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Group concerned power being stripped from Austin's Equity Office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the thick of hundreds of pages worth of a proposed budget for the City of Austin, equity advocates believe there's a deeper problem that will affect progress made over the last decade. Mayor Kirk Watson discusses new $5.5 billion city budget, what it means for Austin Monica Guzman with Go Austin/Vamos Austin said the city's proposed plan to restructure the Equity Office will strip it of its power.Last Friday, a secretive change to our city structure is the latest action in a recent pattern of non-transparency from this city’s leadership. We’re talking about the decision to take power away from the offices of Equity, Civil Rights, Sustainability, and Resilience.  The budget draft was delivered in paper copies on Friday afternoon with no digital copy available for the public or media until Sunday. The proposed 2024 Budget (see page 42) shows Equity and Civil Rights under “Civic and Business Equity.” Resilience and Sustainability are moved under Planning,...

Firework caused apartment building blaze in St. Paul’s Highland Park, says charge filed against woman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

A cellphone video taken by a resident of a St. Paul apartment building before it went up in flames helped lead investigators to an 18-year-old woman who admitted to setting off a firework that caused the blaze, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged Aisha Wali Abdulle with one felony count of starting a negligent fire in connection with the July 8 blaze at a Highland Park apartment building that displaced about 30 residents and caused an estimated $2 million in damage.Firefighters responded to a report of a grass fire on the lawn of the building in the 1300 block of St. Paul Avenue about 4:20 p.m. Wind gusts of 22 mph and dry conditions contributed to the fire spreading rapidly from trees against the apartment building to attic space above third-floor apartments, St. Paul fire officials said at the time.Fire investigators found firework debris in the area where the fire started and residents reported hearing fireworks just b...

More summer fun coming to The Great Escape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Six Flags Great Escape is adding more summer events to keep summer fun cool as temperatures stay hot in the North Country. Events are added to the park calendar across July and August. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The park's "Hurricane Harbor Summer Blast" comes to the Hurricane Harbor water park on weekends through the summer. Every Saturday and Sunday from July 22 to Aug. 13, visitors can enjoy steel drum music, limbo, watermelon eating contests, cocktails, and mocktails. Park characters will be at the water park joining in on the celebration.What's more, the night gets bright next Saturday. On Saturday, July 29, fireworks will light up the sky over the park at 9:30 p.m. Rusticator coming to Hudson Crossing Park this week Locals looking for seasonal work will have another chance soon enough. The park is set to start hiring for Fright Fest once the summer nears its end.

DEC: Wilderness search and rescues in Ulster County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Forest Rangers from the Department of Environmental Conservation conducted two wilderness rescues in Ulster County. The rescues occurred on July 12 and 15. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! At around 6:30 p.m. on July 12, Forest Ranger Horn was notified of a lost hiker in the Slide Mountain Wilderness. Ranger Horn was able to talk to the hiker over the phone and determined the hiker was near the summit of Wittenberg Mountain.The hiker was not prepared and lacked proper gear. Rangers Horn and Sweeney reached the hiker around 10:45 p.m. and provided him with gear, food, and water. They escorted the hiker toward the trailhead. Forest Ranger hazes hungry bear at campground At 3:30 p.m. on July 15, Forest Rangers were notified of an injured hiker in Shawangunk Ridge State Forest. Rangers and firefighters reached the hiker, who had sustained an unstable leg injury. The hiker had their leg splinted and was...

Teen motorcyclist dies after I-270 crash Monday evening

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

CREVE COEUR, Mo. - One teenage motorcyclist died after a crash Monday evening on Interstate 270 in St. Louis County. The Missouri State Highway Patrol has identified Jaydon, Woodall, 18, of Ballwin, Missouri, as the victim. Next of kin has been notified. The crash happened around 7:30 p.m. in the southbound lanes of I-270 near Ladue Road. Woodall was initially hospitalized in serious condition, but later died from his injuries. Clerk shot and killed at St. Louis City gas station According to a crash report, MSHP says Woodall was traveling at a high rate of speed when he attempted an improper pass. During that time, he struck the back of another car on the highway. Woodall went off the right side of the road and was thrown off the vehicle moments after the crash. Investigators did not report any other injuries in the crash, though it led to lengthy traffic delays Monday evening. MSHP Troop C, which covers many counties in the St. Louis metropolitan area, is investigating the crash....

5 sentenced in Illinois on federal drug trafficking charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

BENTON, Ill. - A Los Angeles man appeared in federal court Tuesday as the last of five defendants to be sentenced in a large-scale drug trafficking operation in southern Illinois.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said Robert Smith, 42, had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to launder money.Smith was part of a five-person plot to distribute more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine. He was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison.Three of Smith's co-conspirators were from Illinois, while the fourth was from St. Louis. Clerk shot and killed at St. Louis City gas station "Despite the attention given to fentanyl, methamphetamine remains the top drug seized by quantity in southern Illinois and is still responsible for destroying many lives," said Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration division that leads DEA investigations in sout...

Englewood council members to face recall election Oct. 3 as some residents fume over density concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

Two members of Englewood’s city council will face a recall election on Oct. 3, with a third also likely to go before voters after a protest period expires this week — all targeted by residents opposed to what they say is overly aggressive and dense development in this southern suburb.Englewood City Council on Monday set the election for Oct. 3 after Clerk Stephanie Carlile presented the council with petitions for four council members deemed sufficient for recall. However, one of the targeted council members, Cheryl Wink, resigned just before Monday’s meeting, rendering her recall election moot.According to a letter she submitted, Wink said she was stepping down because she’d been offered “a new opportunity that is the exciting and logical next step in my software engineering career — an opportunity which no longer allows me to fulfill my duties as council member.”Mayor Othoniel Sierra and Councilwoman Chelsea Nunnenkamp were approved for rec...

Bicyclist dies in Sunday hit-and-run collision on East Louisiana Ave.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

A bicyclist died Sunday after being struck by an unknown SUV whose driver fled the scene.The driver of the SUV was heading west on East Louisiana Avenue near South Birch Street about 5 a.m. Sunday when they hit the bicyclist at the intersection, according to a Denver Police Department tweet. The bicyclist died from their injuries.CRIME STOPPERS: #Denver you have any information about this investigation? If so, call @CrimeStoppersCO at 720-913-7867 — you can remain anonymous and earn a cash reward! pic.twitter.com/pG1wI4sP5p— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) July 17, 2023 The SUV driver continued driving west after the collision. The vehicle, only described as a dark-colored SUV, sustained damage to one of its headlights.Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Hit-and-run driver sentenced to 20 years for hitting two cyclists near Evergreen last summer Crim...

Elderly woman brutally attacked while gardening at her home in East Los Angeles; suspect identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

Authorities are asking the public for help Tuesday in their search for a man who assaulted an elderly woman as she was working in her garden in the East Los Angeles area over the weekend.The victim was working in her yard in the 1000 block of Fraser Avenue around 6:15 a.m. Saturday when she was approached from behind by the suspect, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.The suspect, identified Tuesday as 21-year-old Sergio Andrew Garcia, repeatedly punched the victim in the face before pulling down her pants and underwear, the spokesperson said. A neighbor eventually came by and scared the suspect, who initially fled on foot before getting on a "fixie" bicycle that was nearby. Sergio Andrew Garcia is seen in photos released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on July 18, 2023. Authorities released photos of Garcia and described him as being 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He was wearing a brown sweatshirt, gray shorts, white sho...

'What to you have to lose?': Joe Exotic of 'Tiger King' says presidential run gaining steam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:04 GMT

You might remember Joseph Maldonado-Passage as the eponymous "Tiger King" from Netflix's show or as a felon convicted of hiring hitmen to kill a rival in the world of big cats, but if he's right, those items would only be footnotes in the history of the 47th president of the United States."Joe Exotic has raised the funds needed to get on the ticket in New Hampshire," his campaign announced on Tuesday. "Running from prison at the Fort Worth Medical Center in Texas, Joe Exotic is making history with his grassroots 2024 Presidential campaign."Exotic, 60, was convicted in 2019 of animal abuse charges and hiring a hitman to kill Carole Baskin, a woman who ran Big Cat Rescue and frequently butted heads and traded allegations with Exotic. Earlier this year, it was announced that the animal sanctuary would close. ‘Joe Exotic’ says he’s running for president as a Democrat His 22-year sentence was handed down in January 2020, just a couple of months before "Tiger King" blew up on Netflix at...