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Hate the ‘pock-pock’ noise of pickleball? Arlington Co. has a plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

The fast-growing sport of pickleball is popular with players — but the persistent “pock-pock” sound of a plastic ball hitting paddles is annoying for neighbors living near Walter Reed Community Center in South Arlington.Next week, Arlington County’s government plans to erect a tall acoustic fence around the combination pickleball/tennis courts at Walter Reed, which is located near South 16th Street and Walter Reed Drive, south of Columbia Pike.The acoustic fence will be installed between Monday, Aug. 28 and Friday, Sept. 1, weather permitting, according to the county, ahead of long-term plans to build dedicated pickleball courts as part of the Walter Reed Outdoor Pickleball Court project.However, the major project, which would include six pickleball courts with permanent sound mitigation measures and landscaping built into the design, may not begin for up to two years.Neighbors — some who have considered legal action because of the noise — say the courts affect the...

Mayor postpones sweep of homeless camp by 1 extra day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Mayor Mike Johnston has postponed a downtown homeless sweep after the city originally gave those living in the encampment less than a day's notice.FOX31's Lisa D'Souza reached out to the mayor's office and they said the sweep between 17th and 18th and Logan will be postponed until Thursday morning at 7 a.m. "in an effort to give people living in the encampment additional time to plan their next steps."FOX31 originally learned about the sweep late Wednesday night. It comes a day after a shooting on the same street sent two people to the hospital. A father fought against gun violence, and then it took his son Johnston has said his administration would give a seven-day notice before clearing an encampment, but the city said that decision will be circumstantial.“The city makes decisions about encampments based on specific facts and circumstances,” said Jordan Fuja, a spokesperson for Johnston’s office. “In response to significant public health and safety...

Parents speak out after Black students singled out for bad grades in Florida school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla.(WSVN) — An assembly gathering at an elementary school has left parents outraged and demanding answers after it was revealed that only black children were present, leading to accusations of discrimination and insensitivity. The incident took place at a school outside Daytona Beach when 10-year-old Brylee was called out of her class on Friday for an assembly. Upon arrival, she noticed that all the students in attendance were black, an observation that deeply troubled her and her parents. Darryl Williams, Brylee’s father, shared his frustration.“That made my blood boil,” he said. “I mean, you don’t say that. Fourth, fifth graders?”The school district explained that the assembly was intended as a motivational event for black students to enhance their test scores. The presentation began with the statement: “A-A have underperformed on standardized assessment for the last past 3 years,” where “A-A” refers to A...

St. Thomas Aquinas and 13 high school football teams ready for Broward County National Football Showcase

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN)-South Florida produces more NFL players than any other part of the country. This week, the Broward County National Football Showcase is bringing the best prep talent from the entire nation.Come this weekend, some of the top Broward County high school football programs will headline a seven game prep showcase. “We have the opportunity for the South Florida team to show out all of our skills and to really show the world that we, you know, we’re the best football in the world,” said St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez Sr. One of those teams gearing up for battle is defending 7-8 state champion St. Thomas Aquinas. Hosting the reining prep national champs are St. John Don Bosco from California. “A lot of individuals and critics will talk about how St. Thomas is ducking or we don’t want to play certain teams, and it just works out the way God wants it to,” said St. Thomas head coach Roger Harriot.And come this we...

Senator Ted Cruz slams US agency for ‘collusion’ with EU on Big Tech rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

U.S. Republican Senator Ted Cruz called for details on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) work with its European counterparts in a letter to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan on Tuesday.The conservative Texas lawmaker criticized Khan and other FTC staff for meeting with European Commission officials to discuss incoming EU rules designed to rein in Big Tech companies, which are largely U.S.-based.“It is one thing for the EU to target U.S. businesses,” the letter said, but “it is altogether unthinkable that an agency of the U.S. government would actively help the EU” on its digital platform regulation.The FTC’s “collusion with foreign governments not only undermines U.S. sovereignty and Congress’s constitutional lawmaking authority,” Cruz’s letter said, “but also damages the competitiveness of U.S. firms and could negatively affect the savings of millions of Americans who hold stock in those companies” through pension plans. T...

EU top diplomat is happy Spain’s women ‘are learning to play football as well as men’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

Top diplomat? More like the top un-diplomat.Spanish EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Wednesday further fueled a sexism storm which has clouded Spain’s victory in the Women’s World Cup, saying he was happy our women “are learning to play football as well as men, and that in itself is already very good news.”Borrell recalled Andrés Iniesta’s winning goal for the Spanish men’s team in the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa before making his ill-timed remark, which landed with a thud just days after Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales sparked a sexism outcry by giving victorious player Jenni Hermoso an unwanted kiss on the lips. For Borrell, it was far from the first time the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs has put his foot firmly in his mouth.Sunday’s World Cup final win over England was the first time the Spanish women’s team had lifted the global trophy. Recriminations have followed Rubiales̵...

The drowning death of a former White House chef who was working for the Obama family has been ruled an accident

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

(CNN) — The drowning death of a former White House chef who was working for the Obama family has been ruled an accident, a spokesperson with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said.Tafari Campbell, 45, was found dead last month in Edgartown Great Pond on the south shore of Martha’s Vineyard, state police said.He had been paddleboarding the night before and was reported missing after he went into the water and didn’t resurface, a news release from Massachusetts State Police said at the time.He went “into the water, appeared to briefly struggle to stay on the surface, and then submerged and did not resurface,” police said. Another paddleboarder on the pond with him witnessed him go under the water, according to the release.Campbell “was employed by former President Obama and was visiting Martha’s Vineyard at the time of his passing,” state police said.The Obamas were not at their Martha’s Vineyard residence at the time o...

Yankees losing streak by the numbers: 9 in a row puts them in rare company

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

The Yankees are historically bad right now.Their ninth-consecutive loss Tuesday night marked their longest losing streak in more than four decades, and another defeat Wednesday against the Washington Nationals would clinch their worst stretch in over a century.The bats are struggling. The pitching is sputtering. And any hope for an improbable playoff run has largely dwindled.The streak began with back-to-back losses to the Miami Marlins, continued with consecutive sweeps by the Atlanta Braves and rival Boston Red Sox, and extended Tuesday with a two-hit performance at home against the lowly Nationals.Here is the Yankees’ losing streak by the numbers:1982: That’s the last time the Yankees lost nine in a row. They finished 79-83 and missed the playoffs that season.1913: A loss Wednesday night would give the Yankees their first 10-game losing streak since 1913. That was the 11th season in franchise history and the first since the team changed its name from Highlanders to Ya...

Massachusetts rent control supporters say ballot question is valid as opposition mounts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

Legal memos are starting to fly in the early battle over a ballot question that would repeal Massachusetts’ ban on rent control, with the latest arguing the proposed question meets constitutional muster and should appear before voters in 2024.After real estate, property owner, landlord, development, and fiscal associations sent letters to Attorney General Andrea Campbell in opposition to a ballot question that would hand municipalities the power to regulate rents and fees, a lawyer representing the original drafters is striking back.Attorney Gerald McDonough said it is not surprising that the real estate industry, “which has extracted untold profits from our communities and reaped the gains of housing inflation, opposes the initiative petition.”“Those interests who have realized the most benefit from the housing emergency and the ongoing inflation in residential rents are trying to stop the public from voting on the Tenant Protection Act, on speculative rationales before any municip...

Teen charged with fatal stabbing in Lynn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:50 GMT

A teenage suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with a fatal stabbing in Lynn on Tuesday evening, Essex County DA Paul Tucker and Lynn Police Chief Chris Reddy announced in a release Wednesday.The teenage victim, who’s identity is being withheld pending notification of the family, was stabbed in the Alpha Convenience Store at 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to the the DA’s office. Shortly after, the stabbing was reported to a nearby fire station, and the victim was transported to Salem Hospital where they died.Authorities reported two suspects were in custody Tuesday night, according to a previous release from the DA’s office.As of Wednesday, one teenage suspect was charged with murder for the stabbing, the release said. The suspect is expected to be arraigned as an adult in Lynn District Court.A second teen, who the DA’s office said will not be identified because he is a juvenile, is being charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in connection w...