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Early start to downtown violence worries Chicagoans, as summer looms

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago residents worried about the downtown violence over the weekend expressed their concerns to police on Wednesday.Members of the 18th Police District met with community members to help build relationships among the people they serve. The meeting was inr response to Saturday, when a large crowd of young people swarmed the streets in the Loop, attacking visitors, committing robberies and causing overall chaos. Downtown beating witness: ‘They were going to kill that young man’ The unruly group gathered near the intersection of East Washington Street and Michigan Avenue. In addition to damaged vehicles, traffic and CTA were also disrupted in the area. In all, 15 people, including nine adults and six juveniles, were arrested following the incident and two teens were shot. The 18th District is just a block away from where the incidents occurred and residents who live in the area spoke to police about what is being done to keep them safe. "I'm here because I...

Mother of death row inmate Ivan Cantu seeks new trial after key witness recants testimony

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The mother of Texas death row inmate Ivan Abner Cantu went to the Texas Capitol on Wednesday, along with a private investigator and a volunteer legal team, to advocate for a stay of execution and a review of new evidence in the case.Ivan, 49, was convicted by a Collin County jury in 2001 for the murders of James Mosqueda (Ivan's cousin) and Amy Kitchen (Mosqueda's fiancé) in November 2000. He is scheduled for execution on April 26.However, in a petition to Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Ivan's legal team claims that they have found evidence that could exonerate Ivan. How does the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles decide who gets pardoned? The new evidence includes the discovery of jewelry missing from the victims, telephone records and forensic pathology. The petition also states that one of the witnesses, Jeff Boettcher, has since disavowed his testimony, stating that "he was not a credible witness due to his history of drug abuse."M...

AFD, ATCEMS break ground on joint station in southeast Austin

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin, the Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County EMS broke ground Wednesday for the reconstruction of the joint Fire/EMS station in southeast Austin, according to a city news release.The station, located at 5309 E. Riverside Drive, is slated for completion in early 2024, according to the city.In 2018, Austin City Council set the goal for Austin Fire emergency response times at eight minutes of call receipt, 90% of the time, the release said. This is a goal consistent with national standards set by the Commission of Fire Protection Accreditation International, as well as the National Fire Protection Association.The Fire #22/EMS #12 station is one of several priority stations slated for renovation/reconstruction, the release said.“It's no secret that Austin is expanding in every direction, whether it's in our district or any other area of the city. Given the continued expansion, I will continue working with my council colleagues to make public s...

Other voices: A terrible Texas bill curbs college faculty from teaching about real ideas

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

So-called conservatives believe deeply in protecting the right of everyone on college campuses to express their opinions, including opinions others might find offensive — except when they don’t.They hate the idea of carving up colleges and universities into “safe spaces” — except when they are intent on sending liberal professors packing.The hypocrisy is so thick, you can only cut it with a power saw.The latest case in point is a bill just approved by the Texas state Senate proclaiming that “A faculty member of an institution of higher education may not compel or attempt to compel a student enrolled at the institution to adopt a belief that any race, sex, or ethnicity or social, political, or religious belief is inherently superior to any other race, sex, ethnicity, or belief.” Comically, it purports to do this in the name of intellectual diversity.Imagine an economics professor who, in the tradition of Milton Friedman, wishes to explain to ...

David Schultz: Competing for businesses? A lot matters more than local tax-break bait

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

For the last 25 or so years the City of Saint Paul has used a variety of tax incentives to encourage business location decisions and encourage economic development. Are they necessary? The simple answer is no, and there are far more effective tools than tax breaks to to encourage business development.Perhaps at the top of any list of political myths is the idea that taxes, including their incidences and incentives, are serious factors affecting business relocation decisions. At the core of this belief is the idea that businesses make decisions about where to locate a facility based primarily, or perhaps even exclusively, upon taxes. As a result of this belief, state and local governments have engaged in dramatic tax wars against one another to lure businesses to their community.What do we really know about the impact of taxes upon business relocation decisions?The literature is clear — tax breaks to encourage economic relocation are economically inefficient and wasteful.Social entre...

Rain could alter flood forecast, but Minnesota officials confident state will escape serious damage

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

Most of Minnesota should escape serious flooding over the next couple weeks, emergency managers said Wednesday, but cautioned that higher-than-expected rains in the coming days or rapid snowmelt in the Red River Valley could raise the threat.“Right now we are entering what we hope to be the peak of this event, which should be occurring over the next week to 10 days,” said Dan Hawblitzel, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. “That is assuming — and that is an assumption — that we don’t have any more significant sources of precipitation. And unfortunately we can’t guarantee that.”But he and other officials said at a briefing for reporters on Minnesota’s flood preparations that they and communities along the state’s major rivers have been preparing for weeks. They’ve been stockpiling sandbags, building dikes, closing low-lying roads and parks, and implementing action plans developed during past floods. And they...

Colorado School of Mines legend Marv Kay, a former Golden mayor, dies at 84

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

Colorado School of Mines and the city of Golden have lost “the greatest Oredigger of all time.”Marv Kay, a longtime Mines football coach and former player who later served as the mayor of Golden for eight years, has died at the age of 84, the school announced. Details of his death were not disclosed.“Rarely do we see people like Coach Kay who have committed their entire life to one school and the surrounding community,” Mines athletic director David Hansburg said in a statement. “Marv Kay is clearly the greatest Oredigger of all time, and his legacy will live on forever in the hearts and minds of his countless friends.”Kay was an influential figure in helping turn Mines into an NCAA Division II athletic juggernaut, in addition to being a prominent member of the Golden community.An All-American offensive lineman for the Orediggers, Kay guided the Mines football program as head coach for 26 years, twice being named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Confer...

Avalanche’s Jack Johnson, Andrew Cogliano day-to-day; Avs have trouble with ice, but “that’s not a reasonable excuse”

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

Ben Meyers made his playoff debut 24 hours after his close college friend became a playoff hero.Meyers, who played NCAA hockey for the Golden Gophers last season, watched some of the Wild-Stars game Monday night, not knowing yet that he would play for the Avalanche in Game 1 the next day. His old Minnesota teammate Brock Faber signed recently with the Wild. Faber — after playing two regular-season games — was in the playoff lineup and made a game-saving block in overtime.“I saw the block. Pretty cool for him,” Meyers said. “Obviously it’s great that he got in the lineup for a playoff game.”Then Meyers ended up in one by necessity. Avalanche forward Andrew Cogliano (upper body) remains day-to-day going into Game 2 vs. the Seattle Kraken on Thursday (7:30 p.m. MT). He briefly skated Wednesday before an optional practice for the Avs.Cogliano, Darren Helm and Jack Johnson are all day-to-day, coach Jared Bednar said. Johnson was set to play Game ...

Distressed owl trapped in lacrosse netting rescued by Wheat Ridge officers

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

A great horned owl trapped in lacrosse netting on the Wheat Ridge High School campus was rescued and sent to the Birds of Prey Foundation in Broomfield to be evaluated.The distressed owl was found Wednesday morning and the high school’s resource officer, Joe Mallory, and two community resource officers, Tim Haines and Tristian Siemek, carefully cut the netting and freed the bird.“He’s doing ok, I think he is sore,” said Heidi Bucknam, with the foundation, of the owl. “He really tangled himself up and fought it for a long time.”Related ArticlesColorado News | Hikers are losing their shoes in Colorado’s high country, requiring rescues Bucknam described the owl’s condition as stable and said that it’s too early to tell if and when the bird might be released from the nonprofit’s care.If all goes well with the owl in rehabilitation, it will be released back in the Wheat Ridge area, police said.Last July, a great ...

'Chesapeake Bandits' wanted for 4 armored car robberies in L.A. County

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:49 GMT

Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office are asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects involved in armored car robberies across the Southland.  The so-called “Chesapeake Bandits” committed four armored car robberies between Feb. 2022 and Feb. 2023, with two of the armed heists taking place in Inglewood, another in South L.A. and one in Hawthorne, a FBI bulletin stated.  Federal agents said the suspects usually overtake armored car drivers as they exit a business or while they service drive-thru ATMs.  “They zip tie the driver while holding them at gunpoint, enter the armored vehicle and steal the money,” the bulletin stated. During one of the robberies, a shot was fired, but no one was injured, authorities said, but added that the suspects should be considered armed and dangerous.  The unknown suspects, dubbed the "Chesapeake Bandits" by the FBI, are believed to be responsible for four armored car robberies in L.A. ...