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Diversity debate dominates House action on Missouri state budget

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri Democrats argued Thursday that restrictive language barring the state from spending tax dollars on diversity and inclusion initiatives threatens to close charter schools, interrupt delivery of medical services and could even force the Capitol Building to go dark.Each of the 13 bills spending $45.6 billion to run state government in the year beginning July 1 includes the language, as does the supplemental budget bill spending $2 billion to maintain state operations through the end of the current fiscal year.Sponsored by Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, as floor amendments during initial debate Tuesday, the sweeping language became the focus of hours of debate Thursday as the House sent the budget to the Senate.In a speech defending the language, Richey said it was intended to prevent preferential treatment in state agencies. The goal, he said, is to root out any attempt to implement concepts of critical race theory in state government programs.In ...

Fans packed downtown for Cardinals Opening Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Fans filled up downtown St. Louis Thursday afternoon, enjoying the baseball season opening at home for the Cardinals.The pep rally kicked off at Kiener Plaza with games, music, and a few of your favorite KPLR and KTVI personalities stopping by, the city was alive Thursday afternoon before the game.Tickets are still available for the game against the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend, and offering promotional giveaways. Top Stories: Man accused of plowing into officers should not have been driving Fans were also quick to make their way to the ever-expanding Ballpark Village to continue the celebration of what is certainly viewed as a local holiday for many.This season featured great matchups like the Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Angels of Anaheim, to name a few of the teams that 2023 promises to bring to Busch Stadium.With temperatures in the upper 60s and sunshine in St. Louis, all was well as this baseball town awakened from its winter slumber.“I...

RTD’s commuter rail partners appeal ruling that denied $100 million-plus claim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

The contracting team that built three commuter-rail lines for the Regional Transportation District filed an appeal Thursday of a court ruling denying its claim for the transit agency to cover nearly $112 million in unexpected costs.Denver Transit Partners’ 2018 lawsuit stemmed from problems with crossing-gate technology that delayed the opening of the G-Line and required flaggers at active rail crossings on the A- and B-Lines for more than two years. In a ruling issued Feb. 10, Denver District Judge Andrew P. McCallin, who presided over a late-2020 civil trial, found that DTP had shouldered the risk that it would face difficulties winning regulatory approval for the problem-plagued warning system.The judge, at the same time, also rejected RTD’s counter-claims for $27 million in damages.The contracting team’s lawyers have asked the Colorado Court of Appeals to review some of the judge’s findings and interpretations of the partnership contract.Related ArticlesT...

Avs’ Bo Byram after missed opportunity to overtake Minnesota in Central: “We’ll remember this one down the road”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

Presented with a chance to take first place in the Central on Wednesday night at Ball Arena, the Avalanche faltered in the biggest home game of the year.The Avs turned in a sloppy first period that led to a few players getting called out by coach Jared Bednar for being “passengers” in an eventual 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild that also saw Colorado’s 12-game power play scoring streak snapped.The result will provide plenty of notes and adjustments for Bednar to put in his back pocket for a potential playoff matchup with the Wild down the line. With only eight games left in the regular season, the Avs would currently face the Dallas Stars in the first round, with the winner possibly meeting Minnesota in the second round.“(Minnesota is) a hard-working team that’s committed on both sides of it,” Bednar said. “They don’t need a lot of chances to score goals. They’re on a heater now — 16-1-4 — and you can’t make mistakes against...

Wildfire burning in Elbert County near Simla threating at least 500 acres; evacuations underway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

A wildfire is burning in Elbert County near Simla where a red flag warning for fire danger has been posted.Simla Colorado. South of aHwy 24. Wildland fire. 1 structure lost. Multi Mutual Aid requested. Air support ordered.#cofire#cowxRed Flag Warning— Live Events (@coeventslive) March 30, 2023According to a tweet from the Elbert County Office of Emergency Management, the large fire is threatening approximately 500 – 700 acres south of Simla.FIRE REPORTED SOUTH OF SIMLAThere is currently a large wildfire burning south of Simla threatening approximately 500-700 acres. Evacuation of the town of Simla is in effect. There is a shelter located at the Elbert County Fairgrounds at 95 Ute Ave, Kiowa, CO. pic.twitter.com/DFYzbYXH6x— Elbert County OEM (@ElbertCountyOEM) March 30, 2023The fire is described as a grass fire, and some residents in the area have been evacuated, said Lt. Karla Schmidt of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. El Paso County is assisting Elbert ...

FBI documents give new view into Las Vegas shooter's mindset

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The high-stakes gambler who opened fire on a concert crowd on the Las Vegas Strip in 2017, killing 60 and injuring hundreds more, was apparently angry over how the casinos were treating him despite his high-roller status, according to a fellow gambler whose interview with the FBI is detailed in hundreds of pages of documents made public this week.The revelation comes years after the FBI in Las Vegas and the local police department concluded their investigations without a definitive motive, although both agencies said gunman Stephen Paddock burned through more than $1.5 million, became obsessed with guns, and distanced himself from his girlfriend and family in the months leading up to the massacre.In a statement Thursday, Las Vegas police defended their inconclusive findings and dismissed the importance of the documents released this week in response to an open-records request from the Wall Street Journal.“We were unable to determine a motive for the shooter,” the st...

Bay Area’s population exodus slows as international immigration nearly triples

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

The pandemic sent Californians fleeing from the state in 2021 in what many regarded as an alarming trend and some called the end of the California Dream. But a new U.S. Census report shows that trend slowed significantly last year, while immigration to the Golden State and Bay Area — especially from abroad — surged, suggesting the state may be starting to hit the brakes on the post-COVID exodus. The Bay Area still lost 53,000 residents in 2022, but that’s less than a third of the previous year’s loss, according to data released Thursday. And the easing of pandemic restrictions last year paved the way for a 174% increase in migrants from other countries finding a new home in the region.The latest update comes after 2021’s massive population decline threatened to upend everything from tax revenue to school enrollment. Now the Bay Area is seeing some relief, although the region is still far from its pre-pandemic booming population trends.“I wasn’t expecting this...

Oakland police hit with scathing report, more fallout from misconduct scandal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

OAKLAND — Oakland police officers continue to face consequences for their role in a misconduct scandal that, according to a new report on Thursday, has ensured the department won’t get out from under the watchful eye of a federal monitor any time soon.The latest report authored by Robert Warshaw, a monitor appointed by a federal judge to oversee the police department’s affairs on the city’s dime, reaches a scathing conclusion: OPD, it says, faces “very serious questions about its capacity to police itself.”By the end of last year, OPD appeared to be on track to end two decades of oversight by reaching full compliance with a set of reforms demanded by Judge William Orrick; Warshaw’s new report, however, found the OPD has failed to ensure that “discipline is imposed in a fair and consistent manner.”“Deep into the sustainability period, issues embedded in the history of the organization… have reappeared,” concludes...

Letters: Residents’ concerns | Compromise needed | Groundwater lesson | GOP at fault | Narcan policy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Richmond ignoresresidents’ concernsI am upset and appalled by the Richmond Planning Commission hearing regarding development of a former PG&E natural gas tank site on Brickyard Cove Road.After 2 1/2 hours of taking public comment pleading with the Planning Commission to reject the proposed project because of its reliance on 130,000 cubic yards of fill, because there has been no project specific EIR to determine the stability of the hill, and because other, alternative plans could achieve the same density without the objectionable fill and cut into the hill, the Commission approved the developer’s plan without once addressing the public’s concerns. What I found so appalling was that the chairperson’s only concern was whether there were documents somewhere in the city’s file that he could point to as a CYA.What has happened to common sense? If a project can be built that doesn’t risk the he...

Judge strikes down ACA’s preventative care requirement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:02 GMT

By Paul J. Weber | Associated PressAUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge in Texas who previously ruled to dismantle the Affordable Care Act struck down a narrower but key part of the nation’s health law Thursday that requires most insurers to cover preventive services that include screenings for cancer, diabetes and mental health.Other no-cost services, including HIV screenings, are also impacted under the ruling by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor that opponents say will jeopardize preventive care for millions of Americans.Experts cautioned that insurers are unlikely to stop any coverage immediately. The Biden administration was expected to appeal and seek a stay of the ruling.“This is not the potential fatal blow to the ACA like previous court cases, but it would limit a very popular benefit that tens of millions of people use,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.The decision comes more than four years a...