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UTAH, USA — We've been following the recovery of a Little Leaguer from Utah, and we have another update for you.
"Hi, everyone. This is Easton. Thank you for all of your prayers. Please keep praying for me as I continue to get better."
Easton Oliverson is continuing his recovery back home in Utah.
A few weeks ago, the 12-year-old was in South Williamsport, gearing up to play in the Little League World Series, when he fell out of his bunk bed and fractured his skull.
He's come a long way since then.
"Just so proud of him and grateful for him for his willingness to fight and to compete and helping himself progress and become strong again," said Jace Oliverson, Easton's dad.
Jace says he is one of the strongest kids he's ever known.
Want to see what was in news in 1983? Head on over to WNEP's YouTube. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/injured-little-leaguer-now-recovering-from-home-easton-oliverson-llws-little-league-world-series-wnep/523-3a0a6018-ea72-4521-97ea-66243e92c290 | 2022-09-01T00:53:31 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/injured-little-leaguer-now-recovering-from-home-easton-oliverson-llws-little-league-world-series-wnep/523-3a0a6018-ea72-4521-97ea-66243e92c290 |
Millions of federal student loan borrowers will soon see up to $20,000 of their debt wiped away thanks to a new plan announced by President Joe Biden last week.
Not every student loan borrower is eligible for the debt relief. First, only federally owned student loans qualify. Private student loans are excluded.
Second, high-income borrowers are generally excluded from receiving debt forgiveness.
Individual borrowers who make less than $125,000 a year and married couples or heads of households who make less than $250,000 annually will see up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt forgiven.
If a qualifying borrower also received a federal Pell grant while enrolled in college, the individual is eligible for up to $20,000 of debt forgiveness. Pell grants are awarded to millions of low-income students each year, based on factors including their family's size and income and the cost charged by their college. These borrowers are also more likely to struggle to repay their student debt and end up in default.
Here's what else borrowers need to know about the new student loan forgiveness plan:
What year is the income threshold based on?
Eligibility is based on a borrower's adjusted gross income for either tax year 2020 or 2021. Adjusted gross income can be lower than your total wages because it considers tax deductions and adjustments, like contributions made to a 401(k) retirement plan.
How will the government know what my income was?
The Department of Education says it already had income information for nearly 8 million borrowers, likely because of financial aid forms or previously submitted income-driven repayment plan applications. Those borrowers will automatically receive the debt relief if they meet the income requirement.
Other borrowers will need to apply for the student loan forgiveness if the Department of Education doesn't have their income information on file.
When will I be able to apply for forgiveness?
The application is expected to be available by early October. You can sign up to be notified when it is available through the Department of Education's subscription page.
After submitting the application, you can expect the student loan relief within four to six weeks.
Will I have to pay taxes on the amount of debt canceled?
Borrowers will not have to pay federal income tax on the student loan debt forgiven, thanks to a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act that Congress passed last year.
But it's possible that some borrowers may have to pay state income tax on the amount of debt forgiven. There are a handful of states that may tax discharged debt if state legislative or administrative changes are not made beforehand, according to the Tax Foundation. The tax liability could be hundreds of dollars, depending on the state.
I'm a current student. Am I eligible for forgiveness?
Yes, some current students are eligible. Eligibility for borrowers who filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, as an independent will be based on the individual's own household income.
Eligibility for borrowers who are enrolled as dependent students, generally those under the age of 24, will be based on parental income for either 2020 or 2021.
I have student debt from graduate school. Am I eligible for forgiveness?
Yes, if your income meets the eligibility threshold.
I'm a parent and took out a Parent PLUS loan. Am I eligible?
Yes, if your income meets the eligibility threshold. A parent borrower with federal Parent PLUS loans for multiple children is still only eligible for up to $20,000 of loan forgiveness.
Could Biden's forgiveness plan be struck down in court?
It's hard to say right now what the chances are that a court overturns Biden's action.
The Biden administration says that Congress gave the secretary of education "expansive authority to alleviate the hardship that federal student loan recipients may suffer as a result of national emergencies," like the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a memo from the Department of Justice.
It's unclear who would have standing to bring a case, a procedural threshold requiring that an injury had been inflicted on a plaintiff justifying the lawsuit. It's unlikely to be a borrower who didn't qualify for forgiveness, but could potentially be a student loan servicer or collection agency, legal experts have told CNN.
How will my payments change going forward?
Borrowers who have debt remaining after either $10,000 or $20,000 is wiped away could see their monthly payment amounts recalculated if they are enrolled in a standard repayment plan. Under a standard repayment plan, borrowers pay a fixed amount that ensures loans are paid off within 10 years.
Borrowers who are already enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan are not likely to see their monthly payment amounts change due to the forgiveness, because their payments are based on household income and family size.
Borrowers have not been required to make payments on their federal student loans since March 2020 because of the government's pandemic-related pause. Biden has extended the pause through the end of this year, and payments will resume in January 2023.
What about Biden's new income-driven repayment plan?
Along with Biden's announcement about canceling some federal student loan debt, he also said he would create a new plan that would make repayment more manageable for borrowers.
There are currently several repayment plans available for federal student loan borrowers that lower monthly payments by capping them at a portion of their income.
The new income-driven repayment plan that Biden is expected to propose would cap payments at 5% of a borrower's discretionary income, down from 10% that is offered in most current plans, as well as reduce the amount of income that is considered discretionary. It would also forgive remaining balances after 10 years of repayment, instead of 20 years.
Biden is also proposing that the new plan cover the borrower's unpaid monthly interest. This could be very helpful for people whose monthly payments are so low that they don't cover their monthly interest charge and end up seeing their balances explode, growing larger than what was originally borrowed.
But we don't know when these changes will take effect. The Department of Education has not provided any sense of timing, but has said it will propose a new rule to create the repayment plan. The department's formal rule-making process usually includes soliciting public comments and can take months, if not more than a year.
Can I get a refund for what I paid during the pandemic pause?
Yes. Borrowers have not been required to make payments on their federal student loans since March 13, 2020, because of the pandemic-related pause. But if borrowers did make payments, they are allowed to contact their loan servicer to request a refund.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-program/article_5d867721-9c11-5d91-b87c-898afca33942.html | 2022-09-01T00:55:57 | 0 | https://www.kimt.com/news/local/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-program/article_5d867721-9c11-5d91-b87c-898afca33942.html |
NEW YORK (CNN Business) — Bed Bath & Beyond is in deep turmoil. The company is trying to rescue itself and stay out of bankruptcy by shrinking.
The chain said Wednesday it will lay off approximately 20% of corporate employees, close around 150 stores and slash several of its in-house home goods’ brands.
The company said 50 to 60 stores will be closed in a “first wave” heading into the balance of Bed Bath & Beyond’s fiscal year, which ends in February. The company has about 900 stores.
An employee at the Waterloo store said the company had not contacted management there about any closing plans.
Crucially, the company also said it secured more than $500 million in financing to shore up its ailing financial straits.
Berna Barshay, an independent retail analyst, said the company’s moves were the “prototypical rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic” and the business was in structural decline.
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Shoppers in recent years have switched to other chains such as Target, while the novelty of Bed Bath & Beyond’s beloved coupons has faded because consumers can easily find cheap prices on Amazon and other online sites. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond, which has become a volatile “meme stock” in recent years, fell 20% in early trading Wednesday.
The announcements, part of a “strategic update,” came just days after a key investor dumped almost his entire stake in the company and reports surfaced that some Bed Bath & Beyond suppliers halted shipments due to unpaid bills.
Bed Bath & Beyond also said Wednesday that sales at stores open for at least one year plunged 26% during its latest quarter.
In June, the company announced that CEO Mark Tritton, who joined from Target in 2019 to try to turn things around, was being pushed out. Tritton spearheaded growing the chain’s own brands, a strategy that worked at Target, but failed to catch on at Bed Bath & Beyond.
The company said Wednesday that it was reversing this strategy. That means national brands will be featured more prominently, rather than its own brands. Three of its brands will also face the chopping block, including Studio 3B, Haven and Wild Sage.
But major brands may be reluctant to give Bed Bath & Beyond their best stuff, Barshay said.
Bed Bath & Beyond is “financially up against the wall, so it’s going to be harder to stay in stock from key vendors,” she said. “If you’re Dyson and Keurig and you’re trying to maintain a halo over your brand, the last thing you want is discounting.” | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/bed-bath-beyond-closing-150-stores/article_2c0432b2-29f9-53c9-a54e-a72ce0f7ebc6.html | 2022-09-01T01:00:55 | 0 | https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/bed-bath-beyond-closing-150-stores/article_2c0432b2-29f9-53c9-a54e-a72ce0f7ebc6.html |
The White Salmon Valley School Board is contemplating removing the community service requirement for the graduating class of 2023 and beyond.
Normally, high school seniors would be mandated per district policy to complete 40 hours of community service by the end of the year and a senior project. Should a change in policy occur, which is being recommended by White Salmon Valley Superintendent Sean McGeeney, seniors would be relieved of the responsibility to do community service.
McGeeney said he was able to waive senior projects, with the endorsement of high school principal Craig McKee for graduating seniors. Waiving community service projects, on the other hand, would require concurrence from the board.
The policy proposal parallels state recommendations, McGeeney said, adding that discussions surrounding the idea to change graduation requirements were initiated in the spring by the high school leadership team. With COVID-19 in the foreground, many such requirements were being waived before, he said.
“We’ll be focusing on other areas to get kids ready college and career ready,” McGeeney said.
He said he believes encouraging and promoting community service, rather than mandating it, can do more to instill good character in young people, adding, “I felt it was the right thing to do to honor what kids are going through.”
Board member Laurie Stanton voiced concern that if the district cuts out the requirement, the value of community service could be lost. She said when she attended middle school in White Salmon, the school district allowed students a day off to perform service around the community.
“We’re trying to talk about increasing rigor in the high school … Graduation means something when you graduate from Columbia High,” Stanton said.
Board member Peter Harkema agreed, adding that he didn’t want students to miss out on learning values.
McGeeney said the rigor of the high school’s curriculum comes from the mandatory 24 credits of education needed for graduation.
McGeeney said he plans to bring together a stakeholder group to put together a recommendation to come before the board in a future meeting.
Technology fees
The school board voted Thursday night to adopt a fee schedule for technology used during the 2022-2023 school year. It includes an option to buy into a damage and loss protection coverage plan. If declined, the family assumes full responsibility for any costs due to damage loss or theft.
The plan costs $25 for the first child, $10 per additional child ($50 for the whole family). For families on reduced meals, the plan costs $20, and an additional $8 per child afterwards ($40 for the whole family). If on free meals, the plan costs $10 and an additional $6 per child afterwards ($20 for the whole family).
Through the plan, the first instance of damage is free of cost for repair; second occurrences will cost $35 and a third occurrence will cost $55. If lost or stolen, the flat fee will be $150. If opting out of the plan, the first occurrence of damage will cost $35, to increase to $55 and $75 on the second and third occurrences. If lost or stolen, the cost to replace is $300.
Damage covered includes damage to the screen, keyboard, touchpad, charging port, bezel, or charger.
According to Technology Supervisor Rhonda Hardisty, the fines will cover the costs to replace or repair damaged or broken parts but no more — “It’s just to help pay for parts.”
McGeeney added that fines are at the discretion of the district, meaning anyone demonstrating a hardship can speak with the district about waiving fines. Students will also receive a list of procedures for care for Chromebooks given to students at the beginning of the year. These include rules such as to keep the items free of writing, drawing, or stickers, and to never loan out a Chromebook to others.
Levy set for February
The school board also gave verbal consensus to allow the district to file initial paperwork with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for putting a levy on the Feb. 23 ballot.
The board concurred with McGeeney to consider two levies on the ballot, including an educational programs and operations levy, and a capital levy. The tax rate in 2021 was $2.58 per $1,000, including $.40 going towards the 2018 bond. This year, taxpayers will pay $2.06 for the levy and $.37 for the levy.
McGeeney said the district’s levy rate to be voted on would be at $1.99 per $1,000 due to a general decline in enrollment, an increase in property values and a cap on levy lid lifts. An addition of 10 cents through voter approval of a capital levy could mean an additional $250,000, and an addition of 20 cents to the levy rate could mean an addition $500,000 for the district’s coffers, negating the $453,622 deficit budgeted this year.
McGeeney said an additional 20 cents to the levy lid would bring the rate back to what taxpayers have normally paid. He added that the district’s consultant recommended the addition of a capital levy to the February ballot that could help fund technology costs to conserve funds in the capital budget.
“It will allow for us to do some capital outlay in terms of things like roofs that need to be replaced, lighting that needs to be replaced,” he said. McGeeney said voters could be asked to approve a capital bond as early as 2024. | https://www.columbiagorgenews.com/news/local/senior-projects-no-longer-required-at-columbia-high-school/article_3e16b036-28b2-11ed-8d45-ab8ec14bddc5.html | 2022-09-01T01:08:55 | 0 | https://www.columbiagorgenews.com/news/local/senior-projects-no-longer-required-at-columbia-high-school/article_3e16b036-28b2-11ed-8d45-ab8ec14bddc5.html |
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BIRMINGHAM Ala. (WIAT) — Members of the Birmingham Water Works have spoken out for the first time since Mayor Randall Woodfin took them to task earlier this week.
Woodfin called out the board for what he called a poor billing system. He said he has received complaints about extremely high water bills and inconsistent billing. He also called the board to step aside so the general manager could properly address and resolve billing issues customers are experiencing.
“We need this board to get out of the way and allow the general manager and their team who are responsible for the day-to-day operations to do their job,” Woodfin said in a Twitter post.
In response to the mayor, Birmingham Water Works spokesperson Rick Jackson said the board welcomes all feedback as they see critical comments as an opportunity to improve.
Jackson said the board’s focus remains on serving customers to the best of their ability. He also encouraged customers to reach out to customer service so they may work personally with each person experiencing issues.
“We welcome all comments from our customers as an opportunity just to get better,” Jackson said. “Our focus is to serve our customers to the best of our ability. We have a lot of things going on to ensure that our customers receive that best service.”
Jackson said billing issues could be the result of a number of things, such as low staff, leaks or obstruction of meters. However, he said the board is working to resolve all billing issues.
In addition, Jackson said Birmingham Water Works will announce a new bill format that will be coming in September. He said the new format is designed to help customers better understand their water bills.
Jackson hopes the new format will help with billing efficiency as well.
“We are excited about that,” he said. “We are welcoming all feedback good, bad and indifferent, but we are really, really positive and confident that customers are really going to enjoy this.”
Woodfin’s office declined to respond when asked for comment on the matter. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-water-works-responds-to-woodfins-calls-for-change/ | 2022-09-01T01:12:51 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-water-works-responds-to-woodfins-calls-for-change/ |
SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — With many Shelby County schools already being nearly three weeks into the academic year, officials are still looking to combat the challenges they face.
A shortage of bus drivers has plagued school districts all across the country and Shelby County Schools is no different.
“The challenge right now is, we have, is with bus drivers. I think right now, currently, we have two or three routes that we’re struggling to find drivers for,” SCS Superintendent Lewis Brooks said. “Ultimately, if we have sickness, we’ve had to cancel some routes.”
On top of that problem, comes the return to classrooms after two-plus years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After the pandemic, we’ve had to work even harder to identify any students that may have suffered learning loss,” Chief Academic Officer for Alabaster City Schools Amanda Wilbanks said.
Pelham City Schools Superintendent Chuck Ledbetter reiterated the COVID-19 challenges but is hopeful that students and faculty will power through due to the excitement of being back in the classroom.
“Getting things back to a normal feel is really critical,” he said.
Brooks says that districts are continuing to look at ways to solve the bus driver shortage. The district plans on advertising the open jobs in different places like Indeed as well as offering courses to become certified drivers for those interested. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/shelby-county-school-leaders-address-challenges-of-new-academic-year/ | 2022-09-01T01:12:57 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/shelby-county-school-leaders-address-challenges-of-new-academic-year/ |
ATLANTA — Wellstar Health System announced it plans to cease operations at Atlanta Medical Center in November.
In a news release, Wellstar said the decision came after "pursuing every opportunity for an alternative path forward."
The hospital, which Wellstar has operated since 2016, has faced some challenges, including $107 million in losses in the last year. The health system officials said they've battled decreasing revenue along with an increase in costs for staff and supplies; inflation and the pandemic has contributed to some of the strain.
“For several years, Wellstar has continued to invest in and operate AMC with significant losses to provide more time to partner on a creative, long-term, sustainable solution for the hospital’s future,” Wellstar CEO Candice L. Saunders said. “After an exhaustive search for a solution that would support the healthcare needs of the community, we are disappointed that a sustainable solution at AMC has not emerged.”
While they plan to end AMC hospital operations on Nov. 1 of this year, they plan to work with healthcare organizations to plan for a transition of care for its patients and staff. Services will wind down gradually as the date approaches.
Wellstar said they've let healthcare providers and government agencies know of this change as they are in search of partnerships and solutions.
A few months ago, Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center South in East Point closed its emergency department. The major health system said in May it is a 24-hour urgent care and rehabilitation facility instead. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/atlanta-medical-center-closing-november-2022/85-c8d3a306-7d1f-4b56-a772-39049a4efad4 | 2022-09-01T01:13:10 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/atlanta-medical-center-closing-november-2022/85-c8d3a306-7d1f-4b56-a772-39049a4efad4 |
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) – Mike Fraley, a long-time employee of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office, will start his term as sheriff at midnight Thursday.
Fraley was formally sworn in at noon Wednesday. He spoke with News Channel 11 about some lofty goals he has for his tenure.
Employed with the sheriff’s office since 1989, Fraley said he’s ready to get started.
“I never dreamed that I would become sheriff of Carter County, and today here we are,” Fraley said.
Fraley takes over from Sheriff Dexter Lunceford, who he defeated in the Republican Primary.
Before he left, however, Lunceford went public with concerns about severe understaffing in the department in a July statement. That has left the department with just four school resource officers (SRO) serving only the county’s four high schools.
Lunceford also presented issues with critically low staffing at the jail, which meant it could face decertification from an upcoming Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) inspection.
Fraley said he’s up to the task of addressing those issues and spoke about his plans to address several key deficiencies in the department.
Increasing SRO staffing
In Lunceford’s previous statement, he said short-staffing at the jail had forced him to pull SROs from schools to fill needs there.
Fraley said that has left just four SROs to cover the four high schools in the county.
The new sheriff is well-experienced with running a healthy SRO program. He ran the department’s SRO program for 10 years, growing it from five officers to having an officer in every school.
In the short-term, he plans to immediately fill some of those open positions.
“I plan on doubling the amount of SROs within the next couple of days,” Fraley said.
Fraley said Carter County schools are receiving some help from constables and the Tennessee Highway Patrol to secure outside perimeters at schools.
In a statement, Carter County Schools Superintendent Brandon Carpenter said the district’s safety plan “will remain multi-faceted.”
“We will use every available resource to ensure that our students and staff are provided with a safe and secure learning environment, as this is and will always be our top priority. Sheriff Fraley has assured our district that school safety is one of his department’s top concerns. Carter County Schools and the Carter County Sheriffs Department have a strong working relationship. We greatly appreciate the cooperation Carter County Schools has with our community and all of our local agencies.”
-Dr. Brandon Carpenter, Carter County Schools Superintendent
Getting an SRO in every school is a top priority long-term, Fraley said.
“I’ve got two grandkids that mean the world to me,” Fraley said. “I know parents are concerned. But I’m going to do my absolute best to make sure we have those schools protected.”
But Fraley said that’s a process that will take some time.
“Whoever said that this could be fixed overnight, that is not true,” Fraley said.
Jail inspection looming
Sheriff Lunceford outlined critical staffing shortages in the jail. As a result, the jail could lose its certification in an upcoming TCI inspection.
In that July statement, Lunceford said he was 51 full-time employees short. To fill that gap, Lunceford said he assigned P.O.S.T.-certified patrol officers to work the jail, but those individuals were not certified corrections officers.
Fraley has just over a week until the TCI inspection on Sept. 9.
He said he has read the previous report, which found nine deficiencies in the jail.
“Some of those are maintenance and some of them are staffing issues,” Fraley said. “I have been assured by the maintenance staff that they can have those problems fixed, but the other problems are going to be more long-term, and I’ve got to submit a plan of action how we’re going to correct those, but I feel confident we’re going to move forward in the right direction.”
Fraley said he is in the process of writing the plan of action, and it will be ready by the Sept. 9 inspection.
He said he is taking steps to help the jail get back on good terms with TCI by making a hire new to the sheriff’s office.
“I have actually hired a TCI compliance officer, who does nothing but that,” Fraley said. “Make sure the jail is in compliance, so hopefully we won’t run into this problem again.”
Recruitment and retention
Getting back to having SROs in every school and a certified jail means filling all those open positions. Fraley said he has plans to bring several deputies back on the force that had left under previous leadership.
“A few had reached out and said they would be willing to help starting as early as next week,” Fraley said. “You can’t just raise your right hand. There’s a process, but will start the process and streamline things and get some deputies back rather quickly.”
Fraley said that will provide a boost, but it will come nowhere close to fixing the staffing shortage. That will require doubling down on recruitment efforts. Fraley is bringing on Matt Patterson as the new jail administrator with a specific focus on recruitment.
“The new jail administrator brings a lot of fresh ideas to the table, and I have made that a priority of his is to work on recruiting and retaining good correctional officers,” Fraley said.
Fraley said recruitment can also start at a young age.
He said there are discussions about programs at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology that could have officers ready as young as 18.
“A lot of the seniors that are 18 years old and have the credits. Starting in January, they could potentially come to work at the sheriff’s department in the jail,” Fraley said.
Fraley said those young officers would be properly vetted.
“The law states that you can hire 18-year-olds, but they’re going to have to have complete background checks and psychologicals and things like that,” Fraley said. “But that may be a very good way to bring some entry-level future corrections officers in.”
In terms of retention, Fraley said pay is not the biggest motivator – good leadership is.
But Fraley said getting a competitive wage for his officers is a high priority.
“I would really like to get the pay up to where it is a livable wage,” Fraley said. “We’re dealing with a lot of surrounding agencies that have upped their game as far as pay.”
Pay raises are the responsibility of the Carter County Commission. The earliest a pay raise could be granted is in next year’s budget.
Fraley said he’s been attending commission meetings for the last six months to prepare for a discussion with commissioners on pay raises.
“I look forward to working with them,” Fraley said. “I know that we can’t fix it overnight, but it’s a solution. Starting in the next budget process, we will have to sit down and make some hard decisions.”
Changing department culture
Fraley will bring new leadership – a new chief deputy and the previously mentioned new jail administrator.
Jeff Gazzo, a Greeneville native and former law enforcement training director in Charlotte, North Carolina, will join Fraley as chief deputy. Fraley said his leadership team will work on improving deputy morale and their duty to the citizens of Carter County.
His primary concern is that deputies have become complacent, unwilling to handle a variety of tasks.
“My number one priority when I started this campaign was changing the mindset of, ‘that’s not my job,'” Fraley said. “Officers have got so compartmentalized that they feel that they have one job and one job only. A deputy sheriff has to wear a broad hat.
“We need to start becoming public servants again, and instead of ‘that’s not my job,’ the motto needs to be ‘how can we help?'”
Fraley said that’s a culture change that starts with him and trickles down the ranks.
He would also like to have deputies be more involved in the areas they serve.
“I want to have an extra zone right off the bat, to split one of the larger zones in two to have officers more community-oriented and talking to the citizens,” Fraley said.
Fraley said he’s noticed a fear in some deputies to talk to members of the public.
“They need to get over that fear. The public is who we work for,” Fraley said. “I want to pair up some older officers with some newer officers to go out and make that initial approach with the people. Stop and ask them how things are going. I think in the long-term that’s going to reap big rewards for us.”
Fraley starts at midnight Thursday and said one of his first tasks will be going over a department-wide equipment audit.
He said he made promises to voters that put their faith in him, and he intends to keep those promises.
“I’ve promised the people that I was going to hit the ground running, and I’m going to,” Fraley said. “I’ve rolled up my sleeves. I know it’s going to be long days, and I’m going to deliver on every promise that I made.” | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/new-carter-county-sheriff-fraley-lays-out-goals-as-term-starts/ | 2022-09-01T01:22:27 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/new-carter-county-sheriff-fraley-lays-out-goals-as-term-starts/ |
The Duneland Chamber of Commerce will soon host its Vino al Fresco fundraiser that will give people the chance to sample local wines.
The chamber representing Chesterton and surrounding Duneland communities in Porter County will host the event from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 17 at Thomas Centennial Park, 105 S. Calumet Road in downtown Chesterton.
Local wineries from Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan will offer their wine for tasting at the annual fundraiser for the Duneland Chamber of Commerce, which promotes the interests of businesses and hosts networking opportunities and educational events in Beverly Shores, Burns Harbor, Chesterton, Dune Acres and Porter.
Aftermath Winery & Cidery, Four Corners Winery, Lambstone Cellars Winery, Running Vines Winery and St. Julian Wine Co. all will offer samples of their wine.
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Vino al Fresco also will feature live music by The Box Wine Prophets, free caricatures by local artist Nathan Biancardi and food available for purchase. Cheesescapes will offer cheese and charcuterie plates, while Albano's of Valparaiso will serve up handmade, small-batch scratch pasta.
The event is restricted to those 21 and older. A state ID will be necessary to get in.
Epic Limo will offer free transportation to anyone who lives in the 46304 ZIP code.
Tickets are $45 for general admission and $10 for designated drivers. Tickets are available at IndianaOnTap.com or at the Duneland Chamber of Commerce office at 220 Broadway in Chesterton.
For more information, visit www.dunelandchamber.org. | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/duneland-chamber-to-host-vino-al-fresco/article_a23aa282-c852-57fa-919b-b63bc22f39c5.html | 2022-09-01T01:24:13 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/duneland-chamber-to-host-vino-al-fresco/article_a23aa282-c852-57fa-919b-b63bc22f39c5.html |
CROWN POINT — A University Park man linked to an arson and theft at the Highland Meijer store in January was given a "time served" sentence last week.
Jerry L. Pierson, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of theft, a level 6 felony, Lake Criminal Court records showed.
Pierson admitted he went to the Highland Meijer off U.S. 41 on Jan. 10 with another person, who was not named in his plea agreement, and intentionally left the store without paying for merchandise.
Several small fires were set as a diversion and forced an evacuation of the store, police said.
Pierson's co-defendant, Heather Weeden, 46, of Ford Heights, remained wanted on a warrant in the case, records showed.
She was arrested in Illinois in late January and identified by police as a primary suspect in the arson at the Highland Meijer and another arson and theft at the Lansing Walmart at 17625 Torrence Ave., just south of Interstate 80/94. She was not expected to be extradited to Lake County until her Illinois cases were resolved, police said.
According to charging documents, Pierson told police he went with a woman he knew only as "Six" to the Highland Meijer and she started several fires before they loaded stolen items into an SUV.
Judge Natalie Bokota accepted Pierson's plea agreement and sentenced him to an agreed term of 430 days in jail.
Defense attorney Michael Woods and Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Douglas Shaw agreed Pierson already had served his sentence because of credit for time served while awaiting a resolution of his case.
In exchange for Pierson's plea, the state agreed to dismiss an arson count against him.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Heather Weeden, 46, was arrested after detectives tracked down the driver of a Volvo SUV involved in the arsons and thefts and he led them to Weeden, court records state. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-takes-plea-deal-in-connection-with-arson-theft-at-region-retail-store/article_36336b73-152b-55a3-9abc-edac3f09cf02.html | 2022-09-01T01:24:19 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-takes-plea-deal-in-connection-with-arson-theft-at-region-retail-store/article_36336b73-152b-55a3-9abc-edac3f09cf02.html |
ROSELAWN — A trucker walked out of a truck stop Wednesday morning to see his rig was missing, police said.
Indiana State Police and the Jasper County Sheriff's Department tracked the stolen semitrailer to another truck stop about 30 miles away, and the law caught up with the truck after it resumed its trip south on Interstate 65, state police Sgt. Glen Fifeld said in an email.
The semitrailer was stolen from the Love's Travel Stop at the junction of I-65 and Ind. 10 in Roselawn, according to police.
"During the investigation, officers were able to determine that the vehicle was at another truck stop located in Remington," Fifeld said, but then learned it was again heading south on I-65, so they "notified troopers at the Lafayette post."
State Trooper Corey Brown spotted the semi near mile marker 152 in Clinton County, Fifeld said, and "noticed that the vehicle had been altered from the original theft."
Specifically, the license plates had been switched, a different tractor was pulling the trailer and numbers on the trailer had been painted over, Fifeld said.
The semi was pulled over and the driver, Dalwy DeArmas Rodriguez, 36, of Louisville, Kentucky, was arrested, he said.
Rodriguez was taken to the Clinton County Jail where he was preliminarily charged with possession of stolen property, a level 5 felony, Fifeld said.
"Charges will be filed in Jasper County by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department," he said. "The company who owned the product in the trailer reported that the contents inside the stolen trailer were valued at $914,000.00."
The unspecified property was recovered and undamaged, Fifeld said.
Later that morning, Trooper Kurtis Jones located the missing semitractor, Fifeld said. It was abandoned on I-65 about three miles north of the Love's Travel Stop, he said.
"That vehicle was later released to the original victim," he said.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Andrew Vrana
Christopher Wright
Consuella Folger
Derrick Edwards
Donte Paulk
Glenn Keller
Jakari Hyde
Jason Coleman
Johnathan Thompson
Laura Anne Dujmovich
Lee Rogers
Travis Schirato
Andrew Stover
Anthony Manson
Anthony Townsell
Antwain Sellars
Brittany Smith
Daniel Bajda
Jomar Ramos Cajigas
Kalon Brandon
Leandre Nutull
Mia Martin
Michael Scott
Timothy Perkins
Angel Berndt.jpg
Barbara Rose
Elijah Swelfer
Emmanuel Ferguson
Paul Merriman
Steven Wallace
Tameka Jenkins
Joseph Hosey is the executive editor of The Times of Northwest Indiana.
"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/semi-stolen-from-truck-stop-tracked-down-to-other-truck-stop-police-say/article_67db4b61-e823-51ae-8137-f960e4876c11.html | 2022-09-01T01:24:25 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/semi-stolen-from-truck-stop-tracked-down-to-other-truck-stop-police-say/article_67db4b61-e823-51ae-8137-f960e4876c11.html |
CROWN POINT — A 17-year-old boy charged in a shooting last year outside Hammond Central High School pleaded guilty Friday to robbery in a separate case.
Christopher Gary, of Hammond, admitted in a plea agreement that he shot a teenage girl June 15, 2021, as she fought with him because he had robbed her of money in the 5800 block of Calumet Avenue in Hammond.
Gary pleaded guilty to robbery, a level 5 felony.
If Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez accepts Gary's plea agreement, he would sentence Gary to four years in prison, with 2 1/2 years suspended in favor of probation. Gary also would be required to get his high school diploma or GED.
The sentence in Vasquez's court would run consecutive to any sentence he receives in a Marion County, where he's accused of carrying a handgun within 500 feet of a school, records show.
Porter County mom jailed after 11-year-old reports being left alone all night with younger siblings, police say
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Missing Region woman found, police say
U.S. Steel temporarily idling tin line at Gary Works
Teen fatally shot in Merrillville, police say
Woman pleads guilty to theft from former employee, agrees to pay $24K in restitution
UPDATE: Lake County cop stalked fellow officer, former girlfriend, and was 'spiraling out of control,' police say
Two killed in fiery crash on I-80, state police say
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Cookie shop, Salt Cave & Wellness Spa, J's Breakfast Club, The Vitamin Shoppe and bait shop expanding
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Lake County prosecutors last week dropped charges against Gary linked to a shooting Aug. 27, 2021, outside Hammond Central High School. Two students were wounded, police said.
Vasquez scheduled Gary's sentencing in the robbery case for Oct. 7.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Andrew Vrana
Age : 40
Residence: Hammond
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Intimidation
Christopher Wright
Age : 43
Residence: Valparaiso
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Possession of methamphetamine
Consuella Folger
Age : 51
Residence: Hammond
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Resisting
Derrick Edwards
Age : 56
Residence: East Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Resisting
Donte Paulk
Age : 40
Residence: Lake Station
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Resisting
Glenn Keller
Age : 34
Residence: East Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Murder
Jakari Hyde
Age : 21
Residence: Morrow, Georgia
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Fraud
Jason Coleman
Age : 33
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Possession of a weapon
Johnathan Thompson
Age : 33
Residence: Dolton, Illinois
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Possession of a controlled substance
Laura Anne Dujmovich
Age : 33
Residence: Valparaiso
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Possession of methamphetamine
Lee Rogers
Age : 66
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Pointing a firearm
Travis Schirato
Age : 46
Residence: Valparaiso
Arrest Date: Aug. 22
Offense Description: Manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of precursors
Andrew Stover
Age : 35
Residence: Steger, Illinois
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Anthony Manson
Age : 32
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Resisting
Anthony Townsell
Age : 29
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Antwain Sellars
Age : 26
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Invasion of privacy
Brittany Smith
Age : 30
Residence: Hammond
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Possession of a controlled substance
Daniel Bajda
Age : 47
Residence: Crown Point
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Jomar Ramos Cajigas
Age : 22
Residence: Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Possession of a controlled substance
Kalon Brandon
Age : 27
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Possession of a weapon
Leandre Nutull
Age : 36
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Burglary
Mia Martin
Age : 21
Residence: Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Theft
Michael Scott
Age : 63
Residence: Chicago
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Child molestation
Timothy Perkins
Age : 30
Residence: Crown Point
Arrest Date: Aug. 23
Offense Description: Intimidation
Angel Berndt.jpg
Age : 29
Residence: Valparaiso
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Possession of a controlled substance
Barbara Rose
Age : 69
Residence: Portage
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Elijah Swelfer
Age :37
Residence: Merrillville
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Possession of a weapon by a felon
Emmanuel Ferguson
Age :31
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Domestic battery
Paul Merriman
Age : 49
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Possession of a hypodermic syringe or needle
Steven Wallace
Age : 49
Residence: Flossmoor, Illinois
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Impersonation of a public servant
Tameka Jenkins
Age : 27
Residence: Gary
Arrest Date: Aug. 24
Offense Description: Intimidation
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Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/teen-charged-in-shooting-near-school-pleads-guilty-in-robbery-case/article_43d4a2e9-2b41-5cdd-89e5-da6db9c8fe32.html | 2022-09-01T01:24:31 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/teen-charged-in-shooting-near-school-pleads-guilty-in-robbery-case/article_43d4a2e9-2b41-5cdd-89e5-da6db9c8fe32.html |
The real work has just begun for 37-year-old attorney Ashley Gantt, the representative-elect for State House District 109 who ousted incumbent James Bush III by just under 500 votes last week.
The Democrat-leaning district covers Liberty City, Overtown, Opa-locka, Miami Lakes, Hialeah, North Miami and Brownsville.
Like Fannie Lou Hamer, who was sick and tired of being sick and tired, Gantt says its time the community saw real change. Dozens of progressive leaders, advocacy organizations and now voters, who backed the candidate, seem to agree.
“I put in the work, I was earnest,” said Gantt about the astonishing victory. “I was very genuine and sincere with my desire to help my community. I knew that I was going up against 30 years of name recognition, and I didn’t think it would be easy. And it wasn’t.”
Bush’s defeat came after he was criticized for being too cozy with Gov. Ron DeSantis, and for being the only Democrat to back the 15-week abortion ban and the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Gantt, a former assistant public defender with her own private practice for estate planning, criminal defense, personal injury and probate representation, assured supporters that she would vote in favor of reproductive rights.
“It’s one thing to have a personal reason on one vote or two on a particular subject,” said District 38 Sen. Jason Pizzo. “But summarily across the board, some of the most controversial and draconian culture war bills that have come out, [Bush has] voted for. So it was a long time coming in trying to find somebody to represent the area.”
Pizzo, also an attorney whose senate district overlapped with Bush’s before redistricting, gave Gantt one of her earliest and most notable endorsements.
District 109 also overlapped with Sen. Shevrin Jones’ District 34 and Rep. Dotie Joseph’s District 108.
Joseph did not mince words about the ways Bush failed to work with colleagues in addressing issues that crossed various House districts.
“Rep. Bush was either unresponsive, territorial or standoffish,” Joseph told The Miami Times regarding her efforts to partner with him on food distribution events and on issues such as housing insecurity.
“He has repeatedly chosen the side of the governor,” she continued. “And rather than stand up for our community, Rep. Bush would rather trip over himself (and others) for pathetic photo ops with a man who has basically declared political war on Black people, women, immigrants and any other marginalized groups he finds politically expedient.”
“There are more of us who want change,” said Gantt. “We have less rights now than I did when I was younger. I can’t imagine not fighting for the next generation.”
Issues on the table
Gantt made it clear during the campaign that she would prioritize public education and affordable housing as her top two issues, followed by criminal justice reform, generating more economic opportunity for small businesses, improving transportation and promoting clean environment.
Being personally impacted by gun violence – as the late Trayvon Martin’s teacher and a relative of a victim of the El Mula Banquet Hall mass shooting in Hialeah last year – Gantt also expressed a desire to fight for more gun control, but did not specify what that could look like.
“Everything from prisons and county jails to sentencing to severity of charges, levels of offense and things like that, she gets it because she worked in the system,” said Pizzo, noting that criminal justice reform and gun control measures will be among the most important bipartisan issues tackled during next year’s legislative session.
But Gantt isn’t quite ready to talk about her own legislative agenda just yet.
“We’re absolutely,100%, just starting the planning phase,” she said. “I’m not going in saying, ‘Yeah I have this bill’ [until] I’m informed about everything or [know] what can be most effective in proposing legislation.”
While other primary victors are gearing up for the general elections in November, Gantt said she will utilize these next couple of months to flesh out her legislative agenda based on conversations with her constituents.
“That’s the reason that I voted for her, because she wants to speak to us first,” said Antwan Multimore, a Brownsville resident and the owner of Fatman Hotdogs & More. “She wants to know what we want, so she’s not going by her views and her thoughts. She’s going by the community. The incumbent representative did not ask questions like that.”
Multimore, who ran for the seat two years ago and considered running again this election cycle, said the community desperately needed a fresh face to represent the district.
“I didn’t run because a good candidate or a good person knows when somebody is more qualified for the job or will do it better,” he said of Gantt. “As a business owner and as a resident, she gave me hope, something that the other candidate didn’t give me the three [terms] he’s been the state representative. Some of the things that he voted against or voted with, she is making sure that she won’t do the same things.”
Multimore also complained that it was always difficult to get in touch with Rep. Bush.
Keon Williams, a longtime resident of Overtown and owner of The Urban event venue, said he is often concerned about knowledge being lost when an elected official is replaced but agreed that it was time for a change.
“The difference between an Ashley Gantt and a James Bush is that if you look at this last legislative session, the things that Mr. Bush voted for run in stark contrast not just to democratic [principles], but to the Black family, the Black man and woman,” said Williams. “He, unfortunately, has not acted in [their] interests.”
Bush, a minister and retired educator who represented the district for three consecutive terms, once told The Miami Times that he was passionate about making sure the Black community received all the resources it needed.
His efforts, which included bringing back millions of dollars into the district each year with support from the Senate, were simply not enough for voters.
“Considering the history of District 109 and the last few representatives – Bush, Stafford, even Hardemon – Ashley represents what many of the older generation as well as the younger generation have been asking for,” said Williams, who publicly disclosed a commitment to support Black women running for office. “Her entering the race to stand up for a district that encompasses some of Florida’s most challenged neighborhoods, economically speaking, gives a fresh take on what’s possible and what can be hoped for.”
Williams also believes Gantt’s legal background will be useful in helping business owners navigate impact fees connected with complying to state statutes.
A warm legislative welcome
Though Gantt is a newcomer with no prior political experience, her future legislative colleagues have already offered to help steer her in the right direction.
“She’s gonna hit the ground running,” said Pizzo, who plans to go over old bills with Gantt to help her transition well into the new role. “My advice to her going forward is the same that it’s always been, which is, there’s a sharp learning curve in the process, but once you know it, it’s no more complicated than being in the judicial branch.”
Joseph, who has seen some success in securing dollars for appropriations projects in her district and passing legislation in a majority-Republican legislature, said she advises Gantt, like all her mentees, to remember the reason she ran in the first place, and to develop genuine friendships with people who can help her get the job done.
“Voters want people who are willing to vigorously fight for them, and who represent their values,” she said.
Gantt said she is prepared to fight for her constituents just as much as she has for her clients. | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/ashley-gantt-benches-bush/article_e2be95c4-28c9-11ed-ba4e-bbe8b979adfa.html | 2022-09-01T01:26:53 | 0 | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/ashley-gantt-benches-bush/article_e2be95c4-28c9-11ed-ba4e-bbe8b979adfa.html |
Criminal charges against Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez were detailed by Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle at a Tuesday news conference, hours after Martinez turned himself into police.
The arrest warrant reveals he is being accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes in exchange for sponsoring a law five years ago to help a shopping plaza that had been repeatedly slapped with fines for code violations. The formal felony charges are unlawful compensation and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation.
Martinez, 64, has been proclaiming his innocence ever since the impending arrest was leaked to the media over the weekend. His defense attorney has called the charges “politically motivated” to purportedly prevent the term-limited commissioner and retired police lieutenant from running for County Sheriff.
Martinez was twice elected to the west Miami-Dade district seat he now holds and had aspirations of becoming the next commission chair, a position he has held twice before. Records show Martinez’s political action committee made more than $100,000 tin donations to commission candidates in the recent August primary with the goal of garnering their support to become chair.
In a statement on Monday, Martinez claimed the “false allegations” arose from his work as a consultant when he was a “private citizen,” and not a public official. The arrest warrant, however, details otherwise. The case was reportedly pieced together through emails, text messages, and financial and phone records.
The investigation has been ongoing for five years, and the state attorney said COVID-19 delayed the investigation from arriving at this determination earlier.
This is the first time a sitting Miami-Dade commissioner has faced corruption charges in 20 years. The Republican commissioner is expected to make his case to the Republican governor that he should be allowed to keep his seat. | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/commissioner-martinez-indicted-on-corruption-charges/article_283549ba-28af-11ed-9e1c-8b11f3212beb.html | 2022-09-01T01:26:59 | 1 | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/commissioner-martinez-indicted-on-corruption-charges/article_283549ba-28af-11ed-9e1c-8b11f3212beb.html |
“Are you fired up and ready to take back our state?”
That was the question Karla Hernández-Mats, president of United Teachers of Dade, posed to the crowd after being introduced by Charlie Crist on Saturday as his running mate.
The union leader was a surprise pick to most, but her selection was quickly embraced.
“Caring, loving, empathic, compassionate – that’s what we don’t have in the governor’s office right now and that’s what you deserve to have in the governor’s office,” Crist said before Hernández-Mats joined him on stage to rousing applause.
“It was her drive and her spirit that drove me to choose Karla to serve alongside me at UTD, and today, I could not be prouder that my friend and union sister has been called to run to be the next lieutenant governor of Florida,” said Fedrick Ingram, American Federation of Teachers secretary-treasurer and a former president of the Florida Education Association, in a written statement Saturday.
“I am optimistic that there are brighter days ahead in Florida and that, come November, our state will be one step closer to becoming a more equitable place where every person – regardless of the color of their skin, political affiliation or sexual orientation – has a voice,” Ingram continued in the written statement.
Hernández-Mats spoke Saturday about the need to defeat Gov. Ron DeSantis and bring decency and respect back to the state of Florida. She challenged the crowd to bring the energy in the room throughout the state to knock on doors and bring “sunshine back to Florida” because “it’s been dark here,” she said.
Her selection ensures a campaign focus on education, an arena where DeSantis has doubled down with passage of his “Don’t Say Gay” bill; his ranting against teaching critical race theory in schools; and his recent foray into school board politics by planting and financing candidates across the state to challenge those deemed not conservative enough.
DeSantis butted heads with health experts and teachers unions during the pandemic by demanding that schools reopen and opposing mask mandates. Hernández-Mats frequently spoke in opposition to DeSantis administration policies during the height of the pandemic and was regularly quoted in this newspaper in defense of student and teacher safety.
Hernández-Mats is the daughter of Honduran immigrants. Her father picked tomatoes and cut sugar cane in the Florida Everglades before becoming a carpenter and proud union member.
She said her father taught her the value of hard work, which she has put into practice. Before becoming a labor leader, she taught middle school students with special needs and was named teacher of the year at the school where she was introduced by Crist on Saturday.
But don’t expect education to be her only issue. Hernández-Mats shies away from nothing and reminded everyone that a woman’s right to choose is also on the ballot.
“Are you tired of the culture wars and the extremists that are dictating what we can say and do?” she asked.
“Sí se puede!” the crowd chanted. “Yes, we can!” translated Hernández-Mats. | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/crist-names-miami-utd-president-his-running-mate/article_71ecf154-2899-11ed-bbf8-1742643de553.html | 2022-09-01T01:27:05 | 1 | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/crist-names-miami-utd-president-his-running-mate/article_71ecf154-2899-11ed-bbf8-1742643de553.html |
Former Orlando police chief Val Demings is attempting to leverage the women's vote across party lines as she vies for Marco Rubio’s U.S. Senate seat.
Demings, a Democrat and current member of the House of Representatives, was greeted last Friday in Doral by an audience of women chanting “Let’s go Val!” as the candidate made her way up the stage at the Firefighters Memorial Building. There, she launched a new segment of her campaign called Women for Demings.
The effort was launched on the heels of recent attacks against women's reproductive rights, beginning with the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, followed by the passage of restrictive abortion laws across the nation.
Demings slammed her opponent for his failure to uphold women’s rights at the federal level. The day before Demings’ visit to Miami-Dade, Rubio told CBS4 News in Miami that he is against abortion in any circumstance, including in cases of rape and incest.
“I’m in favor of laws that protect human life,” Rubio told the TV station. “ I do not believe that the dignity and the worth of human life is tied to the circumstances of their conception, but I recognize that that’s not a majority position.”
Demings’s response to the senator came on Women’s Equality Day, when she appealed to her history as a social worker who has previously dealt with victims of sexual abuse – who, among others, comprise the group affected by Florida's 15-week abortion ban.
“I believe anyone who would not fight to protect women and protect our daughters, our girls, doesn’t deserve to hold office,” she said.
She also targeted Rubio's attendance record, which is one of the lowest in the Senate. Since taking office in 2011 up until January 2021, Rubio missed 9.8% of votes.
Demings was joined last week by a lineup of female leaders, including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who was welcomed with her own standing ovation before attesting to the former police chief’s commitment to public service.
“We all know what happens when women lead,” said Levine Cava, who is the first woman to serve as mayor of Miami-Dade County. “We get things done.”
She referred to Demings as “a dear friend,” and one who represents the change that Florida needs.
“Like so many women, she has been underestimated every step of the way,” the mayor said. “She does not shy away from the hard work. She definitely kicks butt, and she knows how to take prisoners.”
During the conference, Demings also alluded to the gun violence continuously striking communities and making headlines nationwide. Rubio has received over $3.3 million from the National Rifle Association, whereas Demings proudly flaunts an “F” rating from the gun lobby.
Demings served as the Orlando Police Department’s first female chief from 2007 to 2011, a four-year term that resulted in a nearly 40% reduction in violent crime.
The daughter of a maid and a janitor and the youngest of seven children, she attributes her resilience to a humble upbringing.
“I remember growing up poor, Black and female,” Demings said. “I remember being told that I wasn’t the right color, I’m not the right gender, don’t have enough money … but it was my mother, the maid, who told me not to be defined by the world’s negative talk.”
“We are living in some difficult, difficult times,” she added. “But believe me, we have seen those times before, and I cannot remember one challenging issue, one challenging movement in this country where women were not a part of making a change — even when we did not have the microphone.” | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/demings-calls-for-womens-vote-to-unseat-rubio/article_c8268244-2969-11ed-9300-73e5634162b4.html | 2022-09-01T01:27:11 | 0 | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/demings-calls-for-womens-vote-to-unseat-rubio/article_c8268244-2969-11ed-9300-73e5634162b4.html |
Out of sight and out of mind. That’s the approach city of Miami politicians are taking when it comes to moving unhoused people off the streets.
For more than six months, Miami officials have ignored an overture from the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust to partner and buy multifamily buildings, among other measures, to put temporary roofs over the heads of the chronically homeless, utilizing $12.7 million in COVID-19 federal relief funds the city received.
“There was no response then and there has been no response now,” Homeless Trust Chairman Ron Book told The Miami Times. “Why they chose not to respond, I don’t have the answer. I am sure we have some really good ideas to continue our partnership with the city to address homelessness.”
Instead, a slim majority of Miami commissioners, based on the recommendation of City Manager Art Noriega and other top administrators, marshaled through a universally reviled proposal to create a tiny homes encampment on Virginia Key Beach in July, where 50 to 100 homeless people would be relocated from densely populated neighborhoods like downtown Miami, Overtown, Little Havana and Wynwood.
Following the 3-2 vote at the city commission’s July 28 meeting, the Virginia Key proposal’s main supporter, Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, and Mayor Francis Suarez held a press conference in early August announcing the city would delay the tiny homes plan for six months.
The postponement still must be approved by another Miami City Commission vote, which is expected to take place at a September meeting. During the pause, the city expects Miami-Dade County to make more homeless shelter beds available, identify other publicly owned properties for temporary housing and stop releasing homeless people from county jails within city limits, Suarez and Carollo said at the press conference.
“We feel that it’s an unfair burden for the city to have to take care of all the homeless without any help, or without more help, from Miami-Dade County,” Suarez told reporters. “Again, [we] call upon the county to match or exceed our contribution.”
Yet Suarez hasn’t followed up with him about the Homeless Trust’s proposal since bringing it to the mayor’s attention again a week after the press conference, Book said. It’s the second time the Homeless Trust chairman, who makes a living as one of the most powerfully influential lobbyists in Florida, is getting the brushoff.
On March 22, Book sent Suarez a letter, carbon copied to Noriega, that states the Homeless Trust “has already identified several viable properties for acquisition and renovation and we are open to any recommendations from your administration in identifying additional properties.”
“A lot of mail comes into the mayor’s and commissioners’ offices,” Book said coyly in a phone interview. “Maybe it got past them.”
The Homeless Trust is against placing an encampment on Virginia Key but does support the concept of creating a community of homeless residents within existing buildings that can be bought to quickly house people on the streets, he said.
When asked about specific properties, Book said “we have a number of options in sight.”
“All I need is money,” he added. “Just so you understand, we have been trying for a year to get the money. That is what the letter to Suarez was about.”
According to a June 30 city report on how Miami has spent funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, zero dollars from the $12.7 million has been used to address homelessness.
Of the three city commissioners who voted for the Virginia Key proposal, Commissioner Christine King is aware of the Homeless Trust’s offer, Book said. He’s also trying to schedule sit-downs with Carollo and Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla to make his pitch.
“Commissioner King reached out to us,” Book said. “I expect meetings with Commissioner Carollo and Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla will take place in the not-too-distant future.”
Suarez did not respond to a voice message left on his cellphone or a request through the city’s communications office to comment for this story. Carollo, Diaz de la Portilla, King and Noriega also did not respond to requests for comment. City spokesperson Maria Garcia would only say that Noriega and staff are “awaiting further instructions” until the six-month pause is up.
Homeless not welcome in the Magic City
Despite having among the smallest homeless populations in major metropolitan cities in the U.S., Miami city government has taken a draconian approach in recent years against its residents sheltering in the streets.
According to Book's March letter, the city of Miami had 591 people living on the streets as of January, the lowest number of unsheltered individuals in eight years. That head count has since increased to 640 based on an Aug. 19 canvass by The Homeless Trust; Miami-Dade County has seen an 11% increase in homeless individuals overall since August of last year.
Since 2020, Miami workers and police officers have regularly conducted street sweeps of homeless encampments around the city, drawing sharp rebukes from homeless advocates and the Homeless Trust for the callous nature of disposing of people’s belongings. Around the same time the sweeps began, the Miami City Commission adopted an ordinance that requires a city permit to feed groups of 25 or more people and limits food distribution to unhoused individuals to five sites designated by the city.
In October, four Miami commissioners approved a resolution that made homeless encampments illegal. Four months later, the city commission authorized spending $3.1 million in federal funding for Suarez’s “functional zero” homelessness plan. The pot of money was divided among four nonprofits that work with the homeless. The Chapman Partnership and Lotus House each received $200,000 for job training, the Miami Center for Mental Health and Recovery received $750,000, and $2 million was doled out to the Camillus House homeless shelter.
Contracts for those awards are just now being executed. An oversized check was delivered to Lotus House during an Aug. 30 news conference attended by Suarez and Commissioners Manolo Reyes, Ken Russell, King and Carollo.
However, homeless advocates claim the funding doesn’t do enough to help unhoused people get off the streets, who are still being targeted by the city. Jeff Weinberger, a Fort Lauderdale-based homeless advocate, said the city of Miami has systematically harassed homeless people and destroyed their property over the last two years.
“We don’t have anybody who is leading in a progressive direction,” Weinberger said. “Commissioner Ken Russell deserves some kudos because he opposes these bad ideas. But he’s gone in a few months. It’s about terminating the conditions that create homelessness. It’s not happening.”
A foolhardy plan marches forward
Miami officials kept the Virginia Key plan under wraps until the agenda for the July 28 city commission meeting was published, prompting various stakeholders – from homeless advocates to environmentalists to historians to park users – to pack City Hall the day of the vote.
The decision to move forward with the Virginia Key location was met with swift backlash from every corner of Miami-Dade County and garnered national media attention.
In addition to social justice and environmental concerns surrounding the tiny homes plan, opponents also expressed outrage that Miami leaders would even consider placing a homeless encampment near the city’s first “colored” beach, now an important cultural heritage site.
Carollo referred to opposition by the Black community as “playing the race card.”
Homeless advocates prep for September clash
While a city commission vote on the Virginia Key plan postponement has not yet been scheduled, several homeless advocacy and social justice groups are planning a protest and rally at City Hall in Coconut Grove Sept. 8, when commissioners reconvene after the August break.
David Peery, president of the Coalition to Advance Racial Equality, is skeptical that city officials will take a wait and see approach.
“I’m very suspicious that the proposed delay is just the city buying time to let the opposition dissipate and die down,” he said. “It is very clear that they are not proposing to kill the plan, and that is what they need to do.”
Weinberger agreed.
“Putting this plan on hold is not sufficient,” he said. “They need to drown this damn proposal in Biscayne Bay so that it never resurfaces.”
Peery and Annie Lord, executive director of Miami Homes For All, told The Miami Times that the Homeless Trust’s offer to partner with the city on buying existing multifamily buildings is a step in the right direction.
“We would support that,” Peery said. “It’s a productive way to go rather than wasting resources banishing homeless people to an isolated island. That is absolutely insane.”
Lord said she is aware that the Homeless Trust has identified specific properties to acquire that would be used to temporarily house and provide social services to people living on the streets.
“It seems like the logical thing to do,” she said. “It’s a solution that has evidence-based results. It ends up being less expensive for taxpayers and prevents people from sliding back into homelessness.”
The Homeless Trust is ready, but just needs the city’s cooperation, Book said.
“I can buy a vertical building tomorrow and take 100-plus people off the street overnight,” he said. “Why would we not choose that approach?” | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/hidden-plans-surface-as-virginia-key-idea-sinks/article_22e30b30-287a-11ed-abe6-d7e8c46485e5.html | 2022-09-01T01:27:17 | 1 | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/hidden-plans-surface-as-virginia-key-idea-sinks/article_22e30b30-287a-11ed-abe6-d7e8c46485e5.html |
South Florida is mourning the loss of one of its highest-ranking Black executives.
Jason Jenkins, senior vice president of communications and community affairs for the Miami Dolphins, died suddenly in the hours before the team’s Saturday preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the franchise announced. He was 47.
“It is with profound sadness that the Miami Dolphins announce the passing of Jason Jenkins,” a Dolphins press release stated. “He died suddenly on Saturday, August 27, 2022, leaving behind his wife, Elizabeth, and three beautiful children, an organization of people who are mourning his passing and a South Florida community which will forever bear his impact.”
In his role with the Dolphins, Jenkins was a fixture both in the press box and within his South Florida community. He started with Miami in 2009 as the team’s director of media relations, and shifted into an even larger role in 2015 when he was promoted to the position he held at his death.
He more recently oversaw media outreach for Hard Rock Stadium and Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix.
For his efforts, Jenkins was awarded a Corporate Pillar Award by Miami-Dade County’s Black Affairs Advisory Council. He also was reportedly a board member of the Anti-Defamation League of Florida, Breakthrough Miami, Dolphins Challenge Cancer, Pro Sports Assembly, Urban League of Broward County, Women of Tomorrow and YMCA Miami.
Romania Dukes, founder of Mothers Fighting for Justice, posted a heartfelt tribute to Jenkins on Facebook.
“It’s truly hard to put into words what Jason Jenkins meant to me and our community. He was always willing to help because he believed in a better tomorrow and he wanted to play a part in it,” she wrote.
“I am heartbroken,” said Dolphins owner Steve Ross in a statement. “Jason Jenkins was an icon in the Miami community, and above all a kind and incredible family man. His dedication to our organization was unmatched. He was my friend, but most of all he was a generous soul. My heart is with Elizabeth and his children tonight. The Jenkins family will always be a part of the Dolphins family.”
There is much speculation surrounding Jenkins’ cause of death, but that information has not yet been made public.
A memorial service for Jenkins will be held at Hard Rock Stadium Monday, Sept. 5, at 4 p.m. | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/jason-jenkins-sudden-death-mourned-by-many/article_546a697c-296b-11ed-842d-cb59d11e3ebe.html | 2022-09-01T01:27:23 | 1 | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/jason-jenkins-sudden-death-mourned-by-many/article_546a697c-296b-11ed-842d-cb59d11e3ebe.html |
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced on Monday a $85 million investment toward affordable housing to combat rent hikes and homelessness.
The five-tiered, comprehensive HOMES plan, pending approval from the Board of County Commissioners in September, would work to preserve existing affordable housing, launch new incentive programs to expand that supply, and provide rent relief to struggling homeowners and renters.
The move is part of the mayor’s more than $10 billion 2022-23 proposed county budget, which also includes the first property tax break in 10 years – a 1% reduction that would result in the lowest property tax rate since 1982, but would not fully offset rising property values.
The plan also is the latest step in the county’s Building Blocks program, a $13.4 million federal investment announced in April to help tackle the newly declared affordability crisis.
“We’ve come a long way in the past 6 months,” said Levine Cava, “but when proposing the 2022-23 county budget, it was critical that we would continue to offer ways to support our residents and families with much needed relief.”
Levine Cava was joined by a variety of stakeholders, including landlords, tenants, advocates, homeowners and business owners, to explain each component of the plan and testify to its effectiveness. Commissioner Kionne McGhee was among the lineup of speakers.
“We have 85 million reasons to celebrate today,” McGhee said at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center.
McGhee announced the Workforce Housing Incentive Program (WHIP) that would invest $10 million toward providing local property owners with direct incentives to expand the existing supply of affordable and workforce housing. For instance, he said, landlords who agree to rent their units at rates within the prescribed area median income (AMI) could apply for county grants providing them with financial assistance.
In a similar incentive program, an additional $5 million would encourage landlords across the county to accept Section 8 vouchers with more frequency.
Both programs would prioritize essential frontline workers like teachers, police officers, firefighters and more, who the mayor believes are often overlooked in the context of affordable housing.
The efforts were devised to convert existing market-rate housing into designated affordable or workforce units – a strategy especially important in a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred higher construction costs and supply chain issues, making it nearly impossible to build new units as quickly as increasing demand requires.
The HOMES plan will also work to expand existing programs, in part by broadening relief distributed by the Community Action and Human Services department with new $1,500 payments to homeowners behind on mortgage, insurance, homeowners association fees, taxes, utility payments and more, as well as by expanding eligibility requirements for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) that began during the pandemic's peak.
According to Chief Community Services Officer Morris Copeland, ERAP has already allocated $122 million in federal funds toward keeping more than 20,000 residents in their homes over the past year. Under the proposed plan, the county would bring that same relief to households at different levels of the AMI spectrum.
“We’re doing everything humanly possible to move the needle to protect those most vulnerable,” said Copeland.
But the plan doesn’t stop at landlords, homeowners or even extremely low-income renters. It also works to serve the growing population of those experiencing homelessness in Miami-Dade County with a new $10 million commitment.
“There’s no population in Miami-Dade County more vulnerable, more impacted by the mayor’s plan than the people that the Homeless Trust serves: the least, the last, the lost, the forgotten of our community — the homeless,” said Ron Book, Homeless Trust chairman.
A total of 32,000 new affordable and workforce housing units are currently underway throughout the county, says Levine Cava. With the establishment of a Development Inflation Adjustment Fund, county officials would accelerate that process by allocating funds to further construction projects currently trapped in the pipeline as a result of high inflation rates.
An underlying goal in the attempts to preserve existing housing and build new units is to do so with a heightened focus on energy efficiency, allowing for sustainable homes that will outlive its residents and curb future displacement.
The county will meet Sept. 8 and Sept. 20 for its public budget hearings, where the HOMES plan, property tax rates and more will be up for debate, although the mayor is hopeful that the $85 million investment will be well-received across the board.
“This program will work directly to support residents across our community, from the middle class families who own their own homes and are behind on their bills to low-income households and those experiencing homelessness, as well as small landlords and developers who are building new housing to meet our community’s needs,” Levine Cava said. | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/mayor-announces-85m-toward-new-homes-plan/article_775a24d6-28a3-11ed-9606-a796e24269f6.html | 2022-09-01T01:27:30 | 1 | https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/mayor-announces-85m-toward-new-homes-plan/article_775a24d6-28a3-11ed-9606-a796e24269f6.html |
CALIFORNIA, USA — Behind a closed chapel office door inside a federal women’s prison in California, a chaplain forced inmates seeking his spiritual guidance to have sex with him, exploiting their faith and their powerlessness behind bars for his own gratification, prosecutors said.
James Theodore Highhouse was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison — more than double the recommended punishment in federal sentencing guidelines. U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. said the guidelines, which call for a sentence of less than three years, “seriously underestimate the seriousness" of Highhouse's conduct.
“It’s hard to come up with the right words to describe how egregious an abuse of these victims this was,” Gilliam said.
Highhouse is among five workers charged in the last 14 months with sexually abusing inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, and the first to reach the sentencing phase of his case.
Highhouse, wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans, spoke briefly in federal court in Oakland and apologized to the women he harmed. Gilliam ordered him to begin his prison sentence on Nov. 2, allowing him to remain free on bail until then. Highhouse must register as a sex offender once he's released from prison, Gilliam said.
Highhouse, who was arrested in January and pleaded guilty in February, would tell women he abused at the Bay Area lockup, that everyone in the Bible had sex and that God wanted them to be together, prosecutors said.
An Army veteran, he pressured one inmate into intercourse on Veterans Day by telling her she needed to serve her country and on Thanksgiving by telling her she needed to show her gratitude for him, prosecutors said.
While Highhouse, 49, was charged only with abusing one inmate and lying to authorities, prosecutors say he engaged in predatory conduct with at least six women from 2014 to 2019 — including one he counseled at a veterans hospital where he worked before joining the federal Bureau of Prisons, where allegations were routinely ignored.
“Highhouse ruined my life — he truly did,” one inmate said in a victim impact statement. “I don’t even go to Church anymore because of him. I have no trust in the Church and really, I don’t trust anyone because of what he did.”
Highhouse, enabled by a toxic culture of abuse and coverups at the prison, warned victims not to report him, telling one of them “no one will believe you because you’re an inmate, and I’m a chaplain," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
At the same time, prosecutors wrote, a prison counselor would rail about inmates “snitching” on employees, suggesting they instead “tell Trump about it," referring to then-President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors had sought a 10-year prison sentence. His lawyers asked for two years, the low end of the federal guidelines, which called for a sentence of 24 to 30 months. Gilliam’s seven-year sentence matched the recommendation of probation officers who conducted Highhouse’s pre-sentence investigation.
In their sentencing memorandum, Highhouse’s lawyers noted that he served as an Army chaplain in Iraq and Afghanistan, is seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and cares for his elderly mother after his father's death this year. He has no prior criminal history, they wrote.
All sexual activity between a prison worker and an inmate is illegal. Correctional employees enjoy substantial power over inmates, controlling every aspect of their lives from mealtime to lights out, and there is no scenario in which an inmate can give consent.
Earlier this year, an Associated Press investigation revealed years of sexual misconduct at FCI Dublin, including allegations against the prison's former warden. The AP also detailed steps that were taken to keep abuse secret, such as ignoring allegations, retaliating against whistleblowers and sending prisoners to solitary confinement or other prisons for reporting abuse.
After the AP's reporting, a task force of senior federal prison officials descended on Dublin, meeting with staff and inmates and pledging to fix problems and change the culture. On Wednesday, Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters visited Dublin for an update.
The four other charged Dublin employees are at various stages of their cases.
The former warden, Ray J. Garcia, was arraigned Wednesday on a superseding indictment charging him with abusing two additional inmates, for a total of seven counts involving three victims. He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial in November.
Enrique Chavez, a food service foreman, is expected to plead guilty on Sept. 14. Ross Klinger, a recycling technician, pleaded guilty in February but has yet to be sentenced. John Russell Bellhouse, a prison safety administrator, is scheduled to stand trial next June.
Highhouse pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to two counts of sexual abuse of a ward, two counts of abusive sexual contact and one count of making false statements to federal agents.
All of the charges stem from allegations Highhouse repeatedly abused a female prisoner over a nine-month span in 2018 and 2019.
That woman said in a victim impact statement that she cried herself to sleep after testifying before a grand jury about Highhouse’s abuse.
“I felt so lost, hopeless, worthless, and betrayal and truly do not know what to do or who to talk to about my problems,” the woman wrote.
The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission.
Other allegations against Highhouse, previously kept quiet by Dublin officials, came to light during the investigation, prosecutors said.
Two inmates said Highhouse claimed to them that he was a sex therapist, asked graphic questions about their sex lives and offered to let them have sex in his office, prosecutors said. One of them said Highhouse leered at her when she got out of the shower and had a reputation as a “predator.”
Another inmate told investigators that she avoided Highhouse after he made suggestive remarks during a counseling session, such as suggesting that the commissary sell sex toys.
In May, an inmate now incarcerated at another federal prison facility reported that Highhouse raped her multiple times in his chapel office after she sought him out for counseling, prosecutors said.
“He took my ability to sleep at night and he took my ability to trust in the Church,” the inmate wrote in a victim impact statement. “I would never go back to Church. I’m constantly on alert. He played on my vulnerability and took advantage of me — I have nightmares.”
The inmate said that she attempted to report the abuse but that when she did, a prison officer shrugged and reminded her that she would soon be transferring out of Dublin.
“To me the BOP is an epic fail in terms of the way they handle PREA," the inmate wrote, referring to the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. "The system is flawed and broken.” ___
Watch more from ABC10: President Biden promotes ban on assault-style weapons | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-prison-chaplain-james-theodore-highhouse/103-05b60966-be21-4adc-b2f7-4028aab1c4a7 | 2022-09-01T01:27:46 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-prison-chaplain-james-theodore-highhouse/103-05b60966-be21-4adc-b2f7-4028aab1c4a7 |
ELK GROVE, Calif. — Michelle Chunn was stunned when her son Colton came home from school with Narcan, the nasal spray designed to reverse drug overdoses - the same type that police officers and medics routinely carry to save lives.
“It scared me. He’s my baby, “Chunn said. “He’s holding it there and said ‘I can’t believe the school gave this to me” and I snatched it from him like he’s a 2-year-old. Cole’s a cancer survivor. I spent two years fighting for his life.”
The 16-year-old attended a school-wide assembly Monday on the dangers of fentanyl at Pleasant Grove High School, put on by Sacramento County Health Services, the District Attorney's Office, and the “Arrive Alive” non-profit. Parents were notified about the presentation but not the Narcan that would be given out to interested students and staff after the fact.
“When you’re talking about a child still in school, still under age, bring the parents in, let them know what’s going on and let them make the decision for themselves,” Chunn said.
Lori Miller, Sacramento County Behavioral Health Director, was among the people teaching students about Narcan and how it is administered.
“It was not given to every student,” Miller said. “We had a resource table that was available to students and school officials and so those students who approached our table and were interested and asked questions were the ones that received the Narcan.”
Pleasant Grove High School sent a memo to parents saying the distribution of Narcan at school was not pre-approved.
“In response to this, we are letting parents know that we are aware that Narcan was distributed to students and staff, however, we would like to make it clear that this was not an approved activity and we will work closely with all future presenters to ensure they understand our policies and procedures for such activities” Taigan Keplinger, the principal, told families in a letter.
Miller said with fentanyl overdoses on the rise in the community, this medication should be more readily available.
“It takes seven minutes for EMS to get to a, potentially, overdose situation and in that time, people can die, so having Narcan is so valuable and beneficial,” Miller said.
She also said studies have shown 93% of people experiencing an overdose are saved with Narcan and taking it without drugs in your system is not harmful.
“There are no ill effects,” Miller said. “It’s not going to harm a person who do not have opioids or fentanyl in their system.”
Chunn said after getting the chance to research the medicine and speak with her son, she supports the idea of having it in schools, as long as it is communicated properly to families.
“I think the kids should have this, and I think they should be trained on using it, and I think the program they put out was great. I think where it failed was not notifying the parents,” Chunn said.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/elk-grove/elk-grove-narcan-students/103-db8aa043-e39b-4c95-a8a2-012adb286b5c | 2022-09-01T01:27:46 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/elk-grove/elk-grove-narcan-students/103-db8aa043-e39b-4c95-a8a2-012adb286b5c |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Months after making abortions cheaper for women, California lawmakers have now voted to make vasectomies cheaper for men.
The bill passed Wednesday and now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom. If he signs it, California would become the eighth state to do this for vasectomies — joining Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Vermont.
Earlier this year, California passed a law banning private insurance companies from charging people things like co-pays and deductibles for abortions. That makes it cheaper for women with private insurance to get an abortion — something Democrats wanted to do in advance of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Six states — California, Illinois, Oregon, New York, Maryland and Massachusetts — ban out-of-pocket costs for abortions.
State senators on Wednesday voted to do the same thing for a vasectomy — the medical procedure that sterilizes men. Starting in 2024, the bill would make sure men on private insurance plans could get vasectomies at no additional cost other than what they pay for their monthly premiums, saving an average of $341.
"Californians must be able to decide for themselves if and when they have children," state Sen. Connie Leyva, the bill's author, said in a statement after it passed. There was no debate on the Senate floor.
Some health care advocates have pushed to make vasectomies cheaper for years, but states have been slow to make the change. That could be shifting in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, calling into question long-held assumptions about access to reproductive care.
"Reproductive freedom is on the line and it's not a guarantee anywhere. Anything you thought was a given is not, and should be codified into law," said Liz McCaman Taylor, a senior attorney with the National Health Law Program, a group that supports abortion rights. "(This bill) is so important for making California a safe space and a place where reproductive freedom for all people and all genders is valued and baked into the system."
Making vasectomies cheaper is just one part of the bill, which is aimed at making it easier for women to get contraceptives. The bill would require insurance companies to cover the costs of over-the-counter contraceptives for women. That means women could get male condoms at a pharmacy just by showing their insurance card.
But the bill would not apply to men, because of a technicality with the federal Affordable Care Act.
"The real exciting part is you could basically go to your retail pharmacy of choice, pick up an over-the-counter product, show your insurance card and have them ring it up for you," Taylor said.
Watch more from ABC10: President Biden promotes ban on assault-style weapons | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/california-bill-make-vasectomies-cheaper/103-16c47e9f-ce58-4bc7-a6e7-7db9c93eb8c3 | 2022-09-01T01:27:52 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/california-bill-make-vasectomies-cheaper/103-16c47e9f-ce58-4bc7-a6e7-7db9c93eb8c3 |
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – “Selfless. Kind. Wonderful.” These are just a few of the words neighbors and friends used to describe Nancy Belcher, or otherwise known as Debbie to close friends.
“It’s a loss for the whole community, and everybody loved Debbie. She was a wonderful, wonderful person,” said Baine Smith, a neighbor.
On Tuesday, Aug. 30, Belcher was shot and killed at her own home in the 700 block of Lower Donnally Road in the Kanawha City area of Charleston.
Neighbors said the 72-year-old was a retired registered nurse who was frequently seen walking her dogs on Lower Donnally Road. They described her as a “wonderful” person with a big heart, always willing to help others.
“It’s a close knit community up here and she walked her dogs every day, twice a day. So, already today we feel the loss because we haven’t seen Debbie walking,” Smith said.
The Charleston Police Department still have not said why they think Vestal Fredrick Harper, 76, came to Belcher’s home Tuesday afternoon and allegedly shot her several times.
Neighbors, however, said they’ve seen Harper and Belcher walking their dogs together from time to time, but the extent of their relationship is not clear.
Harper was arraigned in Kanawha County Magistrate Court Tuesday evening and charged with 1st-degree murder. He is being housed in the South Central Regional Jail with no bond and is set to appear in court on September 7th, 2022 at 3:15 p.m.
If found guilty, Harper could face life in prison. According to Kanawha County records, he has no prior criminal criminal record. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/community-remembers-woman-shot-and-killed-in-kanawha-city/ | 2022-09-01T01:27:54 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/community-remembers-woman-shot-and-killed-in-kanawha-city/ |
HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) – The floodwall gates in the Guyandotte area of Huntington will be closed tomorrow for an exercise.
The Huntington Stormwater Utility will be conducting a gate exercise at 9th Avenue at Riverside Drive, leaving that stretch closed off and adding more time to some resident’s travel.
This exercise will be happening from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Huntington Stormwater Utility says this is even more important now given the recent flooding, but also with the typical flood season right around the corner.
“You never know when you may have extreme flood during flood season, it may get to 55-60 feet. That would initiate us putting quite a few of those floodgates in,” said Stan Wonnell, the floodwall manager for Huntington Stormwater Utility.
Residents in the area explained these tests are always an inconvenience.
“If you want to get to Route 60 and you can’t go that way anymore. You have to go through downtown and then go back up on to Route 60 like in the Marshall area – you have to go all the way around that. So, that’s a big inconvenience,” said one resident, Owen Gibson.
The floodwall manager said 2020 was the last time one of the gates in the area had to be closed due to flooding, so now they’re just trying to be proactive. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/floodwall-gate-test-to-impact-guyandotte-traffic/ | 2022-09-01T01:28:00 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/floodwall-gate-test-to-impact-guyandotte-traffic/ |
BOISE, Idaho — Empty chairs lined the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday. Each chair represented one Idahoan who has died from drug overdose last year. In total 353 chairs were on display, a visual representation of the 353 Idahoans who died in 2021.
“The purpose of today's event is to reflect on all of us to come together united as a community to come together, pull our hearts together, and work together towards healing work together towards bringing our community uplifted, and providing resources for our community members, our families and friends,” said Palina Louangketh, the Bureau Chief for the Bureau of Equity and Strategic Partnerships at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Wednesday’s event marked International Overdose Awareness Day, which is the largest overdose awareness campaign in the world. In Boise, people gathered to honor the lives lost from overdose and recognize and acknowledge the pain, the suffering and the journey families, friends and the communities across Idaho experience.
House Speaker Scott Bedke attended the event in place of Governor Brad Little. He was one of several speakers on Wednesday.
“Our speakers represent drug overdose prevention, intervention and post-intervention the messages that they emphasize for today on this special awareness day, is really to provide inspiration and hope to Idahoans,” Louangketh said.
Kaitlin Fledderjohann was also among the speakers. She shared her personal experience with overdose.
“When I was on those drugs, that was not at all who I am today, I was a completely different person,” Fledderjohann said. “I didn't have any morals. I didn't have any limits.”
She adds there were times when she felt there was no hope.
“My life was so miserable, I didn't have any hope. I didn't have any friends, I didn't have any family. I was homeless, and I wanted something different,” Fledderjohann said. “I shared my story about how the guy bailed me out and I didn't want to be bailed out, like I tried fighting deputies, I didn't want to go, I wasn't ready to be released, I wanted to stay and get treatment in jail, because jail was the safest place that I would ever was in my addiction.”
She now hopes to encourage anyone who is experiencing what she felt back then, to get help.
“I want everyone to know, you know, like addiction, for a long time was seen as kind of like a grungy, dirty thing. and you don't want to think about it or like you see homeless people, when you think of like they're addicts, just let them do their thing they chose to be there and, you know, like, a lot of the time that's not the case, like, we're everywhere in recovery is possible," Fledderjohann said.
If you or someone you know are dealing with overdose problems right now, you are not alone, there are resources available.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/international-overdose-awareness-day-chairs-lined-idaho-capitol/277-86ee99af-c7f2-42a8-beeb-eb0a3852de64 | 2022-09-01T01:28:04 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/international-overdose-awareness-day-chairs-lined-idaho-capitol/277-86ee99af-c7f2-42a8-beeb-eb0a3852de64 |
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Earlier this week the Kanawha County Prosecutors Office said two teachers aides will face charges for failing to report child abuse and neglect in a special needs classroom. One of them has already been arraigned.
The charges are connected to abuse at Holz Elementary in former teacher Nancy Boggs’ classroom. Boggs was sentenced earlier this month to 10 years in jail in the case.
West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee says he wants to be clear that there is no excuse for abuse in the classroom or for looking the other way instead of reporting that abuse. While he couldn’t speak about the specific incident in Kanawha County he said teaching isn’t the only profession with a few bad eggs.
“We want it to never ever happen,” Lee said. “But it is not just in the teaching profession. It happens. Those are things that make the headlines and we don’t talk about the thousands of educators that are doing the job right across the state.”
Lee also said getting people to pick teaching as a profession can be difficult.
“It is a lot harder than people thought. It is a difficult job to maintain a classroom and reach every child,” he said. “Secondly it is the lack of respect and third is the lack of pay, when you can make more money in almost any other profession.”
Lee projects there will be 1500 positions across West Virginia without a certified teacher in them this school year and many other vacant spots as well.
“There’s a huge number of classroom aides, bus drivers, cooks, custodians that are not filled,” he explained.
He said more than the headlines about wrongdoing, in his opinion, things like state legislature’s influence when it comes to what and how to teach as well as low pay is what impact people’s decisions about taking those jobs.
“When I go to the Eastern Panhandle, I see billboards from Maryland that are advertising for West Virginia teachers to come over there where they get paid more,” Lee said. “So it is a national problem. We have to face it, and we have to figure out ways to bring people into the profession. Part of that is pay and part of that is getting the respect back.” | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/many-factors-add-difficulty-to-filling-west-virginia-teaching-and-support-staff-positions/ | 2022-09-01T01:28:06 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/many-factors-add-difficulty-to-filling-west-virginia-teaching-and-support-staff-positions/ |
UPDATE (8:18 p.m.) – Cabell County Sheriff Chuck Zerkle tells 13 News that there was no shooting. He said the person died of natural causes.
MILTON, WV (WOWK) – West Virginia State Police and Cabell County Sheriff’s deputies are on the scene of a possible shooting in Milton.
Dispatchers said the call came in from the 1100 block of Courtney Lane shortly after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night. They said there is one possible victim.
13 News is working to get more information and will bring you the latest on air and online. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/police-respond-to-possible-shooting-in-milton/ | 2022-09-01T01:28:12 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/police-respond-to-possible-shooting-in-milton/ |
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – West Virginia State Senator Amy Grady (R-Mason) has been named Chairman of the Education Committee.
According to Senate President Craig Blair (R-Berkeley), Grady is the first full-time public school educator to serve in the position since 1970. Blair says he is confident Grady’s leadership will open communication lines between public educators and the WV Senate.
“We have made monumental strides in providing educational options and expanding school choices for our families,” Senate President Blair said. “It’s now time to usher in a new era with a focus on supporting our state’s public schools and increasing student achievement. I believe there is nobody better to lead that focus than Senator Grady. We want our public school educators to know that we are committed to giving them the resources and tools they need to be the best in the world. I am confident with Senator Grady’s leadership, those lines of direct communication will open right up. Education is economic development, period. We have seen unprecedented success with our economic development efforts in the last few years, and it is time for us to bring that same level of success to our public schools.”
Grady was elected to the West Virginia Senate in 2020 and currently serves as vice chairman of the Health and Human Resources Committee. She also serves on the Agriculture and Rural Development, Juduciary, Military and Natural Resources committees, according to Senate President Craig Blair (R-Berkeley).
“Our state’s top export is our youth,” Blair said. “We have started to reverse that trend, and we are in the position of creating even more economic opportunities with even more jobs that will bring more people to this state to live, work, and raise a family. Our goal is to stop declining school enrollment, stop school consolidations, and build more schools. There is no member of the Senate better equipped for this mission than Senator Amy Grady.” | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/sen-grady-tapped-for-next-west-virginia-senate-education-committee-chair/ | 2022-09-01T01:28:18 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/sen-grady-tapped-for-next-west-virginia-senate-education-committee-chair/ |
In our system, the political candidates don’t have to go before TV cameras and debate — they’re expected to.
It’s a matter of tradition, of giving the voters a side-by-side view of the candidates.
Another tradition has arisen alongside this debating tradition: haranguing your opponent about debating. One candidate, usually the challenger, calls the other a coward for not wanting to debate, or not wanting to debate enough.
That’s the moment we’re in in the 2022 campaign. It shouldn’t be taken too seriously — unless a candidate actually refuses to debate. That would be embarrassing.
We should find out this week whether Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Mark Kelly is going to debate Republican challenger Blake Masters, and if Democrat Katie Hobbs will debate Republican Kari Lake in the race for governor. There is a Friday deadline for the debates sponsored by the Arizona Clean Elections Commission.
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Neither Democrat has accepted a debate yet — in fact they are the only two statewide candidates not to accept an invitation to appear at one of the commission’s events. Out of the 16 Republicans and Democrats nominated for statewide office, 14 have agreed.
As you might expect, Kelly’s and Hobbs’ Republican opponents are rubbing their faces in their hesitation to accept.
“I think Mark Kelly is hiding. I think he hides because his voting record is indefensible,” Blake Masters said in a video Saturday.
Masters noted that he has accepted a debate invitation from CNN as well, and he has challenged Kelly to a series of debates.
This is, of course, to be expected from a challenger, especially one like Masters who is behind in the polls. Kelly’s campaign said Wednesday that, after a recent “productive” meeting, they expect to accept the invitation.
A bigger discussion is happening, though, in the race for governor, where there is no incumbent.
Lake went after Hobbs in a video posted Aug. 23: “You claim to care about the people of Arizona. Prove it. Debate me. You name the time, you name the place.”
She concluded the video: “I think you are a coward. Prove me wrong.”
Lake’s video gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, Lake is right: Hobbs should debate her, and not doing so would look like the act of cowardice.
On the other hand, I didn’t even see the Lake video for more than a week because I am one of the many, many Arizona journalists and other people whom she has blocked on Twitter. That, too, is a cowardly move that smells of fear of an open debate.
Now, Kelly seems likely to accept at least the Clean Elections debate soon. And it’s quite possible that Hobbs will, too.
But I wasn’t that convinced by the Hobbs campaign’s reasoning for the delay. In an email sent to the commission Friday, campaign manager Nicole Demont said:
“We are eager to find a format that allows for a substantive debate of policy proposals, but as you know, the chaos of the Republican primary debate did no such thing. Instead, it turned Arizona into a national laughing stock, and Secretary Hobbs has too much respect for this state and its voters to participate in such an event.”
When I talked with Hobbs’ spokesman, Joe Wolf, on Wednesday, he reiterated concern about Lake turning any debate into a “farce.”
But I actually watched that GOP primary debate Wednesday (pro tip: use the double-speed setting on YouTube to get through it fast), and I thought it was useful. Even though it got out of control, and it was awkward to watch, a viewer could get a decent feel for the candidates from it.
It is worse in my view for a candidate to view a debate as too dirty for her to participate than to participate and get a little muddy.
While the GOP debate did get loony enough for videos to circulate of it and create some national mockery, there was no chance for a debate in the Democratic primary to go off the rails. Hobbs didn’t bother to debate opponent Marco Lopez, which I thought was a bit disrespectful to the voters.
Now, the real problem for Hobbs is that TV is Lake’s profession. Even if she’s saying wild things, Lake has a natural TV presence that comes from more than 25 years on the air.
It is unfortunate for Hobbs, almost unfair, to have to debate a TV pro on TV.
But those are the breaks, and this is our tradition.
It’s not a big deal to hesitate to debate, or to massage the rules in your favor, but refusing to debate would be a major failure, and I hope we don’t see it.
Contact columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/tim-stellers-column-its-time-for-kelly-hobbs-to-accept-debates/article_fc7bdf5e-295e-11ed-ae55-572674698712.html | 2022-09-01T01:29:43 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/tim-stellers-column-its-time-for-kelly-hobbs-to-accept-debates/article_fc7bdf5e-295e-11ed-ae55-572674698712.html |
A former Irving elementary school teacher has been arrested again and charged with indecency with a child on Aug. 25, one month after he faced similar charges, Irving police confirmed.
28-year-old Victor Hugo Moreno was previously charged with continuous sex abuse of a young child and improper relationship between a student and educator on July 21. Police alleged Moreno assaulted a 7-year-old girl during the 2020-21 school year while he teaching 2nd grade at Townsell Elementary.
Irving police said Moreno assaulted a 13-14-year-old student and that this is separate from the previous charges he faced. He is currently in a Dallas County Jail with a $100,000 bond.
According to police, Moreno resigned from the Irving Independent School District at the end of the 2021 school year after failing to meet his certification requirements. Police said Moreno taught at Plano ISD during the 2021-2022 school year and was fired because of a code of conduct violation. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/former-irving-teacher-charged-again-for-child-abuse/3061798/ | 2022-09-01T01:44:57 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/former-irving-teacher-charged-again-for-child-abuse/3061798/ |
A grassland fire burning east of Glenrock and the Dave Johnston Power Plant was contained by Wednesday evening, an emergency official said.
No structures were thought to be in danger as at least a half-dozen crews worked to halt the blaze, including several local fire departments, the Bureau of Land Management and helicopters from the Wyoming Forestry Division.
The fire, first reported at 2:11 p.m., started east of the Dave Johnston Power Plant and moved northward. It grew to an estimated 200 acres — about one-third of a square mile — the Bureau of Land Management reported in the late afternoon. A fire dispatch website for Wyoming showed the blaze at 1,500 acres shortly before 6 p.m.
“We’ve got lots and lots of resources out here trying to get it knocked down, and we’re struggling right now,” Russ Dalgarn, Converse County’s emergency management coordinator, said Wednesday afternoon.
“I think we’ve got about 50 to 75 people out here right now,” he added.
Journalists from the Star-Tribune witnessed at least three helicopters picking up water from the nearby North Platte River and dropping it on the flames.
A wind farm operates in the area, but the fire did not appear to threaten it.
While the cause has not been determined, Dalgarn said the fire may have been ignited by lightning from a storm that is also thought to have sparked three smaller fires closer to Douglas. Weather conditions in the area were hot and windy.
The fire appeared to burn mostly grassland, causing reddish smoke to rise into the sky.
Having two seats on the city council open up at the same time is highly unusual. That happening in the window between a primary and general election, Mayor Ray Pacheco said, is unprecedented.
Wellspring Health Access, the Casper abortion and health clinic that was set to open this summer, is offering free Plan B emergency contraceptive to anyone who requests it.
One of Casper Pride's hopes for the library is to make more LGBTQ educational materials accessible to the community. It’ll include textbooks, articles, children’s books, novels and everything in between.
The Discipleship Recovery Center will house up to 40 men and 20 women in the "discipleship program," the mission’s one-year addiction treatment program for homeless people.
By the end of day one of the Mongol Derby, Jackson competitor Deidre Griffith finished last behind 46 riders. Eight days later, she, alongside her partner, were the first to cross the line.
A helicopter heads to the North Platte River to grab water to fight a wildfire burning Wednesday near Glenrock. Authorities suspect lightning may have touched off the fire. | https://trib.com/news/local/casper/grass-fire-burning-east-of-glenrock-power-plant-nearly-contained/article_c3ed0f06-297b-11ed-b687-dfb3a01a02b6.html | 2022-09-01T01:44:57 | 0 | https://trib.com/news/local/casper/grass-fire-burning-east-of-glenrock-power-plant-nearly-contained/article_c3ed0f06-297b-11ed-b687-dfb3a01a02b6.html |
The State Loan and Investment Board will meet Tuesday to consider and hear public comment on three charter school applications.
The meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to noon, with a second meeting scheduled for Sept. 14 starting at 1 p.m. in case time runs out.
The state board will likely vote to approve or reject the applications on one of those days.
Charter schools are public schools, so they’re funded with state money. Like traditional public schools, they don’t charge tuition and they’re still accountable to state performance standards. But they’re nonprofit organizations, and they’re subject to fewer regulations compared to traditional public schools.
A law passed last year allows for the State Loan and Investment Board to approve charters. Previously, only local school boards could do that. This round of applications is sort of a pilot to see how this new process for approving charters will work.
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Three potential schools — Prairie View Community School, Wyoming Classical Academy and Cheyenne Classical Academy — have applied for charters with the state board.
Representatives from the proposed schools will get time to pitch the schools to the State Loan and Investment Board, which includes Gov. Mark Gordon, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schroeder, state treasurer Curt Meier, state auditor Kristi Racine and Secretary of State Ed Buchanan. The meeting will be open to questions from the state board and comment from the public.
The proposed Prairie View Community School in Chugwater emphasizes individualized and project-based learning centered on students’ interests, according to its website. It also focuses on place-based education, or education that immerses students in “local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences.”
The school board of the Prairie View Community School did not respond to a request for comment on its application by deadline.
The proposed Wyoming Classical Academy, which, if approved, will be located in Mills and Cheyenne Classical Academy are both tied to Hillsdale College, a conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Michigan. Both schools will base their education on a “classical” curriculum that was developed by the college.
Some people have brought up concerns about possible religious influences in the two potential classical academies, considering their connection with Hillsdale College.
Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, the vice chair of the proposed Mills charter school, said that the school would have “the same restraints that all our public schools have” under the Wyoming constitution, which requires public schools to be secular.
“Some of the the education is known to be on the conservative side,” Scott said. “That’s fine, what’s wrong with that? As long as they do a good job teaching kids the basics, I’m all for it.”
Russel Donley, former Speaker of the House and chair of Wyoming Classical Academy’s board, said that staff from Hillsdale College will train the school’s headmaster and teachers as well as the school board members. The school board has already interviewed several potential headmasters and submitted one to Hillsdale for approval, according to Donley.
Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, a board member of the proposed Cheyenne Classical Academy, said he has “a lot of confidence” that the state board will approve the school’s charter application.
“Our goal is to have all five statewide elected board members support our application,” he said. “So we’re going in with the mindset that we’re going to get all five votes.”
The meetings will held in the Capitol Complex Auditorium and via Zoom. | https://trib.com/news/local/education/state-board-set-to-consider-charter-school-applications/article_679cda2e-2949-11ed-a6c9-0bfe6afa3ee7.html | 2022-09-01T01:45:03 | 0 | https://trib.com/news/local/education/state-board-set-to-consider-charter-school-applications/article_679cda2e-2949-11ed-a6c9-0bfe6afa3ee7.html |
According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, 36,096 people died in motor vehicle crashes due to a variety of causes in 2019, including alcohol, speeding, problematic driving behaviors, and lack of safety belt use. The National Safety Council estimates that seat belts have saved 374,276 lives since 1975. Research supports this and several studies have found, “The seat belt is the single most effective feature in a vehicle to reduce the severity of injury to the vehicle occupants that results from road traffic crashes.”
While not everyone uses safety belts, they have been around since the 19th century. Many streetcars were outfitted with lap belts in the 1930s, though they offered little protection for torsos and heads. Nash Motors, out of Wisconsin, began offering seat belts in 1949, and Wisconsin became the first state to require safety belts in front seats in 1961 for all car models from 1962 on, though this law did not make it mandatory for occupants to wear them. The three-point seat belt, most often used today, was devised by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin in 1959, and such seat belts were mandatorily placed in all new U.S. vehicles beginning in 1968. New York became the first state to require mandatory seat belt use, though only in front seats. Those who didn't comply could be fined $50.
The seat belt journey has not been an easy one though, and even with mounting science-based evidence of their ability to save lives, some people continue to refuse to use them. Reasons for lack of use range from device failure to personal choice.
While seat belt usage varies from state to state, at the national level, 90.7% of people wear seat belts. Seat belt laws are either primary or secondary. With primary seat belt laws, police officers can ticket an unbelted driver or passenger regardless of whether they’ve committed another traffic offense. When it comes to secondary seat belt laws, law enforcement may only issue a ticket to an unbelted driver or passenger if they are committing another citable traffic offense.
Seat belt laws are also variable across the country. Currently, New Hampshire is the only state in the nation that does not have a law that requires adult drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts, though anyone under 18 must use a seat belt.
Citing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Uplift Legal Funding identified the states with the lowest seat belt use rates. Due to the impact of the coronavirus on data collection, Uplift used 2019 data which was available for all 50 states. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/update-watch-now-woman-26-of-mount-pleasant-killed-in-single-vehicle-crash-at-highway/article_c3e99988-2963-11ed-9e74-5bceab0f985f.html | 2022-09-01T01:49:20 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/update-watch-now-woman-26-of-mount-pleasant-killed-in-single-vehicle-crash-at-highway/article_c3e99988-2963-11ed-9e74-5bceab0f985f.html |
Hiring dispatchers currently can take as long as three months, a process that has, over the years, been streamlined as it used to take anywhere from six to eight months to bring new telecommunicators on board, said Josh Nielsen, director of the city-county Joint Services.
In the past, in-person skills tests limited the number of applicants to 10 at a time from a pool of about 150 to 200. Rooms and test proctors had to be scheduled in advance. Today, skills tests are taken online. However, the pool of applicants, until recently, had shrunk to about 40, according to Nielsen. Over the last few months. But Joint Services has been vigorous in its efforts to recruit potential talent with the current pool expanding to 115.
“Up until this last one (job pool), we were getting maybe 40 applicants, and out of the 40 applicants we’d be lucky to get a couple people,” Nielsen told the Executive Committee. In some cases, half the applicants did not even attempt to take the tests.
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Then, there are the interviews and background checks.
“We do a background check on everybody. We, obviously check their criminal history. There’s some restrictions there, as far as, their criminal history,” he said. “There are the type of situations where … because of the systems we’re giving people access to, they have to have somewhat of a clean record.”
Once they’re hired they undergo classroom training for becoming an emergency telecommunicator, according to Nikki Beranis, Joint Services’ communications manager.
“It teaches the basics, the very, very basics of what this job is going to entail. Anything from radio communications to handling difficult callers,” said Beranis, who oversees training. “I do, myself, a stress management presentation so that they have an idea of what they’re going to deal with once they get on the job.”
The new hires then enter phases of training learning first how to take 911 calls, along with a course on emergency medical dispatching and then onto radio dispatch, typically starting with fire calls before going on to law enforcement.
Beranis said she is able to assess “pretty quickly” whether a dispatcher in training is cut out for the job based on their level of engagement.
“They’re taking a part in their own training. You can see when people are vested because they’re on their own accord … they’re going through their training manual. They’re reading the materials, they’re studying,” she said. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-hiring-dispatchers-a-challenge-as-agency-seeks-to-fill-vacancies/article_4663c9ca-285f-11ed-ba51-7b742f25133e.html | 2022-09-01T01:49:26 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-hiring-dispatchers-a-challenge-as-agency-seeks-to-fill-vacancies/article_4663c9ca-285f-11ed-ba51-7b742f25133e.html |
INDIANAPOLIS — AES Indiana customers will see a price jump the next time they look at their utility bill.
The hike isn't because you're using more energy. AES says fuel costs are going up.
AES tells us customers should expect their bills to temporarily go up by about 12%
The said it's not something they are making money on. According to AES, natural gas and coal prices have gone up substantially over the past year, and the price hikes are related to those increases.
AES's Kelly Young said it's something that customers see every so often with a fuel adjustment charge.
"This is something that all utilities are faced with, all utilities here in Indiana," Young said. "It's based on the varying price of fuels and purchased power costs, so those costs fluctuate. They go up and down, and they are based on that cost of fuel."
Young said AES knows customers are seeing prices go up elsewhere as well, and that's why they have resources for customers who will feel the pinch when prices jump.
RELATED: Here's how some Duke Energy Indiana customers can get $300 toward their energy bill annually
"I know increases hurt every time, so we do acknowledge that. We do have programs in place that we want to help our customers manage their energy costs," said Young.
How can customers save on their bills? AES has these resources for making sure your home is the most energy efficient it can be, and other tips on ways to save.
What other people are reading: | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/aes-indiana-customers-to-see-fuel-adjustment-charge-on-utility-bills-electric-budget-tips/531-2c52bf51-06e2-44a8-a010-78d7160abade | 2022-09-01T01:51:13 | 0 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/aes-indiana-customers-to-see-fuel-adjustment-charge-on-utility-bills-electric-budget-tips/531-2c52bf51-06e2-44a8-a010-78d7160abade |
FISHERS, Ind. — Drew Brees is back - in business.
Likely bound for enshrinement in NFL's Hall of Fame, the now-retired quarterback is partnering with two other former Purdue Boilermakers in Fishers' Stretch Zone.
"Two of my best friends in the world, Ben Smith and Jason Loerzel, we were all college roommates at Purdue University from 1997 to 2000, Brees said. "I had a bunch of great memories there on the football field, and I think built an even stronger connection off the field as friends."
They've gone back to games on campus together, celebrated birthdays and traveled overseas. Now, the trio is opening a 10th Stretch Zone together. Three are in Indy. It's working, and they plan to open more.
"When you go to get into business with someone, there's always that, 'First you have to, like, trust the person or find somebody you're gonna trust,'" Loerzel said. "We got to skip all of that."
It's a full circle connection for Smith, who was a safety and now lives in Fishers.
"We're all 43, 44 years old, and to be able to do this with them, you know, we're on the phone more often now. And I don't think a lot of people are able to experience that after you leave college," said Smith.
The business features assisted stretching, something Brees said he utilized the last five years of his NFL career and continues today.
"Sometimes, it's 'I just want to get stretched before I go play golf or before I go play pickleball'. Sometimes it's just been, 'I've been grinding all day, sitting at the desk', you know, work and whatever it is, it's like, 'You know what, I just I want to get get on the table and just get get stretched out', and you get off the table feeling like a million bucks," said Brees.
The company has a patented strapping system to help with resistance.
You are fully clothed, you don't sweat, and it's more of a training than spa environment. When you buy a package, a 30-minute session averages $40.
"This is a concept that I believe in because it helped me throughout my career," Brees said. "But for us now, from a business perspective, it's something that we can bring into the communities in which we live and provide a great service to people."
What other people are reading: | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/brees-2-purdue-teammates-open-10th-stretch-zone-franchise-business-health-boilermakers/531-334f641a-7913-4253-b80b-b6cf85456138 | 2022-09-01T01:51:19 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/brees-2-purdue-teammates-open-10th-stretch-zone-franchise-business-health-boilermakers/531-334f641a-7913-4253-b80b-b6cf85456138 |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/reading-police-feds-hold-press-conference-on-abducted-teen-found-in-nyc/3350836/ | 2022-09-01T01:52:48 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/reading-police-feds-hold-press-conference-on-abducted-teen-found-in-nyc/3350836/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – Safety is top of the mind in and out of the classroom this year, and each school day starts on the road.
The Roanoke City Police Department said they partnered with Virginia State Police to target school zones during the first week of school.
Altogether, the Roanoke City PD said they and the VSP issued 303 summonses during their targeted enforcement period.
The Roanoke City Police Department broke down the summonses by the following:
- 174 speeding summonses,
- 10 other moving violations,
- 78 non-moving violations, including expired inspections, expired tags, suspended Operator’s License, or no Operator’s License. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/authorities-issue-303-summonses-in-school-zones-during-back-to-school-week-in-roanoke/ | 2022-09-01T01:56:51 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/authorities-issue-303-summonses-in-school-zones-during-back-to-school-week-in-roanoke/ |
FOREST, Va. – UPDATE 3:51 p.m.:
The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that the teen was found safe.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office needs the community’s help to locate a missing teen.
Authorities said that 14-year-old Ethan Keys was last seen near the intersection of Gumtree Drive and Spring Lake Drive in Forest wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, black cotton pants, and black tennis shoes.
Ethan is approximately 5′9″ tall and 120 pounds, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities said that the teen has autism, and if you see or have any information about his whereabouts, you can contact the Bedford County Emergency Communications Center at (540) 586-7827, or 911.
Stick with 10 News as this breaking news story develops. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/bedford-authorities-searching-for-missing-14-year-old-boy-with-autism/ | 2022-09-01T01:56:57 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/bedford-authorities-searching-for-missing-14-year-old-boy-with-autism/ |
BUCHANAN, Va. – Every year, a Botetourt County boy makes a difference here in our community – making sure no other child goes hungry. This year he’s facing several obstacles … and needs your help.
It started in 2019 when Gavin Price, 10, heard about Backpack Buddies.
That year, Gavin invited friends to his birthday party and asked that they each bring a jar of peanut butter.
When no one showed up, New Freedom Farm threw him a community birthday party, and 800 jars of peanut butter were donated.
“My dad thought of it. He asked me if I really wanted to do it instead of my birthday. I thought … other kids don’t have as much as I do so I can give to them,” Gavin explained.
In 2020, he collected more than 2,000 jars, and the year after that, he collected more than 4,000.
This year, Gavin is struggling to reach his 1,000 goal.
“It’s been a little difficult because things cost a little bit more,” Gavin said.
“We understand that people can only give what they can give without causing shortfalls in their own households,” said his mom, Cindy Price.
You can donate through Labor Day on their Amazon Wishlist, PayPal: GavinPeanutButterBoy, or drop your donations off at the Buchanan Town Hall. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/buchanan-boy-needs-help-collecting-peanut-butter-to-help-kids-in-need/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:03 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/buchanan-boy-needs-help-collecting-peanut-butter-to-help-kids-in-need/ |
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – It’s 10 News’ final day of Clear The Shelters, and we have one last pet to show off.
Meet Simon, a younger, energetic pup who enjoys being around other dogs.
He’s a good boy who’s looking for a good home, but shelter staff said he’ll need some help getting socialized and trained.
Simon is a Pit Bull Terrier and has been at the Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center for over four weeks.
And, according to the shelter’s website, Simon’s adoption fee is only $15.
If you’re interested in giving Simon a loving home, you can contact the Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center at (540)382-5795. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/final-day-of-clear-the-shelters-meet-simon/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:10 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/final-day-of-clear-the-shelters-meet-simon/ |
DUBLIN, Va. – Wanted man Shawn Tolbert was taken into custody after nearly three weeks of being on the run.
Tolbert was found inside a bus parked behind a Dublin home – the home of Andrew Fitzgerald.
“I had no idea until then that he was a fugitive,” Fitzgerald said.
Dublin Police said they received an anonymous call from someone who said they had seen Tolbert, prompting Dublin Police and multiple other agencies to respond to the 600 block of East Main Street in Dublin.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the slogan, see something, say something, that is so important,” said Dublin Police Chief Dennis Lambert.
Fitzgerald is known in the Dublin community for helping to feed and house people experiencing homelessness, which is what Fitzgerald did for Tolbert when he saw him walking along Route 460 in the dark.
“I said, ‘Well, you’re welcome to come back to my house and get cleaned up and I’ll feed ya,’ and he said, ‘That’s a deal,’” Fitzgerald explained.
With assistance from multiple agencies like State Police and the US Marshals, Dublin Police said Tolbert was taken into custody from inside the bus parked outside of Fitzgerald’s home.
Neighbors said the sight and sound of flash bangs and tear gas caught their attention in their usually quiet neighborhood.
“Next thing I knew there was a boom and you could see smoke go up,” said one neighbor, Shelva Almarode.
“Things like that don’t happen here,” said another neighbor, Cindy Robison.
As for Fitzgerald, he’s still at a loss for words that he was unknowingly helping a wanted man.
“You never would’ve thought he was a fugitive. The guy was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. It’s just hard to believe I’m still shocked,” Fitzgerald said.
Police said Tolbert was taken to the hospital after the State Police got him into custody.
It is unknown where Tolbert will go after he is released from doctors’ care, as he has multiple charges in different counties. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/i-had-no-idea-he-was-a-fugitive-search-for-shawn-tolbert-ends-in-the-backyard-of-dublin-mans-home/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:11 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/i-had-no-idea-he-was-a-fugitive-search-for-shawn-tolbert-ends-in-the-backyard-of-dublin-mans-home/ |
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty University students are providing disaster relief after last month’s flooding in Kentucky.
A group left Wednesday morning for Jackson, Kentucky, where they’ll remove debris and help with other clean-up efforts before returning on Sunday.
The students are a part of the LU Serve Now program and are partnering with Samaritan’s Purse.
“The situation in Kentucky is very sad. We have a great opportunity here at Serve Now to be able to go out to places like this and help where we’re needed; so doing what we can even if it only makes a small difference,” said Hazel Van Dyk, a Liberty University sophomore participant.
“It’s a unique opportunity for students just to deploy their uniqueness, their skills, their abilities to go and help and serve others,” said Chad Nelson, director of LU Serve Now.
Another group of LU students will travel to Mayfield, Kentucky in October to help with the rebuilding after last year’s tornado. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/liberty-university-students-travel-to-kentucky-to-help-with-disaster-relief/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:17 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/liberty-university-students-travel-to-kentucky-to-help-with-disaster-relief/ |
LYNCHBURG, Va. – International Overdose Awareness Day is Wednesday, and organizations in Lynchburg are working together to provide help.
During a conference at the Centra Health Pearson Cancer Center, speakers shared their personal experiences.
“She was murdered. She was murdered by fentanyl,” said Deborah Adair, whose daughter, Lucy, struggled with addiction and died in 2021 from drugs laced with fentanyl.
Lucy was 26 years old.
Adair hoped her story would raise awareness about overdose, especially among young people.
“Their brain is wired to think, ‘okay, this is the time in my life where I should experiment. I want to try new things!’ That’s what they’re supposed to do. Unfortunately, one of their options today is drug use,” said Adair.
Drug use is getting worse, according to the health experts and first responders at Wednesday’s conference.
Leaders from Horizon Behavioral Health, Central Virginia Health District, Centra Health, Lynchburg Police Department, and Blue Ridge Emergency Medical Services Council discussed resources to prevent overdose.
Adair urged parents to talk with their children – regardless if they know whether their kids are using drugs or not.
“Unless we all work together unless we talk to each other very frankly, we’re going to lose. When I say we’re going to lose, we’re going to lose life, afterlife, afterlife,” said Adair.
Jonathan Hallahan can relate.
“I’m still, to this day, watching people, friends, and family members die of this disease of addiction,” said Hallahan, who also shared his personal experience during the conference.
32-year-old Hallahan said he came close to overdosing several times and began treatment in 2018.
The Roanoke native said he’s had setbacks, but this Christmas would mark two years of sobriety.
Hallahan hopes others will get the help they need.
“I’m just grateful to be alive. If it weren’t for my recovery, I wouldn’t be here,” said Hallahan.
If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline at 800-662-HELP (4357).
You can also visit abovethehigh.org.
You can find more resources below:
- Weekly meetings for N.A. - Roanoke Valley Area of Narcotics Anonymous (roanokena.com)
- List of rehab centers - Inpatient Rehab in Roanoke, VA (inpatient-centers.org)
- Non-inpatient options - Substance Use/Abuse Resources (roanoke.edu) | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/lynchburg-conference-provides-resrouces-on-international-overdose-awareness-day/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:23 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/lynchburg-conference-provides-resrouces-on-international-overdose-awareness-day/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – A man has been arrested after assaulting a police officer, stealing the patrol car, and crashing, the Roanoke Police Department said.
Around 10:45 p.m. on August 26, Roanoke Police said they responded to an E-911 notification of a person acting erratically at the intersection of Williamson Road NW and Hershberger Road NW.
Authorities said that when an officer arrived, they found a man standing in the road in the 5200 block of Williamson Road NW.
Once the officer parked and got out of the vehicle, the man ran to her door and began assaulting her, according to the Roanoke Police Department.
After a brief altercation, police said the officer took out her department-issued taser and deployed it, but it had little to no effect on the man.
Authorities said that the man then got into the officer’s vehicle and tried to drive away, and the officer reached inside, grabbing the gear shift when a citizen pulled in front of the officer’s vehicle in an attempt to assist the officer.
As the altercation continued, the man leaned down and bit the officer’s arm, which caused her to remove her hand from the gear shift, police said.
Police said that the man drove forward after the officer let go of the gear shift, drove forward, and crashed into another car, then continued to drive until he lost control and crashed the patrol car in the 1700 block of Lee Highway in Botetourt County.
The man exited the vehicle and attempted to run away on foot when more officers were able to find him and a Roanoke PD K-9 successfully apprehended the man, authorities said.
The Roanoke PD said that he was taken into custody by Virginia State Police without further incident, then was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment.
After being treated, police said he was taken to the Roanoke City Jail.
Authorities said the man was later identified as Terry Yerkey, 42, and is being charged with the following:
- Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer,
- Theft of a Motor Vehicle,
- Felony Hit-and-Run. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/police-man-charged-after-assaulting-roanoke-city-police-officer-stealing-patrol-car/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:29 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/police-man-charged-after-assaulting-roanoke-city-police-officer-stealing-patrol-car/ |
SALEM, Va. – Virginians’ approval rate of Governor Glenn Youngkin is increasing, according to results of a new Roanoke College poll, but an overwhelming amount want him to remain in Richmond and not Washington D.C.
The Institute for Policy and Opinion Research (IPOR) at Roanoke College interviewed 640 adult residents of Virginia between Aug. 7 and Aug. 16 in the latest Roanoke College Poll addressing topics such as the war in Ukraine, abortion, Youngkin’s national spotlight, and general feelings about current and former elected officials. The survey has a margin of error of 4.5%.
Approvals, Favorable/Unfavorable, Direction of Virginia, Country
Governor Glenn Youngkin’s approval rating has increased slightly to 55% from 53% in May while disapproval remains at 35%.
That slight increase comes from Republican sentiment, as approval among his party is now at 86%, up from 75% in June.
Approval for President Biden has increased slightly as well, up to 39% from an all-time low Roanoke College Poll rating of 37% in June.
For the first time in the poll, a 51% of Virginias have a favorable view of Governor Youngkin, while 37% continue to have an unfavorable view. His rating is up slightly among Democrats and Independents.
Former Governor Northam’s favorability also increased from 34% to 41%, showing that Virginians now have a more favorable view of the executive branch of our Commonwealth.
President Biden saw a slight increase of 41% compared to 38% in May in favorable views and a minimal decline in unfavorability of 55% compared to 56% in May.
Former President Trump also saw a similar increase in favorability of 37%, up from 34%, and a decrease in unfavorable views of 58%, down from 59%. Political parties did not seem to play a large role in those changes.
When asked about the country, 25% of respondents said that things are going in the right direction, up from only 21% in May; 72% replied that things have gotten off on the wrong track, down from 77%. Regarding the Commonwealth, 51% say that we are heading in the right direction, while 45% say we’re going in the wrong direction, relatively unchanged since May.
Abortion and the Supreme Court
Before the United States Supreme Court’s June decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, they found in May, that 35% of Virginians felt that abortion should be legal under any circumstance, 53% felt it should be legal under certain circumstances, and only 11% believed abortion should be totally illegal.
In August, after the court’s decision, 40% of respondents in Virginia feel that abortion should be legal under all circumstances, 48% believe it should be legal under some circumstances, and just 10% favor a total abortion ban.
Findings showed that 35% of Virginians agree with the court’s decision to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision, up from 32% in May and 60% disagree, up from 57% in May. The change comes primarily among respondents that had unsure or mixed feelings back in May, along with an increase in Republicans, 57% agree with the decision now compared to 46% in May.
Only 37% of residents in the Commonwealth have a favorable view of the Supreme Court, down from 46% in May.
53% now have an unfavorable view.
Most of this change comes from the Democratic Party, where 42% had a favorable view in May and 26% have a favorable view now; Independents also view the court less favorably now compared to May.
Governor Youngkin and the National Spotlight
For the first time, the Roanoke College Poll asked Virginians’ opinions about Governor Youngkin and the national spotlight.
With speculation in the news that Youngkin may run for president in 2024, they found that only 36% of Virginians think he should run while 54% do not. Among Republicans, just 49% feel that he should seek the party’s nomination for president.
In an early matchup for the Republican primary for president, we found that, among Republicans, 28% would vote for Youngkin, 62% would vote for former President Trump, and 9% would vote for someone else or aren’t sure whom they would vote for.
Russia and Ukraine
With the ongoing war in Ukraine now approaching its fifth month, 73% continue to follow the news either very or somewhat closely, down slightly from 76% in May. 70% of Republicans and 80% of Democrats follow the war that closely.
Nearly the same percentage, 64% now, 66% in May, believe that the worst is still yet to come. Democratic opinion on this is nearly unchanged from May, but now only 58% of Republicans think the worst is in the future compared to 70% in May.
45% of respondents said that the United States should offer more support to Ukraine, but not at the risk of our country getting into a war with Russia. Fewer, at 36%, said that the U.S. is already doing enough to support Ukraine, while ever fewer, 17%, said that we should offer more support even if it risks getting our country into a war with Russia. These numbers are relatively unchanged from May, even when party lines are considered. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/poll-results-show-virginians-approve-of-gov-youngkins-leadership-dont-want-him-to-run-for-president/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:31 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/poll-results-show-virginians-approve-of-gov-youngkins-leadership-dont-want-him-to-run-for-president/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – The Rail Yard Dawgs will call Roanoke home for many years to come.
The organization is extending its lease at the Berglund Center for five more years.
The venue will serve as the team’s home arena and primary practice facility through May of 2028.
The Dawgs had a big playoff run last season and made the SPHL finals and their momentum has translated into ticket sales. For the first time in franchise history, there are more than 900 season ticket holders.
The president told 10 News that fans are also key to their success.
“Since I’ve moved here I’ve seen it time and time again that people are proud of being from Roanoke and proud to see that local success and anytime that happens they really rally around it and we’ve certainly felt that first hand.,” said Rail Yard Dawgs President Mickey Gray.
The Dawgs’ season opener is scheduled for October 21 in Roanoke. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/rail-yard-dawgs-extend-lease-with-berglund-center/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:37 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/rail-yard-dawgs-extend-lease-with-berglund-center/ |
ROANOKE, Va. – September is Suicide Awareness Month, and two local groups hope to raise awareness.
The Suicide Prevention Council of Roanoke Valley and Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare are joining forces to focus on suicide prevention, warning signs, and reduction of the stigma associated with suicide in the Roanoke Valley, according to a joint press release.
The release said that suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10 to 24-year-olds and it is estimated that over 45,979 Americans died by suicide in 2020.
SPCRV and BRBH will be hosting multiple events in their efforts to raise awareness and provide resources to the community, the release said, all of which are free.
On World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10, the organizations will host a SafeTALK training for people over the age of 15 to become suicide-alert helpers, the release said.
They will also host a Virtual Talk Saves Lives presentation on September 20 and a Youth Mental Health First Aid Training on September 27, according to the release.
Find more resources for suicide awareness here.
You can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/suicide-awareness-month-local-groups-to-host-events-provide-resources-for-awareness/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:43 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/suicide-awareness-month-local-groups-to-host-events-provide-resources-for-awareness/ |
CARROLL COUNTY, Va. – UPDATE:
The area has been cleared, according to VDOT.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A vehicle fire is causing delays on I-77 in Carroll County, VDOT said.
As of 8:38 p.m. authorities say the north right shoulder is closed.
Authorities said that the fire happened at the 16.5-mile marker.
Stay with 10 News for the latest traffic updates | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/vehicle-fire-on-i-77-in-carroll-county-causing-delays/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:49 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/08/31/vehicle-fire-on-i-77-in-carroll-county-causing-delays/ |
ROCKY MOUNT, Va. – The Franklin County Humane Society and the Franklin County Animal Shelter are completely full, and they’re asking anyone who is looking for a pet to consider adopting.
The Franklin County Humane Society has more than 300 pets in its care.
“It is a challenge. They’re not all in the building, some are in foster care. But we do have quite a few here and we still have people every day wanting to bring new animals to us,” said Anita Scott, the director of the Franklin County Humane Society.
With around 50 dogs and 130 cats on site, the Humane Society is packed with pups and crawling with kittens, all in need of forever homes.
“There are kittens that are growing up here when they should be in a home chasing toys. There are puppies here, older dogs that have been waiting for a while,” Scott added.
One of the older dogs is 5-year-old Gunner, whose sweet stride made him a fan favorite among the staff. He’s just one of many who are waiting to be adopted.
“It seems like last year’s adoptions slowed down quite a bunch and this year has continued the same trend,” Scott said.
A trend that is becoming direr for the shelters in Rocky Mount. The Franklin County Animal Shelter is also full.
“When we’re out of room, shelters that depend on us, shelters that have to make that hard decision to euthanize just due to space, we are unable to answer that call,” Scott said.
The shelter is hoping to highlight these pets so their future families will give them a place to call home.
If you’re not looking for a new pet but want to help, you can volunteer or donate.
The Humane Society is also hiring one full-time and two part-time employees. You can learn more about employment by contacting the shelter at (540) 489-3491.
You can find other pets up for adoption through 10 News’ Clear The Shelters. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/09/01/franklin-county-shelters-at-capacity-encouraging-pet-lovers-to-adopt/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:51 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/09/01/franklin-county-shelters-at-capacity-encouraging-pet-lovers-to-adopt/ |
High temperatures and humidity have thrown us for a loop this year, but with fall right around the corner, prepping your kitchen for fall feasting might not be a bad idea.
When brisk fall weather rolls around, food fiends will whip up some of the best dishes imaginable, and now’s your chance to share it.
So tell us ... What’s your favorite fall recipe? | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/09/01/survey-whats-your-favorite-fall-recipe/ | 2022-09-01T01:57:57 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2022/09/01/survey-whats-your-favorite-fall-recipe/ |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Brevard County is counting down to more traffic jams and large crowds with NASA moving the next Artemis I launch attempt to 2:17 Saturday afternoon.
Communications director Don Walker said managing Monday’s rush to the coast went better than expected, but Saturday will be even more of a challenge.
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“Since it’s a holiday weekend, it’s going to be a much bigger headache,” Walker said.
With the help of law enforcement, the county is asking drivers to plan ahead and consider keeping food and water in the car when heading out to popular viewing locations.
Brevard County’s tourism office predicted as many as 200,000 people for Monday’s attempt.
Saturday’s estimates are twice that amount.
“You could be seeing no less than 400,000 people or more,” Walker said.
Donna Hartley and her husband are retired Space Center employees who said they watch the big launches at home because of the crowds.
On Wednesday, the couple enjoyed a much quieter day at Jetty Park than what’s expected again on Saturday.
“I think it’s going to be an astronomical amount of people here,” Hartley said. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/400000-people-or-more-crowds-expected-to-double-for-next-artemis-i-launch-attempt/ | 2022-09-01T02:08:27 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/400000-people-or-more-crowds-expected-to-double-for-next-artemis-i-launch-attempt/ |
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – After yet another police suicide in Central Florida, deputies have come up with a solution: the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has finally hired a full-time in-house mental health expert.
Until this year, the department never had one.
Capt. Fred Hinderman grew up with the deputy who took his own life last year.
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“He struggled with his own things going on, and I never would have thought he would have taken his own life,” Hinderman said. “I was working, and they called me, and I just had to pull over. I really didn’t know how to process it.”
Like much of the sheriff’s office’s staff, Hinderman was devastated.
“At that point, there was no one here at the sheriff’s office to help,” Hinderman said. “Nothing against our agency or any other agency, but as a culture, we’ve frowned upon someone saying, ‘I need help.’ I was afraid I was going to get fired.”
That’s when Sheriff Marcos Lopez understood that hiring a full-time mental health specialist became a life-saving priority. He hired former NYPD officer Nancy Rosado as his in-house mental health supervisor.
Rosado said the need for a mental health specialist inside police departments and Sheriff’s Offices are greater than ever.
“Absolutely,” Rosado said. “As events unfold today, it’s so different than in the past. You never thought a police department would be dealing with the magnitude of a September 11th or one of these mass-shootings incidents. The No. 1 reason police officers commit suicide is because of their personal relationships outside the job.”
Rosado survived 9/11 in New York while working for the NYPD. She said she was outside the World Trade Center and ran as the first tower started to collapse. That’s why she can relate, she said, and why, often, there’s a line outside her office.
“They will talk,” Rosado said. “People think cops don’t talk about things, but yeah, they do. If they find the person they’re speaking to is compassionate and competent to deal with them, yeah, they will talk.”
Hinderman said that as a SWAT officer, he’s had to take three lives.
“Long-term, I told myself for years I was okay,” Hinderman said. “Told my family I was okay. In about 2018, I had an argument with my wife, and she basically told me leave or go to counseling. There was something wrong.”
Capt. Hinderman was one of the first at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office to seek out Rosado and one of the first chosen by Rosado to become a peer counselor - a fellow deputy trained to be an additional set of eyes and ears for Rosado. There are now 15 peer counselors at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and more to come.
“We’re getting results,” Hinderman said. “It’s changing the culture within the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office to make it more acceptable to ask for help.”
Rosado said changing the culture will save the lives of other deputies.
“This doesn’t hurt you, this doesn’t hurt your career,” Rosado said. “On the contrary it keeps you safe from behaviors that could cost you your career later on. I can’t identify one uncomfortable situation or something that you’d be concerned about a deputy’s actions out there later on because of their exposure to what they deal with on daily basis.”
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/after-another-police-suicide-osceola-sheriffs-office-hires-in-house-counselor/ | 2022-09-01T02:08:33 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/after-another-police-suicide-osceola-sheriffs-office-hires-in-house-counselor/ |
WINTER PARK, Fla. – A big annual foodie event benefitting Central Florida charities is returning to Winter Park for the 10th time.
Tickets for Cows ‘n Cabs are set to go on sale Thursday, Sept. 1.
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The event is set to take place on Nov. 12 in the West Meadow of Central Park, along Park Avenue, according to the event’s website.
Guests will be able to sample tastings from more than 25 Orlando-area restaurants along with more than 200 wines, craft beers and cocktails, the website reads.
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Some of the participating restaurants include 4 Rivers, Capo, Pizza Bruno, Hawkers, Black Rooster Taqueria and Black Magic Pizza, among others.
“Cows ‘n Cabs benefits charities who support children in need in Central Florida, including After School All Stars and 4 Roots,” the event’s site stated. “100% of all proceeds go to charities who support children in need in Central Florida.”
Cows ‘n Cabs was started in 2012 by John Rivers, Founder/CEO of 4R Restaurant Group, and Dave Larue, Vice President of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, according to its website.
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/cows-n-cabs-is-returning-to-winter-park-heres-when-you-can-get-tickets/ | 2022-09-01T02:08:39 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/cows-n-cabs-is-returning-to-winter-park-heres-when-you-can-get-tickets/ |
Dolly Parton seems to have the golden touch with singing, acting and writing.
Now, the superstar has launched an apparel line for pets. It’s called ‘Doggy Parton.’
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Parton said she was inspired to start it because of her love for animals.
In collaboration with SportPet Designs, the line will feature shirts, dresses, squeaky toys and even a blonde wig inspired by Parton.
Part of the proceeds will go to a rescue organization that provides homes for displaced animals.
The products will soon be available online through DoggyParton.com and Amazon.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/dolly-parton-to-release-new-dog-clothing-brand/ | 2022-09-01T02:08:45 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/dolly-parton-to-release-new-dog-clothing-brand/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Ever since Wendy Wing found out about Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, she said it’s been rewarding to get results in her community.
“I heard about it, but I didn’t know about it. So, I had to go and find out about it,” Wing recalled, “just being able to be a servant and do this again. I was so used to doing that it was very natural for me to do that.”
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Wing, a New York native and retired Orange County teacher, signed up to volunteer last October.
“I had all this time and I always wanted to be involved with Second Harvest,” Wing said. “I know from experience that children come to school hungry.”
According to Second Harvest Food Bank in 2020, one in three children suffered from food insecurity as well as one in six adults in central Florida.
“One of the best ways to show action is by volunteering. Volunteers are crucial to our mission; we simply could not do what we do without them,” said Mindy Ortiz, director of volunteer services.
The organization said it’s need of about 450 volunteers mainly to help out at their Mercy Kitchen location in Orlando.
“That’s where we produce meals that go to children, they go to students, seniors and veterans and they have to get produced it’s not like we can say all right we didn’t finish today we’re gonna get it done tomorrow. It has to happen today,” Ortiz said.
For Wing, it’s about being part of the solution.
“I look forward to coming to Second Harvest. It’s been fun. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done here,” she said.
To find out more on how to become a volunteer or make a donation here.
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/it-has-to-happen-today-orlando-woman-dedicates-retirement-to-second-harvest-food-bank/ | 2022-09-01T02:08:51 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/it-has-to-happen-today-orlando-woman-dedicates-retirement-to-second-harvest-food-bank/ |
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a double homicide at a mobile home park near Clermont, according to a release from the department.
The sheriff’s office received a call just after 2 p.m. on Wednesday in regards to the homicide located at 244 Jewelfish Road in the Thousand Trails Resort in Clermont, according to the report.
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Deputies say a female in the home told them that Justin Lamar Jones, 41, had killed his stepson in a travel trailer that morning, and also tied her up and sexually battered her. She was able to escape in the afternoon.
Deputies say they spotted Jones’ SUV in the parking lot of Publix on U.S. Highway 27 and Hartwood Marsh Road. They say Jones ran but they caught him and took him into custody.
While investigating, detectives found a second body in the travel trailer. The identities of the victims have not been released.
Jones has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, sexual battery and kidnapping.
This is a developing story. Check back with News 6 for the latest updates.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/man-found-dead-in-clermont-home-police-say/ | 2022-09-01T02:08:57 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/man-found-dead-in-clermont-home-police-say/ |
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – SWAT units found a wanted man at a Palm Coast apartment complex Wednesday night, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet.
The man, Leroy Sampson, was inside an apartment at the Landings at Town Center Apartments on Sunset Boulevard, deputies said.
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Sampson was taken into custody around 6:30 p.m.
This is a developing story. Check back with News 6 for the latest updates.
UPDATE (6:39 p.m.): Sampson is now in custody. Units remain on scene but will be clearing out shortly. Thanks again for your patience. https://t.co/euFXnDrQcz
— FlaglerSheriff (@FlaglerSheriff) August 31, 2022
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/swat-units-find-wanted-man-at-palm-coast-apartments-deputies-say/ | 2022-09-01T02:09:03 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/swat-units-find-wanted-man-at-palm-coast-apartments-deputies-say/ |
DELAND, Fla. – Residents in a DeLand mobile home park are scrambling to figure out how to keep their homes with just a month until their rent goes up beyond many of their means.
There’s over 40 mobile home and RV owners in the Lakeside Village, 55+ community, right off Woodland Boulevard.
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Most of the residents are on fixed incomes with social security and said they have nowhere to turn, telling News 6 they are afraid they could end up homeless.
“It’s really nerve wracking. I can’t sleep,” resident Robert O’Neill said.
For long-time residents like O’Neill, it’s down to the wire to get a plan together. O’Neill said he’s been paying $360 per month to rent the land his mobile home sits on, but on July 1, residents got a notice from the property manager taped to their door: rent would go up to $550 starting Oct. 1.
“It’s crazy! It’s like, wait a minute, here. We can’t afford it,” he said. ”We’ll have nothing to live on now! I’m thinking of pulling my electric meter because I’m going to have to shut my electric, and I’m going, ‘No, I got food in the fridge. I can’t do that either.’”
It’s just too much for most of these residents, who get $600 to $900 in social security to cover food and rent each month.
“I’m going, ‘Well, the $550 and then the $100 for electric. There’s $650, and I have $50 left for my phone and tag for vehicle.’ You just can’t do it,” O’Neill said.
Many don’t know where to go. A lot of the residents have lived in the park for decades.
“There were people screaming in here and yelling, knowing that they’re just done. There’s nothing they can do. They can’t work, they’re sick, they’re disabled or whatever, and their trailers are from the 60s,” resident Katherine Peebles said.
Peebles added that most can’t pick up and leave.
“My problem with leaving here is my motor home is a 1998. You can’t take it anywhere. If it’s over ten years old, they won’t let you put it anywhere,” she said.
These residents told News 6 they want to call the owner to question the hike but can’t get contact information. They said the park’s manager only gave them her information and a P.O. box for the owners.
“The manager here in the park won’t give the name or phone number or anything out, so we can’t get ahold of him to have him even justify a 52% rent increase,” Peebles said.
She even spoke during the city council meeting about the issue last week but said she couldn’t get help.
According to state filings, the property is owned by Homes of America, LLC based in Jacksonville but also has the P.O. box address in New Jersey. News 6 could not find other contact information listed anywhere.
In the meantime, residents have approximately one month to figure out how to get extra money or find a place to go.
“I’m going to rent a room from a gentleman who lives here because I can’t afford to stay here anymore by myself,” Peebles said. “This person, whoever bought this, just doesn’t care about us. Period.”
News 6 did speak to the park manager who was on site. She declined an interview but said she would give our reporter’s contact information to the property owners. At the time of this writing, News 6 still has not heard from them.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/we-dont-know-what-to-do-or-where-to-turn-deland-trailer-park-hikes-rent-52/ | 2022-09-01T02:09:09 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/08/31/we-dont-know-what-to-do-or-where-to-turn-deland-trailer-park-hikes-rent-52/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – A small fire broke out at a Burger King located inside of the Orlando International Airport Wednesday evening, according to airport officials.
At about 7:05 p.m., OIA announced that the fire department was investigating the area of Gates 70-99 about smoke from a nearby Burger King. The airport also advised travelers to get away from the area during the investigation.
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Airport officials later stated that fire crews were able to extinguish the fire by 7:46 p.m., though smoke still hung around the area.
According to a statement from the airport, “portions of the area were evacuated and passengers escorted to the hub. Passengers were also held in the international arrivals area and flights were impacted until the situation was cleared.”
All gates were allowed to return to normal operations at approximately 8:44 p.m., and passengers were allowed back into that wing of the airport, officials announced.
Entrance to gates 80-89 has reopened and passengers are being allowed back into that wing. We appreciate the patience and cooperation of our travelers affected by this situation, while our Fire Department, OPD and Ops resolved the issue. Thank you.
— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) September 1, 2022
At least ten flights were impacted by the fire, according to airport officials.
No information has yet been released about the cause of the fire.
This is a developing story. Check back with News 6 for updates.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/09/01/burger-king-catches-fire-at-orlando-international-airport-officials-say/ | 2022-09-01T02:09:15 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/09/01/burger-king-catches-fire-at-orlando-international-airport-officials-say/ |
LAKE MARY, Fla. – Walk into It Suits Me, a custom apparel store in Lake Mary, and you’ll know right away this is not a one-size-fits-all kind of situation.
Your first clue? The mannequins are all dressed in bright colors and bold patterns. There are spicy oranges, greens, pinks and purples with accessories to complement them all.
The man behind the array of colors is Lawrence Mason.
On the day News 6 visited his store at 154 N. 4th Street to talk about his love of suits, Mason said he toned down what he was wearing a bit for the interview.
Keep in mind: he was wearing a three-piece suit that fit like a glove.
He said that wherever he goes, he always plans to be the best dressed person in the room.
With a smile, Mason said, “You have to have a little swag, we call it, about you.”
He had swag — and then some.
He said the minute you put on one of his suits, you’ll start to feel a bit different.
“You gotta have your shoulders back, chest out, head up,” he explained.
As he showed News 6 around his custom-suit shop, he pulled out suits that pop with color.
Then he explained how he would mix and match certain colors and patterns.
His vibrant collection of suits, ties, shoes and other accessories are not for the weak.
The men who step into his custom-suit shop leave with a different attitude.
Mason said there is something about a nice suit that elevates the man who is wearing it.
“Your confidence level rises. Your walk changes. Your talk changes. Your attitude changes. The respect level you get changes,” Mason said.
It’s hard to believe Mason has only been outfitting the men of Central Florida for five years.
Before opening his shop, he spent nearly 30 years as a firefighter in Lake Mary and ten years as a reserve officer in Sanford.
You would think a man who wore a uniform nearly every day would be thrilled to dress down when given the opportunity. Not Mason.
He said that to him, a uniform was like a suit. And he loved it.
“I love the fact that when I was a firefighter or a police officer, the uniformity part of it,” he explained. “You know, because when you dress as a firefighter, and you are in your class As or Class Bs, you’re just at the top of the scale. You’re just below the military because we’re para-military, and that’s where I got my inspiration to become a suit store.”
Now, he is sharing his inspiration with others. His customers come in knowing they won’t run into anyone else wearing the same thing.
Mason said he stays busy all year long. There is always some special event where men want to dress to impress — weddings, proms, the Kentucky Derby, you name it — and he has a suit that will turn heads when you walk in the room.
He said he enjoys seeing the men transform when they step into something they never imagined they could wear.
Customers said that while his tailored and custom suits and rentals get them in the door, it’s the service that keeps them coming back.
Mason said that’s how it should be.
“No one that I know of gives that level of service, and that just makes you feel so good. My customers, they love it. You just walk out, stand there, just hold your arms out, and we take it from there. When you’re done, you’re all put together,” he said.
He also said there is a certain level of trust, especially for those men who are used to wearing only the basic brown, blue and black suits. Mason said there isn’t anything wrong with those kinds of suits, but if you want to take it to the next level, he is the man who can help you do it. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/09/01/from-firefighter-to-fine-fashion-local-man-suits-up-his-clients/ | 2022-09-01T02:09:16 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/09/01/from-firefighter-to-fine-fashion-local-man-suits-up-his-clients/ |
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A missing child alert has been issued for 7-year-old Skyler Morrison, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The child was described as 4 feet tall, weighing 50 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Law enforcement believes the child may be in the company of her mother, 28-year-old Ciara Ashley Culver, and they may be traveling in a black 2010 Chevrolet Cruze with Florida tag FE14U.
Culver is 5 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, deputies said.
The two live in Palm Coast, according to the sheriff’s office. However, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement stated they were last seen in the 600 block of Cedar Park Drive in Daytona Beach.
Both are considered missing, and Morrison is considered endangered, deputies said.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of either Morrison or Culver is asked to contact the department at (386) 313-4911.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/09/01/missing-child-alert-issued-for-7-year-old-palm-coast-girl-deputies-say/ | 2022-09-01T02:09:22 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/09/01/missing-child-alert-issued-for-7-year-old-palm-coast-girl-deputies-say/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Harmony Healthcare Orlando is on round two for monkeypox vaccine distribution at District Dive Bar in the Milk District.
Wednesday evening, John Bergstrom was first in line to get his shot.
“It was very quick, very easy, no pain in and out,” Bergstrom said.
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He said he lived through multiple outbreaks like smallpox and believes it’s wise to get vaccinated.
Bergstrom shared a story about his friend who contracted monkeypox after a quick trip to Miami. Bergstrom then realized how quickly and easily the virus can spread.
“It’s something I don’t need at my age or any age,” Bergstrom said.
Matthew Viera-Briggs, Chief Clinical Officer of Harmony Health Care, said community members need to be proactive.
“The best protection is prevention. Make sure you’re protecting yourself ahead of time,” Viera-Briggs said. “Get the vaccine because this is a skin-to-skin transmission.”
For people who do contract the virus, there is now an option for experimental treatment.
It’s called TPOXX, which is an emergency-use authorization from the federal government.
“It is an antiviral that reduces the severity of monkey pox and also shortens the lifespan of it,” Viera-Briggs said.
It can be taken orally at home or with an IV. Patients will have to take the pills two-to-three times per day, and it must be taken with food.
Viera-Briggs said it reduces pain, helps the lesions heal faster and can shorten the virus’ life span from 21 days to ten days.
“This is a very serious disease, and everyone needs to remember it’s not a STD. Anyone can get this,” Viera-Briggs said.
While not a sexually transmitted disease, monkeypox has frequently been transmitted through sexual contact, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC also recommends that people use safer sex practices to lower risk of transmission. The Orange County Department of Health has also stated that medical workers working closely with monkeypox cases, gay or bisexual men, and other men who have sex with men are at-risk groups.
He said it is also recommended that patients wait at least one month after getting a COVID-19 shot to get the monkeypox vaccine to get the best benefit from both.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/09/01/round-two-of-monkeypox-shots-distributed-at-district-dive-bar-introduces-new-treatment/ | 2022-09-01T02:09:29 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/09/01/round-two-of-monkeypox-shots-distributed-at-district-dive-bar-introduces-new-treatment/ |
GALVESTON, Texas — Battleship Texas spent most of her 74 years in La Porte before making a journey to Galveston Wednesday.
But the ship made history long before this expedition.
Many watched the last leg of the USS Texas' journey to a dry dock while standing atop other World War II-era vessels on display at the Galveston Naval Museum.
"We’re here to greet her and celebrate her,” said museum director Tammy Lobaugh.
The more than century-old vessel will soon get much-needed TLC.
"When she was launched and commissioned into service, she was the most fierce warship at the time,” said Lobaugh.
The USS Texas launched in 1912 and was in service by the time World War I came around.
She was almost sent to the scrapyard in the late 1930s before proving her worth in World War II by helping defeat Nazis from North Africa to Normandy. She was then dispatched to help protect troops in Okinawa and Iwo Jima.
RELATED: Deep dive into history: Iconic Battleship Texas is the last ship to survive both world wars
USS Texas was the first US battleship to mount anti-aircraft guns, launch an aircraft and one of the first with radar.
Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, a Texas native, helped mark the occasion of her arrival to the Lone Star State in 1948 when USS Texas became the nation's first battleship museum in La Porte.
“Today, gallant old ship, we say to you “hail and farewell,” said Nimitz during the ceremony.
“I spent two and a half years on board the ship,” said WWII vet Julio Zaccagni.
The 100-year-old was, among other things, a range finder during his stint on the USS Texas.
"From February 1940 to July 1942,” said Zaccagni.
He came to La Porte Wednesday morning to see the USS Texas off on the next mission of her long, incredible life.
"It used to be a real first-class ship when I was on board,” said Zaccagni.
Many hope she’ll soon recapture some of her glory. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/battleship-texas-history/285-0044545f-e7d3-409c-8da5-ba297b359375 | 2022-09-01T02:15:34 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/battleship-texas-history/285-0044545f-e7d3-409c-8da5-ba297b359375 |
CHICAGO — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced the state has started sending charter buses of migrants from the Texas border to Chicago, joining Washington D.C. and New York City as drop-off points.
Editor's note: The above video is from KHOU 11's related coverage of Texas sending migrants out of state.
Since April, when Abbott announced the state's plan, there have been between 8,000 to 9,000 migrants sent out of state.
The first bus of migrants headed to Chicago arrived on Wednesday, according to the governor.
"President Biden's inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans—and Americans—at risk and is overwhelming our communities," Abbott said. "To continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C. and New York City as an additional drop-off location. Mayor Lightfoot loves to tout the responsibility of her city to welcome all regardless of legal status, and I look forward to seeing this responsibility in action as these migrants receive resources from a sanctuary city with the capacity to serve them."
A spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot issued the following statement in response to Abbott's announcement:
"Today, the City of Chicago received confirmation that approximately 60 migrants were traveling to Chicago by way of Texas. Chicago is a welcoming city and as such has collaborated across various departments and agencies to ensure we greeted them with dignity and respect. We understand that many are fleeing violent, traumatic, or otherwise unstable environments. We will respond with essential services while these individuals navigate the next steps of their journey and our community partners have been working diligently to provide a safety net.
"As a city, we are doing everything we can to ensure these immigrants and their families can receive shelter, food, and most importantly protection. This is not new; Chicago welcomes hundreds of migrants every year to our city and provides much-needed assistance. Unfortunately, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity. But ever since he put these racist practices of expulsion in place, we have been working with our community partners to ready the city to receive these individuals.
"We know that racism, discrimination, and human cruelty have played a pivotal role in how immigrants are received within our borders, and we are still working to recover from the previous presidential administration, which encouraged this behavior. This is such an important moment for Chicago as a city has been a sanctuary for thousands of newcomers. We are welcoming them and we will not turn our backs on those who need our help the most."
The Texas Department of Emergency Management said the plan to bus migrants out of state has cost taxpayers more than $12 million. Abbott's office says migrants are only being sent with their written permission.
Critics of the plan, like University of Houston Law Center Associate Professor Daniel Morales, call the plan a stunt.
"The same logic occurred when he (Abbott) sent the National Guard to the border. There is no need for these exercises. They don’t help immigrants. They don't help the state. But they do get Greg Abbott some time on Fox News and that is what he wants," Morales said.
Abbott's office issued a statement saying the decision was made as part of a series of actions to secure the Texas border.
“Governor Abbott has taken unprecedented action to address this Biden-made crisis, deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers and allocating over $4 billion of Texas taxpayer money to secure our border, including building our own border wall, erecting strategic barriers and providing relief for our overrun and overwhelmed border towns by busing migrants to Washington, D.C. and New York City,” the statement said. | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-migrant-buses-chicago/285-e5036cb5-85f1-4492-b91d-a6e6cfa054b7 | 2022-09-01T02:15:40 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-migrant-buses-chicago/285-e5036cb5-85f1-4492-b91d-a6e6cfa054b7 |
Three teenagers were sent to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after the SUV they were riding in crashed into a creek in Carrollton Wednesday afternoon, police say.
It happened shortly before 2 p.m. in the 1700 block of Pakrer Road, west of Josey Lane. The SUV went airborne and landed upside down in a creek after the driver lost control, police said.
All of the five people inside the SUV were 17-year-olds who attended Hebron High School in the Lewisville Independent School District, police said.
Three teens in the back seat were all hospitalized, police said, with one of them being in critical condition. The driver and front passenger were not hurt.
Police are investigating what caused the crash. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/suv-with-5-teens-crashes-in-carrollton-3-hospitalized/3061793/ | 2022-09-01T02:19:48 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/suv-with-5-teens-crashes-in-carrollton-3-hospitalized/3061793/ |
SUMAS, Wash. — One of the main subjects in Jessica Wilkinson's second-grade class this year is "bravery."
That's something students like 7-year-old Lewis Hammond are already well schooled in. He had to learn that lesson very quickly last year.
"I was scared, and I was glad that I could be on land at the church," he says.
Lewis' family had to evacuate to a church when the November floods came.
They were out of their home for two months.
"It was kind of sad, I wanted to go home but then we had to stay away for another month," says Lewis. " I really missed my dog."
Among the flood's many casualties was the old Sumas Elementary School. Floodwaters engulfed the school, closing it for months.
Officials divided the approximate 300 students between three other schools in the district to finish out the year. They determined the building wasn't worth saving, so they closed Sumas Elementary permanently and waited for the new one to be complete.
The new Sumas Elementary was already under construction when the old one flooded, and was not damaged by the winter storms. It reopened nine months after the historic flooding.
First-year principal Sarah Condreay said after two years of COVID-19 pandemic protocols and then historic flooding, it's important for students to return to normal.
However, a handful still haven't been able to return to their homes.
"They sure are resilient," said Condreay, who marked her first day as principal on the first day of the new school.
She said part of the strategy to help students persevere is to treat each classroom as a "family."
"We're doing some work around social-emotional learning and building classroom communities that are really supportive," said Condreay. "We're building a space where kids have a community where they can talk through things."
The new school was built by a local company, Faber Construction, whose workers actually helped rescue people during the floods. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/disaster/new-sumas-elementary-school-opens/281-8299dad1-2c80-4b04-ad84-51656a21d229 | 2022-09-01T02:23:42 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/disaster/new-sumas-elementary-school-opens/281-8299dad1-2c80-4b04-ad84-51656a21d229 |
SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released his proposed budget for the Seattle Park District Wednesday, which would underscore investments in safety, youth support, equity advancement and combat climate change.
The plan would expand the number of park rangers from two to 28; work to winterize and keep all public restrooms open year-round; open new and improved parks and community centers; and set aside money to respond to graffiti and vandalism.
"To restore, renovate and retain that system," Harrell said.
Harrell also highlighted a youth internship program and thanked Parks and Recreation employees and others involved in the budget development process for their work. Then, he answered a series of questions from reporters about homelessness, public safety and other issues.
"I'm not happy when I look at the number of murders and deaths we've had in the city. I'm not happy when I see people who are not housed in tents. They're living in tents on streets and not getting the services they need," Harrell said. "I'm not happy when I see the fentanyl issues that are killing communities, literally."
When asked about his approach to encampments, Harrell said that the city will not criminalize homelessness, but will not allow unrestricted camps in public parks. He also said that while the city will likely continue to provide at least some funding for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, he plans to demand more accountability from leaders.
"I'm still very optimistic but I'm not going to look at any work we're doing in this city through rose-colored glasses," Harrell said.
Harrell also answered a question about the federal consent decree concerning the Seattle Police Department. He said he believes it is time for the city to be released as it continues reforms on its own. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/seattle-mayor-parks-homelessness-safety/281-7e252425-7ec2-45a8-a701-f0d19e1a0fdc | 2022-09-01T02:23:48 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/seattle-mayor-parks-homelessness-safety/281-7e252425-7ec2-45a8-a701-f0d19e1a0fdc |
The Magic Valley Model Railroaders have had a home at the fairgrounds for 34 years and the club's 19 members have been busy this year making expansions to the track layout.
On March 1, the group acquired a new layout from a collector in Oregon City, railroader Marvin Barnes said. Since then, members of the Magic Valley Model Railroad Club spent the better part of four months setting up the new layout.
Two years ago, they acquired some mountainous geographic features from Green River, Wyoming. The club is excited to share the new routes, layouts, and towns, spread across 4 different sizes of models.
"I imagine we're close to 2,000 feet of track," said Barnes.
Long-time favorites of the model railroad are still there, including an exact replica of the Allison Mill, as well as several towns of different eras, mountain scenery, canyon trestles, and so much more.
In one of the cases, the sheriff’s office received video surveillance images showing a smaller, light colored vehicle that pulled up to the business. Two suspects got out and made a forced entry into the building. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/all-aboard-magic-valley-model-railroaders-share-their-passion-at-fairgrounds/article_d33788cc-2978-11ed-b84c-3bbbf4c0c3b9.html | 2022-09-01T02:34:10 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/all-aboard-magic-valley-model-railroaders-share-their-passion-at-fairgrounds/article_d33788cc-2978-11ed-b84c-3bbbf4c0c3b9.html |
TWIN FALLS — This week’s Twin Falls County Fair & Rodeo will come with an extra dose of sunshine.
The record temperatures expected this week might not be a welcome sight to some fairgoers, Marketing Manager Nancy Pitz said, so she’s expecting to see a change in the busy times at the fair.
“We anticipate the crowd will come a little later in the day,” Pitz said Wednesday, as she helped oversee the last-minute rush to get some late-coming vendors set up. “It should be pleasant during the evenings.”
The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory this week and expects high temperatures to hover around 100 degrees in Filer. Some days are expected to be about 15 degrees warmer than normal.
Pitz is urging fairgoers to take precautions, including drinking lots of fluids and taking advantage of the shade, if they choose to come during the heat of the day.
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“I don’t know what else we could do, except to get Mother Nature to turn down the temperature,” she said.
There are water fountains by the restrooms by the merchants buildings, she said, and several shady places, with the opportunity to come indoors at numerous buildings. Fairgoers can bring their own water, and take their own water bottles into the grandstand events.
Sheriff’s deputies patrolling the fairgrounds will offer assistance to people needing medical help.
The fair, which runs through Labor Day, averaged about 80,000 to 90,000 attendees until the pandemic arrived. Numbers have declined over the past couple of years.
Not just the fair
It isn’t just fairgoers who are wishing for lower temperatures.
Josh Richards, park manager for the city of Hagerman, was bracing for temperatures near 105 degrees on Wednesday and wasn't too happy about it.
“I’m usually pretty happy about everything, but the heat can take a toll,” Richards said, adding that he has talked to many people who are looking forward to more normal temperatures.
“Water, lots of water,” is his way of coping with the high temperatures. Richards said he “easily” drinks two gallons of water per day and has been starting work early on many days, taking advantage of the cooler morning temperatures. During the hot afternoon hours, he does more inside work, including equipment maintenance and cleaning.
But he knows he is in the same situation as other people whose jobs involve outdoor work, from utility workers to construction crews.
“We can’t shut down,” he said. Despite the hot weather, he said he takes care of the parks as if they were his front lawn.
The hotter temperatures mean more watering for the city’s full-size park and pocket-sized park. Mowing is a constant job.
“You basically ride... until you can’t go any more,” Richards said. "It can get pretty hot."
John Pauley, aquatics director of the Twin Falls City Pool, said plenty of people have been cooling off at the pool. Usually, the number of swimmers goes down as the school year approaches, "but we've stayed pretty busy till the end." | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/fairgoers-will-have-a-hot-time-at-county-fair/article_a68e88a0-2970-11ed-ba0c-dfb6f2bb5936.html | 2022-09-01T02:34:16 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/fairgoers-will-have-a-hot-time-at-county-fair/article_a68e88a0-2970-11ed-ba0c-dfb6f2bb5936.html |
BUHL — An outpouring of support has gone out to a firefighter critically injured Friday in a motorcycle crash.
Buhl Fire Department's Jared Nebeker is in an intensive care unit at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, placed in a medically induced coma to allow his body to heal. His left foot has been amputated and he suffers from cranial swelling after the crash on U.S. Highway 30.
“This is going to be a very long and hard road ahead for their family,” wrote friend Joel Edelbrock from North Carolina.
The community and fire departments near and far have responded with their support. On Monday, a firefighter from the Twin Falls Fire Department filled in for Nebeker, serving a 24-hour shift.
Stickers and bracelets emblazoned with #nebekerstrong are being sold on a donation basis at several local fire departments. Some of the stickers are the idea of Lt. Taylor Hunsaker of Rock Creek Fire Department, and Quickdraw Embroidery in Kimberly printed them at no cost.
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“We are doing what we can do to help,” Hunsaker said.
Firefighters from out of the region are also reaching out.
“I just got a call from a fire department in Colorado,” Buhl Fire Chief Andrew Stevens said on Wednesday.
A member of the Buhl Fire Department has been standing watch at the hospital, supporting Nebeker's wife and "keeping a line of communication open," Steven's said.
Edelbrock set up a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $13,000. An account has also been set up at First Federal Bank under Nebeker's and his wife, Kari’s, names. Donations can be made at any First Federal branch.
A fundraiser will take place from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 15 at Milner’s Gate in Twin Falls, with live music and raffle prizes. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/support-goes-out-to-injured-buhl-firefighter/article_540ae1a8-297c-11ed-94c7-1b44d767cca2.html | 2022-09-01T02:34:22 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/support-goes-out-to-injured-buhl-firefighter/article_540ae1a8-297c-11ed-94c7-1b44d767cca2.html |
BUHL — The school district and board will reassess their plant facilities projects after voters rejected a new plant facilities levy on Tuesday.
Unofficial vote totals showed 64% of ballots were opposed to a new seven-year levy to fund facilities improvements. Buhl voters had previously supported similar levies, but the higher price tag may have been a factor in this year's rejection, Buhl Superintendent David Carson said.
Carson said he was surprised by the outcome.
"I did not expect the percentage (of yes votes) to be that low,” he said. “It’s tough when inflation is this high and people are seeing their property tax increase.”
The district asked voters to approve a new levy of $900,000 per year for the next seven years. That would have been an increase of $530,000 per year from the previous seven-year levy which expires this year.
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The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the proposed levy was a tax of $109 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value per year.
Carson said the school board will discuss the outcome at the next meeting to get an idea of why the outcome was the way it was and how to proceed.
“We appreciate the support we’ve had from the community, and we’ll use this to try and find out what we can do differently,” Carson said.
The plant facilities levy was to be used for a new lunchroom at the middle school, improve seating at the football field, as well as sidewalks and restrooms.
Meanwhile, in Jerome, voters approved a completion bond levy for a complete remodel of Jefferson Elementary School. The completion bond passed with 68% of the vote, and the $12 million bond over 20 years will not increase tax rates, according to the district.
Voters in Three Creek School District also approved a supplemental levy on Tuesday. District residents in Twin Falls and Owyhee counties voted 13-3 in favor of a two-year, $20,000 levy to hire a paraprofessional aide to support classroom instruction.
The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the levy is a tax of $83.58 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/voters-turn-away-from-buhl-school-levy-but-approve-levies-in-jerome-and-three-creek/article_146b3de8-2942-11ed-ad56-67a308c1dbcf.html | 2022-09-01T02:34:29 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/voters-turn-away-from-buhl-school-levy-but-approve-levies-in-jerome-and-three-creek/article_146b3de8-2942-11ed-ad56-67a308c1dbcf.html |
A nursing assistant who fatally shot a co-worker at a downtown Philadelphia hospital and subsequently wounded two officers in an early morning shootout near a school last fall has been sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison.
Stacey Hayes, 55, apologized Wednesday to the family and friends of 43-year-old Anrae James after pleading guilty to third-degree murder and other charges but didn’t explain the reason for the Oct. 4 attack at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“I won’t ask for forgiveness from y’all because I don’t deserve it. But I am truly, truly, truly sorry for my actions,” he said before sentencing. Defense attorney Gary Server called the term imposed “effectively a life sentence” because his client will be barred from seeking parole until he is nearly 90 years old.
Authorities said Hayes was wearing scrubs when he shot James on the hospital's ninth floor just after midnight before fleeing in a box truck. Just before 1:30 a.m., Hayes, who was wearing body armor, was critically wounded in a gun battle with police in west Philadelphia’s Parkside neighborhood near the School of the Future on the edge of Fairmount Park. One officer was hit in the elbow and another was grazed on the nose.
Police said they hadn't discovered “any hostility" between the two men. James, also a part-time barber, was described as a family man who worked two jobs to support his three kids, the newspaper reported. In court Wednesday, his mother called her son “an honorable, beautiful man,” and his brother, Armond, called him “my hero.”
Assistant District Attorney David Osborne choked up while reading aloud a letter from James’ wife saying she was “still in disbelief" and talking about times when the couple’s children — including a 2-year-old daughter — have broken down asking for their father.
Mark Campiglia, one of a number of James’ coworkers who attended the hearing in blue scrubs, said James “is so dearly missed.”
“It’s like missing a family member,” Campiglia said. “We will probably never be the same.” | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/man-gets-35-years-in-philly-hospital-slaying-shootout-with-police/3350612/ | 2022-09-01T02:36:20 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/man-gets-35-years-in-philly-hospital-slaying-shootout-with-police/3350612/ |
North Carolina and future Triad employees of Toyota Battery Manufacturing N.C. can thank a West Coast clean-energy initiative for helping spur a major plant expansion development three years before production begins in 2025.
Toyota Motor Corp. announced Wednesday plans for an additional 350 jobs and $2.5 billion investment at the Liberty electric vehicle battery plant as construction commences at the megasite.
The Toyota subsidiary plans to build lithium-ion batteries at the plant for about 200,000 hybrid and electric vehicles annually.
With a $3.79 billion capital investment and 2,100 jobs — so far — it could become the biggest single corporate expenditure in state history.
The California Air Resources Board set on Aug. 25 what The Associated Press has reported as the world’s most stringent set of rules for transitioning to electric vehicles.
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The board’s policy would require by 2035 that 100% of new sales of passenger cars, trucks and SUVs be powered by electricity or hydrogen; 20% would be allowed to be plug-in hybrids.
In 2020, Washington lawmakers passed a law directing the state Department of Ecology to adopt California’s emissions standards as they’re rolled out.
“A key trigger for the pace of development is the recent decision by the California Air Resources Board to mandate that two-thirds of all new passenger vehicles produce no carbon emissions by 2030,” said Keith Debbage, a joint professor of geography and sustainable tourism and hospitality at UNCG.
“California tends to be a bellwether for other states regarding such legislation.
“Along with President Biden’s climate and energy package signed into law this month that expanded tax credits available to electric vehicle buyers, and the rapidly growing consumer demand for such vehicles, I can fully understand why Toyota is pushing so hard to rapidly develop and expand their Triad megasite project,” Debbage said.
Toyota’s planned expansion “is an indication that the transformation of the U.S. auto industry is moving along at a pace where projections that 30% of all car sales will be electric by 2030 will be met and even exceeded,” said John H. Boyd, founder and principal with global site-selection firm The Boyd Co. of Boca Raton, Fla.
“Federal green incentives and numerous other EV projects of Ford, GM, Stellantis, LG & Honda, Tesla around the country also point to an undeniable electric future for the U.S. auto industry.”
Suppliers come on down
The Toyota expansion commitment should shift into high gear the interest of potential suppliers to the plant, according to economists.
The key, they say, is where suppliers decide to be located.
It’s a pivotal consideration considering there proved to be minimal supplier locations into the Triad related to the Dell Inc. desktop-assembly plant that debuted in October 2005.
Nearly 12 years after Dell ceased production for good in November 2010, it remains a sobering cautionary tale for tempering expectations on major Triad economic-development projects.
The $115 million Dell plant was projected to create between 1,500 and 1,700 jobs within five years of commencing production.
There also were at least two economic studies that forecasted up to 6,500 indirect jobs created to serve the plant and its employees. Ultimately, there were fewer than 300 indirect jobs related to Dell.
“Chasing down related suppliers and subcontractors will be the next big step, and announcements should begin to unfold over the next few months and years,” Debbage said.
Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University, projects major supplier announcements within a year.
“Since the Triad has now become North Carolina’s transportation manufacturing hub, I would expect the broader region to receive serious attention by suppliers who expand,” Walden said.
Where these related suppliers may locate is anyone’s guess, Debbage said,
“But, the recent announcement of a federal grant designed to help Greensboro study the economic development opportunities connected to the Toyota plant provides some clues,” Debbage said.
The study will focus on the U.S. 421 corridor adjacent to the site regarding the availability of infrastructure, sewer capacity and potential sites for additional suppliers and contractors.
Boyd said it’s likely suppliers already are conducting due diligence on brick and mortar investments in the Triad.
“Toyota, of all the major automakers, likes to have suppliers close to their manufacturing operations — even sharing the same industrial site,” Boyd said. “We see this at their operations in San Antonio, Cambridge, Ontario, and in Guanajuato, Mexico.
“Given the magnitude of the Randolph site, look for some suppliers to be next-door neighbors of Toyota.”
Boyd expects the supplier presence at and around the Toyota plant will spur ancillary retail, hotel and mixed-use housing development at levels projected — but unfulfilled — with the Dell plant.
More ripple effects
Mike Fox, president and chief executive of Piedmont Triad Partnership, said having a likely electric vehicle production and supplier cluster within a short distance of Toyota likely was a major plus for the megasite.
Where the greater Carolina Core economic region should benefit, Fox said, is from suppliers wanting to be within a 30- to 40-minute range of the plant, but not next door so to avoid competing for potential workers.
As an example, Fox noted that suppliers to the BMW manufacturing plant in the Greensville-Spartanburg, S.C., metro area chose to be near the plant, but not necessarily next-door.
Fox said the supply chain for electric vehicles will have limited equipment overlap with traditional motor vehicle production, which means proximity to these plants will be pivotal.
Fox acknowledges there’s at least a possibility that someone from Forsyth County or the western Triad will be willing to commute 45 minutes to an hour to Toyota’s plant.
Yet, Fox said he’s convinced there will be an employment ripple effect through increasing the pool of jobs, particularly in manufacturing.
Citing Randolph as an example, he said there are residents who commute to work in Forsyth, Guilford, Davidson and other neighboring counties.
“Some of those people will decide they want to work for Toyota and be closer to home,” Fox said.
“In those instances, that will free up more jobs for folks in those counties.
“That could be as big a benefit as any suppliers who locate in those counties.” | https://greensboro.com/business/local/california-air-quality-policy-gives-boost-to-toyota-plant-expansion-plans/article_6558f656-2978-11ed-8881-cf17f7e7988a.html | 2022-09-01T02:41:25 | 0 | https://greensboro.com/business/local/california-air-quality-policy-gives-boost-to-toyota-plant-expansion-plans/article_6558f656-2978-11ed-8881-cf17f7e7988a.html |
HIGH POINT — After coming together to search for 81-year-old Heddie Dawkins following her disappearance last week, family, friends and strangers drew close again Wednesday evening.
This time to remember her life and how she touched them.
More than 200 people attended a prayer vigil for Dawkins at Gethsemane Baptist Church, a day after her body was found by a volunteer search party less than a mile from her home.
Dawkins, who suffered from dementia, wandered away from her home in the early morning of Aug. 24. Her family reported her missing later that morning, launching days of searching by police and the public.
“Sister Heddie had one more assignment,” Pastor Roy Fitzgerald told the overflowing crowd, “and that assignment was to bring us all together.”
He noted the beautiful rainbow that appeared around the time Dawkins’ body was found.
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“(God) painted it at the appropriate time,” Fitzgerald said.
Dawkins’ grandson, Cory Dawkins, told the crowd that his grandmother was always after him for procrastinating. With her passing, he urged others to heed her advice as he planned to do.
“She walked through that door to wake us all up,” he said. “We all have a message. We all have a testimony. Make sure to tell your loved ones that you love them.”
The family thanked law enforcement officers and people who prayed, searched and hoped for Dawkins’ safe return.
Her disappearance touched people across the Triad. Strangers drove miles to help search neighborhoods, fields and wooded areas in hopes of finding the former guidance counselor alive.
Condolences for the family flooded the Facebook group MISSING: Find Heddie Dawkins—High Point/Jamestown NC after her body was discovered.
One those messages came from Katie Schoenfelder Gumerson. She said Wednesday afternoon that she organized and participated in several searches for Dawkins.
“I think the thing that really changed me was that people of every age, fitness level, background, profession — it doesn’t matter who you were — everybody was there with a goal of just to find her,” Schoenfelder Gumerson said. “And we strangely had a really memorable and nice time together.”
It’s that type of bonding that Dawkins’ family said gives them hope amidst their pain.
“We’re going to use this. We’re going to be better,” Bert Dawkins told the crowd Wednesday evening. “This is bigger than my mom.”
After seeing more than 100 people show up early Tuesday to help police search for her mother, Dawkins’ daughter, Rhonda Neal, said the ordeal has boosted her faith in people.
“The latest news — the things that are going on in the world — makes you think that society is just messed up,” Neal said. “And to see this. If her only purpose was to do this, bring people together, she would do it again the same way.” | https://greensboro.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/gift-of-community-family-friends-strangers-pay-respects-to-heddie-dawkins/article_94b1778e-2964-11ed-8194-8f7b37700633.html | 2022-09-01T02:41:31 | 1 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/gift-of-community-family-friends-strangers-pay-respects-to-heddie-dawkins/article_94b1778e-2964-11ed-8194-8f7b37700633.html |
GREENSBORO — From scared kindergartener to superintendent. That is the short version of Whitney Oakley's long journey with Guilford County Schools.
On Wednesday, with her children, parents, and primary school principal watching, the Guilford County native took the oath of office, following the school board's 8-1 vote to select her as the district's next superintendent. That vote came after a nationwide search that drew more than 30 candidates.
Oakley was a key academic leader under former Superintendent Sharon Contreras and is a familiar voice and presence for school board members. She's been serving as acting Superintendent since mid-July as board members sought a replacement for Contreras, who left for a job as chief of a nonprofit working group of North Carolina superintendents.
"Her passion for improving life and learning outcomes for all children and willingness to equity and justice won't be forgotten," Oakley said Wednesday. "I will continue to fight for every child in our community and address the structural inequities that exist."
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Oakley said she plans to launch a series of conversations with students, families and community members in the coming days.
School board members pointed to Oakley's work under Contreras on pandemic learning loss recovery and her communication style as major selling points in getting her the job.
"She has a temperament I can work with," board member T. Dianne Bellamy-Small said.
At a tea for women leaders in education over the summer, Contreras and Oakley both fielded a questions about what gifts they bring to their work. Oakley said her gifts include being calm, a good listener and hopeful.
Bellamy-Small said Oakley is clear-eyed about pitfalls facing the district and board member Anita Sharpe said Oakley is opening up communications.
Board member Pat Tillman said he was already a fan of Oakley, but that she also stood out in her job interview.
And board member Deborah Napper said it was important to her to have a leader, like Oakley, who bought into the facilities master plan created under Contreras, rather than someone who might potentially throw away years of work and planning to suit their own vision.
Bettye Jenkins, the only board member to vote against Oakley's appointment, declined to elaborate on her vote.
Oakley will make $275,000 per year according to the board's attorney, Jill Wilson.
She has a doctoral degree in educational leadership from UNCG, a master’s degree in elementary education from Greensboro College and a bachelor’s degree in special education from East Carolina University.
Her past administrative roles in Guilford County Schools included deputy superintendent and chief academic officer, among others.
Before rejoining the district in 2012, Oakley taught and led schools as an assistant principal and principal in the Alamance-Burlington school district. Her first job as a teacher was at Frazier Elementary in Guilford County.
Oakley said a recent trip to Doris Henderson Newcomers School, formerly Guilford Primary School, sparked memories of her first days as a student.
"I did not get tell my almost 5-year-old self that there were no limits to what she could accomplish," she said. "Today, I want to tell all of our students that there are no limits to what they can achieve." | https://greensboro.com/news/local/education/no-limits-a-guilford-student-whitney-oakley-is-now-the-new-superintendent/article_98c9558a-2941-11ed-aa90-4fcfa739bb12.html | 2022-09-01T02:41:38 | 1 | https://greensboro.com/news/local/education/no-limits-a-guilford-student-whitney-oakley-is-now-the-new-superintendent/article_98c9558a-2941-11ed-aa90-4fcfa739bb12.html |
Lincoln Police is asking for help in finding a missing child.
Kennedie Arnold, 13, was reported missing at about 4:30 p.m., on Wednesday. She was last seen near 27th & N. Vine streets, and possibly headed to Irving Middle School.
She was wearing a black T-shirt & blue jeans.
If you have information, please call 402-441-6000 with any information. | https://journalstar.com/news/local/lpd-looking-for-missing-13-year-old-girl/article_0cf6d460-a590-58f4-9b65-77c6cd047fe0.html | 2022-09-01T02:43:34 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/lpd-looking-for-missing-13-year-old-girl/article_0cf6d460-a590-58f4-9b65-77c6cd047fe0.html |
ATLANTA — Atlanta Police have been called to investigate a homicide along 14th Street Wednesday night. APD said they responded to a call about a person shot at the location.
A witness snapped a photo of the active scene, which is a BP gas station at the corner of Atlantic Drive. Police cruisers and crime scene tape is blocking a portion of the parking lot.
Details about what happened have not been released. 11Alive is working to get more information about what happened.
News happens fast. Download our 11Alive News app for all the latest breaking updates, and sign up for our Speed Feed newsletter to get a rundown of the latest headlines across north Georgia. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/homicide-investigation-gas-station-atlanta-14th-street/85-59fad17e-64e5-4886-8229-131711920388 | 2022-09-01T02:49:03 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/homicide-investigation-gas-station-atlanta-14th-street/85-59fad17e-64e5-4886-8229-131711920388 |
Public funeral services to be held in Tucson for fallen Pima County constable
A public funeral service for slain Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay will take place Thursday at a Tucson cathedral.
The memorial will be held at 10 a.m. at St. Augustine Cathedral, located at 192 S. Stone Ave. in downtown Tucson.
The event's featured speaker is Richard Gastelum, a Martinez family friend and former Pueblo High School principal. There will be a musical performance by the school's Mariachi Aztlan, according to the cathedral and event organizers.
"While Constable Martinez only worked for the County for a short time, she was well known and well liked in the community, and I expect many people will want to pay their respects and honor her for her service to the County and our country," Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said in a Monday memo.
The cathedral's office manager, Rachel Torres, explained the church's capacity for the event will be about 1,000 and attendees can begin entering at 9:30 a.m. Advising against parking at the cathedral due to the influx of people, Torres said there is a parking garage available north of the church.
The constable's burial is slated for another date, Torres said.
Martinez-Garibay, 43, had recently started at Justice Precinct 8 when she was killed in the line of duty on Aug. 25 at a Tucson apartment complex. The constable was serving an eviction on a tenant, when, according to police, the man fatally shot her, apartment employee Angela Maria Fox-Heath, 28, and tenant Elijah Miranda, 25.
In the memo sent to constables, Lesher also said county employees were "quite traumatized" by Martinez-Garibay's death and that human resources and an assistance program for personnel are providing support to staff members who have requested it.
Lesher went on to say in the memo that an administrative review of the fatal incident would be conducted by the Pima County Sheriff's Office.
"It is appropriate after any tragedy involving an on-duty County employee that the County conduct an administrative review of what happened," Lesher's memo read.
Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on Twitter @jrgzztx.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/31/constable-deborah-martinez-garibays-public-funeral-service-announced/7955168001/ | 2022-09-01T02:53:38 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/08/31/constable-deborah-martinez-garibays-public-funeral-service-announced/7955168001/ |
Missing Phoenix man found dead inside trunk of car in Las Vegas
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has confirmed that a man who was reported missing in Phoenix has been found dead in Las Vegas.
According to the Clark County Coroner's Office, 41-year-old Amir Haggi was found dead by Las Vegas police on Aug. 19 inside a car parked at a Budget Suites near Tropicana Avenue.
Haggi suffered a gunshot wound to the head consistent with homicide, the coroner's office said.
Haggi was reported missing on June 5, where he was last seen near North 16th Street and East Colter Street, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, officers received a call about a suspicious vehicle in a Budget Suites parking lot around 1:45 p.m. Reports noted a foul odor emanating from the car. Officers opened the trunk to find Haggi dead inside.
Las Vegas police said that Haggi had been there for some time due to the level of decomposition of the body.
Additional information into his death was not provided by police.
Reach breaking news reporter Vic Verbalaitis at vverbalaitis@gannett.com or on Twitter @VicVerb. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/08/31/amir-haggi-las-vegas-police-confirm-death-missing-phoenix-man/7955079001/ | 2022-09-01T02:53:50 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/08/31/amir-haggi-las-vegas-police-confirm-death-missing-phoenix-man/7955079001/ |
Maricopa police chief resigns less than 2 years after being appointed
James Hughes, the police chief for the city of Maricopa, announced on Wednesday that he plans to resign from the department.
Quinn Konold, a city spokesperson, released a written statement saying Hughes notified the city that his last day will be Sept. 15. Hughes, who has worked in law enforcement for 36 years, started with the Maricopa Police Department as a commander in 2012 before being appointed to police chief in January 2021.
“I have made the difficult decision to move on from my position as Chief of the Maricopa Police Department,” Hughes said in the statement. “This is a community that continues to show unwavering support and respect for its police department and, as such, deserves nothing short of the highest standard of service.”
Konold told The Arizona Republic that Hughes did not give a reason for his resignation or what he planned to do next.
City Manager Rick Horst praised Hughes for his service and dedication.
"All of our success as a community is predicated on our ability first and foremost to ensure the safety of our residents,” Horst said. “Chief Hughes has been instrumental in creating a policing culture that understands that mission and carries out its duties with the utmost professionalism. The unparalleled support our officers enjoy from the community is a direct result of his efforts to instill the values of dignity and respect throughout the department.”
According to the city of Maricopa's website, Hughes began his career in law enforcement in Mendham Township, New Jersey, in 1986 and has a masters degree in criminal justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Konold said the city will work with a recruiting firm to carry out a nationwide search for a replacement.
“Police services to the community will continue uninterrupted and command staff will share leadership responsibilities until a permanent replacement is found,” Konold said.
Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or perry.vandell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/pinal/2022/08/31/maricopa-police-chief-james-hughes-resigns-after-2-years/7955929001/ | 2022-09-01T02:53:56 | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/pinal/2022/08/31/maricopa-police-chief-james-hughes-resigns-after-2-years/7955929001/ |
'We have nowhere to go': Tempe cracks down on homeless camps in Rio Salado riverbed
Tempe officials are taking a hard line against a large homeless encampment in the Rio Salado riverbed, ordering those living there to move out by Wednesday — a move that could displace anywhere from 20 to 200 people, according to estimates by the city and local activist groups.
It’s part of a longer term effort to “sweep” the roughly 4,400-square-foot corridor where Paul Bentley, Tempe deputy human services director, said city staffers have been conducting outreach efforts for years.
Bentley added that flooding on the site — between the Tempe Town Lake dam and Priest Drive — makes it unsafe for those living there. He said the city increased its clearing efforts in June after a surge in emergency calls to the riverbed.
“We have the flooding concern and then we have seen an increase in fire responses,” he told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday, the deadline date for those living in the riverbed to move out or be considered trespassers. “The severity of the fires is increasing, as well as the amount of emergency response requests going into the area that are just as significant.”
Emergency response calls at the site jumped to 71 in 2021 from six in 2017, for example, and at least one recent fire in the riverbed caused officials to close State Route 202.
Bentley said the city will not be razing the encampment or making any arrests for now, but the evacuation deadline still sparked concern among activists who picketed along the riverbed on Wednesday.
A handful of groups showed up to the encampment — including the Fund for Empowerment, National Lawyers Guild, Arizona Poor People's Campaign and What About Rent — arguing that Tempe is violating the rights of those living in the area and the city’s offer to store the campers’ personal belongings for 31 days is far too short of a time frame.
“Tempe doesn't have any beds in their shelters — they're full — yet they're still kicking these citizens out of the encampment area,” said Jesston Williams of the Fund for Empowerment. “Another concern is that their belongings. So the city is supposed to provide the homeless with storage for 90 days, and they're providing it for only 30 days.”
Tempe officials said the California court decision that required Los Angeles to hold property for 90 days does not apply here and same-day housing in other nearby cities is available for current riverbed residents — but that’s only if the displaced individuals want to accept it.
A more likely scenario, according to those living at the site, is that those who get kicked out will instead move elsewhere in the city, like to the nearby Tempe Beach Park.
Aside from offering shelter services and citing the affected individuals for trespassing, there’s little the city can do to stop people experiencing homelessness from flooding into public spaces once they are removed from the “out-of-the-way” riverbed.
“We have nowhere to go. We're all going to end up at the park and it's going to be overpopulated with the homeless, and then the community is going to start to complain,” said Chrastal Barnes, who has lived in the riverbed for seven years. “What are we supposed to do? This is our home.”
City officials said the clearing of the riverbed will be an ongoing process and that they plan to continue working to find a “positive housing solution” for the residents, who the city now estimates include about two dozen people rather than the 200 estimated by activists.
People found in the riverbed after Wednesday first will receive a warning, then a citation and eventually could be arrested depending on the nature of their encounters with city staffers.
Tempe plans to continue offering the same support services to displaced individuals who spread out into other parts of the city.
“The rights of the encampment citizens (are) being violated," Williams told The Republic. “People who live in this encampment are all going to be displaced with nowhere to go.”
Reach Sam at sam.kmack@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @KmackSam.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2022/09/01/tempe-homeless-encampment-rio-salado-riverbed/7950573001/ | 2022-09-01T02:54:02 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2022/09/01/tempe-homeless-encampment-rio-salado-riverbed/7950573001/ |
NMSU researcher warns against consuming mushrooms growing in community
Along with the rest of Las Cruces, New Mexico State University has had an increase in the growth of mushrooms on campus grounds, and an NMSU researcher warns students, faculty, staff and local community members not to ingest the mushrooms.
“Mushrooms have always intrigued human beings, and there are continuous attempts to use them for gastronomical and medicinal purposes,” said Soum Sanogo, Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science Department professor. “However, people must remember not to pick mushrooms for consumption unless they have been vetted as suitable for consumption.”
The mushrooms are members of a fungal group called Chlorophyllum molybdites, also known as false parasol. They grow from late spring to fall due to warm temperatures and high soil moisture from the abundance of rain, dew formation and irrigation. With the nearly seven inches of rain in August, about a five-inch increase above average, the area has temporarily created an environment for the mushrooms to thrive.
The mushrooms are described to have unique and distinct features of green-colored gills on the cap undersides when mature. These mushrooms commonly grow in rings, also called “fairy rings.”
The mushrooms contain toxic proteins that cause sickness, including symptoms of nausea, bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain.
In addition to being harmful to humans, false parasol is harmful to animals as well. Sanogo advised pet owners to remove and dispose of the mushrooms to prevent ingestion. Otherwise, he said, it’s fine to let the mushrooms grow, because they will eventually die off.
Sanogo and staff members from his research program in the EPPWS Department are collecting the mushrooms to evaluate their potential in combating plant pathogens that affect crops in New Mexico.
“They are important components of soil health and help with the degradation of organic materials in soil,” Sanogo said.
Others are reading: Little Toad Creek expands with Luna County distillery
Nicole E. Drake writes for New Mexico State University Marketing and Communications and can be reached at 575-646-3221 or ndrake@nmsu.edu. | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/nmsu-researcher-warns-against-mushrooms-growing-in-community/65466956007/ | 2022-09-01T02:54:39 | 0 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/2022/08/31/nmsu-researcher-warns-against-mushrooms-growing-in-community/65466956007/ |
Judge rules on holding child sexual assault suspect considered 'flight risk'
This article contains a discussion and description of sexual assault and sexual violence. If you or someone you know experienced sexual violence, you can call La Piñon's 24-Hour Crisis Hotline at 575-526-3437 or go to www.lapinon.org/contact
LAS CRUCES – A judge granted a hefty bond to a Las Cruces man accused of sexually assaulting two children Wednesday after prosecutors tried to keep him in jail.
Bernardino Leon Payan, 60, is charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor unclothed and two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor clothed. Leon Payan faced a judge Wednesday nearly a year after New Mexico State Police initially accused him of molesting two children.
According to an affidavit filed by NMSP investigator Jonathon Cardenas, the allegations came to light in November 2021 when one of two children in Leon Payan's family accused him of sexual assault. Cardenas said a 12-year-old girl confided in her mother that Leon Payan molested her.
Cardenas wrote in the affidavit that the girl's mother didn't believe it at first. So, she brought the allegation to another child, her 15-year-old daughter. The teenage daughter told her mother that Leon Payan had done similar things to her in 2017. According to Cardenas' affidavit, both girls provided statements during a forensic interview.
Shortly after, NMSP filed charges against Leon Payan. Records show that the court issued an arrest warrant on Nov. 17, 2021, and ordered police to arrest Leon Payan. But, it would be another nine months before that would happen. Leon Payan stayed in Mexico during that period, a point that prosecutor Samuel Rosten said in court made Leon Payan a flight risk.
While Rosten characterized Leon Payan's decision to go to Mexico when the allegations surfaced as fleeing, Leon Payan's defense attorney said prosecutors had no proof that Leon Payan was trying to avoid arrest.
"I don't think (prosecutors) suspecting what they suspect is enough," said Ashlee Placencio, Leon Payan's defense attorney.
Instead, Placencio said that Leon Payan wanted to clear his name. She said he turned himself in at the Border Patrol checkpoint in Santa Teresa on Aug. 25.
"I have great concern for these two children," 3rd Judicial District Judge Conrad Perea said before ruling. "I worry about them."
For Perea to order Leon Payan jailed, prosecutors must prove two points.
First, prosecutors must prove that Leon Payan is dangerous to the public or people involved in the case, such as the two girls. Perea felt the prosecutor met their burden and proved Leon Payan was dangerous in this instance.
Then, prosecutors must prove that no conditions of release — such as a bond or an ankle monitor — could ensure the safety of the public and the people involved in the case. On this point, Perea said prosecutors failed to meet their burden. However, Perea said that Leon Payan's ties to Mexico and the fact he remained in Mexico for nine months after charges were filed made Leon Payan a flight risk.
He granted Leon Payan a $10,500 bond but emphasized to Leon Payan's family in the courtroom that they'd only have to pay a bail bond agent around $1,050 for Leon Payan to bond out of jail.
Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be contacted at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com. | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/courts/2022/08/31/judge-rules-on-holding-man-accused-of-child-sexual-assault/65466975007/ | 2022-09-01T02:54:45 | 0 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/courts/2022/08/31/judge-rules-on-holding-man-accused-of-child-sexual-assault/65466975007/ |
Gov. Lujan Grisham directs $10 million to new reproductive healthcare facility in Doña Ana County
LAS CRUCES – With 10 weeks to go before the Nov. 8 election, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday she will commit $10 million from her executive capital allocation funds to establishing a new reproductive health care center in Doña Ana County.
The future clinic is to provide a "full spectrum" of women's healthcare services, including abortion.
The discretionary funds will come from appropriations during New Mexico's 2023 legislative session which will open Jan. 17. The governor said as yet no location or fiscal agent to handle the funds had been selected for the clinic as yet.
The commitment was part of an executive order the governor presented during a livestreamed news conference with women serving in the state Legislature as well as the state's Commission on the Status of Women. The governor is currently isolating at her residence after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
The governor's order also directs the state health department to develop plans for expanding reproductive health care access in underserved areas of state, including rural or low-income areas, including the feasibility of providing medication to terminate pregnancy through public health clinics. The aims of the plan would be to expand access while reducing wait times for services.
The order further directs the state Human Services Department to develop policies and action plans "to improve the efficiency and sustainability of access to reproductive health services."
After reading the text of the order out loud, Lujan Grisham signed it on camera.
The moves come in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision this summer in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which struck down its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade establishing a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling was immediately followed by bans in at least a dozen states.
In June, Lujan Grisham signed an executive order barring state agencies or their employees from assisting criminal investigations by other states into providers or patients related to abortion services in New Mexico.
"The work that we are doing saves women's lives and their families," the governor said during the conference, "and the notion that women cannot have control over their bodies, dignity, respect and autonomy is outrageous. This is a state that is not going to let that be the status quo, in any context, for anyone anywhere in the country."
New Mexico has become a destination for residents of other states as New Mexico acted last year to repeal its own 1969 statutory ban on abortion, which had been dormant since Roe. The clinic at the center of the Dobbs case announced it would relocate to Las Cruces shortly after the Supreme Court's ruling.
However, New Mexico also struggles with insufficient medical facilities and providers for its population and in remote and rural locations in particular.
The New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women was created in 1975 but funding for it was eliminated during Gov. Susana Martinez's administration and restored after Lujan Grisham took office in 2019. The current commission is chaired by former state Sen. Lisa Curtis and its board, as listed on its website, consists of 13 current members appointed by the governor.
The body presented several recommendations to Lujan Grisham and legislators after a public meeting earlier in August, including acting to expand medical and legal protections for women, including those identified as LGBTQ+. The abbreviation stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, although some people prefer "questioning" as a reference to people ambivalent about their sexual orientation or gender identity. The abbreviation sometimes includes a plus sign to represent additional identifiers pertaining to sexual identity.
The commission urged protecting and expanding existing abortion care services as well as the full range of healthcare services for women, including maternal and postbirth care with an emphasis on legal support and equity for rural residents.
Their recommendations specifically included funding incentives to bring specialists into the state while also training personnel from New Mexico, expanding telehealth consultations and establishing funds to cover service costs for patients who cannot afford services.
State Rep. Joanne Ferrary, D-Las Cruces, celebrated the benefit of the promised clinic for southern New Mexico, "where we've lacked access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care for years, and some people have been waiting for months to receive basic reproductive health care."
She, along with state Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, promised to advance legislation in 2023 to establish further protections for providers and patients in New Mexico as well as funds to expand access.
Lujan Grisham said women's healthcare advocates and organizations including Planned Parenthood had advised her $10 million would be a sufficient investment to establish the facility.
The governor, a Democrat who has enjoyed Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers, is seeking reelection on Nov. 8. A recent poll for the Albuquerque Journalindicated she is widening what had been a narrow lead against her Republican challenger, Mark Ronchetti. The GOP candidate advocates limiting legal abortion to 15 weeks or cases of rape, incest and where a mother's life is in jeopardy.
The poll, which sampled 518 likely voters statewide, also measured 35 percent in support of legal abortion in all cases and 22 perent with some limitations, while 25 percent said abortion should be illegal except in certain circumstances and 12 percent said it should be illegal under all circumstances. The remainder said they were undecided.
The Ronchetti campaign stated that the poll shows 59 percent favor at least some restrictions on abortion and criticized the governor's announcement, saying, "now taxpayers are having to foot the bill for a clinic which will perform abortions up to the moment of birth for non-residents who come from other states around the country."
Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter. | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/08/31/governor-michelle-lujan-grisham-directs-10-million-for-reproductive-healthcare-abortion-clinic/65466071007/ | 2022-09-01T02:54:51 | 0 | https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/08/31/governor-michelle-lujan-grisham-directs-10-million-for-reproductive-healthcare-abortion-clinic/65466071007/ |
CHICAGO — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced the state has started sending charter buses of migrants from the Texas border to Chicago, joining Washington D.C. and New York City as drop-off points.
Editor's note: The above video is from KHOU 11's related coverage of Texas sending migrants out of state.
Since April, when Abbott announced the state's plan, there have been between 8,000 to 9,000 migrants sent out of state.
The first bus of migrants headed to Chicago arrived on Wednesday, according to the governor.
"President Biden's inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans—and Americans—at risk and is overwhelming our communities," Abbott said. "To continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C. and New York City as an additional drop-off location. Mayor Lightfoot loves to tout the responsibility of her city to welcome all regardless of legal status, and I look forward to seeing this responsibility in action as these migrants receive resources from a sanctuary city with the capacity to serve them."
A spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot issued the following statement in response to Abbott's announcement:
"Today, the City of Chicago received confirmation that approximately 60 migrants were traveling to Chicago by way of Texas. Chicago is a welcoming city and as such has collaborated across various departments and agencies to ensure we greeted them with dignity and respect. We understand that many are fleeing violent, traumatic, or otherwise unstable environments. We will respond with essential services while these individuals navigate the next steps of their journey and our community partners have been working diligently to provide a safety net.
"As a city, we are doing everything we can to ensure these immigrants and their families can receive shelter, food, and most importantly protection. This is not new; Chicago welcomes hundreds of migrants every year to our city and provides much-needed assistance. Unfortunately, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity. But ever since he put these racist practices of expulsion in place, we have been working with our community partners to ready the city to receive these individuals.
"We know that racism, discrimination, and human cruelty have played a pivotal role in how immigrants are received within our borders, and we are still working to recover from the previous presidential administration, which encouraged this behavior. This is such an important moment for Chicago as a city has been a sanctuary for thousands of newcomers. We are welcoming them and we will not turn our backs on those who need our help the most."
The Texas Department of Emergency Management said the plan to bus migrants out of state has cost taxpayers more than $12 million. Abbott's office says migrants are only being sent with their written permission.
Critics of the plan, like University of Houston Law Center Associate Professor Daniel Morales, call the plan a stunt.
"The same logic occurred when he (Abbott) sent the National Guard to the border. There is no need for these exercises. They don’t help immigrants. They don't help the state. But they do get Greg Abbott some time on Fox News and that is what he wants," Morales said.
Abbott's office issued a statement saying the decision was made as part of a series of actions to secure the Texas border.
“Governor Abbott has taken unprecedented action to address this Biden-made crisis, deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers and allocating over $4 billion of Texas taxpayer money to secure our border, including building our own border wall, erecting strategic barriers and providing relief for our overrun and overwhelmed border towns by busing migrants to Washington, D.C. and New York City,” the statement said. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-migrant-buses-chicago/285-e5036cb5-85f1-4492-b91d-a6e6cfa054b7 | 2022-09-01T02:56:53 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-migrant-buses-chicago/285-e5036cb5-85f1-4492-b91d-a6e6cfa054b7 |
CROWN POINT — An Illinois man was given a seven-year sentence for starting a fire in the East Chicago Police Department in 2019 and injuring a police officer during a struggle.
Robert D. Conner, 32, of Evanston, Illinois, pleaded guilty but mentally ill in August to arson, a level 4 felony, and battery by means of a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony.
He admitted that he barricaded himself in a fingerprint room Dec. 11, 2019, and used a cigarette lighter to ignite papers, filling the room with smoke and causing the sprinkler system to engage.
The arson caused more than $5,000 in damage to the department's computer system, printer, camera, fingerprinting machine, breath test machine and other electronic devices and equipment.
As police placed Conner in a cell at the city jail, he became combative and stabbed an officer's head with one of the prongs from a Taser police had used to subdue him, the plea agreement states. Conner obtained the prong from his own shoulder.
Conner's plea agreement called for a sentence of two to 12 years.
Lake Criminal Court Judge Natalie Bokota found Conner's criminal history, violations of the conditions of a previous probation and failures to return to court while on bond warranted a longer sentence, according to court filings.
The judge also found the arson and battery were "part of a prolonged, extremely dangerous standoff between the defendant and the police."
Conner endangered multiple people and viciously fought officers, who were trying to prevent him from burning himself alive in a barricaded room, the judge wrote.
Bokota also found Conner expressed sincere remorse and had a difficult childhood.
The judge sentenced Conner to concurrent terms of seven years for arson and four years for battery. She ordered Conner to serve 1 1/2 years of the sentence in the Lake County Community Corrections alternative placement program.
Conner received credit for about 3 1/2 years already served in jail while awaiting a resolution of his case.
Conner was represented by attorney Mark Chargualaf. Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Douglas Shaw handled the case for the state.
Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
The man admitted in a plea agreement he intentionally set a fire in a fingerprint room and used a Taser prong he removed from his shoulder to stab an officer in the head. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-sentenced-for-starting-fire-hurting-officer-during-rampage-through-police-station/article_8c4016f3-4efd-5c76-8d44-fadbca0419d6.html | 2022-09-01T02:58:08 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-sentenced-for-starting-fire-hurting-officer-during-rampage-through-police-station/article_8c4016f3-4efd-5c76-8d44-fadbca0419d6.html |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging people to remain vigilant after recent cases of checks being stolen.
According to the sheriff’s office, checks are being stolen from mailboxes and homes.
The WCSO recommends the following tips to avoid becoming a victim:
- Have your checks sent to your bank, not your home
- Shred checks for accounts that are no longer active (odds are your bank will do this for you)
- Safeguard your checks in your home
- If you don’t write checks, don’t order checks
- Do not throw checks in the trash
The sheriff’s office also recommends the following debit card safety tips:
- Use online banking to pay bills and keep a check on your account
- Ask the bank to hold your debit card there for pickup instead of mailing it
- Don’t share your PIN number
The sheriff’s office says thieves are targeting people across all age groups.
Anyone who notices suspicious charges or sees checks going through that they did not write is encouraged to report it to their bank and local authorities. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/first-at-four/washington-county-tenn-authorities-warn-of-check-thefts/ | 2022-09-01T03:01:02 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/first-at-four/washington-county-tenn-authorities-warn-of-check-thefts/ |
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — People came together in Kingsport on Wednesday to recognize those who have passed away while experiencing homelessness.
Leaders with Hunger First and Shades of Grace United Methodist Church placed 51 flags in Glen Bruce Park as a memorial to 51 people who died in recent years while homeless. A bell was rung after each name was read.
Shades of Grace Pastor Will Shewey said those experiencing homelessness are often “forgotten.”
“We are here to make sure that none of our friends, none of our homeless friends, are ever forgotten because they are a great part of the fabric that makes up our society and our community right here in Kingsport,” Shewey said.
The pastor also said he continues to see a rise in homelessness in Kingsport. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/kingsport-organizations-hold-homeless-memorial-event/ | 2022-09-01T03:01:08 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/kingsport-organizations-hold-homeless-memorial-event/ |
PHOENIX — What should have been a fun night out for Katherine Rasta turned into a living nightmare. Now she’s sharing her story in hopes that no other rideshare passenger is ever sexually assaulted.
It was another hot weekend night on June 26, 2021, when Rasta met some friends. At the end of the evening, she ordered a Lyft car to give her a ride home.
“I honestly didn’t think twice about it,” Rasta recalled.
That’s when the nightmare began. When she first entered the car, she knew something was off; the driver was staring at her in the rearview mirror. A few minutes later, he started to make sexual advances toward her.
“He began to ask me weird questions like, ‘do you party?’" she said. “When I said no, surprisingly, he said he wanted to get a hotel room with me, smoke crystal meth and have sex.”
Unable to exit the vehicle, Rasta said the driver then sexually assaulted her. Afterward, he took her phone and copied her phone number. She says he told her if she said anything, he knew where she lived and where her friends lived.
On Wednesday, lawyers from Rasta and 16 other Lyft drivers and passengers filed 17 lawsuits against the rideshare company, alleging Lyft did not do enough to protect drivers and passengers.
“Lyft fails to consistently make an alert if the driver diverts substantially from the correct route or fails to reach the destination,” said Tracey Cowan, an attorney with Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise, who represent the 17 plaintiffs. “Either of which can be a sign of a physical or sexual attack."
Peiffer Wolf didn’t disclose what monetary awards or specific policy changes they are seeking in their lawsuit, only to say in a statement:
“No amount of money will make this right or undo the assaults that occurred.”
Lyft responded to the lawsuits by releasing a statement of its own:
“We’re committed to helping keep drivers and riders safe. While safety incidents on our platform are incredibly rare, we realize that even one is too many. Our goal is to make every Lyft ride as safe as possible, and we will continue to take action and invest in technology, policies, and partnerships to do so.”
“Nobody should go through the trauma that still haunts me today,” Rasta said.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/valley-sexual-assault-suspect-katherine-rasta-sues-lyft/75-e40dab55-e23f-493d-b705-3fa4ed711758 | 2022-09-01T03:01:54 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/valley-sexual-assault-suspect-katherine-rasta-sues-lyft/75-e40dab55-e23f-493d-b705-3fa4ed711758 |
GALT, Calif. — Six months after Angel Renteria, 16, was seriously injured after being hit by a car while walking her dog in her Galt, authorities say DNA evidence has led them to arrest the suspect they say is responsible.
Renteria suffered serious injuries to her brain and body that have left her in a minimally conscious state, said Kelly Carr, the teen’s mother. Carr has been caring for her daughter day and night since the March 14 incident.
“She was left on the side of the road, and she was seconds from dying,” Carr said.
Her daughter’s life was saved, but it has been long road to recovery for the young woman. Renteria spent weeks in the Intensive Care Unit and five months in the hospital before returning home this August, where she is now confined to a bed.
The teen cannot speak, walk or feed herself. Carr quit her job as a mental health nurse to care for her daughter around the clock.
“She was a vibrant, healthy young lady and now she has been completely destroyed,” Carr said.
On Sunday, officers with the Galt Police Department say they arrested Devin Calderon, 29, in connection with the hit-and-run that seriously injured Renteria. The same suspect apparently ran into the back of a patrol vehicle in the minutes following the hit-and-run crash, according to Galt Police.
“While officers and fire personnel were still attending to Renteria, a white Dodge Ram pick-up truck, driving west on Ayers Lane, drove into the scene and collided with the back of a Galt PD K-9 patrol vehicle,” according to the Galt Police Department. “The driver of the Dodge was identified as Devin Calderon, 29, of Rancho Murieta.”
The 29-year-old displayed signs and symptoms of intoxication that evening and was arrested that evening under suspicion of DUI by the California Highway Patrol, due to the incident involving a patrol vehicle, the Galt Police Department said in a statement.
For months, law enforcement officials have sought to piece the case together through resident, business and witness interviews. Officials say it was extensive DNA work related to the case that helped connect the dots and find the suspect.
Calderon has already posted bail, according to Sacramento County Court records. However, Carr is pleading with authorities to consider revoking bail given the seriousness of the case. She says the suspect had months to turn herself in but never did.
“She should be confined to a cell like my daughter is confined to a bed, in a minimally conscious state,” Carr said.
Calderon is expected to appear in court for her arraignment in Department 62 of Sacramento County Superior Court on Tuesday, September 1 at 3 p.m.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/angel-renteria-galt/103-86e68fbf-2bf8-4673-9749-b9d0f263062a | 2022-09-01T03:04:54 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/angel-renteria-galt/103-86e68fbf-2bf8-4673-9749-b9d0f263062a |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers on Wednesday voted to let government workers hide their home addresses from public records if they fear for their safety, a response to the country's continuously polarizing politics and pandemic policies that have fueled an increase in violent threats against some public employees.
California and 41 other states already have laws that shield the home addresses of victims of domestic violence and other crimes, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime, a nonprofit that advocates for victims' rights. California's program goes a bit further by also including abortion workers and public health employees.
Wednesday, the California Legislature voted to expand the state law even more to include all employees of a federal, state or local government agency — most notably election workers and code enforcement officers, who have both reported an increase in violent threats in recent years. The bill would let those workers use a substitute address on public records, including the voter registration file.
"It's probably another manifestation of polarization," said state Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat from Fullerton and the bill's author. "Nobody really envisioned a time where you would have to protect so many public workers."
The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who must decide by the end of September whether to sign the bill into law. It would not apply to state lawmakers or other elected officials, according to Newman's office.
Government workers are often the first to bear the brunt of the public's frustration over unpopular public policies and laws. Code enforcement officers — unarmed workers who enforce local laws about property maintenance, health and safety ordinances and a number of other measures — are often confronted by angry business owners.
Jamie Zeller, a senior code enforcement officer for the city of Carlsbad, said a woman who had violated city policy by having too much junk on her property "posted on social media and told me to my face she was going to blow my effing head off," she said. Zeller said she ended up getting a restraining order against the woman.
"Most of us who are in this profession have run into this numerous times, where people threaten to kill us or tried to come after you in a small area like a building or a room or apartment," Zeller said.
Zeller, who is also president of the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers, said threats have increased since the pandemic began in 2020 and many code enforcement officers had to monitor businesses for complying with pandemic restrictions, like wearing masks. Santa Clara County Health Director Dr. Sara Cody had to have 24-hour security from the sheriff's department in 2020 after she was targeted for issuing strict pandemic restrictions.
Those types of threats have continued into 2022. Last week, during a public hearing on this bill, a man who identified himself only as "Mike" spoke to lawmakers by phone to tell them the proposed bill was "an outrage." He said most government officials are now working from home, saying "the only place you can find them to redress the grievance with your government is at their residence."
"You guys need to fear the people. And if you could hear the people we wouldn't need to come to your house," he said. "But since you guys aren't there, we're coming to your house. And guess what? We've got some post office workers on our side, we'll figure out where you're at."
State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who has had people threaten to bomb his home in the past, said the man's comments were "a criminal threat against members of the Legislature" and asked for an investigation. Capitol security officers are investigating.
Watch more from ABC10: Sacramento neighbors frustrated over illegal drug use at Broadway intersection | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-lawmakers-ok-bill-worker-addresses/103-a2341bf3-4f08-4bf7-a22e-fe8202b66537 | 2022-09-01T03:05:00 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-lawmakers-ok-bill-worker-addresses/103-a2341bf3-4f08-4bf7-a22e-fe8202b66537 |
LOS ANGELES — California's governor declared a state of emergency Wednesday to increase power production and he urged residents to reduce electricity use as a heat wave spread over the West and officials warned there could possible outages if conditions worsen.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's declaration followed a "Flex Alert" by the California Independent System Operator for conservation that was extended into Thursday as excessive-heat warnings expanded to all of Southern California and up into the Central Valley, where temperatures soared to triple digits. The heat was expected to spread into Northern California and blanket the state into next week, possibly breaking records in some places.
Temperatures that are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees above normal pushed up energy demand, primarily from air conditioning use, and tightened available power supplies. More alerts were likely through the Labor Day weekend, officials said.
Newsom declared an emergency to increase energy production and relaxed rules aimed at curbing air pollution and global warming gases. He emphasized the role climate change was playing in the heat wave.
"All of us have been trying to outrun Mother Nature, but it's pretty clear Mother Nature has outrun us," Newsom said. "The reality is we're living in an era of extremes: extreme heat, extreme drought — and with the flooding we're experiencing around the globe."
Grid operators had not foreseen the need for an alert earlier in the day but conditions changed as the mercury rose, said Elliot Mainzer, president of Cal ISO.
Anticipated imports of hydropower from the Pacific Northwest and energy from the desert Southwest dried up because warmer weather in those regions had driven up demand there, Mainzer said. California also lost a "significant amount of internal generation " in the state, though he wouldn't say where that occurred.
Mainzer said power outages were a "possibility but not an inevitability," especially if people cut back their electricity use.
Despite more than 160 projects to increase power supply and storage by 4,000 megawatts after outages two years ago, the the state's power supply was partly crippled by the impact of the ongoing drought that has sapped a significant share of the state's hydropower production as reservoir levels drop.
Newsom's order allows use of backup diesel generators to put less strain on the system and won't require ships at port to plug into onshore electricity sources. The move is expected to increase air pollution, but Karen Douglas, the governor's senior energy adviser, said the priority was to keep the lights on.
The grid operator had said Tuesday that the need for voluntary conservation would be likely through the holiday weekend from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. when the grid is most under stress and production of solar energy is declining. It said it was taking measures to bring all available energy resources online, including issuing an order restricting maintenance from noon to 10 p.m. daily through Sept. 6.
Cooling centers were being opened across the state and officials encouraged people to seek comfort at public libraries and stores — even if just for a few hours to prevent overheating.
On Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, where thousands of homeless people live on the street without access to air conditioning or refrigerators, many of the cooling centers they've relied on in past years remain closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The sight of a half dozen volunteers wheeling carts full of ice cold water bottles was a welcome sight.
"It's hotter than heck out here," said Dan, a homeless man huddled with others in the shade of a building. "All of us have to stay outside here, look for shade and count on people coming by with water. … These five days are going to be rough."
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection was planning to stage fire crews in strategic locations, based on humidity and wind forecasts, said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Office of Emergency Services.
Wildfires broke out in bone-dry brush in rural San Diego County and Castaic in the Santa Clarita Valley north of Los Angeles, where a mobile home park was evacuated.
Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles set a new daily record of 112 degrees, breaking a 1998 record by 1 degree.
Peak load for electricity demand in California is projected to exceed 48,000 megawatts on Monday, the highest of the year, the grid operator said. Demand exceeded the peak forecast for Wednesday.
The primary ways to reduce household energy use are to raise thermostat temperatures, avoid using major appliances and electric car chargers, and turning off lights.
"If weather or grid conditions worsen, the ISO may issue a series of emergency notifications to access additional resources and prepare market participants and the public for potential energy shortages and the need to conserve," Cal ISO said Tuesday.
The heat wave arrived amid concern about California's power grid. In August 2020, a record heat wave caused a surge in power use for air conditioning that overtaxed the grid. That caused two consecutive nights of rolling blackouts, affecting hundreds of thousands of residential and business customers.
Newsom has proposed extending the life of the state's last operating nuclear power plant by five years to maintain reliable power supplies in the climate change era. The proposal would keep Pacific Gas & Electric's Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant running beyond a scheduled closing by 2025.
Forecasters, meanwhile, warned of triple-digit temperatures with little overnight relief, as well as elevated risk of wildfires in much of the West.
"The big weather story this week will be a prolonged and possibly record heat wave building across much of the Western U.S.," the National Weather Service wrote.
___
Associated Press journalists Eugene Garcia and Robert Jablon contributed to this report.
Watch more from ABC10: South Sacramento residents and workers suffer without AC during heat wave | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/governor-declares-heat-wave-emergency/103-ad1d6e2f-6fa2-4d34-b4d1-08dcc0cc56cc | 2022-09-01T03:05:06 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/governor-declares-heat-wave-emergency/103-ad1d6e2f-6fa2-4d34-b4d1-08dcc0cc56cc |
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento County officials recommend all outdoor events this weekend be postponed due to extreme temperatures.
According to the Sacramento County Division of Public Health and Office of Emergency Services, events scheduled between noon and 8 p.m. Saturday through Tuesday should be postponed.
Sensitive groups such as the elderly, children or people with compromised immune systems may be negatively impacted by the heat and are recommended by the department to stay out of the heat.
Cooling centers have opened around Northern California through the Labor Day weekend and can be found here.
Some tips to avoid heat exhaustion and other heat-related illness are:
- Hydrate with water and electrolyte drinks like propel of Gatorade
- Avoid alcohol
- Limit time outdoors
- Wear sunscreen
- Avoid any exercise or strenuous activity outdoors
- Stay in temperature controlled spaces
PLAN YOUR WEEKEND:
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► GET WEATHER ALERTS TO YOUR PHONE | Download the ABC10 mobile app
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Watch more from ABC10: California extreme heat-related illnesses increase for people of color | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/events-recommended-postpone/103-2d37f89b-5ea9-44b7-9775-22e230aac74b | 2022-09-01T03:05:12 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/events-recommended-postpone/103-2d37f89b-5ea9-44b7-9775-22e230aac74b |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For many people in South Sacramento, there is no option but to deal with the heat.
Many people work outside and others have to deal with issues like a broken air conditioner. As temperatures keep rising this week, the heat can almost feel impossible to escape.
"Think a lot of people are stressing over the heat. Air conditioners don't work as well as others; I'm sure everybody's stressing," said Joe Garcia.
Garcia, who lives in South Sacramento, said his air conditioner stopped working during a recent heat wave.
"When it went out, they brought me a portable AC and it condensated water, like 25 gallons a day. I was having to put it in a bucket and take it outside, had a big 25-gallon container, and as I was taking it outside, I tripped in the doorway and fell down on my shoulder and broke my collarbone and injured my knee," Garcia said.
Additionally, some laborers sat in the heat for hours waiting for work at the Home Depot on Florin Road. Workers said they have to take jobs in roofing, construction or lawn care.
"You feel as if your body is suffocating. Then the heat from up above and you feel the vapor from the ground. It feels. It's something unexplainable," said an undocumented worker who did not want to be identified. He spoke in Spanish, but his comments were translated.
Many of these workers have no other option but to take these jobs in the heat. Some have language barriers, are undocumented or receive little pay at other companies.
"They know they should pay us more but they don't pay for the same reason. Because the majority of them know we don't have papers and those things, and they do it on purpose. They know that," said Robert Molina, an undocumented worker.
However, with the workers knowing they must take care of their families and pay bills, they continue to wait in the heat for a slim chance at an opportunity.
The workers also say they would like for companies to be more considerate of their workers who have to be out in the heat. That's because they say foremen can sometimes take advantage of them when they're trying to get the job done.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-heat-wave/103-8e9fd319-7e25-4d0a-8405-30a78c3c85b2 | 2022-09-01T03:05:19 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/sacramento-heat-wave/103-8e9fd319-7e25-4d0a-8405-30a78c3c85b2 |
STOCKTON, Calif. — A new school in Stockton now has an "out of this world" name.
It's called the "Astronaut Jose M. Hernandez Academy." It's located on East Swain Road in North Stockton.
"A lot of people, including myself, would say I really don't deserve this honor, but I certainly embrace it," said Jose Hernandez, the humble, former STS-128 Space Shuttle astronaut.
A crowd of dignitaries, students, staff and Hernandez's family, including his mother and father, attended the special school dedication.
"If it's going to encourage kids to dream big - because that's what education is about - education gives you that license to dream big," Hernandez said.
The new charter school is the brainchild of the non-profit El Concilio. It is a K-8 school that provides a "dual-language immersion STEM-focused curriculum." In other words, there is an emphasis on math and science, while welcoming those who speak other languages.
"We think that he personifies the type of student that is here at this school, and we want to let them know that they, like him, can succeed. They can accomplish anything that they want to in this great country," said Jose Rodriguez, Board Chair of the El Concilio Academies.
Students like eighth grader Shantel Ambriz were thrilled to meet the French Camp-born astronaut.
"He was dedicated and he took his time and he succeeded," Ambriz said.
Hernandez worked the fields as a child picking crops alongside his family. In 1972, he watched the Apollo 17 moon landing on a black and white tv, and it was then he realized he wanted to become an astronaut.
"Lots of children were like, 'why him?' And we would talk about him and we started diving into resilience - and that's actually our word, that's what our school is modeled (after). It is to be resilient, and the kids actually wrote about being resilient," said school principal Donita Drulias-Daumer.
The school currently has 220 students with room for as many as 280.
Already in session, if all goes well, El Concilio would like to open more charter schools in the future.
WATCH ALSO: | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/stockton-astronaut-jose-hernandez/103-6c74d1ac-d751-4119-9313-9ec8e29c2512 | 2022-09-01T03:05:25 | 1 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/stockton/stockton-astronaut-jose-hernandez/103-6c74d1ac-d751-4119-9313-9ec8e29c2512 |
CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — The Vallivue School District and Middleton School District failed to pass bonds on the Aug. 30. ballot; bonds that would have funded new schools.
Both school districts called the election results "disappointing." New schools are necessary to keep up with continued growth throughout the Treasure Valley, Vallivue Public Information Officer Joey Palmer said
"There's thousands of homes that are on deck to be constructed in the upcoming years. That's gonna bring a lot of families," Palmer said. "We wanted to meet the needs of our teachers and our students."
The need for more facilities is a statewide problem.
Idaho education non-profit BLUUM conducted a study at the beginning of 2021. BLUUM projects Idaho public schools will have to accommodate an additional 39,480 K-8 students and 2,998 additional high school students by the year 2030.
BLUUM's study concluded Idaho will need to build 98 new elementary schools and six additional high schools.
"School districts bursting at the seams," BLUUM CEO Terry Ryan said. "If you've got overcrowded classrooms, that affects the ability of teachers to be successful and schools to be successful."
If voters are unwilling to pass bonds, Ryan suggests school districts revise their next bond measure.
"What amenities do taxpayers and districts think they need? You can build a building without a very big gym or without a gym at all," Ryan said. "Is that a tradeoff that the taxpayers and parents want to make and the districts want to make or not? I think there are tough conversations that can be had around that, but at the end of the day, you have to build buildings."
Ryan works primarily with charter schools. BLUUM has found success in funding "bare-bones" charter facilities because they cost less than other options.
BLUUM has not found any correlation between the quality of a facility and student performance.
"It's about what happens in that classroom," Ryan said. "There's tough conversations that can be had around that, but at the end of the day, you have to build buildings."
Vallivue has built portable classrooms on existing school property to tame the problem -- however, they are still behind. That's because land developers don't have to pay an impact fee to Vallivue when they build a new subdivision in the school district, according to Palmer.
"Currently, I meet with developers to see if they'll be willing to donate to Vallivue School District if the city council approves their development," Palmer said. "To be quite frank with you, most developers say, 'no, we don't have to pay you a dime,' and they still get approved by the city councils."
Without impacts fees or bonds passing on the ballot, Idaho school districts have their hands tied in an effort to keep up with growth.
"We just need to regroup, see how we can meet the needs of our kids and retain the teachers we do have. That way we are not overworking the with bad student-to-teacher ratio in the classrooms," Palmer said. "So, we'll figure something out."
Middleton plans to reach out to voters to identify their objections to the recently failed bond, according to Middleton Superintendent Marc Gee.
"Meanwhile, we’ll continue to educate the community’s children and find a way to build consensus around the best way to provide adequate school facilities," Gee wrote KTVB in an email. "I have said it a thousand times, and I will continue to say it: Middleton is a fantastic community, and we have some of the best educators in the state and nation. Setbacks, while frustrating and disappointing, often lead to greater achievements."
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Download the KTVB mobile app to get breaking news, weather and important stories at your fingertips. | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/failed-bonds-concern-middleton-vallivue-school-districts/277-4f9a2ef5-e0f3-4753-b0b5-d7b7be2e244c | 2022-09-01T03:10:47 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/failed-bonds-concern-middleton-vallivue-school-districts/277-4f9a2ef5-e0f3-4753-b0b5-d7b7be2e244c |
CARROLLTON, Ala. (WIAT) — Carrollton city leaders are working to reopen the Pickens County Medical Center. The hospital closed two years ago due to financial problems and was the only medical facility in the County.
Carrollton Mayor Mickey Walker is trying to collect 5,000 signatures to send to the state legislature in Montgomery in hopes to get the hospital open again.
“Me and all the other mayors in Pickens County have been working together to do all we can do to try to get the hospital back open,” Walker said. “Last week we all got together to talk to some of our legislators because there is money available, and we are trying to get 5,000 signatures to present them to give to the state finance committee.”
Walker says it will take $12 million to reopen the hospital. When it shut down, 130 workers lost jobs. The facility has 56 beds and a surgical center.
Walker says hundreds of residents in the county need a closer hospital. The only other nearest hospitals are in Columbus, MS, and Tuscaloosa.
“We have so many elderly people and we are suffering and we need a second chance and realize the hospital failed before,” Walker said. “But we are asking everybody from the state to the federal level: help us open this hospital.”
The Mayor tells CBS 42 that if the plan works, they would like to reopen the emergency room first in January and then later open the entire hospital. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/carrollton-mayor-doing-petition-drive-to-reopen-pickens-county-medical-center/ | 2022-09-01T03:13:18 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/carrollton-mayor-doing-petition-drive-to-reopen-pickens-county-medical-center/ |
MEXICO, Maine — A man was injured and two officers were placed on administrative leave after a police shooting in the Town of Mexico Wednesday afternoon.
Mexico and Rumford police officers, along with Oxford County Sheriff's deputies responded to an incident around 3:41 p.m. at the Sunvalley Circle Apartment complex located in Mexico, according to a joint news release issued by the Mexico and Rumford Police Departments.
Two officers reportedly fired shots, and an adult male was taken to the Rumford Hospital by ambulance with gunshot wounds. He was then transported to the Central Maine Medical Center by LifeFlight helicopter, and is expected to survive, the release stated.
The identity of the man will not be released until family members have been notified, officials said.
Mexico Police Lieutenant Derek MacDonald and Rumford Police Patrolman Bradley Gallant were reportedly involved in the shooting and have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
It was not clear what led up to the shooting. The Attorney General’s Office and Maine State Police are now conducting an investigation. | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/two-officers-placed-on-leave-after-shooting-incident-in-mexico-rumford-police-maine-investigation/97-51928c87-110a-4716-beff-0612e568fa02 | 2022-09-01T03:19:12 | 0 | https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/two-officers-placed-on-leave-after-shooting-incident-in-mexico-rumford-police-maine-investigation/97-51928c87-110a-4716-beff-0612e568fa02 |
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