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Austin Public Health giving $50 gift cards for COVID shots, boosters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Public Health is upping its incentive for Travis County residents to get their COVID vaccinations, the health authority announced Monday.Travis County residents can get $50 Visa gift cards in exchange for getting any COVID-19 vaccine dose, including first, second and booster shots. Visa gift cards can be used anywhere they are accepted.APH said it previously gave gift cards to people who get their first and second doses, but the COVID-19 Vaccine Incentive Program is expanding to people getting booster doses. The health department said there is a decrease in COVID-19 vaccine demand and that vaccine rates are static in low-income communities and Travis County areas with limited clinic access. APH said about 38% of Austin-Travis County residents have received an additional dose after the primary series. Also, 59.6% of Black residents, 39.6% of Hispanic residents and 37.4% of White residents are unvaccinated.“With the Public Health Emergency set to end in May, the...

Austin City Council eyes changes after winter storm

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council has 85 items on its Thursday agenda this week, with several of them eying changes following last month's ice storm. Here's some of what we're watching: Underground utility line feasibility study After the February ice storm led to millions of damaged trees and hundreds of thousands of Austinites without power, Austin City Council could direct the city to look into burying power lines. Why don’t we just bury the power lines to stop winter outages? Austin City Council will consider the measure at its March 23 council meeting. If approved, the city will conduct a feasibility study and develop a long-term plan to prioritize the conversions “for high-priority uses and areas without new construction opportunities.”“We need to increase resilience as a city for our electrical grid,” Council Member Ryan Alter, who brought the proposal forward, said. “I don’t foresee us as a city burying all our power lines. It’s just something that’s not ...

East Metro boys basketball Player of the Year: Lakeville North’s Nolan Winter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

Lakeville North coach John Oxton had a conversation with Nolan Winter shortly after the conclusion of the 2021-22 campaign. When he started his high school career, Winter was a 6-foot-2 guard who was based on the perimeter.But a couple of massive growth spurts later, he stood at 6-foot-11. And while he still possessed many of those perimeter abilities cultivated early in his hoops career, the Panthers needed the suddenly big man to use that size a little closer to the bucket.“It was like, ‘Nolan, for us, on our team, for this year, for you, and all your buddies that you’ve been playing with your whole life, we need you on the block and you have to be an inside presence,’” Oxton recalled. “And he’s bought into that from the first time that we really emphasized that last summer.”Winter quickly went to work developing an interior game. He put in countless hours with his dad, Trevor Winter – who was a 7-foot big on the Gophers’ Final Four team in 1997. Trevor exposed Nolan to film of Ha...

One deceased following a house fire in Mendon

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

MENDON, Vt. (NEWS10) -- A fire that broke out at a residence in Mendon has claimed the life of one individual. Police say Helvi Abatiell Furlan, 52, was injured during the fire and passed away at the Rutland Regional Medical Center. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Police say a 17-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl were at the house but survived without injury. The Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit says the fire appeared accidental. The specific cause is undetermined.

12 vehicles broken into overnight in Berkshire County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

DALTON, Mass. (WWLP) — The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying a suspect in nearly a dozen car break-ins Sunday night. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Police are asking residents to check any surveillance cameras for anything suspicious between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Sunday night. The incidents were reported on Pine Street, John Street, Curtis Avenue, Central Avenue, and Carson Avenue.The department is also reminding residents to lock their car doors. If you have any information on the incidents, you are asked to contact Dalton Police at (413) 684-0300.

Lawmakers react to controversial Clean Slate Act

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- For years, advocates have been pushing for what some call a controversial bill: The Clean Slate Act. The bill would automatically seal criminal records three years after sentencing for misdemeanors and after seven years for felonies. It would not apply to sex crimes. Advocates say existing criminal records make it nearly impossible for those who were previously incarcerated to get a job or proper housing.  Albany advocates for Clean Slate Act "Once you’ve atoned for these mistakes, you should be able to move forward and make yourself and your families whole," said Senator Jamaal Bailey. Bailey said everyone deserves a second chance and passage of the bill will lead to lower recidivism rates, "You want to stop people from committing crimes, give them a job. You want to make sure you keep people off the street, give them a job." Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said while the bill has good intentions, there are simply some crimes that should not be s...

FASNY: Volunteer firefighters save taxpayers billions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- An updated study commissioned by the Firefighters Association of the State of New York found New York tax payers save $4.7 billion a year by having volunteer firefighters. Over the years, there has been a decrease in the number of volunteer firefighters in the State of New York."Since 2000, when there were about 180,000 volunteer firefighters in the state, we’re sitting at around 80,000 today," said John D’Alessandro, FASNY Secretary.To help volunteers, the governor has included some proposals in her budget."The first is a $10 million stipend fund," said Jackie Bray, Commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. "So that we can make sure that volunteer firefighters aren’t out of pocket for all the training that we ask them to take to become a firefighter to keep us safe."This is something that FASNY supports."As volunteers, we aren’t in the station when a call comes in. Generally we are at home, have to go to the station and then ...

St. Louis County woman sentenced for depositing counterfeit checks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis County woman appeared in federal court Monday to be sentenced for a counterfeit check scheme.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Tyra Robinson, 21, pleaded guilty in November 2022 to four counts of bank fraud.Robinson admitted stealing checks from the mail, and using that information to deposit bad checks at banks across the area. All told, she deposited or attempted to deposit more than $40,000, and received at least $22,000 from at least 10 banks. She would withdraw the money before the banks realized the checks were no good. Top story: Search for missing St. Charles woman leads to abandoned car Robinson recruited numerous co-conspirators, who agreed to let her deposit the checks into their accounts in exchange for a kickback.She was arrested on March 10, 2022, when St. Louis police attempted to pull Robinson over in connection with a burglary investigation. Robinson attempted to speed away but crashed in...

Carson Briere, son of former Avalanche forward Daniel Briere, charged for pushing wheelchair down stairs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

Three misdemeanor charges were filed Monday against the son of former Avalanche forward and now Philadelphia Flyers interim general manager Danny Briere after a video posted on social media showed him and another Mercyhurst University athlete pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase.Police in Erie, Pennsylvania, filed charges of criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy to commit mischief and disorderly conduct against Carson Briere, who completed his third hockey season at Mercyhurst. Patrick Carrozzi, listed as a senior member of the school’s lacrosse team, faces the same three charges, according to documents filed with District Judge Sue Mack.The two are scheduled to appear in court on May 22.Briere and Carrozzi are seen on a surveillance video at the top of a staircase of a local bar, where they push the wheelchair down the steps on March 11. Police say their actions posed a potential danger to anyone coming up the stairs, while also creating a hazardous condition by block...

“Ted Lasso” visits White House, promotes mental health care

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:33 GMT

WASHINGTON — Fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso used a White House visit Monday to encourage people, even in politically divided Washington, to make it a point to check in often with friends, family and co-workers to “ask how they’re doing, and listen, sincerely,”Comedian Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title character — an American coaching a soccer team in London — and other cast members were meeting with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden to talk about how mental health contributes to overall well-being.Mental health and looking after one another is a theme of the show, Sudeikis told reporters from behind the lectern as he helped press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre open her daily White House briefing. The Emmy-winning, feel-good show on Apple TV+ just opened its third season.“While it’s easier said than done, we also have to know that we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help ourselves,” said Sudeikis. “That does take a lot, especially when it’s something that has ...