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A long line wrapped around the front of the Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church and down the sidewalk into the neighborhood located in the west end of downtown Boise. Outside of the Greek Food Festival, music and voices could be heard from down the block.
After two years of the event being restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival is back to its full capacity.
Located on Bannock Street, the festival is an annual event run by the church and additional community members. Friday was the first day of this year’s event, with more activities and food to come on Saturday.
Jim Kinnas is the general chair, planning for the festival for around 20 years.
“You can’t do it without a team under you,” Kinnas said.
Because of the pandemic, the last time the festival was held in its entirety was 2019.
“The best we ever had,” Kinnas said.
But with the pandemic hitting Idaho in spring of 2020, the festival was canceled, despite preparations beginning months ahead. Last year saw a “drive-thru” handing out food to cars, which Kinnas felt did not work well.
Finally, for its 40th anniversary, things are taking a turn for the better. The festival is selling commemorative wine glasses and T-shirts for this milestone.
As children danced at the festival Friday, the announcer reminded the audience that it’s customary to throw money for the dancers.
Kinnas said they usually prepare for nearly 4,000 attendees, a number visible in the bustling of Friday’s crowd. As for food, nearly all pastries are homemade in addition to some of the foods.
“We pretty much get everything else here in-house,” Kinnas said.
Other classic items on the menu include Greek gyros, souvlaki and baklava.
The festival is made possible by a group of around 70 volunteers and with help from Life’s Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to helping young adults gain life skills.
“Good food, great pastries,” Kinnas listed. “And that’s about it.”
For over 30 years, Sia Raymondi has been helping at the festival, now as the pastry chairman, overseeing the kitchen. She leads a group of about 12 community members in the days prior to the event.
“It’s nice getting all the ladies together to cook,” Raymondi said. “We’ve missed that social interaction.”
With five different types of pastries to prep, the team takes weeks to bake each one. In total, they bake over 10,000 pastries.
“I have it down to a system, but it does get chaotic at times,” Raymondi said.
With her time involved in the community and event planning, Raymondi can’t seem to take a break.
“I swear every year is going to be my last,” Raymondi said. “And once you see the whole crowd, and the dancers, that’s nice.”
Piper French stood by tables in her own backyard, selling gems and jewelry as a part of the festival. Her house is next door, with the other festivities only separated by a chain link gate.
“It started with me washing dishes, and I was a dancer for a few years,” French explained.
For 14 years French has participated in the festival, being a neighbor to the church.
As she began collecting gems, French started selling her homemade jewelry during the days’ festivities.
“Now we’ve kind of built a great relationship because of it,” French said. “They’ve known me, they’ve watched me grow up and watched me graduate high school.”
The past two years of COVID-19 put a damper on both the festival and her business. French is glad to see things coming back.
“Come out and see it!” French said, “It’s a lot of fun.”
The festival’s funds help the church cover its bills, according to Kinnas. The rest is donated to various local organizations.
“It’s not just for us, it’s for the community as well,” Kinnas said.
Friday’s festival continued until 9 p.m., wrapping up with a final 8 p.m. dance.
Saturday’s festivities go from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with dances starting every hour beginning at 12:30 p.m. More information can be found on the festival’s website.
“I just hope we have enough room and food,” Kinnas laughed. | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/dancing-and-gems-greek-food-festival-returns-in-full-force/article_c8ee9d06-444c-5b2d-a2b7-a76798c78473.html | 2022-06-04T02:52:28 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/dancing-and-gems-greek-food-festival-returns-in-full-force/article_c8ee9d06-444c-5b2d-a2b7-a76798c78473.html |
The deceased are from Tucson unless otherwise noted.
Burge, Delores, 92, homemaker, May 5, East Lawn.
Duarte, Roberto, 50, customer service manager, May 12, East Lawn.
Gonzalez, Etelvina F., 59, homemaker, May 23, Carrillo’s.
Heinemann, Mary, 82, property manager, May 7, East Lawn.
Hillman, Betty, 87, May 18, Sensible Cremation.
Holata, Thomas, 79, journeyman plumber, May 4, East Lawn.
Jewell, Barry, 73, business owner, May 10, East Lawn.
Leon, Maria Laura, 63, dental assistant, May 22, Carrillo’s.
Lopez, Andrea Leigh, 52, homemaker, May 21, Carrillo’s.
Mendivil, Fernando Q., 84, district manager, May 21, Carrillo’s.
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Montano, Jesus Vincent, 91, visual merchandiser, May 21, Carrillo’s.
Murchek, Patrick, 65, manager, April 7, East Lawn.
Neely, William Jr., 92, surveyor, May 14, East Lawn.
Oropeza, Lupita, 79, caregiver, May 10, East Lawn.
Stone, Patricia M., 87, store manager, May 18, East Lawn.
Tanaka, Kimi, 95, homemaker, May 7, East Lawn.
Vasic, Ljubica, 72, housekeeper, Nov. 17, 2021, East Lawn.
Vavich, Marcia, 98, college professor, May 9, East Lawn.
Von Ziemann, Caroline, 77, business owner, May 19, East Lawn.
— Arizona Daily Star | https://tucson.com/news/local/deaths-in-southern-arizona/article_1abb70c4-e2ab-11ec-b29f-072ddd588c45.html | 2022-06-04T03:24:17 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/deaths-in-southern-arizona/article_1abb70c4-e2ab-11ec-b29f-072ddd588c45.html |
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) — An annual event that brings people back to the 18th century is now underway in Elizabethton.
Friday was opening night for the outdoor drama “Liberty! The Saga of Sycamore Shoals” at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park.
Liberty!, Tennessee’s official outdoor drama, is set in front of a full-scale replica of Fort Watauga and depicts the settlement of Northeast Tennessee in the 18th century.
“Liberty tells the stories of Sycamore Shoals that take us back into the 18th century, back into the 1770s, which was quite a while ago,” Park Manager Jennifer Bauer said. “When people left the English colonies, crossed the mountains, even though King George III was much against that, and created what was the first settlement of European born people on the continent here in the Watauga Settlement.
“They came together, they created government, they interacted with the Cherokee and the British, in good and in bad ways, during negotiations and battles and many things that took place.”
This mark’s the outdoor drama’s 43rd year.
Performances will take place on:
- June 3 – 4
- June 10 – 11
- June 16 – 18
- June 23 – 25
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the performance beginning at 8 p.m. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/liberty-opens-for-43rd-season-at-sycamore-shoals/ | 2022-06-04T03:37:19 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/liberty-opens-for-43rd-season-at-sycamore-shoals/ |
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – Bays Mountain unveiled its newest biking and hiking trail on Friday.
The park held a ribbon-cutting dedication ceremony this afternoon in which they disclosed the name of the new trail Moonshiner’s Delight.
Trail construction began last fall and the project took almost $65,000. Moonshiner’s Delight is the longest trail built in nearly a decade.
“So, this particular trail goes from the eastern end of the park to the western end of the park, it is 4.2 miles, and it is our first linear trail, and it is also considered a single-track trail,” said Bays Mountain Park Manager Megan Krager.
Along with providing easier access to the fire tower, the trail will help alleviate traffic from other trails and create a complete loop within the park.
For more information on Bays Mountain and to find park maps, visit the park’s website. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/moonshiners-delight-hiking-biking-trail-unveiled-at-bays-mountain/ | 2022-06-04T03:37:20 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/moonshiners-delight-hiking-biking-trail-unveiled-at-bays-mountain/ |
MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – A contracted food worker at the Northeast Correctional Complex (NECX) who was assaulted by an inmate last week blamed understaffing for the incident.
Ginger Gross has worked at NECX for five years as a contracted worker with food supplier Aramark in the prison’s cafeteria.
The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) has struggled with understaffing and dangerous conditions at the prison for years.
The name of the inmate has not been released by TDOC, but charges are pending.
Gross said that understaffing led to an assault by a prisoner in the prison’s kitchen on May 27.
She claimed only one correctional officer was in the kitchen at the time of the attack. Even then, she said the officer was taking out the garbage when she was ambushed.
“There is supposed to be two correctional officers in the kitchen at all times. There’s only one. The door where the inmate was at was supposed to be locked at all times,” Gross said. “If there was two [officers], I think that they would’ve been in separate areas of the kitchen. I don’t think it would’ve happened.”
Gross said the assaulting inmate had been serving other prisoners on the food line.
She left to use the bathroom. Upon her return, she said the prisoner hid behind an ice machine and ambushed her.
“Whenever I came out, he grabbed me by my neck, pushed me back inside the bathroom and we fought for four and a half minutes,” Gross said.
Gross managed to get the prisoner off her, but he left scratches around her neck and bruising on her arm, knees and shin.
“To be honest, I thought he was trying to rape me, but after I spoke with the DA and stuff, he actually admitted that he was trying to kill me,” Gross said.
A week after the attack Gross is still struggling with the emotional trauma inflicted upon her.
“I can’t go outside at night. I’m constantly worried. I can’t sleep. If I sleep, whenever I close my eyes all I see is hand coming towards my throat again,” Gross said.
Current and former correctional officers at NECX have blamed understaffing for dangerous conditions and a sense of fear among workers.
Rep. Scotty Campbell (R-Mountain City) led a push for a pay raise to recruit more workers to the prison. The pay was eventually raised to $44,500, but he said that has not entirely fixed the problem.
“It’s not the staff growth that I was hoping for,” Campbell said. “Been working with the department at the state level to try to remedy and prevent situations exactly like this and here we are.”
Gross said she had not seen another contracted worker assaulted before during her tenure at the prison, but she had seen at least 10 correctional officers attacked.
TDOC confirmed another assault happened on May 27. Gross said other inmates beat up her attacker after she got away from him.
She is looking at other employment opportunities, unsure if she wants to return to NECX.
But she wants prison administrators to make changes to protocol for the safety of her co-workers.
“The two COs. That’s got to change,” Gross said. “Whenever we’re serving chow, they’ll sometimes pull our CO, so we have to deal with the inmates by ourself, which is not safe. You know, we’re food service, not security.”
Gross said contracted workers should also receive training on how to prevent and deal with situations like this.
News Channel 11 reached out to TDOC for an incident report, but were told the incident is still under investigation. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/necx-worker-assaulted-by-inmate-says-understaffing-led-to-attack/ | 2022-06-04T03:46:21 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/necx-worker-assaulted-by-inmate-says-understaffing-led-to-attack/ |
SAN ANTONIO — Lavaca County authorities on social media confirmed a train derailment Friday evening in the small community of Shiner has shut down multiple railroad crossings in town.
There was no immediate report on potential injuries or fatalities, and it's unknown at this point what may have caused the derailment.
Photos and video sent to KENS 5 by Jane Spakes shows several train cars mangled in a mess of metal as local law enforcement worked to secure the scene.
This is a developing story. Check back with KENS5.com for the latest updates.
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Over the years, KENS 5 has worked to transform local news. Our cameras have been the lens bringing history into local viewers' homes. We're proud of our legacy as we serve San Antonians today.
Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation. The KENS 5 News team focuses on stories that really matter to our community.
You can find KENS 5 in more places than ever before, including KENS5.com, the KENS 5 app, the KENS 5 YouTube channel, KENS 5's Roku and Fire TV apps, and across social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more!
Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/public-safety/shiner-texas-train-derailment-accident-crash/273-19fcad02-c390-4bc4-9268-1e6fc377aac0 | 2022-06-04T03:46:56 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/public-safety/shiner-texas-train-derailment-accident-crash/273-19fcad02-c390-4bc4-9268-1e6fc377aac0 |
ACWORTH, Ga. — Bystanders pulled a kayaker out of the water in Cobb County on Friday, according to the fire department.
Fire officials said they were called to South Shore Park, where a kayak had overturned.
When they got there, bystanders performed CPR on the person they pulled out of the water.
The department did not provide any more information on the person's condition or if they knew how the kayak turned over. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/cobb-fire-cpr-kayaker-south-shore-park/85-969e8988-81b2-470a-9be0-38d02a54d0af | 2022-06-04T03:57:19 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/cobb-fire-cpr-kayaker-south-shore-park/85-969e8988-81b2-470a-9be0-38d02a54d0af |
ROSWELL, Ga. — Pastor Glenn Hannigan was in Athens Thursday night as the North Georgia Conference voted to allow 70 churches to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church over their stance on LGBTQ inclusion.
“Honestly, it was very hard to sit through. It felt as much like a wake as anything. For us, there's not a celebration, hooray, we're free. It's more like, we're just sorry, that was this had to happen," he said.
In 2019, the General Conference voted to alter its stance on homosexuality and be more welcoming.
"It’s been a lack of respect and the ugly words, and in all honesty, I think it's only gonna get worse," Hannigan said. "How can we how can we ever take the low road in the church?”
Hannigan has been the pastor at Ebenezer Methodist Church in Roswell since 2010.
"We have we have LGBTQ members of our church, we have couples in our church with adopted kids. I can't tell you the feeling of was when we voted unanimously," he added.
During a 2019 Special Session of the global General Conference of The United Methodist Church, a disaffiliation agreement was adopted that allows the churches to leave the denomination through the end of 2023. According to the website, they can go "for reasons of conscience regarding a change in the requirements and provisions of the Book of Discipline related to the practice of homosexuality..." and other related actions outlined.
The North Georgia Conference region covers the top half of the state. Officials explained that the churches requesting disaffiliation make up about 9 percent -- but only 3 percent of the full membership of the Conference.
"Our denomination has a clear process for disaffiliation and Conference leaders are walking alongside the churches that want to take this path," Sybil Davidson, the Conference Communications Director said. "While we do not wish to see any church disaffiliate, we are committed to a clear and healthy process."
Hannigan hopes this move will bring his congregation even closer.
“I think the relief in the church, and the joy was not necessarily that we were going to disaffiliate, which is a painful decision, the joy was we were together, and that we haven't lost anybody. As far as I'm concerned, we're not going to," Hannigan said.
In a statement, the Conference Communications Director Sybil Davidson writes:
"Our denomination has a clear process for disaffiliation and Conference leaders are walking alongside the churches that want to take this path. While we do not wish to see any church disaffiliate, we are committed to a clear and healthy process. Our hearts are with those who desire for their congregation to remain a part of the denomination, and also with those who choose to leave. It is painful when we have division in the church. We pray that, above all, the ministry of all churches will be fruitful and serve God well. The United Methodist Church will continue working to be agents of reconciliation in a divided world."
The disaffiliation agreement allows churches to leave the denomination through the end of 2023.
"We want to create a place where people are welcome. And they feel loved, and nobody's treated the second class citizen," Hannigan said. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/united-methodist-church-athens-north-georgia-conference-lgbtq/85-212a1bfd-2a73-4e2b-8b97-0a7de340f073 | 2022-06-04T03:57:25 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/united-methodist-church-athens-north-georgia-conference-lgbtq/85-212a1bfd-2a73-4e2b-8b97-0a7de340f073 |
AUSTIN, Texas — For years, the Austin Parks Foundation, along with the City of Austin and the Mueller Foundation, has been working to connect the Eastside more. Recently, they just finished the 5.1-mile trail that connects Bartholomew Park up on 51st Street all the way down to Lady Bird Lake.
Hank Cavagnaro talked with Colin Wallis, CEO of the Austin Parks Foundation, about why this trail is so important.
"If you live right here, you can jump on this thing and ride it all the way up to Bartholomew Pool or all the way down to the hike-and-bike trail," he said on his bike while riding the trail.
"This is a way to connect people," asked Hank. "Right?"
"Absolutely. A safe way to get downtown without having to get in your car. I mean, you could. It would obviously be a long walk, but a pretty easy bike ride, really. It's mostly flat," Wallis said.
The trail also intersects with the Red Line at several points, including the MLK stop.
"Someone could easily commute in on the rail from Cedar Park, bring their bike," he said.
The pathed trail is also part of the parks foundation's goal to increase the connectivity on the Eastside.
"You see, today is a great example. I see a lot of people out here walking dogs, commuting, riding bikes for exercise," Wallis explained.
The trail is still being improved and worked on. Wallis said, currently, they're working on better signage to allow people to know that the trail does connect the whole way.
If you'd like to see a map of the trail, click here.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/east-link-trail-connect-east-austin-with-downtown/269-e47d2ec7-57f7-4214-bf2d-d6fba1ceb925 | 2022-06-04T04:02:43 | 1 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/east-link-trail-connect-east-austin-with-downtown/269-e47d2ec7-57f7-4214-bf2d-d6fba1ceb925 |
COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — Hunter and Tiffany Sexauer have been talking for years about building their forever home. They found the perfect place right next to their current home in unincorporated Collin County.
Everything was on schedule until Hunter took a terrible fall from the top of the ladder.
It happened one April night, it was also the day of their son's birthday. Hunter was on the ladder putting some finishing touches on their forever home when the ladder slid to the side and he fell to the ground thirty feet onto the concrete.
"It was our worst nightmare," said his wife, Tiffany.
"I've climbed these ladders a billion times and I've been in construction four generations," said Hunter.
His body broken, Hunter recalls to WFAA he was slipping in and out of consciousness, but he was able to call his daughter.
"I kept telling myself, 'Hunter, you gotta move. You gotta get up, you gotta move,'" he recalled.
Hunter Sexauer was care-flighted to Medical City Plano. Sadly, people falling off ladders is one of the leading causes for emergency room visits.
"Somebody who falls 30 feet, to be able to walk, it's really a miracle," said nurse manager Alex Adams of Medical City Plano.
Hunter spent a month in the hospital. He'll need rigorous rehab after bilateral femur fractures, a broken hip, broken jaw and ribs, and even orbital trauma that left him blind for three days. Sexauer even has a Harry Potter-like scar his kids tease him about.
But he'll take on any type of injury knowing the alternative. Hunter says while he was laying on the ground, for what felt like ten or fifteen minutes, he thought he was going to die
"I figured it was over. I figured I was not going to see their beautiful faces ever again," he said. "I'm ready to get back. I've got a house to build for my family," Hunter said.
The family is thankful for the firefighters, EMS, care-flight crews, and the hospital. Hunter is a fighter. He'll fully walk on his own in five months but his goal is to do it in three months. He's just eager to get back out there to build the home.
"I can care less if it takes ten years to finish it, because we have him," said Tiffany, crying. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/collin-county-man-survives-long-ladder-fall-miracle/287-e025c033-e7cd-4bbe-ad82-4ba820c4b3dd | 2022-06-04T04:09:25 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/collin-county-man-survives-long-ladder-fall-miracle/287-e025c033-e7cd-4bbe-ad82-4ba820c4b3dd |
ARLINGTON, Texas — Firefighters in Arlington have pulled a man out of a vehicle that was swept away by flash flooding on Friday night, officials say. His condition is unknown.
The fire department says it had been searching floodwaters covering a road near Webb Ferrell Road and Hanrahan Avenue in the southern area of the city, near Webb Community Park
According to family, the victim had told them he was stuck and that water was filling up his car. Crews arrived and began searching the waters.
Crews were able to pull him out of the vehicle, and he was transported to a hospital in unknown condition, officials say.
Further details were not immediately released.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is released. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/man-hospitalized-vehicle-swept-away-flash-flooding-arlington/287-3d858771-bd02-4de5-9b1b-55bdcafa2a38 | 2022-06-04T04:09:31 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/man-hospitalized-vehicle-swept-away-flash-flooding-arlington/287-3d858771-bd02-4de5-9b1b-55bdcafa2a38 |
DALLAS — It's been about a week since Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced that 70 children missing from counties in West Texas were found after a three-week operation called "Operation Lost Souls."
"It’s probably the longest process that I’ve had to deal with as an investigator," supervisory special agent Stephanie Hard said. “You are literally going to every person they could have had any contact with and just saying, "Please. Do you know anything about where they've been or who they've been with?'"
HSI confirmed that a majority of the children, ranging in age from 10 to 17, were found in West Texas. Some were found in DFW, Colorado and a city in Mexico near the Texas border.
"They were just all over," Hard said. "Scattered all over."
Resident agent in charge Adam Koeneman works with Hard in HSI's San Angelo office in West Texas. They confirmed with WFAA that seven of the children recovered were missing from their designated region.
Dallas police confirmed that none of the missing or runaway children cases the department is working on were recovered in Operation Lost Souls, but Hard and Koeneman said some of the kids from their area were in North Texas.
“We did have victims that were taken up there and trafficked up there," Hard said. "You know, Dallas-Fort Worth is a major hub for human trafficking.”
Koeneman said it's common for victims from smaller communities to be taken to large cities.
“It’s just much easier to blend in an disappear in a city like Dallas-Forth Worth," Koeneman said.
HSI's release stated that a majority of the children recovered had been classified as runaways. Last month, two 15-year-old girls went missing from North Texas in separate incidents. Both were later found and believed to have been trafficked. Both were also classified as runaways by local police departments.
Dallas police told WFAA, during one of the investigations, that state code requires the department to consider a juvenile who wasn't taken by force to be a "runaway." The teen in that case was found by police in Oklahoma after sex ads featuring her photos were found online.
Koeneman said, while very few of the victims recovered in his region were trafficked, the public stigma of what it means to be classified as a runaway is damaging.
"That term ‘runaway’…it almost gives fault to the child, right?" Koeneman said. "Like it’s their fault they’re running away. What we have found in our line of work is that those children are running away from something.”
Koeneman and Hard said each case is different, but there are patterns.
They said this issue does not discriminate. The trauma and vulnerabilities that would cause a child to run away can exist for kids of all races, family dynamics and socioeconomic situations.
The method is usually the same, too.
"What I always tell parents is, 'That phone that you pay for…be involved in your child’s life. Look at that phone. See who they’re talking to because that is the number one way someone is going to get in contact with your child.'"
He said even if your child does not have a phone, predators are masters at using the internet to prey on children on other gaming and electronic devices. He said the process of grooming children is slow, and parents cannot afford to not pay attention to who their children are communicating with online.
Koeneman said investigations like Operation Lone Star are made possible through the collaboration of local, federal and state agencies, as well as community and non-profit partnerships.
He said anyone who sees something suspicious should report, and call 9-1-1 for an active emergency.
He said if you believe someone is being trafficked or exploited and you're not sure whether to call police, you can call them.
“It’s not the public’s job to figure it out. It’s the job of an investigator. All you have to do is say something to us," Koeneman said.
The number for HSI's tip line is 1-866-347-2423. Koeneman said it goes out to federal investigators across the country and internationally who's sole focus is to work these cases. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/missing-children-found-in-west-texas-trafficked-in-dfw/287-9fd35113-0140-4ae9-9789-b2d4622d1ce0 | 2022-06-04T04:09:38 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/missing-children-found-in-west-texas-trafficked-in-dfw/287-9fd35113-0140-4ae9-9789-b2d4622d1ce0 |
DELAND, Fla. – The DeLand Police Department announced Friday that they will be launching a new digital fingerprinting system starting June 7.
According to the department, the system — called ‘LiveScan’ — is “an inkless, electronic means of capturing fingerprints in a digitized format.”
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Previously, fingerprints were taken using ink, which police called “inherently messy and prone to capturing poor image quality.”
Now, police said, fingerprints can be processed electronically, and criminal history responses can be provided more quickly.
Fingerprinting services are available at the DeLand Police Department at 219 W. Howry Avenue on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information on the process, visit the department’s website here. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/04/deland-police-department-to-launch-new-livescan-fingerprinting/ | 2022-06-04T04:13:27 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/04/deland-police-department-to-launch-new-livescan-fingerprinting/ |
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Lakeland man threatened to kill both himself and deputies in Lakeland Friday evening, leading to an officer-involved shooting that resulted in his death, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Judd said in a news briefing later Friday evening that the wife of 56-year-old Michael Loman called the sheriff’s office after her husband reportedly threatened to kill himself and deputies.
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Deputies responded to the call at Ten Rocks Mobile Home Park, where Loman was found shooting a rifle both inside and outside his home, Judd said.
Judd commented that deputies also found the wife hiding behind a truck, after which they moved her behind an oak tree for “safety.”
According to Judd, Loman stated he needed to reload his gun so he could kill his wife and the deputies.
The sheriff said after Loman came back out from the home, deputies “shot him a lot, and that was the end of the gunfight.”
Deputies said neighbors — some of whom were outside at the time of the shooting — reported afterward that Loman had been out shooting before deputies arrived at the scene.
Judd said an ongoing investigation is looking into whether deputies or Loman fired first.
“We’re checking to see whether or not he discharged his weapon first or whether he only brandished it, and that’s when we shot,” he said.
According to Judd, Loman had been arrested previously on a drug-related felony charge as well as three misdemeanors.
“It’s important to note that we were told that he had been drinking alcoholic beverages this evening,” he said. “That is still under investigation. We were told that, (but) we need to confirm that with our investigation.”
Judd also said that deputies did not try to converse with Loman, as it was “too late.”
“When you’ve already engaged as an active shooter and shot at people and shot in the house and threatened to kill your wife and threatened to kill the deputies, and you brandish a firearm in the direction of the deputies, they’re gonna shoot you — shoot you a lot,” he said. “That’s what they’re trained to do. That’s what they’re instructed to do. They’re not gonna sit there and hold a conversation with a guy with a firearm.”
This is an ongoing investigation. News 6 will provide updates as they become available. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/04/deputy-involved-shooting-at-lakeland-mobile-home-park-kills-one-sheriff-says/ | 2022-06-04T04:13:33 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/04/deputy-involved-shooting-at-lakeland-mobile-home-park-kills-one-sheriff-says/ |
Officials with the Washington Department of Natural Resources are hopeful the wildfire season will be less intense than recent years due to heavy rainfall and a high snowpack.
Still, they are preparing for the worst.
DNR has 120 engines planned to service fires this year, the same as in 2021.
"It's great to have this rain with the drought we have throughout the northwest but also recognizing the fact that things could change really quickly," said Crystal Raymond, a climate adaptation specialist at the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group. Read more
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office will take over the investigation into a Tacoma shooting involving a Pierce County Council candidate after the prosecutor’s office raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest.
Candidate Josh Harris is accused of shooting at a suspected car thief outside a Boy Scout office this week in what Harris told police was self-defense.
Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett requested Friday the Tacoma Police Department turn over the investigation to a third party after Robnett learned the union representing Tacoma police officers endorsed Harris in his council bid and that Harris had paid for suites at Rainiers games for members in the past. Read more
Last week, the city required those living in vehicles along the quarter-mile stretch of Ensign Road to agree to a list of conditions. Those conditions include the proper disposal of trash and human waste and only one lawn chair per person outside of the vehicle. Residents cannot engage in violent behavior.
Thirty-three vehicle owners received permits. After just over a week, none have been revoked, according to Olympia Homeless Response Coordinator, Kim Kondrat. Read more
Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Company has been sold to its general manager of over three decades and married Capitol Hill business owners.
Peter Aaron sold the near 50-year-old Seattle institution, located in Capitol Hill, after 23 years to General Manager Tracy Taylor and Murf Hall and Joey Burgess, of Burgess Hall Group. Read more
What started as a Memorial Day weekend road trip ended in a social media frenzy for a lost dinosaur toy, and on Friday, the child was reunited with his beloved stuffed animal.
Carlyn Schmidgall and Megan Larson were traveling to eastern Washington in horrendous holiday weekend traffic when they spotted a green dinosaur lying by the road. Larson said it was one time when traffic slowdowns were a good thing.
“We just opened the door and slowly plucked it up,” Larson said. “My brother just had a baby, so I know how kids are with their stuffed buddies.” Read more
Also see: Western Washington forecast
Have the "5 things you need to know" delivered to your inbox. Sign up for the daily morning email here. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/5-things-to-know-this-weekend-june-2022/281-8a8d2c45-dc95-4fe7-9ad5-43400cb18441 | 2022-06-04T04:17:05 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/5-things-to-know-this-weekend-june-2022/281-8a8d2c45-dc95-4fe7-9ad5-43400cb18441 |
GRESHAM, Ore. — The City of Gresham wants your help catching the person they've dubbed "the Gresham Lumberjack." The suspect has cut down hundreds of trees along the Springwater Corridor Trail, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
Five miles of the Springwater Trail runs through Gresham city limits, but for the past year city officials say they've had a big problem. Someone just won't stop cutting trees down along the trail for no apparent reason. Frustrated city officials say the weapon of choice for the Gresham lumberjack appears to be a handsaw.
"We've got big trees, small trees, everything in between being either completely cut down and just left here or partially cut down, which is a hazard," said Joe Walsh, Parks & Recreation manager for the city of Gresham. "There's no rhyme or reason — nobody's taking the wood with them, they are just leaving it on the ground and leaving it all over the trail."
The Gresham Lumberjack has been at it since last August. To date, close to 100 trees within a mile and a half stretch of the trail have been destroyed, causing over $100,000 in damages by necessitating restoration efforts.
"The big impact is losing those trees that are 40 to 60 years old that you can't get back immediately," explained Mike Wallace, natural resources ecologist with the City of Gresham.
Wallace said that they're now turning to the community to help identify the person.
"If they see someone in the open space cutting or doing something suspicious in that environment, just to be cognizant of what is going on," said Wallace.
"We need to catch this person, we need to end this, and I would invite people to use the trail because we need more eyes out here," said Walsh.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Gresham police at the non-emergency line at 503-823-3333 or also via the MyGresham app or city website. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/gresham-lumberjack-cut-down-trees-springwater-trail/283-95cb20a3-a10a-40a1-9696-3e757ca3cb7d | 2022-06-04T04:18:13 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/gresham-lumberjack-cut-down-trees-springwater-trail/283-95cb20a3-a10a-40a1-9696-3e757ca3cb7d |
PORTLAND, Ore. — After two-year hiatus of large events in the Portland area, thousands of racing fans are expected to spend time in the Rose City this weekend as NASCAR makes its first pit stop in the Pacific Northwest in more than two decades.
This weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series hits the Portland International Raceway, and 50,000 people are expected to attend. Organizers said rain or shine, the drivers will race. Tickets were selling out fast, but there's still general admission tickets left.
"We are really proud to be able to be a part of the new opening of Portland, bringing back all of these events to the raceway and all these people are looking forward to better weather that will bring more crowds," said Leah Ford, a local food vendor.
This event marks the first NASCAR national series stop in the Pacific Northwest in 22 years. For racing fans, it's an event worth traveling for.
"I had five trips lined up in 2019, I had to cancel all of them because of COVID," said Edward Bell. "It's good to be back out on the track again."
Bell is in town from Vancouver, British Columbia. He said this was the closest race he could attend.
Along with the races and food, organizers said there will also be live music. The event is expected to have a huge economic impact on the city.
"In terms of hotel accommodations, restaurants, rental cars, people out shopping because we don't have sales tax here, everyone that comes into the race will get the benefits of being in Portland," said Jerry Jensen, the event organizer.
Tickets are available at the gate. Kids age 12 and under get in for free. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/nascar-portland-international-raceway/283-2de45819-d7c4-402f-a9cd-c338f8778f15 | 2022-06-04T04:18:19 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/nascar-portland-international-raceway/283-2de45819-d7c4-402f-a9cd-c338f8778f15 |
VANCOUVER, Wash. — For two decades, Tony Jacobs has been walking Vancouver school grounds — and always with a song on his lips.
Jacobs is a district resource officer for the Vancouver School District. His latest assignment is at Vancouver School of Arts and Academics (VSAA).
Officer Jacobs’ priority is to provide security for students. That starts with drop-off time in the morning. But pretty much everything Tony does, he does with a song.
“They always want to hear a song, so I try and come up with a song per day for 'em, and they smile," he said.
Jacobs spent most of his career at two high schools in the district, Fort Vancouver and Hudson's Bay high schools, getting some notoriety for his way of helping kids cope with the challenges of life and being a student.
Now at VSAA, which has students from 6th through 12th grade, the officer’s methods have remained the same.
Growing up in West Seattle, Jacobs comes from a musical family. He thought he'd play in football in the NFL, but started singing after another kid got him to join choir in high school.
“That guy who told me to come join the choir winded up being Kenny Gorelick — which we call now Kenny G,” Jacobs said.
Yes, that's a young Kenny G. And as they say, the rest is history.
With all the singing and friendly greetings Tony fit right at VSAA, where he said he gets about a 95% wave-back rate.
“They've been that way the whole school year; seriously that's what I’m going to miss too ... yeah, they're pretty good,” said Jacobs.
He's going to miss the waves because he is retiring. But he's not done just yet.
On a recent morning he could be heard singing to students, "I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I’ve got the month of May."
"We're Tony’s biggest fans, yeah because he's awesome, he's cool," said a pair of young students.
“He has the voice of an angel, 10 out of 10," said another student.
And yet another said, "Tony’s retiring and I’m really upset about this because he's like my favorite person on campus."
Jacobs said he loves his job, which is all about connecting with kids. Along with the songs, typical greetings from the resource officer include, "How you doing?" and "I want you to have a great day today, and I’ll see you inside."
For 20 years, it's been working.
"It's definitely made it a lot better this year because coming out of COVID it was really hard for me ... but when I met Tony, it was like a lot better," said one girl, an 8th grader at the school.
The joyful work continues into the school day. With just a few weeks left, Tony’s been making some special appearances; joining with a group from choir, singing an appropriately positive song.
When you get down to it, Tony is a performer in a security officer's uniform. Giving an encore song, then fist bumps for everyone, before moving to another class to sing some more.
Tony also works the hallways and checks in with students, often ones who need a sympathetic ear. It’s all in a day's work for a guy whose main reason for hanging it up may be the result of 45 years refereeing youth sports.
“This knee right here, I need a total knee replacement,” said Jacobs.
Of course, he did it the Tony Jacobs way:
"I’m known as the referee that dances, I’m like ‘ah, oh yeah’, I make some serious moves!"
But when he's all fixed up, he may have trouble staying away from school.
"Michael Jordan came out of retirement so you never know, you never know," Jacobs said.
Despite the vicissitudes of time, he still loves what he does for the kids.
“I like to see everyone happy, and that's the whole point — just reaching out to them," Jacobs said. "People have different techniques to get to students, mine is singing.”
Tony’s last day with the district is June 16. Before then, he’ll be celebrating his retirement by singing a show at a gathering at Black Angus restaurant in downtown Vancouver, at 7 p.m. on Friday June 10. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/singing-school-resource-officer-vancouver/283-771fdbbd-9626-4508-a506-105b1fce2594 | 2022-06-04T04:18:25 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/singing-school-resource-officer-vancouver/283-771fdbbd-9626-4508-a506-105b1fce2594 |
HILLSBORO, Ore. — A man has become the third person to die while in Washington County jail custody in the past two months, prompting the Washington County sheriff to call for an independent investigation.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said the death Wednesday in Hillsboro’s Washington County Jail involved a 51-year-old man who arrived at 7 a.m., The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Deputies noticed the man wasn’t breathing shortly after 9:30 p.m. while he sat in a holding area waiting to be booked into the jail, according to the sheriff’s office. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, the sheriff’s office said.
In a statement Thursday, Sheriff Pat Garrett called the three deaths “unprecedented” and said he was arranging to have an outside agency conduct an independent investigation.
"This is unprecedented for our jail. As I continue my commitment to transparency and improvement, I will arrange an outside entity to conduct an additional review separate from the MCT investigation," Garrett's statement said.
On April 17, a deputy found Bryce Bybee, 22, unresponsive in his bed and he could not be revived, authorities said.
Crystal Leuenberger, 35, died May 24 inside the jail. Leuenberger had arrived less than 24 hours earlier, the sheriff’s office said.
Sgt. Daniel DiPietro said he couldn't answer questions about what led up to Leuenberger’s death, citing an open investigation.
The state medical examiner’s office conducted autopsies but has not issued a cause of death in all three cases, DiPietro said. He said the state medical examiner’s office typically waits for toxicology results, which can take several months. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-county-jail-3-deaths-2-months/283-708a405f-30a6-4e42-afc0-c6165be4ee92 | 2022-06-04T04:18:31 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-county-jail-3-deaths-2-months/283-708a405f-30a6-4e42-afc0-c6165be4ee92 |
HUNTINGTON, WV. (WOWK) — For the first time in the City of Huntington’s history, Pride Month is being recognized with a rainbow flag flying outside of City Hall.
“It makes you feel safe because the world isn’t always safe for us, and that’s a difficult thing to have to realize, that you’re not safe everywhere,” said Huntington resident Jason Forsyth “I know many people think it’s just a parade flag or about a party, and it means so much more than that.”
It’s not just the flag showing inclusion. Forsyth says advocates in the city have worked to create safe spaces, which is part of the reason he and his husband moved to Huntington from Dallas, Texas.
“People who perhaps haven’t had the experience of being discriminated against may not understand the impact that an ally truly has,” Forsyth said. “To help us know that we are accepted, we are loved, we are a part of this community, it’s endearing.”
Full Circle Gifts and Goods is one of almost 300 business owners in Huntington that has taken the city’s “Open to All” pledge.
“It just makes me so happy to have people come in and be happy and feel accepted and feel comfortable in a space and know that I created that,” said owner Noelle Horsfield.
The “Open to All” campaign started back in 2018 with a goal to make everyone feel accepted and welcome.
“It’s a gift to be in this time and have these things happening,” said Horsfield.
Advocates say Pride Month focuses on the future while honoring what’s been done along the way.
“Love, resilience, a fight for equality,” said Founder and President of Huntington Pride, Ally Lamen. “It represents people seeing that they are welcome into every community and every aspect. We are here 365 days a year, we just celebrate in June.” | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/pride-flown-flag-flown-outside-huntington-city-hall-for-first-time-ever/ | 2022-06-04T04:25:08 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/pride-flown-flag-flown-outside-huntington-city-hall-for-first-time-ever/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/local-gun-violence-awareness-day-demonstrations/3261047/ | 2022-06-04T04:33:31 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/local-gun-violence-awareness-day-demonstrations/3261047/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Nearly a month after nurses at Providence St. Vincent voted to strike, two more Portland-area hospitals voted to authorize a strike Thursday night.
Nurses at Providence Milwaukie Hospital and Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center voted nearly unanimously to authorize strikes against both hospitals – citing unfair labor practices and below market compensation.
With these new authorizations, more than 2,000 nurses have now voted to strike against Providence — the state’s largest healthcare system.
While hospital officials called the news a disappointment, they told KOIN 6 News they have a plan in place should nurses choose to walk.
Having experienced burnout and high turnover rates amid the pandemic, nurses say they are asking Providence for increased nurse staffing, affordable health care, and a fair compensation package to help recruit and retain more nurses.
But Providence Milwaukie nurse Emmy Glasser says her vote to strike was out of concern for the safety of her patients.
“Striking is our last resort. But us as nurses, we’re not settling for substandard patient care, patient safety,” Glasser said. “This isn’t just about us being compensated. This is about having proper safety, proper supplies, proper staffing, so that we can provide our patients the best care possible. And that’s why we are striking.”
But leaders at both hospitals say they are confident in Providence’s level of patient care and safety.
“There are unpredictable occasions and issues in any facility, not just the Providence Milwaukie, but I can tell you is I have full confidence in our team that we have a team approach to everything that we do,” Victor Carrasco, chief executive of Providence Milwaukie Hospital said.
As negotiations continue with the Oregon Nurses Association, Providence says they do not plan to close either hospital and are hopeful a resolution can be made before a strike occurs.
But should nurses choose to walk they say they have a comprehensive plan in place, including hiring temporary staff to ensure patients receive the same quality of care.
“That continuity of care will be there. You know, I’ll be it. We may have to redo some services or perhaps reschedule some cases that are elective things like that. But we don’t want to be in a position where we stopped services,” Carrasco said.
As bargaining sessions are expected to continue throughout the next few weeks, if a strike does occur ONA would have to grant each hospital a 10 day notice before nurses could walk out on the job. | https://www.koin.com/local/our-last-resort-providence-nurses-in-portland-metro-authorize-strike/ | 2022-06-04T04:41:13 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/our-last-resort-providence-nurses-in-portland-metro-authorize-strike/ |
BOISE, Idaho — As summer school begins across Treasure Valley districts, many students are being put in danger as they attempt to get off the bus or cross the street.
Durham School Services in Boise said they have seen a massive increase in the number of drivers who are not stopping for buses, which carry some of the most precious cargo in our children.
Safety training manager with Durham School Services, Gary Hendrickson, is appalled by how many people in Ada County pass stopped school buses.
"Whether you're texting or whether you're just not paying attention, we have a large segment of the population that just does not observe the stop bar," Hendrickson said.
Under Idaho code, a car not stopping for a bus signaling its stop sign is a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to a $200 fine for the first offense.
On the second offense, it is punishable by up to $400 and by up to $600 for the third offense.
"We're responsible for those children," Hendrickson said. "We say we have the most important job in the world and we do taking care of our future and so we take it very seriously."
As of 2019, buses in Idaho are equipped with stop-arm cameras, which allow buses to record peripheral traffic when stopped.
"We're going to be cracking down," Hendrickson said. "We're not going to back off."
Durham School Services has been keeping track of violations around Boise and Garden City, according to Hendrickson.
From August 2021 to January 2022, Durham drivers have reported 200 violations. By the end of the school year, that number more than doubled to 500 reported violations.
They send the license plate numbers to local law enforcement. Hendrickson said law enforcement agencies have then issued 60% of violations.
"It just seems like it's getting worse rather than better," Hendrickson. "Now in the summertime, I fear it's going it's going to be very active."
Besides being illegal and expensive, Hendrickson said not stopping can also be deadly for kids getting on or off the bus.
"These are the danger zones we talk about and the general public just needs to be aware that we're not doing it to inconvenience you," Hendrickson said. "We're doing this for the safety of our future for our children."
Hendrickson said his best piece of advice is to just be patient on those roads. He sometimes sees drivers pass the stop arm halfway and remember to stop.
If you stop halfway, a violation will not be issued. It's only when drivers pass all the way through that people may have trouble.
When a school bus is pulled over to the side of the road, all drivers, both ways, must stop until the bus turns off its red, flashing lights and retracts its stop sign.
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/ada-county-company-sees-drivers-running-bus-stop-arms/277-0f52126f-0011-4aaf-8d40-b82e1ba46356 | 2022-06-04T04:42:54 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/ada-county-company-sees-drivers-running-bus-stop-arms/277-0f52126f-0011-4aaf-8d40-b82e1ba46356 |
MERIDIAN, Idaho — Due to widespread rain and thunderstorms in Sunday's weather forecast, High Desert Harley-Davidson announced the 12th annual Idaho Patriot Thunder Ride is postponed to June 12.
The annual motorcycle ride benefits the Idaho Guard & Reserve Family Support Fund and Operation Warmheart.
Each year, hundreds of riders gather at High Desert Harley-Davidson in Meridian and participate in an escorted ride to Carl Miller Park in Mountain Home.
Despite the postponement, the Idaho Patriot Thunder's schedule and timeline will remain the same as planned for the Sunday, June 12 event. Registration for the event begins at 8 a.m.
Upon arrival to Carl Miller Park, participants can enjoy live music, raffles and food. Free breakfast is also offered until supplies are gone at the beginning of the day.
Registration for the Patriot Thunder Ride costs $25 and includes a commemorative patch, according to High Desert Harley-Davidson. Registration fees increase to $35 on the day of the event.
15 riders can purchase VIP spots for $125 to be placed at the front of the pack with other VIP riders.
Riders must have a valid motorcycle endorsement to participate in the 55-mile ride to Mountain Home.
The ride is limited to 1,200 participants. To learn more about the Idaho Patriot Thunder Ride or to register for the 12th annual event, click here.
Idaho State Police, along with other law enforcement agencies, escorted the 2021 ride. Last year's event also around 500 riders participate.
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/idaho-patriot-thunder-ride-delayed/277-71cc49ae-0ec5-4e8a-a7b5-1eab2270e007 | 2022-06-04T04:42:57 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-patriot-thunder-ride-delayed/277-71cc49ae-0ec5-4e8a-a7b5-1eab2270e007 |
UPDATE: 32-acre Oak Fire was human-caused, started near illegal encampment
6:30 p.m. Friday UPDATE
The vegetation fire that burned Friday afternoon near the 12700 block of Old Oregon Trail was human-caused and started near an illegal encampment, the Redding Fire Department said.
"Fire investigators determined the fire originated near an illegal transient encampment. The fire was human-caused, however, the exact means of ignition are still under investigation," fire officials said.
The Oak Fire was 2 to 3 acres when firefighters first arrived after the blaze started about 12:30 p.m. on a large, privately-owned parcel, but grew to 32 acres, officials said.
Crews planned to stay at the scene overnight to mop up, although they were getting help from a Friday evening rainstorm.
ORIGINAL STORY
Firefighters stopped a fire that broke out Friday afternoon near Tierra Oaks Golf Club in north Redding.
The fire was reported just before 1 p.m. off La Crescenta Drive. It prompted responding crews to request extra helping hands and air tankers.
Within a half hour, the fire had grown to 15 acres and personnel on scene reported that there were power poles involved.
A Cal Fire official said the fire was contained at 15 acres. No structures were damaged or destroyed.
Cal Fire, Redding Fire Department, the Cottonwood Fire District and Shasta County Fire Department were among the agencies fighting the blaze.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2022/06/03/vegetation-fire-reported-north-redding/7503597001/ | 2022-06-04T04:44:23 | 0 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2022/06/03/vegetation-fire-reported-north-redding/7503597001/ |
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Nearly a week after a 7-year-old girl from Pine Bluff was shot and killed, the suspect has been arrested. Even after the arrest, the family is still grieving.
Those who knew Chloe worked to keep her memories alive on Friday by releasing dozens of balloons that floated into the skies above the city she called home.
"We are just heartbroken about it," Larry White, Chloe's great-grandfather said.
Amongst the heartbreak were White's stories and memories of Chloe, describing the type of child she was.
"She'd come to the house and want candy and she would always say 'I want a big bag,'" White said.
Now, loved ones continue to search for answers to unimaginable questions. One that's rooted in frustration and confusion.
"I just cant understand why somebody would shoot in a car with kids in it. It just got the best of me and I just really can't understand that," he said.
Thursday night, the lead suspect 18-year-old Kenjata Daniels turned himself in to police. So while legal justice can now be served, a family is still left in grief.
"This senseless gun crime, its got to stop. Its got to stop," Chloe's grandmother, Teneisha Fisher said.
One look at the crowd that came out to support Chloe's legacy and you could see the impact the young girl had on those that loved her.
"She made an impact on a lot of lives as you can see, just look around a lot of lives," Fisher said.
They spent the evening honoring the life of a girl who loved dancing, watching TikToks, caring for her younger brother, and making so many people laugh in love.
"I just thank God for the 7 years he allowed her to be with us," Fisher said.
All holding each other a little closer, as her family stays changed forever from tragedy. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/pine-bluff/pine-bluff-family-remembers-7-year-old-victim/91-3cbcbddb-7c5e-488c-9113-73886799efd5 | 2022-06-04T04:48:00 | 1 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/pine-bluff/pine-bluff-family-remembers-7-year-old-victim/91-3cbcbddb-7c5e-488c-9113-73886799efd5 |
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A metro Atlanta family won a major court battle against a senior living facility after their mother died in its care back in 2018. Betty Perloe died after being repeatedly bitten and stung by fire ants that infiltrated the Somerby located in Sandy Springs.
"She was always involved in something, she cared for everyone in our family," said Ross Perloe as he talked about his deceased mother.
He said she was a nurse for decades, serving patients in hospitals and homes in different states. But there came a time when she needed full-time care herself.
"That’s what breaks me up because we went to the best place," Ross said tearfully.
Even though relatives wanted Betty to live with them, her preference was to live in a facility where she could make new friends. Staff and residents said the 92-year-old was known for being a socialite.
"She was just a really special person who got along well with everyone at the facility and made lots and lots of friends," said Xavier Carter, one of the family's attorneys.
But her time there ended tragically after an infestation of fire ants.
Most of the pictures are too graphic to show. In the ones we can show, you can see the countless itchy puss-filled bumps that covered her body.
Photos | Woman bitten by fire ants at senior living facility
"She then suffered through a week or so of intense pain where she was noted to be moaning and scratching," said Carter.
Betty died days later.
"She lived a great life but that’s not the way she should have gone," her son said.
Lindsay Forlines, the other family attorney said ants are especially an issues for the elderly.
"While some of us in our younger years could withstand a number of fire ant stings and be OK, for the elderly that is often not the case," Forlines said.
Although the family's attorneys said the facility did have pest control, there were many issues that were not taken care of as outlined in its lawsuit.
"They just had too many reports that weren’t being followed up on," said Forlines.
The Perloe family sued the facility and won a multi-million dollar settlement.
"We hope it means that facilities will take these things and incidents seriously," Forlines said.
The Perloe family hopes to work with legislators to bring more oversight to elderly care facilities in the state.
11Alive reached out to the facility but have not heard back yet. | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/sandy-springs-senior-living-facility-court-battle-fire-ants-attack/85-98c4364e-c545-42a6-9539-bd90191efc50 | 2022-06-04T04:48:01 | 1 | https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/sandy-springs-senior-living-facility-court-battle-fire-ants-attack/85-98c4364e-c545-42a6-9539-bd90191efc50 |
ELK GROVE, Calif. — Shanae McBride wants answers and accountability from the Elk Grove Unified School District after she says her 13-year-old son was choked by a teacher at James Rutter Middle School on May 12.
On Friday afternoon, McBride, community activists, and family members gathered at the district headquarters for a press conference and protest, demanding action and accountability from the district.
The incident began as a fight between McBride's son and another student when the teacher allegedly stepped in and wrapped his arms around her son's neck — even threatening to continue choking him until he lost consciousness, according to McBride.
"He's scared. He stays in his room, he doesn't want to come out. His nerves are just bad," said McBride.
McBride says the school's principal and the district showed her surveillance footage of the incident but won't release the footage or identify the teacher.
"What I seen in that video was my son being choked out by the teacher. I seen that he was saying something to my son," said McBride. "It hurt my heart to see that my son had to go through that."
"They haven't given us any answers. We said 24 hours we want to see the name of the teacher that is in question as well as the videotape of the incident," said Berry Accius, community activist and leader of Friday's press conference and protest.
During the press conference, an employee who identified himself as the district's athletic director walked by and confirmed he was aware of the incident and offered concerns and sympathy for the student and his family.
In a statement to ABC10, the Elk Grove Unified School District said:
"The Elk Grove Unified School District is currently investigating a teacher intervention into a student behavior management situation at James Rutter Middle School. Earlier in May, two students were involved in an altercation, and a teacher intervened. We are investigating whether the intervention was appropriate. Until the investigation is complete, the teacher has been placed on an administrative leave. Pending the investigation and in order to protect the privacy rights of the students and teacher connected to this matter, no additional information is available at this time."
McBride says she wants the teacher to be terminated.
"Most definitely he should not be able to deal with children if he can't control himself, let alone like I said, you choked him and you threatened him, so most definitely I need you out," said McBride. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/elk-grove/elk-grove-alleged-incident-at-school/103-f2d61300-130b-4520-a630-93cfa4e3e026 | 2022-06-04T04:55:56 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/elk-grove/elk-grove-alleged-incident-at-school/103-f2d61300-130b-4520-a630-93cfa4e3e026 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Fire Department is reporting a vegetation fire near Downtown Sacramento.
Fire officials reported the fire just before 9 p.m. on Twitter.
SFD says "no structures or critical infrastructure threatened."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/vegetation-fire-downtown-sacramento/103-9067fb18-cdc9-40d6-896a-a36910847f0c | 2022-06-04T04:56:02 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/vegetation-fire-downtown-sacramento/103-9067fb18-cdc9-40d6-896a-a36910847f0c |
Arizona lottery numbers, June 3
Associated Press
These Arizona lotteries were drawn Friday:
Pick 3
0-5-4
Fantasy 5
07-14-25-32-36
Estimated jackpot: $396,000
Triple Twist
05-06-08-12-26-42
Estimated jackpot: $345,000
Mega Millions
11-16-22-48-59, Mega Ball: 11, Megaplier: 4
Powerball
Estimated jackpot: $184 million | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/06/03/arizona-lottery-numbers-june-3/7510512001/ | 2022-06-04T04:58:02 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/06/03/arizona-lottery-numbers-june-3/7510512001/ |
A New York City man pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge in a vicious attack on his estranged girlfriend that very nearly killed her, after he used a wooden board with nails coming out of it to beat her.
James Fitzgerald admitted to the attack onThursday in Queens Supreme Court. According to court records, the 55-year-old abused his estranged 35-year-old girlfriend in front of a fish market in Jamaica just before 6 p.m. on May, 16, 2020.
Fitzgerald, of Walton Avenue in the Bronx, knocked the woman down to the ground before punching and kicking her several times, court documents stated. Witnesses yelled for him to stop, but he ignored them, only briefly walking away only to return a moment later with a wooden plank that was studded with nails.
Fitzgerald then slammed the woman in the face repeatedly using the nail-covered piece of lumber, according to court documents.
Police arrived at the scene just as the Fitzgerald was walking away from the nearly dead victim, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. He initially ran, but was quickly caught by officers and arrested.
The victim was rushed to the hospital. She suffered permanent vision loss in her right eye, and her face was permanently disfigured due to a crushed orbital bone and several facial fractures, court documents found.
Police recovered the bloody wooden plank from the scene, along with multiple broken teeth from the victim that were scattered on the sidewalk.
News
"In pleading guilty, the defendant has taken responsibility for a brutal attack on his estranged girlfriend — a defenseless victim he repeatedly attacked with his feet and fists before moving on to using a nail-riddled wooden plank," Katz said in a statement. "The victim thankfully survived but faces years of recovery, both physical and mental. The defendant has displayed a clear disregard for her safety and will now be sentenced to prison for his crimes."
The judge said that Fitzgerald will be sentenced to 19 years in prison on July 1. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bronx-man-admits-trying-to-beat-girlfriend-to-death-with-nail-riddled-wooden-plank/3719797/ | 2022-06-04T05:22:08 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bronx-man-admits-trying-to-beat-girlfriend-to-death-with-nail-riddled-wooden-plank/3719797/ |
The Milwaukee man accused of shooting a Kenosha woman to death in a Downtown hotel last week was bound over for trial Friday morning.
Timmy L. Brooks, 29, is accused of killing 30-year-old Montreach Mitchell on May 25 at the Wyndham Garden Hotel, 5125 Sixth Ave.
Kenosha Court Commissioner Richard Ginkowski found probable cause to bound Brooks over for trial for homicide. Brooks remains in custody on a $1 million bond.
He is facing numerous felonies in Kenosha County Circuit Court, including first-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and three counts of bail jumping.
Brooks is set to appear in Judge Gerald Dougvillo’s court on June 23 for a judicial pre-trial conference.
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Accused of killing woman
Kenosha Police responded to the hotel on the afternoon of May 27 for a suspicious death reported by housekeeping staff who found a woman unconscious and on the floor of a room.
Upon arrival, officers entered a room that was rented to Brooks and found a woman laying on her right side near the window and air conditioner with blood coming from her mouth and the rear of her head. Four .22-caliber shells were reportedly discovered in the room.
Emergency responders with the Kenosha Fire Department arrived and advised that the woman was pulseless and not breathing. The woman was identified as Mitchell by her driver’s license, according to the complaint, and pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators later observed security camera footage from the hotel recorded on a continuous loop which reportedly showed Brooks and Mitchell enter a room. The footage also reportedly showed Brooks exit the room and walk “back and forth” in the hallway before leaving the hotel.
Turned himself in
Brooks turned himself in to the Milwaukee Police Department later Wednesday, and he acknowledged “that he did occupy a room at the Wyndham Hotel on May 24, 2022, and that Ms. Mitchell later joined him there,” according to the complaint. Video of what appears to show Brooks turning himself in was widely shared on TikTok.
Brooks reportedly told police that he was awoken by Mitchell earlier that day, and she started arguing with him.
“In response to that argument, the defendant became upset and grew tired of her arguing with him, so he picked up a gun and shot her in the back of the head,” according to the complaint.
Brooks then reportedly fired two additional shots into Mitchell while she was on the ground. Brooks reportedly told police she died instantly and also admitted to fleeing the hotel in Mitchell’s vehicle.
An autopsy on Mitchell performed by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office discovered three gunshot wounds on Mitchell, and the coroner determined she died from the injuries.
Was out on bond
Brooks, a convicted felon since 2019, was out on bond for three separate cases when he allegedly killed Mitchell.
Brooks was out on a $1,000 cash bond for two counts of misdemeanor resisting or obstructing an officer and misdemeanor bail jumping, along with one count of felony bail jumping, filed March 15. He posted the $1,000 cash bond on March 22, according to court records.
He was also out on bond for another case involving a felony charge of hit-and-run involving injury and misdemeanor bail jumping, filed Feb. 9. He posted that $1,000 bond on Feb. 14.
On Feb. 3, Brooks also posted a $1,000 cash bond for misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer and domestic abuse.
Brooks is facing life in prison for the homicide charge. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/milwaukee-man-accused-of-shooting-kenosha-woman-to-death-bound-over-for-trial/article_f35f6cea-e356-11ec-866e-b3e49215e47a.html | 2022-06-04T05:35:08 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/milwaukee-man-accused-of-shooting-kenosha-woman-to-death-bound-over-for-trial/article_f35f6cea-e356-11ec-866e-b3e49215e47a.html |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Five weeks after a fatal crash killed two Southridge High School students and critically injured a Washington County Deputy, one of the teens who survived is now home with his family after multiple surgeries and weeks in the hospital.
Sky Korbut will be a junior in Beaverton School District next year. He says some of his teachers called him on Friday and invited him to an event they were having on campus. He got to see teachers and classmates for the first time in more than a month — and that really meant a lot to him.
“I’m so grateful for the second chance I got,” Korbut said.
It’s been weeks since Korbut’s mother, Alecia Delarosa, received a call that her son was one of five Skyview High School students involved in the crash on TV Highway.
“He’s a walking miracle,” Delarosa said.
Korbut’s friends, 16-year-old Juan “Pablo” Aguilara and 17-year-old Matthew Amaya, died in the April 27 crash.
“I have so many memories with them and it’s just hard I can’t make more,” Korbut said.
Investigators say 18-year-old Rodriguez, who was drinking and driving, ran a red light and struck Deputy Michal Trotter’s patrol car.
According to court documents, officers on the scene saw cans of 4 Loko and said the odor of alcohol permeated from the vehicle.
“I’ve heard from a detective that he was all over the road that he couldn’t even stay in lanes,” Korbut said.
Korbut said he and Rodriguez weren’t close friends but knew each other from school and that Rodriguez was the only teen in the group that had a driver’s license.
Korbut told KOIN 6 News he knows they were hanging out in Portland before the crash, but he only has two memories of the entire night.
“I just remember we were heading home and then I don’t remember anything else besides helicopter noises,” Korbut explained.
He woke up a week and a half later in the hospital where he stayed for 17 days before being released. His friend James Thompson, who survived the crash, is also out of the hospital.
“We’ve been talking about going to counseling together getting things worked out but it’s been pretty hard especially with Pablo’s birthday the other day,” Korbut said.
The 15-year-old now has three metal rods in his body — two in his spine and one in his femur. Korbut also had six broken ribs and intestinal injuries. Doctors had to cut off and reattach a foot of his intestines. In total, he underwent five surgeries and says he only feels pain from the injuries at night. He told KOIN 6 News he is still angry at himself for getting in the car.
Korbut’s mother said while his physical injuries are healing quickly, it’s the emotional ones that will take time.
“The emotional part is the next step, it’s a long road yet, but we can conquer it, he’s a good, strong kid and I know he’ll get through this part,” Delarosa said. | https://www.koin.com/local/grateful-for-the-second-chance-teen-tv-hwy-crash-survivor-speaks-out/ | 2022-06-04T06:16:54 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/grateful-for-the-second-chance-teen-tv-hwy-crash-survivor-speaks-out/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Nurses at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center have made a tentative bargaining agreement with the hospital Friday evening — avoiding a possible strike.
The Portland hospital says the deal comes after nearly eight months of negotiations.
This deal only covers nurses at Providence St. Vincent, which was the first of three Providence hospitals to authorize a strike.
Nurses at Providence Willamette Falls and Providence Milwaukie still do not have a deal and have given union leadership authority to call a strike.
The hospital network is also still in negotiations with nurses at Providence Hood River.
In a statement, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center said “after nearly eight months and 20 bargaining sessions, the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (PSVMC) and Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) labor negotiation teams are pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement on the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement, covering almost 1,600 registered nurses.”
The hospital added “in the coming week, ONA will provide PSVMC represented registered nurses more details on the tentative agreement and the planned ratification vote. Specifics of the tentative agreement will be available to the general public following the ratification vote by represented nurses. PSVMC and ONA look forward to continuing our long history of working together collaboratively to support the practice of nursing and providing high-quality, compassionate care for the patients and communities we serve.”
The Oregon Nurses Association also released a statement explaining “Nurses are dedicated to putting our patients first. We stood up to one of the nation’s largest health care systems and we’ve reached an agreement to make immediate improvements to our patients’ health care,” said ONA Executive Committee President at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center John Smeltzer, RN.
Smeltzer added “when frontline nurses spoke out, our community rallied around us. I’m grateful to the thousands of community allies, labor leaders, elected officials and frontline health care workers who stood with nurses to set a new standard of care for our community. This agreement addresses our patients’ needs and gives us a viable way to recruit and retain the nurses our community counts on. Now it’s up to Providence and nurses to honor the agreements we’ve made and make Providence St. Vincent the hospital we know it can be.” | https://www.koin.com/local/providence-st-vincent-ona-reach-tentative-bargaining-agreement/ | 2022-06-04T06:16:55 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/local/providence-st-vincent-ona-reach-tentative-bargaining-agreement/ |
Nov. 23, 1930 - May 30, 2022
CROWN POINT - James DeStefano, age 91, of Crown Point, IN, passed away on Monday, May 30, 2022.
James is survived by his son, David DeStefano; daughter-in-law, Benita DeStefano; grandchildren: Caleb DeStefano, Rebecca (Kris) Klosowski; great-grandchildren: Jack Wolff, Zofia Klosowski; and sister, Edith Amato.
James was preceded in death by his wife, Sara DeStefano; son, Paul DeStefano; sisters: Ann Rumore, Mary Gualano; and brothers: Albert, Aldo, Arcolino, Carmen, Joe, and William DeStefano.
James is a graduate of Easton High School. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army from 1952-1954. After his discharge, James moved to Chicago where he met his beloved wife Sara. He received his bachelor's degree in accounting from Northwest University. The family moved to Northwest Indiana where he owned and operated several formal wear stores until returning to corporate accounting.
Friends may visit with the family on Monday, June 6, 2022 at St. Matthias Catholic Church, 101 W. Burrell Dr., Crown Point, IN 46307, from 9:30 AM until the time of funeral mass at 10:00 AM.
Interment to follow at St. Mary's Cemetery in Crown Point, IN.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in James's name to Wittenberg Village, Crown Point.
Visit James's online guestbook at www.GeisenFuneralHome.com 219-663-2500. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/james-destefano/article_93e03ca8-4827-545b-9706-0f7bfbca9744.html | 2022-06-04T06:26:57 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/james-destefano/article_93e03ca8-4827-545b-9706-0f7bfbca9744.html |
9 YEARS AGO TODAY
JUNE 4, 2013
Time can heal a broken heart, and time can make the wound less sore. But time can never stop the longing for the loved one gone before.
Loving Wife and Son Christine & Rudy Jr.
9 YEARS AGO TODAY
JUNE 4, 2013
Time can heal a broken heart, and time can make the wound less sore. But time can never stop the longing for the loved one gone before.
Loving Wife and Son Christine & Rudy Jr.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/rudolph-rudy-clay/article_cfbfb2fc-0167-51b8-aaa1-c7e965724ae8.html | 2022-06-04T06:27:03 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/rudolph-rudy-clay/article_cfbfb2fc-0167-51b8-aaa1-c7e965724ae8.html |
Oct. 1, 1943 - May 21, 2022
BURKESVILLE, KY - Stephen C. Powell, 78, of Burkesville, KY formerly of Valparaiso, IN, passed away suddenly on Saturday, May 21, 2022. He was born October 1, 1943 in Valparaiso to Clarence and Carolyn (Glissman) Powell, graduated from Valparaiso High School and served proudly with the U.S. Army. Steve made his career as the owner and operator of Powell Auto Sales. His time in the auto sales industry added up to 47 years, always offering good quality vehicles and professional conduct with a dose of humor for good measure. He enjoyed "wheeling and dealing" and the related banter and serving as gracious host to anyone entering his realm. He loved to spend time on the water, especially his beloved Dale Hollow.
On June 4, 1966 he married Nancy Green who preceded him in death in 2007. On September 28, 2009 he married Sandra Johnson who survives along with her children, Kelly (Joe) Sullivan, Holly Wells, Cassie (Daniel) Wells-Bravo and Rebecca (Nick) Gordon, his son, Ron "Opie" (Susan) Garrison, his siblings, Carol (Dr. Frank) Sturdevant, Barbara (Tom) Wheele, Alicia Powell, Mary (Al) LeBio, Mark (Glenda) Powell and Jane Powell (Bob Campbell). Steve was blessed with six grandchildren and many nieces and nephews who adored him. He was also preceded in death by his son, Scott Powell, in 1991, his parents and brother, John Powell.
A visitation will be held on Friday, June 10, 2022 from 10:00 AM until 12:00 noon at Moeller Funeral Home, Valparaiso with memorial service beginning at 12:00 PM. Memorial donations may be made to National Hemophilia Foundation or Shriners Hospital. | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/stephen-c-powell/article_e7f870da-3453-5ec8-84d0-204df2ec2bea.html | 2022-06-04T06:27:09 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/stephen-c-powell/article_e7f870da-3453-5ec8-84d0-204df2ec2bea.html |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An investigation into an alleged rattlesnake trafficker led California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers to seize 59 snakes from the suspect.
Fish and Wildlife officers said on Friday they investigated a person who claimed on social media they were selling Western diamondback rattlesnakes at an upcoming reptile exposition.
After locating the suspect at the exposition, officers seized 59 rattlesnakes allegedly in his possession — 40 Western diamondbacks and 12 speckled and seven non-native prairie rattlesnakes.
The suspect was allegedly breeding and selling both native and California-restricted rattlesnakes for the past 10 years.
Depending on the outcome of the case, the rattlesnakes seized by the department could potentially be utilized for scientific study or venom extraction to produce antivenom. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-fish-and-wildlife-seize-rattlesnakes-from-alleged-trafficker/103-bde6495e-3d77-4b54-9a53-4b004313e796 | 2022-06-04T06:31:34 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/california-fish-and-wildlife-seize-rattlesnakes-from-alleged-trafficker/103-bde6495e-3d77-4b54-9a53-4b004313e796 |
A police officer in New Jersey was shot and wounded in what turned into a tense situation involving SWAT team members outside a home, sources tell NBC New York.
The incident occurred in West New York at a home on 59th Street between Palisade and Hudson avenues Friday evening. There were initial reports that it all started as a domestic violence incident, though that was not confirmed.
At some point, the officer was shot and taken to a nearby hospital, but the injury is not believed to be life-threatening, according to a source.
Witnesses said that the suspect was shot and killed, however that was not confirmed by police or the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, which has taken over the investigation.
Video taken by a witness showed an individual who was struck by at least one bullet. That man was seen in the video on the sidewalk, surrounded by police. The man's role in the incident was not clear, nor was his condition.
Police were still at the scene for hours. Over a loudspeaker, they were heard saying "if there is anyone inside, please come to the front window." One person — a man dressed in red — exited the home with his hands up soon after, though it was unclear if he had done anything wrong, or if he was simply a resident of the home.
A short time later, SWAT teams entered the home with guns drawn. As they did so, police told a crowd of bystanders who were watching the drama unfold from behind crime tape to move back further as a precaution.
News
Because it was a shooting that involved police and civilians, the state attorney general's office will also be investigating. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-police-officer-shot-wounded-near-west-new-york-home-sources/3719745/ | 2022-06-04T06:53:18 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-police-officer-shot-wounded-near-west-new-york-home-sources/3719745/ |
Lincoln J. McCormick
November 2, 2013-May 29, 2022
FOREST CITY-Lincoln J. McCormick, 8 ½, passed away May 29, 2022, wrapped in the arms of his loving parents.
A Service to Celebrate his life will be held 10:30a.m. Monday, June 6, 2022 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 246 South Clark Street, Forest City, IA with Rev. Rod Hopp officiating.
Visitation will be held from 1:00p.m. to 4:30p.m., where the family will be present until 3:30 p.m. at the church on Sunday, June 5, 2022.
Memorials may be directed in care of Lincoln's family.
Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 641-423-2372. ColonialChapels.com | https://globegazette.com/news/local/obituaries/lincoln-j-mccormick/article_108135b5-06fe-575f-abd3-4b2950ec09bd.html | 2022-06-04T07:05:30 | 0 | https://globegazette.com/news/local/obituaries/lincoln-j-mccormick/article_108135b5-06fe-575f-abd3-4b2950ec09bd.html |
DES MOINES, Iowa — Since the 2020 presidential election, the conversation about election fraud has been pushed to the forefront.
Many involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot in Washington believe false claims of election fraud from former President Donald Trump.
Those rioters included numerous Iowans, including father and son Daryl and Daniel Johnson, who are now serving jail time for their involvement.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate sat down for a one-on-one interview with Local 5 to dispel some of this misinformation and disinformation.
When asked whether Iowa has seen any widespread voter fraud since 2020, Pate responded simply: “No. We have not."
Pate attributes some of the confusion to applying national stories they might have seen to Iowa.
“Some of it is they want to talk about voting equipment, and because they pick on one system that might have had some national attention and they want to drag it and apply it to Iowa, when it’s not,” Pate said.
That includes paying close attention to mail-in ballots as well. Pate’s office said in the 2020 elections, the state mailed out 1,050,593 ballots — 95% of those were returned.
Of the 994,300 ballots counted, Pate’s team says only 2,592 were rejected. That’s a 0.3% rejection rate.
With no voter fraud seen in Iowa elections, Local 5 asked whether Senate File 413 was necessary or simply passed to strengthen existing voter laws.
“The Legislature writes the laws of the land. I’m the administrator, like I said, the referee. I’m sure some of the umpires and every official doesn’t like every rule that comes out but I’ll say this," Pate said. "A lot of what the Legislature did was exactly what the voters were asking for.”
Pate said the numbers and protocols his office has in place show voters shouldn’t worry.
In an op-ed he wrote in the Des Moines Register two weeks ago, he pointed to research done by the Elections Performance Index, which shows Iowa third in the country for elections performance in 2020.
As an added layer of safety, Pate said poll workers on both sides of the aisle are trained well and the machines are top-notch.
“I’ve been very clear and specific. The voting equipment gets certified by us here at the state of Iowa has been checked and re-checked and gets reviewed before each election and they don’t have internet hookups so it’s safe,” he said. “The balloting itself goes into the tabulators and when an evening is over with, they will be reviewed and tabulators will give us preliminary results.”
From the preliminary results all the way until the final ones come out, Pate hopes Iowans have confidence their votes are protected.
“My office, and me particularly, don’t wear the jersey of a team. We’re there to do what’s right for Iowans. Sometimes that doesn’t make us popular but at the end of the day, we want you to have confidence and the results are accurate." | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/local-politics/secretary-of-state-paul-pate-interview-2022-primaries-election-security/524-895f86c4-2efc-4e09-92b2-9c18cc1c3193 | 2022-06-04T07:08:34 | 1 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/local-politics/secretary-of-state-paul-pate-interview-2022-primaries-election-security/524-895f86c4-2efc-4e09-92b2-9c18cc1c3193 |
AE2S hires Doll
Marty Doll has been hired as a strategic communications consultant by AE2S. Doll has 17 years of experience in government communications and community development positions in the Twin Cities. Most recently, he was the community and economic development director for the city of Victoria.
NDCF welcomes Wanek
Jeff Wanek has joined the staff of the North Dakota Community Foundation as an accountant.
Wanek graduated from the University of North Dakota with a degree in accounting and has over 35 years of experience in the field, most recently serving as the vice president/chief financial officer at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center.
Capital Gallery elects members, officers
The Capital Gallery Society, the nonprofit operator of The Capital Gallery in Bismarck and Medora, has named five new board members. They are Jessie Johnson, vice president of business banking, Bremer Bank, Bismarck; Marlo Anderson, founder of National Day Calendar, technology and social media expert; Kirsten Baesler, state school superintendent and administrator of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction; Ganya Anderson, co-owner, Gizmonics and Lean Six Sygma consultant; and Andrea Travnicek, director of North Dakota Department of Water Resources.
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Officers elected are Jim Christianson, president North West Development, chairman; Rolf Sletten, retired attorney, vice chairman; Jane Morrow, retired Sanford Health, secretary treasurer; David Lindell, past chairman, joins the officers on the board’s executive committee.
Submit businesspeople and business digest items to businessbeat@bismarcktribune.com. Deadline for submissions is noon Tuesday. | https://bismarcktribune.com/business/local/businesspeople---june-4-2022/article_c590f22c-dde6-11ec-b122-6f91cdab7f92.html | 2022-06-04T07:10:22 | 1 | https://bismarcktribune.com/business/local/businesspeople---june-4-2022/article_c590f22c-dde6-11ec-b122-6f91cdab7f92.html |
Lane reductions are planned on Bismarck's Ninth Street one-way starting at 7 a.m. Monday, as crews continue water main work.
The west outside lane of Ninth will be closed to traffic from Indiana Avenue through Front Avenue. From Ingals Avenue through Front Avenue will be a second transition to remove the adjacent lane, resulting in two northbound lanes at Bowen Avenue through Front Avenue.
The lane reduction will be in place for about 10 days, according to the city. Front will be open to eastbound traffic. No parking will be allowed on Ninth from Bowen Avenue to Sweet Avenue.
During morning, noon and evening peak traffic hours, motorists can expect congestion and are advised to seek alternate routes. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/lane-reductions-planned-on-ninth-street-one-way/article_83c0a852-e376-11ec-b296-83ace5b575d4.html | 2022-06-04T07:11:06 | 0 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/lane-reductions-planned-on-ninth-street-one-way/article_83c0a852-e376-11ec-b296-83ace5b575d4.html |
A man sleeping on the subway was slashed across the face after an altercation with another rider over noise while at one of the most-widely used stations in NYC, according to police.
The 31-year-old victim had been asleep aboard a northbound 2 train at the 42nd Street-Times Square stop in midtown Manhattan just before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. When another man started making noise on the subway, the victim became irate and the two started yelling at each other.
The other man then pulled out a small razor blade or box cutter, and slashed the victim on his lip and the left side of his face, police said. He then took off, running up the stairs in an unknown direction.
The victim refused medical attention at the scene. The suspect is believed to be in his early to mid 30s, about 5'9 with a slim build and short black hair. He was wearing a blue shirt, black pants and a black, red and white jacket.
An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the incident or the suspect is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/sleeping-subway-rider-slashed-across-face-at-times-square-station/3719940/ | 2022-06-04T08:24:35 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/sleeping-subway-rider-slashed-across-face-at-times-square-station/3719940/ |
Six New Jersey correctional officers are facing assault and tampering charges from a 2020 interaction with an inmate in the state's minimum custody youth prison, the state attorney general said Friday.
Early on April 8, 2020, the officers forcibly removed an unidentified inmate from his cell at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Chesterfield, including by shooting pepper spray at the inmate twice despite his offering to be handcuffed, acting Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement.
The officers then filed false reports, Platkin said. One included that the inmate tried to “mule kick” a shield, but video and photo evidence contradict the report, the attorney generals office said.
An attorney for one of the defendants and the head of the union representing prison guards in New Jersey dispute the charges.
The ordeal, according to the attorney general, left the inmate screaming in pain and covered in blood. He was given an inhaler and oxygen in the infirmary, and was treated for cuts on his face, the attorney general said.
State Department of Corrections policy permits the use of force when it's “objectively necessary and reasonable” and requires inmates be given an opportunity to comply before a forced cell extraction, the attorney general's office said.
A reason for the cell extraction wasn't given.
“Correctional police officers are entrusted with great authority over the inmates in their custody, and when they abuse that power, they must be held accountable,” Platkin said in a statement.
Facing charges are Sgt. Michael Emmert, who faces two aggravated assault charges as well as a tampering with records charge. Senior correctional officers Christopher Toth, Raymond Quinones, Michael Gaines, Mark Sadlowski and Michael Ambrozaitis.
Stuart Alterman, an attorney for Sadlowski and counsel to the union that represents correctional officers, said in a phone call his client as well as the others are not guilty.
“This is an unfortunate set of events where senior correctional officers were doing their duty and attempting to do their duty and protecting themselves from a very dangerous inmate,” Alterman said.
Messages have been left with the other defendants' attorneys as well.
Alterman said the officers are suspended without pay.
William Sullivan, the president of the labor union representing the correctional officers, said in a text message the officers acted professionally and did “exactly what was required of them per policy.”
“This investigation took over two years. They worked everyday and had not one negative interaction at work since this alleged incident,” he said.
The Burlington County facility has about 1,000 inmates and operates as a minimum security institution, where they participate in vocational training or academic education, according to the Department of Corrections. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-guards-at-youth-prison-face-assault-tampering-charges-after-inmate-altercation/3719934/ | 2022-06-04T08:24:43 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-guards-at-youth-prison-face-assault-tampering-charges-after-inmate-altercation/3719934/ |
The two teen suspects accused in the deadly shooting of an 11-year-old girl in the Bronx were indicted on murder charges, the district attorney said.
Omar Bojang, 18, and another 15-year-old suspect were arraigned Friday in Bronx Supreme Court on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, attempted murder and attempted assault. The younger suspect also faces two counts of weapon possession.
The charges stem from the killing of Kyhara Tay, who was not the intended target of the May 16 shooting. The attempted murder charges are related to the 13-year-old target who the teens intended to kill, said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.
"This case is a nothing less than a catastrophe of our young people. A beautiful little girl Kyhara, standing outside a nail salon in the afternoon, allegedly killed by a 15-year-old shooter, as he was driven on a scooter by an 18-year-old, and they were aiming for a 13-year-old boy. These ages make you weep," Clark said. "As I keep saying, we are losing a generation in the Bronx and we must act now to save our young people."
Bojang has a lengthy criminal history, which prosecutors have previously detailed in court. It allegedly includes two open gun cases in family court, two arrest warrants with one being in youth court as well as a complaint for attempted murder.
The Bronx District Attorney's Office said that the 18-year-old turned himself in at their office alongside his attorney and parents on May 23, days after police said that he had been wanted in connection to the deadly shooting of Kyhara. Bojang, who law enforcement officials said is a gang member with previous arrests, is believed to have been driving the moped from which the young girl was shot and killed.
News
The suspected shooter who fired the bullet believed to have killed Tay as she walked with family members on a Bronx street on May 20, police said.
“The tragedy here is that we're talking about a gunman who is too young to be called a gunman because he’s 15 years old,” Clark said previously. "A 15-year-old who possessed a gun, fired a gun on a busy street at 5 o 'clock in the afternoon with no thought about his own human life or that of anybody else in the community.”
James Essig, the Police Department's chief of detectives, said the 15-year-old was being charged as an adult. Attorney information was not immediately available.
Authorities have said Tay was hit in the stomach when a duo on a moped opened fire at a group of men in Longwood, at a Westchester Avenue street corner.
"I won't say she was in the wrong place, because why shouldn't an 11-year-old child be able to stand outside in broad daylight," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a previous news conference.
Tay was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. Sources said the teenage suspect's alleged target was a 13-year-old, but he missed, striking Kyhara instead.
“Our children are having their entire childhoods taken from them,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Can’t go to the park. Can’t go to the store. Can’t attend events. You have to sit home because they don’t feel safe enough to go out. We’re betraying these youths. We're failing them.”
The death of the sixth-grader rocked her Bronx community. Family members and hundreds of others, including Adams and Sewell, gathered for the wake for the young girl known as Kyky for short. Her father could only gush about his daughter.
"She was a lovely girl. She was a daughter, granddaughter, cousin, a niece, a goddaughter. That's everybody's baby," said dad Sokpini Tay. "We need all the support we can get right now."
No one else was wounded in the shooting. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/two-teens-indicted-on-murder-charges-in-nyc-shooting-death-of-11-year-old-girl/3719897/ | 2022-06-04T08:24:50 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/two-teens-indicted-on-murder-charges-in-nyc-shooting-death-of-11-year-old-girl/3719897/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A popular shopping event in Portland is making its return this weekend after two years of COVID shutdowns.
The My People’s Market started Friday night — showing off the business diversity of Portland.
The three-day event highlights the many entrepreneurs, artists, food and drink makers of Portland from all different backgrounds.
My People’s Market is also the largest BIPOC market in the Pacific Northwest.
This year, Grammy-winner Esperanza Spalding will headline with a special performance on Sunday.
My People’s Market is open through Sunday, located at the Workshop Blocks between Southeast Taylor and Salmon streets. | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/my-peoples-market-returns-to-portland-after-covid-shutdowns/ | 2022-06-04T09:23:37 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/my-peoples-market-returns-to-portland-after-covid-shutdowns/ |
The $3.5 billion capital projects bill the Ohio General Assembly passed this week includes $74 million for specific projects in Miami Valley counties.
Montgomery County will get a total of $18.6 million, with $1.7 million going for work at facilities owned by Central State University, the University of Cincinnati and Wright State University.
But the big recipient is Sinclair Community College, slated to receive more than $13 million, including $5 million for Advanced Manufacturing and Skilled Trades training hubs and $4 million to install fire sprinkler systems.
In Butler County, $26.8 million will be distributed for various projects, with $22.9 million of that going to Miami University – primarily for renovation of Bachelor Hall, which is $22.3 million. That is the largest single distribution in the region.
Clark County is set to get $4.9 million, with nearly $3.4 million of that going to Clark State Community College. Almost all of that money goes for renovation of Rhodes Hall and Applied Science Center. The Springfield Art Museum and A.B. Graham Memorial will each get $750,000.
The bulk of $15 million going to Greene County will be spent at Wright State University at almost $11 million, with $4 million of that going to improve campus energy efficiency. Central State University will get $2 million.
Miami County will receive $3 million, including nearly $2 million for Edison Community College. The largest amount there is $800,000 to expand the Convocation Center.
The remaining million goes for other local projects, including $500,000 to the Miami Valley Military History Museum.
Fourteen projects in Warren County will share $3.3 million, with the biggest single item being $750,000 for bridge repair on the Lebanon Scenic Railway.
Requests and results
Many of the funded projects in the Dayton region went through the Dayton Development Coalition’s Priority Development and Advocacy Committee. Packaging the requests from local entities goes through PDAC, but supporters of individual projects advocate for them with legislators.
Montgomery County got $7.7 million for 23 projects this time, compared with $7.3 million for 17 projects in the last capital budget bill, said Michael Gessel, DDC vice president of federal government programs, who oversees the PDAC process.
“The overall dollar amount for Montgomery County seems to follow the state trend,” he said via email.
A much longer list of projects went through the PDAC process, but only some got state funding.
“The PDAC process is open to all projects seeking funding from any source,” Gessel said. “That includes federal Congressionally-earmarked funding and funding from other public and private sources. Some of the sponsors who submit projects are not even seeking State Capital funding (or they are not eligible for State Capital funding).”
The PDAC list of projects that received funding shows the disparity between requests and appropriations.
The city of Dayton asked for $5 million for the Day Air Ballpark, but got a tenth of that. Ronald McDonald House Charities Dayton asked for $2 million to build a new Ronald McDonald House, and got a $750,000 appropriation. The city of West Carrollton in Montgomery County wanted $6 million for riverfront development, but got $250,000.
In Clark County, the city of Springfield asked for $2.5 million for the Interstate 70 interchange at State Route 72, and got $750,000.
But some requests were fully funded: Dayton International Airport and Sinclair Community College sought $250,000 for an aircraft mechanic training center and got it.
In Greene County, the Glen Helen Association sought $750,000 for accessibility improvements to the Glen Helen Nature Preserve. That’s also to be fully funded.
Credit: Lisa Powell
Credit: Lisa Powell
Local influence
Area legislators touted funding for projects in their home districts.
“This was a real team effort from the Dayton area representatives to help touch all four corners of the county,” state Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, said in a news release. “Together, we advocated for the entire region and worked to give communities a voice during the process to help fund projects that will have a lasting impact for our neighborhoods and cities.”
State Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp., noted the Dayton YMCA will get $500,000 to buy a 19-acre site in Huber Heights as a campus providing victim services, affordable housing and youth empowerment programs. The Vandalia Art Park will get $300,000 to build an amphitheater stage, expand seating and improve audio equipment, he said.
“For this capital budget, we focused on strengthening community assets that will help increase quality of life and help our citizens flourish,” Plummer said in a news release.
State Rep. Brian Lampton, R-Beavercreek, pointed to $75,000 for a new memorial park in Fairborn, $90,000 for a new veterans’ memorial park in Sugarcreek Township, and $75,000 to improve boat access to the Little Miami River in Greene County.
Public radio station WYSO 91.3 FM will get $300,000 toward the $8.7 million cost of rebuilding its headquarters in Yellow Springs, Lampton said. Also, Wright State University will get $10.8 million for infrastructure and building safety.
“The university is a staple in our community,” he said in a news release. “These funds will go a long way to improve the university for generations to come.”
Statewide spending
The capital budget is used for renovation or construction projects at state-owned buildings, school districts and public colleges; infrastructure grants and loans to local governments; and direct funding of “community projects of local or regional importance.”
The package is about $200 million bigger than originally presented. It includes $191 million in community projects, up from an earlier estimate of $163.5 million
Those include mental health and drug treatment facilities, facilities for people with developmental disabilities, parks, recreation and conservation projects, historical and cultural facilities, and agricultural society improvements.
More than $2.7 billion of the total is expected to come from sale of state bonds, which usually have a repayment period of 15 to 20 years, according to state Office of Budget and Management Director Kimberly Murnieks.
The remaining $594 million will come from other sources, including some from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. The capital budget covers the two-year period which ends June 30, 2024.
More than $1.2 billion of the money is incentives for Intel, which has promised a $20 billion investment to build two computer chip plants just northeast of Columbus.
Intel praised the bill in a news release and said it will continue to seek more federal funding for its project. Progressive group Policy Matters Ohio called for greater accountability in tracking Intel’s incentives, largely echoing proposals that state Rep. Michael Skindell, D-Lakewood, made during House debate on the bill.
Altogether Intel and its suppliers will benefit from more than $2 billion in grants and tax exemptions in the coming years – an unprecedented amount, he said. Skindell and Policy Matters sought guarantees that most of Intel’s new employees would be Ohioans, and precise details of all incentives and how they could be reclaimed if Intel doesn’t meet its announced goals.
The Republican-dominated House voted down Skindell’s amendment 54-36.
About the Author | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/whats-your-countys-share-of-ohios-35-billion-capital-budget/N4KXMC2RGREVJLXC7DXVKZ4ZSE/ | 2022-06-04T09:29:22 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/whats-your-countys-share-of-ohios-35-billion-capital-budget/N4KXMC2RGREVJLXC7DXVKZ4ZSE/ |
Where do we go? Sarasota seniors worry when even 'affordable' housing costs spike
On Monday and Thursday mornings, residents of Venetian Walk Senior Apartment Homes gather in the building's dining room, sharing coffee and pastries along with bits of news and light-hearted gossip.
But at the end of May, residents met to discuss something far more serious – notices posted on their doors announcing an unexpected rent hike.
The $75 per month increase – on top of the usual $30 annual rise in monthly rent – sent many residents reeling. especially after waiting years for a coveted spot in one of the region’s few affordable buildings for seniors.
Housing Crisis:As rents go up and evictions increase, Sarasota's seniors struggle to find places to live
More:Home sharing could help in Sarasota's senior affordable housing crisis
'Where are we going to go?'
“It scares me that it’s going to keep increasing constantly,” said 73-year-old Art McLaughlin.
A retired director of security at a college in Pennsylvania, McLaughlin and his wife, Judith, now 75, moved to Venice a dozen years ago, settling first in the Bay Indies mobile home community before those lot rentals got too high.
On a waiting list for Venetian Walk for two years, the couple finally moved into their spacious two-bedroom unit four years ago – able to take advantage of daily activities and amenities, including a library, computer room, billiards and fitness centers.
Housing Crisis:Rise in Sarasota's annual median income means complications for affordable housing
But once the couple's small retirement annuities ran out, the two were left with only their Social Security incomes to meet rising costs – including rent that has risen to $990 a month.
“If it keeps going up, we’ll just be treading water,” Art McLaughlin said.
Residents around the table consider themselves the lucky ones – "To leave here is cutting your throat," one called out. Many rents in the Sarasota area are rising much more sharply, some by hundreds of dollars a month. Waiting lists for buildings like theirs or Section 8 vouchers are years-long – the area, advocates note, plagued for decades by a shortage in affordable housing.
Once middle-class, seniors here are turning to local food banks for help. Or getting rid of small luxuries, like cable.
The McLaughlins already have dropped their once-a-week date nights, said Judith, also retired from college security work as well as owning her own hair salon.
Still, the McLaughlins worry that it’s just a matter of time before they’re priced out.
“Where are we going to go?” asks Judith, Judith, echoing many increasingly desperate Sarasota-area seniors.
Not as much as it could have been
Housing Crisis:Nashville housing model might help thousands in Sarasota-Manatee, experts hope
At Venetian Walk, the $75 rent hike – which is in addition to the standard $30 increase when leases are renewed – was initially higher, in some cases almost $100, before residents complained and the management company capped it at $75.
The increase came in the wake of the annual updates of the Area Median Income, or AMI, released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. AMI is used to determine eligibility and rent ceilings for various state and federal affordable housing programs – from Section 8 vouchers to complexes like Venetian Walk built with low-income housing tax credits.
The $75 increase sits well below the new allowable rent limits, the building’s management pointed out, and only affects the units in Venetian Walk falling under the housing tax credits – or 24 of its 61 apartments for seniors ages 62 and up.
Senior residents receiving Section 8 vouchers or other subsidies will not see a rise in their share of the rent because those increases would be absorbed by HUD.
And while management declined to pass along allowable AMI rent hikes to its seniors during the height of the pandemic, this year soaring maintenance and supply costs forced its hand, said Stephanie Baker, owner of Accolade Property Management, which manages Venetian Walk.
“With the current inflation going on we can’t afford to maintain the building properly and pay our utilities without an increase,” Baker said in a statement.
But for seniors on a fixed income, the rent increase will consume a significant chunk of their budgets.
'I’m at the max with this increase'
“It hurts,” said Gail Cooper, 85.
Cooper and her husband retired to Florida 22 years ago from Chicago, selling their house there and buying one in Venice’s Pelican Pointe golf course community, using cash. There they lived a good life for 16 years, she said – back when this area was more affordable.
Her husband, who had worked for decades in sales and managing a company, did not earn a pension. Cooper, who retired from working in retail sales, did not either. But they lived comfortably on their savings and Social Security.
When he died five years ago, prompting her move to Venetian Walk, she used proceeds from the sale of their home to pay off more than $200,000 in his medical bills. She has plenty of her own, too, from an eye condition.
Affordable Housing:Sarasota County Commission commits $25 million in federal funds to affordable housing
Dig deeper:Rents for Sarasota, Bradenton and North Port area among most expensive for midsize metros in US
Now, as the rent and other expenses climb, she, like other residents, has little left to live on.
“I don’t complain,” she said. “But I’m at the max with this increase.”
Cooper worries what might happen if she had to move from Venetian Walk, where since her husband’s death she has spent years building a community of friends and an independent life in an apartment warmly furnished with their belongings.
She refuses to turn to her four adult sons, who have their own families to support.
“I don’t ask," she said. "I’m still a mama."
When 'affordable' is no longer affordable
Cooper's story has become increasingly common for seniors, exacerbated by the current housing crisis, said Jeff Johnson, Florida state director for the AARP.
As rents skyrocket and affordable mobile home parks disappear – many replaced by high-rise condos or luxury homes – more of Florida’s seniors are struggling to survive.
“I think there is an assumption that people who are retired in Florida are all living very comfortably,” he said. “You think about people living in the condos at the beach in Siesta Key or Longboat Key or downtown Sarasota.”
But more common are Florida retirees who are on a budget – only to have their savings and other resources wiped out by major medical bills from a long-term illness, he said.
“Retirement doesn’t always look like what you see in the brochures or on the billboards,” he said.
What’s more, the current housing crisis for seniors is compounded by larger changes in the U.S. workforce economy. No longer do we have middle-class retirees flocking here from the North after leaving unionized factory jobs with pensions to fall back upon, he added.
Instead, about half of Floridians age 65 and older now count on Social Security as a primary source of income, Johnson said. For about a third of them, Social Security makes up 90% of their income.
“The fact is, the cost of living increase (in Social Security) doesn’t keep up with rising housing costs in Florida,” Johnson said.
That is not likely to stop people from retiring to Florida anytime soon, he added. But he does foresee the housing crunch pushing many seniors out of expensive coastal communities like Sarasota to internal or rural counties – exacerbating challenges of isolation, transportation and access to quality health care.
Back to work, or leave?
And:More help for emergency rental assistance in Sarasota-Manatee amid affordable housing crisis
For now, some seniors are scrambling to stay put – trying to find ways to preserve the type of retirement for which they labored all their lives.
For many, that includes going back to work, said John Smith, 66, a resident of North Port’s Willow Creek Apartments.
After Smith moved to Florida in 2011 following years in manufacturing and purchasing positions in Rhode Island, he worked for five years in the Venice office of AARP’s Senior Community Service Employment Program, helping retirees find jobs.
“That’s when I got to know a lot more about affordable housing and the needs of seniors,” he said of the surging problem ahead of the current crisis. “They needed extra income to make ends meet once a month.”
Now fully retired, Smith finds himself in a similar situation. Willow Creek is an affordable community for income-restricted adults ages 55 and older.
Like Venetian Walk, its rents shot up, he said – climbing $100 monthly starting June 1, on top of a monthly increase within the past year of $74, bringing his total rent now for a one-bedroom apartment to $843 a month. Water costs have soared the past couple of years as well.
Though Smith can draw from retirement income other than Social Security, inflation and recent rent and utility increases are squeezing his food and household budget. He is trying to avoid going back to work due to health issues.
“It’s very upsetting,” Smith said. “You feel that there’s something wrong in the system. You planned your life a certain way. I’m not a rich person. I worked hard all my life and made a good income.”
Staying proactive, he is putting his name on waiting lists for other affordable communities, just in case. But he also is looking farther afield, beyond Florida, researching housing and costs of living nationwide.
“I would move just about anywhere in the country, if I found the right fit,” he said.
Some are not as fortunate.
Paula Garavalia, 72, a resident of Venetian Walk since it opened in 2014, doesn’t drive. She walks or takes the bus, sometimes riding with fellow residents to her church’s food pantry.
Having grown up in Venice and later retiring as a paralegal from Sarasota firms, she lives simply and frugally. There's little left to cut from her budget, she said. Likely she'll have to scrap her recently purchased cremation plan, she surmised, adding, half-jokingly: “I can’t afford to die." | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2022/06/04/sarasota-seniors-worry-even-affordable-housing-costs-increase/9908451002/ | 2022-06-04T09:39:46 | 1 | https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2022/06/04/sarasota-seniors-worry-even-affordable-housing-costs-increase/9908451002/ |
Local organizations face challenges bringing affordable housing to Emmet County
Local organizations are making moves to bring more affordable housing to Emmet County but labor, supply-chain issues, administrative barriers, as well as financial barriers, slow or stop the progress that can barely meet the growing demand for housing in Northern Michigan.
The most recent data regarding housing needs is from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data collected by Housing North through the 2019 Northwest Michigan Target Market Analysis, Emmet County could support 2,288 additional housing units through 2025. This includes newly-constructed homes, apartments and converted homes or buildings.
More:'It's frustrating': Workers struggle to find affordable housing in Northern Michigan
While this data was meant to represent the housing need through 2025, the pandemic led to an unexpected change in the housing situation. Demand for homes soared beyond the supply and increased tourism traffic has led to many year-round rental units being converted into short-term vacation rentals.
Some Northern Michigan organizations are working to meet the various housing needs of the community. Recently, the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation stepped in to help Harbor Springs developer Haan Development acquire an Emmet Street property in Petoskey after their application for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority was unsuccessful.
More:Petoskey community foundation eyes funding for Lofts at Lumber Square project
“There has to be some kind of funding that usually comes from the state or federal level to subsidize it a little bit, just because it's so expensive to build,” said Corey Monroe, development coordinator for Haan Development.
“It doesn't make sense, just from a market perspective, the investment, especially if that’s going to be affordable to the local workforce. And a lot of the sources that are available are extremely competitive. And a lot of them don't give more rural areas the same consideration that more urban areas get.”
The proposed project is a 60-unit workforce housing project called Lofts at Lumber Square on the former site of Hankey lumber yard, at the southwest corner of Emmet and Fulton streets.
Without the tax credits to fund the project, it may have stopped there, but the community foundation stepped in and purchased the property using money from its Emmet Housing Solutions Fund.
The fund is meant to help projects in the early stages of development like land acquisition, infrastructure development and environmental assessments. Housing projects often don’t qualify for grants or funding until further into the development.
More:Habitat for Humanity to host community open house in Oden
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“What we know is that we have a deep need for housing of many different housing types in our community. And if we're able to bring 60 units of workforce housing, we think that will have a positive impact on our local businesses who are having difficulty attracting and retaining their workforce,” said Sarah Ford, director of community philanthropy at the community foundation.
“It could just have far reaching economic impacts in terms of being able to provide housing definitely needed in our communities. We also know that 60 units is a very small bit of the overall need and so we'll have to continue working for other housing solutions in our community that this one project isn't going to solve all of our needs, but it can solve a need.”
According to Housing North, the wage needed to afford housing in Emmet County was $15.71 in 2019. With that wage, affordable rent would be $817 per month. According to Emmet County Housing Ready Program Director Andrea Jacobs during a Housing for All panel hosted by the Petoskey Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, June 1, affordable housing is considered to be 30 percent of monthly income.
However, in 2019, it was found that more than 30 percent of renters in Emmet County were spending 50 percent or more of their monthly income on housing and 50 percent of homeowners were spending half of their monthly income on housing.
While the labor shortage has led to an increase in the average wage, continued inflation and rising cost of living make higher and higher wages necessary.
Several of the current housing projects in the works are focusing on the workforce demographic, meaning people who make too much money to qualify for low-income housing, but still cannot afford the average cost of housing in Emmet County.
The focus has been on the population making 80 percent to 120 percent of the area median income, according to Jacobs.
“So just the middle of the road income are the people who make too much, but can't afford anything,” Jacobs said. “When we talk about affordability, we're talking about everybody, we're talking about our community. We're talking about us and we're talking about trying to support what we need to maintain our hometown here.”
Also sitting on the panel was Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Sarah Ulrich. Habitat recently delivered the first of 10 modular homes to the Meadowlands Subdivision in Alanson. Modular homes are built in a facility and then delivered and finished on the property. They are faster and more affordable to build, as well as energy efficient.
More:Habitat for Humanity, Consumers Energy partner to raise money for Power of Home campaign
“We have done a lot of talking with locals and people are really excited about it. They obviously are really feeling the stress of housing in the area and I think everybody can agree that housing is just really inextricably linked to so many other problems that we're seeing in Northern Michigan, the employee shortage and you know, the high cost of living and things like that,” said Gina Stegehuis, marketing manager for Habitat for Humanity.
“So, we have been getting a very warm reception for our home build and I think in general Habitat is just one of those organizations that people are happy to support because housing is such an important part of our day-to-day lives.”
Meadowlands is just one of the projects currently being worked on by Habitat for Humanity. In Oden, Habitat partnered with Emmet County Land Bank who donated the land to put modular homes on four lots. Three lots received new homes and one home, built in 1890, was renovated. Three of the homes have been sold and the last will close later this summer.
More:Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity receives $80,000 grant from community foundation
Another of Habitat’s projects is Lantern Lane in Alanson. It has eight home sites. Four are complete and one is in progress. They are currently breaking ground on another and the last two will be built by 2024.
Later this summer, a home at 303 2nd St. in East Jordan will be completed. Habitat is currently accepting applications on this home.
In total, the projects currently underway add up to about 350 units completed in the next 18-24 months, a small number compared to the 2,288 units estimated by Housing North in 2019.
More:Victories Square development to continue in spring
“There are some people that would say ‘Well alright, we got a chunk out if it, doing good, keep up the great work.’ The problem is, any single one of these projects can be derailed still. So there's a couple of them that still are dependent on passing conditions and boards and other instances to get those final approvals to break ground,” said Nikki Devitt, president of the Petoskey Area Chamber of Commerce.
“There's delays, there's lumber costs, there’s supply chain issues, all of these things could still be prolonged more than that 18 to 24 months. And also it's about 10 percent of what the problem's total anticipated need is to meet the current demand, not even the excessive demand that we know is coming. So it is wonderful, but also not time to take your foot off the gas pedal. If anything, it’s the incentive we need as a community to look around and say, ‘Finally, we've got development on the way, we've got housing on the way, but we're still not done.’”
Other projects currently in progress include:
- Victories Square at the former casino site by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians — A 50 unit, low-income apartment building, eight units will be reserved for tribe members, the rest will be open to the public.
- The Alexander on the corner of Atkins and McDougal — Workforce housing apartment building with 156 units that range from one to three bedrooms. The estimated rental rates are $900-$1,500 per month.
- Pine Pond on Pickerel Lake Road — A multi-family housing community meant for workforce housing with 128 units built over six years with 20-24 units built per year. They will be manufactured homes with one to three bedrooms.
Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey | https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/news/local/2022/06/04/organizations-bringing-housing-emmet-county-face-challenges/7480976001/ | 2022-06-04T10:13:08 | 0 | https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/news/local/2022/06/04/organizations-bringing-housing-emmet-county-face-challenges/7480976001/ |
The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Nothing was going to keep me from our dream vacation, two COVID years in the planning.
I had survived a semi-retirement gauntlet that included three weeks of COVID, a concussion from a bike accident, an ambulance ride to an ER, induction into the Journalism School’s Hall of Fame, and even a second bike helmet-cracking fall.
And then a series of events unfolded that saved my life.
Test results were not sunny. Hey, I was perfectly happy ignoring the symptoms. I am a man after all. And this man could have died like both of my dear brothers, who were felled by Widow Makers, but for my fortuitous falls.
Note, gentlemen, this heart killer isn’t called the Widower Maker.
I was long overdue for a heart-to-heart about denial. Those years of shortness of breath that I concealed? They had to be silly panic attacks. Nothing to worry about. Probably allergies. Keep that trivial nonsense private. Tell no one.
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Occasional lightheadedness? Hey, I’m a dizzy cartoonist.
That tightness in my chest? Must be something I ate. Shake it off.
What stress? I got this. Never met a deadline I couldn’t beat.
Diet? Come on. Live a little. Exercise? When you can, right? Work comes first.
Be a man. Real men power through. I could hear the Master Sergeant, the former Golden Gloves champion, saying, “Ya got this.”
I was led to a respected cardiologist, Dr. Melissa Dakkak, who said my stress test results suggested something troubling. How about an angiogram? As the day approached I grew dizzier. I was gulping air like a goldfish out of water. I buried my panic in jokes.
Then Dr. Dakkak messaged me the three most beautiful words I’d ever read. ”You’ll be OK.”
On the table in St. Mary’s cardiac unit I reminded Dr. Habibzadeh to be certain to amputate the right leg not the left leg. One look around the room informed me the entire team had heard that one before. Really? How about this one? I’m like Tom Cruise. I do all my own stents. Nothing. Just the beep, beep, beep of the monitors. Give him the sedative.
On the screen rolled up next to my face, I followed the cable that had been inserted in my wrist as it snaked across my beating heart. When I saw the terrifying blockage, I saw my shameful gluttony, my sloth, my neglect of my heart in stunning black and white. I was ashamed, mesmerized and humbled beyond words. Even humor eluded me.
I watched the tiny balloon open the blocked artery. I saw the platinum alloy stent slide into place. I watched it expand and was dumbstruck by what I saw when the balloon was withdrawn. I thought “Saving Private Ryan” was riveting, but seeing the liberation of my heart was stunning. The dam holding back the left Anterior Descending Aorta, the Mississippi River of the heart, gave way and I saw tiny rivers of black blood flood the delta I’d forsaken.
Witnessing my own salvation I was a penitent sinner, renouncing sloth and saturated fats forever. Give me this day salmon, red wine, Mediterranean cuisine and give me my 10,000 Fitbit steps and may my resurrected heart forgive me. Amen.
Waking up in my hospital room the next morning, tethered to saline, monitors and hope, I was astonished at what happened when I took my first slow, deep, satisfying breath. For the first time in years, I was free of the insatiable craving for another breath and another breath. Overwhelmed, I wept.
And then I looked up to see a beautiful sight, my Ellen, smiling down at me, asking me how I felt. I felt I had seen the darkness that had taken both of my brothers, too young, too early. I felt lucky, euphoric, optimistic, and grateful for the gift of life that had come to me through a hole in my wrist a tiny bit bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.
Was I imagining my transformation? On his rounds, Dr. Habibzadeh smiled, noting that sometimes results could be immediate.
I arrived home that afternoon with rosy cheeks, homework to study and rules to follow. Take it slow, said every doc. Wait to ride your bike. Listen to your body. Sign up for cardiac rehab. Let the stent root. Take your thinner, aspirin, statin, Metformin, Januvia and your time.
And that dream vacation of a lifetime? This past Wednesday, one week after the procedure, we landed in Vancouver. On Monday, Ellen and I are taking a two-day train ride through the magnificent Canadian Rockies to Banff National Park, to see the top of the world, where I promised my Ellen I will take my time, grateful for every step and for every sweet breath.
David Fitzsimmons, tooner@tucson.com | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/fitzs-opinion-a-funny-thing-happened-on-our-way-to-the-vacation-of-a-lifetime/article_8d4bc254-e096-11ec-ac0d-d326eee856fc.html | 2022-06-04T10:34:54 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/fitzs-opinion-a-funny-thing-happened-on-our-way-to-the-vacation-of-a-lifetime/article_8d4bc254-e096-11ec-ac0d-d326eee856fc.html |
DALLAS (KDAF) — Your North Texas weekend weather will be filled with seasonable temperatures and a slight chance of rain. Here’s what NWS Fort Worth says you should be expecting during the first weekend in June.
“A slight chance of storms will continue over the weekend. Otherwise, temperatures will be on the increase with highs approaching triple digits across the southwest counties on Sunday.”
Saturday is expected to be partly sunny with a slight chance of storms (not likely to become severe), highs ranging from the mid 80s to the mid 90s and winds from the southeast at around 10 MPH.
Saturday night will see partly cloudy skies with isolated storms across the northeast, lows in the 60s-70s and similar winds as the daytime.
Sunday will be mostly sunny and warmer with highs ranging from the upper 80s to near 100 across the regions.
“It is going to be a VERY HOT week across North and Central Texas next week. Many locations will see temperatures soar into the triple digits. Though the week will begin rain-free, rain/storm chances return mid-week and will likely continue into the weekend.” | https://cw33.com/news/local/a-look-at-the-north-texas-weekend-weather-ahead-of-very-hot-second-week-of-june/ | 2022-06-04T10:38:54 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/local/a-look-at-the-north-texas-weekend-weather-ahead-of-very-hot-second-week-of-june/ |
Mount Union alumna finds place in skincare industry
PARK CITY, Utah – A Mount Union alumna's skincare brand has been featured in several national magazines.
Kristy Hunston graduated from the university in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in communications. Her skincare brand, Avoila, has been included in Forbes, Town & Country and Organic Spa magazines.
Hunston spent more than 20 years working in advertising before she and her business partner, Grace O'Sullivan, created Avoila. The avocado oil-based product is designed to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and redness and hydrate skin.
"I reached a point where I was just tired of the same job over and over again, with client responsibilities and frustrations and being at the beck and call of somebody else. I wanted to be an entrepreneur," the East Palestine native said.
Hunston spoke to The Alliance Review about starting her own business and the challenges of finding success in a competitive industry.
How did you get interested in skincare?
It was really my interest in cleaner skincare for myself. So I don't have background in skincare as far as, you know, I'm not an aesthetician. I have always been interested in science and that resulted in working in pharmaceutical advertising for a really long time. I was always looking at clinical data to determine what types of messages can we promote to whether it be a patient or a doctor about the product.
What inspired you to create your own brand?
When I was in my mid-30s, I started to really look at the products I was using on my body. That was not only skincare and makeup, but lotions and detergents and things like that and realized I was using some things that weren't so good for my overall health. I was never taught about these things, and I wanted to create a product that could help teach others.
How did you develop your product?
(Hunston and O'Sullivan) were talking one day about skincare, and she was telling me this story about how she discovered the healing benefits of avocado oil. We started looking at products that we would be interested in using ourselves that feature avocado oil, and we really couldn't find anything at the time. So we felt like this was a real opportunity for us to got out and do something on our own.
It took a few years to develop our product and manufacture it. So within that time frame, so many other oils popped up. And non really communicated avocado oil as their serum, but it started becoming an ingredient among many other ingredients in their products. So I kind of wish we could have built it faster, so maybe we could have been more on the forefront of that ingredient trend. But we did it as fast as we could.
What makes avocado oil a good ingredient for skincare?
Avocado oil is very healing. So it's one of the only ingredients in skincare, plant-based ingredients I should say ... that have actually done clinical trials on the ingredients to prove that it is healing. So it heals wounds, it heals redness, irritation. It helps with sun damage and environmental damage with the skin.
What are some of the biggest challenges you faced in starting your own business?
A lot of the marketing of a product in a digital-only world has been very challenging. Skincare is a very busy or cluttered category. And so I think there have been challenges in figuring out how to position ourselves in a way that we do stand out and how to reach our audience with very limited marketing dollars. That is one of the biggest challenges: building awareness for an independent branch in a very busy category.
What has the response been like so far?
It is so rewarding to hear back from (customers) about how much they love it. We get reviews on our site, we get some feedback on social. People just feel like it's a wonderful product, that they see an immediate change in their skin.
What do you think has helped you find success?
I would say perseverance. Just us continuing to move forward and be optimistic and positive and determined to make this work is what has helped more than anything else. Because there have been many times when we failed or (didn't get) what we expected, and we could have easily thrown in the flag and said 'OK, this is too much.' But we realized that people love the product, and we want more people to have an opportunity to try the product.
Reach Paige at 330-580-8577 or pmbennett@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @paigembenn. | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/alliance/2022/06/04/mount-union-alumna-discusses-creating-skincare-brand-avoila/9926245002/ | 2022-06-04T11:03:39 | 1 | https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/alliance/2022/06/04/mount-union-alumna-discusses-creating-skincare-brand-avoila/9926245002/ |
100 years ago
June 4, 1922: The Illinois River Valley Beekeepers' Association meeting held at the apiary of Mr. W.H. Williams in Pekin was "one of the most successful meetings of its kind ever held in this section of the country." Over 100 beekeepers from Mason, Logan, Peoria, Fulton and Tazewell counties attended.
75 years ago
June 4, 1947: John Bartosik, 40, was jailed after police said they found his 7-month-old daughter abandoned in a cabin near McLean. Deputies reportedly found the child after Bartosik's initial arrest on charges of drunk and disorderly conduct. Authorities were searching for the child's mother, who was also believed to have been drinking heavily.
50 years ago
June 4, 1972: Firefighters quickly brought under control a basement blaze at 611 N. Main St., the site of "Pegasus," an unoccupied teenage club. The fire was apparently caused by a cigarette tossed into a window well from Main Street in front of the building. Damage was estimated at $1,000.
25 years ago
June 4, 1997: Construction continues on Veterans Parkway. Rowe Construction has begun the six-month process of widening the road from four to six lanes from Eastland to Clearwater Avenue. City officials plan to study the extent to which the ongoing work has caused traffic backups on nearby side roads.
Compiled by Pantagraph staff | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/100-years-ago-100-central-illinois-beekeepers-gather-in-pekin/article_19414cca-e06a-11ec-b192-838d84de0e38.html | 2022-06-04T11:39:45 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/history/100-years-ago-100-central-illinois-beekeepers-gather-in-pekin/article_19414cca-e06a-11ec-b192-838d84de0e38.html |
The Episcopal Church of The Epiphany Jun 4 — The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 423 N. Beaver St., Flagstaff. 928-774-2911. 8 a.m.- June 5, 10:30 a.m., WELCOMING ALL: with Rev Alison Lee: SAT 5:30PM; SUN: 8:00AM & 10:30AM (COVID masks are required)- with organ, choir, and congregational singing; IN PERSON or on-line at epiphanyaz.org ; 5PM FLG Youth Co-op Midschoolers; TU 9 AM-Contemplative Conversation; WE 6:30PM, FLG Youth Co-op (@flagyouthcoop); 928-774-2911. https://go.evvnt.com/1174924-0.
Beacon UU Service: We Are UUs: An Occasional Series “So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut’s Humanism” Jun 5 — Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 510 N. Leroux St., Flagstaff. (928) 779-4492. 10-11 a.m., In a 1980 speech at the First Parish Unitarian Church in Indianapolis, renowned novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. declared: “Doesn’t God give dignity to everybody? No, in my opinion. Giving dignity, the sort of dignity that is of earthly use, anyway, is something only people can do. Or fail to do.” Throughout his life (including a harrowing chapter as a war prisoner in Dresden), he channeled his evolving free-thought philosophy into such noted work as Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions. This morning, we’ll explore the enduring legacy of this self-described “Christ-loving Atheist” and his trademark phrase, “So it goes.” Rev. Robin Landerman Zucker, preaching, with Worship Associate Mark James and music from Bailey Cunningham, Jason Drahos, Kim Angelo, Anne Wittke, and Barry Malpas. https://go.evvnt.com/1174239-0.
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Unity of Flagstaff Jun 5 — Unity of Flagstaff, 1800 S. Milton Road, Flagstaff. 928-526-8893. 10:30-11:30 a.m., Growing to lift our thinking, our consciousness, our awareness to that of God-like perspective. Seeing people, world events, disappointments and fears from a distance so that we might have a long view rather than being caught in the chaos and swirl of our beliefs and small thinking. Join us Sunday, June 5th as Rev. Penni Honey explores the healing and power in seeing it all from a distance. Live at 1800 S. Milton Suite 103, Live Stream at YouTube.UnityofFlagstaff.org. https://go.evvnt.com/1177333-0.
Church of the Resurrection Sunday Church Services: May 8 — 740 W. University Heights Drive S., 740 W. University Heights Drive S., Flagstaff. 928-853-8522. 10-11:30 a.m., Church of the Resurrection Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): We invite you to join us for worship at 10 a.m. on Sundays at 740 W. University Heights Drive South as Rev. Joshua Walker preaches through the book of Acts. Please feel free to contact us for information on our mid-week gatherings and for more information on our church. You can find us at www.cor-pca.org and www.facebook.com/CORFlagstaff or we can be reached at corflagstaff@gmail.com and (928) 699-2715.
Flagstaff Federated Community Church: Please join us for in person services Sundays at 10 a.m. We are located at 400 W Aspen Ave. on the corner of Aspen and Sitgreaves in Downtown Flagstaff. All are welcome to our services. For more information about Flagstaff Federated Community Church please call our office at 928-774-7383, Mon – Thurs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Living Christ Lutheran Church: Living Christ Lutheran Church is a diverse and LGBTQ-affirming community of disciples embraced by God's unconditional love and enduring grace. You are invited to celebrate with us God's love and presence in your life, grow in your discipleship, and leave empowered to be God's hands in the world. We worship through music, teaching, prayer, and the sacraments each Sunday at 10 a.m. with Rev. Kurt Fangmeier leading. We offer worship both in-person (masks are respected, not required; encouraged for unvaccinated) and online. Learn more about us at our new website: lclcflag.org.
Leupp Nazarene Church: The church, near mile post 13 or Navajo Route 15, has been holding services by teleconferences and doing drive-up meetings. For information, call pastor Farrell Begay at 928-853-5321. Teleconference number: 1-7170275-8940 with access code 3204224#. Services are 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays and 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
Christian Science Society of Flagstaff: 619 W. Birch Ave. The Christian Science Society of Flagstaff has opened for Sunday services while continuing to have them available via Zoom for online and phone. Wednesday testimony meetings are available only via Zoom. For phone Sunday Services: Dial: 669-900-9128, Meeting ID: 369 812 794#, Passcode: 075454#. For phone Wednesday meetings, dial: 669-900-9128, Meeting ID: 971 672 834#, Passcode: 894826#. The access for Zoom on Sundays is: https://zoom.us/j/369812794. The Zoom access for Wednesdays is: https://zoom.us/j/971672834. The password to use to enter both is CSS. We welcome all to attend our Sunday Services in person, or live by Zoom, at 10:00 o’clock, and to attend our Wednesday Testimony meetings live by Zoom, at 5:30 o’clock. Our Reading Room will be open on Wednesdays from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10-12 noon. For further information please call 928-526-5982. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-religion-news-for-june-4/article_013e9446-e38c-11ec-bc7a-af7dad417fd1.html | 2022-06-04T11:47:10 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-religion-news-for-june-4/article_013e9446-e38c-11ec-bc7a-af7dad417fd1.html |
Name: Alex Ballard
School: Indian Trail High School & Academy
Parents: Scott and Corrie
Most memorable high school moment: My most memorable high school moment was freshman year and learning a new learning style.
Most influential teachers: All of them; All of my teacher’s deserve this notoriety along with me because they’ve all taught me. Good or bad relationships between us, each year I’ve learned new life skills so I’m thankful for that.
Other school activities: African American Youth Initiative Group
School athletics: Basketball, football
Out-of-school activities/hobbies: Working out; Volunteering; Writing
College choice: Still deciding
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Intended major/field of study: Major in Engineering with a minor in Finance
Role model: My father
Three words that best describe my role model: Hardworking; Humble; Passionate
What I hope to accomplish in my lifetime: I hope one day that I can be the change in many kids lives. I want to be a good role model for kids who don’t have the right guidance in life and give them inspiration to grow up to be the best version of themselves. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-teen-for-june-4/article_2b91e13c-e2a4-11ec-9e93-bb8b7d8a827a.html | 2022-06-04T12:06:01 | 0 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-teen-for-june-4/article_2b91e13c-e2a4-11ec-9e93-bb8b7d8a827a.html |
Doctors were attempting to save the life of an infant after its pregnant mother was found shot dead on a Philadelphia street early Saturday morning, police said.
Officers found the woman with a gunshot to the head in the Port Richmond neighborhood and rushed the baby to Temple University Hospital after realizing the child she was carrying was still alive, the Philadelphia Police Department said.
Police could not immediately provide the woman’s age or identity, nor could they say how far along she was in her pregnancy, but they did say the child was alive when they arrived to the scene.
The condition of the child was not immediately known as of about 7 a.m. Saturday.
The shooting happened near Richmond Street and Wheatsheaf Lane around 1 a.m., the PPD said. Detectives believe the shooter was a man driving a dark-colored black or blue Chevrolet Camaro or Dodge Charger.
The car was last seen heading toward Aramingo Avenue, police said.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/doctors-trying-to-save-infant-as-pregnant-woman-shot-dead-police-say/3261131/ | 2022-06-04T12:10:22 | 1 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/doctors-trying-to-save-infant-as-pregnant-woman-shot-dead-police-say/3261131/ |
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Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/pregnant-woman-shot-killed-in-philadelphia/3261132/ | 2022-06-04T12:10:28 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/pregnant-woman-shot-killed-in-philadelphia/3261132/ |
New York City now has seven cases of monkeypox, most of them confirmed in the last three days, as CDC officials urge doctors to increase testing for the previously rare virus that's suddenly spreading worldwide.
Meanwhile two prominent infectious disease experts warned Saturday that time was of the essence to stop the spread of the virus, and that the "window is closing" to contain it before it becomes endemic.
The two new NYC cases, reported by the city's health department Friday night, makes for five new cases in the last three days. Monkeypox is now spreading so quickly around the world, top global health officials say they don't know if it's "too late to contain."
In a sign that the situation may be more advanced than first understood, the CDC said Friday there appear two be two separate and distinct outbreaks going on outside of Africa, with some virus samples seen in the United States being distinct from the samples seen in the European outbreak.
How Does Monkeypox Spread?
The vast majority of U.S. cases are in men who have sex with men, and many patients have reported international travel. So far, only one confirmed case has an unknown origin. The CDC said that all patients nationwide are recovering, or have already recovered.
Agency officials, in a briefing with reporters, stressed that the public health risk remains low, vaccine stockpiles are ample for now, and that it was "too early to know" if the virus was going to become endemic in the United States.
As of Friday afternoon, the CDC said there were 25 confirmed cases nationwide from the recent outbreak. That's almost triple the count a week prior.
The agency is asking doctors to test more aggressively for monkeypox, even if they think a patient is presenting with symptoms of another sexually transmitted illness.
"They should test for monkeypox even if they think they might have a positive test for a much more common STI," Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC's Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said on a call with reporters.
Of the first 17 confirmed cases, all 17 had a rash and most had fatigue or chills. A majority had rashes on their arm or chest, though many other spots were affected as well.
Globally, the World Health Organization has identified infections from the current outbreak in at least 12 countries.
The WHO says so far, there is no link between this outbreak and travel to countries where the virus is already endemic.
"We don't really know whether it's too late to contain. What WHO and all member states are trying to do is prevent onward spread," Dr. Rosamund Lewis, the WHO's monkeypox technical lead, said during a news conference in Geneva on Wednesday.
Monkeypox 'Window Closing'
As the virus spreads, those with a background in the history of infectious diseases warn that time is of the essence to contain it.
"The window is CLOSING. If we can't contain now, it means much more work later. Again, #LGBTQ groups do not seem to see the urgency of the moment, rightly worried about stigma, but not interested in throwing down to take care of this outbreak ourselves," Yale epidemiologist and AIDS activist Gregg Gonsalves tweeted Saturday morning.
His peers agreed and called on the LGBTQ community to make a more aggressive effort to fight the spread.
"The window to eliminate monkeypox is closing. LGBTQ groups could use #GayPrideMonth #gaypride2022 events to educate, screen, test & vaccinate… before it’s too late," Celine Gounder, an NYU infectious diseases specialist and former Biden Administration COVID advisor, tweeted in response to Gonsalves.
What Is Monkeypox?
Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958, when outbreaks occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research -- resulting in its name. (What you need to know about monkeypox.)
The first case in a human was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which still has the majority of infections. Other African countries where it has been found: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone.
Human symptoms of monkeypox are similar to but milder than the symptoms of smallpox, the CDC says. It presents itself as a flu-like illness accompanied by lymph-node swelling and rash on the face and body.
Monkeypox starts off with fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion. Monkeypox also causes lymph nodes to swell, something that smallpox does not. The incubation period is usually 7−14 days but can range from 5−21 days.
The CDC is urging healthcare providers in the U.S. to be alert for patients who have rashes consistent with monkeypox, regardless of whether they have traveled or have specific risks for monkeypox. See more information from the travel notice here. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-monkeypox-cases-rise-to-7-as-cdc-urges-doctors-to-test-more/3720000/ | 2022-06-04T12:37:30 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-monkeypox-cases-rise-to-7-as-cdc-urges-doctors-to-test-more/3720000/ |
FORT MYERS, Fla. — A man died after he was hit by a car in Fort Myers on U.S. 41 near Golfview Avenue early Saturday morning.
Fort Myers Police Department is currently on scene investigating.
The vehicle remained on scene, according to FMPD. This was not a hit-and-run crash.
The crash, which shut down both lanes going southbound, is under investigation.
Troopers have not released the identities of the man who died and the driver.
Count on NBC2 to bring you the latest information as soon as it is released. | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/06/04/man-dead-after-being-hit-by-car-in-fort-myers/ | 2022-06-04T12:45:30 | 0 | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/06/04/man-dead-after-being-hit-by-car-in-fort-myers/ |
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA — Here’s a look at closures and cancellations across Southwest Florida due to tropical weather.
Click here for the latest updates as NBC2 continues to monitor the tropics.
LEE COUNTY
- J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island will be closed at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 3, and will remain closed until further notice.
- Crazy Dingo Brewing Company will be closed Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4.
- Mighty Mussels game is canceled Friday.
- The Fort Myers River District has canceled Art Walk scheduled for June 3.
- The School District’s scheduled SAT tests will be canceled Saturday, June 4. Gateway Charter School will make its own decision about offering tomorrow’s test. Officials announced testing has been rescheduled for June 18.
COLLIER COUNTY
- Collier County Sheriff Gun Range will be closed Saturday, June 4.
- Naples Zoo will be closing early Friday, June 3 at 1:30. It will also be closed tomorrow, June 4.
- The Department of Health has postponed Saturday’s Tdap vaccine clinics, June 4.
- Keep Collier Beautiful (KCB) Summer Beach and Park cleanup event scheduled for June 4 has been canceled. The next KCB cleanup is scheduled for July 5.
SARASOTA COUNTY
- The Aquatic Center and Warm Mineral Springs Park will be closed all day, Saturday, June 4.
- All Faith’s Food Bank distribution has been canceled this weekend.
HENDRY COUNTY
- Check back often for updates.
GLADES COUNTY
- Check back often for updates.
DESOTO COUNTY
- Check back often for updates.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY
- The Port Charlotte Beach Recreation Center has postponed its ‘Dance with Daddy’ event scheduled for Saturday, June 4 to August 6.
- The Punta Gorda Farmers Market has been canceled Saturday, June 4. | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/06/04/tropical-weather-closures-and-cancellations/ | 2022-06-04T12:45:36 | 0 | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/06/04/tropical-weather-closures-and-cancellations/ |
You’ve seen them, lazily drifting in wide circles high above. Large dark birds gently rocking on broad dark wings locked in place as they soar higher on the rising wind.
An eagle?
No. A turkey vulture.
The three most common large dark, broad-winged soaring birds in Coos region, bald eagle, osprey, and turkey vulture, are easy to tell apart up close.
Mature bald eagles have white heads and tails, with dark body and wings. (Immature bald eagles are dark all over; the head and tail look mottled when they’re switching to adult plumage.) Mostly dark on the back, osprey are white on the underside of their bodies, sporting white-and-brown patterned outer wings with black “wrists.”
Turkey vultures are dark all over, although the outer wing feathers -- the trailing halves of the wings -- look grayer. And, of course, turkey vultures have naked, red heads.
Even if you can’t see the color patterns because of distance or lighting, these three common birds are also easy to tell apart by how they hold their wings while soaring. Bald eagles hold their wings flat when soaring; osprey hold their wings in an almost-flat “M” when aloft; turkey vultures hold their wings in a very shallow “V” when soaring.
(Also a large local bird, but lighter in color, great blue herons trail their long legs behind them while flying, and they tuck their heads back to their shoulders, with their necks bent beneath.)
So, what’s with the naked head?
First, while not all vultures world-wide lack feathers on their heads, most vultures do. Since vultures are carrion-eaters, finding and feeding on animals that have already died, it has been long assumed that vultures’ bare heads were beneficial because sticking a feathered head inside a carcass can get rotting bits stuck in the feathers, becoming a sanitation issue.
However, that can’t be the whole story since there are other large birds with feathered heads that eat carrion by sticking their heads in indelicate places, and some birds with naked heads, such as, well, turkeys, don’t eat carrion.
Observation and modeling conducted by researchers at the University of Glasgow several years ago demonstrated that a key benefit of a bald head was temperature regulation. By tucking their heads in or sticking them out, bare-headed vultures can expose or protect their skin to cooling breezes.
Vultures also urinate/defecate on their own legs. This has been thought to offer sterilizing benefits, as the waste is quite acidic, but is more likely another temperature-regulating move.
While soaring, turkey vultures sniff for carrion. Rare among birds, turkey vultures have a good sense of smell.
But vultures also find food indirectly by sight: the first vulture that sails to the ground after catching a whiff of dinner will catch the eyes of other vultures that follow.
No, turkey vultures don’t circle animals that are dying. What they do circle are thermals, pockets of air that are rising above warm spots on the land. The thermals give them an easy ride to higher altitudes where they can smell and see more area, broadening their search for carrion.
They’re ungainly on the ground and have a hard time getting airborne.
Vultures eating carrion’s a good thing for the rest of us. Large animals can take a long time to decompose, and the vultures help the process along considerably. Although they’re carrion consumers, vultures are pickier eaters than you might think, preferring freshly dead meals and apparently preferring herbivores.
Of course, dead animals can harbor a copious zoo of disease. Vultures, though, have such acid stomach secretions that most disease organisms are destroyed.
When not soaring or eating, turkey vultures roost in trees, often in a group. They lay and care for their eggs and chicks (usually two) on the bare ground, sometimes in caves, or on bare, rotted logs.
They don’t “sing,” but can hiss, grunt, or even growl.
Turkey vultures are found throughout Oregon most the year, with only a few rare stragglers in winter. They’ll start leaving the Southern Oregon Coast in October and will generally return in February.
I’d say turkey vultures are a more interesting herald of spring than Capistrano swallows!
For information on how you can arrange your own exploration of our fascinating natural history, contact Marty at mgiles@wavecrestdiscoveries.com, www.facebook.com/wavecrestdiscoveries, or by calling 541/267-4027.
Questions and comments about local natural history are welcome. www.wavecrestdiscoveries.com | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/nature-guide-journal-the-turkey-vulture/article_6c404158-e1d5-11ec-9edf-bf683270af68.html | 2022-06-04T12:56:43 | 0 | https://theworldlink.com/news/local/nature-guide-journal-the-turkey-vulture/article_6c404158-e1d5-11ec-9edf-bf683270af68.html |
SAN ANTONIO — Lavaca County authorities on social media confirmed a train derailment Friday evening in the small community of Shiner has shut down multiple railroad crossings in town.
There was no immediate report on potential injuries or fatalities, and it's unknown at this point what may have caused the derailment.
Photos and video sent to KENS 5 by Jane Spakes shows several train cars mangled in a mess of metal as local law enforcement worked to secure the scene.
This is a developing story. Check back with KENS5.com for the latest updates.
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Want to get in touch with someone at KENS 5? You can send a message using our Contacts page or email one of our team members. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/shiner-texas-train-derailment-accident-crash/273-19fcad02-c390-4bc4-9268-1e6fc377aac0 | 2022-06-04T13:03:53 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/shiner-texas-train-derailment-accident-crash/273-19fcad02-c390-4bc4-9268-1e6fc377aac0 |
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — It now appears that South Texas will serve as a sort of burial ground for a once-mighty U.S. Navy ship. The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk – named for the place in North Carolina where the Wright brothers flew the first powered airplane – was towed to Texas this week to end its service in a marine salvage yard.
The carrier is a ghost from another era when ships ran on oil and when the world was a much different place since its launching in 1961.
It played an active role in the Vietnam War during the 1960s and '70s, and entered the battle zone again in 2003 when it served as launch pad for fighter jets and helicopters during the Iraq War.
But as the Navy began replacing carriers with those using nuclear power, the end was near for the Kitty Hawk. Several veterans’ organizations worked to allow them to convert it into a floating museum, but the Navy said no.
Its fate was sealed when the salvage company in Brownsville, Texas paid one cent to take possession of the Kitty Hawk and sell off the metal for scrap. The company said it will take about 18 months to dismantle the ship when the Kitty Hawk will be gone forever from the oceans of the world, but likely will remain alive in the pages of history and in the memories of the thousands of sailors who called it home.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-salvage-company-buys-legendary-us-navy-aircraft-carrier-for-one-cent/269-90140fdb-c64b-4d47-a816-799c2c4f7110 | 2022-06-04T13:03:54 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-salvage-company-buys-legendary-us-navy-aircraft-carrier-for-one-cent/269-90140fdb-c64b-4d47-a816-799c2c4f7110 |
ATLANTA — Atlanta Public Schools is mourning the death of one of its alums, the doctor who was targeted this week in the killing of four people in a shooting at a hospital in Tulsa.
Dr. Preston Phillips, who also had degrees in organic chemistry and pharmacology from Emory University, was a Frederick Douglas High School class of 1980 graduate.
"I am deeply saddened to learn that the main target in the mass shooting that killed 4 at a hospital in Tulsa, OK this week is one of our #APSalumni, Dr. Preston Phillips, Frederick Douglass HS Class of 1980," APS Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring wrote on Twitter. "May your memory be a blessing, may this tragedy be our call to action."
Preston Phillips was an orthopedic surgeon with an interest in spinal surgery and joint reconstruction, according to a profile on Saint Francis Health System's website.
The gunman called the clinic repeatedly complaining of pain and specifically targeted the doctor who performed the surgery, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said.
Phillips was killed in the shooting, along with Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and patient William Love, police said. The attack occurred on the campus of Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa.
Dr. Cliff Robertson, president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, called Phillips a "consummate gentleman" and “a man that we should all strive to emulate.” He said the three employees who were killed were “the three best people in the entire world” and that they “didn’t deserve to die this way.”
Phillips had an interest in spinal surgery and joint reconstruction, the hospital bio said. He once served as lead physician for Tulsa’s WNBA team before the franchise moved out of state, according to the Tulsa World. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/dr-preston-phillips-tulsa-shooting-atlanta-public-schools/85-488a0f40-6470-48c1-99a4-d7248c8cac5d | 2022-06-04T13:05:25 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/dr-preston-phillips-tulsa-shooting-atlanta-public-schools/85-488a0f40-6470-48c1-99a4-d7248c8cac5d |
Republican candidates in contested Bismarck-area legislative primary races differ on priorities for office and how they view civility in the Legislature.
Voters in the June 14 election will settle several intraparty challenges for who will move on to the November general election. One Senate nominee and two House nominees will advance in Districts 7, 35 and 47, where some races have more candidates than slots for November. There are no contested Democratic races in those districts.
More than two dozen legislative races statewide have Republican contests. Some House races have four or five GOP candidates.
Republicans control the House of Representatives 80-14 and the Senate 40-7. Three of four legislative leaders and a top budget writer aren't running for reelection, meaning new hands will guide the Legislature next year.
Ninety-eight seats in the Legislature are on the ballot this year, more than is usual due to redistricting.
North Dakota lawmakers are paid $526 monthly and $189 per day when meeting. The Legislature meets every odd-numbered year.
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District 35 Senate
Voters in District 35 will elect a new senator this year.
Former Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, announced last fall she would not run for a third term, citing divisive politics. She resigned in March after President Joe Biden appointed her as state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development agency. Democrats appointed candidate and former senator Tracy Potter to the seat.
Republican voters will determine whether Sean Cleary or Ryan Eckroth advances to face Potter in November. The party endorsed Eckroth in February.
Cleary is a former staffer for Gov. Doug Burgum and U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and now works in project management and grant writing for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation.
He said his priorities would be ensuring "North Dakota is always an affordable and a safe place to live, a place with opportunity for good jobs, so for me that means having a strong education system, low taxes so people can keep more of their own money, and a government that is responsive to the needs of citizens."
Oban in deciding not to run cited "the extreme rhetoric and divisiveness of the national scene" seeping into North Dakota.
Cleary said culture war issues seem more prevalent on the national level, that civility locally appears more prevalent.
Bills such as those to ban state-issued mask mandates, restrict transgender K-12 athletes and prohibit vaccination requirements "reflect valid concerns that folks have. The method to address them, I think there's certainly room for argument," he said.
Eckroth did not respond to two phone messages or three emails seeking an interview.
He was the station manager for Delta and United Airlines at the Bismarck Airport for 10 years until he left last year to complete his bachelor's degree in business management from Colorado Technical University. He is completing his master's in business management from CTU.
In 2012, Eckroth signed a consent order by the state insurance commissioner revoking his individual insurance producer license. There was no administrative fine or other civil penalty, according to the order. It described allegations that Eckroth created applications for insurance policies that clients and business owners didn't want, and that he accepted advance commissions from an insurance company for the policies.
The insurance commissioner also fined him for submitting an application for a hospital indemnity policy for himself and his family that had inaccurate information about a family member's preexisting health condition, according to the order.
Eckroth previously declined to comment on the order, and referred the Tribune to previous comments he had made.
He told Forum News Service columnist Rob Port that no criminal or civil actions were taken against him as a result of the fraud allegations, claiming "the investigation was proven untrue." He told Port he signed the order "because my name was destroyed through all the news."
Eckroth also has numerous money judgments and a foreclosure against him in state district court, which he addressed in a video statement last month.
He said he wasn't able to work as a son underwent surgeries and treatment for burns. Another son required open-heart surgery. Eckroth also went through a divorce, "then again went through financial, emotional stress that many can relate to is not an easy thing to do. We've all been there," he said.
In the last decade, Eckroth has had five state and federal tax liens filed against him, one of which remains active with an unpaid balance of $11,794. Another federal lien that's no longer active has an unpaid balance of $22,700, according to public records from the secretary of state.
Eckroth said in the video that he is at the end of a yearslong payment plan with the Internal Revenue Service "and my tax will be paid in full here shortly as the payment plan will be completed."
The Tribune conducted legal background checks on all of the candidates.
District 7 House
District 7 Republican voters will settle a three-way House race for two slots on the November ballot. Incumbent Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, is not running.
The party in February endorsed incumbent Rep. Jason Dockter and Matt Heilman, who recently graduated from Bismarck State College. BSC Director of Admissions Retha Mattern also is running.
Dockter is a small business owner first elected in 2012. He chairs the House Political Subdivisions Committee and sits on the House Finance and Taxation Committee. He's running to continue his work in the Legislature, with an eye toward the state's future.
His priorities for another term are to lessen regulations for small businesses and to reduce taxes, as well as use earnings of the $8.4 billion Legacy Fund oil tax savings for tax reform or infrastructure needs or other uses to benefit taxpayers or the state's future.
Heilman plans to major in accounting at North Dakota State University. His priorities are boosting medical freedom, including opposing vaccination mandates, and advancing patriotic education, or "teaching our great history, our traditions and our love of country." He said he didn't see those elements displayed in his recent education.
Mattern is running to be representative of working parents, a perspective she said she doesn't see in the Legislature.
If elected she would focus on "making life better for my neighbors," including economic opportunities for people and businesses to ensure their communities grow and stay attractive.
Departing Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, noted, "I do feel civility and respect slipping even here in North Dakota, some days even in the Legislature," when she announced last fall she would not run for reelection so she could spend more time with her family and students.
Dockter said the Legislature has been "very divisive" in recent years, and lawmakers need to find a common goal and resolve differences, being at "a tipping point." Divisive politics have kept good people from running for office, he said.
Heilman acknowledged a divisiveness in the Legislature, and said he intends to work with fellow lawmakers if elected. Culture war issues aren't interfering with lawmakers' work but have a role within the Legislature, he said.
Mattern said she's seen "a decline overall in our communications and in our interactions within the political area," such as district parties' reorganization conventions. She said she remembers to assume others have good intentions, to treat others with respect, and to control her actions and reactions.
District 47 House
District 47 Republican voters have a four-way House race for two nominations for November.
Rep. George Keiser, R-Bismarck, died Dec. 22 at 75 after a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. The party in January appointed Robb Eckert to serve out the remaining months of his term. Eckert is not running.
The party endorsed incumbent Rep. Lawrence Klemin and North Dakota Gaming Alliance Executive Director Mike Motschenbacher. Banker Kevin Strege and retired salesman Dean Summers also are running.
Klemin is an attorney who was first elected in 1998 and is seeking another term to continue his work. He cites his expertise in leadership positions and legislating, including his sponsorship of more than 350 bills, and his skills analyzing and drafting legislation.
Major issues Klemin said he's supported and will continue to back are public safety, including juvenile justice and criminal justice reforms; avoiding "unnecessarily strict regulatory requirements" on the energy industry; and examining how the Legislature could help to lower local property taxes.
Motschenbacher, who worked 25 of 29 years at Expressway Inn and Suites as general manager, said he'd seek to bring new ideas to the Legislature and unify Republicans. He cites his business and lobbying experience for his candidacy.
His focuses would be to permanently reduce property taxes and explore what opportunity there is to eliminate income tax, as well as support the coal and oil industries, given the jobs and significant state revenue each provides, respectively.
Strege, who has 30 years in banking and has served on many nonprofit and community boards, said he thinks his business and financial perspective would benefit the Legislature.
His focus would be "bringing rational thought" to a seat in the House. He cited "a high level of frustration among the voters over the way the process has worked, and we need more people willing to focus on the substance."
Summers said his experience working in sales and marketing for 30-some years, including the pharmaceutical industry and the oil field, makes him "well rounded" for the Legislature.
His priority for office is "fiscal responsibility, spending no more money than absolutely necessary on projects." He said he's seen "sometimes superfluous use" of taxpayer money.
Klemin said the Legislature has "some level of incivility, if you will, but I think that's naturally going to happen when you have a lot of people who are of different minds about certain things." He noted there are legislative rules for debate, which he as speaker had to remind representatives of in 2019.
Motschenbacher said he's seen "behavior which I don't agree with" in the Legislature, and he intends to be respectful but prepared to have a thick skin if elected. He said he plans to back up his votes with facts rather than ideology, and would like to hold monthly meetings with constituents.
Strege said divisiveness within the dominant Republican Party has distracted from the business of the state, though he is "enthused by the quality of first-time candidates across the state, which I'm hopeful can turn the tide."
Summers said he doesn't view civility as a problem in the Legislature, saying his interactions with lawmakers have been courteous, and that people have a right to their opinions, which others should listen to respectfully.
Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck/bismarck-republican-voters-to-decide-several-legislative-primary-contests/article_aab095f2-dcfb-11ec-9747-c7dd67f58c56.html | 2022-06-04T13:15:36 | 1 | https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck/bismarck-republican-voters-to-decide-several-legislative-primary-contests/article_aab095f2-dcfb-11ec-9747-c7dd67f58c56.html |
Two people were killed and three were seriously hurt in a major crash on Interstate 55 in McLean County, authorities said Saturday.
The five-vehicle crash took place shortly before 4 p.m. Friday near mile marker 151, south of Shirley, according to Illinois State Police.
One person suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, and another was pronounced dead at a hospital after being transported from the scene by medical helicopter, police said.
Three other people were hospitalized with what police described as life-threatening injuries.
Interstate 55 southbound was closed during the emergency response and investigation, with vehicles directed off at Exit 154. A reporter at the scene observed traffic backed up for at least two miles about 45 minutes after the crash.
All lanes were reopened at 12:39 a.m. Saturday, police said.
Authorities did not release any additional information.
Traffic Alert #BloNo - Major crash at I-55 SB mm151 (South of Shirley in Construction zone) - Multiple vehicles and entrapment; Interstate is completely blocked. Find alternate routes. @wazeillinois
— Normal Fire Department (@NormalFire) June 3, 2022
Today’s top pics: TYR Pro Swim Series and more
Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter: @BrendanDenison
Brendan Denison is our breaking news reporter. Denison was a digital content producer for WCIA-TV in Champaign and a reporter for The Commercial-News in Danville. He can be reached at (309) 820-3238 and bdenison@pantagraph.com.
A Gibson City teenager was killed in a Wednesday evening crash on Illinois Route 9 about 6 miles east of Bloomington, Illinois State Police said Thursday.
A Mahomet man was killed, and a Normal woman and children were injured, in a motorcycle-vehicle crash Thursday night on Interstate 74 in Vermilion County.
No damage estimate has been made, but investigators determined the fire to be caused by unattended cooking, which is the leading cause of home fires in America, according to the National Fire Protection Association. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/2-killed-in-mclean-county-i-55-crash/article_ee8bac10-e383-11ec-9f41-afae0850fd22.html | 2022-06-04T13:37:04 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/accident-and-incident/2-killed-in-mclean-county-i-55-crash/article_ee8bac10-e383-11ec-9f41-afae0850fd22.html |
TIFTON — Local Autism Spectrum Disorder artists are invited to submit their art for a special exhibit titled “The Art of Autism” at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture.
The exhibit will be built with art made by local ASD artists of all ages. According to Museum Curator Polly Huff, the project will allow art to positively impact individuals with ASD and those whose lives are intertwined with them.
“It will provide a safe and celebratory space to display art made by autistic artists,” Huff said. “It will also unlock enhanced communication through creative expression, and it will improve imagination and help develop motor skills.
“Additionally, the project aims to build stronger relationships within families with autistic children in the Tifton community.”
Local writer Brenda Sutton Rose is assisting with the exhibit, which will have a written word component as well.
Families interested in participating in this exhibit by submitting a piece of art are encouraged to contact Huff for an entry form. The deadline for submissions is July 29. For more information, interested families can contact community parent liaison Donna Johnston at alan.johnstondjw@gmail.com or Huff at phuff@abac.edu .
“The Art of Autism” opens to the public on Dec. 13 and will remain open through Jan. 13, 2023, at the GMA Gallery. Exhibit hours in December are 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturdays. In January, exhibit hours are 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Huff has recently implemented two quiet spaces for gallery visitors with ASD. She also designed a social story for the GMA Gallery. Social stories are documents which assist visitors with ASD so they have a better understanding of the museum space they are about to visit by providing meaningful information, giving options, setting expectation parameters, and providing flexibility on a visit which can otherwise be stressful.
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TIFTON – This June, Southwell is celebrating Men’s Health Month and encouraging community members to do the same.
Each June is recognized as National Men’s Health Month, an annual awareness period solely dedicated to education and activities on the health and wellness of men and boys. National Men's Health Week, a special awareness period recognized by Congress, also is celebrated. Men's Health Week concludes on Father's Day, June 11-17 this year.
The purpose of Men's Health Month is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. The month gives health care providers, public policymakers, the media, and individuals an opportunity to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury.
“This Men’s Health Month is a great time to evaluate your health,” Dr. Cameron Nixon, the chief transformation officer and internal medicine physician with Southwell, said in a news release. “Take the time this June to make that doctor’s appointment you may have been dreading and talk to your doctor about all aspects of your health.”
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article. | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/southwell-recognizes-men-s-health-month/article_a6bb2fde-e377-11ec-98d5-2ffaaa3634ce.html | 2022-06-04T13:46:45 | 0 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/southwell-recognizes-men-s-health-month/article_a6bb2fde-e377-11ec-98d5-2ffaaa3634ce.html |
Schuyler High School, located in a primarily Hispanic community, has shown enough progress to be removed from the Nebraska Department of Education's list of schools needing intervention.
The Nebraska Board of Education voted Friday to remove its designation of the high school as a "priority school," selected from among the lowest-performing schools in the state's classification system.
Schuyler High School landed on the list in 2018 because of a number of factors, including its dropping graduation rate, chronic absenteeism and the number of English language learners not proficient on state assessments.
State law requires the Department of Education designate priority schools for intervention. Schools identified for help work with the state to draft an intervention plan to identify goals and areas for improvement.
After three years, the board can vote to extend or amend the progress plan or remove the priority school label. The 2019-20 school year was not taken into account because of the pandemic.
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"It's not easy to name a priority school from our standpoint," said state education Commissioner Matthew Blomstedt.
Schuyler set out seven measurable goals — in addition to strategies for staff — to demonstrate improvement, which the state used to quantify the school's progress.
School officials pointed to a number of tangible changes, including raising the graduation rate from 82.7% in 2016 to 86% in 2022 and reducing the chronic absenteeism rate from 16% to 11%.
A nearby meatpacking plant owned by Cargill has drastically changed Schuyler's demographics over the past two decades. Schuyler High School serves just less than 600 students, 93% of whom are Hispanic.
This year alone, the school welcomed 39 students from Central America and Africa, 27 of whom had no prior educational experience.
When Schuyler first landed on the list, 25% of its students were English language learners but none were proficient on standardized assessments. This past school year, 9% reached proficiency.
The number of ELL students classified as emerging — the lowest classification on English language proficiency assessments — dropped from 86% five years ago to 38% today.
Schuyler instituted a number of strategies over the past four years, including devoting professional development time to supporting ELL students across all content areas.
The mood was one of celebration at Friday's board meeting in Lincoln. Board member Maureen Nickels recalled when Schuyler landed on the list initially.
"That was a tough, solemn day," Nickels said. "And so to sit here on my last year on the board and to know we made the right decision and you all took the bull by the horn ... this is what we want. This is what education is about."
Schuyler Superintendent Dan Hoesing said the process is an expensive one for schools that take it seriously. The district received $2 million from the state for support, Hoesing said, and the district also passed a bond to build a new gym, cafeteria and fine arts center.
"While this process started out being uncomfortable, it doesn't have to be, but there is a certain amount of uncomfortableness that will push you to change," Hoesing said. "What we want is to change your belief in who we are, remove a label because the label is not who we are."
The state is required to have no fewer than three schools on its priority school list. Santee Community Schools' elementary, middle and high schools on the Santee Sioux Nation Reservation in Knox County are the only remaining ones on the list.
Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @HammackLJS | https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/state-ed-board-schuyler-high-school-no-longer-needs-intervention-for-low-performance/article_a6e5af78-11f3-571a-9c11-dde3c0735591.html | 2022-06-04T13:50:35 | 1 | https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/state-ed-board-schuyler-high-school-no-longer-needs-intervention-for-low-performance/article_a6e5af78-11f3-571a-9c11-dde3c0735591.html |
It’s National Trails Day, so head out for a hike in one of our beautiful local parks. Or, visit a state park or state forest. Here’s an incentive: Admission to all state parks, state forests and state trails is FREE all weekend!
Something fishy: Grab your fishing pole for Wisconsin’s Free Fishing Weekend. Anglers of all ages and experience levels are encouraged by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to participate. Residents and non-residents will not be required to have a fishing license or trout/salmon stamps. (All other fishing regulations apply, including bag and length limits.) Need some tips? Bong State Recreation Area hosts a Fishing Basics program from 1 to 3 p.m. today.
The Outta Sight Kite Flight, featuring stunt kite flying teams, the “Kids Candy Drop” and the “Kids Mad Dash” kite launch, is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (and Sunday) in Kennedy Park, 40th Street and the lakefront. Admission is free.
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Looking for live music tonight? The Jill Plaisted Band performs starting at 8 p.m. at Union Park Tavern, 4520 Eighth Ave. Also tonight, the Brent Mitchell Band performs 8:30 to 10 p.m. at Public Craft Brewing Co., 628 58th St.
Road trip: The Milwaukee Highland Games start at 9 a.m. today in Croatian Park, 9100 S. 76th St. in Franklin. The event includes pipers, dancers, music, parades and feats of strength — in short, a celebration of Scottish heritage. milwaukeehighlandgames.org
Road trip: Milwaukee’s PrideFest continues today (and Sunday) at Henry W. Maier Festival Park, 200 N. Harbor Drive on Milwaukee’s lakefront. The festival features live music on several stages and fireworks tonight at dusk. pridefest.com | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-events-for-saturday-june-4/article_16b01088-e34c-11ec-aedc-d75078088c76.html | 2022-06-04T14:03:24 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/todays-events-for-saturday-june-4/article_16b01088-e34c-11ec-aedc-d75078088c76.html |
You may have heard this rumor: Summer is back.
And here’s the proof: Weekends — and some weeknights, too — are filling up with events. We’re suddenly having to make hard choices because there are so many fun things popping up all at once.
That’s a great “problem” to have, so you’ll just have to plan ahead and get to as many events as possible.
Here’s a cheat sheet for local outdoor events:
Giants at the lakefront
For the 20th time, the sky above Kennedy Park this weekend will be filled with kites.
Hundreds of kites.
And that includes some giant kites: A red octopus, a whale and a manta ray.
It’s all part of the Outta Sight Kite Flight, organized by Scott Fisher, who is bringing the free event back to Kenosha’s Kennedy Park.
The free outdoor event attracts hundreds of kites — and kite fans — to the Downtown lakefront.
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The kite festival is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday in the park, at 40th Street and the lakefront. Admission is free.
“We’re thrilled to be coming back to Kenosha,” said Fisher, president of Milwaukee’s Gift of Wings kite and aviation store and the kite event’s creator and organizer.
This is the 20th annual kite festival — it skipped 2020, like so many events — and Fisher said the location, right on the Lake Michigan shoreline, is ideal.
“Kennedy Park is probably one of the top 20 areas in the country for kite flying because of that wind off the lake,” he explained.
In 2021, the U.S. border with Canada was still closed, meaning those giant kites from Up North, were missing in action.
Not so this year.
Alex Dagenais from Montreal and the Canadian Dream team will be back with their 150-foot octopus, 100-foot manta ray and 100-foot whale kites, Fisher said.
Also back this year is “Kenosha’s Got Kite Talent,” for local folks with giant kites, stunt kites or “kites of your own designs,” Fisher said.
A winner will be announced both today and Sunday. The winners will receive gift certificates to local restaurants, and the festival will make a donation to the Epilepsy Foundation in honor of Connor Doran. He finished 12th on Season Five of “America’s Got Talent” and has perfected the art of indoor kite flying. He usually performs at the Kenosha kite festival but is not traveling yet, due to his epilepsy.
Visitors to the kite festival should be on the lookout for candy dropping from the sky during the popular Kids Candy Drop, which happens three times both days. Also back this year is the Brat Drop, for adults. Fully cooked bratwursts are attached to parachutes and float over the (hungry?) crowd.
Other highlights include:
The Grand Launch at noon both days. Organizers are hoping 400-500-some kites will be launch simultaneously to the tune of Mary Poppins’ “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.”
Professional kite team performances. The pros start at 12:20 p.m. both days. Teams include No Knots, which flies kites with four lines, in unison. “It’s like the Blue Angels, but with kites,” Fisher said. “They’ll be putting on three or four shows a day.”
Mike Delfar, a stunt kite flyer from Milwaukee. “He’s been kite flying for 30 years and is a world champion,” Fisher said. “He’s a class act, a good guy and is really good at his sport.”
Performances by the flying team Fire & Ice. Milwaukee’s own professional kite flyer, Paul Koepke, will be performing with Fire & Ice, also featuring Kathy Brinnehl.
The Kids Mad Dash. This popular event is 2:30 p.m. each day. The first 100 kids who sign up will receive free kites both days. Note: You must participate in the Mad Dash to get a free kite, sponsored by the City of Kenosha.
The Outta Sight Kite Flight is organized by the city of Kenosha with Gift of Wings and the Kite Society of Wisconsin and Illinois, with the support of local sponsors.
Play ball!
Haven’t been to Simmons Field yet this summer?
There are several home games coming up:
Today at 6:05 p.m.: This game features the always popular Blanket Giveaway. We may need to wrap up in those stadium blankets, as the forecast calls for temperatures in the 50s and a chance of rain. Stick around for the first post-game fireworks of the season.
Wednesday at 6:05 p.m.: It’s Teacher Appreciation Night.
Thursday at 6:05 p.m.: There’s a food drive at the stadium, so bring non-perishable items.
Friday at 6:05 p.m.: Celebrate ‘90s Night with the Kingfish. Fanny packs will be given out to fans, while supplies last.
Saturday, June 11, at 6:05 p.m.: Harry Potter Night is back, with a T-shirt/ticket package available. Expect to see Storm Troopers at the stadium!
And coming up on Wednesday, June 15, is the first of three Bark in the Park games. That means your canine pal is welcome to join you for some baseball action. We also expect to see Bubba, the team’s ballpark dog, at those games.
The team is selling a Puppy Pass ($40) that includes tickets for you and your pup for the three Park in the Bark games (June 15, July 14 and Aug. 10), plus a Kingfish leash, bandana and Frisbee; meet-and-greet with Kingfish players; and post-game field access. To purchase tickets, call 262-653-0900, log on at kingfishbaseball.com or go to the ticket office at Simmons Field.
Outdoor music
The Listening Party, a Milwaukee-based duo know for its “novel brand of Northern folk-rock” (whatever that means!), is performing today, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Biergarten in Petrifying Springs Park.
Their sets are “driven by the lighthearted story telling of singer-songwriter Weston Mueller and is fueled by the many sounds of multi-instrumentalist, Jacob Wood.” The two call their live shows “energetic and laid back,” which is also a pretty good description of the Biergarten.
On Sunday, the local duo Sipos & Young are performing, starting at 3 p.m. The musicians call their shows “a mind-expanding experience,” which fits in with what they call “a sonic landscape of inventive awakening.” Got that? The Biergarten is located at the south entrance of the park, 5555 Seventh St. in Somers. Admission is free. It opens at noon on weekends and at 4 p.m. weekdays. Check the Biergarten’s Facebook page for the latest updates. Note: You may bring your own food, but no outside beverages of any kind are allowed. | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-kenoshas-summer-season-soars/article_5031f134-e34a-11ec-ace7-bbfe60145900.html | 2022-06-04T14:03:30 | 1 | https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/watch-now-kenoshas-summer-season-soars/article_5031f134-e34a-11ec-ace7-bbfe60145900.html |
BERLIN, Md. — Nearly 200 years ago, the child who would grow up to be known as the “Grandfather of Gospel” and “Prince of Preachers” once called the quaint, small town of Berlin, Maryland, home.
Born to Charles Tindley, a slave, and Hester Miller Tindley, a free woman, he was denied a proper education. He became an orphan as a toddler, when he lost his mother and became separated from his father. Longing for schooling, Tindley took it upon himself to learn how to read and write, a skill that would, ultimately, change his life in his rise within the church.
Today, Berlin has captured the historic charm of its downtown buildings and draws nearby beach tourists to a day of shopping and exploring the arts. But a gap in its historic recognition exists. Now the town looks to honor the accomplishments of African American people including Tindley.
Tindley married Daisy Henry and moved to Philadelphia at the age of 17.
There, he worked as a sexton in the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church, a job that granted him access to the minister’s books. Determined to further his education, he began to study books and take night classes, later earning a doctor of divinity degree and becoming the pastor in 1902 of the aforementioned church, where he was once employed as a janitor.
Over the years, Tindley was stationed at churches in Pocomoke City and Fairmount in Maryland; Odessa and Wilmington in Delaware; and Cape May, New Jersey.
The Methodist Episcopal minister became immortalized by the city of Philadelphia in 1924 when his place of worship was renamed the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church, against his wishes.
Parishioners were drawn to Tindley’s powerful sermons and at the time of his death, in 1933, the church membership had reached well over 10,000. His congregation became one of the largest Methodist churches in the United States in the early 1900s.
Preaching was not Tindley’s sole passion. He was also a lyricist and dedicated much of his time to composing powerful gospel music.
Among some of his most popular songs are “Nothing between,” “What Are They Doing in Heaven?”, “Leave It There” and “I Know the Lord Will Make a Way.” One hymn, “I’ll Overcome Some Day,” written in 1901, became the basis for the song titled, “We Shall Overcome,” the anthem of the civil rights movement. Today, the song remains one of the most revered and cherished songs in American history.
In 1905, according to The Washington Post, he published some of the oldest and greatest songs of the Black gospel music tradition: “Stand By Me,” “The Storm Is Passing Over” and “We’ll Understand It Better By and By.”
Now, Berlin is honoring Tindley for his legacy.
The Calvin B. Taylor House Museum, located at 208 Main St., has officially unveiled a new exhibit centered around the prolific minister.
“We created what we call a community committee and invited people in the community to help us put this exhibit together,” said Melissa Reid, president of the museum. “We had so many voices that made this so much more dynamic than it otherwise would have been.”
The exhibit features unique audio and visual components, the first being a short film created by Bryan Russo, a local singer/songwriter and former journalist; and, the second, audio clips of Tindley’s hymns and sermons narrated by Gregory Purnell, a local historian.
Clara Small, a former history professor at Salisbury University, also contributed her knowledge of Tindley to the museum.
“Take the time to visit the museum and learn as much as you can about individuals such as Rev. Tindley,” Small said. “In many instances, people believe that African American history and American history are totally separate — they’re not, they’re not.”
“What we need to do is open our hearts and our minds, think critically and analytically, and look at this shared history that we have. I think people would come to appreciate each other more. We can always learn from each other,” said Small.
Tindley’s image will also soon grace downtown Berlin.
The life-like mural of Tindley, approved by Berlin’s Historic District Commission, will include text from his hymns, as well as his name, the year he was born and his famous monikers, “Grandfather of Gospel” and “Prince of Preachers”. The art will be created on Commerce Street on the wall of Bruder Hill.
Passersby can scan a QR code, taking them to the Beach to Bay Heritage website to learn more about Tindley and his life story, along with other African American heritage projects on Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore.
Jay F. Coleman, a muralist, painter and sculptor based out of Washington, D.C., will work on the project. According to his website, he specializes in realistic and arbitrary color murals. Lisa Challenger, executive director of Beach to Bay Heritage Area and project manager for the mural, said Coleman was expected to begin painting soon.
Challenger believes this project is long overdue.
“We need to do a better job at remembering him and honoring him,” Challenger said. “Philadelphia has embraced Tindley as theirs, but we felt that it was time to recognize that he is from here.” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/eastern-shore-birthplace-to-commemorate-the-rev-tindley/2022/06/04/884eb662-e406-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html | 2022-06-04T14:08:17 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/eastern-shore-birthplace-to-commemorate-the-rev-tindley/2022/06/04/884eb662-e406-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html |
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Stacey Shelor was tired of waiting rooms.
Shelor, a Salem resident, liked that Agenacare could do anything a general practitioner would.
“And I also like the fact that this group of professionals treat you like you’re a family member or friend, versus just a number,” she said.
Now, these services are available to Lynchburg-area residents as well.
Whitney Pugh, owner and founder of Roanoke-based Agenacare Housecalls, launched the business in fall 2019 after working in corporate medicine for years, tired of what she described as a broken health care system.
“I remember sitting there thinking, ‘I hate what I do. I’ve gone to school for seven years to run people in and out like a cattle market.’ I was so frustrated with it,’” she said.
As a family nurse practitioner, she decided she could complain about it or fix it.
“I was sitting there with my husband and I said, ‘I’m going to start a concierge house call urgent care practice on mobile, and I’m going to go to their homes,’ and I remember he looked at me and was like, ‘What?’” she said.
Only a few months after launching, the COVID pandemic reached the area.
Pugh had to determine whether she would keep going or shut down. But she never shut down or turned a patient away.
COVID-19 put Agenacare on the map, she said, because patients had to find alternatives to what they were used to in terms of primary healthcare.
She started with 25 patients in 2019 and grew to have 500 patients in 2020.
When COVID-19 hit, it was calming to Shelor to have a professional who she knew come into her home fully masked and shielded.
“They even wore a hazmat suit, God bless them,” she said.
If her family needed COVID-19 testing, Agenacare was able to come to their home and do that as well. They also conduct yearly physicals, sports physicals, and strep tests, give stitches and perform blood work and X-Rays.
“It was quick, efficient and they were out. That’s the other part of this, is they’re in and out. They listen to you and they take care of what needs to be taken care of as far as your health issues are concerned and then it’s over and you don’t have to sit and wait,” she said.
Pugh said the average time from when a call is made to when a provider shows up at their home is two hours.
“So you don’t have to go sit in an (emergency room) waiting room or urgent care waiting around for hours,” she said.
In 2021, it was time to add on a team of health care professionals to come along with Pugh, who ended up serving close to 10,000 patients.
“We just kept flourishing and kept growing ,” she said. “I wanted to really take it like you know how the doc used to go back to the homes years ago. That was really what I was bringing back because sometimes change doesn’t always mean for the better,” she said.
Pugh said though the flagship office is based in Roanoke, her team can travel all over the state to see patients, lending itself to the Lynchburg area where it grew a client-base over the years.
Agenacare opened in Lynchburg recently and plans to open a physical office once it gets busier.
Pugh is proud of how the business has grown but mostly of its customer service.
“You’ll find that from the time they call us to the dispatchers, to the provider, to the follow up calls, they’re always treated respectfully, kindly,” she said.
Agenacare also doesn’t take insurance, a move Pugh said has cut out a lot of the health care stress and hurdles.
“If insurance determines that you can’t do something or they don’t want you to do something, they tell you it’s not going to be paid for. And then your hands are held because the patient doesn’t want to pay it because it’s too expensive and the company can’t pay it,” she said.
So the business doesn’t take insurance and just charges one flat fee per visit or membership.
“With insurance, even though people may have premiums of $500 to $1,000 a month, reimbursements for us, per house call, would be right at $50. It’s just not feasible and it doesn’t work,” she said. “So we took that whole piece out of it so we don’t have to deal with the insurance and the patients don’t either.”
Along with COVID-19 testing, other services include flu vaccines, suture and wound care, physicals, telehealth, IV nutrition therapy and lab draws.
The company offers direct primary care plans, family memberships and corporate memberships.
Shelor said her days are over of sitting in crowded waiting rooms and she feels safer having health professionals come to her.
Agenacare sees not only her family but her extended family now, too.
“It’s just become a part of our life,” she said. “I consider them my general practitioner. I don’t call anybody else. This is who I call for everything.” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/housecall-service-brings-healthcare-to-the-home/2022/06/04/779fe76e-e406-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html | 2022-06-04T14:08:23 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/housecall-service-brings-healthcare-to-the-home/2022/06/04/779fe76e-e406-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html |
WINCHESTER, Va. — Origami in the Garden is the latest exhibit at the seven acres of gardens at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.
Each art piece was designed by Santa Fe, New Mexico, artist Kevin Box, first through paper origami and later as a much larger metal replication. For each sculpture, he worked with experts in the field.
His ambition was to create more questions than answers.
“When you have art and a garden together, (you) can contemplate the universe,” he said.
He expects that when people see the show in the garden atmosphere they’ll feel like they’ve truly arrived at the garden like never before.
“Come here and be rewarded by discovering the unexpected,” he said.
The outdoor exhibit was created by Box, 45, and his wife, Jennifer, 49.
He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and has a background in graphic design and marketing among other art forms. He studied bronze casting after college.
She has a teaching degree and was a dancer in New York City for 10 years before committing her time to the origami exhibit.
Box said that each piece takes him about a year from conception in paper form to realization as a metal replication through Box Studios.
Before traveling to Winchester, the couple had their origami art on exhibit in the front yard of their 35 acres in Santa Fe.
Their first exhibition opened at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden in 2014, and Origami in the Garden has traveled to 17 botanical gardens and museum venues since then.
The MSV display features 11 installations in the formal gardens and a display of paper origami models and “unfolded” cast aluminum wall hangings in the Glen Burnie House, an MSV news release explains.
Visitors will get to see various pieces like running horses, a flying crane, a paper boat and a pegasus. They’re created using aluminum, bronze and steel with some sculptures mounted on stone bases, the release says.
“The placement of the sculptures encourages visitors to explore some of the most picturesque locations in the MSV formal gardens,” the release says. “A group of three colorful painted ponies are framed by more than 20 crabapple trees in the Grand Allée, a boat balances nearly 11 feet in the air on metal oars near a spring-fed stream, and a flying crane with a 12-foot wing span graces the entrance to the Asian Garden.”
The tallest sculpture is a 13-foot-tall butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, and the smallest is a 12-inch bronze acorn that weighs 35 pounds and is part of an installation featuring a seven-foot-tall squirrel.
The exhibit in the Glen Burnie House features intricate origami models of a butterfly, boat, flying crane and a Pegasus created using uncut pieces of paper, the release says. The paper models are complemented by four metal wall hangings that reveal the complex crease patterns and folds hidden beneath the surface of the origami.
Along with works created by Jennifer and Kevin Box, Origami in the Garden features collaborations with world-renowned origami artists Robert J. Lang, Te Jui Fui, Beth Johnson, Michal G. LaFosse and Tim Armijo.
The exhibition includes an audio tour of each piece that attendees can enjoy by calling from their cellphones.
Visitors may bring picnics to enjoy on the MSV grounds and purchase ice cream, light snacks and exhibit souvenirs at a Pop-Up Shop in the gardens and in the museum store. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/origami-exhibit-combines-nature-with-grand-art-sculptures/2022/06/04/8486e43c-e406-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html | 2022-06-04T14:08:29 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/origami-exhibit-combines-nature-with-grand-art-sculptures/2022/06/04/8486e43c-e406-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html |
BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — The Travis County Expo Center is no longer the home for Austin's annual Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally.
This year, they're travelling a little further up the road. The ROT Rally has moved to a permanent location in Bastrop County off of FM 969.
"We are excited for our new permanent location with 150-plus acres of beautiful Texas landscape," organizers said. "This new site brings a new vision and excellent long-term partnerships to grow The Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally to one of the top rallies in the U.S. In addition, the new site will create a fresh feel and opportunities to embrace the motorcycle lifestyle."
The annual gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts has taken place at the Expo Center since 1995, outside of the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown and 2021 relocation to Circuit of the Americas.
This year's event is taking place from June 9-12 at 1141 FM 969, otherwise known as Mere's Reserve. Attractions include:
- Four days of music
- Charity rides
- Second-annual Derwood Invitational Builder Show
- XDL Trials Stunt Show and Wheelie Experience
- Ives Brothers Wall of Death and Ball of Steel Show
- Mexico’s Motorcycle Acrobats
- Camping, vendors and food trucks
For ticketing information, click here.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/cruising-out-of-austin-rot-rally-kicks-off-this-month-at-new-location/269-5b35cf4a-0b01-4389-9819-9f5325c924d7 | 2022-06-04T14:29:27 | 0 | https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/cruising-out-of-austin-rot-rally-kicks-off-this-month-at-new-location/269-5b35cf4a-0b01-4389-9819-9f5325c924d7 |
Boutique studios are gearing up for New York City's first-ever NYC Fitness Week, a chance for residents to try new classes while revitalizing the fitness industry during the COVID pandemic recovery.
New Yorkers can choose from dozens of participating gyms across all five boroughs with hundreds of classes to purchase buy-one-get-one-free deals running the week of June 5. Once the class is bought over NYC Fitness Week, one can attend anytime during the month.
The newfound initiative was created by Debra Strougo, partner of Fitizens Holdings and founder of Row House, and Brian Chappon, the founder and CEO of CENTRED Wellness. Beginning in New York City, the plan is to expand to other major areas, such as Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto, within the Global Fitness Week series.
"Fitness Week is about turning lemons into lemonade. It was a hard, hard time for us [fitness businesses], and now, coming out of it, we have banned together so many fitness studios, owners, operators, clients," Strougo told NBC New York. "Pulling everybody back together because we need the fitness industry to thrive in New York City."
Having previously worked within the tourism industry at NYC & Company, Strougo had participated in the launch of Broadway Week and continuing Restaurant Week.
While the idea was always there to include a week dedicated to lifting the fitness industry, it was not until December of last year that the ball first got rolling. The event series is controlled by CENTRED Wellness, a wellness-focused technology platform.
Since March 2020, 25% of all health and fitness facilities shut down and 30% of studios closed, according to a study by The Global Health & Fitness Association, which also stated over 1.5 million industry jobs were lost.
News
Solidcore is a class-based, full-body workout studio inspired by pilates with ten locations scattered throughout the boroughs. It is just one of the numerous fitness companies still recovering from pandemic setbacks.
"We went from having one of the best months of our entire company history to shutting down all of our locations across 23 states and the District of Columbia overnight and our revenue going to zero -- having to lay off 98% of the people who work for the company," said Bryan Myers, president & chief executive officer for Solidcore.
To Myers, the kickoff to NYC Fitness Week takes on another meaning not only bringing in old guests but welcoming newcomers who wish to jump into the workout game. For Solidcore, Myers says clients are "moving with their feet" and prefer the classic brick-and-mortar experience.
While the fitness industry has moved toward hybrid and digital-only class offerings, both Strougo and Myers note the need for in-person connections and a sense of greater community.
"We know that fitness centers, studios, and gyms have been a place where people feel that community. Where they get out of their apartments or living situations, see other people, and have a release from stress or isolation," said Strougo, who hopes that mental health benefits come to the forefront when talking about the fitness community. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-fitness-week-new-initiative-to-kick-off-with-2-for-1-deals/3717511/ | 2022-06-04T14:29:58 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-fitness-week-new-initiative-to-kick-off-with-2-for-1-deals/3717511/ |
LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — One final bus ride for North Pocono's class of 2022. About 230 seniors rolled up to the high school in Moscow ready to receive their diplomas.
Making the evening even more special the graduates include seven sets of twins.
"They're all high academic kids and they're all very involved and represent their school and their community well so it's easy to see how they might fly under the radar, right up until recently, and now they're celebrities," said Principal Ron Collins, North Pocono High School.
"Like it's very unique but I think we're all friends so we are kind of got used to it by six grade so it's normal now to us I think," said Erin Hawley, graduating twin.
Erin Hawley and her sister Colleen are one set of twins. Julie Schriver and sister Madison are another.
"It's really fun because you know you have like so many people that can like relate to you and having like a sibling go through the same experience, it's like nice to know that there's always someone has your back and are going through same things we can relate to," said Madison Schriver, graduating twin.
"Yeah it's nice to know there's other twins going through the mixup of, like, teachers not knowing which is which," said Ashley Hrywnak, graduating twin.
Ashley Hrywnak graduated with her twin sister Shelby.
Austin Griffith received his diploma along with his twin brother Dylan.
"I guess I never really looked at it like it's been pretty normal for me because we were my twin and I were separated, so we wanted to like really grow different and we did we're like total opposites we have very different interests," said Austin Griffith, graduating twin.
"I mean it's been a unique experience like for us, it's our everyday life so it doesn't seem like anything, but when other people talk about it they're just so amazed by it, and it's just really funny to see the reactions honest," said Erin Hawley.
"It's pretty special, pretty unique and they're a great group of kids as well," said Principal Collins.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel. | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/seven-sets-of-twins-graduate-in-lackawanna-county-madison-schriver-erin-hawley-austin-griffith-ashley-hrywnak-north-pocono-high-school/523-3248ac6b-9d50-4f2d-b86a-3f180298d97f | 2022-06-04T14:30:44 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/local/seven-sets-of-twins-graduate-in-lackawanna-county-madison-schriver-erin-hawley-austin-griffith-ashley-hrywnak-north-pocono-high-school/523-3248ac6b-9d50-4f2d-b86a-3f180298d97f |
The Lehigh County coroner is seeking the public’s help in finding relatives of an Allentown man who has died.
Brian A. Reitz, 53, was pronounced dead Thursday in the city by Deputy Coroner Anthony Chirumbolo, according to a news release from the coroner’s office. The cause of death is pending results of toxicology tests.
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Anyone with information on Reitz’s next of kin is asked to contact the coroner’s office at 610-782-3426 or email danielbuglio@lehighcounty.org. | https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-lehigh-county-coroner-20220604-t7huhhmhevavplumllnwnqahvi-story.html | 2022-06-04T14:34:01 | 1 | https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-lehigh-county-coroner-20220604-t7huhhmhevavplumllnwnqahvi-story.html |
According to COVID-19 metrics on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) website, Coconino County has moved to a medium community level as of June 2.
The CDC's COVID County Check website lists Coconino County as having a case rate of 206.31 per 100,000, a rate of 6.5 new COVID admissions per 100,000 and 2.4% of staffed in-patient beds occupied by patients with COVID. Coconino is the only Arizona county at this level, with CDC maps showing all other counties at a low community level.
This is the county’s first time having a case rate over 200 per 100,000 since the CDC adjusted its guidance in March. According to this updated guidance, a case rate of 200 per 100,000 is the threshold for adjusted community level indicator categories.
When the case rate is at or above 200 per 100,000, the indicators reflect either a medium or high level, with the threshold being 10 new COVID admissions per 100,000 and 10% staffed in-patient beds occupied by COVID patients (for both indicators, metrics below this level indicate a medium level and metrics at or above indicate a high community level).
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When the case rate is below 200 per 100,000, community level can be low, medium or high, with the threshold for a low rate being new COVID admissions of less than 10 per 100,000 and less than 10% of staffed in-patient beds occupied by COVID patients over the last week.
For the week ending May 31, the CDC reported 241 total cases for a case rate of 167.97 per 100,000 (this ends two days before the community level data), an increase of 40.12%. It reported a positivity rate of 15.57%, a 0.54% increase over the last week.
The CDC reported nine new COVID admissions for the week and less than 10 deaths.
A total of 77.7% (111,535) county residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID, with 91.5% of residents (131,333) having received at least one dose. Slightly less than half of fully vaccinated residents (47.5%, or 52,957 residents) have received a booster dose.
Omicron continues to account for nearly all genomes sequenced in Coconino County this month, according to Arizona’s COVID-19 sequencing dashboard. Subvariants BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 have been the most prevalent over the past month, accounting for 53.85% and 46.15%, respectively, the week ending May 28.
In Arizona overall, subvariant BA.2 makes up 37.29% of genomes sequenced for the week, while BA.2.12.1 makes up 59.32% and BA.4 and BA.5 make up 2.54% and 0.85%, respectively.
Due to the Memorial Day holiday, Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) did not publish an updated dashboard data report this week. The next report is expected Friday, June 10.
Because CDC, TGen and CCHHS data update at different rates, reported metrics may not fully align between sources. For example: a CCHHS update for this week would have covered May 22 through May 28, while the CDC's community level was last updated June 2.
More information on COVID in Coconino County can be found at coconino.az.gov/2294/COVID-19-Information. The CDC’s County Check tool is available at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/coconino-county-moves-to-medium-covid-community-level/article_8a8659b4-e382-11ec-a584-7f6a44b46e23.html | 2022-06-04T14:36:51 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/coconino-county-moves-to-medium-covid-community-level/article_8a8659b4-e382-11ec-a584-7f6a44b46e23.html |
Flagstaff siblings Matthew and Emma Hirning recently became the first brother-sister pair in the city both to earn the rank of Eagle Scout in the Scouts BSA.
Emma finished her Eagle requirements May 17 with a video on her school’s anti-bullying anonymous alert system. Matthew had constructed a tiny library for a retiring teacher at Cromer Elementary to earn the rank in 2020.
While Matthew has been in the Scouts most of his life, Emma had to wait until 2019, when Scouts BSA was first opened for girls to participate.
“I had been following my brother Matt around in his scout career, seeing him go to these awesome camps and have all this fun," Emma said. "I was like, ‘That seems awesome, I think I’d like to do that.' So the first day girls were able to join, I did, and it's been awesome.”
Matthew said it’s “still a little weird, but pretty cool also” that his sister is also an Eagle Scout.
Matthew has been her “biggest cheerleader.”
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“I know I can always come to him for advice, and he’s always there to help and push me to achieve this awesome award. And now it's pretty cool to say we are the first brother and sister in Flagstaff to get our Eagle Scout,” she said.
To become an Eagle Scout, scouts at the Life rank need to earn 21 merit badges on topics ranging from cooking to environmental science as well as develop and complete a project that shows leadership and gives back to the community.
Emma said the hardest part of earning the rank was “organizing all the busy people I was working with.”
In addition to actors from schools across Flagstaff Unified School District (one of whom was Emma herself), she worked with Zachary Fountain and Coconino High School Principal Stacie Zanzucchi, so “making all the schedules line up” was the hardest part.
For Matthew, the hardest part was executing the project, because construction’s “not really my forte.”
“I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone with this project,” he said.
He decided to build a tiny library because he loves reading and wanted a project “to reflect the values I believe in.” While he didn’t attend Cromer himself, the school is their troop’s chartered organization.
“I believe reading is important for all students, everybody,” he said. “I think that’s what I want my project to really symbolize.”
Completing his project during the early days of the pandemic was “definitely very weird,” he said, “but made me feel proud that I could overcome a difficult challenge that was going on at the time.”
Matthew's favorite part of scouting, he said, has been his experiences at summer camp and spending time with friends.
He graduated from CHS last week and plans to attend Coconino Community College in the fall. He’s hoping to earn an associate’s degree in Creative Writing and become a writer, likely of fantasy novels.
Emma’s project also has to do with a personal cause. After being physically assaulted at school, she wanted to find a way to improve things for other students.
“It really opened my eyes to how much bullying and harassment was going on at the school, and I felt like there needs to be a change to that.”
She reached out to Zanzucchi to see how she could help and was told about the district’s anonymous alert system, which wasn’t being used due to misconceptions about its anonymity and a general lack of awareness.
“I decided to make a video about it to bring awareness that it’s OK to speak up about things that you’re going through,” Emma said. “I personally was told by multiple people that I shouldn’t speak up about what I was going through, and I don’t think anybody should have to feel like they have to be silent about an issue they’ve experienced. I feel like using the anonymous alerts app will help others get the help they need from school administrators without all the drama.”
The one-minute video will be shown to FUSD students in the early fall, Emma said.
She is also working on another video as a project to earn the highest rank in Girl Scouts, the Gold Award. The video, meant to encourage students to reach out to family and friends and ask for help when needed, will be shown across Arizona sometime in the fall.
A rising junior, Emma said her next step involves an athletic training internship at CHS under athletic director Eric Freas.
Her favorite part of scouting has been the life skills she’s learned as well as the friendships.
“I don’t think I could’ve done this without my brother,” she said of becoming an Eagle scout. “ ... He’s truly pushed me to accomplish every one of my dreams. I am so grateful to be allowed in the Scout program with him. I’m going to cherish the memories we’ve made in scouting forever.” | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-brother-and-sister-both-reach-eagle-scout-rank/article_93063fea-e1e9-11ec-bcaf-bb61c62f9924.html | 2022-06-04T14:36:57 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-brother-and-sister-both-reach-eagle-scout-rank/article_93063fea-e1e9-11ec-bcaf-bb61c62f9924.html |
I can genuinely say I have never sunk my teeth into a sweeter, crunchier cucumber than the variety we grew last summer, The Patio Snacker. Nor have we raised a finer crop of lettuces than the assortment labeled Rocky Top, a variety I discovered a few summers ago. And I marvel at the potatoes we’ve nurtured now for a couple of seasons, The French Fingerling. This week I am writing about these three vegetables, which are just a few of my favorite things.
I was venturing through the online catalog of Seeds n’ Such when the description of The Patio Snacker grabbed my attention, “…only 39 days from transplanting to harvest (60 days if direct seeded). Specially bred, vigorous variety with short branching vines that’s perfect for small gardens and large containers with a small trellis.” Now this, I had to have!
I planted three cucumber seeds in a medium-sized flower pot on June 20 last summer and placed it in a warm (occasionally hot), sunny site on our patio. Seedlings popped out of the soil about seven days later. I was able to keep the cukes evenly moist because I set the pot on a table, enabling me to easily poke my finger into the potting soil to monitor it. I allowed the vines to cascade over the table, which coaxed the fruit to grow straight rather than semi-curled.
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The Patio Snacker cucumbers bear male and female flowers, so I kept a lookout for bees going about their pollinating business. When bees were scarce, I transferred pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers with a clean paintbrush. (Female flowers have a tiny receptacle resembling a baby cucumber attached to the bottom of the flower.) My plants produced many more male flowers than female ones, but we had an admirable crop, nevertheless.
Rocky Top Lettuce Salad blend is the ideal veggie for inexperienced gardeners (or work-shy individuals like me). It is a blend of many varieties of lettuce, including Amish Deer Tongue, Merveille des Quatre Saison, Boston, oakleaf, and some brilliantly colored ones that gave us a pleasant surprise. The majority are sweet and tender, but some are a tad bitter — in other words, there’s a variety for every palette.
My fave is the Amish Deer Tongue, which shows off triangular green leaves on cut-and-come-again plants. It is uniquely heat- and bolt-resistant, meaning the plants won't likely turn bitter and go to seed at the first hint of hot weather. We sow our Rocky Tops in partial shade late May or early June and continue to sow every two or three weeks throughout the summer. Last year our garden favored us with lettuce through most of the summer and past the first week of September. If you have a fully sunny spot, I advise sowing lettuce seeds beginning in July to avoid the hot, blustery days of June.
Perchance you’re wondering why potatoes are on my list of favorite things to grow. After all, your run-of-the-mill potato is dirt cheap at the grocery store, so why go through the bother? French Fingerlings, however, are remarkable; they’re larger than the typical thin, small fingering and carry a hint of nuttiness. The flesh is extra moist and smooth, the skin so delicate, you’ll never need to peel them.
While this spud requires 80-100 days to reach maturity, my husband, Hugh, and I outsmart mother nature by growing them in large, thick, felt-like growing bags. We plant the seed potatoes in the first or second week of April and cover the entire bag with blankets or towels on frosty nights. My family enjoys these potatoes roasted, and there are many recipes for roasted fingerlings on the internet. Of course, they’re also delightful fried, mashed, baked, and in salads.
These are a few of my favorite things, and if you give them a go, they may become yours too.
Cindy Murray is a biologist, co-editor of Gardening Etcetera. and a Coconino Master Gardener with Arizona Cooperative Extension.
If you have a gardening question, email CoconinoMasterGardener@gmail.com or call the Master Gardener Hotline at 928-773-6115 and leave a message. A Master Gardener will get back to you. | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/gardening-etcetera-these-are-a-few-of-my-favorite-things/article_a7ab308c-e38c-11ec-8d25-9fd7619908bf.html | 2022-06-04T14:37:03 | 0 | https://azdailysun.com/news/local/gardening-etcetera-these-are-a-few-of-my-favorite-things/article_a7ab308c-e38c-11ec-8d25-9fd7619908bf.html |
After attending five college signing ceremonies this spring, Chad Schlenker is parting ways with five of his most talented athletes.
Coach of the Flagstaff United Soccer team, Schlenker was part of a team that had a total of seven high school seniors receive scholarships to play soccer at the collegiate level, of which five have accepted.
“It just shows the commitment,” Schlenker said. “Usually you get maybe one, but to get five shows the quality of players that came through the program and just kept with it.”
Lianna Albert, Alondra Carbajal, Mackenzie Cathey, Karina Fuhrmann and Mayrin Soto, who were integral to the club winning the 2021 state championship, will be signing college offers that will take them to colleges out of state.
Each scholarship was given to the players for both athletic and academic merits -- which is referred to as “stacking” scholarships. Schlenker praised the players for their devotion to excellence on and off the field.
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“When you're an athlete, if all you care about is sports, sometimes success won’t last if you don’t focus on academics,” Schlenker said. “It's about your commitment to not only playing the sport but also life, work and school.”
According to Schlenker, each of the players put considerable effort into being talented on the field and in the classroom. The combination helped the players stand out to colleges -- as schools often look for individuals who are well-rounded.
Schlenker has coached the girls since they were on the Flagstaff United Youth soccer program many years ago, so he’s been able to see them grow and develop as a player and as a person.
“I’ve known most of the players on the club team since they were 6 and 7 years old,” Schlenker said. “Now I receive pictures of them where the ball was like twice their size. It's crazy.”
The players have had immeasurable devotion to the program -- which has helped him be able to work on drills and teach the sport. Players understood what was needed in order to beat an opposing team’s defensive scheme or stop a team’s main scorer.
“Commitment to the team is one thing, but next to that is knowledge of the sport,” Schlenker said. “I think that's what flagged these players, because they put in the work and now they get a scholarship, so it’s paid off for them.”
Schlenker said he’s talked with numerous college scouts who had their eye on the five players. One scout in particular complimented Schlenker for the knowledge his players showed during games.
“He told me they were really smart. He didn’t just say that to be nice; he said they really knew the game,” Schlenker said. “He said even current juniors and seniors in college didn't get it. So these players are just way ahead of the curve.”
Albert, a goalkeeper, is signing with Adams State University in Colorado, while Cathey, a striker, is signing with College of Southern Nevada. Fuhrmann, a midfielder, is signing with Bluefield State College in West Virginia.
Carbajal, a goalkeeper and defender, is signing with Ottawa University in Kansas. Being a versatile player, Carbajal said the Flagstaff United Soccer program gave her the skills necessary to improve her abilities, which aided her recruiting process.
“The coaches have always pushed me to be better as both a student and a person. I could always go up to them and ask for advice and they were ready to give it,” Carbajal wrote in a text message. “They gave me the opportunity and support to grow and play competitively. I believe that they pushed me to where I am today.”
Soto, a forward, is signing with Webster University in Missouri. Soto suffered an ACL tear that kept her benched for most of the 2022 season, and there were times when Soto was so frustrated that she considered quitting soccer.
“She wanted to quit and I wouldn't let her,” Schlenker said. “I would call her and tell her her goals could still be met. You can't give up because you feel down. I told her she just had to find a way to make it work.”
“I wanted to quit due to my injury. It took a lot away from me,” Soto wrote in a text message. “I didn’t quit because I love the sport so much, and I knew I couldn’t let my injury take soccer away from me.”
Soto said her coaches helped convince her to persist after the injury and continue playing into college. The coaches believed in her enough to help her through the injury and to make her realize she wanted to reach to the next level of soccer play.
Schlenker’s philosophy in coaching is that players don’t have to be perfect, and there’s always room for mistakes and growth.
“Perfect is a really hard thing to achieve and everyone wants to be perfect, but let's not put too much pressure on somebody,” Schlenker said. “We're all gonna make mistakes. So it's the ones who power through challenges and have constant passion and love for the game that I hope to implement.”
The style of coaching has proved successful for the Flagstaff United, as the team is largely considered one of the best soccer programs in the state for player development. Schlenker said the team sat at around a 70% average winning percentage for the games they played this season and the season prior.
But Schlenker had a tough decision to make about this season. Because there were seven seniors on the team, many were often participating in recruiting trips and weren’t able to make it to practice or a game. Add on two key injuries sustained to starters, and the team often didn’t have enough players to participate in games.
“We chose not to try and defend the 2021 title because my goal was to make sure players were healthy when they went to college showcases,” Schlenker said. “It doesn’t take away from the fact that the team was really successful. They won their fair share of games.”
The team’s success speaks volumes to the culture of excellence at Flagstaff United.
“Flagstaff United is trying to develop players into whole kids in a way that is fun. Our philosophy is that you’ve gotta earn it,” Schlenker said. “We’re definitely a leader in getting kids to college and getting college scholarships through soccer, and that’s why we say it’s premier soccer development.”
The five players are a prime example of the impact Flagstaff United has on its players. Although Schlenker is saying goodbye to them, he’s proud of their achievements and is excited to see what the future holds for them.
“As a coach, I just have so much love and admiration," he said. | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/flagstaff-united-soccer-team-sends-5-seniors-to-college-soccer-programs/article_ec5ccf6e-e2a2-11ec-93e9-d76623f71ef9.html | 2022-06-04T14:37:10 | 1 | https://azdailysun.com/sports/local/flagstaff-united-soccer-team-sends-5-seniors-to-college-soccer-programs/article_ec5ccf6e-e2a2-11ec-93e9-d76623f71ef9.html |
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Police are searching for a missing 15-year-old who was last seen Saturday.
Police say Ruby Norberta Torres was last seen in the 3100 block of East Cheryl Drive.
She is described as being 5'3, weighs 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She has wavy ear length hair and was last seen wearing a tie dye shirt and plaid shorts.
If you know where Torres is, you are asked to contact SAPD's Missing Person Unit at (210) 207-7660. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/sapd-searching-for-missing-teen-news/273-dd8fc404-8bbf-4d86-a1fa-618c5623fcc0 | 2022-06-04T14:43:16 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/sapd-searching-for-missing-teen-news/273-dd8fc404-8bbf-4d86-a1fa-618c5623fcc0 |
For 45 years, generations of Tucsonans celebrated everything from Little League victories to birthday parties at the northwest side Sullivan’s Eatery & Creamery.
Within the next two weeks, though, the restaurant at 6444 N. Oracle Road that started out as an outpost of the national Swensen’s burger and ice cream chain in 1977 will close for good.
Alex Mustaffa, who has owned the restaurant since 2017, said he will close no later than June 15, two weeks before his lease expires. But the closing could come sooner, he said, if he runs out of supplies or doesn’t have enough employees to keep the doors open.
“I think everything has its time,” Mustaffa said. “I think this business model, the time has expired on it.”
Until COVID-19 came along, the family-friendly, no-alcohol business model worked for Sullivan’s.
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“It was a place that generated good memories for people,” said Jerry Sullivan, who with his wife Kathy had run the restaurant from 1986 until selling it to Mustaffa. “We had built up quite a following. I think some of that went away during the pandemic. A lot of people were afraid to go out and older people hesitated to come out because of how the virus affected different age groups.”
When restaurants were forced to close their dining rooms at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Mustaffa transitioned to takeout. He operated a few so-called ghost kitchens — virtual restaurants operated out of existing restaurants through third-party apps — and streamlined the menu so that he wasn’t buying product that would ultimately go to waste. He even toyed with the idea of adding alcohol to the mix, which would have required about an $80,000 investment and at least three years to recoup it, he said.
Mustaffa, a financial strategist and analyst before he bought the restaurant, understood that would have been a losing proposition especially given the perfect storm brewing for independent restaurants like his.
When he reopened his dining room in May 2020, it was at half-capacity. He had trouble getting enough staff to work and a majority of Sullivan’s regulars, many of them older folks, didn’t return. Families also were staying away.
“I understand; I have a family,” said Mustaffa, a Tucson native and father of four young kids whose connection to the restaurant goes back to his childhood. “My wife isn’t taking the kids out as much. People have adjusted their lifestyles. Pre-COVID, three-day weekends were slammed; now, it’s the exact opposite. Any three-day weekend we’re just dead.”
When the Sullivans decided to retire in 2017 — Jerry Sullivan said they were 75 years old and no longer had the stamina needed to run a restaurant — Mustaffa saw the opportunity to buy it as a good investment. For the first couple years, he was right; the restaurant made record profits in 2018 and 2019.
But then the pandemic arrived and sales nose-dived. Longtime customers have yet to return in their pre-pandemic numbers. Even families have slipped off; sales of kids meals is down 50%, Mustaffa said.
Add into that mix nationwide supply chain issues, increased food costs and the hiring dilemma plaguing the hospitality industry and you have that perfect storm that Sullivan alluded to.
“I’m disappointed,” Sullivan said. “I think it just kind of sucked the life out of him. It never seemed to end. There were two of us when we were there, my wife and I. With Alex, he has a wife and four young children. He was by himself as far as running the restaurant. I think it just burned him out.”
Sullivan’s is the latest Tucson restaurant casualty. Since the pandemic, Tucson has lost dozens of restaurants including several that had been around for decades like Sullivan’s. Among them: Poca Cosa downtown, which closed in October 2020 after 36 years; the 25-year-old Fronimo’s Greek Cafe on East Speedway, which closed its doors in January 2021 after failing to negotiate a new lease; B Line Cafe on North Fourth Avenue, which closed in February 2021 after 20 years; and the 27-year-old south-side staple El Indio on South Sixth Avenue, which never reopened after the initial shutdown in March 2020.
Nationwide, some 90,000 restaurants, many of them independently owned, have permanently or temporarily closed since the start of the pandemic, according to a study by the National Restaurant Association. Restaurant industry sales in 2021 are down $65 billion from 2019’s pre-pandemic levels and the industry has 1 million fewer employees than it did in 2019, the association reported.
Mustaffa, who plans to return to his old job as a finance guy in August, said Sullivan’s will be open from noon to 5 p.m. daily until they close, although the operating hours could fluctuate depending on the number of employees available to work.
Restaurants and bars that have opened in the Tucson area in 2022
Tooley's Cafe
299 S. Park Ave
The restaurant at 299 S. Park Ave. will reopen, after a six-year closure, on Friday, June 3, with the original breakfast and lunch menu that dates back to 1989.
Texas Burrito Company
1570 E. Tucson Marketplace Blvd
Suite 100
520-367-6050
This new restaurant on Tucson's south side is run by Jason Scott, who incorporates his Texan roots and barbecue into traditional Sonoran food.
Ren Bakery and Espresso Bar
4320 N. Campbell Ave., #43
520-389-8926
10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Baked goods from muffins and danish to scones and cinnamon rolls that are used in Ren Coffeehouse nearby, and of course, espresso.
Tanna's Botannas
4426 S. Sixth Ave.
520-445-5875
Spicy candies and snacks are on the menu.
Squared Up Pizza
5870 E Broadway
520-519-2000
This pizza spot presents Sicilian pies like you get in New York. Their pies are in the traditional Sicilian square, with a thicker base and crunchy crust.
Frida's Cafe
5526 E Grant Road
520-367-4711
Menu items are inspired by the famous painter couple, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
The Monica
40 E. Congress St.
520-645-1924
The Monica opened as an offshoot of El Charro Café. It is named for El Charro's founder Monica Flin and includes a market along with the restaurant.
BoSa Donuts
6872 E. Tanque Verde Road
520-526-2341
BoSa Donuts serves more than donuts and coffee. You can get lunch there with sandwiches and other drinks.
Bun Dock Vietnamese Noodle
3225 N. Swan Road, Suite 111
520-274-7419
The restaurant specializes in Vietnamese Bún (Vermicelli Salad Bowls)
Cruda Mariscos & Oyster Bar
31 N. Scott Ave.
520-207-0589
Cruda is the newest in a slew of opulent, Mexican-influenced restaurants across Tucson. It was opened by Danny Cordova in the space left when his first downtown venture, La Chingada, moved into the former location of the now-closed restaurant Cafe Poca Cosa.
Fullylove's
994 E. University Blvd.
520-534-7896
This lunch to late-night munchies spot has classic and vegan burgers and sandwiches and sides and a considerable dessert menu.
Guadalajara Grille
5955 W. Arizona Pavilions Drive
520-296-4221
This Mexican restaurant at 5955 W. Arizona Pavilions Drive is the third location for chef-owner Seth Holzman, which include Guadalajara Grill Mexican, 4901 E. Broadway, and Guadalajara Grill Fiesta, 750 N. Kolb Road. It has the same menu of classic Mexican food.
Midtown Vegan Deli and Market
5071 E. Fifth St.
520-849-5553
Tanya Barnett started her deli and market out of a desire to make veganism more accessible — for meat eaters and die-hard vegans alike. She asked vegans what ingredients they needed to find and placed them on her first order.
Ni Hao Tea
2800 N. Campbell Ave.
Ni Hao Tea, with this new location, serves Boba tea and smoothies.
The Century Room at Hotel Congress
311 E. Congress St.
520-622-8848
hotelcongress.com/family/century-room
Tucson's only jazz club, The Century Room borderlands jazz club and mezcal tasting lounge, is in the former Copper Hall banquet space at at Hotel Congress.
The Delta
135 S. Sixth Ave.
520-524-3400
The Delta officially opened on New Year’s Day. It is the downtown sister project of local favorite The Parish.
Tucsonans might recognize The Parish as a restaurant that transforms an Oro Valley strip mall into a shot of New Orleans. The Delta will feature the same Southern Hospitality it will be a bar with a grill menu instead of the Parish's gumbo.
Bata
35 E. Toole Ave.
Bata is owned by Tyler Fenton, who, with two siblings, also owns Reilly Craft Pizza and Drink. The menu will consist of foods touched by fire, whether being grilled, charred, flame dried or burned (on purpose).
Pacaws Wings & Things
6255 E. Golf Links Road
520-526-2857
facebook.com/pages/category/Food-Truck/Pacaws-Wings-Things-LLC-105721851726183/
Opened March 17.
Ceres owner's 'second wild child' fresh pasta restaurant Noodies is NOW OPEN
Editor's note: This story was originally published on March 8, 2022. Noodies opened on April 15, 2022.
Noodies! When owner Carolyn O’Connor says the word out loud, it sounds like a party, a celebration.
The name belongs to her new pasta restaurant, opening later this month, in the space formerly occupied by Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea. Carolyn is totally re-imagining the place, complete with a mural painted by a friend who happens to experiment with abstract noodle shapes. There isn’t a better word for it than “fun.”
Noodies is a Tucson inheritance. But its lineage, like sister restaurant Ceres, comes from all over. If Ceres is inspired by the pastries and pasta of northern Italy, Noodies draws material from the checkered-tablecloth Italian-American of Syracuse, with some help by way of Hong Kong.
Syracuse is Carolyn’s hometown. It’s where she was pregnant, scrolling Pinterest, when the algorithm realized she needed more brightly-colored images of cha chaan teng — American-style diners in Hong Kong, where you can get condensed-milk French toast and macaroni soup. Those hues inspire the setting of Noodies today, if not the menu.
Though both restaurants share the foundation of Carolyn’s handmade pasta, Carolyn is clear that each restaurant is its own concept. “Ceres always felt like my baby. The first time going into something, everything was really new. Because of that everything feels so precious … Noodies felt almost like having a second child … Noodies is colorful; the food is a little more gluttonous and cheesy. I see it as a wild second child or something.”
While you will be able to get your favorite sauces from Ceres at Noodies — the tomato basil, the bolognese, the cacio e pepe — Noodies’ larger kitchen allows Carolyn to expand the menu. You’ll be able to add Italian sausage, meatballs and burrata to your order. Unlike Ceres’ lunch counter, Noodies will have both indoor and outdoor seating. Their menu will also offer sandwiches Carolyn misses from her hometown, like meatball subs and Italian grinders.
Though Carolyn never thought she would go into the restaurant business — her parents are in academics — her mother’s hospitality inspires Carolyn’s restaurants.
“My mom, she’s a really good cook, and she loves having a real dinner. She sets the table, puts out napkins, does all this stuff, makes a whole beautiful meal and a pie, tea and coffee, so she creates this whole experience for people, and it makes people feel so loved and appreciated. It’s also a legacy in my own family, taking care of people through food,” she said.
The “also” responds to Noodies’ more apparent legacy: Noodies is taking over the lease of her mother-in-law Jo Schneider’s first restaurant, Bentley’s, which occupied that space for over two decades. If Carolyn’s own mother gave her a love for feeding her community, Carolyn’s mother-in-law inspired her to make service her livelihood.
“Going into the restaurant business or being an entrepreneur was so different than what I expected (for my life). The trust (the Schneider family has) put in me, the support, how they’re always there for me, with anything. It’s such a testament to their kindness and generosity. I think Jo does that for a lot of people in this community, giving people a chance when maybe other people wouldn’t, and let them shine,” she said of Jo, who owns downtown’s LaCo.
At both Ceres and Noodies, Carolyn aspires to be that support system for her own employees. She hosts weekly tasting sessions for staff, where they all sample the specials, the soft-serve flavors and give feedback. “Everyone who works there respects everyone else and works really hard. It’s such a good thing for workplace morale. It’s very collaborative, so everyone feels really listened to,” Carolyn said.
“There’s two staff at Ceres who have been there since the day we opened,” she said. “They now know how to do everything. They’re more or less managing Ceres for the shifts, every day … I really wouldn’t have been able to take on the new project without them.”
Workers at Ceres have to be able to do it all: cook pasta and take orders and make espresso — because the space to work is tiny. Though the larger venue at Noodies allows for more specialization, people working in the front versus the back of house, Carolyn aspires for the restaurants to cross-pollinate.
“I have everyone try cooking lunch. I love it so much. It’s really fast … I think a lot of women, especially, are really intimidated to go into a kitchen and work in a line … I think giving people the chance who wouldn’t maybe necessarily think that’s a good fit for them, the opportunity to cook in a fast-paced place, and realize: I could be really good at this.
“We just started accepting resumes for Noodies. I’m not sure what the kitchen will look like, or the front of house. We wrote that all are welcome to apply. I really hope people will.”
Noodies
Location: 1726 E. Speedway
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday-Monday.
For more information, check out their Instagram.
Tucson's new food truck park is tucked into a former gas station parking lot — and the food is incredible
Amber Donahue and Chris Frisch were running a thriving sports therapy business, traveling across the United States with elite athletes, when the pandemic hit.
“Overnight, our jobs were obsolete,” Amber said. “So we started thinking about businesses we could do that were pandemic-proof.”
As they traveled for work, through cities like Austin, Texas; Portland and Bend, Oregon; and Nashville, Tennessee, they noticed these cities each had food truck parks. They liked that the concept had a small footprint: it’s simply making a setting to bring together food trucks and the people who love them. And Tucson, the foodie city where their eldest daughter was recently hired as a high school teacher, didn’t have a food truck park yet.
“We thought we could bring something to this town we loved vacationing in so much,” Amber said.
After nearly a year of development, their new food truck park, The Pit, opened last weekend at 7889 E. 22nd St. “The property used to be a haunted Scooby Doo gas station,” Amber said.
“Remember the gas stations you see in the middle of nowhere? That’s what we walked into,” she said. “We gutted the whole thing and kept it bare: we have coolers full of drinks, a few snacks and decorated it with kitschy awkward family photos, just made it a place that is clean and comfortable.”
The station itself is used as a central bar to complement the sizable outdoor space they cleared of debris and turned into seating. They also built a stage for live music on weekends and have plans in the works to install misters and build more shade for the summer. Many of their materials were sourced from community donations, from families and local businesses.
“We want this to be a place people can come in the evening,” Amber said.
The business partners decided on a rotating food truck schedule so people who live in the area can experience a variety of different vendors. Harris Hotstuff, a made-to-order barbecue truck, is only set up on the weekends, while you can get Hermanos Tacos and Lebanese food truck Homemade Mediterranean during the week.
“The woman who runs Homemade Mediterranean is the hardest working person I know,” Amber said.
Amber and Chris will soon be adding a Jamaican food truck, and are looking for a pizza truck and a truck that does Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Filipino noodle dishes.
Though the two divorced seven years ago, they are involved co-parents. Last year, they bought homes near each other, both in the Catalina Foothills School District. “Our success is based on building a legacy for our children, which is something we both agree with, always,” Amber said.
When I visited, every single thing I tried stood out as one of the best meals I’ve eaten all year. I was amazed at the curated selection of food trucks.
When I asked co-owner Chris about it, he said that the park has a special culture. Everyone is super kind and they help each other out. “We open up in the mornings, Homemade Mediterranean locks up at night. Cuppa GoGo helps clean the bathrooms. We all pitch in,” he said.
The result is a tight community of vendors, each with outstanding customer service and even more special food.
The Pit is currently home to six regular trucks, with three more coming soon, and seven visiting trucks. Here’s what you can get:
Homemade Mediterranean
This Lebanese sandwich place, Homemade Mediterranean, is simply amazing. I will be going back to try every item on their curated menu. I ordered their koefte sandwich, which is a vibrantly spiced beef patty tucked into a pita that rivals Tucson’s best flour tortillas: thin and almost laminated in its flakiness, but with a slightly more bready texture. The condiments are also stars: slightly sweet, slightly umami pickle with parsley salsa and tomato.
They had an extra falafel lying around when I stopped by and they let me try that too: perfectly crunchy with a slightly softer inside, with a dusting of sesame seeds. In my humble opinion, Lebanese hummus is the best of the Mediterranean, and I can only imagine how yummy their falafel sandwich with hummus and tahini must be.
I also got a side of fries, which I habitually get alongside Mediterranean food. I need to research why the region has french fries down pat: somehow they get extra crunchy on the outside, with a custardy middle. Heavenly.
Homemade Mediterranean is open 12:30-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 12:30-6 p.m. Sunday.
Bemo’s Ol’ Joe’s
Stop by Bemo's Ol' Joe's and you might find the now-closed Hog Pit co-owner, Les Baxter, sitting in a folding chair, welcoming you with a big smile. He's teamed up with chef Donald Adkins to bring you a food-truck concept with a pared-down menu, but full-volume flavor. Donald insisted I try the tot-chos, which were over-the-top in exactly the best way.
Tot-chos consist of five layers. The base, of course, are tater tots — fried, not baked. Tots’ signature riced texture and substantial crust will hold up to the hearty toppings: first a layer of melted sprinkle cheese, then a generous portion of melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork, doused in sauce and finished with a serving of slaw. While each ingredient is indulgent, they are in such perfect ratio that each bite is in harmony. I loved this place.
On my way out of The Pit, I saw someone eating a chicken sandwich from Bemo’s. I asked her how she liked it. To my surprise, she puckered her face like she was about to come up with the worst insult she possibly could, and delivered one line: “I wish there was more sauce.”
Bemo’s Ol’ Joe’s is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Hermanos Tacos
Trust me when I’ve said, I’ve eaten a lot of carne asada.
Hermanos has the real deal: succulent, a little chewy but tender, with a little crisp on some of the edges. The flour tortillas are thin, stretchy and just substantial enough to deliver the meat, pico and a splash of bright green salsa to your eager taste buds.
The one-man operation also makes impressive-looking raspados, as I witnessed from the woman who ordered in front of me, then hopped back in her truck, raspado in hand. I was so jealous.
This place is cash only, so keep that in mind.
Hermanos Tacos is open 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Other food trucks on the regular roster:
- Cuppa GoGo — Coffee with syrups and sauces made from scratch, open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily
- Moncho's Mex — Tacos, burros, quesadillas and more Mexican favorites, open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday-Monday
- Harris Hotstuff — Made-to-order barbecue, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Coming soon: Jamaican, Italian and sushi!
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/northwest-side-mainstay-sullivans-eatery-creamery-closing/article_7eb8ba6a-c59a-11ec-8cea-bbfc420d7ada.html | 2022-06-04T14:47:01 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/northwest-side-mainstay-sullivans-eatery-creamery-closing/article_7eb8ba6a-c59a-11ec-8cea-bbfc420d7ada.html |
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
It was always a Saturday afternoon treat, the matinee movies at the Marlow Hippodrome in our small town. We were 9 years old and most of the movies were the exciting cowboy ones. We’d see either Gene Autry or Roy Rogers as our favorite heroes. Sometimes there would even be Hopalong Cassidy and maybe a few Lone Rangers.
In every one, our heroes would be fighting off the bad guys and that often entailed drawing out those long Colt 45 six-shooters and chasing the villains on horseback, blasting those guns away. The good guys, of course, always won.
After seeing one of those movies, my brother and I and several of our buddies would then try and replicate the movie we saw. At first, we simply formed our hands in the shape of a make-believe gun and would shout “bang bang” and then argue who should have fallen to the ground and who was allowed to remain standing.
Then, when Christmas came around we got as presents a real toy replica of those cowboy six-shooters with what was known then as cap pistols. Small pieces of thin cardboard with six small pouches of gunpowder pasted in strategic places would fit on the round chamber and serve as the “bullets” for the gun. When fired there was this distinctive “pop, pop” sound and on any given reenactment of the cowboy movie, the play yard on the side of our house would sound like the Fourth of July. There was no longer an argument as to who should fall to the ground. Whichever gun went “pop, pop” first was the one allowed to keep standing.
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Back then “gun” was a single word. For all we knew it was used for cowboy movies, for hunting ducks and pheasant, for policemen and for use in World War II, which had just ended. At age 9 we never heard of such things as murders where a gun was used. Ours was a time of innocence and only cowboys and policemen and hunters and soldiers had guns. We never really knew what a real gun sounded like, only the “pop, pop” our cap pistols made.
Today, that innocence is obsolete. The word “gun” is now a double word. Today we speak of “gun violence.” No longer do small 9-year-olds pretend to be rough-and-tough cowboys with their fake Colt 45’s. Today, youngsters are bringing real guns to school and firing real bullets at real classmates and causing real deaths.
There is no shouting as to who must fall to the ground. The young gunman made that choice with his gun. There is no replica of a cowboy shootout. The young gunman wasn’t pretending. And youngsters grow up to become mentally disturbed adults seeking out innocent victims because of a hate or fear or a grudge that has taken over their mind and using a real gun to kill real people. And guns have replaced talking things out to settle an argument. They let the guns do the talking.
Back when we went to the movies on a Saturday afternoon we walked to the Hippodrome from our house unaccompanied, unafraid of anything. We walked in our innocence.
Today, we have become leery of going anywhere, leery of making that trip to the grocery store or to a restaurant or even to a movie theater simply because gun violence has become a way of life. We no longer walk in our innocence. We no longer take life for granted.
Gone are the Saturday matinees with the cowboy heroes. Gone are the pretend reenactments of those movies. Gone are the days when a young boy’s innocence did not give a second thought to pretending to shoot a gun at someone else because it was all make-believe.
But worst of all, gone now is “gun” as a single word.
Robert Nordmeyer is a freelance writer in Tucson. | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-our-make-believe-bang-bang-days-are-long-gone/article_f2620a20-e2a5-11ec-b703-bff8746bd5cf.html | 2022-06-04T14:47:07 | 0 | https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-our-make-believe-bang-bang-days-are-long-gone/article_f2620a20-e2a5-11ec-b703-bff8746bd5cf.html |
CROWN POINT — You might excuse people for acting corny this weekend at Bulldog Park.
The Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual Corn Roast, a free, two-day festival to kick off summertime in Northwest Indiana.
With presenting sponsor Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute, the Crossroads Chamber is offering two days of food and refreshments, exhibits, children’s activities and live entertainment.
Last year the chamber combined the corn roast with the dedication of Jerry Ross Park. This year’s festival reflects a community coming out of the pandemic, and Deann Patena, chamber president and CEO, could not be happier.
Writing to membership on the chamber website, Patena stated, “We couldn’t be more thankful to you for continuing to be members in these challenging times. The chamber is stronger than ever and our events are doing great.”
Those activities include monthly luncheons on third Tuesdays, and Coffee, Community, & Connecting on fourth Thursdays.
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“It feels great. It’s going to be a great weekend,” Patena noted. “College kids are back home, and families are ready to get going for the summer."
Merging 12 years ago, the Crossroads Regional Chamber has 550 members, spanning from the south suburbs of Chicago to South Bend.
Other annual chamber activities include a Business Expo in May, a golf outing in July, the Gala in November and a business excellence awards program, coming in March 2023.
Corn Roast fun began Friday with six hours of activities, including Farmer Dan on his acoustic guitar and Mr. Funny Man Band. About 25 food vendors are offering their specialties.
On Saturday, food vendors and the Kids Zone are open noon to 11 p.m. The beer garden opens at 2 p.m., as does the beanbag tournament. DJ music also begins at 2 p.m., with musician Jack Cunningham performing at 5 p.m. and the High Street Band hitting the stage from 7 to 10 p.m.
Among the food vendors is Ann Berger, owner of Annie’s Kettle Creations in Crown Point. In her business’ ninth season, Berger said, “It was tough, but we survived the pandemic.”
Using the internet and other sources, “We found a reason to sell,” Berger said. “We’re so happy to start again. When it was time, we were ready.”
The Prime Steakhouse booth was offering extra-large hamburgers. Peter Klideris' family owns four restaurants in Crown Point, Highland and St. John. Coming off his eateries’ best year in 2021, Klideris foresees an even better 2022.
“People have been coming out, and they’re tired of the pandemic,” Klideris said, citing quality and quantity for his company’s success.
“We have put together a good team, and we’re family-owned,” Klideris added. “There’s always a family member at one of our restaurants. They work side by side with our team members, who appreciate that.”
It would not be a corn roast without corn, and several outlets offered the golden vegetable. Among them was the South Lake County Shrine Club. When members weren’t cracking jokes, they served up plenty of corn.
Shrine Al Pante said his group planned on cooking 70 dozen ears Friday and another 50 dozen ears on Saturday.
“We do this every year,” Pante said. “We’re the ones who originated this roast.”
All proceeds from the group’s corn sales benefit Orak Shrine charities, including Shriner hospitals.
When the corn roast formerly took place on the courthouse square, the Shriner booth was located in front of the Masonic temple.
“I enjoy the camaraderie with the Shriner brothers,” Pante said of the annual project that traditionally ran the first weekend in June. The 2021 roast was moved to July, and the mid-summer heat reduced corn sales, Pante and others said.
Other eateries at the roast featured more exotic cuisine. That included One13North in Crown Point, which opened in 2019 and grew in spite of the pandemic.
As owner Manolie Pappas commented, “It was rough, but we got through it. We’re still kinda struggling, but we’re here and happy to be open.”
Survival, Pappas said, came down to, among other things, long days and short staff.
Pappas describes his cuisine as “basic food with an Asian twist.”
Meanwhile, roast goers milled about underneath the Bulldog Park covering, while others headed for the sun-soaked amphitheater and the acoustic guitar of Farmer Dan. Among the music fans were family members of Rhea Dailey, of Lakes of the Four Seasons.
“It feels great to get out in the fresh air with people, enjoying good music,” Dailey said.
At her first chamber Corn Roast, Dailey added, “I’m loving it. Good food, and we know Farmer Dan.”
Dailey’s family chowed down to kluski noodles, sauerkraut, and pierogi.
Jack Sanchez, of Cedar, Lake also brought his family to its first corn roast. Besides a large pretzel, Sanchez’s family tried Mexican corn and a Cubano sandwich, which has ham, other pork meat, pickle and sauce.
“It’s pretty good,” Sanchez said. “Good food vendors, the live music is good, just a good atmosphere. It’s nice having a night out.” | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/crown-point/things-getting-corny-at-annual-crossroads-chamber-roast/article_3354f8ba-e89f-500f-a01b-94fef1d6c50b.html | 2022-06-04T15:00:24 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/crown-point/things-getting-corny-at-annual-crossroads-chamber-roast/article_3354f8ba-e89f-500f-a01b-94fef1d6c50b.html |
The U.S. Forest Service violated environmental laws in approving exploratory drilling by a Canadian company hoping to build a gold mine in Idaho west of Yellowstone National Park, two environmental groups said.
The Idaho Conservation League and Greater Yellowstone Coalition filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court last week to stop Excellon Idaho Gold's Kilgore Gold Exploration Project in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Clark County.
The groups site potential harm to grizzly bears, wolverines, lynx, bighorn sheep, whitebark pine trees, Columbia spotted frogs and Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Grizzly bears in the area are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and whitebark pine, a grizzly bear food source, has been proposed for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Excellon Idaho Gold is a subsidiary of Toronto, Ontario-based Excellon Resources Inc. It acquired the project from British Columbia-based Otis Gold Corporation in 2020.
Otis Gold Corporation said the area contains at least 825,000 ounces of gold near the surface, and potentially more below. It said it was looking at possibly building an open-pit mine if exploration finds that the gold is mostly near the surface, or an underground mine if the gold is deeper. Those types of mines would require additional approval from the Forest Service.
Excellon Idaho Gold on its website says it's too early to determine how the project might develop, but it is committed to open and transparent communication.
The environmental groups filed a similar lawsuit in 2018 to stop exploratory drilling by Otis Gold Corporation and won. The Forest Service in November 2021 approved a new plan involving road building and 130 drill stations put forward by Excellon Idaho Gold. Those operations, according to the lawsuit, are scheduled to start on July 15.
Excellon Idaho Gold is not named as a defendant in the most recent lawsuit. In the previous lawsuit, Otis Gold Corporation intervened on the side of the Forest Service.
The environmental groups in the new lawsuit said the Forest Service opted to approve the project by applying the White House Council on Environmental Quality changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, following an executive order by former President Donald Trump seeking to accelerate the environmental review process.
"Although there are several pending cases challenging the 2020 regulations as inconsistent with the core tenets of NEPA, the Forest Service elected to apply the 2020 regulations and ignored the Kilgore Project's likely significant effects," the lawsuit states.
The groups also said the exploratory drilling violates the Forest Service Act of 1897 that includes protections for national forests. Additionally, the groups said the Forest Service should complete an environmental impact statement, a much longer review process than the one the agency used in approving the exploratory drilling.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which defends federal agencies in lawsuits, didn't immediately respond to an inquiry sent through its online portal.
The Idaho Conservation League and Greater Yellowstone Coalition initially sought to reopen the first case and file a supplemental complaint, but that plan was rejected by the court. So the groups filed an entirely new lawsuit starting a new case.
The court in the previous lawsuit ruled that the Forest Service didn't violate environmental laws in determining the exploratory drilling wouldn't overly harm grizzly bears, whitebark pine or Columbia spotted frogs.
But those concerns are taken up again in the new lawsuit, with the groups citing changing conditions from when the initial lawsuit was filed.
"The Kilgore Project site is also home to individuals and habitat for numerous special-status and at-risk terrestrial species of wildlife and plants, including grizzly bear, wolverine, lynx, elk, whitebark pine, and others found in the Centennial Mountains," the lawsuit states.
The groups also said grizzly bears travel through the area resulting in important genetic diversity for the population.
"The Centennial Mountains are one of the key corridors for (Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem) grizzly to connect with grizzlies from other populations in the Northern Rockies," the lawsuit states. | https://www.postregister.com/news/local/groups-file-new-lawsuit-to-stop-idaho-gold-mine-drilling/article_462af769-98a7-5ed9-9ee2-2c6aa760c427.html | 2022-06-04T15:03:09 | 1 | https://www.postregister.com/news/local/groups-file-new-lawsuit-to-stop-idaho-gold-mine-drilling/article_462af769-98a7-5ed9-9ee2-2c6aa760c427.html |
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Indian celebrities and Bollywood stars walked a green carpet at the start of the International Indian Film Academy awards in Abu Dhabi.
The Friday night ceremony had been twice canceled in the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the famous of Bollywood arrived in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, excited to be a part of the ceremony.
“Magic is going to happen because the moment I entered Abu Dhabi,” Indian singer Tanishk Bagchi said on the green carpet. “I had a vibe that what a place to perform, what a place to perform and my own songs I am singing for the first time. It is an amazing place, it is an amazing vibe.”
Indian actress Sharvari Wagh acknowledged the links between the UAE — a nation of 9 million people where Indians represent an estimated 3.5 million — and the Bollywood scene.
”I think that this is a great opportunity to connect with a lot of people who are such big fans of Bollywood,” she said. “I think there is a huge market here that has been loving our films, so I think it is great to be here and share these moments with them.”
That was something echoed by Andre Timmins, the co-founder of IIFA Wizcraft, which put on the awards ceremony.
”We all love Abu Dhabi because it is close to India and with similar culture and our cinema and film producers are back home (and) feel comfortable shooting in Abu Dhabi, so I am here to build better relations through cinema,” Timmins said.
He added: “I think what we are trying to do and which we are already doing is actually bringing knowledge here so while we come and shoot here. We also use lot of local people to learn the technology of what we have been” doing.
The awards will conclude Saturday night. | https://www.cbs42.com/local/abu-dhabi-hosts-a-pandemic-delayed-bollywood-awards-ceremony/ | 2022-06-04T15:10:02 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/local/abu-dhabi-hosts-a-pandemic-delayed-bollywood-awards-ceremony/ |
LONDON (AP) — As designer Clary Salandy pushes open the kitchen door at a nondescript community center in west London, her visitors pause, astonished by what they find.
A dozen giraffe heads, crafted in shades of orange and brown with top hats and flowing eyelashes, smile in a tidy row atop the commercial-grade stove, while a pair of zebras peer out from a corner near the refrigerator.
That sense of surprise is exactly what Salandy hopes people will experience on Sunday, when the giraffes and zebras join a troupe of dancing elephants and flamingos outside Buckingham Palace as part of the pageant that will cap off four days of festivities celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne. In the meantime, the plastic foam beasts will remain locked in the kitchen for safekeeping.
Salandy and her team at Mahogany Carnival Arts want their playful reimagining of the setting where the young Princess Elizabeth learned she was queen in 1952, while on a wildlife expedition in Kenya, to spark a sense of fun and fantasy in a nation recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
They want, in short, to inspire joy.
“When you see it, you should go, ‘Wow! You know, that’s amazing!’’’ Salandy said. “We’re going to lift people out of COVID and take them forward when they finish. People should feel positive that life is coming back and we’re going to move forward and back into enjoying our lives.”
That message will be delivered by a group of 250 artists and performers from the African-Caribbean community, which was particularly hit hard by the pandemic and is now being squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis.
But the performers want to reach out to everyone with a presentation that celebrates the diversity of Britain and the Commonwealth.
Children will become swans, older people will zoom around in mobility scooters decked out as flamingos and dancers will bring the giraffes and zebras to life, perhaps even to mingle with the crowds.
Another group of dancers will unite to form the queen’s coronation robe, with the symbols of every major faith and nods to all 54 Commonwealth nations woven into its purple and white fabric.
The dances and costumes — really wearable sculptures — grow out of the traditions of Carnival as it is celebrated in the Caribbean. That heritage inspired the Notting Hill Carnival, a celebration of Caribbean culture that has grown into Europe’s largest street festival. The end of summer party was canceled the last two years because of the pandemic.
Artist Carl Gabriel, who is collaborating with Mahogany, is still putting the finishing touches on an 85-kilogram (nearly 200-pound) bust of the queen, complete with crown and diamond necklace, that will form the centerpiece of the performance. On its plinth, it is four meters (13 feet) tall.
Gabriel has spent months building the sculpture using the traditional technique of wire-bending together with his own innovations. Created by painstakingly bending bits of wire around a metal frame using an assortment of pliers and hammers, the almost finished work resembles a giant macrame project. After he donned safety glasses and a leather apron at his studio on London, he said he wants the work to have meaning for the queen — and many others besides.
“I feel a lot of people are suffering,’’ Gabriel said. “The least I could do is provide those who suffered a hard time some enjoyment by presenting the work to them.’’
At its heart, the performance is a celebration of the queen’s 70 years of service, said Nicola Cummings, a costumer maker and a teacher at Queen’s Park Community School, who is working with 24 young dancers. The queen is at the heart of it all.
“Every visit that she’s ever been on, every time that she’s come out, she’s always represented the country at its best. We’ve never seen her looking scruffy,” Cummings said. “For that alone, you know, we’ve got to give back now. Here we are. We’re showing her our best.”
But the performance also carries a message of rejuvenation.
Mahogany’s community was an epicenter of the first outbreak of COVID-19, and the months of preparation for the jubilee have lifted the performers, many of whom lost family members during the pandemic.
Just as the queen promised the nation at the height of the pandemic that people would meet their friends and families again, so the performers are celebrating the ability to dance again as part of a community — a group even tighter now than before.
Cummings will be thinking about her father, who was also involved in carnivals. He died of COVID-19 last year.
“I feel like I’m representing him in a way,’’ she said, unable to hold back the tears. “This is almost like tribute to him.”
___
Follow AP’s coverage of Queen Elizabeth II at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii | https://www.cbs42.com/local/pageant-participants-in-queens-jubilee-celebrate-diverse-uk/ | 2022-06-04T15:10:09 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/local/pageant-participants-in-queens-jubilee-celebrate-diverse-uk/ |
MADRID (AP) — Colombian pop star Shakira and her partner, Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué, are splitting up, the pair said in a statement released Saturday.
“We regret to confirm that we are separating,” the two said in a statement released by Shakira’s public relations firm. “For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”
Shakira, 45, met the Barcelona defender while she was promoting her 2010 World Cup anthem, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).” The couple have two children, Sasha and Milan.
In recent days, rumors of the demise of the couple’s 11-year relationship had gripped Spanish media, fueled by media reports that Piqué, 35, had left the family’s home in Barcelona and was living by himself in the city. | https://www.cbs42.com/local/shakira-confirms-split-with-soccer-star-pique/ | 2022-06-04T15:10:17 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/local/shakira-confirms-split-with-soccer-star-pique/ |
LONDON (AP) — Two future monarchs will pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at a special concert in front of Buckingham Palace on Saturday, the third day of the Platinum Jubilee extravaganza marking her 70 years on the throne.
Prince Charles and Prince William, the queen’s son and grandson, are to address a live audience of 22,000 and millions more watching on television. The event featuring Alicia Keys and Queen + Adam Lambert will take place in a temporary amphitheater built around the Victoria Memorial outside the palace.
David Beckham and tennis player Emma Raducanu will also attend, while Diana Ross will close the show with her first U.K. live performance in 15 years. The concert is also expected to feature a pre-recorded performance by Elton John.
The 96-year-old monarch is expected to miss the evening outdoor event, which may also be hit with some rain. The queen has had problems moving around lately, which the palace describes as “episodic mobility issues,” limiting her public appearances in recent months.
The sovereign also opted not to attend the Epsom Derby on Saturday. Instead, she was represented at the prestigious annual horse race by her daughter, Princess Anne, who appeared in the royal box with her family Saturday to crowds cheering and waving Union flags.
The queen is widely known as an avid horse lover, and she has only missed the Epsom Derby a handful of times during her long reign. On Saturday, five of her former racehorses were paraded, and 40 jockeys who have ridden for the queen formed a guard of honor before the national anthem was played.
“She’s been breeding horses for over 60 years. She knows all the blood lines and she’s won lots of races and she’s very knowledgeable,” Frankie Dettori, who lined part of the course with fellow jockeys, told the BBC.
“I’m sure today she’ll find a TV and she’s going to watch it live, because she loves the Derby so much,” he added.
It was the second time in as many days that the queen’s mobility issues have robbed crowds of a chance to see her.
On Friday, the queen skipped a special service of Thanksgiving in her honor at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Palace officials said she had experienced “some discomfort” at events the day before, which included waving to huge crowds from Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were among nearly 50 members of the royal family who gathered Friday at St. Paul’s to honor the absent head of state. It was the couple’s first public appearance in the U.K. since they stepped back from royal duties and moved to California two years ago.
In another sign of thawing relations, royal accounts on Twitter wished Harry and Meghan’s daughter Lilibet a happy first birthday. Lilibet turned one on Saturday. She and her older brother, Archie, haven’t yet made an appearance during this trip.
“Wishing Lilibet a very Happy 1st Birthday!” the Royal Family account tweeted.
Meanwhile, other members of the royal family travelled to Wales and Northern Ireland as part of celebrations across the U.K.
William and his wife Kate brought two of their three children — 8-year-old Prince George and 7-year-old Princess Charlotte — to Cardiff Castle in Wales before a separate concert in the castle grounds in honor of the queen.
The queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited a 1950s-themed seaside funfair in Belfast. Edward tried his hand at pulling a pint of Guinness at a diner, while Sophie took in a ‘50s and ’60s dance demonstration.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of Queen Elizabeth II at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii | https://www.cbs42.com/local/two-future-kings-set-to-honor-elizabeth-at-jubilee-concert/ | 2022-06-04T15:10:24 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/local/two-future-kings-set-to-honor-elizabeth-at-jubilee-concert/ |
A Queens high school teacher arrested this week for allegedly harassing two female students in the matter of a couple days, threatened at least one of them to keep his actions quiet, the district attorney said.
Shannon Hall, 31, faces charges including forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated harassment. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said is a teacher at Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences High School.
Hall allegedly grabbed a 14-year-old female student's breast and sent suggestive texts to a 16-year-old student on May 25. He's accused of groping the young student inside his classroom.
In text messages sent to the 16-year-old student, Hall allegedly told her "I want to be with you." The next day he apologized in another text message saying he was drunk, Katz said.
At the Queens high school, Hall is accused of telling the older student he was jealous of her and a male student, and later that day sent additional texts saying he wanted to smoke and have sex with her. He followed up those messages telling the 16-year-old she would be dead if she showed the texts to anyone, the district attorney said.
Hall was arraigned Friday. If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail. Attorney information for the 31-year-old was not immediately known.
His arrest came just hours after a Connecticut teacher was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a teen student and sending inappropriate texts to others. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/queens-teacher-preyed-on-female-students-threatened-ones-life-over-suggestive-texts-da/3720094/ | 2022-06-04T16:00:59 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/queens-teacher-preyed-on-female-students-threatened-ones-life-over-suggestive-texts-da/3720094/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Hundreds of racers and walkers participated in the 6th annual CommUNITY Rainbow Run to remember the lives lost in the Pulse tragedy.
The sounds of cheers and clapping motivated the participants to push forward while dodging raindrops. And even as they all moved at different speeds, they all felt the beat of one pulse.
“Feels like yesterday,” participant Joel Ogburn said.
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This year marks the first time Joel Ogburn has participated in the CommUNITY Rainbow Run. The race benefits the onePULSE Foundation as well as the National Pulse Memorial and Museum.
The sea of rainbow racers made their way along the 4.9K course. Many took a moment to stop at the Pulse interim memorial site and remember the 49 lives lost.
“This is a somber moment where you realize, it all puts in perspective why you’re doing this and who you’re doing it for,” Ogburn said.
Melissa Smith said this is her fourth year participating in the race. She said seeing all of the love and support six years after the tragedy shows just how strong Orlando really is.
“It’s nice to have the community here, it’s nice to see people brought together and that’s what I love is having the community together,” Smith said.
This year’s race has even more meaning for some, including Ogburn, who said this gives him hope in light of recent policies passed by Florida lawmakers affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
“Love always wins. Hate will always try, but love always wins, even through the political climate,” Ogburn said. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/04/community-rainbow-run-honors-pulse-victims/ | 2022-06-04T16:23:59 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/06/04/community-rainbow-run-honors-pulse-victims/ |
Borderwallapalooza — that’s the name of an event that vigilantes on the southern Arizona border are planning for Fourth of July weekend in a national refuge, which seems to be legal as long as it stays on federal land within 60 feet of the border.
The small group of men recently was camping along the border wall near Sasabe, Arizona. They are promoting what they’re calling a “social gathering to bring awareness to the exploitation of trafficked immigrant children,” in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, from July 1 through 4.
The men, some of whom were recently written about in the New York Times, promote QAnon and a number of other conspiracy theories.
A website dedicated to the event says musicians and vendors are to be announced and that attendees should bring “anything you would want to be comfortable to camp out.”
“It's official please help get it out so we can raise as much awareness as we can and get a few thousand people here to shine light on these kids that are being trafficed (sic) through the border,” an organizer posted on social media.
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The place where the men had been camped, before recently leaving but saying they would be back, is in the refuge but actually on the Roosevelt Reservation, federal land that runs along much of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Camping is allowed on most federal lands as long as it “does not conflict with other authorized uses or in areas posted ‘closed to camping,’” according to the Bureau of Land Management.
Although Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge laws and regulations say people are only allowed to camp in designated spots, both the BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the refuge, said the 60-foot-wide strip of land along the border in the refuge is managed under jurisdiction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Customs and Border Protection would only say it is aware of the event, along with a boilerplate response that it “encourages” people planning activities in remote areas or locations where illegal cross-border activity occurs to let CBP know what they’re doing.
Certain types of interactions with migrants could result in prosecution, the agency said, such as “providing transportation or other assistance to migrants that may be viewed as furtherance of illegal entry.”
Videos posted on social media show the men talking to migrants who crossed the border through a gap in the wall where the men were camping. The men speak with authority in the videos to groups that are mostly children and teens. Often knowing only a few words in Spanish, the men tell the migrants to speak into the camera and to give their name, age, country of origin, the state they’re traveling to and the phone number of their U.S. sponsor. They tell children wearing masks to remove them.
Most migrants intending to seek asylum have a family member or friend in the U.S. who becomes their sponsor when they enter the country.
Humanitarian aid workers say the men have collected hundreds of these phone numbers and they are concerned what they plan to do with the information.
The men were calling Border Patrol after collecting information from the migrants and sometimes giving them food, bibles and other small items.
In the past, humanitarian aid workers have been arrested and prosecuted after providing migrants with supplies such as blankets and water.
Whether what the men are doing is legal is a complicated question, said Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor at George Mason University, whose areas of expertise include Mexico-U.S. relations, organized crime, border security and human trafficking.
The legality of asking questions of and publicizing the personal information of vulnerable children would be a question for the courts, she said.
“I have the right to ask questions of other people, and you have the right to respond or not,” Correa-Cabrera said. “But they are doing this with children who are in a vulnerable situation, who are asylum seekers, and that makes the decision in this regard, or the analysis, much more complex.”
Also, publicizing that personal information when there is a portion of the population with anti-immigrant sentiments could put the children and sponsors at risk, she said.
As far as whether children coming across the border are being sex trafficked, which is what the men claim, Correa-Cabrera said that is a concern though there hasn’t been enough research done to produce evidence.
Typically when migrant children go to a sponsor in the U.S., post-relief services are provided for a short period of time and then there’s no follow up, she said.
“There's not a very transparent mechanism to prevent trafficking,” she said.
Researching and dealing with trafficking of minors should not be done by people who don’t have the training and tools to do that work without victimizing the minors, she said.
Contact reporter Danyelle Khmara at dkhmara@tucson.com or 573-4223. On Twitter: @DanyelleKhmara | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/border-vigilantes-plan-july-4-festival-at-arizona-mexico-line/article_0752707a-e36c-11ec-8c0c-af74476a220d.html | 2022-06-04T16:44:24 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/border-vigilantes-plan-july-4-festival-at-arizona-mexico-line/article_0752707a-e36c-11ec-8c0c-af74476a220d.html |
MIDLAND, Texas — It looks like a gator, it walks like a gator, but this was in fact not an alligator.
An escaped caiman caused a stir on social media earlier in the week when someone found what they thought to be an alligator under their vehicle.
That's when the Midland County Sheriff's Office was called. The MCSO, however, deferred to Derek Bean, the game warden for Midland County.
"I received a call from Midland County Sheriff‘s Office saying there was apparently an alligator that was found underneath a trailer west of Midland off of Highway 80. So they were calling me to ask if I had any kind of the tools or anything that I can help catch it," Bean said.
Bean was out of town at the time and couldn't get the caiman himself. That's when A to Z Veterinary Clinic came in and helped wrangle it in.
Once it was brought in, only then was it identified not as an alligator, but rather, a caiman.
"An American alligator is native to the state of Texas, and they’re illegal to possess just on the fact of it being a game animal. A caiman is something that’s not native to the state of Texas so it’s considered an exotic animal, and there is nothing that our department regulates on exotic animals," Bean said
This means that people are allowed to own caimans. As soon as the MCSO posted about it on their social media, the owner came forward almost immediately.
"Believe it or not, as soon as Midland County posted the pictures of it, not even 10 minutes, and the original owner whenever it came up missing, he was already contacting them trying to get it back," Bean said.
Until then, it had been in the care of A to Z Veterinary Clinic.
"It’s in very good condition. I mean it had plenty of weight on it etc. It was a little dry because it was a little hot that day, but Dr. Todia and Tommy were able to get it back in its natural habitat of being in water," Bean said.
Bean also mentioned that the owner was going to pick up the caiman on Friday, so it should already be back home safe and sound. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/escaped-caiman-returned-owner/513-4a9b18ee-57a9-40eb-b3c8-e45dde126835 | 2022-06-04T16:46:53 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/escaped-caiman-returned-owner/513-4a9b18ee-57a9-40eb-b3c8-e45dde126835 |
JEKYLL ISLAND -- The staff of The Albany Herald received nine awards that were announced at the Georgia Press Association's 2022 Better Newspaper Contest here on Friday at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel during the group's 135th annual convention.
Staff Writer Alan Mauldin won a first-place award for Business Writing, and the Herald staff received five second-place and three third-place awards in GPA's second-largest newspaper category. Among staff members who were honored for their contributions were Mauldin, Tara Fletcher, Tom Seegmueller and Carlton Fletcher.
"We are honored to be recognized for our work during 2021, most of which occurred during the height of the COVID pandemic," Carlton Fletcher, the Herald's editor, said. "Even with a smaller staff, these results show that a community newspaper like ours can still produce quality work."
The Augusta Press won the Freedom of Information Award, which is given to the newspaper that did the most during 2021 to uphold the principles of the First Amendment and to protect the public’s right to know. The online newspaper and podcast, whose editor is Debbie Van Tuyll, began publishing on Jan. 11, 2021.
Zoe Nicholson of the Savannah Morning News was honored as the winner of GPA’s Emerging Journalist Award. The award goes to a journalist younger than 30 who has less than five years of experience writing professionally for a newspaper in the state, demonstrates excellence, and maintains high standards of quality and ethics.
The Photo of the Year was taken by Ethan Reddish of The Post-Searchlight in Bainbridge. It documents the arrival of Bo, a 34-year-old male elephant, at Elephant Refuge North America in Attapulgus.
The Herald claimed second-place awards for its Local News Coverage; an Online News Project for a series of photo galleries initiated by Tara and Carlton Fletcher documenting life in small southwest Georgia communities; a photo gallery taken by Seegmueller; for the newspaper's Editorial Page, and for its Sports Section.
Third-place honors were awarded for a Lifestyles section featuring a series of articles by Carlton Fletcher on local guitarist Phil Facchini; a Feature Photograph taken by Tara Fletcher, and the newspaper's Page 1 on given dates.
Winners in the GPA Better Newspaper Contest were honored for their outstanding achievements in newspaper journalism. Entries were judged in seven divisions based on circulation. The daily divisions are Division A (circulation of 8,000 or more) and Division B (circulation of 7,999 or less). The weekly divisions are Division C (circulation of 6,000 to 15,000), Division D (circulation of 3,000 to 5,999), Division E (weeklies with circulation of less than 3,000) and Division F (all weekly newspapers with more than 15,000 in circulation and all associate media members of GPA).
This year’s judging was done by members of the Louisiana Press Association. | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/georgia-press-association-announces-better-newspaper-contest-winners/article_8d19dc92-e417-11ec-bd4e-df3dd0496bce.html | 2022-06-04T16:49:10 | 1 | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/georgia-press-association-announces-better-newspaper-contest-winners/article_8d19dc92-e417-11ec-bd4e-df3dd0496bce.html |
CULPEPER, Va. — The Virginia General Assembly’s recently approved budget appropriates money to create a new state park in Culpeper County that would include two Civil War battlefields.
Proponents say Culpeper’s location between Manassas National Battlefield Park and the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park will boost visitation. Many of the sites the Culpeper Battlefields State Park will include are already open to the public, under the stewardship of the battlefield trust or other organizations.
“As awe-inspiring as these preserved lands are, we came to realize the wherewithal and marketing muscle of the Virginia State Park System was needed to make the battlefields into a genuine heritage tourism destination and economic engine for the community,” Jim Campi, the battlefield trust’s chief policy and communications officer, told the newspaper.
The budget is awaiting action from Youngkin, who has indicated his support for the park, according to the newspaper.
Under the budget language, the park would be created by July 1, 2024. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/budget-will-create-new-culpeper-battlefields-state-park/2022/06/04/e70f80ca-e427-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html | 2022-06-04T17:10:43 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/budget-will-create-new-culpeper-battlefields-state-park/2022/06/04/e70f80ca-e427-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html |
TAMPA, Fla. — Ann Turner Cook, whose cherubic baby face was known the world over as the original Gerber baby, has died. She was 95.
Cook was 5 months old when a neighbor, artist Dorothy Hope Smith, drew a charcoal sketch of her that was later submitted for a contest Gerber was holding for a national marketing campaign for baby food.
The image was a hit, so much so that it became the company’s trademark in 1931 and has been used in all packaging and advertising since.
For decades, though, the identity of the baby was kept secret, spurring rumors about who it was with guesses including Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor.
In the late 1970s, it was revealed to be Cook, who grew up to be an English teacher in Tampa, Florida, and later a mystery novelist.
Cook told The Associated Press in a 1998 interview that her mother had told her when she was young that she was the baby in the illustration.
She said, ``If you’re going to be a symbol for something, what could be more pleasant than a symbol for baby food?″
As for the image itself, she said, “All babies are appealing. The reason that drawing has been so popular is the artist captured the appeal that all babies have.″ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ann-turner-cook-original-gerber-baby-dies-at-95/2022/06/04/3838d98e-e427-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html | 2022-06-04T17:10:44 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ann-turner-cook-original-gerber-baby-dies-at-95/2022/06/04/3838d98e-e427-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html |
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration missed a self-imposed Friday deadline for evaluating state employees’ telework requests under a new policy that aims to get most workers back in the office this summer.
“Every effort is being made to process the requests in a timely manner and anticipate completion of this step in the process by early next week,” chief of staff Jeff Goettman wrote in the email, which was provided to the Post.
Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said some requests weren’t received in a timely manner, leading to delays in evaluating them.
Youngkin campaigned on a promise to make state government more efficient and customer-focused, and his administration has pitched the revised telework policy as part of that.
But the move has rankled some workers, and some Democrats in the General Assembly have urged the governor to reverse the policy, warning it would lead to attrition. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/youngkin-administration-running-behind-on-telework-decisions/2022/06/04/14a101e2-e425-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html | 2022-06-04T17:10:45 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/youngkin-administration-running-behind-on-telework-decisions/2022/06/04/14a101e2-e425-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html |
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