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Schenectady mayor proposes all-smoking ban in public parks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Leaders in one local community are considering additional restrictions on smoking and vaping. Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy submitted a proposal to the city council to ban all smoking in the city's public parks.Smoking cigarettes is already prohibited. The new proposal would add marijuana and e-cigarettes. The mayor said it's both a public health and a quality of life issue. Get all of the latest news, weather, sports, and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "We want people to be able to enjoy the parks, want to be able to go out and have a good time and don't want some of the irritant that tobacco smoke or other products cause for people," McCarthy said.Officials said violators would face a $50 fine. A public hearing on the proposal will be held during the city council meeting on Monday, March 13.

Pittsfield renews ties with Irish sister city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- The city of Pittsfield hosted a reception on Friday in honor of the 25th anniversary of Pittsfield's sister city relationship with Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland. Ballina also celebrated 300 years since its formal establishment. Get all of the latest news, weather, sports, and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Music, speeches, and proclamations were made. Gifts were also exchanged. A delegation from Ballina came to Pittsfield to check on their partner, and party alongside them.Afterwards, they enjoyed two different Irish pubs.

New York Air Guard gets new top enlisted leader during change of responsibility ceremony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

LATHAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A veteran pararescue jumper, who served in the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan, will become the top enlisted leader in the New York Air National Guard.Outgoing Command Chief Master Sgt. Denny Richardson formally turned over his duties as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to Command Chief Master Sgt. Michael Hewson. Get all of the latest news, weather, sports, and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Hewson is a pararescue jumper who has served in the New York air National Guard since 1989 after serving two years in the active Air Force. He is also a retired Suffolk County police officer, who served for 25 years, retiring from the emergency services unit in 2018. He's won many awards over a very long career.Richardson is not formally retiring. He is going to be the first Air Force Command Chief and Senior Enlist Leader in Florida.

Gov. Newsom signs order to divert floodwater to groundwater basins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Friday aimed at removing barriers to collecting rain and snowmelt from the latest storm to replenish the state’s groundwater supplies.The order suspends any restrictions to diverting flood-stage water for the purpose of boosting groundwater “recharge.”California storm radar. March 10, 2023.“This order helps us take advantage of expected intense storms and increases state support for local stormwater capture efforts,” Newsom said in a statement.Experts say groundwater basins account for roughly 41% of California’s average annual water supply, but unlike above-ground reservoirs, they are not directly tied to mountain snowmelt and take much longer to fill.California law typically requires that anyone seeking to divert water from streams and rivers to lands where it can recharge groundwater must obtain a water rights permit from the State Water Resources Control Board."It is critical the State take certain immediate actions without ...

Taco Bell removes fan-favorite item from menus, welcomes back other food items

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

Taco Bell fans will soon have to say goodbye to a fan-favorite item.The fast-food company announced Thursday that the Quesarito will be removed from its menus nationwide on April 19. Fans still have over a month to order the Quesarito online or on the Taco Bell app before its departure.The fast-food company announced Thursday that the Quesarito would be removed from the menus nationwide on April 19. (Taco Bell) The Quesarito, a burrito wrapped into a quesadilla, debuted in 2014 and was a success among customers, The Takeout reported.Even though Taco Bell is saying goodbye to the Quesarito, it's saying hello to two other classic menu items, the Bacon Club Chalupa and the Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito.The Bacon Club Chalupa returned to Taco Bell menus after a two-year hiatus. (Taco Bell) The Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito. made its return to Taco Bell menus on Thursday. (Taco Bell) Both items returned to Taco Bell menus for a limited time on Thursday. The Bacon Club Chalupa...

Ukraine rebounds from Russian barrage, restores power

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

By Karl Ritter and Mstyslav Chernov | Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s capital had most of its power supply restored Friday, officials said, as the country again responded swiftly and defiantly to the latest Russian missile and drone barrage targeting critical infrastructure.In what has become a familiar Russian tactic since early October, the Kremlin’s forces struck Ukraine from afar Thursday while the ground battles in the country’s east largely remained mired in a grinding stalemate.The apparent aim of attacking power stations and other infrastructure is to weaken Ukraine’s resolve and compel the Ukrainian government to negotiate peace on Moscow’s terms.Ukrainian authorities scrambled to counter the consequences of the latest bombardment, part of a recurring cycle of urban smash-and-repair that has brought little change in the course of the war, which recently entered its second year.The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based thi...

In Union City gang killings of boys, aged 11 and 14, a third teen suspect has been charged as an adult

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

UNION CITY — In the early morning hours of Nov. 23, 2019, 11-year-old Kevin Hernandez and 14-year-old Sean Withington were sitting in a minivan parked at Searles Elementary School when police say a rented Toyota pulled up and two gunmen fired dozens of shots, killing both boys.The three suspects, Carlos Zepeda, 22, Jason Cornejo, 21 and Oswaldo Flores, 20, were all arrested and charged with murder. But Flores, who was 17 at the time of the killings, was originally charged as a juvenile. In coming days he is due to appear in court and enter a plea, records show.That changed on Nov. 14, 2022, when an Alameda County judge approved a prosecution request to shift Flores’ case from juvenile to adult court. For now, Flores is still being charged as an adult, but several factors could soon cause that to change.The case encapsulates nearly everything that new Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has run against. When charges were initially filed in 2020 by former DA Nanc...

Ex-intern sues Idaho lawmakers over post-rape harrassment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

By Rebecca Boone | Associated PressBOISE, Idaho — A former Idaho legislative intern is suing a lawmaker who was convicted of raping her and one of his colleagues for publicly releasing the teen’s identity and launching a campaign of harassment against her.The young woman, who uses the pseudonym “Jane Doe” in the federal lawsuit, was just 19 when she reported that then-Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger raped her at his apartment after the two had dinner at a Boise restaurant in March 2021. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted.In the lawsuit, Doe says von Ehlinger and then Rep. Priscilla Giddings, both Republicans, retaliated by publicly releasing her name, encouraging media outlets to publicize it, and lying about her. She is seeking unspecified monetary damages, according to her lawsuit.“Because of the release of Ms. Doe’s identity, Ms. Doe has continually suffered public humiliation and harassment on s...

Tony La Russa says he’s blocked from personal sports memorabilia by the Animal Rescue Foundation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

WALNUT CREEK  — Tony La Russa’s breakup with the Animal Rescue Foundation got uglier Friday, with an attorney for his family saying that the nonprofit has refused to let him retrieve his personal collection of baseball memorabilia and family gifts, including a guitar presented to him by Bruce Springsteen as congratulations for winning the 2006 World Series Championship.The collection has long been on display at the East Bay nonprofit, which the former Oakland As manager and his wife, Elaine La Russa, co-founded in 1991 to help find loving, permanent homes for stray and abandoned cats and dogs. The collection includes trophies, rings and Hall of Fame induction mementos. But La Russa and his family said that ARF has refused to let them come into the Walnut Creek facility to take home their belongings.“There is no cause for ARF to hold hostage our family’s valuable personal belongings,” La Russa said. “Our family has taken the high road during this very difficult time, but this is baff...

Racist re-enactment of George Floyd’s murder leaves Oakland high schoolers outraged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:59 GMT

OAKLAND — Racist images depicting a re-enactment of the murder of George Floyd on the campus of an East Oakland private Catholic school have been circulated widely by students in recent weeks, prompting officials to investigate.The photographs, taken at least a month ago, depict a Bishop O’Dowd High School sophomore kneeling on the neck of a classmate in the same manner that Floyd was killed by police in 2020, leading to the largest civil-rights protests in U.S. history.A separate selfie photo, where the same student flashes a thumbs-up at the camera, is captioned with emojis of a monkey, orangutan and gorilla — imagery associated with racism toward Black people.Screenshots of the images were shared with this news organization by students of Bishop O’Dowd, a prep school nestled in deep East Oakland that costs about $24,000 in yearly tuition and is known for its athletics.In a memo sent Wednesday to the campus community, school officials said the incident took...