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SALEM, Va. – The month of August is recognized as Black Business Month.
The Southwest Virginia Diverse Chamber of Commerce says it’s an opportunity to branch out and try new businesses owned by African Americans.
The Chamber covers 25 counties and seven cities.
Its mission is to spread awareness about diverse businesses and minority business owners.
DG’s Ice, Gina’s Food with Flavor, Shelena’s Collection, and Noah Christian Academy are among the many Black-owned businesses across the Roanoke Valley.
“It’s a lot of excellent businesses, great service, realtor companies and restaurants and just a whole lot that people may be missing out on a wonderful experience. So it’s just to bring that exposure and get people to support diversity,” said member service advocate, Charnika Elliott. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/black-business-month-aims-to-shine-a-light-on-diverse-businesses-across-southwest-virginia/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:21 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/black-business-month-aims-to-shine-a-light-on-diverse-businesses-across-southwest-virginia/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – Starting Wednesday morning, Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital will no longer allow visitors, with some exceptions.
The restrictions go into place on Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Below are the exceptions to the restrictions:
Inpatient:
- Patients with physical limitations or cognitive impairments, as indicated by the need for a 1:1 sitter, may have one designated visitor.
- Two designated visitors will be permitted for pediatric patients (visitors must be family members and 18 or older).
- High-risk immunocompromised patients may have restricted visitation on a case-by-case basis as determined by the clinical team.
- Visitation for end-of-life patients will be allowed and coordinated by staff and administration.
Outpatient:
- No visitors, unless staff determines special assistance is required, or the physician has asked the patient to bring a responsible adult.
- One designated visitor will be permitted for outpatient pediatric patients (visitor must be a parent or legal guardian).
According to the announcement, CFMH is the only Carilion facility making this change.
Officials said that this change will be reassessed to determine if restrictions can be lifted as early as next week. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/carilion-franklin-memorial-hospital-to-no-longer-allow-visitors-with-some-exceptions/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:27 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/carilion-franklin-memorial-hospital-to-no-longer-allow-visitors-with-some-exceptions/ |
Today, we want to introduce you to a sweet girl in the Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center.
Meet Sofia!
Staff with the shelter say she would do well in an energetic home.
Sofia has lived with other dogs in the past, but the shelter staff requires a meet-and-greet with any prospective dog friends.
If you’re interested in adopting Sofia, you can contact the Montgomery County Adoption Center at 540-382-5795. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/clear-the-shelters-meet-sofia/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:33 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/clear-the-shelters-meet-sofia/ |
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – A new Christiansburg park is on track to open this spring.
The newly named Huckleberry Park first broke ground back in spring of 2021, but now construction is in full swing.
It will feature an all-access playground, challenge course, splash pad and more.
This week, they are working on the installation of the playground.
“Whether you’re the aging population, whether you are a child, whether you’re a sports fanatic, whether you want to go sit on a bench and read a book, all of those recreational activities will be provided here, from a passive standpoint, and from an active standpoint,” Parks and Recreation Director Brad Epperley said.
There will also be two dog parks and over two miles of walking trails. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/huckleberry-park-construction-underway-in-christiansburg/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:39 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/huckleberry-park-construction-underway-in-christiansburg/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – Amid the nation’s crime spike, self-defense classes are in high demand. President Joe Biden addressed the issue Tuesday touting his “Safer America Plan” as a way to reduce gun crime and save lives.
In the meantime, people are taking matters into their own hands by learning how to best defend themselves.
“Proactive and learn how to fight. Simple,” said Bryan Cochran, owner of KRAV MAGA Roanoke.
In Roanoke, homicides, domestic violence, and car thefts spiked last year. Rape saw the biggest jump with an increase of 113%.
10 News reported on a woman’s assault that resulted in a man being charged with malicious wounding. An argument led to a parking garage shooting also downtown while crowds left the bar on a busy weekend. One man was hurt.
Cochran said safety must be approached by thinking of not just yourself but others too. “You have to be able to protect your loved ones,” added Cochran.
He teaches several techniques that use multiple parts of your body. Classes are taught to everyone at every level and age.
“I’ve had some of the smallest people in my classes hit like trucks and I’ve had some of the largest people hit like mice,” stated Cochran.
Hitting hard and making noise, while simple, may save your life. He says an attacker may look for vulnerable victims like those who are distracted or timid, and say women are often targeted for just being women.
Being proactive and not just reactive is paramount, he says. You achieve this by being aware of your surroundings.
Also with repetition. Cochran suggests regular self-defense classes so that you know exactly what to do in the face of danger.
The hope is you never have to use what he teaches, but if you do, he wants you to be prepared.
“Evil exists and evil will always exist,” said Cochran. “They look like you and I or any of us. They don’t wear horns. They don’t have tails. There is always going to be bad people out there. Always.”
KRAV MAGA is hosting a six-week self-defense course for women beginning October 5. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/more-consider-self-defense-training-amid-rise-in-roanoke-crime/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:45 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/more-consider-self-defense-training-amid-rise-in-roanoke-crime/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – COVID-19 cases in our area continue to be at high levels with more than 700 new cases in the last week.
With school back in session, the Health Department is reminding parents to take precautionary measures to keep their kids safe. Some recommendations include keeping up to date with vaccinations, encouraging children to wear masks when in an indoor setting with close contacts and to be mindful of others.
“As always as we go into flu season and upper-respiratory infection season, make sure that you cover your cough and practice proper hand hygiene,” said Dr. Cynthia Morrow, the Director of Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts.
The CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older and a booster for everyone ages 5 and up who are eligible. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/precautionary-measures-parents-can-take-to-protect-their-kids-against-covid-19/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:51 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/precautionary-measures-parents-can-take-to-protect-their-kids-against-covid-19/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke’s City Manager’s Office requested an outside assessment of the city’s police department.
The request for an organizational assessment went live on the city’s website earlier this month.
According to the post, the purpose of the assessment is for an external agency to assess the police department and make recommendations on operational efficiencies, organization structure, and performance measures.
10 News reached out for a comment from the City Manager’s Office and Roanoke Police Department.
Both agencies released the following statements:
“The Roanoke Police Department is an exceptional organization benefitting from strong leadership and dedicated law enforcement personnel. This fact is validated by the Department being among only a few nationally accredited agencies in the Commonwealth. The objective of the organizational assessment is to build upon this strong foundation, ensuring policing in Roanoke remains nimble and responsive. Alongside previously approved pay increases and various bonuses, this assessment will help ensure the organizational structure, use of technology, responsibilities of senior leadership, etc. continue to contribute to an exemplary organization best positioned to respond to the challenges of the day.”
Roanoke's City Manager Bob Cowell
“As an agency, the Roanoke Police Department is always looking for the best, most effective way to allocate our resources, personnel and services. We know that we are doing a great job under very unprecedented challenges, but we also know that there is always room for improvement in everything we do. We are looking at this organizational assessment as a resource that will help us determine what we can bring to this agency that will improve our already professional, dedicated response to the City of Roanoke and its residents. As the City Manager and I were discussing this organizational assessment and the benefits it would offer, both agreed that it could help pinpoint the focus of our senior leadership positions, utilize personnel that we have in the best manner, adapt new technology and add dexterity to our robust list of services. Our hope is that this assessment will help us determine any opportunities to further solidly our success.”
Roanoke City Police Chief Sam Roman | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/roanokes-city-managers-office-requests-external-assessment-of-police-department/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:58 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/roanokes-city-managers-office-requests-external-assessment-of-police-department/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – Some health experts are concerned about the number of monkeypox cases in the U.S. as students are back to school. The CDC says there are more than 18,000 confirmed cases in the country. The Biden Administration declared it a public health emergency.
Monkeypox is a rare and contagious rash illness that is spread through sexual or intimate contact, hugging, kissing, cuddling or even sharing a bed, towel or dirty clothes.
“Overwhelming monkeypox is a mild illness, primarily a rash, some viral symptoms, fever, myalgia perhaps,” said Dr. Cynthia Morrow, the Director of Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts.
The Virginia Department of Health reported 325 cases in the Commonwealth, with nearly 80% reported in people 20-39 years old.
“It’s causing significant discomfort for those who have it, and it’s transmissible, so we want to continue to do everything we can to empower people to prevent the transmission of it,” she added.
With students returning to college, there is a concern that campuses are potentially at risk for the virus to spread. But VHD says that risk is low if students are being safe.
“We know that anonymous sex, sex with multiple partners, unprotected sex are all increased risk factors in STIs, and while monkeypox is not an STI, that close skin-to-skin contact increases the transmission of monkeypox.”
The monkeypox vaccine is not recommended for everyone, only for those at high risk. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/should-colleges-be-concerned-with-monkeypox-spread-on-campuses/ | 2022-08-31T09:41:59 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/should-colleges-be-concerned-with-monkeypox-spread-on-campuses/ |
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – Tensions were high during a school board meeting in Montgomery County Monday night.
The joint Board of Supervisors meeting brought concerns for safety in several local elementary schools. Board of Supervisors Chair Sherri Blevins was taken aback by these problems.
“It was very alarming to hear, especially with Belview Elementary School, that the roof is in a failed condition after we’ve spent millions of dollars to renovate that,” Blevins said.
The roof at Christiansburg Elementary and the sprinkler system at Eastern Montgomery Elementary are also topics of contention.
“We shouldn’t hear that the sprinkler system is in violation and would not adequately put out a fire,” Blevins said. “Now they have to have a designated person at that school to monitor if there’s a fire because the sprinkler system is not working. That is totally unacceptable.”
Blevins said there has been a lack of communication on the side of the school board.
“Just a complete disconnect as to why this wasn’t brought as a priority,” she said. “I know that some school board members said they would kick it down the road, or address it later, but safety is always first and foremost.”
Moving forward, Blevins hopes for more transparency when it comes to issues of school safety.
“It starts from the top all the way down to the bottom. And there are going to be some real challenges with the school board moving forward to reestablish that transparency and trust. Not just trust with the Board of supervisors, but trust with the community and their own staff and employees,” she said.
The school board is working on a plan to address the safety problems in the elementary schools. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/unsafe-conditions-lead-to-safety-concerns-in-montgomery-county-schools/ | 2022-08-31T09:42:06 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/unsafe-conditions-lead-to-safety-concerns-in-montgomery-county-schools/ |
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Come Friday a group of Hokies will be heading to Letcher County, Kentucky to assist with cleanup efforts following deadly flooding in late July.
While in the state the students will “spend time mucking out houses, preparing food, organizing supplies for the community, and assisting with an Appalachian Roots Benefit Concert for flood relief,” according to a press release.
The group is spearheaded by Emily Satterwhite, an associate professor in the Department of Religion and Culture, who is co-teaching a societal health class.
“I want us to be in solidarity with them, not as people who are giving handouts or charity but people who know that with acceleration of climate change that we may also need help from neighbors,” Satterwhite said.
John Frazier is a junior at Virginia Tech and is enrolled in Satterwhite’s class. When the opportunity presented itself, Frazier wanted to volunteer.
“Being there in person and seeing things for yourself is obviously much different…I think what I’m most looking forward to is getting to connect with people in the community there,” Frazier said.
Satterwhite tells WSLS 10 there will be roughly 25 people going to help. They’ll also be bringing along some quilts that were tied by Danielle Christensen’s Folk Cultures in Appalachia course.
“Oh my goodness. I am so grateful to Dr. Danille Christensen and the Folk Cultures and Appalachia Class for taking the time to very quickly mobilize and create from scratch from scraps literally these quilts that we’ll be taking with us to give people comfort in Eastern Kentucky,” Satterwhite said.
Satterwhite herself has personal ties to the state of Kentucky.
“I was raised in Kentucky. I have close college friends from Letcher County where we’re headed. I’m impressed with the people on the ground there,” Satterwhite said.
Now she and her students will be on the grounds themselves helping. It ties back to the universities motto, Ut Prosim, translating to ‘That I may serve.’
“It’s not so much of a thing of ‘oh I feel good, I’m such a good person,’ I think it should be more viewed as like this is my responsibility to other human beings in my community,” Frazier said.
The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets will also be joining the cause. Satterwhite arranged to transport an additional 11 volunteers, with experiences ranging from CPR and first aid to disaster relief and construction.
With the trip just days away, the group is still needing more funding to help support additional goals of the Holler to Holler project. For more information regarding how to donate, visit the Appalachian Studies at Virginia Tech Facebook Page. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/virginia-tech-students-to-help-assist-with-cleanup-efforts-in-eastern-kentucky/ | 2022-08-31T09:42:12 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/virginia-tech-students-to-help-assist-with-cleanup-efforts-in-eastern-kentucky/ |
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – A 13-year-old Florida boy battling a rare brain-eating amoeba after a trip to the beach will be moving to Chicago Wednesday to continue his treatment.
Caleb Ziegelbauer went to Port Charlotte Beach with his family on July 1 and one week later began experiencing headaches and hallucinations. The teen’s family said doctors diagnosed him with Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba, that went through his nose and infected his brain.
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Few people survive the condition, according to the CDC. There have been 154 known cases between 1962 and 2021, and only four people have survived.
Ziegelbauer has been in the hospital ever since, and his story has garnered international attention.
On Wednesday, an air ambulance will transfer him to Chicago to continue his treatment.
Port Charlotte Beach is bordered by Alligator Bay and Peace River. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Naegleria fowleri is found in bodies of warm freshwater, such as lakes and rivers, and not found in salt water, like the ocean.
According to a GoFundMe set up for the boy’s family, Ziegelbauer is making some improvement, including some movement in different parts of his body. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/boy-fighting-brain-eating-amoeba-to-continue-treatment-in-chicago/ | 2022-08-31T09:51:22 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/boy-fighting-brain-eating-amoeba-to-continue-treatment-in-chicago/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Three young members of the Boys and Girls Club got the opportunity of a lifetime.
Julieta Caravajal-Herrera, Myla Brown and Annaliseah McCray all practice ballet at the Jacqueline Bradley and Clarence Otis Family Branch.
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On Saturday, they watched as dancers with the National Ballet of Ukraine performed at the Dr. Phillips Center of Performing Arts.
The girls had no clue their act of kindness that night would open another door for them.
The humanitarian benefit event was organized by Ukrainian producer Vadim Fedotov and the Ginsburg Family Foundation.
Organizers said 100% of ticket sales and sponsorships will benefit the people of Ukraine, who are still drudging through a gruesome war.
Mykyta Sukhorukov, a dancer with the renowned group, said nothing is getting better in Ukraine and his people are still suffering.
“Seven to 10 million people are moved from their homes,” Sukhorukov said.
Some donors gave thousands of dollars that night, which organizers said is greatly appreciated.
It was a smaller donation though, that touched the hearts of both organizers and the dancers. It was a total of $1.47, all in coins. That donation came from the three Orlando girls who watched the show that night.
Kateryna Chupina, another dancer with the National Ballet of Ukraine, said the kind gesture from the girls made her emotional.
“I cried, it’s broken heart for me, it’s clean emotion I feel so very happy,” Chupina said.
Sukhorukov said it is incredible they gave their last just to help Ukrainians.
Each of the girls said they know the importance of giving.
Annaliseah recognized the Ukrainian people have been through a lot and that is why she decided to help them.
“If you don’t help people, you don’t know what will happen. You have to help people because rude is not the thing you do,” Julieta said.
Myla echoed their thoughts.
“Some people really need help — but they don’t have nobody to help them, and you just realize you need to help people that always needed it in their life,” Myla said.
The dancers were so moved by the girls’ generosity they decided to meet them in person to say thank you.
They all gathered at the Rosen Centre Hotel Tuesday evening. The professional dancers answered all the girls’ questions, thanked them for their donations, and even brought them gifts.
The girls received bags with shirts, leotards and signed ballet shoes.
“I got one of the most favorite things I always wanted, ballet shoes signed by a ballerina,” Myla said.
The ballet dancers encouraged the young ladies and said they hope one day the three will visit Ukraine.
The Ukraine Ballet Benefit exceeded its goal of $500,000 in donations and donations are still coming in.
If you want to donate, go to the Ukraine Ballet website. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/dancers-with-the-national-ballet-of-ukraine-meet-aspiring-orlando-ballerinas/ | 2022-08-31T09:51:28 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/dancers-with-the-national-ballet-of-ukraine-meet-aspiring-orlando-ballerinas/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – One month ago, someone opened fire into a crowd of people in downtown Orlando, injuring several.
As the search for the suspect continues, one victim says it may be a while before he goes back downtown.
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Juan Ayala said he continues to have nightmares after being shot downtown the morning of July 31. But as he recovers, he said it’s good at least there’s action being taken by the city of Orlando to keep everyone safe.
Ayala said he was shot in his thigh while out celebrating his 29th birthday in downtown Orlando with family and friends that morning.
Orlando Police say seven people were hurt after a fight led to gunfire near Wall Street and Orange Avenue.
“All I hear is bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, five shots off rip,” said Ayala. “I looked down and next thing I know, my leg was just bleeding like crazy, man.”
He said everything happened so fast and he’s hesitant about his return downtown.
“Since the shooting, I have not returned and I don’t plan on returning anytime soon,” said Ayala. “I just feel like it’s a little too early for me, man.”
He said now one month later, he’s at least satisfied knowing that following the shooting, Mayor Buddy Dyer has put in place access checkpoints downtown on Friday and Saturday evenings where patrons have to go through metal detectors and weapons checks.
“The good thing is at least they’re taking steps towards trying to make it safer, and that’s what counts, man,” said Ayala.
Ayala said he’s thankful to be alive, though has a few words for the gunman.
“That was super reckless, to have no regard for any life that’s out there,” said Ayala. “If he gets caught, he’ll get What’s coming to him. I believe in karma.”
News 6 is asking police for more data, including how many guns have been recovered.
City commissioners met earlier this month and unanimously passed the first reading of a new ordinance aimed at reducing crime downtown.
It includes making sure private parking lots have security and proper lighting at night, ensuring there is compliance with the noise ordinance, and requiring special use permits for new businesses. A second reading will take place on Sept. 12.
At this time, no one has been arrested in that July 31 shooting. Orlando Police are encouraging witnesses to come forward if you can help in their investigation.
In a statement to News 6, Orlando Police said,
“The safety and security of our community is the #1 priority of the Orlando Police Department. The Orlando Police Department always has a plan in place for our city’s public safety needs to include special events and holidays. It is important to note that our security measures are both visible and not visible. Aside from squad cars or officers in uniform or on bicycles or horses, there will be other resources out there that are less identifiable. And most importantly, we would ask people to remember if they see something, to please say something. Reporting to the police suspicious activity or persons helps us prevent crimes from happening and solving crimes. "
Orlando Police
A spokesperson from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s office told News 6:
“To ensure a thriving and vibrant city, the safety of residents and businesses throughout Orlando and in the downtown area is a top priority of the City of Orlando.
"We have made significant investments to ensure our downtown is a thriving economic hub and a vibrant destination for our residents and visitors to enjoy our world-class amenities and unique businesses that provide for a high quality of life, with safety an important component in this effort.
"To strengthen public safety, one of the measures we implemented was the expansion of our coordinated access points. This ordinance amendment was approved at first read and will go before the board for 2nd read and adoption at the next City Council meeting on September 12. These immediate actions were one step toward a comprehensive look at furthering our shared vision for a vibrant downtown. This effort remains part of our ongoing work on the Downtown Master Plan, which will take the big, transformational ideas from our DTO Outlook Plan into implementable strategies that will further ensure the long-term success of Downtown.
"We encourage our downtown businesses to join the Safety Awareness For Everyone (SAFE) program, as an opportunity for funding for safety measures that can help deter crime. These security measures include identification scanners, security cameras and metal detector systems.”
City of Orlando | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/downtown-orlando-shooting-victim-praises-safety-changes-not-ready-to-return/ | 2022-08-31T09:51:34 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/downtown-orlando-shooting-victim-praises-safety-changes-not-ready-to-return/ |
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Sheriff’s Office release video Friday that captured the moment a deputy opened fire, killing 28-year-old Bryan Richardson.
Deputies said Richardson, and the man on the ground blurred out in the beginning of the video, 21-year-old Dylan Jimenez, are brothers.
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Investigators said the two had an altercation with a third man outside of the Heritage Hotel off of South Orange Blossom Trail, and deputies said Jimenez and the man shot at each other, hitting each other, and that Richardson ran to his brother who was on the ground.
That’s when a person can be heard in the body camera video pointing out that Richardson had a gun.
When the body camera video was released, Sheriff John Mina also taped a video message, and in it he said Richardson was asked to drop the gun, but did not comply, and Mina said that’s when the deputy fired his weapon.
News 6 spoke with the attorney representing the family of Richardson and Jimenez, Mark NeJame, of NeJame Law, and he said while they are still waiting to finish their investigation of the shooting, he said the deputy who fired multiple rounds, killing Richardson, overreacted.
“The indication we’re getting is that he overreacted in the situation, but we want to be appropriately respectful and cautious on behalf of the family and also on behalf of all of those involved,” said NeJame.
NeJame said the video shows that there were eight shots fired by the deputy, when Richardson was not brandishing a firearm or aiming it at anyone. He also pointed out the female deputy seen in the video, and added she never pulled out her firearm, which would indicate she didn’t feel she was in danger.
“She was walking over to him so that he could follow the command of the other officer and drop it,” said NeJame.
News 6 asked the sheriff’s office if the female deputy was aware Richardson had a gun, and a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said in an email, in part, “we are not able to answer any of your questions because the investigation is ongoing.”
We also asked for any other body camera video associated with the shooting, including the female deputy’s, and a spokesperson for OCSO said once it becomes available, it will be provided.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/familys-attorney-speaks-out-after-video-shows-deputy-shoot-man-to-death/ | 2022-08-31T09:51:40 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/familys-attorney-speaks-out-after-video-shows-deputy-shoot-man-to-death/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County health officials are expanding the number of locations to get a monkeypox vaccine, and the number of doses available.
The Florida Dept. of Health in Orange County has expanded the number of vaccine doses available from 100 appointments a day to 200 a day.
Appointments are now available Monday through Friday at six locations.
The appointments must be scheduled online, no walk-ins are allowed. You can schedule an appointment on the Health Dept. website.
Vaccines are available at:
- Central Health Center on Central Boulevard in Orlando
- South Side Health Center on Lake Ellenor Drive in Orlando
- Eastside Health Center on East Colonial Drive in Orlando
- Lila Mitchell Health Center on Raleigh Street in Orlando
- Ocoee Health Center on West Story Road in Ocoee
- Lake Underhill location
Anyone can catch monkeypox, but those more likely to get monkeypox include people with prolonged sexual contact with someone with the disease, particularly men who have sex with other men.
Symptoms of monkeypox include a rash that can look like pimples or blisters appearing on the face, hands, feet, chest or genital area, fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes and chills. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/monkeypox-vaccinations-expand-in-orange-county/ | 2022-08-31T09:51:47 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/monkeypox-vaccinations-expand-in-orange-county/ |
BIGLERVILLE, Pa. — One person and four dogs have been displaced following a house fire on the 200 block of Main Street in Biglerville, Adams County on Tuesday night, according to emergency dispatch.
Firefighters responded to the scene of the fire around 11:20 p.m. on Aug. 30. One of them was injured and transported to the hospital; there is no word on his condition at this time, also according to emergency dispatch.
As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, the fire has been marked under control.
The coroner was not called to the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
This is a developing story. FOX43 will provide updates as they become available. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/1-person-4-dogs-displaced-following-house-fire-adams-county/521-e74c7d57-54c6-47b0-8ada-0c2360cee06f | 2022-08-31T09:58:46 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/1-person-4-dogs-displaced-following-house-fire-adams-county/521-e74c7d57-54c6-47b0-8ada-0c2360cee06f |
PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Pennsylvania may not keep a cache of weapons seized from the parents of a gunman who killed one state trooper and permanently disabled another eight years ago, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The parents of Eric Frein sued after authorities refused to return 25 rifles, 10 pistols and two shotguns that were taken from their home in September 2014, days after Frein ambushed the troopers outside a state police barracks in the Pocono Mountains.
Eugene Michael Frein and Deborah Frein were not charged in their son's crime — for which he was convicted and sentenced to death — and none of their weapons were used in his deadly late-night assault.
The Pike County district attorney, who was named as a defendant in the parents' suit, had argued that authorities had the right to hold the seized weapons, saying they might be needed as evidence during Eric Frein’s state and federal appeals.
The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying in its ruling Tuesday that state authorities never used Michael and Deborah’s weapons as evidence at their son’s trial and violated the parents' constitutional rights by holding on to the guns indefinitely.
The state seized the Freins' property without compensation in violation of the Fifth Amendment, and hindered their ability to keep firearms in violation of the Second Amendment, the court ruled.
“The police understandably seized the parents’ guns in 2014 while a killer was still at large. But he has long since been captured and convicted, and his conviction has been affirmed,” the panel wrote in its decision. “The judicial warrant does not authorize keeping the guns past this point.”
The appeals court said the state never used Michael and Deborah's weapons as evidence at their son's trial. The state would have to get another warrant to justify keeping the parents' property, the court said.
State police declined to comment on the ruling. Messages were sent to the district attorney and the Freins' lawyer seeking comment.
Prosecutors have said Eric Frein was hoping to start an uprising against the government when he opened fire with a rifle on the Blooming Grove barracks. Cpl. Bryon Dickson II, a Marine veteran and married father of two, was killed in the late-night ambush, and Trooper Alex Douglass was left with devastating injuries.
Frein was captured after a 48-day manhunt. He was convicted and sentenced to death, though Pennsylvania has a moratorium on executions. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/court-pennsylvania-cant-keep-guns-in-trooper-ambush-case-federal/521-fee10f2c-45bc-4353-9a3a-9ca7469733fb | 2022-08-31T09:58:52 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/court-pennsylvania-cant-keep-guns-in-trooper-ambush-case-federal/521-fee10f2c-45bc-4353-9a3a-9ca7469733fb |
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Crews are responding to the scene of a barn fire in Lancaster County Wednesday morning, according to Lancaster County dispatch.
The fire is located along the 200 block of Wanner Road in Earl Township, Lancaster County, also according to dispatch.
Dispatch also confirmed that there are no injuries and that no homes are affected.
There is no word at this time on the cause of the fire, and the scene is currently still active.
This is a developing story. FOX43 will provide updates as they become available. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-county/crews-respond-to-barn-fire-lancaster-county/521-a1648142-86bf-404e-9e82-701eed6d814a | 2022-08-31T09:58:58 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/lancaster-county/crews-respond-to-barn-fire-lancaster-county/521-a1648142-86bf-404e-9e82-701eed6d814a |
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Wednesday is International Overdose Awareness Day and advocates in our community are working to prevent people from starting drugs and help others find recovery.
Advocates with the Sullivan County Anti-Drug Coalition say anyone is susceptible to overdose. Whether it’s through abuse of prescription drugs or laced recreational drugs, overdose and addiction don’t have a face. Though they do say certain factors can make people more susceptible.
“It changes the brain, that substance changes the brain, and it kills your own dopamine response,” said Alice McCaffrey, Director of Sullivan County Anti-Drug Coalition. “So things that may have made you satisfied, happy, you know, excited, that doesn’t happen naturally anymore.”
McCaffrey said people need to understand is a health concern, not a choice and that it can impact anyone in the community.
“So many people came to it because of a medical condition that they had,” said McCaffrey. “There are people who have had such terrible childhoods. We call them adverse childhood experiences. And they’re just so much more susceptible to starting to cover all of the pain with substances.”
McCaffrey said they have seen an increase in overdose and drug use in the community in recent years.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health in 2020, there were 3,032 drug overdose deaths in the state. 60 of those were in Sullivan County alone.
The coalition offers prevention programs to keep teens from trying drugs. Educating parents and teens about the risks of drugs and fentanyl.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, fentanyl can increase the risk of overdose especially if someone is unaware they’re taking it. It can take multiple doses of naloxone to reverse an overdose if the fentanyl is very potent.
“It only takes the equivalent of a couple of grains of salt to kill somebody,” said McCaffrey. “Or at least to have that overdose if they don’t have the Narcan available or enough Narcan available.”
Beyond prevention, the coalition offers three intervention programs and works to pair people with Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (CPRS) who have experience with addiction and recovery themselves.
“I had been an active addiction for about 10 years, sometimes on and off, I finally got to a really low point in my life and decided to start asking for help,” said Stephanie Myers, CPRS at Sullivan County Anti-Drug Coalition.
Myers now uses her experience to guide people through recovery.
“That experience helps cultivate this connectedness,” said Myers. “And when we start to feel that connectedness with one another, that helps build that support system and gets us kind of farther away from that lifestyle of, you know, substance abuse.”
Myers said she wants to help break down the stereotypes about addiction and said the community can help starting with how they speak about it.
“A lot of people turn their nose up to people who are addicts, because they still believe it’s a choice,” said Myers. “And I would encourage people to try to understand do their own research, like addiction is not a choice.”
McCaffrey encourages anyone who has a loved one who struggles with addiction to keep naloxone on hand.
You can order a kit from their website. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/offering-education-support-on-international-overdose-awareness-day/ | 2022-08-31T10:15:26 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/offering-education-support-on-international-overdose-awareness-day/ |
Are we destined for a mild or harsh winter in Delaware: Do the almanacs agree?
In a showdown of science mixed with folklore, are the almanacs on the same page with their winter forecasts for Delaware?
A few weeks ago, we previewed Farmers’ Almanac, but now the granddaddy of all prognosticators, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, has weighed in with its winter predictions.
Published every year since 1792, The Old Farmer’s Almanac bills itself as the oldest continuously published periodical in North America, with 2.5 million copies printed and distributed each year in addition to the readers on its website.
“Depending on where you live, this will be the best of winters or memorable for all the wrong reasons,” said editor Janice Stillman. “One half of the country will deal with bone-chilling cold and loads of snow, while the other half may feel like winter never really arrives.”
For the Atlantic corridor which includes Delaware, The Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting winter temperatures below normal and precipitation and snowfall above normal.
“The coldest periods will be in early December, early and late January, and most of February. The snowiest periods will be in early to mid-January, late January and late February,” according to The Old Farmer's Almanac website.
The Old Farmer's Almanac's predictions are similar to those of Farmers' Almanac
A forecasting competitor, Farmers’ Almanac, which dates back to 1818, said the northeast should prepare for a “cold and snowy winter.”
“The first bite of winter should come earlier than last year’s,” according to a press release. “December 2022 looks stormy and cold nationwide with an active storm pattern developing and hanging around for most of the season over the eastern half of the country. Maybe there will be a white Christmas in some areas.”
Farmers’ Almanac forecasts are based on a mathematical and astronomical formula, taking sunspot activity, tidal action, the position of the planet and other factors into consideration.
Meanwhile, The Old Farmer’s Almanac uses a model developed by founder Robert B. Thomas, and the staff has “refined and enhanced the formula with state-of-the-art technology and modern scientific calculations.” They use solar science, the study of sunspots and other solar activity; climatology, the study of prevailing weather patterns, and meteorology, the study of the atmosphere.
How accurate are the almanacs' winter weather predictions?
Farmers’ Almanac editor Peter Geiger said his publication predicted many of the 2021-2022 winter storms, most notably the early-season nor’easter in the end of October and the unusual blizzard in the last week of April in parts of Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas.
“Longtime fans…who follow our weather predictions claim they are accurate approximately 80% to 85% of the time,” according to the Farmer’s Almanac website.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac website said, “Our results are often very close to our traditional claim of 80 percent.”
A look back at last winter:Wilmington hit by snow, wind, cold - sights and sounds
The University of Illinois has studied the forecasts and said the accuracy of such long-range predictions is closer to a coin toss.
Professor emeritus John Walsh in the university’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences examined forecasts of monthly temperatures and precipitation of The Old Farmer’s Almanac by comparing them to the actual weather data over a 5-year period.
“Results of this study found that 51.9% of the monthly precipitation forecasts and 50.7% of the monthly temperature forecasts were accurate, concluding that these percentages are similar to the 50% success rate expected by chance,” according to the University of Illinois extension service website.
More weather news:After nor'easter lingers at Delaware beaches, towns focus on repairing dune crossings
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com. | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/old-farmers-almanac-delaware-2022-2023-winter-weather-predictions/65463843007/ | 2022-08-31T10:23:12 | 0 | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/old-farmers-almanac-delaware-2022-2023-winter-weather-predictions/65463843007/ |
Delaware is changing its Medicare plan for state workers, here's what it means for retirees
Starting next year, the state will be offering Delaware state retirees a new type of Medicare plan, which has sparked a number of questions and concerns among retirees.
What follows is an explanation of the Medicare Advantage plan and why state officials believe it will help save money – despite the unease among many.
What is Medicare Advantage?
Medicare Advantage, also referred to as Medicare Part C, consists of Medicare plans available through private companies. It’s often seen as a cost-saving alternative to a traditional government health insurance plan.
Nearly 40% of beneficiaries nationwide get their coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan, according to AARP.
The Delaware plan is being offered through Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware, which is the largest insurer in the state. There are about 25,000 state retirees.
Medicare approves the plans offered by private companies, and requires them to cover everything that Medicare Parts A and B cover, which is hospital coverage and doctor and outpatient services.
Many Medicare Advantage plans, according to the AARP, cover prescription drugs too, in addition to other services Medicare might not traditionally cover, like dental, hearing or vision care.
For Delaware's plan, retirees must be enrolled in the Medicare Advantage plan in order to receive the benefits of Medicare Part D, which is prescription drug coverage. State officials attribute this to requirements made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
One of the often major differences between Medicare Advantage plans is that they can have a provider network and “may charge more or not cover doctors or facilities outside of a plan’s network,” according to AARP. Medicare covers any doctors and health care providers that accept Medicare.
Delaware officials maintain that this will not apply to state pensioners and their spouses. They say Delaware retirees will continue to see and receive care from any doctors and hospitals that accept Medicare.
Why (and how) did Delaware make this decision?
Many states and cities have transitioned to Medicare Advantage as a way to control ballooning health care and pension costs. For years, Delaware has struggled with its health care costs, especially at a time when the state's residents are becoming older and sicker.
In 2019, Gov. John Carney signed an executive order that re-established a committee to study state retiree benefits. In February, the state awarded Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware a three-year contract to provide the Medicare Advantage plan.
The General Assembly, this June, also voted to approve putting 1% of the previous year's budget into a trust fund for retiree healthcare. Yet Rep. John Kowalko, a Newark Democrat who is one of the most vocal opponents of the Medicare Advantage plan, said he believes he and fellow lawmakers were unaware at the time of how significant the changes to Medicare would be.
As of now, Delaware has $10 billion of unfunded liability for retiree healthcare. There’s concern among state officials that this will continue to grow, ultimately hurting Delaware’s financial future.
Claire DeMatteis, secretary of the Department of Human Resources,said that if the state does “nothing” by 2050 the retiree unfunded liability is estimated to grow to about $33 billion.
“If we enact some very minor reforms in retiree health care benefits,” she said, “and keep up with this 1% toward the retiree health care trust fund by 2050, we could reduce that liability to just $3 billion.”
Nationwide, states struggle with unfunded liability for both pensions and health care benefits. As Pew explains it, unfunded retirement liabilities mean “states have set aside less than is needed to cover the expected full costs of benefits earned by their employees.”
When compared to public pensions, many states specifically have set aside “far less to cover the long-term costs of retiree health care liabilities,” according to Pew.
Joanna Adams, pension administrator for the state’s Office of Pension, said the unfunded liability grows because, right now, Delaware pays for health care expenses each year through the budgetary process. The state saves money by Highmark taking on more of the risk when it comes to health insurance.
“The concept is now you're able to save for the future,” she said. “One of the trends that's happening across the nation is some public pension funds are not offering health care in the future. Maybe all new hires starting at a certain date are no longer eligible for health care.
“We're trying to avoid that situation here.”
What does the Delaware Medicare Advantage Plan consist of?
State officials say the Medicare Advantage plan has been specifically “customized” to state pensioners. It’s called the Highmark BCBS Delaware Freedom Blue PPO Medicare Advantage Plan. It’s replacing the Medicfill Medicare Supplemental Plan.
Coverage, officials say, will remain the same for Medicare services and prescription drugs. Pensioners will also have access to the same doctors that accept Medicare. Here’s a break down of the benefits, per the state:
- $0 co-pay for visits with your doctor
- $0 deductible for medical services
- $0 cost for skilled nursing facility services
- $0 cost for nationwide in and out-of-network coverage with out-of-network providers receiving the 100% Medicare allowable reimbursement for services provided
- $0 cost for lab and imaging
- $0 cost for emergency room and urgent care services
- Full and immediate coverage for pensioners with pre-existing conditions
The Medicare Advantage plan also includes other benefits like the Silver Sneakers fitness program membership and home meal service after a hospital discharge.
DeMatteis said the main priority when negotiating its plan with Highmark was to make sure that Delaware retirees would be able to keep their current health care providers.
“This is not some off-the-shelf Medicare Advantage plan,” she said. “This Medicare Advantage plan was custom designed for state of Delaware pensioners – to get them the same coverage that they previously had under the Medicare supplement plan.”
How much do I have to pay?
It depends on when you retired and how long you’ve worked for the state.
State officials say the premiums for the Medicare Advantage will be cut in half. According to state data, premiums are estimated to go from $459.38 to $216.18.
Here’s a full breakdown of the Medicare Advantage rates that would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
Here's what the rates were previously:
What are the concerns with Medicare Advantage?
This change has caused significant distress among some lawmakers and retirees.
Kowalko, who is retiring from the legislature at the end of this term, has come out the hardest against the changes. He believes state officials are misleading the public, and has called upon lawmakers to “act to ensure that this contract is shelved” so state retirees can return to the current plan for the time being.
But it’s unlikely that will happen.
“Medicare Advantage plans are great for healthy retirees,” he wrote in an Op-Ed for Delaware Online/The News Journal. “They will fail older retirees who will need to fight battles for medical care while they are ill. We can do better for the people who served this state.”
Kowalko, in an interview, said he has serious issues about how this Medicare Advantage plan involves prior authorization, a process insurers use to determine if they will cover a procedure, service or medication.
Highmark reports having a 92% approval rate. The 8% denial rate, some of which are related to the level of care, is concerning to Kowalko.
“Do you think a Silver Sneakers Program … is going to make up for the denial of benefits for a needed CAT scan,” Kowalko said, “or denial of access to a good cardiologist as a opposed to a mediocre cardiologist?”
Concerns about prior authorization have also been raised on the federal level. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, this April, published a report that found that there have been “widespread and persistent problems related to inappropriate denials of services and payment.”
There have been times, the inspector general found, that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have been delayed or denied access to services, even though the requests meet Medicare coverage standards.
“Beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage may not be aware that there may be greater barriers to accessing certain types of health care services in Medicare Advantage than in original Medicare,” the report said.
Following this report, the American Hospital Association sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, asking it to create a fraud task force to investigate this issue. The American Medical Association also agreed with the findings of the federal report.
When asked about this report, Delaware officials pointed to an analysis by AHIP, a trade association for health care insurers, that focused on how the inspector general's report is based on a limited sample of prior authorization denials issued in one week in June 2019 – 33 of which raised concerns for the Office of the Inspector General.
“Medicare Advantage plans have a responsibility to use prior authorization in areas prone to waste and abuse to protect seniors from unsafe, unnecessary, costly, low-value care,” the organization wrote.
DeMatteis, the secretary of the Department of Human Resources, said pre-authorization has been a part of health care for decades.
“We have to show our retirees this works,” she said. “This is how health care works. It's not meant to be punitive. It's not meant to delay services. It is a check to make sure that services are medically necessary. And it's how we perform health care in America today.”
She added that in response to these issues the state is “building in performance guarantees for Highmark.” This will consist of the insurer providing quarterly reports to the state about the denials, the rate of appeals being overturned and the services being approved, she said.
“We're going to track this and monitor this very closely as we do any contract but particularly because of the concerns of approval rates,” DeMatteis said. She said pensioners will also be able to provide their feedback about their experience.
“I am confident that when we look back on this year, we'll see health care work,” DeMatteis added. “It's still the best health care that we could possibly offer our pensioners.”
Enrollment begins Oct. 3 - 24. For more information about the Medicare Advantage plan, go to dhr.delaware.gov/benefits/medicare/medicare-advantage | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/delaware-pensioners-new-medicare-advantage-plan-blue-cross-blue-shield/65461519007/ | 2022-08-31T10:23:36 | 1 | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/delaware-pensioners-new-medicare-advantage-plan-blue-cross-blue-shield/65461519007/ |
TUPELO – With the clock ticking on its coronavirus funding, Mississippi United to End Homelessness advocates are bracing for a return to pre-pandemic operations.
Ledger Parker, MUTEH director, said the organization had just over $1 million left of the $5.7 it received in federal Emergency Solutions grant money through the CARES Act in the early stages of the pandemic. He said the allocation was an unprecedented boon for the organization.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen with homelessness. We were in the midst of a COVID lockdown and thinking we were never going to get to go back to work,” he said. “Our goal was to make sure homeless people were taken care of in the midst of a pandemic.”
Parker said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development created the grant to assist homeless individuals. He noted the main function of the grant was to address the specific needs of homeless individuals, such as getting those in unsafe living conditions into temporary housing.
“This amount of funding has amplified what we can do in different communities,” MUTEH Deputy Director Marika Baliko said. “Our focus has always been on the unsheltered, and the money goes to help do that.”
Mississippi Balance of State Continuum of Care Director Hannah Maharrey is the chair of the homeless task force and works closely with MUTEH leadership. She said the homeless population in the state was not hit as hard by the pandemic as advocates feared, noting that individuals took COVID-19 seriously at the onset of the pandemic because advocates pushed for vaccination and free testing.
“We did not and have not seen the huge spike in homelessness like other regions have experienced because we have the strategic approach that any funding that comes into our continuum of care needs to be spent appropriately,” she said.
Parker also noted the organization tried to be conservative with the funds, saving it for people who were tougher cases and for the chronically homeless.
“For our program and others, we went to people who were sleeping outside and had been for years, and we used (the grant) to get them into housing and get them that case management,” he said. “We’ve been able to connect people either to earned income through employment, support networks through family or even social security income.”
MUTEH Program Director Sara Ekiss said some of the grant money went toward a chronically homeless individual that had previously refused help and was prone to seizures. She said she was happy to see real change come from funds.
“We call them ‘White Whales.’ The ones you have to have the resources to serve,” she said. “We’ve never had the amount of resources we have now, and it has been really cool to see people who before didn’t really have an opportunity to be stable in housing, do well and get the care they need.”
The deadline for MUTEH to spend the funds is September 2023, but Parker said the Mississippi Home Corporation, which handled the allocation of the funds, set a hard deadline for the end of this year. Parker said, with the money close to spent, he hopes its impact would last long after the organization spends its last CARES Act dollar.
“My hope, as the money dwindles down, is that case management has taken hold, and we’ve been able to guide some people into stability while they were in the program,” he said.
Maharrey said MUTEH and the task force had to switch gears to focus more on rapid resolution cases and work more strategically on bigger cases.
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TUPELO • More than anything, Ali Watts and Paige Garrett just wanted to have the same kind of fun they do every Saturday night behind the bar at Harvey’s in Tupelo.
"We knew, at the end of the day, we just wanted to create something together,” Watts said of the coworkers’ entry into Oxford’s popular Iron Bartender competition.
Neither expected to win. They just wanted to have a good time, create something delicious and represent Harvey’s and the Tupelo bar scene.
"We told each other going in that we were going to have a great time," Watts said. "We're going to treat this like every single Saturday night we have behind the bar."
Despite it being their first time competing, the bartending team scored Harvey’s its first win in the three years they have competed. Their drink — a gin-based beverage dubbed the Supernova — was picked as the night’s Best Cocktail … one of two prizes handed out during the competition.
Hosted annually by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, the Iron Bartender competition tests local mixologists’ knowledge, creativity and skill mixing drinks by giving each team a random assigned liquor the week before the competition. The teams then have to concoct a unique, delicious drink, and then spend the night of the competition serving to both locals and judges alike.
Organizers describe the event as a take on the popular Food Network show “Iron Chef,” except with a drink-mixing twist. The event pits bartenders from across the area — mostly Oxford and Tupelo — against one another for one of two titles: Best Cocktail, which is selected by a panel of culinary professionals, and Crowd Favorite, chosen by attendees via tips to the bartenders.
The event serves as a fundraiser for the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council’s efforts to promote local artists through events, performances, classes and exhibits.
Besides the duo of Harvey’s bartenders, competitors this year included drink-makers from Tupelo’s Forklift and a number of popular Oxford drinking spots, including McEwen’s, Jinsei Sushi, Blind Pig, Uno Mas and Bar Muse.
Knowing they’d be going up against some of Oxonians’ favorites bars on their home turf, the Tupelo-based bartending team was nervous going into the event. Neither Watts nor Garrett truly expected to win.
“People were telling us, the week of the competition, that we wouldn’t win,” Watts said. “They said they’re not going to give it to anyone but an Oxford bar.”
Knowing the competition would be stiffer than the drinks being served, the duo practiced their drink-making skills for months leading up to the competition.
"We just wanted to be prepared," Watts said.
The duo also knew they’d have to create something out-of-this-world if they wanted to win.
Inventing the Supernova
A few days prior to the event, Iron Bartender competitors are assigned a liquor, which must be the basis for the cocktails they create.
Watts and Garrett’s assigned liquor was Bristow Gin, created by Jackson-based Cathead Distillery.
Although excited to be working with a Mississippi-born beverage, Watts said gin wouldn’t have been her liquor of choice.
"(Paige) is a lot better at gin stuff than I am," Watts said. "I was hoping for vodka or rum."
Still, creativity often thrives when given limits, and Watts knew she and Garrett work well together. It didn’t take the team long to formulate a plan … and an unusual beverage.
"One of the things in my garden this year is fresh lavender," she said. "I went to Paige and told her I really wanted to incorporate this lavender somehow. I thought it would go really well with the liquor."
The other key ingredient: butterfly pea flower tea. Created from a dry flower, the drink is known for its distinctive, bright purple coloration.
"If you mix lemon juice in it, it changes the color entirely," Watts said. "We wanted to kind of experiment with that and see what color we could turn our drink into."
Knowing that their competition would be tough, Garrett and Watts felt they had to create a drink that would be wholly unique and incredibly extravagant.
"We talked about layering the drink," she said. "So, on the bottom, we have the gin, the lemon juice, the lavender simple syrup and some ginger beer."
They then use a cocktail spoon to create an entirely new layer on top of the first. For this layer, they added some edible glitter into the butterfly pea flower tea.
The mix gave the drink an otherworldly look and, eventually, its name.
"It literally looks like outer space," she said. "It's really pretty."
They placed a lavender sprig on top of the drink to allow the drinker to mix the whole concoction together.
"When they mix it, they create the actual supernova," Watts said. "I think that's what gave us a big advantage; a lot of people liked that it was like a science experiment."
The team dubbed the cocktail the Supernova not only because of the explosion inside the glass, but because of the explosion of creativity which lead to its creation.
“Me and Paige are like a chaotic, hot mess put together, but it works so perfectly,” Watts said.
When their drink was announced as the night’s winning cocktail, the Tupelo bartending duo was shocked.
“It didn’t feel real,” Watts said. “We’re proud of the drink we put out, but we never thought people would love it as much as we did.”
And although neither Watts nor Garrett expected anything more out of the Iron Bartending competition than a chance to have fun and be creative together, perhaps that’s what made it possible for them to create their winning drink.
"A supernova is an explosion of stars; we explained our drink as an explosion of flavors," Watts said. "But, it's also an explosion of ideas. Combined ideas ... us together. It's an explosion of our chaotic (creativity) when we're put together."
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The annual Labor Day Kendall County Fair rides back into Boerne this weekend to celebrate Texas and the Hill Country’s agricultural traditions.
The fair started in 1905 and ceased only during “the war years” and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the fair’s website. It returned to action in 2021 at its usual location of Herff Park to celebrate its 115th anniversary.
Festivities start Thursday. The Queen’s Court Scholarship Pageant will headline the night, as Kendall County high school-age girls aim for scholarships and the title of Miss Kendall County Fair.
On ExpressNews.com: Boerne wants SoBo area to keep younger workers in town
Friday, the fair goes into full swing with a homemade salsa contest from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a barbecue cook-off spanning Friday and Saturday. The carnival and fair gates open at 5 p.m. The Labor Day Pro-Rodeo, stretching over Friday and Saturday, debuts at 8 p.m. in the fairground arena, featuring pro bull riding and myriad rodeo events.
The fair gates reopen at 10 a.m. for the rest of the weekend, coinciding with the Kendall County Fair Parade down Boerne’s Main Street. Fair attendees can take in livestock shows and other spectacles, including magic shows.
Several music acts will take the fairground’s main stage throughout the weekend, with several local acts headlining each night: Pop ROCKS, a San Antonio pop and rock cover band, will headline Friday; West Texas country artist Randall King ends the Saturday string of performances; and Mario Flores & the Soda Creek Band, a San Antonio country group, cap off the entire fair Sunday night.
A one-day, general admission ticket costs $20, along with a $2.85 fee; a three-day weekend pass is $50, with a $4.67 fee. Either option grants access to all events, and kids under 12 enter for free.
ricardo.delgado@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Labor-Day-Kendall-County-Fair-17408584.php | 2022-08-31T10:36:36 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Labor-Day-Kendall-County-Fair-17408584.php |
When San Antonians dial the city’s 311 line, the main hub for reporting problems and getting a wide range of information, there’s a good chance they’re calling to gripe about garbage.
With more than 320,000 people calling 311 this year, data shows what irks residents most.
The number one complaint: no trash pickup.
About 37 percent of San Antonio’s 311 calls are directed at the city’s Solid Waste Management Department, with nearly 120,000 calls made during the 2021-22 fiscal year related to trash. They include calls about skipped houses and garbage cans needing repair or replacement.
“Many routes have 430,000 homes with just three trucks operating, so there is a large opportunity to miss houses during garbage pickup, so it seems like we have a lot of calls for our Solid Waste Department,” said Paula Stallcup, director of 311 operations. “But in reality, they do a good job.”
Solid waste isn’t the only department that sees a high volume of activity on 311. Nearly a third of all calls to 311 this fiscal year are for property maintenance issues, including 10,000 calls for sidewalk obstructions, 22,000 calls for overgrown yards and 8,000 calls for illegal parking. Combined, the city has received more than 97,000 calls related to property maintenance.
In total, it’s projected that by Sept. 30, the end the current fiscal year, 311 will have received about 875,000 calls directed to 10 city departments. Stallcup said about 55 percent of 311 calls are from residents seeking information such as when government buildings are open or what to do about a stray animal.
Since the start of 2020, 311 call volume has risen, driven to a great extent by requests for COVID-19 information, while calls for services have decreased slightly compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The city’s 311 line was created in 2000 to help facilitate services to homes across the city. From potholes to stray animals, residents can report deficiencies that need to be fixed or request information about city services and programs.
Stallcup said 311 is a great resource for residents who don’t know where to start looking for information about city departments and services. For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many callers wanted information on vaccination sites and other coronavirus help
“We are the first point of contact to the city for a lot of people,” Stallcup said. “We want to be a partner to residents to help, so we rely on people to tell us when there are problems. We need them to be our eyes and ears.”
taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-Texas-call-311-17408462.php | 2022-08-31T10:36:42 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-Texas-call-311-17408462.php |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/bullet-goes-into-philly-school-during-triple-shooting-in-schoolyard/3349800/ | 2022-08-31T10:38:15 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/bullet-goes-into-philly-school-during-triple-shooting-in-schoolyard/3349800/ |
A teenage boy, a woman and a man were shot when at least two gunmen -- one with a rifle -- opened fire in the schoolyard of a Philadelphia elementary school overnight. At least one bullet went into the empty school.
"This is a triple shooting with one juvenile shot, age 17," along with two 20 year olds, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said
The shooting took place just before 1 a.m. Wednesday in the schoolyard of the Frances E. Willard Elementary School off Jasper Street, near East Clearfield Street, in the Kensington neighborhood, Philadelphia police said.
Police officers found a 20-year-old man with gunshot wounds to his arms on the playground of the school, Small said. Police transported him to the hospital where doctors treated him in stable condition.
Two other gunshot victims turned up at the hospital, Small said. A 17-year-old boy shot in the leg and a 20-year-old woman with at least three gunshot wounds to her back were treated in stable condition.
It appeared that bullets were fired from at least two weapons -- a rifle and a handgun -- as investigators found evidence that at least 30 shots were fired.
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
It appeared the three shooting victims were standing near a car parked in the school parking lot when they were shot, Small said. At least 15 shots hit the passenger side of the car.
"One of the bullets actually went through a window and lodged in the wall of one of the lobbies of the Willard School," Small said.
Police hoped evidence recovered at the scene, surveillance video and witnesses would help them as they searched for the shooters.
The School District of Philadelphia has yet to respond to a request for comment on the shooting, which took place before the third day of the schoolyear.
Children make up around 9% of the shooting victims in Philadelphia this year. According to a tally by the city controller’s office, last updated Monday, at least 149 minors have been shot in Philadelphia this calendar year.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philadelphia-schoolyard-shooting/3349798/ | 2022-08-31T10:38:21 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philadelphia-schoolyard-shooting/3349798/ |
Increased fire activity within Six Rivers Complex prompts new Trinity County evacuations
With fire activity increasing on the Six Rivers Lightning Complex, the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office has issued new evacuation orders.
The orders, issued Tuesday afternoon, include:
- All areas north of the Denny Road from the intersection of the Denny Road and Wallen Ranch Road, Ziegler Point Road/Forest Service Road 7N04 through Hawkins Creek north to the Trinity County Line.
- Wallen Ranch Road, Ziegler Point Road/Forest Service Road 7N04 and any spurs roads off Forest Service Road 7N04 will be closed to public access.
On Monday evening, fire activity increased in the southeast portion of the Campbell Fire within the complex, the U.S. Forest Service said.
“Aerial reconnaissance identified a spot fire south of the control line at Zeigler Ridge. Firefighters today will pick up where night operations left off, prioritizing the containment of the spot fire near Zeigler Point,” the Forest Service said in its Tuesday update.
Meanwhile, a crew responsible with protecting structures will remain assigned to the areas of Trinity Village and Hawkins Bar, officials said.
The Six Rivers Lightning Complex has burned 34,076 acres with 54% containment. There are more than 1,900 fire personnel assigned to the complex.
Highway 299 remains open, but residents should visit http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ to check for the latest highway conditions.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2022/08/30/california-wildfire-increased-six-rivers-lightning-complex-activity-new-trinity-county-evacuations/7944542001/ | 2022-08-31T10:45:12 | 0 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2022/08/30/california-wildfire-increased-six-rivers-lightning-complex-activity-new-trinity-county-evacuations/7944542001/ |
HOUSTON — A constable deputy's killer is still on the run. The principal at the elementary where he used to work at as a school resource officer in Sheldon ISD saw him just days before he was killed.
Omar Ursin was a school resource officer at H.M. Carroll Elementary for four years until last spring when they say he got a promotion. But he would still stop by, and he did so three days before he was killed.
“It’s just terrible at first disbelief, it was hard to process," said Principal Solmaria Benavides.
In the library is where Benavides says she would often find Ursin.
“He was great, he was kind, soft-spoken," she said.
“He didn’t just keep us safe. He showed the kids how to make a snowflake, how to binary code their name & how to tie their shoes," a staff member tweeted.
“I heard the news about the shooting because I live just a few minutes from there," said Benavides.
She didn’t realize it was Ursin until the next morning.
“I saw him Thursday. He went to Rocky Mountain National Park and I did this summer too so we shared some pictures and talked about it. He was just so happy,” said Benavides.
Surrounded by family - his wife, daughter, and parents, Ursin had just celebrated his 37th birthday Friday.
His family told KHOU 11 they knew his line of work was dangerous, but never expected him to be shot and killed off duty. Investigators say he was driving home after picking up dinner in Houston.
“My son was very friendly, very helpful and he never met a stranger," said Yvonne Ursin, his mother.
Who pulled the trigger on Madera Run Parkway in Atascocita is still a mystery. Homicide investigators with Harris County Sheriff's Office say it could have been road rage, but they are still piecing together surveillance video.
Back on campus, this principal says it’s a loss that’s hard to measure.
“I’m very sorry for their loss. It’s devastating to go through something like this. And they are not alone, we all feel it with them," said Benavides.
If you have any information on Constable Deputy Omar Ursin's case, call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477). | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/deputy-omar-ursin-shot-killed-community-remembers/285-65d7cd37-fe08-46ba-9baa-e9bb15047ad7 | 2022-08-31T11:06:43 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/deputy-omar-ursin-shot-killed-community-remembers/285-65d7cd37-fe08-46ba-9baa-e9bb15047ad7 |
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids restaurant closed their doors in the middle of one of their busiest days, after the owner said they could no longer handle the way they were being treated by some of their customers.
"It wasn't an easy decision, but I think it was the right decision," said Steven Martinez, the owner of Basalt.
On Sunday, Basalt closed several hours before their normal closing time. Martinez said they love serving their customers, but for the first time ever, he felt he had no choice but to take a couple days off.
"I thought it would be better for my staff to just close down," Martinez said. "Give them space to breathe, and give them a break from what was probably the worst day we've ever had."
Basalt is a modern, Tex-Mex, comfort food joint that sits along Wealthy Street in Eastown. They focus a lot on breakfast tacos and brunch, so naturally weekends can be very busy for them.
"We had a few interactions during our busy period that just made it impossible for us to operate and serve our guests the way they deserve to be served," he said.
Martinez said it was everything from rude language, little patience, destruction of property and even stolen mobile orders that led to the decision he never thought he'd have to make.
"They were all things that I think individually we could have handled," he said, "but all those things together just became unmanageable and overwhelming."
Martinez said that they always welcome families and children into the restaurant, but on Sunday, several families were not keeping a close eye on their kids. Because of that, there were several messes and spills that were not reported to staff, and several of their plants were messed with.
"Money is tight all day every day, especially as a small business owner in the restaurant industry, so any opportunity for me to have a sale really matters," he said. "So, I take it very seriously when I have to close early or be closed when we're expecting to be open."
"It just seems like an epidemic of entitlement happening," he added.
Martinez says that he and his staff know the stresses the restaurant industry can bring, "but that doesn't mean we're not going to expect to be treated with care, and respect, and dignity too," he said.
"We're not servants, and we're not robots."
Basalt closed for the remainder of Sunday and all day Monday. Martinez wants others to know it's okay to stand up for yourself and your staff.
"If they're not being taken care of, I'm going to do whatever I have to do to make sure that they're treated well, and that work is not a place that is dreadful for them," said Martinez.
Martinez says since they made the announcement public, he's gotten a lot of messages of support, and messages from other local restaurants thanking him for speaking out because it's happened to them, too.
"There is power in solidarity, numbers, and in truth," said Martinez. "And like I said before, we're people and we deserve better than that."
"We're giving part of ourselves to take care of you, and what we want back is just some respect and dignity," he added.
Basalt plans to reopen Tuesday for their normal hours starting at 7 a.m.
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Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/grand-rapids-restaurant-closes-after-line-of-rude-customers/69-d53af83d-169d-4cc0-b96c-641f70bc73b1 | 2022-08-31T11:06:49 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/grand-rapids-restaurant-closes-after-line-of-rude-customers/69-d53af83d-169d-4cc0-b96c-641f70bc73b1 |
CEDAR FALLS — The College Hill Partnership Board has gone more than four months without an executive director.
The nonprofit’s first-ever director, Kathryn Sogard, resigned April 19 after nearly five years in the role, and the plan is not to actively seek a replacement for now, said Hannah Crisman, president of the board of directors.
“With Kathryn leaving, we felt it was time to regroup and re-evaluate our objectives, and to figure out where we see ourselves going in the future,” said Crisman.
Several homeowners were out on their porches and in their yards Thursday between 6:30 and 8 p.m. to share fun facts and old photographs.
Whether its businesses or neighbors of the district, Crisman hopes more feedback will come as more volunteer their time in the months and years ahead.
Ultimately the future hiring of an executive director will “depend on what people want,” she said, with one spark possibly being business growth.
People are also reading…
“Our organization is small,” said Crisman, also acknowledging that it’s fueled by the passion of its volunteers.
The executive director was the partnership’s only paid position. It’s covered by revenue generated by the taxes paid by property owners in the College Hill Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District.
The College Hill Partnership has a nine-member board, and its meetings are regularly attended by other stakeholders from the city, University of Northern Iowa and other agencies.
An Evansdale woman has in mind bringing cameras to the trailheads and parking lots, as well as ‘blue light beacons' one might see on a college campus.
The organization’s mission is promoting neighborhood businesses and housing enhancement; strengthening collaboration and pride; developing public/private partnerships; and serving as an advocate for addressing area concerns.
Crisman said the decision leaves the board without an obvious contact person, but noted each board member can be approached. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/amid-transition-college-hill-partnership-board-elects-not-to-hire-new-executive-director/article_80347989-c8cd-5660-9528-8befb53d3178.html | 2022-08-31T11:10:08 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/amid-transition-college-hill-partnership-board-elects-not-to-hire-new-executive-director/article_80347989-c8cd-5660-9528-8befb53d3178.html |
WATERLOO — Charges for a Waterloo teen who was found with a pistol following an Aug. 6 shooting have been transferred to adult court.
On Monday, Isaiah Anthony Anderson, 17, was booked on charges of reckless use of a firearm and carrying weapons. He was also charged with theft and credit card fraud. Bond was set at $5,000.
Police were called to a report of gunfire in an alley in the 200 block of Reber Avenue around 7:20 p.m. on Aug. 6, and officers found a spent .40-caliber shell casing. No injuries were reported.
They also obtained surveillance video of Anderson leaving the alley wearing a red hooded sweatshirt. Police found Anderson a short time later wearing the sweatshirt and carrying a loaded .40-caliber Kahr handgun in his waistband, court records state.
At the time, Anderson was charged as a juvenile and released.
Anderson was also charged with first-degree theft in a July 6 incident where he ran from a stolen Ford Edge in the Waterloo Community Schools parking lot on Washington Street. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/charges-added-in-aug-6-shooting/article_0d8f9efd-a762-5655-b783-d6ff5e7a48bf.html | 2022-08-31T11:10:10 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/charges-added-in-aug-6-shooting/article_0d8f9efd-a762-5655-b783-d6ff5e7a48bf.html |
Flower Mound’s Makenna McGraw has always had big goals.
“Quite frankly, it’s been a calling from the Lord,” McGraw said. “It started as a calling, and now, it’s turned into a passion.”
McGraw is passionate about many things, including her love of soccer at Flower Mound, where she has been a four-year starter, including during her freshman season that included winning a state championship.
“That feeling of the rain pouring down, and putting that ball in the net, dogpiling my teammates, it was just awesome,” McGraw said.
But McGraw is most passionate about her future plan to become a brain surgeon, a journey that began with an internship at Johns Hopkins University last summer, and includes future service in the military.
“I’m going to be going to college as almost a junior,” McGraw said. “My hope is to get my major credits out of the way, get my degree, do ROTC in college, and then head to medical school. From medical school, I’ll do my internship, residency, and then commission off wherever (the military) needs me.”
“When I hear that she’s not only a part of one national honor society, but three, Makenna is just another great example of the local kids in our communities doing great things,” said Wingstop franchise owner Rex Heckelman. “We’re really happy to be able to sponsor her.”
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The latest news from around North Texas.
Sponsoring Makenna McGraw as the Wingstop Scholar Athlete of the month as she pursues big goals in the years ahead. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/marchs-wingstop-scholar-athlete-of-the-month-makenna-mcgraw/30/ | 2022-08-31T11:11:33 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/marchs-wingstop-scholar-athlete-of-the-month-makenna-mcgraw/30/ |
Literacy Instruction for Texas (LIFT) is projecting that in just 12 years, more than one million people, 30% of those will be in Dallas County, could be illiterate.
It’s a harsh reality as more and more students are having an issue getting access to books. Much of that issue happening in communities that are already underrepresented.
Elena Ford, the first woman in the Ford family to hold an executive position with the Ford Motor Company, stopped by David Crockett Elementary School in Weatherford on Tuesday in hopes of increasing that access, boosting opportunities for literacy and encouraging STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) education for children.
With the help of the North Texas Ford Dealers and literacy nonprofit First Book, they hosted a reading, discussion and donation of STEAM-related books and have been doing that across the country.
DFW nonprofit, Harvest Project Food Rescue brought its Ford mobile library – a retrofitted Ford Transit designed to deliver fresh produce and books throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
By the end of 2022, they said the Ford Fund will have invested more than $750,000 and delivered more than 145,000 books in Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, Kansas City, Puerto Rico and San Antonio. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ford-motor-company-local-nonprofit-boosting-literacy-in-north-texas/3060898/ | 2022-08-31T11:41:58 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ford-motor-company-local-nonprofit-boosting-literacy-in-north-texas/3060898/ |
At funeral Mass for former Archbishop Weakland, some pray for forgiveness while others slam legacy of abuse coverup
The funeral Mass for former Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland drew hundreds of supporters Tuesday, including those who said they were praying for forgiveness and mercy for the man who led the Milwaukee archdiocese for 25 years.
The Mass also drew advocates for survivors of clergy abuse. They said Weakland did not deserve a public funeral at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist because he helped cover up sexual abuse in the church.
Weakland, a Benedictine monk, died Aug. 22, about 20 years after he stepped down as archbishop following a public fall from grace.
The Vatican granted his retirement promptly after he admitted he had used $450,000 in church funds to buy the silence of a former graduate student who years later accused him publicly of date rape.
Weakland maintained the relationship was consensual. The archbishop was in his early 50s and the accuser was in his early 30s when the encounter occurred.
Then, in 2008, Weakland admitted in a state court deposition that he shredded copies of sex abuse documents, failed to notify law enforcement officials and moved sexually abusive priests from parish to parish without warning members of their histories.
The Rev. Steven Avella — a Marquette University professor and historian — presided over the Mass. It drew about 400 people, including large numbers of priests and Catholic sisters.
In his homily, Avella referenced Weakland's history.
"Hanging over this particular funeral are the memories of his mistakes, which were there for everyone to see. Some were personal to him, others shared by his fellow bishops and priests. We are grateful for the time he spent with us.
"Many of us loved him, and some did not. We can not dismiss their just anger even as we try to make sense of it all. People were hurt, lives shattered and disillusioned," he said.
His remarks continued:
"With the perks and power of leadership comes the burden of accountability for serious mistakes. For us here in Milwaukee, these things still need to work themselves out. Grief and anger have no time table. Neither do forgiveness and reconciliation."
The assembly broke into applause when Avella finished his homily.
Just three hours before the Mass was set to begin, archdiocese officials barred news reporters from attending the Mass. On Monday, they had said reporters would be allowed.
"In an effort to reduce the additional pain that sexual abuse survivors may experience from exposure to the current level of media publicity, we’re making a change and the funeral Mass will be closed to the media," said Jerry Topczewski, chief of staff for the current archbishop, Jerome Listecki.
Then, the Mass was livestreamed on the cathedral's YouTube page.
John Pilmaier, an advocate for survivors, said Weakland should be remembered for "the harm he caused."
“This is really a day of shame for the archbishop and the archdiocese,” he said.
More:Anti-clergy abuse advocates slam public funeral at cathedral for former Archbishop Weakland
'Not going to cast any stones'
Few who attended Weakland's visitation wanted to speak publicly to a reporter. But those who did said they believe it is important to forgive people.
"He's done his penance, he's suffered long years. That doesn't condone the sin. It does ask for forgiveness. And that's what we're supposed to be about," said Michaelina Young, before walking away.
A woman who only gave her first name, Diane, said she was "not going to cast any stones."
"God is more kind, loving and merciful than us human beings," she said. "It's too bad as human beings we can't be more kind to each other, and loving and have mercy, and forgiving."
Others remembered Weakland as a kind man who supported outcast groups.
Weakland reached "out to all of those people who were most vulnerable, women, gay Catholics, in a personal way," an Illinois man said. "So that they felt included, cared for and valued."
The man, who asked not to be named, is gay himself and said Weakland cared for his family.
"He also, as a priest and as a bishop, cared for members of his flock that were gay," he said.
The man also said he didn't want to dismiss those victimized by the church, but he respected that Weakland had acknowledged his actions.
"He took responsibility for those decisions and he did so very publicly," he said.
Judith Gregor, a lay associate with the School Sisters of Notre Dame, said she respected Weakland’s pastoral letter, "Eucharist Without Walls," about bringing Christ into daily life.
She also said she is praying for everyone’s mercy and that “we do a better job.”
“I’m praying for mercy that we build up each other, and develop healthy relationships and learn how to better understand each other and love each other,” she said.
Dozens of priests, religious sisters in attendance
Among those entering the cathedral ahead of Mass were dozens of Catholic sisters and priests. Many were dressed in black and held white robes to concelebrate with Avella.
Most walked in quickly past television cameras and survivor advocates, who had set up displays and signs outside the cathedral in protest. Security guards were stationed outside the cathedral doors.
The group Nate's Mission tied to a fence photos of 80 abusive priests under Weakland's tenure. Organizers also displayed photos of survivors as children and some of their personal items, such as candles and prayer books.
James Egan, a former Milwaukee seminarian who now heads an Illinois-based survivor advocacy group, said he felt sad to see old classmates and priests he knew walk into the cathedral.
“It really shows their character,” Egan said. “It shows their lack of commitment, really, to keeping children safe, and that they are looking the other way. They’re not being of service, they’re not being neighbors.”
During the Mass, a prayer of intercession was offered for survivors of child sexual abuse.
For those with painful memories of clergy abuse: "May God heal their wounds, free their hearts from fear and indignation, and open ways for them to grow and live life fully. And may all of us be instruments of healing as we promise to protect and pledge to heal those who are most vulnerable, we pray, Lord hear our prayer."
A woman who lives close to the cathedral and who asked to be referred to only by her first name, Mary, said she knew several of the abusive priests whose photos advocates hung on a fence outside the cathedral.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” she said.
As she observed from the sidewalk, she noted that former archdiocesan lawyer Matthew Flynn arrived. She also watched as an older woman shouted at victim advocates — “Just give it a rest” — and gave a rude gesture to a man standing silently on the sidewalk with a sign that read “What about survivors?”
The man with the sign was Chris O’Leary, a St. Louis resident and priest abuse survivor, who drove to Milwaukee Tuesday morning. He stood for four hours with his sign outside the cathedral.
He said he was not protesting, but holding vigil. He wants lay Catholics to "understand that the problems still exist, and the magnitude of the problem." He wants them to take a more active role in rooting out complacency to abuse.
"I think nothing is going to change if the pressure stops. The laity have to keep on the pressure," O'Leary said.
He said one of the priests walking into the funeral stopped to tell him, “I’m not forgetting survivors. But I also think it’s important to remember and pray for mercy.”
Legacy as liberal bishop followed by scandal
Long considered one of America's most prominent liberal bishops, Weakland's legacy could be seen in his own funeral.
He had a hand in shaping the modern-day liturgy during Vatican II in the 1960s and led the controversial renovation of the cathedral in the early 2000s.
He began his adult life at St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he professed as a monk and went on to lead as archabbot.
In 1967, at the age of 40, he was elected abbot primate for the Benedictine Confederation — the body that oversees all Benedictine congregations and monasteries worldwide — and became close to Pope Paul VI.
Weakland later wrote that during the Vatican II process, he participated in what were effectively test Masses with Pope Paul to practice the new liturgy, reimagined from the Latin version.
Then, he said, he was part of a small group that offered the pope feedback in his offices.
The Mass as it was celebrated at Tuesday's funeral was a product of that Vatican II process.
As Milwaukee archbishop, a position he began in 1977, Weakland was a divisive figure. He championed an expanded role for women and laity in the church and thought the door should be left open to ordaining women.
He also was known for building bridges with other religions and reaching out to Catholics who felt disconnected from their church. He helped found and fund the Milwaukee AIDS Project. He conducted highly publicized listening sessions in an effort to understand Catholic women's views on abortion.
Near the end of his tenure, Weakland shepherded a radical remodeling of the interior of the cathedral to modernize and reconfigure it.
Rows of pews were replaced by movable chairs, the altar was moved forward into the nave and the tabernacle was relocated to a side chapel.
Traditionalist Catholics criticized the renovation, saying it made the cathedral uglier and more "Protestant." But others hailed it as an upgrade that aligned with a post-Vatican II movement to connect clergy and lay people.
Weakland submitted retirement paperwork when he turned 75 in 2002, as required by church law, but continued serving. The following month, news broke that he had paid $450,000 to buy the silence of the former graduate student who had accused him of sexual assault.
He initially said he had raised enough money in speaking fees, gifts and honorariums over 25 years to more than equal the $450,000 settlement, but he later acknowledged he'd made only about $200,000 and the rest came from archdiocese funds.
Supporters quickly raised over $300,000 to cover the difference, and federal authorities said they wouldn't charge him over the use of donors' money.
Weakland was living in a south-side senior living facility when in 2008 he spoke in a deposition about his handling of sex abuse cases within the archdiocese.
He acknowledged that he moved abusive priests to other parishes without warning members because "no parish would have accepted a priest unless you could say that he has gone through the kind of psychological examination and that he’s not a risk to the parish."
He would come out as gay — possibly the first Catholic bishop to voluntarily do so — in his 2009 memoir “A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church."
Then, in 2019, in response to pressure from church abuse victims and faithful, the archdiocese removed Weakland's name from the pastoral center at the cathedral as well as a sculpture inside depicting Weakland shepherding small children.
In remarks at the Mass, Listecki said Catholics can find peace in God's forgiveness.
"We know that in 25 years in shepherding — I know in the past decade of my own shepherding — you make mistakes. Mistakes are made, errors are made, judgements are made.
"But we do so in the shadow of the cross, and we hold that cross before us because in that cross always is God’s loving forgiveness and mercy."
Contact Sophie Carson at (414) 223-5512 or scarson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SCarson_News. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/former-milwaukee-archbishop-weakland-remembered-funeral-mass/7929433001/ | 2022-08-31T11:48:10 | 0 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/former-milwaukee-archbishop-weakland-remembered-funeral-mass/7929433001/ |
CAPE MAY – With City Council weighing an ordinance reducing speeds throughout Cape May, officials in the city and neighboring West Cape May also want to slow things down on county roads.
Mayor Zack Mullock of Cape May and Mayor Carol Sabo took their plea to the Cape May County Board of Commissioners last week, asking for a reduction in the speed limits across the board.
“They seemed to be pretty receptive to the idea,” Mullock said on Tuesday. “We’ll see what happens.”
Pittsburgh Avenue, Delaware Avenue and others in Cape May are listed as county roads, which means their maintenance and their speed limits are up to the county.
In West Cape May, Bayshore Road, Broadway and others are listed as county roads. Some are listed as county highways, with a speed limit of 35 or 40 miles an hours.
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Gerald Thornton, the director of the county Board of Commissioners, said the county is always receptive to requests from communities on speed limits. He said officials would definitely consider it.
“You’ve got to go through a process and do some traffic studies,” Thornton said on Tuesday. “As far as I know, you’re required to do that.”
But in some cases, rather than resulting in a speed limit reduction, traffic studies have ended up recommending increasing the speed limit on a road.
“We’re not asking for a study. We’re asking for them to lower it without a study,” Mullock said.
Mullock wants to see a city-wide maximum speed of 25 miles an hour, whether it is a county road or a city street. For a community that’s about two miles across at the widest point, he said, that should be plenty fast, and will not make anyone much later for appointments.
Mullock also cited low-speed vehicles that have become increasingly popular in the Cape May area. They are not allowed on roads with a speed limit over 25, under state law. Mullock said that means the vehicles cannot be used to travel between the two communities, because it would mean crossing roads above that speed limit.
“The police are wondering what to do,” he said.
Cape May County engineer Robert Church was not immediately available for comment.
Thornton said he would know the most about the process for setting speed limits. The decisions cannot be arbitrary, said Cape May County spokesperson Diane Wieland on Tuesday, who indicated a traffic study would be needed.
“It is under consideration. No decision has been made,” Wieland said.
Speeds have been a topic of discussion in Cape May this summer, with City Council looking at reducing speed limits, especially in the narrowest streets in town.
How fast is too fast in Cape May?
City manager Michael Voll plans to find out.
Right now, 25 mph is the default speed limit in town for city streets. In July, Mullock said that is too fast for some neighborhoods, citing both the extremely narrow streets in some areas and the number of pedestrians, bikes, horse-drawn carriages, low-speed vehicles and powered scooters competing for space on the road.
Voll said he has begun working on a report to bring to council in September, outlining recommendations for areas where speed limits could be reduced.
Officials have already cited a few examples, including Corgie Street, Hughes Street and Yacht Avenue, as narrow routes where a speed reduction may be a good idea.
A narrow dead–end street near Cape May Harbor, Yacht Avenue is already has signs near a turn warning drivers that the speed limit is 10 miles an hour.
According to Voll, it appears that sign was put in place by a neighbor, not by the city.
“To be honest with you, I kind of appreciate that. They are looking out for their neighbors,” Mullock said.
Corgie Street, a one-way street running from Franklin Street to the Kiwanis Park at Madison Avenue, does not appear to have any speed limit signs. With cars parked on one side and trees along the sidewalk on the other, the narrow route offers little room for cars.
There are signs posted asking drivers to slow down, but none saying how fast drivers can go. Hughes, also one-way and heading in the opposite direction from Franklin Street, also does not appear to have any posted speed limits.
Most drivers seem to stay under 25 regardless.
Mullock said the city still gets complaints from neighbors about speed, even though someone traveling 25 along Corgie would not be breaking the law. Mullock said it would be “legitimately crazy” to travel that fast on that road.
There are several narrow routes in the Victorian city, including Page Street, which would be considered an alley in many communities.
Mullock said there has not been a notable increase in the number of traffic accidents or speeding tickets, but he believes it would be safer to reduce speeds throughout the community. | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/cape-may-and-west-cape-may-appeal-to-county-on-road-speeds/article_fa463600-28a8-11ed-a239-b71c7b5014d2.html | 2022-08-31T11:54:52 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/cape-may-and-west-cape-may-appeal-to-county-on-road-speeds/article_fa463600-28a8-11ed-a239-b71c7b5014d2.html |
Paulie Hartwig III recently blew past a racing record set more than a decade ago by NASCAR superstar Chase Elliott.
On Aug. 2, the Galloway Township boy became the youngest race winner in history at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina.
And in doing it at age 11, he left Elliott’s record in the dust. Elliott, 26, a second-generation NASCAR star who won the 2020 Cup Series championship, was 14 when he won at North Wilkesboro for the first time.
Racing in Crate Modifieds against drivers two, three and four times his age, Paulie set the record on a Tuesday night. The next night? He went out there and won again.
“It actually feels really good to break Chase Elliott’s record,” Paulie said last week.
The victory was stunning, even for his supportive parents, Paul and Lisa, and it drew a lot of online attention. A Greensboro TV station’s report, featuring an interview with Paulie, has been viewed more than 68,000 times on YouTube.
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“I loved racing with those guys,” Paulie said of his big race in North Carolina. “They give me a lot of respect. ... After the race, they said congratulations to me.”
Paul Hartwig said it was “the biggest race of the year that you could win with our type of cars.”
Lisa Hartwig said they had traveled to North Wilkesboro with “no expectations because we knew who we were up against,” mentioning some established and, of course, much older drivers.
Climbing the ranks
It all started small enough: A 3-year-old riding go-karts in the family’s Lakewood backyard with the guidance of a father who had learned to race at 11 and still does.
“I started late,” Paul Hartwig joked.
At 4, Paulie competed in his first two races in Pennsylvania. He won both.
Over the years, he has progressed through the racing world. He’s won two national quarter-midget titles, plus regional, track and slingshot titles. The elder Hartwig estimates his son has driven to more than 150 victories.
“When he turned 7, it just clicked like 100%,” Paul Hartwig said.
In 2020, Paulie won a national title for Junior Slingshots by Tobias, typically referred to as that circuit’s World Series. He’s raced on asphalt and dirt tracks. He’s raced 4-cylinder cars and, for the past year and a half, modifieds.
The racing season for the Hartwigs starts in April or May and keeps them busy for months. Paulie has raced mostly in Pennsylvania, but also in Virginia, Delaware and North Carolina. One place he has not raced is New Jersey, where he is several years away from being old enough.
This year, Paulie has won five races and had about 15 top-five finishes, his father said. And he’s not driving against other 11-year-olds. His opponents typically range in age from 18 to 65.
“They actually have a lot of respect for him because he races them just like a veteran,” his father said. “He had to earn it.”
Sometimes, the father and son even get to compete in the same race. “We’ve been racing together here and there when the funds allow us both to race,” Paul Hartwig said.
And when the funds don’t? “He always gets the first crack at it. He’s always first,” the father said.
Paulie knows that, too. “He always wants to focus on me,” he said.
Best of all, though, is when father and son compete in the same race, as they did a this month in Pennsylvania.
“He finished second, and I finished fourth. I love racing with him,” Paulie said.
In it for the long haul
The list of accomplishments is long for an 11-year-old, or for a 40-year-old, for that matter. But at or near the top of the list: those two races he won at North Wilkesboro Speedway, an old-time NASCAR racetrack that was shuttered for years and only brought back to life this month. Dale Earnhardt Jr. watched from the infield that opening night, and the retired NASCAR star is scheduled to compete in a race there Wednesday night.
Paulie talks like the veteran racer he is when explaining his strategy — about saving his tires for the races, not using them all up in the preliminaries, about keeping the car in one piece so the fun can continue in the next race. “We don’t have to set the world on fire,” he explained. “We just want to race every .”
He is a fan of Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion who grew up in southern Ocean County. But Cup racing is not his long-term goal. He loves racing modifieds.
“It’s really important to me to do something in life. To keep me busy and to be working on cars every week,” he said. “I want to go until I’m like 40 or so, racing on the Whelan (Modified) tours.”
Lisa Hartwig watches her boy, so much younger than the other drivers, zipping around tracks at 100 mph. “It’s mixed emotion. Its pretty crazy, but we wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said. “It’s what we live and breath. We love racing.”
Paul Hartwig said he feels his son is safer racing the modifieds than the previous types he raced. More roll bar, better and safer equipment.
Paulie will be entering the sixth grade at Arthur Rann Elementary School. Racing dominates his young life — he’s big on iRacing when he’s not at the track — but he also plays basketball in a local rec league. And gets nothing but A’s and B’s in school, his parents said.
“He’s an 11-year-old kid at heart. Fooling around, kidding around. But when he gets in that racecar, he’s like a 35-year-old. Totally serious,” Paul Hartwig said.
“He’s a good kid in school,” Lisa Hartwig said. “He pays attention, he’s very polite. We always get good feedback from the teachers when we do the parent-teacher conferences.”
The only concern they occasionally hear from the school are about Paulie’s racing-related absences, his parents said.
No school in the summer, though, so Paulie and his parents have been focused on their racing adventures.
After Paulie won the first night at North Wilkesboro, his mother let him know he didn’t have to race again the next night.
“He was like, ‘Mom, I’m going 2 for 2.’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’” | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/11-year-old-paulie-hartwig-of-galloway-winning-races-breaking-records-along-east-coast/article_30da5794-28ab-11ed-989c-73f5565c7e9e.html | 2022-08-31T11:54:58 | 0 | https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/11-year-old-paulie-hartwig-of-galloway-winning-races-breaking-records-along-east-coast/article_30da5794-28ab-11ed-989c-73f5565c7e9e.html |
Landlord in city historic district gets a lesson in taxes and the cost of doing business
When L.D. Honeycutt retired last year after decades running a marina at Lake Monroe, he took over the job managing the rental houses and apartments he owns.
For years, they provided a steady side income while a property manager paid the bills, tended to repairs, sought renters and collected the rent.
"I didn't pay close attention," he said recently, taking a break from renovation work he's doing at the duplex rental he owns at 301 S. Rogers St. "My accountant was opening the mail and paying the bills. This wasn't how I made money."
When Honeycutt took over managing the rentals, he started paying attention. And got a few big surprises.
One, the rents he was charging were far below market prices in the heart of Bloomington. The monthly rent for the South Rogers Street duplex, for example, totaled $1,300: $725 for the three-bedroom side and $575 for the two bedroom part.
When he opened his 2023 property assessment and tax bill, he figured someone made a mistake calculating the value of the house and corner lot. He headed down to the assessor's office with the bill in hand, and learned the amount, nearly double what it had been, was correct. Property values had shot up all around the county.
The value of Honeycutt's house and property at the corner of South Rogers and Third streets had increased 97%, from $148,000 in 2022 to $291,700 starting next year. The annual property taxes will double, from about $3,500 to $7,000. He's filed an appeal.
"I asked them, 'What's going on here? What's happened to affordable housing in Bloomington?' Then I looked into what the payment would be at that assessed value for a 30-year mortgage at the current interest rate and it's $1,769 a month. I have been basically paying to have people live in the house."
The house needed some repairs that included new windows, and he decided to do the work himself. The original ones are old and drafty, resulting in $400 gas bills in the winter for the larger apartment.
"I'll replace them with energy-efficient ones," Honeycutt thought to himself. He figured the heating cost savings would help offset the higher rent he intends to charge to be more in line market rates.
He didn't realize the scope of what he was proposing, and the regulations that sometimes become obstacles when a homeowner plans exterior changes to a house located in a historic district. He would need city approval to replace the windows.
Gloria M. Colom Braña, historic preservation program manager for the city, sent him a list of historic architects around the country so he could choose one to study the house and make recommendations.
"I wasn't going to spend thousands of dollars to hire a special architect," Honeycutt said. The old house has 18 windows, none of them the same size. The house is historic because of its age and location in the district, not because it has grand features.
"I wasn't going to buy custom-made historic windows," he said. "I wanted to put in energy efficient ones to lower the heating bill and conserve energy."
When Honeycutt bought the house for $45,000 in 1989, the Prospect Hill Local Historic District hadn't been established. The neighborhood got the historic designation in 1997, and it includes Honeycutt's 1880s duplex.
The house is in one of Bloomington's 13 local historic districts, each of which has a governing board and different rules and regulations they establish. Proposed changes to house facades, windows and doors, fences and other features go before the city's nine-member historic preservation board for approval.
Honeycutt knew his plan for new windows wouldn't get city approval. So he decided to leave them as they are, and hired Amish workers to make interior storm windows he's installed on the inside of the existing wood-frame ones.From the street, the house facade is unchanged. The windows cost $6,000 total.
"He has done a creative job dealing with a situation in one of the city's most complicated historic districts," Braña said. "It is understandable, his concerns about cost versus energy efficiency. If this house was one block north or one block south, it would be a different story as far as the windows go."
His latest challenge is the front door that faces Third Street. The original door, with a large glass panel in the middle, has a broken doorknob that won't lock properly. Honeycutt searched vintage salvage yards for a similiar door, to no avail.
But he thinks he can use a door handle from a broken door he found and install it on the existing door to comply with the historic district's standards. He's learning as he goes along.
"I'd just as soon put a good insulated door on the house, but I'll figure something out," he said. "Some of us landlords are in a bind here in Bloomington because of the cost of doing business." | https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/bloomington-historic-district-landlord-taxes-business/65419139007/ | 2022-08-31T11:58:14 | 0 | https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/bloomington-historic-district-landlord-taxes-business/65419139007/ |
What we know about the 'Defund the Police?' sign at Fishers High School
This month, Hamilton Southeastern Schools has been responding to an incident involving a poster titled “Defund the police?” found in a classroom at Fishers High School.
HSE was alerted to the poster when a blog post was made about the sign. In response to that post and the sign itself, the school has received messages – via emails, calls and social media posts – regarding the situation.
Here's what you need to know:
What happened?
A Fishers High School teacher had displayed a student-made poster, which listed both the arguments for and against defunding the police, in their classroom.
In the past month, the school and school board have received communications about the situation, both in support of and against the teacher, said Emily Pace Abbotts, HSE director of school and community relations.
On Aug. 20, the school published a news release related to the poster, which reads as follows:
“Our teachers strive to incorporate student-driven, relevant lessons into curriculum while meeting the academic standards as set by the Indiana Department of Education.
"A student’s research project from the previous school year, listing the arguments both for and against the movement of “defunding the police,” was left on display in a classroom at Fishers High School. As soon as the school was made aware of the issue, the concern was swiftly dealt with. However, we understand the impact was hurtful for individuals, and we deeply regret the pain it caused.
"While we allow teachers and students to examine social issues that are relevant to their lives, we affirm publicly through our partnership with local law enforcement that we stand in solidarity of the men and women who willing face dangerous circumstances each day to keep us safe.”
How did the HSE Board of Trustees respond?
The HSE Board of Trustees also released a statement on Aug. 20 apologizing for the sign.
“The Hamilton Southeastern Schools Board of School Trustees deeply regrets the pain that was caused due to a student-made research poster that was displayed in one of our high school classrooms,” the statement reads. “As a district we recognize our responsibility to provide a safe environment for students to learn and we failed to provide that in this case.”
The release also states that HSE and the teacher apologized to the Shahnavaz family and says HSE does not advocate for defunding the police.
“HSE works closely with the Fishers Police Department with the resource officers that are present in our buildings, the officers who help with traffic at our schools, and the officers who help monitor our community 24/7 to keep our students safe,” the statement continues. “We are and continue to be tremendously grateful for their service. Our students, staff and community are much safer because of our relationship with our police department.”
The school did not identify the teacher who displayed the poster. The teachers association did not respond to requests from IndyStar.
Has there been community pushback?
In response to HSE's statements, community organization Fishers One, which aims to restore academic excellence in schools as well as inform the public and hold leaders accountable, published a release asking for the school to "return to academics instead of activism" following the general election in November.
“This incident, along with many others over recent years, reiterates exactly what our organization has been hearing since our inception,” Diane Eaton of Fishers One said in the press release. “The community has lost confidence with the Hamilton Southeastern School District, with its direction, and lack of focus on education."
The release says that the group will be supporting four new school board candidates in the election: Tiffany Pascoe, Juanita Albright, Dawn Lang and Ben Orr.
"Fishers One believes the schools should be a place to educate our community and not a place for activism," the release said. "Instead, in example after example, HSE has recently been making continued national headlines for creating conflict, division and disunity."
In the past, members of Fishers One have spoken at school board meetings about their concerns regarding curriculum, mask wearing and DEI. On their website, there are articles posted opposing changes such as the microagression section added to student handbooks.
How did the school find out about the poster?
HSE did not release statements about the sign until Chalkboard Review published a story on Aug. 19 about the poster, Abbotts said.
The Chalkboard Review post was written by Tony Kinnett, a former teacher at Indianapolis Public Schools who posted a video on Twitter in 2021 alleging critical race theory is covertly taught in schools.
The article alleged that the brother of slain Elwood Police Officer Noah Shahnavaz saw the poster and was upset by it.
HSE declined to comment to IndyStar on the allegation.
Who was Elwood Police Officer Noah Shahnavaz?
Officer Shahnavaz was killed July 31 during a traffic stop, in which police said the driver of the car shot at Shahnavaz, striking him, then driving away. The driver was later arrested.
Shahnavaz attended Fishers High School where he played in the marching band, drumline and wrestled. School officials remembered him for his easy-going, caring personality. After expressing an interest in law enforcement, he enrolled in a specialized class his senior year. Following his graduation in 2016, he joined the U.S. Army, where he served for five years.
The 24-year-old was hired to the Elwood Police Department on Aug. 21, 2021. Shahnavaz was laid to rest Aug. 6.
The Shahnavaz family declined to comment to IndyStar for this story.
What happens next?
According to an Aug. 26 news release, HSE Superintendent Yvonne Stokes asked local attorney Daniel Henke to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the “Defund the police?” sign, including the assignment for which it was made. Henke, who said he is doing this job for free, is a municipal judge and was a Hamilton County chief deputy prosecuting attorney for 18 years.
Henke said he will be interviewing people and gathering and examining materials related to the situation, but could not share what materials he will be looking into or who he will be interviewing.
“It’s essentially a fact-finding inquiry to determine what are the facts that are surrounding all of that and to get a fuller picture of what took place,” Henke said.
According to the news release, this information will be compiled into a report that will be shared with Stokes and the HSE Board of Trustees.
There is not a specific deadline for the investigation, though Henke said he hopes to conclude it in a few weeks.
Abbotts said Henke is conducting the investigation so the school has a clearer timeline of events from an outside source.
Contact IndyStar reporter Madison Smalstig at MSmalstig@gannett.com. | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/education/2022/08/31/hamilton-southeastern-schools-defund-the-police-sign-incident-what-to-know/65420341007/ | 2022-08-31T12:05:20 | 1 | https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/education/2022/08/31/hamilton-southeastern-schools-defund-the-police-sign-incident-what-to-know/65420341007/ |
BRIGHTON — Runners and walkers who love nature will have a chance to enjoy the great outdoors while helping raising funds to continue to help improve a state recreational area next month.
Bong Naturalist Association will hold its 22nd annual 5K Trail Run/Hike, or a 1 Mile Hike, at 9 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Richard Bong State Recreation Area, 26313 Burlington Road.
Scenic trails will surrounding participants along with over 4,500 acres of forest, prairie, lake, wetlands, and streams at the state park. Admission to the park will be free and guests and family members are welcome to attend the event. Pre-registration continues until Sept. 9 at https://5kevents.raceentry.com/races/wolf-lake-trail-run/2022/register. Also visit the Bong Naturalist Association Facebook page and click on events.
Fees for the following races included (and are subject to change after Sept. 9):
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5K youth—14 and under—$18.00
1 mile hike—adult—$30.00
5K adult—$30.00
Hand-thrown pottery mug prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in each 5K group. Each participant who pre-registers is guaranteed to receive a customer designed long-sleeve race shirt, according to trail run organizers with the Bong Naturalist Association.
Same-day registrants will receive shirts while supplies last. There will be raffles, music and refreshments too. Pets, however, are not allowed.
Individuals or businesses interested in helping sponsor the event, donate raffle items or offer any kind of assistance should contact bongnaturalistassociation@gmail.com.
The event is coordinated by the Bong Naturalist Association, an all-volunteer nonprofit local Friends of Wisconsin group with 100% of the proceeds going toward improving the park for people of all ages, abilities and sensitivities.
Questions? Contact the group by email at bongnaturalistassociation@gmail.com. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/naturalist-association-to-hold-annual-wolf-lake-trail-run-at-bong-state-recreation-next-month/article_45676c4a-27ea-11ed-85be-a76905e5e053.html | 2022-08-31T12:05:31 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/naturalist-association-to-hold-annual-wolf-lake-trail-run-at-bong-state-recreation-next-month/article_45676c4a-27ea-11ed-85be-a76905e5e053.html |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It started in 2019 with what felt like a sore on his tongue.
A few months later, Purdue University sophomore Eric Magallanes decided to seek help.
"That's when I finally went to my dentist at Allure Dental, Dr. Trevor Murray," Magallanes said.
It was only a few days later when the second-year Boilermaker learned he had cancer.
"As soon as I saw the faces of the dentists and the dental assistants around, I was like, 'How am I going to tell my mom, my parents?'" Magallanes said.
Magallanes had surgery to remove the cancer on Feb. 11, 2020. He said that was followed by more surgeries, three rounds of chemotherapy, and 33 rounds of radiation, simultaneously.
"It was painful," Magallanes said.
Magallanes also medically withdrew from Purdue that semester.
Oral cancer is rare in young people, according to Magallanes, and is more common in older adults who have a history of smoking or drinking.
"That question just kept popping up, 'Why me?'" Magallanes said. "I just wanted an answer."
An added challenge came just a few weeks later in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of his compromised immune system, he often attended treatment alone.
"Especially chemotherapy, you would have some type of parent or family member there to hold your hand and be there for your support. I didn't have any of that," Magallanes said.
Through it all, Magallanes maintained a positive attitude. He entered remission in August 2020 and went back to Purdue full-time in January 2021.
"Purdue University has always been close to home," Magallanes and, "and the overall campus is what drove me back to school."
Just one year later, he was named the recipient of the 2022 Tyler Trent Courage and Resilience Award.
"It is a huge honor to be a recipient of the Tyler Trent award because I know how big of an impact he made here at Purdue and everywhere else. His legacy continues," Magallanes said.
Magallanes is now in his second year of remission, but he said challenges still persist.
"I go to physical therapy. I go to speech therapy," Magallanes said.
The Purdue senior said he is now looking forward to the next few years and continuing conversations around cancer research.
"My doctors keep telling me that my five-year is another huge milestone," Magallanes said.
Magallanes is studying biomedical science, in hopes of pursing his dream of becoming a dentist. He is applying for dental schools while starting his senior year and carrying on Trent's legacy.
"Stay positive because if you bring negativity into your life, it just comes with stress, and it's not going to help you out at the end of the day. So, smile. Have that positive outlook. Everything is going to turn out just the way it's supposed to. There's always light at the end of the tunnel," Magallanes said.
Allure Dental has launched a GoFundMe to help Magallanes and his family pay for ongoing travel and lodging expenses related to his treatment, along with "replacing lost incoming and non-refundable tuition."
Magallanes is set to graduate from Purdue in May 2023. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/purdue-senior-cancer-survivor-carries-on-tyler-trents-legacy-eric-magallanes/531-51d07b2a-f107-4385-879b-e3824a3f8f1e | 2022-08-31T12:09:21 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/purdue-senior-cancer-survivor-carries-on-tyler-trents-legacy-eric-magallanes/531-51d07b2a-f107-4385-879b-e3824a3f8f1e |
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Crews are responding to the scene of a barn fire in Lancaster County Wednesday morning, according to Lancaster County dispatch.
The fire is located along the 200 block of Wanner Road in Earl Township, Lancaster County, also according to dispatch.
Dispatch also confirmed that there are no injuries and that no homes are affected.
There is no word at this time on the cause of the fire, and the scene is currently still active.
This is a developing story. FOX43 will provide updates as they become available. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/crews-respond-to-barn-fire-lancaster-county/521-a1648142-86bf-404e-9e82-701eed6d814a | 2022-08-31T12:11:28 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/crews-respond-to-barn-fire-lancaster-county/521-a1648142-86bf-404e-9e82-701eed6d814a |
How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region.
100 years ago
Aug. 31, 1922: The races at the Atlanta fair proved to be exciting, following a morning in which baseball fans rooted themselves hoarse while watching Beason beat Hartsburg 10 to 6. In the first running race, Buck and Gray Eagle came down the home stretch neck and neck, and Buck went under the wire a nose ahead. In the second race, Sterling Pepper jumped the fence and threw Reece, but neither horse nor man was injured. Read the story.
75 years ago
Aug. 31, 1947: The annual Geltmacher dinners for underprivileged children each New Years will be certain to be continued since Probate Judge James C. Riley appointed three new trustees to carry out the provisions of the trust made Sept. 26, 1901 by John Geltmacher, wealthy miller and philanthropist. For more than 50 years, more than 100 children have eaten sumptuous New Years meals provided by the virtue of the late Mr. Geltmacher's generosity. Read the story.
50 years ago
Aug. 31, 1972: Rest stops on Interstate 74 near Goodfield, costing $700,000 excluding the land, should be open to travelers by the end of September. The two buildings are approximately 98% completed. Landscaping is nearing completion. Work on the rest stops — the second set to be started in Illinois — started March 15, 1971. The state highway department said a design problem in the roofing caused the delay in opening the stops. Read the story.
25 years ago
Aug. 31, 1997: Hospitals have used things such as exercise machines, stretching and other exercises to increase the heart rate, lower weight or strengthen the muscles around an ailing joint. Now, the Dr. John Warner Hospital in Clinton is opening the machines and programs of its therapy room to the public. For $50 per month, the Weight Management and Fitness Center will help anyone design and execute a program aimed at rehabilitation or general conditioning. Read the story.
Want more local history? Check out our searchable archives at pantagraph.newspapers.com.
Compiled by Pantagraph staff | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/100-years-ago-races-at-atlanta-prove-exciting/article_e5eccb3e-289d-11ed-97d7-7fa9ec91770a.html | 2022-08-31T12:11:48 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/100-years-ago-races-at-atlanta-prove-exciting/article_e5eccb3e-289d-11ed-97d7-7fa9ec91770a.html |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Since January 1, Birmingham Police have investigated 90 homicides to date in the city with 83 of those by guns, according to Mayor Randall Woodfin during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
This, as he reports that over 700 firearms have been taken off the streets in that same amount of time.
Woodfin is calling for stricter gun laws to get those weapons off the streets, while asking for more help from the community.
“I wake up every day thinking how can we address this?” Woodfin said.
At Tuesday’s meeting he had two police officers take in examples of the types of guns that they have confiscated to people could see what they look like – he says the most common ones are mini-Draco’s and the AR pistol. Woodfin said there is no use for them on the streets but harm.
“If you can’t support this ban that’s un-American because the whole idea is public safety,” Woodfin said. “Federal tax dollars, state tax dollars, local tax dollars, the root of what we do is public safety first.”
Governor Kay Ivey awarded $107,000 in grants to support efforts to prevent crime in Birmingham.
In a release, Ivey said the city will receive $49,000 to improve technology in high-crime areas. $28,117 will go to the group Better Basics, Inc., targeting student enrichment programs at Central Park Elementary in Ensley and Martha Gaskins Elementary in Center Point. Nearly $29,890 is going to Offender Alumni Association, a group that gives at-risk youth positive role models.
“I feel like every other Tuesday we’re crying out to the community to help us,” Councilwoman Crystal Smitherman said. “We’re asking you for help.”
Woodfin said it’s time for a wakeup call because they can’t stop gun violence alone.
“That information that the police get in real time is very valuable,” Councilman Hunter Williams said. “It could save a life.”
Williams said it’s disheartening that police rely on ShotSpotter technology instead of a concerned neighbor’s call for help at a shooting.
“The complacency of the community where 911 is not called after 30 rounds that go off across the street, it’s saddening and it’s troubling at the same time,” Williams said.
Woodfin said 92 percent of this year’s homicides happened by gunfire. Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said everyone must be their eyes and ears because they can’t be everywhere at once.
“A lot of our community members know what’s going on in the community and we ask that they share that information with us to prevent crime and solve the crime that already occurred,” Thurmond said.
Councilman J.T. Moore said there is power in the collective when everyone works together.
“If everybody is making the phone calls and calling the police and making the police reports and if everybody is sending the emails and if everybody is taking the pictures, what you start to create is a culture that this type of activity will not be able to thrive in,” Moore said.
Moore encourages everyone to get involved with their neighborhood associations to bring these issues to their attention to get help where it is needed.
You can always call tips in anonymously to crime stoppers at 205-254-7777. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/woodfin-calls-on-leaders-for-stricter-gun-laws/ | 2022-08-31T12:19:46 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/woodfin-calls-on-leaders-for-stricter-gun-laws/ |
Robin Maurer retires after more than three decades at The Rainbow Shoppe
CHARLEVOIX — If you’ve found yourself in Charlevoix’s Rainbow Shoppe in the past 30 years, chances are good you’ve talked with general manager Robin Maurer.
Maurer began working at the store in 1990 after losing her job when the hardware store she worked at closed. She worked as the former manager’s assistant until he died in 1995. She then took over as manager.
Working with the manager, Joe Spurgeon, allowed Maurer to learn about the resale business, she said.
“I had time to learn all the different facets of resale versus retail,” she said. “That's really how I became involved — I had donated things previously and shopped a little bit at the shop but didn't really know the volume of its outreach and ministry.”
The Rainbow Shoppe is a second-hand store that works with different churches in the area. Open since 1983, the store’s proceeds go towards local outreach efforts and needs. According to the store’s Facebook, the shop sells clothing, shoes, accessories, home décor and more.
The same 10 churches that helped get the store started remain on the board.
Maurer has spent her days at the shop getting to the store by 8 a.m. to prepare for the 10 a.m. opening time. During those two hours, she helps stock shelves, puts donated items in the correct departments and cleans up a bit.
After retirement, her days will look much different.
Having served at the store for the last 32 years, Maurer decided it was time to move on so she and her husband can travel more and relax. Both Maurer and her husband are cancer survivors. Maurer said her husband has been partially retired for three years, and he encouraged her to take the leap.
The two have a 32-foot trailer they hope to travel in this winter.
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More:Rainbow Shoppe celebrates 35 years, building ownership
“We are never guaranteed our next breath, so we want to be able to enjoy it while we can and while we're still healthy,” she said.
While passing the baton can be difficult, Maurer said she trusts that she’s leaving the store in good hands. The next general manager, April Staph, has already been chosen and has been training under Maurer for about a month now.
Staph has previously volunteered at the store. Having someone who knows a bit more about the store taking over has made the transition easier, Maurer said.
“That has relieved me tremendously, because I always said that I would never leave The Rainbow without somebody to step into my shoes,” she said. “I really feel that she's doing a great job.”
Before handing over the keys to the castle, the store will be having a “Robin Week” so people can visit the shop and say goodbye to her before she retires.
Even after three decades, Maurer said she continued to return to the store for work every day because she loves the Charlevoix community and how it rallies together.
“I just love the people,” she said. “I was an organist, pianist, choir director, worship leader at a couple of different churches here in town, and I just love the community — how it rallies together and helps people in need.”
Maurer’s last day in the store is Sept. 16. “Robin Week” will be from Sept. 9-16.
The store will have popcorn throughout the week, and on her last day there will be cupcakes and punch.
Even after Maurer leaves her post, the Rainbow Shoppe will stay with her.
“I will be keeping the shop in constant prayer and I'm always a phone call away,” she said.
If you want to visit The Rainbow Shoppe during Robin Week, the store is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The store is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Contact education reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com or on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN. | https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/news/local/charlevoix/2022/08/31/manager-of-charlevoixs-rainbow-shoppe-retires-after-3-decades/65463471007/ | 2022-08-31T12:24:50 | 1 | https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/news/local/charlevoix/2022/08/31/manager-of-charlevoixs-rainbow-shoppe-retires-after-3-decades/65463471007/ |
ATLANTA — Attorneys said that for years, the nationally-renowned, South Carolina cheerleading coach Scott Foster, who owned “Rockstar Cheer,” assaulted children he was training, and threatened them if they told anyone.
Now, as civil and criminal investigations are underway, cheer facilities in metro Atlanta and elsewhere — which have been operating under the “Rockstar Cheer” name — have a message: they are not and never have been connected with that coach.
Attorneys in South Carolina say it was about six weeks ago when cheerleaders, who were trained over the years by Foster at Rockstar Cheer near Greenville, South Carolina, began to come forward, accusing him of sexually assaulting them.
Then on Aug. 22, Foster died by suicide, according to authorities — just as he was learning about criminal and civil investigations targeting him and his business.
Attorneys on Tuesday said in Greeneville that the lawsuit they are about to file will accuse Foster and others of sexually abusing a succession of minors and teens, for at least a decade.
"Scott Foster knew that he was going to have to face the victims that were the subject of his sexual predatorship,” said attorney James Bannister. “He knew that this was going to be a moment where the light was going to be shined on what, I think, will turn out to be a a coven of sexual predators surrounding Rockstar. Just because he is deceased does not mean that the investigation is over."
Foster’s Rockstar Cheer was so successful that he sold rights to the brand across the country.
And as soon as owners of Rockstar Cheer Atlanta, in Woodstock and in McDonough, heard of the allegations, they announced they were immediately dropping the name — reminding parents that Foster never owned or managed their facilities here.
“The allegations coming out of Greenville are horrific and horrendous,” said spokesperson Evan Nierman, “and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms. And it’s important for the parents and the community to know that they (Rockstar Cheer in Greenville) have absolutely nothing to do with our locations. And the only connection between us and the individual against whom the allegations have been made is that we shared the name Rockstar.”
He added Foster once led an all-day clinic here, but that was it.
“He was at our gym one time in recent years, never alone with any children. It was a public coaching. All of the parents were present. All of our coaching staff was present. There have not been any allegations brought to our attention and he was never alone or had access to any of our children at any time,” Neirman explained.
Meanwhile, attorneys are saying that their clients who are accusing Foster range in age from minors to people in their 40s, and they're saying they were threatened and coerced to remain silent.
“Mr. Foster, on numerous occasions, plied young women with alcohol and marijuana,” said attorney Bakari Sellers. “Our clients were groped. Our clients were assaulted, and our clients, many of which were young, had sex with Mr. Foster. And they’re not just young women, we represent young men, as well.”
Foster’s widow and business partner, Kathy Foster, released a statement expressing her grief over the allegations, and over the loss of her husband:
“I am heartbroken by the recent allegations made by current and former athletes from Rockstar Cheer and other cheer gyms across our community. I hope the survivors are seeking and receive the support they need. I am sympathetic to their stories, and will cooperate with all involved to make sure our athletes learn and grow in a safe environment. At this time, I am focusing on providing needed support to my children, as they come to terms with the loss of their father.” | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/cheerleading-coach-sexual-assault-lawsuit/85-4d9dec33-7fe9-43a0-8f2d-c94fc1844a18 | 2022-08-31T12:26:36 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/cheerleading-coach-sexual-assault-lawsuit/85-4d9dec33-7fe9-43a0-8f2d-c94fc1844a18 |
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. — A 14-year-old girl is under arrest after a massive fire inside a Peachtree City Walmart, police said one week after the blaze that sent shoppers scrambling for the exits. Authorities initially believed it was arson and launched an investigation into who started it.
Firefighters responded to the blaze off Highway 54 on Aug. 24 where they spent several hours putting out the fire that tore through the roof.
Three police officers took themselves to a nearby hospital for smoke inhalation after making sure everyone was evacuated inside of the building, officials said.
Police said they would release more information about the incident and the girl arrested later on Wednesday.
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/walmart-fire-peachtree-city-arrest/85-74e00a28-b28b-42f0-9d64-4f534f19b73c | 2022-08-31T12:26:42 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/walmart-fire-peachtree-city-arrest/85-74e00a28-b28b-42f0-9d64-4f534f19b73c |
GLADE SPRING, Va. (WJHL) — A tractor-trailer crash closed a south exit ramp of I-81 Wednesday morning, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
The crash occurred on I-81 near mile marker 29, a VDOT traffic information map states.
A viewer sent News Channel 11 pictures that showed severe damage to multiple vehicles. The condition of those involved is not yet clear at this time.
Motorists should expect delays in the area and use caution on I-81 southbound and Maple Street. A post from the Glade Spring Fire Department warned that cleanup activities will persist throughout the morning.
News Channel 11 has reached out to Virginia State Police for more information. This is a developing story. Stay updated on-air and online at WJHL.com. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/vdot-tractor-trailer-crash-closes-glade-spring-exit-on-i-81/ | 2022-08-31T12:28:19 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/vdot-tractor-trailer-crash-closes-glade-spring-exit-on-i-81/ |
GREENSBORO — Police say a 21-year-old Browns Summit man died after his motorcycle was involved in a crash Tuesday night with a car on Lawndale Drive.
Joshua Dungan was driving a 2005 Yamaha motorcycle northbound on Lawndale just before 9 p.m. and a Greensboro man was driving a car onto Lawndale from Beaconwood Drive when a collision occurred in the intersection, according to a news release from the Greensboro Police Department.
Police said the collision resulted in a post-crash fire.
The Crash Reconstruction Unit responded and is investigating.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Authorities asking anyone with information to contact Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000. Citizens can also download the mobile P3tips app for Apple or Android phones to submit a mobile tip, or go to P3tips.com to submit a web tip. All tips to Crime Stoppers are completely anonymous. | https://greensboro.com/news/local/browns-summit-man-21-dies-after-crash-tuesday-night-on-lawndale-drive-greensboro-police-say/article_217ac65c-291f-11ed-9488-7b2b773d6c06.html | 2022-08-31T12:34:12 | 1 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/browns-summit-man-21-dies-after-crash-tuesday-night-on-lawndale-drive-greensboro-police-say/article_217ac65c-291f-11ed-9488-7b2b773d6c06.html |
Who's running for mayor of East Providence? Here's a quick guide
Four candidates are vying to be East Providence's mayor, attempting to win over voters by promising solutions to the housing crisis and progress on government transparency, better transportation and green space.
The post was created only a few years ago when residents voted to shift power away from a city manager appointed by the City Council and transfer authority to a mayor instead.
During the nonpartisan Sept. 13 primary, voters will decide who gets the spot: its current occupant, Mayor Bob DaSilva, or one of his three challengers: Maureen Gomes Lopez, Ruarri Miller or John Rossi.
Here are their priorities:
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Bob DaSilva
Before becoming mayor, DaSilva rose to the rank of captain in the Pawtucket Police Department and spent four years as a state representative.
DaSilva said he wants to continue progress on projects that "have been stagnant for many, many years," such as waterfront development of the South Quay Marine Terminal for offshore wind, which be believes would bring revenue and jobs to the city.
The mayor expressed concern about a loss of stability if he is not reelected, noting that over the last few years, the city has dealt with "changing the form of government, changing the culture of how things used to get done around here."
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DaSilva said, "you bring in instability and you bring in in somebody new who’s going to upset the apple cart, and you’re going to see all these gains that we’ve made may come to a screeching halt."
Maureen Gomes Lopez
Lopez, who has worked in City Hall, including serving as the chief of personnel, calls for more fiscal transparency.
"The minute I am there, I will have an independent auditor audit everything," she said. "Every account, capital funds … I want to know what’s going on with the tax situation because we’re being taxed really out of the city."
Among a long list of other initiatives, including expanding the police and fire departments and including active shooter response training, Lopez is also vowing to address the need for affordable housing. Before building anything, Lopez said the city should conduct town hall meetings in the city's communities to "find out who is in dire need of housing."
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"If we’re smart on we’re going to build we can get this done, not in five years," she said. "We can get some of the best builders who have done this before and know how to build quality, sustainable housing, and we could build in two years."
Lopez added that property revaluations, which have been delayed until next year, must be "fair and equitable."
Ruarri Miller
Miller, who owns several small businesses, including The Apiary construction company, is also championing affordable housing, calling for zoning changes "to allow for additional density where it makes sense." Miller says there is no short-term solution to the housing crisis.
Miller advocate the use of pattern zoning, which allows cities to provide pre-approved designs when considering a new building. According to Miller, "you get more organic and also more affordable growth patterns that are being done by the local community and not a larger entity that could be from outside the area."
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Transportation is also high on Miller's list of priorities. He discussed the need to offer options for people without cars, stating, "if we can make other means of transportation, whether that be RIPTA, a bicycle or walking, a viable option for them to get to [a] place like work or drop off their kids at daycare, we can dramatically increase affordability."
John Rossi
Rossi, retired from the East Providence Police Department, wants to keep Metacomet Golf Course a green space. Last year, City Council members approved a plan to turn it into a shopping center with restaurants, offices and apartments. Rossi believes the issue should be decided by voters in a ballot initiative.
He is also concerned about the use of traffic speed cameras in the city, stating he doesn't "think it’s the deterrent that the proponents purport it to be."
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Rossi said the cameras run constantly rather than just during school hours, and are intended to generate revenue. Rossi believes the six-mile-per-hour trigger on the cameras should be elevated, as he doesn't feel that would typically generate a stop or a traffic summons from a police officer.
For more on DaSilva's campaign, click here. For more on Lopez's campaign, click here. See Miller's campaign here, and Rossi's campaign here. | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/guide-2022-east-providence-ri-mayoral-candidates/10337607002/ | 2022-08-31T12:37:17 | 1 | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/guide-2022-east-providence-ri-mayoral-candidates/10337607002/ |
Amy's Rhode: International bites only a drive away at Pawtucket food festival
As Minnie Luong tells it, "You can see the whole history of the world in a jar of kimchi."
You can also see Luong’s history.
In 2015, working as a chef for a Los Angeles tech company, Luong decided to trade cooking for fermenting.
That year, she and husband Tim Greenwald, who worked for a software company, quit their jobs and started packing jars of the classic dish — which actually originated in the Western hemisphere before making its way to Korea through trade — of fermented cabbage infused with garlic, ginger and red pepper.
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Today, Greenwald and Luong, who styles herself CHI-EO of Chi Kitchen, are offering a smorgasbord of tart vegetables seasoned and packaged in Pawtucket’s Lorraine Mills, which will be putting on its second Lorraine Mills Fest on Sept. 9 and 10.
The space, once home to a textile manufacturer, is now home to creative minds and their kitchens.
Luong speculates it is also home to spirits of the mills’ departed workers, though it’s conceivable the cavernous factory-like space gives way to suspicion when night falls.
In a massive walk-in fridge, Luong stores boxes of napa cabbage and an archive of every product she’s ever created, such as a brightly-colored slaw made with fermented purple cabbage, sesame seeds and a touch of wasabi. This writer scarfed down half a jar of the stuff in less than a day. It’s no surprise the slaw took home the gold this year as a Specialty Food Association sofi award winner in the highly competitive pickles and olives category.
Chi Kitchen will be around on the festival’s second day, offering free samples of probiotic-packed kimchi juice, or gut shots, as Luong calls them.
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And other options
If a different sort of fermentation is what you’re seeking, White Dog Distilling is serving up its "drunken pumpkin," a cocktail of homemade pumpkin butter, oat milk and moonshine.
Husband and wife duo Alecia and Carlo Catucci lead the business, which they dreamt up after a date of bar hopping in 2016.
By 2018, they opened a 300-square-foot bar that seated four, eventually moving into their more spacious spot in the mill. That’s where they offer their signature "puppy bourbon," a young spirit aged five months in five-gallon barrels, in keeping with the months-per-gallon rule, but smooth enough to sip.
To go with a drink or two, Just Like Nana’s owner Karen Griffin will open her food truck and offer savory options, such as a cheddar herb scone with turkey and cream cheese, or a sourdough waffle grilled cheese with potato crisps. Griffin will have sweet stuff, too, like her classic rugelach made her grandmother’s way.
Another option on wheels? Ja Patty, which will roll out its food truck hawking handmade coconut curry-filled patties, and rice bowls topped with jerk chicken and Jamaican slaw.
Travel-averse Rhode Islanders take note: For a taste of the globe, turns out you can skip the Amtrak to a nearby metropolis, and instead drive to Pawtucket.
Lorraine Mills Fest at 560 Mineral Spring Ave. in Pawtucket takes place on Friday, Sept. 9, from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 10, from 1 to 5 p.m.
What's new with RI's rugelach maven?:Amy Russo hears plans for expanded food truck menu | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/international-food-pawtucket-ri-lorraine-mills-fest/7845612001/ | 2022-08-31T12:37:23 | 1 | https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/international-food-pawtucket-ri-lorraine-mills-fest/7845612001/ |
Ford is recalling more than 277,000 pickup trucks and cars in the U.S. because the rear view camera lens can get cloudy and reduce visibility for the driver.
The recall covers certain F-250, 350 and 450 trucks as well as the Lincoln Continental, all from the 2017 through 2020 model years. The recalled vehicles have a 360-degree camera system.
Ford says the anti-reflective lens on the cameras can degrade, causing a cloudy image. The company says it has more than 8,800 warranty reports in the U.S. due to the problem.
Dealers will replace the camera at no cost to owners. Ford will notify owners by letter starting Sept. 12.
Copyright AP - Associated Press | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/recall-alert/ford-recalls-pickups-cars-to-fix-cloudy-rear-camera-lens/3060973/ | 2022-08-31T12:38:39 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/recall-alert/ford-recalls-pickups-cars-to-fix-cloudy-rear-camera-lens/3060973/ |
With phase one complete, NSB approves phase two of Riverside Drive traffic-calming project
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — When the City Commission approved the first set of traffic-calming measures for Riverside Drive in April, both residents and commissioners knew additional improvements might be necessary.
On Aug. 23, commissioners approved the second phase of the project, which aims to address speeding concerns on Riverside Drive — one of New Smyrna’s busiest streets.
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The second phase will include a “speed table at Smith Street, raised pedestrian crossing at Second Street along with a painted crosswalk with flexible post at Anderson Street, and an all-way stop at Sixth Street,” according to a staff report.
The all-way stop will require realigning the intersection “for safety concerns for eastbound motorists on Sixth Street.”
The City Commission approved the project’s first phase in the spring. It included an all-way stop at both the Fifth Street and Andrews Street intersections, as well as additional speed limit signs along the street — Riverside Drive’s speed limit is 25 mph.
During the City Commission meeting in April, both residents and commissioners acknowledged that the increase in traffic volume on Riverside is largely connected with the traffic-calming measures adopted in 2019 for Magnolia Street, which runs parallel to Riverside Drive.
Both streets intersect with State Road 44 before the South Causeway bridge and used to balance the heavy traffic coming off that road. But now the heavy volume on Riverside has opened the door for speeders.
Riverside Drive resident Kathy Jo Douglass reminded commissioners at last week’s meeting of how other projects have affected Riverside Drive.
“When the five stop signs and the four speedbumps were put on Magnolia – and when the nine stop signs were added to Live Oak – the entire traffic issue there just moved to Riverside,” Douglass said. “I know the city hoped it wouldn’t, but it did.”
More improvement still needed for Riverside Drive
City staff met with Riverside Drive residents back in January to discuss what kind of measures they wanted to see in a traffic-calming project. A ballot issued to the neighborhood showed that 75% residents wanted to see some form of traffic-calming on Riverside.
Phase two’s proposal would also depend on residents' feedback.
Douglass added that getting 75% of area residents to agree to the phase-two measures again – as required by the adopted Traffic Calming Manual – “took a while,” but now “we want to move forward with it.”
Riverside Drive resident Mark Beckwith also spoke in support of the upcoming phase two and thanked commissioners for continuing with the project.
“We still do see excessive speeding,” Beckwith told commissioners. “Phase one has helped. But if you get up in the morning at 6 a.m. and sit on your front porch, you will see a lot cars whizzing by — the same at night.”
Beckwith added: “I hope that you consider, as well, that all we are really asking is that you do for Riverside Drive what you have done for all the other streets in our immediate neighborhood.”
Riverside Drive resident Jeff Dowman said that phase one “has been great,” but there is a need for more improvement.
“The (number of cars speeding) are increasing,” Dowman said. “It’s just something we need to address and get it handled.”
Commissioner Michael Kolody said he has met with residents of Riverside Drive and surrounding streets to discuss ideas to improve the neighborhood “as a whole.”
He brought up some concerns related to the upcoming Fifth Street bridge replacement project, which will disrupt traffic patterns for a period of at least one year.
“This plan that’s presented could be better, and I view this as a first step,” Kolody said. “More has to be done in that neighborhood.” | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/08/31/nsb-new-smyrna-beach-approves-second-phase-riverside-drive-traffic-calming-project/7902583001/ | 2022-08-31T12:39:50 | 1 | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/08/31/nsb-new-smyrna-beach-approves-second-phase-riverside-drive-traffic-calming-project/7902583001/ |
Frustrated New York City straphangers are sounding off after yet another unprovoked case of subway violence, the third in the transit system this week, according to police, left a good Samaritan slashed in the face -- and one victim's TikTok recounting of her experience is resonating strongly with hundreds of thousands of them.
The stories have felt all-too-familiar and all-too-frequent in recent months for many. On Sunday, a 36-year-old was gashed for trying to stop a man who was randomly harassing commuters at a Brooklyn subway station. Six days earlier, a 68-year-old woman was pushed down a staircase at the Union Turnpike-Kew Gardens hub in Queens, another allegedly unprovoked attack, cops say.
A victim from a different violent incident took to social media to warn others to remain vigilant while on the train -- and her message is going viral.
"Could I have done something, did I deserve it? Like what did I do to deserve this? I kept asking myself over and over and over," asked Vesly Beato, who says she's traumatized after a bizarre but scary attack on the subway on Friday.
Beato says she was sitting next to her 15-year-old cousin as they were heading uptown on the 1 train that afternoon. As it pulled into the 66th Street station, she says she was blindsided by a slap to the face.
"The train doors open and I hear the slap. That's when I look up and everyone is looking at me. It feels like everything stopped at that moment," she said. "I look over to my cousin, she’s crying. And then I hear, 'She's bleeding.'"
Beato says she was in shock, she didn't even realize that a complete stranger had just slapped her across the face before running off the train, never even making eye contact or saying a word.
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The slap left a gash across her nose and Beato says she went to the hospital. Her TikTok post has now been viewed more than a million times.
"I've been here my entire life and never in a million years did I think I would be one of those people to get f-----g assaulted on a damn train," she says in the video.
Investigators said that since January, there have been five murders, eight rapes, 347 assaults and 365 robberies in the city's subway and transit system. Violent crime in the subway system was up nearly 57% in July compared with the same time period a year ago, statistics show -- and while those numbers don't consider the possible impact of post-pandemic reduced ridership, the cases themselves are cause enough for concern, according to victims like Beato.
"These are senseless attacks that don’t make any sense. And if you can start with such a simple attack, what else are you going to do?" she said. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/did-i-deserve-it-nyc-subway-victims-tiktok-video-goes-viral-after-3rd-unprovoked-attack-in-week/3845642/ | 2022-08-31T12:43:10 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/did-i-deserve-it-nyc-subway-victims-tiktok-video-goes-viral-after-3rd-unprovoked-attack-in-week/3845642/ |
Leaders in Nassau County are demanding that a Long Island Rail Road station receive major renovations ASAP, claiming that the station has fallen into "dangerous" disrepair.
In fact, Valley Stream Mayor Ed Fare deemed that the LIRR station in his town is the worst in all of Long Island.
"Dangerous and crumbling concrete, rusting metal, peeling paint, weakened overpasses with pieces of concrete falling on commuters and cars every day," said Fare, sharing photos of the rusted overpasses with exposed rebar.
Both Fare and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman are demanding that the MTA take action, complaining that there are corrosive fluids dripping onto people and cars below the overpass, in addition to a leaking flooded mess of a waiting room.
"We want the MTA to invest on Long Island. We want the MTA to invest in Nassau County, and we want the MTA to fix this rail station and make it presentable," Blakeman said.
The MTA responded by saying that there is a multi-billion dollar project to modernize the LIRR, including the completion of a third track between Floral Park and Hicksville, as well as reconstruction of stations, including Mineola. The agency also said it regularly inspects the Valley Stream station and that it is structurally sound.
According to the MTA, it recently renovated the waiting rooms on the ground level as well as on the platforms above. The transit agency added that there will be new escalators and ADA-compliant elevators, as well as 10 more trains each day before the end of the year.
As for commuters, most seemed to agree that while the station is functional, it could use a little TLC. But if trains are on time, that's far more important.
"Pretty happy with the situation here, trains come on time I’m good with it. I don’t see any necessary need to repair it or anything," said Woodmere commuter David Gross. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/lirr-station-has-become-so-grossly-deteriorated-mayor-says-it-is-dangerous/3845365/ | 2022-08-31T12:51:37 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/lirr-station-has-become-so-grossly-deteriorated-mayor-says-it-is-dangerous/3845365/ |
LA PORTE, Texas — Tuesday will be the last full day the Battleship Texas will be docked at its longtime La Porte home at the San Jacinto Battleground.
Some of the live video above is courtesy Battleship Texas Foundation.
The last remaining battleship that served in both World Wars will be headed to Galveston on Wednesday for $35 million in repairs.
Share your photos and video of the Battleship Texas using the NEAR Me feature on the KHOU 11 app.
In 2019, state lawmakers approved the repairs, but with the condition it finds a new home once repairs are complete.
“Historically, the number of paid visitors that you need in order for the ship to be successful, the park has never really generated, not even close. Over the ... especially recent years, we look probably 80, 90,000 paid visitors a year, and we need to be 250,000 if this thing’s gonna cash flow," said Bruce Bramlett, the executive director with Battleship Texas Foundation.
Where it’ll end up permanently is still undecided.
The USS Texas hasn't been moved since 1988 when it also underwent repairs in Galveston.
Battleship Texas moving: Watch live feed of the move to Galveston
Why does Battleship Texas need repairs now?
Officials said decades of exposure to salt, foam and silt caused leaking in the hull of the 110-year-old ship.
Repairs to the ship's hull are expected to take between 12 to 14 months.
When will Battleship Texas be moved?
Tugboats are planning to pull the ship from the San Jacinto battleground site in La Porte before dawn Wednesday. It's set to arrive at Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corporation’s shipyard in Galveston by mid-afternoon the same day.
A crew spent Monday making last-minute preps to move the ship, including loading generators to make the move as smooth and safe as possible.
During the move Wednesday, water traffic will be restricted in the Houston Ship Channel.
Moving day schedule:
- 3 a.m.: Work starts at San Jacinto
- 6 to 7:30 a.m.: Battleship Texas gets underway and enters the Houston Ship Channel.
- 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Battleship Texas will cross under the Fred Hartman Bridge and enter the bay.
- 2 to 3 p.m.: Battleship Texas will pass near the Texas City Dike.
- 3 to 4 p.m.: Battleship Texas will enter the Galveston Ship Channel.
- 4 to 5 p.m.: Battleship Texas will arrive at Gulf Copper Galveston.
- Late August 31 to September 1: Battleship Texas will be maneuvered onto the dry dock and lifted out of the water.
Best places to watch Battleship Texas' journey to Galveston
There are several locations you can watch the ship in motion, including:
- Bayland Island
- Texas City Dike
- Pier 21
- Seawolf Park
Will there be other opportunities to see Battleship Texas' journey?
Battleship Texas Foundation will stream the departure, for free, on its YouTube channel and Facebook page. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/battleship-texas-headed-to-galveston/285-b1759333-e7e4-4d6b-89cd-983bf8283165 | 2022-08-31T12:51:42 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/battleship-texas-headed-to-galveston/285-b1759333-e7e4-4d6b-89cd-983bf8283165 |
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi native who was reported missing from her home in La Porte, Texas almost one year ago has been found alive.
Turns out all this time, authorities said the mom who disappeared from her family, children, her life, was actually on the run from the law.
The disappearance of Josefa Vela sparked messages of prayers for her safe return. The last time anyone saw her was when she was driving away from her home in La Porte back in September of 2021.
Law officials there even put out a plea for the public to help find the then 36-year-old mother of five.
Carlos Marrero is with the U.S. Marshals based out of Corpus Christi. He said that Vela, at the time, was out on bond for an underlying drug offense.
"An arrest warrant was issued to arrest her for bond violations and that is where we came in to track where she was," Marrero said.
Marrero was part of a team made up of different branches of the U.S. Marshals that worked eight long months to locate Vela, who headed south across the border.
"As soon as we started our investigation, we noticed that she was moving, going from country to county," Marrero said.
On June 13, 285 days since she was reported missing and some 2,400 miles away from her home in La Porte, Vela was discovered in Ecuador, South America.
"Most people especially in the southern district of Texas believe that when they leave the country they will be safe and they don't understand we have agreements with other countries to track their whereabouts and arrest them," Marrero said.
He credited law enforcement teamwork both on the local and international scale to get her under arrest. Vela is now awaiting her extradition back to the U.S. where she will face her parole violation on top of her original charge.
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If you do not have a photo/video to submit, just click "OK" to skip that prompt. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/corpus-christi-woman-thought-to-be-missing/503-1b70c5c3-37e1-4326-9fe8-b926e841fb46 | 2022-08-31T12:51:48 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/corpus-christi-woman-thought-to-be-missing/503-1b70c5c3-37e1-4326-9fe8-b926e841fb46 |
LINDEN, Texas — An armed and dangerous inmate is still on the run this afternoon according to Cass County officials.
Cass County Judge Travis Ransom said Charles Spraberry escaped the detention center yesterday evening, wearing white boxer shorts and a white t-shirt.
"He is a dangerous individual," is how Ransom described the escaped inmate.
"He was in jail for multiple felonies including sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon, assault by strangulation, and kidnapping. He is a person of interest for a dual homicide that is currently on going and under investigation," Ransom said.
Last night at 7:45 p.m., Spraberry used a makeshift knife he had made to escape the detention center.
"[He] was able to assault a jailer and tangle with him and get his keys away from him to get to the door and run [out] the doors," Ransom said.
Once Spraberry escaped, the local, regional, state, and federal law enforcement were all at the detention center assisting in the search.
"Whether it’s technology, communications or man-power, dogs whatever it take to get this individual to justice," Ransom said.
It’s still unclear to officials as to where he could be headed. Ransom mentioned that he is the area but are confident he will be caught.
"The felony escape warrant by the U.S Marshall service have been issued so he will have more to answer for," Ransom said.
As per that guard that was injured, he was taken to local hospital with minor injuries and is expected to recover. Officials recommend everyone in the area to lock your car, household doors, and to be on the lookout for anything suspicious.
Ransom said if you see something, call 9-1-1. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/east-texas-inmate-on-the-run-from-officials/501-0f2567d1-0dd8-43e3-a4c0-6882d8abd622 | 2022-08-31T12:51:54 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/east-texas-inmate-on-the-run-from-officials/501-0f2567d1-0dd8-43e3-a4c0-6882d8abd622 |
CEDAR FALLS – Three city councilors have pushed for changes to the new downtown zoning code since being on the wrong end of a November vote to adopt it into law.
The most recently proposed revision — to add back site plan reviews by the City Council and Planning Zoning Commission for any floor expansion or residential addition for existing buildings downtown – became more difficult to enact last week.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-4 last Wednesday against the City Council’s petition, meaning the change will require a supermajority, five members of the council instead of four, to enact.
Cory Hurless, a program manager for art, music and graphics in Austin, Texas, will meet virtually with the Art and Culture Board during a Wednesday public meeting.
A fourth councilor, Dustin Ganfield, initially favored the change, and told The Courier on Tuesday he still plans to support it.
“I still think we need more community oversight,” said Ganfield, saying transparency is needed because the new code is in its “infancy.”
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But getting that fifth vote will be the challenge.
Officials backing the new city code believe the requirements are more “black and white” and the additional review is not necessary, addressing some developers’ frustrations over the city’s slow process.
Under the new code, the city is entirely reliant on its paid staff to decide whether a project gets the green light.
“I believe we have a tremendous Planning and Zoning Commission who have the credentials, do the research and have the debate needed to come to the right decision,” said Councilor Gil Schultz, who was among the trio of councilors to vote against sending the petition for the proposed change to the commission.
In a recent survey of members, Charles Blair-Broeker, a club spokesperson, said the number one priority was beginning the process to increase the number of courts.
Like Ganfield, he plans to stick with his previous vote and anticipates dissenting against the proposed amendment.
“I want to assure that we’re helping developers, whether it’s a home owners or business owners, move their projects forward. They’ve been slowed down in the past because they don’t know what the requirements are,” Schultz said. “We need to stop knit-picking these projects.”
The council will likely vote on that amendment at its meeting Sept. 6.
Since November, the three city councilors, Daryl Kruse, Susan deBuhr and Dave Sires, have rallied behind proposed changes having largely to do with parking.
The push for the review of site plans led the commission to support the public review of site plans for proposed new buildings in the downtown commercial areas.
But this latest petition to expand the scope of those reviews to floor expansions and residential additional was one step too far for the majority of the commission. Some want to let the code be put into play longer before deciding whether to make tweaks.
“None of the planning documents are ideal or perfect, and we have discussed that we can revisit this document at any point in time, and take a year, and see where some of the gaps might be and what needs to be revised, edited, deleted, or added,” said Commissioner Oksana Grybovych Hafermann, who was among the five dissenting votes. “But at this point of time there’s a lot of work that has gone into this (code) and I personally think that we should move forward with what the Planning and Zoning Commission has put forward.”
The zoning code was drawn up and debated over the course of 2020 and 2021. The actual “vision” document for downtown was finalized at the end of 2019 after hours of public outreach sessions. | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/supporters-of-latest-proposed-cf-downtown-zoning-change-now-need-supermajority-to-enact-it/article_d9a2975a-3468-5366-bdef-b6251179de6d.html | 2022-08-31T13:05:31 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/supporters-of-latest-proposed-cf-downtown-zoning-change-now-need-supermajority-to-enact-it/article_d9a2975a-3468-5366-bdef-b6251179de6d.html |
PORTAGE — A police officer was sent to the hospital Tuesday afternoon with injuries sustained during a foot case of one of two men nabbed after allegedly pointing a loaded gun at and stealing two firearms from a person during a sale of the weapons at local apartment complex, according to new release.
Police said they were called out shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday to the Port Crossing Apartments in reference to an armed robbery.
The alleged victim said he met two men - later identified as Keshawn M. McLaurin, 20, of Chicago and Keyante M. Hayes, 24, of Portage - to sell them two guns, according to police.
"During the attempted sale, Mr. McLaurin was inspecting one of the firearms being sold, which was loaded," according to news report. "Mr. McLaurin then pointed the weapon at the victim and told him he was now taking the firearms."
Police said McLaurin and Hayes then fled in a black Ford Fusion, which was found travelling northbound on Willowcreek Road near Robbins Road. As the officer turned to follow, the Fusion began fleeing and refused to stop.
As the Fusion approached the entrance to the Indiana Toll Road, a Portage officer performed a precision immobilization technique, which brought the suspects' vehicle to a halt, the report says. The pursuit lasted just under two minutes and covered about one and a half miles.
The driver, Hayes, was immediately taken into custody, while passenger McLaurin fled over a nearby guardrail and down an embankment, police said.
Officers pursued McLaurin over the embankment, but reportedly lost sight of him due to the thick vegetation. One officer sustained an incapacitating lower leg injury and was taken to the hospital.
Police set up a perimeter with the assistance of officers from state police and departments in Ogden Dunes, Porter County, Burns Harbor and Valparaiso.
The Lake County Aviation Unit also responded to help with the search.
"Due to the possibility of Mr. McLaurin being armed, area schools were notified and safety precautions were taken per their policies," police said.
After 50 minutes of searching with K-9 teams, a helicopter and a drone, police said they found McLaurin "bedded down" in a wooded area and he was taken into custody without any further incident.
Both men were taken into custody on an initial felony charge of resisting law enforcement, police said.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into the Porter County Jail
Porter/LaPorte County Courts and Social Justice Reporter
Bob is a 23-year veteran of The Times. He covers county government and courts in Porter County, federal courts, police news and regional issues. He also created the Vegan in the Region blog, is an Indiana University grad and lifelong region resident.
"Kelsie stated she would never leave her children home alone during the daytime while they were awake, however she thought they were asleep, so she left them overnight," police said.
The judge questioned whether the defendant would be able to pay $1,000 a month in restitution for two years. If she misses a payment, she could have her probation revoked and be sent to jail.
"In those phone calls, Katalinic made specific references as to knowing the victim’s whereabouts, as well as other references regarding the well-being of their shared child," state police said.
Hammond firefighters also arrived on scene and attempts were made to revive the child, who was taken to Franciscan Health Hammond hospital, police said.
The truck driver told police he was traveling east on U.S. 20 in Gary when he stopped for a red light and two people in a red Ford Edge behind him got out and argued with him about a traffic issue.
The arresting officer said in his incident report he did not immediately arrest the woman because he not see her exposing herself as he did with the man.
At the time of that arrest, McLain was wanted on a warrant linked to allegations he violated the terms of his pretrial release in his attempted murder case from 2020. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/cop-injured-pursuing-suspect-who-pointed-loaded-gun-during-theft-portage-department-says/article_04d72e80-4fb7-52d8-8f6f-905d83f2055e.html | 2022-08-31T13:12:41 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/cop-injured-pursuing-suspect-who-pointed-loaded-gun-during-theft-portage-department-says/article_04d72e80-4fb7-52d8-8f6f-905d83f2055e.html |
LuAnn Carver was a single mother of three when she died from a stroke caused by an intracranial hemorrhage.
“I know in the long run it wasn’t all her fault,” her daughter, Harmony Kingery, said.
Carver wasn’t seriously ill leading up to her death, but she suffered from depression, weight gain and extremely high blood pressure, her daughter recalled.
“Doctors drilled a hole in her skull to try to relieve pressure and put her in a medically induced coma. Her brain stem was fried and she couldn’t communicate,” Kingery said.
On March 29, 2010, her mother was placed on life support. She died two days later. Carver was 54.
Strokes, also known as cerebrovascular diseases, affect Northwest Indiana residents at a higher rate than the national average, ranking it as the fourth-leading cause of death in the Region between 1999 to 2020, according to a Times computer-assisted analysis of federal mortality data. During this time period, cerebrovascular disease killed 8,121 people in Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties. More than half of those deaths were caused by strokes, accounting for 4,311 of those deaths.
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“Strokes come in two flavors,” said Aamir Badruddin, medical director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center for Community Hospital.
In some cases, a blocked artery can cause an ischemic stroke. In other cases, the bursting or leaking of a blood vessel can cause a hemorrhagic stroke.
“Sometimes people can have a bleeding stroke, which is the rupture of the blood vessel," Badruddin said.
Ischemic strokes, generally caused by a blood clot blocking a blood vessel in the brain, account for 85% of Community Hospital’s stroke patients. The remaining 15% are comprised of hemorrhagic strokes, which occur when blood from an artery starts bleeding into the brain. Strokes also can occur when blood clots travel from the heart to the brain.
Cerebrovascular disease occurs frequently in Northwest Indiana because it’s part of the “stroke belt” in our nation, Badruddin said. Stretching across the Midwest, it’s largely attributed to genetics, unhealthy eating, drug and tobacco use, and lack of stroke awareness.
“Education, education, education,” Badruddin said in a stern tone.
The Comprehensive Stroke Center treats — and educates — 31,600 stroke patients annually. The average age group of patients ranges from 50 to 80 years old, but younger patients, some in their early 30s, also suffer from strokes, typically due to excessive drug use and vaping, said Badruddin, a neuroendovascular surgeon who's been in practice for 12 years.
“The younger folks need to know the risk factors for strokes and how to improve their risk factors,” he added.
Lake County, with a population much larger than LaPorte and Porter counties combined, in turn represents the highest number of strokes in the Region on a yearly basis. “Because we are predominantly a Caucasian community, we see a lot of patients from that ethnic group. Equally represented are African Americans and Hispanics in proportion to our community," Badruddin said.
Ten strokes in 25 years
Donna Brandy has an unusual medical history with strokes. She has suffered from 10 strokes over the past 25 years, the first one blindsiding her in 1997. She was just 27.
Brandy initially experienced a brain aneurysm due to blood leaking into her spinal tap. Doctors placed a small metal clip across the neck of the aneurysm, but Brandy had a massive postoperative hemorrhagic stroke. It caused side effects including memory loss, facial drooping, and loss of peripheral vision, which Brandy continues to experience.
“I grieve my old life. I miss my old life,” she said.
Since her first stroke, Brandy experienced an ischemic stroke in 2019, forcing her to be admitted into a hospital to receive tissue plasminogen activator treatment, which helps to dissolve blood clots blocking blood flow to the brain, she said.
Later that year, Brandy experienced another ischemic stroke during a work function dinner. A call to 911 had to be placed. Since her latest ischemic stroke, Brandy has had a handful of TIAs, formally known as a transient ischemic attack or mini-stroke. She has struggled physically because she has sclerotic veins that are premature hardening.
“Doctors can’t get IV’s into me anymore nor draw blood from me,” she said. “They dig and dig and try, so I’m at the point where I don’t get treatment for my thyroid and other things because they can’t get blood or do imaging.”
Brandy said her strokes have affected her mental health as well. She has become insecure and constantly second-guesses herself.
“You can tell me something but my brain is reading it differently, even though I know what it is,” said Brandy, a former Valparaiso resident who recently moved to South Carolina. “I don’t respond to situations like I used to.”
Indiana is currently the fifth-worst performing state in aggressive stroke treatment, according to Jill Connor, Community Healthcare System’s administrative director of neuroscience and cerebrovascular services. There are only five comprehensive stroke centers in Indiana, which requires patients to be transferred to Community's Munster facility from an 80-mile radius, she said.
As a certified comprehensive stroke center since 2019, it's supported by its partner hospitals within the system — St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart. Both are primary stroke centers treating patients with acute symptoms and with clot-busting medication, said Connor, an advanced practice registered nurse.
Carver was an extremely hard worker whose health may have suffered from it, her daughter said.
“She worked a lot,” Kingery recalled. “Most memories were of her at work.”
Kingery said she visits her mother’s cemetery grave site every week.
“Even though we didn’t have the greatest relationship, I wish we had some more time to work on things," she said. “My brothers and I always think about something silly she said, and we text each other or call one another about it."
After her mother's death, doctors recommended that Kingery get tested for hypertension. Genetics play a crucial role in symptoms of strokes, experts say.
“I was in my 20s at the time and didn’t think much of it," Kingery said.
Similar to her mother, Kingery has high blood pressure. For the past 13 years, she has taken medication regularly to prevent it from getting dangerous.
"I’m not necessarily worried about having a stroke," she said. "My mom wasn’t good with taking her medication. I’m religious with taking mine.” | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/whats-killing-the-region-one-mothers-death-from-a-stroke-compelled-her-daughters-prevention-efforts/article_2afe4089-b93c-51b7-84e5-447ad3c97857.html | 2022-08-31T13:12:46 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/whats-killing-the-region-one-mothers-death-from-a-stroke-compelled-her-daughters-prevention-efforts/article_2afe4089-b93c-51b7-84e5-447ad3c97857.html |
"Don't be mad, but I am going to die," Annie Brown told her daughter Sandra during the winter of 2018. A few weeks later, she did.
Bridgette and Sandra Brown thought their mother was just being dramatic. She had suffered three strokes over the course of eight months, but she had largely recovered.
The in December, Annie had a seizure and her daughters rushed her to the hospital. As the doctors were preparing to release her from the hospital, it happened again.
"She just started jerking, shaking, she couldn't talk ... we were screaming, telling (the nurses), 'Our mother's having a stroke' and it took forever just to get somebody in there," Bridgette said.
From that night on, it was a steep decline. Eventually Annie slipped into a coma and a few days later she died at age 70.
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Annie had high blood pressure and had smoked for decades, but other than that she was healthy, her daughters said.
Her peripheral vision was diminished and she slowed down some after the first three strokes, but she quit smoking and Sandra began cooking her low-sodium meals. The sisters said doctors did not give them many concrete answers about what they could do to maintain their mother's health.
"We sent letters to the hospital administrators," Bridgette said, adding that she and her sister were at their mother's side "around the clock," and kept detailed notes on her care. "We were like, 'We are here everyday to take care of our mother, we're asking questions and we're not getting anything.'"
Born and raised in Gary, the Brown sisters believe Annie's address and race impacted the level of care she received.
"Sometimes doctors don't really focus on black women," Sandra said. "I could say, 'My stomach is burning, it feels like I am on fire' and they would just say 'Oh, take some antacids and go.' That is how we are treated."
A heavier impact
Though cerebrovascular disease was the fourth-leading cause of death for Region residents of all races between 1999 and 2020, the African American community was impacted the most.
Strokes killed 29.7 out of every 100,000 African Americans living in Lake, Porter or LaPorte counties during that 22-year period. The stroke death rate for white people in Northwest Indiana was 25.3. The racial disparity in Northwest Indiana mirrors the rest of the country; African American adults are 50% more likely than white adults to experience a stroke.
African American men are also 70% more likely to die from a stroke, compared to non-Hispanic white adults. African American women are twice as likely to have a stroke, compared to non-Hispanic white women.
While there is no definitive reason why African Americans are more vulnerable to strokes, recent studies say increased rates of high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and smoking could be factors. The Brown sisters say quality of care played a role in their mother's health.
After her first stroke, Annie did some rehabilitation exercises, but outside of that her daughters said doctors offered little preventative care. Bridgette said some doctors visits felt like "cattle calls" where hundreds of patients would sit in the waiting room just to be shuffled in and out of appointments.
"The patient is not the most important thing for them. It's turned into a business," Bridgette said. "If you book 500 people in one day, how much attention are people really getting?"
A study conducted by a researcher from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in 2021, found primary care physicians spend an average of 18 minutes with each patient. Shorter visits often result in doctors addressing less health issues and patients having a diminished understanding of their care, studies have found.
A 2020 study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Undefeated, found black Americans are more likely than white Americans to report negative experiences with health-care providers. Nineteen percent of black Americans reported being refused a test they thought they needed compared to 12% of white Americans.
Frustrations with their mother's medical care made Bridgette and Sandra more vigilant. To ensure loved ones get adequate treatment, Sandra said families have to play an active role, seeking second opinions and not always taking what doctors say "at face value."
"You have to be an advocate for them," Bridgette said. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/strokes-have-a-disproportionate-impact-on-the-african-american-community-one-region-family-is-frustrated/article_e6215801-202f-5812-902f-a6abc61018ac.html | 2022-08-31T13:12:47 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/strokes-have-a-disproportionate-impact-on-the-african-american-community-one-region-family-is-frustrated/article_e6215801-202f-5812-902f-a6abc61018ac.html |
BANGOR, Maine — Students of a new program in the greater Bangor area have been learning basic bike mechanics and traffic safety skills this summer. It’s thanks to the Earn-A-Bike program launched by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine.
The program started in July and gives members of the public the choice to either fix a bike or earn one.
“If someone chooses to earn a bike, they take one of our bikes that have been donated to the program, usually in need of some repair, and we help them find the tools, equipment and understand how to make the repair happen,” explained Bicycle Coalition of Maine Associate Education Director Erik daSilva. “If they choose to fix a bike, the same thing happens, except they’re working on their own bike.”
At the end of the free program, graduates leave with their fully refurbished bicycle and a new helmet, lock, safety lights, and an at-home repair kit.
“This program can help anyone approach any problem whether it’s on a bike, part of the house, somewhere else in life,” daSilva said. “It’s about figuring out what the problem is and then coming up with a solution without being intimidated by it.”
Since starting last month, the program has run into some challenges, like not having a full-time staff and large enough space to run the program.
daSilva said, for now, the program will be held once a month in Lincoln at 9 School St. He adds that they’re working towards holding it in Bangor once every week or every other week.
“The long-term hope is to make a community bicycle center where anyone feels welcome to stop in, and to work on their bike, to earn a new bike, to visit for the tenth time, to sit down in a safe place. They’re just wonderful programs that do more than just give people bicycles," said daSilva.
For additional info or to donate a bike, email erik@bikemaine.org or call (207) 200-6177. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/bangor/bicyle-coalition-maine-earn-a-bike/97-4f22fbb6-3418-43d9-bbe1-725a5dd9bd90 | 2022-08-31T13:17:09 | 0 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/bangor/bicyle-coalition-maine-earn-a-bike/97-4f22fbb6-3418-43d9-bbe1-725a5dd9bd90 |
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Wichita Heights High School student has been taken into custody for bringing a gun to campus.
On Tuesday, the school received a tip that a student was in possession of a gun at the school. Security officers and the School Resource Officer immediately took the student into custody.
Wichita Public Schools confirmed to KSN News that the student was in possession of a gun.
The school says there were no threats made at any time, and no injuries were reported.
A message was sent out to families following the incident and included this statement:
“Parents, please discuss with your student the far-reaching and serious consequences of bringing inappropriate items to school. We appreciate the person who came forward with the information to keep our school safe. Our students know if you “See Something, Say Something.” We take these matters seriously, and I will not tolerate anything that could potentially harm students or put them in fear.” | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/heights-student-arrested-for-bringing-gun-to-campus/ | 2022-08-31T13:34:57 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/heights-student-arrested-for-bringing-gun-to-campus/ |
ANDOVER, Kan. (KSNW) — On Tuesday morning, the Andover Police Department identified a woman who was killed over the weekend as 81-year-old Maryln Valeta Harvey of Andover, along with the alleged suspect, her 23-year-old great-grandson Tristan Paul Weir of Andover.
Now, friends and coworkers are sharing who Harvey was.
Harvey worked in a bank until she retired at 65 years old, then moved to work as a property manager for Mennonite Housing in Andover.
After the news of her death, family, friends, and her residents are shocked to hear the news.
“I just can’t say enough good things about her,” said a longtime friend and coworker of Harvey.
Friends said Harvey was nice to everyone, organized, and loved her sports.
“From tennis to football and basketball, baseball, that was her thing,” said a longtime friend and coworker of Harvey.
Her longtime friend and coworker of 18 years said Harvey was a dependable employee, helping manage the Summerfield and Benton properties owned by Mennonite Housing.
“No plans to really retire anytime soon because she just loved to work,” said Harvey’s friend.
Police said Harvey was assaulted and died on Sunday and that the suspect in the case is her great-grandson.
Harvey’s sister said Weir lived with her briefly during high school, and she was protective of him.
Residents and coworkers came together Monday morning to remember Harvey and share memories of her.
“She was like a mother, a second mother but just a very sweet person,” said Harvey’s friend.
Someone they said will be missed.
“I will miss being able to call her,” said Harvey’s friend.
As of Tuesday afternoon, police said Weir is still in the hospital after he was found unconscious, and Narcan was used to revive him.
Once released, he will be transferred to the Butler County Jail. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/longtime-coworker-and-friend-remembers-andover-homicide-victim/ | 2022-08-31T13:34:59 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/longtime-coworker-and-friend-remembers-andover-homicide-victim/ |
SUMNER COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — A single-vehicle crash in Sumner County killed one person on Tuesday afternoon.
The Kansas Highway Patrol Crash Log says a truck tractor was heading south on Kansas Highway 49 near South Caldwell Road when it left the roadway and entered the west ditch.
Once the trailer entered the ditch, the vehicle rolled and came to rest after hitting a utility pole.
The name of the person involved in the crash hasn’t been released.
An investigation is still ongoing. | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/truck-tractor-rollover-crash-in-sumner-county-kills-one/ | 2022-08-31T13:35:01 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/local/truck-tractor-rollover-crash-in-sumner-county-kills-one/ |
Even if you’re not hiking today ... grab some snacks to celebrate Trail Mix Day! We like ours with peanuts, M&Ms and those crunchy sesame sticks.
Trail Mix Day works nicely with the other holiday we’re celebrating on Aug. 31: National Eat Outside Day. We can’t think of a better way to mark the end of August than by enjoying dinner (or breakfast or lunch or everything) al fresco. Scrambled eggs just taste better when you have to swat away flies.
It’s still August — even if September is coming up FAST. And it’s supposed to be quite warm today. Our advice? Get to an area beach and soak up the final lazy, hazy, crazy days of the summer. If you’ll be outside today, wear sunscreen.
Celebrate the last day of August at the final Wednesday show (this season) of the Aquanuts Water-Ski Team in Twin Lakes. The team won both state and national championships this year. The free water-ski show is 6 p.m. in Lance Park, 55 Lance Drive in Twin Lakes. aquanutwatershows.com.
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All aboard! Kenosha’s Downtown electric streetcars are running seven days a week, offering wonderful lakefront views. The streetcars run 11:05 a.m. to 6:35 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:35 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The fare is $1 for ages 13 and older and 50 cents for kids ages 5-12 (free for kids age 4 and younger). An all-day pass is $3.50. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-events-for-wednesday-aug-31/article_0b69f7da-286f-11ed-910a-57a8ace1c104.html | 2022-08-31T13:37:09 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-events-for-wednesday-aug-31/article_0b69f7da-286f-11ed-910a-57a8ace1c104.html |
University of Arizona Cancer Center: The National Cancer Institute has renewed the University of Arizona Cancer Center’s status as an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a corresponding support grant for a new five-year period. The University of Arizona Cancer Center is one of 53 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the NCI and the only one in Arizona. Each NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center focuses its research, community engagement and outreach on a specific geographic area. The center serves a highly diverse population that is 50% non-Hispanic white, 39% Hispanic and 2.5% American Indian/Alaskan Native. The University of Arizona Cancer Center prioritizes five cancers of greatest concern to its area, including gastrointestinal cancer, genitourinary cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma.
Inc. 5000: Five Tucson-area businesses have landed on Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America.
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Pyx Health, which has developed a health-care software platform to address loneliness and isolation, ranked No. 1,160 with 559% growth.
Tylers Coffees, which markets acid-free coffees, ranked No. 2,074 with 288% growth.
Golden Sunshine, a swimming pool services company, ranked No. 2,090 with 287% growth.
Catalyst Connect, a business software company, ranked No. 2,388 with 244% growth.
OOROO Auto, which offers mobile repair services, a suite of auto care options through a subscription club and partners with companies to provide employee perks, ranked No. 3,596 with 143% growth.
Pima County Procurement Department: The Pima County Procurement Department has earned the 27th Annual Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award for 2022 from the National Procurement Institute, Inc.. This is the 18th consecutive year that the Procurement Department has won the award. The honor is given to public and nonprofit organizations to recognize innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity and leadership in the procurement function.
Submit items to business@tucson.com; please use ‘Biz Awards’ in the email subject line. | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/business-awards-earned-in-tucson-and-southern-arizona/article_fef6ba3c-2874-11ed-b3bf-2bf11a9e5c54.html | 2022-08-31T13:37:34 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/business/business-awards-earned-in-tucson-and-southern-arizona/article_fef6ba3c-2874-11ed-b3bf-2bf11a9e5c54.html |
Today, at noon, we will host Dana Allmond, a Democratic candidate running for one of the state House seats in Legislative District 17.
Rachel Jones, a Republican candidate for the House seats in LD 17, declined our invitation to participate in a candidate interview. Fellow Republican candidate Cory McGarr did not respond to our invitation.
We invite readers to attend the interview, which will be conducted via Zoom. Keep an eye out on our page as we announce the upcoming candidate interviews.
Email sbrown@tucson.com if you need the Zoom information emailed to you. Here is the invitation to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85030559366?pwd=MGtKTGZiMUhEancrejYrZXdKVWU2dz09
The meeting ID is 850 3055 9366, and the passcode is 193869.
Contact Curt at 520-573-4224 or cprendergast@tucson.com | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/join-us-at-noon-for-an-interview-with-ld-17-candidate-dana-allmond/article_b0418fca-2879-11ed-94b3-6bf464e124bb.html | 2022-08-31T13:37:46 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/join-us-at-noon-for-an-interview-with-ld-17-candidate-dana-allmond/article_b0418fca-2879-11ed-94b3-6bf464e124bb.html |
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
There is an impending, potentially catastrophic situation shaping up in America today that threatens the future of our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. It’s a particularly acute problem in Arizona, but it also affects the rest of the country.
The problem I speak of is that 300,000 teachers have quit their profession since the pandemic struck. They have quit because of feeling politically based pressures from parents of kids in our public schools, lack of respect for the teaching profession in general, poor pay, little or no support for innovative educational delivery systems, little say in the curriculum development issues that are apolitical and wages that are 33% less than wages paid people in other college degree-requiring fields.
Now, admittedly, I’m biased in presenting this problem because I’m a retired teacher who taught on a Micronesian low coral atoll with the first Peace Corps contingent sent to that U.S Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Fantastic experience. Then I taught at an inner city high school, Amphitheater High, for 25 years. Another great experience. I capped my teaching career at a prestigious private school on the North Shore of Boston, the Glen Urquhart School. That 12-year stint was also rewarding beyond words.
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So let’s halt now and try to analyze why I, the product of a lower middle class family background, would exult about having been blessed with being a member of the most fulfilling profession on earth. I attribute this blessing to having been born a product of what Tom Brokaw called “The Greatest Generation.”
My Mom and Dad were members of the WWII part of “The Greatest Generation.” Dad was a non-commissioned officer in the Army, and Mom was the typical wife who kept the home fires burning and dinner on the table. In our family, money was scarce, but love was abundant.
As was the case with most post-WWII American families of that generation, they strove to provide their kids with the best possible public schools, supported teachers vociferously and thought of American schools as vehicles for successful lives for their children. That was the American Dream and politics didn’t savage that wonderful aspiration.
And what were the ingredients that inspired my parents and other “Greatest Generation” folks who insisted on supporting the best public schools possible? They were all the offspring of parents who had survived the Great Depression. These were the people who forcefully responded to FDR’s clarion call of ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!”
The post-FDR generation were then the Americans who, against all odds, defeated the Devil-incarnate, Adolph Hitler, and his Fascist buddy Benito Mussolini. Add to that the formidable foe Hirohito of Japan. So thanks to the FDR-generation, followed by WWII’s miracle workers, I was bequeathed a public school education that few nations on the face of the earth could rival. An example of the strength of these schools was that my high school, Catalina High in Tucson, sent five members of our senior class to the Air Force Academy, West Point and Annapolis.
What, then, is the point of my writing this piece? My hope is that it will allow the reader to reflect back to a time period when American public schools were considered the light of the world. Is it too much to think that perhaps we can bury our current political animosities and community fractures and re-establish our schools to their previous glory years? We owe that tribute to the efforts of “The Greatest Generation.” We owe this to these people who sacrificed so much on our behalf.
James Herman is an-ex Peace Corps volunteer and a retired public and private high school educator living in Green Valley. | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-education-and-the-greatest-generation/article_9566aca0-27f5-11ed-a9ba-371561d88c98.html | 2022-08-31T13:37:53 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-education-and-the-greatest-generation/article_9566aca0-27f5-11ed-a9ba-371561d88c98.html |
SAN ANTONIO — A part of Wurzbach on the northwest side was closed after a multi-vehicle crash involving a VIA bus Wednesday morning.
Police say it happened around 7:34 a.m. at Wurzbach and Cairo.
Officials said a sedan was traveling east on Wurzbach the wrong direction and crashed into the bus, sending the woman driving the car to the hospital.
We are hearing at least three other cars were also involved.
No other injuries were reported. No charges have been filed at this time.
This is a developing story and further details will be added as they are received. Check back to this article for updates.
Learn more about KENS 5:
Since going on the air in 1950, KENS 5 has strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians.
KENS 5 has brought numerous firsts to South Texas television, including being the first local station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a local morning news program.
Over the years, KENS 5 has worked to transform local news. Our cameras have been the lens bringing history into local viewers' homes. We're proud of our legacy as we serve San Antonians today.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/accident-involving-via-bus-sends-at-least-one-to-the-hospital-san-antonio-texas/273-892f9d3a-2eaa-4a8f-894e-1d5fce10a236 | 2022-08-31T13:39:01 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/accident-involving-via-bus-sends-at-least-one-to-the-hospital-san-antonio-texas/273-892f9d3a-2eaa-4a8f-894e-1d5fce10a236 |
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — The Bexar County Sheriff's Office is investigating a possible murder after a body was found inside a car in the parking lot of a far west side fireworks stand around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.
BCSO responded to the Mr. W Fireworks stand located at the 12000 block of West US Highway 90 near Montgomery Rd for reports of a body found dead from a gunshot wound.
Deputies have detained one woman for questioning, but it's unclear if any charges are pending at this time.
This is a developing story.
Learn more about KENS 5:
Since going on the air in 1950, KENS 5 has strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians.
KENS 5 has brought numerous firsts to South Texas television, including being the first local station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a local morning news program.
Over the years, KENS 5 has worked to transform local news. Our cameras have been the lens bringing history into local viewers' homes. We're proud of our legacy as we serve San Antonians today.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/bcso-investigating-possible-murder-body-found-fireworks-stand-west-bexar-county-texas/273-560ad37c-42e7-4c28-aced-b01da994cc59 | 2022-08-31T13:39:07 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/bcso-investigating-possible-murder-body-found-fireworks-stand-west-bexar-county-texas/273-560ad37c-42e7-4c28-aced-b01da994cc59 |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Cook Children's hospital system has a message for North Texas parents: "Please don't come to the emergency department for a simple COVID-19 test."
In a news release Tuesday, the Fort Worth-based hospital said it is currently seeing an increase in parents bringing their children with no symptoms to the emergency department and urgent care centers for a COVID-19 test.
According to the hospital, this is causing long wait times at all of its locations and "putting unnecessary strain on the health care system."
The message to parents comes as North Texas children get settled into the new school year and as the fall season approaches.
The hospital said the emergency department saw 614 patients on Monday, Aug. 29., which is nearly double the amount of patients typically seen in that department.
The hospital also saw 873 patients at its eight urgent care centers. About 23% of COVID-19 tests are coming back positive at those centers, according to the hospital.
Officials with Cook Children's are asking parents to keep their kids at home if they only need a test or have mild symptoms.
"We are seeing patient volumes equivalent to our worst winters, and it’s taking a toll on our staff," Kara Starnes, medical director of Cook Children’s Urgent Care, said in the news release.
"If your child tests positive for COVID at home, you can trust the test. You don’t need to have a health care provider confirm the results," Starnes added. "If a COVID test comes back negative, it’s safe to monitor minor symptoms at home and re-test in 48 hours."
The hospital said children should be taken to the emergency department for symptoms like: difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, blue coloring in face or lips, confusion or sudden change in mental status, and inability to wake up or stay awake.
Cook Children's reminded parents that free COVID-19 tests from the U.S. government are still available for order until Friday, Sept. 2.
"If your child needs emergency care treatment, our Emergency Department is here for you. That’s why we’re here," Natalie Carpenter, director of Emergency Services at Cook Children's, said in the news release. "But please don’t come to the emergency department for a simple COVID test." | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/cook-childrens-fort-worth-texas-increase-parents-kids-covid-19-tests/287-c56d76e2-e4c9-49c8-9491-7761f76328f4 | 2022-08-31T13:39:14 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/cook-childrens-fort-worth-texas-increase-parents-kids-covid-19-tests/287-c56d76e2-e4c9-49c8-9491-7761f76328f4 |
LINDEN, Texas — An armed and dangerous inmate is still on the run after escaping from custody in Cass County Monday night.
Cass County Judge Travis Ransom said Charles Spraberry escaped the detention center wearing white boxer shorts and a white t-shirt.
"He is a dangerous individual," Ransom said. "He was in jail for multiple felonies including sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon, assault by strangulation, and kidnapping. He is a person of interest for a dual-homicide that is currently ongoing and under investigation."
Officials say Spraberry used a makeshift knife to escape from the detention center.
"(He) was able to assault a jailer and tangle with him, and get his keys away from him to get to the door and run (out) the doors," Ransom said.
Once Spraberry escaped, local, regional, state and federal law enforcement were called to the detention center to assist in the search.
"Whether it’s technology, communications or manpower, dogs -- whatever it take to get this individual to justice," Ransom said.
It’s still unclear to officials as to where he could be headed. Ransom mentioned the suspect knows the area, but officials are confident he will be caught.
"The felony escape warrant by the U.S Marshal's Service have been issued, so he will have more to answer for," Ransom said.
The guard who was assaulted was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.
Officials recommend everyone in the area to lock your cars, household doors and to be on the lookout for anything suspicious.
Ransom said if people see something suspicious, they should call 911. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/east-texas-inmate-on-the-run-from-officials/501-0f2567d1-0dd8-43e3-a4c0-6882d8abd622 | 2022-08-31T13:39:20 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/east-texas-inmate-on-the-run-from-officials/501-0f2567d1-0dd8-43e3-a4c0-6882d8abd622 |
SAN ANTONIO — A fire burned through a home on San Antonio's west side overnight.
It happened just after 1 a.m. on South San Augustine Avenue.
Officials say the fire began in a shed behind the home, then quickly spread to the back of the home.
Thankfully, the house was not occupied, so nobody was injured in the blaze.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Learn more about KENS 5:
Since going on the air in 1950, KENS 5 has strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians.
KENS 5 has brought numerous firsts to South Texas television, including being the first local station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a local morning news program.
Over the years, KENS 5 has worked to transform local news. Our cameras have been the lens bringing history into local viewers' homes. We're proud of our legacy as we serve San Antonians today.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/fire-causes-10000-in-damages-westside-property-san-antonio-texas-blaze-firefighters/273-d4dee25e-137f-43c1-bc7a-a5f660a7b44d | 2022-08-31T13:39:26 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/fire-causes-10000-in-damages-westside-property-san-antonio-texas-blaze-firefighters/273-d4dee25e-137f-43c1-bc7a-a5f660a7b44d |
MESQUITE, Texas — A Mesquite ISD teacher aide has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child, police said Tuesday.
Mesquite police said the school district informed the department on Monday, Aug. 29, about a possible improper relationship between an educator and a student at North Mesquite High School.
According to police, the allegations involved 22-year-old Bryan Garcia, who was employed by Mesquite ISD as a teacher aide.
Through an investigation, police said they discovered Garcia was communicating with students through phone apps during the spring 2022 semester.
Further details about the allegations were not released as the investigation continues.
Garcia was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 30.
Anyone who may have information on incidents involving Garcia is urged to call police at 972-285-6336. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/mesquite-isd-teacher-aide-arrested-charged-sexual-assault-of-child-indecency/287-476acae7-5d96-4e92-9f8a-05e62125359b | 2022-08-31T13:39:32 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/mesquite-isd-teacher-aide-arrested-charged-sexual-assault-of-child-indecency/287-476acae7-5d96-4e92-9f8a-05e62125359b |
MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Police are investigating after a surveillance video catches the moment a woman dumped four kittens onto a sewer grate at a Muskegon Township car wash.
Grand Bay Car Wash co-owner Will Kuczmera says he's filed a police report. His security camera caught it all on tape just after 12 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
13 ON YOUR SIDE has blurred the woman's identity in the surveillance video, as she has not been charged with a crime.
"What I can see in the security camera video, she removes a cooler from the back of her car is the old style Igloo cooler. And it looks like she, one by one, tosses them onto the grate," Kuczema says.
He walked up to bay two after the woman pulled away less than a minute later, and he could hear what was left behind. The days-old kittens were left on top of the grate.
"It just really struck me like how these animals are so small and helpless," Kuczmera says. "It's kind of disgusting. Like, why wouldn't this person just dropped them off at one of the animal shelters?"
He put the kittens in a box and called 911 to figure out what to do, when a good Samaritan stepped in.
"A customer who I'd seen recently had just came over and told me that he saw there was a box over at the car wash that had four kittens in it. I told him to immediately bring them to me," Kimberly Erickson says.
She works across the street at Ray's Mini Mart. She got the box of kittens and called Heaven Can Wait Animal Haven.
"They were newborn, their eyes weren't open. They just they looked a little rough, but they looked like they were brand new kittens," Erickson says. "They look a little tired and hungry."
They were taken in by one of the rescue's volunteers, got all cleaned up and syringe fed. The next day, two more were found behind the car wash.
"One of them wasn't really moving. The other one was crying," volunteer Rachel Buit said. "So thankfully, she was crying and I could hear her and find them.'
She says what they really need now is the kitten's mom.
"Well, they're like days old, so she needs to clean them and feed them," Buit says. "Basically, they rely heavily like completely on her if they don't have her there's almost no hope."
Volunteers set up a live trap behind the car wash with food, water and treats inside to hopefully catch mom, and they've been checking it all day Tuesday.
"It's really cool to see like, you know, one person can do a bad thing, but there's way more people doing good," Buit says.
The beginning of the security video does show two adult cats running away from the woman's car, so the rescue is hopeful that the kitten's mom is nearby.
They are asking for any donations to help, like kitten formula, toys and bedding, to help them take care of the kittens.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/video-shows-newborn-kittens-abandoned-at-muskegon-co-car-wash/69-9757e9e2-27f6-4f36-90e4-da785a219d03 | 2022-08-31T13:39:38 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/video-shows-newborn-kittens-abandoned-at-muskegon-co-car-wash/69-9757e9e2-27f6-4f36-90e4-da785a219d03 |
INDIANAPOLIS — A new business in Castleton puts guests in their own game show, complete with their very own host.
Game Show Battle Rooms invites friends, family, coworkers or teammates to face off against each other.
Competitors choose between two different experiences, which are split into two rooms. Each experience includes three game shows and a host.
Shows can also be personalized for a specific audience, including children or for bachelor and bachelorette parties.
Along with the Indianapolis location, Game Show Battle Rooms is also in Dallas, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Phoenix.
Click here to book an event or find out more information. Reservations must be made at least five days in advance. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/compete-in-your-favorite-game-show-at-new-castleton-business-game-show-battle-rooms/531-9cf50282-5022-454d-94bc-ce606337ffe9 | 2022-08-31T13:40:30 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/compete-in-your-favorite-game-show-at-new-castleton-business-game-show-battle-rooms/531-9cf50282-5022-454d-94bc-ce606337ffe9 |
GoFundMe started for Monroe teen killed Monday by downed power line
A GoFundMe page has been started for the family of a 14-year-old Monroe girl who was electrocuted by a downed power line that fell outside her home during a severe storm late Monday.
The teen has been identified as Elizabeth Jacobsen, according to media reports.
A person who identifies herself as Elizabeth's 17-year-old stepsister, Elizabeth Chalupka, has launched a GoFundMe page to help the girl's family in the aftermath of her death. She described Jacobsen as the "sweetest, most kind hearted soul I ever met."
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the page had raised $6,294 of its $10,000 goal.
"DTE will be covering the costs of the funeral," the page says. "With this in mind, the money that has been donated will be given directly to the family to help cover costs and expenses for their grieving time, moving out of the family home to avoid constant reminders and PTSD, etc.
"If you can’t donate, a share and a prayer would go a long way. Thank you so much in advance."
According to Monroe Police, Jacobsen was walking with a friend in her backyard after she smelled what she thought was a bonfire. She reached out for what she believed was a branch when the teen was electrocuted by a downed power line in the 1400 block of Peters Street.
Police officers and firefighters arrived at the scene at 7:41 p.m. and found the girl in contact with the energized wire.
"The victim reached for what she believed was a stick, however, it was the charged electrical line," the Monroe Police Department said in a Facebook post.
More than 3,000 power lines came down after Monday's storm, according DTE, which warned people to be cautious around them and stay at least 20 feet away. An 8-year-old Warren boy was in critical condition Tuesday at Detroit's Children Hospital after touching an active line outside his elementary school.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @CharlesERamirez | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/08/31/gofundme-page-started-monroe-teen-killed-monday-downed-power-line/7948073001/ | 2022-08-31T13:41:27 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/08/31/gofundme-page-started-monroe-teen-killed-monday-downed-power-line/7948073001/ |
Juvenile suspect in Saginaw child's death in custody
A juvenile suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of a child in Saginaw, Michigan State Police said.
Officials said they are not releasing any further information about the victim or the suspect at this time. The investigation continues.
On Tuesday, state police said they were investigating the child's death.
Police were called at about 6:15 a.m. to a home in the 800 block of 12th Street near Genesse and Holland avenue for a report of a missing child.
Officers later found the child's body in an abandoned lot near the home, they said.
Anyone with information about the child's death should call the Saginaw Major Case Unit at (989) 297-8657 or Crime Stoppers Saginaw County at 1 (800) 422-JAIL (5245).
cramirez@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @CharlesERamirez | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/08/31/juvenile-suspect-saginaw-childs-death-custody/7948208001/ | 2022-08-31T13:41:33 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/08/31/juvenile-suspect-saginaw-childs-death-custody/7948208001/ |
Something Good is cooking in the kitchen of a Fort Worth steakhouse.
"It feels like a crazy amazing honor," said Jessie Posan, the new executive chef at The Capital Grille in downtown Fort Worth.
To be in that position could definitely be considered an honor when you look at the numbers.
The latest stats from career company Zippia shows 12.5% of all executive chefs are women, while 87.5% are men.
Posan set her sights on the industry while watching the Food Network. Culinary school came next, and now after a decade, she's finally the boss in the kitchen.
"Just my journey at The Capital Grille, I started off making salads, worked my way up," Posan said. "It can be a very competitive industry especially for women. Alot of people want to underestimate the power of girls. I've worked really, really hard to get where I am in my career. And it feels like an an amazing accomplishment, like a dream come true." | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/chef-takes-her-place-as-fort-worth-kitchen-boss/3060945/ | 2022-08-31T13:47:59 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/chef-takes-her-place-as-fort-worth-kitchen-boss/3060945/ |
It's the only surviving battleship that served in both world wars, having fought Nazis and the Japanese Army during World War II. But the greatest challenge in recent years for the USS Texas has been a leaky, rusty hull that at times forced workers to pump out about 2,000 gallons (7,570 liters) of water per minute from the 110-year-old ship.
To ensure the historic vessel doesn't sink and can continue hosting visitors, the foundation in charge of its care was set on Wednesday to tow the ship from its longtime home along the Houston Ship Channel to a shipyard in nearby Galveston for much needed repairs.
The battleship was disconnected from its gangway and was slowly preparing to enter the Houston Ship Channel shortly after 6 a.m. Wednesday.
The journey from its longtime berth at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site in the Houston suburb of La Porte is part of a $35 million project to repair the hull and ultimately restore the ship to its former glory.
The ship's repairs are part of the foundation's plans to eventually resettle it in a new location in Texas, possibly in one of three nearby cities, including Galveston, in order to attract more visitors and increase revenue.
Moving the ship for repairs is "the major step in getting the ship back to tip top shape," Tony Gregory, the president of the Battleship Texas Foundation, said Tuesday as he stood on the vessel while workers made final preparations.
The battleship will be pulled by four tugboats at a pace of about 5 knots per hour. The 40-mile (64 kilometer) journey to Galveston was expected to take about nine hours and won't be without risk as the ship's hull could leak enough to sink it.
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"Once we get going, I anticipate it being pretty smooth… We feel like we're prepared," Gregory said.
Since 1948, the USS Texas has been located at the state historic site where the decisive battle in the Texas Revolution was fought. There, it's served as a museum and tourist attraction. The battleship was previously taken to the same shipyard in Galveston for repairs in 1988.
For the last three years, the ship has been closed to the public as the foundation has been preparing for the repairs. In 2019, the Texas Legislature approved the $35 million to fix the hull. The foundation is planning to make other fixes which it's paying for. All the repairs are expected to take up to a year to complete.
The foundation expects many people to gather along the ship channel to watch the ship go by.
Theresa McGowen, an interior designer from nearby Deer Park, said she planned to watch the ship on Wednesday and expected to get emotional while recalling memories of visiting the vessel as a child and then later with her children.
"It has a lot of meaning because it has a lot of special memories and the history of it as well. And they're not bringing it back (to La Porte). There's a little sadness with that," she said. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/leaky-battleship-in-texas-set-to-make-trip-for-35m-repairs/3061011/ | 2022-08-31T13:48:05 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/leaky-battleship-in-texas-set-to-make-trip-for-35m-repairs/3061011/ |
Starting in September, a statewide effort to better ensure school safety will get underway.
Representatives of the Texas School Safety Center have been tasked with checking whether school doors are locked and will conduct random checks at Texas schools over the next several months.
“We’re going to be checking to see if we can gain unsecured unauthorized access to a campus,” said Kathy Martinez-Prather, Director of the Texas School Safety Center. “And while that seems like such a small piece to the puzzle, it’s a very significant piece, because we know that locked doors create time barriers, and time barriers save lives.”
Governor Greg Abbott pushed for the safety checks in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde in May, where 19 students and 2 teachers were killed by a teenage gunman who entered the building through an unlocked door.
In the month prior to a specific campus being checked, the district’s Superintendent will be notified, as will local law enforcement.
Martinez-Prather emphasized that her people are not conducting active shooter drills, and will make no attempt to actually go inside of the school buildings.
“We are not going to be simulating an intrusion of any kind. We are not going to have individuals dressed as threat actors carrying weapons, trying to forcefully enter a campus. These individuals are going to be trained, plain-clothed, and at any point in time if they’re confronted by a school personnel will self-identify,” Martinez-Prather said.
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The goal is for at least 7 in 10 schools to be checked before the end of the current school year. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/unannounced-school-intruder-checks-to-begin-across-texas-in-september/3060955/ | 2022-08-31T13:48:11 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/unannounced-school-intruder-checks-to-begin-across-texas-in-september/3060955/ |
Average daily flows
Snake River at Heise 9,823 cfs
Snake River at Blackfoot 2,638 cfs
Snake River at American Falls 8,813 cfs
Snake River at Milner 0 cfs
Little Wood River near Carey 218 cfs
Jackson Lake is 31% full.
Palisades Reservoir is 32% full.
American Falls Reservoir is 8% full.
Upper Snake River system is at 25% of capacity.
As of August 30. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/average-daily-streamflows/article_6e7920bc-28ab-11ed-954b-cf6237db6c0c.html | 2022-08-31T13:50:31 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/average-daily-streamflows/article_6e7920bc-28ab-11ed-954b-cf6237db6c0c.html |
A week ago, we put out the call for putting our money where our mouth is when it comes to doing whatever is possible to better fund Idaho’s education system.
Gov. Brad Little took a step in that direction Tuesday when he announced a special legislative session to be held Sept. 1 to use a portion of the state’s record $2 billion projected budget surplus on schools while calling for immediate and ongoing rebates and tax cuts for individuals.
Little’s proposal calls for $500 million in immediate one-time income tax rebates with Idahoans getting back 10% of 2020 income taxes paid, with minimum rebates of $300 for individuals and $600 for joint filers. Seniors who apply for the grocery tax credit would also be eligible for the minimum rebate, which he said would be rolling out as soon as September.
The ongoing tax cuts, he said, would come through a new lower, flat income tax — eliminating the first $2,500 of income from taxation for individuals and $5,000 for joint filers, and establishing a flat tax of 5.8% across the board, down from 6%, to provide more than $150 million in ongoing relief to all working Idahoans starting in January 2023.
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The governor’s announcement said the proposal is meant to “counteract the impacts of 40-year high inflation on individuals and schools.” His proposal on individual taxes could be looked upon as a bit of election year maneuvering. Impacts on education in the state have been felt longer than the latest struggle with inflation. To his credit, Little has talked in the past about boosting funding for education. Now it will be time for the Legislature to make a commitment to schools in this special session.
The education side of the proposal would put $410 million total to Idaho education through an ongoing sales tax transfer, what Little says would be the single largest investment in education in state history, putting $330 million toward K-12 public schools to help with rising costs due to inflation, and $80 million going toward training for in-demand careers and preparing educational institutions for an increase in workforce development training that occurs during times of economic uncertainty.
The proposal has received bipartisan support.
On the education front, the proposal received the support of the Idaho Education Association. IEA President Layne McInelly said members enthusiastically endorse the stated education goals of the special session.
“Injecting record new funding into the Public School Income Fund by statute would be the Legislature’s first serious step in generations toward meeting its obligation ‘to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools,’ as spelled out in the Idaho Constitution,” McInelly said, adding that the proposed $330 million increase in ongoing general fund support for schools would be “another historic investment in our school children that builds on the momentum created by last year’s record K-12 budget increase.
“The future of our children and our state demand this be fixed. IEA members have long called on Idaho lawmakers to lean into their constitutional mandate to create a robust, equitable public school system. Gov. Little and legislative leaders have put that opportunity in front of them.”
A concern does remain. Reclaim Idaho’s voter initiative, the Quality Education Act, is also on the ballot in November. It would generate at least $323 million for K-12, through an increase in corporate income tax rates and income taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents. If it gets a majority vote, it would go into effect Jan. 1. If the Legislature approves Little’s proposal, that law would go into effect Jan. 3 and roll back changes made by the initiative. Little said his proposal is unrelated to the Reclaim initiative, but he feels his is a better option.
Reclaim Idaho co-founder Luke Mayville isn’t convinced, saying Little’s proposal is “clearly designed” to supplant Reclaim’s initiative, according to an article in Idaho Education News.
“For the time being, Reclaim Idaho will continue full speed ahead with our campaign for the passage of the Quality Education Act,” Mayville said. He feels Little’s proposed tax cuts place too great a burden on the middle class, and provide unneeded tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, and the proposed $410 million education funding boost would not have happened if not for Reclaim’s education funding campaign.
We have to take the governor at his word that he means well when it comes to education funding. At the same time, we have to hope a word of caution from House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel about the proposal turning into a spending “shell game” doesn’t come true.
Educators and students can’t afford to have the Legislature drop the ball on them when there appears to be a light at the end of this tunnel. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/idaho-view-dont-drop-the-ball-on-education-in-special-session/article_61710338-28ad-11ed-9eb3-a7e0fdde13c4.html | 2022-08-31T13:50:32 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/idaho-view-dont-drop-the-ball-on-education-in-special-session/article_61710338-28ad-11ed-9eb3-a7e0fdde13c4.html |
The Magic Valley Symphony is getting ready for its upcoming season, themed “Music Connects Us.”
The season will open Oct. 9 with the winners of the 2022 Youth Soloist Competition and will continue until Nov. 11 with Magic Valley Chorale for an All-American Veterans Day Concert.
In 2023, the symphony will feature cellist Juliette Herlin on Feb. 24 and conclude with a spring celebration pops concert again with Magic Valley Chorale on April 21 and 22.
Magic Valley Symphony is a volunteer community orchestra that has performed continuously since 1959, presenting four concerts per season.
The symphony is under the baton of Music Director Theodore Hadley who has been the full-time conductor since the 1990-1991 season.
Season tickets are now available for purchase. The individual season ticket is $50 and the “friends and family” season ticket is $100.
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For more information or to purchase tickets, visit mvsymphony.org or contact Amy Toft at 208-404-9670. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/music-connects-us-magic-valley-symphony-gets-ready-for-upcoming-season/article_05bdd688-28a8-11ed-90cc-f3367b7b1933.html | 2022-08-31T13:50:33 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/music-connects-us-magic-valley-symphony-gets-ready-for-upcoming-season/article_05bdd688-28a8-11ed-90cc-f3367b7b1933.html |
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (KXAN) — A New Braunfels resident claimed a winning ticket worth $2 million in the Texas Lottery after buying a Premier Cash scratch-off ticket at a gas station in the city.
This was the second of four top prizes worth $2 million to be claimed in this game. The other winning ticket was sold in Sweetwater.
The New Braunfels winner chose to remain anonymous. According to a press release, they bought the ticket at a QuikTrip on FM 1102.
The odds of winning a prize worth $50 or more in the Premier Cash game are 1 in 3.94. There are more than $203 million worth of prizes in the game.
The Premier Cash scratch-off is one of several games provided by the Texas Lottery. | https://cw33.com/news/local/2m-texas-lottery-prize-claimed-by-new-braunfels-resident/ | 2022-08-31T13:52:32 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/2m-texas-lottery-prize-claimed-by-new-braunfels-resident/ |
INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) — Nothing Bundt Cakes is inviting customers to celebrate a major milestone with free cake.
On Thursday, September 1, the company is giving out free mini bundt cakes to the first 250 customers at locations across North America to celebrate its 25th birthday. Each of those recipients will receive an individually packaged Confetti “Bundtlet,” the bakery chain said.
There will also be an online contest offering a grand prize of a $25,000 birthday party. Twenty-five runners-up will receive a $100 Nothing Bundt Cakes gift card.
Fans can enter from Sept. 1–25 by submitting a photo from a past birthday celebration and sharing what winning would mean to them.
Winners will be announced in October.
Nothing Bundt Cakes has nearly 450 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The bakeries offer four cake sizes in nine flavors, including Red Velvet, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Lemon, and Confetti. | https://cw33.com/news/local/how-to-get-a-free-cake-from-nothing-bundt-cakes-on-thursday/ | 2022-08-31T13:52:38 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/how-to-get-a-free-cake-from-nothing-bundt-cakes-on-thursday/ |
MINNESOTA-President Joe Biden's sweeping student loan cancellation will lower federal borrowers' loan amounts in the coming months but it comes with a catch in Minnesota.
Minnesota is one of 13 states that will tax the one time debt cancellation because the state's law does not match federal tax law, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
Borrowers who will have $10,000 dollars wiped away will have to pay hundreds of dollars when they file their taxes.
The amount doubles for Pell Grant recipients, who are eligible for $20,000 dollars in loan erasure.
Rochester's State Rep. Tina Liebling said lawmakers will take up the item during the 2023 legislative session but added a vote likely will not come until the end of the session.
"I think you are going to be seeing it wait until the end of the legislative session. Now that does not mean that there could not be a fix that would not make it retroactive but that almost would never happen to have a tax bill that would be passed early in the session when one body is Republican and the other is Democratic majority. It just does not happen that way," Liebling said.
In a statement to KIMT, State Sen. Carla Nelson said the following:
"This is just one more reason why the Governor should call a special session to pass the $4Billion tax bill that was fully agreed upon, written and every word adopted. It included exempting forgiven student loans from income tax; eliminated all tax on social security benefits; cut income tax rates for all tax filers; included the Historic Tax Credit; property tax relief and many other tax relief provisions that over taxed Minnesotans especially need in this time of soaring inflation. The agreed upon tax bill, according to the Speaker, was held hostage to use as leverage on three unrelated spending bills."
Lawmakers were unable to come to a spending agreement on the states' more than $9 billion dollar surplus during the 2022 session. | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/widespread-student-debt-cancellation-will-be-taxable-in-minnesota/article_f916696a-28e1-11ed-92bf-b34e6e558664.html | 2022-08-31T14:00:33 | 1 | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/widespread-student-debt-cancellation-will-be-taxable-in-minnesota/article_f916696a-28e1-11ed-92bf-b34e6e558664.html |
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The latest news from around North Texas. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ford-motors-local-nonprofit-help-to-promote-literacy-in-north-texas/3060938/ | 2022-08-31T14:09:42 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ford-motors-local-nonprofit-help-to-promote-literacy-in-north-texas/3060938/ |
WACO, Texas — Waco's Tax Increment Financing Board (Zone 4) approved a development plan Tuesday for a $100 million development at the site of the demolished Floyd Casey Stadium at South 32nd street and Clay Avenue.
The project will now head to the Waco City Council for approval.
The development would have 54 acres of residential space, which would be broken up by multiple green areas, as well as 19.6 acres of commercial space.
The development would have around 240 homes in total, which includes seven lot classifications including multi-family homes, smaller "zero-line" lots, cottages, larger family residences and a few large mansion-like residences.
City staff said the development would attempt to have all residences just a five minute walk away from an "active" green space.
City of Waco Economic Development Director Kent George told 6 News Turner Brothers would be the developer..
The property is located in Waco's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Zone 4. George told 6 News the TIF zone allowed for property taxes collected in the zone to be set aside from the general budget, and instead used for specific economic developments and public improvements in that zone.
"It fences those taxes into that area so it can be used by that area to stimulate growth," George said.
In this development, the City will allow the developer to use $19.2 million in TIF funds as reimbursement for the public improvements they make in the development. George said the developer only gets that reimbursement after they build improvements so the money is payed out over time.
"You only get back what you are creating," George said.
TIF Board zone 4 Chairman Kyle Deaver told 6 News Waco needs the additional housing and the plans will provide affordable options for residents as well.
"The idea is certainly to make it more affordable and that's one of the reasons they are doing several different kinds of housing there from multi-family to zero-lot-line to larger family lots so that they can offer that to a wide array of buyers," Deaver said.
Deaver also told 6 News the additional residences would help add students to Waco ISD.
Deaver said the city put out a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the project in early 2020. With his request now answered, he says it's exciting to pick a developer and move forward for a proposal.
"It's taken a long time," Deaver said. "The council knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to have a site in the middle of the city the size of the Floyd Casey site to redevelop. So, there has been a lot of thought of planning that has gone into this project and it is really a big deal for Waco." | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/100-million-waco-housing-project/500-68b9c25d-627a-4622-8d70-58c4e25a6d6a | 2022-08-31T14:13:22 | 1 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/100-million-waco-housing-project/500-68b9c25d-627a-4622-8d70-58c4e25a6d6a |
TEMPLE, Texas — Downtown Temple's face lift has been in the works for the past few years, and if you're curious when that construction will be over, know it is soon.
City leaders said supply chain issues impacted their plans, but did not move their target date to end construction. The city plans to wrap up in the Spring or Summer of 2023.
The City Manager for Temple, Brynn Myers said the projects are going well and the city has been able to preserve the history of the buildings.
"To see the scaffolding around the building -- was a sign that this really was gonna happen and we really were going to be able to bring these beautiful buildings back to life," Myers added.
There is also a parking garage being put up on 4th St. that is 40 percent complete. This will help businesses impacted by the construction.
"The construction has gotten pretty tedious -- especially with the parking," Manager at The Hub, Madison Sanchez said.
But businesses owners are also hopeful this reconstruction that will bring apartments, eateries and more will get business booming.
That's the exact reason why the managing partner of Corkys Wine and Beer came to Temple.
"We're excited to be a part of that we cant wait to see the renovations finish," Dan Elder said. | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/construction-in-downtown-temple-on-track-to-wrap-up-in-the-spring-or-summer-of-2023-booming-business-tiny-austin/500-38ee4fc6-d08a-46d1-bb2a-54b19e6a8d0d | 2022-08-31T14:13:29 | 0 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/construction-in-downtown-temple-on-track-to-wrap-up-in-the-spring-or-summer-of-2023-booming-business-tiny-austin/500-38ee4fc6-d08a-46d1-bb2a-54b19e6a8d0d |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at West Virginia University (WVU) was suspended on Aug. 30 for reported hazing.
The interim suspension prevents Pi Kappa Phi from engaging in “all recruitment activities, as well as participating, organizing or attending social functions, among other restrictions.”
“We take every report of possible misconduct seriously, and many times investigations provide a chance for us to help students make better choices in the future,” Jill Gibson, director of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, said. “But we want our students and student organizations to understand that hazing of any kind is never okay.”
The hazing claims may also be reviewed for potential criminal charges.
“Any allegations like this serves as a reminder that we must redouble our commitment with members of fraternities and sororities on our campus to set a good example and to follow the rules established for the safety of all of our chapters and their members,” said Matthew Richardson, director of the Center for Fraternal Values and Leadership and chair of the WVU Hazing Prevention Task Force.
For more information on hazing and hazing prevention, visit safety.wvu.edu and greeklife.wvu.edu.
To see the current status of WVU’s fraternity and sorority chapters, click here. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/wvus-pi-kappa-phi-suspended-after-reports-of-hazing/ | 2022-08-31T14:18:05 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/wvus-pi-kappa-phi-suspended-after-reports-of-hazing/ |
A 38-year-old man was found stabbed to death on the sidewalk outside a Manhattan office building early Wednesday, authorities say.
Cops responding to a 911 call about a victim outside the 24-story skyscraper on Seventh Avenue in Chelsea just before 1 a.m. found the man stabbed multiple times in the chest. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The victim's identity has not been released, nor have any potential suspects been named. It's not clear what led to the killing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Copyright NBC New York | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/manhattan-stabbing-leaves-1-dead-on-sidewalk-in-chelsea/3845828/ | 2022-08-31T14:24:08 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/manhattan-stabbing-leaves-1-dead-on-sidewalk-in-chelsea/3845828/ |
SPARTA, Ga. — Governor Brian Kemp's opponent Stacey Abrams is set to join civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the family of Brianna Grier at a screening for his Netflix documentary.
Before the showing, Democratic candidate for governor Stacey Abrams will have a discussion with the Griers about the mental health crisis in Georgia and the need for Medicaid expansion.
Brianna Grier died after falling out of a cruiser when Hancock County deputies arrested her during a mental health crisis in July.
Ben Crump currently represents the Griers.
After the discussion, there will be a screening of the documentary "Civil," which follows his life and work.
The event starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Clark Atlanta University's Henderson Student Center. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/stacey-abrams-ben-crump-to-talk-mental-health-with-family-of-woman-killed-in-fall-from-deputy-cruiser/93-e69ff85f-ec33-4390-b6c9-e22174757efa | 2022-08-31T14:28:41 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/stacey-abrams-ben-crump-to-talk-mental-health-with-family-of-woman-killed-in-fall-from-deputy-cruiser/93-e69ff85f-ec33-4390-b6c9-e22174757efa |
Despite a wetter-than-normal monsoon season, Flagstaff has yet to see an instance of rainfall that tests the capacity of flood mitigation systems constructed beneath the Museum Fire scar.
While many of the systems have demonstrated proofs of concept, city officials urge the public to remain cautious as the planned mitigation nears completion. Although northern Arizona is in a hot and dry spell, forecasts suggest that weeks of active monsoon -- and the possibility of more significant storm events -- are still to come.
The Museum Fire flood corridor is just one of several post-fire flood corridors that the City of Flagstaff and the Coconino County Flood Control District (FCD) are hoping work. After the area experienced catastrophic flooding during the 2021 monsoon season, the city, FCD and the U.S. Forest Service invested more than $12 million into improvements designed to mitigate the risk of flooding, including on-forest alluvial fan restoration, infrastructural improvements within city limits and detention basins. Most of the improvements were functional this year's monsoon season and so far have managed any flooding activity in the corridor.
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“We’ve seen three events on the Museum burn scar with no overtopping and we’ve not exceeded the capacity of the channels,” said Scott Overton, Flagstaff streets section director and flood response incident commander. “Everyone’s kind of speculating: what does this mean? Does this mean it’s been fixed?”
Overton said it’s too soon to tell whether the Museum Fire mitigation has fixed the problem, because the mitigation system has not been truly tested by this year’s rainfall. Last year, the area saw five significant rainfall events, two of which had 60-minute rainfall totals of more than 2 inches -- 2.17 and 3.35 inches, to be precise. This year, on the other hand, the area has only seen three significant rainfall events, none of which have exceeded 1.5 inches in 60-minute rainfall totals.
While Overton said the improvements are “meaningful,” he emphasized that “no one is really comfortable saying it’s completely healed, we’re ready to move on. We’ve just not seen the type of rainfall we saw in 2021 in 2022.”
Overton's perspective was shared by James Duvall, whose home is at the end of Paradise Road where the Museum Fire flood corridor enters city limits. The area experienced significant flooding in 2021. This year, the wash by Duvall’s home has stayed “pretty much dry.”
As for the overall effectiveness of the system, Duvall withholds judgement because “we just haven’t had anything super hard.”
“We haven't really seen the duration and the intensity of storms that we saw last year,” Duvall said. “ ...It's kind of difficult for me to gauge how well the work has affected that. But I've got to think that it’s drastically going to help.”
They definitely have helped, said FCD administrator Lucinda Andreani. She suggests the mitigation systems have proven effective for “typical” rainfall that can be routinely expected.
The rainfall levels seen in the area during 2021 were “unusual,” Andreani said, noting that the two largest storms of last year were of a rare severity -- the type the region expects to see once every 200-300 years.
“No one designs to that level,” Andreani said. “No one is expecting it to perform to that degree under a 200-, 300-year rainfall. For the typical rainfall events that we would expect to see and that we would expect it to handle, it is performing very well.”
This goes for the on-forest mitigations as well as the mitigations within city limits. According to Adam Miele, public works project manager, the new detention basins downstream at Killip Elementary School successfully showed a “proof of concept” during this year’s monsoons.
“On July 31 — a pretty good sized event in town — we did get some water,” Miele reported. “[The basins] are functioning; they are working.”
The work to finalize the Museum Fire flood mitigation system is also ongoing. The Killip detention basins are slated for some final improvements — such as “rip-rap” lining to improve their function — there is another on-forest alluvial fan restoration scheduled for the fall, and another set of sediment basins known as the “Parkway Basins” are slated to be constructed on a city parcel upstream of a culvert on Linda Vista Drive.
According to city storm water manager Ed Schenk, these final basins are “an important part of the overall system, because it allows us to drop out that final amount of sediment coming through the forest system before we get to the storm water system.”
He added it will help “clean” floodwaters to prevent them from clogging stormwater systems within the city.
Schenk said the city expects to commence excavation of the Parkway Basins come “early spring” of 2023. There is a need to take time to communicate and collaborate with residents in the area because the basins will amount to a “major landscape change,” he said.
As the Museum Fire flood mitigation system progresses toward its final design, there is still some possibility that it will be more thoroughly tested during this year’s monsoon season.
Benji Johnson at the National Weather Service said Flagstaff residents should not “get complacent” with the current streak of dry days and clear skies.
“There are signs though that the moisture could pick back up after Wednesday and Thursday of this week,” Johnson said.
For an outlook on the remainder of monsoon season in general, Johnson referred to the medium- and long-term forecasts of the Climate Prediction Center.
“They're still saying above normal precipitation for the rest of September,” Johnson said. “We can’t say for sure is the worst is behind us.” | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flood-mitigation-on-flagstaff-s-museum-fire-scar-still-in-need-of-a-real-test/article_0a16a4fe-28b6-11ed-9b3c-0bcce1f29e3a.html | 2022-08-31T14:34:38 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flood-mitigation-on-flagstaff-s-museum-fire-scar-still-in-need-of-a-real-test/article_0a16a4fe-28b6-11ed-9b3c-0bcce1f29e3a.html |
There are unique stakes for Northern Arizona football as it travels to Tempe to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday.
With more than 70 players on the roster having grown up or played high school football in Arizona, the Sun Devils present a chance to compete against their hometown team. After beating the Arizona Wildcats in 2021, the Lumberjacks have proven their skill against an in-state FBS opponent. There is no guarantee the result will translate to Thursday’s contest, but there is a similar level of excitement for the local players.
“Going down to UofA last year was a lot of fun, but ASU’s a little different for me,” said Lumberjacks receiver Coleman Owen, who graduated from Higley High School in Gilbert. "I grew up going to ASU games, and it’s going to be fun to go out on that field and be able to compete."
Similar to Owen, many of the Lumberjacks have deep, personal connections with the Valley university and its football team. There will be plenty of friends and family in the stands in Tempe.
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“ASU’s like five minutes away from my high school, so basically everybody I knew goes there now. So it will be exciting to have all of them come and watch,” said corner Colby Humphrey, who went to Desert Vista, which is part of the Tempe Unified High School District.
The players aren’t alone in their connection to the Sun Devils. Some of the Lumberjacks coaching staff has roots in the area. Head coach Chris Ball spent 2012 to 2015 in Tempe serving in a variety of roles on the defensive side, including co-defensive coordinator.
“We had a really good run there. It was a really great experience. We won a lot of games, I loved living down there. I think it's a great place,” Ball said. “It's going to be a walk down memory lane a little bit. A lot of emotions going back to Sun Devil Stadium. A lot of emotions Thursday night.”
Other assistants on his staff have their own histories with Arizona State. Current Lumberjacks tight ends coach Robin Pflugrad spent 1995 to 2000 as the Sun Devils’ receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.
His son and current Lumberjacks offensive coordinator, Aaron Pflugrad, has happy memories of time spent with the Sun Devils.
“I’ve been around there since I was 6 when my dad was coaching. But at the end of the day it’s about the players. It’s special for the guys because a lot of them grew up down there going to ASU games, now they’re getting to play in the stadium they went to. That’s an amazing opportunity,” Aaron Pflugrad said.
Some of the Northern Arizona players from outside the state have spent time talking with the local players about what a win Thursday would mean.
“Even for the out-of-state guys it’s big, because some people like to call us the little brother of the state. But we showed UofA it’s possible, and we plan on hopefully doing the same thing at ASU,” said Mark Ho Ching, a defensive lineman from Oakland.
The Lumberjacks aren’t just treating the game like a friendly homecoming. They want to compete. Ball has told his players several times over that even though they beat the Wildcats last year, there is no guarantee they will do the same in Tempe. None of the Lumberjacks are going as far as predicting any particular outcome.
The Sun Devils went 8-5 (6-3 Pac-12) last season, including a 41-14 win over Southern Utah in their lone game against an FCS school. Arizona State underwent major changes in the offseason, though, and could present a different look with 43 new players on the roster according to the Associated Press.
“I feel like it’s a familiar place, but not so much a familiar team. We’re going to go into it just like any other game and go try to play our game,” Owen said.
There are stakes attached because each side would like to claim superiority in the state’s college football landscape. For the Lumberjacks, a win would obviously help in their hopes for an elusive FCS playoff berth, and the rankers would value a win over an FBS school highly.
However, the Lumberjacks have said on numerous occasions that their ultimate goal is to compete for a Big Sky Conference championship. A win or loss over Arizona State would matter in the overall record, but would not affect their conference record -- and thus the chase for that conference title -- either way.
Still, Northern Arizona hopes it can capitalize on a game that it has had circled for the entire offseason.
“We definitely have a golden opportunity here. We beat UofA last year and to open up the season with ASU, we’ve got the chance and we have to take advantage of it,” Humphrey said.
Kickoff between the Sun Devils and Lumberjacks is set for 7 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/lumberjacks-football-feels-unique-stakes-at-in-state-contest-at-asu/article_5fbd87ea-2886-11ed-8d8b-bb01991bd343.html | 2022-08-31T14:34:44 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/lumberjacks-football-feels-unique-stakes-at-in-state-contest-at-asu/article_5fbd87ea-2886-11ed-8d8b-bb01991bd343.html |
LAKELAND, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday morning that Florida is suing the U.S. Food and Drug Association for information about the state's proposal over getting cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.
DeSantis said it's been a priority of his administration to access cheaper prescription drugs for Floridians. He said Florida submitted its proposal at the end of 2020 to the FDA to bring the lower-cost drugs from Canada to the Sunshine State.
"We have a right to know what the FDA has been doing [about this] for the last two years," DeSantis said.
He added Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Simone Marstiller has also submitted a public record request from the FDA for information about the state's proposal. DeSantis said the state still hasn't heard back.
And because Florida has yet to hear back, DeSantis charged keeping the state in the dark about its proposal and not getting a response to these requests is against the law.
10 Tampa Bay has reached out to the FDA for its response to Florida's lawsuit.
DeSantis made the announcement during a news conference while at LifeScience Logistics Distribution Center in Lakeland. The company was contracted by the Agency for Health Care Administration to assist the state in implementing the program.
The governor was at the center last year to say it was awaiting final approval from President Joe Biden's administration on its plans that the governor said at the time could save, at the state level, between $80 to $100 million in prescription costs.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Simone Marstiller spoke alongside DeSantis.
According to its website, LifeScience Logistics is dedicated to "improve public health" by participating in the "healthcare supply chain." The company says it works with health care manufacturers, governments and provider networks to transport goods, funds and information.
RELATED: DeSantis: 4 Broward school board members suspended for 'neglect of duty' after Parkland shooting | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/polkcounty/desantis-lakeland-ladapo-moody/67-4038daac-06d5-42e6-b228-13251c97788b | 2022-08-31T14:39:29 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/polkcounty/desantis-lakeland-ladapo-moody/67-4038daac-06d5-42e6-b228-13251c97788b |
This live video will start at 10 a.m. Wednesday, when Lincoln Police officials will brief the media on a homicide that occurred in the city overnight.
The announced news conference follows overnight media reports of a man's body found in a field near Third and P streets, near the People's City Mission shelter and the nonprofit Community Action.
In an email announcing the news conference, Assistant Police Chief Michon Morrow did not provide any details on the reported killing.
This is a developing story. Stay with JournalStar.com for updates. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-police-to-brief-media-on-early-morning-homicide-near-peoples-city-mission/article_806a25df-67ce-5f6e-a395-6a7f5f2145b3.html | 2022-08-31T14:41:16 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-police-to-brief-media-on-early-morning-homicide-near-peoples-city-mission/article_806a25df-67ce-5f6e-a395-6a7f5f2145b3.html |
Consider her the Platte River of city government.
Before you get offended on her behalf, that’s how Diane Gonzolas has described herself, at least the professional part of herself that’s spent the last 24 years getting reporters — and the community — the information they need.
“I never really saw myself as a spokesperson,” said Gonzolas, the manager of city communications who is retiring this week. “I tried to get reporters to the person who knows things best. I’m like the Platte River, I have a wide range of knowledge but not very deep in any area. I know a little bit about a lot of things.”
As a reporter who’s worked with her share of communications folks, understanding that — and connecting folks with the experts — is the best sort of communications folk.
Gonzolas, 64, grew up in Kansas, graduated from Kansas State and started her career as a journalist, working at newspapers and television stations in Kansas, Missouri and Minnesota.
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In 1987, she joined Lincoln TV station KOLN/KGIN as a newsroom manager who also was in charge of community outreach. In 1995, she became Gov. Ben Nelson’s public affairs director.
In 1998, Mayor Mike Johanns had just been elected governor, and City Council Chairman Dale Young stepped in as mayor until the spring election — and hired Gonzolas.
She’s worked under four other mayors: Don Wesely, Coleen Seng, Chris Beutler and Leirion Gaylor Baird.
Gaylor Baird said Gonzolas is experienced, reliable and helped her new administration move forward, including figuring out how best to deliver information in the digital age.
“She really helped us focus the way we presented information,” Gaylor Baird said. “Making sure the right information got out, being thorough, comprehensive, but also focused.”
The role social media plays in communications has been one of the biggest changes in her business, Gonzolas said. When she was hired, the job description included "typewriter skills." The seven employees she manages no longer include a graphic artist, but there's someone in charge of social media.
Gonzolas has a “heart for the arts,” Gaylor Baird said, and has played a significant role in the annual mayor’s arts awards.
She’s played lots of other roles, too — in plays at the Lincoln Community Playhouse and in Angels Theater Co. since getting involved in local theater in 2011.
At work over the past 2½ decades, she's had to help the city navigate the uncertainty and fear created by the World Trade Center attacks and weather the Great Recession, which resulted in city layoffs and downsizing. She's helped the city work through the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the shooting death of Lincoln Police Officer Mario Herrera; and navigate a global pandemic.
Her husband died suddenly in 2019, when the city was dealing with historic flooding that threatened its water wells, and she had to turn much of the work over to her team.
“What that episode taught me is I have people I can count on,” she said. “That was big for me. I’m not a very good delegator.”
The toughest challenge? COVID-19.
“I remember the first case. I remember the first death. I remember getting my first vaccine.”
It was uncharted territory, she said, and the city created a website that evolved as the pandemic played out. Gonzolas and her team were behind the cameras during the daily briefings, as the city tried to continue to deliver services and keep people safe.
Among the city's biggest accomplishments during her tenure, she said: completing the Antelope Valley project and building Pinnacle Bank Arena and creating the Railyard in the West Haymarket.
She loves Lincoln, how it’s grown, how she’s grown since she’s been here, she said.
The city even played a part in her wedding. She met her husband at the Haymarket Heydays street dance and got married seven years later at Sunken Gardens — on the last year of the Haymarket Heydays street dances.
They went to the dance. There was a banner in their honor.
She'll stay here once she retires.
“Lincoln is special,” she said.
Catluminati and the mayor
Gaylor Baird made it big on TikTok recently on a visit to Tacoma, Washington.
Tacoma is the home of TikTok star Chris Watson, who’s garnered more than 1 million followers to his @catluminati account, which takes viewers on “catwalks” that highlight the cats he meets along the way.
Gaylor Baird’s sister introduced her to @catluminati and she’s been a fan since, so when she was in Tacoma earlier this month for a mayors conference she reached out to him. He invited her to join him on one of his catwalks and she spent two hours before the last conference sessions meeting the cats she’s come to know from his accounts also available on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
“Unlike a lot of social media, he radiates positivity and kindness,” she said. “It’s a joyful place to be online and don’t we all need joyful places to be online?”
He also introduced her to a couple who owns one of the cats he regularly features — transplanted Nebraskans and Husker fans.
Watson names the cats who make regular appearances on his walks and now that the mayor is a part of the TikTok phenomenon, it should be noted that she, too, has named her share of cats (even though she's developed an allergy to them as an adult).
As a third grader (and daughter of an English teacher) just learning the parts of speech, she landed on the perfect name for her active cat.
She named him Verb. @catluminati would be proud.
Strange bedfellows
In today’s divided politics, here’s an anomaly: Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Gaylor Baird signed proclamations to promote the same issue.
A news release from Washington, D.C., notes that both Ricketts and Gaylor Baird issued proclamations declaring Tuesday as U.S. Heartland Global Leadership Day, underscoring their commitment to America’s global engagement to advance the economic, health and security interests of Nebraska families.
Liz Schrayer, president and CEO of U.S. Global Leadership Day, said in the news release she’s not surprised, as both understand what happens globally matters locally.
She doesn’t note that it may be the only thing the two — a conservative Republican governor and a liberal mayor — agree on politically. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-hall-the-platte-river-of-city-government-the-mayor-as-tiktok-fan-strange-bedfellows/article_d0dd7726-6d12-5495-9383-37ad42e52dd3.html | 2022-08-31T14:41:22 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-hall-the-platte-river-of-city-government-the-mayor-as-tiktok-fan-strange-bedfellows/article_d0dd7726-6d12-5495-9383-37ad42e52dd3.html |
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