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Missouri's top educator warns of 'domino effect' with four-day school weeks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Around 30 percent of Missouri's school districts are only in session for four days a week this year. Missouri's top educator says this recent trend is part of a domino effect.A law to allow four-day school weeks in Missouri was approved more than a decade ago to help schools save money after the recession, but the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says it's now being used as a perk to retain teachers. "We have to be very, very sure and certain that this is the right choice for our state if we're going to continue down that path," said Missouri DESE Commissioner Margie Vandeven. "I've been very vocal about concerns that I have when a school district elects to just shut a school door and shut things done on that fifth day." Alderman proposes open-carry trigger law in St. Louis As the state suffers from a large shortage of educators, some schools are pivoting to four-day weeks. This year, nearly 170 Missouri public school districts have i...

Boulder County bighorn sheep was single, ready to mingle… and stuck on a roof

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

A bighorn sheep became stuck on the roof and deck of a Boulder County Home for more than 24 hours on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. The ram eventually left after Colorado Parks and Wildlife cut a space in a deck railing. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)A bighorn sheep became stuck on the roof and deck of a Boulder County home for more than 24 hours this week, likely while he was looking for a mate, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.Related ArticlesColorado News | The wolves are coming to Colorado, and the state has stockpiled explosives and deterrents. How are ranchers preparing? Colorado News | Opinion: Out-of-state hunters aren’t the problem. Here’s how to sustain and improve hunting in the West. Colorado News | Missing Bernese mountain dog found by hikers in Colorado mountains after nearly two months Colorado News | Opinion: The elephants at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo deserve more than an acre Colorado News | ...

Man killed in Sunday shooting outside liquor store in Arapahoe County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

A 29-year-old man was killed in a shooting outside a liquor store in unincorporated Arapahoe County on Sunday evening and the suspect remains at large.According to a Thursday afternoon email from Arapahoe County Public Information Officer Ginger Delgado, two men were shot outside the store in the 2200 block of Quebec Street.The two men were taken to the hospital where the 29-year-old was pronounced deceased, Delgado said. He was identified on Dec. 4 by the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office as Diego Jesus Lopez Manrrique, according to a statement released by the office Thursday.The second man, who is not the suspect, survived the shooting, Delgado confirmed Thursday.The coroner’s office stated the manner of Lopez Manrrique’s death is homicide.The suspect fled the scene and remains at large, Delgado said. The shooting is under investigation.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Denver police shot armed man who refused to follow orders for four minutes, ...

Jury finds defendant guilty on all counts in 2022 killing of Arvada police Officer Dillon Vakoff

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

By Stephanie Butzer, Denver7A man accused of killing an Arvada police officer in 2022 amid a violent family disturbance has been found guilty on all counts by a jury in Jefferson County.Sonny Thomas Almanza III was standing trial in connection with the deadly shooting of Arvada Officer Dillon Vakoff, 27, and non-fatal shooting of a woman in the early hours of Sept. 11, 2022.The jury reached a verdict on Thursday, one day after prosecutors and the defense presented their closing arguments. They found Almanza guilty on all counts, which included first-degree murder of a peace officer with extreme indifference, first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree murder with extreme indifference, attempted murder, second-degree assault, possessing a weapon as a felon, possessing a large-capacity magazine during a crime and trespassing.Sentencing was set for Dec. 14 at 2:30 p.m.Read more at Denver7.Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.

Denver police shot armed man who refused to follow orders for four minutes, video shows

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

Denver police officers spent four minutes trying to reason with an armed man who refused to comply with orders before they shot him two times as he reached behind his back where a gun was wedged between his belt and pants, according to body-worn camera footage released Thursday.The 32-year-old man was shot twice by police and has since been released from the hospital, Cmdr. Matt Clark said at a Thursday news conference intended to update the public on the investigation. The man is charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm and carrying a prohibited high-capacity magazine.Police were patrolling the Cedar Run apartment complex at 888 South Oneida St. at 1:40 p.m. on Nov. 27 when they noticed the man moving boxes outside of his vehicle and saw he had a handgun between his belt and pants on the back side of his waistband, Clark said. Loud music can be heard blaring from a black truck in body-worn camera footage as officers ordered the man to put his hands on his head and get on his knee...

Former La Habra police chief sentenced to 11 years in prison for bringing weapons, tactical gear to Capitol riot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

A Texas man who previously served as the chief of the La Habra Police Department has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Alan Hostetter, 59, who most recently lived in Poolville, Texas, was sentenced to 135 months in prison on Thursday following a previous conviction of four felonies earlier this year.Hostetter, who opted to represent himself in his trial, was convicted of charges including conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon.The United States Department of Justice said Hostetter brought tactical gear, pepper spray and hatchets to the Capitol when he and other supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.Hostetter was retired from law enforcement and working as a yoga instructor when he planned and coordinated with other defendants to obstruct and interfere with the joint...

UNLV gunman had list of targets at the university and 150 rounds of ammunition, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The 67-year-old gunman who killed three faculty members and wounded a fourth in a roughly 10-minute rampage at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, had a list of targets at the school and 150 additional rounds of ammunition, police said Thursday.Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill identified the suspect, who was killed in a shootout with police, as Anthony Polito, a longtime business professor who was living in nearby Henderson, Nevada. The sheriff said at a news conference that investigators were still looking into a motive but noted that Polito applied for several jobs at various colleges and universities in Nevada and was denied the job each time.McMahill said targets on Polito’s list also included faculty members at East Carolina University in North Carolina, where Polito was a professor at the university's business school from 2001 to 2017.“None of the individuals on the target list became a victim,” McMahill said, adding that police have contacted everyone on ...

Teen arrested after destructive pursuit in San Bernardino County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

A teenager was arrested after a dangerous pursuit through Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday.The suspect was only identified as a 15-year-old boy by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.Deputies spotted the suspect driving without headlights near Baseline Road and Garnet Street around 1:13 a.m.When authorities attempted to pull the boy over, he refused to stop, leading deputies on a pursuit.During the chase, he drove through multiple stop signs and red lights before crossing a center median and driving on the wrong side of the road.He eventually drove over a curb and crashed into a pole on Ramona Avenue, deputies said. He hopped out of the car and began running on foot into a nearby neighborhood. Compton man killed while sitting inside his car; gunman at large A police helicopter that was on the scene led authorities in the direction where the suspect ran. He jumped a fence into a backyard and was eventually caught by deputies.The teen was arrested and booked at the San Berna...

49ers QB Purdy addresses MVP buzz and other media narratives

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

SANTA CLARA – Brock Purdy genuinely feels “nothing’s changed” now that he’s emerged as the NFL MVP favorite. He’s right on at least two accounts.One, the 49ers (9-3) keep winning, as they take a four-game win streak into Sunday’s home game against the Seattle Seahawks (6-6).Two, Purdy is not taking the bait as some “reporters” fish for an incendiary reaction to other “reporters” who’ve made disparaging remarks about him.Thursday brought this loaded question: Do think representing the organization well right now standing at the podium wearing a backwards hat?“I guess that’s who I am, and I think so,” Purdy responded unapologetically.That “backwards hat” take originated from Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd last week, similar to a decade ago when an online columnist criticized Colin Kaepernick’s tatoos didn’t aptly represent the “CEO” qualities required to be the 49ers’ quarterback.“Some guys have told me in the locker room (about Cowherd’s take), but I don’t buy into that kind of stuff,” Pu...

Letters: PG&E rate hike | Careful development | GOP dysfunction

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:32 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.CPUC should hit brakeson PG&E rate hikeRe: “Regulators clear way for higher bills from PG&E” (Page A1, Nov. 17).The California Public Utilities Commission members should put on hold the approved rate hike for PG&E to bury their power lines until environmental impact studies are completed to ensure that digging more than 1,200 miles of trenches does not destroy fragile ecological areas or cause endangered species to go extinct.More comprehensively trained managers and better electronic controls on the electrical system are less costly ways to correct the PG&E mismanagement that allowed devastating fires. The approved “jump of 12.8%” is totally out of control and will not be the only additional cost to consumers. Every consumer product that depends on electricity to manufacture will cost more.The future in which all new homes and buildings are coated with solar energ...