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St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter touts sales tax for roads, parks in ‘State of the City’ address

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

Shortly after assuming the St. Paul mayor’s seat in 2018, Melvin Carter doubled spending on citywide mill-and-overlay road repair in his inaugural budget.By his own admission, few people noticed.“You sort of can’t tell,” quipped the mayor on Tuesday, during his 2023 “State of the City” address at the Oxford/Jimmy Lee Recreation Center on Lexington Parkway.Rather than unveil new programs or spending priorities, Carter used the occasion to highlight the woeful state of the city’s pothole-laden roads following one of the heaviest winter snowfalls in Minnesota history. He also sought to promote a partial solution — tripling the city sales tax from 0.5% to 1.5% primarily for arterial street reconstruction. If the Legislature agrees to the 20-year sales tax increase, city voters would get final say at the ballot box this November.“We need a generation-level investment,” said the mayor, during a press briefing following his addres...

Twins teammates happy to hear news of Pablo López’s extension

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

BOSTON — When the Twins signed Byron Buxton to a long-term deal in the offseason ahead of the 2022 season, their intentions were clear: They planned to build around the star center fielder. They supplemented their core in a big way an offseason later, signing star shortstop Carlos Correa to the richest contract in team history.And this week, they’re set to make official the contract extension of another core piece, locking in starting pitcher Pablo López to a four-year, $73.5 million extension, a move that was met with excitement throughout the clubhouse.“It honestly made me very happy to see the news about him getting extended,” Correa said. “He’s a guy that puts in the work. He does everything. He takes care of every single facet of what you need to take care of to be great in this game. He’s young. He’s in his prime. He’s just getting better.”López is six years into his major-league career and carries himself like a seasoned veteran, so it’s easy to forget that he’s just 27. But ...

Timberwolves know they need to be more physical in Game 2. Anthony Edwards is best equipped to set that tone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

There was a common theme among Timberwolves players’ comments made Tuesday, ahead of the team’s Game 2 first-round playoff series in Denver. The primary departments in which Minnesota needed to improve to compete with the Nuggets were physicality and aggression.There is no better candidate to spearhead those efforts than Anthony Edwards.The third-year guard is making his second NBA playoff appearance. He was scintillating in last year’s opening-round playoff series against Memphis, taking on a starring role for the Wolves. Edwards averaged 25.2 points a game in that series, shooting 46 percent from the field and 40 percent on 3-pointers.Edwards was the primary reason Minnesota nearly knocked off the Grizzlies then. And that’s the type of player he needs to be for Minnesota to be competitive in its current series with top-seeded Denver.Timberwolves coach Chris Finch seems to recognize as much. After a Game 1 in which Edwards made 6 of 15 shots from the field, ...

Radio tower from Catholic shrine damage during severe storms over the weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Dartina Cathion is an avid walker who exercises around the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows building in Belleville, Illinois. She stopped by on Tuesday to see the toppled radio tower that was damaged during Saturday's storm.“The tower is bent like folded up like a hanger,” Cathion said. “OMG. That means that was some real strong winds because these are some very big trees, and tower was tall.”High winds are responsible for the damage done to the radio tower at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The tower is broken and dangling at the midway point. Can’t drive with that: Illinois police find 3 garbage bags of marijuana during traffic stop The National Weather Service said an EF1 tornado with 98 miles per hour winds, a maximum width of 200 yards, and on the ground for three miles west of Belleville struck Saturday at 7:03 p.m.Cathion lives nearby and was home at the time.“But the whole time we’re moving, and all you hear is woo woo woo and the wind, it was horrif...

Ryan McMahon replaces Elehuris Montero at third base as Rockies shake up infield

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

The Rockies turned to Elehuris Montero out of necessity but had hopes he could develop into their everyday third baseman this season. That experiment is now on indefinite hold.On Tuesday, ahead of its game against Pittsburgh, the Rockies moved second baseman Ryan McMahon back to third base and started Alan Trejo at second. Montero was benched and there is a possibility that he will soon be optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque in hopes that he can work on his defensive skills at third and first.“We’re going to take a step back and take a look at our situation at third, for sure,” manager Bud Black said. “It’s been a tough go for ‘Monty’ in the early going here and we are going to readdress some of our defense as we move forward. Today we thought it was a good day to move ‘Mac’ back over to third.”The athletic and rangy McMahon was a Gold Glove finalist at third in the previous two seasons and has played well at second base as we...

Multiple children injured, 1 critically, after car plows into them in Thousand Oaks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

Multiple kids were injured, one of them critically, after a traffic accident involving a vehicle that rolled over in Thousand Oaks Tuesday, authorities with the Ventura County Fire Department announced. Calls about the crash outside Westlake High School, located near the intersection of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Lakeview Canyon Road, came in at around 3:40 p.m. While details are limited, officials with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office told KTLA that a vehicle plowed into a group of children. One of the kids was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Several others were transported in various conditions, officials said. It is unclear if the driver of the vehicle was injured. Aerial footage from Sky5 showed first responders on the scene where the overturned vehicle was still in the roadway. Authorities with Thousand Oaks Transit said that traffic in the area is at a standstill and that it's Route 43 bus "cannot proceed." "The route is significantly behind schedule...

L.A. man arrested for 31 armed robberies, 2 carjackings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

A 23-year-old man from Los Angeles has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging he committed 31 armed robberies at convenience stores across Southern California during a 3-and-a-half-week-long crime spree in which he also reportedly committed two carjackings. Namir Malik Ali Greene was arrested on Monday and is charged with interference with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act. The complaint alleges that Greene committed 31 robberies or attempted robberies of gas stations and convenience stores and at least two carjackings in Los Angeles and Orange counties from March 21 to April 15 of this year. During the robberies, Greene allegedly brandished a firearm at store employees, threatening to shoot them if they did not retrieve money for him from the cash register.  Four pickpockets, identity thieves apprehended after months long crime spree The complaint also alleges that on April 4, Greene robbed eight gas station convenience stores and attempted to rob ...

Knife-wielding man arrested after forcing lockdown at Riverside City College

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

Students and faculty at Riverside City College were ordered to shelter in place for hours Tuesday due to a standoff with a man who was seen carrying a knife on campus, authorities said. He was eventually taken into custody and classes resumed as normal.The lockdown order was issued around 9:30 a.m. when the suspect was originally barricaded somewhere on campus, officials said. The man fled into a wash near the football field when law enforcement arrived, according to KTLA reporter Rich Prickett.Riverside police officers and county sheriff’s deputies contacted the suspect and sent a robot into the wash, aerial footage showed.Sky5 footage shows the suspect in custody near another entrance to the wash. April 18, 2023. (KTLA)According to Sky5 reporter Rich Prickett, the man who was seen with the knife was originally barricaded on campus but fled into a wash near the football field when law enforcement arrived. April 18, 2023. (KTLA)Students and faculty at Riverside City Colleg...

Man dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound after fleeing Burbank traffic stop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

A death investigation is underway after a man's body was found inside a vehicle in Burbank Tuesday afternoon. According to the Burbank Police Department, the man had been the subject of a police stop earlier in the day.Around 1 p.m., the man's vehicle was stopped by a Burbank police officer for an undisclosed traffic violation. While speaking with the driver, the officer noticed ammunition on the floorboard of the vehicle and ordered the man to exit the vehicle, police said.Instead, the man took off in his vehicle, while police opted not to pursue. A civilian eventually contacted BPD to report seeing the suspect vehicle in the parking lot of Chase Bank at 1551 West Olive Ave. When police approached the vehicle, they discovered that the man was dead by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.The man's name has not yet been released.The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact the Burbank Police Department Investigation Division at 818-238-3210.If you ...

Hug A Cow And Clean Up The Beach – Here’s How To Celebrate Earth Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:15 GMT

Earth Day falls on Saturday, April 22 this year and what a year to celebrate this earth. It’ll  be a sunny day in the highs in the 70s and perfect weather for some beach clean-up. The Annual Earth Day Venice Beach Clean Up takes place from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. They  provide all the necessary equipment like trash grabbers, gloves, bags and buckets. To help keep up the energy and motivation levels high throughout the day, the Ecological Servants Project and Earth Angel Sustainable Production Services will be offering tasty, eco-friendly food and drinks that are curated to align with the values of sustainability and eco-friendliness.If you’d rather keep your shoes on, co-owner and Rustic Canyon Family Wine Director Kathryn Coker and team are inviting planet-friendly winemakers who practice regenerative farming in the vineyard for the Earth Day Regenerative Wine Fair on Saturday, April 22, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The walk-around tasting in the outdoor parklet will feature renowned sommelier, wr...