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COVID-19 vaccine trials underway for children 5 and under
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - While some people may be rolling up their sleeves for third or fourth COVID-19 vaccination shot, there is a group that still can’t even get their first.
Doctor Debbie-Ann Shirley with UVA Health says studies on children 5 and younger are going well.
“I think we’re getting closer from what we’re hearing to having a possible vaccine for the youngest age group,” Dr. Shirley said. “During the omicron surge, the hospitalization rate of young children under the age of 5 is actually five times what it was during the delta surge, and so we are still seeing severe disease that occurs in children.”
UVA Health’s trends in child hospitalization mirrored national trends during the omicron surge.
“Thankfully, we didn’t see as much influence of severe respiratory disease, but there were other types of complications that lead to admission,” Shirley said.
Worried parents may not have to wait much longer, Pfizer and Moderna say they are seeing positive results.
“What we’ve heard in press releases from both companies is that their covid vaccine appears to be well tolerated in these younger age groups,” Shirley said.
The next step is for the FDA to review the data from both Pfizer and Moderna and make a decision on if they recommend that this age group gets this vaccine.
Copyright 2022 WVIR. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/07/covid-19-vaccine-trials-underway-children-5-under/
| 2022-04-08T20:33:12Z
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DeLauter’s big day at the dish leads JMU to win at VMI
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Chase DeLauter’s performance in the batter’s box led the James Madison baseball team to a road win Wednesday night.
DeLauter blasted two homers and drove in six runs to help JMU defeat VMI, 12-2, in Lexington. The left-handed centerfielder launched a two-run home run in the top of the first inning, then blasted a solo homer in the third inning, before delivering a three-RBI double in the top of the fourth. DeLauter is now batting .430 with eight home runs and 35 RBI this season to go along with a .574 on-base percentage. He has registered 14 RBI in two games against VMI this season.
Travis Reifsnider added three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Dukes, who used seven pitchers in the game.
James Madison improves to 17-11 overall (4-2 CAA). The Dukes continue their road swing with a three-game series at College of Charleston this weekend.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/07/delauters-big-day-dish-leads-jmu-win-vmi/
| 2022-04-08T20:33:21Z
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Doctors remove ‘miracle’ baby’s grapefruit-sized facial tumor
HAYWARD, Wis. (WCCO) - A Wisconsin family is celebrating their little boy’s first birthday. Doctors had to perform life-saving surgery on him before he was even born, due to a rare and potentially deadly birth defect.
Jagger Scalzo celebrated a hard-fought first birthday after dealing with a medical condition that surprised even experts.
Mycaela and Donovan Scalzo, parents to an almost 1-year-old girl, found out they were expecting a boy, but when they got an ultrasound, there was something they were not expecting: a congenital tumor.
“He had what’s called an oropharyngeal teratoma. They can be really small or quite large. His was huge,” said Dr. Joseph B. Lilligard, surgeon at Children’s Minnesota. “It’s a condition that happens in about one in 35,000 to one in 200,000 live births. They can block the airway, so the moment the baby is born, they wouldn’t have the ability to protect their airway or breathe.”
The Scalzo family decided to head to the Midwest Fetal Care Center in Minneapolis, a partnership between Children’s Minnesota and Allina Health.
“I think I cried almost every appointment up until he was there. It’s just so unknown,” Mycaela Scalzo said.
Lilligard and his coworkers knew what to do. It would require a C-section where the baby would be partially born while doctors removed the grapefruit-sized tumor from his mouth and face.
The surgery was risky for both baby and mother.
“I mean, we went into my C-section not knowing if he would be OK or if I would,” Scalzo said.
But thankfully, everything worked out.
“It’s pretty remarkable. You go from a really horrific-type scene to a quite normal, exciting, almost perfect outcome,” Lilligard said. “The sky’s the limit for Jagger. He can do anything.”
After conquering a brain bleed, Jagger was able to leave the hospital after 76 days.
“I cried the entire way from Minneapolis, and I was just so excited. His dad was driving and was like, ‘Are you just gonna stare at him the whole time?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I am.’ It was just so exciting for him to meet our daughter and see them finally realize that the other exists,” Scalzo said.
Jagger’s mother says he is doing well and getting stronger. He did have a recent setback when he had a brain bleed and was treated for hydrocephalus, but his family says he’s recovering.
“He’s a miracle, and I think that’s the best way any of us can describe it. He’s the perfect, happy, smiley, little miracle, and we are so grateful we ended up where we did,” Scalzo said.
She hopes Jagger won’t have another surgery for at least 20 years.
Copyright 2022 WCCO via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/07/doctors-remove-miracle-babys-grapefruit-sized-facial-tumor/
| 2022-04-08T20:33:28Z
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US experts wrestle with how to update COVID-19 vaccines
WASHINGTON (AP) - More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. health officials are beginning to grapple with how to keep the vaccines updated to best protect Americans from the ever-changing coronavirus.
On Wednesday, a panel of vaccine advisers to the Food and Drug Administration spent hours debating key questions for revamping the shots and conducting future booster campaigns. They didn’t reach any firm conclusions.
The questions facing the experts included: How often to update the vaccines against new strains, how effective they should be to warrant approval and whether updates should be coordinated with global health authorities.
Last week, the FDA authorized a fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for anyone 50 or older and for some younger people with severely weakened immune systems. It’s an effort to get ahead of another possible surge.
But the FDA’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks acknowledged at the meeting “we simply can’t be boosting people as frequently as we are.” He called the latest booster update a “stopgap” measure to protect vulnerable Americans while regulators decide whether and how to tweak the current vaccines.
Marks cautioned that waning vaccine protection, new variants and colder weather in the fall could raise the risk of more surges.
“Our goal here is to stay ahead of future variants and outbreaks and ensure we do our best to reduce the toll of disease and death due to COVID-19,” said Marks, adding that he expects more meetings of the vaccine panel in coming months.
Some of the key questions the panel discussed:
HOW SHOULD THE U.S. DECIDE WHEN TO LAUNCH FUTURE ROUNDS OF BOOSTER SHOTS?
One area where experts appeared to agree is that vaccines should be judged on their ability to prevent severe disease that leads to hospitalization and death.
“We need to focus on the worst case, which is severe disease, and we need to change strains when we’re losing that battle,” said Dr. Mark Sawyer of the University of California, San Diego.
By that measure, the current vaccines have held up remarkably well.
During the last omicron-driven surge, two vaccine doses were nearly 80% effective against needing a breathing machine or death — and a booster pushed that protection to 94%, federal scientists recently reported.
But only about half of Americans eligible for a third shot have gotten one. And many experts said it was unsustainable to continue asking Americans to get boosted every few months.
A panelist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that the 80% protection from severe disease could become the standard for evaluating the vaccines.
“I think we may have to accept that level of protection and then use other alternative ways to protect individuals with therapeutics and other measures,” said Dr. Amanda Cohn, CDC’s chief medical officer.
Presentations at the meeting by government health officials and independent researchers underscored the challenges of predicting when the next major COVID-19 variant might appear.
Trevor Bedford, a disease modeler with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, said a major new strain like omicron could emerge anywhere from every 1.5 years to once a decade, based on currently available data. Given that unpredictability, researchers will need methods to quickly determine whether current vaccines work against emerging variants.
WHAT’S THE PROCESS FOR UPDATING VACCINES TO ADDRESS NEW VARIANTS?
All three COVID-19 vaccines now used in the U.S. are based on the original coronavirus version that emerged in late 2019. Updating the vaccines will be a complex task, likely requiring coordination between the FDA, manufacturers and global health authorities.
To speed the vaccines to market, the FDA relied on research shortcuts to judge effectiveness, mainly looking at their early impact on the immune system’s antibody levels. A number of panelists said Wednesday they wanted more rigorous data from studies that track patients over time to see who gets sick or dies.
But that approach would likely be too time consuming.
“We’re looking at a conundrum here in that it’s going to be hard to generate all the data we want in short order when a new variant emerges,” said Dr. Ofer Levy of Harvard Medical School.
A representative for the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority laid out the narrow window that manufacturers could face to reformulate, study and mass produce an updated vaccine by September.
“If you’re not on your way to a clinical trial by the beginning of May, I think it’s going to be very difficult to have enough product across manufacturers to meet demand,” said Robert Johnson, deputy assistant secretary of BARDA.
The process for updating annual flu vaccines offers one possible model, as laid out by a representative from the World Health Organization.
Twice a year, WHO experts recommend updates to flu vaccines to target emerging strains. The FDA then brings those recommendations to its own vaccine panel, which votes on whether they make sense for the U.S., setting the stage for manufacturers to tweak their shots and begin mass production.
But COVID-19 hasn’t yet fallen into a predictable pattern like the flu. And as the coronavirus evolves, different strains may become dominant in different regions of the world.
Several experts said they would need more meetings with more data and proposals from the FDA to decide on a strategy.
“We’ve never been here before. We’re all working together to do the best we can and it’s very complex,” said Oveta Fuller of the University of Michigan’s Medical School.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/07/us-experts-wrestle-with-how-update-covid-19-vaccines/
| 2022-04-08T20:33:34Z
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Environmental groups have failed to convince a federal judge to block two logging and fuels reduction projects on 8,000 acres of public forestland in Southern Oregon.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken has refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Bear Grub and Round Oak projects because the environmental lawsuit against them probably won’t succeed.
The Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands nonprofits are unlikely to prevail on their claims that federal wildlife biologists improperly considered the effects of BLM’s forest treatments on threatened spotted owls, the judge said.
While the ruling doesn’t end the lawsuit, Aiken determined the environmental plaintiffs “failed to show serious questions” regarding their allegations that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s analysis violated the Endangered Species Act.
“And on this preliminary review, FWS appears to have considered the relevant factors and articulated a rational connection between the facts found and the decisions it made,” as required by federal law, the ruling said.
In consulting with BLM on the projects, federal wildlife biologists found the forest treatments would probably downgrade habitat in 37 of the spotted owl’s home ranges within the project areas, Aiken said.
However, the projects will require that logging units be dropped from timber sales if they’re occupied by spotted owls and will include other design criteria to avoid disturbing the species, Aiken said.
The federal government is unlikely to jeopardize the owl’s continued existence or otherwise “take” the threatened species because the vast majority of its nesting, roosting and foraging habitat won’t be negatively affected by the forest projects, she said.
“Instead, it found that the majority of (the habitat) in the action area — 96% in Bear Grub and 83% in Round Oak — would remain untreated and available to support current and future spotted owl populations,” the ruling said.
The judge said she cannot substitute her judgment for that of federal biologists but will allow the environmental plaintiffs to proceed with the lawsuit because they have standing to pursue the allegations in federal court.
The environmental plaintiffs filed the lawsuit last year, claiming the projects will further distress vulnerable spotted owl populations. They also alleged the federal government relied on uncertain or unenforceable conservation measures in approving the treatments.
Boise Cascade Wood Products and the Timber Products Co. have intervened in the lawsuit to defend the projects, which would generate 38 million board-feet of timber for their veneer and plywood mills, according to a court document.
A logging truck typically hauls about 4,000-5,000 board-feet of timber.
“Thus, proposed intervenors have a direct and substantial interest in being able to harvest the timber offered through these projects, and a direct and substantial interest in ensuring sufficient timber supply from the BLM generally,” they said.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/environmental-groups-fail-to-stop-southern-oregon-logging-projects/article_e5eeae34-a1fc-5fdf-a073-eb27de3f4737.html
| 2022-04-08T20:55:49Z
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Four students from Klamath Community College have been named to the state All-Oregon Academic Team.
The Oregon Community College Association announced 41 honorees statewide Friday.
Among those are KCC's Jacob Baldwin, Frank Bertalot, Heather McCray and Charisse Wells. Baldwin, Bertalot and Wells are from Klamath Falls, while McCray hails from Lakeview.
The students were selected for their academic excellence, leadership, and community service, and many are members of Phi Theta Kappa, the nation’s community college honor society.
“I’d like to congratulate these outstanding student scholars for their achievements and the impending completion of their community college degrees,” said OCCA executive director Morgan Cowling said in a news release. “As some of our very best and brightest, these students represent hope for a strong future in Oregon.”
Each year, Phi Theta Kappa, community college presidents, and community college state associations like OCCA sponsor All-State Community College Academic Team ceremonies in 37 participating states. OCCA will host the All-Oregon Academic Team Luncheon April 15 at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore., to honor AOAT students and their families. This year’s luncheon will be the first in-person since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AOAT luncheon’s keynote speaker is Senator Bill Hansell (R-Athena), OCCA’s Howard Cherry Award winner for outstanding community college advocate.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/four-klamath-community-college-students-named-to-all-oregon-academic-team/article_17d480f4-1115-561a-9403-809567db3c56.html
| 2022-04-08T20:55:55Z
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/oit-softball-signs-all-state-player-addison-kachnik/article_3fbdd280-4f44-522b-b8cb-2ee9dcbf78b2.html
| 2022-04-08T20:56:01Z
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/state-issues-oysters-warning/article_ebb4f929-32b3-5e1a-9e2c-f43985d511ce.html
| 2022-04-08T20:56:07Z
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There is a consensus that the Democratic Party is in trouble with midterm elections seven months away. The polls say it, the issues say it and history says it: The coming election is the type of election that the party in power loses big. And to some Democrats, only one man can save the party from disaster: Donald Trump.
Of course, many Democrats have tried to make Trump the issue for the last six years. But after last November's Virginia governor election -- in which the Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe, tried very hard to make about Trump, only to lose to Republican Glenn Youngkin -- it was thought that Democrats might be getting over their Trump-mania, at least when the former president is not on the ballot himself.
But no. A new story in Politico bears the headline: "Dems have an opening for a midterm villain. Donald Trump, you're hired!" The article reports that many Democrats, with the issues not going their way and with their own base suffering from a lack of enthusiasm, believe that Trump, along with a few fringe GOP members of the House, "are giving Democrats just the political foil they've been looking for as virtually everything else has gone the Republicans' way."
"We still have a villain," Democratic Rep. Scott Peters told Politico. "We'll have to remind people of what that was like." That means focusing the midterm congressional campaigns on Trump, and also focusing on some other figures -- GOP Reps. Madison Cawthorn, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz -- whom Democrats would like to make the faces of the Republican Party. "I mean, do you want to hand the keys to the government to these folks?" another Democrat, Rep. Dan Kildee, asked Politico. "They're scary. They're nuts."
As for Trump himself, many Democrats have been heartened by a recent ruling in a civil case in which a U.S. District Court judge in California, David Carter, declared that Trump had "likely committed" crimes in the Jan. 6 matter. "The illegality of the plan was obvious," Carter wrote, referring to Trump's desire to have then-Vice President Mike Pence rule out some electoral votes when Congress met to certify the 2020 election results.
It is impossible to overstate the excitement with which some Democrats met Judge Carter's ruling. It turbocharged their already strong desire to see the former president charged with a crime, any crime -- Democrats are not particular. The desire is so strong that people around President Joe Biden are leaking the news that Biden would like to see Trump charged. "As recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments," The New York Times reported over the weekend. The point of the leak is to put pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to OK some sort of charge against Trump.
One problem with the plan is that Judge Carter's ruling was actually kind of flimsy. Justice Department prosecutors, who have to take into consideration the possibility of losing any case they might bring, will have to weigh that. The second problem is that the Democratic pressure campaign is entirely political -- remember that the Democrats' reason for forming the Jan. 6 committee and getting its findings out in the next few months is to enhance Democratic chances in the midterms. And the third problem is having the Justice Department bring a political case against Trump under pressure from Democratic activists is the kind of thing that might fire up Republican voters. It all comes with a pretty high possibility of backfiring.
And then there are the actual issues. Inflation, inflation, inflation -- the dramatic increase in the cost of living in the last year, which appears set to continue the rest of this year, is clearly the most important issue in the midterms. Biden and his party can try to call it "Putin's price hike," but the reality is that voters are most likely going to blame the party in control of Congress. Then there are other issues, like the greater economy, crime and border security, all of which do not look good for Democrats. And then there is the so-called "generic ballot," in which Republicans have the lead in the question of which party voters will support for their own representatives in the House.
So now, Democrats propose to make the midterms about Trump. After the Virginia election, a disappointed Democratic official in the state said, "I think we spend entirely too much time talking about Donald Trump and not articulating not only our vision for the future but spending time genuinely connecting with people and with their needs."
A lot of Democrats were thinking that way just a few months ago. Now their anti-Trump instinct has kicked in again -- they don't seem to be able to control it -- and they again think that if they just hit Trump hard enough, if they just talk about him long enough, if they just make him the major focus of their campaigns, they can ride the Trump train to victory. We'll see.
Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/will-democrats-make-it-about-trump-again/article_6744fb52-50e1-595c-80f0-28652c91eb37.html
| 2022-04-08T20:56:14Z
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Distrustful of the voting machines used across Wyoming and other parts of the country, a group of Park County residents is making a push to review the results of this year’s primary election by hand.
A roomful of proponents this week asked Park County commissioners to allow them and other volunteers to effectively audit August’s election by hand counting votes after the ballots are processed by the machines.
South Fork resident Boone Tidwell, one of the group’s leaders, framed the request as a matter of constitutional rights and predicted some people won’t vote unless ballots are counted by hand.
“Whatever decision you make today, folks, we think will have consequences. Not only here in Park County, but on a state level, and possibly a national level,” Tidwell told commissioners. “There’s a lot of attention on this particular issue right here and what we’re doing here in front of you guys. So we’re asking you to please choose wisely.”
Commissioners postponed a decision to a later meeting, citing a need to get legal advice from Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric.
“We have to get some answers from the county attorney,” said Commission Chairman Dossie Overfield.
Secretary of State Ed Buchanan, who spoke via Zoom, recommended that commissioners consult with Skoric, suggesting that state law does not give the board the power to authorize a hand count. Members of the group, however, pushed back.
“Where in the Constitution does it give you the authority to deny us?” Powell resident and former Park County Republican Party Chairman Larry French pressed Buchanan.
“It’s not me sitting here saying that, ‘I forbid you to do it,’” the secretary responded in part. “I’m pointing out that you probably don’t have, in my opinion, just from looking at this, the statutory authority to do it.”
Tidwell then offered that “statute cannot trump my constitutional right.”
“It’s that simple,” he said, to applause from the crowd.
Commissioners, however, indicated they still have questions, including about how long a hand count might take, what impact it might have on their staff, and whether enough volunteers would show up and the legality of the effort.
Tuesday’s request stemmed from continuing concerns over the 2020 election, which Tidwell described as “the latest wreck.” The angst has played out on a national stage over the past two years, with former Republican President Donald Trump — who drew more than 76% of the votes in Park County but less than 47% nationwide — claiming the election was “rigged” in favor of Democratic President Joe Biden.
A series of lawsuits and other attempts to challenge the results have been unsuccessful and no widespread irregularities have been proven, but mistrust has persisted.
Dave McMillan of Cody, another of the group’s leaders and a Park County Republican Party precinct committeeman, said it’s not a partisan issue.
“There’s not a person I’ve talked to in my area, yet, that has told me they think the elections were fair in 2020,” McMillan told members of the Park County Democratic Party in February. “Nobody has any confidence in this.”
He and Tidwell had approached the party looking for support on a joint effort, but got some pushback from several local Democrats.
“I think that the only lack of integrity is actually in the imagination of those who are preaching lack of integrity,” Cody resident Paul Fees said at the Feb. 5 meeting.
The party members later passed a resolution stating that “the Park County Democrats have confidence in the integrity of the current election system.”
Meanwhile, the Park County Republican Party unanimously passed a resolution at its March 12 convention that calls for publicly observable hand counts of all election results.
The local GOP’s chairman, vice chairman, secretary and multiple precinct committee members attended Tuesday’s meeting in support of the proposal. Tidwell told commissioners that the debate over the validity of the machines won’t be resolved.
“If you are opposed to the voting machines, your preference is that we throw them in a ditch and light them on fire. And if you love the machines, you don’t want anybody to intrude in that environment,” Tidwell said Tuesday. “So we’re at an impasse.”
He said the plan to have all of the ballots run through the voting machines and then hand counted by volunteers was a compromise.
McMillan said the proposal “harms no one and satisfies the concerns of everyone.”
The proposal pitched to commissioners on Tuesday differed from the group’s original vision, which would have involved volunteers receiving and tabulating voters’ ballots before they went into the machine.
Tidwell said they altered the plans after hearing from people who said, “I don’t want you to know my vote.”
He also was clear in acknowledging that the results tabulated by the voting machines will be the official results.
“If our [hand] count comes out different than yours, we’re stuck with it [the machine count],” Tidwell said, “but we’re gonna have a whole lot more information and a whole lot more knowledge and be able to address that moving forward in the future.”
In his remarks to the commissioners and the group, Buchanan suggested that the whole hand count may have to wait until the law is changed. He said he’s repeatedly told people that if they want to return to paper ballots, it’s a policy decision that should be taken up with the Wyoming Legislature.
He also noted a statute that refers to votes being counted by machine, saying that, “Each individual vote shall be determined by the voting equipment and shall not be determined subjectively by human tabulation …”
However, Commissioner Scott Mangold noted that even under the group’s proposal the machines will still be doing the counting.
“We keep talking about statutes, but I think basically this is just sort of an experiment to start with,” Mangold said.
Commissioner Lee Livingston agreed, saying, “if you’re not submitting that as the official results, it’s quite possible that hand counting could be [done].”
“As long as we’re not stepping outside of that [the law], at this point in time, I don’t have a problem with looking at it,” Livingston said.
Overfield said the board needs to get a legal opinion from County Attorney Skoric.
Beyond the legalities, commissioners also had questions about the logistics.
As a test run, the hand count group enlisted the help of about 200 high schoolers in Powell, Cody and Meeteetse, who participated in a mock election a few weeks ago. The group then met at the Park County Library in Cody and calculated the results by hand. (Kanye West won a state Senate race in the Meeteetse area after being written in by a number of students, Tidwell said.)
In its first attempt at counting the 200 ballots, the group took an hour and 20 minutes, French said, but a second try took about 35 minutes. He indicated that a three-person team needed about a minute and a half per ballot.
At that pace — and assuming a similar turnout to the 2018 primary election, in which 8,341 voters participated — it would take more than 600 man hours to hand count all of the results. To get done by a state deadline of 10:30 p.m. on election night, it would take more than 150 volunteers.
By comparison, Park County had 117 election judges in the 2020 general election. Commissioner Joe Tilden questioned whether there would be enough volunteers to conduct the hand count, noting that a number of people who pledged to serve as election judges in 2020 backed out.
“That was before the latest wreck with the 2020 election, Mr. Tilden,” Tidwell said. “And you know, there are a whole lot of people that care now that didn’t care two years ago.”
Tidwell told the Democrats in February that “hundreds” of people would help with the effort.
While Tidwell said there would be zero cost to the county, Commissioner Lloyd Thiel noted that regular election workers would need to stay at the polling places later on election night to monitor the hand counting.
“Maybe there isn’t any more cost, but there’s a hell of a lot more work on these precincts for these election judges to do this experiment, if you will,” Thiel said. “I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m just saying there’s definitely some inconvenience here in the county.”
Tidwell responded, “If it requires a little more time on our part, as a voter, as a judge, as a participant in that process, you owe it to this community to make sure that that is specifically correct.”
While expressing doubts about the legality of hand-counting the vote, Buchanan expressed full support for the group’s general aim of bolstering public confidence in the integrity and accuracy of their elections.
“... I don’t think anybody in the state disagrees that the more things we can do to give greater confidence in elections, the better,” he said. “Because … if people don’t believe in your elections, nothing else matters. It really doesn’t.”
Even before the 2020 election, Buchanan said his office began an audit effort in which it will take a statistically significant sample of ballots cast around the state and then compare them to the vote record generated by the voting machines.
“If those ballots check out, and we know that those actual ballots cast were correctly counted by the machine, then we have our 99-point-whatever [percent] confidence interval in our election,” Buchanan said.
In a Tuesday evening email to commissioners, Park County Democratic Party Chairman Jan Kliewer said he doesn’t want taxpayer dollars to be spent on the hand count and that he thinks the statewide audit planned by Buchanan “would go further to build trust than an experiment in one county.”
“My fear, however, is if the results of 61 lawsuits of voter fraud thrown out nationwide doesn’t inspire confidence, what will?” Kliewer wrote.
During the meeting, County Clerk Colleen Renner noted that the county conducts mandatory public testing of its voting machines ahead of the elections to show how the process works.
Renner said she’s only had two people show up during her eight years as clerk.
“That causes me to believe you’re not questioning it,” she said, as members of the crowd murmured objections. “So if you are questioning it, please come to the public testing.”
Commissioners didn’t set a date for their next discussion on the requested hand count. The primary election is Aug. 16.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/group-pushes-to-hand-count-election-ballots/article_c9b37b80-bc58-5b65-b765-6275b2c20056.html
| 2022-04-08T21:13:53Z
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JACKSON — When people spot Joe Cronquist from the chair lift, it’s an event. The surprise of spectators is loud, as if they’d seen a bear or a solar eclipse.
“There he is,” they yell. “It’s the Teton Juggler!”
Even while he’s skiing, the daredevil from Anchorage, Alaska — now a micro-cultural mountain celebrity spotted from terrain park to Thunder moguls while juggling three pink clubs — whoops back.
That hype has nourished Cronquist, 28, through his first season, during which he’s not only defined new limits of the novel sport of “skuggling” (ski-juggling) but also built his brand, indistinguishable from his future.
If each passer-by got to look in Cronquists’ large blue eyes and ask him a question, it would likely be simply: Why?
(It could also be, “Does Jackson Hole ski patrol know about this?” To which his answer is yes, they’ve forged a healthy, trusting relationship.)
But to answer the former, News&Guide spent a day in the natural habitat of the Teton Juggler.
When untangling a motive, the first thing that comes to mind is money.
Cronquist, however, is both an extreme athlete who spends 30 hours a week juggling and an amateur. Or, as he put it, “dirt broke.”
A carpenter by training, he was 23 when he graduated from a five-year professional apprenticeship program in Anchorage, set up with good union jobs for life.
“But I had this inner tension,” he said, “I knew that this next step is going to be a career path where I’m going to be locked in. My dreams that I have, with this spirit of athletics and the freedom of expression, are going to be put in a little bit of jeopardy.”
So in 2017 he started down the Pacific Coast with his girlfriend, Aspen Welker, in a 2003 Ford Econoline cargo van — no itinerary or destination, just an open mind and a slackline.
“I was just backpacking on the side of the road when some homeless guy saw my slackline and he was like, ‘You got to go to this spot.’ And I went to Arcada (California) and met all the highliners. It’s all random like that.”
When Cronquist got his first taste of highlining — walking a thick tightrope hundreds to thousands of feet above canyons or between mountains — there was no looking down, or turning back. The couple kept traveling, and Cronquist kept juggling and slacklining. It’s the hours he’s spent off the mountain, he said, and incremental progress, that have kept him in control and everyone on the mountain injury-free.
“If people could see how much I juggled in the last three years, they’d vomit,” he said.
It was on a winter hike last season, after parking his 20-foot trailer home on a Victor plot, owned by Welker’s father, that the idea of a skuggle routine “overwhelmed” him.
Cronquist worked summer and fall at Cosmic Apple Gardens, waiting for snowfall, before financially “cocooning” to pursue his newfound dream full time.
It works for now, but lacking sufficient health insurance and a year-round income isn’t exactly comfortable.
“I’m risking it,” he said, “big time.”
If clearly not for fortune, does Cronquist skuggle for fame?
The Teton Juggler is the first to say his relationship to outside attention is complicated.
Though he shuns the idea of sponsors, because working in oil fields in Alaska and driving through clear-cut western forests turned him off “industry” writ large, he admits the support would be validating in a sport where he has neither peers nor compensation.
But he couldn’t speak his mind, he said, clad in Clif Bar or Redbull.
He’s thought about wearing other costumes, like the tights and cape of Robin Hood, a character whose skills he deeply identifies with.
But this extraordinary man would still like to be a relatable guy.
So he wears a practical black uniform and bootstraps his brand through unabashed self-promotion: Instagraming sick GoPro edits, tossing out free ‘Teton Juggler’ stickers, and calling out to chairlifts when he senses riders could be more stoked to see him.
His ultimate goal, for financial stability and to share his passion, is creating a camp of “flow arts” based on his youthful “inner fantasy.”
He describes the dream as a community of balance-driven sports like juggling, staff spinning, hula hooping, fans, slacklining, highlining, and a place for self-discovery.
On the last lift up, Cronquist said his wish list for his one-man-show includes LED clubs, a six-foot-tall unicycle and chain saws. When the cold returns he’ll be in hot pursuit of the backflip-over-fire-pit-with-torches skuggle and, yes, the Corbet’s Couloir skuggle.
For now, it’s the end of skuggle season, but for Cronquist and his future followers, it could be the beginning of a skuggle era.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/teton-juggler-making-name-as-skiing-daredevil/article_285376a6-85cc-5370-b2a1-9f5954cc8c0c.html
| 2022-04-08T21:13:54Z
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CHEYENNE – After two years of disruptions, Wyoming students are in the midst of test taking that helps state and federal education departments assess learning – a sign that school is returning to normal.
The Wyoming Department of Education in late March 2020 canceled all testing for the rest of the semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Exams like Wyoming’s test of proficiency and progress, which assess students’ abilities in English, science and math, were nixed that year.
“We canceled everything and then put in the waiver to waive our state accountability and federal accountability,” said Laurie Hernandez, standards and assessment director at the Wyoming Department of Education.
Testing resumed in spring 2021, but those scores were not used to determine whether or not schools were meeting state and federal accountability standards. The Department of Education submitted an addendum to its compliance plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act, federal law that took the place of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2015.
Identifying low-performing schools is part of the state’s plan; schools that are “partially meeting” or “not meeting expectations” must fill out a school improvement plan. Low-performing schools receive extra support from WDE and are eligible for federal funds. Wyoming’s updated compliance plan pushed low-performance school identification to 2022-23, because at least two years of data are required to determine whether or not schools need additional support, according to WDE Chief Policy Officer Wanda Maloney.
In the interim, schools identified as low-performing in 2018-19 “were held constant,” Maloney said. “Many had started professional development or interventions, and so we wanted [them] to be able to continue to excel and provide them the funding they needed.”
If parents weren’t comfortable sending their kids to school to take tests in spring 2021, they were not forced to do so. Normally, testing is mandatory and parents don’t have the option to opt out. Ultimately, 96.6% of students in Wyoming were tested in 2021, only a slight decrease from the 99% that usually participate.
WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
The WDE is still in the process of analyzing test results from 2021, but so far it appears students in Wyoming did not experience severe learning loss reported in many other parts of the country during pandemic education disruptions. “There was a little bit of slip, but not anywhere to the degree that there was nationally,” Hernandez said.
Statewide assessments are underway at many Wyoming schools this year, and Hernandez says so far things have gone smoothly. “We really make sure everybody understands that it’s a snapshot in a moment in time for the student.”
WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/statewide-school-testing-returns-to-normal/article_520b9ddc-3f6a-519d-9c9f-4f5ba9d035b1.html
| 2022-04-08T21:13:56Z
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SWEETWATER COUNTY – Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sweetwater County Emergency Management, today hosted a comprehensive training exercise with first responders, industry representatives, local government, and public health, transportation and safety officials from across Southwest Wyoming.
Within the past two years, approximately 154 emergency management and response personnel from across the state have participated in this and similar training as part of a series of simulated exercises designed to gauge local responders' capabilities and skills in properly managing and resolving a variety of wide-scale critical incidents.
An initiative of the United States Department of Energy's Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program, and in coordination with the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, the focus of today's training was to assess, evaluate and respond to a multivehicle accident on the interstate involving a shipment of radioactive material.
According to Emily Covey, the county's emergency management coordinator, about three million shipments of radioactive material are transported over six million miles each year on public roads, railway, and ships across the country.
"It's pretty eye-opening, but there's actually a variety of different radiological materials and equipment that passes through our county on the interstate every single day," Covey said. "So, it's important that we take the time to plan, prepare, and practice for an event like so that we know exactly what to do if something like this happens here."
Sheriff John Grossnickle said, "I'm proud to see all of these different agencies come together to ensure that we're prepared as a community to effectively respond and resolve a critical incident like this, which unfortunately is a very real possibility here in Sweetwater County. Emily and her emergency management team has done a fantastic job in facilitating this training, and I want to thank everybody involved for coming together here at the sheriff's office today to make this happen."
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/rocketminer/sheriffs-office-hosts-radiological-incident-response-training/article_228ea804-bed4-5cdc-adb0-339502c7d69f.html
| 2022-04-08T21:13:57Z
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...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 knots with rough seas 7 to 10 feet,
except north winds and lower seas in Maalaea Bay.
* WHERE...Most central through eastern waters and channels.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
Homeless Time In Count numbers out for Maui, Kauai, and Island of Hawaii
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- According to data released Thursday from the 2022 Homeless Point-in-Time Count, the number of people experiencing homelessness on Kauai and the Big Island has increased from two years ago.
Oahu's numbers have not yet been release.
According to the 2022 Point-In-Time count, the number of people experiencing homelessness on Hawaii Island, Maui and Kauai combined is up 1% from when the last count was done in 2020. It's a smaller number than many predicted.
"Everybody, when we were doing this, we were thinking, 'Oh, there is going to be a significant increase in homelessness because of COVID.' And we were really surprised to see only 1%," said Bridge The Gap Vice Chair Paul Normann.
A silver lining in the numbers is a decrease in the number of families living in a shelter or in unsheltered conditions. The totals are the lowest seen in four years.
"Every county prioritized housing and sheltering families. You talk about investing in the future. If you want to invest in the future, you take care of the Keiki," said Normann.
Normann says there are reasons for this progress.
"Resources were brought to bear to increase shelter space and increase housing for families," he said.
The number of veterans who are without a home is also down 18% from 2020 and Maui had a decrease in the number of homeless people as well during that time period.
But not all the news is good. The study shows the number of people who are repeatedly unsheltered is up over the last four years, as is the number of people with mental illness who are unsheltered and live in shelters.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
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https://www.kitv.com/news/business/2022-point-in-time-count-shows-slight-increase-in-homelessness-for-hawaii-island-maui-kauai/article_cd0d277c-b713-11ec-b22b-23153aeb2c7f.html
| 2022-04-08T21:45:22Z
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More people can now get second Covid-19 booster shots after federal health officials announced they are allowing a broader group to get fourth doses of the two messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
Adults 50 and older, who received three previous mRNA doses, can get a second booster dose if it's been at least four months since their first one. Everyone who received two doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also receive an additional mRNA dose four months after their last booster.
Many people are wondering: Does it mean everyone is going to need an annual Covid-19 booster? Do we need booster shots even more frequently? Is it going to be combined with the flu shot? Are new vaccines going to be developed that target new variants? And should they wait to get the booster if they are eligible, or get it now?
To help answer these questions, I spoke with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is also author of "Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health."
CNN: Will everyone need a Covid-19 shot every year?
Dr. Leana Wen: We don't know yet. There are a lot of variables here, and only time -- and ongoing research -- will tell.
First, we don't know how long the immune protection from the vaccine and first booster will last. There is a lot of evidence that the first booster is very important. During a time when Omicron was the dominant variant, the effectiveness of three doses against severe disease remained high, at 94%, according to a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If this protection starts waning substantially, that would be a sign that another booster is needed.
Second, there may be new variants that develop over time. The influenza vaccine is given annually after it's reconfigured every year for new mutations. The current vaccines work well against the Omicron subvariants, but if there are future variants that evade vaccine-induced immunity, that's another reason for additional vaccinations.
Third, we need to monitor for how prevalent Covid-19 is. Right now, it is still rampant throughout the world, but if it ends up fading, regular booster doses may not be needed. As Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, said to CNN, "Will it ultimately get to such a low level that we might not even need a boost every year?" That's possible, but we don't know yet.
Fourth, we need to see whether there is a clear seasonality to future Covid-19 outbreaks. Other coronaviruses that cause the common cold are more prevalent in the winter, as are other respiratory viruses like RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and influenza. It's likely that SARS-CoV-2 is, too, and there have been surges during winter months. This part, though, still needs to be seen in this coming fall and winter seasons.
Finally, there are logistical considerations to think about. Adding an annual vaccine is a big undertaking. The uptake of the influenza vaccine is already low; just only about half of Americans get it every year. With the misinformation and polarization around Covid-19, encouraging this level of frequency will be a big undertaking.
CNN: Right now, a second booster is already allowed four months after the first, which means that the current frequency is more than once a year. Could boosters be needed even more than once a year?
Wen: It's possible. I want to emphasize that there is a lot we don't know, simply because we don't have the ability to foretell the future.
There are a couple of different scenarios that could occur. One is that certain groups of people may need more frequent vaccines. Recall that people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised have been recommended to get their additional booster for months. It's possible that, going forward, certain more vulnerable populations will be recommended to get vaccines at a higher frequency than the general population.
In addition, there will also need to be contingencies if a new variant arises that evades prior immunity. There should be the option to develop, manufacture and quickly distribute variant-specific vaccines. If this happens, the frequency could end up being more than once a year for a particular time period.
Going forward, we have to consider the availability of other therapies and mitigation measures, too. For example, Evusheld is an antibody infusion that, when given to immunocompromised individuals, is very effective at reducing their likelihood of progression to severe illness. Antiviral pills and monoclonal antibodies are effective treatments when given early in the course of illness. And there are other preventive measures, including masking and testing before get-togethers, that can reduce risk, too.
CNN: If the Covid-19 vaccine is going to be given annually, would it make sense to combine it with the flu vaccine?
Wen: In theory, yes, but we just don't know if the Covid-19 vaccine needs to be an annual shot.
There are other vaccines that last longer. The Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria vaccine), for example, requires a booster every 10 years. The polio vaccine is a four-dose vaccine -- you get four doses, and you're done. Hepatitis B is a three-dose vaccine.
It's possible that Covid-19 could be three or four doses, and we're done, or it may need to be updated more frequently like influenza. Again, we just don't know yet. If it does end up being something that's annual, and the seasonal pattern appears similar to influenza, then having a combined shot -- or at least, getting it at the same time as the flu shot -- would be sensible.
CNN: Why aren't there variant-specific vaccines that target Omicron?
Wen: Scientists are working on these vaccines now. They are testing Omicron-specific vaccines and boosters to see if they could be even more effective than the original vaccines, which were targeting the previously dominant variants.
One consideration is that additional variants may arise, and scientists have to think about whether the Omicron-specific vaccines or the original vaccine -- or some combination -- will be most likely to be effective against potential variants in the future. This was among the many issues that advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration discussed in their meeting this week.
CNN: If people are eligible for boosters now, should they get them, or should they wait?
Wen: It depends on the individual's medical circumstance and how much they are willing to give up to avoid Covid-19, as I mentioned in our CNN Q&A last week. Someone who is over age 65 and/or immunocompromised should probably get the additional booster now.
On the other hand, someone who is between ages 50 and 65, with no medical problems and recently had an Omicron infection, could probably wait. Some people might defer an additional booster as long as they are well-protected against severe illness. Others want to avoid any infection, even mild and asymptomatic infections. These are all personal decisions to be made in consultation with your medical provider.
CNN: What's your booster advice for people under 50? Should people get their first booster? And should they go for their second?
Wen: Everyone should get their first booster if eligible. The question of the second booster is more complex. If the person is under 50 and moderately or severely immunocompromised, they should also get their second booster. Another group that should get their second booster, even if they are under 50, are those who received two doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and it's been at least four months since their last dose. All other groups under 50 are not eligible to receive their second booster at this time and should not go for their second.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/coronavirus/should-you-get-your-second-booster-shot-now/article_a8cf524b-511f-58d0-ba42-668fdbd5120a.html
| 2022-04-08T21:45:28Z
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https://www.kitv.com/news/local/public-comment-sought-for-proposed-roundabout-in-kahaluu/article_1558f966-b773-11ec-bb55-9fac5aa4bbac.html
| 2022-04-08T21:45:34Z
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Will Smith will not be allowed to attend the Academy Awards for the next 10 years, as a result of his slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage during this year's Oscar ceremony, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences announced in a statement obtained by CNN.
"The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards," Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement on Friday.
The decision was made during a Board of Governors meeting held earlier in the day in Los Angeles. The meeting, initially scheduled for April 18, was expedited after Smith announced his resignation from the Academy last week.
Smith issued a quick, concise statement on his ban from the Oscars for the next decade.
"I accept and respect the Academy's decision," the actor said in a statement to CNN.
The decision came following "tons of debate" on what the consequences of his on-stage slap should be, a board member tells CNN.
The Academy's letter added: "The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage."
"During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room," the letter went on to state. "For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented."
The Board of Governors said in a previous statement that they wanted the matter to be "handled in a timely fashion." Smith's resignation means that he is no longer part of the Academy's voting body, but it does not prevent the Oscar winner from being nominated in the future, a source with knowledge previously told CNN.
What happened and what came next
The actor struck Rock as the comedian was on stage presenting at the Academy Awards on March 27 after Rock had made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's, close-cropped hair.
Pinkett Smith suffers from hair loss due to alopecia.
Rock has not spoken in depth publicly about the incident.
Days after it occurred, Rock appeared at a comedy show in Boston as part of his "Ego Death Tour" and said "I don't have a bunch of s*** about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend. And I'm still kind of processing what happened, so at some point I'll talk about that s***. And it'll be serious and it'll be funny, but right now I'm going to tell some jokes."
CNN has reached out to representatives for Rock for comment.
Smith publicly apologized to Rock the day after the incident via social media.
Smith also reached out the next morning to the show's producer, Will Packer, apologized and expressed his embarrassment, the producer told "Good Morning America."
During the interview with "GMA," Packer said officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were prepared to arrest Smith for battery, but Rock said he didn't want that.
In its letter, the Academy offered its "deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances."
"This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith's behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy," the letter concluded. "We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted."
The-CNN-Wire
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https://www.kitv.com/news/national/actor-will-smith-banned-from-attending-oscars-for-10-years/article_a8b402f5-8d03-51c4-936b-debfd5c2511d.html
| 2022-04-08T21:45:40Z
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Justin Bieber offering a month of free online therapy to fans
Published: Apr. 8, 2022 at 4:43 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
(CNN) - Justin Bieber wants you to find inner peace and is willing to pay to help you do it.
The pop star is partnering with online therapy company BetterHelp to offer a free month of service to his fans.
Bieber, 28, has been candid about his own mental health issues and says offering free therapy to fans is a “real blessing.”
He’s also giving members of his road crew free access to licensed therapists for 18 months.
The Grammy winner is currently on the first leg of the biggest tour of his career, The Justice Tour.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/justin-bieber-offering-month-free-online-therapy-fans/
| 2022-04-08T21:46:57Z
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Life expectancy continues to drop in US since start of pandemic, study finds
(CNN) - A recent study found that life expectancy in the U.S. has continued to drop since the start of the pandemic.
Researchers from the University of Colorado and the Urban Institute analyzed data from several statistical agencies and found that in 2021 life expectancy fell nearly half a year to 76.6 years.
Previously, a similar study found life expectancy dipped by almost two years in 2020.
In the decade before the coronavirus pandemic, life expectancy overall didn’t change much. But more than 900,000 Americans have died from COVID in the past two years.
Researchers from this most recent study also found life expectancy is more than five years less in the U.S. compared to other similar nations.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/life-expectancy-continues-drop-us-since-start-pandemic-study-finds/
| 2022-04-08T21:47:04Z
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Man charged after setting fire to home, killing woman and baby, police say
WALDORF, Md. (Gray News) - A man in Maryland was charged with arson and murder after he deliberately set a house on fire, killing a woman and a baby, according to police.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office said Vincent Anthony Fisher II, 46, was charged Thursday with first-degree arson and murder.
According to the sheriff’s office, first responders were called to a home in Waldorf (about 30 miles south of Washington, D.C.) on March 31 for a report of an altercation and a fire. After the fire was extinguished, investigators found Rashawn Cline, 27, and her daughter, Dashawn Cline, 1, dead inside the home.
The victims were the daughter and the granddaughter of Fisher’s girlfriend.
During the investigation, officials determined the fire was deliberately set, and the medical examiner ruled the deaths as homicides as a result of the fire.
Fisher, who also lived at the residence, was identified as the suspect and was immediately arrested. He was also charged with assaulting another resident of the house during an altercation that happened just before the fire was set, the sheriff’s office said.
Fisher is being held at the Charles County Detention Center and was denied bond.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/man-charged-after-setting-fire-home-killing-woman-baby-police-say/
| 2022-04-08T21:47:11Z
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Owl rescued after getting tangled up in barbed wire fence
Published: Apr. 8, 2022 at 4:31 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (Gray News) – Animal rescue groups in Colorado saved an owl that was stuck in a barbed wire fence this week.
The Arapahoe County Government said in a Facebook post Friday that the great horned owl got tangled up in the fence while “out and about fighting the Colorado winds this week.”
Residents called Arapahoe County Animal Services, and with the help of the Birds of Prey Foundation, rescuers were able to get the owl loose.
The owl is now recovering at a medical care facility.
Arapahoe County is located just outside of Denver.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/owl-rescued-after-getting-tangled-up-barbed-wire-fence/
| 2022-04-08T21:47:17Z
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Raleigh County Public Library supports youth literacy with rummage sale
BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) - It’s National Library Week and staff at the Raleigh County Public Library ended the week on a high note.
Friday morning, the library held a rummage sale filled with items donated by those in the community. 100 percent of the sale’s proceeds benefitted current and future youth programs at the library- namely its Summer Reading Program for children.
Cari Burns, Children’s Clerk for the Raleigh County Public Library, says that promoting youth literacy has always been a priority.
“Being able to be a hub for the community and have so many people donate just to help the children’s programming...I feel like the money we make can help increase the amount of prizes and things like that that we given out to kids during the summer.”
The library tries to hold rummage sales at least twice a year to support programming. In the past they have raised hundreds of dollars.
Hours before the sale ended, Burns said they were on track to beating last year’s proceeds.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/raleigh-county-public-library-supports-youth-literacy-with-rummage-sale/
| 2022-04-08T21:47:24Z
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Area hospitals see decline in COVID-19 patients
THE TWO VIRGINIAS (WVVA) - The staff at Clinch Valley Health are getting their first real pause from the pandemic in two years. That’s the word from CEO, Peter Mulkey. This extended break from treating COVID-19 patients will allow hospital employees to regenerate.
“It’s great for all of us. Not only for our staff here at the hospital but our community. Really kind of shows that we’re hopefully going in the right direction and we’re starting to get a little break from COVID,” said Mulkey.
Princeton Community Hospital’s CEO says their COVID patient numbers are leveling off, averaging 10 to 15 daily.
“I would call our current situation stable. But COVID is still out there and is still something that we need to be taking very seriously,” said Karen Bowling.
Both hospital leaders we spoke with say the lack of patients does not mean the pandemic has passed. Both endorse vaccination as the primary weapon to fight COVID, in light of the FDA’s authorization of a second booster for those 50 and older.
“Over time your immunity wanes. So if you’re a young healthy adult it may not be as relevant to you. But if you’re older, and you have a pre-existing health condition, if you’re immunocompromised. You definitely want to go out there and get that fourth booster,” said Bowling.
“Folks need to continue to get vaccinated, if they haven’t been vaccinated. If they have been vaccinated, getting the booster is extremely important,” said Mulkey.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/area-hospitals-see-decline-covid-19-patients/
| 2022-04-08T23:20:12Z
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Kentucky governor vetoes proposed 15-week abortion ban
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed a Republican-backed measure on Friday that would ban abortions in Kentucky after 15 weeks of pregnancy and regulate the dispensing of abortion pills.
The governor raised doubts about the constitutionality of the bill and criticized it for not including exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
State lawmakers will have a chance to override the veto when they reconvene next week for the final two days of this year’s 60-day legislative session. The abortion measure won overwhelming support in the GOP-dominated legislature.
The proposal reflects the latest attempt by Kentucky lawmakers to put more restrictions and conditions on abortion since the GOP took complete control of the legislature after the 2016 election.
The proposed 15-week ban is modeled after a Mississippi law under review by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could dramatically limit abortion rights. By taking the preemptive action, the bill’s supporters say that Kentucky’s stricter ban would be in place if the Mississippi law is upheld.
Kentucky law currently bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Beshear on Friday condemned the bill for failing to exclude pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
“Rape and incest are violent crimes,” the governor said in his veto message. “Victims of these crimes should have options, not be further scarred through a process that exposes them to more harm from their rapists or that treats them like offenders themselves.”
Beshear, a former state attorney general, also said the bill is “likely unconstitutional,” noting that similar laws elsewhere were struck down by the Supreme Court. He pointed to provisions in the Kentucky bill requiring doctors performing nonsurgical procedures to maintain hospital admitting privileges in “geographical proximity” to where the procedures are performed.
“The Supreme Court has ruled such requirements unconstitutional as it makes it impossible for women, including a child who is a victim of rape or incest, to obtain a procedure in certain areas of the state,” the governor said.
Opponents of the Kentucky bill say its restrictions are so onerous that no abortion clinic could comply.
The bill also would set regulations for the dispensing of abortion pills. It would require women to be examined in person by a doctor before receiving the medication.
That part of the bill is part of a nationwide push by anti-abortion groups to limit the ability of physicians to prescribe abortion pills by telemedicine, and comes in response to the increased use of pills rather than surgery to terminate early pregnancies.
About half of all abortions performed in Kentucky are the result of medication procedures.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/kentucky-governor-vetoes-proposed-15-week-abortion-ban/
| 2022-04-08T23:20:18Z
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Kevin Spacey asks judge to dismiss Anthony Rapp’s sex abuse suit
NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Kevin Spacey asked a judge Friday to throw out actor Anthony Rapp’s sex abuse lawsuit, saying through his lawyers that allegations that he abused the then-teenage Rapp at a 1980s party are false.
The lawyers wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that the alleged events Rapp described never occurred. Rapp has appeared in “Rent” on Broadway and in “Star Trek: Discovery” on television.
He alleged in his lawsuit that he went to a party in 1986 at Spacey’s Manhattan home, where a 26-year-old Spacey, without Rapp’s consent, “engaged in a sexual advance” by grabbing Rapp’s buttocks and lifting him onto a bed and laying on his body. Rapp claimed he “was forced to extricate himself” before leaving the party.
Spacey’s lawyers argued the alleged encounter cannot qualify as sexual abuse under New York’s laws because the only alleged contact with an “intimate” part of the body by Spacey was when his hand grazed the 14-year-old Rapp’s buttocks when the older actor picked him up. The lawyers said Rapp “wriggled out” with no resistance during an encounter of less than 30 seconds.
There was no other evidence that would suggest any fleeting contact between Spacey’s hand and Rapp’s buttocks was for the purpose of sexual gratification or to degrade or abuse Rapp, the lawyers wrote.
The lack of evidence means Rapp’s claims for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress must fail, the lawyers said.
They said Spacey “flatly denies” that any of what Rapp described took place.
Lawyers for Rapp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When Rapp first spoke publicly of his claim in 2017, others went public too and Spacey’s then-celebrated career abruptly halted. At the time, Spacey issued a statement saying he didn’t remember the encounter but apologized.
Spacey won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in “American Beauty,” a 1999 film in which he played a frustrated suburban father who lusts after his daughter’s best friend.
In recent filings, Rapp’s lawyers have asked to transfer the case to state court, saying Spacey cannot prove he has been living in Maryland and qualifies for the diversity of citizenship necessary to remain in federal court.
In fact, they argue, he has been mostly living in London since 2003.
They said he only lived in Maryland when he was acting in his Emmy-winning role in “House of Cards” from 2014 through 2017. He was fired from the show days after Rapp went public and former show workers claimed that Spacey made the production a “toxic” workplace and one ex-employee alleged the actor sexually assaulted him.
In November, an arbitrator said Spacey and his production companies must pay the studio behind the Netflix political thriller $31 million because of losses they incurred after his firing.
Spacey appealed the decision to a panel of three more private arbitrators, who found for the plaintiffs, making the decision final, and public.
A criminal case brought against him, an indecent assault and battery charge stemming from the alleged groping of an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket resort, was dismissed by Massachusetts prosecutors in 2019.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/kevin-spacey-asks-judge-dismiss-anthony-rapps-sex-abuse-suit/
| 2022-04-08T23:20:25Z
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McDowell man facing murder charge following death of 21-year-old woman
WELCH, W.Va. (WVVA) - A McDowell County man is facing a murder charge after shooting a woman in a home on Steward St. in Welch, W.Va.
Chief of Police Timothy Vineyard said when he arrived at the home, Jhamel Scott, 23, was standing outside in the driveway. Vineyard recovered a weapon and was directed into the home by Scott.
“I secured him and I secured the weapon and everything,” said Vineyard. “I found the victim and everything inside the residence ... All I can say it it was bad situation.”
Summer Robinette, 21, was found dead in the home early Friday morning.
Scott is charged with first degree murder.
Officials say Robinette leaves behind a four-year-old son who was also in the home when police arrived.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/mcdowell-man-facing-murder-charges-following-death-21-year-old-woman/
| 2022-04-08T23:20:31Z
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Police: Couple facing charges after 3 children go missing for weeks
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3/Gray News) - A Missouri-area prosecutor has charged a mother and her wife in the disappearance of three children.
KY3 reports Brittany Barnes and Ceairah Beverly have been charged with three counts of interference with custody or removed from the state.
Investigators said Barnes told Beverly’s mother, their legal guardian, she was taking the children to a court appearance on March 23. However, they never showed up to that appearance.
The children, Ryder Green, 10, Resean Green, 9, and Ramello Green, 8, have not been seen since. Police said they believed the women took them to Arizona.
Investigators said they contacted Barnes’s mother, and she initially told them the women and the kids were in Arizona. However, she later changed her story and said she would not cooperate with the investigation.
A children’s food stamp card was used at a Walmart in Queen Creek, Arizona, according to police.
The FBI has since been called to help work the case, and authorities urged anyone with further information to contact the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810.
Copyright 2022 KY3 via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/police-couple-facing-charges-after-3-children-go-missing-weeks/
| 2022-04-08T23:20:37Z
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Rain, snow, cold, and wind will stick with us into the weekend
Though snow amounts will stay low, slick areas & poor visibility will still be possible at times
Cold northwesterly wind flow will continue to ramp into the weekend, keeping us chilly and unsettled. Tonight, temps will eventually drop into the upper 20s-mid 30s. Rain and snow showers will continue on and off into the overnight hours.
As temps drop, more SNOW is likely to fall than rain overnight, and on occasion, we could see snow squalls/bands, which could reduce visibility and cause slick areas at times. Stay safe!
We’ll stay breezy and cold into Saturday, with rain/snow continuing through the day tomorrow. Highs will only be in the upper 30s and low 40S Saturday afternoon, and wind chills will stay in the upper 20s/low 30s throughout the day. Plain snow showers look more likely Saturday night-early Sunday as temps fall into the upper 20s-low 30s.
Total snow accumulations won’t add up to much through the weekend thanks to warm ground temperatures, but again, occasional snow band/squalls could at times overcome a warmer roadway, and cause near white-out conditions, if only for a few minutes. Be careful on the roads!
Sunday will bring a gradual drying trend, and we’ll be a bit milder, with highs in the upper 40s-mid 50s.
Next week, we look to warm back up quickly. It will feel like Spring again on Monday, with highs in the upper 60s/low 70s, a mix of clouds and sun, and just the slim chance for a few showers here & there.
Stay tuned!
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) -
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/rain-snow-cold-wind-will-stick-with-us-into-weekend/
| 2022-04-08T23:20:44Z
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Richlands town council member announces resignation
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - Following Richlands former Vice Mayor Mary Ann Strong calling it quits earlier this week, a second resignation on the Richlands town council was announced.
In a statement sent to WVVA, Richard Brown said council members as well as potential candidates have created a “toxic environment.” Brown says it has made it impossible to make life better for people in the town.
You can read the complete quote from Brown below.
“On April 6th, 2022 I submitted my resignation to Mayor Rod Cury, which was effective immediately for my position as a Council Member for the Town of Richlands. I would like to thank everyone who entrusted me with their vote and supported me during both of the terms that I have served.
The political climate in Richlands has changed as such to where not only potential candidates, but also certain sitting members of the town council have created nothing short of a toxic environment making it impossible to accomplish our goal to make a better life for the citizens of Richlands.
I had previously announced in the December meeting that I would not be seeking re-election this coming year, because I felt that with a new council being formed after the November election, it would not be appropriate for me to approve a budget for next year in which I would not be part of or responsible for.
In closing I am reminded of the story of the “Pied Piper of Hamelin.” Be careful who you choose to follow; not everyone is as they seem. Actions speak louder than words.”
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/richlands-town-council-member-announces-resignation/
| 2022-04-08T23:20:50Z
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VIDEO: Bystanders step in to help police stop attempted bank robbery
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow/Gray News) - A witness captured video of the moment police and bystanders stepped in to stop a man who was allegedly trying to rob a bank.
Honolulu police said they responded to the Bank of Hawaii in Pearl City around 1:30 p.m. Thursday for an attempted robbery call.
Kylee Sili had stopped by the bank on her lunch break when she saw the man apparently going behind the counter and harassing the tellers.
When police arrived, customers in the bank helped the officers detain the man and try to wrestle him down.
“So we went over there, and the uncle really helped. He immediately went to go help the cops take the guy down. There was another guy too, like another civilian guy. They were trying to take him down,” Sili said.
“The suspect was giving them a hard time, I don’t know what he was doing, what he was trying to do, trying to run.”
HNN has reached out to police for more information on the suspect and his charges.
Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/video-bystanders-step-help-police-stop-attempted-bank-robbery/
| 2022-04-08T23:20:56Z
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Welch Elementary School welcomes new Service Dog
WELCH, W.Va. (WVVA) - Students and faculty at Welch Elementary School welcomed a one year-old service dog named Coal on Friday.
It came as a part of W.Va.’s “Friends with Paws” program. Welch Elementary was the first school in the state to receive a therapy dog through the program, which was spearheaded by W.Va. First Lady Cathy Justice.
“Children and students just cling to these dogs,” said Justice. “It’s just like at peace in the school. I mean there’s better attendance, better behavior, better grades. It’s just a plus for everything.”
Four different staff and faculty members at the school are trained to take care of Coal, including one teacher who said she’ll take him home with her daily.
“He’ll live with us full-time,” said Shannon Pace, teacher. “But we will actually fund-raise as a school to cover his cost of care.”
Some students are already excited to see how Coal can help them out while in school, “It can help you focus on your work, your tests,” said Greyson Pace, student. “I know a lot of kids get test anxiety, I get test anxiety a lot. So I think [the dog] would be a big help.”
A handful of other schools in the state are set to get a therapy dog as well. For now though, the focus is on schools with students disproportionately affected by poverty, substance misuse and other at-risk situations.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/welch-elementary-school-welcomes-new-service-dog/
| 2022-04-08T23:21:03Z
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CHEYENNE – Walmart has a message for truckers: Keep on trucking, do it for Walmart and potentially earn more money.
Amid a shortage of long-haul truck drivers and low unemployment as many workers change jobs across a variety of professions, the nation's largest private employer said it will pay its truckers more than what it had been compensating them.
While this may make Walmart trucking jobs more competitive in the U.S. as a whole, it may not much affect the already difficult situation smaller trucking firms face in Wyoming, one such business owner told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. On top of rising inflation and accompanying increased employee costs, diesel prices also have surged in recent months.
On Thursday, Walmart announced that a starting driver could make as much as $110,000 in their first year of employment there. It would not provide a comparable figure for what such personnel could have earned in their first year if they had started work there about a year ago.
"Walmart is one of the best places to driv, and Walmart benefits are among the best in the industry," according to a company blog post.
The retailer has about 12,000 drivers in total. "We plan to hire over 5,000 drivers total this year across the country," a spokesperson wrote in response to WTE's questions. Some of those new jobs will be in Wyoming, she confirmed.
"Previously, Walmart drivers could make an average of $87,500 in their first year of employment with the company," the company representative wrote. Now, "the average pay for new drivers ranges from $95,000-$110,000" annually, according to another spokesperson who responded to questions by email Friday.
Besides the potential first-year salary that now could stretch into the six figures, there is "the potential to make even more down the road, based on factors like tenure and location," the company said.
Locally, the retailer has 27 truck drivers in Wyoming, a spokesperson wrote.
Trucking locally
The Wyoming Trucking Association noted that there are some 6,340 tractor-trailer drivers in the state, with an average annual salary of $50,200, according to Managing Director Sheila Foertsch. These figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2018, she added in an email Friday to the WTE.
As of last September, according more recent BLS figures that may not be directly comparable to those Foertsch provided, in this state there were 3,490 truckers, whose average annual wage amounted to $61,412. These more-recent statistics do not include certain types of workers, such as sole proprietors and contractors, according to the agency's Ric Wise. He is an economist, dealing with the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
Across the U.S. in general, a trucking association reports that "demand for trucking freight services remains strong." The American Trucking Associations said there is a wrinkle, however.
"For-hire contract carriers are capacity constrained due to the driver and equipment markets. The spot market has been surging as these carriers can’t haul all of the freight they are asked to move,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a March 22 news release. The group noted that "trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy."
Feehan Trucking in Mountain View likely won't be hurt too much by Walmart's pay increase, said owner Casey Wegener. He said he could not compete with such high salaries, nor with the starting bonuses of many thousands of dollars that some bigger trucking firms are offering.
"It does make it hard to compete," given actions like Walmart's, Wegener said by phone. "I do not blame a company doing what they need to do to get drivers. We are all short drivers."
Feehan has eight trucks, which it uses to haul hazardous, overweight or over-height loads for the oil and gas industry. It only has three drivers currently, and could immediately put another two to work. A few months ago, it had enough business to have added five new truckers, if they were available.
In recent months, Feehan has raised hourly wages, which are now equivalent to about $30 an hour, and also started matching some of its workers' contributions to their 401(k) retirement plans.
His company is not so much competing with national trucking firms, but rather offers unique circumstances that Walmart and other big firms may not be able to provide, Wegener said. Feehan's truckers almost always can return home at night, unlike long-haul drivers for national retailers, and the employees also can easily live in the small town without having to travel far to start their on-the-job drives each workday.
"We have sort of a smaller hiring pool, but we will use social media advertisements and (newspaper) advertisements," said Wegener, who separately is the secretary of the Wyoming Trucking Association. "I haven’t gotten any new drivers in two months."
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/walmart-raising-pay-for-truckers-hiring-locally-amid-u-s-employee-shortage/article_3f873e8a-a42f-5fba-9164-97ea54daa4fb.html
| 2022-04-08T23:28:42Z
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Wyoming botanist Trevor Bloom spotted his first springtime blooms of the year on March 28. Bloom, while tracing the footsteps of famed ecologist Frank Craighead at Blacktail Butte in Grand Teton National Park, saw the orogenia linearifolia, or snowdrop, wildflower.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wildflower, besides a dandelion, flowering in March,” Bloom said.
The snowdrop bloom was nearly a month earlier than Craighead had recorded in the 1970s.
“It means we’re probably going to have a very early spring this year. It probably means that we’re going to have very low water levels, and we’re probably going to have an increased risk of wildfire this year.”
The prognostication isn’t merely a gut feeling. Bloom and co-authors Donal S. O’Leary and Corinna Riginos recently published the study “Flowering Time Advances Since The 1970s In A Sagebrush Steppe Community” in the journal Ecological Applications. The study — a project of The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming — shows that early blooms of wildflowers correlate with warming average temperatures and a host of potential ecological responses.
The team began measuring plant behavior in 2016, in the exact locations where Craighead documented seasonal rhythms and relationships between plants, insects, birds and animals — the basis for his 1994 book “For Everything There Is A Season.” Bloom and his co-authors wanted to learn how closely the ecological relationships that Craighead observed track with what’s happening decades later.
They learned the seasons themselves are changing — particularly springtime, which is arriving sooner in Wyoming and potentially driving a cascade of ecological changes.
“We found that early flowering species had the greatest shift, moving up to three weeks earlier,” Bloom said. “Mid-summer flowers, like lupines, are flowering on average about 10 days earlier, and then late-summer flowers — like fireweed and goldenrod — have actually not changed significantly at all.”
Early flowering and earlier production of fruits correlate with warming average temperatures in Wyoming and throughout North America, Bloom said. Wyoming’s annual mean temperature increased 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit from 1920 to 2020, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. One of the most significant responses to warming average temperatures in Wyoming is early snowmelt and spring runoff.
Wyoming’s warming springtime, and ecological responses to it, have major implications for all manner of vegetation and wildlife — from whether migrating hummingbirds might find nectar at their annual stops to when bears go into and emerge from hibernation.
“This is just a very tangible example of climate change,” Bloom said.
Bloom grew up in Jackson idolizing brothers Frank and John Craighead — famed naturalists and conservationists credited for groundbreaking methods for studying grizzlies and other wildlife in and around Yellowstone National Park.
“I was inspired by them as these ecologists who were also adventurers and mountain climbers and just really inspirational people,” said Bloom, who serves as community ecologist for The Nature Conservancy.
“Frank Craighead became very interested in phenology, which is the seasonal timing of ecological events,” Bloom said. “It’s [studying] when snow melts, when flowers bloom, when they go to seed and the interaction of animals; when the elk begin to migrate, what they’re feeding on at what times, when bears emerge from hibernation, when birds migrate from the south. Those are all examples of phenology.”
The Craighead family homestead near Blacktail Butte, just outside the Grand Teton National Park boundary, served as an intriguing landscape to document the rhythms and interactions of a complex sagebrush steppe ecosystem. For several years in the 1970s and 80s, Frank Craighead recorded weekly observations along a 1.7-mile route from the base of Blacktail Butte toward its summit, documenting hundreds of plant, insect, bird and animal species.
Many professional and amateur ecologists refer to “For Everything There Is A Season” as a field guide to learn about seasonal interactions in the region. Corinna Riginos, director of science for The Nature Conservancy, used to ask students at the Teton Science School whether their own observations matched those described in the book. She began to notice seasonal events that Craighead described weren’t quite in sync.
A passage from Craighead’s book came to mind: “If the event occurs earlier or later than anticipated from the base data provided in the book, you can try to determine the influencing factors — for everything there is a reason.”
Riginos proposed continuing Craighead’s work to identify potential trends from the 1970s to today, factoring in changing climate conditions. The Nature Conservancy team consulted with Craighead’s widow and son to confirm his route and the plots where he’d made his observations. They were even given access to hundreds of pages of Craighead’s handwritten notes.
“Some of them are in cursive and in journals, and some of them have burned edges and are smoke-stained because his cabin in Grand Teton National Park burned down,” Bloom said.
The notes added a new dimension to “For Everything There Is A Season,” establishing a critical baseline to inform The Nature Conservancy’s research.
The greatest degree of change was measured among wildflowers known to bloom just as spring snowmelt begins, such as the snowdrop and hooded phlox. Those and other early spring flowers bloomed an average 17 days earlier compared to Craighead’s data from the 1970s and 80s, according to the study. Some bloomed 36 days earlier, based on the study’s 2016-19 data.
Mid-summer flowers bloomed an average 10 days earlier, and berry-producing shrubs five days earlier.
While early blooms are a logical, natural response to a warming climate and changing hydrological conditions, they pose significant challenges for wildlife that depend on them. Hummingbirds, for example, base their migratory habits on the length of daylight, which means they might arrive at annual stopover sites after flowers have lost their nectar.
“The flowers might be all dried up and gone,” Bloom said, adding that the phenomenon also threatens to extend the wildfire season.
If bushes continue to produce berries earlier in the season, it could result in food scarcity for bears in the fall. “There’s a direct correlation between the size and the abundance of a berry crop and bear-human conflicts,” Bloom said.
Better understanding these types of “phenological mismatches” is critical to inform land and wildlife managers about how to help mitigate potential threats, Bloom said. Preserving large, intact landscapes is especially critical for sagebrush ecosystems.
“You want to preserve as much biodiversity of plants as possible,” Bloom said. When restoring disturbed surfaces, it’s important to tailor a seed mix to include both early and late-blooming wildflowers. Bloom and The Nature Conservancy are consulting with Grand Teton National Park officials on such an effort at the Kelly hayfields, he said.
The study also highlights the need to maintain connectivity and corridors between seasonal habitats. Pronghorn, deer and other migrating wildlife must adapt to changing seasonal patterns to take advantage of vegetation as it “greens up” — a message underscored by the work of the Wyoming Migration Initiative.
Bloom said he’s excited to continue the wildflower research and to trace the footsteps of Craighead. The Nature Conservancy plans to expand its phenology research to other areas of the state. The work is bolstered by the organization’s Wildflower Watch initiative, which taps citizen volunteers to contribute phenology observations in northwest Wyoming. Some 700 volunteers have contributed to the program.
“Our goal is to increase people’s understanding of native plants, increase their understanding of invasive plants and form personal connections with climate change in Wyoming,” Bloom said.
WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/agribusiness/study-early-wildflower-blooms-sign-of-a-warming-wyoming/article_3b375a06-b782-11ec-8592-634452112a33.html
| 2022-04-08T23:28:48Z
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ROCK SPRINGS -- The first Sweetwater County Innovation Launchpad will be taking applications from entrepreneurs from April 4 to May 20. Innovative and scalable startups, as well as early stage companies which have high potential to impact Wyoming’s economic ecosystems, are encouraged to apply at https://impact307.org/sweetwater-challenge/.
IMPACT Sweetwater will provide valuable mentorship to the finalists, helping them prepare for a Pitch Day Competition in September. The winning finalists will receive seed funding, tied to milestones, to help start their businesses. IMPACT Sweetwater will continue to mentor the winners as they launch their new businesses.
IMPACT Sweetwater is a collaboration between the University of Wyoming’s IMPACT 307 and Western Wyoming Community College. Fred Schmechel, interim director of IMPACT 307, commented that “IMPACT 307 has helped 210 businesses launch during its history. The majority of those businesses have been in the past 5 years from regional startup challenges. We are excited to partner with Western Wyoming Community College to start a new regional startup challenge in Sweetwater County.”
Before this year, regional challenges were at UW, Casper, Sheridan, Wind River Reservation and Southeast Wyoming. A new regional startup challenge has recently started in Fremont County.
IMPACT 307 received a $2.4million Economic Development Association (EDA) grant to expand programming across the state. Expanded programming will double the number of regional startup challenges across the state, along with increasing staffing for IMPACT 307. Seed funding for the startup challenges is raised and held locally by community partners external to IMPACT 307. The Sweetwater County Innovation Launchpad seed fund is being raised by Amy Murphy of Western Wyoming Community College and Rick Lee of the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce.
According to Amy Murphy, Western’s dean of Outreach and Workforce Development, the opportunity provided by the Sweetwater County Innovation Launchpad is truly a valuable program for the community.
“Sweetwater’s IMPACT 307 is here to help innovative entrepreneurs. We hope that individuals looking to take their ideas and turn them into reality will participate in this challenge and utilize the expertise of IMPACT 307,” stated Murphy. “Our existing businesses have the opportunity to provide donations to ensure the challenge raises the seed funding needed to be successful in assisting entrepreneurs reach their dreams and become successful in launching their business. Their success creates economic growth and jobs for our community.”
Applicants are encouraged to reach out to IMPACT Sweetwater for guidance during the application process. They can reach Monica Patten, assistant director – IMPACT 307, at [http://about:blank/]sweetwater@uwyo.edu, or by cell at 307-466-3963.
Events which will help applicants prepare for the competition are coming up in April and May. While these free events are not mandatory for applicants, they could help guide teams to create more successful applications. Question and answer sessions will be held by Monica Patten and entrepreneurs who have worked with IMPACT 307.
Entrepreneurs include Ty Nieters, CEO of Simply LLC; Brian Deurloo, President/Founder of Frog Creek Partners; and Berney Bradley of InsurXcel. A bootcamp for entrepreneurs called START 307 is held once a quarter by IMPACT 307. Lunch and Learns are held on a regular basis from IMPACT 307. These events can be found on the SCIL application webpage at https://impact307.org/sweetwater-challenge/.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economic_development/sweetwater-county-innovation-launchpad-provides-opportunities-for-local-entrepreneurs/article_26aa8dba-b782-11ec-a93d-0b8150a20e7d.html
| 2022-04-08T23:28:54Z
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CHEYENNE – Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove could owe the state’s attorney oversight board more than $91,000.
An “Affidavit of Costs and Expenses” was filed with the Wyoming Supreme Court March 11. That was the same day a panel chosen from the Wyoming State Bar’s full Board of Professional Responsibility filed its official recommendation with the court to disbar Manlove.
That official report reiterated the recommendation the hearing panel issued Feb. 11, following the conclusion of a seven-day disciplinary hearing. It found Manlove had violated six rules of professional conduct for attorneys in the state.
The list of costs, accompanied by copies of invoices and receipts, was submitted to the Supreme Court “for review for purposes of determining assessment of costs, if any, in the proceeding,” the affidavit said. It totals $91,196.96.
The affidavit articulating these costs was made public following the Supreme Court’s approval Monday of a motion by the DA. The motion sought to make certain documents filed with them in the case part of the public record.
At $64,635.75, the largest set of costs were those associated with the hearing taking place at Little America Hotel & Resort: lodging, meals, meeting space and use of audio/visual equipment.
The Wyoming Room, the ballroom in which the disciplinary hearing was held, cost $1,200 each day – except for the two Fridays the ballroom was used, when the price increased to $2,600.
Other costs included $12,882.75 in expenses for transcription services, and $2,803.18 in additional mileage, lodging and meal expenses for the three members of the hearing panel.
Also listed was $9,332.28 in investigation and hearing expenses incurred by Special Bar Counsel Weston W. Reeves, who represented the Bar in the case. Invoices for Reeves’ Park Street Law Office in Casper, related to formal complaints filed with the Bar against Manlove, were submitted dating back to March 4, 2021. Most of the line items were redacted.
Manlove’s attorney in the case, Stephen Melchior, said Thursday that Manlove’s response to the hearing panel’s recommendation would address the cost and expense claims.
The district attorney has until May 2 to file a formal response to the panel’s recommendation, following an extension recently granted to her by the Supreme Court.
The state Supreme Court will ultimately decide what disciplinary action is taken against Manlove, including how much of the more than $91,000 she may ultimately owe. This process will likely take several months.
Formal charges filed by the Office of Bar Counsel last year with the State Bar alleged Manlove had mishandled the prosecution of cases in Laramie County and inappropriately dismissed certain cases, and that she created a hostile work environment for employees of the district attorney’s office, among other accusations.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/government_and_politics/da-manlove-could-owe-91-000-in-hearing-costs/article_16afe644-b782-11ec-ba0d-0347090e895d.html
| 2022-04-08T23:29:00Z
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Couple opens kid-friendly Blue Water Jump Zone inside Birchwood Mall
The hum of blown-up bouncy houses and echoes of laughing children may be easily heard for passers-by at the latest business to set up shop in Birchwood Mall.
Keith Shannon, who works in construction, and girlfriend Stephanie Seaman opened the doors to Blue Water Jump Zone on the north end of the Fort Gratiot mall property earlier this month.
Initially, aimed to be a fun side hustle, the couple said it has quickly begun to take up more time, keeping them busy in welcoming families with kids who need a place to let out a little energy.
Shannon joked the positive response “caught us off guard” at first. He said he originally considered getting into party rentals after Seaman lost a corporate job and the two looked for a business to run together — one that would give families something to do.
“Something good for our community, something for our kids to do, something that’s inexpensive fun, which was a big thing for us, too,” Seaman said. “We want people to be able to afford it, like for families to be able to spend all day.”
It was also a chance to spend time with their own families, as Shannon added, “That’s the reason we did it, too, so we could have our kids with us.”
After first looking for space in Marysville, where they live — Shannon recalled the Jump N Jam — they came to the mall, renovating their current location earlier this year.
“It sat on the back burner for years,” Shannon said. “... But it was right up our alley for what we needed with the high ceilings. And that was it. After that, we got into it in February.”
The business’ layout introduces visitors to several larger bounce houses and climbable inflatables when they first walk in. A middle section, which Shannon said was there when they began renovations, is aimed to be a gathering area with a snack bar, seating, and a clear slate for kids to draw on.
The back of the Jump Zone has smaller inflatables to accommodate toddlers.
Then, a separate long and narrow area enclosed on the side, Shannon said, is still under construction to serve as a party space for customers.
On Wednesday, a few days after the Jump Zone announced its opening, Jackie Krzak and her daughter Kelly Redner sat at the side of the front section of inflatables, watching Redner’s grandchildren Kristopher and Kevelyn, ages 7 and 5, play in one structure with their friend Eli and other kids.
“We’re on spring break right now, so we thought we’d come check the new place out. The kids are having a lot of fun,” Redner said.
Both mother and grandmother agreed it was the type of business local families needed to take their kids.
The Jump Zone follows mall hours and is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Shannon said they were still working on a website, but they have a Facebook page up with further details.
Birchwood Mall General Manager Lois Potts agreed, adding she was thrilled to add Blue Water Jump Zone to their mix of tenants.
“Keith and Stephanie worked magic to bring the space to life. You can’t help but smile when you walk by and hear the chatter and laughter from the kids playing inside,” she said in a statement. “Blue Water Jump Zone has filled a void that was much needed in the area. My hopes are that their success story will inspire other new or already established local business owners to reach out to see what the mall has to offer.”
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.
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https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/04/08/couple-opens-kid-friendly-blue-water-jump-zone-inside-birchwood-mall/9482200002/
| 2022-04-08T23:29:40Z
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'We want to help the community grow': New hot dog restaurant opening in downtown Capac
CAPAC - After years of working for others in the restaurant and hospitality industry, Tammy Quenneville is ready to work for herself.
Quenneville and her husband, Ed Vennettilli, are following their dreams and opening New Dawgs in Town, a hot dog themed-restaurant at 113 South Main St., Capac. They are hosting a grand opening and ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Saturday at the store.
"It's very exciting," she said.
The restaurant primarily does carryout, featuring different hot dogs, vegan hot dogs, kielbasa and sausage from around the country and world, with styles inspired by Detroit, Chicago, New York City and more. The menu will also feature ice cream, fresh daily soups, popcorn, a dessert bar, chips and homemade dog treats.
The restaurant will also have a hot dog of the month starting in May. Residents are welcome to send in suggestions, Quenneville said.
The interior of the restaurant is sports-themed, with Michigan sports memorabilia on the walls and limited seating.
Quenneville said she also plans to sell homemade cookies iced with different cancer awareness ribbons each month. A portion of proceeds will go to the Angels of Hope, a nonprofit that provides financial assistance to families experiencing cancer.
The nonprofit helped her with her own cancer experience two years ago. Quenneville said she was diagnosed with Lymphoma in January 2019, and was in remission by August of that year.
The diagnosis made her realize what was important, but it also motivated her to achieve the things she had always dreamed about. Quenneville said ever since she met her husband eight or nine years ago, they had talked about opening their own restaurant.
"Life is too short," she said.
Helping the community grow
Quenneville said they got the idea for hot dogs after hosting a hot dog bar at her grandchild's first birthday party.
"It was a hit," she said. "And so I think that was primarily what set us off on the hot dog path."
Quenneville said she hopes the restaurant is a place for local kids to hang out. They realized they wanted to do something for local kids after attending Capac's Halloween stroll last year.
"We want to help the community grow," she said.
Tracie DeGain is a long-time friend of Quenneville and manager of Miller's Place, the bar across the street. She said it's good for the town to have a variety of dining options to choose from.
"A lot of people in the town are very excited for something new and different," she said.
Using their industry experience
Both Quenneville and Vennettilli have worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry for many years. Quenneville said her husband has opened restaurants in Clinton and Shelby townships, while she has mostly worked in Shelby Township.
Quenneville said she enjoys meeting people in the hospitality industry and giving everyone an enjoyable experience.
"It's just nice to make people smile and make people happy," she said.
The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For questions or to inquire about employment, call (810) 669-3020.
Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or lfitzgeral@gannett.com.
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https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/04/08/new-hot-dog-restaurant-open-downtown-capac/9499739002/
| 2022-04-08T23:29:46Z
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'We are on life support': St. Clair County moving forward with new tax proposal for ambulance services
A brand-new countywide tax to cover ambulance services is slated to come before St. Clair County voters next August in what local EMS officials said is a push to better staff and operate their agencies.
The proposed millage would levy 0.5 mills annually for four years, collecting more than $3.3 million — an amount that would be distributed proportionally among local communities.
For 26 of 31 of the townships and municipalities in the county, the agency contracted for ambulance services already is Tri-Hospital EMS.
The agency’s CEO Ken Cummings has been in lockstep with county officials for the last several months, stumping for more funding from state legislators in Lansing and weighing what options may cover a growing financial shortfall.
Tri primarily relies on reimbursements from ambulance runs, and as the number of calls has risen — a 38% increase in the last decade — the revenues to support ambulance services have not.
“We are on life support right now, and we need an infusion to help us survive this,” Cummings said during an interview this week.
“The public needs to understand that if they don’t support this, they’re not going to have the same level of ambulance service that they’ve been enjoying for the last 38 years here,” he added. “There will have to be changes to it. So, this is more of a simple survival strategy moving forward than it is an expansion opportunity.”
Cummings said Tri would expect between $2.7 million and $2.8 million in revenue from the proposed tax.
The first priority, he said, would be addressing the agency’s deficit, followed by raising wages to recruit new employees and retain staff.
Richmond-Lenox EMS Chief Jeff White said they were anticipating about $300,000 in additional revenue if the tax is approved. The agency covers Casco, Columbus, Riley, and Wales townships in St. Clair County, as well as five municipalities in Macomb County.
Like Tri, White said they’d use the funds to help raise wages.
Marysville covers its own EMS services, and Deputy Public Safety Chief Ed Gerrow said they weren’t 100% sure yet how they’d use the funds, which might amount to around $200,000.
Without the tax, Cummings said they’d have to cut services and that the system may have to be rearranged, though he wasn’t sure which communities would suffer the most by any reduction in coverage.
St. Clair County Commissioner Greg McConnell, who chairs the county board’s judiciary and public safety committee, feared it’d more rural areas, such as his district, which encompasses Capac, Emmett, Yale, and eight townships.
“If the ambulance services can’t survive financially, the first ones they’re going to drop are the rural areas,” McConnell said. “So, if Tri-Hospital EMS decide they were no longer going to be in business, and they were going to sell their entity to (another) ambulance company, they’re going to come in and buy it, and they’re going to pick and choose where they want to make calls. They’re going to pick the high-volume areas to run (an agency). And that’s going to lead the people in the less-populated areas of the county without protection.”
More than one big tax decision slated for August primary
St. Clair County commissioners touched on language for the new EMS tax during the county board’s judiciary and public safety committee meeting on Thursday, agreeing to move it for final approval later this month.
The setup would get it on the ballot in time for the August primary election, along with several other countywide tax proposals.
The language for two have already gotten the county board’s OK. The parks and recreation tax is up for renewal with 0.4954 mills set for another six years, as is the renewal of the senior millage at 0.7983 mills through 2025, levying $3.3 million and $5.4 million, respectively.
The St. Clair County Library System will also have a tax proposal next August, though that proposal asks voters to increase its 0.7-mill tax to 1.2 mills for 10 years. That millage, which would collect over $8 million, was also moved to the next board meeting by commissioners Thursday and awaits final approval.
Earlier on Thursday, McConnell pointed to the library millage and the longer-term commitment for taxpayers it requests, calling the ambulance tax proposal’s term a trial period — a source of temporary stability to see how well it supports EMS needs.
“This is just a Band Aid. This isn’t a 100% solution. It’s a solution for now,” he said. “It’s going to fill a gap, but we just don’t know for how long. You deal with it, it goes for (four) years, and at the end … you look at if it’s successful and if people want to continue it.”
The financial difficulties for EMS also come as some other first responder agencies also struggle with financing manpower, training, and other needs, McConnell said, adding, “There’s not a lot of sunshine when you’re looking at these budgets for these companies.”
During Thursday’s board meeting, Commissioner Dave Rushing asked whether the ambulance millage would affect volunteer fire departments, such as those that serve his district.
In short, it wouldn’t. But the official, whose district covers southwestern St. Clair County around Memphis and Richmond, also compared budget constraints of ambulance agencies to those of fire departments, admitting he “initially wasn’t sure” whether he’d back the tax proposal.
“But I definitely support it,” Rushing said. “… If they have zero runs or 150 runs, they still have the same basic cost. They’ve got to have equipment and personnel.”
Commissioner Dave Vandenbossche, who is assistant fire chief for Marine City, said like with ambulance services, there are a large number of calls for fire services that are non-billable and “going up steadily.”
He emphasized the need for EMS in a variety of scenarios supporting police and fire.
“They’re also a backstop for our fire and police because they do standby for every major incident we have,” Vandenbossche said. “A lot of times, Ken has to call in overtime to back-call that. Without them being there, I know we wouldn’t be safe doing our job.”
How could more tax dollars be put to use for ambulance services?
Cummings said the tax for ambulance services could help bolster Tri-Hospital’s ability to expand services, such as adding another ambulance.
But he said the millage proposal was more about financial maintenance than growth.
Without the ability to increase its rates, which are set by the government and insurance companies, Cummings said Tri is projected to have operating deficits this year and next at $600,000 and $1 million.
And in talking about the shortfalls, he pointed to rising costs in labor and fuel in addition to the increase in runs. Also, he said he hoped to raise wages, reduce the standard workweek from 48 to 42 hours, and expand retirement savings.
Cummings said he would like to get EMT wages into the $40,000s and paramedic wages to at least $60,000, as well as expand Tri’s class offerings to get more people into the field. Currently, Tri offers community CPR, basic EMT, medical first responder and paramedic classes, and continuing education.
They’re also short-staffed with eight or nine positions open, he said.
“Part of the strategy, no question about it, is to use some of these proceeds to try and attract more personnel,” Cummings said. “And the way to do that is by offering higher wages to that personnel.”
White said Richmond-Lenox is feeling the staffing squeeze like everyone else. The agency currently has two full-time paramedic positions and one full-time EMT open, he said. The agency currently employs 23 paramedics and 11 EMTs — both full- and part-time.
With the tax, he said they could raise wages for all staff by 6% to 8% to be on par with larger, more urban EMS agencies.
As of May 2022, EMTs make an average of $42,000 and paramedics make about $62,000, he said, with variations based on seniority, experience, and performance.
White said they were also looking at using the millage revenue to pay St. Clair County residents’ remaining co-pays after insurance has been billed for ambulance runs.
However, they would not pay unmet deductibles, he said. Richmond-Lenox already has this service through a resident-funded millage in Richmond and Lenox Townships.
“I dislike the idea that a resident of one of our communities might have to decide whether or not they call an ambulance based on whether they can afford it,” White said. “And I think this millage proposal gives us the opportunity to say to residents, you don’t have to look in your wallet before you call 911.”
Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or lfitzgeral@gannett.com. Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.
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https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/04/08/st-clair-county-moving-forward-new-tax-proposal-ambulance-services/9494955002/
| 2022-04-08T23:29:52Z
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/henleys-eli-hayes-named-skyline-conference-boys-basketball-player-of-year/article_3f00155f-bfad-5780-a5be-effa80759032.html
| 2022-04-08T23:33:14Z
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Skyline Conference play begins this coming week for the Henley, Klamath Union and Mazama high school baseball teams.
Henley, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A in the Oregon School Activities Association, will have the toughest opener, playing at No. 1 Hidden Valley on Wednesday before hosting the Mustangs in a doubleheader next Saturday.
“I am super excited for our upcoming series, we know every out is big,” Hornets coach Adam Randall said of facing Hidden Valley.
Randall said Henley (8-1 entering Friday) and Hidden Valley have a heated rivalry from vying for conference titles in previous seasons.
Mazama coach Pete Whisler said he doesn’t think it’s just a two-team race.
“The division is wide open this year, we will be ready when it comes time to play anyone in the conference.” Whisler said. “We have been improving our game and our opponents, especially our recent ones, will help us prepare for league.”
Whisler referred to a March 31 doubleheader against South Medford, which is currently ranked first in the state in Class 6A. The Vikings (4-6) lost 11-1 and 8-3 but rebounded with a 6-5 victory against Crater on Tuesday to wrap up nonconference play. They'll open Skyline play by playing host to North Valley on Wednesday.
Klamath Union coach Mike Overstreet said he thinks the Pelicans (2-7) will surprise in conference play. They snapped a seven-game losing streak last Saturday with a 13-11 victory against Cottage Grove. KU opens Skyline play at Phoenix on Wednesday.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/basin-teams-set-for-skyline-play/article_b34202d6-5b31-51c5-a1cc-4e0a114aac12.html
| 2022-04-08T23:33:20Z
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The U.S. is getting a first glimpse of what it's like to experience COVID-19 outbreaks during this new phase of living with the virus, and the roster of the newly infected is studded with stars. Cabinet members, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Broadway actors and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut have all tested positive. Outbreaks at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University are bringing back mask requirements to those campuses as officials seek out quarantine space. The outbreaks in the Northeast may — or may not — signal what's to come, experts say. Case counts are no longer reliable because official testing and reporting has been scaled back and more Americans are testing at home.
The U.S. is getting a first glimpse of what it's like to experience COVID-19 outbreaks during this new phase of living with the virus, and the roster of the newly infected is studded with stars.
Cabinet members, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Broadway actors and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut have all tested positive. Outbreaks at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University are bringing back mask requirements to those campuses as officials seek out quarantine space.
The known infections likely reveal only the tip of the iceberg — with actors and politicians regularly tested at work. Official case figures are certain to be vast undercounts of how widely the virus is circulating because of home testing and mildly sick not bothering to test at all.
Across the nation, mask-wearing is at its lowest level since April 2020, said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. For every 100 infections, only seven are recorded in official tallies, according to his modeling group's latest estimate. That means a place like New York City that's averaging 1,600 cases a day has a dramatically higher true number of infections.
Mokdad expects the high level of U.S. immunity built up from previous infections and vaccinations will protect the nation from a large surge.
"We're going to have some infections here and there, but it's not going to shut down the country," Mokdad said. "Life has to go on. We have to be vaccinated and boosted. We need to protect the vulnerable, but we have to get used to it."
On Broadway, several performances of the comedy "Plaza Suite" were canceled after Matthew Broderick tested positive, followed by his wife and co-star, Sarah Jessica Parker. Daniel Craig, too, has been sidelined from his revival of "Macbeth."
Large indoor gatherings with masks optional have led to infections, with a high-profile party in Washington, D.C., now seen as a possible super-spreader event. Other infection clusters outside of groups that are regularly tested might go undetected, said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy with the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington.
"It's harder now than it was before to know what's happening. The future is a little fuzzier because we don't have as much information at our fingertips," Michaud said. "If you're not an actor in a Broadway play or a politician you might fall through the testing cracks."
The public health response will vary from community to community based on what's happening locally, Michaud said.
"We're fighting smaller fires instead of a raging blaze across the country and those smaller fires can be disruptive," Michaud said. "It leaves everyone to choose their own adventure when it comes to pandemic response and individual behaviors."
In Washington D.C., the outbreak has been particularly high profile — striking multiple Cabinet secretaries and Congress members along with Mayor Muriel Bowser and the president of Georgetown University.
At least a dozen of those infections can be traced to the Gridiron Club dinner, an annual fixture of the D.C. social calendar that took place Saturday for the first time in three years. The dinner is an example of a return to near-total normality that's taking place around the country, leading to a spike in positive tests, but not necessarily a corresponding spike in serious illnesses or hospitalizations.
Washington, D.C., like much of the rest of the country, has greatly relaxed its COVID-19 stance in recent weeks. Bowser has allowed vaccination and indoor masking mandates to expire, and the city health department stopped reporting daily virus numbers in early March. Attendees at the Gridiron Club dinner, which Bowser did not attend, had to provide proof of vaccination, but otherwise no masking or social distancing protocols were observed.
And other staples of the D.C. social calendar are also back to normal. The city's annual Cherry Blossom Festival has been going for weeks — with dozens of associated events, including a parade scheduled for Saturday.
Amid that general return to pre-pandemic behavior, there are a few cautionary steps backward. Georgetown University announced it would reintroduce its indoor mask mandate amid rising infection numbers that include university President John DeGioia
Georgetown's Chief Public Health Officer Ranit Mishori, in announcing the new restrictions, described the infection spike as "significant" — particularly among undergraduates. "Thankfully, with the vast majority of our community up to date on vaccination, we are not seeing cases involving severe illness," Mishori wrote.
D.C. health chief Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, in comments to reporters this week, has pointed to the ongoing low level of hospitalizations as proof that the vaccinations have successfully limited the severity of the illness.
Virus metrics in Washington have crept up in the past month according to the city health department. The weekly case rate per 100,000 residents climbed from 51 at the beginning of March to 110 at the end of March. But that's still far below the weekly case rate of 865 per 100,000 residents reported in the second week of January during the omicron variant surge.
Nesbitt said there were no immediate plans to reinstitute any of the lapsed virus protocols, but that always remained an option in the future.
"We need to remember that living with the virus does not mean forgetting about the virus. It's still out there, it's still causing people to get sick and some people to die," Michaud said. "If we're not prepared, we could be in a bad situation quickly again."
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AP writer Ashraf Khalil in Washington, D.C., contributed.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/get-used-to-it-outbreaks-give-taste-of-living-with-virus/article_83b02edd-7d74-59a2-a0c6-2e7005133ddb.html
| 2022-04-08T23:33:27Z
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The Klamath County Sports Officials scholarship committee announced the opening of its application for scholarships to selected student-athletes from local high schools Friday.
This year is the 12th for the scholarship fund, which has contributed more than $22,000 to 79 local student-athletes since its formation in 2011. Last year, more than $2,000 in scholarships were awarded to Klamath Basin high school seniors.
“We join our local student-athletes in welcoming back a normal sports schedule for the 2021-2022 school year,” said Joel Woodley, chair of the committee, in a news release. “We look forward to helping these student-athletes – whose high school athletic and academic careers were greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – on their path to post-high school success.”
The fund provides scholarships to graduating student-athletes at the eight schools serviced by the Klamath County Sports Officials partnership – Lost River, Henley, Mazama, Klamath Union, Crosspoint Christian, Chiloquin, Bonanza and Lakeview. Winners are selected based on academic performance and at least one letter of recommendation from a varsity coach. Applicants must have a minimum GPA and must have earned a letter in at least one varsity sport that is officiated by the Klamath County Sports Officials.
The scholarships are funded by donations from members of seven local officiating associations representing various sports. Members of these groups officiate local youth and high school athletic contests in their respective sports and are compensated for those services. Individual officials contribute to the scholarship fund from their earnings, either through deductions or direct contribution to the fund.
Woodley said that, while local associations do not require officials to make contributions to the fund, many officials see it as a way to give back and feel personally invested.
“Our local officials understand the value of a well-rounded education that includes extracurricular activities such as athletics. Their contributions over the past 12 years demonstrate their willingness to give back to the student-athletes they serve, and we are grateful to have had consistent support from our local associations.”
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/klamath-county-sports-officials-offer-scholarships/article_efa98088-7c55-5d92-ad99-a7e6f5aa2079.html
| 2022-04-08T23:33:33Z
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A vote for Henslee
Our family has strong ties in the Klamath Basin and want the future of this community to be brighter and stronger than ever. That is why I’m voting for Dave Henslee for Klamath County Commissioner.
Dave’s family ties here in the Basin are long and strong, going back to the 1920s. He returned to Klamath with his wife and children to serve as our police chief, a position he served until he retired. As the chief of police, his goal was to make Klamath a safe place for all of us to call home, a place for our community to thrive together in peace. He did that.
As the owner of commercial property in downtown Klamath Falls, I witnessed something very special, extremely rare, and extraordinary in the leadership traits Mr. Henslee displayed during a potentially dangerous, emotionally charged event where Main Street was lined with people, some armed, on opposing sides of an issue that had the entire country gripped in conflict, often violent, in some cases, acting out against each other.
Dave Henslee calmly placed himself between the people yelling, some of the loudest individuals and, I don’t know what he said, but his body language, demeanor, and calm approach had a profound impact on those present. He transformed a potentially explosive situation where some were ready to escalate the very tense event beyond harsh words, calming the crowd to the point where some met in the middle of Main Street and shook hands. I was very moved by his approach and the positive impact he had on the evening.
These are the qualities and characteristics I want serving us all on the Board of County Commissioners.
Please join me in voting for Dave Henslee for Klamath County Commissioner, Position No. 1. He truly is a public servant and excellent leader – characteristics we need in our commissioner.
Cec Amuchastegui
Klamath Falls
Campaigns an interview process
As we carefully, methodically evaluate individuals running for office we should keep a few things in mind: Campaigns are, literally, the interview process for the employers – you and I, to evaluate the qualifications, character, and fitfulness of those applying for the jobs on our ballots.
As a successful Chief Executive, Dave Henslee has proven that he can compile a multi-million-dollar budget, line-by-line, then manage large organizations to operate within that budget, holding himself accountable throughout the fiscal year. He has successfully achieved this standard in both the public and the private sectors, making needed cuts in tough economic times.
Dave Henslee is a man of impeccable character. He won’t hide important information from you or mislead you in any way just to win an election. When elected, Dave’s priority will be in serving us with honesty and integrity.
I’m tired of some elected officials placing their personal goals and ambitions above their obligations and oath of office, are you? We’ve all witnessed these individuals become so preoccupied and hyper-concerned about getting reelected they become paralyzed when confronted with potentially critical or controversial issues.
From day one, Dave will be making decisions based on what’s best for our community and after careful analysis of the facts associated with the issues under consideration; basing decisions solely on the merits of the issues, nothing unassociated will influence his votes, including potential political risks.
Dave Henslee is an innovator that will think outside the box in crafting solutions to our most perplexing problems.
Personally and professionally, Dave conducts himself in ways that will make us proud to call him one of our commissioners.
I respectfully ask that you consider joining me in voting for Dave Henslee, an accomplished executive in both the public and private sectors, and a man of exemplary character.
Please vote for Dave Henslee for Klamath County Commissioner, Position No. 1.
Joe Spendolini
Klamath Falls
Another vote for Henslee
My husband and I worked on one of Chief Henslee's advisory teams and came to understand his dedication to community involvement and the inclusion of all Klamath Falls citizens.
His dedication to a safe and fair police department has been long proved by his seven years as Klamath City Police Chief. Many positive community changes came about because of Dave's dedication to the ideas.
Our vote will be for Dave Henslee, it is the only tried and tested smart vote!
Marilynn McLaughlin
Klamath Falls
Golden Age Club has lost its way
I have been a member of the Klamath Basin Golden Age Club for 26 years. My mother paid for my membership when I reached the club age of 50 to be a member. I was so excited because this was a very social club for seniors. It only cost $5 for a lifetime membership, which most seniors could afford. It was a club for seniors to attend that would not cost them an excessive amount to have a social club of playing bingo and cards.
All that has changed over the past 10 or so years. Our rent went from $250 a month to, I think, $650 a month, after Mark Kane became director of the Klamath County Senior Center. We meet Monday and Thursday each week. The center now makes us pay for our own insurance to meet there.
The Klamath Basin Golden Age Club now allows persons the age of 38 to be a member. The last time I noticed, a 38-year-old is not a senior. But the new officers do not know that the club has by-laws to follow. It hasn’t been an enjoyable, fun social club for a long time. I am seeing the past members shuddering in their graves to see what has happened to their social club.
Since I am one of the oldest members, I can only apologize to the past members as to what has happened to our club.
Lana Shaw
Klamath Falls
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/letters-to-the-editor/article_3435bf72-5861-5b37-810a-7dfb961473ab.html
| 2022-04-08T23:33:39Z
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Oregon Tech is proposing a 7% increase in tuition and fees as the university faces a decrease in state funding and increasing labor and benefits costs.
The increase applies to the 2022-23 academic year and is subject to approval by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC).
The increase recommendation was made to the Board of Trustees on Thursday by Oregon Tech President Dr. Nagi Naganathan and was based on input from the Tuition Recommendation Committee (TRC). The board approved the recommendation at the meeting.
The recommended 7% increase is comprised of a 6.6% tuition increase and a .4% mandatory fees increase.
President Naganathan shared, “Oregon Tech is repeatedly recognized as the Oregon university that offers the best return on investment. Education at a polytechnic university costs more given the need for specialized equipment in our STEM programs, and this equipment is necessary for providing our students with applied learning opportunities," President Naganathan said in a news release. "It is this style of learning and training that employers highly value, resulting in our graduates achieving 96% placement success. Increasing the tuition rates is our last resort. While some regional universities saw increases of $7 to $8 million in funding from the formula revision, Oregon Tech funding was reduced, imposing considerable strain on meeting our student needs.
“The TRC was given the difficult job of evaluating Oregon Tech’s funding challenges and what upcoming years will require. I thank all of the students, faculty, and staff who were part of this important committee.”
The committee worked with Oregon Tech’s student government (ASOIT) to hold public forums at the Klamath Falls and Portland-Metro campuses. These forums were held to educate the campus community about the tuition-setting process and budget dynamics affecting the University and to solicit feedback from students on a range of tuition scenarios developed by the TRC. Feedback from the forums was incorporated into the TRC recommendation.
Oregon Tech will continue to raise funds from alumni, donors, and agencies for scholarships and grants and guide students through the process of applying for federal assistance.
Vice president of Finance and Administration John Harman said capital construction projects did not influence the TRC’s recommendation to increase tuition. Oregon Tech capital construction is primarily financed from bonds funded and retired by the state and not the university. Funds for new construction or building renovation projects do not come from the general fund.
For example, Oregon Tech’s current Boivin Hall remodel was identified by the state as a priority project due to the building’s age and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance needs. The project received $23 million in state bonds and Oregon Tech matched that with $1.1 million from fundraising and reserves.
“The cost of education remains an important issue for us, and we will continue to lobby for increased investment from the state,” Naganathan said. “As a premier educational institution with a history of 75 years of applied learning, Oregon Tech is a university of destination for thousands each year. Our vision is to provide the same world-class learning experience Oregon Tech is known for to every class of students we serve. At Oregon Tech, student success is our top priority.”
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/oregon-tech-board-approves-7-tuition-fees-increase/article_1ff14f32-5279-5391-a4ad-c226e818901f.html
| 2022-04-08T23:33:45Z
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/pickleball-mashup-is-saturday/article_19bd08f1-7db1-5cd3-9b52-1f97a97a544a.html
| 2022-04-08T23:33:51Z
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Subhead: Timber Unity hosted a debate Thursday for Republicans running for governor – 11 took took the stage
HILLSBORO — Under a Republican governor, many state employees would lose their jobs and Oregon would favor farmers and ranchers over environmental interests, 11 GOP candidates indicated at a debate Thursday night.
The candidates – a mix of local elected officials, business owners and political activists – are among the 19 Republicans vying for their party’s nomination in May. They gathered at Hillsboro’s remodeled Venetian Theatre, answering questions about forests and natural resources in a ballroom that used to be a movie auditorium.
Candidates sat behind individual tables draped with red tablecloths and topped with sprigs of Oregon grape — the state flower. Debate co-moderator Denise Quinn, a personality on the Keizer radio station KYKN, said the flowers weren’t just there to look pretty: the governor’s mansion takes its name from the plant’s scientific name, Mahonia aquifolium, and she hoped one of the people on stage would be the next resident of Mahonia Hall.
The 11 Republicans on stage – and the eight who didn’t attend – still face long odds to win in a general election. Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican for governor since 1982.
But Republicans are optimistic about their chances this year for several reasons.
Gov. Kate Brown, who is limited from running for another term, is unpopular among voters, and Republicans won the governor’s race in Virginia last year and are polling well nationally. And Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic state senator, is running a well-funded campaign unaffiliated with either party and could siphon votes from either the Democratic or Republican candidate.
“Both national and local polls suggest Republicans will do well this year,” said Tracy Honl, Oregon’s Republican national committeewoman, as she introduced the candidates.
Oregon’s primary election is May 17, and the deadline to register to vote is April 26. Only registered Republicans or Democrats can vote in party primaries.
Thursday’s debate, hosted by Timber Unity, provided a rare chance to hear from most candidates in the race. Portland TV station KATU, which planned to host primary debates for both parties, canceled after backlash over its decision to exclude any candidates who hadn’t raised at least $750,000 for their campaigns.
Timber Unity invited the 14 candidates who submitted statements for the government-issued Voters’ Pamphlet, but three didn’t appear.
The crowded stage meant candidates each got a minute to introduce themselves and respond to questions, while a worker next to the stage waved a yellow warning flag as they approached the limit and then dinged a bell to cut them off.
Questions focused entirely on forests, agriculture and the environment, though candidates found ways to squeeze in comments about their preferred talking points: crime, protests and school curricula. And there were plenty of jibes, both between candidates and at Democrats.
Candidate Brandon Merritt, a marketing consultant from Bend, got members of the crowd to shout “Let’s go, Brandon” when he introduced himself – both a cry of support for Merritt and a political slogan conservatives adopted as code for a profane insult to President Joe Biden.
Cleaning house
Each Republican candidate promised that countless state employees will lose their jobs under their administration.
“Oregon’s gonna run out of paper when I’m governor,” said Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam. “We’re going to hand out so many pink slips in the state government.”
The governor has hiring and firing power over directors of state agencies and appoints people to more than 250 boards and commissions.
Bob Tiernan, a former state legislator who once chaired the Oregon Republican Party, said he learned from his experience running the retail chain Grocery Outlet that hiring matters. Because Democrats have been in charge for decades, he said a Republican governor will have to start by replacing agency heads and then look at career employees.
“I would clean house right across the board with the agency heads, and I would reach into the private sector and get good skilled experienced people to take their place,” he said. “And then they’ve got to do a top-down review of that agency to see what they have to do because you just can’t replace the top. You’ve got to go down.”
Marc Thielman, former Alsea school superintendent, said he’d first target the Oregon Education Department, which he repeatedly clashed with over his decisions to keep schools open and making masks optional on campus when they were still required statewide.
“They’re the ones teaching our kids that climate change is real,” he said.
Future of timber
Oregon’s timber industry has been in decline since the early 1990s, with periods of stability during the early 2000s and after the Great Recession, according to the state Employment Department. There were nearly 16,000 jobs statewide in forestry and logging in 1990, compared to just more than 9,000 in 2020.
When debate moderators asked about agricultural jobs that could replace those lost in the timber industry, most candidates rejected the question’s premise.
Bridget Barton, a political consultant from Lake Oswego, recalled asking a prominent investor on the street in Portland a decade ago when the timber industry was going to come back. When he told her “never,” she said, she walked away thinking he was fundamentally wrong.
“I say, ‘Break out the chainsaws and bring on a governor who will stand up for the timber industry and bring it back,’” she said. “Because if you allow the trees to grow and you don’t cut them, we’re just headed for more and more wildfires and devastation.”
Christine Drazan, former House minority leader, said she proved she wasn’t ready to give up on the timber industry when she led Republican legislators to walk out in 2020 over a proposed cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Timber has to be a part of Oregon’s future, not just its past, she said.
“It’s not a matter of looking into our rural communities and replacing one ag interest or one timber industry for another,” she said. “We have got to commit to taking these multi-generational businesses that love Oregon and telling them we want them to stay, by making it possible for them to stay and grow and have the next generation take over and continue to sustain and grow our rural economies.”
Pulliam, though, said the “unfortunate truth” is that there’s not much that can be done to bring back lost jobs in the traditional timber industry. Instead, he said, Oregon can and should expand production of cross-laminated timber, which uses dried boards glued together into slabs that can be used in place of concrete or steel.
Ensuring access to water
Oregon, and most of the West, has been in a state of drought for 20 years. Legislators will likely spend more money on drought relief over the summer, the governor has said.
Drought creates conflict with different groups that rely on water. Farmers and ranchers need it to grow crops. Environmental groups and fisheries need enough water for fish and riparian habitats to stay alive. When there’s not enough water to go around, the state and federal government decide which groups get the limited water.
Candidates differed in how they’d approach future water shortages.
Tiernan earned jeers from a group of Thielman supporters when he proposed expanding canals and trying cloud seeding, or using aircraft or drones to add particles of silver iodide to clouds. The particles have a similar structure to ice, and water droplets cluster around them, increasing the likelihood of rain.
Thielman, meanwhile, again denied the existence of climate change and said drought conditions are caused by the government.
“If the government is so hell bent on convincing us that climate change is a disaster that’s impending then why aren’t they doing anything to help support we the people, ranchers and farmers, forestry folks, the whole genre of natural resource industry?” he asked. “What they do instead is they make the problem worse by not filling up the reservoirs earlier in the season when they could, and they do it because they’re worried that it might rain.”
Bill Sizemore, an anti-tax activist who was the Republican nominee for governor in 1998, said his philosophy remains the same as it was in 2000, when he crafted a ballot measure to require the government to reimburse landowners for any land lost to regulations.
“When the government says we’re going to increase the riparian setback along streams, for example, to protect wildlife or keep the water shaded and cooler for fish, fine,” he said. “But if that results in taking the value of that property, or stealing the money of the people who own that property, and the right to harvest near better grazing, those landowners must be compensated by the general public that is benefiting from those restrictions.”
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/republicans-vow-to-restore-timber-industry-protect-ag-if-they-win-oregon-governor-s-race/article_d9dbcdbe-6cce-5a48-b882-96b74f239b2d.html
| 2022-04-08T23:33:57Z
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| 2022-04-08T23:34:01Z
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Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/fast-and-furious-driver-cited-yellow-charger-impounded-after-being-clocked-at-102-mph/article_1ea1f2a7-8f96-535c-9ad9-c4f746b3ced1.html
| 2022-04-08T23:34:04Z
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Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/on-the-debate-stage/article_0c34851e-4b39-5079-af0b-dadebdf5a5ab.html
| 2022-04-08T23:34:10Z
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Computers are at the heart of everything we do, and the right technology makes all the difference. PC Gamerz Hawaii creates incredible custom builds and can take your computer to the next level.
Chief Operating Officer, Landon Switch shared that after COVID-19, they shifted their business into PC Manufacturing and custom-built PC’s. “Everyone had to social distance, and they stayed at home, so they played games and socialized via those computers.” Whether it was for working from home, or playing online games, PC Gamerz Hawaii helped to provide.
The management at PC Gamerz Hawaii values the importance of supporting local manufacturing. “We have 25+ employees...local jobs...we want to continue to support the Hawai’i community.”
Many of these computers are made for different companies, organizations, and individuals. They “like to focus on wire management” for aesthetics and “e-waste control.” In the warehouse, you can see PCs with RGB components, custom logos, and visuals that are satisfying to the eye. As for wire management, this “gives the best upgradeability...when they can upgrade, that means that they aren’t going to throw away PC’s... and fill up our landfills.”
As Miss Hawaii 2019 & 2020, Nikki was a representative for the Aloha State and was highly involved with the community as she promoted the importance of service. Nikki is the host of KITV's entertainment and culture platform, ISLAND LIFE.
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https://www.kitv.com/island-life/business/pc-gamerz-hawaii-builds-custom-computers-with-aesthetic-features/article_8bd9f38e-b795-11ec-91d5-8737facd6f7a.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:05Z
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Farm to Barn Cafe and Juicery offers a true farm to table experience, while focusing on sustainability and building a sense of community. “Farm to Barn opened in 2018, it’s 2.5 acres of certified organic land” and provides “us with lots of greens that we use throughout the cafe” explained Owner, Michelle Ching. Some examples of these greens from the farm include lettuce, kale, and even the beets which are used to create their Vegan Poke.
At the cafe, you can enjoy your meal on the lawn, at a picnic table, and even pair it with live music on Fridays. Just next to the cafe is where you can see farmers hard at work taking care of the land. Michelle expressed, “The sustainability part of the cafe is extremely important” and “as the world just continues to develop, people want things faster, major distributors and producers are trying to mass grow things.” We took a walk through the farm and saw some of the beets that were in their beginning stages of growing. These ingredients will eventually be ready to pick for dishes that Michelle calls, “Straight from the Farm, to the Barn!”
These locally sourced ingredients come together to create a variety of menu items and local favorites. First we tried the Humble Bowl which was filled with sauteed vegetables, roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, and topped with tahini dressing. Next was one of their most unique dishes, the Vegan Poke. This dish featured braised and seasoned organic beets from the farm, pickled cucumber, red onions, and white rice. Last was the Loco Moco where the beef is grass-fed, the “eggs are local, sprouts are local, the lettuce is local” and overall is a local favorite. We paired our meal with some of their fresh cold-pressed juices which are available everyday at the cafe.
“I feel a very high sense of responsibility to provide great ingredients to our community, and we’re set up here with the perfect location, with the farm right next to the cafe.”
Michelle hopes that the motto of “Farm to Table” encourages others to, “start a small garden, grow your own lettuce instead of buying it from the store” and to start “supporting local.”
To enjoy the true Farm to Barn Experience, stop by:
As Miss Hawaii 2019 & 2020, Nikki was a representative for the Aloha State and was highly involved with the community as she promoted the importance of service. Nikki is the host of KITV's entertainment and culture platform, ISLAND LIFE.
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https://www.kitv.com/island-life/food/enjoy-a-farm-to-table-experience-with-farm-to-barn-cafe/article_bcb303f2-b785-11ec-9fd9-6b57f11adcfb.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:11Z
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...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 knots with rough seas 7 to 10 feet,
except north winds and lower seas in Maalaea Bay.
* WHERE...Most central through eastern waters and channels.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
Disney announced Friday that the series, in which celebrities compete to be named the best ballroom dancer, will exclusively air on Disney+ in the US and Canada starting in the fall. It's the first live series to debut on the streaming service, and it will no longer appear on ABC.
Kareem Daniel, chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, cited "the show's broad appeal, as well as the overwhelming popularity of its Disney-themed competition nights," saying the move will help Disney+ "expand our demographic reach."
"Dancing with the Stars" premiered in 2005 on Disney-owned network ABC, and since then it's garnered a loyal following and solid viewership for 30 seasons. In its announcement, Disney noted the show's most recent fall season's viewership put it in the top five most-watched unscripted series for adults age 18 to 49.
Given the success of "Dancing," Disney's choice to move the series exclusively to streaming and away from network TV might seem surprising. But Disney is pouring tons of resources into Disney+, the company's crown jewel and the most important entity in its media empire. Adding hit shows to its content library is another bid to add to Disney's 130 million subscribers, even if it comes at a cost to ABC.
Boosting subscriber numbers is vital to Disney as it continues to compete with the likes of Netflix in the streaming marketplace. The move also shows the company's desire to expand the Disney+ content range, which since its November 2019 launch had been focused on creating original content for its family-friendly brands like Disney Animation, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.
Lately, though, that's been changing. Disney+ is carefully but steadily broadening its library. For example, several gritty and mature Marvel series that originally streamed on Netflix, like "Daredevil" and "Luke Cage," debuted on DIsney+ last month. As a result the company prompted all Disney+ users in the United States to update their parental controls.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/business/dancing-with-the-stars-is-leaving-abc-for-a-streaming-service/article_6c96c566-e390-557f-b778-0f82e2c57282.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:17Z
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A deadly and highly infectious avian flu is forcing US farmers to kill millions of egg-laying hens, reducing the country's egg supply and driving up prices.
On Thursday, retailers paid between $2.80 and $2.89 for a dozen large grade A white eggs in the Midwest, according to the USDA's daily Midwest regional egg report. That's more than double the roughly $1.25 they cost in March, according to data compiled by Brian Earnest, lead protein industry analyst at Cobank, which provides financial services to agribusiness.
Typically, large white eggs in that region cost somewhere between $0.70 and $1.10 per dozen, said Earnest, who noted that the Midwest prices serve as a national benchmark. Around Easter, when demand is high, those prices can reach about $2, he said — far lower than they were on Thursday.
Higher feed costs and supply chain difficulties have made many food items more expensive this year, and eggs are no exception. But this particular spike is being driven by the highly pathogenic avian influenza that has been detected in flocks across the country, Earnest noted. It's the worst US outbreak of the bird flu since 2015.
Though the flu is deadly for poultry, it is "primarily an animal health issue," according to the Centers for Disease Control, which added that it believes "the risk to the general public's health from current H5N1 bird flu viruses is low."
Because the flu is so contagious and deadly to birds, the USDA protocol is to kill infected flocks to curb the spread of the disease.
In Iowa, the nation's leading egg producer, "we currently have more than a dozen sites impacted by the disease," including three facilities where hens lay eggs, said Chloe Carson, communications director of the Iowa Department of Agriculture. As a result "we have had to depopulate 11.2 million laying hens," out of about 56 million laying hens in Iowa overall, she said.
This particular strain of the flu is being spread by wild migratory birds, Carson explained. The migration season typically lasts from March to May, she noted.
"As long as the migration patterns continue, there is a risk for disease to continue to be introduced to our domestic populations," Carson said.
Pricier eggs this summer
Although wholesale egg prices are spiking, that doesn't mean supermarkets are passing those costs onto consumers, explained Earnest.
Retailers will often "take a loss on eggs to draw in store traffic," he said. Generally, around Easter or Christmas, when people are more likely to bake, "we'll see a reduced price on-shelf for eggs."
So rather than raising prices, some stores appear to be dealing with the higher costs by eliminating their egg promotions.
"Retail promotional activity was very limited and offered little incentive for shoppers to buy beyond immediate needs," according to the USDA's weekly egg markets overview, published last Friday.
Eventually, however, prices are likely to go up.
"I would expect we're going to see at least a 30 or 40 percent premium on top of [typical prices] through the summer months this year as a result of the tighter supply," Earnest said.
He also noted that even before the flu was detected in the US earlier this year, the number of egg-laying hens was relatively low. And frozen or dry egg inventories are "down significantly from what they typically are," he said. That could mean there will be some egg shortages later this year.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/business/deadly-avian-flu-sends-egg-prices-soaring/article_c5ee74db-c458-5166-8b1e-2be0ff56b851.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:23Z
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There's still time to claim a third stimulus payment worth up to $1,400 per person.
Eligible taxpayers who didn't receive the payment or may be due more money than they initially received are allowed to claim a tax credit on their 2021 federal tax return by the April 18 deadline.
The vast majority of the third stimulus payments were automatically delivered to taxpayers' bank accounts or via a check in the mail last spring. The payments were authorized by the American Rescue Plan in March 2021 and were meant to help people struggling financially because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the payments were calculated last year based on the most recent federal tax return on file at the time. If a taxpayer's income or family size changed in 2021, the individual may be eligible for more money.
Other people may have missed out on the stimulus payment altogether. Those with incomes so low they don't have to file taxes may have never received their payment because the Internal Revenue Service did not have their information.
How much are the payments worth?
The third round of stimulus payments is worth up to $1,400 per person. A married couple with two children, for example, can receive a maximum of $5,600.
Families are allowed to receive up to $1,400 for each dependent of any age. Earlier rounds limited the payments to dependents under the age of 17.
Generally, low- and middle-income US citizens and US resident aliens are eligible for either a full or partial third-round stimulus payment.
Individuals earning less than $75,000 of adjusted gross income, heads of households (like single parents) earning less than $112,500 and married couples earning less than $150,000 are eligible to receive the full amount of $1,400 per person.
But the payments gradually phase out as household income increases. Individuals who earn at least $80,000 a year of adjusted gross income, heads of households who earn at least $120,000 and married couples who earn at least $160,000 are not eligible for any money -- regardless of how many dependents they have.
Undocumented immigrants who don't have Social Security numbers are not eligible for the payments. But their spouses and children are eligible as long as they have Social Security numbers.
Who may be eligible for more money?
Taxpayers who earned less money in 2021 than the previous year may be eligible for more money than they initially received from the third round of stimulus payments.
Those include single filers who had incomes above $80,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021; married couples who filed a joint return and had incomes above $160,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021; and head of household filers who had incomes above $120,000 in 2020 but less than this amount in 2021, according to the IRS.
Individuals and families who added a child in 2021 -- through birth, adoption or foster care -- could be eligible for additional money. Families that added another kind of dependent, such as an aging parent or grandchild, may also be eligible.
Here's how to claim the payment on your tax return
Those who believe they are due more money must file a 2021 tax return, even if they don't usually file taxes, and claim what's called the Recovery Rebate Credit. If a taxpayer is eligible for more money, it will either reduce any tax the person owes for 2021 or be included in a tax refund.
In order to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, a taxpayer will need information that was sent in a letter from the IRS in the past couple of months. Known as Letter 6475, it confirms whether a taxpayer was sent a third stimulus payment and the amount. Alternatively, that information can be obtained by accessing your IRS online account.
For most taxpayers, the federal tax return filing deadline is April 18, though it's a day later for residents of Maine and Massachusetts. Taxpayers having difficulty meeting the deadline can file for an automatic six-month extension by using Form 4868.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/business/nows-your-last-chance-to-get-a-third-stimulus-check/article_6dd07146-8b65-5ebd-a2b7-9b81ca30d9ab.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:29Z
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...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 knots with rough seas 7 to 10 feet,
except north winds and lower seas in Maalaea Bay.
* WHERE...Most central through eastern waters and channels.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
EWA BEACH (KITV4) -- The shooting at an illegal game room in Ewa Beach on Tuesday has been reclassified as a second-degree murder case, following the death of one of the victims. A 23-year-old man was arrested, Friday, in connection to the shooting.
The deceased is a 33-year-old man, Honolulu Police said. Two other people, a 25-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman, also suffered serious injuries in the shooting.
So far, none of the people involved have been identified.
The shooting happened at a home in a neighborhood on Hanakahi Street around 1:45 a.m., on April 5.
Police are still investigating. So far, there has been no word about what led up to the shooting. Investigators have not said if they are looking for any other suspects.
This is a developing story. Check back with KITV4 for more information.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/crime/1-victim-in-ewa-beach-game-room-shooting-dies-suspect-arrested/article_28e81eae-b790-11ec-894e-b3e52f78f1ab.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:35Z
|
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 knots with rough seas 7 to 10 feet,
except north winds and lower seas in Maalaea Bay.
* WHERE...Most central through eastern waters and channels.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV4) - The historic Hawaii Theatre Center is confronting a fast approaching deadline, as public signage is said to not correspond with Honolulu permitting regulations.
The Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) says the Hawaii Theatre Center's crawling banner of the theater fails to comply with a zoning variance issued back in 2003.
The zoning variance establishes rules about what can be shown on public signage, as well as how often images and text can change.
The rules also detail that the maximum change rates for the flashing sign should exceed no more than six images per hour, while also specifying that only one color can be used for lettering and background.
DPP says their investigation of the Hawaii Theatre's banner determined that it does not, in fact, follow the approved guidelines.
In turn, they issued a notice of violation on Tuesday, April 5, warning that if the necessary remediation's are not made within a 30 day time-frame, the Theatre will be subject to civil fines.
The Theatre's administration says they were unaware of the notice.
President and CEO of the Hawaii Theatre saying:
"Based on our reading of the variance, our sign is currently operating in the manner prescribed under 2003/ZBA-13, and we'll look forward to working with the Department of Planning and Permitting to better understand their concerns and address any outstanding issues."
The Theatre has until May 6 to make the corrections.
Erin found her passion in journalism from a young age, watching her dad on the news. He taught her the importance of meeting, learning, and sharing people's stories.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/local/hawaii-theatre-center-issued-honolulu-notice-of-violation-over-banner-visuals/article_c3c8070e-b781-11ec-87c0-bb9493c86801.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:41Z
|
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 knots with rough seas 7 to 10 feet,
except north winds and lower seas in Maalaea Bay.
* WHERE...Most central through eastern waters and channels.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
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Fu Lin restaurant, in Lahaina, failed two Hawaii Department of Health inspections on April 4 and 6, forcing them to close until proper health and safety protocols and clean up are in place.
Fu Lin restaurant, in Lahaina, failed two Hawaii Department of Health inspections on April 4 and 6, forcing them to close until proper health and safety protocols and clean up are in place.
Fu Lin restaurant, in Lahaina, failed two Hawaii Department of Health inspections on April 4 and 6, forcing them to close until proper health and safety protocols and clean up are in place.
Fu Lin restaurant, in Lahaina, failed two Hawaii Department of Health inspections on April 4 and 6, forcing them to close until proper health and safety protocols and clean up are in place.
Photo courtesy of Hawaii DOH
Fu Lin restaurant, in Lahaina, failed two Hawaii Department of Health inspections on April 4 and 6, forcing them to close until proper health and safety protocols and clean up are in place.
Photo courtesy of Hawaii DOH
Fu Lin restaurant, in Lahaina, failed two Hawaii Department of Health inspections on April 4 and 6, forcing them to close until proper health and safety protocols and clean up are in place.
LAHAINA, Hawaii (KITV4) – The Hawaii Department of Health’s Food Safety Branch issued a red "Closed" placard to Fu Lin Chinese Restaurant on Monday.
The Chinese restaurant is located 1312 Front St. in Lahaina on Maui. Following the inspection on April 4, the restaurant has immediately shut down, and will remain closed until the health department conducts a follow-up inspection on April 11 and all violations are resolved.
During the routine inspection, the DOH inspector noted the following critical violations:
• About two dozen cockroaches throughout the kitchen;
• A live cat in the kitchen;
• Rodent droppings throughout the kitchen;
• Multiple holes/openings in walls, ceiling, and floor where pests can enter;
• Food debris and grease accumulation throughout the kitchen;
• Lack of sanitizer in the mechanical dishwasher;
• Improper temperatures of potentially hazardous foods; and,
• Use of a handwash sink for purposes other than handwashing.
A follow up inspection was conducted on April 6. The following violations were noted:
• A live rat in front bar;
• Roach activity in the kitchen;
• Rodent excrement in the kitchen and;
• Improvement towards cleaning grease and food debris and filling holes and gaps in kitchen walls, ceilings, and floors.
Based on the severity of pest activity, the restaurant will remain closed to protect public health, and until DOH approves its reopening.
DOH requires food establishments to take the following corrective actions before they can reopen:
• Continue to work with a professional pest control contractor. A monitoring and treatment plan for both rodents and cockroaches must be completed to eradicate the current pest infestation.
• Provide copies of the pest treatment reports to DOH to monitor progress.
• Clean any remaining food debris and grease and fill any remaining holes.
The next follow up inspection is scheduled for April 11.
The Department of Health’s Food Safety Branch protects and promotes the health of Hawaii residents and visitors through education of food industry workers and regulation of food establishments statewide. The branch conducts routine health inspections of food establishments where food products are prepared, manufactured, distributed, or sold.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
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https://www.kitv.com/news/local/lahaina-chinese-restaurant-fu-lin-forced-to-close-following-multiple-failed-health-department-inspections/article_d4f824f6-b77b-11ec-8500-674a35f6756c.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:47Z
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...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 knots with rough seas 7 to 10 feet,
except north winds and lower seas in Maalaea Bay.
* WHERE...Most central through eastern waters and channels.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV) – A 32-year-old Indiana man has been identified as the victim in a deadly fall at Olomana Trail on Wednesday, the Medical Examiner’s office confirmed.
Jason Gardellis of Indianapolis died after falling approximately 250 feet while hiking near the third peak, off the Makai side, on the Olomana Trail.
A Hawaii Fire Department (HFD) helicopter crew was needed to recover Gardellis’ body. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A photo of the victim has not yet been released.
Officials did not say how many other people the victim was hiking with at the time of the accident. No other injuries were reported.
Matthew has been the digital content manager for KITV4 since September 2021. Matthew is a prolific writer, editor, and self-described "newsie" who's worked in television markets in Oklahoma, California, and Hawaii.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/local/me-identifies-indiana-man-as-person-killed-in-250-foot-fall-on-olomana-trail/article_d595cefc-b787-11ec-a8ad-239617d635a7.html
| 2022-04-09T00:38:53Z
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...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 knots with rough seas 7 to 10 feet,
except north winds and lower seas in Maalaea Bay.
* WHERE...Most central through eastern waters and channels.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
Ezra Miller, left, and Grant Gustin are pictured. Following the recent arrest of Miller after an incident at a bar in Hawaii, fans on social media are lobbying to get the actor replaced in the forthcoming DC film "The Flash."
Following the recent arrest of Ezra Miller after an incident at a bar in Hawaii, fans on social media are lobbying to get the actor replaced in the forthcoming DC film "The Flash."
Miller, who prefers to be identified by the pronouns they/them, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and harassment last month in Hilo, Hawaii.
They are set to star in the film adaptation of the superhero tale, which is also a popular TV series. The movie is slated for a June 2023 release.
There's been chatter online that Grant Gustin, who stars in the television version of "The Flash," should take over the role from Miller.
"Probably a good time to mention this, Grant Gustin would've been a much better DCEU Flash," one person tweeted, referencing the DC Extended Universe franchise.
Gustin has portrayed Barry Allen / The Flash since the CW series premiered in 2014.
Miller also stars in the upcoming "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore."
CNN has reached out to reps for Miller and Gustin for comment.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/national/ezra-miller-arrest-fallout-fans-are-calling-to-replace-the-star-in-film-version-of/article_e22938e0-74e7-59bc-bea8-ddf07f8f3588.html
| 2022-04-09T00:39:00Z
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Alex Jones accused of hiding assets over Sandy Hook lawsuits
Published: Apr. 8, 2022 at 7:47 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Infowars host Alex Jones is facing a new lawsuit in Texas.
Family members of some of the 20 children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are accusing the conspiracy theorist of hiding millions of dollars in assets after they began taking him to court.
The families have already won defamation lawsuits against Jones after he said the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, never happened.
An attorney for Jones said there was no attempt to hide assets and called the suggestion “ridiculous.”
Trials are set for later this year to determine how much Jones should pay the families.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/08/alex-jones-accused-hiding-assets-over-sandy-hook-lawsuits/
| 2022-04-09T00:51:06Z
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Norfolk Southern donates N&W archives to Virginia museum
RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Norfolk Southern Corporation is donating archives from the Norfolk and Western Railway to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond.
It’s an extensive collection that dates to the 1840s, and the company says it includes thousands of documents, photographs and artifacts.
Norfolk Southern is also donating $750,000 to help the museum catalog, digitize and preserve the collection.
LaSandra Boykin is Director of Corporate Giving and Community Relations for Norfolk Southern.
“We knew that they... would do a really good job of not just preserving our archives, but really cataloging that material,” Boykin said of the Richmond museum. “And so we just felt like it was a really good opportunity to keep part of our history in Virginia.”
Adam Scher is the Vice President for Collections and Exhibitions at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
“We are the state’s history museum and the Norfolk and Western collection is just chock full of material, both archival material and three-dimensional artifacts that help to tell the story of how this railroad criss-crossed the Commonwealth and really built the economy of the state, enhanced travel opportunities as well and connected the state to other states throughout the Mid-Atlantic and into the Midwest,” Scher told WDBJ7 in an interview.
“It’s a very broad collection, in terms of material that I think has great potential for, not just the scholarly researcher, but for the average rail fan,” he said.
Museum officials are asking for patience from rail fans and historians. They say cataloging the collection and preparing for public access could take some time.
But once that happens, Boykin said she’s confident the archive will be an important resource for students, historians and railroad enthusiasts.
“I hope people will take a moment and look back and say gosh this railroad has been around a really long time and all the other predecessors that came before it to create Norfolk Southern,” Boykin said, “and really dig deep into the archives and learn more about our history, because it is such a rich history.”
Copyright 2022 WDBJ. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/07/norfolk-southern-donates-nw-archives-virginia-museum/
| 2022-04-09T01:05:23Z
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Alex Jones accused of hiding assets over Sandy Hook lawsuits
Published: Apr. 8, 2022 at 7:47 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Infowars host Alex Jones is facing a new lawsuit in Texas.
Family members of some of the 20 children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are accusing the conspiracy theorist of hiding millions of dollars in assets after they began taking him to court.
The families have already won defamation lawsuits against Jones after he said the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, never happened.
An attorney for Jones said there was no attempt to hide assets and called the suggestion “ridiculous.”
Trials are set for later this year to determine how much Jones should pay the families.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/alex-jones-accused-hiding-assets-over-sandy-hook-lawsuits/
| 2022-04-09T01:05:32Z
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Betty White’s personal possessions to go up for auction
(CNN) - Fans of the famous actress Betty White will have a chance to own several keepsakes from her lustrous career as the first lady of television.
Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California, is putting 1,500 of her treasured possessions on the auction block this fall.
The items include everything from her award show gowns to her jewelry, home furnishings and even her “Golden Girls” director’s chair.
The collection also includes certificates for her 21 Emmy nominations and rare photos of her personal life and work on behalf of animal rights.
With all the memorabilia spanning White’s eight-decade career in entertainment, the auction is scheduled to take three days starting Sept. 23.
Fans will also be able to make their bids remotely, according to Julien’s Auctions.
Copyright 2022 via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/betty-whites-personal-possessions-go-up-auction/
| 2022-04-09T01:05:43Z
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Do Portugal International Circus comes to Harrisonburg
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - For the first time ever, Do Portugal International Circus has come to Harrisonburg. The circus is set up in a giant tent outside of the Valley Mall and includes a number of talented performers from all over the world.
The circus is set to kick off several weeks of performances with its first show Friday, April 8 at 8 p.m.
“You can expect clowns, jugglers, magicians, acrobats. This is a 100% family show so it’s for everyone,” said Damian Castro, the manager of the circus who also rides a motorcycle in one of the acts.
The circus has spent the last year traveling around the U.S. performing after being unable to do so for the first nine months of the pandemic. Its performers spent that time perfecting their craft.
“With COVID we just didn’t know what to do with all our time so we just kept practicing, practicing, practicing mostly all day. So once we were able to work again we had a better show to give to the audience,” said Castro.
Since then the circus has traveled to different states and adapted to the COVID regulations of each.
“Restrictions, fewer people, some places say yes, other places say no. So we struggled with that for the first six months of last year but we’ve been able to work. We started in Texas and Louisiana,” said Castro.
The circus is now back to operating at its normal 1,500 person capacity and spent the last two months in Lynchburg and Charlottesville. It’s excited to bring its performance to Harrisonburg for the first time saying it has something for everyone.
“As the show starts all the way to the finish it is so exciting. There’s not just one thing that is the main attraction. As soon as the show starts, it’s a whole exciting show,” said Castro.
The circus will be in town through April 24 with one show at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, two shows at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, and three shows at 2 p.m., 5 p.m., and 8 p.m. on Sunday.
You can purchase tickets here.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/do-portugal-international-circus-comes-harrisonburg/
| 2022-04-09T01:05:54Z
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Gov. Youngkin sings law giving more training to law enforcement to detect human trafficking
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Last week, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed 45 bills into law, including establishing training methods for law enforcement to detect human trafficking.
“This bill furthers the idea that we should do more with law enforcement and law enforcement should get that required training, make it compulsory, and even add it to the curriculum at the training academy,” Kaitlyn Savage, an advocate to prevent human trafficking, said.
Starting July 1, the Department of Criminal Justice Services will establish training standards for law enforcement personnel to recognize, report, and prevent human trafficking.
”Encouraging these trainings and seeing that this bill has been passed and it has been signed into law would be a great step to motivate law enforcement into taking these trainings and see what they can do to help human trafficking victims,” Savage said.
According to experts, law enforcement can regularly come in contact with human trafficking victims, but they can be labeled as criminals, and if they don’t know the signs to look for, they can miss the opportunity to help someone in danger.
“They’re actually coming in contact with law enforcement more so seen as criminals, but if you look at the right signs and you’re trained on what the proper signs are, then you can get them the help that they need,” Savage said.
Experts say that human trafficking can mirror domestic violence cases, but there are signs which go beyond domestic violence that can tip off law enforcement about trafficking.
“If they’re answering for them or if the victim in the case, they could be a criminal... if they just seem very timid and scared around this person and they’re fearful to speak, I think that’s really important,” Savage said.
Many larger cities in Virginia already have similar training procedures in place, but smaller departments in rural areas, such as the Shenandoah Valley, have had fewer resources for this type of training.
“Only cities or regions within Virginia who see human trafficking more often or have human trafficking task force so like in Hampton Roads and Henrico County, up in northern Virginia that’s usually where we’re seeing law enforcement do these trainings,” Savage said. “Not so much in these rural areas, especially in Staunton, Waynesboro, they’re not really doing these trainings.”
Advocates say, signing this bill into law is a step in the right direction to preventing human trafficking in Virginia.
“Trust your gut, that’s the best resource you can have,” Savage said.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/gov-youngkin-sings-law-giving-more-training-law-enforcement-detect-human-trafficking/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:01Z
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Harrisonburg Public Works’ Urban Wood Program wins Governor’s award
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - A program within Harrisonburg Public Works recently received the Gold Medal Governor’s Award for its environmental work in the Friendly City.
The Urban Wood Program began in 2018, after the Emerald Ash Borer beetle damaged over 1,000 trees in the area. Since then, staff at Public Works have been keeping track of each type of tree, along with ways to utilize damaged ones for things like lumber and woodchips.
Staff are also encouraging community members to get involved with the program through planting.
“We’re trying in Harrisonburg to get everybody to plant trees to increase our tree canopy. I encourage everyone to go out and plant a tree in their own yard if they can and the month of April again is a great time,” Greenspace Manager for Public Works, Jeremy Harold said.
The Virginia Department of Forestry also granted funds to the program to begin an official maintenance plan for public trees.
To learn more about the Urban Wood program, click here.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/harrisonburg-public-works-urban-wood-program-wins-governors-award/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:07Z
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Harrisonburg welcomes Liz Webb as the city’s first Housing Coordinator
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - The City of Harrisonburg is welcoming a 20-year expert in managing affordable housing programs to serve as the city’s first-ever Housing Coordinator.
Liz Webb, who has served as Housing Choice Voucher Manager for the Harrisonburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority (HRHA) since 2016, will conduct advanced work related to complex housing issues with an emphasis on developing, implementing, and overseeing strategies to achieve housing objectives and goals.
The role was created following the completion of the City’s Comprehensive Housing Analysis and Market Study, which worked to assess the overall health of the City’s housing stock and market conditions.
“I’ve been on the service administration side of housing policy, and have always wanted to do more on the planning, finance, and development front,” Webb said in a press release. “It’s an opportunity to learn and grow, and a chance to serve the city. Taking on a new role like this is challenging, but exciting. In some ways I have been preparing for this job my whole life.”
For more than five years, Webb has focused her attention on overseeing the administration of the housing choice voucher program in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. The voucher program primarily serves households with incomes under 30% of the median family income, and subsidies the cost of families’ rent.
However, there are frequently not enough vouchers to cover the need in this area, and those available are not always accepted by some landlords. The work has given Webb an in-depth knowledge of the struggles some in our area face in securing housing, and the limitations some programs have in addressing those issues.
At the front of her considerations is affordable housing in our community, and how she can support long-term planning, problem-solving, policy and program development, and management action around housing matters in Harrisonburg.
“Affordable housing is a critical need, in our community and everywhere, and how we address this challenge speaks to our values as a city,” Webb said. “By obtaining the study and starting on its recommended actions, Harrisonburg is affirming that this issue is a priority. It will take coordination to integrate the information we have about local needs, market trends, zoning and land use, and program fund and development financing options.”
As the city has focused on affordable housing and understanding the current housing situation in Harrisonburg, staff members have worked to analyze recommendations provided by the Housing Study and consider options that could benefit the City’s overall affordable housing goals.
“That includes things such as the possibility of waiving fees to make it easier for housing to come to the city, or resources that we could bring to bear... Maybe vacant properties that the city owns that could be used for housing,” Mike Parks, a city spokesperson, said. “[Webb is] going to study a number of those things. She’s going to work to make connections with organizations across the state.”
Webb will start her new position on April 18.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/harrisonburg-welcomes-liz-webb-citys-first-housing-coordinator/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:13Z
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Homeless teen surrenders dog because he can no longer care for her, shelter says
SENATOBIA, Miss. (Gray News) - A homeless teenager surrendered his dog to an animal shelter because he could no longer provide proper care to the animal, according to the shelter.
The Senatobia-Tate County Animal Shelter in Mississippi said a 17-year-old surrendered his dog to the shelter Tuesday.
In a Facebook post, the shelter said that the teen lives under a bridge and walked all the way to the shelter, where he asked the staff to please take his dog because he couldn’t afford to keep her.
The shelter said the dog is about 4 months old and stayed pinned to her owner’s legs while he dropped her off. A photo of the dog lying in the shelter’s lobby went viral.
“This is where she laid after her owner surrendered her today with her plastic bag of dog food and a blanket. She is devastated,” the caption reads.
The shelter received an outpouring of interest on how to help both the dog and the homeless teen. On Friday, the shelter said the teen now has a place to stay and will soon be getting his dog back.
The shelter is hoping to get the dog spayed and get enough flea, tick and heartworm prevention to last at least a year.
If you would like to help the dog and her owner, you can donate through PayPal to the user account fosasenatobia@gmail.com, and mention “Jada” in your comment.
“I hope his selfless actions have made people think about the animals in this community - they deserve a chance, they don’t deserve to be dumped anywhere,” the shelter’s Facebook post reads. “Thanks everyone for your concern for both of them - the response from people everywhere has been touching.”
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/homeless-teen-surrenders-dog-because-he-can-no-longer-care-her-shelter-says/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:19Z
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Justin Bieber offering a month of free online therapy to fans
Published: Apr. 8, 2022 at 4:43 PM EDT|Updated: 4 hours ago
(CNN) - Justin Bieber wants you to find inner peace and is willing to pay to help you do it.
The pop star is partnering with online therapy company BetterHelp to offer a free month of service to his fans.
Bieber, 28, has been candid about his own mental health issues and says offering free therapy to fans is a “real blessing.”
He’s also giving members of his road crew free access to licensed therapists for 18 months.
The Grammy winner is currently on the first leg of the biggest tour of his career, The Justice Tour.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/justin-bieber-offering-month-free-online-therapy-fans/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:27Z
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Kentucky governor vetoes proposed 15-week abortion ban
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed a Republican-priority measure on Friday that would ban abortions in Kentucky after 15 weeks of pregnancy and regulate the dispensing of abortion pills.
The governor raised doubts about the constitutionality of the bill and criticized it for not including exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
State lawmakers will have a chance to override the veto when they reconvene next week for the final two days of this year’s 60-day legislative session. The abortion measure won overwhelming support in the GOP-dominated legislature. A state Republican Party spokesman called the veto the latest example of the governor’s “ideological war” on conservative values.
The proposal reflects the latest attempt by Kentucky lawmakers to put more restrictions and conditions on abortion since the GOP took complete control of the legislature after the 2016 election.
The proposed 15-week ban is modeled after a Mississippi law under review by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could dramatically limit abortion rights. By taking the preemptive action, the bill’s supporters say that Kentucky’s stricter ban would be in place if the Mississippi law is upheld.
Kentucky law currently bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Beshear on Friday condemned the bill for failing to exclude pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
“Rape and incest are violent crimes,” the governor said in his veto message. “Victims of these crimes should have options, not be further scarred through a process that exposes them to more harm from their rapists or that treats them like offenders themselves.”
The governor said the bill would make it harder for girls under 18 to end a pregnancy without notifying both parents. As an example, he said that a girl impregnated by her father would have to notify him of her intent to get an abortion.
Beshear, a former state attorney general, also said the bill is “likely unconstitutional,” noting that similar laws elsewhere were struck down by the Supreme Court. He pointed to provisions in the Kentucky bill requiring doctors performing nonsurgical procedures to maintain hospital admitting privileges in “geographical proximity” to where the procedures are performed.
“The Supreme Court has ruled such requirements unconstitutional as it makes it impossible for women, including a child who is a victim of rape or incest, to obtain a procedure in certain areas of the state,” the governor said.
Opponents of the Kentucky bill say its restrictions are so onerous that no abortion clinic could comply.
The state Republican Party sharply criticized Beshear for the veto. It will likely surface as an issue again next year when the governor runs for a second term in Republican-trending Kentucky.
On Friday, state GOP spokesperson Sean Southard said the governor’s veto was “the latest action in his ideological war on the conservative values held by Kentuckians.”
Abortion rights supporters defended the governor’s action. Jackie McGranahan, policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, said the bill aims to “shame and ostracize patients” and “push a safe and effective method of abortion care out of reach.”
Another key part of the bill would set regulations for the dispensing of abortion pills. It would require women to be examined in person by a doctor before receiving the medication.
That part of the bill is part of a nationwide push by anti-abortion groups to limit the ability of physicians to prescribe abortion pills by telemedicine, and comes in response to the increased use of pills rather than surgery to terminate early pregnancies.
About half of all abortions performed in Kentucky are the result of medication procedures.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/kentucky-governor-vetoes-proposed-15-week-abortion-ban/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:33Z
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Kevin Spacey asks judge to dismiss Anthony Rapp’s sex abuse suit
NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Kevin Spacey asked a judge Friday to throw out actor Anthony Rapp’s sex abuse lawsuit, saying through his lawyers that allegations that he abused the then-teenage Rapp at a 1980s party are false.
The lawyers wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that the alleged events Rapp described never occurred. Rapp has appeared in “Rent” on Broadway and in “Star Trek: Discovery” on television.
He alleged in his lawsuit that he went to a party in 1986 at Spacey’s Manhattan home, where a 26-year-old Spacey, without Rapp’s consent, “engaged in a sexual advance” by grabbing Rapp’s buttocks and lifting him onto a bed and laying on his body. Rapp claimed he “was forced to extricate himself” before leaving the party.
Spacey’s lawyers argued the alleged encounter cannot qualify as sexual abuse under New York’s laws because the only alleged contact with an “intimate” part of the body by Spacey was when his hand grazed the 14-year-old Rapp’s buttocks when the older actor picked him up. The lawyers said Rapp “wriggled out” with no resistance during an encounter of less than 30 seconds.
There was no other evidence that would suggest any fleeting contact between Spacey’s hand and Rapp’s buttocks was for the purpose of sexual gratification or to degrade or abuse Rapp, the lawyers wrote.
The lack of evidence means Rapp’s claims for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress must fail, the lawyers said.
They said Spacey “flatly denies” that any of what Rapp described took place.
Lawyers for Rapp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When Rapp first spoke publicly of his claim in 2017, others went public too and Spacey’s then-celebrated career abruptly halted. At the time, Spacey issued a statement saying he didn’t remember the encounter but apologized.
Spacey won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in “American Beauty,” a 1999 film in which he played a frustrated suburban father who lusts after his daughter’s best friend.
In recent filings, Rapp’s lawyers have asked to transfer the case to state court, saying Spacey cannot prove he has been living in Maryland and qualifies for the diversity of citizenship necessary to remain in federal court.
In fact, they argue, he has been mostly living in London since 2003.
They said he only lived in Maryland when he was acting in his Emmy-winning role in “House of Cards” from 2014 through 2017. He was fired from the show days after Rapp went public and former show workers claimed that Spacey made the production a “toxic” workplace and one ex-employee alleged the actor sexually assaulted him.
In November, an arbitrator said Spacey and his production companies must pay the studio behind the Netflix political thriller $31 million because of losses they incurred after his firing.
Spacey appealed the decision to a panel of three more private arbitrators, who found for the plaintiffs, making the decision final, and public.
A criminal case brought against him, an indecent assault and battery charge stemming from the alleged groping of an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket resort, was dismissed by Massachusetts prosecutors in 2019.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/kevin-spacey-asks-judge-dismiss-anthony-rapps-sex-abuse-suit/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:42Z
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Life expectancy continues to drop in US since start of pandemic, study finds
(CNN) - A recent study found that life expectancy in the U.S. has continued to drop since the start of the pandemic.
Researchers from the University of Colorado and the Urban Institute analyzed data from several statistical agencies and found that in 2021 life expectancy fell nearly half a year to 76.6 years.
Previously, a similar study found life expectancy dipped by almost two years in 2020.
In the decade before the coronavirus pandemic, life expectancy overall didn’t change much. But more than 900,000 Americans have died from COVID in the past two years.
Researchers from this most recent study also found life expectancy is more than five years less in the U.S. compared to other similar nations.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/life-expectancy-continues-drop-us-since-start-pandemic-study-finds/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:48Z
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Man charged after setting fire to home, killing woman and baby, police say
WALDORF, Md. (Gray News) - A man in Maryland was charged with arson and murder after he deliberately set a house on fire, killing a woman and a baby, according to police.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office said Vincent Anthony Fisher II, 46, was charged Thursday with first-degree arson and murder.
According to the sheriff’s office, first responders were called to a home in Waldorf (about 30 miles south of Washington, D.C.) on March 31 for a report of an altercation and a fire. After the fire was extinguished, investigators found Rashawn Cline, 27, and her daughter, Dashawn Cline, 1, dead inside the home.
The victims were the daughter and the granddaughter of Fisher’s girlfriend.
During the investigation, officials determined the fire was deliberately set, and the medical examiner ruled the deaths as homicides as a result of the fire.
Fisher, who also lived at the residence, was identified as the suspect and was immediately arrested. He was also charged with assaulting another resident of the house during an altercation that happened just before the fire was set, the sheriff’s office said.
Fisher is being held at the Charles County Detention Center and was denied bond.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/man-charged-after-setting-fire-home-killing-woman-baby-police-say/
| 2022-04-09T01:06:57Z
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Owl rescued after getting tangled up in barbed wire fence
Published: Apr. 8, 2022 at 4:31 PM EDT|Updated: 4 hours ago
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (Gray News) – Animal rescue groups in Colorado saved an owl that was stuck in a barbed wire fence this week.
The Arapahoe County Government said in a Facebook post Friday that the great horned owl got tangled up in the fence while “out and about fighting the Colorado winds this week.”
Residents called Arapahoe County Animal Services, and with the help of the Birds of Prey Foundation, rescuers were able to get the owl loose.
The owl is now recovering at a medical care facility.
Arapahoe County is located just outside of Denver.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/owl-rescued-after-getting-tangled-up-barbed-wire-fence/
| 2022-04-09T01:07:04Z
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A pleasant but breezy weekend ahead
Temperatures below average this weekend
FRIDAY: Cloudy with scattered showers for the evening and pleasant with temperatures in the 50s. Showers will be sticking around until about midnight as we decrease clouds sun during the overnight. Cold with overnight lows in the low to mid 30s. Staying breezy across our West Virginia locations. The Allegheny Mountains will see snow showers throughout the night.
SATURDAY: Plenty of sunshine with a few passing clouds to start the day and chilly with temperatures rising into the 40s. Adding more clouds into the afternoon along with a breeze. A few spotty showers cannot be ruled out for the day. Pleasant with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s. Snow showers continuing for the Allegheny Mountains.
Cloudy for the evening and turning chilly with temperatures falling into the 40s. Clouds will decrease through the evening and overnight as temperatures turn cold. Overnight lows in the upper 20s to low 30s. Staying breezy across our West Virginia locations with snow showers continuing for the Alleghenies. Up to 2 inches of snow accumulating across the Allegheny Mountains into Sunday morning.
SUNDAY: A mix of sun and clouds to start the day and chilly with temperatures rising into the 40s. Decreasing the clouds into the aftenoon with plenty of sunshine. Breezy during the entire day with a few flurries for our West Virginia locations. Winds a little stronger across West Virginia with wind gusts ranging in the 20-30 mph range during the day. Pleasant in the afternoon with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s.
Clear skies for the evening and pleasant with temperatures in the 50s. Staying clear for a majority of the night, with some clouds moving in late in the overnight. A cold night with overnight lows in the low to mid 30s. Staying breezy across our West Virginia locations.
MONDAY: Plenty of clouds to start the day and chilly with temperatures rising into the 40s. Some clouds into the afternoon and turning mild as a ridge in the jetstream begins to form. Highs in the mid to upper 60s. A beautiful spring day! Clouds sticking around overnight and turning chilly with lows in the mid to upper 40s.
TUESDAY: A mix of sun and clouds to start the day and mild with temperatures quickly rising into the 60s. A balance of sun and clouds for the afternoon and turning warm with highs in the mid to upper 70s! A beautiful spring day as we see some of our warmest temperatures of 2022 so far! Clouds around for the evening and overnight. Pleasant with overnight lows in the low to mid 50s.
WEDNESDAY: Some sun and plenty of clouds to start the day and mild with temperatures rising into the 60s. Adding more clouds for the afternoon and warm with highs in the low to mid 70s! Another beautiful spring day. A spotty shower for our West Virginia locations during the day. Plenty of clouds around for the evening and overnight with lows in the mid to upper 50s.
THURSDAY: Another mild start with temperatures rising into the 60s with more clouds than sun. Cloudy for the afternoon and another warm day with highs in the low to mid 70s. A few spotty showers for the afternoon. Clouds sticking around into the evening and overnight with overnight lows in the low to mid 50s.
As always, you can get the latest updates by downloading and checking the WHSV Weather App.
**A reminder that spring wildfire season is underway for both Virginia and West Virginia. No outdoor burning before 4pm in Virginia until April 30th. No outdoor burning in West Virginia before 5pm through May 31.**
Copyright 2021 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/pleasant-breezy-weekend-ahead/
| 2022-04-09T01:07:11Z
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Police: Couple facing charges after 3 children go missing for weeks
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3/Gray News) - A Missouri-area prosecutor has charged a mother and her wife in the disappearance of three children.
KY3 reports Brittany Barnes and Ceairah Beverly have been charged with three counts of interference with custody or removed from the state.
Investigators said Barnes told Beverly’s mother, their legal guardian, she was taking the children to a court appearance on March 23. However, they never showed up to that appearance.
The children, Ryder Green, 10, Resean Green, 9, and Ramello Green, 8, have not been seen since. Police said they believed the women took them to Arizona.
Investigators said they contacted Barnes’s mother, and she initially told them the women and the kids were in Arizona. However, she later changed her story and said she would not cooperate with the investigation.
A children’s food stamp card was used at a Walmart in Queen Creek, Arizona, according to police.
The FBI has since been called to help work the case, and authorities urged anyone with further information to contact the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810.
Copyright 2022 KY3 via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/police-couple-facing-charges-after-3-children-go-missing-weeks/
| 2022-04-09T01:07:18Z
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Route 989 in Rockingham County to be closed for bridge replacement
Published: Apr. 8, 2022 at 4:00 PM EDT|Updated: 5 hours ago
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) - Part of Route 989 (Valley Branch Road) in Rockingham County is scheduled to be closed Monday, April 11, to Friday, April 29, for replacement of the bridge over a tributary of Pleasant Run.
The Virginia Department of Transportation will replace the bridge with a box culvert. During construction, Route 989 will be closed to through traffic between Route 988 (Scholars Road) and Route 846 (Western View Road).
Route 989 traffic will follow one of these posted detours:
- Drivers north of the work zone will follow Route 988 east, Route 681 (Whitesel Church Road) south and Route 846 west to the end of the detour.
- Drivers south of the work zone will follow Route 846 east, Route 681 (Whitesel Church Road) north and Route 988 west to the end of the detour.
All work is weather permitting. Virginia traffic alerts and traveler information can be found by dialing 511 or clicking here.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/route-989-rockingham-county-be-closed-bridge-replacement/
| 2022-04-09T01:07:29Z
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RPD: 19-year-old woman killed, man critically injured in crash involving 2 officers
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - A 19-year-old woman was killed, an 18-year-old man is fighting for his life, and two police officers were hurt after a crash on Thursday night.
During a press conference, Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said the 18-year-old was driving a Buick sedan, and the 19-year-old passenger was ejected from the vehicle when the crash happened. She was pronounced dead on the scene. A spokesperson for RPD said that the driver was also ejected, and they were not wearing seatbelts.
Police identified the Buick’s driver as Jeremiah Ruffin and the passenger as Tracey Williams. Tracey’s family said that she was the sister of Xzavier Hill, who was shot and killed by Virginia State Police on I-64 on Jan. 9, 2021.
The two officers involved have been identified as Officers Richard Johnson and DaQuan Walker.
Smith said Officer Johnson was driving at the time, and they were responding to reports of a burglary in progress in the 1500 block of Clarkson Road. The officers had the authorization to use lights and sirens.
“We believe they may have, but we cannot say definitely that their blue lights and sirens were on. They had authorization. We have some clues that that could have been the case,” said Chief Smith.
While en route, the police cruiser and the Buick crashed at the intersection of Bells Road and Castlewood.
The police cruiser was knocked off the road, hit two poles, and forced to stop once it hit a fence, according to police.
Officials said both officers were seriously injured with one sustaining a traumatic brain injury. Walker, who graduated from the police academy in March, is out of the hospital. Johnson, who has been on the force for two years, remains hospitalized.
“Their injuries aren’t minor injuries. They have some lacerations to their head. Concussion would probably be the beginning of it, but there is one, who, last night, it was clear to the hospital staff that this was a TBI, and so his road to recovery will be a little longer than the others,” said Chief Smith.
According to RPD, it is unclear which vehicle struck the other, and the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
“No one stayed on scene at this time, but it doesn’t mean no one was there, and that’s why we’re asking for anyone who may have seen things and just been in a hurry for some other reason to actually give us a call,” said Chief Smith.
RPD is asking anyone who may have information about what happened to contact Detective W. Kress by calling 804-646-0280.
Copyright 2022 WWBT. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/rpd-19-year-old-woman-killed-man-critically-injured-crash-involving-2-officers/
| 2022-04-09T01:07:36Z
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Staunton fully funds schools for 2023 fiscal year
STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) - The city of Staunton came to an agreement with city schools to close the gap in the schools’ budget.
Thursday night was the first work session the city held for the 2023 fiscal year budget, and they wasted no time getting right to what was on everyone’s minds, the school budget.
”The city schools made some adjustments on their side to some revenues and the city will make up the remainder of the difference in the amount of $365,000 and that closes the $624,000 gap for 2023,” Leslie Beauregarden, interim city manager for Staunton, said.
The agreement made Thursday night includes an adjusted revenue sharing formula, based on actual revenue rather than projected revenue. This allows schools to start looking at their budgets much earlier.
Although the school budget is wrapped in with the city’s budget, the $365,000 that the city will be given to schools will not affect the rest of the budget.
”The $365,000 won’t affect city services or any of the proposals in the budget and I believe we will be able to close that gap by the middle of the fiscal year,” Beauregarden said.
The city also supported construction projects for Staunton schools which are outlined in the capital budget.
Leslie Beauregarden hopes this is the last year they have to use a negative contingency, which is using savings they find around the city, for the budget and hopes to be able to find that funding in promised revenue. They have used the negative contingency for the last two years.
“Essentially we want to balance the budget on revenues that we can count on every year and so we don’t want to continue to make this a habit for sure,” Beauregarden said.
Budget talks will continue throughout April with a final budget being established at the end of the month.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/staunton-fully-funds-schools-2023-fiscal-year/
| 2022-04-09T01:07:42Z
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UVA Health talks second booster
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Now that the FDA has authorized a second COVID-19 vaccine booster for select groups - when is the best time to get it? UVA Health doctors gave their input on Friday, April 8.
“If you have a crystal ball at home, I recommend waiting until two weeks before the next wave - failing that, I think it’s quite challenging,” UVA Health’s Doctor Patrick Jackson said.
Those 50 and older along with immunocompromised people can now get a second booster. When to get it depends.
“I have a family member who’s quite immune compromised. And I recommend that they go ahead and get the fourth dose right away,” Jackson said.
Jackson says his advice changes depending on the person.
“I have another family member who’s 60 years old and in good health and doesn’t really have too much going on. He’s already gotten three doses. And I haven’t been pushing her to get that fourth dose just yet,” Jackson said.
UVA health is having to stay flexible too.
“One important thing that that’s changed for us is that earlier this week, the FDA deauthorized one of our outpatient COVID treatments, a monoclonal antibody called Sotrovimab,” Jackson said.
Now a new treatment plan is in place.
“We really are pushing the drug Paxlovid, though the oral antiviral drug is kind of our first line agent for outpatient treatment of covid-19. We also have Remdesivir available for some outpatients,” Jackson said.
The center also has multiple clinical trials going on - but enrollment has slowed.
“Over the winter, we were doing lots of business in terms of enrolling patients and we are doing much less business in terms of enrolling, which I’m very happy about right now just because we have so many fewer cases,” Jackson said.
UVA Health says check the case counts in your area before deciding on protection measures.
Copyright 2022 WVIR. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/uva-health-talks-second-booster/
| 2022-04-09T01:07:48Z
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VIDEO: Bystanders step in to help police stop attempted bank robbery
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow/Gray News) - A witness captured video of the moment police and bystanders stepped in to stop a man who was allegedly trying to rob a bank.
Honolulu police said they responded to the Bank of Hawaii in Pearl City around 1:30 p.m. Thursday for an attempted robbery call.
Kylee Sili had stopped by the bank on her lunch break when she saw the man apparently going behind the counter and harassing the tellers.
When police arrived, customers in the bank helped the officers detain the man and try to wrestle him down.
“So we went over there, and the uncle really helped. He immediately went to go help the cops take the guy down. There was another guy too, like another civilian guy. They were trying to take him down,” Sili said.
“The suspect was giving them a hard time, I don’t know what he was doing, what he was trying to do, trying to run.”
HNN has reached out to police for more information on the suspect and his charges.
Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/video-bystanders-step-help-police-stop-attempted-bank-robbery/
| 2022-04-09T01:07:54Z
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Virginia COVID-19 cases rise by 1,285 Friday
13,238,015 total PCR tests have been run for the virus in Virginia, with 1,675,845 positive cases.
Due to the number of vaccinations across our region, we will no longer be updating the COVID-19 hotline.
As of Friday, April 8, Virginia has had 1,675,845 total cases of COVID-19, including confirmed lab tests and clinical diagnoses, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
The Virginia Department of Health reports a 5.8% 7-day positivity rate for total PCR testing encounters.
36 additional deaths were reported this Friday, leaving the death toll at 19,859.
For a comprehensive summary of COVID-19 cases and testing in Virginia, you can visit the Virginia Department of Health’s website and view their COVID-19 dashboard.
On Sunday, April 18, 2021, vaccine eligibility expanded to all individuals in the Commonwealth age 16 and above.
On Thursday, April 22, 2021, former Governor Northam announced an ease in some of the COVID-19 restrictions for social gatherings that began on Saturday, May 15:
- Social gatherings: The maximum number of individuals permitted in a social gathering will increase to 100 people for indoor settings and 250 people for outdoor settings. Social gatherings are currently limited to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
- Entertainment venues: Indoor entertainment and public amusement venues will be able to operate at 50 percent capacity or 1,000 people, up from 30 percent capacity or 500 people. Outdoor venues will be able to operate at 50 percent capacity — up from 30 percent — with no specific cap on the number of attendees.
- Recreational sporting events: The number of spectators allowed at indoor recreational sporting events will increase from 100 to 250 spectators or 50 percent capacity, whichever is less. Outdoor recreational sporting events will increase from 500 to 1,000 people or 50 percent capacity, whichever is less.
- Alcohol sales: Restaurants may return to selling alcohol after midnight, and dining room closures will no longer be required between midnight and 5:00 a.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday, May 13, 2021, vaccinated individuals are no longer required to wear a mask in most circumstances. On Friday, May 14, 2021, Former governor Ralph Northam announced the mask mandate in Virginia would be lifted, and capacity and social distancing restrictions will end on May 28.
Statewide case totals and testing numbers as of April 8
By April 8, the Virginia Department of Health had received reports of 1,203,095 confirmed cases and 472,750 probable cases of COVID-19 across the commonwealth.
Those positive test results are out of 13,238,015 total PCR tests administered in Virginia.
At this point, 49,272 Virginians have been hospitalized due to the disease caused by the virus, and at least 19,859 have died of causes related to the disease.
Where are our local cases?
Here’s a breakdown of cases for our region as of 10:00 a.m. April 8.
Central Shenandoah Health District: 66,954 total cases
Beginning March 10, 2022, the Locality dashboard is no longer being published. Cases by report date and cases by date of illness can be viewed by locality on the Cases dashboard.
Total PCR tests: 424,645
Lord Fairfax Health District: 54,365 total cases
Total PCR tests: 362,694
Northwest Total Outbreaks: 1,002 with 322 in long-term care facilities, 89 in K-12 settings, 73 in healthcare settings, 41 in correctional facilities, 330 in congregate settings, 65 in college/university settings and 82 in child care settings.
Note: VDH has changed the way it tracks outbreaks. They are now grouped by regions instead of health districts.
COVID-19 Vaccine in Virginia
The Virginia Department of Health has launched a data dashboard showcasing the number of COVID-19 vaccines that have been distributed and administered throughout the commonwealth.
According to the data dashboard, as of April 7, 7,002,476 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 6,260,230 people are fully vaccinated.
18,503,525 total vaccine doses have been distributed throughout the state.
Recovery
The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association’s online dashboard indicates that, as of April 8, at least 107,377 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from the hospital.
Unlike the VDH data that reports cumulative hospitalizations, their data on hospitalizations reflects people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 (whether with confirmed or pending cases), and that number is 219.
West Virginia updates
Here at WHSV, we cover Grant County, Hardy County and Pendleton County. The below information is the most recent data from each counties’ health department. You can find West Virginia’s COVID-19 dashboard here.
There are 498,414 total cases in West Virginia as of April 8.
Grant County: 3,766 total COVID-19 cases
Hardy County: 4,177 total COVID-19 cases
Pendleton County: 1,953 total COVID-19 cases (+5 from Thursday)
For the latest factual information on COVID-19, you’re encouraged to check both the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC.
Copyright 2021 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/virginia-covid-19-cases-rise-by-1285-friday/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:05Z
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WATCH: Bear smashes through windshield after destroying inside of N.C. family’s SUV
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WHNS/Gray News) - A black bear in North Carolina was caught on camera attempting to get out of a family’s SUV through the windshield after being stuck inside overnight.
Ashley McGowin said she went to walk her dogs at 6:30 a.m. on Friday when she saw the hazard lights on her SUV blinking, WHNS reported.
When she went to see what it was, she discovered a bear trapped inside the vehicle.
The family believes the bear was able to open an unlocked door to get inside. It then destroyed the inside of the car before smashing the windshield in order to get back out.
The family recorded the bear while it was stuck trying to climb through the windshield.
McGowin said along with the damage to the car, the bear also urinated on her son’s homework that was in the SUV.
After making its escape, the bear was reunited with its two cubs.
The family reported it had a tracker on its ear.
Neighbors told McGowin they heard honking around midnight so she believes the bear was trapped in the SUV for more than six hours.
McGowin said they see bears around their house four to five times a week, but never in a situation like this before.
Copyright 2022 WHNS via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/watch-bear-smashes-through-windshield-after-destroying-inside-nc-familys-suv/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:11Z
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Will Smith gets 10-year Oscars ban for Chris Rock slap
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The motion picture academy on Friday banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.
The move comes after a meeting of the academy’s Board of Governors to discuss a response to Smith’s actions.
“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” the academy said in a statement.
“I accept and respect the Academy’s decision,” Smith said in response. He pre-emptively resigned from the academy last week during the run-up to the meeting, calling his actions “shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”
Smith will keep the Oscar he won after the slap, and he will remain eligible to be nominated for and to win more of them in the 10-year period, though he can’t show up to accept them.
The academy also apologized for its handling of the situation and allowing Smith to stay and accept his best actor award for “King Richard.”
“During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry,” the academy said. “This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”
In a statement in the days following the Oscars, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony but refused.
But it’s not clear how the message was delivered to Smith or what form it took, and several media outlets reported that he was never formally told to leave the Dolby Theatre. The Los Angeles Times reported in a story Thursday that Oscars producer Will Packer told Smith: “Officially, we don’t want you to leave. We want you to stay.”
The ban means Smith will not be presenting one of the major awards at next year’s Oscars, as is tradition for the best actor winner.
The academy in its Friday statement also expressed “deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances.”
The academy has not revoked Oscars from expelled members Harvey Weinstein or Roman Polanski.
With his resignation last week, Smith lost the ability to vote for nominees and winners. Smith has been nominated for four Oscars, winning once.
At the March 27 Academy Awards, Rock came out to present the best documentary award and made jokes about several attendees, including Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said.
Pinkett Smith, who has spoken publicly about her hair loss condition, alopecia, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the 1997 movie.
Smith strode from his front-row seat on to the stage and smacked Rock, stunning the comedian, the theater crowd and viewers at home.
Many thought it was a planned gag set up by the show or the men themselves, but the seriousness of the situation set in after Smith returned to his seat and angrily twice shouted at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth.”
Rock said he had no interest in pursuing charges when asked by police backstage.
Smith took the stage again less than hour later to accept his Oscar, tearfully apologizing to the academy but notably omitting any mention of Rock. He compared himself to Richard Williams, the man he played in “King Richard,” “a fierce defender of his family.”
Later that night, Smith danced with his trophy and his family and rapped along with his own songs in celebration of his win at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party.
Rock has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston this week that he was still “kind of processing what happened.”
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/will-smith-banned-oscars-10-years-slapping-chris-rock/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:18Z
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Woman might need third amputation after surviving vicious dog attack, family says
ABBEVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WHNS/Gray News) - A South Carolina woman who remains in the hospital weeks after being seriously injured by several dogs might need additional surgery.
WHNS reports Kyleen Waltman was mauled by three dogs, two of which were pit bulls, outside a home on Ball Road in Honea Path last month.
Her family said the recent grandmother had both of her arms amputated after the attack. Since then, she has been fighting for her life in the ICU.
Earlier this week, Waltman’s family said she has to be sedated often due to her spinal cord injury and breathing and blood pressure issues. Doctors did wake her up on March 29 so she could talk to her daughters and mother.
Waltman’s family said she had a skin graft on her right leg on Thursday, and her left leg might have to be amputated if it doesn’t heal.
The family has asked the community to continue to pray for her recovery.
Waltman recently underwent her 10th surgery since the attack.
A GoFundMe for Waltman’s medical expenses has raised more than $190,000.
Copyright 2022 WHNS via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/woman-might-need-third-amputation-after-surviving-vicious-dog-attack-family-says/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:24Z
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Woodstock Walmart employee goes viral for closing time songs
WOODSTOCK, Va. (WHSV) - Here’s a story sure to make you smile. A Woodstock Walmart employee now going viral for her hilarious and clever way of telling people the store is closing up.
Keli Kirby has been with the company for five years now and that video now has over 1.3 million views alone.
Kirby said she loves to have a little fun while she works and loves to sing.
”COVID-19 happened and Walmart ended up closing down at 11 p.m. and people are used to 24 hours, so I just started doing these announcements to encourage people to come on up and check out. I love making people happy and making them smile,” said Kirby.
Kirby said she plans on making more creative songs and will post them on her TikTok page, @Kelikirby9600.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/woodstock-walmart-employee-goes-viral-closing-time-songs/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:31Z
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Youngkin signs bill regulating explicit content in schools
Published: Apr. 8, 2022 at 4:14 PM EDT|Updated: 4 hours ago
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A bill that will require Virginia schools to notify parents if their children are assigned books or other materials with sexually explicit content was among more than 100 measures Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law this week.
In a statement Friday, Youngkin held up the measure as part of an effort to fulfill a campaign pledge to empower parents’ involvement in their children’s education.
Youngkin faces an action deadline next week for measures passed during this year’s regular session of the General Assembly.
Youngkin can sign or veto bills or send them back to lawmakers with proposed amendments.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/08/youngkin-signs-bill-regulating-explicit-content-schools/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:37Z
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Grant County Schools to begin using metal detector wands
PETERSBURG, Wv. (WHSV) - A new security measure will soon be in place inside Grant County Schools. The school division sent a statement out to parents this week saying schools will begin using metal detector wands to scan students when they enter the building.
“It’s going to serve as a deterrent, we believe because students know that we have these now. It’s just one more tool we’ve put in our toolbox to help keep our schools safe,” said Webster.
Webster told WHSV that there had been discussions about walk-through metal detectors similar to those in airports but that wasn’t feasible because it would take too much time out of the instructional day.
“We wanted to do something that we could do and our safe school’s director had done some research and saw these were being used in other schools across the country. We found they’re relatively inexpensive and they’re a great deterrent,” said Webster.
Principals will select students at random to be scanned as they enter the school unless there is a reason to suspect a particular student needs to be searched.
“This is no cure-all. It’s just one more thing with a multitude of things that we’ve already done to do everything in our power to keep our schools safe,” said Webster.
Webster said that the measure wasn’t brought on by any incident in Grant County Schools but the division wants to be proactive in keeping students safe.
“There are no guarantees that you will always absolutely be 100% safe, but we believe that everything we can do moves us in that direction of not guaranteeing but keeping our schools as safe as they possibly can be,” he said.
The Grant County School division consists of four schools. There will be two metal detectors each used at Petersburg Middle School and High School. Maysville Elementary School and the Union Educational complex will each use just one.
Schools will start using the metal detectors when students return from spring break on April 19.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/09/grant-county-schools-begin-using-metal-detector-wands/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:43Z
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High school student arrested for attempted murder, sexual assault of teacher, police say
LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) - A high school student was arrested after he reportedly attacked a teacher and assaulted her when the two were discussing his grades.
KVVU reports the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was called to Eldorado High School Thursday afternoon, where a teacher was injured.
Arriving officers were directed to a classroom where a female teacher was being treated by medical personnel for multiple injuries, police said.
According to the LVMPD, an investigation by the department’s Sexual Assault Section indicated that the teacher was in her classroom when a 16-year-old student entered to talk about his grades.
At some point, police say, the student got violent and began punching the teacher and strangled her until she lost consciousness.
Police said the student left the classroom after the attack, and another school employee later found the teacher.
Police were able to identify the student, and Clark County School District police officers took him into custody in a nearby neighborhood.
According to police, the 16-year-old was transported to the Clark County Detention Center and booked on charges that included attempted murder, sexual assault and robbery.
Copyright 2022 KVVU via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/04/09/high-school-student-arrested-attempted-murder-sexual-assault-teacher-vegas-police-say/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:49Z
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OG Organics™ by Advanced Nutrients combines pure organic inputs with cutting-edge innovations.
LOS ANGELES, Calif, April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Nutrients, a global leader in specialty crop nutrition, has just launched OG Organics™. With both CDFA-OIM and OMRI certifications, the line has passed the most stringent standards for approved use in organic cultivation, adding value to commercial crops upon their entry into the marketplace.
Cutting edge inputs make it possible for growers to unchain themselves from the conventional issues that accompany organic cultivation, including slow inefficient nutrient delivery. Designed with highly absorbable micronutrient amino acid complexes, OG Organics™ rivals the efficiency of mineral based solutions, enabling growers to unlock peak performance previously thought impossible with organic inputs.
"We've always been dedicated to finding solutions for every type of grower," says Advanced Nutrients Founder and CEO BigMike Straumietis. "With OG Organics™, our goal was to push the envelope with the most cutting edge inputs, while maintaining unflinching integrity in our use of only pure, organic ingredients. We're happy to say that the growers who rely on this product suite can stay 100 percent committed to sustainable practices, without sacrificing an ounce of quality in their grow."
Growers will find a complete growing system in OG Organics™, from premium compost teas and soil amendments to the industry's top-selling bloom booster — in organic form.
For more information, visit advancednutrients.com/og-organics.
About Advanced Nutrients
Founded by Michael "BigMike" Straumietis, Advanced Nutrients is widely regarded as one of the world's most influential nutrient brands. In 1999, the company revolutionized the industry by developing the first and only complete growing system that optimizes all phases of the vegetative and bloom cycles to bring the plant to its true genetic potential. With 39 years of experience overseeing the cultivation of millions of plants, BigMike has brought 53 innovations to specialty crop science. For additional information, please visit: www.advancednutrients.com
CONTACT: advancednutrients@supportadvancednutrients.com
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/advanced-nutrients-new-organic-line-rivals-performance-mineral-fertilizers/
| 2022-04-09T01:08:55Z
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LEESBURG, Va., April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Armfield, Harrison & Thomas, LLC ("AHT Insurance"), a subsidiary of BRP Group, Inc. ("BRP Group" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: BRP), is pleased to announce the addition of Chris Balch to the leadership team as Managing Director of AHT Insurance's Commercial Risk Management Group.
As Managing Director, Balch will lead and manage the Commercial Risk Management Group to assure client satisfaction and firm profitability, as well as perpetuate the planning, organizing, staffing, operational, and business development activities for the group.
Chris brings more than 17 years of commercial risk management and underwriting experience to AHT Insurance. Prior to joining AHT Insurance, Chris served as Regional Vice President at The Hartford, where he led the Middle Market Guaranteed Cost businesses for the Washington, DC metro area. The various leadership positions he has held at The Hartford demonstrate his dedication to client satisfaction, firm and peer growth, and positive industry progression. Chris has been closely aligned with AHT Insurance and its colleagues for the past 13 years to help ensure the most positive placements and outcomes for their clients.
"We are excited to bring Chris' talent and industry relationships from his career with our longstanding, respected partner, The Hartford, to our clients and internal colleagues at AHT Insurance. His strong leadership, client-first approach, and focus on accelerative business strategy will help ensure continued client success – which translates into AHT Insurance's success," said David Schaefer, Regional President, AHT Insurance.
"I am honored to join this dynamic and successful team at AHT Insurance, as well as the Baldwin Risk Partners Middle Market Group. I am thrilled to be a part of this next chapter for AHT Insurance and to help shape the future for the firm, its colleagues, and our clients," says Chris Balch, Managing Director, Commercial Risk Management.
ABOUT AHT INSURANCE
AHT Insurance is an insurance brokerage and consulting firm offering property and casualty, employee benefits, retirement, personal and international services for clients throughout the United States. We support numerous industries and boast national recognition for practices in areas, such as technology, manufacturing, government contracting and nonprofits. Learn more at www.ahtins.com.
ABOUT BRP GROUP, INC.
BRP Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRP) is an independent insurance distribution firm delivering tailored insurance and risk management insights and solutions that give our clients the peace of mind to pursue their purpose, passion and dreams. We are innovating the industry by taking a holistic and tailored approach to risk management, insurance and employee benefits, and support our clients, Colleagues, Insurance Company Partners and communities through the deployment of vanguard resources and capital to drive our growth. BRP Group represents over 900,000 clients across the United States and internationally. For more information, please visit www.baldwinriskpartners.com.
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which represent BRP Group's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical facts and may include statements that address future operating, financial or business performance or BRP Group's strategies or expectations. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may", "might", "will", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "projects", "potential", "outlook" or "continue", or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements.
Factors that could cause actual results or performance to differ from the expectations expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those described under the caption "Risk Factors" in BRP Group's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and in BRP Group's other filings with the SEC, which are available free of charge on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at: www.sec.gov, including those risks and other factors relevant to the business, financial condition and results of operations of BRP Group and factors related to the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on BRP Group's business, financial condition and results of operations. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated. All forward-looking statements and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to BRP Group or to persons acting on behalf of BRP Group are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to these risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and BRP Group does not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable law.
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SOURCE Baldwin Risk Partners
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/aht-insurance-announces-addition-chris-balch-managing-director/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:02Z
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RENO, Nev., April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AMERCO (Nasdaq: UHAL), the parent of U-Haul International, Inc., Oxford Life Insurance Company, Repwest Insurance Company and Amerco Real Estate Company, on April 6, 2022, declared a special cash dividend on its Common Stock of $0.50 per share. The dividend will be payable April 29, 2022 to holders of record on April 18, 2022.
About AMERCO
AMERCO is the parent company of U-Haul International, Inc., Oxford Life Insurance Company, Repwest Insurance Company and Amerco Real Estate Company. U-Haul is in the shared use business and was founded on the fundamental philosophy that the division of use and specialization of ownership is good for both U-Haul customers and the environment.
About U-Haul
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 23,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 176,000 trucks, 126,000 trailers and 46,000 towing devices. U-Haul is the third largest self-storage operator in North America and offers over 855,000 rentable storage units and 73.6 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities. U-Haul is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S., and continues to be the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry.
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SOURCE AMERCO
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/amerco-announces-special-cash-dividend/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:09Z
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DUBLIN, April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, plans to announce first quarter 2022 results on Friday, April 29th, 2022 in a news release to be issued at 5:00 am Central Time. Greg Case, CEO, will host a conference call at 7:30 am Central Time on Friday, April 29th, 2022. The conference call will be broadcast live through Aon's website at www.aon.com. A replay will be available shortly after the live webcast. The earnings release and supplemental slide presentation will be available on Aon's web site at www.aon.com.
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.
Follow Aon on Twitter and LinkedIn. Stay up-to-date by visiting the Aon Newsroom and sign up for News Alerts here.
Investor Relations
investor.relations@aon.com
+1 312 381 3310
Nadine Youssef
mediainquiries@aon.com
+1 312 381 3024
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SOURCE Aon plc
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/aon-announces-first-quarter-2022-earnings-release-conference-call/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:15Z
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MEXICO CITY, April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: ASR; BMV: ASUR) (ASUR), a leading international airport group with operations in Mexico, the U.S. and Colombia, announces that its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021, has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is available on ASUR's website, www.asur.com.mx.
Investors can receive a printed copy of the report free of charge by calling The Bank of New York Mellon at 1-212-815-2838.
About ASUR
Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (ASUR) is a leading international airport operator with a portfolio of concessions to operate, maintain and develop 16 airports in the Americas. This comprises nine airports in southeast Mexico, including Cancun Airport, the most important tourist destination in Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America, and six airports in northern Colombia, including Medellin international airport (Rio Negro), the second busiest in Colombia. ASUR is also a 60% JV partner in Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC, operator of the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport serving the capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan. San Juan's Airport is the island's primary gateway for international and mainland-US destinations and was the first, and currently the only major airport in the US to have successfully completed a public–private partnership under the FAA Pilot Program. Headquartered in Mexico, ASUR is listed both on the Mexican Bolsa, where it trades under the symbol ASUR, and on the NYSE in the U.S., where it trades under the symbol ASR. One ADS represents ten (10) series B shares. For more information, visit www.asur.com.mx.
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SOURCE Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V.
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/asur-files-form-20-f-with-us-securities-exchange-commission/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:24Z
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CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America Corporation today announced the Board of Directors has authorized regular cash dividends on the outstanding shares or depositary shares of the following series of preferred stock:
Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 67 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,200 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs, and award-winning digital banking with more than 54 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.
Investors May Contact:
Lee McEntire, Bank of America
Phone: 1.980.388.6780
lee.mcentire@bofa.com
Jonathan G. Blum, Bank of America (Fixed Income)
Phone: 1.212.449.3112
jonathan.blum@bofa.com
Reporters May Contact:
Christopher P. Feeney, Bank of America
Phone: 1.980.386.6794
christopher.feeney@bofa.com
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SOURCE Bank of America Corporation
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/bank-america-declares-preferred-stock-dividends-second-quarter-2022/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:31Z
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BOSTON, April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boston Architectural College (BAC) announces the launching of its newest video venture, BAC Channel with Mahesh Daas. This ongoing program will offer a series of exclusive, insightful, and one-on-one conversations between President Mahesh Daas and thought leaders from around the design professions and related industries.
Each episode aligns with the BAC's critical mission to diversify the design professions through expanded access to excellence in design education. Another key program goal includes increasing awareness of the design discipline to advance design literacy within the public sphere.
The BAC is honored to kick-off its inaugural episode of BAC Channel with Mahesh Daas by featuring Professor Balkrishna Doshi—India's first and only Pritzker prize winning architect, educator, guru, and the BAC's 2021 honorary alumnus. As President Daas noted, "While the number of his projects might be measurable, the impact of his influence is immeasurable."
In this first episode, which was filmed during the height of the global pandemic, Professor Doshi and President Daas speak candidly about his life and career spanning nine decades, discussing design education, theory, rituals, space, architecture as well as the immense impact on our global structures and society during a global pandemic.
Watch this unique conversation during the inaugural launch of BAC Channel with Mahesh Daas—experience a candid discussion, and delve into the prodigious life of a leading architect, guru, and educator of our time, Professor Balkrishna Doshi.
Stay tuned for more information on upcoming episodes of BAC Channel with Mahesh Daas by visiting our website.
Dr. Mahesh Daas, ACSA Distinguished Professor, serves as the eighth president of The Boston Architectural College. President Daas is the author of two books, Leading with Aesthetics: The Transformational Leadership of President Charles M. Vest at M.I.T. (2015, 2019) as well as co-edited volume Towards A Robotic Architecture (2018). He also serves as the current Chancellor of the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors and on the editorial board of Construction Robotics Journal. Boston Magazine hailed "The BAC's Mahesh Daas is on a Mission to Reinvent Design Education."
Founded in 1889, The Boston Architectural College (BAC) is an internationally recognized institution with a diverse student and alumni population representing more than 54 countries. Providing excellence in practice-integrated design education, the BAC was Ranked #1 for Best Graduate School for Earning Potential and #4 for Best Architecture School Offering Bachelor's Degrees in the U.S. in 2020 by GradReports. The BAC offers bachelor and graduate degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, design studies as well as offering continuing education certificates and courses. The BAC upholds the importance of inclusive admission, diversity, innovation, dedicated faculty, and the intrinsic value of both academic and experiential education.
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SOURCE Boston Architectural College
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/boston-architectural-college-launches-bac-channel-with-mahesh-daas-featuring-pritzker-laureate-balkrishna-doshi/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:38Z
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VANCOUVER, April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE: CIO) ("City Office" or the "Company") announced today it will release its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, before the market opens on Thursday, May 5, 2022.
City Office's management will hold a conference call at 11:00 am Eastern Time on May 5, 2022 to discuss the Company's financial results. Additionally, a supplemental financial package to accompany the discussion of the results will be posted on www.cioreit.com.
Webcast
Click on the webcast link under the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website at www.cioreit.com.
Telephone Conference Call
Domestic: 1-844-200-6205
International: 1-929-526-1599
Passcode: 486178
Please dial in at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time.
Conference Call Replay
Domestic: 1-866-813-9403
International: 44-204-525-0658
Passcode: 308413
A replay of the call will be available later in the day on May 5, 2022, continuing through August 3, 2022. A replay will also be available at "Webcasts & Events" in the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website.
About City Office REIT, Inc.
City Office REIT is an internally-managed real estate company focused on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality office properties located in leading 18-hour cities in the Southern and Western United States. City Office currently owns or has a controlling interest in 6.2 million square feet of office properties. The Company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Contact
City Office REIT, Inc.
Anthony Maretic, CFO
+1-604-806-3366
investorrelations@cityofficereit.com
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SOURCE City Office REIT, Inc.
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/city-office-reit-announces-first-quarter-2022-earnings-release-conference-call/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:45Z
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The US Department of Health and Human Services has engaged Coforma's Health+™ program to surface the lived experiences of people with Long COVID to guide the co-creation of innovative solutions.
WASHINGTON, April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH) has selected Coforma and prime contract partner INSI Cloud to leverage Coforma's Health+™ program in support of the agency's goal to understand the lived experiences and needs of people impacted by Long COVID and facilitate the identification and implementation of innovative solutions to increase their quality of care and life.
During the pandemic, people with COVID-19, from all backgrounds and communities, began reporting symptoms lasting or fluctuating beyond three weeks, sometimes with disabling consequences. These 'long haulers' reported a variety of symptoms—long-term effects of the COVID-19 infection which have come to be known, collectively, as 'Long COVID.'
Health+™ uses an agile approach to navigate the complex healthcare space and apply human-centered design and research to uncover opportunities to leverage insights around lived experiences, cross-discipline knowledge, and strategic partnerships to identify and co-create effective solutions to high-impact health issues .
"The people and communities impacted by Long COVID are at the forefront of this effort. Our research will be done in careful consideration of the fact that preliminary studies show there are specific populations and communities uniquely vulnerable to COVID-19 and to experiencing Long COVID–often influenced by social determinants of health, such as poverty, and by structural inequities, such as racism and discrimination. We're honored to collaborate meaningfully with HHS and the OASH to involve Long COVID patients and patient-advocates in the surfacing of data-informed, high-impact solutions," said Ashleigh Axios, CXO and co-owner of Coforma.
About Health+™: Health+™ ("health plus") is a trademarked and proprietary program developed by Coforma in 2019, which applies human-centered design and research to cultivate solutions to the most pressing challenges in the healthcare sector. Recent, for-service cycles of the program were run on behalf of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and their partners at Howard University and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation around Sickle Cell disease and Lyme disease. Learn more about Health+™ at "https://healthplusprogram.io"healthplusprogram.io..
Contact: Angela Hopkins, angela@coforma.io, 303-968-0349
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SOURCE Coforma
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/coformas-health-program-will-support-us-department-health-human-services-shaping-long-covid-solutions/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:53Z
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CALGARY, AB, April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Crescent Point Energy Corp. ("Crescent Point" or the "Company") (TSX: CPG) (NYSE: CPG) is pleased to announce that Mindy Wight will stand for election as an independent director to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") at the upcoming Annual General Meeting ("AGM") on May 19, 2022.
"We are pleased to welcome Mindy to Crescent Point and believe she will be an invaluable addition given her extensive financial knowledge and range of experiences," said Barbara Munroe, Chair of the Board. "Beyond her career as an accounting professional, Mindy has also been a leader in advancing economic growth for Indigenous communities."
Ms. Wight specializes in financial accounting, taxation and business development and holds significant cross-industry experience. She currently serves as Chief Financial Officer and Board Treasurer of the Nch'kay Development Corporation. Most recently, Ms. Wight was a partner and tax specialist with the accounting and advisory firm MNP LLP and also worked closely with companies in the energy sector during her time with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Ms. Wight received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Northern British Columbia and holds CPA and CA designations. Ms. Wight is also active in her local community and was an Advisory Committee member for the Squamish Nation.
In conjunction with Ms. Wight's nomination, the Company also announces that Laura Cillis will not be standing for re-election at the 2022 AGM. Ms. Cillis has been a member of Crescent Point's Board since 2014. Upon her departure, the Board will have fully renewed since 2016.
"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Laura for her significant contributions and oversight over the past several years," said Munroe. "Her thoughtful and strategic leadership has been beneficial in Crescent Point's ongoing corporate development. We wish Laura the best in her future endeavours."
Crescent Point is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion within its Board, ensuring strong governance and stewardship through a broad range of skillsets and perspectives. Should Ms. Wight be elected as a director, Crescent Point's Board will remain comprised of 33% independent directors being female.
For more information on Crescent Point's Board and upcoming AGM, please visit the Company's website at www.crescentpointenergy.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CRESCENT POINT ENERGY, PLEASE CONTACT:
Shant Madian, Vice President, Capital Markets, or
Sarfraz Somani, Manager, Investor Relations
Telephone: (403) 693-0020 Toll-free (US and Canada): 888-693-0020 Fax: (403) 693-0070
Address: Crescent Point Energy Corp. Suite 2000, 585 - 8th Avenue S.W. Calgary AB T2P 1G1
Crescent Point shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CPG.
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SOURCE Crescent Point Energy Corp.
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/crescent-point-nominates-new-director-election-upcoming-annual-general-meeting/
| 2022-04-09T01:09:59Z
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CHICAGO, April 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution, payable April 11, 2022 to shareholders of record March 31, 2022, together with the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year-to-date (YTD) from the following sources. The fiscal year is November 1, 2021 to October 31, 2022. All amounts are expressed per share of common stock based on U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which may differ from federal income tax regulations.
The Fund will issue a separate 19(a) notice at the time of each monthly distribution using the most current financial information available. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan.
The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."
The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund or your broker will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.
* Simple arithmetic average of each of the past five annual returns.
DNP Select Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: DNP) is a closed-end diversified investment management company. The Fund's primary investment objectives are current income and long-term growth of income. The Fund seeks to achieve these objectives by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity and fixed income securities of companies in the public utilities industry. For more information, visit the Fund's website at www.dpimc.com/dnp or call the Fund at (800) 864-0629.
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SOURCE DNP Select Income Fund Inc.
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https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/dnp-select-income-fund-inc-section-19a-notice/
| 2022-04-09T01:10:07Z
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