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Ald. Ramirez-Rosa steps down as floor leader following ‘bullying’ allegations

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked City Council Floor Leader is out.On Monday, Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward) resigned from his leadership post and stepped down as chairman of the Zoning Committee following allegations of bullying.After a weekend of calls for his resignation, Ramirez-Rosa announced that he would be stepping down in a press release on Monday. "Tensions were high at a chaotic meeting, and I let that get the best of me, leading me to act in a way unbecoming of a leader. I sincerely apologize to my colleague, Alderwoman Emma Mitts, for the disrespectful interaction outside of Council Chambers. I also apologize to other colleagues who I have heard also felt disrespected and harmed by my actions — Alderpeople Lee, Cardona, and Taliaferro," Ramirez-Rosa said.  Cubs hiring Craig Counsell to replace David Ross as manager Members of the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus (CABC) allege that Ramirez-Rosa physically and verbally harassed Al...

Calumet City drops citations against reporter for asking too many questions

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

CALUMET CITY, Ill. (AP) — Officials in a suburban Chicago community on Monday dropped municipal citations against a local news reporter for what they said were persistent contacts with city officials seeking comment on treacherous fall flooding.The reversal occurred days after officials in Calumet City mailed several citations to Hank Sanders, a Daily Southtown reporter whose job includes covering the suburb, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday. The Southtown is owned by the Tribune’s parent company,The tickets from the city of 35,000, located 24 miles (39 kilometers) south of Chicago, had alleged “interference/hampering of city employees” by Sanders. Questions emerge over CTU president’s Indiana property tax claim The Southtown published a story online Oct. 19 and in print Oct. 20 in which Sanders reported that consultants had informed Calumet City officials that their stormwater facilities were in poor condition before September’s historic rains cau...

New law cracks down on fake service animals

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — While Austin is a dog friendly city, man's best friend isn't allowed everywhere. But some people are taking advantage of the system and claiming pets as service dogs.Now, a new law aims to crackdown on false representation of these service animals.House Bill 4164 went into effect in September, and it increases the penalty for people misrepresenting their dogs as service animals. Fines for violating the law have increased from $300 to $1,000 and 30 hours of community service."We get more false identification than we do true identification," said Donny Castro-Conde, owner of Dog Training Elite in Austin.Castro-Conde trains service dogs and he knows the importance of their roll for the people they serve. He says when people approach service dogs like a normal pet it can be detrimental to the work they do."When you do have that distraction from the public it makes the handler's job much more difficult to maintain their dogs attention on them for their disability," said C...

San Marcos City Council postpone vote on vision plan

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) --- Monday night, the San Marcos City Council decided to move its vote on the comprehensive plan called Vision SMTX ++. This plan will serve as a roadmap for the city's next 20 years. Ultimately, council members agreed they needed more time to look through feedback sent to them by residents. Council decided to move the vote to January 16. In the meantime, two council members and the mayor volunteered to create a committee tasked with working with city staff to gather more community input about the plan.During public comment, people were divided on their feelings for the plan. Some encouraged council to approve it. "It has taken years of drafting, it has cost tens of thousands of dollars and it has included thousands of hours of work to bring this inclusive community driven version to completion," one supporter said. While others were not so sure. "A future San Marcos that is less affordable, sprawls out further into undisturbed lands, and gives almost all of...

Catholic group that wanted Wilder Forest now plans to purchase Wisconsin resort

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

After working for more than a year on an unsuccessful bid to buy land and build a Catholic summer youth camp in the Wilder Forest in northern Washington County, the Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership is turning its sights to northwestern Wisconsin.Youth Partnership officials recently signed a letter of intent to purchase the 700-acre Heartwood Resort and Conference Center in Trego, Wis. The sale is expected to close in mid-January.“We have found a beautiful property that is going to work great for our needs,” said Tim Healy, the partnership’s president. “What is so amazing about it is that it already has almost everything we wanted in a camp.”Plans call for the Heartwood Resort, which includes a lodge with 12-foot pine rafters, cabins and dormitory-style buildings, to be used as a Catholic youth camp in the summer, and for conferences, family camps, men’s and women’s retreats and “Faith and Science” camps during the school year, Healy said. It has ample rooms for the campers, and ...

Officials say there is a need for more ESL and Spanish courses

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Capital Region Language Center, which teaches different languages to children and adults, said it is seeing its largest demand for classes, especially compared to the last few years. Kim Andersen, Founder and Director of the center and Empire State English, said they have seen a need for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and classes for those who wish to speak Spanish. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “Between walk-ins and phone calls, we spend a lot more time on the phone in Spanish these days than in the last couple of years,” Andersen said.She also said the school has received more requests from companies and even school districts for language services “to help people here in our community learn Spanish so that they can either onboard new employees Or that teachers can work more effectively with their students.”Two local school districts in the Capital Region welcomed more than 100 childre...

With final objective clear, CSU Rams taking it one game at a time

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

With three games remaining on its schedule, the Colorado State football team knows it needs to win all three to play in a bowl game this season.The Rams also know they can’t look ahead.After suffering their third straight loss last Friday to Wyoming in the annual Border War, the Rams believe they can get back on track and reach at least one of the goals they set for themselves when the season began.“Everybody’s been looking at our schedule and saying if we do this, then we can do that, and really none of that matters to us,” CSU head coach Jay Norvell said Monday at his weekly news conference. “To us, we’re in a one-game playoff where we get an opportunity to play a very, very good San Diego State team.“We have three games left. We can’t play three games Saturday. We play one game Saturday, so that’s really all we’re focused on. We’ve talked about it as a team. It’s a playoff game. We’ve got to go win. That’s the way we look at it. That’s the position we’ve put ourselves in, really....

Captain of dive boat that sunk after fire convicted in deaths of 34 passengers

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

The captain of the Conception dive boat that sunk to the bottom of the ocean near Santa Cruz Island in 2019 has been convicted in the deaths of the 34 souls on board.Jerry Nehl Boylan, 69, of Santa Barbara was found guilty of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, better known as "seaman's manslaughter." Boylan could face up to 10 years in federal prison.Boylan captained the Conception dive boat, a 75-foot wood and fiberglass vessel that was well known in the diving community and offered overnight stays and early morning diving excursions near the Channel Islands.On Sept. 2, 2019, while the boat was docked in Santa Barbara Harbor, a fire broke out on board, quickly engulfing the vessel and trapping 33 passengers and one crewmember below deck.Boylan and four crewmembers were able to jump to safety after a failed rescue attempt and were picked up by a civilian boat. The Conception sunk to the seabed and those trapped underneath were killed.It was the worst maritime disaster in the sta...

Antisemitic graffiti scrawled across Beverly Grove resident's garage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

A Beverly Grove resident is upset and concerned after discovering a hateful, anti-Jewish message scrawled across his garage in blank ink over the weekend.  Scott Shulman, who for many years worked as a network news photographer covering wars in Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan, said he never expected this kind of hate in his neighborhood.  “It said ‘feed the Jews to the pigs,’” Shulman told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell. “I feel targeted because I’m a Jew and I go to synagogue, and it targets my people. I do feel targeted.”  Surveillance footage captured the vandal, who was wearing a black hoodie, in front of Shulman’s garage. The Beverly Grove resident took to the time to post signs up around his neighborhood, encouraging anyone with information to contact the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division.  Surveillance footage of a person in a black hoodie believed to have left antisemitic graffiti on a Beverly Grove resident's garage over the weekend. Nov. 6, 2023. In the p...

Woman arrested after ramming car into boyfriend’s car in Chino Hills

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

A woman was arrested on Sunday after she allegedly rammed her car into another car multiple times in Chino Hills. According to a Chino Hills Police Department news release, 44-year-old Elvira Gutierrez of Ontario confronted her long-term boyfriend about personal issues at the Shoppes, located at the 13900 block of Peyton Drive. During the altercation, Gutierrez rammed her car into the victim’s car multiple times. The victim fled and Gutierrez then pursued him. Nearby deputies witnessed the incident and arrested Gutierrez for assault with a deadly weapon. She was booked at West Valley Detention Center.