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Candidates emerge to challenge for Illinois' 7th Congressional District seat

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

CHICAGO -- The primary election may be eight months away, but Illinois’ 7th congressional district race is heating up. In Illinois' 7th district, Congressman Danny Davis has held his seat for a quarter century and now, challengers are emerging."The West Side of Chicago is not just where I’m from, it’s where my dreams were made," Kina Collins said.On Tuesday, the 32-year-old Collins formally launched a campaign, her third straight bid."I’m really excited. I’m a public policy expert," Collins said. "I’m an organizer by nature and I think that’s really going to shine through in this comeback relaunch of our run."In 2020, Collins’ first campaign, she was a nonfactor, garnering just 14 percent in the Democratic primary against incumbent Danny Davis.Last year was a different story. Collins came within 4,600 votes and drove home the message the district needs a new voice."I think that politicians have made a career out of staying in their seats for a long time even when the tenor of the di...

Son detained at airport after 'skip lagging' flight hack, father says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) - The purchased flight was from Gainesville, Florida to New York City with a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina. The plan was for Hunter Parsons' teenage son to get off the plane in Charlotte, where he lives, and not continue to New York City. The practice — booking whole flights but getting off at the layover — is frowned upon in the airline industry. It's known as hidden city ticketing, point beyond ticketing, and skip lagging.And even though Parsons says his family has used skip lagging resource Skip Lagged for the past five to eight years, he says he never would have put his son in this predicament if he knew what would happen. Will El Niño make airplane turbulence worse? Hunter says that once at the airport in Florida with his North Carolina driver's license, the gate agent was skeptical of his son's final destination.According to Parsons, his son was "interrogated a little bit" before being "taken to a security room." "They kind of got out of him tha...

Surly hawk causes disruptions in USPS deliveries in south Austin

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A pugnacious hawk has been causing some drama in a south Austin neighborhood.Axios Austin originally reported that the hawk swoop attacked multiple residents, and the United States Postal Service said it has to halt operations to neighbors within the bird’s reach until it pacifies. USPS told KXAN that it had stopped delivering to several homes in Travis Heights to protect its employees from getting harmed by the bird. “The Postal Service always strives to provide the best possible service; however, the safety of our employees and customers is our priority. With regards to mail service in the Travis Heights neighborhood, the presence of a hawk has prevented safe delivery of mail to a few of the residents on Milal and Kenwood streets,” a USPS spokesperson said in a statement.Since hawks are a federally protected species, USPS said it contacted Austin Animal Control and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for assistance. And while the threat remains, resident...

'She practiced law': Dripping Springs firm defends ex-employee arrested for pretending to be a lawyer

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN)—A woman in Dripping Springs was recently arrested and charged with pretending to be a lawyer.Dorothy Butler Law Firm's owner, Dorothy Lawrence, said this is being made out to be something it's not.Dororthy Lawrence sits down with Reporter Jala Washington to discuss arrest of former employee (KXAN photos/Frank Martinez).Nichole Humes—who was hired by Lawrence—was formally charged with 'Falsely presenting oneself as a lawyer,' based on an incident in September 2022. "I was aware that Nichole was not a licensed attorney in the state of Texas," Lawrence said. "This isn't the notario situation that people see down on the border where somebody just decided one day, I'm going to open up shop and call myself an attorney. This woman holds a JD, she is an attorney, she practiced law for over a decade."Humes was arrested after an investigation on July 4, according to Hays County court records. Lawrence said Humes worked as a paralegal for her firm. "Nichole actua...

Memo: "Drastic steps" needed to properly staff Austin airport tower

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Air traffic controller staffing for the tower at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) has "already fallen behind the rapid increase of air traffic within our airspace," according to a memo sent to regional air traffic control representatives. Just last month, the CEO for United Airlines blamed such staffing shortages - which are occurring nationwide - for recent delays that plagued various airlines.A spokesperson for AUS said air traffic control shortages impact airline operations more than airport operations. Airport operations include monitoring airport roadways, the airfield and parking versus things like flight schedules.Air traffic controllers communicate with pilots within 40 miles of the airport. Crews in the tower According to the air traffic control staffing memo obtained by KXAN, the tower has seen "unprecedented growth in air traffic over the last two years," and staffers are "working mostly six-day workweeks" to keep up. The memo asks the FAA...

Drugs, homeless camps continue at East Austin Park

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drugs and homeless camps continue to plague a popular east Austin park.People living near Parque Zaragoza told KXAN back in May that they don't feel safe and want something done, but today the problems continue."We have had to lock up a lot of stuff and we never had to before." said Kathy DeLeon who lives across the street.In May, the City of Austin's Parks and Recreation Department told us the camps in the park have been cleared multiple times over the last year and a half."A lot of homeless people," said a man who lives nearby. "A lot of drug use around the clock."Other people living nearby tell us they are upset with how the city has enforced the camping ban."Where do we turn? Where does the community turn to? Who is in charge here?" said a man living nearby."It doesn't seem like the government is doing what is in the best interests of the community," said a woman who lives down the street from the park. Councilmember calls community meeting after drug concerns ...

'Really upsetting': Graffiti, fires prompt more security cameras, patrols at Hays County park

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) --- More security cameras and patrols are coming to a Hays County park. That's after the Five Mile Dam Park was hit with graffiti and fires in one week. "There were letters. There were some pictures. There were like little flames and flowers. I remember seeing a cow. There were some inappropriate pictures and words as well," said Education Coordinator for the Hays County Parks Department Katherine Sturdivant. The Fourth of July fire Sturdivant said sometime after the park closed on the night of Fourth of July, a fire was accidentally set by a suspected stray firework. "There was a lot of trash from fireworks scattered about the whole upper and lower area here," Sturdivant said. The Hays County Parks Department said the trees and plants were meant to help stabilize the banks and filter water better to maintain water quality. (Photo: Hays County Parks Department)She said it was quickly put out by the local fire department, but the damage is done. "It's really...

Wanted New Brighton man jumps from parked MSP plane, hides in food service truck, police say

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

A 44-year-old from New Brighton opened an emergency exit door on a parked airplane at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, leaped to the airfield and hid in an airline food service truck, police say.The man was a passenger on a Sun Country Airlines flight from Orlando, and he jumped from an emergency exit over the wing about 11:15 p.m. Sunday as other passengers were departing the plane at Terminal 2, according to Jeff Lea, Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman.Officers had been waiting at the gate to arrest the man for allegedly violating a restraining order, Lea said. He also had a warrant from Wright County for a first-degree controlled substance offense, according to an Airport Police report.Airport Police started searching for the man, with assistance from other agencies. The search didn’t affect the airport’s operations, Lea said.Employees reported about 11:40 p.m. that the suspect was inside a food service truck. Officers arrested him on suspicion ...

Groundbreaking for The Heights development in St. Paul in advance of soil remediation

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

For some 40 years or more, the Hillcrest Country Club in St. Paul used mercury to control fungus along its golf course fairways, greens and tee boxes. Bolander Construction will soon begin removing soil running at least six inches deep in those locations, and up to one and a half feet of contaminated dirt along the greens, to prep the land for up to 1,000 new housing units and 1,000 new jobs.Environmental engineers with Braun Intertec will then test the soil, and if necessary, more dirt removal will follow.That’s step one of many. The shuttered clubhouse off Larpenteur Avenue will be demolished before the end of August, one of the more visible milestones in the gradual redevelopment of the 112-acre Hillcrest site into the future East Side live-work destination known as The Heights.“It’s such a big, unique shift,” said George Hoene, a senior project manager with the St. Paul Port Authority, which acquired the defunct golf course and sizable brownfield from the...

New monthly film series to focus on films made in or by Minnesotans

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul is launching a new monthly series devoted to films made in and/or by Minnesotans.It kicks off July 17 with a screening of “Hollywood Fringe” at the Main Cinema in Minneapolis. Tickets are $15 and include a 6 p.m. reception and screening at 7:30 followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. For more details, see mspfilm.org.“Hollywood Fringe” debuted in 2020 and played several film festivals, including the 2021 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, where it won the audience choice award.A dark comedy about acting, life and fringe festivals, “Hollywood Fringe” stars Justin Kirk (“Succession”) and Jennifer Prediger as two ex-Minnesotan actors in Los Angeles who stage a Fringe play about trying to make art in an industry town. It was produced, written and directed by Minnesota filmmakers Megan Huber and Wyatt McDill and features music from local favorites John Munson (Semisonic, the New Standards) and Lucy Michelle.Film Threat called it ...