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Met Council delays Summit Avenue bikeway vote as opponents petition for environmental review

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

The Metropolitan Council has postponed a Wednesday vote on St. Paul’s proposed Summit Avenue bikeway after opponents petitioned state regulators for an elaborate environmental assessment.The petition cites the 4.5-mile bikeway’s potential impact on the trees, layout and historic character of Summit Avenue, whose streetscape sits on the National Register of Historic Places. Gary Todd, chair of the S.O.S. (Save Our Street) committee, turned in the petition Monday to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board.Citing the work of an independently-hired arborist, the S.O.S. coalition has estimated the $12 million bikeway, together with the $100 million road reconstruction, could claim as many as 950 trees. City estimates have it closer to 220 trees.Cycling advocates have accused bikeway opponents of using the tree estimates as a smokescreen to protect their parking.Todd, in a brief interview on Friday, emphasized that Summit Avenue is populated not just by Victorian mansions li...

Q&A: Loons owner Bill McGuire on club’s salary spending, strikers woes and Lionel Messi buzz

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

Supporters can pick holes in Minnesota United, but Loons owner Bill McGuire chooses to take a holistic approach.The Loons (7-8-7) are one point outside the newly expanded, nine-team Western Conference field for the MLS Cup Playoffs, with 35 percent — 12 matches — left in the regular season.For years, MNUFC has been outside the top 15, sometimes top 20, in MLS salary spending and has needed to outperform that low ranking on the field to clinch four consecutive playoff appearances.But to McGuire, it’s about more that. He points to things such overall competitiveness and experiences, Allianz Field being tabbed as the best stadium in MLS, per the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the club’s and players’ standing within the community.“I think what fans want is, one, a great experience,” McGuire said this week. “And two, they want to have a club or a team that they can be oriented with, they can feel part of. It has emotions around. I don’t think that a majority of people expect to go and ...

Do dogs on trails need to be leashed?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

ADIRONDACK PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) - From small trails to high peaks, the Adirondacks are home to hiking paths perfect to take a four-legged friend on. This week, campers on one mountain in the Adirondacks got a reminder of what could happen when proper precautions aren't taken. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Cabins at Chimney Mountain made a Facebook post this week announcing the temporary closure of the Chimney Mountain trailhead, following a recent dog-on-dog attack at one of the cabins. According to the post, a dog belonging to a hiker attacked a dog at the campsite, grabbing it by the neck. It took three adults to separate the dogs, in what Cabins at Chimney Mountain calls one of several such incidents the two-person management team has struggled to deal with."It was our full intention to keep the trail access through our private property open," the statement reads in part. "However, we are at the point where we feel it i...

Hochul signs ban on dumping toxic waste into Hudson River

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the "Save the Hudson" bill into law, prohibiting the dumping of radioactive waste from decommissioning nuclear plants into the Hudson River. It went into effect immediately on August 18. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! In June, both the Assembly and the state Senate unanimously passed the measure. It aims to protect communities in New York’s Hudson Valley by preventing dumping into the Hudson River. It's expected to halt Holtec International’s planned dump of over one million gallons of toxic radioactive wastewater from the downstate Indian Point site. “The Hudson River is one of New York’s landmark natural treasures, and it’s critical we stand together to protect it for generations to come,” Hochul said in a statement announcing her signature. “My administration remains committed to protecting the economic vitality of the region and working closely with local communities who h...

Two Jan. 6 rioters sentenced to prison; 3 co-defendants still on the run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Two Tampa Bay area men were sentenced to prison this week for multiple offenses connected to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. One faces a year and a half incarcerated and the other faces four years while three more from their group remain at large. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols handed down an 18-month prison sentence for Joshua Doolin, 25, followed by three years of supervised release, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). And on Thursday, Nichols sentenced Michael Perkins, 40, to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.Court documents state that Doolin considered bringing a semi-automatic rifle to the rally outside the Capitol, but decided against it "at the last minute." He traveled to the Capitol with a group of family and friends, including Perkins, of Plant City; Olivia and Jonathan Pollock, of Lakeland...

These Colorado businesses raising money for Maui wildfire victims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

Coloradans – who are no strangers to wildfires – can donate money to victims of the ongoing wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui by frequenting several businesses statewide.As of Friday, at least 111 people died in the wildfires that swept across Maui’s west side last week. What started as a brushfire strengthened with hurricane winds, leading to the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in the more than a century, according to The Associated Press.Maui County officials reported on Thursday night that the Olinda fire is 85% contained, the Kula fire is 80% contained, the Lāhainā fire is 90% contained and the Pūlehu/Kīhei fire is completely contained, but not extinguished.Today, Native Hawaiians are asking tourists to refrain from visiting Maui as they try to locate their missing loved ones, recover bodies and house people experiencing homelessness – all with limited resources.The wildfires “really wiped out the entire town of Lāhainā,” said Lisa Kelekolio, the current ...

Proposed railway that would bring millions of gallons of crude oil through Colorado halted by federal judge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

Development has paused on a proposed railway that would haul millions of gallons of crude oil through Colorado after a federal appeals court on Friday found significant deficiencies in analyses of potential environmental impacts like increased wildfire risk and potential spills into the Colorado River basin.A coalition of private companies and seven Utah counties intended to build the 88-mile Uinta Basin Railway Project to connect Utah’s oil fields in the 12,000-square-mile basin to the national rail network. The project would send up to nine more trains a day through Colorado and eventually to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.The Surface Transportation Board — a federal agency that regulates railways — violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to take a “hard look” at some environmental impacts of the project and disclose key potential damage in its environmental analyses, the court found. The analyses failed to mention any potential im...

Letters: Jenna Ellis’ indictment requires her to account for her actions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

Finally, Jenna Ellis indicted tooFinally, after the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel failed to do its duty and disbar Jenna Ellis for her blatant participation in the scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election, she is being required to account for her actions in the Georgia indictment, which accuses her of racketeering and asking a public official to violate their oath.I will never forget her smug response to the slap on the wrist from the Colorado Attorney Discipline office, immediately crowing about how she kept her law license. Maybe now she will recognize that she isn’t above the law. And maybe the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation has learned its lesson as well. They looked like patsies!Carla LaRosa, AuroraSpecial counsel pick questionableRe: “Hunter Biden probe: Special counsel assigned,” Aug. 12 news storyOK, class, let’s review the material before we take the test: President Joe Biden’s son is offered what we ...

Pick Six: Colorado Mines star QB John Matocha returns as one of the top small college players

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

With only a few Division I walk-on offers, John Matocha seriously considered giving up football after high school.He wasn’t quite ready, though, and decided to pursue a small-school option that took him far from home.It was a good decision. He enters his fourth season as Colorado Mines’ starting quarterback and is bidding to win a second straight Harlon Hill Trophy as the top player in Division II.Last year, Matocha passed for a nation-leading 4,778 yards and 52 touchdowns and led the Orediggers to 13 straight wins and the national championship game following an 0-2 start.Mines brings back 18 starters and begins the season ranked a program-best No. 2 behind Ferris State, the team that beat the Orediggers in the title game.Matocha grew up in Magnolia, Texas, and was named to the Greater Houston first team after putting up huge numbers as a high school senior. But he didn’t fit the mold of a major-college quarterback.“I’m not the most impressive-looking guy — 5...

I’m just getting started! How writer-director Nikki Cole addresses gender inequality and ageism in Hollywood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:36 GMT

Although women represent the majority of consumers in film and television, only 27% reach C-Suite positions in the industry. This glass ceiling has been present for decades. While women were on screen during the 1950s, the chosen actors always had a particular set of traits, one of the most important involving their age. Younger actresses have been the ideal hire for production studios, but even behind the screen, recruiters are not fond of hiring more experienced and knowledgeable women.Despite the success of a current blockbuster directed by a woman, according to a 2019 report, women working behind the scenes on top-grossing films hasn’t changed in the last two decades. Female directors, writers, producers, and cinematographers only made up 21% of the crew on these big-budget creations. As a mature creator, Nikki Cole continually works to raise awareness.In her own experiences as a writer, producer, director and showrunner, she has faced sexist remarks and rejections from th...