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Illinois residents upset with proposal to sell some park land for private wedding venue business

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

WOOD RIVER, Ill. - Some Wood River residents are upset with a proposal to sell off some of Belk Park's land for a private wedding venue business.A proposal introduced at the Wood River City Zoning meeting by the city manager Thursday to sell 10 acres of the land has Tressa Ellison frustrated."There's a developer that's interested in building a wedding venue there," Ellison said. "It would interrupt the park and its use. It just doesn't seem right – it's egregious."According to a Wood River ordinance signed in 1954 by then-mayor Ivan Kramer, Robert Lee Belk left a piece of land in his will to be used for a public park and recreation grounds.The ordinance stated that it would be named Belk Memorial Park and that a bronze tablet would be placed at the main entrance to say the park was given to the city for use as a "PUBLIC PARK" by Robert Lee Belk."If the venue goes there, I don't want to go out there walking my dog and be told no because I'm going to ruin somebody's wedding photos," E...

Larimer deputy won’t be criminally charged in death of man struck on I-25 after being shocked with Taser

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

No criminal charges will be brought against a Larimer County sheriff’s deputy in the death of a 28-year-old man who was struck and killed by a vehicle on Interstate 25 after the deputy shocked him with a Taser.Brent Thompson (Provided by Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC)Brent Allen Thompson, of Loveland, died Feb. 18 during a traffic stop in which Deputy Lorenzo Lujan deployed his Taser on Thompson. The man collapsed into the northbound lane of I-25 and was hit by a passing motorist, according to a fatal use-of-force decision letter on the incident issued by the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office. Thompson had been stopped by Lujan on an I-25 off-ramp for expired registration tags on the vehicle he was driving, the document said. During the stop, Thompson was found to be driving the Ford Fusion despite his driver’s license having been revoked.Lujan was attempting to arrest Thompson when he took off running toward the highway, according to the decision letter. Lujan ch...

Tagged black bear hit, killed on 101 Freeway

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

A black bear that was being tracked by the National Park Service died after it was hit by a vehicle on the 101 Freeway in Ventura County on Friday, authorities said.A driver first reported the bear to the California Highway Patrol and, around 10:30 p.m., a NPS biologist found the carcass on the median.The male bear, believed to be 3-4 years old, had a GPS radio collar that was attached in April when he was captured in the western Santa Monica Mountains south of the 101 Freeway, NPS said.This National Park Service photo shows BB-12 when he was captured and collared in April 2023. (NPS)“When any of our radio-collared animals get killed on the road, it’s sad but not that surprising after 20 years of studying these animals in the region,” said Jeff Sikich, the lead field biologist for the mountain lion study at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. “Roadkill is the number one source of mortality for our mountain lions, so there’s no reason to believe it would be much differen...

Following successful launch, Megabus expands Vegas-to-L.A. bus service

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

Less than two months after launching a popular shuttle between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Megabus says strong demand has prompted the company to double its daily service.The New Jersey-based transit company returned to California earlier this year after discontinuing service throughout the state in the late 2010s. Upon its relaunch, Megabus offered three daily trips between Anaheim, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento. In June, Megabus launched a twice-daily shuttle between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with additional trips to Anaheim, Barstow and Riverside. This undated promotional image shows a Megabus bus driving between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. (Megabus)At the time of the launch, Colin Emberson, Megabus vice president of commercial, called the L.A. to Las Vegas service an important route for the company's growth.Less than two months after the launch of the route, Megabus announced it would be doubling the service, adding two more daily shuttle...

Embracing Childhood Chaos: Little Trouble’s Journey to Letting Kids Be Kids

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

In October 2020, amidst the global pandemic and the postponement of their highly anticipated wedding, Dinah Chapman and her husband found solace in a new undertaking — creating their own family. Throughout Dinah’s pregnancy, her efforts to find matching and unique outfits for her husband and soon-to-be-born son proved fruitless. Determined to fill this void in the market, she took matters into her own hands and founded Little Trouble, a children’s clothing company driven by a resounding purpose.Driven by an unwavering dedication to celebrating the very essence of childhood, Dinah spearheaded the creation of Little Trouble—a vibrant embodiment of boundless exuberance, innocent wonder, and unfiltered self-expression. With a clear vision, she pursued a heartfelt mission to ignite children’s joy, empowering them to embrace their true nature and experience the pure delights of play. Whether fearlessly leaping into puddles or immersing themselves in youth’s enchant...

Storms, flooding deal farmers in Northeast a devastating blow

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

By Steve LeBlanc | Associated PressWell before it was warm enough to plant seedlings in the ground, farmer Micah Barritt began nursing crops like watermelon, eggplant and tomatoes — eventually transplanting them from his greenhouse into rich Vermont soil, hoping for a bountiful fall harvest.Within a few hours last week, those hopes were washed away when flood waters inundated the small farm, destroying a harvest with a value he estimated at $250,000. He still hopes to replant short-season crops like mustard greens, spinach, bok choy and kale.“The loss of the crops is a very tangible way to measure the flood, but the loss of the work is hard to measure,” said Barritt, one of five co-owners of Diggers’ Mirth Collective Farm in Burlington, Vermont. “We’re all grieving and heartbroken because of this.”That heartbreak was felt by farmers in several Northeast states after floods dealt a devastating blow at the worst possible time — when many plants were...

Emergency halts eastbound traffic on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge

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

Traffic on the eastbound Richmond-San Rafael Bridge was halted Friday afternoon because of a person threatening to jump off the span, according to the California Highway Patrol.Negotiators were working to resolve the crisis, the CHP reported. Traffic monitors showed heavy congestion on Interstate 580 in San Rafael, northbound Highway 101 in San Rafael, East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Larkspur and westbound Interstate 580 in Richmond.Check back for updates.

VP Harris: Florida rules on Black history pushed by Gov. DeSantis are ‘propaganda’

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

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and BRENDAN FARRINGTONWASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris said extremists want to “replace history with lies” as she traveled to Florida on Friday to assail Republican efforts to overhaul educational standards, plunging into a battle over schooling that has rippled through classrooms around the country.“They dare to push propaganda to our children,” she said in Jacksonville. “This is the United States of America. We’re not supposed to do that.”Her trip came two days after the Florida Board of Education approved a revised Black history curriculum to satisfy legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate who has accused public schools of liberal indoctrination. The new standards include instruction that enslaved people benefited from skills that they learned.“How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” Harris asked.She did ...

San Francisco mourns death of legendary singer Tony Bennett

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

(BCN) -- While fans around the world mourned the death of Tony Bennett Friday, the news hit his adopted hometown of San Francisco particularly hard. The legendary singer's iconic connection to the city was cemented in 1961 when he first performed his hit "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" at the Fairmont hotel. Since then, it's become the song most associated with "the city by the Bay" and continues to be played every time the San Francisco Giants baseball team secures a home win. On Friday, Mayor London Breed ordered the flags at City Hall to be flown at half-mast to honor the dulcet-toned crooner's love of the city, his artistic legacy and his life. Taylor Swift concerts at Levi’s prompts bracelet policy change "Tony Bennett provided us with a song, a spirit, and a magic that is intertwined with the history of San Francisco and who we are," Breed said. "Today we honor his memory and celebrate his legacy that will stay with us forever." The city has long embraced its ...

Testifying Against Texas, Women Denied Abortions Relive the Pregnancies That Almost Killed Them

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

When Samantha Casiano learned she was pregnant last year, she and her husband felt excitement. The 29-year-old mother of four and lifelong Texas resident began collecting baby toys and a bassinet for her fifth child. During a routine ultrasound at 20 weeks, she was chatting up the technician when the room suddenly grew silent. Casiano’s doctor delivered grim news: Her baby had anencephaly, a lethal condition in which the skull and brain fail to develop.“My first thought was, maybe surgery can fix this, but I was told, ‘Sorry, your daughter is incompatible with life, she will be born without a skull,’” Casiano said in a Texas district court hearing on Wednesday. “She was going to die inside or outside of my womb.”Her doctors bluntly told her she had “no options” in Texas as a result of the state’s abortion laws, handing her only a prescription for antidepressants. Casiano considered traveling to New Mexico for pregnancy termination, but the barriers were too steep. She could not take...