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Colorado to decide if homeowner tax relief can come from refund that's one-of-a-kind in US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Colorado residents are deciding whether to siphon off a state tax refund that’s unique in the U.S. to help homeowners offset hikes in property taxes after years of rising home prices.If passed in the election Tuesday, the proposition would lessen property tax increases for homeowners over the next decade in return for decreasing a state tax refund called the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR.TABOR caps Colorado's tax revenue and requires the surplus to be redistributed to residents. Last year, TABOR provided $750 to each taxpayer. What to know before voting on Prop HH Under the measure, property taxes won’t drop below previous levels, but the expected future increases in bills would be dampened.The owner of a $500,000 home would pay anywhere from $186 to $276 less in property taxes this year than they would if the ballot measure didn’t pass, depending on local tax rates, according to estimates by legislative analysts.In exchange, after an initial increase in the ta...

Man and woman arrested for allegedly attempting to lure child into van in Hollywood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

A man and a woman were arrested after allegedly attempting to lure a nine-year-old girl into a van in Hollywood, officials said. The incident occurred in the 1900 block of McKinley Street in Hollywood while the girl was playing in her front yard, Friday afternoon.Police said that the girl’s father, who was in his car at the time, witnessed a woman, later identified as 31-year-old Taiana Tersano, aggressively approaching his daughter after getting out of a van. The man driving the van, later identified as 34-year-old Michael Diaz, was reportedly heard yelling at Tersano to “grab the f—ing kid.” When the father intervened, he said that Tersano spat in his face and punched him before both suspects drove away. Police later stopped the van at 901 N Federal Hwy and took Tersano and Diaz into custody. Police said that inside the vehicle they found a seven-year-old child surrounded by loose tools, who was subsequently taken into protective custody.Diaz and Tersano fa...

Former Norwell pediatrician charged with sexually assaulting girls during physical examinations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

A former pediatrician at South Shore Medical Center in Norwell has been summoned to court to face 16 felony sexual assault charges including four claiming rape of a child, according to court documents. Richard Kauff, 68, treated children for almost 40 years. Charges against him now come months after detectives interviewed two women in Norwell back in October, documents show. A police report says the pair had been chatting in a Facebook group called “Mamas of the South Shore.” Together, documents said they compared recollections about how their doctor had examined them inappropriately as children. Both women said Kauff was their pediatrician. According to the police report, both women told police Kauff would ask them to count to three and use the same peculiar phrase while assaulting them. The women recalled going for checkups at the now former location of the South Shore Medical Center on Washington Street in Norwell. According to the police report, the alle...

School officials in Groton respond after swastika discovered in middle school bathroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

Officials at a middle school in Groton are investigating after a swastika was found in a bathroom.The district’s superintendent said that on Monday, inside the Groton-Dunstable Regional Middle School, an eighth grade student found the swastika on a bathroom wall and reported it to a principal.“It happened during the lunch period – the custodians clean the bathrooms several times during the day and the protocol is if they should find graffiti such as that, that they should notify the principal,” said Dr. Laura Chesson, the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District Superintendent. “So that wasn’t reported earlier in the day, nor was it reported the day before.”The discovery occurred at the very same school that maintains a Holocaust Remembrance display by its entrance, with coins on the memorial representing someone who died in the Holocaust.“They learn everything about words matter and the power of our words,” Chesson said. “...

Massachusetts family is safe at home after escaping Gaza, another family makes it to Egypt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

A Medway family is safe at home after being trapped in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war, while another local family has fled the war zone and made it into Egypt.Abood Okal, Wafaa Abuzayda, and their 1-year-old son Yousef finally arrived at Boston Logan International Airport on Monday, and they’re now at their Medway home after escaping from Gaza.“The Okal Family continues to be incredibly thankful for their family and friends around the world who spoke up on their behalf, the Medway community, the media for sharing their plight and the plight of the hundreds of other Americans trapped in Gaza, their elected officials who fought hard for their return, and the State Department for providing them with safe departure,” a family spokesperson said in a statement.“While the Okal Family is relieved to be home in Medway, their thoughts continue to be with their family, including both Abood and Wafaa’s parents, and the other innocent civilians who are still in Gaza...

Man charged with animal cruelty after dog found dead in his Chelsea apartment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

A man is charged with animal cruelty after a neighbor in his Chelsea apartment building said a strong odor was emanating from the apartment — where the building manager would discover the man’s dog dead and rotting.“This is another tragic case of a pet suffering because its owner did not take some simple, humane steps like bringing the dog to a local shelter or a rescue organization,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden wrote in a statement. “Pets bring many joys but they also bring many responsibilities, and the lack of responsibility here is heartbreaking.”Massi Ennis, 24, was charged Friday in Chelsea District Court with animal cruelty. Judge Matthew Machera set $500 bail and ordered Ennis to have no contact with animals and to return to court on Dec. 23.Police turned up to the building at 185 Washington Ave. in Chelsea the afternoon of Oct. 27 and met with the apartment manager there who told them a neighbor had complained about a strong smell and that when he checked it out,...

Boston boy, 14, charged with stabbing another teen boy in Allston held on $1,000 bail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

The 14-year-old arrested for allegedly stabbing another boy his same age on Monday in Allston is being held on $1,000 bail.“It’s always sad to have someone so young before the court on such serious charges, and sad to know that this person’s actions inflicted dangerous injuries on another young person,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden wrote in a statement Tuesday. “But these are serious charges and they will be handled appropriately. We’ll provide all the help and support the victim and his family require.”Boston Police responded to the Jackson Mann School at 40 Armington St. in Allston at around 3:18 p.m. Monday following reports of a person stabbed there. The 14-year-old male victim was sitting on the sidewalk, according to the DA statement, with stab wounds to his abdomen and to the left side of his upper rib cage. Police say the victim had trouble speaking and breathing.Witnesses described the alleged assailant and the school provided a photo. Police say they found him wa...

A North Carolina sheriff says 2 of his deputies and a suspect were shot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

MAXTON, N.C. (AP) — Two sheriff’s deputies from a southeastern North Carolina county and a man who was the subject of a warrant were seriously wounded Tuesday during exchanges of gunfire, the local sheriff said. Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said at a news conference the three men were shot around 9:30 a.m. in a community outside of Maxton, which is about 120 miles (190 kilometers) southeast of Raleigh, close to the South Carolina border.The suspect and one of the deputies were in critical condition at hospitals, while the other deputy was in serious condition, the sheriff said. The suspect fled the area by getting into one of the wounded deputies’ cruisers and backing up, running over one of the deputies and breaking his leg.. The suspect was ultimately captured by other deputies, according to the sheriff. At a news conference, Wilkins identified the shooting suspect as Shawn Tobin Locklear Jr., who at age 19 last December was accused of murder. The sheriff said...

Highlights of Trump’s hours on the witness stand at New York civil fraud trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump went off. Again and again. Making the witness stand at his New York civil trial his podium, the former president laid into the presiding judge and the state attorney general who sued him.During 3 1/2 hours of testimony on Monday, the Republican denied Attorney General Letitia James’ allegations that he duped banks by exaggerating his wealth on financial statements used to make deals and secure loans.“There was no victim. There was no anything,” he said.He bragged about his riches, saying he has “a lot of cash” and described one of the grown sons he put in charge of his company as a “hard working boy.” He said of his priorities while president: “My threshold was China, Russia and keeping our country safe.”Trump’s often verbose responses — replete with anecdotes about development projects, the intricacies of property valuations and complaints that he was a victim of a “political witch hunt” — led a frustrated Judge Arthur Engo...

Florida House passes measures to support Israel, condemn Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:59 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida House passed measures during a special session Tuesday to help secure Jewish institutions and other places that could be targets of hate crimes, express support for Israel and further sanction companies that do business in Iran.Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to tout the measures as he campaigns for president. And though the bills were mostly symbolic, there was one lone attempt seeking lawmaker support for calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. That was angrily shot down by Democrats and Republicans alike.“The fight is not just over there, but the fight is right here at home,” Rep. Randy Fine, the only Jewish Republican in the House, said as he introduced a resolution condemning Hamas and supporting Israel. “Every person that walks through a college campus or marches through the street saying, ‘Kill the Jews,’ is an extension of what we’re seeing over there.”The resolution passed on a 103-3 vote.The House also passed a bill to ...