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Medford City Council: How about a 141% pay hike for School Committee members?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

Some Medford School Committee members say a proposal from the City Council to raise their annual salaries by more than double came as a surprise and that they don’t do the job for the money.Council President Nicole Morell, in the last month of her tenure, is seeking to increase School Committee member pay from $12,000 to more than $29,000, aligning the annual earnings with that of city councilors.“The ideal of equal pay for equal work is a long-established and accepted principle in our nation,” Morell’s resolution states. “This ordinance would establish pay parity for all members of duly elected legislative bodies in the city.”School Committee members, speaking during a council meeting Tuesday, however, said they were unaware their compensation was an issue and that it’s gotten the attention of councilors.“I wanted to kind of set something clear: The first time, as a School Committee member, that I heard about this raise was by reading it on the City Council agenda,” said Kathy Krea...

California regulators vote to extend Diablo Canyon nuclear plant operations through 2030

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — California energy regulators voted Thursday to allow the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to operate for an additional five years, despite calls from environmental groups to shut it down.The California Public Utilities Commission agreed to extend the shutdown date for the state’s last functioning nuclear power facility through 2030 instead of closing it in 2025 as previously agreed.Separately, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will consider whether to extend the plant’s operating licenses.The twin reactors, located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, began operating in the mid-1980s. They supply up to 9% of the state’s electricity on any given day. The Public Utilities Commission’s decision marks the latest development in a long fight over the operation and safety of the plant, which sits on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean. In August, a state judge rejected a lawsuit filed by Friends of the Earth that sought to block Pacific Ga...

Toronto council approves renaming Yonge-Dundas Square, Dundas subway stations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

Toronto’s City Council has voted to rename Yonge-Dundas Square and Dundas subway stations.Council voted 17-4 in favour of the recommendation to rename Dundas Station and Dundas West Station. On the suggestion to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square, councillors voted 19-2 in favour. Sankofa derives from Ghana and refers “to the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past which enables us to move forward together” and, in simpler terms, “to go back and get it.”It’s expected that Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) will get involved with the TTC to rename Dundas Station “TMU Station.” In April 2022, the head of Ryerson University announced the post-secondary institution would be renamed Toronto Metropolitan University. Ryerson is widely seen as a key architect in the system that separated Indigenous children from their families. Related: Former Toronto mayors urge city staff to reconsider renaming Dun...

Conservationists, tribes say deal with Biden administration is a road map to breach Snake River dams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. government said Thursday it plans to spend more than $1 billion over the next decade to help recover depleted populations of salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and that it will help figure out how to offset the hydropower, transportation and other benefits provided by four controversial dams on the Snake River, should Congress ever agree to breach them.President Joe Biden’s administration stopped short of calling for the removal of the dams to save the fish, but Northwest tribes and conservationists who have long sought that called the agreement a road map for dismantling them. Filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon, it pauses long-running litigation over federal operation of the dams and represents the most significant step yet toward breaching them.“Today’s historic agreement marks a new direction for the Pacific Northwest,” senior White House adviser John Podesta said in a written statement. “Today, the Biden-Harris Administration and state...

Hypothetical situations or real-life medical tragedies? A judge weighs an Idaho abortion ban lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An attorney for Idaho asked a judge on Thursday to throw out a lawsuit seeking clarity about the medical exemptions to the state’s broad abortion bans, saying it was based on hypothetical situations rather than current facts. But an attorney for the four women and several physicians who sued says their claims aren’t hypothetical at all, but real-life tragedies happening in doctors’ offices and homes across the state. Similar lawsuits are playing out around the nation, with some of them, like Idaho’s, brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of doctors and pregnant people who were denied access to abortions while facing serious pregnancy complications. “The physicians go to work every day not knowing if they will be able to provide the necessary care to their patients,” Marc Hearron, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, told 4th District Judge Jason Scott.The women and doctors suing aren’t asking the cour...

Oregon’s top court hears arguments in suit filed by GOP senators seeking reelection after boycott

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in a lawsuit filed by Republican state senators who boycotted the Legislature for a record six weeks earlier this year and want to run for reelection despite a voter-approved constitutional amendment aimed at limiting walkouts.The GOP senators, including Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, are challenging the Oregon Secretary of State’s interpretation of the amendment. Passed by voters by a wide margin in 2022, Measure 113 amended the state constitution to bar lawmakers from reelection if they have 10 or more unexcused absences.Each of the five state senators who filed suit — Sens. Tim Knopp, Daniel Bonham, Suzanne Weber, Dennis Linthicum and Lynn Findley — racked up more than 10 absences during the walkout that ground the 2023 legislative session to a halt. The longest in the Legislature’s history, the boycott stalled hundreds of bills and made national headlines.Before the Oregon Supreme Court in t...

Transgender man suing employer, union after being denied gender-affirming medical care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

CHICAGO — A transgender man who was denied critical gender-affirming medical care by the by his former employer and union's health plan has filed a federal lawsuit.Morgan Mesi stated he was devastated when the health plan provided by his employer and union refused to cover his medically-necessary top surgery.He was a sales employee at Tenzing Wine & Spirits, LLC and Breakthru Beverage Illinois, LLC. Both companies are based in the Chicagoland area. Mayor says Elk Grove Village police officers used Taser before deadly shooting: report The medical treatment Mesi sought, including surgery, is standard treatment for gender dysphoria and widely recognized as medically necessary by the medical community. Mesi, a Chicagoan and transgender man, said the health plan’s refusal to cover his surgery allegedly caused him extreme distress.Mesi viewed the surgery as a matter of life and death, and said he was experiencing regular suicidal thoughts. His health care providers submitted ex...

Spurs waive Sir'Jabari Rice after signing David Duke Jr. to two-way contract

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former Texas Longhorns guard Sir'Jabari Rice is looking for a new place to play in the NBA.After signing David Duke Jr. to a two-way contract with their G League affiliate in Austin, the Spurs waived Rice to make room on the roster. In four games with the Austin Spurs, Rice averaged 9.3 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game. Rice transferred to Texas for the 2022-23 season after five years at New Mexico State and was an integral part of the Longhorns' run to the Elite Eight. He averaged 13 points per game for Texas last season and signed with the Spurs in July as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NBA Draft. Two-way contracts allow teams to carry up to three extra players (in addition to the usual 15) that typically swing between the NBA team and its G League affiliate.Duke Jr. last played for the Delaware Blue Coats, the G League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers, where he averaged 21.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 31.5 minut...

Another defendant pleads guilty in $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to participating in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud that exploited the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim, who is also known as Salah Donyale, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of wire fraud, according to a news release issued by the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.As part of the Feeding Our Future scheme, Omar-Hashim in fall 2020 created a company called Olive Management, which claimed to serve meals to 3,000 children every day of the week at a site in St. Cloud, the news release said. The company took in nearly $7.5 million in federal aid funds.Between September 2020 and September 2021, Olive Management claimed to have served more than 1.6 million meals. Omar-Hashim and his co-conspirators submitted an attendance roster of 2,040 children who were served by the program. Only about 20 of those names matched children attending ...

Broncos’ depth at outside linebacker will be tested following Nik Bonitto’s injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:02 GMT

Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph understands the reality of the team’s depth at outside linebacker.Second-year edge rusher Nik Bonitto will not play in Saturday’s game against the Detroit Lions due to a knee injury. While Baron Browning is fully healthy, outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper (ankle) was limited at practice this week, and rookie inside linebacker Drew Sanders, who has spent some time on the edge in recent weeks, is still getting up to speed.Not to mention, Ronnie Perkins was waived on Thursday after playing in five games.Joseph thinks the Broncos have enough at outside linebacker. And if they don’t, Denver has no choice but to work with what it has.“The game is Saturday night. We can’t draft anybody else right now,” Joseph said.Bonitto’s absence is a big loss for the Broncos. He has been an effective pass-rush unit in recent weeks and recorded a team-best seven sacks and 18 quarterback hits in 13 games (three starts).It remains to be seen if Cooper is 100% hea...