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GRIFFITH — The proposed new town hall/police station has joined other area projects in a state of limbo because of the nationwide inflation crisis, the Town Council said Tuesday.
The joint facility was approved last year with groundbreaking due last month. With an original starting date of June 8, the new headquarters had been expected to open on the same date next year.
But the plans are in a temporary holding pattern thanks to the dramatic hikes in material costs and shortages.
"We are still struggling with the inflation ... and are looking at options as we go forward," said Council President Rick Ryfa, R-3rd.
No alternate construction dates have been determined at this point as the council studies how to deal with the problem.
"We have to figure out a way to get this at budget ... after we look at lots of things, including alternative material choices and other stuff," Ryfa said in March.
The council would like the project to cost under $10 million.
Some materials have risen in price around 20%, Ryfa noted in March, while adding that HVAC, electrical and plumbing were 40% to 50% more expensive than in October.
Once it rises from the drawing board, the two-story building will pay homage to historic Griffith architecture.
The 24,000 square-foot facility will stand behind the old town hall and police buildings, which sit on Broad Street just north of Main Street.
These buildings will be torn down to give extra parking to downtown customers and for visitors to the new joint facility.
The council also announced a public hearing on a major increase in water bills.
The rate hike is due to a 176% increase over a 10-year span from Hammond.
Under the current proposal, Griffith's new rates are expected to rise, in stages, about 26%.
The first 15% would be immediate, with another 7.5% in three years, followed three years later with a 3.44% hike.
"The public hearing is going to be scheduled for the next Town Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 2," said Michelle Velez, council assistant and Griffith events director.
Gallery: The Times Photos of the Week
Park Full of Art
Park Full of Art
Park Full of Art
Park Full of Art
Park Full of Art
Three-legged fair contestant steals he show
Interactive play area in the Crown Point Library
Interactive play area in the Crown Point Library
Dedication of court in honor Judge Mary Harper
Dedication of court in honor Judge Mary Harper
Dedication of court in honor Judge Mary Harper
Lake County Historical Museum celebrating 40th anniversary
Lake County cop and civilian vehicle collide in Gary; state police reportedly called in
Lake County cop and civilian vehicle collide in Gary; state police reportedly called in
071322-spt-bbm-midwest_10
071322-spt-bbm-midwest_9
071322-spt-bbm-midwest_5
Families displaced after apartment building in Hobart shuts down
Since its opening in 1974, when the art show had 54 entries, Park Full of Art has grown to attract up to 5,000 visitors. This year’s show has 44 entries. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/griffith/griffiths-new-town-hall-on-hold/article_7cae2929-cdd9-522f-a2c7-06fb8ca62155.html | 2022-07-22T18:43:46 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/griffith/griffiths-new-town-hall-on-hold/article_7cae2929-cdd9-522f-a2c7-06fb8ca62155.html |
BRIDGETON — A city man has been indicted on murder charges in the death of Jonathan Morris in January, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said Thursday.
Miguel Perez, 21, has been held in jail since his February detention hearing.
In addition to murder, Perez is charged with weapons offenses, desecration of human remains, evidence tampering, hindering, obstruction, escape and receiving stolen property.
He at some point tried to escape custody, according to the indictment.
BRIDGETON — Miguel Perez, the 21-year-old city man accused of murdering 23-year-old Jonathan…
Morris, 23, of Bridgeton, was found dead from a gunshot wound Jan. 31 in the snow alongside Archie Platt Road in Hopewell Township after his car was found abandoned elsewhere along the road. He had been reported missing the previous week.
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Perez is alleged to have dumped Morris' body along the road before abandoning his car.
Detectives previously said they also believe Perez returned to his home, where he was arrested, to try displacing evidence of the crime. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bridgeton-man-indicted-in-murder-of-man-found-dead-in-snow/article_5e1a5e82-09bd-11ed-bbce-7fca4bee08e5.html | 2022-07-22T18:48:03 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bridgeton-man-indicted-in-murder-of-man-found-dead-in-snow/article_5e1a5e82-09bd-11ed-bbce-7fca4bee08e5.html |
BRIDGETON — Police are investigating a residential break-in on Chestnut Avenue in which $15,000 worth of items was stolen.
Police were called to the home at 10:34 p.m. after the resident came home and found the house in disarray. Items stolen included leaf blowers, vehicle detailing equipment, a vacuum cleaner and vehicle rims, police said.
Anyone with information about the break-in can call police at 856-451-0033 or visit bpd.tips. All tips are anonymous. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bridgeton-police-probe-residential-break-in/article_ee4f7b62-09be-11ed-be84-67d8d8a3db07.html | 2022-07-22T18:48:10 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bridgeton-police-probe-residential-break-in/article_ee4f7b62-09be-11ed-be84-67d8d8a3db07.html |
ATLANTIC CITY — A Millville man in possession of two handguns, including one that was stolen, was arrested after fleeing officers, police said Friday.
At 3:55 a.m. Monday, Officers William Harned and Adrianna Petinga, who were on detail in the 3000 block of the Boardwalk assisting with a large crowd, observed Marquise Milledge, 26, drop what they believed to be a handgun, police said in a news release.
As officers watched Milledge attempt to retrieve the gun, they gave him a verbal command to not pick up the weapon, police said. But Milledge refused the commands, picked up the gun and fled west on the Boardwalk.
Officers pursued and watched Milledge leave the Boardwalk at Chelsea Avenue with the gun in hand, police said. They called for backup and continued pursuit over one city block. Milledge was then apprehended in the second block of South Chelsea Avenue by Officers Fitzroy Simpson and Joseph Kelly Jr.
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ATLANTIC CITY — A retired Pennsylvania Catholic high school teacher is accused of attempting…
A search revealed Milledge to be in possession of a second handgun in his waistband. Both guns were found to be loaded and fitted with high-capacity magazines. One of the guns was loaded with hollow-point ammunition, police said.
Police determined one of the guns was reported stolen out of Vineland. Milledge also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Bridgeton.
Milledge was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, two counts of possession of a high-capacity magazine, possession of hollow-point ammunition, receiving stolen property and two counts of obstruction.
He is being held at the Atlantic County jail. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/millville-man-with-two-handguns-arrested-in-atlantic-city/article_127a6f82-09e3-11ed-9507-b7ef3580c352.html | 2022-07-22T18:48:16 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/millville-man-with-two-handguns-arrested-in-atlantic-city/article_127a6f82-09e3-11ed-9507-b7ef3580c352.html |
A coalition that has protested the governor over segregation in New Jersey schools is now taking aim at NAACP leadership.
The groups Building One America and the New Jersey Coalition Against Racial Exclusion, or NJ-CARE, said in a letter dated July 18 that they lacked confidence in NAACP New Jersey State Conference President Richard Smith. They questioned whether he could be an effective advocate for change, owing to his stint as warden of the Cumberland County Jail — an institution that itself has been at the center of multiple civil rights controversies and a federal investigation.
The coalition's principle objective has been to push the Murphy administration to integrate New Jersey schools and make classrooms more diverse.
Smith said Friday via text message that he took pride in his time leading the jail. He listed several new programs he introduced as warden that were designed to advance rights and opportunities for inmates.
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"I'm proud of what I tried to do during my tenure at the jail and would do nothing differently," Smith said.
The state conference president also questioned how his tenure as warden was related to school segregation.
"This is supposedly about school segregation which we (NAACP) have been out front on," Smith said. "It is abhorrent that they are making this personal."
In January 2017, the body then known as the Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders appointed Smith warden. He served for four years, resigning just before the release of a federal inquiry into inmate suicides and mental health.
The jail did not take adequate action to prevent suicides and provide inmates with mental health care, according to a U.S. Department of Justice report in January 2021. The report said the jail failed to properly treat inmates undergoing opiate withdrawal, especially when it came to providing medicine-assisted treatment, heightening risks of self-harm and suicide. The report further alleged that the jail did not provide proper oversight to inmates on suicide watch, while making suicide-watch conditions excessively harsh. The DOJ maintained that jail operations from the period of 2014 through the course of its investigation amounted to violations of inmates’ rights under the Eighth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Five of the seven suicides discussed in the 24-page report took place before the Smith’s tenure as warden began and a Department of Justice release about the report credited jail administrators for their cooperation.
Smith noted that he introduced multiple jail reforms. He secured federal assistance to open a job-readiness program inside the jail to prepare inmates for life after release. He also introduced a drug-dog team to prevent the smuggling of contraband hazardous to inmates inside the jail, particularly drugs. And to complement an NAACP-backed state law expanding the franchise to 83,000 people on probation or parole, Smith started an initiative to register non-convicted inmates to vote-by-mail.
The report nevertheless identified major problems with the jail’s operations and mental health protocols for a period of time that overlapped with Smith’s tenure.
Multiple inmates who spoke to federal investigators during a 2018 site visit to the jail described the suicide-watch program functioning as punishment rather than protection. One jail staff member reported witnessing correction officers and nurses placing inmates on suicide watch out of “malice” rather than a concern for their safety.
“They treat you like an animal,” one inmate said in the report when describing being put on suicide watch. “It’s not help. It’s torture.”
Smith blamed substandard operations in the jail on the Cumberland County correction union, the PBA Local 231.
"We were fought at every turn by a corrupt union who defended incompetent employees and made it known that they would do everything in their power to ensure that I and my Deputy Warden Charles Warren would fail," Smith said.
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners has tried to close the jail. Those plans have been frustrated by the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners and its rejection of a proposal to expand its jail to hold Cumberland County inmates.
Local 231 has criticized the county and Smith for failing to give staff the support and resources they and inmates need. The union opposes the closing of the jail because it would cost the community local jobs.
In December 2020, toward the end of Smith’s tenure, inmates filed a federal, class-action lawsuit against the jail over its COVID-19 pandemic protocols. The plaintiffs alleged that procedures to limit the spread of the coronavirus were insufficient in keeping them safe. Sixty inmates and 19 correction officers had been infected with the coronavirus by December 2020, and several died of COVID-19.
Building One America and NJ-CARE delivered the letter mentioning its concerns about Smith to U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke on Monday as she was speaking at the NAACP National Convention in Atlantic City. The letter also said that the groups would consider filing a federal complaint against the state over what it argues is its lack of effort to integrate schools in violation of federal civil rights law.
Steve Young, the president of the South Jersey branch of the National Action Network, was among the activist who delivered the letter to Clarke on Monday. He echoed NJ-CARE’s censure of both the governor over school segregation and the NAACP state conference president.
“NAACP leadership cannot simply sweep under the rug the massive civil rights violations against prison inmates and children, two of the most abused, helpless, and powerless groups of people in our society, especially when they are poor, Black and brown,” Young said in an NJ-CARE news release issued before they delivered the letter to Clarke. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/group-targets-state-naacp-head-over-cumberland-jail-leadership/article_3070ec2e-0901-11ed-ae3f-5ba3dc1de6d4.html | 2022-07-22T18:48:22 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/group-targets-state-naacp-head-over-cumberland-jail-leadership/article_3070ec2e-0901-11ed-ae3f-5ba3dc1de6d4.html |
Here’s an update of the COVID-19 numbers in the state
New positive cases: 3,722
New deaths: 10
Total positive cases: 2,188,876
Total number of deaths: 31,113
Total vaccine doses administered: 14,129,391
Rate of transmission: 1.08
CASES BY COUNTY
Atlantic: 61,673 cases, 957 deaths, 380,446 doses administered
Cape May: 12,213 cases, 264 deaths, 134,394 doses administered
Cumberland: 36,298 cases, 578 deaths, 186,712 doses administered
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Ocean: 150,023 cases, 2,872 deaths, 703,362 doses administered
Figures as of 1 p.m. July 22
Source: N.J. Department of Health | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-more-than-3-700-new-covid-19-cases-10-new-deaths-rate/article_73f3523a-09e6-11ed-89f0-736259e74495.html | 2022-07-22T18:48:28 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-jersey-reports-more-than-3-700-new-covid-19-cases-10-new-deaths-rate/article_73f3523a-09e6-11ed-89f0-736259e74495.html |
'This field will not bounce back:' Drought has Rhode Island farmers praying for rain
EXETER — Milan Adams runs his hand over the parched grass. The earth is hard. The grass, what’s left of it, doesn’t look like timothy hay.
“The ground here is pure dust,” he said Wednesday. “This field will not bounce back. We’ll have to reseed.”
His father, Earl, told him that this is the “worst drought he’s seen in 42 years.”
The Adamses, fourth-generation farmers who own 700 acres in Exeter, 150 in hay, say they haven’t seen any rain since May. Their first cut of hay was 30% below average, and, unless they get some drenching rain soon, they won’t have a second cut.
“We’re in this little pocket where the rain goes around us,” said Milan, who is 31 and has two young children.
Past drought:R.I. emerges from its 'most intense period' of drought in years
Water restrictions imposed in some towns
The National Weather Service says nearly all of Rhode Island is in a moderate drought, the second level of the five categories, ranging from abnormally dry to exceptional. (The state's south coast and Block Island are listed as abnormally dry, but not yet in drought.)
A moderate drought is characterized by some damage to crops, voluntary water restrictions and streams and wells running low.
Through Thursday, the Weather Service says, Providence has received less than half an inch of precipitation in July, about a quarter of what it would normally receive.
Water restrictions are in effect for parts of South Kingstown and Narragansett; Warwick has announced similar measures.
Heat wave:Providence went 320 days without reaching 90 degrees. That's about to change
“It’s bad, and we’re only in the beginning of it,” said Henry Wright, president of the Rhode Island Farm Bureau. “We’ve got to finish July, and then we have all of August and September.
“This will be one of the top five droughts since 1950, and I’m 77 years old,” he said. “This didn’t come on us with a vengeance, like two years ago. It’s been slowly building.”
According to the National Weather Service data, precipitation has been below normal in Providence every month since March, with the exception of June.
The Scituate Reservoir is approximately 91% full, slightly below the historical average for this time of year. Providence Water experienced similar water levels during the summers of 2018 and 2020. Both times, the reservoir recovered fully and was full for the following spring.
Since the Adamses’ farm didn’t get much rain this winter and April was a bust, the growing season began with a deficit and it’s only gotten worse.
The orchard grass, while still green, should be 2 feet tall by now, but it’s as short as a crew cut.
Which parts of RI have been hit hardest?
“Most of the dramatic situations are in the southern part of the state,” said Ken Ayars, chief of the Rhode Division of Agriculture and Forest Environment, part of the state Department of Environmental Management.
As the drought deepens, Ayars is reaching out to farmers and nursery owners to determine what, if anything, they need in advance of any state or federal drought designations.
Climate change:NOAA says New England's temps are warming, sea levels rising faster than the global rate
Farms in southern Rhode Island have been particularly hard-hit because storms that move from west to east are consumed by the ocean, which eats up the moisture. A tropical storm, however, pulls the rain right in.
“That’s why farmers are looking for a tropical storm,” Wright said. “It’s the nature of where we live.”
The Adams family (it’s a multigenerational operation) doesn’t irrigate because it’s too expensive.
“We can’t rebound without water,” Milan Adams said. “We have a wetter field. This is the first time it’s come up dry.”
A one-two punch for farmers: Drought plus high fuel costs
If southern Rhode Island stays dry, he predicts the price of hay will go through the roof.
Factor in the skyrocketing price of diesel fuel — up from $2 a gallon to $6 — and farmers are watching their profits disappear into their tractors’ tanks.
Farmers in Rhode Island are not in it for the money. Most, like Adams, who sells insurance to farmers, have second jobs.
So why does he do it?
“The love of sitting on a tractor,” Adams said. “We work as a team. My dad and I are on tractors, my mom is running supplies, and my wife and kids are running food and water. People like to take vacations. We do this.”
'Like when you are standing on a cliff and an earthquake is coming'
Richard Manfredi raises 40 acres of sweet corn, tomatoes and strawberries in Westerly. He said it’s not that bad yet, then paused and said, “It’s like when you are standing on a cliff and an earthquake is coming.
“I’ve seen it so dry, you can’t see the wheel marks of a tractor,” he said.
But his pond went dry last weekend, and he relies on drip irrigation to water his crops — he pumps 500 gallons a minute. Luckily, the state Department of Environmental Management allows farmers to dig out their ponds to get the water flowing again. That’s what Manfredi did.
“We took a couple hundred yards out of the bottom,” he said. “It’s like a well. The more you use it, the more water you get.”
Here comes the heat:Guidance on how Rhode Islanders can stay healthy and safe.
Manfredi, a third-generation farmer, said finding labor is the biggest challenge.
“No one wants to farm,” he said, a sentiment shared by Adams. “We do it with me, my daughter and my son. To hire a laborer, you’d be babysitting them.”
Still, at 73, Manfredi has to pace himself.
“I work from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.,” he said. “I’ve been known to take a nap in the afternoon, hide in the cooler, and take a cold-water break.”
A farmer is subject to the vagaries of nature — the depredation of birds and coyotes, the wind and rain, the 90-plus degree temperatures.
“You learn to take it on the chin or you wouldn’t still be farming,” Manfredi said. “We’re not in it to get rich. It’s a lifestyle, something you grow up with. The hard work doesn’t bother us. We don’t go to the beach and say it’s too hot.” | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/07/22/ri-drought-affecting-farmers-could-get-worse-water-restrictions/10115160002/ | 2022-07-22T18:51:54 | 1 | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/07/22/ri-drought-affecting-farmers-could-get-worse-water-restrictions/10115160002/ |
PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — Two teenagers died Thursday night in a single-vehicle accident in Placer County.
According to a California Highway Patrol accident report, it happened around 10 p.m. on SR 193, west of Dutch Court.
When officers got to the scene, they found a white Mini Cooper had hit a tree on the north shoulder of the road and caught fire.
The driver and passenger, an 18-year-old and 16-year-old, were pronounced dead. CHP says speed appears to be a factor in the crash. The names of the two teenagers who died have not been released. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/placer-county-crash-teens-killed/103-b3fbb488-ca5e-41ed-a3f7-2d3d91388349 | 2022-07-22T18:56:25 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/placer-county-crash-teens-killed/103-b3fbb488-ca5e-41ed-a3f7-2d3d91388349 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — If you think vintage fashion, jazz nights, or a peach festival sound fun, that goes to show there's something for everyone this weekend in Northern California.
The weather this weekend heats back up, reaching highs in the low 100s with a southwest breeze so gather up some friends and family members, or even go solo, but head out and enjoy.
Whether you'd like to go out, stay in, or a bit of both, here are some events for your weekend!
Feast on the sweet taste of fresh peaches, peach ice cream, peach donuts, peach pies, peach lemonade, peach hard cider, peach sangria, peach pastries and much more! Come and celebrate the harvest of this peachy keen summertime fruit.
- 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Friday, July 22, through Sunday, July 24
- Located at Apple Hill (2952 Carson Road, Placerville)
- Organized by Boa Vista Apple Farms
- More information about this event HERE.
Concerts in the Park returns this summer, and the Groove Thang Band plans to make their mark! Bring your friends, family, blankets and lawn chairs to this free concert, chill out and jam out.
- 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23
- Located at the Daniel Bishop Memorial Pavilion in Carmichael Park (5750 Grant Ave., Carmichael)
- Organized by Carmichael Park
- More information about this event HERE.
Over 90 vendors selling everything from vintage fashion, rare sneakers, hype fashion, local brands, arts and crafts, home goods, and of course food from Sacramento's best food trucks and food vendors.
- 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sunday, July 24
- Located at Diamond Autosport (912 Enterprise Dr., Sacramento)
- Organized by Fly Market By FVME
- More information about this event HERE.
Come and enjoy live music from Ryan Cassata, DJ Subeaux, and Silliness, bring your own everything, and make friends! Chill at Southside Park with Sacramento's queer community.
- 4-8 p.m. Saturday, July 23
- Located at Southside Park (2115 6th St., Sacramento)
- Organized by Erin Mahoney and Zaheer Subeaux
- More information about this event HERE.
Watch a mix of unique, diverse music and entertainment as Lions of the North, Island of Black & White, and Clark Halyn take the stage at the Fountains!
- 6-9 p.m. Saturday, July 23
- Located at Fountains at Roseville (1013 Galleria Blvd., Roseville)
- Organized by Fountains at Roseville
- More information about this event HERE.
Grab your favorite workout attire and head down to The Old Sugar Mill for some food trucks, fitness, and fun! There will be yoga sessions, bottomless mimosas, paint and sips, a self-care market, music by DJ Stace, and more.
- 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sunday, July 24
- Located at Old Sugar Mill Winery (35265 Willow Ave., Clarksburg)
- Organized by Old Sugar Mill and Self Care Sundays Sacramento
- More information about this event HERE.
PLAN YOUR WEEKEND:
► FORECAST DETAILS | Check out our hourly forecast and radar pages
► GET WEATHER ALERTS TO YOUR PHONE | Download the ABC10 mobile app
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This event is to create an opportunity for networking while providing a space that uplifts women through shared cultural experiences. This year’s theme is The Art of Networking: Celebrating Culture & Community. There will be music by DJ Genectixx, brunch with mimosas, vendors, prizes and more!
- 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Sunday, July 24
- Located at The Atrium at Woodlake (1431 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento)
- Organized by SDW Consulting & Training
- More information about this event HERE.
Dress up and enjoy a night filled with jazz and pizzazz! There will be delicious food, beautiful people, and free jazz music by Darlene and Friends under the stars for The Original House of Soul's Summer Concert Series.
- 6-9 p.m. Saturday, July 23
- Located at The Original House of Soul (900 2nd St. Ste. E, Sacramento)
- Organized by The Original House of Soul
- More information about this event HERE.
Meet up with some neighbors for fresh produce, shopping, eating, and a morning full of good vibes. There will be local farmers, artisans, chefs, food trucks, live music, and lots of local fun!
- 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, July 23
- Located at Sutter Health Park (400 Ballpark Dr., West Sacramento)
- Organized by NeighborGood Market and The Bridge District
- More information about this event HERE.
Join Black businesses, entrepreneurs, and real estate agents for brunch, networking, and fun! There will be good vibes, food, drinks, games, learning materials, and more.
- Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 23
- Located at The Co-Op Spot (317 12th St., Sacramento)
- Organized by Black Business Clique
- More information about this event HERE.
J.J. Pfister will be celebrating its 5th Anniversary with a carnival-themed party – and the whole family is invited! There will be live music, carnival games, raffles, BBQ and craft cocktails.
- 1-6 p.m. Saturday, July 23
- Located at J.J. Pfister Distilling Company (9819 Business Park Dr. Suite 3, Sacramento)
- Organized by J.J. Pfister Distilling Company
- More information about this event HERE.
LOOKING FOR SOMEWHERE TO GO? HIT BARTELL'S BACKROADS:
► See an interactive map of everywhere John has visited on the backroads
► Watch all of the Backroads videos
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: 'Bring a cool towel' California State Fair 2022 enters first full week of operation | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/10-weekend-events-northern-california/103-95437f89-067b-4d76-bca5-0c15eb155b25 | 2022-07-22T18:56:32 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/10-weekend-events-northern-california/103-95437f89-067b-4d76-bca5-0c15eb155b25 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Wake up with ABC10 Morning News in its brand new studio starting Monday, July 25.
The morning shows will include Walt Gray; Brea Love, who is currently on maternity leave; and Concetta Callahan. Also joining them are Meteorologist Rob Carlmark, Traffic Anchor Jordan Tolbert, seven-time Emmy Award Winning Reporter Mark S. Allen, Monica Coleman and Devin Trubey.
Walt Gray said people can expect a fast-paced newscast with as much information in the shortest amount of time.
"I want to send people out their door into a fresh, new morning not feeling beaten down. Informed, not depressed. That’s my goal," Gray said.
Viewers can also expect to see the smiling face of ABC10's newest anchor Concetta Callahan. Callahan joins ABC10 most recently from KDBC in El Paso, Texas.
"I can’t wait to go from the anchor desk out into the field and really get to know the community. We tell the best stories when we know our audience and who we are talking to," Callahan said.
Callahan said she is looking forward to sharing human-interest stories including helping solve a problem for a viewer when they feel like they have nowhere else to turn.
STAY INFORMED WITH ABC10:
► ABC10 On Demand: Get access to our local news, live programming and weather with the free ABC10 app for Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
Tune in for your local weather forecast with Meteorologist Rob Carlmark that goes beyond the numbers to tell you what you need to start your day.
"We will have weather and traffic every 10 minutes. We understand mornings are busy so we won’t make you wait long to get what you need for the day," Carlmark said.
Jordan Tolbert joins ABC10 as its newest Morning Traffic Anchor and Reporter.
"People keep saying you came at the best time because this really is a high-quality studio. There's going to be a lot of high-quality people here and I'm just really excited," Tolbert said.
Devin Trubey is also new to ABC10 as an anchor and reporter.
"I love it, it's so bright in here. I think that was my initial reaction. Second thought was it's kind of like Christmas in July because that's when we're showing all of you so it's a nice little surprise," Trubey said.
Mark S. Allen said there's rarely a day he doesn't see something positive in the world and that's what he likes to bring to the morning shows.
"I love celebrating heroes of all shapes and sizes, all cultures. Those are the people and places that are on the Mark," Allen said.
FOLLOW MARK S. ALLEN:
► Follow Mark on Facebook and Instagram
► See all of Mark's stories
► Watch Mark every weekday morning from 5 - 7 a.m.
Monica Coleman said she is looking forward to interviewing more live guests and experts in the studio.
ABC10 will start broadcasting from its new studio on Monday, July 25 at 11 a.m.
Watch more on ABC10 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/abc10-morning-news-studio-welcomes-anchor/103-f9570036-f0d2-4342-97f9-fb9ffe0eed21 | 2022-07-22T18:56:38 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/abc10-morning-news-studio-welcomes-anchor/103-f9570036-f0d2-4342-97f9-fb9ffe0eed21 |
LOMPOC, Calif. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Friday at 1:39 p.m. EDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California.
This is a launch that was srubbed yesterday at T-minus 46 seconds.
The launch carries another batch of Starlink internet satellites.
The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-launch-friday-lompoc/77-090561b3-4ce6-4a1f-9f59-2ddefabaa5b0 | 2022-07-22T18:56:44 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-launch-friday-lompoc/77-090561b3-4ce6-4a1f-9f59-2ddefabaa5b0 |
The Dallas Parks and Recreation Department is applying an herbicide Friday around White Rock Lake to kill what the USDA describes as "the most violently toxic plant that grows in North America."
The city said late Thursday afternoon that park staff was told that invasive water hemlock was growing in several areas around the lakefront in places where the plant could accidentally come into contact with people or animals.
Park visitors are advised to be aware of the plant and the serious danger it poses. The plant contains the toxin cicutoxin, which acts directly on the central nervous system and is a violent convulsant.
Symptoms can appear in as little as 10 minutes. Primary methods for poisoning are ingestion, however, skin contact may also cause a reaction and any person who contacts water hemlock is advised to call poison control immediately at 1-800-222-1222.
The USDA warns only a small amount of the toxin found in water hemlock can lead to grand mal seizures and death and that the toxic substances found in the plant react very quickly, often too quickly for medical treatment to be effective.
The plant is inconspicuous and can grow from about 1.5 to 3 feet tall and sprouts small clusters of white flowers in an umbrella formation. The leaves are long and thin and lead to notches, not tips.
"The plant may resemble common yarrow or cow parsnip that are also in the carrot/parsley family," the city said.
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Removing the plant is deemed an urgent priority. The USDA recommends spraying or grubbing the plant and, if grubbed, all plant material should be burned.
City officials said Thursday that hand pulling or mowing the invasive plant posed too great a risk and that a licensed Texas Department of Agriculture applicator will treat the areas along the lakefront Friday with Rodeo, an herbicide that the city said will dry up the plant and kill the roots, neutralizing any toxicity and threat to human health.
"While the department has not used glyphosate products around the lake in years, the current situation represents a unique threat to public health and Rodeo is the most effective product that will kill the plant including the roots," the city said in a statement Thursday.
The application of Rodeo will be targeted specifically toward water hemlock and not toward any other surrounding vegetation.
Water hemlock is not native to Texas. According to the USDA, the invasive plant is more common in the Western United States and "is commonly found in wet meadows and pastures and along the banks of streams. It starts growing in the spring. In the higher elevations, water hemlock flowers in June or July." | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/dallas-treats-highly-poisonous-water-hemlock-found-growing-around-white-rock-lake/3021699/ | 2022-07-22T18:57:57 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/dallas-treats-highly-poisonous-water-hemlock-found-growing-around-white-rock-lake/3021699/ |
SCRANTON, Pa. — A man involved in a shooting in Scranton is headed to prison.
Alamin Woods, 18, was sentenced Friday to nine and a half to 30 years in prison, followed by 15 years of probation.
Authorities say Woods and Jonathan Diaz were responsible for a shooting at the Valley View Terrace last August.
Both pleaded guilty back in May; Diaz to conspiracy and assault charges and Woods to attempted homicide.
Diaz was sentenced earlier this week.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/prison-sentence-for-scranton-shooting-valley-view-apartments/523-6ee89159-64ad-452d-b8e5-7e14a74a4bc5 | 2022-07-22T18:59:41 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/prison-sentence-for-scranton-shooting-valley-view-apartments/523-6ee89159-64ad-452d-b8e5-7e14a74a4bc5 |
STROUD TOWNSHIP, PA — Michael J. Bobitka, 61, was pronounced dead on Wednesday at Lehigh Valley Hospital following a motorcycle crash, according to Lehigh County coroner.
According to the Coroner's Office, the East Stroudsburg man operated a motorcycle that collided with another vehicle Wednesday evening in Stroud Township, Monroe County.
The incident is being investigated by regional police.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lehigh-county/one-dead-in-monroe-county-crash-east-stroudsburg-stroud-township-pennsylvania-accident-motorcyle-motorbike/523-e1c78921-4f0e-44ee-8c0b-b0a37824cd4c | 2022-07-22T18:59:47 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lehigh-county/one-dead-in-monroe-county-crash-east-stroudsburg-stroud-township-pennsylvania-accident-motorcyle-motorbike/523-e1c78921-4f0e-44ee-8c0b-b0a37824cd4c |
Twenty years ago, Lincoln embarked on an economic planning process that eventually led to the formation of the 2015 Vision group and produced huge projects such as Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Now, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and partners in both the public and private sectors are embarking on a new strategic planning process to plan out the next 15-20 years of what local economic development should look like.
The chamber has hired Broad Ripple Strategies, a consulting firm that has worked on strategic plans for more than 50 cities in 26 states and one Canadian province.
Alex Pearlstein, a principal with Broad Ripple Strategies, laid out the plan Friday morning to attendees at the chamber’s annual Economic Development Breakfast at the Cornhusker Marriott.
“Economic development has never been more critical than it is now,” Pearlstein told the crowd, highlighting major recent structural changes in the economy such as an increase in remote work.
One advantage Lincoln has, he said, is that it is moving into this next phase of strategic planning from a position of strength, with a vibrant economy, low unemployment and a wealth of successful, growing employers.
But communities can’t stand pat on current successes, Pearlstein said, and must plan for what comes next.
To that end, his firm will spend the next seven months engaging with people in the community to answer questions such as how Lincoln can capture the full potential of its assets, compete in a challenging talent market and be recognized nationally as a place people and companies want to be.
The planning process will have four phases starting with stakeholder engagement, followed by a community assessment, creation of an economic vitality strategy and then guidelines for implementation.
Pearlstein said the goals of the strategic planning process are to take Lincoln out of its comfort zone, establish priorities to take the “next big leap” and align partners behind a community mission.
Marc LeBaron, CEO of Lincoln Industries and chairman of the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development’s Board of Directors, said he “firmly believes this is the right time and the right process for our community.”
The stakeholder engagement part of the process has already begun, with Broad Ripple and the Chamber partnering to offer a survey open to anyone in Lincoln. The survey asks questions about what people see as Lincoln’s main challenges, opportunities and priorities in the coming years.
“You as the community have a critical role to play,” Pearlstein said, before he challenged attendees to break the record for responses to one of Broad Ripple’s community surveys, which currently stands at 6,500.
The undisclosed contribution from the National Guard Bureau will help cover a likely shortfall in what the Federal Aviation Administration is willing to pay to keep the airport's main runway at nearly 13,000 feet long.
The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission has given approval for WarHorse Gaming and the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association to begin work at Lincoln Race Course to accommodate the temporary casino.
The project is expected to employ 1,000 full-time workers who will work alongside robots to pick, pack and prepare items for delivery to front porches.
Plans call for demolishing the vacant building at 1030 O St. that was once home to Kuhl's Restaurant and putting up a six-story building with 70 apartments and underground parking.
The Lincoln company said it has plenty of employees and delays in sending rail cars to New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority are due mostly to supply chain issues. | https://journalstar.com/business/local/chamber-leaders-embark-on-planning-for-lincolns-next-big-leap/article_3705a0af-976f-52c1-812a-9fc1e24db3e9.html | 2022-07-22T19:18:02 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/business/local/chamber-leaders-embark-on-planning-for-lincolns-next-big-leap/article_3705a0af-976f-52c1-812a-9fc1e24db3e9.html |
ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL) — Washington County Fair officials revealed the 2022 entertainment lineup to take the stage during the 72nd annual event.
The fair, themed “Home Grown Fun: Celebrating the Bounty of Washington County,” will kick off on Monday, Sept. 12 and run through Saturday, Sept. 17.
News Channel 11 compiled a list of performances expected to make the fair a jam-packed event the entire family can enjoy.
- Monday, Sept. 12 — Two performances — one by Priscilla Block and another by Easton Corbin
- Tuesday, Sept. 13 — Clay Walker
- Wednesday, Sept. 14 — Drew Parker
- Thursday, Sept. 15 — ERNEST
- Friday, Sept. 16 — Chase Matthew
- Saturday, Sept. 17 — Presley Barker
Shows start at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for $10 for adults and free for children under 12 years old until Sept. 1. After that date, adult tickets go up to $15, and tickets for children under 12 are still free. Those interested can purchase a ticket here.
Reserved seating tickets are separate and are $15. Season ticket booklets are $50 until Sept. 1 and increase to $60 after that date.
Tickets go on sale July 28. For more information, click here. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/organizers-announce-washington-county-va-fair-lineup/ | 2022-07-22T19:19:42 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/organizers-announce-washington-county-va-fair-lineup/ |
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Eastman Chemical Co. alerted national authorities of a release of “an unknown oil substance” into the South Fork of the Holston River Friday morning, a Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) spokeswoman confirmed.
Kim Schofinski of TDEC said the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Response Center notified TDEC that Eastman had reported the release. In a 1:02 p.m. email, Schofinski said TDEC staff have been communicating with Eastman personnel and were en route to investigate the release, which occurred the same morning as an airborne emission of what Eastman has identified as iodine.
“The notification (from EPA) indicated that the facility had been shut down as a result while attempts to identify the substance were ongoing and downstream users were notified,” Schofinski said, adding that the Eastman issues represent “an ongoing situation.”
While News Channel 11 made inquiries to various agencies regarding the purple vapors seen above the facility, Sullivan County EMA Director Jim Bean said the agency had been notified of a power outage at Eastman, along with a “release that caused a sheen on the water.”
Information released by Eastman has not made any mention of a substance being released into the river. News Channel 11 has reached out to the chemical company for more details on the matter.
News Channel 11 has also requested TDEC provide any information it receives concerning the emission, which produced a purple plume of smoke in the air over Kingsport. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tdec-eastman-reported-release-of-unknown-oil-substance-into-river-same-day-as-outage/ | 2022-07-22T19:19:48 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tdec-eastman-reported-release-of-unknown-oil-substance-into-river-same-day-as-outage/ |
Summit's parking garage opens to the public on nights and weekends beginning Aug. 8
LAKELAND — Lakeland visitors will soon gain access to additional free public parking on nights and weekends in the heart of downtown.
Summit Consulting will open two levels of its high-rise office's parking garage to the public on nights and weekends beginning Aug. 8. The building is located at 117 N. Massachusetts Ave. close to downtown Munn Park and off the Lake Mirror promenade.
"As part of the sales agreement, we structured the contract to allow for public parking in Summit Consulting’s garage when it isn’t being utilized by employees," City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said. "This agreement is a win-win because parking garages are extremely expensive, and this public-private partnership provides public parking spaces on nights and weekends when we need it most."
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Under its $2.5 million contract with the city, Summit will allow public access to 150 covered parking spots on the first and second floors of its garage. These spaces will be available Mondays to Fridays, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., and weekends from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2022/07/22/lakeland-parking-150-downtown-spaces-open-nights-weekends/10105252002/ | 2022-07-22T19:24:30 | 0 | https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2022/07/22/lakeland-parking-150-downtown-spaces-open-nights-weekends/10105252002/ |
HAMILTON COUNTY, Texas — The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office announced the indictment of 22 people in a massive methamphetamine trafficking ring Thursday.
Dubbed "Operation Long Reach" the investigation began in October, 2019, according to Sheriff Justin Caraway.
Caraway said the ring stretched across multiple counties including Erath, Hamilton, Comanche, Hill, Bosque, Tarrant, Dallas, Bexar and Hood.
“This was a great effort to stop the flow of narcotics to our rural communities and sends a message to those who may try to deal meth in the future in Hamilton County," said Caraway.
It should be noted that five other Defendants were federally indicted directly linked to Operation Long Reach within other Agencies criminal investigations. Information from the HCSO’s investigation was used to help sentence those individuals as well.
Liquid methamphetamine was smuggled into the U.S. and transported to the Dallas Fort Worth area. It was converted into crystal methamphetamine and sold in kilogram quantities, according to Caraway.
Investigators spent more than 200 hours conducting interviews. Much of their investigation focused on social media transcripts of conversations between drug traffickers, dealers and users, Caraway said.
The defendants were directly linked to the Mexican Cartel, Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, Aryan Circle, Tango Blast and Bloods criminal street gangs.
"The investigation continues with more arrests still to come. We feel there are more Defendants still tied to this criminal enterprise and we will not stop until each one is brought to justice."
22 suspects indicted in Texas-wide meth distribution ring
The list of defendants includes the following:
1) Ricky Castillo, 35, of Irving, Texas
2) Brandon Leon Kimberling, 25, of Dallas, Texas
3) Desiree Traxel, 25, of Dallas, Texas
4) Sandi Kristine Villicana, 33 of Arlington, Texas
5) Chad Anthony Hughes, 41, of Dallas, Texas
6) Kevin Priesley Srader, 33, of Hamilton, Texas
7) Kristin Nicole O’Dell, 33, of Stephenville, Texas
8) Justin Scott Allbright, 35, of Stephenville, Texas
9) Michael Brandon Downey, of Stephenville, Texas
10) Sandra Fay Rhodes, 33, of Hico, Texas
11) Cathlene Cecile Callahan, 35, of Hico, Texas
12) Jeffrey Don Champion, 36, of Stephenville, Texas
13) James Edwin Smith, 43, of Stephenville, Texas
14) Dustie Lee Been, 22, of Stephenville, Texas
15) Cassandra Bower, 37, of Dallas, Texas
16) Genna Ann Long, 47, of Stephenville, Texas
17) Lyndon Kale Coker, 42, of Hico, Texas
18) Jerry DeWayne Knight, 30, of Stephenville, Texas
19) Kendon “Keno” DaWayne Baker, 34, of Stephenville, Texas
20) Lois Ann Srader, 41, of Stephenville, Texas
21) Claud Thomas Taylor, 42, of Stephenville, Texas
22) Megan Diane Cameron, 24, of Stephenville, Texas
If convicted each defendant can be sentenced to not less than 10 years and not more than life imprisonment, a fine not exceeding $10 million, or both; supervised release of at least five years.
Operation Long Reach found the defendants were responsible for the distribution of a minimum of 500 kilograms of methamphetamine (1,100 pounds) with a street dealer value in excess of 24 million dollars, according to Caraway. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/22-indicted-in-multi-county-drug-trafficking-ring-connected-to-mexican-cartel/500-4586d344-7e16-435f-9e66-a762f4c5b131 | 2022-07-22T19:27:23 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/22-indicted-in-multi-county-drug-trafficking-ring-connected-to-mexican-cartel/500-4586d344-7e16-435f-9e66-a762f4c5b131 |
PLANO, Texas — A Dallas man has been arrested and charged in connection with multiple bank robberies across Dallas-Fort Worth, federal officials announced Friday.
Mark Robert Disch, 53, has been charged with two counts of bank robbery.
Disch was arrested on Tuesday after he was alleged to have robbed five Texas banks between May 25 and June 27. The banks were located in Lewisville, Arlington, DeSoto, Sulphur Springs and University Park, federal officials said in a release.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said law enforcement officers and federal agents were able to identify Disch and determine he was in the immediate vicinity of each bank robbery by using video surveillance and witness accounts.
If convicted, Disch faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
More Texas headlines: | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-plano-bank-robberies/287-a3500b27-8591-4685-bdb0-8143cebaaee8 | 2022-07-22T19:27:29 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-plano-bank-robberies/287-a3500b27-8591-4685-bdb0-8143cebaaee8 |
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — After over 100 hours of designing and nearly a month of anxiously awaiting results, a Pasco County teen won first place in a national competition for her gown made out of duct tape.
Grace Vaughn's dress, inspired by the Yin and Yang theory, won first place in the dress category for Duck brand's Stuck at Prom 2022 Scholarship Contest. Chidinma Onwuliri of Mississauga, Ontario took home the prize for Best Tux.
There were over 100 entries in the competition.
Vaughn, a 17-year-old Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School rising senior, will be awarded a $10,000 cash scholarship to help fund her dream of studying fashion and design at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
The teen was in North Carolina for a running camp when she got an email Wednesday that started with the word "congratulations."
"I said, 'Oh my gosh, this is it,'" Vaughn said.
She had to keep her accomplishment a secret until it was officially announced by Duck brand later in the day.
"Each of our contestants had a special story to tell this year, from hoping to empower others with their designs to pushing their artistic abilities to the limit, and they should all be very proud of their Duck Tape® looks," said Ashley Luke, the senior product manager at Shurtape Technologies, LLC, the company that markets the Duck brand in a statement.
For Vaughn, the reward goes much deeper than just a cash prize.
"I was super excited because I knew that it was kind of the first step into my fashion career," she said.
Vaughn has dreamed of going to SCAD since her freshman year of high school. A recruiter from the college came to her school showing pamphlets of designs and creations from students as well as the campus.
She even got to visit the college during the summer of 2021.
"I loved how the campus was really in tune with the city of Savannah," she said. "It was everything I would hope it would be."
The scholarship prize will help immensely to cover costs, she said, and it feels good to have one of her designs recognized.
"I think I'm pretty shocked that people like it this much," the teen joked.
Her mother, Krissy Vaughn, is elated to see her daughter's hard work pay off. She watched the dress come to life over the 143 hours it took her to finish.
"As I watched her work on it in the family room, I really had no idea what was going to happen because she just works meticulously and focused," Krissy said. "I was pretty blown away that it came out to look like that."
Not only will the scholarship be a huge help, but it'll be great for her resume when she applies to fashion school, she said. She's excited to see people recognize Vaughn's creativity and talent.
"We see it all the time, but its hard to have everyone else see that," she said. "We're very proud of her, and we know she'll be doing great things. It is just a matter of watching it all unfold." | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/pasco-teens-dress-duct-tape-places-national-competition/67-c569fa5e-a3ca-4dbe-a4aa-ac852f3c27cf | 2022-07-22T19:27:35 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/pasco-teens-dress-duct-tape-places-national-competition/67-c569fa5e-a3ca-4dbe-a4aa-ac852f3c27cf |
FORT WORTH, Texas — A 23-year-old man died in custody at the Tarrant County jail on Wednesday, but few details have been released and the man's family is demanding answers from authorities.
Trelynn Wormley was found unresponsive in his cell at 3:11 p.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.
Other inmates had notified jail officers about Wormley, who then "began receiving medical attention within seconds from JPS Medical Staff" who work at the jail, the release said.
Wormley was taken to the JPS Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Officials said Wormley was booked into the jail on Jan. 25 on charges of aggravated robbery, unlawful carrying of a weapon, and theft. He also faced charges of failure to identify by giving false information, fraudulent use of identification information and harassment of a public servant.
More information about Wormley's death was not released by the sheriff's office.
His mother, Cassandra Johnson, held a news conference outside of the jail on Friday and demanded more information about how her son died.
"I was justice for my son," Johnson said.
Johnson said she was not notified of her son's death from the sheriff's office; instead, she found out in a call from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.
Johnson said her son suffered from a brain injury after getting shot in the head two years ago. She said she tried to voice her concerns about his care at the jail. On Tuesday, she said, she spoke to her son on the phone, describing him as "happy go lucky, yet in pain."
"I want [the jail] to know why they didn't hear my voice?" Johnson said. "Why did my son die in Tarrant County?"
Officials said multiple agencies are investigating the death, including the sheriff's office, Fort Worth police, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, hospital staff and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
The Tarrant County Jail has been accused in recent months of its handling of inmates.
In April, a woman with severe intellectual disabilities was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator after a 10-day stay at the jail, her family told WFAA.
The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Kelly Masten was booked at the county jail on an assault charge from April 12 to April 21 and that officials are investigating what happened during her time there.
The Masten incident came on the heels of other scrutiny facing the jail over inmate safety issues.
In three years from 2016 through 2018, the Tarrant County jail recorded three in-custody deaths. From 2019 through 2021, though, the jail recorded 36 deaths, according to data from an open records request. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/trelynn-wormley-23-year-old-man-dies-in-custody-at-tarrant-county-jail/287-0940e6cb-d6dc-4405-840f-956a03bf1d72 | 2022-07-22T19:27:41 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/trelynn-wormley-23-year-old-man-dies-in-custody-at-tarrant-county-jail/287-0940e6cb-d6dc-4405-840f-956a03bf1d72 |
HAMILTON COUNTY, Texas — The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office announced the indictment of 22 people in a massive methamphetamine trafficking ring Thursday.
Dubbed "Operation Long Reach" the investigation began in October, 2019, according to Sheriff Justin Caraway.
Caraway said the ring stretched across multiple counties including Erath, Hamilton, Comanche, Hill, Bosque, Tarrant, Dallas, Bexar and Hood.
“This was a great effort to stop the flow of narcotics to our rural communities and sends a message to those who may try to deal meth in the future in Hamilton County," said Caraway.
It should be noted that five other Defendants were federally indicted directly linked to Operation Long Reach within other Agencies criminal investigations. Information from the HCSO’s investigation was used to help sentence those individuals as well.
Liquid methamphetamine was smuggled into the U.S. and transported to the Dallas Fort Worth area. It was converted into crystal methamphetamine and sold in kilogram quantities, according to Caraway.
Investigators spent more than 200 hours conducting interviews. Much of their investigation focused on social media transcripts of conversations between drug traffickers, dealers and users, Caraway said.
The defendants were directly linked to the Mexican Cartel, Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, Aryan Circle, Tango Blast and Bloods criminal street gangs.
"The investigation continues with more arrests still to come. We feel there are more Defendants still tied to this criminal enterprise and we will not stop until each one is brought to justice."
22 suspects indicted in Texas-wide meth distribution ring
The list of defendants includes the following:
1) Ricky Castillo, 35, of Irving, Texas
2) Brandon Leon Kimberling, 25, of Dallas, Texas
3) Desiree Traxel, 25, of Dallas, Texas
4) Sandi Kristine Villicana, 33 of Arlington, Texas
5) Chad Anthony Hughes, 41, of Dallas, Texas
6) Kevin Priesley Srader, 33, of Hamilton, Texas
7) Kristin Nicole O’Dell, 33, of Stephenville, Texas
8) Justin Scott Allbright, 35, of Stephenville, Texas
9) Michael Brandon Downey, of Stephenville, Texas
10) Sandra Fay Rhodes, 33, of Hico, Texas
11) Cathlene Cecile Callahan, 35, of Hico, Texas
12) Jeffrey Don Champion, 36, of Stephenville, Texas
13) James Edwin Smith, 43, of Stephenville, Texas
14) Dustie Lee Been, 22, of Stephenville, Texas
15) Cassandra Bower, 37, of Dallas, Texas
16) Genna Ann Long, 47, of Stephenville, Texas
17) Lyndon Kale Coker, 42, of Hico, Texas
18) Jerry DeWayne Knight, 30, of Stephenville, Texas
19) Kendon “Keno” DaWayne Baker, 34, of Stephenville, Texas
20) Lois Ann Srader, 41, of Stephenville, Texas
21) Claud Thomas Taylor, 42, of Stephenville, Texas
22) Megan Diane Cameron, 24, of Stephenville, Texas
If convicted each defendant can be sentenced to not less than 10 years and not more than life imprisonment, a fine not exceeding $10 million, or both; supervised release of at least five years.
Operation Long Reach found the defendants were responsible for the distribution of a minimum of 500 kilograms of methamphetamine (1,100 pounds) with a street dealer value in excess of 24 million dollars, according to Caraway. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/22-indicted-in-multi-county-drug-trafficking-ring-connected-to-mexican-cartel/500-4586d344-7e16-435f-9e66-a762f4c5b131 | 2022-07-22T19:28:19 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/22-indicted-in-multi-county-drug-trafficking-ring-connected-to-mexican-cartel/500-4586d344-7e16-435f-9e66-a762f4c5b131 |
CALIFORNIA, USA — California has become the first state to allow citizens to sue people who sell or spread illegal guns. The law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom Friday, is modeled after a Texas lawsuit deterring abortions.
The law allows people to sue anyone making, selling, transporting or distributing illegal guns and so-called "ghost guns," or guns made at home to avoid tracing.
Under the law, people can sue for damages of at least $10,000 per weapon involved. Some damages are also available against gun dealers who illegally sell guns to people under 21.
“Our message to the criminals spreading illegal weapons in California is simple: you have no safe harbor here in the Golden State. While the Supreme Court rolls back reasonable gun safety measures, California continues adding new ways to protect the lives of our kids. California will use every tool at its disposal to save lives, especially in the face of an increasingly extreme Supreme Court,” Gov. Newsom said.
Newsom called on legislators to pass a bill similar to a Texas law allowing citizens to sue anyone who provides or assists in providing an abortion. The Supreme Court declined to block the Texas law last fall.
“If Texas is going to use this legal framework to essentially outlaw abortion and harm women, all with the Supreme Court’s blessing, California is going to use it to save lives and take AR-15s off our streets,” said state Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-San Fernando Valley), who authored the bill.
A UC Davis study, published this year, said California's "red flag" law - known as a gun violence restraining order - was used to prevent 58 mass shootings. According to the governor's office, the new law is meant to bolster California's gun safety "toolkit."
“With these new laws, California is protecting life, safety, and freedom," said Attorney General Rob Bonta, in part, in a news release. "We have the strongest gun safety laws in the nation, and one of the lowest firearm mortality rates. This is not a coincidence. More guns do not make us safer — laws like these do. Period. I am committed to enforcing our commonsense gun safety laws, and keeping weapons of war off our streets and out of the hands of dangerous individuals.”
Newsom also took out a full-page ad in Texas newspapers calling out Gov. Greg Abbott for his policies on abortion and guns. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/newsom-signs-texas-style-law-sue-illegal-guns/103-5aca3c8d-0928-44a8-a92b-fcc01b767fcc | 2022-07-22T19:28:25 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/newsom-signs-texas-style-law-sue-illegal-guns/103-5aca3c8d-0928-44a8-a92b-fcc01b767fcc |
ASHLAND, KY (WOWK) — The suspect accused of killing two sisters in June 2022 in Ashland has been extradited and returned to Kentucky after being hospitalized for a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Toledo, Ohio.
John Tooson, 32 of Ashland, is accused of killing sisters Selina Easter, 20, and Summer Algarakhuly, 18, and “endangering” an infant on June 17, 2022, Ashland police say.
The Ashland Police Department says he fled Toledo where he barricaded himself from law enforcement. Officers say Tooson then came outside and shot himself.
They say Tooson was returned to Kentucky to answer for two counts of Murder, one count of Wanton Endangerment in the first degree and an additional warrant served that charged him with the theft of a vehicle that belonged to one of the victims. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/ashland-double-homicide-suspect-extradited-to-kentucky/ | 2022-07-22T19:33:57 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/ashland-double-homicide-suspect-extradited-to-kentucky/ |
ASHTON, WV (WOWK) – A portion of Route 2 in Mason County is shut down due to a vehicle crash.
Mason County dispatchers say the crash happened in the Ashton area around 1:30 p.m. Friday, July 22 on Route 2 near the railroad crossing at Ashland Upland Road.
Dispatchers say there is no word if anyone has been injured at this time or when the road will reopen.
This is a developing story, and we will update you as we learn more details. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/crash-closes-route-2-in-ashton-west-virginia/ | 2022-07-22T19:34:03 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/crash-closes-route-2-in-ashton-west-virginia/ |
KANAWA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – A man charged with attempted murder was indicted in Kanawha County Court.
A grand jury indicted Robert Michael Layne, 31, of Sissonville, on charges of Attempted Murder, Malicious Wounding, Use of Presentment of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Wanton Endangerment, and First Degree Arson. The charges stem from a Nov. 10, 2021 incident where a man was shot outside a mobile home that was on fire.
Layne is next set to appear in court on Aug. 5, 2022.
ORIGINAL STORY – The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office is releasing more details after a man was shot outside of a mobile home fire in Sissonville.
Deputies say Robert Layne, 30, of Sissonville faces felony counts of arson, malicious wounding and wanton endangerment in connection to the incident. Police were called to the scene near Hughgart drive to investigate the shooting while fire crews were fighting a residential trailer fire nearby on Sisters Lane.
“There was a 911 call placed that came through the airport, that a plane had been flying over the area coming to land and spotted a fire in the area, fire units began to dispatch to this location and while they were en route, we also learned that there was a shooting that happened in the street near the fire,” said Sgt. Brian Humphreys with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the sheriff’s office, a male victim, identified as Jacob Parsons, was in his driveway with multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to an area hospital.
Layne was found close by and detained. Authorities say they also found a handgun along the edge of the road near a mailbox.
Deputies say Layne allegedly admitted to intentionally setting the trailer on fire. According to deputies, the resident of the trailer, who knew Parsons, allegedly told police Layne and Parsons got into an altercation over Layne allegedly starting the fire. The sheriff’s office says Layne also allegedly admitted to shooting Parsons during their argument.
“I don’t believe anybody was injured in the trailer, but of course there’s going to be a thorough investigation of the fire itself to determine if it was arson or happenstance, some accident or something like that. That’s something that’s going to be part of our investigation,” said Humphreys.
The KCSO also says a bullet struck a home on Hughart Drive where three people were standing at the time the shots were fired. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/man-charged-in-sissonville-fire-shooting-indicted/ | 2022-07-22T19:34:09 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/man-charged-in-sissonville-fire-shooting-indicted/ |
SOUTH CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Residents in South Charleston received another element of recreational fun today while we reach the peak of summer.
The city received new pickleball courts in the Jackson Street Park. Residents we spoke with say they’ve been longing for a fresh place to play the game as the pickleball community grows.
“I started in 2016 and there was a few people playing over at North Charleston Rec Center over in Charleston and then as it got along there was probably 12 people and then next thing you know there’s 15 and 20 and 24 playing and everyone is wanting to play pickleball now,” said Bob Gardner, a South Charleston resident and avid pickleball player.
The best way to describe pickleball is a racket sport that combines elements of several other paddle sports. South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens says this will be a great asset to the senior citizen community.
“We preach quality of life here in South Charleston, we think that’s the number one thing, to preach quality of life to our citizens and there’s no better way to do it than through recreation and its instantaneous. So the more recreations we have for our people the better,” said Mullens.
The pickleball community is hoping to start tournaments and leagues in the coming weeks. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/new-pickleball-courts-in-south-charleston-are-a-big-hit/ | 2022-07-22T19:34:15 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/new-pickleball-courts-in-south-charleston-are-a-big-hit/ |
NICHOLAS COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – A man has been charged with a total of 10 counts of sexual abuse in Nicholas County. Authorities say the victim was a juvenile under the age of 12.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the Nicholas County Magistrate Court, Christopher Woodrow Rose, 37, was arrested in connection to reports of a child being sexually abused.
Police say Rose is accused of abusing the juvenile at least five different times between 2014 and 2018. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/nicholas-county-man-charged-with-sexual-abuse/ | 2022-07-22T19:34:21 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/nicholas-county-man-charged-with-sexual-abuse/ |
PORTLAND, Maine — Beth McEvoy possesses two skills that are essential for a reporter: the ability to find a good story and then tell it with flair.
The stories she’s contributed to 207 over the last few years have been some of our most popular.
To name a few: a guy who created beautiful art on the sands of a beach in the summer, only to see it washed away with each incoming tide … a woman who wore the same dress every day for a year (spoiler: not many people noticed) … the huge and weirdly enchanting trolls on the grounds of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens … and, of course, Virginia Oliver of Rockland, who is more than a century old and is still catching lobsters with her son.
It’s not hard to see why those stories went viral and delighted tens of thousands of viewers. Beth is an exceptional storyteller, one who understands that all of us like to hear about interesting people doing unusual things.
What’s especially impressive is that she not only writes her stories but shoots and edits them, too, which is kind of like singing, dancing, and playing the bongos all at the same time.
Beth has decided it’s time to write a new chapter in her life and is moving on. Today is her last day at 207 and NEWS CENTER Maine.
If she were a terrific reporter and a sour person, it would be a lot easier to say farewell. But, she is kind and funny and thoughtful, and we’re going to miss her keenly.
Thanks for everything, Beth. And one last thought: Could you please come back?
RELATED: 207 says farewell to Peggy Keyser | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/207/207-says-goodbye-to-beth-mcevoy-farewell/97-bcbe7143-bc84-48f1-b936-34e31ce38d6a | 2022-07-22T19:38:10 | 1 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/207/207-says-goodbye-to-beth-mcevoy-farewell/97-bcbe7143-bc84-48f1-b936-34e31ce38d6a |
YORK COUNTY, Maine — The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) has identified its first case of the monkeypox virus. Maine now joins 44 other states that have reported at least one case of the illness.
The announcement comes nearly a month after the first probable case of monkeypox was identified in New Hampshire.
According to a release issued by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine's first reported case is part of a national and worldwide outbreak.
The release says the person who tested positive for the virus is a male resident of York County. Additional information about the individual will not be released to protect patient privacy.
According to the release, a private lab conducted the initial testing that identified the Maine monkeypox case.
"The Maine CDC is working to identify any others who may have been exposed and make vaccination available to any close contacts," the release says.
Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said the risk to the general public in Maine remains low.
“While this is the first case of monkeypox identified in Maine, Maine CDC has been preparing for a case for several weeks given the international outbreak,” Shah said in the release. “This disease is rare and the risk to the general public remains low. Maine CDC is working with the individual to identify close contacts and provide them access to vaccination.”
A monkeypox vaccine called Jynneos has been given to the state of Maine by the federal government. There are enough doses to vaccinate 311 people.
"Maine CDC is making the vaccine available to close contacts of identified cases as well as those at risk of transmitting monkeypox or becoming severely ill," the release says. "Those who believe they may have been exposed or who have a new or unexplained rash or lesions should contact a health care provider to be evaluated, tested, and potentially referred to Maine CDC public health nursing for vaccination."
For more information about monkeypox, how it's spread, and how to prevent yourself from getting it, click here.
To view the U.S. CDC monkeypox outbreak tracker, click here. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/first-monkeypox-case-identified-in-maine-cdc-health-virus/97-87808243-427e-4a13-86a7-8adb8521130a | 2022-07-22T19:38:11 | 1 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/first-monkeypox-case-identified-in-maine-cdc-health-virus/97-87808243-427e-4a13-86a7-8adb8521130a |
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — A statewide Silver Alert has been issued for a 67-year-old man from Terre Haute.
The Terre Haute Police Department said Stanley Crague was last seen Wednesday, July 20 at 8:30 a.m.
Crague is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 210 pounds, and has brown buzzcut hair and blue eyes. Police did say what Crague was last seen wearing.
Police said Crague is believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical assistance.
Anyone with information on Crague's whereabouts is asked to call the Terre Haute Police Department at 812-238-1661 or 911.
Terre Haute is roughly 75 miles southwest of downtown Indianapolis.
Amber Alert vs. Silver Alert: What's the difference?
There are specific standards a person's disappearance must meet in order for police to declare an Amber Alert or a Silver Alert.
Amber Alerts are for children under the age of 18 who are believed to have been abducted and in danger. Police also need to have information about a suspect and their car to issue an Amber Alert.
Silver Alerts are for missing and endangered adults or children. They are much more common for missing people. It was not until last year when the standards for Silver Alerts were expanded to include children.
In both situations, these alerts must be issued by police.
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- 'She's our little miracle' | Brownsburg teachers celebrate daughter's 100th day in NICU | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/missing-terre-haute-man-stanley-crague-silver-alert/531-32849d3f-a5c9-4692-9e8f-ffe1f8cbab83 | 2022-07-22T19:39:22 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/missing-terre-haute-man-stanley-crague-silver-alert/531-32849d3f-a5c9-4692-9e8f-ffe1f8cbab83 |
BRIGHTON — A woman suffered injuries when the car she was driving reportedly struck a semi truck before rolling over into a ditch in the 22700 block of Highway 142 (Burlington Road) Thursday.
The crash occurred at 4:49 p.m. when the driver, a 66-year-old woman who was traveling west on the highway, apparently drove into the eastbound lane passing at least one vehicle in a “no passing” zone, according to Lt. Keith Fonk of the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department.
“She passed in a no passing zone. There was oncoming traffic going eastbound. She cut back into the westbound lane of traffic and rear-ended the semi,” he said. Her vehicle rolled over into a 10-foot ditch on the side of the highway. The car was discovered on its roof.
Rescue personnel responded to the scene and The woman’s injuries upon initial assessment were said to have included a “possible broken leg”, but were not considered life-threatening, according to Fonk. She was issued a traffic citation for passing in a no passing zone.
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Her vehicle was towed from the scene. Fonk said the truck driver was not injured.
Highway 142 at the accident site was shut down and re-routed for more than an hour.
City bus, car crash takes out stoplight
KENOSHA -- Authorities were called to the scene of a two-vehicle crash involving a Kenosha city bus and a lime-green car at the intersection of Pershing Boulevard and 52nd Street Thursday.
Following the crash, the bus then struck a stoplight at the intersection, according to Kenosha Fire Department Battalion Chief Ryan McNeely.
There were no passengers on the bus in the 1:15 p.m. collision, McNeely said. Paramedics transported one person with minor injuries to a local hospital following the crash. A Kenosha Police investigation into the collision is ongoing.
No injuries in two-vehicle crash
KENOSHA -- Kenosha police were called to the scene of a two-vehicle collision near the intersection of 22nd Avenue and 52nd Street late Thursday afternoon.
Authorities, including the fire and rescue personnel, responded at 4:56 p.m. to what initial police radio traffic described as a "high-velocity crash." Minor injuries were reported, however, and no one was taken to the hospital, according to Kenosha Fire Department Chief Ryan McNeely.
A police investigation into the collision is ongoing. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/emergency-response-roundup/article_d26b4bd2-09ec-11ed-af1d-1b4c5f6ea01c.html | 2022-07-22T19:41:16 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/emergency-response-roundup/article_d26b4bd2-09ec-11ed-af1d-1b4c5f6ea01c.html |
TAMPA, Fla. — A 56-year-old Tampa man was arrested Thursday and charged with 40 counts of possession of child pornography.
Investigators say they began looking into 55-year-old Ruben Machado-Reyes after receiving a cyber tip about him uploading child porn to an internet account.
A search warrant was issued for his home. Authorities arrived Thursday and removed electronic devices.
"Additional charges may be forthcoming, following the forensic exams
of devices recovered from his person and residence," police wrote in a statement.
Machado-Reyes had no criminal history, according to police.
As part of the investigation, police say they will work to determine if any local children are seen in the pornographic images. Police use software that can detect what images have been previously reported to federal law enforcement.
The investigation is ongoing. No other information was immediately released. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/child-porn-arrest-tampa/67-98447ec6-fcc4-4c0f-9133-d274c647e07f | 2022-07-22T19:42:44 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/child-porn-arrest-tampa/67-98447ec6-fcc4-4c0f-9133-d274c647e07f |
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Mechanicsburg woman who attempted to carry a loaded .380-caliber handgun onto her flight at Harrisburg International Airport Thursday was thwarted by a Transportation Security Administration officer at a security checkpoint, the TSA said Friday.
This is at least the fourth such incident reported by the TSA at the airport this year.
When the TSA officer spotted the gun and ammunition in the checkpoint X-ray machine, the police were alerted, the TSA said.
TSA also forwarded the incident to be followed up with the issuance of a federal financial civil penalty.
“Bringing a loaded gun to a security checkpoint is a serious offense,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “It’s an accident waiting to happen. Travelers should know better. Guns have been prohibited from being carried onto planes for decades before TSA even existed. So it should be no surprise when someone is stopped at our checkpoint and is then heavily fined by TSA.”
The TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty of up to $13,900 to individuals who bring weapons with them to a checkpoint, the agency said.
Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating or aggravating circumstances.
This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane, the TSA said.
Travelers are allowed to transport their firearms as checked baggage if they are properly packed and declared at their airline ticket counter to be transported in the belly of the plane.
Checked firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition, according to the TSA, which has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and travelers should check into firearm laws before they decide to travel with their guns. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
When an individual shows up at a checkpoint with a firearm, the checkpoint lane comes to a standstill until the police resolve the incident, the TSA said. Guns at checkpoints can delay travelers from getting to their gates.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year. Of the guns caught by TSA in 2022, about 86% were loaded. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/cumberland-county/harrisburg-airport-tsa-handgun-mechanicsburg/521-9f93a9f7-acab-4769-8e7e-96eae5e54a4a | 2022-07-22T19:43:40 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/cumberland-county/harrisburg-airport-tsa-handgun-mechanicsburg/521-9f93a9f7-acab-4769-8e7e-96eae5e54a4a |
MISSOURI CITY, Texas — An AMBER Alert has been issued for an 11-year-old girl who police say was abducted early Friday morning, according to the Missouri City Police Department.
Police said Imani Stephens was last seen at about 1:45 a.m. Friday in the 3700 block of Dry Creek Drive in Missouri City. She is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 111 pounds. She was last seen wearing glasses, a black and gray shirt with black striped red letters, multicolored sweatpants and Crocs.
She has scars on both of her wrists.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Texas DPS originally identified a 28-year-old man as the suspect in this case, and included his photo in the AMBER Alert. They later sent an update with a new photo of a different suspect, who is 21 years old. We have updated the photo online and on our social platforms.
Police are looking for Daniel Diaz, 21, in connection with her alleged abduction. He is 5 feet 5 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes.
The suspect is driving a gray newer model pickup truck with unknown license plate number. The suspect was last heard from in Missouri City.
Law enforcement officials said they believe this child to be in grave or immediate danger.
The grandmother of the child, Kimberly Wright, said Imani had run away from home earlier this month on July 9. She said she found a makeshift rope coming from the 11-year-old's second-floor room this morning.
A neighbor said they saw a young girl get into the suspicious truck just before 2 a.m.
If you have any information regarding this abduction, call the Missouri City Police Department at 281-403-8700.
FOLLOW KHOU 11 on social media for updates on this and other breaking stories: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
What to do when someone goes missing
Thousands of people go missing every year across the United States, and there are organizations and law enforcement agencies that work to bring them home to loved ones.
The Texas Center for the Missing is an organization with Houston roots that works to educate loved ones and authorities on finding the lost.
From resources that deal with missing children to endangered adults, the non-profit organization has compiled a wealth of resources to help.
There is no 24-hour waiting period required to report a person missing, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/amber-alert-for-girl-abducted-in-missouri-city-texas/285-517aa1ad-2fdd-418d-9d7f-0c597f609b94 | 2022-07-22T19:45:09 | 1 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/amber-alert-for-girl-abducted-in-missouri-city-texas/285-517aa1ad-2fdd-418d-9d7f-0c597f609b94 |
BIG SPRING, Texas — Big Spring authorities are asking for the public's help to find a missing woman.
Katherine Sue Hauman, 64, has not been seen since early May.
According to the Big Spring Howard County Crimestoppers Facebook page, Hauman is a person of interest in an active Big Spring Police Department Investigation.
If you know where she is, you can submit a tip to Crimestoppers at 432-263-8477 or on the website by clicking or tapping here. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/big-spring-missing-woman/513-bd15c9f6-ee88-43cc-bd4e-d1a927035901 | 2022-07-22T19:45:15 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/big-spring-missing-woman/513-bd15c9f6-ee88-43cc-bd4e-d1a927035901 |
BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas — A 75-year-old Houston man has reportedly died while in Big Bend National Park.
According to National Park Service officials, they were notified of the man on Chimneys Trail around 7:45 p.m. on July 21.
Rangers say there was no obvious cause of death. At this time the hiker has not been identified.
"Big Bend National Park staff and partners are saddened by this loss," stated Deputy Superintendent David Elkowitz. “Our entire park family extends sincere condolences to the hiker's family and friends."
Big Bend National Park is reminding hikers to be aware of extreme heat. Temperatures along the Chimney Trails reached over 104 degrees on that Thursday.
Visitors are advised to drink a gallon of water per day and to plan on being off the trails by noon. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/elderly-houston-man-dies-big-bend-national-park/513-51826138-3a47-450a-9d43-60840c58079e | 2022-07-22T19:45:21 | 1 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/elderly-houston-man-dies-big-bend-national-park/513-51826138-3a47-450a-9d43-60840c58079e |
LYTLE, Texas — Fake cops are pulling people over, according to two separate incidents reported in a matter of weeks.
This week, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office arrested one man for impersonating an officer. He is accused of trying to pull a woman over. KENS 5 tracked her down.
Charlie Swadley reported the incident on I35 South and Luckey road in southwest Bexar county. However, weeks ago and just miles away there was a separate incident in Lytle.
On July 7, police say five men dressed as officers, zip-tied two people and stole their stuff. Police believe those zip-tie suspects were wearing stolen police gear.
Lytle Police Chief Richard Priest doesn’t believe the two incidents are connected. He along with the Texas Rangers are still looking for the five suspects in his case. He said it is strange how close these two incidents happened from one another.
“It was kind of scary,” Swadley said.
After a late shift, Swadley was heading home from work, when investigators said Proenza-Perez was pretending to be a cop and tried to pull her over.
“They kind of followed me for a long time,” she said.
She remembers the Mustang and said he followed her for nearly 10 minutes.
“He was still behind me with the lights on trying to get me to stop,” she said. “I wouldn’t stop so he flew around me real fast. Then he started slowing down in front of me.”
Swadely called 9-1-1. She knew something was wrong because the flashing red and blue lights were only on the dashboard, the car had paper license plates, and a headlight was out.
“I just couldn’t see myself pulling over for a cop with a broken headlight,” she said. “Out here in the middle of nowhere and not looking like a cop car at all.”
She said he eventually turned around. BCSO arrested him shortly after and believes there could be other victims. The mother wonders what if she did stop.
“I could have been dead right, if anything,” she said.
She is speaking up because she wants others to be careful.
“If you are in doubt call 911,” she said. Go somewhere where there are other people.”
There are police cars that are unmarked. BCSO offers the following tips.
- Our deputies are trained to understand people may keep driving to a more populated area
- Drivers should activate their flashers and should wave to the officer to let them know they see them, then they should reduce speed to show the officer they are not running
- Continue to drive to a well-lit/populated area
- Lastly, if you do find yourself in a suspicious situation similar to this female victim's incident, you can call the BCSO at 210-335-6000 to report it.
In regard to the incident in Lytle, Chief Priest said they have good leads in the case. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/texas/a-phony-officer-tried-to-pull-over-a-local-woman-heres-how-she-knew-to-call-911-instead/273-065646ed-406c-4463-ba6b-71a548edde3a | 2022-07-22T19:45:27 | 1 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/texas/a-phony-officer-tried-to-pull-over-a-local-woman-heres-how-she-knew-to-call-911-instead/273-065646ed-406c-4463-ba6b-71a548edde3a |
TEXAS, USA — Editor's Note: the above video is from a June 2022 story related to a shortage of beds in state mental hospitals
While seemingly all parts of Texas deal with a scorching hot summer, the state's prison system continues to have issues giving inmates and employees consistent access to air conditioning.
Temperatures inside Texas prisons regularly reach 110 degrees and topped out at 149 in at least one unit, according to a July study from the Texas A&M University Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center.
However, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), the agency said the average temperature of unit housing areas that do not have air conditioning in the month of June was 89.2 degrees. It also said the average for the first 11 days of July was 91.4 degrees. This is based on temperature taken in consistent sample areas from each unit, according to TDCJ.
Texas is one of at least 13 states that does not have universal air-conditioning in its state prisons. According to a risk management training article from TDCJ, someone can begin to feel the impact of heat exhaustion as low as 80 degrees. It also added the risk for heat stroke starts at 91 degrees.
The issue of how hot it can and does get in Texas jails has been an ongoing issue for years. In 2017, as part of a court order, Texas submitted a plan to move about 1,000 medically-sensitive inmates from the Pack Unit southeast of College Station, which is not air-conditioned, to other state jails and prisons that do have air conditioning. The plan came after a federal judge ordered air conditioning for the inmates in a scathing ruling against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in July.
At least 23 documented heat-related deaths of incarcerated people have also been recorded by the TDCJ since 1998, according to the Texas A&M study.
It wasn't until 20 years later that policy change related to heat came into the fold. In 2018, TDCJ mediated 10 lawsuits connected to heat issues and air-conditioning in its prisons. The agency would be legally required to put vulnerable incarcerated people in air-conditioned facilities. TDCJ also updated its heat mitigation policies.
As a part of this mediation, TDCJ implemented other changes as well for all inmates that involved creating cooled areas, providing water and ice, implementing additional showers when possible, allowing incarcerated people to wear cooler clothing options at times, and allowing the purchase of cooling items from the prison commissary, according to the Texas A&M study.
Since then, TDCJ said revisions were made on May 8, 2020, under the "Excessive and Extreme Temperature Conditions" category. Primary changes included adding language clarifying notification procedures once an offender is identified as at-risk. It also added language regarding offender access to respite areas and proper designation of the respite areas and the importance of prioritizing maintenance work orders to keep air conditioning units, shower temperatures, fans, ice machines, and other vital areas functional during excessive heat conditions. This revision codified processes that were already in place, according to TDCJ.
Of the state's nearly 100 prison facilities, 70% do not have air-conditioning, according to a 2021 Texas Tribune article.
The Texas A&M University Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center study looked at 309 surveys, which were distributed by the Texas Prisons Community Advocates to incarcerated people in 57 TDCJ units between October 2018 and December 2020.
The subjects covered in the surveys relate to:
- Experience with heat-related illness
- Experiences with heat restrictions.
- Knowledge of heat-related deaths
- The provision of resources (water, cups, ice)
- Access to and experience with showers
- Access to and experience with respite areas
- Access to and conditions of fans and other infrastructure
- Work-related experiences with heat
- Accessibility and availability of cooling commissary items
- Filing grievances
To read more about this study, click here. | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-prisons-heat-issues-110-degrees-july-2022/287-9724faa7-9b6f-4661-9ca1-909c50b82b45 | 2022-07-22T19:45:33 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-prisons-heat-issues-110-degrees-july-2022/287-9724faa7-9b6f-4661-9ca1-909c50b82b45 |
BLOOMINGTON — A Bloomington man was sentenced to 60 days in jail after pleading guilty last month to methamphetamine possession.
Jonathon P. Keister, 38, received his sentence on June 8 in McLean County court, after submitting his guilty plea to a Class 3 felony charge of possession of less than 5 grams of meth. Previously filed felony charges of 5-15 grams of meth with intent to deliver and possession of 5-15 grams of meth were dropped.
Keister was also ordered to serve 30 hours of community service and complete 24 months of probation.
The Pantagraph previously reported Keister was arrested May 7.
What you missed this week in notable Central Illinois crimes and court cases
This week's local crime and court updates from The Pantagraph.
A Chicago man was convicted Thursday of murder for the shooting death of a Minnesota man in what authorities called a road rage incident.
A 13-year-old boy is accused of jumping into a car with two young children inside during a West Side carjacking that ended when he crashed moments later on Wednesday evening.
The Pantagraph last reported that Frankie Hutchinson was arrested in March after police chased him from Bloomington to Livingston County, where they found him in possession of four catalytic converters.
A federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges Chicago police misused "unreliable" gunshot detection technology and failed to pursue other leads in investigating a grandfather from the city's South Side and charging him with killing a neighbor.
He was pronounced dead around 5:44 a.m. Wednesday, according to the medical examiner.
A 37-year-old Bloomington man was sentenced this month in McLean County court to four years in prison for illegally delivering a gun.
A jury deliberating the case of a Chicago man accused of fatally shooting a Minnesota man in an apparent road-rage incident told a judge Wednesday they cannot reach consensus on a first-degree murder charge.
A Bloomington man is in custody on weapons charges after a grand jury indictment.
The trial of R. Kelly's manager opened Tuesday on charges that he forced the cancellation of a screening of a documentary about the singer's sexual abuse of women and girls by calling in a threat to the crowded Manhattan theater.
Sara E. Myers, 39, is charged with aggravated battery (Class 2 felony) after she knowingly made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature by spitting upon a corrections officer, court documents said.
A man is charged in McLean County court after prosecutors say he raped a woman in Bloomington-Normal in April 2020.
Police do not suspect foul play and do not believe area residents are in danger, authorities said.
The defendant was wanted on charges linked to the June 18 homicide of Antonio Mora in Hammond, authorities said.
A Normal man will have to pay back more than $10,000 to Best Buy after pleading guilty to theft in McLean County Court.
The Bloomington Police Department came in at No. 6 for driving under the influence arrests made by municipal police departments in Illinois, according to new data from The Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists.
Nearly two weeks since the mass shooting in Highland Park left seven people dead and a close community shattered, harrowing and heroic tales of the survivors continue to emerge.
A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to 57 years in prison for shooting an Illinois state trooper in the arm in 2019 as the officer was serving a warrant at his home.
Four employees committed “financial fraud directed at the federal government” by wrongly collecting roughly $120,000 in payroll protection plan loans intended to help businesses survive the pandemic, according to a report from the county’s inspector general.
A 35-year-old Bloomington woman has been sentenced to four years in prison on a drug delivery charge.
A man arrested earlier this year during a stalking investigation has been sentenced to 142 days in jail for aggravated battery to a peace officer, court records state.
A 27-year-old Bloomington man was sentenced Wednesday to around two months in jail, plus probation, for burglarizing a home early this year.
An Illinois man charged with sexual abuse of a 15-year-old Johnson County girl in 2015 is asking a judge to dismiss his charges because he says the parents gave him consent to have sex with their teen.
A Chicago police officer who had been facing possible dismissal after being accused of striking a woman and knocking out one of her teeth during a protest has resigned from the department.
A 39-year-old Springfield man was sentenced to 128 days in prison early this month for possessing a stolen vehicle. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-gets-jail-time-for-possessing-meth-in-bloomington/article_7d646158-09e9-11ed-9aa5-9bf429e41949.html | 2022-07-22T19:45:39 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-gets-jail-time-for-possessing-meth-in-bloomington/article_7d646158-09e9-11ed-9aa5-9bf429e41949.html |
Detroit police find cocaine, gun & 2-year-old girl in car of man arrested for speeding
Charles E. Ramirez
The Detroit News
Detroit — A Detroit man was arrested Tuesday after witnesses reported he was speeding on residential streets, officials said.
Police took the man into custody at a gas station in the 11000 block of Dexter near Chicago Boulevard on the city's west side.
They said after they inspected the vehicle the man had been driving, officers found cocaine, a handgun and his 2-year-old daughter in it. The child was not hurt and police called a family member who picked her up.
Investigators later learned the suspect does not have a license to carry a weapon. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/07/22/detroit-police-find-cocaine-gun-2-year-old-girl-car-man-arrested-speeding/10128872002/ | 2022-07-22T19:52:05 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/07/22/detroit-police-find-cocaine-gun-2-year-old-girl-car-man-arrested-speeding/10128872002/ |
State regulators are warning Arizonans to beware of the risks of “crypto-interest" accounts, citing a recent state action against one provider fined for selling unregistered securities.
The Arizona Corporation Commission’s Securities Division warned investors this week that some crypto-interest account providers may not have adequately disclosed the risks that customers face when they deposit cryptocurrency assets onto such platforms.
The warning comes after the ACC in June ordered New Jersey-based BlockFi Lending LLC to pay a $943,396 administrative penalty for offering and selling unregistered securities in the form of interest-bearing digital-asset deposit accounts to Arizona investors.
The consent agreement stemmed from the Arizona agency’s participation in a multistate working group of the North American Securities Administrators Association.
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In February, BlockFi agreed to pay a $50 million and halt its sales of the crytpo lending product to settle charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and to pay another $50 million to 32 states, including Arizona.
With crypto-interest accounts, customers lend crypto assets to the company and, in exchange, receive interest paid in crypto assets.
However, due to the crypto market downturn, highlighted by the recent bankruptcy filings of Celsius Network and Voyager Digital, some companies are preventing account holders from withdrawing from and transferring between their accounts, the ACC says.
The Corporation Commission also warns that some companies may materially overstate their ability to pay investors promised returns.
The commission says it is investigating whether other crypto-interest account providers are violating laws under the Commission’s jurisdiction.
Among the risks of crypto-interest accounts, the ACC notes that they are not governed by bank or credit union regulations and deposits are not insured; they are unpredictable, volatile, and sometimes illiquid; regulatory changes could restrict use and exchange of the digital asset; and they may be located outside of the United States, potentially limiting investors’ ability to take legal action.
Tucson-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense and partner Northrop Grumman completed a second flight test of a scramjet-powered hypersonic missile.
Workers at the Starbucks at Main Gate Square voted 11-3 to join a union, the first shop in Tucson and the fifth in Arizona to unionize.
For Star subscribers: Tucson is devoting nearly $1.5 million to hire staff and upgrade systems to relieve delays in permit and plan approvals now lasting months.
Contact senior reporter David Wichner at dwichner@tucson.com or 520-573-4181. On Twitter: @dwichner. On Facebook: Facebook.com/DailyStarBiz | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/arizona-regulators-warn-against-crypto-backed-investments/article_6f528376-0942-11ed-897f-4304e337ee42.html | 2022-07-22T20:00:30 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/arizona-regulators-warn-against-crypto-backed-investments/article_6f528376-0942-11ed-897f-4304e337ee42.html |
Gov. Doug Ducey cannot deny COVID relief dollars to schools that impose mask mandates or give vouchers to parents so they can remove their children from those schools, a federal judge has concluded.
In a new ruling, Judge Steven Logan rejected the governor's argument that there is nothing in federal law that requires him to spend money from the American Rescue Plan Act only in ways that the federal agency and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen say conform with ways the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control say will fight the virus.
And the judge had no more sympathy for the governor's argument that the rules the Treasury wrote for use of the dollars exceeded the agency's authority.
The immediate effects of the ruling are unclear.
In a January letter, Kathleen Victorino, the deputy chief compliance officer of the U.S. Treasury Office of Recovery Programs, warned that it is illegal for Ducey to dole out the cash Arizona is getting from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund only to public schools that do not mandate that students and staff wear face coverings. If Ducey did not rescind his policies the state faced having to forfeit the cash, Victorino said.
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It was that letter that led Ducey to take the preemptive action of filing suit to block any funds from being withheld — the lawsuit that Logan decided in favor of Yellen and the Treasury.
But Ducey press aide C.J. Karamargin said Arizona actually received its second payment of ARPA cash of about $2.1 billion last month.
There was no immediate comment from the federal agency about its earlier decision to send the dollars to Arizona anyway, about the new court ruling — and whether it would now seek reimbursement.
The governor's staff was still studying the decision and had no comment, Karamargin said.
The fight actually started in 2021 when the Republican-controlled legislature voted to bar schools from imposing mask mandates.
That law was subsequently overturned by the Arizona Supreme Court which concluded it had been improperly enacted by being lumped into a single piece of legislation with unrelated issues. As a result, some districts kept their masking requirements in place.
What Ducey sought to do was replace that now-voided law with a financial carrot of those federal ARPA dollars.
The first cash came from a program that divided up $163 million among Arizona school districts and charter schools that had received less than $1,800 per student under prior COVID relief programs.
Only thing is, the governor said those schools that require the use of face coverings during instruction hours would not get a share of that cash.
And there was something else. Ducey set aside another $10 million in grants to parents whose schools continue to require masks.
Those funds, up to $7,000 per child, can be used for everything from online tutoring and child care to tuition to attend private and parochial schools. Any family below 350% of the federal poverty level -- about $92,750 a year for a family of four -- is eligible.
That resulted in the letter from Victorino, followed quickly by Ducey's lawsuit.
The heart of Ducey's claim is that the federal statute allocating the funds permits states to use the money "to respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19 or its negative economic impacts."
Anni Foster, the governor's legal counsel, said that gives states broad latitude. She argued that Treasury impermissibly elevated public health issues over all others.
Logan, however, said that "narrow" reading of just those words ignores the larger underlying purpose of the entire law: protect public health. And he said it's clear that the funds "may not be used for programs with conditions that undermine public health guidance, as such programs would exacerbate rather than mitigate the pandemic's fiscal effects.''
Put simply, Logan said, any program that has conditions that would promote the spread of the virus — in this case, encouraging schools to scrap mask requirements in exchange for more cash -- by definition "prolongs the pandemic and its resulting fiscal effects" and therefore fails to mitigate either the health or the financial impacts of the virus.
He also pointed out that Treasury put an even sharper point on that with its rules saying that federal dollars could not be used in ways that would "undermine efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 or discourage compliance with (CDC) recommendations and guidelines."
Foster also argued, unsuccessfully, that the governor's use of the funds really does address the negative economic impact of COVID-19. She said that's because it would mean less remote or hybrid learning which "disproportionately affected low-income and minority students."
"The programs empower parents and students to exercise their freedom to make informed decisions regarding their health and educational needs," Foster said.
The restrictions Ducey placed on the use of the money — the schools that are eligible and the cash to send students to schools without masks — fits squarely within the legitimate use of the dollars, she said.
"For parents who prioritize their child's social, emotional, and mental health needs and believe a mask mandate would adversely impact their child, the program offers these parents the freedom and funding to enroll their students in a different program absent a mask mandate," Foster said. And she dismissed any argument that the only way to stop the spread of virus is through masks, pointing out the state offers free testing for all residents.
"Schools have every ability to encourage practices recommended by the CDC and students were not prohibited from doing so," she wrote.
Logan, however, wasn't buying it. Nor did he accept some other contentions by Foster that the law and Treasury's rules were flawed.
For example, she acknowledged that Congress does have the power to impose conditions on how the states spend federal money. But Foster said that has to be done "unambiguously" to allow states to decide whether to accept the cash and the strings attached.
In this case, though, she said there is nothing in the law authorizing the program that alerts states to the possibility that the funds might be rescinded based on the changing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control about how to prevent the spread of COVID.
Separately, Foster contended that even if Congress agreed to empower Treasury to set rules on the use of the funds — she contends it did not — it was illegal for federal lawmakers to delegate that power to an agency.
Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com. | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/judge-rejects-ducey-effort-to-limit-school-covid-funds/article_92f8b396-09cd-11ed-8e6f-6b725a8156a4.html | 2022-07-22T20:00:36 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/judge-rejects-ducey-effort-to-limit-school-covid-funds/article_92f8b396-09cd-11ed-8e6f-6b725a8156a4.html |
No charges will be filed in the death of a 6-year-old girl who fell from a float before the start of Mandan’s Independence Day parade.
Mabel Askay’s death was “just a pure accident,” Mandan Police Lt. Pat Haug said Friday.
“Nobody did anything really to cause it,” he said.
Askay, of Ventura, California, a recent kindergarten graduate, was in town visiting relatives. She was riding on the DK Orthodontics float that was en route to the parade staging area about 9 a.m. on July Fourth. Haug said the float was moving at less than 10 mph and the driver didn’t do anything to cause the girl to fall. Investigators haven’t been able to determine why she fell. She was struck by a tire and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Her family in a notice published in a recent Bismarck Tribune Celebrate section thanked the Bismarck-Mandan community “for your love, support, financial contributions, encouraging words, prayers and hugs over the past two weeks as we said goodbye to our Mabel Rae. You held us up while our world crumbled.”
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A GoFundMe account set up for the Askay family had a goal of $10,000 and has raised nearly $93,000. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/no-charges-in-july-4-parade-death-of-6-year-old-in-mandan/article_d610e646-09e9-11ed-8401-97d916821815.html | 2022-07-22T20:04:30 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/no-charges-in-july-4-parade-death-of-6-year-old-in-mandan/article_d610e646-09e9-11ed-8401-97d916821815.html |
A Morton County assistant prosecutor who is running for state’s attorney in this year's election has been put on administrative leave as officials investigate an employee complaint.
Gabrielle Goter was placed on paid administrative leave after the county’s human resources department learned on June 7 that an employee had filed a complaint, Human Resources Director Wendy Bent said. Bent did not disclose the nature of the complaint.
“Ms. Goter’s placement on administrative leave is not considered disciplinary in nature,” Bent said in a written statement. “It is an action the employer uses to separate the employee from the incident(s) while the incident is under investigation.”
Goter told the Tribune the situation “has come as a shock to me.”
“I was very surprised and disappointed to learn a complaint had been made,” she said.
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Goter said State's Attorney Allen Koppy placed her on what she termed a modified paid administrative leave on June 27.
“I have not been allowed to see what has been alleged or respond in any way at this time in the process, so I have no more information than that,” Goter said. “I intend to cooperate in the investigation in any way necessary and am confident in the result.”
Goter responded to an email sent to her work email address.
"My first concern in this process has been meeting my ethical and professional obligations," she said, adding that the modified leave "allows me to do this while still being separate from the physical workspace."
Among the cases Goter has handled since June 27 is the sentencing hearing in a high-profile murder case.
Bent said her department is investigating the complaint “with external legal support.” She did not elaborate.
Goter is challenging Koppy in the November election. In the June 14 primary election, Goter garnered 1,517 votes or just more than 53%. Koppy had 1,333 or about 47%, according to the North Dakota Secretary of State's website. The top two candidates in the primary move on to the general election. There was not a third candidate.
Bent said Koppy in placing Goter on administrative leave “was simply following the recommendations of Human Resources and our protocol to initiate the investigation.” The Tribune included Koppy on its inquiries to county officials. He did not comment.
Goter led the prosecution team in the August 2021 murder trial of Chad Isaak, who was convicted of the April 2019 shooting and stabbing deaths of four people in Mandan. He received four life sentences with no chance of parole. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/morton-county-prosecutor-running-for-states-attorney-placed-on-paid-leave/article_f4064ae0-09d7-11ed-9c01-2bacd4af9b5c.html | 2022-07-22T20:04:36 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/morton-county-prosecutor-running-for-states-attorney-placed-on-paid-leave/article_f4064ae0-09d7-11ed-9c01-2bacd4af9b5c.html |
Teachers in Bismarck, Linton, Grand Forks and Hunter are finalists for the 2023 North Dakota Teacher of the Year award.
State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler announced the finalists Friday. They are:
- Abby DuBord, of Bismarck, a first-grade teacher at Centennial Elementary who is moving to the newly built Elk Ridge Elementary in northwest Bismarck this fall.
- Megan Wald, of Kintyre, a business education instructor at Linton High School and adjunct business teacher for the North Dakota Center for Distance Education in Fargo.
- Megan Margerum, of Hunter, a third-grade English/language arts teacher at Northern Cass Public School in Hunter, in rural Cass County.
- Ivona Todorovic, of Grand Forks, an English language instructor at Grand Forks Red River High School who teaches students who are not native English speakers.
Baesler will visit the school of each finalist to celebrate their achievement. Baesler and Gov. Doug Burgum will reveal the 2023 North Dakota Teacher of the Year in September. The winner will receive a $15,000 grant to use for promoting the teaching profession. The winner also will compete for the national Teacher of the Year award. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/education/4-north-dakota-teacher-of-the-year-finalists-named/article_20cd0988-09f1-11ed-aa35-cbc027280d94.html | 2022-07-22T20:04:43 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/education/4-north-dakota-teacher-of-the-year-finalists-named/article_20cd0988-09f1-11ed-aa35-cbc027280d94.html |
DOUGLASS, Kan. (KSNW) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has rescinded a boil water advisory for the city of Douglass.
The advisory was first issued on July 18, because of a loss of pressure in the distribution system. An inability to maintain adequate water pressure can result in a loss of chlorine and lead to bacterial contamination.
Laboratory testing samples collected from the city of Douglass indicate no evidence of bacterial contamination, and all other conditions that placed the system at risk of contamination have been resolved, according to a news release from the KDHE.
For more information, you can visit the KDHE’s public water supply website by clicking here. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/city-of-douglass-boil-water-advisory-lifted/ | 2022-07-22T20:05:31 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/city-of-douglass-boil-water-advisory-lifted/ |
LYNCHBURG, Va. – “Making magic out of thin air” – A circus-style performance is coming to Lynchburg in November.
The Academy Center of the Arts announced that they will host an Air Play performance on November 18.
During the performance, the center said that umbrellas will fly, fabrics will soar over the audience, balloons will swallow people, and snow will swirl and fill the stage – Air Play performances bring life to the air, transforming ordinary objects into uncommon beauty.
November’s performance will be a part comedy, part circus, part sculpture, and part theater circus-style adventure of two siblings traveling through a land of air, and will be great for all ages, according to the release.
Circus performers Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone, in collaboration with kinetic sculptor Daniel Wurtzel, created Air Play through years of experimentation with materials, movement, and technology, the center said, and has played in many locations, from Chile to Melbourne State Theatre to Shanghai’s Grand Theatre.
The Air Play performance in Lynchburg will be held at the Academy Center of the Arts at 7:30 p.m. on November 18, according to the release.
The Academy Center of the Arts said that tickets for November’s performance go on sale on Friday and range from $20 to $65.
For more information or to purchase tickets, you can contact the Lynchburg Academy Center of the Arts Box Office at (434) 846-8499, or visit their website. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/22/lynchburg-academy-center-of-the-arts-to-present-circus-style-act-in-november/ | 2022-07-22T20:11:05 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/07/22/lynchburg-academy-center-of-the-arts-to-present-circus-style-act-in-november/ |
Six Flags Great Adventure Park in New Jersey opted to stay closed through the day Friday after a power surge triggered an outage at the theme park, a spokesperson said. Hurricane Harbor and Wild Safari are open as usual.
The theme park opening was initially delayed for hours after Friday's power loss, which happened before the park's scheduled opening. Chopper 4 was over the scene before noon and showed scores of people standing outside the gates.
By mid-afternoon Six Flags said the theme park would stay closed. It is expected to reopen at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
"Crews have been working diligently to restore power, but we just made the decision to keep the park closed for today due to the length of the repair," the Six Flags spokesperson said. "Guests with tickets for July 22 may use their tickets through Labor Day. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to welcoming you back to the theme park."
Guests who arrived at the theme park early Friday only to find its opening delayed -- and then off completely for the day -- had their tickets honored at the water park. All impacted guests also were offered free admission to the Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure, while some unfortunate souls opted to wait and see if the theme park would eventually open up Friday.
Six Flags says tickets purchased for July 22 will be honored on any other regular operating day through Labor Day. Guests who don't plan to return can request refunds. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/power-surge-shuts-down-six-flags-theme-park-in-nj-friday/3787436/ | 2022-07-22T20:14:50 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/power-surge-shuts-down-six-flags-theme-park-in-nj-friday/3787436/ |
Mason City Schools is pleased to announce that Curt Klaahsen and Matt Berkley will serve as
Interim High School Activities Coordinators for the 2022-2023 school year. Curt and Matt are
longtime employees of the district and have experience in the area of managing and scheduling
activities. The position became open in July with the resignation of Tracy Johnson. Curt and
Matt will concentrate on bringing steady leadership to the activities department centered around
doing what is right for our students, parents, and programs. Mason City Schools will begin the
search process for a new Activities Director in December of this year. | https://globegazette.com/news/local/mason-city-schools-announce-high-school-interim-activities-coordinators-for-2022-2023-school-year/article_3d6fcfbc-fd62-5d98-960c-ee2ca18b538d.html | 2022-07-22T20:25:02 | 0 | https://globegazette.com/news/local/mason-city-schools-announce-high-school-interim-activities-coordinators-for-2022-2023-school-year/article_3d6fcfbc-fd62-5d98-960c-ee2ca18b538d.html |
The Justice Department said Friday it is investigating illegal dumping in Houston, including dead bodies and medical waste, that officials said is plaguing Black and Latino neighborhoods in the nation's fourth largest city.
The investigation will be led by the department's civil rights division and will examine whether city police and other departments discriminate against Black and Latino residents in violation of federal civil rights laws. Besides bodies, items dumped in majority Black or Latino neighborhoods include appliances, furniture, tires, mattresses and even vandalized ATM machines, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said at a news conference Friday.
"Illegal dumping is a longstanding environmental justice issue, and like many other environmental justice issues, it often disproportionately burdens Black and Latino communities," said Clarke, who heads the department's civil rights division.
The investigation is the first publicly announced environmental justice action since Attorney General Merrick Garland created an office of environmental justice within the agency in May. The new office is focused on "fenceline communities" in Houston, New Orleans, Chicago and other cities that have been exposed to air and water pollution from chemical plants, refineries and other industrial sites.
Illegal dumpsites not only attract rodents, mosquitos and other vermin that pose health risks, but they can also contaminate surface water and make neighborhoods more susceptible to flooding, Clarke said. They also can lower property values, harm the quality of life and even reduce expected lifespans, Clarke and other officials said.
"No one in the United States should be exposed to risk of illness and other serious harm because of ineffective solid waste management or inadequate enforcement programs," she said.
The Houston investigation will focus on Trinity/Houston Gardens, a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood in northeastern Houston. Residents frequently complain about illegal dumping there, Clarke said.
Texas News
News from around the state of Texas.
Mary Benton, a spokeswoman for Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, said Friday she was "not aware of" dead bodies being dumped anywhere in Houston. The city doubled its maximum fine for illegal dumping violations last year, she said.
Even so, the problem persists. During the first six months of the year, Houston residents called the city's 311 line more than 5,400 times to complain about illegal dumping, the Houston Chronicle reported. That's nearly as many complaints as recorded in all of 2021, the newspaper said.
"It's a huge problem across the entire city," city council member Martha Castex-Tatum told the paper. Castex-Tatum blamed much of the illegal dumping on landscaping and construction crews or landlords clearing out recently vacated apartments. Besides tires and mattresses, other items frequently dumped include air conditioners, water heaters and major appliances, she said.
The federal inquiry follows a complaint by Lone Star Legal Aid, a nonprofit advocacy group that helps low-income residents in Texas and Arkansas on a range of legal issues, including landlord-tenant disputes, foreclosures, disaster recovery and environmental justice.
A spokesperson for the Houston-based group could not be immediately reached for comment. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/feds-illegal-dumping-of-bodies-medical-waste-in-houston-may-violate-civil-rights/3024312/ | 2022-07-22T20:29:36 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/feds-illegal-dumping-of-bodies-medical-waste-in-houston-may-violate-civil-rights/3024312/ |
The special board meeting Saturday to consider firing Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief of Police Pete Arredondo is canceled.
The meeting had been set for 9 a.m. Saturday but was canceled to conform with due process requirements and at the request of his attorney. The meeting will be rescheduled for a later date to be determined.
Arredondo has been under blistering criticism for the police response to the massacre at Robb Elementary School on May 24 that killed 19 children and two teachers, most notably for not ordering officers to immediately breach the classroom where an 18-year-old gunman carried out the attack.
Although nearly 400 officers from various agencies were involved in the police response that took more than an hour to confront and kill the shooter, Arredondo is one of only two known to have faced discipline.
If fired, Arredondo would become the first officer ousted from his job following the deadliest Texas school shooting in history.
During this interim period, as allowed under law, Arredondo will remain on unpaid administrative leave. He has been on leave from the district since June 22. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/saturday-meeting-to-consider-firing-uvalde-cisd-chief-pete-arredondo-canceled/3024126/ | 2022-07-22T20:29:44 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/saturday-meeting-to-consider-firing-uvalde-cisd-chief-pete-arredondo-canceled/3024126/ |
The Herald-Times property for sale after storied history on South Walnut Street
The staff of The Herald-Times newspaper is looking forward to the future, but first we must close a chapter in H-T history. After 61 years in a 61,000-square-foot building at 1900 S. Walnut St. in Bloomington, the H-T newsroom no longer needs such a large space.
The H-T moved to its current location, on an 8.4 acre lot, in 1961. For many years it was a gathering place, recalled former editor Bob Zaltsberg, most notably for its election night parties.
"Community members were welcome to come in and drink coffee, eat doughnuts and talk to candidates and journalists as the results came in," Zaltsberg recounted. "Republicans and Democrats came together to see who would be doing the public’s work."
In her memoir, Charlotte Zietlow tells of learning of her electoral victory at the H-T office. Things were different in the '80s and '90s though, and both local and national incidents have prompted newsrooms to limit public access.
The H-T was expanded in 1982, adding 32,000 square feet of production space. A new press was installed and began operating in 1985. The press in the H-T building last ran on Feb. 3, 2020.
The three-story printing press made the H-T a destination for tours, Zaltsberg recalled.
"There was a small green light visible to the news and composing departments that went on when the press began running," Zaltsberg said. "To me, the men and women who worked in the pressroom were magicians — keeping that big machine running flawlessly most days, and figuring out how to fix it ON DEADLINE when problems arose."
A special section welcoming the community to an open house after the building was expanded and remodeled demonstrates just how much newspaper production has changed. In 1982, more than 150 full- and part-time employees worked at the H-T. Zaltsberg recalled peak employment around 200 during his tenure, which lasted from 1976 to 2019. Now around 20 people work at least part-time in the H-T office.
The H-T office has two apartments, one that was used to house a couple and increase building security and another for guests. Former publisher Scott Schurz had a secret passageway into the guest quarters, just in case he had unwanted visitors.
From the archive:Scott C. Schurz, a leader in local journalism, died at 85
Zaltsberg recalled during the blizzard of 1978, many members of the staff were stranded in the building. They prepared a big spaghetti dinner using the kitchen in one of the apartments and continued to produce newspapers every day, despite not being able to deliver them until the roads were clear and emergency order lifted.
The H-T's history predates this building. The paper was founded in 1877 by Walter Bradfute, an Indiana University graduate from Ohio, under the name The Bloomington Telephone. Bradfute's paper was not the first in Monroe County, but it was the one that survived the ups and downs of early newspaper history.
The Telephone initially published twice a month, but within a few years had grown into a daily publication. In the cutthroat world that was newspapering then, former press operator Sandford Deckard recalled in an H-T article published in 1982, competition was fierce.
"We were always trying to scoop each other," Deckard recalled. "We'd be waiting for the papers to come off the presses to see what they had that we didn't have — and vice versa. And we'd stop the presses and copy from each other's papers."
In 1943, The Daily Telephone merged with the Evening-World, previously named the World-Courier, which was started in 1895 by Henry and Harry Feltus. The new publication was named the Bloomington World-Telephone.
Two newspaper veterans, George Wise and Steward Riley, came to Bloomington in 1947 to start the Daily Herald. The competing papers merged in 1950 to become the Daily Herald-Telephone. The Daily-Herald Telephone operated out of the World-Telephone building on South College Avenue in downtown. In 1961, the newspaper relocated to its present office on South Walnut Street.
The first "Herald-Times" was actually a Sunday edition circulated in both Bloomington and Bedford beginning in 1966 that combined the names of the two papers, Herald Telephone and Times-Mail.
Upon celebrating its 100th anniversary in 1977, the Daily Herald-Telephone dropped "daily" from its name.
The Herald-Telephone officially became The Herald-Times in 1989 when it moved from being an evening publication to a morning paper. In the final edition of The Herald-Telephone, Zaltsberg quoted a research consultant about how long the moniker would last.
"A lot of people will refer to it by that name for a good number of years," Ron Mulder told Zaltsberg. "... I'd say it will be 10 years before it is extinct."
Even now callers to the newsroom still sometimes refer to The Herald-Telephone.
Zaltsberg recalled many elected officials stopped by the office, including former governors and future vice presidents.
The sale of the H-T building will mark a new era for members of the staff, some of whom have worked in this building their entire careers. Even if our office location changes, the staff of The Herald-Times looks forward to continuing to keep the people of Bloomington and Monroe County informed.
Jill Bond is news director for The Herald-Times. Reach her at jbond@heraldt.com. | https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/07/22/herald-times-newspaper-bloomington-property-for-sale-south-walnut-street/7745489001/ | 2022-07-22T20:31:25 | 0 | https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/07/22/herald-times-newspaper-bloomington-property-for-sale-south-walnut-street/7745489001/ |
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson tests positive for COVID-19 on 100th day in office
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 Friday.
The result from the home test marks the second time he has tested positive. The first time was in January.
Johnson's office said the positive result came back from a test he took shortly after a press conference in his office to mark his first 100 days in office.
His office said the mayor is experiencing very mild symptoms and will isolate at home "for the coming days."
"The Mayor has been tested on at least five occasions this week, and today’s is the only test that returned a positive result," his spokesperson, Jeff Fleming, said in an email.
Fleming said Johnson tested after the news conference when he was feeling a mild headache and has regularly worn a mask in close quarters with others.
He noted that Johnson had been at least six feet from others in the office during the press conference, where he was not wearing a mask.
Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/07/22/milwaukee-mayor-cavalier-johnson-tests-positive-covid-19/10129354002/ | 2022-07-22T20:34:02 | 1 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/07/22/milwaukee-mayor-cavalier-johnson-tests-positive-covid-19/10129354002/ |
Wisconsin DNR recommends water systems notify customers of even low levels of 'forever chemical' in drinking water
The Department of Natural Resources is asking all water systems to begin reporting detectable "forever chemical" contaminations in drinking water, under new federal guidelines with limits far lower than the state's standards.
In a statement Friday, the agency said that systems should also start thinking about next steps when lower levels of contamination are discovered.
"It is also recommended that they work with the DNR to determine if additional sampling is warranted and assess voluntary actions that could reduce PFAS exposure to customers," the email said.
The agency is still reviewing the science used by the Environmental Protection Agency to develop the new health action limits but is still recommending that communities use them to inform their customers of what is in their drinking water.
Although actions on the EPA limits aren't required, the department is supporting them.
"The DNR supports these recommendations and will work with any water system that reaches out to coordinate on following these recommendations," said Sarah Hoye, the communications director for the department.
The new EPA health recommendations, which are not enforceable but meant to protect human health, are:
- 0.004 parts per trillion for PFOA.
- 0.02 parts per trillion for PFOS.
- 10 ppt for GenX chemicals.
- 2,000 ppt for PFBS.
The limits fall well below the standards recently passed by the Legislature for PFOA and PFOS, which are two of the most common in the PFAS family. The Wisconsin rules, which are set to go into effect on Aug. 1, are 70 parts per trillion for drinking water, either for the individual compounds or in combination.
The EPA limits also fall below the health limits recommended by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, which the DNR said they are still using as guidelines for communities in terms of mandatory informing. Those limits are 20 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, both combined or individual compounds.
PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant qualities in products like clothing and carpet, nonstick cookware, packaging and firefighting foam. The family includes 5,000 compounds, which are persistent, remaining both in the environment and the human body over time.
The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones. The chemicals enter the human body largely through drinking water.
The compounds have been found in a number of Wisconsin communities over the last several years, including Marinette, Peshtigo, Wausau, Eau Claire, Milwaukee, Madison, Mosinee and the town of Campbell at high levels.
Many other communities participating in voluntary testing by the DNR have had lower levels that still fall above the federal recommendations. The DNR's new recommendation means many communities may now need to confront the question of how to deal with PFAS, even at very low levels.
Wisconsin has more than 1,000 drinking water systems, serving about 69% of Wisconsin residents, according to the DNR. The majority of those have not yet tested or released results regarding PFAS.
Peg Sheaffer, the director of communications and development for Midwest Environmental Advocates, said the DNR's recommendation is based on the most current science, and it's important to keep residents informed.
"Everyone has the right to know about the chemicals they might be exposed to and the risks associated with that exposure," she said in an email. "Our understanding of the health risks of PFAS exposure is still evolving. In the meantime, state and local leaders should step up and do more than the bare minimum to protect the health of Wisconsinites."
Milwaukee is one city that has already been testing for and informing residents of the levels of PFAS in drinking water since 2016, even if levels fall below recommended limits.
"The public has a right to know what’s in their water so they can make informed choices. We feel it’s our responsibility and just a fundamental part of good government to be transparent," said Michelle Natarajan, Water Quality Manager for Milwaukee Water Works.
"Transparency is also an essential part of finding solutions to complex societal issues — it’s difficult to solve any problem unless you’re sharing basic information with everyone, especially those who might be impacted."
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/07/22/wisconsin-dnr-asking-water-systems-should-report-low-levels-pfas/10126303002/ | 2022-07-22T20:34:08 | 0 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/07/22/wisconsin-dnr-asking-water-systems-should-report-low-levels-pfas/10126303002/ |
Facing 176 classroom teacher vacancies, Richmond Public Schools has launched new financial incentives in an attempt to close the gap before the new school year begins at the end of August.
“I’m really going to focus on the teacher vacancies as those are obviously most critical for our instructional program,” RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras said in briefing the Richmond School Board at a recent meeting.
But, adding in all employees who have teacher contracts (including counselors and librarians) the district has 222 teacher vacancies, "which is about double where were last year this time," Kamras said. The figures were as of July 10.
Of the 176 teacher vacancies, 63 are at the elementary/preschool level, 65 for all middle schools and there are 48 vacant high school positions. RPS schools open Aug. 29 for the 2022-2023 academic year.
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The grim reality of teacher vacancies in RPS is not a Richmond-only issue. It’s nationwide.
From February 2020 to May 2022, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, about 300,000 public school teachers and other staff left the field, creating a nearly 3% drop in the workforce.
In Chesterfield, Kimberly Hough, the county's chief of human resources, said last month that the county had 317 unfilled teaching positions, more than 100 vacancies in food service and close to 100 empty instructional assistant positions.
Chesterfield's is a larger school system, with 63,000 students compared with the Richmond school system's 22,000.
“This is a challenge that we're all facing across the region, across the country," Kamras said. "Nonetheless, it is something that I would like us to be a leader in solving." Kamras added that he would like to launch a teacher retention task force in the coming months.
The Richmond School Board in a 6-1 vote on Monday approved new financial incentives to attract teachers to the district. The incentives include:
- A $6,000 moving stipend for teachers who live 50-plus miles outside of Richmond
- A $4,000 signing bonus for teachers with two-plus years of working experience
- A 2,000 signing bonus for new teachers
(There are clawbacks if teachers leave within a year or two years.)
“I want to be very clear, money does not solve everything and the reason people go and stay is about much more than money,” Kamras said. “That being said, it is important. It is meaningful and it does affect people's ability to raise a family pay rent, pay a mortgage, and so on.”
When RPS opened all schools this past fall for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the district faced a greater number of vacancies than the year prior. This past fall the district has 83 vacancies compared with nine in the fall of 2020. The stresses of the division’s virtual year caused a significant rise in staff shortages, according to the division’s staffing update presentation.
During the first pandemic in-person learning year, RPS teachers faced extreme stress and exhaustion as “the pandemic caused a record number of absences.” Teachers were left to pick up the many pieces, which created frequent learning disruptions, larger class sizes, and the loss of planning time and other breaks, according to the division’s staffing update presentation.
The teaching environment was challenged further as students experienced trauma during the pandemic, and teachers caught the virus and were faced with significant mental health challenges. These challenges and others caused RPS to see "a greater number of resignations during and at the end of the year than in years past,” according to the presentation.
Virginia State University recently announced a new program to help combat teacher shortages in Richmond and Petersburg. The university will offer free tuition to master's of education students who are employed as full-time substitute teachers in RPS and Petersburg City Public Schools, according to a news release.
Upon graduating with a master's in education in a single year, the students must commit to a full-time teaching position in either RPS or Petersburg for an additional three years. During the year of schooling, the graduate students will take night and weekend classes while getting real-world experience in a classroom.
While addressing the critical teacher shortages, the primary goal of the grant-funded VSU program is to increase the number of teachers of color, especially male teachers of color.
The Virginia Department of Education’s "I Too Teach" grant for Historically Black Colleges and Universities is funding the free tuition program.
By his calculation, 4th District School Board member Jonathan Young said during Monday's school board meeting, RPS has lost a quarter of its teachers in the past year.
Having 25.6% "of our teachers to leave speak volumes,” Young said. “We should be asking that as a building leader, a school board member, as a superintendent - we should be pursuing, chasing one thing: how to retain our teachers - and if we can retain our teachers, I’m confident we can retain more of our families in the city of Richmond.”
Young suggested seven ideas to retain teachers, including prioritizing teacher retention as an indicator of principal and assistant principal performance, allowing for teacher choice for curriculums, de-emphasizing the need for lesson plans, and eliminating student access to cellphones in secondary schools.
"For me, how we best evaluate a principal and if they are doing his or her job effectively is how many teachers they are retaining," Young said.
Mariah White, who represents the 2nd District, did not support the incentive proposal Monday night, citing a variety of reasons, including concerns with the $6,000 stipend for teachers who live at least 50 miles away, and wanting a bonus for teachers who teach in hard-to-staff schools.
White also said she could not give her support because according to emails she’s received from teachers and administration, RPS staff is leaving because they are "being mistreated somehow," not because of compensation issues.
Nicole Jones, the board’s 9th District representative, asked how RPS is dealing with the loss of institutional knowledge as teachers leave the division.
Those who have left are young teachers, Kamras said. While RPS doesn’t want to lose any teachers, Kamras said there would be more concern if all veteran teachers were leaving. At this time there isn’t a concrete plan on how to transfer institutional knowledge, however, Kamras said he will raise the issue with school leaders at the upcoming leadership institute.
With six weeks until the start of the school year, White asked if there is a contingency plan in place in case all of the open positions are not filled.
Kamras said RPS will lean on substitutes, slightly increase class sizes and deploy staff who are licensed to fill the gaps, adding, “We’re planning for that but we still have a window to make a significant dent in this number.” | https://richmond.com/news/local/education/as-rps-faces-nearly-200-teacher-vacancies-school-board-approves-new-hiring-incentives/article_7509db60-32ba-5ea6-9698-7338fd0f2764.html | 2022-07-22T20:37:37 | 1 | https://richmond.com/news/local/education/as-rps-faces-nearly-200-teacher-vacancies-school-board-approves-new-hiring-incentives/article_7509db60-32ba-5ea6-9698-7338fd0f2764.html |
WATERLOO — A Waterloo woman was found not guilty Friday of child endangerment for an incident at a childcare facility in 2020.
Police alleged that Tammy Barrett, a teacher at Tri-County Head Start, assaulted a 3-year-old along with an assistant teacher. According to police, a video recording showed Barrett drag the child out of the classroom door.
Barrett's trial lasted three days. The jury deliberated for an hour and 45 minutes before delivering its verdict.
Jenilee Schnell, an assistant teacher involved in the same case, pleaded guilty in March to child endangerment, an aggravated misdemeanor. Police said Schnell assaulted the 3-year-old by grabbing, pushing and holding the child to the ground several times. Police also allege Schnell laid on the child and put her arm on the back of the child’s neck.
In the trial, defense attorneys entered a picture of the child’s injury into evidence. A hatch-marked bruise was above the child’s ear. Police said they determined the cause of the mark was from the child being pushed down onto a cot.
The defense said the specific cot was not in Barrett’s room and, therefore, DNA testing could not be performed on the cot.
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Waterloo Police announced Thursday a third person had been arrested last week on felony money laundering charges related to the two-year investigation. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/waterloo-woman-found-not-guilty-in-childcare-endangerment-case/article_8c4a1c30-ee22-5b2e-816b-4f88e5a73e04.html | 2022-07-22T20:37:57 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/waterloo-woman-found-not-guilty-in-childcare-endangerment-case/article_8c4a1c30-ee22-5b2e-816b-4f88e5a73e04.html |
MAQUOKETA, Iowa — Four people are dead following an "emergency situation" at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Friday morning, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
DCI and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office responded to the state park at approximately 6:23 a.m. following reports of a shooting in the park's campground. Once there, three people were found dead.
Special Agent in Charge Mike Krapfl with DCI did not disclose if these individuals were shot to death or not.
After investigating the campsite, law enforcement found one camper was unaccounted for. They searched nearby and discovered the body of 23-year-old Anthony Orlando Sherwin just west of the park.
DCI reports Sherwin appeared to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The agency says there is "no danger to the public."
When asked if Sherwin is the shooter, Krapfl said that would be "the logical conclusion."
"Officers are still out there investigating and trying to determine what the relationships are between everybody," Krapfl said.
Krapfl said the park will remain closed until further notice while authorities continue their investigation.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds responded to the shooting Friday afternoon via press release:
“I’m horrified by the shooting this morning at Maquoketa Caves State Park and devastated by the loss of three innocent lives. As we grieve this unimaginable tragedy, Kevin and I pray for the victims’ family members and the law enforcement officers who responded to the scene. We ask Iowans to do the same.”
WQAD News 8 will update this news story as more information is made available. Download our app and subscribe to our YouTube channel for updates.
More about the caves: Daytrippin’ | Take a look inside Maquoketa Caves, Iowa’s underground treasure | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/maquoketa-caves-active-situation/526-5a0fe6b6-ff90-4602-a96b-72574094e973 | 2022-07-22T20:47:03 | 0 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/maquoketa-caves-active-situation/526-5a0fe6b6-ff90-4602-a96b-72574094e973 |
The Coos Bay Downtown Association will hold the fourth annual "It's All Berry Good" recipe contest during the 2022 Blackberry Arts Festival. This year, recipes will be accepted at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at Coos Bay Elks No. 1160, located at 265 Central Ave. in downtown Coos Bay.
Judging will begin at 11:30 a.m. and the winners names will be announced no later than 2 p.m. Saturday at the festival. Prize awards will be made at 2 p.m. at the Elks.
The winner and top contestants will receive prizes from our CBDA members.
Each recipe entry should be sizable enough for at least six healthy tastes. Each recipe entry must include a copy of a detailed recipe with credit given to the original source; for example Betty Crocker's Cook Book or great grandma Lulu's family recipe. Recipes will be included in an official Blackberry Arts Festival It's All Berry Good Recipe cookbook at a later date.
When creations are submitted, a number will be assigned to ensure anonymity. A photo of you and your recipe will be taken and protected until after the contest. A copy of your recipe will be attached to the contestants entry form. Then the special panel of judges will arrive to determine the prize winning “It's All Berry Good” recipe creations.
Use of blackberries; appearance; prep time/ease of recipe; and of course, taste. | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/it-s-all-berry-good-recipe-contest-returns/article_fce69c78-08a1-11ed-b3a3-13854ef68412.html | 2022-07-22T20:47:03 | 0 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/it-s-all-berry-good-recipe-contest-returns/article_fce69c78-08a1-11ed-b3a3-13854ef68412.html |
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — First responders were attending to a scene Friday where a tree was reported to have fallen on a man.
The incident happened near a home on Serenity Lane in the Stonecrest area. The location is off Rockland Road in the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area.
Fire officials said the man was in a "traumatic arrest," and medical personnel had to perform CPR on the man. They said there was someone chopping trees in the area but did not confirm that was the reason the tree fell.
Few additional details were immediately available. The condition of the man is unknown.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
Also download the 11Alive News app and sign up to receive alerts for the latest on this story and other breaking news in Atlanta and north Georgia. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/tree-person-dekalb-county-serenity-lane-arabia-mountain-national-heritage/85-27db6a43-21bd-473f-9767-f86c5bc453f3 | 2022-07-22T20:47:15 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/tree-person-dekalb-county-serenity-lane-arabia-mountain-national-heritage/85-27db6a43-21bd-473f-9767-f86c5bc453f3 |
A 3,200-acre wildfire 25 miles northeast of Casper has been 80% contained as of Friday morning, an official said.
The fire, dubbed Sand Springs, began around noon Wednesday. Hot temperatures and high winds quickly spread the blaze to around 2,500 acres by the end of the first day and 3,190 acres by its second.
There is no danger to people or buildings in the area, said Carmen Thomason of the Bureau of Land Management. No road closures or evacuations have been needed.
An investigator found the blaze began because of a vehicle fire in the grass, a statement from Converse County Emergency Management said Thursday.
Crews trying to reach the fire on the ground ran into trouble with the sandy terrain, which is far from any roads. Multiple planes and helicopters were also used to help contain the spread. Firefighters from BLM, Converse County, Glenrock and state agencies have been on scene.
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The fire spans land owned by the county, BLM and others. Thomason said they're still working to determine all the land owners in the area.
There is a slight chance of thunderstorms Friday afternoon, but temperatures are expected to go down over the weekend.
BLM land in Converse County has been under Stage 1 fire restrictions since last week, meaning open fires and smoking in many places are prohibited. The June 13 order putting the restrictions in place notes dry conditions and high fire danger in the county. | https://trib.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/western-converse-county-wildfire-80-contained/article_23b35a5e-09e6-11ed-b3fe-17c99fc96efd.html | 2022-07-22T20:51:03 | 1 | https://trib.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/western-converse-county-wildfire-80-contained/article_23b35a5e-09e6-11ed-b3fe-17c99fc96efd.html |
The Air Force Museum Foundation announced Friday that it appointed a new CEO to lead the nonprofit organization that raises funds and awareness in support of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
Rorie Cartier will begin his new role Aug. 4 at the foundation, which has funded 94% of the more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space in addition to annual program support.
He replaces Mike Imhoff who left the foundation as of the end of January 2022.
“Rorie brings a wealth of leadership and national museum management experience to this important CEO role,” said Lt. Gen. C.D. Moore, USAF (retired) and foundation board chairman. “We are confident Rorie will guide the Foundation to greater levels of financial growth, support, and impactful advocacy for the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.”
Cartier previously worked as the executive director of the Patriots Point Development Authority in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina; museum director and chief operating officer at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. He also worked in membership and development at the Admiral Nimitz Foundation and the National World War II Museum and spent several years teaching at the university level. A native of New Orleans, Cartier earned a doctorate in history from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
“I am very excited and honored to be joining the Dayton community and continuing the important and impactful work that the AFMF does in support of the National Museum of the United States Air Force,” Cartier said. “I am looking forward to helping preserve and present the legacies of the men and women who have served in the Air Force, and their enduring contributions to our society.”
About the Author | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/air-force-museum-foundation-appoints-new-ceo/FYRSPPNKC5CBTJ7VWXV53CFLPI/ | 2022-07-22T20:55:21 | 0 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/air-force-museum-foundation-appoints-new-ceo/FYRSPPNKC5CBTJ7VWXV53CFLPI/ |
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Senior Games returned to Luzerne County after a couple years off due to the pandemic.
"It's a qualifier for the National Senior Games next year, which will be held in Pittsburgh. So you have a lot of athletes not only from around the state but from around the country who will come here to try to qualify," Pennsylvania Senior Games Liaison Mike Galli said.
More than 200 athletes ages 50 and older took to the King's College athletic complex near Wilkes-Barre. They competed in track and field events, such as javelin and shot put, all under the blazing summer run.
"It's hot but what are you going to do?" Mary Ann said.
Breaking a sweat for the possibility of a gold medal and a spot in the national competition, participants are staying hydrated and finding shade between events.
"I have a cooler full of bottled water in my car if I have to go back and get it I have like 8-10 more in there so just trying to keep hydrated," James Samiec, of Maryland, said.
With the scorching heat, organizers set up cooling stations to help keep the athletes safe.
"We have ice on hand, ice baths on hand, just in case someone is showing signs of heat stroke or overheating in general, plus Geisinger is here to assess any medical incidents," Galli said.
The Senior Games are a way to promote a healthy lifestyle and sportsmanship. For Maryann Siecko from Lancaster, who's competing in the 75 to 79 group, age is just a number.
"When you get to be 50-55, there is something you can do, the Senior Games! A lot of people aren't aware of them which is a shame because it's so fun," Siecko said.
"I'm trying to show the kids I coach that you can still do this at an older age. And I'm not as old as some of the guys. Some of them that are 80+ and still competing. It's just phenomenal," Samiec said.
There's a full schedule of events running through the next weekend. The public is invited to come cheer on the athletes. For more details on the Senior Games, click here.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/senior-athletes-compete-in-the-heat-games-pennsylvania-national-pittsburgh-wilkesbarre/523-912f31c3-b50c-483a-ab93-02ab3cb3f4b9 | 2022-07-22T20:57:09 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/luzerne-county/senior-athletes-compete-in-the-heat-games-pennsylvania-national-pittsburgh-wilkesbarre/523-912f31c3-b50c-483a-ab93-02ab3cb3f4b9 |
LONG POND, Pa. — The infield at Pocono Raceway has come to life with fans setting up camp to spend the weekend at the track. While there is only one cup race this season, fans will also be able to catch the action of three other races at their go-to racetrack.
The flags are flying atop campers in the infield at Pocono Raceway for the NASCAR race weekend.
Many race fans make a whole vacation out of the weekend at the track, including Rickey Shrey from Harding, who looks forward to this every year.
"It is unbelievable. You come here and are amongst strangers and come out, and you're like family. We've been with the same guys for 11 years, and it is awesome. Pocono is just that, a big NASCAR family."
Last year, the Cup Series held a doubleheader weekend with two races. This season, the Cup Series only races once at the Tricky Triangle.
Some fans were disappointed to hear about the change, but it didn't stop them from coming for the weekend.
"NASCAR does it up good. We have the Cup, Xfinity, trucks, ARCA. You get all four of the series in one shot," Michelle Larocca said.
"it's a powerhouse weekend. You come out smelling like race fuel. No better feeling than that. I mean, let's go! We're at Pocono! Let's go racing, boys!" Shrey exclaimed.
The Camping World truck race and Xfinity races are running on Saturday, followed by the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday afternoon.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/lets-go-racing-boys-nascar-fans-at-pocono-ready-for-races-raceway-tricky-triangle-cup-series-arca-xfinity/523-656cd19d-e88d-4502-b5a2-ebf0eed3db08 | 2022-07-22T20:57:16 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/lets-go-racing-boys-nascar-fans-at-pocono-ready-for-races-raceway-tricky-triangle-cup-series-arca-xfinity/523-656cd19d-e88d-4502-b5a2-ebf0eed3db08 |
LONG POND, Pa. — Some people think driving a race car and changing a tire doesn't involve being in shape, but the NASCAR Foundation teamed up with Pocono Raceway to inform kids how much it does benefit.
Dozens of kids from the Pocono Family YMCA summer camp spent the afternoon at Pocono Raceway. It's part of the Speediatrics Fun Day Festival by the NASCAR Foundation to help kids stay active and healthy.
"All the kids at the YMCA got a pedometer watch, tracking their steps, and we're teaching them about how NASCAR drivers live a happy and healthy life," said Nichole Kreiger, the NASCAR Foundation executive director.
"The whole week, we've been teaching them about NASCAR and being healthy and fit. That was the real focus for the foundation, and they helped provide us lesson plans so we can promote healthy living for the kids," said Steffanie Bush, Pocono Family YMCA.
Some activities included changing a tire, carrying fuel cans filled with water, and pushing a tire in a relay race.
The kids we spoke with said they had a blast.
Drivers from the ARCA Series and Camping World Truck Series stopped by to help with the activities and sign autographs. This was the first time some of these kids have even been to a race track or met a driver; for some, it sparked an interest.
"I just want to drive!" said Logan Restrope. "If I was going to drive, I was going to be like, vroom!"
"A lot of this for us is growing the sport and wanting people to come out and give them a reason to come out if they haven't before and see what NASCAR is all about," said Ben May, Pocono Raceway president.
This was the first time the NASCAR Foundation hosted this event for the kids at Pocono Raceway. They also donated $15,000 to the Pocono Family YMCA.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/speediatrics-festival-at-pocono-raceway-tricky-triangel-nascar-foundation-pocono-family-ymca/523-a6706da8-62da-4cce-a04e-089befdbc5ba | 2022-07-22T20:57:22 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/speediatrics-festival-at-pocono-raceway-tricky-triangel-nascar-foundation-pocono-family-ymca/523-a6706da8-62da-4cce-a04e-089befdbc5ba |
DANVILLE, Pa. — Brandon Conaway of State College has been at Geisinger Janet Weis Children's Hospital near Danville for nearly two weeks.
Despite not feeling well, Brandon was having a good time playing video games with his new friend, content creator DGR Dave.
"It's humbling being here and knowing that this will be able to help so many kids on the road to recovery a little bit faster," the content creator said.
DGR Dave is a gamer from central Pennsylvania with a large online following. He started gaming as a hobby, and in 2016, he made a career out of it.
In December, he held a "12 Games of Christmas" event to raise money for the Starlight Children's Foundation.
"Our goal was $25,000, and we hit that actually in the first day. So we kind of just kept setting the goal a little bit higher, never thinking it would get to where it was," he said.
DGR Dave raised more than $80,000 for the Starlight Children's Foundation, which provides video games to children's hospitals around the country. Through this donation, two gaming systems were donated to Janet Weis Children's Hospital.
DGR Dave and his wife Amanda have a personal connection to this hospital.
When Amanda was a teenager, she had lifesaving surgery here. While his high school sweetheart recovered, DGR Dave played video games.
"It's very surreal being back here, being able to give back kind of a portion of what we were able to use," he said.
Now patients such as Brandon Conaway are able to enjoy games, too.
"It's hard whenever they're in, and they don't have stuff to distract them, so stuff like this is amazing. It gives them an opportunity to not have to think about what they're going through," Heather Conaway said.
The best part? Watching the kids enjoy the games.
See news happening? Text our Newstip Hotline. | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/montour-county/central-pennsylvania-gamer-raises-money-for-childrens-hospitals-danville-pa-dgr-dave/523-a8b57016-549b-4aaa-a6a6-e066b2c662c1 | 2022-07-22T20:57:28 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/montour-county/central-pennsylvania-gamer-raises-money-for-childrens-hospitals-danville-pa-dgr-dave/523-a8b57016-549b-4aaa-a6a6-e066b2c662c1 |
AUSTIN, Texas — A union organizing for hourly Tiff's Treats employees has filed unfair labor practice charges against the Austin-based cookie company.
Tiff's Treats Workers United said in a post on their Twitter account last week that the charges against Tiff's Treats are "for rules prohibiting protected union activity." The worker-led union claimed a couple of locations took down union literature from breakrooms.
Members of Tiff's Treats Workers United want a new union contract establishing wages of $15 per hour for drivers, $18 per hour for kitchen staff and $22 per hour for on-duty managers. They also want the contract to include driver mileage reimbursement, free health coverage, no blackout dates and reduction of food waste.
Tiff's Treats released a statement Friday on the union's activities, saying that their employees "are among the highest paid food service and delivery workers in the industry."
"We recognize our hourly team members' contributions to our shared success with industry-leading compensation and benefits, including an average of more than $24/hour for our Austin delivery drivers, the most experienced of whom earn up to $50,000/year when driving full-time," the statement said. "Our non-driver compensation in Austin ranges from more than $14/hour to more than $18/hour, depending on position, skill level and experience."
The statement from Tiff's Treats went on to say that the company offers hourly workers vision, dental and medical/Rx insurance and put 87 cents from every dollar on average toward workers' health insurance costs.
"And beginning on their very first day of employment, our hourly team members are eligible to start earning paid personal and sick time, which they can cash out at any time, for any reason," the statement said. "Tiff's Treats also offers our team members the opportunity to participate in a 401K plan – a rare benefit for hourly workers in the food service industry – including company matching up to 4%."
Tiff's Treats said they recently increased on-duty manager pay to a starting wage of $18 per hour rather than the previous $16 per hour. They also pay drivers $1 per delivery in addition to their hourly pay when using a fleet car and $2 per delivery when using a personal car.
"Tiff's Treats is committed to supporting and developing our team members, enabling them to build and advance their careers with us," the statement said. "Today, 66% of our management team and headquarters staff are comprised of former hourly team members, who now own equity in the business through the benefit of our company stock option plan."
Editor's note: the final quote originally said "former team members." It has been changed to "former hourly team members" for clarity.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/union-files-charges-against-tiffs-treats-statement/269-aa04281d-da8a-4d1e-879c-ca297344b600 | 2022-07-22T21:00:05 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/union-files-charges-against-tiffs-treats-statement/269-aa04281d-da8a-4d1e-879c-ca297344b600 |
Nebraska's unemployment rate stayed at a historically low level in June.
The Nebraska Department of Labor said the state's rate was 1.9% last month, unchanged from May and down 0.6 percentage points from June 2021.
That continues to be the lowest rate ever for Nebraska, but it is no longer the lowest rate ever recorded in the U.S. Minnesota's unemployment rate fell to 1.8% in June.
Nebraska also boasts employment levels at historical highs.
“Nebraska continues to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and over a million Nebraskans employed,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin.
Statewide, there were nearly 26,600 more people employed than a year ago, while there were about 21,600 more jobs.
The Lincoln area's unemployment rate rose to 2.4% in June, up from 1.9% in May but down from 2.8% in June 2021.
Lincoln had more than 6,000 more people employed than at the same time last year and about 3,800 more jobs than 12 months ago.
The national unemployment rate in June was 3.6%.
Highest-earning counties in Nebraska
Highest-earning counties in Nebraska
The 2020 median household income in the U.S. was $67,521, a decrease of 2.9% from 2019. COVID-19 in 2020 drastically altered income and poverty levels, along with consumer habits and job opportunities.
Stacker compiled a list of the highest-earning counties in Nebraska using data from the U.S. Census Bureau . Counties are ranked by 2020 5-year estimate median household income.
Data shows that annual annual income depends heavily on an individual’s educational attainment, race, ethnicity, gender, and even location. One cluster of the United States is particularly well off: The five of the seven counties with the highest median household income in the country can be found in the Washington D.C. metropolitan areas of Maryland and Northern Virginia. These counties can likely attribute their wealth to their proximity to Washington D.C., which attracts highly educated and skilled people in areas of law and public policy. And people in those fields often marry each other , making two high-earning households one very high-earning household.
Keep reading to learn more about the highest-earning counties in Nebraska.
You may also like: Lowest-earning counties in Nebraska
Jared Winkler // Wikimedia Commons
#50. Knox County
- Median household income: $53,653
--- 14.9% below state average, 17.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.0%
--- #2,143 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 10.5%
--- #1,490 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#49. Boyd County
- Median household income: $53,846
--- 14.6% below state average, 17.2% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 21.0%
--- #1,445 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 11.4%
--- #1,465 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#48. Banner County
- Median household income: $53,864
--- 14.5% below state average, 17.1% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 21.4%
--- #1,376 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 5.1%
--- #1,462 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#47. Custer County
- Median household income: $53,891
--- 14.5% below state average, 17.1% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 21.0%
--- #1,445 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 8.9%
--- #1,459 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#46. Garfield County
- Median household income: $54,659
--- 13.3% below state average, 15.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.1%
--- #2,120 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.3%
--- #1,376 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: Nebraska is the #10 state with the fewest rural hospital closures since 2005
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#45. Keya Paha County
- Median household income: $55,250
--- 12.3% below state average, 15.0% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 23.5%
--- #1,057 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.7%
--- #1,320 highest among all counties nationwide
Coemgenus // Wikimedia Commons
#44. Blaine County
- Median household income: $55,268
--- 12.3% below state average, 15.0% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 6.7%
--- #3,118 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 4.3%
--- #1,318 highest among all counties nationwide
Jimmy Emerson, DVM // Flickr
#43. Cherry County
- Median household income: $55,431
--- 12.0% below state average, 14.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 19.5%
--- #1,690 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 10.2%
--- #1,296 highest among all counties nationwide
Canva
#42. Thurston County
- Median household income: $55,574
--- 11.8% below state average, 14.5% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 20.7%
--- #1,492 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 11.8%
--- #1,283 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#41. Adams County
- Median household income: $56,007
--- 11.1% below state average, 13.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 22.4%
--- #1,216 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.8%
--- #1,242 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: Highest-rated breweries in Nebraska
Pixabay
#40. Chase County
- Median household income: $56,135
--- 10.9% below state average, 13.6% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 18.2%
--- #1,933 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 5.1%
--- #1,234 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#39. Valley County
- Median household income: $56,205
--- 10.8% below state average, 13.5% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 16.3%
--- #2,267 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 8.9%
--- #1,228 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#38. Dawson County
- Median household income: $56,731
--- 10.0% below state average, 12.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 22.8%
--- #1,158 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.5%
--- #1,188 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#37. Dixon County
- Median household income: $57,243
--- 9.2% below state average, 11.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 20.3%
--- #1,558 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.8%
--- #1,129 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#36. Pierce County
- Median household income: $57,629
--- 8.5% below state average, 11.3% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 23.1%
--- #1,113 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.9%
--- #1,091 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: Best counties to live in Nebraska
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#35. Phelps County
- Median household income: $58,105
--- 7.8% below state average, 10.6% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 25.0%
--- #882 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 12.8%
--- #1,057 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#34. Dodge County
- Median household income: $58,439
--- 7.3% below state average, 10.1% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 20.4%
--- #1,543 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.9%
--- #1,030 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#33. Hall County
- Median household income: $58,595
--- 7.0% below state average, 9.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 22.5%
--- #1,196 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.4%
--- #1,022 highest among all counties nationwide
Brad Mellema // Wikimedia Commons
#32. Wayne County
- Median household income: $58,894
--- 6.5% below state average, 9.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 20.3%
--- #1,558 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 13.5%
--- #1,006 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#31. Thomas County
- Median household income: $59,000
--- 6.4% below state average, 9.2% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 27.9%
--- #631 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 11.2%
--- #992 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: What to know about workers' compensation in Nebraska
marekuliasz // Shutterstock
#30. Cuming County
- Median household income: $59,202
--- 6.1% below state average, 8.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 20.5%
--- #1,520 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.7%
--- #971 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#29. Butler County
- Median household income: $59,232
--- 6.0% below state average, 8.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 25.5%
--- #822 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.3%
--- #969 highest among all counties nationwide
Ali Eminov // Flickr
#28. Frontier County
- Median household income: $59,250
--- 6.0% below state average, 8.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 18.3%
--- #1,902 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 11.8%
--- #967 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#27. Howard County
- Median household income: $59,432
--- 5.7% below state average, 8.6% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 17.1%
--- #2,120 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 8.0%
--- #947 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#26. Polk County
- Median household income: $59,837
--- 5.0% below state average, 7.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 20.6%
--- #1,517 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 8.0%
--- #909 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: Counties with the most born-and-bred residents in Nebraska
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#25. Lincoln County
- Median household income: $59,995
--- 4.8% below state average, 7.7% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 23.0%
--- #1,126 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 10.4%
--- #895 highest among all counties nationwide
Smallbones // Wikimedia Commons
#24. Boone County
- Median household income: $60,094
--- 4.6% below state average, 7.5% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 23.2%
--- #1,105 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.6%
--- #885 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#23. Holt County
- Median household income: $60,214
--- 4.4% below state average, 7.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 19.9%
--- #1,626 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 8.9%
--- #876 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#22. Platte County
- Median household income: $60,878
--- 3.4% below state average, 6.3% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 22.1%
--- #1,259 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.7%
--- #831 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#21. Dakota County
- Median household income: $61,227
--- 2.8% below state average, 5.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 24.6%
--- #921 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.6%
--- #807 highest among all counties nationwide
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Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#20. Perkins County
- Median household income: $61,389
--- 2.6% below state average, 5.5% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 26.7%
--- #717 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 10.4%
--- #797 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#19. Box Butte County
- Median household income: $61,904
--- 1.8% below state average, 4.8% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 25.3%
--- #849 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 11.2%
--- #754 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#18. Fillmore County
- Median household income: $62,151
--- 1.4% below state average, 4.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 25.9%
--- #786 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.7%
--- #738 highest among all counties nationwide
The Crumpled Pamphlet // Wikimedia Commons
#17. Lancaster County
- Median household income: $62,464
--- 0.9% below state average, 3.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 27.4%
--- #668 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 8.5%
--- #721 highest among all counties nationwide
Katherine Welles // Shutterstock
#16. Kearney County
- Median household income: $62,899
--- 0.2% below state average, 3.2% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 26.9%
--- #704 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.0%
--- #693 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: Most valuable crops grown in Nebraska
Jared Winkler // Wikimedia Commons
#15. York County
- Median household income: $63,105
--- 0.1% above state average, 2.9% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 25.2%
--- #865 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.0%
--- #681 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#14. Buffalo County
- Median household income: $63,513
--- 0.8% above state average, 2.3% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 26.7%
--- #723 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 10.0%
--- #663 highest among all counties nationwide
Jasperdo // Flickr
#13. Clay County
- Median household income: $63,686
--- 1.1% above state average, 2.0% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 21.4%
--- #1,371 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 9.1%
--- #653 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#12. Colfax County
- Median household income: $64,269
--- 2.0% above state average, 1.1% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 20.9%
--- #1,460 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.0%
--- #621 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#11. Cedar County
- Median household income: $64,703
--- 2.7% above state average, 0.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 24.1%
--- #974 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.7%
--- #597 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: Most popular baby names for boys in Nebraska
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#10. Otoe County
- Median household income: $64,755
--- 2.8% above state average, 0.4% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 26.9%
--- #704 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.9%
--- #592 highest among all counties nationwide
Workman // Wikimedia Commons
#9. Stanton County
- Median household income: $64,808
--- 2.8% above state average, 0.3% below national average
- Households earning over $100k: 22.3%
--- #1,240 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.8%
--- #590 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#8. Gosper County
- Median household income: $65,086
--- 3.3% above state average, 0.1% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 22.0%
--- #1,268 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 4.3%
--- #572 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#7. Douglas County
- Median household income: $66,600
--- 5.7% above state average, 2.5% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 30.5%
--- #454 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 8.9%
--- #504 highest among all counties nationwide
JonClee86 // Wikicommons
#6. Hamilton County
- Median household income: $68,649
--- 8.9% above state average, 5.6% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 32.0%
--- #391 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 3.6%
--- #422 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: Most diverse counties in Nebraska
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#5. Saunders County
- Median household income: $70,414
--- 11.7% above state average, 8.3% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 31.8%
--- #403 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 6.8%
--- #366 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#4. Seward County
- Median household income: $71,111
--- 12.8% above state average, 9.4% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 30.1%
--- #480 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 5.8%
--- #349 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#3. Washington County
- Median household income: $71,505
--- 13.5% above state average, 10.0% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 35.6%
--- #266 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 7.1%
--- #338 highest among all counties nationwide
Ammodramus // Wikimedia Commons
#2. Cass County
- Median household income: $73,683
--- 16.9% above state average, 13.4% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 34.0%
--- #313 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 5.5%
--- #283 highest among all counties nationwide
David Wilson // Flickr
#1. Sarpy County
- Median household income: $83,051
--- 31.8% above state average, 27.8% above national average
- Households earning over $100k: 40.3%
--- #168 highest among all counties nationwide
- Households earning less than $15k: 4.6%
--- #157 highest among all counties nationwide
You may also like: Counties with the highest rate of food insecure children in Nebraska
Jared Winkler // Wikimedia Commons
Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com .
On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
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Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. | https://journalstar.com/business/local/nebraska-unemployment-rate-remains-at-historical-low/article_4e2d66ef-6205-5cc1-9a78-c9a8e0ae4246.html | 2022-07-22T21:00:42 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/business/local/nebraska-unemployment-rate-remains-at-historical-low/article_4e2d66ef-6205-5cc1-9a78-c9a8e0ae4246.html |
A 29-year-old Lincoln man was arrested Friday after police say his dispute with another man on a StarTran bus ultimately devolved into a stabbing in downtown Lincoln.
Hser Htoo and a 37-year-old man were removed from the city bus near 11th and N streets around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday after an argument, Lincoln Police said in a news release. The department did not describe the nature of the disagreement.
Their disagreement continued at the bus stop before Htoo wielded a knife and stabbed the man, who remains hospitalized with life-threatening injures, the police said.
A Nebraska State trooper found and arrested the 29-year-old near 12th and P streets in the minutes after the alleged attack. He was jailed on suspicion of first-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.
Southbound traffic on 11th Street between N and O streets was blocked off for several hours Friday morning but had reopened by 3:30 p.m.
Friday's stabbing marks at least the second such instance in the same block of 11th Street this year. In February, a 40-year-old Lincoln man attacked a 69-year-old man at the bus stop in an apparent random act of violence that resulted in serious injuries, the police said then.
A Kansas City, Missouri, native, Andrew Wegley joined the Journal Star as breaking news reporter after graduating from Northwest Missouri State University in May 2021.
A Thursday night shooting in South Sioux City that involved an officer with the South Sioux City Police Department is now being investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.
Officers were called to the area of 11th and O streets at about 9:30 a.m. They located a man in his 20s with life-threatening injuries, according to Lincoln Police Department Assistant Chief Jason Stille. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-man-arrested-after-bus-dispute-leads-to-stabbing-police-say/article_b73d0165-4951-5001-baca-4ff4e3fa4791.html | 2022-07-22T21:00:48 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-man-arrested-after-bus-dispute-leads-to-stabbing-police-say/article_b73d0165-4951-5001-baca-4ff4e3fa4791.html |
The herd of giraffes at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo grew again last month.
The zoo announced Friday that Mario -- its first male calf, and the third giraffe calf delivered this year -- was born June 23 to Kendy, one of the zoo’s five adult females.
Within the first hour of his birth, the 6-foot-6 newborn was able to stand. He’s grown 3 inches in the past month, and he and his mom are thriving, according to the zoo.
He joins Mosi, born in late January, and Kay, born a month later, and six adults.
The zoo added giraffes in 2019 as part of its $25 million expansion, and participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ long-term species survival plan for giraffes, which dictates the distribution of animals to try to keep their genetics diverse.
A Lincoln therapist and drug and alcohol counselor has had her mental health practitioner license revoked over allegations that she befriended a client and took thousands in cash and trips from her.
Five friends were inside a boat when an unidentified man opened the cabin door and fired two shots at 42-year-old Benjamin J. Case, who died at the scene.
"This was an atrocity, the crime that was inflicted on Kayla Matulka. And the actions were violent and brutal," Saunders County District Judge Christina Marroquin said.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program allows qualifying borrowers to apply to have their debt canceled if they have routinely made payments while doing public interest work.
The Lincoln Police Department were called to the 1600 block of West E Street with complaint of a disturbance. Upon arrival, 22-year-old Xavier Wheeler was found hiding in a bedroom closet, LPD Sgt. Justin Armstrong said.
The intruder, who identified himself to residents as "John," kicked in the door of the house and ran through the home before firing a gun and leaving out the back door, Sheriff Terry Wagner said.
Police on Friday identified the 83-year-old woman found dead this week in a southwest Lincoln stream as Marilyn McArthur, a longtime Union College professor.
The scam — which went on for at least four days — involved callers purporting to be from Amazon and the DEA, who instructed the woman to leave bags of cash and gold outside of her northwest Lincoln home. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/watch-now-third-giraffe-calf-of-2022-born-at-lincoln-childrens-zoo/article_dff35a8e-0a1b-5b37-a952-7ef0a897e812.html | 2022-07-22T21:00:54 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/watch-now-third-giraffe-calf-of-2022-born-at-lincoln-childrens-zoo/article_dff35a8e-0a1b-5b37-a952-7ef0a897e812.html |
'Bright as a firework flash': Hoosiers report fireball sighting early Friday
It's a bird! It's a plane!
It's actually not, and it's not Superman. It's a fireball.
A fireball passed over Central Indiana as well as several other states around 1:50 a.m. Friday, the American Meteor Society confirmed.
"The main thing that gives us an idea is the wide area that it was seen, plus the fact that it only lasted a few seconds," Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator for AMS, told IndyStar.
Lunsford said that the fireball likely lasted between three and five seconds, though eyewitness accounts ranged. The trajectory was northeast, heading just north of Indianapolis, Lunsford said.
This particular fireball was likely not part of any specific meteor shower, because meteor showers usually peak just before dawn and this was just before 2 a.m., Lunfsord said.
"I would say this is most likely a random occurrence," Lunsford said.
Other fireball sightings:Fireball 'the size of a horse' spotted over Central Indiana early Wednesday
The Midwest has had quite a few fireball sightings lately. "Fireball season" occurs in the summer because more people are outside to view the astronomical events due to the warmer weather, Lunsford said.
Meteors occur when debris crosses into the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds and burns up. A fireball is an especially bright meteor.
Generally, fireballs have about the same brightness as the planet Venus as it can be seen in the morning or evening skies, according to AMS.
The reason that fireballs are brighter than the average meteor is because they're caused by the burning of bigger pieces of debris, Brian Murphy, director of Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium at Butler University, previously told IndyStar.
As of Friday afternoon, over 100 eyewitness accounts of this fireball had been reported to AMS.
Sightings were reported in Alabama, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin and Ohio, in addition to Indiana.
Jackson W. in Zionsville described in the eyewitness report that it was "bright as a firework flash."
Amanda S. in Noblesville said the fireball was bright and colorful, with shades of light blue, light green, orange and yellow.
"I’ve never seen anything like what I just saw," Amanda S. wrote. "It was beautiful, exciting, and prompted me to do quick research and to see who else may have seen it as well."
Hannah H. in Noblesville wrote that the fireball was very bright and that they "initially thought it was lightning."
In Fishers, Denise K. wrote, "I never thought I would see something like this! My dogs woke me up to go outside, which is normal. I just happened to be looking up at the right time, and the sky is relatively clear tonight!" | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/2022/07/22/fire-ball-meteor-sighting-indiana-astronomy-ams/65380073007/ | 2022-07-22T21:01:04 | 1 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/2022/07/22/fire-ball-meteor-sighting-indiana-astronomy-ams/65380073007/ |
Dog walker drama on new Nickel Plate Trail in Fishers
The Nickel Plate Trail is not only bringing new recreational opportunities for joggers, bikers and pedestrians in Fishers but some growing — and growling — pains as well.
Dog walkers are among the trail’s heavy users but recently several of them complained they’ve had to carry mace and weapons because a pair of loose pits bull mixes menaced them and their pets several times on the trail a few blocks south of 116th Street.
Fishers Police Sgt. Tom Weger said they received seven complaints from residents in the Cheeney Creek area about the two dogs chasing other dogs on the trail and at least one incident in which a dog was bit on its tail.
Weger said the dogs were hostile to other dogs, not people, but dog walkers said they feared being bit if they had to separate fighting dogs.
The Fishers animal control officer issued warnings and three citations for failure to restrain and animal and the dogs were declared dangerous. One of the dogs was quarantined after biting a pet on the trail. The owners eventually turned them over to the Humane Society for Hamilton County.
The incidents led to some acrimonious back and forth on the Next Door app that highlighted a perhaps unexpected hazard on the already popular trail, with dog walkers issuing dire alerts.
“There are two pitbulls loose on the Nickel Plate Trail – one black and one brown who started jumping on my dog,” a dogwalker posted.
Marcy Kellar, who lives four houses down from the pit bulls in the Heritage Meadows neighborhood, caught about 20 incidents on her backyard security cameras that face the trail.
The dogs can be seen running and heard barking after dogwalkers as they yell at them to get away.
“The pitbulls have been kicked, punched and maced to get them to stop,” Kellar said.
She said the attacks went on for weeks without animal control intervention because most of the pet owners didn’t report them. “I think everyone thought it was isolated so they didn’t report them,” she said.
But they sparked a fierce social media debate in the meantime.
People described being terrified as the dogs came running toward them. “I was screaming for help but no one was around,” one post read. Another dog walker said he was chased for half-a-mile by the two pit mixes.
The discussion then turned to defenses against the intruders.
“My neighbor bought a baton just so he could continue to walk on the trail,” one said.
“The fact is we carry when we walk and I will not sacrifice my life or my dog’s,” said another.
“I’d encourage others to walk with protection, as well. Whether it be legal weapon/mace/pepper spray,” said a third.
The pit bull owners, who did not respond to a request for an interview, said on the Next Door app that the dogs stayed in their yard until the Nickel Plate Trail was built.
“Our dogs never ran before that trail, not making excuses,” the owner said in one post.
“They built a trail in their back yard. Causing them to have that pack natural instinct come back,” she said in another.
The owners put up a fence in the backyard but the dogs still escaped when their children came in through the yard.
Weger said the wave of complaints are the only dog-related problems police have received on the trail so far – or problems of any sort.
Kellar said dog problems were an unexpected source of friction.
“I thought the most dangerous thing was going to be cyclists out there ruling the trail, or maybe some crime problems,” she said. “I never thought about dogs.”
City Councilor David Giffel, who represents the area, said he got an email about the dogs and made a call to police for information.
But he declined to lay blame on the newness of the Nickel Plate Trail or the unfamiliarity of the homeowners who live along it.
“That could happen anywhere, it could happen on my block,” he said of the attacks. “People have to take personal responsibility for their pets. I feel bad for the dogs.”
Hamilton Humane spokeswoman Megan Davis said the dogs were both under five years old and would be evaluated to see if they are adoptable. If they aren’t the humane society, which is a no-kill shelter, will try to find a rescue for them. | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/fishers/2022/07/22/dogs-pets-fishers-indiana-escaped-pit-bull-dog-walkers-nickel-plate-trail-drama/65380133007/ | 2022-07-22T21:01:10 | 0 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/fishers/2022/07/22/dogs-pets-fishers-indiana-escaped-pit-bull-dog-walkers-nickel-plate-trail-drama/65380133007/ |
Mysterious animal found in Noblesville backyard identified
A curious Noblesville resident reached out on social media for help after finding the body of a strange-looking bloated and hairless animal in her backyard.
Michelle Havlik's dog pulled the creature, about 7-inches long, out of a backyard pool. She posted a picture of the animal, which appeared to be a cross between a pig and squirrel, to social media and asked if anyone could identify it.
There was no shortage of responses — more than 200 — on the Noblesville Chatter UNCENSORED page. Many people said it was a guinea pig, squirrel, baby boar or muskrat.
Some identified it as a Chupacabra, a legendary blood-sucking creature in Puerto Rico that Encyclopedia Britannica describes as “a fearsome but probably nonexistent creature … the southern equivalent of the Sasquatch.”
More:317 Project: Sights and sounds from the White River, a waterway for the people
One poster said it was an “alien experiment" but most people said it looked like a common groundhog.
Not content to rely solely on social media, Havlik also contacted the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. But there was a snag.
After Havlik took a picture of the creature she went inside to get a bag for it. When she came back it was gone.
Still, a few hours later DNR gave Havlik her answer: It was a groundhog that was bloated and distorted from being submerged in water.
That finding didn’t satisfy everyone, Havlik said.
“People are still saying it’s something different than what it is,” she said. “It’s amazing.”
As for the creature's disappearing act, DNR told Havlik a vulture probably swooped down and nabbed it. | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/noblesville/2022/07/22/noblesville-resident-reached-out-on-social-to-identify-a-strange-creature-animal/65380423007/ | 2022-07-22T21:01:16 | 1 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/noblesville/2022/07/22/noblesville-resident-reached-out-on-social-to-identify-a-strange-creature-animal/65380423007/ |
Westfield, for a second time, extends deadline on Grand Park bids
The city of Westfield has again extended the deadline on accepting bids from companies that have expressed interest in Grand Park Sports Campus.
Appraisals of the 400-acre sports campus are still being finalized, so the companies that met the April "intent to bid" deadline will have through Aug. 8 to submit proposals, Westfield spokesman Chris Proffitt wrote in an email to IndyStar Friday.
The city's appraisers are finishing documents tied to the appraisal, which Westfield expects to have by Monday, Proffitt wrote.
The extension will "give bidders adequate time for consideration," Proffitt wrote.
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In March, the Westfield Redevelopment Commission released the initial request for proposals seeking companies interested in purchasing Grand Park or operating the property in a public-private partnership with the city.
June 22 was the initial deadline for bid proposals, but the city initially extended that to July 25 after a request for additional time to finish appraisals of Grand Park.
Appraisals are a requirement for the sale of municipal property, according to a June news release from the city. Property cannot be sold for less than the average of two appraisals performed before the sale, according to the request for proposals on Grand Park.
Grand Park opened in 2014. The $49 million sports campus is home to 31 soccer fields, 26 baseball diamonds and other buildings. A $26 million, 378,000-square-foot indoor event center opened in 2016. | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/westfield/2022/07/22/westfield-indiana-extends-deadline-bids-for-grand-park-sports-campus/65380611007/ | 2022-07-22T21:01:22 | 1 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/westfield/2022/07/22/westfield-indiana-extends-deadline-bids-for-grand-park-sports-campus/65380611007/ |
H-E-B is continuing its push into the online grocery and delivery market with the opening of its latest fulfillment center in Leander, just northwest of Austin.
The 50,000-square-foot facility, which opened Wednesday, will support H-E-B’s curbside and home delivery operations in fast-growing Central Texas. It’s the fifth fulfillment center the company has opened since 2018.
“At H-E-B, we’re always looking for ways to offer Texans a better shopping experience and more options to choose how they shop, pay for, and receive their products,” Kedar Patel, H-E-B’s vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement.
The San Antonio grocer’s e-commerce services recently bested Amazon and its Amazon Fresh subsidiary — as well as its chief rival, Walmart — as the top U.S. online grocer in a retailer preference study by customer data science firm dunnhumby.
The fulfillment centers stock goods found in stores and employ automation to fill customer orders. They’ve helped H-E-B expand its curbside and delivery options, which launched in 2015 and are now available at more than 260 stores in Texas. The company has about 420 stores across Texas and in Mexico.
By the end of next year, H-E-B plans to open more fulfillment centers in Texas, including in Plano to help support the company’s expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. In Cibolo, it plans to build a 55,000-square-foot fulfillment center for curbside and delivery operations along with a 110,000-square-foot store.
H-E-B also has been setting up automated micro-fulfillment centers, which are operated with technology by Swisslog Logistics.
The retailer bought Favor Delivery in 2018, a rare acquisition, and doubled the Austin company’s coverage area statewide in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, it launched My H-E-B, a mobile app that allows customers to order groceries for curbside pickup or home delivery, or to locate items in a store
The Leander facility this week was still looking to fill 150 positions that can be applied for online at H-E-B’s website. It’s also been hiring for its new stores in the D-FW metro area. Its first two H-E-B stores open later this year in Frisco and Plano. Two others under construction are scheduled to open next summer in McKinney and Allen.
H-E-B stores have been open around the south and west perimeter of D-FW for several years. They’re in Waxahachie, Ennis, Corsicana, Cleburne, Granbury, Burleson and Hudson Oaks.
Staff writers Madison Iszler and Steven Santana contributed to this story. | https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/HEB-curbside-center-warehouse-leander-17323020.php | 2022-07-22T21:02:12 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/HEB-curbside-center-warehouse-leander-17323020.php |
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Planned Parenthood South Texas’ board of directors has named Laura Terrill to be its next CEO, the organization announced Friday.
She will replace longtime CEO Jeffrey Hons, who retired July 1.
Terrill is joining the South Texas affiliate after working for Planned Parenthood of Montana, where she was vice president of external affairs for the last six years. She was previously executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon, the Oregon counterpart to Planned Parenthood Texas Votes. She has also served in government positions, including as chief of staff for the Oregon secretary of state.
Founded in 1939, Planned Parenthood South Texas is a major provider of sexual and reproductive health care with centers in San Antonio, Brownsville and Harlingen that serve more than 25,000 people each year.
On ExpressNews.com: Supreme Court’s abortion decision condemned, celebrated in San Antonio
Its services include birth control, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, gender-affirming hormone therapy, fertility assistance, primary care and more.
“Laura brings impressive experience and background in reproductive health and rights. She is also an effective communicator, a thoughtful advocate for reproductive rights and a dynamic and creative leader,” said Merritt Clements, board chair of Planned Parenthood South Texas. “We’re excited to have her lead the next chapter of PPST’s work in the communities we serve.”
Terrill will take the reins on Aug. 1, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June by the U.S. Supreme Court. That 1973 landmark decision constitutionally protected the right to abortion. Since then, Texas politicians have used pre-Roe era laws to ban all abortion in the state.
“This fight is not over,” Terrill said in a statement. “I look forward to working together with partners across South Texas to eliminate barriers to essential health care, including abortion. Together, we will ensure every member of our community thrives no matter who they love, where they live, their country of origin or their income. Our communities deserve nothing less.”
laura.garcia@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Planned-Parenthood-South-Texas-names-woman-to-17322949.php | 2022-07-22T21:02:55 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Planned-Parenthood-South-Texas-names-woman-to-17322949.php |
Amid 107-degree weather in Texas, one squirrel was caught with an interesting method of beating the heat.
In a TikTok video by user @dallas_texastv that was posted on Tuesday, the squirrel can be seen splooting, a method of staying cool by lying on the stomach and sprawling all limbs out on the ground. The squirrel was also lying on a sidewalk grate.
Recently, San Antonio's Police Chief Bill McManus also captured a local squirrel doing the same thing just last week.
"Found this squirrel trying to cool off in the shade," McManus tweeted. "Thought he was hurt/dead at first but that wasn't the case. He got up as I approached and reassumed his position as soon as I walked away."
Amid the summer heat in Texas, squirrels across the state have taken to splooting to cool off, with even those in Houston resorting to the method, according to Click 2 Houston.
Squirrels of UT, which posts photos of squirrels from around the University of Texas at Austin campus, said splooting is the primary way for squirrels to cool off because they don't pant or sweat.
With this scorcher of a summer Texas is experiencing, it will likely not be the last time someone catches a squirrel splooting.
On ExpressNews.com: Smog levels in Texas surge during heat wave, bringing worst summer air quality in a decade
The viral TikTok video of the Dallas squirrel has been viewed more than 4.3 million times and has collected more than 316,000 likes and 2,800 comments.
"Yep. 108° in north Dallas. I’ve always put small bowls of ice water out for the squirrels and birds," user jackindallas wrote.
"Isn't it getting air from below." user novim4456 wrote. "Smart squirrel!"
shepard.price@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Squirrel-splooting-Texas-heat-TikTok-17322365.php | 2022-07-22T21:03:01 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Squirrel-splooting-Texas-heat-TikTok-17322365.php |
NEW HAMPSHIRE, USA — Hikers are used to seeing dogs up on a mountain, but this story is the tale of the trail and the hare.
"You ready to go?" Chelsea Eason asked as she slowly pried her nine-pound Mini Rex rabbit named Moose out of her backpack.
Moose, also known as littlemountainbunny on Instagram, is named after the first mountain she hiked: Mount Moosilauke. At the young age of just three-and-a-half, Moose has already summited New Hampshire's 48 4,000 footers.
When Eason moved to the Sunapee region of New Hampshire several years ago and wanted to explore, she started hiking, but quickly realized she wanted to share the trail with someone. Turns out a rabbit was the perfect partner.
"I have always been a weird kid," Eason explained.
When she was young, Eason would ride around her neighborhood on her bike with her pet bunny in a basket.
"I have never seen rabbits as a stationary pet or to be kept in a cage," Eason added.
In 2019, Eason took Moose on her first hike and they were both hooked.
"I was like, 'I guess she is a hiking rabbit,'" Eason chuckled.
Hiking with a nine-pound rabbit is never just a straight shoot up the trail. Moose's pace alternates between sprinting and complete halts to nibble on goodies she finds, to clean her coat, or to just take a break. (Aesop's fable was spot on).
When she's had enough, Moose catches a lift inside Eason's backpack. Typically, Eason says, Moose hikes around two miles of any given trail the pair have hiked.
"I swear, her favorite part is eating twigs along the trail -- like maintenance I guess," Eason chuckled.
Fellow hikers who encounter her on the trail find it a bit "hare-raising," but reactions online, specifically on TikTok, have blown Eason away.
Attention on TikTok happened almost by accident. Eason had so much video footage of Moose she decided to download the app and post a few clips. Moose gained popularity almost overnight.
"My phone was blowing up. The videos were all over the internet, and my friends were messaging me, 'Is this your rabbit?' I was like, 'Yeah,'" Eason explained.
With New Hampshire's 48 4,000 footers in the rearview mirror, Eason and Moose are currently working on hiking the NH 52-With-a-View. (That is, 52 peaks in New Hampshire that all have an elevation close to or above 2,500 feet). Eason predicts that will take a few years.
As a self-described introvert, Eason says all the attention on Moose has been a little unnerving, but the precious moments the pair have encountered along the trail have made it all worth it. On one hike, a woman wanted to hold Moose, which Eason is always happy to oblige.
"Once she held Moose she started crying tears of joys ... To make someone that happy on [the] trail made everything worth it," Eason shared. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/hiking-bunny-in-nh-turning-heads-on-the-trail-and-on-tiktok-viral-outdoors/97-c39528fb-e923-4c1a-9a3a-587b49036390 | 2022-07-22T21:04:29 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/hiking-bunny-in-nh-turning-heads-on-the-trail-and-on-tiktok-viral-outdoors/97-c39528fb-e923-4c1a-9a3a-587b49036390 |
Allen County Commissioner Therese Brown on Friday responded to objections to a new Allen County Jail site in southeast Fort Wayne. Residents and elected officials this week voiced concerns to the plan.
Brown, a Republican, readily agreed that neighbors and elected officials had not been consulted about the proposed site at 5080 Adams Center Road before it was announced July 15. But, she said, the commissioners did not intend to "disrespect" anyone, as was alleged Tuesday by opponents during a news conference.
The commissioners simply didn't have enough time before needing to file their response to the federal judge ordering the county to correct jail conditions he ruled unconstitutional, Brown said.
"For this, we apologize," Brown said of the lack of communication. "We will be meeting with city officials here shortly in the coming days, and we will be meeting with the neighbors in the very near future as well."
U.S. District Court Judge Damon Leichty in March ordered the commissioners to come up with plans to alleviate overcrowding and understaffing at the 732-bed downtown jail. The ruling resulted from an inmate's lawsuit joined by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Point by point, Brown countered objections raised by the group from southeast Fort Wayne and Allen County. It included Fort Wayne City Council members Sharon Tucker, D-6th district, at-large Democrats Glynn Hines and Michelle Chambers and Adams County Trustee Denita Washington, also a Democrat.
Brown said the commissioners did consider the site of the former Irene Byron Hospital, now closed and to be put up for sale, at the corner of Carroll and Lima roads in Perry Township.
However, the site was unsuitable because it does not have enough space and contains wellheads for Huntertown, which owns land in the center of the Byron property, Brown said.
No other suitable sites were found other than the county-owned sheriffs’ training site on Adams Center Road, Brown said.
Brown also countered the objection about three nearby schools by saying the downtown jail is within 4,500 feet of seven schools and day-care centers and has not posed a problem for them.
"We would also like to assure the neighbors that the facility will not be an eyesore and is not a prison" with razor wire and watch towers, Brown said.
The jail, at a cost of about $350 million, should not have an impact on property values and future investment in southeast Fort Wayne, she said, adding the site is in a sparsely populated, rural area in the corner of the county.
More than $100 million in investment in new residential riverfront construction was not deterred by the presence of the existing downtown jail, said County Commissioner Richard Beck, a Republican.
A half-dozen residents also addressed the commissioners, who rarely receive that much comment from the public during their weekly meetings.
One called the southeast side "already a crippled community" economically and said the jail would cause further harm. Another said the location near schools would be "unthinkable" if "this were in a white, suburban community."
Pastor Timothy Williams of Good Hope Baptist Church said the optics of the location are terrible – with "education on one side of the street, and on the other side of the street, incarceration."
The Prince Chapman Academy and Paul Harding Junior High School/East Allen University buildings are the two closest to the chosen jail site.
What does that say to young people, Williams asked.
“We represent a lot of people,” he said, “and we want our voices heard.” | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/county-commissioners-respond-to-jail-site-critics/article_b89493ce-09e4-11ed-beec-ef32fa722b85.html | 2022-07-22T21:04:33 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/county-commissioners-respond-to-jail-site-critics/article_b89493ce-09e4-11ed-beec-ef32fa722b85.html |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Little Rock Police Department has turned to the public for any information that could help them locate a missing teen.
19-year-old Chastity Hardwell was last seen in Little Rock at the beginning of July 2022.
Any individual with information regarding the location of Ms. Hardwell please contact Detective Dearing (501)-404-3014 or Detective Yetmar (501)-404-3037.
You can also contact the Little Rock Communications Center (501)-371-4829. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/missing-persons-reports/little-rock-police-search-for-missing-teen/91-ebbb7093-5c73-4685-b696-2cb17343cd45 | 2022-07-22T21:04:35 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/missing-persons-reports/little-rock-police-search-for-missing-teen/91-ebbb7093-5c73-4685-b696-2cb17343cd45 |
The near-total abortion ban proposed Wednesday by Indiana Senate Republicans has quickly drawn criticism from all sides.
Religious and business groups released letters in opposition to the bill, while Indiana Right to Life President Mike Fichter declared the proposal doesn’t go far enough.
Senate Bill 1, written by state Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, would ban all abortions except for cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.
Fichter issued a statement late Wednesday night that called the bill “weak and troubling” and said it falls “woefully short.”
“The bill fails substantively in many areas, but chiefly in its failure to provide any meaningful enforcement provisions,” Fichter said. “This bill goes through the motions on paper, but lacks any teeth to actually reduce abortions in Indiana by holding those who perform abortions or would intentionally skirt the law accountable with criminal consequences.”
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said Wednesday the bill does not include any new penalties for doctors who perform abortions.
Wednesday morning, before the afternoon announcement, Fichter outlined his expectations for an abortion ban.
Some of those policies were included in the legislative package outlined by Bray, including increasing Indiana’s adoption tax credit and boosting funding for women and families.
However, the bill does not address another concern Fichter mentioned: prosecutorial discretion. Senate Bill 1 does not contain language that would allow the state attorney general to intervene when a local prosecutor declines to pursue cases involving abortion.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears signaled last month his office might choose not to prosecute and stated it will “continue to use its limited resources on addressing violent crime” in Indianapolis. According to the Indiana Department of Health, 74% of abortions in Indiana last year took place in Marion County.
“As the bill reads now, the 8,000-plus abortions that take place annually in Indiana would continue unabated in counties like Marion County where the prosecutor has already stated he will not enforce the law,” Fichter said. “That is unacceptable and pro-life Hoosiers will not silently let that stand.”
Abigail Lorenzen, spokeswoman for Right to Life of Northeast Indiana, called the bill a step back for the anti-abortion movement. Lorenzen said she’s disappointed in Senate Bill 1 and said the organization is encouraging lawmakers to vote against it.
Lorenzen said that the organization’s executive director, Zachary Rodgers, is “working closely” with legislators from northeast Indiana.
“If this is going to move forward, we need to see enormous amendments made,” Lorenzen said. “I mean, wholesale changes done to this. Because currently, it’s completely lacking in some really important parts that the pro-life movement has been pushing for.”
Organizations and individuals in Indiana have criticized the proposed abortion ban from the opposite direction.
LaKimba DeSadier, state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Indiana, released a statement Wednesday.
“Today’s unveiling of the Senate’s plan to eliminate Hoosiers’ access to basic health care confirms our greatest fears: a complete ban on abortion is on its way to Indiana,” DeSadier said. “Indiana legislators’ proposed ban would prevent providers from giving legal and safe care. Even the bill’s limited exemptions would leave providers risking investigations, and even criminalization, making them exceptions in name only.”
Businesses have spoken out, with more than 200 signing on to a letter telling legislators “Don’t Ban Equality.”
Organized by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, the letter argues the abortion ban restricts companies’ abilities to “build diverse and inclusive workforce pipelines (and) recruit top talent across the states.”
“Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence and economic stability of our employees and customers,” the letter states. “Simply put, it goes against our values, and is bad for business.”
Religious leaders and laypeople from a “multi-faith collective of Hoosiers” sent a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb and legislators raising concerns about religious freedom and bodily autonomy.
According to a news release, the group includes people from a multitude of faiths including Catholicism, Judaism, Protestantism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
“The premise that human life begins at conception or that an embryo should be accorded legal protection is not a universally held tenet,” the letter states.
“Those who hold that belief have every right to do so, but Indiana should not privilege one particular Christian belief above other religious beliefs by codifying it into law.” | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/indiana/statehouse/abortion-ban-bill-draws-widespread-criticism/article_1acb2502-0919-11ed-a0ba-b3606ac77675.html | 2022-07-22T21:04:39 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/indiana/statehouse/abortion-ban-bill-draws-widespread-criticism/article_1acb2502-0919-11ed-a0ba-b3606ac77675.html |
Indiana Democrats announced a new ad campaign Friday targeted specifically at visitors to the Statehouse.
Beginning Monday, the first day of the special session, people “in and around” the state capitol will see a 15-second video on social media, according to a news release. The cost of the ad buy was not disclosed.
The video — titled “These Guys?” — criticizes Republicans as the party prepares to vote on a proposed abortion ban. The ad states that “decisions about a woman’s health should be up to her, her family and her doctor.”
It then displays a photo collage of state GOP lawmakers and asks, “Who should be calling the shots for women? These guys? Or her?” as the ad cuts to its final shot, a woman laying on a hospital bed.
In a statement, state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl said Republicans are planning to make women “second-class citizens” and take away “freedom of ‘choice.’ ”
“They have shown Hoosiers that their top priority is not the economy or lowering costs or taxes – it’s violating privacy rights and standing between a woman and her doctor,” Schmuhl said. “A majority of Hoosiers trust women to make their own health care decisions, but a supermajority of politicians just doesn’t seem to care.” | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/local-politics/political-notebook/indiana-democrats-announce-ads-targeting-statehouse-visitors/article_504970ac-09dd-11ed-8295-93a290d5aca6.html | 2022-07-22T21:04:46 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/local-politics/political-notebook/indiana-democrats-announce-ads-targeting-statehouse-visitors/article_504970ac-09dd-11ed-8295-93a290d5aca6.html |
Indiana healthcare professionals have joined the chorus of voices speaking out following Indiana Senate Republicans’ proposed abortion ban.
Ten medical groups released a letter Friday addressed to Gov. Eric Holcomb and state legislators urging them to “at the very least, include exceptions for the health and life of the pregnant patient, fatal fetal anomalies, and rape and incest” in any potential legislation.
The groups include the Indiana State Medical Association, the Indiana Public Health Association and the Indiana Section of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists.
Senate Bill 1, introduced by Senate Republicans at a news conference Wednesday, would ban all abortions except for cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/medical-groups-speak-out-on-abortion-ban/article_df59acf4-09eb-11ed-aa97-638e24893b15.html | 2022-07-22T21:04:52 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/local/medical-groups-speak-out-on-abortion-ban/article_df59acf4-09eb-11ed-aa97-638e24893b15.html |
For more than 20 years, Tom Curyto's voice beckoned vacationers traversing boardwalks in Wildwood and Ocean City.
"Come on up and get a free sample of Polish Water Ice," the Buffalo-tinged accent bellowed. "We've got some great flavors: mango, cherry, blue raspberry, chocolate and a lot more."
His voice has mostly gone silent.
Polish Water Ice — now totaling 15 shops that include four on the Wildwood Boardwalk and two on the Ocean City Boardwalk — were built on the backs of teenage employees passing out little white spoons with nibbles of water ice that maintain the consistency of soft-serve custard without adding dairy. On any given night, over the course of 12 hours, Curyto estimates that somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 free samples were handed out to passersby, at each store.
But then the pandemic hit. And with fears of spreading disease (and potential lawsuits), the shop turned off its iconic recording and stopped handing out samples for the 2020 season. And they saved on staffing, no longer needing up to two extra people at $15 per hour, over 12 hours.
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"That's $300 or $400 just in labor," said Curyto, who owns the company but has franchised out his boardwalk locations, noting that those numbers didn't account for the cost of production, as well as "wear and tear on the machines."
Atlantic City can now tout itself as having America's best boardwalk.
Franchisee Jordan Jodanov operates three Polish Water Ice stands on the Wildwood Boardwalk, and Udi Hayut runs one. And in gearing up for the 2021 season, Jordanov asked an interesting question about the economics of free samples:
"Is it really worth it?"
Normally, free sample marketing, in which a retailer gives products or services away to prospective customers, works. Especially for food and drink retailers. It's straightforward: Give 'em a taste, leave 'em wanting more. And when they want more, the register is just a few steps away.
Years ago, peddlers of free samples were an integral part of the boardwalk aesthetic, boasting clever phrases and engaging strategies to convince vacationers to test the product before buying their own.
But this isn't normal times. And during a slow season, and with a potential recession looming, some boardwalk businesses are thinking of cutting costs by cutting out the free samples. A decision initially driven by the virus, it has now become a decision based on costs.
Jordanov didn't mince words.
ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic Avenue’s long-planned “diet” started Wednesday with contractors beg…
"We don't give free samples anymore," he said in an email. "And they are never coming back!"
And he's not alone.
The Original Fudge Kitchen decided to pull back free sample peddlers in 2021 as the pandemic raged, and after Karen Thompson became the new owner of the shore mainstay, adding it to her roster of retail stores at LSL Brands.
For years, under the leadership of the Bogle Brothers, fudge peddlers standing outside their storefronts and holding trays of vanilla and chocolate squares punctured with toothpicks was a rite of a Jersey Shore summer.
Now, in Wildwood, only one of its two boardwalk shops hands out samples, and you have to go into the store and ask. And similar procedures exist for all six of its Jersey Shore locations.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence to suggest that COVID-19 can be spread through food, but the agency has not given specifics about the distribution of samples.
TRENTON — As it has for blueberries, the state Department of Agriculture will hand out free …
New Jersey's retail food rules make no distinction between the handling of food samples and those foods that are for sale, according to the state Department of Health. Among the rules are sample-peddlers must wash their hands before dispensing samples, have access to either single-use gloves or dispensing utensils such as tooth picks, and peddlers can't touch food with their bare hands. Single-service cups, spoons and other appropriate equipment must be provided to offer the samples.
But some companies still persist in the face of economic odds.
The owner of Crazy Junky Pizza, who asked to only be identified as "Mr. H.," said he considered not doing free samples this year because of COVID-19, but he felt it necessary to use samples as a way to entice potential customers.
"I just opened the pizza shop this year, and I want people to test my food out," he said. "It's very effective."
He sends out Abdul Abham, 22, to hold a tray of small squares of pizza stuck with toothpicks outside the shop on the Wildwood Boardwalk.
Last Sunday, standing among the throngs of vacationers, Abham offered samples to passersby, nodding toward the store just behind him.
ATLANTIC CITY — More than 100 Stockton, elected and local school officials celebrated a mile…
"Sausage, plain," he says, "it's all good."
Recently, the Polish Water Ice franchise near Roberts Avenue decided to resurrect the recording and continue to offer free samples on the Boardwalk.
"About two weeks ago, I just brought it back," said Hayut last Sunday, standing outside the store he's run as the franchisee for the last 15 years. "Business has been slow." | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/covid-19-s-impact-on-the-boardwalks-free-sample-tradition-at-the-jersey-shore/article_98d2e0e8-09dc-11ed-9030-af829b08a69f.html | 2022-07-22T21:07:11 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/covid-19-s-impact-on-the-boardwalks-free-sample-tradition-at-the-jersey-shore/article_98d2e0e8-09dc-11ed-9030-af829b08a69f.html |
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Authorities are investigating a pair of deaths at a residence, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland and Middle Township police Chief Christopher Leusner said Friday.
Police arrived at a home on West Atlantic Avenue on Thursday morning to check on the well-being of the occupants. Upon arrival, officers found two dead people, Sutherland and Leusner said in a news release.
The investigation is ongoing, Sutherland said, adding the incident did not seem to be a random act of violence but appeared to have been a murder/suicide.
Authorities did not identify the bodies. More information will be released once autopsies have been completed by the Southern Regional Medical Examiner's Office, Sutherland said.
Anyone with information can call the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office at 609-465-1135 or Middle Township police at 609-465-8700. Anonymous tips can be sent to the Cape May County Sheriff's Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net or the Prosecutor's Office's service at cmcpo.tips. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prosecutors-office-investigating-possible-murder-suicide-in-cape-may-court-house/article_88f97b40-09ec-11ed-b3dc-778e5a20f151.html | 2022-07-22T21:07:14 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prosecutors-office-investigating-possible-murder-suicide-in-cape-may-court-house/article_88f97b40-09ec-11ed-b3dc-778e5a20f151.html |
CALIFORNIA, USA — California has become the first state to allow citizens to sue people who sell or spread illegal guns. The law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom Friday, is modeled after a Texas lawsuit deterring abortions.
The law allows people to sue anyone making, selling, transporting or distributing illegal guns and so-called "ghost guns," or guns made at home to avoid tracing.
Under the law, people can sue for damages of at least $10,000 per weapon involved. Some damages are also available against gun dealers who illegally sell guns to people under 21.
“Our message to the criminals spreading illegal weapons in California is simple: you have no safe harbor here in the Golden State. While the Supreme Court rolls back reasonable gun safety measures, California continues adding new ways to protect the lives of our kids. California will use every tool at its disposal to save lives, especially in the face of an increasingly extreme Supreme Court,” Gov. Newsom said.
Newsom called on legislators to pass a bill similar to a Texas law allowing citizens to sue anyone who provides or assists in providing an abortion. The Supreme Court declined to block the Texas law last fall.
“If Texas is going to use this legal framework to essentially outlaw abortion and harm women, all with the Supreme Court’s blessing, California is going to use it to save lives and take AR-15s off our streets,” said state Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-San Fernando Valley), who authored the bill.
A UC Davis study, published this year, said California's "red flag" law - known as a gun violence restraining order - was used to prevent 58 mass shootings. According to the governor's office, the new law is meant to bolster California's gun safety "toolkit."
“With these new laws, California is protecting life, safety, and freedom," said Attorney General Rob Bonta, in part, in a news release. "We have the strongest gun safety laws in the nation, and one of the lowest firearm mortality rates. This is not a coincidence. More guns do not make us safer — laws like these do. Period. I am committed to enforcing our commonsense gun safety laws, and keeping weapons of war off our streets and out of the hands of dangerous individuals.”
Newsom also took out a full-page ad in Texas newspapers calling out Gov. Greg Abbott for his policies on abortion and guns. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/newsom-signs-texas-style-law-sue-illegal-guns/103-5aca3c8d-0928-44a8-a92b-fcc01b767fcc | 2022-07-22T21:11:56 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/newsom-signs-texas-style-law-sue-illegal-guns/103-5aca3c8d-0928-44a8-a92b-fcc01b767fcc |
AUSTIN, Texas — A union organizing for hourly Tiff's Treats employees has filed unfair labor practice charges against the Austin-based cookie company.
Tiff's Treats Workers United said in a post on their Twitter account last week that the charges against Tiff's Treats are "for rules prohibiting protected union activity." The worker-led union claimed a couple of locations took down union literature from breakrooms.
Members of Tiff's Treats Workers United want a new union contract establishing wages of $15 per hour for drivers, $18 per hour for kitchen staff and $22 per hour for on-duty managers. They also want the contract to include driver mileage reimbursement, free health coverage, no blackout dates and reduction of food waste.
Tiff's Treats released a statement Friday on the union's activities, saying that their employees "are among the highest paid food service and delivery workers in the industry."
"We recognize our hourly team members' contributions to our shared success with industry-leading compensation and benefits, including an average of more than $24/hour for our Austin delivery drivers, the most experienced of whom earn up to $50,000/year when driving full-time," the statement said. "Our non-driver compensation in Austin ranges from more than $14/hour to more than $18/hour, depending on position, skill level and experience."
The statement from Tiff's Treats went on to say that the company offers hourly workers vision, dental and medical/Rx insurance and put 87 cents from every dollar on average toward workers' health insurance costs.
"And beginning on their very first day of employment, our hourly team members are eligible to start earning paid personal and sick time, which they can cash out at any time, for any reason," the statement said. "Tiff's Treats also offers our team members the opportunity to participate in a 401K plan – a rare benefit for hourly workers in the food service industry – including company matching up to 4%."
Tiff's Treats said they recently increased on-duty manager pay to a starting wage of $18 per hour rather than the previous $16 per hour. They also pay drivers $1 per delivery in addition to their hourly pay when using a fleet car and $2 per delivery when using a personal car.
"Tiff's Treats is committed to supporting and developing our team members, enabling them to build and advance their careers with us," the statement said. "Today, 66% of our management team and headquarters staff are comprised of former hourly team members, who now own equity in the business through the benefit of our company stock option plan."
Editor's note: the final quote originally said "former team members." It has been changed to "former hourly team members" for clarity.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/union-files-charges-against-tiffs-treats-statement/269-aa04281d-da8a-4d1e-879c-ca297344b600 | 2022-07-22T21:12:02 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/union-files-charges-against-tiffs-treats-statement/269-aa04281d-da8a-4d1e-879c-ca297344b600 |
RANDALL — At the top of the hill in front of the Country Thunder main stage, in one of the few shady spots on the grounds, sat Nancy Kramz and Lori Olson. The Country Thunder “lifers” met at the festival years ago.
“We sit up here every year, so we’ve all become friends,” Kramz said. “I have other people that I know that I see every year here. We say ‘Hi’ ... and it’s almost like a family reunion in some respect.”
The friendship of Kramz and Olson isn’t an uncommon occurrence at Country Thunder. Many attendees say they come to the festival to see old friends and meet new ones.
Alyssa Sadowski, of South Milwaukee, said she met one of her best friends at a country music festival four years ago.
“I’ve been to a lot of different country music festivals and I’ve met a lot of lifelong friends. It’s not necessarily like you’re hanging out all the time, but you’re always catching up,” Sadowski said.
Jordan Woody of Downer’s Grove, Ill., said he isn’t a huge fan of country music, but this is his fifth year at Wisconsin’s Country Thunder. Walking around the campgrounds, he said people play all types of music and it’s a “party.”
“I come for the camaraderie,” Woody said. “Meeting people is the best part.”
Sadowski said everyone she has met at the event is open-minded and are “just there to have a good time.”
“Everyone here is so fun,” Sadowski said. “You can meet a lot of really cool people.”
Family fun
Country Thunder also aims to be a family-friendly event and many people in attendance on Thursday were accompanied with kids of all ages. Close to the main stage around mid-afternoon, three generations of country music fans from Illinois sat waiting for headliner Maggie Rose to open the stage.
Melinda Britton, a second-year attendee, brought her mother, Leslie Britton, and her daughter, Andria Knight, to Country Thunder for their first time.
“We surprised (Knight) with this ... she didn’t know she was going to Country Thunder until this morning,” Melinda said.
By the food courts, Melissa Lutrell, of Madison, sat with her mother, Sandy Lutrell, of Champaign, Ill. This wasn’t Melissa’s first rodeo, but she brought Sandy for her first Country Thunder.
“(I like) being out here in the wide open, and you hear a lot of artists for a reasonable price,” Melissa said.
IN PHOTOS: Check out images from the grounds at Country Thunder 2022
Lori Olson, left, and Nancy Kramz have both been attending Country Thunder for more than 20 years. In that time, the two have claimed this shady spot at the top of the hill in front of the main stage as their annual reunion meeting point. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-family-and-friends-come-together-at-country-thunder-in-randall/article_18b270ac-0948-11ed-b80a-774a283d75cb.html | 2022-07-22T21:12:39 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-family-and-friends-come-together-at-country-thunder-in-randall/article_18b270ac-0948-11ed-b80a-774a283d75cb.html |
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — As of Sept. 15, Cape Regional Medical Center will no longer provide maternity care, a hospital official confirmed Friday.
One of the two OB/GYNs is leaving private practice to join a larger medical group that exclusively delivers at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point, Susan Staeger, the hospital’s public relations manager, confirmed in an email.
“To date, recruitment of additional OB/GYN physicians has been unsuccessful. As a result, effective Sept. 15, 2022, Cape Regional Medical Center will no longer be able to provide obstetrical services,” she said. “We are extremely disappointed with this development, and we will be working closely with both Shore Medical Center and AtlantiCare to develop transfer agreements to quickly transition obstetrical patients who present in Cape Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Department.”
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After Sept. 15, mothers preparing to have their baby would have to leave Cape May County to do so. Shore is 21 miles from Cape Regional, while AtlantiCare's Mainland Campus, which includes the Roger B. Hansen Center for Childbirth, is 33 miles away.
As news of the plan trickled out Friday, local officials began looking for ways to keep the service at Cape May County’s only hospital.
Middle Township Mayor Tim Donohue said Friday he was extremely disappointed when he heard the news that day from a friend who reached out over social media. He said he began making calls to every elected official for whom he had a contact number.
“I was born there. Most people I know were born there,” Donohue said. “You can’t think of this as anything but a big step backward for the county.”
“It’s frustrating. Whether the horse has left the barn I don’t know,” he added. Donohue said among those who promised to work on the issue was state Sen. Michael Testa.
Testa, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, was not available for comment Friday afternoon, nor were members of the Cape May County Board of Commissioners.
Information was not immediately available Friday about how many people work in maternity services at Cape Regional, or how many children are born at the hospital each year. The hospital website cites its affiliation with Cooper University Health Care and access to neonatal intensive care services.
“Our private, state-of-the-art birthing suites allow labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum care to take place in one comfortable setting,” reads a statement on the hospital website. “Our staff of obstetricians, nurses and educators are highly experienced. And they'll work together to give you a safe, positive experience.”
The hospital is planning a major expansion and fundraising effort. In March, Cape Regional announced it was renaming its emergency department the Larry L. Luing Emergency Department after a $3 million gift from his family, and the Cape Regional Foundation planned to raise $12 million toward a project to update and expand the radiology department.
This follows the opening of the 19,000-square-foot Claire C. Brodesser Surgery Center last year. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/come-september-maternity-services-will-no-longer-be-offered-at-cape-regional-medical-center/article_9abcc3f8-09f8-11ed-8493-57a5151d95a7.html | 2022-07-22T21:20:26 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/come-september-maternity-services-will-no-longer-be-offered-at-cape-regional-medical-center/article_9abcc3f8-09f8-11ed-8493-57a5151d95a7.html |
CAPE MAY — Warren Judge first came to Cape May as a Coast Guard recruit on Aug. 19, 1986, stepping off the bus to begin his basic training and his military career.
Now a Coast Guard captain, Judge took command of the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May in a ceremony Friday conducted under a huge white tent on the parade grounds to provide shade on the sweltering day.
“Wow,” he told family members, community leaders and base personnel after taking command. He said there was no way he could have written the script of his career over the past 36 years.
Since 2019, he has served as the division chief of Engineering Services in Portsmouth, Virginia, for the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber and Intelligence Service Center.
Friday, he took command of the nation’s sole basic training center for the Coast Guard. There are also a small-boat station and Coast Guard cutters homeported at the base, set between Cape May Harbor and the ocean.
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He promised to continue the work of the center. Recruits undergo eight weeks of training before taking up assignments across the country and beyond.
SEA ISLE CITY — A Monday afternoon charter boat trip in the city’s back bays turned scary wh…
“The nation — no, the world — is calling for more U.S. Coast Guard, and we will deliver,” Judge said.
He replaces Capt. Kathy Felger, who headed the base for three years. The change of command took place with a reading of orders and exchange of salutes at noon.
Leading to that moment, the ceremony included a fired salute, recruits passing the official party, and an inspection of the training center crew by the outgoing and incoming commanding officers.
Cape May City and Cape May County officials attended the event to welcome the new commander, and family and friends of both captains were on hand as well. Judge spoke of his mother and his late father, and members of Judge’s family held up a photograph of the late Capt. John G. Witherspoon, whom Judge described as his first mentor in the military.
He also thanked his wife and children and others. Judge ended by saying as a Coastguardsman, he serves the people of the United States.
“We are the United States Coast Guard,” he said, ending with a bellowed “whoooo!” into the microphone.
SEA ISLE CITY — The Starfish, which made headlines this past week for partially sinking in t…
In comments at the start of the event, Rear Adm. M.W. “Joe” Raymond expressed confidence in Judge and his abilities, and lauded Felger’s work in command, saying she had done a phenomenal job and citing planned upgrades to the training center set to cost millions of dollars.
There was no way she could have foreseen a global pandemic, Raymond said.
“Two and a half years ago, when COVID hit, it hit incredibly hard here in Cape May,” Raymond said. Felger faced a challenge to keep training underway.
“This is the lifeblood of Coast Guard readiness. And if anything were to happen to Training Center Cape May, that lifeblood would have been stopped,” he said, adding the Coast Guard could not allow COVID-19 to interrupt training.
Felger said she was deeply grateful for her time in Cape May, speaking about several specific recruits and crewmembers.
Raymond also spoke of the support from the residents of Cape May, citing an effort to congratulate graduating recruits in 2020 and 2021 when their families could not travel to Cape May.
CAPE MAY — Family was front and center at a Thursday change-of-watch ceremony at the U.S. Co…
Raymond cited the challenges of changing technology, climate change and increasing difficulty in finding recruits. Both he and Judge cited the words of Adm. Linda Fagan, who became the Coast Guard bommandant in June. She is the first woman to lead one of America’s armed services.
“Tomorrow looks different. So will we,” Fagan said. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-commanding-officer-at-cape-may-coast-guard-base/article_098de334-09f9-11ed-8cf8-2f32fdd2f1ba.html | 2022-07-22T21:20:32 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/new-commanding-officer-at-cape-may-coast-guard-base/article_098de334-09f9-11ed-8cf8-2f32fdd2f1ba.html |
ATLANTIC CITY — Having lived at the Jersey Shore throughout her life, there's no place Tara Tangney would rather spend her time staying clear of the summer heat than at Atlantic City Skate Zone.
"There's no other place colder," Tangney, 35.
The Upper Township Elementary School teacher was one of about six people escaping the scorching temperatures by gliding on the rink's freshly smoothened ice sheet.
Friday was the fifth-straight day inland temperatures reached the 90s, surpassing the definition of a heat wave in the Northeast, which is three or more days with highs at or above 90.
At Atlantic City International Airport, the thermometer rose as high as 97 degrees Wednesday, a mark not seen last year.
The heat wave is expected to last until Monday, an eight-day stretch. That will be the longest since June 28 to July 5 of 2018 and will be the 17th time in the 79-year history of airport observations to achieve that.
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Herds of beachgoers headed to the ocean looking for relief from the summer sizzle, but those comfortable in the climate-controlled Skate Zone said the ice is better than the sand.
During the summer, Tangney comes to the rink at least three days a week. She says the ice rink in summer beats the crowded beaches.
Besides the cooler temperatures inside the ice rink, she cherishes spending time on the ice as a skating mentor.
On Friday, Sarah Parkhurst drove over an hour from Elmer, Salem County, to join Tangney, who she takes private skating lessons from.
Tangney is a coaches with the Atlantic City Figure Skating Club, whose home ice is the Skate Zone.
"Especially on 90-degree days when it's really humid, why would you want to bake out there on the sand when you come here and be cool," said Parkhurst, 35, who's also a school bus driver.
Hockey manager Mike Hancharik said more people are attracted by the ocean in summer, so open skating is usually quiet. But, hockey programs and other events typically draw the summer crowds, he said.
"Once the kids are back in school and it's cooler outside, that takes away the beach option, said Hancharick, adding Atlantic City residents can enjoy public skating for free on Fridays and Sundays in the summer.
At the shore, Sen. Frank S. Farley State Marina bounced between comfortable and very warm. Cooling sea breezes Monday and Thursday kept highs in the low 80s. However, it climbed into the upper 80s for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The average high was 81 degrees.
Despite the heat, the ocean got cooler as the week went on. On Monday, Atlantic City's Steel Pier registered a 73-degree water temperature. On Friday, it was 57 degrees. The south to southwest winds downwelled the warmer surface water to the sea floor, allowing for the frigid water from the ocean depths to rise.
Besides the daytime heat, overnight temperatures have remained very mild. Overnight low temperatures have been no lower than 74 degrees during the week at the airport and 72 degrees at the marina.
South Jersey's week of unbearable temperatures are a part of a larger heatwave threatening the Northeast and Deep South. Temperatures are expected to stay at uncomfortable levels from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Boston.
As some temperatures neared 100 degrees, millions of Americans sought comfort by staying in the shade of homes or in air-conditioned offices, and cooled themselves in fountains, at beaches or in cooling centers.
The heat causing a sluggish atmosphere outdoors is expected to extend into the weekend and has communities throughout the region on alert, urging the public to stay hydrate and inside.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/south-jersey-gets-creative-to-beat-the-heat/article_3ca80486-09ed-11ed-9674-abc9bd57c5c9.html | 2022-07-22T21:20:38 | 1 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/south-jersey-gets-creative-to-beat-the-heat/article_3ca80486-09ed-11ed-9674-abc9bd57c5c9.html |
FORT WORTH, Tx (KDAF) — Whether it’s coffee, boba, or alcohol, Fort Worth has plenty of places to enjoy a drink and have a great upcoming weekend.
It can be a bit intimidating trying to navigate through it all, but Yelp has your back. They released a list of the Top 25 Places to Drink in Metro Fort Worth.
“Sure, you’ll see your obvious local favorites on the list, but it’s also chock full of hidden gems and off-the-beaten-path joints like Daiquiri Stop, tucked away in Hurst and known for its colorful menu of frozen daiquiris you can take home by the gallon. From coffee to boba tea to locally brewed beer, find a new favorite beverage with Yelp’s Top 25 Places to Drink in Metro Fort Worth,” Yelp said.
- 151 Coffee
- Sikhay Thai Lao Cuisine
- My Lan Vietnamese Restaurant
- Iris Bagel Coffee House
- Epic Gelato & Craft Coffee
- Vaquero Coffee
- Rejuv Juice
- Society Coffee
- Arcadia Coffee
- Turning Point Beer
- The Bearded Monk
- Coffee Folk
- Flying Squirrel Coffee Co.
- HopFusion Ale Works
- Feng Cha
- Redefined Coffee House
- Kahunas
- Acre Distilling Co.
- Babylon Coffee Roasters
- Black Coffee
- Pouring Glory
- Daiquiri Stop
- On Tap
For the full report, click here. | https://cw33.com/news/local/top-places-to-drink-in-fort-worth-according-to-yelp/ | 2022-07-22T21:21:25 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/top-places-to-drink-in-fort-worth-according-to-yelp/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man who was shot and killed July 10 in Northeast Portland’s King neighborhood has been identified.
Police said they found 42-year-old Jesse Bryan Woods dead when they responded to the report of a shooting around 8:30 p.m. near the corner of NE 12th and Prescott.
According to PPB, a person involved in the incident stayed at the scene and was cooperative with responding officers.
Woods’ death has been ruled a homicide by gunshot.
Anyone with information about this incident was asked to contact Detective Jeff Sharp at Jeff.Sharp@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-9773, or Detective Brad Clifton at Brad.Clifton@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0696. | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/man-shot-to-death-in-portland-king-neighborhood-identified/ | 2022-07-22T21:23:44 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/man-shot-to-death-in-portland-king-neighborhood-identified/ |
YORK, Pa. — Warm temperatures may be a good time to bring the kids to the playground… but not when it's too hot outside.
Playground equipment is mainly made out of metal and plastic, two materials that when exposed to extremely hot temperatures can be dangerous to anyone who makes direct contact.
“Exposed metal tends to get the hottest, but plastic can also get fairly hot, enough to cause first, second, and even, in rare cases, third-degree burns," said Dr. Ananya Daggubati, the Emergency Medicine Physician at Penn State Health’s Hampden Medical Center and Holy Spirit Medical Center.
First and second-degree burns are the most commonly seen by health experts, while third-degree burns are rare.
“You’ll tend to see red skin that will feel irritated and painful with first-degree burns. Whereas a second degree, your skin can start to blister," said Daggubati.
Both can be managed at home without having to see a doctor. However, there are things parents can do to keep kids safe: One, is to pick the right time when to visit the playground.
“It helps to go earlier in the morning, or later in the evening. Before the surface has time to get really hot or have time to cool down," said Daggubati.
Also, touch the surface before allowing your child to play on it.
“If it feels too hot for them, then generally it’s too hot for the kids as well," said Daggubati.
What your kids wear to the playground also makes a difference.
“Kids should be wearing closed shoes when they’re in the playground, and then while it’s going to be difficult to get children to wear long-sleeved clothes and pants in the summertime, materials like rash guards, or breathable cotton, are somethings that they can try to make sure that they’re fully clothed and less likely to get burned on the surfaces," said Daggubati. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/be-aware-of-hot-playground-equipment-as-temperature-rises-material-metal-plastic-swings-slide/521-587fb003-a3e1-4631-b7fd-36407cdb9d6a | 2022-07-22T21:25:01 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/be-aware-of-hot-playground-equipment-as-temperature-rises-material-metal-plastic-swings-slide/521-587fb003-a3e1-4631-b7fd-36407cdb9d6a |
YORK COUNTY, Pa. — York County Med-Ed customers can expect improvements to their electrical systems.
Met-Ed, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., announced that it will be upgrading its distribution system in York County, to help prevent or minimize the length of service disruptions, particularly during severe weather.
Construction of the $1.2 million project is scheduled to being in the fall.
The focus of the project is to improve electric service for customers who have experienced power outages in areas near the Susquehanna River with lots of trees and rugged terrain.
The improvements will include automated switches that can be controlled remotely by grid operators in a control center, transferring customers from one power line to another. This allows them to have power while crews repair the damage.
“Part of our service territory in southeastern York County near the Susquehanna River is rugged and densely wooded, increasing the potential for tree-related outages,” said Scott Wyman, President of FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania Operations.
“The work we are doing will provide an alternative power source to feed nearly 900 customers in the New Bridgeville and Brogue areas, benefitting them by shortening the duration of service interruptions while crews work to restore power following an outage," Wyman said.
Met-Ed plans to install more automated devices on the local power network in the next several years. The company serves approximately 580,000 customers within 3,300 square miles of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/met-ed-announces-1-million-project-to-improve-electrical-services-for-york-customers-pennsylvania/521-d8cb6fe4-876b-4dbc-a85d-bffb575a48ac | 2022-07-22T21:25:07 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/met-ed-announces-1-million-project-to-improve-electrical-services-for-york-customers-pennsylvania/521-d8cb6fe4-876b-4dbc-a85d-bffb575a48ac |
WAYNESBURG, Pa. — The Waynesboro Police Department is searching for a missing teen.
Brayden Christopher Staley, 15, was last seen Friday, July 22 at 1 p.m.
Staley was last seen at the intersection of North Broad Street and East Main Street.
If you have any information on Staley's whereabouts please contact 717-762-2131 or submit a tip through CrimeWatch. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/waynesboro-police-searching-for-missing-teen-franklin-county-brayden-staley/521-539a0375-cabe-4942-bff3-e6bf9517ed70 | 2022-07-22T21:25:13 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/waynesboro-police-searching-for-missing-teen-franklin-county-brayden-staley/521-539a0375-cabe-4942-bff3-e6bf9517ed70 |
BLOOMINGTON — With a hot weekend in store for Central Illinois, Connect Transit will make a bus available as a cooling center all day Saturday.
The bus will be in the parking lot of the McLean County Health Department, 200 W. Front St. in Bloomington, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday's high is expected to reach 94 degrees, with an overnight low of 77. Sunday's forecast calls for a high of 89 and low of 67, but weather will be considerably cooler by Monday, with a forecast high of 76 degrees.
A map of other cooling centers and shelters known to the McLean County Emergency Management Agency is available at the McLean County GIS website at mcgis.org on the “Cooling/Warming Centers” map.
Cooling center locations include:
- Wal-Mart, 2225 W. Market St., Bloomington
- TA Truck Stop, 505 Truckers Lane, Bloomington
- Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St.
- Normal Public Library, 206 W. College Ave., Normal
- Uptown Station, Amtrak and bus area, 11 Uptown Circle, Normal
- Meijer, 1900 E. College Ave., Normal
- Home Sweet Home Ministries, 303 E. Oakland Ave, Bloomington, open for families and single women to stop in for 15 minutes
- Denny’s, 701 Eldorado Road, Bloomington
- IHOP, 2109 E. Empire St., Bloomington
- Wal-Mart, 200 Greenbriar Drive, Normal
- Denny’s, 1615 N. Main St., Normal
- Road Ranger Truck Stop, 315 E Dixie Road, McLean
- Allin Township Fire Dept., 104 W. Main St., Stanford, call 309-888-5030 to request access
- Hudson Fire Department, 502 N. Broadway St., Hudson, call 309-726-1501 to see if station is manned
- Lexington Center, address not listed, call 309-888-5030 to request access
- Chenoa Fire Department, 920 E. Cemetery Ave., call 309-888-5030 to request access
- Cooksville Center, address not listed, call 309-888-5030 to request access
- Arrowsmith, address not listed, call 309-888-5030 to request access
- Saybrook, address not listed, call 309-888-5030 to request access
- Love’s Travel Center, 505 S. Persimmon Drive, LeRoy
- LeRoy, 110 S. East St., LeRoy, open on request, stop by or call 309-962-3310
- Downs Fire Department, 102 W. Main St., Downs, 24 hours
- Heyworth Fire Department, 103 S. Buchanan St., Heyworth, call 309-473-3223
- Heyworth Village Hall, 108 S. Buchanan St., Heyworth | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/cooling-bus-available-in-downtown-bloomington-saturday/article_0a4eea28-09f1-11ed-811c-1fa95ff4004b.html | 2022-07-22T21:25:47 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/cooling-bus-available-in-downtown-bloomington-saturday/article_0a4eea28-09f1-11ed-811c-1fa95ff4004b.html |
PONTIAC — A community garden in Pontiac is helping a local hospital promote continual health and wellness.
“The goal is to get all of the produce that we get out of the garden into Pontiac-area food pantries,” said Matthew Janus, one of the starters of the garden.
Janus is an exercise physiologist and wellness coordinator at OSF Saint James – John W. Albrecht Medical Center in Pontiac. The garden is on the hospital grounds, in a set of 12 raised beds built by the Pontiac Township High School FFA group. Six of the beds are new this year.
The garden helps bring healthy, fresh food to the area and also gives the volunteers who care for it a chance to take a break and get out in the sun, something Janus finds helpful for stress management.
It also helps connect the hospital to Pontiac, exercise physiologist and wellness coordinator Clare Spires said.
“I think it’s a good way to get OSF involved in the community,” she said.
Spires is from Pontiac and has worked at the hospital for about two years. As a local, she said increasing access to fresh food is important for the community.
“It’s also been really fun to be involved,” she said.
The garden started in 2017, after Deb Howard from United Way of Livingston County reached out, Janus said. Since then it has donated more than 1,500 pounds of produce. This year’s crops include leafy greens, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, peppers and vining plants like squash. OSF St. James has also put in an orchard, though after five years it is still not bearing fruit, hospital President Brad Solberg said.
Donations or produce have already started this summer to area food pantries.
Janus has seen the garden as a learning opportunity as well.
“I don’t really have much of a history with gardening, so that first year, it was a lot of learning for me,” he said.
Right now the garden is cared for by volunteers from the hospital’s staff. Prior to COVID there were some community volunteers as well, something Janus and Spires hope to get back to in the future. Janus also hopes to someday expand distribution to some of the rural clinics connected with the hospital.
“We’ve got the land, why not put it to use?” Solberg said.
The garden and its donations are addressing a prevalent need within the community.
“When it comes to Livingston County, one of the things that we have seen is that need for fresh, healthy food,” Janus said.
Transportation and affordability play into access issues, especially in the rural areas of the county. The United States Department of Agriculture considers areas directly to the north of Pontiac to be a food desert based on average income and distance to a supermarket.
Food insecurity is one of the social determinants of health that comes up in the hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment for Livingston County, Solberg said. The hospital has been increasing its focus on wellness and preventative care in recent years.
“(We want people) not looking to us just for medical care but for wellness, for health,” Solberg said.
The 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment found that 54% of Livingston County residents ate fewer than three servings of fruit or vegetables a day. Finances were listed as the most common reason people did not eat more fruits and vegetables.
“Healthy eating and nutrition affects pretty much every part of our body,” Janus said. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/watch-now-pontiac-hospital-hopes-to-bring-wellness-with-community-garden/article_7d40f422-086b-11ed-a627-33edc8ccdc0d.html | 2022-07-22T21:25:53 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/watch-now-pontiac-hospital-hopes-to-bring-wellness-with-community-garden/article_7d40f422-086b-11ed-a627-33edc8ccdc0d.html |
Eminem's childhood home site acquired by Detroit Hives for bee sanctuary
Detroit — Detroit Hives is expanding its bees-ness with three new sanctuaries on the city's east side, one being the site of Eminem's childhood home.
Timothy Paule Jackson and fiancé Nicole Lindsey, co-founders and directors of Detroit Hives, started a nonprofit with a mission to turn vacant lots in the city into urban bee farms in 2017.
This week, ironically on National Urban Beekeeping Day, they were able to acquire three lots in the Osborn community for $3,000 with the help of the Detroit Black Farmerland Fund.
One of the sites — 19946 Dresden St. — once home to Detroit's famed rapper, Marshall Mathers, will now serve as the Dresden Pollinator Habitat to support the Osborn and Conner Creek neighborhoods, the couple said.
Eminem's bungalow-style home was pictured blighted and boarded up on the cover of his eighth studio album, "Marshall Mathers LP 2," released in November 2013, the same year the home was demolished by the State of Michigan after a fire. It echoed his third studio album "Marshall Mathers LP," released in 2000, which featured a picture of Em on the steps of his childhood home on the cover.
"The new home will be built just like a beehive; we have to create a colony," said Jackson, 38.
The majority of vacant sites they take over require several volunteer days to clean up broken glass, other debris and trash that's accumulated over the years, Jackson said. Once that's complete, they build a honeycomb structure, landscape a garden and then introduce the bees. Once established, they host educational sessions through farm tours at the site for community members to get involved.
"We have extra hives at several locations that we can relocate a colony and have those boxes ready (at Dresden) by middle of October," Jackson said. "Most residents want to see flowers, a place kids can go up and down safe and free from trash and blight, and that's what we want too."
Their long-term plan is to expand beyond the 5,000-square-feet Dresden site to the remaining parcels on the block. They've also acquired a nearby vacant commercial parking lot at 19791 Hoover, which will serve as a centralized hub for electrical vehicle charging stations and provide "green infrastructure" with an advanced stormwater drainage system. This will help prevent future floods from impacting the Osborn and Conner Creek communities, which were some of the hardest hit by the historic storms of June 2021.
Detroit Hives plans to invest about $260,000 in building out the three sites and the parking lot. The majority of the cost involves renovating the parking lot. Establishing the hives take about $10,000 each. The State Fair and Hoover Pollinator Parkway renovation of 32,800 square feet is expected to be completed in July 2023.
Jackson said this is one of the first projects of this scale the organization is executing.
"We want to create a better future for the next generation of leaders, and it's been a problem in the highly-industrialized areas like this one that's surrounded by blight," Jackson said.
In 2016, Jackson said he discovered that local raw honey was able to cure a cold that no other remedy had. Since then, he and Nicole became fascinated with the little workers who produce honey.
Detroit Hives partners with the city and the Detroit Land Bank Authority to acquire lots that have been abandoned for a decade or more to transform them into educational apiaries. They've partnered with multiple organizations in the city, Wayne State University and Michigan State University.
With the three new locations, Detroit Hives has 14 sites producing wildflower honey.
Beekeeping is essential as it creates social, environmental and financial impact in a community, Jackson said.
"In short, it works to help create food security," Jackson said. "It's essential for growth and also guarantees to improve vegetation and food sources in a community. We're able to create jobs with these projects by preparing habitats, we hire local landscapers, work with contractors to build rainwater stations, but also the honey that we collect is used to sell to local stores or for local restaurants as well."
They received funds through the Detroit Black Farmerland Fund, a coalition of three organizations — The Detroit Black Food Security Network, Oakland Avenue Urban Farm and Keep Growing Detroit — on a mission to open doors for Black farmers. The coalition has issued 70 awards for land and infrastructure since launching in 2020.
"We noticed there were more White farmers who were successfully going through the process than Black farmers and we just wanted to make sure there was equity and that the Black farmers had the support they needed to get there as well," said Tepfirah Rushdan, co-director of Keep Growing Detroit.
Rushdan said Keep Growing Detroit has worked with Detroit Hives since the bee initiative applied for funding last year. Rushdan said she wasn't aware Detroit Hives was acquiring Eminem's homesite but thought it was a great effort. Applications are open online through Monday for farmers to acquire funding.
"The prices in the city for land are still at a point where we were afraid people were getting priced-out. The average cost of a lot is about $1,000 and all of our land fund is crowdfunded," she said. "This year, we opened on Juneteenth and usually the gardener selects their land. It can take several months to acquire funding. We're excited for them."
Eminem couldn't be reached for comment on this story, but the Detroit Hives directors hope he'll see the swarm soon.
"It doesn't feel like work when you do what you love," Jackson said. "We want to be a part of revitalizing our city and show others they can too, because Detroit is the place to bee."
srahal@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @SarahRahal_ | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/07/22/eminem-childhood-home-site-acquired-detroit-hives-bee-sanctuary/10126835002/ | 2022-07-22T21:36:27 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/07/22/eminem-childhood-home-site-acquired-detroit-hives-bee-sanctuary/10126835002/ |
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