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OXFORD • Keith Collins and Richie Burnette have been playing 60s music since the 60s.
They've played together for 43 years, first as part of a larger band named Solid Gold, which existed from 1974 to 2013. For the past nine years, however, the two of them have played together as The Fabulous DOO VAYS.
"We might not be the best band in north Mississippi, but we're for sure the oldest," Burnette said.
Collins, 71, and Burnette, 75, specialize in performing the music of Motown and Stax Records, throwing in songs by the Beatles, The Beach Boys and plenty of soul groups. The band plays between 25 to 30 gigs per year, everywhere from Jackson, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee.
They do mostly private parties, but get together once a month to perform at Tallahatchie Gourmet in Oxford.
These days, the DOO VAYS typically perform for around three hours, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
"We generally get through about the time we used to start," Burnette said.
"We used to do 9 to 1's and somebody would wave a $100 bill and we'd go to 2," Burnette said, adding with a laugh, "Nowadays I'd pay $100 to get out of a place.”
The perfect name for a cover band
The DOO VAYS is a cover band. Which is kind of perfect.
The name "DOO VAYS" is pronounced like “duvet,” which is, coincidentally, a quilt used as a cover on a bed.
Back when the men were still playing in Solid Gold, an old friend was in town and their wives were in a bedroom talking about redecorating, Burnette recalled.
"One of them said something about a duvet, and both of us in another room said, 'Boy, that would be a cool name for a band, wouldn't it?'" Burnette said.
When they needed a name for a band 10 years later, that was it.
Someone along the way added the "fabulous" superlative, dubbing them The Fabulous DOO VAYS.
"I guess it's in the eye of the listener as to whether we're fabulous or not," Burnette said. "But we are The Fabulous DOO VAYS."
Musical origins and influences
Collins and Burnette are from Memphis and Clarksdale, respectively — each a "music mecca" in its own right.
Collins and Burnette each started out learning piano as kids before finding their groove with other instruments.
Burnette suffered through three months of piano lessons before his father, a multi-instrumentalist and singer, gave up on it.
At the age of 12 or 13, Collins bought a cheap drum kit and played along with records to refine his style, patterning his drumming after James Brown's drummers.
Likewise, at 14 or 15, Burnette bought a four-string tenor guitar.
Like many teens in the early 1960s, they were inspired by the Beatles to pursue music.
Now, as the DOO VAYS, Collins plays drums and does vocals. Burnette plays keyboard and guitar, along with providing vocals.
What sets them apart is that few bands play strictly 1960s music these days.
"What works for us is that so much of what we do, you may turn on a TV and there's an ad with a Motown track," Burnette said.
The band's staples include songs like "Stay" by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, "Hey! Baby" by Bruce Channel, "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" by The Tams, "It's The Same Old Song" by Four Tops and "Shout" by The Isley Brothers.
"You take a song like 'My Girl' by The Temptations, that song is timeless," Burnette said. "My wife and I, that was our song when we were dating in high school. But my daughter and my granddaughter know and love that song."
They estimate the average age of their Tallahatchie Gourmet crowd to be in the 60s, but even younger patrons know and can sing along with most of the songs the DOO VAYS play.
As Solid Gold, the men played more wedding receptions than they can count, and in those situations "you had to have music that the guy who was writing the check liked, but his daughter and her friends had to like it too."
Motown fits the bill, and the DOO VAYS’ unique style is still getting them booked for gigs.
"It has to be danceable," Collins said. "And we try to play exactly like the record."
While some cover bands take popular songs and make them their own, the DOO VAYS try to play songs the way people remember hearing them the first time.
"We don't think they came to hear our version," Burnette said.
Some things change, some stay the same
Burnette is retired, having spent 20 years in banking and working commercial and industrial real estate in DeSoto County.
Collins still works as a certified public accountant and owns and operates a property management company that manages homeowner and condominium associations.
Just as the band has changed since the days when they played together as part of Solid Gold, so has their gear.
The pair now uses technology that wasn't available for most of their career, like harmonizers that add artificial harmonies to their voices by raising or lowering the pitch of their singing.
"If I'm doing a Beatles song, and I need two more voices to go with me, as long as I know which button to press and what chords to play on my guitar or keyboard, I've got the voices," Burnette said.
Likewise, keyboards are much lighter than in the past and can do things it used to take three keyboards to do, Burnette said.
The duo also uses iPads that scroll the words and chords to the songs they play, allowing them to mix it up and play songs they aren't intimately familiar with.
Whereas Solid Gold stuck to a set list of 45 or 50 songs they'd rotate through, the DOO VAYS play from a song list that isn’t set and includes twice as many tunes.
"Solid Gold played so long, so many times, for the same people that there were guys that knew what the next song was going to be," Burnette said. "We didn't like that."
It ain't over yet
The band's slogan is, “It ain't over yet."
It's a quote from Howard Calhoun, mouthed to Burnette during what was arguably Solid Gold's most memorable performance at the Hard Rock Cafe in Memphis on Oct. 1, 1998.
"It was slam-jam packed," Burnette recalled. "It was some kind of convention and there were as many people in there as it could hold."
The band was hot; the crowd was responding and Calhoun, co-founder of Solid Gold, was on the other side of the stage from Burnette.
"People were up on balconies, hanging over them and I thought 'This is cool,'" Burnette said. "He kind of mouthed at me, he said, 'It ain't over yet.'"
During their time playing music together as Solid Gold, the group performed alongside Chubby Checker, Junior Walker, The Crystals, The Dixie Cups and Archie Bell & The Drells.
As the years passed, Burnette said they wondered, "How long can this possibly go on?"
The DOO VAYS chose the slogan to pay tribute to their former bandmate, who Burnette remembers as one of the best bass players in Memphis in the 60s.
Calhoun stepped away from performing live music but remains close to Burnette and Collins.
It still ain't over yet
The DOO VAYS play what they consider "happy music" — tunes with lots of vocal harmony, songs from the 50s and 60s that listeners can dance to.
"We like to bring joy to people," Collins said. "So we typically play the kind of music that lifts people up.
Bringing joy to people, he added, is what he most loves about performing.
"As I get older, that's important to me," he added.
Burnette said that while the band gets paid for its performances, they spend about as much money as they make for each show.
"If you figure the hours that were put in, it's probably not minimum wage," Burnette said. "We do it because we love it."
Their favorite part of performing is the feedback they get from the audience — seeing people get out of their chairs when they hear a song they have to dance to.
"We love to see people mouthing the words to the songs that we're singing," Collins said.
If it wasn't for having to travel, set up and break down gear after each performance, Burnette said he'd perform three nights per week and never blink an eye.
Burnette said that although traveling takes a bigger toll than it once did, he feels blessed to still be playing live music.
"We always say 'How many 70-plus-year-olds play in a rock 'n' roll band?" Collins said.
That would be the Rolling Stones, but Burnette noted that they have a slightly different vibe than The Fabulous DOO VAYS.
"They've got a different deal than we do," Burnette said with a laugh.
Collins and Burnette have easily played over 1,200 shows together and they don't plan on stopping soon. They've already got gigs booked through December.
"We say 'It ain't over yet,'" Burnette said. "We're in the fourth quarter, but we don't know how many minutes we've got left."
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/it-aint-over-yet-the-fabulous-doo-vays-have-been-playing-60s-music-since-the/article_486015fd-204a-5da2-846c-ac5b7e83dbf6.html
| 2022-04-21T09:43:55
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/it-aint-over-yet-the-fabulous-doo-vays-have-been-playing-60s-music-since-the/article_486015fd-204a-5da2-846c-ac5b7e83dbf6.html
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TUPELO • Tupelo Community Theatre will bring the story of the gross but lovable ogre, Shrek, and his cadre of fairy tale pals to the Lyric stage next weekend.
"Shrek the Musical" will premiere Thursday, April 28, through Saturday, April 30, at the Lyric theater in downtown Tupelo. Shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The production stars Zach Bragg as the famous ogre, Matt Strickland as Lord Farquad, Dalton Russell as Donkey and Carol Coker as Princess Fiona.
Bragg is no stranger to the Lyric stage. He began his run with Tupelo Community Theatre in 2019. He said portraying the crude but charming ogre, made famous by comedian Mike Myers’ vocal performance in a series of animated films, is challenging because of the physical demands of the character’s movement.
"He's not human, and he stomps around," Bragg said with a laugh.
The theatre veteran said Shrek has lived in isolation since childhood and needs love from others.
"He's not really afraid of other people, but just hesitant of others and their motives," he said.
Other iconic characters from the production include Princess Fiona, Donkey and, of course, the small but mighty Lord Farquad.
Strickland will take on the role of the tiny, villainous character. The most strenuous aspect of playing Lord Farquad is having to walk on his knees throughout the show.
"A fun fact is it's quite demanding to be Farquad because you have to be on your knees the whole time," said Strickland. "I'm exhausted by the end of the night," he said.
A teacher for Pontotoc City School District, Strickland was inspired to audition for the role by his general music students.
"My kids watched it and said, if I ever try out, I need to be Lord Farquad," said the music educator.
Russell will portray Donkey, a role made famous by Eddie Murphy in the 2001 movie.
"Everyone loves Donkey, so there's a lot of cool things I've been inspired by from Eddie Murphy who originally played him," Russell said.
Russell said he's watched the Broadway version of "Shrek the Musical" multiple times to get a feel for the role.
"I've tried to stick with my own version of Donkey and take my own spin on it," he said.
For Russell, the part of Donkey has been the hardest role he's played to date for TCT. However, the support of his cast has helped him overcome the obstacles that the role presents, including having to don a suit of fur throughout the show.
Carol Coker will make her Tupelo Community Theatre debut as Princess Fiona.
Although it’s her first performance with TCT, it’s not her debut in “Shrek the Musical.”
"I actually finished off my high school senior year with the Union County Schools theatre production of 'Shrek the Musical' almost a decade ago," she said.
The Union County native described Princess Fiona as an anomaly for fairytale princesses.
"She's supposed to be this normal princess waiting for her prince to come and rescue her," Coker said. "But she's independent, fun and sassy. She's a wild time.”
As a TCT newcomer, Coker said she wishes she would have gotten plugged in sooner.
"My cast members, directors, assistant directors and volunteers have just been really welcoming, and I've been taken under their wing and welcomed into the community," said Coker.
Tickets for "Shrek the Musical" can be purchased for $25 by calling the TCT box office at 662-844-1935.
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/shrek-the-musical-to-take-tupelos-lyric-stage-next-weekend/article_7a79832a-5a82-5c7b-a1f5-3aba5bfb549e.html
| 2022-04-21T09:44:01
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/shrek-the-musical-to-take-tupelos-lyric-stage-next-weekend/article_7a79832a-5a82-5c7b-a1f5-3aba5bfb549e.html
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The cast of Tupelo High School's "Fools" rehearses for their debut on Friday, April 22. The students have been preparing for their final play of the year since Feb. 28.
TUPELO • Tupelo High School's Theatre Department will present "Fools," a play by Neil Simon, starting Friday, April 22 at the Fine Arts Auditorium on the school's campus.
The play follows Leon, a schoolmaster recruited to educate the daughter of Dr. Zubritsky, a Ukrainian villager who, along with the rest of his community, has been cursed with ignorance.
Allana Austin has been with the THS Theatre Department for over 20 years. This is her fourth production of "Fools," her first being when she was a Tupelo High School senior.
"'Fools' is a fable by Neil Simon," Austin said. "He's famous for 'The Odd Couple' and different types of plays about relationships."
As the main character, Leon's goal is to educate just one person so the curse will be broken. Throughout the course of the play, Leon begins to fall in love with his student, Sophia, and realizes that he has come to love the rest of the villagers as well.
However, if he stays too long, he'll become ignorant himself.
The student actors began rehearsals for "Fools" on Feb. 28 and haven't slowed down since.
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Caleb Bowers will portray Leon. He said his character acknowledges how much he has grown to love the well-meaning yet unintelligent community.
"Leon is the schoolmaster and was hired by Dr. Zubritsky to teach his young daughter, but in the process of trying to educate her, he falls in love with her," Bowers said.
Bowers described Leon as a level head amongst the rest of the villagers.
"He's the only one who actually has intelligence," Bowers said. "He's not just an average Joe, he's a very intelligent person."
George Bryan is a senior set to graduate in just a few weeks. He will portray the play's villain, Count Gregor. The count is also affected by the curse.
"He's fun to play because he's such a goofy villain," Bryan said.
"Fools" will premiere Friday, April 22 at 7 p.m. at the Tupelo High School Fine Arts Auditorium. Additional shows will follow on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $6 and can be purchase ahead of time by searching "THS Activities" on gofan.com.
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/tupelo-high-school-theatre-presents-fools-this-weekend/article_1c9dba3e-037a-55ff-8626-bb0ad95cdc49.html
| 2022-04-21T09:44:07
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/tupelo-high-school-theatre-presents-fools-this-weekend/article_1c9dba3e-037a-55ff-8626-bb0ad95cdc49.html
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — This Saturday, April 23, marks the first Helena International Unity Festival.
The co-chairs of the festival joined CBS 42 News on Tuesday to discuss the festival and what visitors can expect. Click here for more information regarding the festival.
Watch the full interview above.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/helena-international-unity-festival-set-for-saturday/
| 2022-04-21T11:57:55
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/helena-international-unity-festival-set-for-saturday/
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Wednesday saw another push from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin to decriminalize the use of marijuana. The push arrived on 4/20, a day celebrated to fight the stigma of it.
“People in Alabama deserve a second chance,” Woodfin said.
He shared in a social media video Wednesday to mark the occasion.
“I hope all the other mayors will follow suit because we did try to get something like this passed in legislation this year and it just didn’t work out,” Alabama Cannabis Industry Association President Chey Garrigan said.
It’s a push that’s getting mixed reaction around the state.
“This is a step absolutely in the wrong direction,” Representative Jim Carns said.
The Democratic party following suit with Woodfin Wednesday, launching the Free Weed website. Lawmakers say it corrects historical wrongs on the war on drugs while helping businesses get licenses to grow.
“It is about emphasizing the importance of building grassroots support so that the Alabama legislature will actually listen to the people and to the will of Alabama,” Representative Neil Rafferty said.
Carns said it is opening the path to a gateway drug.
“If we go recreational, all the walls come down and that’s what they’re going for is recreational,” Carns said. “They’re not going to set up an industry that’s only going to serve six to 10% of people in Alabama.”
According to Carns, an industry is not necessary for medical needs.
“We’re saying as a state it’s okay for young people and anybody to start with marijuana that leads to all kind of medical problems later in life,” he said.
Garrigan said the association is focusing on rolling out a medical marijuana program to qualifying patients that need it.
This is the second year in a row that Woodfin is spearheading this effort. He said it impacts at least 15,000 people in the city.
The Alabama Cannabis Coalition sent CBS 42 a statement regarding the Woodfin action on Wednesday saying, “Across America every 58 seconds police make a Cannabis related arrest and it is high time this insanity ends in the State of Alabama and our Nation. It’s time Alabama.”
Carns said he and other Republican lawmakers will continue to fight the push for decriminalization.
“I just want Alabama to wake up and understand what door is being opened,” he said.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/woodfins-push-to-decriminalize-marijuana-gets-pushback/
| 2022-04-21T11:58:01
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/woodfins-push-to-decriminalize-marijuana-gets-pushback/
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OXFORD • Keith Collins and Richie Burnette have been playing 60s music since the 60s.
They've played together for 43 years, first as part of a larger band named Solid Gold, which existed from 1974 to 2013. For the past nine years, however, the two of them have played together as The Fabulous DOO VAYS.
"We might not be the best band in north Mississippi, but we're for sure the oldest," Burnette said.
Collins, 71, and Burnette, 75, specialize in performing the music of Motown and Stax Records, throwing in songs by the Beatles, The Beach Boys and plenty of soul groups. The band plays between 25 to 30 gigs per year, everywhere from Jackson, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee.
They do mostly private parties, but get together once a month to perform at Tallahatchie Gourmet in Oxford.
These days, the DOO VAYS typically perform for around three hours, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
"We generally get through about the time we used to start," Burnette said.
"We used to do 9 to 1's and somebody would wave a $100 bill and we'd go to 2," Burnette said, adding with a laugh, "Nowadays I'd pay $100 to get out of a place.”
The perfect name for a cover band
The DOO VAYS is a cover band. Which is kind of perfect.
The name "DOO VAYS" is pronounced like “duvet,” which is, coincidentally, a quilt used as a cover on a bed.
Back when the men were still playing in Solid Gold, an old friend was in town and their wives were in a bedroom talking about redecorating, Burnette recalled.
"One of them said something about a duvet, and both of us in another room said, 'Boy, that would be a cool name for a band, wouldn't it?'" Burnette said.
When they needed a name for a band 10 years later, that was it.
Someone along the way added the "fabulous" superlative, dubbing them The Fabulous DOO VAYS.
"I guess it's in the eye of the listener as to whether we're fabulous or not," Burnette said. "But we are The Fabulous DOO VAYS."
Musical origins and influences
Collins and Burnette are from Memphis and Clarksdale, respectively — each a "music mecca" in its own right.
Collins and Burnette each started out learning piano as kids before finding their groove with other instruments.
Burnette suffered through three months of piano lessons before his father, a multi-instrumentalist and singer, gave up on it.
At the age of 12 or 13, Collins bought a cheap drum kit and played along with records to refine his style, patterning his drumming after James Brown's drummers.
Likewise, at 14 or 15, Burnette bought a four-string tenor guitar.
Like many teens in the early 1960s, they were inspired by the Beatles to pursue music.
Now, as the DOO VAYS, Collins plays drums and does vocals. Burnette plays keyboard and guitar, along with providing vocals.
What sets them apart is that few bands play strictly 1960s music these days.
"What works for us is that so much of what we do, you may turn on a TV and there's an ad with a Motown track," Burnette said.
The band's staples include songs like "Stay" by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, "Hey! Baby" by Bruce Channel, "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" by The Tams, "It's The Same Old Song" by Four Tops and "Shout" by The Isley Brothers.
"You take a song like 'My Girl' by The Temptations, that song is timeless," Burnette said. "My wife and I, that was our song when we were dating in high school. But my daughter and my granddaughter know and love that song."
They estimate the average age of their Tallahatchie Gourmet crowd to be in the 60s, but even younger patrons know and can sing along with most of the songs the DOO VAYS play.
As Solid Gold, the men played more wedding receptions than they can count, and in those situations "you had to have music that the guy who was writing the check liked, but his daughter and her friends had to like it too."
Motown fits the bill, and the DOO VAYS’ unique style is still getting them booked for gigs.
"It has to be danceable," Collins said. "And we try to play exactly like the record."
While some cover bands take popular songs and make them their own, the DOO VAYS try to play songs the way people remember hearing them the first time.
"We don't think they came to hear our version," Burnette said.
Some things change, some stay the same
Burnette is retired, having spent 20 years in banking and working commercial and industrial real estate in DeSoto County.
Collins still works as a certified public accountant and owns and operates a property management company that manages homeowner and condominium associations.
Just as the band has changed since the days when they played together as part of Solid Gold, so has their gear.
The pair now uses technology that wasn't available for most of their career, like harmonizers that add artificial harmonies to their voices by raising or lowering the pitch of their singing.
"If I'm doing a Beatles song, and I need two more voices to go with me, as long as I know which button to press and what chords to play on my guitar or keyboard, I've got the voices," Burnette said.
Likewise, keyboards are much lighter than in the past and can do things it used to take three keyboards to do, Burnette said.
The duo also uses iPads that scroll the words and chords to the songs they play, allowing them to mix it up and play songs they aren't intimately familiar with.
Whereas Solid Gold stuck to a set list of 45 or 50 songs they'd rotate through, the DOO VAYS play from a song list that isn’t set and includes twice as many tunes.
"Solid Gold played so long, so many times, for the same people that there were guys that knew what the next song was going to be," Burnette said. "We didn't like that."
It ain't over yet
The band's slogan is, “It ain't over yet."
It's a quote from Howard Calhoun, mouthed to Burnette during what was arguably Solid Gold's most memorable performance at the Hard Rock Cafe in Memphis on Oct. 1, 1998.
"It was slam-jam packed," Burnette recalled. "It was some kind of convention and there were as many people in there as it could hold."
The band was hot; the crowd was responding and Calhoun, co-founder of Solid Gold, was on the other side of the stage from Burnette.
"People were up on balconies, hanging over them and I thought 'This is cool,'" Burnette said. "He kind of mouthed at me, he said, 'It ain't over yet.'"
During their time playing music together as Solid Gold, the group performed alongside Chubby Checker, Junior Walker, The Crystals, The Dixie Cups and Archie Bell & The Drells.
As the years passed, Burnette said they wondered, "How long can this possibly go on?"
The DOO VAYS chose the slogan to pay tribute to their former bandmate, who Burnette remembers as one of the best bass players in Memphis in the 60s.
Calhoun stepped away from performing live music but remains close to Burnette and Collins.
It still ain't over yet
The DOO VAYS play what they consider "happy music" — tunes with lots of vocal harmony, songs from the 50s and 60s that listeners can dance to.
"We like to bring joy to people," Collins said. "So we typically play the kind of music that lifts people up.
Bringing joy to people, he added, is what he most loves about performing.
"As I get older, that's important to me," he added.
Burnette said that while the band gets paid for its performances, they spend about as much money as they make for each show.
"If you figure the hours that were put in, it's probably not minimum wage," Burnette said. "We do it because we love it."
Their favorite part of performing is the feedback they get from the audience — seeing people get out of their chairs when they hear a song they have to dance to.
"We love to see people mouthing the words to the songs that we're singing," Collins said.
If it wasn't for having to travel, set up and break down gear after each performance, Burnette said he'd perform three nights per week and never blink an eye.
Burnette said that although traveling takes a bigger toll than it once did, he feels blessed to still be playing live music.
"We always say 'How many 70-plus-year-olds play in a rock 'n' roll band?" Collins said.
That would be the Rolling Stones, but Burnette noted that they have a slightly different vibe than The Fabulous DOO VAYS.
"They've got a different deal than we do," Burnette said with a laugh.
Collins and Burnette have easily played over 1,200 shows together and they don't plan on stopping soon. They've already got gigs booked through December.
"We say 'It ain't over yet,'" Burnette said. "We're in the fourth quarter, but we don't know how many minutes we've got left."
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/the-fabulous-doo-vays-have-been-playing-60s-music-since-the-60s/article_486015fd-204a-5da2-846c-ac5b7e83dbf6.html
| 2022-04-21T12:43:03
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/the-fabulous-doo-vays-have-been-playing-60s-music-since-the-60s/article_486015fd-204a-5da2-846c-ac5b7e83dbf6.html
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A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a Queens mother of two who was brutally murdered inside her own home, stabbed 58 times and put on the street in a duffel bag, three law enforcement sources and police said Thursday.
David Bonola, a 44-year-old from Queens, faces charges including murder, criminal tampering and criminal possession of a weapon in the killing of 51-year-old Orsolya Gaal, police said. Law enforcement sources say he worked as a handyman for Gaal and lived near her.
According to sources, Bonola allegedly showed up at her house and the two argued, though it wasn't clear exactly when that happened or what the fight was about. The handyman then allegedly murdered her in her own basement, the sources said.
Additional information is expected at a news conference later Thursday, the sources said. The case has mystified investigators and those who knew Gaal for nearly a week.
Investigators had indicated they were focused on one person who knew Gaal and had access to her Forest Hills home. That's likely why there were no signs of forced entry, sources have said. Forensic evidence was collected from her Juno Street home.
Gaal was last seen alive nearly a week ago at the Forest Hills Station House, a gathering spot popular with locals. Police believe Gaal was killed after returning from the gastropub sometime after 12:30 a.m., which is when the manager, Gabriel Veras, last recalled seeing the victim.
Veras said Gaal always wore a smile, dined alone and was kind to employees — and while she recalled seeing her for about 45 minutes Friday night into early Saturday, the manager didn't remember that she seemed to be in any kind of danger or disturbed.
"She was here on Friday, right in the center of the bar. Had a Moscow mule, had a bite to eat. Spoke to a few of my staff members that know her, joking around in conversation," Veras said. "She was a very, very sweet regular. She left alone and we were in shock the next day. Shock."
"She was composed, collected, in the middle of the bar, just keeping to herself and talking to staff," Veras added. "Nothing unusual. She didn’t seem frightened or scared or panicked. Just enjoying her one drink before going home."
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Details of the attack are gruesome, as law enforcement sources said Gaal was stabbed some 58 times in the neck, torso, and left arm. The sources also said that she had wounds to her hands that were likely from her attempts to fight off the attacker.
Chilling surveillance video showed a person who may have killed her, according to police sources. That person was seen on home security camera footage wheeling a hockey duffel bag down 75th Avenue, with Gaal's body believed to be inside.
Police made the disturbing discovery of her body Saturday morning after a 911 caller alerted officials to the roadside crime scene. The NYPD said Gaal's body was found near Jackie Robinson parkway and Metropolitan Avenue shortly before 8:30 a.m., about a half-mile from her home, after a jogger spotted the blood-soaked duffel bag near a busy walking trail.
Law enforcement sources said a trail of blood led detectives back to her home.
Gaal's 13-year-old son who lives at the home was questioned by police and later released, sources said. Investigators believe that Gaal was attacked in her basement, while the teenage son was on the top floor of the home.
Police said her husband and another son were out of town, visiting colleges on the west coast, when her body was discovered. Sources told NBC New York that at around 5 a.m. Saturday, the killer is believed to have sent Gaal's husband a threatening text message from her phone.
The medical examiner's office confirmed Gaal's death was classified a homicide due to "sharp force injuries of the neck."
Posters offering $3,500 reward for any information leading to an arrest were put up for blocks throughout the neighborhood Tuesday.
A growing tribute with flowers continued to grow in the front yard of Gaal's home, as police were still inside looking for clues. There were tributes pouring in on social media as well, with people noting Gaal's kindness.
No possible motive has been shared. Law enforcement sources have said the attack was not random and that the public is not in danger.
Information on a possible attorney for Bonola wasn't immediately available.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/person-in-custody-in-case-of-nyc-mom-found-stabbed-58-times-in-duffel-bag-sources/3656073/
| 2022-04-21T12:51:39
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/person-in-custody-in-case-of-nyc-mom-found-stabbed-58-times-in-duffel-bag-sources/3656073/
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New Jersey is the 19th state where recreational marijuana is sold.
Seven medical marijuana dispensaries in the Garden State were given the green light to sell recreational pot at 13 locations in a vote by the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission on April 11.
What does that mean for people looking to buy pre-rolled marijuana joints, edibles or an ounce of "flower"? We asked two experts: longtime legalization advocate Chris Goldstein of NORML, and attorney Rob DiPisa, who represents marijuana companies on real estate and compliance issues.
Where Can I Buy Weed Legally in NJ?
There are currently only medical marijuana dispensaries operating in New Jersey. Those are run by eight national companies, which combine to have 23 locations throughout the state. Here is a map of the locations.
Seven of those companies received the final approvals for recreational licenses and will be the first to expand into that realm soon. Many more prospective recreational retailers are also trying to open in New Jersey.
In fact, the CRC has issued 102 conditional approvals, which include dozens of small start-up businesses. But DiPisa said significant hurdles remain for start-up retailers, including securing zero- and low-interest loans and gaining local permits from municipalities to open.
Conditional approvals are not the same as the seven approvals handed out April 11 by the CRC, and are just an initial step in the regulatory process toward a state license. DiPisa said a way to improve the process for dozens of smaller prospective retailers is to free up those advantageous loans during the conditional approval phase. That is not currently the case, he said.
How Much Does Marijuana Cost in NJ?
The first thing to know is that it costs a lot, the experts said, both for medicinal purposes and, eventually, for recreational purposes.
An ounce of "flower," which is the raw bud product, costs between $320 to $480 for New Jersey medicinal patients, according to a recent published report by NJ.com. There is no state-regulated price, but there are state and local sales taxes based on weight that add to prices set by retailers.
While prices overall may vary by size and product, all transactions are subject to New Jersey sales tax of 6.625 percent plus a social equity excise fee of a third of a percent, according to the state's website.
The cost is high compared to prices in other states, including Maine, Florida and those in the West Coast. That has a lot to do with supply, real estate costs, and high local and cannabis-specific taxes, the experts said.
Nearby Pennsylvania patients also must pay very high prices for medicinal marijuana, Goldstein said. He mostly blames a system dominated by national corporations and rigid regulatory hurdles.
"A gram of gold is going for $62 these days. A gram of hash oil in Pennsylvania dispensaries sells for $100," Goldstein said. "You're telling me cannabis costs more to produce than the discovery, mining and refining of a precious metal?"
Stories about Legal Marijuana
Both Goldstein and DiPisa are hopeful that New Jersey buyers will eventually see the cost of marijuana go down as supply increases and more locations open.
"There are still a lot of people who say to me, 'Hey Chris, why do you do this?' It’s going to be gobbled up by corporations," Goldstein said of his advocacy for an expansion of the industry in Northeast states. "On a day like this in New Jersey (following the April 11 approvals), it feels like that a little bit. But maybe we’ll learn lessons along the way and it’ll get better."
DiPisa said federal and state marijuana laws don't make it easy on the big or small retailers and cultivators.
"These companies, especially the multi-state operators are dealing with a fragmented approach that isn't usual in other industries," he said. "There is a different set of regulations in every state they're operating in. It's not an efficient way to run a business, but we're dealing with the hands we're dealt."
Who Is Legally Allowed to Buy Weed?
The age limit is the same as alcohol — anyone 21 and older can buy marijuana from an authorized dispensary, according to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.
That includes any and all visitors to New Jersey who are of age, as the state is hoping to cash in on some marijuana tourism as well. HOWEVER, any marijuana purchased in New Jersey cannot be transported across state lines, as that it still illegal.
It is also illegal to drive while high, as that falls under the state's impaired driving laws.
How Much Marijuana Are People Allowed to Buy?
According to the state's Cannabis Regulatory Commission, each transaction can be for the equivalent of up to an ounce of weed, and adults 21+ can have up to an ounce of marijuana on them.
Broken down by product, that comes out to:
- 1 ounce of dried flower, or
- 5 grams of concentrates, resins, or oils, or
- 1000mg of ingestible products (10 100mg packages) like gummies
Those buying can combine different types (like buying a half ounce of dried flower and 2.5 grams of concentrates, resins and oils). Edibles that are perishable, like cookies and brownies, are NOT available for purchase at dispensaries.
Where Can Marijuana Be Smoked?
Weed can be smoked in private spaces, but it is still up to landlords to determine if marijuana is allowed to be smoked in their buildings, or if possession is even allowed.
Why Was Thursday Chosen As the Start Date?
New Jersey lawmakers purposefully left deadlines out of marijuana legislation. They were concerned, in part, that a rush to allow legal sales would lead to supply shortages and long lines, Goldstein said. Despite the lack of deadlines, Goldstein as well as officials with the state's CRC expressed optimism following the April 11 approvals about "opening day" for recreational weed.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced sales will begin on Thursday.
Supply problems create the most worrisome issue for prospective buyers in the months ahead. Also, frustrations for mom-and-pop retail shops could mount if licenses for smaller pot businesses are not issued for awhile, Goldstein and DiPisa said.
Why Are Big Weed Companies Like Curaleaf and Ascend Getting First Dibs on Recreational Pot in NJ?
One part of the 2021 legislation allowing recreational marijuana use stipulated that the existing medical marijuana dispensaries would get the first approvals, Goldstein said.
"The CRC may have wanted to have a broader opening day" that included other retailers, he said, but the commission doesn't really have much wiggle room because of the way the law is written.
The seven medical pot companies, which will sell recreational marijuana at 13 dispensaries, are:
- Acreage CCF New Jersey
- Curaleaf
- Columbia Care
- Verano
- GTI New Jersey
- Ascend New Jersey
- TerrAscend
Those companies are multi-state operators, meaning they have existing marijuana businesses in locations across the United States.
Will Dispensaries Be Keeping Records of What Customers Purchase?
Staff at dispensaries will need to see customers' government-issued IDs in order to ensure they are at least 21 years old, but they are not allowed to make copies of any ID, nor can they keep a record of a customer's transaction, the state's Cannabis Regulatory Commission states.
Those who wish can voluntarily provide information for things like mailing lists, however.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/legal-marijuana-sales-in-nj-start-thursday-what-to-know-where-to-go-costs-and-more/3655651/
| 2022-04-21T12:51:41
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/legal-marijuana-sales-in-nj-start-thursday-what-to-know-where-to-go-costs-and-more/3655651/
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Police are looking for a man they say stabbed a 27-year-old woman in the leg with some sharp object when she tried to help a 33-year-old woman who had her phone knocked out of her hand by the stranger at the Herald Square station, authorities say.
The victim was in the 34th Street transit hub at the peak of the evening rush Monday when cops say the strange man knocked her cellphone from her hand, picked it up and tried to run away. The good Samaritan tried to stop him from running, at which point he pulled out the sharp object and jabbed her, causing a puncture wound.
The suspect ran off afterward. The good Samaritan was taken to a hospital and is expected to be OK. The other woman wasn't hurt.
Police released surveillance footage of the incident (above). Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/woman-stabbed-in-herald-square-station-while-trying-to-help-phone-theft-victim-cops/3656042/
| 2022-04-21T12:51:43
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/woman-stabbed-in-herald-square-station-while-trying-to-help-phone-theft-victim-cops/3656042/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Olivia Harrison, widow of Beatle George Harrison and a philanthropist and film producer, has a few words of her own to share.
She has written 20 original poems about her late husband for the book “Came the Lightening,” which comes out June 21. “Came the Lightening” also will include photographs and images of mementos and will have an introduction by Martin Scorsese, who directed a 2011 documentary about George Harrison.
“Olivia evokes the most fleeting gestures and instants, plucked from the flow of time and memory and felt through her choice of words and the overall rhythm,” Scorsese writes. “She might have done an oral history or a memoir. Instead, she composed a work of poetic autobiography.”
Olivia Arias met George Harrison in the mid-1970s while she worked in the marketing department of A&M Records, which distributed Harrison’s Dark Horse label. They married in 1978, a month after the birth of their son, Dhani. George Harrison died of cancer, at age 58, in 2001.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/olivia-harrison-writes-poems-about-late-george-harrison/
| 2022-04-21T13:15:40
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/olivia-harrison-writes-poems-about-late-george-harrison/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Viola Davis’ latest honor is not for her acting, but for her writing. The Oscar winner’s upcoming memoir, “Finding Me,” is Oprah Winfrey’s new book club pick.
“Finding Me,” which comes out next Tuesday, traces Davis’ journey from what she has called a “crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island” to acclaim for her work on stage and screen. Her many prizes include a Tony for the 2010 Broadway production of August Wilson’s “Fences” and an Academy Award for the film adaptation of “Fences” that came out in 2016.
“After I finished reading the first paragraph, I knew this was a book I wanted to share with the world,” Winfrey said in a statement Thursday. “I am in awe that Viola overcame all that she did to not only survive but become a role model for the world as a renowned actress, a mother, a wife and the woman that she is today.”
In a statement Thursday, Davis said she was “beyond honored” and thanked Winfrey for her support.
“The courage to share this story has been equal to my fear,” Davis said. “Your acknowledgement has been like a huge embrace. Thank you for championing me and for giving me a platform to share my truth to the world.”
Beginning Friday, Winfrey’s interview with Davis can be streamed on Netflix. Winfrey and Davis also will speak May 16 for an interactive book club gathering presented by OprahDaily.com, the online hub for Winfrey’s book club.
As with Winfrey’s previous pick, Martha Beck’s “The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self,”Thursday’s announcement makes no reference to the Apple partnership Winfrey launched in September 2019 with Ta-Nehisi Coates’ novel “The Water Dancer.” A Winfrey spokesperson said that Winfrey is currently in production with Apple on a documentary about thelate Sidney Poitier, whose memoir “The Measure of a Man” was a book club pick in 2007.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/winfrey-picks-viola-davis-memoir-for-her-book-club/
| 2022-04-21T13:15:47
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/winfrey-picks-viola-davis-memoir-for-her-book-club/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland City Council approved an event parking district in the Lloyd neighborhood on Wednesday.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is planning to charge $3 an hour for parking during events that draw more than 10,000 visitors to the area.
An event parking district would implement higher costs for parking on around 90 days a year when it’s a high traffic area, such as Blazers games and conventions that come to the neighborhood.
Go Lloyd is a transportation management association in the Lloyd neighborhood — all their work is based in transportation to promote economic development through transportation based programs. They are advocates of transit which gets more people to the Lloyd District with fewer vehicles.
“It’s not going to fix everything right away, but I think it’s one of those things that’s going to create some sort of gradual change,” said Owen Ronchelli, Executive Director of Go Lloyd.
Ronchelli is not the only supporter — Tony Jordan with the parking reform network says this program puts Portland more on par with other major cities across the country
“They’re postponing enforcement for a year to give people time to adjust and most importantly they’re taking the money raised from this and putting it into a program called the transportation wallet,” Jordan said.
What this wallet would do is provide low income residents in the neighborhood with credits to take other transit options to offset higher street parking costs in their neighborhood on days when event parking is activated. All this is an attempt to make travel to and through the Lloyd district less of a hassle.
Dylan Rivera, a spokesperson for PBOT, says this has been an answer to businesses and community members asking the city to do something about parking which as we all know can get a little congested around big events.
The event parking district where on downtown’s busiest days meter rates would increase in an attempt to curb an overflow of street parking.
“Folks are frustrated by the difficulty of finding a parking space on those 90 days a year where there’s a large scale event in the Moda Center area and it has an impact on the whole neighborhood really,” Rivera said.
He said Lloyd has tons of transit options such as ample bike lanes, sidewalks, bus stops — and they are poised to be successful with a program like this.
Rivera hopes this just urges people to use transit more.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/city-council-votes-to-hike-lloyd-district-event-parking-fees/
| 2022-04-21T13:27:35
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/city-council-votes-to-hike-lloyd-district-event-parking-fees/
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DeBary City Council unanimously approves city manager's request for $46K pay raise
The DeBary City Council on Wednesday night unanimously approved a $46,090 raise for City Manager Carmen Rosamonda.
The bump in pay, which will go into effect June 1, takes his salary from $133,910 to $180,000, a 34.4% increase.
Following a presentation by Rosamonda on the city's accomplishments since his tenure began in April 2019, each council member said, in one way or another, that Rosamonda was worth the money.
But before the council discussed the manager's worthiness, Mayor Karen Chasez asked Rosamonda to explain the timing of the request.
"I'm being recruited to go to another organization, much larger than the City of DeBary, with a lot more money," Rosamonda said. "I thought it was time that I present to you an offer to stay here."
He didn't name the organization or offer any details, but said his commitment, heart and passion were with DeBary.
After no one spoke during public comment, Councilmember Bill Sell said he was worried about optics since the request wasn't on the first version of the meeting's agenda when it was posted last week.
Despite his concern, Sell said Rosamonda was worth what he was asking for, but he "would personally like to see him take his pay increase with the rest of the city employees."
Councilmember Jim Pappalardo said he'd been feeling lately like someone was trying to steal Rosamonda, and he was surprised a discussion of the bringing the manager's salary to the market rate hadn't occurred sooner.
Councilmember Patricia Stevenson said she thinks losing Rosamonda now would hurt the city.
"We've moved forward under your direction and your commitment and your passion, your persistence on some of these projects that had been left behind as previous city managers just sat and rocked in their chairs," Stevenson said.
She said the manager actively got to know the community and its residents well, an effort she was confident that others, like she did, appreciated.
Vice Mayor Phyllis Butlien said if they lost Rosamonda today, she's not confident the city could even find someone new at the salary he's seeking.
"I just think people need to understand that this is not something that we look at lightly and just giving the raise is not just about giving the raise," Butlien said. "It's about the quality of the service that we're getting with that money."
Chasez said she understood Sell's concerns and also thought losing Rosamonda would be detrimental to the city.
"I think we have to come to grips with competitive salaries for you and the rest of our staff," Chasez said, adding that a salary study was currently underway. "We may have to make competitive adjustments in order to keep our organization strongly functioning without a lot of turnover."
The mayor said she could support the request so long as it wasn't effective until June and that the manager and other department heads understand they may not receive the same cost-of-living increase as other staffers if they receive a raise sooner based on the salary study's outcome.
The additional cost to the current budget is $23,045, plus the cost of benefits. The funds will come from either a budget amendment from the current fiscal year's budget or general fund reserves depending upon availability.
"A lot of city managers tend to be an expense to the organization," Rosamonda said. "I've always said that I always pay for myself."
Daytona Beach Shores:City Manager Michael Booker to retire in July, capping 22 years
Mayor to manager
The City Council in February 2019 chose Rosamonda, who served as mayor on the city's first council, as the next manager with his base salary starting at $120,000.
Nearly a year into Rosamonda's tenure, the City Council unanimously voted to amend the manager's contract, changing the requirements to receive a raise. The amended contract gave Rosamonda a $5,000 bump in pay on his first work anniversary and another $5,000 the following year.
The original contract stipulated the manager's salary would increase to $130,000 upon completing the credentialing program with the International City Managers Association, or ICMA. However, the association denied Rosamonda's application, saying he needs seven years' experience in local government.
The Mercer Group in 2016 recommended Rosamonda as a finalist in their hunt for a city manager before the council opted to delay the search and keep Ron McLemore on as interim manager.
McLemore began serving as interim manager in July 2016 after Dan Parrott, the previous city manager, retired in June 2016 amid controversy.
For council consideration
The agenda item on Rosamonda's request included a list of six points for the council to consider:
- Setting aside Lake Helen, Oak Hill and Pierson, the DeBary city manager is lowest salaried city manager in Volusia County at $133,910.
- Since arriving in April 2019, this city manager has produced revenues outside the city by bring in the first State Legislative Appropriation ($300,000), first SJRWMD grant ($281,000) and tentatively in 2022, State Legislative Appropriations totaling $2 million. In addition, negotiated a 15-year contract to increase DeBary’s gas tax proportionate share by $120,000 annually.
- The city manager has improved organization performance, reducing costs and significantly increasing the city’s cash reserves, while maintaining the same 2.9247 property tax rate.
- The city manager has assisted in eliminating the 15-year stormwater project backlog, set forth a strategy to complete our stormwater system by 2024 and reduced the stormwater fees by 11.4% last year.
- The city manager has accomplished, set in motion, and/or resolved complex issues during his tenure, such as DeBary Elementary, revitalization of the TOD area, new fire station, Alexander Island and more.
- Other than the salary and associated benefit increase, no other provision in the city manager’s contract shall change.
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https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/21/debary-council-unanimously-approves-city-managers-45-k-raise-request/7382460001/
| 2022-04-21T13:47:45
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https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/21/debary-council-unanimously-approves-city-managers-45-k-raise-request/7382460001/
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T-Bones keeps sense of community, physical format alive through Record Store Day
If you ask Mik Davis, record store manager of T-Bones Records and Cafe, he'll tell you that international Record Store Day is special because it brings people together over a common interest.
"To me, the importance of Record Store Day tying into what we do is that it promotes the importance of the record store as a sense of being a part of the community we're in," Davis said. "People travel in just to come to the record store, so sort of having this series of zones of people come in and congregate all around the same thing is sort of a throwback to what retail used to be."
Saturday is Record Store Day 2022, a "holiday" that began in 2008 as an annual, international celebration of nearly 1,400 independently-owned record stores across the U.S. and thousands more across the world.
T-Bones will mark its 13th recognition of the occasion with special releases including rare and out-of-print records along with Record Store Day exclusives and live music beginning at 11 a.m.
Downtown Hattiesburg's revitalization:Who are the people who are making it possible?
One of this year's most sought-after releases, Davis said, is a 7-inch vinyl of "the lakes" by Taylor Swift, who is also Record Store Day ambassador this year. Only 10,000 copies will be available across the globe though, Davis did not know how many copies will be available locally.
"Anyone who wants it is going to need to be here as early as humanely possible," Davis said.
Other sought-after releases include Childish Gambino's "Kauai" and Rex Orange County's fifth-anniversary edition of "Apricot Princess."
The store will open at 8 a.m. Saturday, and he expects a line of about 75 people to be there.
"It's a pretty fun line. You'll probably make some friends," Davis said. "It's a lot of important releases and a lot of fun releases too. A lot of things that people are going to see are throwbacks of what they might have listened to 10, 20 years ago that are going to kind of relight that nostalgia bulb in their head."
Though the appeal of the physical format of vinyl has become obsolete for many, there is still a community of people who feel strongly about keeping it alive.
"It only makes sense that you would want to come and flip through the records and pick up CDs and have those tangible products in your hand, because so much of what we do as far as listening revolves around something that's really either not there or temporarily streaming into your phone or device," Davis said.
"The sheer tactility of having a record, its artwork, the work that went into it to make something that you have ownership of is an experience that's not like too many others. We buy things that we need out of utility. We buy things that we want out of recreation. Music sort of falls in between both of those."
According to RecordStoreDay.com, there are 10 locations throughout Mississippi participating in the event. Click here for a complete list.
Contact reporter Laurel Thrailkill at lthrailkill@gannett.com or on Twitter.
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https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/hattiesburg/2022/04/21/t-bones-records-and-cafe-preps-record-store-day-2022/7370203001/
| 2022-04-21T14:27:13
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https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/hattiesburg/2022/04/21/t-bones-records-and-cafe-preps-record-store-day-2022/7370203001/
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Henry Winkler is coming to RI. He'll give the commencement address to these lucky grads
Henry Winkler, and Emmy-Award-winning actor who co-stars in the HBO comedy "Barry" and is known to an older generation for playing "The Fonz" in the 1970s TV show "Happy Days," will give the commencement address for the New England Institute of Technology on May 1, according to an announcement from the school.
Winkler was also the commencement speaker for the school in 2006.
Winkler first became known for portraying Arthur Fonzarelli, a leather-jacket-clad "bad kid" in "Happy Days." His character evolved over the decade-long run of the series to become a lovable tough guy with a heart of gold. He earned Golden Globe Awards, Emmy nominations and a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame for his work.
In Newport:Salve Regina will hold its 72nd commencement ceremony May 8. Here's who's speaking.
He is currently in HBO's "Barry," where he won a 2018 Emmy Award for his portrayal of acting teacher Gene Cousineau.
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/henry-winkler-fonzie-happy-days-barry-actor-graduation-speaker-neit/7393545001/
| 2022-04-21T14:30:44
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/henry-winkler-fonzie-happy-days-barry-actor-graduation-speaker-neit/7393545001/
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ROCHESTER, Minn.- This weekend will be the 84th Annual Ice Show in Rochester.
This event is being held by the Rochester figure skating club.
Organizers ask you to join them in a musical journey on the ice that will feature more than 190 local skaters.
The ice show will run Friday through Sunday at the Rochester Recreation Center.
Skaters will perform Friday April 22nd and Saturday April 23rd at 7 p.m. and Sunday April 24th at 2 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now and you can get them through this link.
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https://www.kimt.com/news/local/84th-annual-ice-show/article_7e9a1302-c16d-11ec-8a7f-c3b4762a4a81.html
| 2022-04-21T14:42:46
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https://www.kimt.com/news/local/84th-annual-ice-show/article_7e9a1302-c16d-11ec-8a7f-c3b4762a4a81.html
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ROCHESTER, Minn.- Are you confused about what you can put in your recycling? Are you wondering what to do with that pile of junk taking up space in your garage?
Earthfest Rochester MN is answering those questions and more in an online event called, "trash talk."
This presentation will give you an in-depth look at the unique services provided by several waste management facilities in your area.
Organizers say if you want to celebrate Earth Day, but are unsure how to, you should come to this event to learn how to become a better steward of the environment through proper waste management.
This online event will be from 6:30- 7:30 p.m. Thursday April 21st.
We have a link to sign up right here.
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https://www.kimt.com/news/local/trash-talk-online-event/article_2d093346-c16e-11ec-912d-8f2f0f7b9f20.html
| 2022-04-21T14:42:52
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https://www.kimt.com/news/local/trash-talk-online-event/article_2d093346-c16e-11ec-912d-8f2f0f7b9f20.html
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Reuse and recycle: Take action this Earth Day ahead of Cook's Electronic Waste Recycle Day
Reduce, reuse, recycle — that's the basis of Earth Day, which is Friday, April 22, this year. People who follow these principles help save natural resources, conserve energy and water and save money in the process.
Here is a guide to how to responsibly discard many of the trickier household items.
It starts with asking whether you need an item — from a new shirt or shoes to furniture — and considering its packaging.
Reuse what you can
Next is deciding if an item can be reused, whether by being repurposed or given to someone who can use it. The Bloomington branch of freecycle.org is one option. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3uVxPrR.
Habitat for Humanity's Restore, at 850 S. Auto Mall Road, accepts donations of gently used home improvement items during business hours. People should send photos of potential large items and cabinet set donations to donations@monroecountyhabitat.org before donating them. Go to www.monroecountyhabitat.org/restore/ to see what items are not accepted.
Voting in May Primary:Here's the what, when and how for voting in the Monroe County primary election
Bloomington's three Goodwill stores at 512 S. College Mall Road, 1284 Liberty Drive and 220 S. Madison St. accept clothing, household items, books and electronics. Donations must be made during operating hours and not left outside unattended. For more, go to www.goodwillindy.org.
What to do with working electronics, toys, books, tools
People can drop off household goods, including microwaves, toaster ovens, radios, fans, clothing, toys, housewares, books, magazines, kitchenware, tools and gardening supplies at Monroe County Solid Waste District's Recycling Center Trading Post at 3400 S. Walnut St. from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Costumes, clothing and stuffed animals, paint
Clothing items like costumes, coats and shoes in good condition are accepted for the waste district's Materials for the Arts, also at the South Walnut Street center. Small- and medium-sized stuffed animals in good shape are accepted and the trading post offers a paint exchange.
Not accepted at the trading post
Large items including mattresses, clothing, toilets, construction material, doors, windows, televisions, computers, large electronic devices, tires, trash and items that no longer work are not accepted at the county's recycling center trading post.
Clean, usable mattresses, and other large household items
St. Vincent De Paul accepts mattresses (free of bed bugs and not king-sized) and box springs, couches, chairs, dressers, microwaves, lamps, tables, flat screen televisions, vacuum cleaners, washers and electric dryers, fans, refrigerators, space heaters, stoves and window air conditioners. All items must be clean and in good working order. Donations can be dropped off 8-11 a.m. Saturdays at 1413 E. 17th St.. For more information, call 812-961-1510 or go to https://www.svdpbloomington.org/.
Recycle if possible
Recycling is the third component and both Bloomington and Monroe County residents have options.
Which bin? City of Bloomington has recycling decision tool
Bloomington's recycling is picked up curbside weekly at residences alongside trash. The city's recycling is single stream, meaning all recyclable materials — metal, cans, glass, paper and cardboard — are placed in one cart provided by the city.
To see if an item can be recycled, the city has a link on its website. Go to https://bit.ly/3McUfdO, type in your address and then click on recycle and type in the item to see if it can be recycled in your bin.
What not to put in recycling bin?
No plastic packing, bubble wrap, dry cleaning bags, plastic lids, plastic straws or plastic bags are accepted. Wood, cat litter, paint, plastic flower pots, wire hanger, wax and plastic coated boxes and pizza boxes aren't accepted.
Signing off:Community Access Television Services manager retires after 36 years with station
City offers large item pick up
Anyone who has a mattress, furniture, grills, stoves, dehumidifiers, treadmills and other such items can call and schedule a pick up on a Thursday. Cost is $10 per item with the charge being added to the resident's utility bill. Call 812-349-3443.
Monroe County offers 5 recycling centers
Monroe County residents can recycle items at the Monroe County Waste Management District's five recycling centers, which have bins for paper and cardboard (must be dry); plastic (1-7, must be clean and dry, no plastic film or styrofoam); glass (must be clean and dry, no tempered glass); and metal, from food and beverage cans to dishwashers and microwaves.
For recycling center locations, go to www.gogreendistrict.com/.
TVs, computers, phones, including nonworking electronics
The county's waste district offers year-round collection of electronic devices. A $20 per item fee is charged for items with a screen of 7 inches or larger; all other electronics are free.
Disposal of large items outside the city of Bloomington
Monroe County Solid Waste District's Bulky Item bin rotates among the rural recycling centers. Go to gogreendistrict.com/calendar to see where the bin is currently located and also what's accepted. Items must be from Monroe County residents, not contractors or businesses.
Hazardous materials, medicine, batteries
Cleaning supplies, auto products, over-the-counter medicines, pesticides and fertilizers, propane tanks, batteries, and flammable liquids, are accepted at the waste district's South Walnut Street hazardous waste facility.
Cook Medical's electronic waste recycle day
Cook Medical's annual Electronic Waste Recycle Day will be 9 a.m.-2 p.m. April 30 at 500 N. Profile Parkway on Bloomington's west side. There is no cost for people to recycle electronic waste.
Accepted items include telephone systems, refrigerators, freezers, car seats (padding and cloth removed), air conditioners, personal computers, laptop/notebooks, dehumidifiers, desktop computers and CPUs, CRT monitors (no bare CRT tubes), mainframe computers, scanners, printers, fax machines, photocopiers, toner cartridges, holiday twinkle lights, washers and dryers, microwaves, floppy disks and thumb drivers, electronic motors, televisions, integrated circuits, computer mice, microphones, computer keyboards, VCR/DVD/CD players, game systems (XBox, Nintendo, Playstation), power supplies, surge protectors, computer boards, copiers, cash registers and satellite computers. No loose batteries or light bulbs will be accepted.
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com, 812-331-4359 or @ckugler on Twitter.
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https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/cook-medical-electronic-waste-recycle-earth-day-monroe-county-bloomington/7322698001/
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Learn about poetry, books, severe weather and the environment at the library
Monroe County Public Library provides opportunities for local residents to read, learn, connect and create. The downtown library is at 303 E. Kirkwood Ave. and the Ellettsville branch is at 600 W. Temperance St. All events are free of charge. Event funding is provided by the Friends of the Library Foundation.
American Sign Language storytime
Learn targeted vocabulary in American Sign Language through stories, songs and games. For ages 3-6 and caregivers, but all are welcome. It’s 10:30-11 a.m. Friday in the children’s program room at the downtown library. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Meet a scientist: Earth Day edition
Join four graduate students from Indiana University's biology department on Earth Day for hands-on activities and Q&A. Learn about their unique work and what motivated them to become scientists. This event is geared to ages 9-16, but younger siblings and caregivers are welcome. It’s 4:30-5:30 p.m. Friday in meeting room 1B & 1C combo at the downtown library. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
All-Ages Day at the Ellettsville Teen Space
Curious about the Ellettsville Teen Space, but you aren’t a teen? Patrons of all ages are invited to check it out on the fourth Saturday of the month –– there's a DIY design studio, video games, virtual reality and more! Drop in noon-6 p.m. Saturday at the Ellettsville branch.
Yoga for adults
Discover why yoga is such a powerful tool for keeping you healthy in body, mind and spirit! In this all-level class, beginners safely learn the basics, while more experienced students take their practice to a deeper level. This event is suitable for people of all ages and most physical abilities. Ages 16 and older. It’s 12-1 p.m. Saturday in Ellettsville meeting room B. Drop in.
Poetry in the Plaza
Join local poets for an outdoor performance celebrating National Poetry Month. It’s 4-6 p.m. Saturday in the downtown library plaza on East Kirkwood Avenue. Drop in.
Coffee with Friends with Rachel Berenson Perry
Join the Friends of the Library for a conversation with Rachel Berenson Perry, author of "Painter of the Dunes: A Life of Frank Virgil Dudley." Once his photographer brother introduced him to the sand dunes of Indiana in 1911, Frank Virgil Dudley devoted the rest of his creative life to painting landscapes of the area’s stunning scenery and unique diversity, becoming one of the state’s preeminent artists. His well-earned titles of “Seer of the Dunes” and “Painter of the Dunes” allude to his almost obsessive subject matter as well as his activism to save the dunes. The desire to protect the lakeshore from industrial construction and to preserve it for recreation and scientific research unified preservationists, artists, outdoor enthusiasts and scientists. It’s 2-3 p.m. Sunday in meeting room 1B at the downtown library. Drop in.
Super Smash Bros. tournament
Think you have what it takes to be a Super Smash Bros. champion? Drop in and find out! Ages 12-19. It’s 2-5 p.m. Sunday in The Ground Floor teen space.
Movers and Shakers @ the Banneker Community Center
Stay fit and active at this silly dance party! You’ll sing and dance with scarves and shakers and play with parachutes at this monthly event. Enjoy free play before and after the structured activities where littles and grownups can socialize. It’s 10-11 a.m. Monday at the Banneker Community Center, 930 W. Seventh St. Ages 2-6. Siblings are always welcome. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Books on Tap, Virtual Edition: BYOB
Books on Tap is the book club with a twist! Enjoy fantastic drinks, a comfortable atmosphere and a great discussion on a variety of compelling books. This month is BYOB. Read a book that takes place in a library or bookstore, then make a drink that relates. Try “Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist” by Tim Federle, or any other book. Age 21 and older. It’s 6:30-8 p.m. Monday on Zoom. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Weekly math homework help for teens
Drop in for free one-on-one help with math and science-related assignments ––arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, physics, chemistry and ISTEP and SAT review. For middle school and high school students only. It’s 7-8:45 p.m. Mondays in program room 2B at the downtown library.
Preschool math and science
Science begins with curiosity and wonder! Strengthen your child's independent learning skills as you engage in scientific processes and practices together in these hands-on math and science activities. For ages 3-6 and caregivers. It’s 10-11:15 a.m. Tuesday in the children’s program room at the downtown library. Drop in.
Talking Tacos
Come to chat about relationships, dating, and other tough topics, stay for the tacos! Ages 12-19. It’s 3:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Ellettsville meeting room A. Drop in.
Poetry Workshop with Saami Ghaus
Celebrate National Poetry Month by digging into the magic of crafting stories and poems with local poet Saami Ghaus. No prior experience is necessary. It’s 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday in The Ground Floor teen space at the downtown library. Drop in. Ages 12-19.
Virtual Evening Storytime
Listen to stories, sing songs and do some stretching and mindfulness exercises to practice early literacy skills and wind down before bedtime. Feel free to enjoy your pajamas at this virtual evening storytime from the comfort of your home. For infants to age 6. It’s 6:30-7:15 p.m. Wednesday on Zoom. Register at mcpl.info/calendar for the Zoom link.
Stuff you should know: Weather safety with meteorologist Sam Lashley
Indiana can get severe weather any day of the year, but the spring season brings more opportunities for severe thunderstorms. National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Lashley will discuss weather education, safety and online weather resources. It’s 1-2 p.m. Thursday, April 28, in meeting room A/B combo. Ages 18 and older. Drop in.
Native and invasive plant identification walk
Learn how important a native habitat is to wildlife, birds, and pollinators in an urban setting! Meet at the library, then join Cathy Meyer, a retired naturalist and MC-IRIS member, on a walk downtown. All ages. It’s 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, April 28, in meeting room 2A at the downtown library. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Celebrate National Poetry Month with Ross Gay
Celebrate the power of poetry with a virtual reading from famed poet Ross Gay. Hosted by Bartholomew, Brown, Monroe and Jackson County public libraries, this event will take place virtually on Zoom. Ages 16 and older. It’s 6-7 p.m. Thursday, April 28, on Zoom. Please register through the Bartholomew library at mybcpl.org/event/6033689.
More events online
This is a sampling of this week’s library events. For the full calendar, visit mcpl.info/events.
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https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/library-learn-poetry-books-severe-weather-and-environment/7367406001/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Gardeners can submit their rose garden for a chance to be named winner of the 2022 Royal Rosarian Rose Garden Contest!
Entry is free, and all are invited. Contestants do not need to have a garden club membership — just a green thumb.
Royal Gardener Kathy Fastenau shared more details on the contest that highlights rose gardeners within 20 miles of the Pioneer Courthouse Square.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/have-a-green-thumb-royal-rosarian-rose-garden-contest-returns/
| 2022-04-21T15:25:11
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/have-a-green-thumb-royal-rosarian-rose-garden-contest-returns/
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South Melbourne park renaming honors community leader, educator Eddie Lee Taylor Sr.
He was a local legend who worked to uplift others and improve education for Melbourne youth.
On Saturday, friends and family will gather to honor Eddie Taylor’s life with an appreciation program that will also see the renaming of the longstanding Lipscomb Park Community Center.
The Melbourne City Council, which praised Taylor with a 2017 proclamation for his work helping others, and the Brevard County Commission, approved the renaming of Lipscomb Park and its facilities after Taylor.
The event will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at the newly renamed Eddie Lee Taylor Sr. Community Complex, 3316 South Monroe St. in south Melbourne.
Taylor, died in October 2020 at age 81.
The one-time radio program host — who twice ran for City Council — was born in northern Palm Bay which borders the south Melbourne neighborhood he would work in as an assistant principal at Stone Middle School.
More:History moves: Home of Melbourne settlers moved to new location, set to become cultural museum
More:Mural honoring late civil rights activist Rosa L. Jones unveiled in Cocoa
He served 40 years as president of the nonprofit Lipscomb Street Park Association, which supported the park and provided brown-bag lunches to children in south Melbourne.
The event will also feature food, games and other activities for children in attendance.
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/melbourne-park-renamed-eddie-lee-taylor-sr-community-complex/7394723001/
| 2022-04-21T15:43:03
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The Supreme Court has upheld the differential treatment of residents of Puerto Rico, ruling that Congress was within its power to exclude them from a benefits program that’s available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The court held by an 8-1 vote Thursday that making Puerto Ricans ineligible for the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides benefits to older, disabled and blind Americans, did not unconstitutionally discriminate against them.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose parents were born in Puerto Rico, was the lone dissenter.
Writing for the court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the court was bound by a pair of earlier rulings that already upheld the federal law that created SSI and excluded Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories from it. Congress later added in the Mariana Islands.
Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since the Spanish American War in 1898, and its residents are U.S. citizens, but they have no vote for president or representation in Congress. They also do not pay federal income tax.
Kavanaugh wrote that “just as not every federal tax extends to residents of Puerto Rico, so too not every federal benefits program extends to residents of Puerto Rico.”
In dissent, Sotomayor responded, "In my view, there is no rational basis for Congress to treat needy citizens living anywhere in the United States so differently from others. To hold otherwise, as the Court does, is irrational and antithetical to the very nature of the SSI program and the equal protection of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution. I respectfully dissent.”
Local
Jose Luis Vaello-Madero, the Puerto Rico resident at the center of the case, began receiving SSI payments after he suffered a series of strokes while living in New York.
The payments continued to his bank account in New York even after he moved back to Puerto Rico. When he notified the Social Security Administration, the payments stopped and then the government sued to recover more than $28,000 it said he was not entitled to.
Lower courts sided with Vaello-Madero, ruling that the exclusion of Puerto Rico from the SSI program is unconstitutional. In a similar case in Guam, a federal judge ruled recently that residents of that Pacific island also should be able to collect SSI.
The Justice Department first filed its appeal of a ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals during the Trump administration but maintained the case even after President Joe Biden took office.
The Biden administration has said it supports changing the law to extend SSI payments to Puerto Rico. It included a provision in its Build Back Better proposal to make residents of U.S. territories eligible for SSI payments, but the legislation is stalled in Congress.
A separate program, Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled, covers residents of the territories, but it has more stringent eligibility requirements and pays less generous benefits than SSI.
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the island's governor said the only solution was full statehood.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/supreme-court-upholds-puerto-ricans-exclusion-from-benefits-program/3656439/
| 2022-04-21T15:54:18
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Yes, there's asbestos in Louisiana's new state building in Shreveport: Here's what's being done
500 Fannin Street commonly known as the Waggoner Building has been purchased by the state of Louisiana.
This building will replace the aging Mary Allen State Office Building on Fairfield Avenue.
The Waggoner Building was once home to federal offices but has sat vacant for a number of years.
As with almost any building that has sat empty for a long time, it will require work before people can move in.
"It will be cleaned out and gutted," Jacques Berry, Director of Policy and Communication for the state of Louisiana said. "There's a small element of it that includes the asbestos remediation, but that's the case with any building from this era."
The state, through its capital financing and acquisition arm, known as the Office Facilities Corporation, bought the Waggoner Building for $1.75 million, the initial listing price was $2,995,000.
More:Louisiana to buy downtown Shreveport office building. Plans to move local state employees
The building will be gutted down to the concrete foundation and steel frame, and will result in a modern, state-of-the-art office space spanning the eight floors.
This will be a several-year process, in which state workers will continue working at the Mary Allen State Office Building until the Waggoner Building is safe.
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
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https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/louisianas-new-state-building-has-asbestos-and-removed/7387481001/
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Amber Alert Plan is something that we hear about all the time, but how exactly does it work?
"Once we receive a call that there is a missing child, we try to get the age of the child and get that information to determine if they're under the age of 18," said Kristin Knox, Communications Specialist for the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department.
According to Knox, that search for information is where the process for an Amber Alert actually begins.
Created in 1996, the Amber Alert System acts as a tool, utilizing resources like digital billboards and push notifications on your phone to alert you when a child has been abducted.
With the tools available, a big question that tends to comes up is how much time must pass before the public can be notified?
Knox said it all depends on the information investigators have when the report is being written.
"We get their statement and try to create a timeline of the disappearance to see what exactly is going on to pinpoint if we can get like a car, or the suspects, or a license plate. Anything that could help us better find the child," Knox said.
At that point, local police departments turn that information over the Arkansas State Police (ASP) so they can activate the alert for a missing child or abduction.
"In very general terms, child abduction is the unauthorized taking of a child from a person with a right to custody by a person without a right of custody. The taking can be by force, enticement, luring, fraud or other means."
According to Arkansas State Police website, each situation has a minimum requirement that must be met before the alert can be considered.
Each of the requirements go as follows:
- There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an actual abduction has occurred.
- Law enforcement believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
- There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER ALERT to assist in the recovery of the child.
- The abducted child is under 18 years of age.
- The child’s name and other critical data elements, including the child abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.
Once an Amber Alert has been authorized, officials then release information about the missing child, associated suspects, and means of transportation.
Authorities then work with the Arkansas Department of Transportation to provide suspect vehicle and license plate information that may be displayed on Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) maintained by ARDOT.
ASP also provides information that can be broadcasted in a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) in a text message format to wireless carriers, alerting people on their phones of the threat.
It's a tightknit sense of communication, which helps law enforcement agencies like the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department.
"We're allowed to get those alerts to blast that out through social media, to get assistance again from the citizens in hopes that somebody will see that alert," Knox said.
Authorities said that the Amber Alert System is not designed for every missing child and that there has to be some level of danger.
Authorities can issue what's called an Endangered Child Advisory for in the other cases.
The advisories are where they ask media to help in situations such as when a child wanders away from home.
For anyone interested in learning more about Amber Alerts in Arkansas, you can click here for more.
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/how-arkansas-amber-alerts-work/91-3d3806f5-589a-4f4a-9998-e50af61c9b01
| 2022-04-21T16:50:41
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SPRINGDALE, Ark. — The Springdale Police Department (SPD) is warning residents about a scam targeting drivers in the city.
Police say that victims of the scam have received emails stating they were caught on traffic cameras running a red light. The email states that you can contest the citation in court or pay the fine online at the provided link.
The scammer has used the City of Springdale logo at the bottom of the email to make it look authentic.
SPD says the city does not operate any traffic cameras for enforcement action.
Drivers may see some cameras at different intersections throughout the city but they are there to monitor traffic patterns for the timing of traffic lights.
Police say if you receive an email like this do not click on it and delete it.
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/springdale-police-warn-of-traffic-ticket-scam/527-bedfab5a-fba7-472a-8982-74fc6a983f3d
| 2022-04-21T16:50:47
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A Yonkers detective critically wounded when he was shot in the abdomen during an undercover gun sting with federal agents in the Westchester County city a day ago has been identified as Brian Menton, the local police union president said Thursday.
Menton was hit in the abdomen and suffered serious injuries, along with extensive blood loss in the shootout at the corner of Elm and Linden streets but is expected to survive, a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said.
The detective, a decorated cop with many past gun-related arrests during his years of service, had been set to retire in the coming days after 27 years with the Yonkers department, according to law enforcement sources.
Menton was working with the FBI's Westchester Safe Streets task force on a gun investigation assignment at the time of the shooting inside a deli. The plainclothes officers were without body cameras but with FBI agents when the law enforcement officers moved in to arrest three suspects as part of their ongoing investigation.
One tried to push past the Yonkers detective, sources said. Menton pushed back, and the suspect fired one shot from his pocket, striking the detective.
Police said that an FBI agent returned fire, striking the suspect, who was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller. He hasn't been identified but is said to be from Georgia.
News
His mother was at the scene of the shooting and identified him as Bryant Jackson Adams Jr. The mother, Vanessa Jackson, said her 28-year-old son was not involved in any kind of illegal activity, and that they were visiting from the Atlanta area.
"You won't let me identify his body, nothing. You just killed my child, now you're having him sit in the morgue, telling me, 'Oh well, what do you want me to do?'" Jackson said as she demanded answers from police. "I want to see my son...I have been to Jacobi, St. John's, Yonkers General just to find out my son was laying right there at St. Joseph's Hospital."
The police commissioner said that the entire incident was captured on surveillance video, giving them "a pretty good handle on what happened and how it happened."
It's not clear if police plan to release that footage at some point. Regardless, Jackson said her son did not deserve to die.
"Whatever the case is, I’m not saying he was right or wrong, because I have no idea what happened. But I know it didn’t take a kill shot to kill my child. You could’ve wounded him," she said. "No mother should have to bury their child. The children usually bury their parents. Not me burying my child."
The two other suspects the task force was going after were in custody, police said. No other officers were believed to have fired their weapons aside from the FBI agent who shot the suspected shooter.
Two illegal guns — including the alleged shooter's weapon — were recovered at the scene.
The FBI website describes the task forces as those that "pursue violent gangs through sustained, proactive, coordinated investigations to obtain prosecutions on violations such as racketeering, drug conspiracy, and firearms violations."
Following the incident, the FBI issued a statement saying: "Earlier today, members of our Westchester County Safe Streets task force were involved in a shooting incident in Yonkers, NY. As this is an ongoing investigation, we have no further information to provide at this time."
It is not the first time at the bodega where the shooting occurred has been the setting for violence.
Three suspects, one as young as 17, were arrested and charged last year in connection to a daytime drive-by shooting in June 2021, after authorities said someone inside a car opened fire at the same intersection. That shooting left three men and a woman shot, but all survived.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/ny-detective-badly-wounded-in-midday-gun-sting-idd-outraged-mom-of-dead-suspect-speaks-out/3656759/
| 2022-04-21T17:25:48
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/ny-detective-badly-wounded-in-midday-gun-sting-idd-outraged-mom-of-dead-suspect-speaks-out/3656759/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Another annual event is back (mostly) in person this year! The Humane Society for Southwest Washington’s Walk/Run for the Animals returns this May.
KOIN 6 News caught up with HSSW President Andrea Bruno and her grand-pup, Lola, who recently enjoyed a nice, quiet walk through Esther Short Park. However, in just a few weeks, that same park will be populated with plenty of excited pups.
Esther Short Park is the starting point for the HSSW’s Walk/Run for the Animals on May 7. The run is once again virtual — but the walk is in person, with starting times anywhere between 9-11 a.m.
The route is sticking to downtown Vancouver after the shelter received positive feedback about the change which was made in 2021.
“Really, people loved it. They loved the opportunity to see all the shops and restaurants and see downtown Vancouver and all it has to offer,” Bruno said. “So, it was really a fun time for them to take a look at the sights and walk with their dog and really just have a change of scenery.”
Bruno says this is a huge fundraiser for the shelter. The HSSW takes in not just dogs and cats, but other animals like bunnies and guinea pigs — they even take in pets from other states. They also help with medical care and more.
HSSW even aims to take care of pet owners as well.
“We’re really focused on helping people and pets,” Bruno stated. “We want to make sure people can keep their pets in their homes, so we provide a lot of resources and information about how to take care of your pet.”
Remember — anyone can do the walk or run, dog or no dog. For all those interested in signing up, check out their website.
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https://www.koin.com/local/happening-soon-humane-society-for-sw-washingtons-walk-run-for-the-animals/
| 2022-04-21T17:26:40
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https://www.koin.com/local/happening-soon-humane-society-for-sw-washingtons-walk-run-for-the-animals/
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CULLMAN, Ala. (WHNT) — One of Cullman County’s signature spring events will return this weekend bringing more than 150 artists from across the country.
The space didn’t look like much Wednesday, but by Friday, the Saint Bernard Abbey & Prep School will transform into festival grounds for likely more than 20,000 people this weekend.
“Our festival is another rich tradition that has helped us keep up the work of education at Saint Bernard, and it also promotes the arts,” said Joyce Nix, director of marketing at the school.
All arts and crafts on display and for sale will be handmade by more than 150 vendors who have qualified just to take part – not to mention grabbing some artisan bread and pastries made in-house in between working up your art appetite.
“People come from to the festival just to get a great loaf of that delicious bread,” Nix continued. “I call it divinely delicious.”
Until then, students, including some from Germany will help set up the festival’s infrastructure.
“I think in the entire Saturday I will work in the parking service,” said Maybrit Freudenberg, a German exchange student. “I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do on Sunday. Probably I will still come.”
“I’m really excited for that,” said Lica Steinhausen, another German exchange student. “I heard it’s a big event every year, like that there will be 20,000 people, right? And yeah I think it will be very exciting.”
Nix concluded by asking attendees to bring lots of money and an empty stomach.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/bloomin-festival-returns-to-cullman-this-weekend/
| 2022-04-21T17:41:23
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/bloomin-festival-returns-to-cullman-this-weekend/
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CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for help in locating a person of interest in a March murder investigation.
Nick Silvers, 38, is wanted for questioning in the death of Lachancey Williams, 40. Williams’ body was found by road crew workers along Esom Hill Road on March 15.
One person has already been arrested in this case. Eric Hooper, 28, was taken into custody last week and charged with murder and receiving stolen property. He is now being held at the Cherokee County Jail on a $1.5 million bond.
If you have any information on Silvers’ whereabouts, you’re asked to contact CCSO at 256-927-3365 or 256-557-5466. You can also leave an anonymous tip via CCSO’s website by clicking here.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/search-for-person-of-interest-in-march-murder-underway-in-cherokee-county/
| 2022-04-21T17:41:29
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/search-for-person-of-interest-in-march-murder-underway-in-cherokee-county/
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Preparations for the World Games 2022 continue as the city marks 78 days until the major event and CBS 42 is counting down the days!
Each day CBS 42 will feature a community member or someone tied to the event helping us countdown the days until the World Games begin.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/world-games-countdown-78-days/
| 2022-04-21T17:41:36
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/world-games-countdown-78-days/
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Providence City Councilman David Salvatore launches bid for Rhode Island state Senate
After 12 years on Providence's City Council, David A. Salvatore is seeking a place in the State House.
On Thursday, Salvatore, who represents parts of Elmhurst and Wanskuck, announced that he's running for the District 5 seat to which Sen. Sam Bell was elected in 2018.
"I talked to many of my neighbors over the last week and it was clear from these conversations that they are concerned about the future of their neighborhood, and it’s also clear that they want to be represented by a state senator who can deliver results at the State House — deliver policies that support our public safety officials and keep our neighborhoods safe; give our kids the best shot at a quality education in warm, safe school buildings; create more affordable and accessible housing; improve our infrastructure; and, hold the line on taxes," Salvatore said in a statement.
More:Senate votes to name CCRI Newport campus for former Sen. Paiva Weed
More:Sen. Jessica de la Cruz withdraws from RI Congressional race, endorses Allan Fung
Salvatore is the second city official to challenge Bell. In 2020, Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan, who chairs the finance committee, launched a failed bid for his seat, positioning herself as a fiscally-focused candidate prioritizing community investments and small businesses.
More to come.
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/ri-election-candidates-providence-councilman-salvatore-state-senate/7394747001/
| 2022-04-21T18:22:57
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/ri-election-candidates-providence-councilman-salvatore-state-senate/7394747001/
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A security guard at the Resorts World casino allegedly tried to arrange a robbery of the armored trucks that bring cash to the facility -- unaware that the person he proposed the heist to was a confidential government informant.
Selwyn Balkissoon orchestrated the plot, helped his purported accomplices scout the Resorts World facility and even provided pepper spray to use against the armored truck's guards, the FBI said in a complaint released Thursday.
Balkissoon's goal, the FBI said, was for his accomplices to nab at least five bags of cash, purportedly with $260,000 each in currency, and then flee, eventually giving him part of the loot.
The robbery was supposed to take place Thursday; Balkissoon met with the government informant Wednesday night to hand over the pepper spray, the FBI said.
Attorney information was not immediately available. It was also not immediately clear the extent of the charges Balkissoon would face.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/resorts-world-security-guard-conspired-to-rob-cash-delivery-feds-allege/3656903/
| 2022-04-21T18:57:00
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/resorts-world-security-guard-conspired-to-rob-cash-delivery-feds-allege/3656903/
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Drive-through COVID-19 testing site to close in Venice
VENICE –The drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at the Venice Community Center, 326 Nokomis Ave. S, will close at the end of business Saturday, April 23.
That site is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A drive-thru site remains open in North Port at Atwater Community Park, 4475 Skyway Ave.
In other news:COVID-19 crusader DeSantis gets new title: Chief of ‘woke’ police
And:How zoning could bring Sarasota more affordable housing
Both PCR and rapid tests are available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Rapid tests are for first responders and school aged children.
Walk-up testing is still available at two other Sarasota County locations.
PCR tests are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday in the parking lot at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, 1845 34th Street, Sarasota.
PCR and rapid tests are available Monday through Saturday at the former Sarasota Kennel Club property, 5400 Bradenton Road. Rapid tests are for first responders and school-aged children.
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https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/venice/2022/04/21/venice-community-center-covid-testing-site-close-april-23/7395366001/
| 2022-04-21T19:03:48
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https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/venice/2022/04/21/venice-community-center-covid-testing-site-close-april-23/7395366001/
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Orangetheory Fitness is partnering with the TumTum Tree Foundation to hold a charity run on April 24.
To sign up for the run or for more information click here.
The TumTum Tree Foundation aids children in Alabama who have life-altering and life-threatening illnesses.
Watch our full interview regarding the run in the video player above.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/orangetheory-fitness-to-hold-charity-run/
| 2022-04-21T19:21:26
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/orangetheory-fitness-to-hold-charity-run/
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CABOT, Arkansas — Holland Bottom Farm started their strawberry season last week, but the wet weather has made it difficult for the plants at the farm.
There's been a few cold streaks and several days of rain this spring, which has been a challenge for farmers.
"The rain's pretty tough when it's raining every other day. We need about 30 days of dry weather. We need sun for the sweetness," said Tim Odom with Holland Bottom Farm.
For the first year, Holland Bottom Farm has an indoor store front.
After supply chain shortages prolonged the building's construction, it's now complete.
"We are very proud of it. I mean very, very proud of the signs we have. The lights there, I mean, yes, I think it's brought a lot of people in," said Leslie Odom with Holland Bottom Farm.
They even brought included some of their old displays into the new building... displaying their old highway signs around the interior as they have expanded their operations.
Leslie makes strawberry shortcakes daily. She now sells jam and honey in the storefront.
Right now, Holland Bottom Farm is limiting one bucket of strawberries per person as they are limited on ripe berries.
But, they hope that could change as they head further into the season.
Later this year, they will also be selling their home-grown squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and blackberries.
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/arkansas-strawberry-season-starts/91-5977d838-89f4-4707-92f9-9e0a4ce3e149
| 2022-04-21T19:35:42
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https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/arkansas-strawberry-season-starts/91-5977d838-89f4-4707-92f9-9e0a4ce3e149
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A 6-year-old boy is in critical condition following an elevator accident in the Bronx, authorities say.
NYPD and FDNY responded to a call at around 12:46 p.m. reporting the incident which took place inside a building located at 1235 Grand Concourse.
When first responders arrived, they found the unconscious child on top of the elevator, which was located in the basement of the building, firefighters say.
The boy sustained trauma to his head and body and was taken to Harlem Hospital in critical condition.
Inspectors with the NYC Department of Buildings are also on scene.
Police say the boy's guardian was at the scene at the time of the accident.
Additional information was not immediately known. The investigation is ongoing.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/boy-6-in-critical-condition-after-elevator-accident-in-bronx-building-officials/3656920/
| 2022-04-21T19:49:07
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/boy-6-in-critical-condition-after-elevator-accident-in-bronx-building-officials/3656920/
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Catalent commits to investing $350M in its Bloomington facility, creating 1,000 new jobs
Expansion to bring 1,000 new jobs over coming years
Drug maker Catalent has committed to its earlier proposal to invest $350 million in its Bloomington facility and create 1,000 new jobs.
“These investments will enable us to expand our flagship Bloomington facility and extend our leadership as one of the largest and most comprehensive global centers for integrated manufacturing capabilities.” Mike Riley, president of biotherapeutics, said in a news release Thursday.
Previous:Catalent raising starting wages again in Bloomington
The new jobs, which Catalent said it would create “in the coming years” will pay an average of $32 per hour, or nearly $67,000 per year.
The Somerset, New Jersey-based company proposed the expansion in February, saying it expects its annual sales to nearly double to $7.5 billion through 2026, in part because of high demand for its biologics, including COVID-19 vaccines. The proposed expansion was the reason the company sought a tax break of about $43 million, spread over 20 years. The Bloomington City Council approved the abatement in early March.
Previous: Who would pay for Catalent's tax abatement? Not the government
The Bloomington campus is by far the largest among Catalent’s North American locations. The company added 1,000 jobs in Bloomington last year and raised its minimum wage twice, including to $19 in November. It bought additional property next to its Bloomington campus last year.
Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton said in a news release Thursday, “We sincerely appreciate the chance to work with an employer of this caliber who is choosing to make the largest investment in technology, equipment, and new high-wage jobs in our recent history.”
Catalent will announce quarterly earnings on May 3. In its previous quarter, the company said it generated revenue of $1.2 billion, up 35% from a year earlier. Quarterly profit, at $245 million, was up 20%.
Boris Ladwig is the city government reporter for The Herald-Times. Contact him at bladwig@heraldt.com.
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https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/catalent-invest-350-million-bloomington-create-1-000-new-jobs/7395548001/
| 2022-04-21T19:58:44
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https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/catalent-invest-350-million-bloomington-create-1-000-new-jobs/7395548001/
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2022 Gaston Sports Hall of Fame: Saunders broke barriers both as player, game official
When the late Claude "Doc" Saunders grew up in Gastonia in the 1940s and 1950s, segregation was the law, and common practice.
Saunders, a star basketball and baseball player at Gastonia's Black high school, Highland, used athletics as a way to survive and thrive in multiple endeavors while also becoming a pioneer in integrated society.
His positive attitude and enjoyment of life regardless of obstacles is perhaps best exhibited by his comments about one of his greatest accomplishments.
In 1979, when selected to become the first African-American official to work the prestigious Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas high school football all-star game, he had this to say to The Charlotte Observer the week of the game: "I'm not political. Black folks have always had this philosophy — Integration is going to come sometime — so you get all the degrees you can and when the opportunity comes...."
Saunders was more than ready for his chances as he broke barriers in the field of officiating years after his playing career was over.
"Everywhere I ever went and everybody that knew Claude always talked positively about him," said Don Buckner, an official who moved to the Charlotte area in 1985 and regularly travelled with Saunders to work Southern Conference football games. "And I never heard him say anything bad about anybody. That was Claude's personality. He was just such a quality guy and person."
Saunders' athletic success started as a member of one of Gastonia's greatest high school basketball teams.
In the 1949-50 and 1950-51 seasons at Highland, he was a driving force for teams that went 48-9, won the school's first two Piedmont Conference basketball titles and advanced to the state semifinals of the old N.C. High School Athletic Conference, losing to eventual champion Laurinburg Institute.
The Rams were coached by 1978 Gaston County Sports Hall of Fame inductee Eugene L. Dunn and led by Saunders' eventual Johnson C. Smith teammates Douglas Miller and 2011 Gaston County Sports Hall of Fame inductee William Partlow.
More:2022 Gaston Sports Hall of Fame: Frye meshed athletics, faith to accomplish great things
More:2022 Gaston Sports Hall of Fame: Eller's key to success? Close attention to the details.
More:2022 Gaston Sports Hall of Fame: How a 'freak injury' offered Crisson a new start
In 1950, they won the Piedmont title with a 48-39 victory over host Second Ward of Charlotte, then won the 1951 title by defeating West Charlotte 63-50 at Highland's home gym (later home to Gastonia's Moloch Elks Lodge in the Oakland Park neighborhood).
In the 1951 state tournament, the Laurinburg Institute team that ended Highland's state title pursuit featured future NBA great and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Sam Jones.
Saunders told The Gaston Gazette in a March 12, 1995, story about Highland's 1950s basketball teams that Dunn was influenced by fast-breaking offenses employed at the time by college coaches like North Carolina Central's John McClendon and N.C. State's Everett Case.
"We had a fast-breaking team when few teams knew much about that," Saunders said. "There was no TV then so everything we learned was pretty much what coach Dunn taught us. It was a very special time for all of us."
After high school, he eventually became the first All-CIAA basketball selection in Johnson C. Smith history. He also set a school single-game scoring record with a 45-point game during his career.
More:Gaston Sports Hall of Fame returns to spring date, announces 2022 induction class
After college, those basketball talents were key to his two-year tour of military duty in Germany.
"When he left Smith, he went into the Army," Saunders' son, Shawn Saunders, said. "He was such a good basketball player that they put him on the Army basketball team and instead of having to do a lot of regular soldier duties, his job was to be the driver for the general.
"So his duties were practicing basketball and cleaning up the Jeep that he used to drive the general around."
Upon returning home, Saunders embarked on a 31-year as a teacher and administrator while also starting what would become a 50-year career as a football referee, observer and clock operator.
He taught and coached at Belmont's old Reid High, Highland and Charlotte's York Road High School before later becoming Mecklenburg County's transportation specialist.
He started officiating in 1958 and would work in the CIAA, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference as well as becoming the first Black football referee in the Southern Conference. Inducted into the CIAA officials Hall of Fame in 2000, Saunders was approached by longtime NFL official Johnny Grier in the 1980s about joining that league's officiating crew.
"They told him he passed all the criteria but he was older than they wanted for a rookie official," Shawn Saunders said of his father's NFL prospects. "He was in his early to mid 40s when that happened. But it created another opportunity for him when the (Carolina) Panthers came about."
Sure enough, Grier pushed for the NFL to hire Claude Saunders as the Panthers first clock operator. Saunders held that position from 1995 until his death on July 1, 2008.
Saunders also had another passion that he shared with his son.
Buckner calls Saunders "an exceptional golfer" and recalls playing golf several times at courses throughout the region when they refereed college football games together.
Shawn Saunders, a 1986 North Mecklenburg High School graduate, says his father helped coach him up enough to help him earn team MVP honors in high school and a college scholarship to play the sport at Livingstone College and Prairie View A&M.
"His favorite sport growing up was basketball," Shawn Saunders said of his fathe. "But late in life his favorite thing was golf — and he attacked that with the same passion he did with everything else in his life."
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https://www.gastongazette.com/story/sports/local/2022/04/21/2022-gaston-sports-hall-fame-claude-doc-saunders/7354742001/
| 2022-04-21T20:23:13
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Cocoa mother arrested after police say she threatened school with bomb if her child not fed better
A Cocoa mother was arrested Wednesday on multiple charges, more than two months after making a bomb threat to Cocoa High School.
Anaya Smith, 41, was arrested Wednesday at her home on Fern Avenue in Cocoa and charged with making a false report relating to state property and disruption of an education institution. She was being held at Brevard County Jail Wednesday on a bond of $5,250.
On Feb. 3, Smith called the school and left a voice mail saying she would blow up the school if staff did not feed her child better, according to an arrest affidavit. Smith did not give her name when she left the message; however, the caller ID recorded the phone number.
In case you missed it — bomb threats made to Cocoa High:Three bomb threats made to Cocoa High School in less than three weeks; FBI arrested 1 in one case
Officers remember 35 years after deadly shooting:Remembrance ceremony in Palm Bay honors fallen officers 35 years after mass shooting
School staff listened to the message the following morning and contacted Cocoa police, who evacuated the school, the affidavit said. No harmful or explosive devices were found at the school.
Smith's phone number was listed in school records, the affidavit said. Additionally, the school's resource officer said Smith's child had gotten into an argument on Feb. 3 with the cafeteria worker because the child wanted extra food.
The child had not been in school since Feb. 3 as of the affidavit's filing on April 7, the affidavit said.
On April 7, the state attorney's office filed paperwork ordering Smith's arrest. It was served Tuesday.
Finch Walker is a Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker
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https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/cocoa-mother-arrested-charges-related-bomb-threat-high-school/7396623001/
| 2022-04-21T20:30:04
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https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/cocoa-mother-arrested-charges-related-bomb-threat-high-school/7396623001/
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Remembrance ceremony in Palm Bay honors fallen officers 35 years after mass shooting
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Don Smith was supposed to spend April 23, 1987 training Palm Bay police officers to use automatic weapons, a move made by the department to minimize the risk of mass shootings.
Instead, he found himself in the midst of Brevard's worst shooting.
"I was assigned to the range to teach other officers and sergeants rifle training, just so such a thing wouldn't happen," the retired Palm Bay sergeant said. "And here at 6:23, it happens."
The gunman, 59-year-old William Cruse, traveled from his home on Creel Road to the Palm Bay Publix, and then Sabal Palm Square, randomly shooting at people.
Two officers, Gerald Johnson, 28, and Ronald Grogan, 27, were fatally shot.
Cruse killed four civilians, and 14 people were wounded.
At about 1:30 a.m. the next morning, Cruse was apprehended by SWAT teams from Melbourne, Palm Bay and Brevard County. He was arrested and convicted for six murders. He died in prison.
DCF worker charged in child's death:State DCF worker jailed in June 2021 case of 3-year-old West Melbourne boy who died
Hotel improving:Americas Best Value Inn & Suites police incidents drop in West Melbourne amid crackdown
Thursday morning, just two days shy of 35 years later, a memorial service was held at Sacrifice Park near Palm Bay City Hall to honor Johnson and Grogan.
Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina, Police Chief Mariano Augello, retired Palm Bay police Sgt. Ron Lugo, a chaplain; and retired Capt. Doug Dechenne spoke at the ceremony, offering a prayer and words of gratitude for the officers' service.
"Officers Johnson and Grogan went on duty that day, and they never returned home," Medina said. "That is what we honor. We honor the fact that they put their lives on the line for each and every one of us."
Smith, who helped apprehend Cruse, shared a sense of loss at how young the officers were and having only shared a short time with them.
"They were new officers," he said. "They were only on my shift for a month or two, just enough time to barely get to know them, and they sacrificed themselves for just a whole sad situation."
Augello said the officers' sacrifice left a lasting mark on both the community and the Police Department.
"We've talked about or asked ourselves, 'What was the one event — who was the one chief of police or the one organization that was the catalyst for bridging the gap between us, your police department, and our community?'" Augello said. "Our culture on how we treat one another was established April 23, 1987. The founding fathers were Officers Gerry Johnson and Ron Grogan."
A moment of silence was held after Augello spoke, followed by "Amazing Grace" played on bagpipes.
At the end of the service, Dechenne spoke of the impact of April 23 on those who were there and those who were not.
"(Gerry and Ron) drew the fire of a gunman that allowed countless other people to run, hide and escape," Dechenne said. "There are women, men, children and now grandchildren, I'm sure, that are here because these two men diverted the chance of somebody else being killed. We'll never know who they are or where they are, but they were blessed."
Finch Walker is a Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker
Support local journalism. Subscribe today.
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https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/officers-johnson-grogan-honored-35-years-after-palm-bay-mass-shooting/7373968001/
| 2022-04-21T20:30:10
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https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/officers-johnson-grogan-honored-35-years-after-palm-bay-mass-shooting/7373968001/
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Two days after it was announced that a rally featuring former President Donald Trump in Birmingham was canceled and a new one was planned for Mobile, the latter event has fallen through as well.
The American Freedom Tour said the June 18 Birmingham rally was postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances” but that they had plans to hold a similar event would be held in Mobile on July 9. But on Thursday, the organizers told CBS 42 that that rally had been canceled as well.
They did say that a “country-wide tour” is being planned and dates would soon be released. As of Thursday afternoon, only two events remain on the American Freedom Tour’s website: Austin, Texas and Memphis, Tennessee.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/organizers-cancel-second-trump-rally-planned-for-alabama-this-week/
| 2022-04-21T21:07:02
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Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was president of Honduras for eight years, was to be brought to New York Thursday to face charges of engineering a massive effort to flood the United States with cocaine.
The extraordinary prospect of a former head of state in handcuffs, escorted onto a waiting U.S. government plane by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, followed the arrest of Hernandez in February at his home in Tegucigalpa less than a month after he stepped down from office.
The Justice Department accused him of participating in a violent drug trafficking operation that shipped 500 tons of cocaine from Venezuela and Colombia to the U.S. through Honduras.
(For more in Spanish from Honduran newspaper Diario La Prensa on Hernandez's arrest, click here)
The charges said he received millions of dollars for shielding the drug traffickers from arrest and for facilitating their shipments.
A Honduran judge ruled last month that he could be extradited to the US. Once the plane arrived in New York, Hernandez was to be taken to a federal courtroom in Manhattan to formally face the charges.
His brother, Juan Antonio Hernandez, was sentenced in New York last year to life in prison upon conviction for drug trafficking and weapons violations. During that trial, prosecutors said President Hernandez agreed to use his country's military forces to provide security for drug traffickers.
The former president said on social media this year that the US charges were based on the claims of "drug traffickers and confessed assassins who were extradited by my government."
The extradition of Hernandez to the US marked one of the few times a former head of state was brought here to face charges. In 1990, Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was arrested on drug trafficking charges during a US military operation. He was convicted in federal court in Miami.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-president-of-honduras-to-be-brought-to-u-s-to-face-drug-trafficking-charges/3657196/
| 2022-04-21T21:20:10
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-president-of-honduras-to-be-brought-to-u-s-to-face-drug-trafficking-charges/3657196/
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Thousands of homes and businesses are still without power throughout Greater Binghamton due to Tuesday’s devastating storm.
NYSEG released a statement today saying the company anticipates restoring service to 95% of the affected customers by 11:30 p.m. tomorrow. Approximately 22,900 customers are without power between Broome, Chenango, and Tioga counties. The storm caused more than 1,100 downed wires between the three counties, and 90 broken utility poles.
Despite a national dry ice shortage, distribution continued today. Vestal Supervisor John Schaffer says roughly 250 vehicles came to collect dry ice and water at a distribution site set up in town.
Town of Vestal Supervisor John Schaffer says, “Everybody that’s been involved. All the volunteers involved here and other places. You see what the United States is all about when there is an emergency. Here we all are, nobody cares what your title is or what you do, we’re just here to help.”
In terms of outages, County Executive Jason Garnar says, Tuesday’s snowstorm was probably the worst in the history of Broome County. He says that those without power should take advantage of the county resources, as well as turning to friends and family.
The emergency shelter at the Deposit Fire Station will be closed tonight, but the shelter in SUNY Broome’s Gym remains open. There is also a boil water advisory for Deposit.
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https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/local/storm-relief-services-continue/
| 2022-04-21T21:41:46
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https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/local/storm-relief-services-continue/
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This file photo from July, 8, 2020, shows paint cans waiting to be opened again for children from the Haven Acres Boys & Girls Club to paint two murals in downtown Tupelo Tuesday. Paint is one of many items that is considered hazardous waste and is eligible for pick up during the annual Hazardous waste collection day Saturday in Verona.
TUPELO • Three Rivers Planning & Development District will host its annual household hazardous waste collection days starting this weekend to give residents a chance to properly dispose of unwanted and dangerous waste.
Northeast Mississippians who need to rid themselves of hazardous waste will have two opportunities to do so. The first collection day is set for this Saturday, April 23, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the MSU Agricenter in Verona.
A second collection day is set for the following Saturday, April 30, at the Lafayette County Multipurpose Arena, also from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Three Rivers Solid Waste Manager Doug Wiggins said he encourages any residents with hazardous waste in Northeast Mississippi to attend.
“It gives residents of the three rivers region an outlet to dispose of things properly," he said. "That way, it does not end up in a landfill or dumped on someone’s property. We want to get people that outlet.”
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The program is free to any resident within Lee, Pontotoc, Itawamba, Calhoun, Lafayette and Union counties. Items accepted include tires, cleaning products, paint, pesticides, oils, metals and electronics. Three Rivers will not accept sofas, roofing shingles, any household trash, biological or infectious materials, explosives or radioactive material.
Wiggins also noted Three Rivers has limited residents to 25 tires per drop off. Commercial waste is also off-limits. He said he had previously turned away commercial painters with trailers filled with paint cans.
Participation, Wiggins said, is typically high for these programs. Lee County on average has 400 to 500 participants and the Oxford collection day had over 700 people last year. He said the cost of the two events usually runs Three Rivers around $150,000 each year.
“We get good participation,” he said. “People look forward to it. We get calls all year round asking when it is going to happen.”
Keep Tupelo Beautiful Executive Director Kathryn Rhea said the collection day is a good opportunity to recycle items the city traditionally does not accept.
Because the event is only held once a year, she said it's important for would-be participants to gather any items they want to be recycled and ensure they are eligible for the program.
Wiggins said much of the waste accepted is recycled, including metals, car batteries and tires, which are collected and recycled by Liberty Tires in Saltillo.
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/three-rivers-annual-hazardous-waste-drop-off-set-for-saturday-in-verona/article_59433d86-12fa-53c4-9e96-f3a71976b6d9.html
| 2022-04-21T21:54:59
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Suffolk County police are searching for a duo they say sexually assaulted a woman during a residential burglary in Long Island Wednesday.
According to Suffolk County Police Special Victims Section detective, two men entered the Mastic Beach residence and encountered a woman who lived at the location at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Police say one of the males sexually and physically assaulted her before both men fled with cash and property.
The woman was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police describe one men as wearing a dark-hooded sweatshirt and dark pants with a white stripe, while the second man was wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt and light-colored pants.
Suffolk Police urge anyone with information to call the Special Victims Section at (631) 852-8791 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/woman-sexually-assaulted-during-long-island-home-burglary-scpd/3657340/
| 2022-04-21T21:59:18
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LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II was marking her 96th birthday privately Thursday, retreating to the Sandringham estate in eastern England that has offered the monarch and her late husband, Prince Philip, a refuge from the affairs of state.
Elizabeth is expected to spend the day at the estate’s Wood Farm cottage, a personal sanctuary where she also spent her first Christmas since Philip’s death in April 2021. Philip loved the cottage, in part because it is close to the sea, she said in February when hosting a rare public event at Sandringham.
“I think the queen’s approach to birthdays very much embodies her ‘keep calm and carry on’ attitude,” said Emily Nash, the royal editor at HELLO! magazine. ”She doesn’t like a fuss.”
This birthday comes during the queen’s platinum jubilee year, marking her 70 years on the throne. While Thursday will be low-key, public celebrations will take place June 2-5, when four days of jubilee festivities have been scheduled to coincide with the monarch’s official birthday.
The day marks yet another milestone in a tumultuous period for the monarch, who has sought to cement the future of the monarchy amid signs of her age and controversy in the family. After recovering from a bout of COVID-19 earlier this year, the queen’s public appearances have been limited by unspecified “mobility issues.” Prince Andrew’s multi-million pound settlement with a woman who accused him of sexual exploitation also caused unwanted headlines for the royal family.
But the queen got an early birthday treat last week, when grandson Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, paid her a joint visit for the first time since they stepped away from frontline royal duties and moved to California in 2020. Harry, in aninterview with NBC, said his grandmother was “on great form,” though he added that he wanted to make sure she was “protected” and had “the right people around her.”
Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Elizabeth has spent much of the past two years at Windsor Castle, west of London, where she took refuge during the pandemic.
It’s been a little over a year since the death of Philip, her spouse of more than 70 years.
The queen said good-bye during a scaled down funeral in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Coronavirus restrictions in place at the time limited the service to 30 mourners and forced the monarch to sit alone — a poignant reminder of how she would spend her remaining years.
Last month, with the pandemic on the wane and restrictions eased, the queen shrugged off recent health issues to attend a service of thanksgiving for Philip at Westminster Abbey, entering the abbey on the arm of Andrew, her second son. Her choice of escort was seen as a vote of support for Andrew following his legal settlement.
But the in-person appearance was rare. The Queen has increasingly relied on Prince Charles to take on public engagements in the twilight of her reign, most recently offering alms to senior citizens at the Royal Maundy service at St. George’s Chapel.
Charles took on the traditional task of distributing specially minted coins to retirees who were being recognized for service to the church and the local community.
This year, 96 men and 96 women received the coins, one for each year of the queen’s life.
“She has a lot coming up in the next few months, so it absolutely makes sense that she enjoys her birthday quietly, privately at Sandringham,″ Nash said. “She will no doubt have quite a lot of time to reflect on her happy times there with Prince Philip over the years. But this is really someone whose focus is still on the future, even at the age of 96.”
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Follow all stories on the queen at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii.
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| 2022-04-21T22:45:21
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — President Joe Biden visited Portland on Thursday as part of a trip to the Pacific Northwest to promote investments in infrastructure.
Air Force One landed at PDX around 12:40 p.m. Thursday and the president was greeted by state and local leaders. Biden toured the airport and was briefed on upgrades to PDX by construction managers and other officials.
Around 2:30 p.m., Biden spoke at the Portland Air National Guard hanger, highlighting how his $1 trillion infrastructure plan fits into an ongoing project to ensure PDX runways can survive earthquakes.
He’s set to attend a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Portland Yacht Club after the speech.
Follow Biden’s visit to Portland with our live blog here.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/gallery-president-biden-tours-talks-infrastructure-at-pdx/
| 2022-04-21T22:48:38
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Nearly four months after the Weil Arcade building fire in Downtown Hillsboro, the city announced both lanes of Main Street reopened Thursday following cleanup and fire recovery efforts in the area.
The city said both lanes of Main Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue are open, along with sidewalks.
34-year-old Roel Leon is facing arson charges in the case as well as a second-degree murder charge after the body of 40-year-old Ronald Knapp was found in the wreckage.
The fire displaced eight businesses and damaged upwards of 20.
The city also asked residents to continue to support downtown businesses impacted by the fire.
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https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/downtown-hillsboro-road-reopens-after-weil-arcade-fire-recovery/
| 2022-04-21T22:48:44
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One guilty, one not guilty in the 2019 murder of a Shreveport police officer
After a 16 day trial a jury issued verdicts in connection with the death of off-duty Shreveport Police officer Chatéri Payne.
On April 20, Tre'veon Anderson, 29, was found guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. Co-defendant Glenn Frierson, 42, was not guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder.
Anderson, Frierson, and Lawrence Pierre were initially charged in the case.
On April 4, Pierre pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The prosecution dismissed the conspiracy to commit murder charge.He was sentenced that same day to life in prison with no possibility of parole or suspension of sentence.
On Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019, Payne was gunned down outside her home.
Payne, a new graduate of the Shreveport Police Academy, was dressed and ready to patrol the streets of Shreveport when her life was taken.
The shooting reportedly occurred around 8:20 that evening. When responding officers made it to her home on Midway Avenue around 8:30 p.m., they found Payne in uniform injured by multiple gunshot wounds.
Shreveport Fire Department rushed Payne to Ochsner LSU Health, which was less than a mile away. Within two hours Payne was pronounced dead.
Look back:Trials begin for the 2019 murder of a Shreveport police officer. Look back at the case here
Anderson, Payne's boyfriend was home that night. In initial reports, he said that he was inside the house, at 1633 Midway Avenue, where the couple lived when he heard shots.
Anderson then claimed he went outside and fired a gun at someone dressed in all black, and then called 911 after he saw that Payne was injured.
Read also:3 indicted in shooting death of Shreveport officer Chateri Payne
Anderson faces life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence, plus an additional 30 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. He will be formally sentenced on May 11.
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
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https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/guilty-not-guilty-verdicts-2019-murder-shreveport-police-officer/7394623001/
| 2022-04-21T23:26:31
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GADSDEN, Ala. (WIAT) — Authorities in Etowah County have ended a water search for a drowning victim after a body matching the victim’s description was pulled from the Coosa River Thursday afternoon.
According to the city of Gadsden, first responders located the body in the area just south of the Broad Street Bridge. Authorities had been searching for the person for almost a week.
“We want to thank all the agencies that assisted us in the search and helped bring closure in this case,” said Gadsden Fire Chief Wil Reed. “We would also like to extend condolences to the family and community that has been affected by this tragic incident.”
The identity of the victim will be released following the notification of the family.
Stay with CBS 42 as this is a developing story.
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/body-pulled-from-coosa-river-after-6-day-search/
| 2022-04-22T00:22:02
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Philip D. Beidler, a longtime English professor at the University of Alabama whose own experience in the Vietnam War served as the focus of several books about literature and art from the time, died Wednesday. He was 77.
Beidler, known as “Phil” to those close to him, had taught at the university for over 40 years, arriving in 1974 after receiving his doctorate degree from the University of Virginia and staying until his retirement in 2019, although he remained as professor emeritus in the department.
“I know that Phil was a good friend and colleague to everyone in this department who knew him. Certainly, he was a good friend to me,” said Steven Trout, professor and chairman of UA’s English department. “I admired his towering work on American war literature and culture for decades before I ever dreamed that I would join the faculty at the University of Alabama.”
Brian Oliu, senior instructor at UA’s English Department, said he had known Beidler since graduate school and that he was one of the first people at the university to encourage his writing.
“We would have long conversations about depictions of war in video games,” Oliu wrote in an online tribute to Beidler Wednesday. “He’d tell me old Egan’s stories—of Barry Hannah shooting holes in his convertible. You’ve read ‘Ray’? Phil is Dr. Beidler.”
While an undergraduate student at Davidson College in North Carolina, Beidler was drafted to the Army and sent to Vietnam in 1969, where he was a lieutenant in the 17th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Troop D, which was part of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade.
“He did not have an easy war,” said Don Noble, a retired professor who taught alongside Beidler at UA for years. “The man who was Phil’s mentor was killed. A lot of the men Phil served with were killed.”
Beidler’s experiences in Vietnam served as a focal point in many books he would write over the years. Trout said Beidler’s first book, “American Literature and the Experience of Vietnam,” was important in opening up the field of Vietnam-era literature study. Published in 1982, Beidler analyzed the kind of literature that came during and after Vietnam and how the war affected writing during that time.
“What the best writing about Vietnam does seem to have in common is a commitment on one hand to an unstinting concreteness–a feel for the way an experience actually seizes upon us, seizes all at once as a thing of the senses, of the emotions, of the intellect, of the spirit–and on the other a distinct awareness of engagement in a primary process of sense-making, of discovering the peculiar ways in which the experience of the war can now be made to signify within the larger evolution of culture as a whole,” Beidler wrote.
Over the years, Beidler’s work on literature study through the lens of the Vietnam War was widely reviewed.
“Philip Beidler, like John Hellmann and others, explores the American literature of the Viet Nam war in terms of American myth and myth making,” wrote California State University at Stanislaus professor Renny Christopher while reviewing Beidler’s “Rewriting America: Vietnam Authors in Their Generation.”
In a discussion for a Vietnam oral history project that was conducted by UA, Beidler talked about what he felt the war revealed to the American public.
“At the time, most of us felt, and that’s whether we were soldiers, veterans, or whether we were people who had stayed at home and demonstrated against the war, that we finally got our comeuppance,” Beidler said. “This idea that we were the redeemer nation. This idea that we were always the good guys. We thought that we had put that to rest. You know, we lost that war. We got out asses kicked.”
However, Beidler did not limit his interests or writing to just Vietnam, covering about subjects as varied as Mark Twain, essays on Cuba, and Alabama’s early literary history. One of his last books, “Great Beyond: Art in the Age of Annihilation,” will soon be released through the University of Alabama Press.
“He had this powerful curiosity,” Noble said.
Noble, who does book reviews for Alabama Public Radio and hosts “Bookmark with Don Noble” on Alabama Public Television, said Beidler always wrote in an accessible way and was just as riveting in the classroom as he was on paper.
“I think his energy, his good nature, and his sense of humor showed up in the writing voice and in the classroom voice,” Noble said.
Oliu said he enjoyed both Beidler’s company and friendship.
“When I graduated and started teaching, he treated me immediately like a colleague,” he said. “Always stopping me in the hallway to chat, to crack a joke, to pull Washington Irving quotes out of midair.”
Noble said that more than just being a good writer or teacher, he was a good friend.
“He was a really good guy,” he said. “He was a good natured person, he had a great sense of humor, and he was really good company. I enjoyed my time with him.”
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https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/philip-d-beidler-longtime-alabama-professor-whose-experience-in-vietnam-influenced-his-writing-dies-at-77/
| 2022-04-22T00:22:08
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The sun will be shining in Portland this weekend, and there are plenty of events and activities to get you out and about.
KOIN 6 News put together a list of six events for Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23.
Portland Night Market
Event: The market showcases businesses throughout Portland by showcasing food, culture, music, drinks and retail, according to the event’s Facebook page.
Date: Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23
Location: 100 S.E. Alder St., Portland
Cost: Free but people can buy a fast past to skip the line for $10
Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake
Event: The Portland Timbers will face off against Real Salt Lake.
“The Timbers won all four matches against Real Salt Lake in 2021, including in the Western Conference Final, by a combined 14-4,” according to the Timbers’ website.
Date and time: 7 p.m., Saturday, April 23
Location: Providence Park, 1844 SW Morrison St., Portland
Cost: Vary depending on tickets chosen
5K Fun Run & Earth Day Brewfest (Stickmen), OR Brewery Running Series
Event: If you like running and drinking beer, then this event is for you. People can run, walk or jog.
“Complete the course and celebrate with us and a free, local craft brew at the finish line,” the event’s Facebook page says.
Along with a craft brew free of charge, participants will receive a collector’s pint glass or seasonal swag item from the Brewery Running Series along with a chance to win a variety of prizes. People must bring a valid ID or driver’s license.
“You do not need to be 21 to enjoy the event, but you must be 21 to enjoy the beer,” organizers added.
Date and time: Saturday, April 23
Location: Stickmen Brewing Company, 19475 Southwest 118th Ave., Tualatin
Cost: $35
The Yoga Expo Portland 2022
Event: “There are classes for everyone at The Yoga Expo,” the event said on its website. “This one-day event brings together the local yoga community and offers a wide array of 50-minute classes for beginners, advanced yogis, kids, and anyone in between.”
Organizers say the event will feature yoga apparel, accessories, vegan food and beverages.
Date and time: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday, April 23
Location: Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Portland
Cost: $35
Celebrating Earth Day with family-friendly educational activities
Event: According to organizers, children and their families can participate in a variety of eco-friendly activities, including an interactive recycling game along with planting seedlings that children can take home to watch grow.
“Guests will also enjoy a fun selfie opportunity in front of the center’s giant letters that spell E-A-R-T-H, located in center court,” the event’s description states.
Date and time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, April 23
Location: Vancouver Mall, 8700 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive, Vancouver
Cost: N/A
Plant Hanger Workshop
Event: The in-person workshop is for beginners who want to learn how to make a Macramé plant hanger.
“Everyone will have the opportunity to learn the basic knots, and then they can design their own plant hanger,” organizers explained on the event’s Facebook page. “We will not be working from a pattern. It will be a freestyle class.”
Date and time: 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 23
Location: 3808 N. Williams Ave., Suite 120, Portland
Cost: $75, organizers say supplies to make hangers are included in free
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https://www.koin.com/local/fun-in-the-sun-6-things-to-do-in-the-portland-area-this-weekend/
| 2022-04-22T00:32:38
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Regulators 'require more inquiry' of Providence propane terminal expansion. What to know
PROVIDENCE – A proposal to add rail service to the marine propane terminal in the Port of Providence must undergo a full regulatory review if it’s to go forward now that the state Energy Facility Siting Board has denied the owners’ request for a fast-tracked order.
The decision by the siting board on Thursday doesn’t amount to the denial of a license for the proposed $20-million expansion. But it does mean that Sea 3 Providence, the owner of the terminal, must submit a full application to the board and go through a review process that could last many months, if not years, if the controversial project is to proceed. A lawyer for the company did not immediately respond to questions about its plans in light of the board’s decision.
Pointing to the enactment last year of the Act on Climate, the siting board ruled that the landmark law requires a closer look at the proposal and whether it would affect the state’s now-mandatory emissions-reduction goals.
Port of Providence Development:R.I. Supreme Court hears case for burying India Point Park power lines
It is the second recent decision on an energy issue in Rhode Island to lend weight to the climate law signed a year ago by Gov. Dan McKee. Earlier this month, in a ruling that put on hold the sale of National Grid’s electric and gas business in Rhode Island, a Superior Court judge said that state utilities regulators erred in not considering the climate impacts of the transaction when they approved it. The judge said such consideration is required by the Act on Climate.
Along those lines, members of the siting board said that Sea 3 Providence failed to provide necessary information on how an increase in deliveries of propane would affect emissions in the state.
Here's what they were seeking:State regulators consider fast-track request for propane terminal expansion in Providence
How propane is used, and its impact
Also known as liquefied petroleum gas, propane is derived from natural gas and petroleum and is used for heating, cooking and as a transportation fuel. While it is cleaner-burning than gasoline, diesel or heating oil, it produces more greenhouse-gas emissions than natural gas.
“It is the petitioner who carries the burden to prove that there would be no significant impact on the environment, and the petitioner failed to meet this burden,” said Ronald Gerwatowski, chairman of the siting board. “A reasonable answer to the ultimate question of impact on emissions-reduction targets can only be provided by reliable analyses, which are far more sophisticated than what was presented as evidence in these proceedings.”
Likewise, the company was unable to adequately address concerns around public safety, the board ruled.
Climate Change:An environmental group wants this oil giant's records about climate risks in RI
Sea 3 Providence applied last spring to fast-track its plan to expand into rail deliveries, arguing that the project doesn’t rise to the definition under state law that would trigger a full application.
The law leaves some room for interpretation, defining an alteration as “a significant modification to a major energy facility which, as determined by the board, will result in a significant impact on the environment or the public health, safety and welfare.”
The office of Attorney General Peter Neronha argued for a full review of the application, as did the state Department of Environmental Management and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza.
The propane terminal's history
The marine propane terminal has been in operation at Fields Point almost continuously since 1975, receiving deliveries from tanker ships, cooling it, and then storing it in liquid form in a 19-million-gallon tank near the Providence River. After the propane is warmed and converted back into a gas, tractor trailers fill up from the storage tank and transport the fuel around the region. The propane terminal is the second-largest in New England.
After Teppco Partners ceased operations in 2015, Sea 3 Providence took over the lease, invested more than $10 million in modernizing the facility, and started accepting deliveries and distributing gas again in 2019.
Slow down:Speed cameras activated near six more schools in Providence
The company wants to connect to a nearby rail spur and use a vacant property next to its operation on Seaview Drive to build six horizontal “bullet” tanks to store up to an additional 450,000 gallons of fuel
While Sea 3 Providence says the proposal is not a major expansion and that a declaratory order was warranted, the siting board ruled otherwise. The board judged the project to be a significant modification to the terminal and said that questions hadn’t been answered about its impacts on the environment and public safety.
“This decision is not a decision to deny them a license,” Gerwatowski said. “It’s only a decision to require more inquiry.”
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/providence-ri-port-propane-terminal-expansion-energy-facility-siting-board/7393687001/
| 2022-04-22T00:44:14
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CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Cape Coral residents will soon get the chance to vote on a new Tax Exemption ordinance in an effort to lure new businesses to the city and help existing businesses expand.
Wednesday, City Council members greenlit a referendum on the Ad Valorem Tax Exemption ordinance. Now, it will appear on Cape Coral’s November 8 General Election ballots.
The benefits of the proposed ordinance are granted through the Florida Constitution. Experts said municipalities all over the state use it as an economic development incentive tool. The City is offering it to qualified candidates in the lighting/industrial, technology, manufacturing development, and business enterprise development industries. Tax exemptions are capped at $2 million per year for ten years.
If passed, the city said it means more jobs to come to Cape Coral. FGCU Professor of Real Estate, Dr. Shelton Weeks called the ordinance a part of tipping the scales in the city’s favor.
“When the city was originally laid out. The developers focused primarily on residential lot sales. What we have in terms of commercial property and districts and things is really a second thought,” he said.
Dr. Weeks said it, unfortunately, won’t benefit all businesses in the Cape.
“It makes the city marginally more attractive to some businesses. The fact that you can’t apply it to somebody that’s already doing business in the city, some folks would see as a negative.”
For a copy of the proposed ordinance, see below:
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/04/21/cape-residents-soon-able-to-vote-on-new-tax-exemption-ordinance/
| 2022-04-22T01:13:58
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McConnell, K2 & Populous react after pulling offer to plan future of land around Redding Civic, Rodeo Grounds
The group looking to transform riverfront land around the Redding Civic Auditorium has withdrawn its offer to redevelop the area.
Shannon Phillips, chief operating officer of the McConnell Foundation, said Thursday morning that the group supports the City Council’s decision earlier this week and was proud to have played a part in sparking conversation about how to enhance the area around the civic and the Redding Rodeo Grounds.
The four organizations that made the unsolicited offer last fall were the nonprofit McConnell Foundation, Missouri-based Populous Inc., Redding-based K2 Development Co. and Turtle Bay Exploration Park. They forwarded a 74-page letter of interest in September with imaginative ideas for 45 acres the city owns along the Sacramento River.
Phillips said that while they withdrew their offer, they are still committed to seeing that area developed into something the entire community can enjoy. She also didn’t rule out coming back to the city with a proposal after the riverfront specific plan is updated.
“We are closing the chapter to this effort,” Phillips said. “We are really pleased to see there was such a robust engagement from the community. We feel great about how our offer might have been the catalyst to start those conversations.”
The council voted 4-1 Tuesday night not to designate the land near the Sacramento River as “surplus property” and instead hire a consultant to update the city’s riverfront specific plan. How much that would cost and how long it will take is not known at this time.
Read more:Redding council opts to draft city's own specific plan for riverfront land near Turtle Bay
Read more:Don't declare Redding land 'surplus,' Shasta environmental groups' lawyer urges city
Declaring it surplus would have triggered a potential sale of the land.
The vote came after the council heard from 46 residents in support and opposition of putting the land in surplus.
Michael Lockwood, a managing partner of Populous who grew up in Redding, agreed that what the city did Tuesday does not close the door on the potential for the group to revisit its vision for the riverfront.
“We are not walking away from this at all. I think this is a sidestep, not a backstep,” Lockwood said.
But it also will come down to timing, Lockwood said, and right now Populous is very busy designing high-profile projects like a new NBA arena in Las Vegas and a new stadium for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
Allen Knott, CEO of K2, said they are disappointed with Tuesday's decision because his company has been building locally for years and saw this as an opportunity to create something special for the community. K2 projects include Market Center in downtown Redding and the Kennett Court affordable apartments on north Lake Boulevard. K2 also will be building affordable apartments near the Redding Center of Hope.
“At the end of the day, we hope something great goes there that we can all enjoy,” Knott said of the land around the Civic Auditorium and Rodeo Grounds.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-225-8219. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.
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https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2022/04/21/group-pulls-offer-redevelop-land-around-redding-civic-auditorium/7398237001/
| 2022-04-22T01:46:32
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The MTA is on the hot seat in Washington after the subway shooting in Brooklyn that rattled the city, as local congressional members demand answers as to why the cameras malfunctioned at the time of the morning rush hour attack.
The MTA got a letter signed by three members of the New York congressional delegation on Wednesday, specifically asking how much federal money is spent on maintaining cameras — an important issue for the politicians, given that the transit agency is given millions of federal security dollars annually.
A total of 10 members of Congress added their names to the list of people looking for answers, after the stern letter was sent to MTA Chair Janno Lieber. That letter said the subway system is NYC's lifeblood, and detailed how the agency got tens of millions of federal grant dollars in 2020 and 2021 — and received even more for 2022.
Funding for the agency currently stands at $93 million, leading lawmakers to question the functionality of all the MTA's cameras.
"My view is nothing is more important than the safety of the subway system," said Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, who serves as the vice chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and is helping lead the investigation effort.
He and the other two members of New York's congressional delegation who signed the letter said the need for answers is critical, given the overall spike in crime in the subways.
"There has been a series of shooting. Stabbings. Slashing and shoving a that have shaken confidence in the subway system," Torres said.
After the April 12 attack at the 36th Street station in Sunset Park, police sources told NBC New York that the inability to access the station cameras slowed down the investigation. Had it not been for cell phone video, there would be little to no video showing what happened in the immediate aftermath of the alleged gunman opening fire and shooting 10 passengers on the packed N train.
A representative for the MTA said the cameras malfunctioned that day because of an internet server issue, and that the agency has "made significant use of the Transit Security Grant Program, but we have been disappointed that funding has been flat since 2012."
The MTA refuted claims that the malfunctioning camera hampered the investigation. Staffers said other video and other evidence in the system proved to be critical.
The letter from the members of Congress requested specifics from the agency regarding their camera system, such as: how often the cameras are audited; timelines for addressing issues; and how much is spent on installing, maintaining and upgrading the MTA’s more than 10,100 cameras systemwide.
"We have a right to know whether the cameras are working effectively," said Torres. "My message to the MTA is that the federal government is watching."
After a 30-hour manhunt, police located and arrested suspect Frank James in Manhattan.
The MTA has until April 30 to get Congress answers in writing.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/ny-members-of-congress-grill-mta-over-cameras-that-failed-during-brooklyn-subway-attack/3657655/
| 2022-04-22T02:33:07
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Michael Barrows wore his Grateful Dead T-shirt and Jerry Garcia face mask for opening day of recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey on Thursday, one of dozens of people who lined up before dawn to join the celebratory scene.
“It’s pretty amazing, exciting, and if I get pulled over on the way home and I’m ever asked if I have any drugs in the car, now I’m allowed to say ‘Only this,’” Barrows said, holding up the canister of marijuana flower he had just purchased. Possession of cannabis is now legal in New Jersey, although driving under the influence is still prohibited.
Barrows, 60, joined a steady stream of other novelty seekers, longtime marijuana users and medical patients at RISE in Bloomfield, near the state's biggest city, Newark, and not far from New York City.
With soul music blaring, free doughnuts in the parking lot, a steel drum and a balloon arch at the entrance, New Jersey's cannabis kickoff for people 21 and older had the feel of a fair more than a store opening.
Hagan Seeley, 23, said he had just found out a day earlier that recreational sales were starting and decided to see what the scene looked like. He was impressed with the venue, decorated with an old train station-style tote board and long wooden tables featuring products under glass globes.
“It feels right. It feels safe. It feels like everything you’d want it to be rather than anything you could get anywhere else,” Seeley said.
The start of the recreational market comes a week after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced that state regulators had cleared the way for recreational sales at seven “alternative treatment centers” that had already offered medical cannabis. The seven centers operate 13 facilities across the state.
Murphy, who has long backed recreational marijuana legalization and signed the bill that set up the marketplace, appeared at ZenLeaf in Elizabeth for its first day of recreational sales. The governor said he wouldn't be trying any marijuana, saying earlier this week it's not his “thing,” and that he prefers Scotch. Murphy said he would be pushing for a “federal fix” for marijuana as well, though it was unclear whether he was referring to recreational legalization, national decriminalization or something else.
Hadi Battice, 47, is a Navy veteran and medical marijuana card holder for his post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s a regular at ZenLeaf and said he’s never seen the location as busy as it was Thursday.
New Jersey’s recreational cannabis law gives priority status to people of color for dispensary licenses, a fact that will help knock down “brick walls” people faced for years during the war on drugs, Battice said. “It’s about time that minorities, people of color, Black people, brown people actually have a chance to get into the business.”
Charles Pfeiffer stood in line for about 2.5 hours and said he believed he was the first recreational customer to make a purchase at the ZenLeaf location. He cheered loudly and pumped his hands in the air when he was let into the shop.
He bought cannabis flower and candy for about $140 and joked about how quickly he'd need to return to buy more.
“I'll be back tomorrow,” he said. “I'm kidding, probably within a week.”
ZenLeaf employee Destiny Pimentel said she came to realize the “benefits of responsible cannabis use” after her older brother died. “When I consume cannabis I am not as anxious and I can focus,” she said. She’s committed to showing people it’s possible to use cannabis and have a successful career, she added.
New Jersey is among 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, with legalized recreational marijuana markets. Thirty-seven states, including New Jersey, have legalized medical marijuana.
New Jersey is first among its closest neighbors to begin recreational sales. New York is moving forward with a recreational market but sales are not expected to start until the end of the year, state officials have said. Neighboring Pennsylvania has medical cannabis but not recreational, while legislation to permit recreational marijuana in Delaware was defeated in March.
Ben Kovler, of Green Thumb Industries, which operates the Bloomfield dispensary, was at the opening Thursday. He said he expects demand to grow since news of the start of sales had only been known by the public for a week.
“It’s a moment in time in American history where prohibition 2.0 is lifted,” he said before the opening.
To get regulatory approval, the facilities told regulators they would not interrupt access for medical marijuana patients.
Ziad Ghanem, of TerrAscend, said the centers would initially have a “narrower menu” for recreational users in order to accommodate patients.
The centers also are required to meet social equity standards, such as providing technical knowledge to new marijuana businesses, especially social equity applicants — those located in economically struggling parts of the state or people who have had cannabis-related offenses.
New Jersey's tax revenues are expected to climb, but it's not clear by how much. Murphy’s fiscal year 2023 budget is pending before the Legislature and estimates revenues of just $19 million in a nearly $49 billion budget.
Legislation governing the recreational market calls for the 6.625% sales tax to apply, with 70% of the proceeds going to areas disproportionately affected by marijuana-related arrests. Black residents were likelier — up to three times as much — to face marijuana charges than white residents. Towns can also levy a tax of up to 2%.
In a memo to law enforcement officers across the state, acting Attorney General Matt Platkin reminded police that unregulated marijuana continues to be an illegal substance.
State regulators say dispensaries are allowed to sell up to the equivalent of 1 ounce of cannabis, which means an ounce of dried flower, or 5 grams of concentrate or 1,000 milligrams of edibles, like gummies. Perishable items like cookies and brownies are not available.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/amazing-legal-marijuana-sales-in-new-jersey-bring-lots-of-excited-buyers/3657703/
| 2022-04-22T03:25:16
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Busted brake lights? No problem. Signals don't work? Don't worry about it.
Instead of police handing over tickets, some police on Long Island will soon be handing out vouchers to get the broken parts fixed, as part of a new initiative.
The program, called "Lights On," was recently launched by Suffolk County, and will provide free car repairs to drivers.
Starting in June, if Suffolk police pull over a driver over for a defective brake light, head light or turn signals, the officers won’t be issuing a ticket. Instead, they'll hand over a voucher to cover the cost of replacing those defective lights.
Advocates say the program, which is funded by private donations and is now in a dozen states, makes roads safer and builds trust between police and the public.
"What’s better than donating money that could save somebody’s life?" said Steve Castleton, who donated $15,000 to help fund the program in Suffolk County.
Currently, drivers who get a ticket for defective lights must repair them within 24 hours or face fines. If not addressed, the situation often spirals into more fines and even license suspensions. The "Lights On" program is intended to help prevent that.
News
"All of a sudden, the anxiety is down, the communication starts. We’re not talking at each other. We’re talking with each other," said Sherman Patterson, who helped organize Lights On in Minnesota.
The vouchers will cover up to $250 in repairs and will be good for 14 days.
Bernie Schrage's auto repair shop in Patchogue was the first to join the new program. After fixing cars for a quarter-century, he said he's happy to help repair relations between drivers and police, and said it comes at a time when money is tight for many people.
"I know people are hurting. I have customers who can't afford it," he said. "To me it was just common sense."
It's also personal for Schrage: He said his son is now training to be a Suffolk County police officer.
"If it makes [officers'] job easier, helps them with their relationship with the public, then I want in," Schrage said.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/instead-of-tickets-for-defective-lights-li-drivers-will-get-vouchers-to-get-them-fixed/3657711/
| 2022-04-22T04:04:22
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NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — North Fort Myers legendary football coach Ron Hoover has passed away, according to the North Fort Myers High School football team’s Twitter account and North Fort Myers High School Twitter account.
Hoover coached at NFM from 1968-88 and coached numerous athletes including NFL players Deion Sanders, Richard Fain, and many others.
The Team’s field house is named after him and he still attended every home football game.
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/04/21/north-fort-myers-legendary-football-coach-ron-hoover-passes-away/
| 2022-04-22T04:33:52
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/04/21/north-fort-myers-legendary-football-coach-ron-hoover-passes-away/
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NAPLES, Fla. — A video was taken at 9 a.m. on Tuesday of a man without a helmet speeding down the road and sidewalk on Golden Gate Parkway near Community Center. He was making turns and popping wheelies.
Jack Bonvardo said he used to ride his ATVs out in Naples back in the 90s.
“I had four-wheelers I rode all the time. Because back out there, I mean there were houses out there but there was a lot of undeveloped property that you could ride all day and nobody would know the difference,” said Bonvardo.
He said building an ATV park could help solve the problem.
Lieutenant Greg Bueno of the Florida Highway Patrol said ATVs are not permitted on paved roads or sidewalks.
If that person riding in the video was caught, he would end up in jail with a towed ATV.
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/04/21/reckless-atv-rider-caught-on-camera-speeding-popping-wheelies-in-naples/
| 2022-04-22T04:33:58
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https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/04/21/reckless-atv-rider-caught-on-camera-speeding-popping-wheelies-in-naples/
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PORTLAND, Ore. — The growth of Oregon's wolf population slowed significantly last year because 21 animals were poisoned by poachers, hit by cars or were killed by wildlife officials after they attacked livestock, state wildlife authorities said Wednesday.
The 2021 census counted 175 wolves, up just two animals from the previous year, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said. The number of documented packs decreased to 21 from 22 after eight wolves in eastern Oregon were illegally poisoned, wiping out an entire pack. The number of breeding pairs of wolves was down to 16, from 17 in 2020.
It was the slowest rate of wolf growth since 2016, although agency officials did add that wolves expanded their range into four new areas of activity in rural areas in Jefferson, Klamath, Grant and Union counties.
The count only captures wolves observed through visual observations, tracks and remote camera photographs and the actual number of wolves in Oregon is higher, officials stressed. Just 13% of the wolves in Oregon are in the western part of the state.
The number of wolf attacks on livestock was up in 2021, including 49 confirmed incidents last year versus 31 in 2020, the department said.
Wildlife officials said they killed eight members of the Lookout Mountain Pack because the animals chronically attacked nearby livestock.
A conservation group, Cascadia Wildlands, said Wednesday the high number of wolf deaths at the hands of humans was unacceptable.
"Oregon's wolf population simply cannot sustain such high levels of human-caused wolf mortality," said Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands' legal director. "The state needs to both seriously prosecute poachers and stop killing wolves to subsidize commercial livestock operations."
(Story continues below video)
Wolves once ranged most of the U.S. But they were wiped out in most places by the 1930s under government-sponsored poisoning and trapping campaigns.
More than 2,000 wolves occupy six states in the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest after the animals from Canada were reintroduced in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park starting in 1995.
However, wolves remain absent across most of their historical range. Wildlife advocates argue that continued protections are needed so they can continue to expand in California, Colorado, Oregon and other states.
Wolves in Oregon no longer have state protection and were without federal Endangered Species Act protection for 2021 after the Trump administration removed those protections. In February, federal protection was restored to wolves in the western two-thirds of the state.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/animal/oregon-wolf-population-2021/283-ba270d8b-0f40-4a02-b412-ecd7ce50980d
| 2022-04-22T04:44:32
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PORTLAND, Ore. — Speaking at a hangar near Portland International Airport Thursday afternoon, President Joe Biden highlighted several ongoing and planned upgrades to the airport as examples of the kind of national infrastructure renewal that will be delivered through the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that he signed last fall.
Air Force One arrived in Portland at about 12:45 p.m. Thursday, rolling up to the tarmac outside the Oregon Air National Guard base to the south of the airport.
After greeting dignitaries including Gov. Kate Brown and most of Oregon's congressional delegation, the president's motorcade traveled across the airport campus to the site at the west end of the runways where the new main terminal roof is being built, where Biden met with members of the construction crew.
Back at the hangar, Mayor Ted Wheeler, Brown, Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Kurt Schrader, Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer each gave brief introductory speeches touting infrastructure developments in Oregon.
"(The terminal roof) is an incredible project being assembled out there, an incredible investment in mass timber," Merkley said, casting it as an example of Oregon's leadership in the field of mass timber manufacturing and construction.
Biden took to stage just after 2:30 p.m. and almost immediately began talking about the airport project, describing it as part of an overall $25 billion investment in airport modernization as part of the infrastructure package that he signed late last year.
"Airports all across America are second rate," he said, adding that America has "fallen behind" on airport infrastructure by failing to invest in its own facilities.
Biden put particular emphasis on the planned project to upgrade one of the Portland airport's two main runways to make it seismically resilient, allowing it to remain functional directly after a major earthquake, providing a critical route for relief supplies.
He also spoke about the need to upgrade or revitalize roads and bridges throughout Oregon, as well as the state's water, internet and power transmission infrastructure.
Biden's speech also touched on the issue of inflation, which he blamed primarily on global supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting impact on energy prices.
He said he wanted to combat inflation by working to lower the cost of basic necessities for ordinary families, not only for gas but also things like prescription drugs, citing the high price of insulin as an example.
After speaking for a little more than 20 minutes, Biden departed for a fundraising event at the nearby Portland Yacht Club.
People gathered outside the club hoping for a glimpse of the president as he arrived, but they only got a brief look at the presidential limo before he was whisked inside.
Some of the onlookers told KGW that they were there because the presidential visit was an exciting moment, but others said they hoped Biden would pass through the area near Marine Drive and 33rd Avenue, known for its homeless camps, and get a better sense of the issues Portland is struggling with.
The motorcade returned to the airport at about 4:30 p.m., and Biden quickly boarded Air Force One and took off for Seattle less than 15 minutes later.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/biden-talks-infrastructure-speech-pdx/283-7b28fe44-ca87-4a87-bfb4-8d31d0876920
| 2022-04-22T04:44:38
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/biden-talks-infrastructure-speech-pdx/283-7b28fe44-ca87-4a87-bfb4-8d31d0876920
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LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Oregon's public trust doctrine applies to Oswego Lake, and the public therefore has a right to access the lake through public parks, Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Ann Lininger ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling is a sharp reversal in a lawsuit that has been working its way through the court system for more than a decade.
The City of Lake Oswego passed an ordinance in 2012 prohibiting public access to Oswego Lake, the lake at the center of the city, through two public parks in the downtown area: Millennium Plaza Park and Sundeleaf Plaza.
Nearly all of the rest of the land around the perimeter of the lake is private residential property.
Plaintiffs Mark Kramer and Todd Prager filed a lawsuit challenging the ordinance, arguing that under Oregon's public trust doctrine, all navigable waterways that existed at the time of Oregon's statehood are state-owned and come with a right of public access.
The Lake Corporation, which manages the lake and is owned by the waterfront homeowners, joined the lawsuit as a co-defendant along with the city and the State of Oregon.
The central dispute in the case is about whether Oswego Lake qualifies as a navigable body of water that would be subject to the public trust doctrine.
The lake is naturally-occurring and was known as Sucker Lake at the time that Oregon gained statehood, but it was later artificially raised and expanded through the addition of a dam at its eastern end.
As summarized in Lininger's opinion, the plaintiffs argued that the entire current lake is subject to the public trust doctrine, and that the city therefore can't legally block access through public property like the parks.
The state's position was that it owns the original lake, but not the expanded portion, and that there is no public right of access through the city parks.
The Lake Corporation's position is that there is no right of public access because none of the lake is subject to the public trust doctrine.
The city joined the corporation's position "to the extent that it seeks denial and dismissal of Plaintiff's claims," Lininger wrote.
The city has also argued that allowing public access through the parks would create safety and liability risks because those spaces weren't designed with lake ingress and egress in mind, as reported by the Portland Tribune.
The plaintiffs lost in Clackamas County Circuit Court and in the Oregon Court of Appeals, but they appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court, and in 2019 the Court declined to rule on the central issue, instead sending the case back to the Circuit Court to be re-evaluated.
Lininger's ruling concludes that Sucker Lake was navigable at statehood, and Oregon therefore owns the lakebed up to the original high-water mark, and the public trust doctrine applies to all land and water up to that mark.
The plaintiffs have not established that the state owns the land beneath the expanded portion of the lake, Lininger ruled, but all the waters of the expanded lake are subject to the public trust doctrine.
"Oswego Lake's partial title-navigability, the public trust status of its waters, and the specific circumstances here create a public right of access to the lake from the City's public waterfront parks," she wrote.
Any city or state interference with the public right of access must be "objectively reasonable" given the purpose of the public trust doctrine and the specific circumstances, according to the ruling.
A second phase of the case, scheduled for July, will evaluate whether the city's original access prohibition ordinance and related policies constitute unreasonable interference with the public right of access.
In a statement on Thursday, the City of Lake Oswego said it did not take a position on the public trust doctrine, but reiterated its stance that allowing public lake access through the parks would be unsafe and create liability issues. It also said the prohibition ordinance would remain in effect until a final ruling in the case is determined.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/court-upholds-public-access-oswego-lake/283-6ffe98a4-1ffc-458e-9302-7fb60bc681b4
| 2022-04-22T04:44:44
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/court-upholds-public-access-oswego-lake/283-6ffe98a4-1ffc-458e-9302-7fb60bc681b4
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PORTLAND, Oregon — Ja'mere Brown was just 18 years old when he was shot and killed Dec. 31, 2020, in a senseless act of violence. The young man had a promising future ahead of him, and the pain caused by his death has not eased for his mother.
"It's harder, it's harder for me. The first year was a blur and now it's like reality's set in that he's no longer here and he's not coming back," said Angela, who asked not to use her last name.
Brown was sitting in his friend's car in the area of Northeast Durham Avenue and Madrona Street that New Year’s Eve at about 10:30 pm. He was waiting for his mom to come home from work so they could celebrate the new year together at home, as they always did.
The two teens were watching YouTube videos when they were both shot. Brown died and his friend was critically injured but survived.
"A kid that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Again I’ll ask the question, where is the community outrage over this?," said Kieran Ramsey, special agent in charge of Portland's FBI field office. "We need people to step forward. We need people to come forward; Ja'mere's mom Angela deserves that. His entire family deserves that."
The FBI has added a $15,000 reward for information leading to Brown's killer. That would go on top of $8,000 raised by loved ones and $2,500 from Crime Stoppers of Oregon.
"We're going to offer this money out there. We're going to plead with people: look, if you have information, call law enforcement,” said Ramsey, who said the FBI in Portland has already done the same thing in seven other homicide cases to help local law enforcement make headway amid the city's ongoing gun violence epidemic.
Like many others, Ja'mere Brown was an innocent victim. He had no history of trouble, no guns or gang affiliation.
“Yet possibly the area he was in that night may have led to a misidentification by these suspects thinking that Ja'mere was a Woodlawn Park blood because he was very close to the area,” said Detective Anthony Merrill with the Portland Police Bureau.
Detective Merrill would like nothing more than to solve the case.
“This was a senseless murder and I’m appealing to the community on behalf of his family, his friends, his memory; please come forward if you have information.”
Brown's family, especially his mom, are seeking justice for the things they've lost and miss the most.
“Just hearing him say my name, you know, “mom," and me saying "Ja'mere, Ja'mere," you know — calling him for this or that. He was my best friend,” said Angela.
There are a number of ways to get investigators information. You can contact Crime Stoppers of Oregon at 503-823-HELP or submit a tip online. Tipsters may remain anonymous. You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI, and the agency will address safety concerns regarding retribution before asking for information. Finally, you can reach Detective Anthony Merrill with Portland Police at 503-823-4033 or email at Anthony.Merrill@portlandoregon.gov.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/fbi-reward-unsolved-portland-homicide/283-83fb6013-01c0-4732-a3b4-f85b63df56a4
| 2022-04-22T04:44:51
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/fbi-reward-unsolved-portland-homicide/283-83fb6013-01c0-4732-a3b4-f85b63df56a4
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PORTLAND, Oregon — This Earth Day you can support both small, local businesses and nonprofit groups working to save the environment and empower disadvantaged populations.
The group Earth Day Oregon has paired up 280 local businesses that are giving a portion of their sales to 70 environmental nonprofits.
Right before the pandemic shutdown, Powell Butte Elementary, in outer southeast Portland's Centennial School District, teamed up with nonprofit Depave to transform an unused, cracked and crumbling asphalt parking lot into a nature space. The new area includes native plants, a learning circle, pathways and even a play space for the students with musical instruments.
Marin Miller is the principal of Powell Butte Elementary.
"The space wasn't fully being utilized and it was getting in disrepair," he said. "Right now, it's integrated into this school. Students love it and you could probably tell that they take care of it. They take pride in it much more than a parking lot."
"We work mostly with community centers and schools to remove asphalt and replace it with native green space," said Katya Reyna of Depave.
Reyna is the program director of the nonprofit.
"We actually pre-cut the asphalt with big saws and we make it so that they're in smaller chunks and then the community members come out and actually pry it up with pry bars by hand. It's really fun, it's very satisfying."
Depave's next big project is coming this summer to another Centennial school. They always needs volunteers for the heavy lifting and donations to pay for the plants, materials and play features.
"We have fifth grade classrooms that are right now working on natural plants," Miller said. "And they're actually coming out here to study the natural plants in this area. Many of our students, they've lived in the city all their life. They don't get that nature exposure and so this brings a little bit of nature into our community."
That's actually Depave's focus: to inject nature in areas that are historically disadvantaged.
"A lot of kids that grow up, you know, out east in eastern Portland have less access to parks and green spaces in general," Reyna said.
Depave has four local small businesses, with each donating a portion of sales to the nonprofit this Earth Day.
Another business doing good work and making good beer is Breakside Brewery. The brewery is celebrating 12 years and five locations around the Portland metro area. These guys make over 100 different kinds of beer in a year. On Earth Day, a dollar from every pint sold will go to the Forest Park Conservancy.
"We'll have a nice setup outside that folks can walk by [at the Northwest Slabtown location]," said Ian Nesbit, Breakside's sales and marketing manager. "They can sign up to volunteer. They can sign up to be members. We'll be selling beer and hopefully educating some folks."
The Forest Park Conservancy works with thousands of volunteers to protect the 5,200 acre park, which is the largest urban forest in the country with miles of trails and some old growth trees.
"Being from the Midwest, it's the trees, the huge old trees we have here," Nesbit said. "It didn't register for a long time when I first got here, how big the trees are. This is a great opportunity for us to kind of share our platform, which is growing. It's kind of our duty to do that because without a clean environment, especially if we don't preserve and keep waterways clean, there is no beer."
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/good-energy/earth-day-oregon-support-environmental-nonprofits/283-62572ea8-2779-419f-ac39-6eb88dd523e9
| 2022-04-22T04:44:57
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VANCOUVER, Wash. — One of the biggest question marks about a planned replacement for the Interstate Bridge has been filled in. If everything goes the way the project office has planned, the new bridge will carry light rail over the Columbia River in addition to Interstate 5.
The new bridge must include some form of mass transit in order to qualify for full federal funding, but up until now the project office has been studying two options: light rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), meaning buses running in their own reserved lanes.
Vancouver and Portland each have rapid transit systems, but they stop just short of linking up — TriMet's MAX Yellow Line terminates at the Portland Expo Center, and C-Tran's Vine BRT line terminates in downtown Vancouver — so the choice of transit mode for the bridge was essentially a choice of which line to extend across the river to connect with the other.
Light rail rationale
At a Thursday morning meeting of the project's Executive Steering Group, the project team revealed light rail as their recommendation, based on extensive studies and modeling of both options.
Both forms of mass transit would substantially improve service, the project team found, but modeling showed that the light rail version would have higher ridership and carrying capacity with the same alignment.
The need to transfer from the bus to the train at the Expo Center was part of why the BRT option showed lower ridership, the team found, because more riders would choose to take one of C-Tran's express route buses instead.
Light rail would also provide better job access and lower operational cost, the team concluded, although it would have a higher upfront construction cost.
In a separate interview, program administrator Greg Johnson said the addition of light rail also increases both the likelihood of the project winning federal funding and the amount of federal dollars it could potentially receive.
The decision to go with light rail follows in the footsteps of the Columbia River Crossing (CRC), the previous attempt to replace the Interstate Bridge that fell apart in the planning phase in 2014.
The CRC plan also called for light rail, although the IBR's recommendation switches to a more scaled-down alignment. The CRC plan would have run the Yellow Line through downtown Vancouver on city streets, terminating at Clark College. The new IBR recommendation is to keep the line adjacent to I-5 within Vancouver and only run it as far north as Evergreen Boulevard.
According to deputy IBR program administrator John Willis, the change reflects the addition of the Vine system to downtown Vancouver in the years since the CRC fell apart.
The first Vine line follows a route through downtown Vancouver that is similar to what the CRC light rail extension would have taken, and the second Vine line, currently under construction, will use a similar downtown alignment, so the team didn't want to duplicate the BRT service.
C-Tran CEO Shawn Donaghy voiced support for the new plan for the same reason.
Ending the line at Evergreen Boulevard, rather than further north on I-5, would minimize the property impact while still allowing the line to connect to downtown jobs and C-Tran routes, the project office concluded.
Next steps for the project
At this point, the IBR office has narrowed the selection process down to two scenarios, Willis said, both of which assume the bridge will carry light rail.
The scenarios differ in terms of the number of auxiliary traffic lanes that would be included with the new bridge and the design of the new interchanges at Hayden Island and Marine Drive on the Portland side of the river.
The final choice between those two options will be revealed at the next Executive Steering Group meeting on May 5, according to Johnson, and the chosen option will be used to develop a Locally Preferred Alternative for the project that will be submitted for environmental review.
The chosen configuration will also be subject to a public review process in the coming months, and it remains to be seen whether the light rail portion will garner more support this time around.
The Yellow Line extension was one of the most controversial parts of the CRC, and there were already signs on Thursday that the decision to choose it again for the IBR project was not universally well-received.
U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Battle Ground) released a statement condemning the choice to rule out BRT from the final two options, and said the decision "flies in the face" of Southwest Washington voters who have rejected light rail in the past.
"For months I have been warning that this process was too closely reflecting the bungled 'Columbia River Crossing' failure that collapsed in large part because of its stubborn insistence on light rail, but somehow here we go again," she said.
The City of Vancouver, on the other hand, released a statement in support of the light rail option as a way to support future growth of the city and integrate the C-Tran and TriMet systems.
"For years, C-Tran has provided the sole cross-state transit service from Vancouver to downtown Portland. Integrating C-Tran’s express bus service across state lines with light rail across the river will create a complementary – yet not duplicative – option for transit users," Vancovuer mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said in a statement.
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SEATTLE — Marshawn Lynch and Macklemore are joining the Seattle Kraken's investment group.
It is a move that has been in the works for weeks and gives an added splash to the franchise in the last few weeks of the inaugural season.
Lynch and Macklemore had pre-taped videos of the two of them on or near a Zamboni at the Northgate Kraken Community IcePlex in advance of the Monday morning announcement.
Lynch will work with the team’s "Hockey is for Everyone" campaign and will work with the team to plan events focused on young people and community activism, according to a release.
Macklemore is set to work with the team and arena to produce music events that serve the community and engage with fans. He will also partner with the team for an annual Bogey Boys and Seattle Kraken Golf tournament, the release said.
The terms of their investment were not disclosed, but because of the structure of the Seattle Hockey Partners, it means they will also have a small piece of Climate Pledge Arena and the American Hockey League's Coachella Valley Firebirds, which begin play next year. That point was confirmed via Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke in a tweet, saying, “And of Climate Pledge Arena as well. Welcome to the most beautiful arena in the world partners. So Mack, when you breaking in the new place?”
Lynch is a Seattle Seahawks player who was part of the franchise’s heralded run to two Super Bowls. He has diversified his interests in the years after his playing career ended. Macklemore has been a global phenomenon after he exploded a decade ago. He previously bought into Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC.
“On God, I’ve been a part of a lot of things, but this is something I never would have imagined—as a young hyena I always dreamed of playing on a professional team, but owning one is something special. As I look back on some of my accomplishments—I retired before I was 30 and now being an owner of a professional club at the age of 35–I’m going to continue to count my blessings. Being a part of the Seattle Kraken is something big for me, it gives me another chance to get a ring after helping bring the first NFL one to the city. And if you thought I was going somewhere, no Seattle. I’m here! Stand up!" Lynch said in a statement.
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| 2022-04-22T04:45:09
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PORTLAND, Ore. — A former Oregon Health Authority employee has been indicted by a Marion County grand jury for allegedly embezzling nearly $1.5 million in federal COVID-19 funds intended to support the state’s vaccination effort.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports an arrest warrant affidavit from the Oregon Department of Justice agent who investigated the case said Marzieh Abedin was hired by the OHA to process invoices submitted by outside vendors who provided services related to the vaccination effort. OHA had also hired Deloitte Consulting to assist with management of the payments.
In November, Deloitte discovered payments to one vendor, Leone Catering, were missing supporting documentation. The invoices were related to catering services at large vaccination events, but events had not taken place at the locations and dates on the invoices, the affidavit said.
A subsequent review by OHA discovered another fraudulent payment to a different, legitimate company, T-Bev, located in Eugene. Authorities say Abedin had allegedly submitted an invoice from that company for $3,874, but using a false address. After Department of Administrative Services noticed a discrepancy in the billing address, a check was issued to the company at its Eugene location, and the company deposited it.
The Department of Justice was able to recover $1,485,899 from the accounts related to Leone Catering, and T-Bev agreed to return the $3,874 they had received, the affidavit said.
OHA later terminated Abedin. During that process, OHA said Abedin informed them she had returned to the country that issued her passport, which was not identified in the affidavit. The DOJ agent was able to confirm she no longer lives at her Portland address and that she had purchased plane tickets on an airline that serves the region in question and later made purchases at two airports.
The grand jury on Tuesday indicted Abedin on 21 counts of theft, forgery, identity theft, aggravated theft, aggravated identity theft, computer crime and official misconduct. The DOJ has requested an arrest warrant.
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PORTLAND, Ore. — President Joe Biden made his first trip to the Pacific Northwest as president, visiting Portland on Thursday before flying to Seattle.
The president arrived at Portland Air National Guard Base near Portland International Airport early Thursday afternoon. He delivered a speech about infrastructure inside an airport hangar and attended a fundraiser at the Portland Yacht Club before leaving Portland shortly after 4:30 p.m.
KGW provided on-air and streaming coverage of Thursday's visit, including Biden's arrival and departure and his remarks in between.
Portland has a long and at times tumultuous history of presidential visits, but it's been a while since the last one, when then-President Barack Obama dropped by in 2015. Biden himself also visited one year earlier, when he was vice president.
Here's everything you need to know about Biden's visit:
Why was Biden in Portland?
The official reason for Biden's visit was to talk infrastructure. The White House said last week that Biden would speak about "his administration's efforts to continue bringing down costs for American families and growing our clean energy economy."
Biden's speech touted the $1 trillion infrastructure package that he signed into law last fall, which is set to provide billions of federal dollars to Oregon and Washington. The speech mentioned investments to make Portland International Airport run smoothly, including a planned upgrade to make one of the airport's two runways seismically resilient.
The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program is one of the highest-profile investment candidates in the region and also received a shout-out.
On the last report card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the state of Washington received a C grade. Oregon received a C-. Other states didn't fair much better, as the nation's infrastructure increasingly ages.
Washington is expected to receive about $1.8 billion for road projects from the infrastructure package, while Oregon will get $1.2 billion over five years. Like the I-5 bridge replacement, the Rose Quarter highway redesign will likely be a candidate to receive those federal dollars.
Where did Biden go in Portland — and how long was he here?
Biden was in town for about four hours starting early Thursday afternoon. Biden arrived at the Portland Air National Guard 142 Fighter Base next to Portland International Airport on Thursday around 12:40 p.m. and then gave the infrastructure speech at the airport at around 2:30 p.m.
Biden also attended a fundraising event at The Portland Yacht Club, which is about one mile west of the airport along Northeast Marine Drive. Biden then returned to the airport, where he departed for Seattle, the next leg of his trip, around 4:40 p.m.
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SEATTLE — President Joe Biden arrived in Seattle on Thursday, a day before he is scheduled to talk about clean energy.
Biden arrived in Seattle just after 5 p.m. Thursday, following his visit to Portland, Ore. He is expected to fly back to the East Coast on Friday afternoon.
The trip is Biden's first to the Pacific Northwest since he was elected.
After Air Force One lands at Sea-Tac Airport, Biden is believed to be traveling north to a private event in Seattle.
Sea-Tac Airport said travelers should expect potential delays during the early evening hours on Thursday due to Biden's arrival. Security protocols call for all air traffic to stop 30 minutes prior to arrival and 30 minutes afterward.
Westbound lanes of Interstate 90 were closed for a brief period near Rainier Avenue due to the President's arrival. Traffic started moving after about twenty minutes, but backups are expected to continue through the evening.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson warned drivers to expect “intermittent heavy congestion due to temporary closures of the freeway system” in the Seattle area Thursday evening and Friday due to Biden’s visit.
Biden will spend the night in Seattle, and on Earth Day Friday, he is expected to speak about his administration’s efforts to continue growing the country's clean energy economy, as well as bringing down costs for families, the White House said.
The White House said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will release more than $385 million to states to help families and individuals with their home energy costs through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
Washington state will receive an additional $6.5 million, bringing its LIHEAP total to $151.2 million.
Multiple sources confirm to KING 5 that Biden will attend an event at Seward Park in Seattle Friday morning before traveling to Green River College. The Washington Post reports Biden will sign an executive order aimed at protecting old-growth forests.
At Green River College, Biden is expected to give remarks in the Mel Lindbloom Student Union and meet with elected officials and a limited number of people in the college's community, including students. The event is invitation only.
In a letter, Green River College President Suzanne Johnson said the college was selected as part of Biden's tour because of the career and technical programs that it offers, such as its nursing program, which support workforce development in the region.
Biden will be joined by Gov. Jay Inslee, Congresswoman Kim Schrier, and Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell during his appearances in Seattle Friday, according to Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
During his trip, Biden is also expected to reaffirm his calls for Congress to pass legislation to lower prescription drug prices, as well as highlight executive actions such as extending the freeze on student loan payments and tweaking the Affordable Care Act.
There will be politics on Biden's agenda, too. He plans to participate in fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee while in Portland and Seattle.
In Portland, Biden visited Portland International Airport to talk about critical investments to ensure stronger, more resilient infrastructure. Biden also highlighted investments made at PDX due in part to the infrastructure package that passed Congress this fall.
Meanwhile, some Republicans are critical of the president's messaging during his trip to the Northwest. Republican National Committee Spokesperson Paris Dennard said Biden should be focused on the economy.
"At the end of the day, there are more pressing issues that are concerning voters right now," Dennard said. "What is Joe Biden and the Democrats doing right now to address inflation, right now to reduce crime, right now to address the rise in gas prices, right now to address the fentanyl crisis because of the open border policies? That's on top of mind for voters in Seattle. That's top of mind for voters all over the state of Washington."
Previous presidential visits to Washington:
President Biden's trip to the Pacific Northwest marks the first in his presidency, but it follows a long list of politicians, both foreign and domestic, who have toured the Evergreen state.
Back in 2016, former President Donald Trump drew a crowd in Lynden, becoming the first major-party nominee to visit the small town.
Former President Barack Obama has made several stops in Seattle over the years. While here, he met with former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, former Governor Christine Gregoire and current Governor Jay Inslee on his trips.
In September of 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping drew protesters and caused traffic delays during a rare visit to the United States centered around business relations between the U.S. and China.
Nearly a cenutry and a half ago, the first sitting president made a trip to Washington state. Rutheford B. Hayes, the nation's nineteenth president, arrived via steamship in the year 1880.
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PORTLAND, Ore. — The prosecution rested its case on Day 12 of the Nancy Brophy trial Thursday, wrapping up with a second day of testimony from the financial investigator who analyzed Brophy and her husband's finances.
Romance novelist Nancy Brophy is accused of shooting and killing her husband, chef Daniel Brophy, at the Oregon Culinary Institute in June 2018.
The prosecution claims Brophy stood to gain a significant amount of life insurance money from her husband's death.
On Thursday, the state called to the stand financial investigator Bob Azorr with the Portland Police Bureau, who told jurors the couple was dealing with financial issues at the time of the murder.
"I believe they were under financial distress," Azorr said. "It continued from the the savings spent down and from borrowing from the retirement fund that left them in a distressed situation."
Azorr answered detailed questions about the couple's bank account information, mortgage payments and equity, and determined that they were "were spending more than their normal household income," and at risk of running out of savings.
The couple's financial situation has been a focal point for the prosecution throughout the trial, which began a little more than two weeks ago. The trial has been in session Monday through Thursday each week.
On April 14, Brophy's stepson, who previously sued her in civil court for the wrongful death of his father, testified that Nancy Brophy demonstrated some anxiety about finances after Dan Brophy died. However, he said he remembered that shortly after, something changed and she indicated to him that the "coffers had refilled." He also said he'd never had a problem getting in touch with Nancy until "the day of the murder."
On April 13, an insurance expert, Steven Santos, testified that the Brophys were paying more than $800 a month, 20% of their gross incomes at the time, for policies amounting to more than $700,000 for Dan Brophy's life insurance alone. Santos said that wasn't a fiscally responsible amount to spend on life insurance for just one person.
Another major focal point has been the murder weapon used to fatally shoot Dan Brophy.
The state claimed Brophy on numerous occasions visited websites that sell ghost guns, which are untraceable because they don't have a serial number. Prosecutors also spoke about surveillance of a van that appears to have belonged to Nancy Brophy that was near the Oregon Culinary Institute on the morning of the murder.
The defense will present its case beginning Wednesday, April 27.
Previous coverage of the Brophy trial:
APRIL 6: 'Dan was not a gun person': Mother and father of victim testify in romance novelist murder case
APRIL 12: Surveillance shows van matching Brophy's in downtown Portland much earlier than previously disclosed
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SEATTLE — When Moya and Troy Zaboukos talk about their wedding day, they remember it like it happened yesterday.
"It was one of those absolutely amazing Seattle September days," recalled Moya Zaboukos.
The couple married on September 24, 1998, and held their wedding reception at the most iconic landmark in Seattle: The Space Needle.
"I mean, we can't look at the Space Needle or drive by it without thinking of our wedding day," said Moya Zaboukos.
Their wedding was even featured on the TLC show "A Wedding Story." More than 300 guests filled the venue for an epic celebration that family and friends still talk about today.
"My parents and their friends still call it the wedding," said Moya Zaboukos. “Just because it became such this huge party and this huge deal."
Troy Zaboukos recalls his wife becoming somewhat "famous" after the episode aired on TLC.
"We had this running joke for a while because wherever we would go she would be recognized as someone in the Wedding Story, and I was generally standing right next to her,” he said.
As the Space Needle celebrates its 60th anniversary, the couple came back to the event space where they held their party, reminiscing about a place that has been an unforgettable part of their lives.
"We love bringing people here," said Moya Zaboukos. "It's a unique experience every time you come, and it's just a special place in our life."
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| 2022-04-22T04:45:39
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SEATTLE — The Space Needle is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week.
The Seattle icon made its debut at the World's Fair. Since it first opened on April 21, 1962, the landmark has hosted nearly 60 million people.
Below, see a round-up of KING 5's special coverage celebrating the landmark's 60th birthday.
As the Space Needle has evolved over the past 60 years since its inception, so have the views from the top of an ever-changing city that's now become one of the tech capitals of the world.
The view to the south is one of the more dramatic changes: Smith Tower is now hidden behind skyscrapers, the viaduct has been demolished and South Lake Union is now full of high-rises.
See how views in other directions have changed here.
Just when Seattle tourism was doing better than ever before, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Visitations to Seattle and King County went from nearly 42 million in 2019 to 22 million in 2020.
Overall, tourism is already bouncing back. Tourism in 2021 brought more than 27 million visitors to Seattle and King County with the Space Needle at two-thirds of its pre-pandemic travel volume.
"Everyone wants to come and experience the Space Needle and to have that open I think was a really great signal that we are, as a destination, open once again," said John Boesche, senior vice president of tourism for Visit Seattle.
The Space Needle welcomed nearly 10 million visitors during its first six months as a part of the World's Fair in 1962.
Now over the last six decades, the structure has taken its place in the city's history. Here's a look back at the Space Needle's history and the events that helped shape the iconic Seattle skyline.
Gary Curtis was a young engineer working on John Minasian's team that designed the Space Needle for the World's Fair. He shared blueprints with KING 5.
The concept, the dream and the idea for the Space Needle started as a doodle on a napkin in 1959.
Moya and Troy Zaboukos got married on September 24, 1998 and held their wedding reception at the most iconic landmark in Seattle: The Space Needle. Now, the couple is recalling their special day as the Needle celebrates its 60th anniversary.
"I mean, we can't look at the Space Needle or drive by it without thinking of our wedding day," said Moya Zaboukos.
Their wedding was even featured on the TLC show "A Wedding Story." More than 300 guests filled the venue for an epic celebration that family and friends still talk about today.
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SEATTLE — The concept, the dream and the idea for the Space Needle started as a doodle on a napkin in 1959.
Seattle hotel executive Edward E. Carlson, who was a chief organizer of the 1962 World’s Fair, traveled to Stuttgart, Germany, where he was inspired by a broadcast tower featuring a restaurant, according to the Space Needle's website.
After architects worked through several transformative sketches, a final design was set just a little more than a year before the 1962 World's Fair began in Seattle.
Thirteen months passed from the time private investors put up the funding to final construction. The basic Space Needle tower was completed in December 1961, eight months after it began.
The Space Needle stands at 605 feet tall, with the saucer-shaped "top house" that sits at 520 feet.
According to the Space Needle, the final paint colors were in line with the 21st Century theme of the World’s Fair, including "Galaxy Gold" for the sunburst and pagoda roof. John Minasian, the Space Needle’s chief engineer, also designed rocket gantries for NASA.
Also on Minasian's team was a young engineer named Gary Curtis, who was just 24 when he worked on the Space Needle project.
Sixty years later, Curtis still has the blueprints and can recall all the details and stories about the project. Curtis, who now lives in Skagit County, is a 1959 graduate of the Walla Walla University’s School of Engineering.
During the project, Curtis and Minasian's team worked long-distance from Pasadena.
"Our work pattern was that we worked in the office until 10 or 11 o'clock at night, and sometimes John [Minasian] would fly up to Seattle and have a meeting with the architects and then fly back to our office maybe at 6 o'clock in the afternoon and bring the drawings, bring the corrections or changes to the drawings," recalled Curtis. "Then make those changes. Take them to the post office. Put them in the mail, special delivery overnight, and they would be in the architect's office the next morning."
Over the years, Curtis designed numerous projects such as domes, churches and apartments -- many along the West Coast. Curtis and a partner designed and built an aluminum structure that holds up the famous “Roller Coaster Bridge” in Long Beach, California.
"People have asked me sometimes if I worked on a multi-story building, and I said, ‘Well, yeah, I did five stories, but the first floor was 500 feet in the air,'" said Curtis.
While the original design and construction of the Space Needle were fast-paced, the Space Needle Century Project Renovation took several years from conceptualization to final construction. Curtis was brought in as an advisor to the renovation team.
In 2013, the design wheels were in motion, and official construction began in 2017. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit tourism hard in Seattle and across the nation, millions were already visiting the newly renovated Seattle icon. The Space Needle is now home to the world's first revolving glass floor and multi-level, floor-to-ceiling glass viewing areas.
"You can see the elevators coming up. You can see the legs splaying up below you," said Blair Payson, project architect for the Space Needle Century Project Renovation. "You can understand the building in a way you just couldn't before."
Payson, a principal and owner of Olson Kundig, said this project was special to the entire team.
"If you ask anyone on the team, everyone is going to say this is the hardest, most challenging, most complicated project we've ever worked on, but then you really quickly say it's the greatest project," said Payson. "I mean, what an opportunity."
Payson said the team's goal was building on what was an "audacious" design and construction project from the '60s.
The team's success at that goal was reinforced this year with the Space Needle's Century Project renovation receiving the American Institute of Architects “National Architecture Honor Award.” It’s the highest achievement in the industry.
"The majority of the team is from Seattle, and so it's largely designed and fabricated by Seattleites,” said Payson. “So, we all know in our hearts what people feel when you see the Space Needle in the skyline or when you have a chance to bring your friends here and hear them laugh and see things."
Viewers share memories, photos to celebrate the Space Needle’s 60th anniversary
Looking back on all the loads of steel put into the tower and the 467 cement trucks it took to fill the foundation, Curtis said the thrill of being part of the project truly remains with the process.
"Somebody was saying to me, 'Isn't this exciting, seeing this project that you worked on?'" recalled Curtis. "And I said, 'No, the real excitement was doing the design in the office. Going to work every day, and, you know, just pouring the pencil on the paper. All handwork, all hand lettering on the drawings, and no computers back then of any type."
Sixty years later, Curtis feels a sense of pride knowing he will always be a part of Seattle history.
"We didn't know it's going to be the icon of Seattle," said Curtis. "Every picture you see about Seattle has got the Space Needle in it."
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SEATTLE — As the Puget Sound region bounces back from economic downturn during the pandemic, the Space Needle could provide a needed boost to tourism in Seattle.
The global icon helped Seattle and King County reach a major milestone in 2019.
"Before the pandemic, travel and tourism in Seattle and King County was an $8.1 billion industry," said John Boesche, senior vice president of tourism for Visit Seattle.
Just when Seattle tourism was doing better than ever before, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Washington state before spreading across the nation.
"Tourism was the first to be hit by COVID," said Randy Coté, director of marketing and business development at the Space Needle. "[It's] probably going to be the longest to recover.”
In March 2020, the city, the state and much of the country shut down and everyone went home.
"We looked at 2020 and of course, total devastation on travel and tourism and for our hospitality partners as well," said Boesche.
Just before that, known Seattle artist Ryan "Henry" Ward was finally getting the big break he had waited for: The chance to sell his art inside the Space Needle.
“I was super excited. I felt like, like Babe Ruth, you know or something like that. I was like, ‘Oh I am just hitting home runs,'" said Ward. “I think being in the Space Needle is one of the biggest deals in Seattle.”
However, right when they were getting ready to launch his merchandise, the Space Needle closed to the public for four months because of the pandemic.
“I went through a period of time where I wasn’t making much money but I switched my focus to like painting peoples’ garages while they were at home," Ward said.
Countless businesses closed for good. Others pivoted and tourism in Seattle took a serious nosedive.
"When we reopened in July 2020, you look at the rest of 2020, we were basically doing about half of our normal attendance," said Coté.
Visitations to Seattle and King County went from nearly 42 million in 2019 to 22 million in 2020. The region saw a more than 47% decrease in overall visits and a more than 39% decrease in jobs supported by tourism.
But the pandemic, as hard as it was and still is, is just a small chapter in the Space Needle's history.
"From being closed for four months to having half of your attendance back, we are very happy to have it," said Coté.
Overall, tourism is already bouncing back and 2021 brought more than 27 million visitors to Seattle and King County.
“We are looking at 2021 numbers now that are about two-thirds of our pre-pandemic travel volumes," Boesche said. "Everyone wants to come and experience the Space Needle and to have that open I think was a really great signal that we are, as a destination, open once again."
Ward is happy he finally gets to see his art sell in one of Seattle's most popular destinations.
"A couple months into it I was kind of blown away by the amount of stuff of mine that was moving," he said. "Feels exciting to be a part of something that’s such a staple in Seattle."
As the Space Needle celebrates 60 years, the landmark remains a symbol of the future.
"We think that we’re going to see a really strong summer," said Boesche. "We know attractions like the Space Needle play an incredibly important of that story."
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SEATTLE — As the Space Needle has evolved over the past 60 years since its inception, so have the views from the top of an ever-changing city that's now become one of the tech capitals of the world.
In fact, the views were a critical element in the original plans for the Space Needle during the World's Fair in 1962.
"They wanted to show off the Seattle setting somehow," said Knute Berger, author of "Space Needle: The Spirit of Seattle."
Berger said developers wanted to showcase the beautiful Puget Sound region too. But the area where Seattle Center sits today wasn't exactly glamourous.
"Some people considered it a slum before they knocked down some of the buildings and houses," said Berger. "They got the idea to build some kind of a tower and really showcase the view. And that's more or less how they came up with a Space Needle."
The main Loupe, where tourists flock to enjoy the views, is at the 500-foot level, which is an elevation that was no accident. Berger pointed out that early on in the project, one investor borrowed a helicopter from Boeing to fly above the area and find the perfect height for a tower.
"They went up to 1,000 feet. And then they came down in stages, looking at the view," he said. "If you go way higher than that, everything looks so small, but from 500 to 600 feet, it's almost like the city is like an architect's model."
Since 1962, an estimated 60 million people have visited the Space Needle to enjoy the views and take in the history. It's a view that's changed immensely in Seattle over the years. But to those who visit, it's still just as magical.
Then and now: Views from the Space Needle
Use the sliders below to see how the view has changed from the top of the Space Needle between 1962 when it was unveiled to the public and now on its 60th anniversary.
To see the change, tap and drag the white box with arrows in the middle of each frame.
View to the east
View to the south
View to the west
View to the northwest
View to the north
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| 2022-04-22T04:46:03
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PORTLAND, Ore. — After Portland leaders first revealed they would consider the Portland Expo Center as a possible Safe Rest Village site for RVs and people living in vehicles, some were surprised when the massive complex didn't make the initial list.
The Metro-owned venue, located just west of I-5 near the Columbia River, is surrounded by acres of parking lots. To many, it seemed like a no-brainer to use some of that space for homeless campers. But as other cities like Vancouver put plans in place to offer these "safe sleep" campsites, Portland has made little progress, despite support from Mayor Ted Wheeler, Metro President Lynn Peterson and Portland Commissioner Dan Ryan, who is taking charge of the city's Safe Rest Villages — none of which have opened.
"Those conversations died off about six months ago, but it's my understanding that [Ryan] and [Peterson] are in communications," Wheeler said in an interview earlier this month. "It's my hope they'll reach an amicable agreement and we'll be able to do that. It's really the perfect facility for it."
The Expo Center is the largest multipurpose facility in Oregon, boasting 53 acres of land and five exhibit halls. It has hosted quilt shows, gun shows and outdoorsman shows and will this summer host performances by Cirque du Soleil.
The city of Portland is proposing to use one or more back parking lots to allow unhoused people to park RVs and cars. The parking lots in question are mostly used for staging equipment.
Metro President Lynn Peterson said she supports the idea, but the final decision doesn't rest with her. The property is controlled by a commission called the Metropolitan Exposition and Recreation Commission (MERC), made up of volunteers appointed by the Metro council.
"They're a chartered commission to basically oversee the day-to-day operations of our venues, whether that be the Oregon Convention Center or the Expo Center," Peterson explained. "They actually have a separation of powers between the two. They sign their own contracts and they manage the assets. So that's why we wanted to make sure we were working with them, asking them directly, because this affects the ability of Expo to do business, and there is a lot of business going on there."
These "Safe Park" campsites aren't a new concept — Vancouver, Wash. successfully opened a Safe Parking Zone, and the city of Portland has cited examples of another similar site in Mountain Park, Calif.
RELATED: Why isn’t Portland addressing illegally parked cars and RVs like other cities in the metro area?
But Peterson said MERC calls the shots on what the property is used for, and the commission has concerns.
"They did want to see if there would be an end point — how many years would that be there, what were the security measures that would need to be in place? They wanted insurances around that and visual impacts," Peterson said.
Commissioner Dan Ryan met with MERC commissioners Monday to try to sell them on the idea. During the meeting, which was held virtually, the city laid out its vision for Safe Rest Villages around the area, then zeroed in on how using the Expo property would be helpful during the homeless crisis.
Some commissioners voiced their concerns.
"We're just going to be very honest. There are a lot of stolen vehicles in Portland, okay? I have three on my block right now," said MERC commission chair Karis Stoudamire-Phillips. "So I'd really like to know how are we going to prevent that, how are we going to know? Are there going to be checks on making sure vehicles we are putting in the Safe Park village are not stolen vehicles?"
Another concern was the state of RVs that would be allowed into the lot, and what would happen if they broke down. All commissioners seemed concerned about how the visuals of the village and other camps that may pop up nearby would affect the shows already booked at the Expo Center.
"I have also noticed that there is often camping that immediately fills up in and around surrounding those areas. This could be a huge problem. Those roads that we're looking at have shows coming in and out," said commission member Deldra Krys-Rusoff. "If we have excess camping around that pops up over night, we have a show coming in, one of the things that I would want to see before we would enter into any kind of big serious discussion would be that there would be a dedicated service that would come in and help clear those folks to a more amenable location. And it would have to be 24/7. We have shows that come in very early in the morning, we cant have that liability or safety concern."
RELATED: As Portland embraces tiny home pods, a study outlines a roadmap for successful homeless villages
"I've been going to the Expo Center since I was a young child, when it was owned and operated by Multnomah County, when Multnomah County used to have the fair out there," MERC chair Stoudamire-Phillips said during an exchange with Commissioner Ryan. "So this is a place I've been going all my life. So it is very important to me that we make very sure we are doing all we can to keep the area economically prosperous, safe for all. And that is not just the charge of the commission, but personally something that I want to see happen too. So we do have concerns and we'll be able to have those conversations."
Commissioner Ryan acknowledged the importance of "selling Portland" and bringing conventions back to the city.
"I think its so important to realize — right at this moment, I'm more clear than ever — how we might be coming at this from different angles but we're on the same team to try to bring back that economic vitality to our region," Ryan said.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/the-story/expo-center-safe-park-village-delay-metro-commission/283-a8365197-832f-4d0f-99c8-58b782628872
| 2022-04-22T04:46:09
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SEATTLE — The Space Needle is celebrating a big birthday Thursday, 60 years.
The Space Needle has been the landmark tourist attraction in Seattle, welcoming more than 60 million visitors since it opened its gates on April 21, 1962, at 400 Broad Street. Nearly 10 million people visited during the six-month run of the fair.
Here's a look back at the Space Needle's history and the events that helped shape the iconic Seattle skyline. For more information on the history of the Space Needle, visit spaceneedle.com and historylink.org.
1959
Seattle hotel executive Edward E. Carlson, a chief organizer of the 1962 World’s Fair, traveled to Stuttgart, Germany, and was inspired by a broadcast tower with a restaurant.
Carlson doodled an idea for the upcoming fair on a hotel cafe napkin, calling it a “Space Needle.”
Carlson worked with architect John "Jack" Graham, Jr., designer of the Northgate Mall, to bring the Space Needle to life.
Graham and his team worked through the sketches before a final design was reached just a year and a half before the World’s Fair. Carlson's original sketches included designs of a landed UFO, a tethered balloon and a cocktail shaker.
1961
The World's Fair promoters tried to gain interest from King County to fund the construction, but the county declined.
Five northwest business leaders Bagley Wright, Ned Skinner, Norton Clapp, John Graham Jr. and Howard S. Wright formed the Pentagram Corporation to take over the project.
Since the Space Needle was privately funded, it proved difficult to find a sizable plot of land on the fairgrounds to use. Just before the search was abandoned, the site of an old fire department alarm station was discovered and sold to investors for $75,000.
Construction began in April with the largest continuous concrete pour yet attempted on the West Coast, 5,850 tons delivered by 467 trucks over 12 hours.
The basic structure was completed in December, eight months after construction began. Total development and construction cost $4.5 million.
1962
On April 21, 1962, the Space Needle officially opened for the first day of the World's Fair. It's estimated the tower saw 2.65 million visitors during the initial expo.
The Space Needle was originally colored with “Orbital Olive,” “Re-entry Red,” and “Galaxy Gold.”
The tower's base housed an exhibit devoted to “Dentistry Through the Ages of Man" during the fair.
The mast that originally topped the Space Needle lit up at night in rainbow colors.
1989
KING-TV's Almost Live comedy show ran a breaking news skit as an April Fools joke, reporting that the Space Needle had fallen over. The skit included a mock-up of a destroyed Space Needle with debris.
1999
The Space Needle unveiled its Legacy Lights. The light beams shine upwards to honor national holidays and special occasions. Two years later in 2001, the lights were lit for eleven days straight following the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.
On the Space Needle's 37th birthday, the City’s Landmarks Preservation Board named it an official City of Seattle landmark.
2000
A $20 million revitalization project was completed in 2000. The project included observation deck improvements, construction of the pavilion level, a retail store and the SkyCity restaurant.
2017
The Space Needle underwent its largest renovation project in 2017. The project constructed the Oculus Stairs and The Loupe, the world's first and only rotating glass floor.
The project also revealed the tower's internal structure, a call back to its original conceptual designs.
2021
T-Mobile hosted the Space Needle's first augmented reality show for the city's live New Year's celebration. The show aired on KING 5.
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https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/timeline-space-needle-history/281-1f509e2b-a4b1-4f23-bb79-66c75b0a3896
| 2022-04-22T04:46:15
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PHOTOS: President Biden visits Portland to promote infrastructure funding
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President Joe Biden arrives at Portland Air National Guard Base, Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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| 2022-04-22T04:48:42
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The 26-year-old woman accused of shoving an 87-year-old voice coach in an alleged unprovoked NYC attack that resulted in her death was indicted by a grand jury this week.
Lauren Pazienza faces one count of first-degree manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault in the March 10 push of Barbara Gustern, who was just steps away from her Chelsea home, around 8:30 p.m. the night of the attack.
Pazienza was previously jailed on Rikers Island, but was released after her parents posted $500,000 cash bail to free their daughter in March. She is due back in court in May, and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
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In the aftermath of the alleged sidewalk attack near West 28th Street and Eighth Avenue, prosecutors have said that Pazienza deleted her entire online presence — including her wedding website, despite being slated to get married in June — allegedly fled to her parents' home in Port Jefferson, on Long Island. They also alleged that she stopped using her cellphone, which she stashed at an aunt's house so as to avoid being found by police.
An anonymous tip on March 19 identifying Pazienza as the suspect in the attack led the NYPD to her parents' door two days later. Her father answered, telling police his daughter wasn't home and that they were not allowed in, according to prosecutors.
Her surrender was arranged soon after. And a jarring narrative began to emerge.
Prosecutors alleged that Pazienza crossed the street and cursed at Gustern before violently shoving her to the ground. Gustern's head hit the sidewalk, and she was left bleeding profusely before a witness helped her into the lobby of her building where she recalled what happened, telling police the push was "as hard as she had ever been hit in her life."
Five days later, she died.
Meanwhile, her attacker appeared to briskly walk off after the incident. Surveillance video from an avenue away minutes after the attack showed a woman matching Pazienza's description walking in the same direction a witness told police the attacker went.
Security video showed Pazienza in and around the area for almost a half-hour after the attack, according to prosecutors. About seven minutes after the shove, she was seen in a physical altercation with a man believed to be her fiancé, prosecutors said. They also allege Pazienza was later seen watching the ambulance as it arrived at the scene to take Gustern to the hospital.
Additional surveillance footage tracked Pazienza to Penn Station, where police were able to get a clearer image of her, prosecutors said. She and her fiancé were later seen at the transit hub, where both swiped his MetroCard. Detectives were able to track the pair back to their home in Astoria, where video showed Pazienza and her fiancé enter their building about an hour and a half after the attack, according to prosecutors.
She was wearing the same clothes as the woman who was seen crossing Ninth Avenue immediately following the attack, they added.
Paziena surrendered to authorities on March 22, with lawyer Arthur Aidala at her side. At the time, Aidala blasted the charges as overblown. He said they were looking forward to seeing the evidence and "trying to get to the bottom of what happened that day," calling what happened to Gustern a "tragedy."
Aidala also said there's no evidence his client watched the victim lying on the street, and that video could show anyone watching. He also implied that the evidence was unclear, saying the push could have been accidental.
"Whether it was a push, whether it was a shove, whether it was a kick or whether someone tripped — the evidence is not very solid on that at all," he said.
Aidala has said the Pazienza family "joins the rest of the city" in grieving the loss of Gustern. He also answered questions of whether his client's parents would face charges for allegedly help her hide out in their Long Island home.
"No. Her parents face zero legal exposure, they were three counties away when this incident took place," he responded.
Pazienza is said to be a former event planner. A former employer, French high-end furniture and home accessory designer and retailer Roche Bobois, said the woman resigned from her role in December.
Gustern suffered traumatic brain damage from which she would not recover even if she survived, authorities and the woman's grandson, AJ Gustern, said.
The grandson, who visited her in the hospital while she was unconscious, said in March that he was pleased with Pazienza's arrest and that it gave "a sense of closure," but stressed that in his mind, the woman is innocent until proven guilty.
"To whoever did do this I’m still praying for you and the karmic wave that you’ve taken on is incredible. So God help you," he said, going on to describe his grandmother as "a force of nature. I called her a little star. Tiny ball of energy building community everywhere she went."
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According to The New York Times, Gustern was an acclaimed singing coach who once helped train rock singer Debbie Harry and the cast of the 2019 Broadway revival of the musical "Oklahoma!" A neighbor said that Gustern used to perform on Broadway herself, along with her late husband.
Stephen Shanaghan, who owns Manhattan restaurant and theater Pangea, called Gustern a "sharp, clever seasoned New York person." Shanaghan said that Gustern had recently performed there, and that she had hoped to premiere a new cabaret show there.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/suspect-indicted-in-deadly-manhattan-street-shove-of-87-year-old-singing-coach/3657741/
| 2022-04-22T05:35:52
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A group of youth climate activists gathered at Harriet Tubman Middle School following President Biden’s remarks in Portland, to protest one of the projects that will benefit from the president’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan — the I-5 freeway expansion at the Rose Quarter.
They oppose freeway expansions, saying they will lead to more emissions and speed up climate change.
The group says they would rather see the president spend that money on improving public transportation instead.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/portland-teen-climate-activists-protest-rose-quarter-freeway-expansion/
| 2022-04-22T06:59:31
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — For some locals, the president’s trip brought some one-on-one time to talk about infrastructure projects going on, with the people actually involved with them.
Though many of those who met with the president are in a variety of different trades industries, all KOIN 6 News spoke with agree this is a day they’ll never forget.
While word of the president’s trip to Portland wasn’t exactly news to Lauren Heitzman, it did bring one surprising opportunity.
“He’s like, ‘how would you like to introduce him?'” recalled Heitzman. “Immediately, I was floored.”
As President Biden made his way to PDX Thursday afternoon, Heitzman got a chance to speak with him one-on-one just minutes before his address at the airport.
After a recent switch in careers, Heitzman is an apprentice electrician with O’Neill Electric and the IBEW Local 48 union, and says the opportunity for the president to meet the people involved in local infrastructure projects makes all the difference.
“These are massive projects. They’re going to bring Oregon into the future, they’re going to provide jobs, good union jobs, good pay, for years to come,” said Heitzman. “What this whole infrastructure thing is about is ensuring that people in this country are able to actually work for something and not just because they have to work.”
Christian Schoewe, an architect with ZGF, also got to speak with the president during his brief visit.
“The president came out to kind of get a tour, see what’s going on, so his team gathered, and the message for the president today was sharing what a resilient airport looks like, what the improved runway will look like, and how when the new terminal opens in a couple years, how that facility will be seismically resilient,” said Schoewe.
A big focus during the visit was the new terminal coming to PDX and the energy efficiency it’ll bring with it, along with the ability to withstand a large earthquake.
“It shows off the expertise that we have regionally, but can also be replicated anywhere,” said Schoewe. “Every wood project you see in the project came 100% from the region and 90% of it was we can trace that product all the way back to the forest.”
Both say it’s important to show off the hard work of Oregonians in the trades.
“Today was a whirlwind,” said Schoewe. “I enjoyed it but I definitely will not forget it.”
“It felt so right to be there representing my union, representing the trades,” added Heitzman. “It’s an incredible, incredible, can’t say it enough, experience to be a part of this.”
Locals involved in Thursday’s visit say they hope the president and other leaders present can take away what they saw in-person and apply it to other infrastructure projects in the country and even inspire others to join the trades.
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| 2022-04-22T06:59:37
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A handyman-turned-lover arrested in the horrific killing of a Queens mother — whose body he allegedly put in a hockey duffel bag and dragged down a quiet street — allegedly admitted his guilt when questioned by police and made incriminating statements after voluntarily returning to the police station as detectives searched for evidence.
David Bonola, 44, was arraigned on murder and other charges late Thursday night. He appeared in front of a judge for the first time in the slaying of Orsolya Gaal, who was found dead in the morning of April 16 after a trail of blood from where the bag her body was in was dumped led back to her Forest Hills home.
Bonola, who lives in South Richmond Hill, communicated with the judge with the help of a Spanish-language translator. He was remanded to the city's Department of Corrections, and was said to be on suicide watch.
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He was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree evidence tampering and fourth-degree weapon possession in relation to Gaal's slaying, one which Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said left "a trail of blood and a terrified community."
As investigators were searching for evidence in the case, Bonola voluntarily returned to the precinct, according to police. That's when he made incriminating statements and allegedly admitted his guilt during questioning, according to two senior police officials with direct knowledge of the conversation.
Police on Thursday also said that Bonola admitted to sending a threatening text from Gaal's phone to her husband Saturday morning, believed to be an effort to take suspicion away from himself. That text referenced a previous unrelated crime.
Bonola also told police that he and Gaal argued over their relationship. The two allegedly had an intimate affair, as the 51-year-old Gaal also employed him for odd jobs around her Juno Street home for a few years. He didn't live far away, and allegedly went there around 12:40 a.m. Saturday, just after she got home.
He was either let in voluntarily or used a key that he knew was hidden in the home's barbecue, said NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig.
According to the NYPD, Bonola and Gaal got into a "heated argument" in her basement. Katz said that he got a knife and slashed the woman's throat before stabbed her more than 55 times — knifing her so violently that he ended up with blood all over his clothes and wounds to his hands as Gaal tried to fight back.
The knife later recovered at the scene was similar to other ones in her home, police said, but additional forensic analysis is pending. Bonola and Gaal had been on-again-off-again for about two years, police said, and last reunited romantically in early April. At the time of her death, they were considered "off," police clarified.
According to investigators, once Gaal was dead, Bonola allegedly took her teenage son's hockey bag, put her body inside and headed out to dump it. Video showed him rolling her body down sidewalks, leaving a trail of blood through her neighborhood.
The bag was recovered around 7:50 a.m. Saturday, about seven hours after investigators believe Gaal was murdered. They believe Bonola fled the dumpsite via Forest Park, which is where they found a jacket he allegedly wore during the crime.
Detectives also developed leads that led them to bloody bandages, boots and a T-shirt they believe Bonola was wearing at the time of Gaal's killing. They say he was treated at Bellevue Hospital over the weekend for wounds to both hands, but didn't describe the injuries other than to suggest they were the result of Gaal's desperate effort to save her life.
He has at least one prior arrest dating back to 2013, but police said it had no bearing on the Gaal investigation.
Bonola didn't answer any reporter questions as he was walked out of the NYPD precinct house Thursday afternoon, but did shout vulgarities at a nearby heckler as police led him out in handcuffs into a waiting car.
Officials say they're awaiting more evidence processing and video canvassing but thanked the public and the Queens district attorney for a quick arrest. NYPD Chief Essig assured area residents there are no outstanding suspects.
Katz said that "two boys are left without a mother and a young teenage faces the added trauma of being home when this heinous murder took place."
Information on a possible attorney for Bonola wasn't immediately available.
Queens Mom Killing Terrifies Forest Hills
The case has mystified investigators and those who knew Gaal for nearly a week.
Gaal was last seen alive nearly a week ago at the Forest Hills Station House, a gathering spot popular with locals after taking in a show at Lincoln Center, officials said Thursday. The bar manager, Gabriel Veras, last recalled seeing the victim a bit after midnight at the gastropub on Saturday.
Veras said Gaal always wore a smile, dined alone and was kind to employees — and while she recalled seeing her for about 45 minutes Friday night into early Saturday, the manager didn't remember that she seemed to be in any kind of danger or disturbed.
"She was here on Friday, right in the center of the bar. Had a Moscow mule, had a bite to eat. Spoke to a few of my staff members that know her, joking around in conversation," Veras said. "She was a very, very sweet regular. She left alone and we were in shock the next day. Shock."
"She was composed, collected, in the middle of the bar, just keeping to herself and talking to staff," Veras added. "Nothing unusual. She didn’t seem frightened or scared or panicked. Just enjoying her one drink before going home."
Details of the attack are gruesome, as law enforcement sources said Gaal was stabbed some 58 times in the neck, torso, and left arm. The sources also said that she had wounds to her hands that were likely from her attempts to fight off the attacker.
Chilling surveillance video showed a person who police believed may have killed her, according to sources. That person, later identified as Bonola, was seen on home security camera footage wheeling a hockey duffel bag down 75th Avenue, with Gaal's body believed to be inside.
Police made the disturbing discovery of her body Saturday morning after a 911 caller alerted officials to the roadside crime scene. The NYPD said Gaal's body was found near Jackie Robinson parkway and Metropolitan Avenue shortly before 8:30 a.m., about a half-mile from her home, after a jogger spotted the blood-soaked duffel bag near a busy walking trail.
Gaal's 13-year-old son who lives at the home was questioned by police and later released, sources said. Investigators believe that Gaal was attacked in her basement, while the teenage son was asleep on the top floor of the home.
Police said her husband and another son were out of town, visiting colleges on the West Coast, when her body was discovered.
The medical examiner's office confirmed Gaal's death was classified a homicide due to "sharp force injuries of the neck."
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/alleged-killer-in-nyc-mom-duffel-bag-murder-admitted-sending-threatening-text-to-family/3657812/
| 2022-04-22T07:06:55
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Providence's seaside camp in Narragansett is clouded by uncertain future
Providence taxpayers own a desirable piece of property right by the ocean in Narragansett.
They just can't use it.
For close to a decade, the city's summer camp at the southern tip of Point Judith has been boarded up and closed to the public. And although Providence is now awash in $166 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, the city currently has no plans to use any of that money to reopen it, according to a spokesman for Mayor Jorge Elorza.
More:The Land Trust purchased a Little Compton beach. So why are 'Private Road' signs still up?
More:Coastal property owners dislike shoreline access bill. Will they sue to stop it?
Public records show that Providence is currently paying $13,061 a year in taxes to the Town of Narragansett for the property, which is valued at $1,092,100.
"I would love to see the property rehabbed so that the residents of Providence can go back to enjoying day trips there," said City Councilman Michael Correia, who pushed for years to reopen the seaside camp. "I do have to admit that it has fallen off the radar since the pandemic hit."
The property that Providence owns at 1399 Ocean Rd. is typically referred to as "Camp Cronin" — a frequent source of confusion, since it abuts the much larger Camp Cronin Fishing Area, which belongs to the state and is open to the public.
More:How much of RI's beaches are open to the public? Panel is closer to an answer
More:Barrington got a grant to improve shoreline access. Is it holding up its end of the deal?
How did the city of Providence come to own coveted beachfront property in Narragansett?
Providence once owned both parts of Camp Cronin, which was purchased from the federal government after World War II. The roughly 28-acre property near the Point Judith Lighthouse served as a summer camp that got inner-city children out of their sweltering neighborhoods — regardless of their parents' ability to pay.
Over the years, the city also routinely bused nursing home residents and other older people down to Camp Cronin so that they could take in the fresh air, enjoy a cookout and play bingo. There were bocce and horseshoe games, crafts, dancing and a stop at an ice cream shop on the way back to Providence.
More:Armed with dusty old maps, activists fight to reclaim beach access in Weekapaug
Shifting sands:Who has access to Lloyd's Beach in Little Compton?
By the 1980s, the city was only using about 2 acres of the property, and it decided to sell off the rest. Some Narragansett officials hoped to see condos built on the undeveloped land, but the Department of Environmental Management stepped in and purchased it for $775,000 in 1985.
Providence hung on to the two low-slung buildings used for camp activities. Through the 1990s, the camp played host to older adults for about three days of the week and was used for youth recreation programs on two days.
How did the camp go from thriving summer facility to dilapidated buildings?
As time went on, though, those day trips became less frequent. By 2013, when Mayor Angel Taveras floated the idea of selling the city's remaining portion of Camp Cronin, The Providence Journal reported that the 2-acre property was "used irregularly."
While the Taveras administration argued that the property was being used less and less, the idea of putting it on the auction block got pushback from members of the City Council, who wanted to see it instead return to regular use.
By then, Camp Cronin was starting to look run-down and decrepit. Correia told The Journal at the time that city officials wanted to sell the property because some buildings were "damaged beyond repair." He expressed concern that the city hadn't done necessary maintenance or repairs after major storms.
During his 2014 campaign for mayor, Elorza pledged to "redevelop Camp Cronin for use throughout the year for youth, adult, and senior activities," according to GoLocal Providence.
But it continued to sit idle, as the abandoned-looking buildings, overgrown vegetation, and rusted fence became more and more of an eyesore. In 2019, Correia discovered that vandals had broken in and trashed the assembly halls, which were in extreme disrepair.
In 2015, the Elorza administration asked the City Council to discuss selling the remaining portion of Camp Cronin to the DEM for $700,200, but quickly backtracked and said that the proposal had been sent in error.
This winter, locals began periodically noticing that the padlocked gates had been opened and trucks and a dumpster were parked on the weed-cracked driveway. That raised questions about whether Providence might have a new use in mind for the property — but a city spokesman said that workers were just there to do basic maintenance and stabilize structures on the site.
"The equipment seen on site is part of efforts by our Department of Public Property to clean up the property," Andrew Grande, a spokesman for Elorza, wrote in an email. "Public Property has been regularly visiting Camp Cronin over the last few months to properly secure the buildings and clear overgrown vegetation before spring."
What's in the future for Camp Cronin?
Elorza is reaching his term limit and has less than eight months left in office. Asked about his campaign promise to reopen the camp, Grande said that Providence "has many urgent and competing capital projects to balance."
"As we evaluated this property and its required investments as part of our Capital Improvement Plan prioritization process, it became clear that investing in infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, parks and other community spaces within the City needed to take priority," Grande wrote.
Once cleanup work is complete, Public Property "will again assess the property for potential future uses for consideration in future Capital Improvement Plans," Grande said.
Grande said there were "no current plans to use ARPA dollars on the property." Likewise, Correia said that he wasn't aware of any discussions on the council's end about using federal relief funding to fix up and reopen the camp, but that he would raise the idea to council staff.
"If this current administration doesn’t have any plans for trying to rehab the building, hopefully the next administration, whoever that will be, will have this as one of many things on top of their radar," Correia said. "The taxpayers of Providence should be able enjoy this city-owned asset."
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/04/22/camp-cronin-providences-beach-camp-narragansett-uncertain-future/9485852002/
| 2022-04-22T09:40:17
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Nick Alahverdian appears in Scottish extradition hearing. This time with lawyers
Rhode Island con man Nicholas Alahverdian appeared at a preliminary extradition hearing in Scotland on Thursday with two new lawyers, one of whom, according to Scottish media, has also faced an allegation of deception.
Alahverdian, 34, has insisted Interpol authorities arrested the wrong man in December; that he is not the wanted fugitive who, in an elaborate charade, faked his own death in 2020 from across an ocean to avoid a rape charge and financial fraud claims here.
Two weeks ago, a Scottish judge scolded the man at the center of the international tale for appearing before him hours late and without a lawyer, and ordered him back into court Thursday with proper representation.
'Never been to the United States':Man arrested in Scotland denies he's con man Nicholas Alahverdian
One of Alahverdian's lawyers allegedly faked a graffiti attack on his own home
At the hearing, one lawyer, Becky Houston, entered her appearance on his behalf while a second lawyer, Matthew Berlow, told reporters outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court that he was now a “consultant solicitor” for Houston, according to the Edinburgh Courts Press Services, which covered the hearing.
According to the Scottish Daily Record, Berlow was involved in orchestrating a fake graffiti attack on his own home several years ago and then using Facebook to accuse the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign of a supposedly antisemitic attack.
Alahverdian also introduced another lawyer to Scottish reporters two weeks ago who he said would be helping him if he loses his bid to remain in Scottland and is returned to America to face a rape charge in Utah. That lawyer was Craig Johnson.
Another lawyer is accused of taking inappropriate gifts
Johnson was a Utah County prosecutor who resigned from office in 2020 in the midst of an investigation into prosecutors taking inappropriate gifts from a defense attorney.
Leading that investigation was Utah County Attorney David Leavitt – the same man who is now seeking Alahverdian’s arrest on a 2008 rape charge.
In an interview with The Journal last week, Leavitt said both Alahverdian and Johnson “have common needs to discredit me.”
“Nick Alahverdian’s need to discredit me is clear.” He doesn’t want to go to prison, said Leavitt.
“Craig Johnson’s need to discredit me is I forced him to resign because he was accepting Jazz/Lakers [basketball] tickets from a defense attorney at the time they had criminal cases pending with that defense attorney.”
Leavitt is in the middle of a reelection campaign and Johnson, he said, is working against him.
“He’s found a paying client in Nick Alahverdian, and so that becomes a double benefit for Craig Johnson: he gets paid for his work and he gets to cast doubt on my credibility.”
Alahverdian – as he has other times in his life when people have accused him of wrongdoing – has sought to discredit Leavitt with online attacks.
In an April 11 tweet, Alahverdian – writing under his current alias, Arthur Knight – wrote: “Corrupt Utah County Prosecutor David Leavitt (out of office in January) conspired ... in bizarre sex cult ring with Scottish brothel owner ... ”
In another tweet, Alahverdian names Leavitt’s wife as part of the same conspiracy.
Two years ago when Canadian TV personality Nafsika Antypas, who hosts a show on the A&E network, confronted Alahverdian for not producing the marketing campaign she had paid him $40,000 to create, he attacked her online – and didn’t stop there, she says.
“He used my driver’s license photo and made it look like a mug shot,” posting it online with the words “Fraud Alert” underneath. He created other online accounts “to spread rumors about me. He tried to defame me.”
And, she said, "He started calling my parents and said he was going to take my father’s company to court."
Multiple allegations of sexual assault
After Alahverdian was convicted in 2008 of groping a female student at an Ohio community college, he filed an appeal saying “new evidence” showed the woman had recanted her claim in an online blog post.
But after a cyber expert testified that the blog item was probably forged, the judge threw out the appeal, declaring Alahverdian’s so-called new evidence “highly questionable [and] not credible.”
What we found:We flew to Scotland to find the American who faked his own death
Background:Nicholas Alahverdian's early years set the stage for a life of deception
Arthur Knight was positively identified as Nicholas Alahverdian
Leavitt says he has no doubt the man who claims to be Arthur Knight is Alahverdian. (Authorities have said Alahverdian was positively identified through tattoos, DNA and possibly fingerprints as well.)
“This is a process that requires the active use of resources of the Utah County Attorney office, the State Bureau of Investigations in the state of Utah, the United States Department of Justice and the Scottish authorities. And so, at a minimum, there are four different agencies at a county, state and double federal level that simply don’t engage in a process without each one of those agencies being satisfied that we have the guy.”
Still, Leavitt says he’s not surprised by Alahverdian’s denials: there’s a basic human premise that “when you are in trouble you are going to go to great lengths to keep yourself from being in trouble.”
Alahvedian’s full extradition hearing is now scheduled for June 9.
With reports from James Mulholland, Edinburgh Courts Press Services
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https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/04/22/nicholas-alahverdian-extradition-hearing-set-scotland-faces-rape-charges-utah/7394031001/
| 2022-04-22T09:40:23
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TUPELO • Tupelo officials have approved multiple land agreements that will allow them to move forward with a smattering of projects throughout the city.
The board unanimously approved multiple land deals during a Tuesday night board meeting, including a possible deal to expand a rubbish site, land swaps near Gumtree Park and preparation for upgrades to the railroad crossing on Jefferson and Park streets.
City could spend over half-a-million for trash site expansion
The city council approved an almost $658,000 land purchase option with BSB Associates Partnership for three parcels, totaling about 215 acres south of Eason on Ryder Street. Their plan: to use the additional space to expand the city’s Class II rubbish site, located on adjacent property.
The city had 214.5 acres of land appraised at $540,000 in January 2021. The same land was appraised again in November at $10,00 an acre.
City Attorney Ben Logan said the project isn’t set in stone, but Tupelo officials want to secure the purchase option pending approval from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for the land to be used as a rubbish site.
If approved, the acreage available to the city’s Class II rubbish site, which is designated for plant matter disposal, including storm debris and vegetation, would triple.
“After the last tornado, we realized we needed to expand,” Logan said.
According to Logan, the site had, at most, five years left before it would be filled with debris, and the addition of 100 acres would extend its life by 20 to 30 years.
If city officials choose not to expand the site or build a new one, Logan said it would be forced to outsource disposal of plant waste. That would essentially involve paying private landfill owners by the pound. That’s an enormous expense following severe weather damage.
The closest such site is in north Lee County, about 15 miles away from Tupelo, Logan said. Monroe County’s site would be the closest after that.
Logan estimated that if the city could move forward with the expansion, depending on severe weather, it would “pay for itself within four to five years.”
The other 100 acres being optioned, Logan said, would be used as leased land for agriculture. He noted that BDB Associates Partnership currently leases the land for farming.
Land swaps at Gumtree Park
The council also approved a land exchange with Kenneth Mayfield to correct property lines on his property at the old Elks Lodge on Tolbert Street.
Logan said a survey of the property when Mayfield began working on restoring the lodge revealed the city owned a portion of the lot and Mayfield owned a portion of Gumtree Park.
Logan said the deal with Mayfield was “just to clean up those properties.”
Assistant City Attorney Stephen Reed noted that many of the properties in the area shifted southeast in surveys, and the city could fix it through resolutions like this.
Mayfield said the restoration of the property is part of an expansion of Dynasty College of Barberology and Cosmetology, which will include a storefront for recent graduates to find a place to work while looking for long-term employment.
“We are setting up an incubator program so that students will be able to land themselves somewhere on a short-term basis,” Mayfield said.
Mayfield hopes to wrap up renovations to the property within six to 12 months.
Ward 4 Councilwoman Nettie Davis said she was proud to see the area getting revitalized.
“I appreciate the city supporting (Mayfield’s restoration) because that is going to help that particular area to be great,” she said.
In a similar move, the council also completed a land swap with Gary Sparkman, owner of Sage Properties. The council voted unanimously to vacate a 20-foot-wide, 350-foot-long stretch of right of way on Rae Street and accept a donation of a similar amount of land from Sparkman on Tolbert Street.
Sparkman is developing the area with about seven new homes and asked for the extra acreage to make the homes larger.
Mayfield said he was happy to see not just his project but other development in the area.
“I’m really interested in the community development there,” he said. “I like the idea of seeing it redeveloped in a good, positive way. It is going to be a pride of the community.”
Railroad project first steps to quiet zone
City officials also plan to close public access to multiple private properties near the BNSF Railroad crossing on Park Street as part of a project to create quiet zones throughout Tupelo.
Closing access to the properties is part of work attached to a State Department of Transportation grant the city received in 2016 to upgrade railroad intersections at Spring, Clark, Jefferson, Clark Spring and Park streets.
According to City Engineer Dennis Bonds, completing the upgrades and prepping the city for a quiet zone status requires, in part, having no alternative outlets within 100 feet of a railroad crossing.
The private drive was within that buffer.
"One of the requirements is a median 100 feet from a crossing, so any outlets within that distance has to be closed," Bonds said. "The whole idea is to make sure people can't circumvent the crossing."
As part of the move, city officials plan to create a new access point to the private properties on Jefferson Street. Property owners James Vance and B&H Company have agreed to the arrangement.
Bonds said city officials will open bids on the project on May 11. It will take about a year to complete.
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https://www.djournal.com/news/local/tupelo-council-approves-land-deals-swaps-for-multiple-projects/article_86d8f4ad-8f11-59e1-a25b-e29e50de773e.html
| 2022-04-22T10:53:36
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Vaccine exemptions, Embraer expansion and Melbourne parking lot - Week in Review
Rob Landers
Florida Today
Support local journalism. Unlock unlimited digital access to floridatoday.com
Looking for more information on the stories covered in today's News in 90 Seconds segment?
You can find the stories here:
Religious vaccine exemptions for Brevard children jump to new high
Aircraft company Embraer plans to expand, add more jobs in Melbourne. Here's what you need to know
Melbourne officials may sell Strawbridge Avenue parking lot for high-rise development
Rob Landers is a veteran multimedia journalist for the USA Today Network of Florida. Contact Landers at 321-242-3627 or rlanders@gannett.com. Twitter: @ByRobLanders
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https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/22/vaccine-exemptions-embraer-expansion-and-melbourne-parking-lot/7397620001/
| 2022-04-22T12:14:00
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A number of NYC Department of Education employees have been placed on leave as of Monday for allegedly submitting fake vaccination cards - but the teachers union is threatening to sue to get its members back on the payroll.
The DOE confirmed the suspensions Friday, saying that fewer than 100 employees had been put on unpaid leave.
“Fraudulent vaccination cards are not only illegal, they also undermine the best line of protection our schools have against COVID-19 – universal adult vaccination," a department spokesman said.
But the United Federation of Teachers sent a letter to the DOE on Thursday, saying it was "wholly improper" to "unilaterally remove" people from the payroll without actually proving their documents were fraudulent.
The union is demanding the affected employees be kept on the payroll and receive hearings, and is threatening legal action otherwise.
Law enforcement agencies and the DOE's special commissioner of investigation are looking into the alleged fake vax cards.
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/multiple-doe-employees-suspended-over-alleged-fake-vaccine-cards/3657996/
| 2022-04-22T12:33:07
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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/multiple-doe-employees-suspended-over-alleged-fake-vaccine-cards/3657996/
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Attorneys for actor Amber Heard sought to undermine Johnny Depp’s libel lawsuit against her Thursday by spending hours in court focused on the actor’s drinking, drug use and texts he sent to friends — including one about wanting to kill and defile his then-wife.
Heard’s lawyers referenced Depp’s history of trashing hotel rooms and his smashing of a bathroom sconce during an argument with Heard. Depp is also facing a lawsuit filed by a member of a film crew who alleges he was assaulted in 2018.
Depp’s lawsuit against Heard alleges that she falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser and ruined his lucrative acting career. But Heard’s attorneys argue that Depp did indeed abuse Heard, both physically and sexually, and claim he can’t deny it because he was often drunk and high to the point of blacking out.
Depp’s text messages only bolster his ex-wife’s defense, her lawyers said.
“I, of course, pounded and displayed ugly colors to Amber on a recent journey,” Depp said in a text message to a friend, the actor Paul Bettany, in July 2013, which was shown to jurors.
“I am an insane person and not so fair headed after too much of the drink,” Depp continued.
Heard lawyer J. Benjamin Rottenborn focused on another exchange that year between Depp and Bettany in which Depp wrote: “Let’s burn Amber!!!”
Bettany responded: “Having thought it through I don’t think we should burn Amber.”
Depp texted: “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will (expletive) her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”
Depp has previously apologized to the jury for the vulgar language in the texts and said that “in the heat of the pain I was feeling, I went to dark places.” He made the same apology Thursday.
Rottenborn also showed the jury one of Depp’s texts to Bettany in 2014 in which he referenced whiskey, pills and cocaine.
The texts were written during a period in which Depp said he had stopped drinking. And they were sent around the time of a private flight from Boston to Los Angeles, during which Heard said Depp assaulted her while he was blackout drunk.
Rottenborn presented texts that Depp sent to Bettany that said he drank “all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA this past Sunday … Ugly, mate … No food for days … Powders … Half a bottle of Whiskey, a thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of Champers on plane …”
Depp had previously testified that he took two oxycodone pills — an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time — and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering. He also disputes that he was drunk on the flight, saying he drank only a glass of Champagne as he boarded the plane.
But Rottenborn also showed the jury Depp’s expressions of contrition following the flight.
“Once again I find myself in a place of shame and regret,” Depp wrote to Heard. “Of course, I am sorry. I really don’t know why, or what happened. But I will never do it again … My illness somehow crept up and grabbed me … I must get better. And I will. For us both. Starting today. I love you. Again, I am so sorry. So sorry.”
The jury also saw a written apology from Depp to Heard’s father in which the actor said he “(messed) up and went too far” in a fight with Heard. But Depp noted on the stand that the message did not say the fight was a physical.
Multiple audio recordings of the couple’s conversations were played in court. In one, Heard told Depp he vomited in his sleep. In another discussion, it sounds as if Depp said he had head-butted Heard.
“I was using the words that Ms. Heard was using,” Depp countered. “But there was not an intentional head-butt. And if you want to have a peaceful conversation with Ms. Heard, you might have to placate just a little bit.”
Depp has been on the stand in Fairfax County Circuit Court since Tuesday afternoon. He previously called the accusations of drug addiction “grossly embellished,” though he acknowledged taking many drugs.
The actor also spent much of his previous testimony describing the couple’s volatile relationship and denying that he ever abused Heard. Depp said that Heard abused drugs and often violently attacked him.
Depp has argued that his movie career suffered after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post, which prompted his libel lawsuit against Heard.
Heard never mentioned Depp by name in the article, but Depp’s lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made when she sought a 2016 restraining order against him.
Depp said the accusations and the article contributed to an unfairly ruined reputation that made him a Hollywood outcast and cost him his role in the lucrative “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie franchise.
When cross-examination began Wednesday, Rottenborn pointed to evidence that Disney made that decision months before the article’s publication. Her attorneys have said that Depp’s damaged reputation was due to his own bad behavior.
Rottenborn’s cross-examination of Depp lasted all of Thursday and is scheduled to continue Monday.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/amber-heards-lawyers-interrogate-johnny-depp-at-libel-trial/
| 2022-04-22T13:17:06
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NEW YORK (AP) — The Authors Guild is launching a Banned Books Club, the latest initiative from the literary world in response to the nationwide wave of censorship and restrictions over the past year.
Through a partnership with the book club app Fable, the Authors Guild will each month for the next year highlight a fiction or nonfiction work that has been pulled from a classroom or school library and facilitate a discussion with the author. The first selection for the online club ( authorsguild.org/bannedbooksclub ) is David Levithan’s young adult novel “Two Boys Kissing.”
“Our goal is to give both students and adults the chance to read and learn more about the books being banned in their districts and elsewhere and provide the rare opportunity to engage on the platform with the authors of those works,” Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, said in a statement Thursday.
Levithan, a prize-winning author who also runs a young adult imprint at Scholastic, said in a statement that the new club would be “a great forum to discuss not only why these books are being challenged, but how to support the kids who are disenfranchised by such challenges.”
The Guild, founded in 1912, is comprised of more than 10,000 published authors.
In the past few weeks, the New York Public Library has made Laurie Halse Anderson’s “Speak” and a handful of other challenged works available to all through its app, and the Brooklyn Public Library launched Books UnBanned, through which young people nationwide ages 13 to 21 can receive a free library card.
We Need Diverse Books, a grassroots organization that advocates for more inclusiveness in publishing, is distributing grants of $2,000 each to teachers and libraries that can be used for author visits, the purchase of diverse books and other efforts to combat censorship.
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/authors-guilds-banned-books-club-highlights-censored-works/
| 2022-04-22T13:17:13
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kris Jenner testified Thursday that she was happy when she heard her son Rob Kardashian was engaged to his new girlfriend Blac Chyna despite stories of violence and volatility about her.
“I just wanted my son to be happy,” the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” matriarch said from the witness stand in a Los Angeles courtroom. “They had a rocky relationship from the start, and I just wanted really a win for them.”
Jenner was the first of four defendants — a group that also includes her daughters Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian and Kylie Jenner — to testify in Blac Chyna’s $100 million lawsuit alleging the women conspired to have her reality show “Rob & Chyna” canceled and damage her celebrity status.
In her questioning, Chyna’s lawyer Lynne Ciani attempted to cast Kris Jenner as having prejudicial feelings toward Chyna from the start over stories she had heard about Chyna’s relationship with rapper Tyga, who dated Kylie Jenner immediately after.
Kris Jenner said she had heard from her daughter and Tyga that Chyna had physically abused Tyga and had at one point threatened to kill Kylie Jenner.
Ciani asked her why she didn’t go to police or do more to intervene after these stories.
“I wasn’t that concerned. There were all kinds of things going on,” Kris Jenner said. “There was just a lot of drama, which I’m used to in my family.”
Kim and Khloé Kardashian, who are also slated to testify, watched their mother’s testimony from the front row of the gallery. Kylie Jenner has attended the trial all week but was not present Thursday.
When called to the stand in the afternoon, Kris Jenner, who was wearing an aqua-blue suit, removed the face mask she had been wearing while sitting in the gallery and put on her glasses.
Ciani asked Kris Jenner why she reacted happily when she first heard in 2016 that her son was getting engaged to this woman, and had the same reaction when she heard the two were having a baby.
“People change,” Kris Jenner said. “You want to give people a second chance. You hoped for the best, and we moved on.”
Kris Jenner would be an executive producer on the couple’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” spinoff, “Rob & Chyna,” which premiered later in September of 2016.
Asked whether she had prevented footage dealing with her son’s depression from being shown because it was “too dark,” Jenner said she couldn’t recall. She said she may have had the ability to do as much when scenes were first shot, but she had no control once it reached the network.
Ciania asked whether Kris Jenner had ever told Jeff Jenkins, an executive from the E! Network, which aired both shows, that she was not happy with her son’s choice of Chyna as a fiancee.
“I may have said something like that when they were fighting or in an argument, because that’s how I was feeling that day,” Kris Jenner said.
The testimony then turned to the key day of Dec. 15, 2016, when Chyna and Rob Kardashian had a fight that would lead to her moving out of their home and the end of their relationship. Much of Chyna’s testimony Wednesday dealt with the fight, and the celebration of the show’s renewal the night before. Chyna testified that she was joking with her fiance when she wrapped a phone cord around his neck and grabbed his unloaded gun off a nightstand.
Kris Jenner testified that she couldn’t remember whether Rob or Chyna first called her that morning.
“It was chaotic, it was a mess, it was crazy, and they were both very upset,” she said. “I was extremely upset because they were extremely upset.”
She testified that she meant to go intervene but that her boyfriend Corey Gamble, who will testify later in the trial, wouldn’t let her.
“I said I’m going right over, and Corey said ‘No you’re not, I’m going over there,’ ” Kris Jenner said.
The day’s testimony ended there. Kris Jenner was to return to the stand on Friday.
Chyna’s lawsuit, filed in 2017, alleges defamation and interference with contracts. It accuses Kris Jenner of being a ringleader who used her daughters in a campaign to defame Chyna as abusive to Rob Kardashian.
Two other defendants, Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, were dismissed from the case during the run-up to trial.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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| 2022-04-22T13:17:20
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After fading into obscurity, the late artist Francis Hines is gaining new attention after a car mechanic rescued hundreds of his paintings from a dumpster in Connecticut.
Hines, an abstract expressionist, garnered some recognition in 1980 by using fabric to wrap the arch in New York City’s Washington Square in an intricate crisscross pattern. But he kept a low profile and drifted out of the art world’s spotlight, passing away in 2016.
The trove of paintings, most using his signature wrapping style, was found a year later — and that’s where the artist’s path to rediscovery began.
An exhibit of the found art will open May 5 at the Hollis Taggart galley in Southport, Connecticut, which is known for showing the works of lost or forgotten artists. A smaller exhibit will be shown simultaneously at the gallery’s flagship location in New York City.
Hines made a good living as an illustrator for magazines and the G. Fox department store, and his personal art was about the process, not about selling or displaying his work, said Peter Hastings Falk, an art historian who is helping curate the exhibit.
So for decades, once he finished a piece, he would ship it from his New York studio to a barn he was renting in Watertown, Connecticut, where it would be wrapped in plastic and stored.
“For him it was like, ‘OK , I did that, that was cool, I’ll put it away,’” Falk said. “Once he was done, he was done and on to the next project. And if you don’t have a gallery selling your work, it’s going to pile up a lot.”
Taggart, the gallery’s president and an art collector, said he’d “never seen anything like it before.”
“In today’s art world there is a definite interest in different mediums — textiles, fabrics and ceramics — people are trying to find new and innovative ways to present contemporary art,” Taggart said. “He did that back in the ’80s. He was somewhat of a visionary.”
Hines used his wrapping technique in other installations, including at JFK Airport and the Port Authority bus terminal. In his sculptures and paintings, he stretched fabric or other material over or through them to create a sense of tension and dynamic energy, Taggart said.
Hines’ work remained stored in Watertown until after his death at the age of 96, when his estate decided to dispose of the massive collection because the barn’s owner was selling the property.
Two 40-yard (37-meter) dumpsters filled with sculptures and paintings had already been hauled away to a landfill when Jared Whipple, a Waterbury-area mechanic and skateboard enthusiast, got a call from a friend, George Martin, who was helping dispose of the art.
Because some of the paintings included images of car parts, Martin thought Whipple might like them.
Whipple figured he could use the art in a Halloween display, or to hang at his indoor skateboarding facility. When he began taking the plastic covering off the pieces, he started to realize he’d stumbled onto something special.
“But at the same time, you would never think there was any type of importance or value there, because they are all in a dumpster,” he said.
Most of the works were signed F. Hines, but Whipple eventually found one small canvas, painted in 1961, that included the artist’s full name: “Francis Mattson Hines.”
That’s when the Google searching began and he went down what he called a “rabbit hole” for 4 1/2 years learning about art and knocking on gallery doors, he said.
That research led him back to the 1980 Washington Square arch installation, to a book about Hines by his wife, and eventually to Falk and Hines’ two sons, one of whom, Jonathan Hines, is also an artist.
Jonathan Hines is now working with Whipple, adding other pieces of his father’s work to the exhibit.
“I think that it is fate that Jared would discover my father’s work,” Jonathan Hines said. “It had to be someone from outside the art world. Had I not decided to throw out the art, none of this would have happened.”
The family knew the artwork had value — but without critical recognition, they made the painful decision to abandon it all, said Falk, the art historian.
Hines’ paintings, most of which are owned by Whipple, will be offered for sale at the exhibit, with the larger pieces expected to sell for about $20,000 each, Falk said.
But Whipple says it’s not about getting rich from something that was nearly lost to a landfill.
“I want to get this artist recognition,” he said. “And I’d like to get him into some major museums maybe, just get him the recognition he deserved.”
Falk said Hines should be remembered as an important American artist for how he fits in the timeline of abstract expressionism and his unique twist on the technique of wrapping. The fact that his work was nearly lost forever, he said, merely helps shine a light on it.
“Now we’re focused only on the art, not on the fact that it was thrown away, not that it was discovered by a skateboarder car mechanic, not on anything else,” Falk said. “Just the art on its own merit.”
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https://www.cbs42.com/local/dumpster-find-leads-to-rediscovery-of-artist-francis-hines/
| 2022-04-22T13:17:27
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NEW YORK (AP) — Kurt Vile says he’s always thinking about making catchy music — yet his attempts usually end up sounding fried or sizzled out.
It’s an apt description of this Philadelphia-based songwriter and guitarist’s vibe, amiable and hypnotic, the songs alone seemingly capable of producing a contact high. Vile’s new disc, his ninth, marks a professional turning point if not a musical one.
After years where Vile was the quintessential indie rock artist, his new “(watch my moves)” is being marketed and distributed by Verve Records, a label best known for its jazz heritage and Jon Batiste’s recent Grammy-winning album.
“It’s not as much of an outlier as people would think,” said Jamie Krents, the label’s chief executive. “Verve was Velvet Underground’s home. I’m a huge Kurt Vile fan so him signing to Verve has been incredibly meaningful to me.”
Vile said he was searching for a new recording home, and the timing was right when Verve approached him.
“I like that it’s not an indie rock label,” he said. “I like to be connected to classic jazz things. It’s just a label anyway, literally and metaphorically.”
The association has done nothing to change his music. If anything, “(watch my moves)” looks more inward, reflecting a time that Vile was home with his wife and two daughters during the pandemic and recording in a newly-built home studio.
He’s a strong-willed dad. His daughters, ages 9 and 11, are home-schooled (his wife is a former teacher) and he keeps them away from phones or other screens.
“I was happy to live a normal life and be a normal dad,” he said. “I was missing something. Turns out we were all missing something, missing just being a normal dad who was there everyday.”
New songs such as “Like Exploding Stones” and “Hey Like a Child” offer a spaced-out sound behind Vile’s deadpan vocals, often said as much as sung.
Lyrically, Vile “often will just narrate the contents of his head,” critic Kitty Empire once wrote. Describing, as he does at one point, “playin’ in the music room in my underwear,” verges on too much information. He opens “Say the Word” with a description: “I wrote the words to this song drivin’ from Philly to Amherst.”
You can feel the satisfaction when he talks about taking a trip to a gig where he supports an artist he’s frequently been compared to.
“Gonna open up for Neil Young,” he sings. “Man, life can sure be fun. Imagine if I knew this when I was young.”
Asked about his influences, Vile refers to a documentary where Tom Petty answers the same question by saying, “the radio.” He began writing songs at age 14 when his father gave him a banjo — he wanted a guitar — and played in bands together in the 2000s with his pal Adam Granduciel, frontman of The War on Drugs. They parted friends, both wanting to concentrate on their own music.
“Most of my influences are things you can play over and over again,” Vile said. “They have some kind of a groove there, where you don’t have to stop.”
But it’s hardly aimless. Krents considers Vile a master guitar player, with his own distinct phrasing and sound. The new “Hey Like a Child” builds from a particularly memorable riff.
In Australia, Courtney Barnett bought Vile’s 2011 album “Smoke Ring for My Halo” because she liked the cover. Six years later, the two made their own album together, “Lotta Sea Lice.”
“We’re both obsessives, and his musical obsessions are infectious,” Barnett said. “He showed me lots of amazing music that I had never heard. And humor was our other connector. Kurt makes me laugh more than anybody in the world.”
She said she likes Vile’s songwriting “because it’s so him, and he’s unafraid to be that. He really creates this entire other world within his songs.”
With 92 million streams on Spotify, Vile’s 2015 song “Pretty Pimpin” is his most popular. It boosts the tempo — one critic even called it “jaunty” — but fits neatly into his aesthetic.
On the new album Vile — that’s his real name, by the way, even though it seems like the kind of rock ‘n roll stage name that Johnny Rotten would admire — covers an obscure Bruce Springsteen song, “Wages of Sin.” His song, “Stuffed Leopard” also quotes Springsteen’s “Candy’s Room” — he happened to be listening to it while writing.
Verve’s Krents said he hopes to expand Vile’s audience, particularly overseas. He also hopes Vile’s signing sends a message to other artists and listeners that Verve is more eclectic than they might have considered.
Krents said the company let Vile make the recording that he wanted and didn’t try to influence him in any direction.
“We didn’t sign him to change him,” he said. “We signed him to amplify what he does.”
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of record executive Jamie Krents’ name.
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| 2022-04-22T13:17:34
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NEW YORK (AP) — “Metropolis.” Bruce Lee. Woody Woodpecker. A pet cobra. All of these things have been inspirations behind Nicolas Cage performances — sometimes private homages that the actor has used like blueprints to build some of his most exaggerated, erratic and affecting characters.
A conversation with Cage, likewise, pulls from a wide gamut of sources. In a recent and typically wide-ranging interview ahead of the release of “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,”Cage touched on Picasso, Elia Kazan, Timothée Chalamet and Francis Bacon. A book of interviews with Bacon, “The Brutality of Fact,” for instance, helped Cage define his attraction to intense, even grotesque performance — “that which is not obviously beautiful,” he says — rather than naturalism.
“And I’ve kind of approached my public perception, as well as the way I design my film work, as an actor with that concept in mind — to not be afraid to be ugly in behavior or even in appearance,” says Cage. “To create a kind of taste that you have to discover.”
With more than 100 films, the 58-year-old Cage — an Oscar-winner (“Leaving Las Vegas”), an action star (“Con Air”) and the source of countless Internet memes for his most theatrical moments in films like “Face/Off” — has long been one of the most particular tastes in movies. Yet by being “an amateur surrealist,” as he refers to himself, Cage has emerged — even after resorting to a string of VOD releases to pay off back taxes and get himself out of debt — as one of Hollywood’s most widely loved stars. As “Unbearable Weight” director Tom Gormican says, “the sight of his face sort of makes people happy.”
But for even the mercurial Cage, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” which opens in theaters Friday, represents something different. In it, Cage plays himself. Or, rather, he plays a fun-house mirror version of himself that sometimes interacts with a younger version of himself. The movie is one big homage to Cage in which the actor somehow manages to both satirize perceptions of himself and act out those personas sincerely.
“The through line that’s always been there for me: No matter what I designed, and it has been a design whether it’s ridiculous — and it’s often ridiculous — or whether it’s sublime, it has to be informed with genuine emotional content,” says Cage.
“No matter how broad or what some folk like to call over the top, it had genuine feeling.”
But what to Cage constitutes over the top? This is the actor who, channeling Nosferatu in “Vampire’s Kiss,” gave one of the most bonkers recitals of the alphabet ever heard. He’s fond of answering: “Well, show me where the top is and I’ll tell you if I’m over it.”
“I grew up in a house where my mom would do things that if you put it in a movie, you would say that was over the top,” says Cage, whose mother, Joy Coppola, was a dancer and choreographer. His father, August Coppola, brother of Francis, was a professor of literature. “But what is the top? When you want to design something and you think about different styles — naturalism, impressionism, surrealism, abstract — then you start to look at it in a different way. It’s not going to be for everybody and it’s not necessarily going to sell tickets. But that’s OK.”
“Movies are a business and it was not without peril that I took this path, but it was important to me,” he adds. “I stuck by it and, sure, I got plenty of rotten tomatoes thrown in my face. But I knew that was going to happen so it wasn’t anything I didn’t expect.”
But what’s unusual about Cage is that many of those experiments HAVE sold tickets. A lot of them. Cage’s films account for nearly $5 billion in worldwide box office. Still, it’s been a while since he was front-and-center in a major studio film.
“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” which Lionsgate premiered at South by Southwest to warm reviews, allows him to play around with the notion of a comeback. In the film, he’s desperate to score better parts than the birthday party he’s been offered $1 million to attend. The movie was an opportunity to wrestle — usually comically, sometimes physically — with his own exaggerated mythology.
“He would come up to me and say, (lowers voice) ‘Tom, there’s a guy who wears rings and leather jackets and he lives in Las Vegas and he would never say that line,’” recalls Gormican. “And I would go, ‘Oh, you mean you.’ He’d say, ‘Yes.’ And I’d be like, ‘Well, it’s not you. It’s a character based on you.’ And he’d go, ‘But he has my name.’ I was like, ‘Come on, man, just say the line.’”
“We’d have discussions about who understood Nick Cage more,” adds Gormican, laughing.
Gormican was initially turned down several times by Cage before a heartfelt letter finally convinced the actor to make the film. The issue was that Cage, even at his most outlandish, has never put quotation marks around his performances. He tends to invest fully in even the most unhinged characters. (Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans” comes to mind.) Cage initially feared Gormican’s film would be self-mocking parody, and while it has those elements, Cage steers it in more unpredictable directions.
“Without mentioning names, there were some actors that came out of the gate that I thought were really sincere and profoundly emotional and honest in the beginning and then became too high on their own supply,” Cage says. “They started winking at the audience and, in my opinion, it lost the emotional connection. It’s a slippery slope when you make the decision that you want to be emotional and raw.”
The actor does reach some gonzo heights in the film. After one scene, Gormican was honored to hear Cage say: “That was the Full Cage. You got the Full Cage.” Another scene features the two Cages making out, after which the younger exclaims, “Nick Cage smooches good!”
Cage’s own exotic tastes — he once had to return a dinosaur skull he purchased that had been stolen from Mongolia — have contributed to his legend. But he insists that he is normal in his life so that he can be extreme in his work — and that some of his self-promotion, like an infamously nutty appearance on “Wogan,”was itself an act.
Cage last year married Riko Shibata, his fifth wife, and they are expecting a child. (Cage also has two grown sons; a sticking point in “Unbearable Weight” was that he not be shown as an absentee father — one fiction Cage wouldn’t permit.) After an unusually introspective press tour for the film, Cage is looking forward to returning to the desert outside Las Vegas, where he lives. He could use a break from “Nick Cage.”
But “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” wraps a chapter for the actor. He’s finally out of the red after making some 30 video-on-demand films over the last decade to pay off the IRS and his creditors. He makes no apologies for those films. They made him a better actor, he says.
“I was practicing. I managed to keep my access to my imagination at my fingertips. It was a much better way for me to get this financial crisis off my back than doing something like a Super Bowl commercial — and believe me they offered,” says Cage. “That was also a point for me, that I’m not a salesman, I’m an actor.”
Cage can also once again feel some mainstream momentum behind him. His performance in last year’s “Pig,” as a grizzled truffle hunter with a past, earned some of his best reviews in years. It was a more naturalistic performance than Cage is generally known for — and a reminder of his limitless range. Having started professionally at 15, Cage reminds that he’s been doing this a long time. To him, his path began, appropriately enough, with an audacious performance.
Cage’s father, the actor says, had a massive influence on him, exposing him to books, early films and paintings. But he could cut his son down with words.
“And I just wasn’t going to take it,” says Cage. “I knew that he thought more of me than he let on. I tricked him once and I did something that I’ve never done ever again. I lied. I said, ‘Dad, I wrote this song.’ And I played him Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” And he believed me. He said, “Wow, Nicky, that’s incredible.” Then I got the positive affirmation that I needed to believe in myself. That was the one time a lie saved me.”
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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| 2022-04-22T13:17:41
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NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Robert Morse, who won a Tony Award as a hilariously brash corporate climber in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and a second one a generation later as the brilliant, troubled Truman Capote in “Tru,” has died. He was 90.
Morse died at his home Wednesday after a brief illness, said David Shaul of BRS/Gage Talent Agency.
The boyishly handsome Morse first made his name on Broadway in the 1950s, and landed some roles in Hollywood comedies in the 1960s. “I consider myself an actor — shyly,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1964. “I love acting. It’s a great use of body and mind… With all humility, you hope that you are doing something worthwhile.”
More recently, he played the autocratic and eccentric leader of an advertising agency in “Mad Men,” AMC’s hit drama that debuted in 2007. The role of Bert Cooper earned him five Emmy nominations as best guest actor in a drama series.
“He radiated a wicked joy; it was impossible to watch him without instantly sharing his giddy delight,” wrote playwright Paul Rudnick. Jason Alexander tweeted: “His work was infused with joy and it was joyous to be with him.”
Morse was already well-established on Broadway, with two Tony nominations to his credit, when he became nationally famous at age 30 as the star of Abe Burrows and Frank Loesser’s smash 1961 Broadway satire of corporate life, “How to Succeed…”. The show won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony for best musical and ran for more than three years.
Morse’s bright-eyed J. Pierrepont Finch was a master of corporate backstabbing — with a toothy grin — as he went from Manhattan window washer to titan at the World Wide Wicket company with the help of a little “how-to” paperback on office politics.
The musical’s song titles suggest the button-down, pre-feminist business world: “The Company Way,” a theme song for yes-men; “A Secretary Is Not a Toy,” a song that winks at office dalliance; “Coffee Break,” a tribute to caffeine; and the hymn Finch sings to himself: “I Believe in You.” Finch toadies up to the aging boss, played by 1920s crooner Rudy Vallee, by joining in the old man’s college fight song, “Grand Old Ivy.”
“Imagine a collaboration between Horatio Alger and Machiavelli and you have Finch, the intrepid hero of this sortie into the canyons of commerce,” The New York Times wrote. “As played with unfaltering bravura and wit by Robert Morse, he is a rumpled, dimpled angel with a streak of Lucifer.”
The 1967 film version of “How To Succeed” dropped some songs but otherwise kept close to the stage original. Morse was back, as was Vallee.
But Morse’s film career largely failed to take off.
He was back on Broadway in 1972 — and picked up another Tony nomination — for “Sugar,” producer David Merrick’s musical version of “Some Like It Hot.” Morse starred as Jerry, the part played by Jack Lemmon in the Billy Wilder comedy about two male musicians who disguise themselves as women to get away from murderous gangsters.
“Tru,” a one-man show based on Capote’s writings, revived Morse’s stage career in 1989.
“His Capote is wickedly funny, a sly imp ready to deliver an off-color joke about the Queen Mum, zing Robert Goulet or rhapsodize about the time he tap-danced for Louis Armstrong. …,” Associated Press drama critic Michael Kuchwara wrote in his review. “But there’s a desperate side of Capote, too, and Morse rises to the pain.”
In 1993, the televised version of “Tru” (PBS) won Morse an Emmy for best actor in a miniseries or special. (Meanwhile, a 1995 Broadway revival of “How to Succeed…” brought another Tony for its Finch, Matthew Broderick.)
Television’s “Mad Men” returned Morse to the “How to Succeed” milieu of Manhattan office politics, 1960s-style.
When Morse landed in Hollywood after his “How to Succeed” triumph, columnist Hedda Hopper predicted in 1963: “If Robert Morse comes over on screen as he does on stage, he’ll have teenagers screaming and mothers wanting to adopt him. He has an innate sense of comedy and a funny face to go with it.”
Among his films was “The Loved One,” a 1965 black comedy about an Englishman’s encounter with Hollywood and the funeral industry, based on the satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh.
“I don’t think in terms of whether a picture will help or hinder my career,” Morse told the Los Angeles Times when the film was in production. “I think of who I’m working with.” Among his “Loved One” co-stars were Jonathan Winters, John Gielgud and Tab Hunter.
Morse was born May 18, 1931, in Newton, Massachusetts, and made his Broadway debut in 1955 in “The Matchmaker.”
He received back-to-back Tony nominations for his next two roles: in 1959 for best featured actor in a play for “Say, Darling,” and in 1960 for best actor in a musical for “Take Me Along,” which also starred Jackie Gleason.
“Say, Darling” was a comedy about a young writer’s experience as his novel is turned into a Broadway show. The play was based on the creation of “The Pajama Game,” and Morse’s character, a “boy producer” who hated being called that, was modeled on Harold Prince, a “Pajama Game” co-producer.
Reviewing his career, Morse told The New York Times in 1989: “Things change. I never got a chance to be in a play or picture where I played a father, or had a family, or where I could feel or show something. The wild child in me never had a chance to grow up.”
He said he had successfully battled alcohol and drug abuse, but added, “I don’t think drinking got in the way of my work. I did my job. It was the other 22 hours I had a problem with.”
Still, he said of his career, “I didn’t think it was going to end or not end. I just plowed on. One day you hear `We love you, Bobby.’ The next day you’re doing voiceovers.”
He is survived by five children, a son Charlie and four daughter, Robin, Andrea, Hilary and Allyn.
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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NEW YORK (AP) — Sportscaster Kenny Albert will cover a lot of territory in a memoir scheduled for next year.
Albert, who has worked on everything from Stanley Cup finals and New York Knicks games to the Super Bowl and the Olympics, has a deal with Triumph Books for “A Mic for All Seasons.” The son of sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert, Kenny Albert will trace his rise from taping himself as a child calling fictional games to his prolific professional career.
He is a longtime presence on Fox for major league baseball and NFL games, and is familiar to hockey fans as the radio voice of the New York Rangers.
“I have contemplated writing a book for quite some time,” Albert said in a statement Thursday. “There are so many stories stored in my head following over three decades calling sporting events; anecdotes about the actual games, broadcast partners, travel tales, funny moments, etc. My family has been pushing me to do it for several years. During the early stages of the pandemic, when I was home for 146 consecutive days, I finally started to put pen to paper.”
Among Albert’s achievements: Working four different sports in four days, in 2009, including a Minnesota Vikings-Pittsburgh Steelers game and the New York Yankees’ celebration after winning the American League pennant.
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| 2022-04-22T13:17:55
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VENICE, Italy (AP) — Simone Leigh’s sculptures are making a monumental impression at the Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition.
The first Black woman to headline the U.S. Pavilion at the international show, the American sculptor installed a monumental 24-foot sculpture outside the Palladian-style brick building, which she topped with a thatched raffia roof on wooden columns.
Leigh also sets the tone for the main Biennale exhibition. Her towering “Brick House,” a bronze bust of a Black woman, presides at the entrance of the Arsenale. Such double citations are rare at the 127-year-old art fair, the world’s oldest and most important, opening its 59th edition on Saturday.
Leigh titled her exhibition of bronzes and ceramics at the U.S. Pavilion “Sovereignty.” The name, she said, came out of a desire “to point to ideas of self-determination” while tapping commonalities in Black feminist thought.
“One thing we all agree on, the real purpose of Black feminist thought is our desire to be ourselves. And to have control over our own bodies,’’ the artist said during the official opening on Thursday.
To that end, another bronze sculpture set in a reflecting pool, “Last Garment,” depicts a laundress at work. Leigh was inspired by a 19th century photograph of a Jamaican woman washing clothes in a river; the U.S. Pavilion exhibition notes say the photo represents the imagery that at that time supported stereotypes of the Caribbean.
In this way, Leigh reappropriates a portrait initially depicted through a lens of colonialism, literally recasting it in bronze.
The works in the pavilion refer specifically to the African diaspora. The raffia-topped façade covers the Palladian-style pavilion and its neo-classical columns, redressing an architectural style that recalls both Jeffersonian notions of freedom and the plantation homes of slaveowners.
The shaggy roof and wooden columns imposed over the colonial style building were inspired by the Cameroon-Togo Pavilion at the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition in Paris, an event meant to display cultures under European colonial rule.
“One doesn’t obscure the other. It’s really about their adjacency. It’s about bringing together their two histories, problematic, troubled, and creating new meaning,” curator Eva Respini said.
The works from the U.S. Pavilion will follow Leigh back to the United States, where they will appear in Leigh’s first museum survey, set for next year at the ICA Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
This is just some of the recognition heaped on Leigh, 54, after two decades as an artist.
Leigh also won the Studio Museum in Harlem’s $50,000 Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize in 2017 and the prestigious $100,00 Hugo Boss Prize, which included a solo show at New York’s Guggenheim museum the following year.
“It is overdue like so much, and it is an overdue recognition of Black creativity,’’ said ICA director Jill Medvedow, commissioner of the U.S. Pavilion.
The main exhibition, which features a preponderance of female artists, is curated by Cecilia Alemani, who originally commissioned “Brick House” for The High Line park in New York City. The 5-meter (16-foot) sculpture of a woman whose torso is in the form of West African architecture originally overlooked Manhattan’s 10th Avenue; it was installed in Venice two days before the Biennale opened for previews.
“She stands there with such majesty, and such beauty. She does not have eyes, but she has this very strong gaze,” Alemani said. ”I am very happy to have that sculpture in the show and for Simone to finally get the deserved merit at the U.S. pavilion.
The Venice Biennale runs through Nov. 27.
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| 2022-04-22T13:18:02
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Authorities on Thursday were investigating an incident in which former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson was recorded on video punching a fellow first-class passenger aboard a plane at San Francisco International Airport.
The video shows Tyson leaning over the back of his seat repeatedly striking the unidentified man in the head, drawing blood. The footage was first shared by TMZ, which said it was recorded on a Jet Blue plane bound for Florida.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,” representatives for Tyson said in an email to The Associated Press.
Prior to the physical altercation, the man is seen on the video standing over Tyson’s seat, waving his arms and talking animatedly while the former boxer sits quietly.
San Francisco police responded Wednesday around 10 p.m. to a “physical altercation” on a plane at the airport’s domestic terminal, officials said.
“Officers arrived and detained two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident. One subject was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation,” police said in a statement Thursday.
Both were released pending further investigation, the statement said.
Another passenger on the flight, Sarah Burchfield, said she saw the man who Tyson punched at an airport bar earlier appearing loud and quarrelsome.
“When I boarded the flight, I thought, ‘Oh, no, that drunk guy is on our flight,’” Burchfield told SFGate.
Burchfield said when she boarded she passed Tyson’s seat in the first class section of the plane.
“The belligerent guy was sitting right behind him and I saw they were interacting,” she said. A short time later, she heard the confrontation in first class, she said.
San Francisco police said the video has been shared with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over the airport.
Sheriff’s officials said “we are not releasing information on the incident because it is an active investigation.”
JetBlue didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking additional details.
Since Tyson, 55, retired from boxing, he has worked as an actor, podcaster and cannabis entrepreneur. He was in San Francisco for the annual 420 cannabis festival in Golden Gate Park, where he was promoting his cannabis brand Tyson 2.0, SFGate reported.
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1987 at age 20. During his career he had 50 wins, 44 of them by knockout.
In the 1990s Tyson served three years in prison after being convicted of rape. He has maintained his innocence in that case.
Tyson was briefly barred from boxing after infamously biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight in 1997.
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| 2022-04-22T13:18:09
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'Face of Ukraine' benefit art show set for Saturday in Flagler Beach
Carol Brown, saddened by war-stricken Ukraine, was inspired to not only create art but to bring other artists together to raise money and awareness for those in need.
“I'm very spiritual and this is something that’s really close to my heart,” said Brown, an artist who lives in Bunnell. “I’ve been asking for a way to help the people in Ukraine. There's all kinds of non-profits out there and I want to be sure that I’m giving to a real person and not a corporation. I knew I wanted to help on a larger scale. So I prayed about it. While making the ‘Face in The Sun’ (an original piece of art created by Brown) I thought, ‘This is the Face of Ukraine.'"
That work and more will be on sale at a benefit Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Local Gallery of Art in Flagler Beach, 208 S. Central Ave. Admission to attend is free. The show will have a Ukrainian theme, from the food to the decor. Of the $10,000 goal, $291 has been raised so far.
Brown said the "Face of Ukraine" started out as a sculpture consisting of cement and recycled blankets that she intended to sell at the Flagler Beach gallery to benefit Ukraine.
But that idea grew into the benefit show with other artists contributing.
Homes for refugees: Stetson University will host 4 displaced Ukrainian students, 1 faculty member next year
'Ukraine’s glory has not perished': Volusia resident from Ukraine shares fears during interfaith prayer vigil in Deltona
Support to Ukrainian refugees comes in d:Online groups, financial aid, housing
“Marge Barnhill, owner of Gallery of Local Art suggested we have a benefit show to raise money for Ukraine,” said Brown. “We chose World Central Kitchen as our charity and went forward. All of the proceeds will go to Ukraine relief efforts by World Central Kitchen.”
World Central Kitchen is a non-profit, non-governmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. On its website, wck.org, that organization says it's delivering 300,000 meals daily to those in the Ukraine.
To make a donation, email faceofUkraineart@gmail.com.
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| 2022-04-22T14:50:51
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3 Volusia County Council at-large candidates face tax-pledge question at Deltona debate
DELTONA — Three candidates for the at-large seat on the Volusia County Council now have four months to make their cases before the primary election.
The at-large seat is just one of four open council positions, but the only one for which the candidates are courting all 400,000 voters countywide.
On Thursday, they participated in a debate hosted by the Republican Liberty Caucus of West Volusia, addressing key topics including growth and development, water quality and taxation. First, though, they had the job of explaining who they are and why they're running.
Who are the candidates?
Jake Johansson, former city manager of Port Orange, has the backing of the retiring at-large councilman, Ben Johnson, as well as donations from some of the power players in Volusia County: Hyatt and Cici Brown; Charlie Lydecker and his Foundation Risk Partners insurance firm; two NASCAR-affiliated businesses; and the political committee controlled by state Rep. Tom Leek.
Through March 31, Johansson's campaign contributions topped $43,000.
He insisted during the debate that he answers his phone whether it's a $5 contributor or a $1,000 contributor calling.
"Do you all want trust on your County Council?" Johansson said. "Well, I can give you trust. I spent 35 ½ years in the Navy. I commanded a combat squadron in Iraq. I commanded a Naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, one of the largest concentrations of military in the world. I worked at the Pentagon. I carried the nuclear football in the White House for three years. … If the federal government trusted me to carry the football for three years, you can be guaranteed that I won’t drop the ball for you on the County Council."
Douglas Pettit, a retired teacher and coach, has collected more than $5,200, while Sherrise Boyd — a onetime candidate for Daytona Beach mayor — had $1,600.
Pettit, who coached the Taylor High School football team from 2007 to 2010, is also a retired U.S. Marine after 26 years of service. That included serving in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991.
"As I traveled the county during the first few weeks of my campaign there has been one consistent message that I am hearing from Volusia County voters in every corner of the county: We are unwilling to commit quality of life, financial or environmental suicide for overdevelopment," Pettit said. "This year we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the makeup of the Volusia County Council."
Boyd is a former candidate for mayor of Daytona Beach who owns a consulting and marketing business. She has worked in government, including a stint working in the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta and, later, as a support services manager in the Volusia County Division of Emergency Medical Services.
She urged the largely GOP crowd to "put your differences aside and realize that this is a non-partisan race." She cited years of community activism.
"It’s not just the situation with taxes, driving on the beach. There are issues that aren’t coming before County Council. And for that reason, it’s important that I step forward and I represent those who aren’t represented," she said. "Will I represent everyone? One-hundred percent with my whole heart."
Candidates respond to the raising-taxes question
With about 60 people — mostly Republicans — in a meeting room at The Center of Deltona, a moderator asked each of the candidates whether they would pledge to refuse any tax increases.
Johansson: "No, I will not pledge to not raise your taxes and here’s why. I go back to that Amendment 10, which I think was a good idea. You can’t vote in a $10 million change in government and then expect taxes not to rise unless you’re willing to decrease some of our services. We voted for ECHO to keep moving forward. I think that’s .2 mil a year that is added to our tax bill. You can’t vote for it and then not want to pay for it. And sometimes there will come to the point where our development, especially at the county where our costs will not cover the things we just voted for. So, will I pledge? No. I could easily say yes right now, get elected and then not do it. I’m good for four years. But back to moral character, I’m not gonna promise you something, a promise that I can’t keep. I will pledge to keep the taxes as low as I can possibly keep it and I’ll do that by efficient and effective use of the government."
Pettit: "So we’re back to the moral courage. Yes, I pledge to not raise taxes. I will not be an advocate for a sales tax increase. I will not be an advocate for a property tax increase. Now, people go, ‘That’s irresponsible. You can’t tell what’s coming down the line.’ No it’s not. They said, ‘All you’re doing is playing to the malcontents.’ I am a malcontent. I’m not raising taxes on an already burdened tax base. Look at the economy, folks. We don’t need to be raising taxes on already struggling families. So I am a pledge to no taxes. I will resist the sales tax increase and I will say you will never get a yes out of me on a property tax increase because I’m not gonna put that burden … of the … problems and the issues the development has created on the backs of the taxpayers again. I’m not gonna keep doing it."
Boyd: "If I promise you I will not raise taxes, I have just put a burden upon the rest of my council members. I can’t say any of that. I don’t know what may come up. We may have a hurricane or some kind of disaster or something astronomical, you know, just something we don’t control. What I would say is I won’t stupidly raise taxes. I won’t blindly raise taxes. I won’t agree just because he or she did it. And I don’t have one person in my pocket of fundraising that I owe an explanation to. I don’t owe anyone but you all the reasons, and if we can’t benefit as a whole, then no, we’re not going to raise that tax. And if we need it, we will. And that’s an honest answer.”
Bucking 'the establishment'
Another topic that drew a range of responses from the three involved their willingness to "stand up against the establishment."
Boyd went first.
"Hell, yeah. That’s it," she said. "If you know me, I’m not going to sit down … when it comes to this, I got it. I promise."
Johansson was a bit more nuanced.
"I guess it depends on your frame of reference on who the establishment is," he said. "But I’ll tell you this: I am an independent thinker. Always have been."
Pettit referenced his football-coaching experience.
"One of the elements I’ve talked with my kids most about is moral courage. You’ve gotta have the moral courage to do the right thing," he said. "I certainly believe it’s going to be a huge value, a huge part of what I would demonstrate as a County Council member, the moral courage to stand up and say no when it’s necessary or yes when it is."
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