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Doug Ford accepts Steve Clark’s resignation, announces review but allows Greenbelt development to proceed

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

By: Rachel Morgan, Local Journalism Initiative ReporterFollowing Steve Clark’s resignation Monday as Ontario’s housing minister, opposition parties and environmental advocacy organizations sounded the alarm: The move, they warn, should not distract from Doug Ford’s behaviour and his failure to protect the Greenbelt.The embattled premier on Tuesday said his government will review all Greenbelt land proposals, but simultaneously refused to stop development processes from moving forward. His latest reaction to the province-wide backlash over his decision to open 7,400 acres of the Greenbelt for sprawling subdivisions has left critics questioning the value of the promised review, if Ford won’t halt all work that would lead to the bulldozing of formerly protected Greenbelt lands. He continues to fail, they say, to take any concrete action on the dubious process that led to the removal of 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt, creating an estimated $8.3 billion of value for prominent deve...

Tiny home builder who owes $6M spent lavishly before bankruptcy, federal report says

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- An Englewood man who owes 189 home buyers $6 million for tiny homes they never received, spent money in some very curious ways according to a trustee assigned by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver.Matthew Sowash, the man behind Holy Ground Tiny Homes and Revelations in Christ Ministries filed bankruptcy on Oct. 7, 2022. From October: Tiny home builder under criminal investigation, declares bankruptcy Numerous customers told the Problem Solvers they paid for tiny homes they never received.An 81-page report filed Friday found the non-profit spent more than $400,000 to purchase and repair race cars and other vehicles, plus more than $35,000 on real estate in Colorado and Alaska and $32,000 on meals.The purchases happened between October 2020 and August 2022, the same time the company was collecting deposits from tiny home buyers for homes that often were never delivered.In the first half of 2022, Holy Ground spent $55,000 on "extraordinary travel-related expenses" t...

All clear given at South Plantation High School after bomb threat reported

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

An all clear was given after a bomb threat was reported at a South Florida school. Plantation Police and the Broward Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad arrived at South Plantation High School, located at 1300 SW 54th Ave., Wednesday afternoon.7Skyforce hovered over the scene were students and staff were evacuated to the school’s football field. Officers and deputies were seen going into the school as they checked rooms for any potential threats. https://twitter.com/PlantationPD/status/1699479952305848449?s=20The students were then moved to Heritage Park for dismissal. Parents were told to go into the first entrance of Heritage Park at Fig Tree Lane and Peters Road and go towards the back of the park at the roundabout to pick up their children. https://twitter.com/plantationpd/status/1699496280580378724?s=46&t=NJAMcCre9kVljosLDT5I5QIn an abundance of caution, Plantation Park Elementary was placed on lockdown, which has since been lifted. Please check back on WS...

Man accused of causing deadly crash on 79th Street Causeway appears in court

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

A man accused of causing a deadly crash faced a judge.Alejandro Hall was ordered not to drive if he posts his $80,000 bond, Wednesday. The 24-year-old was charged with vehicular homicide and driving without a license.According to police, Hall slammed his Lamborghini into another car Monday night, which ejected the victim inside.The crash was so violent that it shut down the eastbound lanes of the 79th Street Causeway in Miami for hours.Officials said speed and alcohol may have been factors that lead to the incident.

Lawrence man drowns at Hampton Beach

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

A 27-year-old Lawrence man died Tuesday after being pulled from the water at Hampton Beach in Hampton, New Hampshire, state police said.New Hampshire State Police in a statement said authorities responded to the beach after a call around 7:30 p.m. reporting a possible drowning. Police said the caller, who had been surfing in the area, found two swimmers yelling for help and brought one swimmer to shore. The other swimmer was still missing.State police said Hampton fire crews later found the second swimmer in the water and brought him to the beach. CPR was performed and the man was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police. Police identified the man who died as Wandy Bethancourt-Adames, 27. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact New Hampshire State Police – Marine Patrol Sergeant Nicholas Haroutunian by phone at (603) 227-2112 or by email at [email protected].

Georgia judge rules that Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro can be tried together starting Oct. 23

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — The judge overseeing the Georgia election subversion case involving former President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied requests by two of the 19 defendants to be tried alone, instead saying the pair would be tried together starting next month.Since lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell have both filed speedy trial demands, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said their trial would begin Oct. 23, but he seemed skeptical of prosecutors’ arguments that all 19 defendants could be tried together that soon.The hearing provided some insight into how the case could play out, with prosecutors estimating a trial would take four months and that they’d call more than 150 witnesses. It was also broadcast live on television and on the judge’s YouTube channel, a marked difference from the other three criminal cases against Trump, where cameras have not been allowed in the courtroom during proceedings. Special...

James van Riemsdyk joins forces with Bruins for a change

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

James van Riemsdyk donned the spoked B for the first time at the Bruins’ first captain’s practice on Tuesday after the 34-year-old left wing spent much of his career as a Black and Gold rival.It started off with a joyous bang for him, but he was more often on the wrong side of a couple different rivalries. Now he’s hoping get his own career back on track while at the same team trying to extend this vastly changed Bruin team’s stay among the league’s elite.“I was certainly on the other side of some pretty intense rivalries for a lot of years,” said van Riemsdyk, “but it’s been good to get here to the area, get acclimated and get to know a some of these guys a lot better. I’ve heard a lot of great things about a lot of the guys.”Drafted second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007, the former UNH star and New Jersey native had an eventful rookie season in Philly – at the Bruins’ expense. He was a member of that 2010 FlyersR...

Healey officials holding private meeting on emergency shelters for House lawmakers

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

The Healey administration plans to hold a private briefing Thursday afternoon for House lawmakers to cover the state’s emergency assistance shelter system, which officials have used to house displaced families and newly arrived migrants.Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll plans to lead the closed-door talks in a members-only lounge inside the State House House from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., according to an emailed invite from Healey’s deputy chief of staff to representatives.The briefing is “for house members only” and a virtual option is available for representatives who cannot join in person, according to the invite obtained and verified by the Herald.“As with our first briefing, we will focus on recent updates and topics that affect EA across the state and districts. For any district-specific or hotel-specific issues, we would be happy to schedule separate, off-line conversations,” wrote Alicia Rebello-Pradas, Healey’s deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs.In an email to House members, H...

Digital nomads are traveling by day and working by night

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

Jo Constantz | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsTherese-Heather Belen is living the dream, working remotely full-time while traveling across Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and India.But the dream comes with a catch: Her workday starts in the evening and lasts through the night. To stay in the same timezone as coworkers at her New York-based marketing tech firm, about a 12-hour difference, she works and takes meetings into the wee hours of the morning.For some, ambitious “workcation” trips like these are seen as a way to make up for lost time during pandemic lockdowns. For others who choose to wander far from their home timezone, such adventures can veer off course, becoming hellish journeys to the land of sleep deprivation.Belen, who is traveling with Remote Year, a program that functions like a kind of study abroad trip for working adults, said this lifestyle allows her to experience more of the world than would ever have been possible working a traditional 9-to-5. “You hear stories all the time like...

Harvard University is the worst college for free speech: ‘Abysmal’ rating, report says

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:10:31 GMT

Just as the school year kicks off and students return to campus, Harvard University has been ranked as the worst college for free speech in the country.Harvard ranked last out of 248 colleges in a survey of more than 55,000 students across the U.S., receiving the only “Abysmal” rating in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse free speech rankings.“Each year, the climate on college campuses grows more inhospitable to free speech,” said FIRE Director of Polling and Analytics Sean Stevens.“Some of the most prestigious universities in our country have the most repressive administrations,” Stevens added. “Students should know that a college degree at certain schools may come at the expense of their free speech rights.”The campus free speech rankings rely heavily on student responses and on how schools responded to deplatforming attempts.Related ArticlesLocal News | Winchester’s Corr gets big k...