbay rail crossing would connect Sacramento and San Francisco
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/california-high-speed-rail/103-52c782f6-463e-4ebb-8711-4effdff5675c
| 2022-05-06T22:49:06
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/california-high-speed-rail/103-52c782f6-463e-4ebb-8711-4effdff5675c
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CALIFORNIA, USA — This story was originally published by CalMatters.
Lea este artículo en español.
Desiree Garibay used to sleep outside in Redondo Beach. One night in July 2020, she was lying down in a city park and police issued her a ticket.
She missed her court date, and the ticket became a warrant for her arrest. She said she became even more determined to avoid the courthouse.
But on a Wednesday in April – nearly two years after getting the ticket – Garibay stood by while Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Lonnie Smith waved a metal detection wand over her black Selena sweatshirt. Then she walked into what appeared to be an outdoor job fair, with white tents arched over picnic tables.
Cheery nonprofit workers in matching turquoise shirts greeted her and asked if she needed anything. Palm trees swayed in a breeze from the ocean six blocks west.
A judge in a black robe sat behind a courtroom bench, but instead of handing down sentences, she told defendants things like “excellent job,” “congratulations” and “you have so much good news.”
This is still, technically, Los Angeles County Superior Court. Except it’s outside. And, more critically to people like Garibay, 31, the court makes the unhoused defendants a promise: If you show up to court, we will not put you in jail.
Further, they pledge to help those in attendance get housing. The job fair tents are actually a collection of homeless advocacy organizations, legal expungement teams, mental health and drug counselors, and housing assistance groups.
California already has more than 450 homeless courts across 19 counties, but the Redondo Beach court organizers say their model works better. Here, court convenes in a central location where the unhoused tend to congregate – in this case, close to a food donation center and two religious homeless outreach organizations.
Now organizers want to take that concept and apply it statewide.
A bill sponsored by Torrance Democrat Al Muratsuchi, AB 2220, would create a homeless courts pilot program, offering grants to counties which can tailor programs to their own communities. Outdoor court in Sacramento in August may be less appealing than a spring beach day in Los Angeles County. But the idea is to help counties take their courts to places the unhoused are more likely to show up, while providing services such as employment assistance and substance abuse recovery.
The specifics of the bill’s funding are unclear. The bill calls for giving the Judicial Council an unspecified amount from the general fund to administer the programs.
“At first I didn’t answer the summons, I got a warrant, and there were old warrants too, three (altogether),” Garibay said.
It’s a familiar refrain to homeless advocates and defense attorneys: One original charge metastasizes into a series of missed court dates, warrants for failing to appear and possible jail time.
But Garibay left court smiling, her ticket dismissed. She also walked away with a lead on a new place to stay.
“The best thing about it, other than bringing it to the community where they are, is that a lot of what we do in California for the homeless is in silos,” said Redondo Beach City Attorney Mike Webb. “We bring it all in one place.”
From all outward signs, the homeless court appears to be working. Attendance is far from perfect, but it’s much higher than what homeless courts typically drew when the court was held at the county courthouse in Torrance, Webb said. Statistics provided by the city of Redondo Beach show monthly attendance between 68% and 100%, for an average of 80% attendance since the court moved outside in September 2020.
Webb is the public face of the program, testifying twice at the Capitol, and said the court’s encouraging attendance statistics were a combination of design and circumstance. The court only moved outside because of the pandemic.
“I wish I could say we masterminded it, but really, the pieces fell into place and it became something that worked,” Webb said. “In my 35 years of working in criminal justice, I have not seen anything (else) where the interests of everyone align.”
Previous attempts at statewide homeless court programs have failed. A 2002 proposal to create a homeless court pilot program in four counties was vetoed by then-Gov. Gray Davis, who cited the bill’s proposed costs against the state’s $24 billion budget deficit.
A 2013 bill that would have encouraged counties to make homeless courts more accessible was set for a hearing in the Assembly Judiciary Committee but was postponed and never heard.
Muratsuchi pitches the courts as an alternative to the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Courts proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom’s proposal would mandate that all 58 counties create courts that could compel people with serious mental illness into treatment. They would not need to be homeless to participate.
The proposed CARE courts faced criticism at their first hearing in late April from mental health advocates and some Democratic legislators, who singled out the proposal’s language permitting the courts to involuntarily commit unwilling defendants into mental health treatment.
“We’re seeing that there was a lot of pushback on the CARE courts,” Muratsuchi said. “While debates are ongoing, the Legislature and the governor should keep in mind this tried and proven model of homeless courts.”
Muratsuchi said the “critical difference” between CARE courts and the Redondo Beach model is that the latter won’t force defendants into mental health treatment.
His bill passed unanimously in the Assembly Judiciary Committee last month, and received one vote in opposition in a subsequent hearing in the Assembly Health Committee.
That opposing vote, from Placerville Republican Frank Bigelow, is rooted in an analysis from an Assembly Republican Caucus consultant who warned members that the courts could allow pretrial diversions for any felony, said Hannah Ackley, Bigelow’s chief of staff.
Ackley said that diversion programs for mentally ill defendants, for instance, don’t allow for pretrial diversions for serious felonies, including murder. She said the consultant report is not public.
“Our consultant suggested the bill would be supportable if it were amended to include the same limitations for homeless suspects that would also apply to mentally ill defendants,” Ackley said in an email to CalMatters.
Muratsuchi told CalMatters he’s planning to change the bill’s language around felonies.
The courts are already enmeshed in the ongoing public debate over Prop 47, a 2014 law that reclassified several property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and sunsets in November.
A team from the Los Angeles County public defender’s office attends the homeless courts specifically to help defendants expunge their criminal records.
One of the team’s principal duties at the Redondo Beach court is helping reclassify convictions – which were felonies before Prop 47 passed in 2014 – to misdemeanors.
That, said Los Angeles County Assistant Public Defender Tom Moore, is key to helping get defendants housing.
“One of the biggest obstacles to housing is a felony on your record,” Moore said. “We frequently come across clients who don’t know they can have those felonies reclassified.”
Garibay said she has moved in with her boyfriend in Torrance, but is still looking for a permanent place to stay.
“They actually work with you,” she said. “I like just the fact (that) they’re helping me with housing, just my own place finally to call home.”
CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/california-homeless-courts/103-5ae9d233-1abb-4c24-b638-bce260c5a985
| 2022-05-06T22:49:12
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/california-homeless-courts/103-5ae9d233-1abb-4c24-b638-bce260c5a985
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PORTLAND, Ore. — A community group representing neighbors and schools in Southwest Portland has pulled back support for a Safe Rest Village site set to open this month, after they say the city and county ignored their requests for collaboration and brushed off safety concerns about the low-barrier shelter.
Safe Rest Villages are organized pods of tiny homes, managed by nonprofits with services onsite. Three villages are expected to be up and running by September.
The 2300 Naito Parkway Stakeholder Group was organized by leaders at the International School of Portland and Bridges Middle School and has collaborated with nearby neighborhood associations and HOAs to prepare for the village. The site on Southwest Naito will house the Queer Affinity Village, which prioritizes LGBTQ individuals experiencing homelessness.
Bodo Heiliger, head of the International School of Portland, and Beven Byrnes, principal and executive director at Bridges Middle School, announced Friday morning that after initially vocally supporting the plan, they could no longer do so.
They expressed frustration with Portland Commissioner Dan Ryan's office especially, which they said has repeatedly "denied, dismissed and ignored" their concerns.
KGW reached out to Ryan's office for comment and did not receive a response as of Friday afternoon.
The group wants to see the villages require campers to undergo low-barrier background checks to identify major felony convictions, a monitored 1000-foot buffer around the village where camping would be banned, and the establishment of a Safe Rest Village advisory board that includes community members.
"There has been no collaboration. These are basic, common and common-sense requirements," said Heiliger.
Heiliger said the city initially told him background checks would be required when it first announced the location of the Safe Rest Village, implying it would follow a similar model to St. Johns Village, which also requires background checks.
"Not requiring background checks is an inaccurate description of low-barrier. It defines a no-barrier shelter," Heiliger said.
He added that the stakeholder group's issues are specifically with the city of Portland and JOHS, not All Good Northwest, the nonprofit managing the village.
"It's been untenable. It's been a terrible process," he said.
"We've offered resources of our stakeholder group — which has a lot of information, community service working with this population already — to serve as a resource for them in the planning phases. And we have been through every step of the way denied access to information, to site plans, to budgets, anything that would be helpful for us in giving them advice on how to make this a success," said Byrne. "Especially as this is the first of the SRV sites planned, we really hoped to help them because this can and should be a model for the rest of the city, if done appropriately."
She said the schools had planned to encourage student collaboration with the villagers with projects like community gardens or mural painting, but those plans can't go forward if they can't guarantee the safety of the kids. Byrne said the schools will have to reexamine their safety policies.
"Our schools are grounded in doing good work, helping people and fostering kids who are gong to go out and make the world a better place," said Heiliger. "We’ve opened our arms to the city, we’ve opened our arms to the village, to All Good Northwest. Our community stands here in support of the village under these certain conditions, but we’ve gotten straight no's the entire time."
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/safe-rest-village-background-checks-buffer-zones/283-8019bf56-f7b7-49ad-8e40-af2ec20ccba6
| 2022-05-06T22:54:07
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/safe-rest-village-background-checks-buffer-zones/283-8019bf56-f7b7-49ad-8e40-af2ec20ccba6
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DALLAS — You would never know by the smile on her face, but at one point in her life Carrie Dixon thought she would be dead by now. She is a survivor of a violent relationship that almost cost her life.
"I was living in West Virginia, and an ex-boyfriend quite literally tried to kill me," said Dixon, "I didn't think I was going to survive."
Dixon's fear of not surviving a violent relationship is far more common now than ever before. Domestic violence advocates across North Texas are seeing so many more cases that shelters are at capacity. That first step of leaving an abuser is critical for people like Dixon.
"I had no choice but to get out of there. I came back home to Texas. I didn't really know what to do or where to go," she said.
Dixon is not alone when it comes to survivors looking for a place of refuge in North Texas. Right now, Domestic violence advocates like Dorothy Greene shared that most of the shelters in the D-FW area are full.
Greene also stressed in many cases the hotel vouchers granted to survivors are all issued to people who have turned to shelters for help. That is another indicator that domestic violence cases are up in North Texas.
A recent National Coalition study shows in 2018, domestic violence accounted for 20% of violent crime, and 1 in 3 women reported domestic abuse. The same holds true for men, with 1 in 4 men reporting some level of abuse from their partner or family member.
Margo Wade-LaDrew serves as the Bill Pickett National marketing director. The long-time entertainment company is now working to help raise awareness to domestic violence.
Rodeo organizers are helping break the silence by drawing attention to the issue at its popular events held in North Texas multiple times a year. The Bill Pickett Rodeo events are attended by thousands and have become a popular family event around the country.
"We felt that it was time to deal with the stigma and to be able to open the doors and to provide resources," said Wade-LaDrew.
For the first time ever, part of the proceeds from rodeo ticket sales will help One Safe Place offer more survivors the help they gave Dixon.
"They helped me get housing," said Dixon. "They helped me with referrals for counseling, they helped me with police follow-up."
"Because one of the things that we have found, and I've found in work that I do in community outreach, is when people are in a safe place, when they feel comfortable," said Wade-LaDrew, "they tend to open up more, and they receive information that is provided to them easier than they would."
Survivors also learn what happens when their abusers go before a judge. One Safe Place facilitators help survivors practice what they will experience in court should their abuser face charges.
Jessie Rixie serves as the One Safe Place client director. Part of her responsibility is to make sure survivors are matched up with the right services they need to get on their feet or sustain independence for themselves and their families, especially children.
Many times, survivors may suffer guilt and blame from their abuser, who accuses them of the behavior being their own fault. Rixie believes knowing what to expect in court is a key step to remaining on the right track after escaping an abusive relationship.
"We have a courtroom here on-site at One Safe Place. We provide court prep, which will walk somebody through what to expect when they go to court," said Rixie.
But taking the first step is always the hardest step for people living in a domestic violence situation. Sometimes advocates can spend weeks, months and even years trying to convince victims to make the first move.
"There are people with open arms waiting to help you," said Dixon.
One Safe Place is a non-profit organization open to helping women, men, and children.
"We provide walk-in services. So, anybody that's experiencing domestic violence, whether that's currently happening, or it's happened in the past, they are welcome to walk in and meet with an advocate to talk about their story and their history," said Rixie, "and our advocate to kind of navigate their situation and help them find whatever they're looking for, whether that's counseling, spiritual support, help with legal services."
Now, some of that help will come from organizers of the Bill Pickett Rodeo events thanks to proceeds from ticket sales. Donations can be made through the Bill Pickett Rodeo Ticket sales here.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/bill-pickett-rodeo-events-raising-funds-domestic-violence-survivors/287-13e53a06-7615-4344-b212-dd668aa6e1f0
| 2022-05-06T22:56:11
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/bill-pickett-rodeo-events-raising-funds-domestic-violence-survivors/287-13e53a06-7615-4344-b212-dd668aa6e1f0
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GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — An armed robbery suspect was shot and killed by a customer inside a Grand Prairie business Thursday night, police say.
Around 9:10 p.m., Grand Prairie police officers responded to a reported robbery in progress at a business in the 1600 block of West Polo Road. When officers arrived, they located the alleged robbery suspect suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.
Police said the suspect was transported to a local hospital and was later pronounced dead.
During the investigation, detectives determined the armed suspect was in the act of robbing the business and an employee, when they were confronted by a customer.
The customer, who police say is a concealed handgun license holder, told detectives that he feared for his life and the life of the employee, so he intervened and shot the suspect.
Detectives said the customer is cooperating with the investigation and no charges have been filed or are expected at this time.
Grand Prairie police said the suspect’s identity will be released by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office once next of kin is notified.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/customer-shoots-kills-armed-robbery-suspect-grand-prairie-business/287-80e33bd7-39e2-4b2a-b010-0596e3d8014c
| 2022-05-06T22:56:17
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/customer-shoots-kills-armed-robbery-suspect-grand-prairie-business/287-80e33bd7-39e2-4b2a-b010-0596e3d8014c
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DENTON, Texas — A new education program at the University of North Texas is helping students with intellectual disabilities pursue a career.
UNT ELEVAR is a four-year inclusive postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities.
It's the first of its kind in North Texas, according to UNT.
“We open doors, opportunities for them and then they blossom, right?” UNT ELEVAR co-founder Brenda Barrio said. "Soar in Spanish is elevar."
Barrio said barriers, like the ACT and SAT, can make it difficult for these students to attend college and pursue a career.
"Removing those barriers, having them come directly to our program but still have the same access as everybody else here at UNT," Barrio said. "It’s not just a heartwarming story. I think it’s something we should really do across our communities, not just at the university."
UNT ELEVAR’s first school year is coming to a close in May.
“It’s a good program to be in. It’s very helpful, supportive,” UNT ELEVAR student Gosha Swedin said. “Anyone with intellectual disabilities can be in a college. Doesn’t matter what you have, what you do. They shouldn’t have to be told ‘no’ to go to college.”
Originally from Kazakhstan, Swedin, 19, told WFAA he suffered bone infections at a young age.
“Been in and out of hospitals all my life,” the UNT ELEVAR student said. “And then I was taken to the orphanage and put up for adoption.”
Swedin said he came to the U.S. when he was 4 years old. Through the UNT ELEVAR program, he’s studying biology.
"I want to be a pediatric orthopedic surgeon when I grow up,” Swedin said. “I want to pay it forward and help kids with orthopedic problems.”
ELEVAR students take classes with other Mean Green students. After four years, they’ll earn a certificate that the university hopes will elevate their chances of landing a competitive job.
Ten new students have already been admitted to the ELEVAR class and will start this fall.
Swedin’s message to the incoming students?
“I’m not going to give up. You don’t give up,” Swedin said. “Let’s do it together.”
For more information about the UNT ELEVAR program, email elevar@unt.edu or call 940-369-8563.
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/unt-program-helping-students-intellectual-disabilities-pursue-careers/287-a8b5c30c-0706-4ffd-9ed5-d7e9e7407b8c
| 2022-05-06T22:56:23
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/unt-program-helping-students-intellectual-disabilities-pursue-careers/287-a8b5c30c-0706-4ffd-9ed5-d7e9e7407b8c
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Tyesha Jackson was having trouble getting up from the couch and knew something was wrong.
Jackson, who was born and raised in Birmingham, knew there was a chance that she might have spinal muscular atrophy, a rare neuromuscular disorder that diminishes motor functions over time and makes it difficult to do everyday activities, like walking or eating. Years earlier, her sister had been diagnosed with SMA, which had confined her to a wheelchair.
15 years ago, Jackson decided to see if she had SMA. The tests came back positive. She was 28 years old with a 9-year-old daughter.
Following her diagnosis, Jackson’s first few days were difficult, saying she would cry a lot. She wasn’t sure what was next for her.
“I thought people would look at me differently,” Jackson said.
Through the years, Jackson experienced mild symptoms from the disease. However, it has been the last three or four years that her health has taken a turn. Nonetheless, she continues to work to keep life as normal for herself and her family as possible.
Today, Jackson often uses her 10-year-old daughter, Caileigh, to help her get dressed. Around the house, she will sometimes use a walker, but mostly, she does her best to walk on her own.
“I try to do things,” she said. “I’m trying to push myself to do things that I couldn’t do.”
Recently, Jackson and Caileigh went to an Easter egg hunt at Faith Community Fellowship in Huntsville. Going across a big field, Jackson said it was hard to roll her walker across the grass, but she pushed through so that her daughter could have fun that day and also prove to herself that she could do it.
“I was tired, but I was able to accomplish walking to the grass,” she said.
Jackson spends two hours each day working with a physical therapist and is on a regimen of Evrysdi to help manage her condition. She said she knows that her SMA will continue to get worst, but she is grateful for what she has and what she can still do.
According to the group cure SMA, nearly 200 people across Alabama suffer from the disease.
“I pray and I thank God,” she said. “A lot of people with this, they can’t walk at all. I think God for my disability because I can still do things that I can’t do.”
Jackson’s oldest daughter, Calandra, is 24 now and said her mother continues to inspire her.
“She never asks for help,” Calandra said. “She wants to do everything on her own.”
For Mother’s Day this Sunday, Jackson is not sure what she and her daughters will do. They know they will have lunch, but besides that, they just want to enjoy each other’s company.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-mother-with-rare-disease-continues-to-push-herself/
| 2022-05-06T23:11:24
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-mother-with-rare-disease-continues-to-push-herself/
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Allegiant adding two more flights from Akron-Canton Airport to Florida later this year
GREEN – Two months after resuming service at Akron-Canton Airport, vacation travel specialist Allegiant said it will add destinations later this year.
The airline announced Friday it will begin on Oct. 6 offering service to Sanford, Florida, through Orlando Sanford International Airport, while flights to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will begin Nov. 19 through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Once of several low-cost airlines in the market, Allegiant has offered special pricing when the new Akron-Canton service begins.
Allegiant's announcement comes after Spirit Airlines announced last month that it would suspend service from Akron-Canton through the summer months.
More:Akron-Canton Airport anticipates passenger growth with return of Allegiant
More:Akron-Canton Airport offers other options as Spirit Airlines temporarily halts service
The additional service will give Allegiant six destinations from Akron-Canton.
Allegiant resumed service at Akron-Canton in early March following a five-year absence. The airline started flights to Punta Gorda, Sarasota and St. Petersburg-Clearwater in Florida, as well as Savannah, Georgia.
Added flights from Akron-Canton were among several service additional Allegiant announced on Friday.
The Las Vegas-based airline has started operations in Provo, Utah, and announced four new flights from that location as well as a new flight from Minneapolis to Florida.
Allegiant joins another low-cost carrier — start-up Breeze Airways — in adding service at Akron-Canton. Breeze began in June 2021 with flights to New Orleans, Tampa, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina. It has added Palm Beach, Florida, Nashville, Tennessee, and Hartford, Connecticut.
Spirit Airlines had been offering nonstop service out of Akron-Canton Airport to Orlando, Florida, and seasonal trips to Myrtle Beach, Tampa and Fort Myers. The airline said it plans to resume service from Akron-Canton in November.
Spirit is in the midst of a merger with the parent company of Frontier Airlines. Earlier this week Spirit's directors rejected a buyout offer from JetBlue.
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/akron-canton-airport-gets-additional-florida-flights-allegiant/9680995002/
| 2022-05-06T23:16:12
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https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/akron-canton-airport-gets-additional-florida-flights-allegiant/9680995002/
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EDMESTON, N.Y. – A 20-year-old was airlifted to a Syracuse hospital early Friday morning after crashing into a tree in Edmeston.
Limited details are available at this time, but state police say it happened on County Route 20 around 1 a.m.
The driver went off the road and hit a fence before crashing into the tree.
Police say he suffered serious injuries.
The investigation is ongoing.
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https://www.wktv.com/news/local/car-crashes-into-tree-in-edmeston-1-person-seriously-injured/article_e722832c-cd7b-11ec-98ba-7b22cb5015f6.html
| 2022-05-06T23:27:29
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https://www.wktv.com/news/local/car-crashes-into-tree-in-edmeston-1-person-seriously-injured/article_e722832c-cd7b-11ec-98ba-7b22cb5015f6.html
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ROME, N.Y. -- Mazzaferro’s Meats & Deli is in the process of opening up a satellite location on the corner of Railroad Street and Mill Street in the City of Rome.
There will be 800 square feet in this location that will serve as a smaller version of what they had to offer at their Ridge Mills Road location. The building will need plenty of new construction, but this location has been in operation since 1915. Owner Brian Mazzaferro remembers coming here as a kid.
"They’d have a bone pile for me back in the day. A big stack, 10 foot table of bones stacked this high, and I used to go there and trim off all the meat off the bones, and I’d sit there just swishing with my knife just trimming and trimming," he said. "Now everything’s broken down for us, so those days are done and stuff, but they used to stick me on that, and clean the coolers."
Bringing this building back to life is going to require gutting the inside, and refinishing the outside, but once it’s up and running, Mazzaferro is going to let the community’s involvement decide whether to keep this store up and running.
"My parents would be so proud. My grandfather, great-grandfather they would…oh my God. I couldn’t have words of how they would feel to see this coming back. Unfortunate circumstances under this with what we have to do, but now that it’s happening it is, it’s very emotional man. If they were here they would be so proud," said Mazzaferro.
Clean-up at the Ridge Mills Road location will start the week of May 9, but it will be at least three months before any kind of new construction can begin. With all the community support Mazzaferro is planning on rebuilding bigger and better.
"Never realized that we were such a big staple as what we were. I had no idea, and again my phone has been blowing up for the last three days," he said. "People can not do enough for me, and I really...it’s just boggling that the passion that they have. They want us to come back. They really want us to come back."
In the meantime the Railroad Street retail store should be fully operational in four to six weeks. This location has been in use processing commercial orders for local businesses since the store was originally opened.
"It has not stopped at all. Nope. It hasn’t stopped in 110 years. In one version, one way or another it still continues going," said Mazzaferro.
Mazzaferro says he hopes he can repay the community for the outpouring of support.
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https://www.wktv.com/news/local/mazzaferro-s-meats-deli-is-starting-over/article_e75dfcca-cd82-11ec-a985-77dff6919698.html
| 2022-05-06T23:27:35
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https://www.wktv.com/news/local/mazzaferro-s-meats-deli-is-starting-over/article_e75dfcca-cd82-11ec-a985-77dff6919698.html
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/first-latino-principal-in-philly-school-district-talks-50-year-career/3231089/
| 2022-05-06T23:50:58
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/messy-mothers-day-expected-at-stormy-jersey-shore/3231101/
| 2022-05-06T23:51:04
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/messy-mothers-day-expected-at-stormy-jersey-shore/3231101/
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CAPE CORAL, Fla. — When you see emergency lights coming up behind your vehicle, you already know what you need to do.
Some drivers in Cape Coral aren’t getting out of the way for emergency vehicles. That means first responders aren’t getting to emergency scenes as quickly as they could be.
“Unreal bro,” said Mitch Hershkowitz, who caught the action on his helmet camera.
He was riding his motorcycle along Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral on Wednesday evening. Hershkowitz was the only one to move out of an oncoming ambulance’s way and stop. He said this isn’t the first time.
“You know, I wish it was,” Hershkowitz said. “It’s kind of the norm around here.”
His helmet camera recorded what his eyes couldn’t believe. The ambulance, with lights and sirens blaring, was stuck behind and between cars that didn’t get over.
“It’s, it’s aggravating,” he said. “I’m trying to do the right thing, trying to get out of the way, and again people are zooming by me.”
When you see those flashing lights, you have to move over and slow down. Not only is it the law, it’s dangerous to you and that emergency vehicle if you’re in the way.
“You need to get out of the way because there could be a true emergency,” said Brandon Sancho, Public Information Officer with the Cape Coral Police Department. “It could be your loved one or family member that could need some type of assistance.”
It’s not just this instance on Del Prado Boulevard. While filming the story on Friday, we came across another instance of Fort Myers firefighters not being able to get through traffic.
“We would think that people would just be able to see the lights and use their common sense to move all the way over, but we have to ask them and remind them too,” said Sancho.
In Florida, it’s the law to move over for emergency vehicles. That means to get to the outside lane and then stop. Don’t stop in the middle of the road.
Not doing so could leave you with a big fine on your lap, or maybe even worse.
“Somebody’s life. Just wake up. Pay attention to what’s in front of ya,” said Hershkowitz.
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/06/cape-coral-drivers-caught-on-camera-not-moving-over-for-an-ambulance/
| 2022-05-07T00:10:19
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/06/cape-coral-drivers-caught-on-camera-not-moving-over-for-an-ambulance/
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CAPTIVA ISLAND, Fla. – Southwest Florida is known as one of the best – if not the best – places to go shelling in the United States.
Locals and tourists alike will spend hours – sometimes even days – scouring our beaches for shells.
But where, exactly, is the best spot to go within our area?
NBC2 reporter Evan Dean and photojournalist Kirk Erwin went on a coastal trip to find out.
TURNER BEACH, CAPTIVA ISLAND
After crossing Blind Pass by foot, we start our search for the best shells at Turner Beach, the southernmost spot on Captiva Island.
It’s a beautiful morning with blue skies above and a slight breeze in the air.
We meet up with José Leal, the curator of the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island.
“B-a-y: bay scallop,” José says, quickly identifying a shell he picks up in the sand.
We ask him how long he’s been doing this. He jokes, saying he’d rather not age himself.
He knows more shells than anyone we’ve ever met. For him, it’s clearly a passion.
“There’s a lot to the beauty of shells and the way we, humans, appreciate the shapes, the colors,” he says.
We’re at the beach early, but not early enough to beat the crowds.
Kirk comes across one woman clawing through the sand, dropping what she’s discovered into a green mesh bag.
“We don’t know where the good spot is yet,” she says, eyes glued to the ground.
José does know, and takes us there – to the spot where the rocks meet the sand. There are a few people already there, combing through large piles of shells.
José says this is nothing compared to what he’s seen here in the heart of winter.
“Sometimes you have piles of shells that can be as thick as 3 feet deep,” he explains. It’s almost hard to imagine.
Kirk flies our drone to capture the view from above. From that vantage point, it’s easy to see why Turner Beach is such a hot spot for shelling. The current from the northwest pushes the shells onshore, and because the land juts out at Blind Pass, it almost ‘scoops’ the shells right into a specific spot.
“(The shells) accumulate at this end here. It’s like a trap,” José explains.
José advises that there isn’t a specific time that’s best for shelling. You want to be out at low tide, which varies depending on the day.
“They become up for grabs,” he says of low tide. “They’re there for the picking.”
LIGHTHOUSE BEACH PARK, SANIBEL ISLAND
From there, we make our way south to Sanibel Island and all the way east to Lighthouse Beach.
Once we park, José takes us across a boardwalk and over a dirt path. Palm trees shroud the sun above.
“You can smell the mangrove,” José says as we walk through.
We eventually make our way to the bay side of the beach. It’s not as crowded here as it is around the bend.
“From here, you can see Fort Myers Beach,” José says, pointing across the water. “There is a lot of accumulation of shells.”
We see people scouring the sandbar looking for shells. This activity has become famously known here as the ‘Sanibel Stoop.’
José explains that this spot tends to surprise shellers. The water is calmer and the sharp point catches shells that flow through.
“There’s a lot of current that goes through here, both at high and low tide,” he says. “A lot of good shells have been found here, especially in the small size range.”
We ask José what it takes to find a unique shell. You need a careful eye and some persistence, of course. But he jokes that something else is also helpful.
“It could be also a matter of luck, or the alignment of the stars, you know,” he says, smiling.
Further inland at the shell museum, José fetches a clear plastic container full of shells and sits down at a table outside.
He shows us what can be found when the stars do align.
“That’s a lettered olive,” he says, holding up a small, oval-shaped shell. “Very, very polished.”
In the container he has a variety of shells. Some of them, like the tannish-brown Florida Fighting Conch, are easy to find.
He then pulls out the rarest shell of them all: the spotted Junonia.
“People really want to find one,” José said. “It’s our holy grail here on Sanibel.”
José ends his tour with maybe the most impressive of all shells: the Florida Horse Conch. It’s the largest in the Atlantic Ocean, he explains. The one he’s holding up is about 20 inches long.
“It’s Florida’s state shell,” José explains.
It’s something to marvel at and aspire to find – because we aren’t done searching yet.
KICE ISLAND, COLLIER COUNTY
Our final shelling stop takes us way south, to Goodland in Collier County and the Ten Thousand Islands.
Where we’re heading now – you can’t get to by car.
“Welcome aboard,” Captain Richard Perez says, helping us onto a boat. We leave the dock and idle our way west. We’re surrounded by islands covered in green mangrove trees.
“We are in the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge,” Richard explains, steering us out.
He’s a captain with Treasure Seekers Shell Tours. After a brief chat, he gets ready to hit the throttle.
“Alright, here we go boys,” Richard says, speeding up.
We cruise west, slicing over smooth, turquoise-blue water. Richard stops just south of Marco Island to show us dolphins at play.
Eventually we make our way to the gulf and navigate south.
“This is it. This is the mecca of shelling,” Richard declares. “When you come out here, there’s never a bad day.”
Alongside Richard is our shell guide, Amanda Collett. She’s known as the ‘shell-lebrity’ of the area.
“We’re gonna go find some shells,” she says to the camera, smiling.
Richard and Amanda eventually lead us to Kice Island. We step down onto a brown, spongy surface and quickly realize: this is no ordinary walk on the beach.
We have to navigate the natural hazards of the island. It isn’t just a sandy shoreline.
“We do call it adventure shelling – because it’s crazy,” Amanda says, laughing.
The number of shells on the ground is almost overwhelming. The coastline is covered with them. There’s seemingly more shells than sand.
“That’s a lightning whelk,” Amanda describes. She nabs shell after shell, scooping up a wide variety of shapes of colors. “The stuff up here – that just piles in.”
We’re the only ones within eyesight and have our pick of everything. We quickly discover how easy it is to lose track of time while scouring the island for shells.
Amanda says what’s here is nothing compared to what washes up after a big storm.
“Sometimes we’ve had ’em this deep,” she says, hands at her waist. “Shells will be this deep.”
Like the other spots we visited, the island sits in a perfect place to catch the current. The main difference here? There’s little to no competition.
“If you look real close, then you start finding these little tiny, just these little baby shells,” Amanda says, peering through her aviator sunglasses into the piles of shells.
Around her neck is a Junonia – that ultra-rare shell we saw at the museum.
Amanda has found six of them.
“It’s pride and joy, it’s my baby,” she says, laughing.
Amanda literally wrote a book about Kice Island, sharing her life story and stories of shelling. That’s why when it comes to this area, she at least, has no doubt.
“I’d say it’s number one in the United States (for shelling). This island,” she asserts.
Through our journey, it’s hard to argue against that conclusion. Another popular spot that’s often mentioned is Cayo Costa, which is also only accessible by boat.
But let’s be honest: on our beaches and in our waters, wherever you go, you really can’t go wrong.
REMINDER: Live shelling is illegal in the areas toured by NBC2. If you discover a live shell, please place it back where you found it.
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/06/wheres-the-best-spot-to-go-shelling-in-swfl/
| 2022-05-07T00:10:25
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/05/06/wheres-the-best-spot-to-go-shelling-in-swfl/
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TURIN, Italy (AP) — Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra’s upbeat, melodic entry for this month’s Eurovision Song Contestwas written as a tribute to the frontman’s mother.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has become an anthem to the war-ravaged motherland.
“Stefania” is the most-watched song on YouTube among the 35 national entries that are slated to compete when the Eurovision contest takes place next week in Turin, an industrial city in northern Italy.
While some oddsmakers and data analysts have predicted other contestants will win, the song by Kalush Orchestra is quickly becoming a sentimental favorite.
“I’ll always find my way home, even if all roads are destroyed,’’ Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk wrote in the lyrics for “Stefania.”
His words have become more poignant as missiles pound Ukrainian cities and villages, forcing over 11 million to flee since Russia invaded the country.
“Indeed, some stuff in here was written long before the war, and it was dedicated to my mother,’’ Psiuk told The Associated Press at his hotel in Turin.
“After it all started with the war and the hostilities, it took on additional meaning, and many people started seeing it as their mother, Ukraine, in the meaning of the country. It has become really close to the hearts of so many people in Ukraine,” said the songwriter, who wore a bright bucket hat that would make him instantly recognizable to anyone who has streamed “Stefania.”
Kalush Orchestra’s Eurovision performance will have an added political message, representing the uniqueness of Ukrainian culture against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bellicose claim that the former Soviet republic was always part of Russia.
“Stefania” incorporates old Ukrainian melodies and unique musical pitches from a primitive, difficult-to-play woodwind called a telenka, played by lead singer Tymofii Muzychuk.
The band members mix break dancing with Hopak, a Ukrainian folk dance, in an energetic performance punctuated by Psiuk’s rap interludes. Costumes feature embroidered Cossack shirts and vests mixed with contemporary streetwear.
“We ourselves show that Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian ethnic code exists,’’ Psuik said. “Our purpose is to make Ukrainian music popular, not only in Ukraine but all over Europe. And Eurovision is the best platform for that.”
Psiuk and five bandmates, all men between the ages of 21 to 35, received special permission from Ukrainian authorities to travel to Turin to participate in Eurovision, traveling by land to Poland and then flying to Italy. One original band member stayed behind to fight.
Psiuk, 27, left behind a network of volunteers he organized two days into the war to help mete out logistical help to people across Ukraine seeking shelter or transport.
All will return to Ukraine when the song contest finishes.
“We feel a big responsibility,’’ Psiuk said. “It’s very important for us to be as useful to the country as possible. We want to represent our country decently.”
Kalush Orchestra is more than just a musical group. It is a cultural project that includes folklore scholars and purposefully combines hip hop with traditional Ukrainian music, dance and costumes, some long-forgotten, according to Psiuk.
The 6-month-old project takes its name from Psiuk’s hometown of Kalush, which is tucked in the Carpathian Mountains, south of the western city of Lviv. It’s an evolution from the original Kalush hip hop group that Psiuk also fronted.
After Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s entry to the Eurovision was kicked out of the contest in a move organizers said aimed to keep politics out of the hugely popular event, which was viewed last year by 183 million people.
Psiuk said Russia’s exclusion from Eurovision, along with other cultural and sporting events, could send a message to Russians “who may say they do not understand the situation in full … that there is a reason that the whole world, Europe, is banning them.”
Ukraine first joined the Eurovision Song Contest 19 years ago. It has won twice since, both times with songs performed primarily in Ukrainian: by Ruslana in 2004 and Jamala in 2016.
Psuik attributes Ukraine’s success to “the peculiar character that our music has.”
“I really hope that after we perform it at the Eurovision Song Contest, Ukrainian music will be even more popular and heard,’’ Psiuk said.
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Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/a-song-with-power-ukraines-eurovision-entry-unites-nation/
| 2022-05-07T00:16:26
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LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace on Friday answered one of the biggest remaining questions about Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations: saying that Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, won’t be on the palace balcony when the monarch greets the public on June 2.
The balcony appearance is a centerpiece moment of many royal celebrations, with the royal family smiling and waving to fans at home and millions watching on television around the world. But the build-up to the ceremonies marking Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne have been dogged by questions about whether Andrew, Harry and Meghan would be in such a public spotlight amid a sex scandal and family tensions.
The queen has now settled the matter, decreeing that only working members of the royal family will join her on the balcony to watch a Royal Air Force fly-past after the traditional military review known as Trooping the Color.
”After careful consideration, the queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Color balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the queen,’’ the palace said.
The decision comes amid a debate over Andrew’s status after he reached a multimillion pound settlement with a woman who accused him of sexual exploitation. Andrew stepped away from royal duties and was stripped of his honorary military titles amid the scandal caused by the allegations and his links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Still, Britain’s media has been awash with reports that Andrew wanted a public role in the Jubilee after he settled the lawsuit.
Harry also kept open the possibility of a balcony appearance in an interview with NBC last month, though he said “security issues and everything else’’ might complicate such a decision. Harry and Meghan, also known as the duke and duchess of Sussex, stepped away from frontline royal duties and moved to California in 2020. They are locked in a legal battle with Britain’s Home Office over security arrangements when they travel to the U.K.
As plans for the Jubilee began to take shape, Harry and Meghan announced Friday they would travel to the U.K. for the festivities.
“Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are excited and honored to attend the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this June with their children,” a spokesperson for the couple said.
While Andrew and the Sussexes won’t join the queen on the balcony, as members of the royal family they would be free to attend other events, a palace source said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with palace policies.
The queen’s decision means that she will be accompanied on the balcony by three of her four children and their spouses: Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Princess Anne and retired Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence; and Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.
Prince William, Harry’s older brother, and his wife, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, will also be on the balcony with their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis. William is second in line to the throne after his father Charles.
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This story corrects the name of the prince in the penultimate paragraph to Prince Charles, not Prince Andrew.
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Follow all AP stories on the British royals at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/andrew-harry-and-meghan-wont-appear-on-jubilee-balcony/
| 2022-05-07T00:16:27
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/andrew-harry-and-meghan-wont-appear-on-jubilee-balcony/
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NEW YORK (AP) — A hit-and-run driver pleaded guilty Friday in a suburban New York a suburban New York crashthat killed the father of Nicki Minaj and was promised a year or less in jail, disappointing prosecutors and the hip hop star’s mother.
In state court in Long Island’s Nassau County, businessman Charles Polevich admitted leaving the scene of the February 2021 accident that fatally injured Robert Maraj as he walked along a road in Mineola.
Polevich initially got out of his car and looked at the injured man on the ground, but then drove off, didn’t call 911, garaged his car and covered it with a tarp, authorities said. Polevich pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence by concealing the car.
Maraj, 64, died at a hospital the next day.
Judge Howard Sturim said Polevich would get “no more than one year in jail,” along with community service and a suspended license. The 71-year-old is due to be sentenced Aug. 3.
The victim’s widow, Carol Maraj, told reporters she was “not happy” with the planned sentence. The widow, who is suing Polevich, said seeing him in court left her shaking at the memory of her husband fighting for his life in the hospital.
Prosecutors, who sought a one-to-three-year prison sentence, also took issue with the planned penalty.
“Given the severity of the defendant’s conduct, we disagree with the sentencing commitment from the court,” Nassau County District Attorney’s office spokesperson Brendan Brosh said in a statement.
Polevich’s lawyer, Marc Gann, called the hit-and-run “completely out of character” for his client, who hails from Long Island but has a drilling and water purification business in Guam.
“He does feel tremendous empathy for Mr. Maraj’s family and tremendous remorse for any role he played in his death,” Gann said by phone after court. He suggested that Polevich might have had a medical problem that made him not “fully aware of what he was doing,” while noting that it wasn’t a legal justification.
Messages were sent to representatives for Nicki Minaj, who called her father’s death “the most devastating loss of my life” in a post on her website last year.
The platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated rapper — known for tracks including “Anaconda,” “Starships” and “Super Bass” — was born Onika Tanya Maraj.
In interviews years ago, she described a troubled relationship with her father. But she later said he had changed.
After his death, she wrote about wishing she could pick up the phone and talk to him.
“He was very loved & will be very missed,” she wrote.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/driver-pleads-guilty-in-crash-that-killed-nicki-minajs-dad/
| 2022-05-07T00:16:34
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NEW YORK (AP) — Friday’s “Jeopardy!” match marked a turning point for the game show’s latest mega-champ.
The latest long-time champ on “Jeopardy!” has seen her winning streak end at 23 — by a single dollar.
Mattea Roach, a tutor from Toronto, saw her winning streak end at 23 — by a single dollar.
Roach earned $560,983 during her run on the game show. She’s has one of the five longest winning streaks in “Jeopardy!” history, but didn’t come close to Ken Jennings’ record of 74 consecutive wins.
Danielle Maurer, a marketing manager from Peachtree Corners, Georgia, beat Roach on Friday’s show by a margin of $15,600 to $15,599.
Unlike her second-to-last match, Roach went into the final question with the lead Friday. But the Final Jeopardy question was about the name of Atlanta’s airport, right near where Maurer lived.
The category was USA, and the clue was: “These two mayors gave their names to a facility built on the site of an old racetrack owned by Coca-Cola magnate Asa Candler.”
The correct response was: “Who are William Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson?”
Roach was wrong, Maurer was right, and she bet enough to win.
“It feels still kind of like a dream,” Roach said. “I really came down here hoping to maybe win one game and so I still can’t believe it. You know, it’s strange, obviously I didn’t come through in the last one, but I still feel so happy and so lucky to have had this experience.”
Roach will return to compete in the game show’s Tournament of Champions this fall. Among her challengers will be Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider, who are also in the “Jeopardy!” top five of longest winning streaks for their work this year.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/fridays-jeopardy-marks-new-point-for-latest-mega-champ/
| 2022-05-07T00:16:43
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/fridays-jeopardy-marks-new-point-for-latest-mega-champ/
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A marble bust that a Texas woman bought for about $35 from a Goodwill store is temporarily on display at a San Antonio museum after experts determined it was a centuries-old sculpture missing from Germany since World War II.
The bust, which art collector Laura Young found at Goodwill in 2018, once belonged in the collection of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, according to the San Antonio Museum of Art, which is temporarily displaying the piece until it is returned to Germany next year.
The ancient Roman bust dates to the first century B.C. or first century A.D. and historians believe it may depict a son of Pompey the Great, who was defeated in civil war by Julius Caesar, the museum said. The sculpture was last seen in Aschaffenburg, Germany, and experts believe a soldier took the sculpture and brought it to the United States, the museum said.
A Sotheby’s consultant identified the work and it was further authenticated, the museum said.
“We are very pleased that a piece of Bavarian history that we thought was lost has reappeared and will soon be able to return to its rightful location,” said Bernd Schreiber, president of the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens, and Lakes.
Young said there were a few months of “intense excitement” after learning the history behind the piece, which she found on the floor beneath a table at a Goodwill in Austin, Texas.
Young reached a deal to return the bust to Germany with the help of an attorney who specializes in international art law, Austin radio station KUT reported. Terms of that deal were confidential.
“But it was bittersweet since I knew I couldn’t keep or sell the (bust),” she said. “Either way, I’m glad I got to be a small part of (its) long and complicated history, and he looked great in the house while I had him.”
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/goodwill-find-in-texas-turns-out-to-be-ancient-roman-bust/
| 2022-05-07T00:16:49
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/goodwill-find-in-texas-turns-out-to-be-ancient-roman-bust/
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man charged in an attack on comedian Dave Chappelle during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl pleaded not guilty Friday to four misdemeanors.
Isaiah Lee, 23, entered the not guilty pleas in a Los Angeles courtroom to charges of battery, possessing a deadly weapon with intent to assault unlawfully crossing from a spectator area onto a stage at a theatrical event and interfering with or delaying such an event with unlawful conduct.
Lee, who remains jailed, was ordered to stay at least 100 yards (91 meters) from Chappelle, whose lawyer called in to the hearing to request the protective order.
Authorities say Lee was arrested Tuesday night after rushing the stage during Chappelle’s set in the last of a four-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl that was part of the “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival.
He was carrying a replica handgun with a large blade that folded out of it similar to a pocket knife, according to police, who released a photo of the weapon.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office determined that he had not committed any felonies and referred the case to the LA city attorney’s office, which charged him with the four misdemeanors.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/man-charged-in-dave-chappelle-attack-pleads-not-guilty/
| 2022-05-07T00:16:56
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/man-charged-in-dave-chappelle-attack-pleads-not-guilty/
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville Public Library is responding to library scrutiny in Tennessee with a goal to distribute 5,000 “I read banned books” library cards this month.
“I want Nashvillians to know: Nashville Public Library will always respect your Freedom to Read — to independently determine what you read, and don’t read, and to exercise your role in determining what your children read,” library Director Kent Oliver said in a news release.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said this week he plans to sign a bill that would let a politically appointed panel remove books from public school libraries statewide through a new veto power over local school board decisions.
The library’s online catalog offers the American Library Association’s top 25 books that have been banned or challenged for potential banning across the country recently, with electronic versions available for people who can’t reach the physical library. The list includes the seven books in the Harry Potter series and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The Nashville library card is free. The campaign ends May 26.
Book banning put Tennessee in the national spotlight recently after a rural school board in McMinn County voted unanimously to remove “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from the district’s curriculum. Meanwhile, in Williamson County, an affluent region just south of Nashville, school board members agreed to remove “Walk Two Moons” — a book that depicts an American Indian girl’s search for her mother — after parents complained about it.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/nashville-library-offers-i-read-banned-books-library-cards/
| 2022-05-07T00:17:04
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/nashville-library-offers-i-read-banned-books-library-cards/
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Mehmet Oz’s rivals in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate are escalating their attacks on the celebrity heart surgeon’s connections to his parents’ native country of Turkey, raising it as a possible national security issue.
Oz, best known as TV’s Dr. Oz, has rejected any suggestions he is a threat to national security and has accused his opponents, particularly GOP rival David McCormick, of making “bigoted attacks.” If elected, Oz would be the nation’s first Muslim senator.
The criticism of Oz and his ties to Turkey has mushroomed in the weeks after Oz won the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who remains deeply popular with conservative voters. With the state’s May 17 primary quickly approaching, Oz is locked in a tight three-way race with McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, and conservative activist Kathy Barnette, according to a recent Franklin & Marshall College poll.
Trump is holding a rally with Oz in western Pennsylvania on Friday evening, coming off a big win in Ohio’s Republican Senate primary. Trump’s candidate, JD Vance, who will also be appearing at Friday’s rally, was trailing in the polls before Trump’s last-minute endorsement vaulted him to the top of the seven-way race.
Oz, who was born in the United States, holds Turkish citizenship, served in Turkey’s military and voted in its 2018 election, but says he would renounce his dual citizenship in Turkey if he is elected.
Trump’s former secretary of state and CIA director, Mike Pompeo, who endorsed McCormick in the race, told reporters Friday that Oz owes an explanation about the “scope and the depth of his relationship with the Turkish government.”
As CIA director, Pompeo served side-by-side in the Trump administration with Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser who drew Justice Department scrutiny because of lucrative consulting work he and his firm did that benefited the Turkish government.
Oz has financial ties, as well.
In his financial disclosure report to the Senate, Oz disclosed property that he owns in Turkey, assets from his late father’s estate that are tied up in legal proceedings there and an endorsement agreement with Turkish Airlines, which is partly owned by the Turkish government.
In recent debates, McCormick — a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran of the Gulf War — has accused Oz of unnecessarily holding dual citizenship in Turkey and tried to contrast Oz’s service in the Turkish military with McCormick’s in the U.S. Army.
Another rival, Carla Sands, Trump’s former ambassador to Denmark who inherited a commercial real estate fortune, has suggested Oz has dual loyalties, calling him “Turkey First,” as a play on Trump’s “America First” governing philosophy.
Fending off McCormick’s attacks in March, Oz suggested that his religion is being targeted, accusing McCormick of making “bigoted attacks” that are “reminiscent of slurs made in the past about Catholics and Jews.”
Oz has maintained that he served in Turkey’s military as a young man to keep his dual citizenship. He keeps it to this day, he said, so he has legal power in Turkey to make health care decisions for his mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
Oz voted in Turkey’s 2018 election when he was at the consulate in New York for meetings about his humanitarian work on behalf of Syrian refugees in Turkey, his campaign said.
He voted against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his campaign said, noting that it is not unusual for Americans with dual citizenship to vote in elections in other countries.
“Voting in an election is far different from being actively engaged in the political work of the Turkish government, which Dr. Oz has never been involved with,” Oz’s campaign said.
Senate historians have been unable to find a U.S. senator who maintained dual citizenship.
David Laufman, the former chief of the counterintelligence section at the Department of Justice’s national security division, said he thinks of a national security concern as individuals and organizations that present terrorist threats, cybersecurity threats or economic security threats, or are involved in influence operations directed at the U.S. on behalf of foreign powers.
“I think we need to be careful about categorizing any American as a national security risk simply because of their ties to a foreign country,” Laufman said in an interview.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the nonprofit does not comment on specific campaigns. But in general, he said, the organization has seen attacks on one aspect of a candidate — such as their place of birth — as a stand-in for a more obviously racist attack, such as their race or religion.
He pointed to the questioning — by Trump and others — of whether Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was born in the United States.
“It’s a pattern that has been repeated and is being repeated in multiple campaigns,” Mitchell said.
Flynn — Trump’s former national security adviser — did work that included gathering adverse information on Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who lives in Pennsylvania and is blamed by Erdogan for a failed coup attempt, and writing a November 2016 opinion piece that blasted the U.S. for granting Gulen a “safe haven” while Turkey pushed to extradite him.
Flynn was ousted in the first month of the Trump administration after the White House said he lied about his Russian contacts during the transition period. He later admitted in a criminal case brought by special counsel Robert Mueller that his filings to the Justice Department when he registered as a foreign agent for his Turkish work included “false statements and omissions.”
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
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Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at twitter.com/ap_politics
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Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at twitter.com/timelywriter
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/ozs-ties-to-turkey-attacked-in-pennsylvanias-senate-race/
| 2022-05-07T00:17:11
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police in the Netherlands said Friday that two people have been killed and two seriously wounded in a shooting at a countryside home for people with disabilities on a farm near the city of Rotterdam.
Rotterdam police tweeted that “the suspect has been arrested and the firearm has been seized,” following the shootings at Molensingel, on the outskirts of Alblasserdam.
“The witnesses are being taken care of, help is being arranged for them,” police said.
Dutch media said a woman and a teenage girl were killed, and those wounded were a teenage boy and a young woman. The alleged shooter, a 38-year-old man, was known to police for minor disturbances but had no criminal record. The motive for the shooting remains unclear.
First responders and a number of helicopters were out at the scene. People were urged to stay away from the area.
The farm is a haven for young people and adults, mostly with disabilities or mental illness. It’s also shelter for teenagers and adults who are trying to get their lives back on track, according to its website.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/shooting-at-dutch-home-for-the-disabled-kills-2-wounds-2/
| 2022-05-07T00:17:18
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — CBS 42 anchor Sherri Jackson is speaking with local organizers after Arturo Fortunell, an undocumented man facing homelessness, was found dead on Saturday in Birmingham.
Jackson will have a “community conversation” with Erica Star Robbins, founder of Be A Blessing Birmingham, and Cat Cruz, a local volunteer and former One Roof staffer, about Arturo’s life and death.
They’ll also discuss “Lots of Love,” a project spearheaded by Robbins that aims to buy empty lots across the city and make them safe havens for folks facing homelessness in the city.
Robbins is asking members of the Birmingham community to contribute via GoFundMe so that Arturo can be given a proper burial and a memorial in Linn Park. All additional funds will be used to launch “Lots of Love.”
Jackson’s discussion with Robbins and Cruz will stream at the top of this article and on CBS 42’s Facebook page.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/community-conversations-sherri-jackson-to-speak-with-local-organizers-after-death-of-man-facing-homelessness-in-birmingham/
| 2022-05-07T00:21:06
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The eagle pair that nested near Garland for years had a fan club.
But now it’s become a posse, too, intent on finding the person who shot the female bird and left it to die — leaving its mate to raise their chick alone.
“There are people who are just flat pissed off,” said Layne Hans, who would drive from Seward just to watch the birds take turns hunting and tending their nest. “Why would somebody do something this stupid?”
The birds were fixtures in that part of Seward County, plucking bass and bluegill from a nearby pond, roosting on power poles, fortifying their nest.
“This family of bald eagles has been like family to so many of the neighbors,” said Scott Dinslage, who lives nearby. “That’s why it feels like we lost part of our family.”
State conservation officer Dina Barta took the first call on the injured eagle, and her phone is still ringing.
“I have never seen a community so emotional and so invested in any wild animal. I have received so many calls, including one gentleman who got choked up.”
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And the nest’s nearest neighbor considered the birds almost as her pets. “We could always look out and see an eagle,” she said. “It brought us so much joy. We were just devastated when we heard about the female.”
The bird was found struggling but still alive near its nest late last month. Barta performed a necropsy after it died and discovered a gunshot wound.
Game and Parks officers have received several tips, but haven’t made any arrests yet, said Duane Arp, assistant administrator of the commission’s law enforcement division.
Dinslage and Hans hope enough money can change that. Each has launched a campaign to bolster the Nebraska Wildlife Crimestoppers reward for information leading to an arrest.
“We can’t just sit by and wish and hope and pray that someone’s going to turn themselves in,” Dinslage said. “I want to raise enough that even this person’s mother is going to turn them in.”
He created a GoFundMe page Wednesday, and had raised nearly $2,500 toward a $15,000 goal by Friday. Hans is collecting donations through Facebook posts and word-of-mouth, and was up to $1,300.
“It seems like the more people I talk to, the more donations I receive.”
Both men will forward the donations to the Nebraska Wildlife Protectors Association for future rewards if they’re not needed in this case, they said.
Since the shooting, state conservation officers, members of the Raptor Conservation Alliance and several ornithology students from Concordia University have monitored the nest, making sure the male eagle is still caring for the chick.
And he is, spending most of his time hunting and feeding the young bird, while still calling out for his mate.
Photos: Birds you can spot in Nebraska
Baltimore Oriole
Bay-Breasted Warbler
Black-Capped Chickadee
Cape May Warbler
Cedar Waxwing
Cerulean Warbler
Great-Crested Flycatcher
Indigo Bunting
LeConte's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Prothonotary Warbler
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Scarlet Tanager
White-Throated Sparrow
Wood Duck
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Western Tanager
Reach the writer at 402-473-7254 or psalter@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSPeterSalter
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/we-lost-part-of-our-family-neighbors-of-dead-eagle-seek-justice/article_ee204565-0195-5e4a-8053-c433ef8b92ba.html
| 2022-05-07T00:23:15
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/we-lost-part-of-our-family-neighbors-of-dead-eagle-seek-justice/article_ee204565-0195-5e4a-8053-c433ef8b92ba.html
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The man who was found dead inside an apartment in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood early Wednesday morning has been publicly identified.
Morgan “Max” Victor’s death has been ruled a homicide by gunshot. He was 30 years old.
Around 1:34 a.m. Wednesday, Portland police were called to a reported shooting on SE Division Street. Officers said once they arrived, they found the man already dead.
No arrests were made and police said the suspect fled the scene.
Authorities asked anyone with information to contact Detective Ryan Foote at 503-823-0781 or Detective Calvin Goldring at 503-823-0256.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/man-found-dead-in-hosford-abernethy-apartment-idd/
| 2022-05-07T00:29:04
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/man-found-dead-in-hosford-abernethy-apartment-idd/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — One of the Oregon Zoo’s newest residents finally has a name!
The zoo’s new baby orangutan has been named Jolene, inspired by the classic Dolly Parton song and those flaming locks of auburn hair.
Jolene was born on April 13 to first-time mother Kitra.
Because they were giving Kitra and her newborn plenty of space to bond, zookeepers say they couldn’t confirm whether the baby was a boy or a girl until recently. Once they figured it out, the zoo says their keeper team knew exactly what they’d name her.
“They’ve been playing the song on repeat ever since!” Kate Gilmore, who oversees the zoo’s primate area, said.
Twenty-year-old Kitra moved to Oregon from Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Ohio back in 2015.
“Kitra can decide whether she and Jolene are up for a trip outside or if they’d rather have privacy,” Gilmore said. “As Jolene gets older and more curious, we expect them to be outside more and more.”
For more information about the Oregon Zoo, visit their website.
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https://www.koin.com/local/oregon-zoo-names-baby-orangutan-jolene-dolly-parton-song/
| 2022-05-07T00:29:10
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https://www.koin.com/local/oregon-zoo-names-baby-orangutan-jolene-dolly-parton-song/
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BURSON, Calif. — About 1,000 marijuana plants, more than 160 roosters and several guns were seized in rural Calaveras County during a recent raid, law enforcement said on Friday.
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Unit says it seized $65,000 of marijuana plants on the property in Burson including an RV trailer full of seedlings during the April 20 operation.
Authorities also seized a total of seven guns, one of which was reported stolen out of Stockton according to the sheriff’s office.
Along with the plants and weapons, deputies also found at least 160 “blood sport” roosters.
Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office said some of the roosters were collected as evidence while some were left on the property with deputies and animal services expected to check in on the animals.
The sheriff's office says it issued a citation to a 71-year-old man on drug allegations and a 45-year-old woman on animal cruelty allegations.
Watch more for ABC10: Legal cannabis taxes too high, says Black cannabis retail owner
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/illegal-marijuana-rooster-fighting-seized-calaveras-county/103-5dd397ca-fa10-449f-a237-15915345d6cb
| 2022-05-07T00:29:45
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LOS ANGELES — A man who pleaded guilty to a series of Southern California attacks that killed five men and injured seven others was sentenced Friday to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Ramon Escobar, 50, received multiple life sentences after entering guilty pleas to murder with special circumstances and attempted murder. In a Zoom call hearing, he also pleaded guilty to the 2018 killings of his aunt and uncle in Houston, Texas. He received additional life sentences for those slayings but will serve them consecutively in California.
Prosecutors said Escobar fled Texas after killing his relatives and was homeless when he began attacking people in Los Angeles and Santa Monica over the course of about two weeks in September 2018.
Prosecutors said Escobar bludgeoned victims with bolt cutters or a baseball bat as they lay sleeping on streets or the beach. All but one were homeless.
In an interview with police, Escobar said he killed some of the victims because they “irritated him, they were disrespectful to law enforcement, or he robbed them because he needed money,” according to a prosecution sentencing memorandum.
Surveillance video showed him ransacking the pockets and belongings of some victims in downtown Los Angeles.
Escobar had fled Texas after being questioned over the disappearance of his aunt and uncle, with whom he'd been staying. He drove 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) to California, arriving about a week before the attacks began there, authorities said.
Houston police later said Escobar confessed that he had killed siblings Dina Escobar, 60, and Rogelio Escober, 65.
Escobar told police he beat his uncle to death because he felt disrespected, and then killed his aunt after hiding in her van when she went to look for her brother two days later.
Escobar said he left the bodies in two different dumpsters, and they were later found at a landfill.
Escobar had a previous criminal record that included a five-year prison term for burglary in Texas and misdemeanor convictions for assault and trespassing, authorities said.
Escobar, who originally was from El Salvador, also had been deported six times from 1997 to 2011 but returned illegally, authorities said. In 2017 he was released from federal immigration custody after winning an appeal of his latest deportation case in an immigration court, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/ramon-escobar-gets-life-for-killings-in-california-texas/103-96ad6134-c348-4a38-af69-997fbdee4ff9
| 2022-05-07T00:29:51
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/ramon-escobar-gets-life-for-killings-in-california-texas/103-96ad6134-c348-4a38-af69-997fbdee4ff9
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FOLSOM, Calif — A proposed crematorium has caused controversy in Folsom neighborhoods for nearly two years. Now, it is up to Folsom city leaders to decide its fate.
The proposed crematorium at the Lakeside Memorial Lawn Cemetery is close to the Preserve neighborhood, the Lake Natoma Shores neighborhood, the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area and the American River.
For nearly two years, neighbors in the Preserve have voiced their concerns about the crematorium, asking for the denial of the proposed project.
Steve Walsh, a resident in the Preserve, said his neighborhood has done extensive research on the potential hazards the crematorium could cause.
Walsh said some of his and his neighbors' concerns include but are not limited to, the threat of a massive explosion, the proposed crematorium being next to an open space that could be prone to wildfires, and air quality.
"How many more reasons do we need to say that a project like this does not belong in a neighborhood," Walsh said. "The last thing we want is issues with air quality."
ABC10 has repeatedly reached out to representatives of Lakeside Memorial Lawn but they have not responded.
Walsh and his neighbors have created a petition, sent letters to the city, put up signs in their backyards, walked through the historic district to raise awareness and voiced their concerns at both the historic commission meeting and the city council meeting.
According to Walsh, the petition has received 1,030 signatures.
The city of Folsom says Lakeside Memorial Lawn needs a permit from the city to operate a crematorium on the property. On February 16, the City of Folsom Historic Commission voted 6-1 against the proposed crematorium saying it would "have a negative impact on the historical character of the existing cemetery and historical use of the area."
On February 22, the cemetery submitted an appeal of the Historic District Commission's decision to deny the proposed project.
The cemetery's appeal asks the city to "reconsider" its decision as Folsom does not have a crematory to meet the growing demand for cremation. Additionally, the cemetery says it will not exceed 500 cremations each year and will follow the air quality standards.
However, the city recommends denial of the appeal.
"Based on the information contained in the reports and the Historic District Commission's denial of the Conditional Use Permit for the Lakeside Memorial Lawn Crematorium project located at l20l Forrest Street, city of Folsom staff recommends denial of the appeal by Igor Semenyuk to overturn the Historic District Commission decision," a statement sent to ABC10 from the city of Folsom says.
A public hearing for the appeal was held at the April 26 Folsom city council meeting. However, due to technical difficulties, the city says the public hearing has been postponed to May 10.
Walsh is optimistic that the city council will vote to deny the cemetery's appeal on Tuesday.
"I am hopeful that the vote will go our way and this crematorium won’t be in our backyard," Walsh said. "The cemetery has been great neighbors to us, so we want them to continue to be great neighbors to us by taking all these factors into consideration and moving this project somewhere safer."
ABC10: Watch, Download, Read
Watch more from ABC10: Oak Ridge High School teen battles cancer with his teammates by his side
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/folsom-orangevale/folsom-proposed-crematorium-residents-concerns/103-5022f3b3-d316-4321-92c5-7a8c045d43ef
| 2022-05-07T00:29:57
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man in South Sacramento was found dead with at least one gunshot wound on Wednesday night after law enforcement responded to a report of someone lying on the sidewalk.
Sacramento Metro Fire pronounced the man dead at the scene on the 5100 block of Southwest Avenue.
Sacramento County Sheriff's detectives spoke with witnesses but no suspect information is available at this time.
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-sheriffs-office-investigating-homicide/103-825901f6-4d2c-478c-bfb0-1b20dcbf3a2c
| 2022-05-07T00:30:03
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-sheriffs-office-investigating-homicide/103-825901f6-4d2c-478c-bfb0-1b20dcbf3a2c
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark — It's officially National Nurses Day, which means that the weeklong celebration for our healthcare heroes has now kicked off.
In honor of that celebration, we wanted to share the journey of one Arkansas nurse who went from patient to caregiver.
From an early age, Taylor Slaughter always had a vision for her future.
"I always knew since I was a little girl that I wanted to be a nurse," she said.
That dream became a reality in 2015 when Slaughter got accepted into UAMS' nursing program. This was great news for her, but following her acceptance, life had other plans.
"I started chemo the day I got my acceptance letter to nursing school. I decided, all right, this gives me something to fight for," she said.
One month before Slaughter got her acceptance letter, the 20-year-old was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer following countless doctor appointments trying to diagnose the issue.
"It was almost like, okay, now we know what's wrong finally. Now, let's see what we can do about it," she said. "I tried to always have a positive attitude and never question why? I just knew that this was my journey and I needed to do what I had to do to get through it."
Slaughter's journey took her to Houston, where she went through intense high-dose chemotherapy.
After completing her last day of therapy, Slaughter never questioned getting back into her scrubs and finishing what she started.
"My diagnosis just showed me right then and there, you can do this. You just went through it, so you can do it. You can help and assist those other patients going through their hard times," she said.
Now, 7 years later, that's exactly what Slaughter does each day as a nurse at the UAMS Cancer Institute. Slaughter admits that working with patients who are going through what she went through isn't always easy.
"I will say at first, you do have survivor's guilt. It's really hard. You wonder 'why me? Why not this patient?' But at the end of the day, I just have to remember that was my journey and that this is theirs," she said.
Slaughter isn't just helping these patients with medicine and infusions, she's also helping them by using her own story and experience.
"Sometimes I have patients, women specifically, that are nervous about losing their hair. I sit down and show them my Instagram photos of this is me with no hair, and I even had a mohawk when I first shaved my head," she said.
With survivor imprinted on Slaughter's arm, this healthcare hero is reminded every day of what she went through and wakes up every morning ready to fight that same fight by her patients' sides.
"It made me to be a better nurse today," she said.
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/arkansas-nurse-reflects-on-cancer-survival/91-d38f593f-ba4b-4c72-8b67-21b38c43df24
| 2022-05-07T00:34:03
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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/arkansas-nurse-reflects-on-cancer-survival/91-d38f593f-ba4b-4c72-8b67-21b38c43df24
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PORTLAND, Ore. — There's more space for pedestrians and cyclists in downtown Portland thanks to the completion of the "Better Naito" project. The latest extension is called "Better Naito Forever" and stretches over a mile from Harrison to Northwest Davis Streets.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) said that the project will allow cyclists and pedestrians to get around without coming in close contact with cars.
"It took one lane of traffic northbound and created a bike facility, and also included a mile of sidewalk that enabled people to walk along Waterfront Park safely," said Chris Warner with PBOT.
Portland city officials hope improvements to pedestrian areas bring more visitors downtown. Issues with crime and protests have kept people away.
"When people are on the street, when people are active and people are riding and out having a good time, everybody is safer," Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said. "We have people who need mental healthcare and treatment and we don't have that, we don't have enough beds for them, but every major city has that."
At the ribbon cutting on Friday, both cyclists and pedestrians were welcoming the upgrade. Cassie Wilson comes downtown for events a couple times a month.
RELATED: Visit the world’s smallest park’s new location in Portland – six inches west from old location
"If you have somewhere to be, it's nice to be able to go directly to where you need to go — and having the physical separation from the cars makes a huge difference," Wilson said.
The cost of the project was $4 million which covered the sidewalks, curbs and traffic signals. There were also new bike signals added, in addition to 17,000 square-feet of sidewalk.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/better-naito-forever-bike-lanes-sidewalks-pedestrian/283-d9b484b9-23e1-483d-94e9-75daae4ba4f8
| 2022-05-07T00:37:09
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/better-naito-forever-bike-lanes-sidewalks-pedestrian/283-d9b484b9-23e1-483d-94e9-75daae4ba4f8
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The director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources on Thursday issued a methodology order for Snake River groundwater users, predicting a 162,600 acre-foot shortfall to senior priority surface water users in the Eastern Snake River Plain region during the 2022 irrigation season.
The shortfall prediction means that the Department of Water Resources will curtail more than 328 groundwater rights with priority dates junior to Dec. 25, 1979, in the coming weeks if the holders of those water rights do not come into compliance with an approved mitigation plan with a groundwater district, a news release said.
The list of potentially affected groundwater users includes many eastern Idaho entities. Junior water users who could be affected by the order were sent a copy of the order this week.
Curtailment will begin May 20, according to the order, unless groundwater users have joined an approved mitigation plan prior to that time.
Currently, there are seven approved mitigation plans for the ESPA surface water delivery call, the release said. The approved plans came from the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators Inc., Southwest Irrigation District, Goose Creek Irrigation District, Coalition of Cities and Water Mitigation Coalition. Those entities will not need to show how they can mitigate for projected water shortfalls, according to the order.
The order comes on the heels of Gov. Brad Little's emergency drought declaration for 34 of Idaho's 44 counties that was issued April 29.
On Friday, the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Idaho released its May Water Supply Outlook Report for the 2022 Water Year. The outlook was consistent with both the drought declaration and the potential curtailment order.
Despite near to above normal precipitation in April, peak snowpack is below normal in all basins and Idaho is still expected to experience water supply shortages across the state this irrigation season, the NRCS news release said.
“In general, irrigation delivery began in April; combined with reduced snowmelt runoff, reservoir fill rates have slowed down,” said Erin Whorton, hydrologist-water supply specialist for NRCS Snow Survey, in the release.
Water users should continue to prepare for a short irrigation season and possible curtailments, the release said.
Reservoir storage continues to be below normal for Idaho. For the Upper Snake above Heise storage is 63% of normal, the NRCS release said. As of last month, the Upper Snake system was "not expected to fill above 70% capacity and likely will take a large increase from spring precipitation to fill above this expected level."
The Department of Water Resources’ injury determination will be updated in July.
"By law, we have to keep people with senior water rights whole, and we want to make the junior ground water pumpers aware that despite the settlement agreements between the Surface Water Coalition (“SWC”), IGWA, and the Participating Cities, if junior ground water pumpers are not participating in an approved mitigation plan, they could be subject to curtailment this year," said Mathew Weaver, IDWR's deputy director in the release.
If junior groundwater users do not join a groundwater mitigation plan or demonstrate to the Department of Water Resources director how their water use will not cause injury to senior surface water users in the next 14 days, their water rights will be curtailed, the order said.
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https://www.postregister.com/news/local/junior-groundwater-users-face-curtailment-by-may-20/article_4837c620-e0df-546d-abe9-7a3df9262f80.html
| 2022-05-07T00:38:56
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https://www.postregister.com/news/local/junior-groundwater-users-face-curtailment-by-may-20/article_4837c620-e0df-546d-abe9-7a3df9262f80.html
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April 8, 1943 – April 26, 2022
Sandra McGregor Macfee – beloved wife, mother, and grandmother –passed away on April 26, 2022, in Laguna Niguel, California. She had just celebrated her 79th birthday.
Sandra (known as Sandy) was born in Pasadena on April 8, 1943 to William and Marjorie McGregor, joining her older brother, Robert McGregor. After graduating Pasadena High School, Sandy met her husband, Kim Macfee at Pasadena City College; they married on December 21, 1962, and would have celebrated their 60th anniversary this year. Kim and Sandy lived in Coos Bay, Oregon for 25 years where they co-owned and operated Far West Truck & Auto Supply from 1982-2003.
Sandy’s children and grandchildren were the joys of her life. Many of her best qualities – a bubbling curiosity, warm smile, easy athleticism, quick intelligence, and gentle humility – live on in them. She will be remembered as a gifted gardener, avid traveler, lover of the arts, voracious reader, and a phenomenal cook. She adored the outdoors, whether hiking, mushrooming, camping or building beautiful gardens.
She is preceded in death by her father, William; mother, Marjorie; and brother, Robert McGregor. Sandy is survived by her husband of almost 60 years, Kim Macfee; daughter, Laurie Macfee; son, Kim Macfee Jr. and wife, Diana Macfee; grandchildren, Eva DeLappe and wife, Iman James, Sarah DeLappe and husband, Max Posner, William Macfee, and Katie Macfee; her sisters- and brothers-in-law, Joan McGregor, Rita and Michael Macfee, Dottie and Fred Macfee; her former son-in-law, Joseph DeLappe; her nieces and nephews, Bruce McGregor, Jeff McGregor, Erin Macfee, Holly Macfee, Scott Macfee, and their families.
A family gathering will be announced at a later date. A more complete obituary and pictures from Sandra’s life can be found here: https://gb774.app.goo.gl/CjbP9, including a tribute wall for remembrances and notes to Kim and family.
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https://theworldlink.com/news/local/obituaries/sandra-mcgregor-macfee/article_98d50724-cd8c-11ec-ac15-2ba1ae906a47.html
| 2022-05-07T00:38:57
| 1
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https://theworldlink.com/news/local/obituaries/sandra-mcgregor-macfee/article_98d50724-cd8c-11ec-ac15-2ba1ae906a47.html
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Taylor Lee, a sixth-grade student at Sunnyside Elementary School, colors a file folder game to be donated to the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center on Friday.
Russell Nelson, a sixth-grade student at Sunnyside Elementary School, colors a file folder game to be donated to the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center on Friday.
A student colors a file folder game for the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center on Friday at Sunnyside Elementary School. Sunnyside sixth-graders colored more than 200 of these games, which are intended to help younger children with early education skills.
Taylor Lee, a sixth-grade student at Sunnyside Elementary School, colors a file folder game to be donated to the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center on Friday.
Russell Nelson, a sixth-grade student at Sunnyside Elementary School, colors a file folder game to be donated to the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center on Friday.
A student colors a file folder game for the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center on Friday at Sunnyside Elementary School. Sunnyside sixth-graders colored more than 200 of these games, which are intended to help younger children with early education skills.
Students at Sunnyside Elementary School spent Friday helping the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center with a variety of projects to help families and other children in need.
The projects ranged from kindergarteners folding and packaging socks to first-, second- and fifth graders assembling hygiene kits to sixth-graders assembling file folder games.
“(My students) are thrilled. They are excited to be able to share,” said Melissa Hiltbrand, a sixth-grade teacher at Sunnyside. “Everything that we do has a focus on how do we become better people. How do we share? How do we make a positive impact both in our schools and in our community, so this is kind of a culminating event for them to really get a feeling that they are making a difference.”
The Humanitarian Center is a nonprofit which helps people get access to essential supplies. According to the organization's website, it produces more than 70 different items for newborns, bereavement and hygiene kits, quilts and lap and therapeutic blankets, medical dolls, toys and educational folder games.
Russell Nelson, a Sunnyside sixth-grade student, said the file folder games were a variety of printed game boards intended to help children learn early educational skills including counting numbers and matching shapes.
“It makes me feel good to know we’re helping a lot of people in our community,” Nelson said.
Each grade level was tasked with making more than 200 of the respective items they were assigned, said Sunnyside Counselor Shelby Whiting.
Third-grade students spent the day building rattles for the Humanitarian Center to be delivered to babies in the community. Third-grade teacher Amanda Sullivan said the students collected bottle caps and beads to create the part of a rattler that makes noise. The Humanitarian Center has the crotchet rattlers but are missing the internal parts to them.
“I love that (Whiting) comes in and creates these projects for our school because I feel like every kid needs that understanding of how to help their community,” Sullivan said. “The kids love it and I think it's great.”
Whiting said an additional benefit of these projects is that they tie into subjects the students are learning about. For example, the fifth-graders are learning about natural disasters, which makes it fitting for them to use their knowledge about what supplies someone may need during an emergency to make hygiene kits.
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https://www.postregister.com/news/local/sunnyside-students-craft-and-donate-hundreds-of-items-to-humanitarian-center/article_df486dc7-322e-5196-9d11-688843ac185e.html
| 2022-05-07T00:39:02
| 0
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https://www.postregister.com/news/local/sunnyside-students-craft-and-donate-hundreds-of-items-to-humanitarian-center/article_df486dc7-322e-5196-9d11-688843ac185e.html
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Don't "wig out" about the Earwig invasion
They look freaky and their name does not help, but earwigs appear more fearsome than they are.
Earwigs are sometimes called “Pincher Bugs” or “Forky tails” due to their forceps or “pinchers.”
They look like mutated ants with pinchers on their backends - something nightmares try to hide from. Some Wichitans have said their homes have been invaded while others are unaware the critters exist.
They have been found hiding in various nooks and crannies, but recently they've been just about everywhere.
What are they? Are they dangerous?
Do they bite? Are they poisonous? Are they from another planet?
According to local bug experts, No.
David Brown, owner of Dave’s Bug Pro said they’ve gotten more calls than normal this year about Earwigs.
“They are a nuisance,” Brown said, “but they are harmless.”
Brown said if the creatures were to pinch an infant, it would hurt, but generally they do not attack people. They are insects with antennae, six legs, three body parts, and a formidable set of forceps, or pincers.
According to Wikipedia, Earwigs are mostly nocturnal scavengers that occupy small crevices. They are preyed upon by birds. They eat plants, ripe fruit, animal materials, and actively hunt Arthropods (insects, spiders).
Officials at the Wichita Falls Wichita County Health Department said they are aware of the plethora of earwigs this season.
General Environmental Health Administrator Samantha Blair said more than likely, the reason we are seeing more of them is because we had an actual Spring this year, which allowed them to hatch.
A mix of dishwashing soap and water sprayed in the areas where Earwigs like to hang out will keep them away.
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https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/dont-wig-out-earwigs/9663893002/
| 2022-05-07T00:40:04
| 1
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https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/dont-wig-out-earwigs/9663893002/
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The Fowl Neighbor Next Door: East Texans fought back and won when a chicken farm – and its smells – moved in
A judge closed it. Now, the Texas Supreme Court has been asked to decide if it should reopen in a case with statewide ramifications for landowners and homeowners.
WFAA-TV
Tune into WFAA News 8 at 10 tonight to watch this full story.
Mersini Blanchard says the first clue a fowl neighbor had moved in was the foul smell.
She thought at first there was a dead animal nearby.
Blanchard and her neighbors would soon realize the smell was coming from a newly built chicken farm, just over a mile from her Malakoff home in Henderson County, about 70 miles southeast of Dallas.
“Sometimes it’s so bad … you cannot come outside to enjoy your property anymore,” Blanchard said.
Appraisal district and court records show the value of the family’s home and 1,200 acres of surrounding property plunged 75 percent after the chicken farm – and the smell – moved in.
“I was going to be stuck with a piece of property here that would basically be worthless,” said Mersini’s son, Frank Blanchard, a Dallas custom home builder.
Frustrated, the Blanchards and their neighbors banded together to file a nuisance lawsuit. They asked that the chicken farm operation be shut down.
In 2019, a jury sided with them, finding the farm was a nuisance to the neighbors. Henderson County District Judge Scott McKee ordered that the chicken farm operation be closed.
“Defendants deny a nuisance exists and have either taken no or insufficient measures to reduce the odor pollution...,” Judge McKee wrote.
Almost two years after the farm operation was shuttered, neighbors worry the smells could return. Sanderson Farms, which supplies chickens to the farm, has appealed the case.
Now before the Texas Supreme Court, any ruling will have potential ramifications for homeowners’ and landowners’ rights across the state.
In Sanderson Farms’ petition to the Texas Supreme Court, the company says the judge’s decision to close the farm operation is a “fundamental misfit for a temporary nuisance.”
The company argues that if the farm operation can’t reopen, it would be bad for business. “No rational investor will risk investing substantial resources knowing even a temporary problem can lead to permanent loss of the investment,” the filing says.
“Several lawsuits have already been filed against poultry farms across the state, and this decision provides a roadmap for shutting them down,” the filing says.
The company declined a request for comment, citing the ongoing litigation.
Neighbors and their attorneys argue that the district court’s ruling to close the farm should be upheld.
“If the neighbors in Henderson County were to lose, it would absolutely embolden Sanderson,” said Brian Lauten, an attorney representing the neighbors. “I think what you’ll see is a domino effect of barns popping up all over East Texas.”
Chapter 1 New farm moves in
The path that led to this Supreme Court case begins in 2015.
That’s the year Steve Huynh purchased about 230 acres in Malakoff to open a chicken farm for Sanderson Farms. He had operated other chicken farms for Sanderson Farms beginning in 2002.
Sanderson Farms approved Steve’s son, Timmy Huynh, as a grower, even though he was a college student in California and had no prior chicken farming experience, according to records and testimony.
Steve Huynh later acknowledged under oath that he filled out the paperwork and signed Timmy’s name on the contract with Sanderson Farms.
Sanderson Farms also approved Thinh Nguyen, Steve’s cousin, as a grower. He would later testify that he had no prior experience raising chickens. But testimony would show he was actually on site, unlike Timmy, who was out of state.
So, at least on paper, there were two farms – one 8-barn operation operated by Timmy Huynh and another operated by Nguyen – on the same property.
State records and court testimony would later show state officials were given incorrect or misleading information about how close neighbors would be to the operation, the size of the operation, and about the prevailing winds, which would later blow odors in the direction of neighboring homes.
Along the way, attorneys representing the neighbors uncovered financial and operational irregularities.
Testimony revealed Timmy Huynh did not sign the contract with Sanderson nor state and federal applications associated with the chicken farm.
Chapter 2 Federal subsidy
Steve Huynh testified that he had signed his son’s name on documents applying for a federal government subsidy intended to help socially disadvantaged farmers.
The contract, however, for the subsidy says: “the participant must have control of the land for the duration of the contract.”
Records show the federal government sent subsidies totaling about $160,000 in Timmy Huynh’s name.
The Huynhs and Nguyens did not respond to phone calls or letters from WFAA.
Sanderson supplied the first flock of chickens in June 2016. On that 16-barn site, each barn contained about 28,000 chickens, or more than 440,000 per flock.
By the fall, neighbors had begun noticing the smell.
“If you’ve run over roadkill before, and you have those few seconds of, ‘Oh, my gosh,’ that’s what it was like,” said Emily Martinez, a Malakoff teacher who lives with her two daughters and husband just over a half mile away. “Except… sometimes it would stay for hours.”
Chapter 3 Complaints mount
Neighbors complained to state environmental officials. Frank Blanchard met with elected officials.
In Oct. 2016, a state investigator wrote that the “source of the odors was determined to be the chicken houses.”
Steve Huynh, the operation’s owner, sent a letter to the state promising changes to “eliminate the odor.”
Neighbors, however, said the smell never got better.
Records show neighbors repeatedly reached out to Sanderson Farms officials complaining about the odor.
In March 2017, Blanchard spoke with Sanderson Farms division manager Randall Boehme. Blanchard recorded the call, which was played during the trial. Blanchard asked Boehme if he could expect to be stunk “out of his property” about every 11 weeks.
Boehme responded, “That’s our production cycle, yes, sir.”
Testimony showed Boehme was referring to the “catching” - the period at the end of a 60-day growing cycle when the grown birds are rounded up and taken to a processing plant. Smells are more intense during that time.
That same day, Blanchard received a call from Huynh.
“Your farm is stinking up my property all the time,” Blanchard told him, according to an audio recording of the call also used in the litigation. “So I was just wondering if you are gonna do something about it?”
Huynh responded that he was trying to “keep it down on the odors.”
“You’re destroying everybody’s quality of life, interfering with their property and destroying their property values,” Blanchard told Huynh.
Huynh responded that he had gained approval to build the chicken farms where they were located.
“I just do what the law say,” he said.
Around this time, neighbors learned about the Texas Right to Farm law. They discovered it set strict time constraints on the ability of neighbors to file suit – in this case, one year.
Chapter 4 Lawsuit filed
Neighbors filed suit in May 2017.
Sanderson Farms and its growers tried to have the lawsuit thrown out, claiming in a court filing that neighbor had missed the deadline.
But neighbors had made the deadline with one month to spare, records show. The lawsuit moved forward.
Blanchard and the other neighbors began keeping odor logs detailing when the smell intensified, and state investigators kept issuing notices of violation.
In August 2017, Thinh Nguyen sent a signed letter to state regulators contesting a notice of violation at his farm. The letter argued that “the chicken waste odor” should be classified as “merely unpleasant” rather than “offensive.”
Steve Huynh signed and sent in the same letter on behalf of the other farm, 300 feet away.
Those identical letters argued that neither farm could be held accountable for the odor “since it appears no effort was undertaken to identify which of these two poultry farms was the actual source of the alleged odors.”
Testimony showed the letters were prepared by Sanderson Farms officials.
State regulations also required that the farmers turn in a “strategic odor control plan” to environmental regulators after the farm had been issued three notices of violation.
Chapter 5 Odor control plan
Testimony showed, however, that it was Sanderson Farms that turned in the odor control plan to state regulators. But Sanderson Farms officials didn’t give the plan to the farm operators until months later, in March 2018.
Steve Huynh testified during his deposition that he did not know why he did not receive the odor control plan and did not ask Sanderson why there had been a delay.
A Purdue University poultry expert hired by the neighbors found the operation produced about 10 million pounds, or 5,000 tons, of manure every year. He also said the 16 chicken houses emitted 175 tons of ammonia annually, and 1,037 pounds of hydrogen sulfide, a rotten egg smell created by decomposing manure.
Testimony showed that as many as 5 percent of the chickens would die every flock, producing tens of thousands of pounds of decomposing carcasses.
The lawsuit also revealed how little training the farm’s operators had received.
In his deposition, Steve Huynh testified he had attended one class on how to control chicken odors that lasted a few hours. Nguyen testified that he had attended an afternoon class on odor control, and that he did not know what constituted a nuisance.
Chapter 6 A jury decides
The case went to trial in October 2019. By then, state environmental officials had issued 10 air quality notices of violations to the farmers.
In the final notice of violation, issued weeks before the trial, a state investigator wrote that he could “smell the odor inside the moving vehicle with the air conditioning on and the windows rolled up.”
Ed Chisholm, a top-ranking Sanderson Farms official, testified near the end of the trial. He told jurors, “there will be absolutely no change to anything with respect to how these chicken farms are operated.”
When asked about their contract farmers’ chicken-growing practices, Chisholm testified that the farmers had followed the company’s policies.
When the trial concluded after three weeks of testimony, ten of 12 jurors sided with the neighbors. While criminal trials require a unanimous jury to reach a verdict, civil trials only require five sixths, or 10 of 12 jurors, to agree on a verdict.
Jurors awarded the Blanchards $4.87 million. The rest of the neighbors were awarded a combined total of $1.11 million.
“What they’re doing isn’t right,” said former juror Ronald Repp, when asked about Sanderson Farms’ actions in the case.
Repp lives about 15 miles from Malakoff.
“Everybody was happy until the stink,” Repp said. “If the chicken farm gets shut down and it’s totally shut down,... that’ll make me happy for them.”
Chapter 7 Neighbors ask to close farm
In the end, the neighbors agreed the multi-million-dollar jury award wasn’t what they wanted. Instead, they asked that the chicken farm operation be shut down.
In ordering the farm to close, Judge McKee wrote that he had heard, among other things, “conflicting, inconsistent and concerning testimony” from Sanderson Farms’ contract growers.
The Tyler-based 12th Court of Appeals, in a 15-page ruling, upheld McKee’s decision. The appeals court concluded McKee did not overreach “because...the nuisance was of a recurring nature.”
Now, all sides await the Texas Supreme Court decision.
“Losing is not an option, because if I lose, then this whole area is going to be destroyed,” Frank Blanchard said. “I am fighting for rural Texans that I don't even know.... I'm fighting for everybody.”
Email: investigates@wfaa.com
More from WFAA Investigates:
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/investigates/sanderson-farms-the-fowl-neighbor-next-door-east-texans-fought-back-and-won-when-a-chicken-farm-and-its-smells-moved-in/287-e88eaeca-3d24-456b-926e-f375d7da3e8f
| 2022-05-07T00:41:48
| 0
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https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/investigates/sanderson-farms-the-fowl-neighbor-next-door-east-texans-fought-back-and-won-when-a-chicken-farm-and-its-smells-moved-in/287-e88eaeca-3d24-456b-926e-f375d7da3e8f
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/south-philly-man-found-dead-in-bushes/3231297/
| 2022-05-07T01:22:26
| 1
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https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/south-philly-man-found-dead-in-bushes/3231297/
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