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Opinion: Let’s blow the whistle to protect our public lands from abusers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

Dozens of TVs, refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers and abandoned cars had either been gunshot, torched or both.This place of destruction was what some locals called “Carnage Canyon,” roughly 30 acres off Lefthand Canyon in Boulder County.It was a shocking sight, but was it unique? Think about your own nearby public lands.This canyon’s history began with mountain biking. Sometime in early 2000, a mountain biker discovered the canyon and developed a trail through it. Then, more bikers came in droves, and “motocrossers” also loved it, particularly because nobody was around making rules or telling them what to do.Nobody complained to the Forest Service, the managing federal agency.After them came people in Jeeps who liked to plow through mud, crawl over big rocks, and climb up the sides of the canyon. They also widened the trail into a one-lane, eroded dirt road.Related ArticlesOpinion Columnists | Vast swath of Colorado public lands would be off limits to oil and gas leas...

Denver mayor Mike Johnston warns migrant counts could “eclipse” previous highs as Texas sends more buses

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent more than 10 buses transporting migrants to Denver in the last week, Mayor Mike Johnston said Tuesday morning as he told City Council members that the number of arrivals could reach an all-time high.Another four buses from Texas arrived during the day, a city spokesperson confirmed.The influx comes as the flow of migrants across the southern U.S. border with Mexico has increased in recent weeks. When Johnston took office in mid-July, the number of migrants in city shelters ranged from 400 to 500 people, he said. As of Monday, the number stood at 1,656 — within a few hundred of the peak at shelters amid the initial surge, when the city declared an emergency.“With the addition of new buses this week, we could eclipse, potentially, the high water mark of more migrants than we’ve had in shelter in the city at any point … since the crisis ever began,” Johnston said during the weekly Mayor-Council meeting.The mayor said the new sur...

LAPD chief shares 'book and release' concerns as new bail system is set to begin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

Los Angeles police Chief Michel Moore spoke out Tuesday as the county is set to institute a new, mostly cashless, bail system this weekend.The new Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols (PARP) were designed to rely less on the arrestee's ability to pay and more on their risk to the public or victim, a Los Angeles County Superior Court news release stated following a July decision to institute the system. According to the protocols, those arrested for low-level, non-violent offenses will be released at the location of arrest or booked and then released with a promise to appear at arraignment.“A person’s ability to pay a large sum of money should not be the determining factor in deciding whether that person, who is presumed innocent, stays in jail before trial or is released,” Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner said at the time.Those arrested for more serious crimes will go before a magistrate, who will determine "appropriate non-financial pre-arraignment release terms," the news release ...

Senate committee advances marijuana banking bill

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

While full federal legalization of marijuana is likely a ways off, advocates continue to chip away at hurdles for the industry.On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs approved the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act in a bipartisan vote, sending it to the full Senate for approval.The SAFER Banking Act, as it's known, "will help make our communities and small businesses safer by giving legal cannabis businesses access to traditional financial institutions, including bank accounts and small business loans," said a statement from the bill's supporters, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-OR; Steve Daines, R-MT; Kyrsten Sinema, I-AZ; and Cynthia Lummis, R-WY. Federal restrictions on marijuana may soon be eased "It also prevents federal bank regulators from ordering a bank or credit union to close an account based on reputational risk," the senators added. Currently, cannabis being illegal under fe...

Ten Students Hospitalized after Bus Accident on Berkley Street [Houston, TX]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

Several Injured in School Bus Crash on Interstate 610HOUSTON, TX (September 27, 2023) – Wednesday morning, ten students were hospitalized after a bus accident that occurred on Berkley Street.Police arrived at the scene at approximately 6:46 a.m., near the 2900 block of Berkley Street, close to the South Loop east feeder road.According to eyewitness accounts, a car collided with a school bus as the bus was negotiating a sharp turn onto Berkley Street. The force of the collision resulted in the bus tipping over onto its side.The Houston Fire Department officials transported ten children and both drivers to a nearby hospital for medical attention.During preliminary tasks, authorities temporarily closed the I-610 South Loop feeder, which was later reopened. As of now, Houston officials are actively investigating the bus accident on Berkley Street to determine which driver is at fault.Even a minor error in judgment while driving can have severe consequences, leading to a hazardous ...

Macayla Meshell Bartek, Lance Scott Jerome Walker Killed in Head-On Crash on FM 493 [Bell County, TX]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

Two-Vehicle Collision near FM 93 Left Two People DeadBELL COUNTY, CA (September 27, 2023) – Early Monday morning, a head-on collision on FM 493 claimed the lives of Macayla Meshell Bartek and Lance Scott Jerome Walker.The crash happened at around 4:15 a.m., along Farm to Market 493 (FM 493), a mile east of FM 93.According to reports, a westbound 1992 Chevrolet truck collided with an eastbound 2020 Kia Optima. Unfortunately, the first responders declared both drivers dead at the scene.Later, the DPS identified both deceased drivers as Macayla Meshell Bartek, 30, and Lance Scott Jerome Walker, 46. Both victims were determined to be from Belton TX.At this time, the investigators are working to determine which vehicle crossed over the opposite lane.The husband of Bartek started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the funeral expenses of his wife, Macayla.The team at Sweet James sends their warm and sincerest sympathies out to the friends and family of Macayla Meshell Bartek an...

Ayden Randle, Wyatt Randle Killed in ATV Crash on Boz Road [Waxahachie, TX]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

Two-Vehicle Crash near Greathouse Road Leaves Two Brothers Dead and Two Girls HospitalizedWAXAHACHIE, TX (September 27, 2023) – Sunday evening, an ATV accident on Boz Road claimed the lives of Ayden Randle and Wyatt Randle.The deadly crash just after 7:00 a.m. at the intersection of Boz Road and Greathouse Road.According to reports, Ayden Randel, Wyatt Randel, and another teen were riding in a westbound 2008 Can-Am Defender driven by a 16-year-old girl. The driver of the vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed into a Ford pickup truck.The impact of the collision ejected all four occupants of the ATV, including a 16-year-old girl, a 14-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy, and a 12-year-old boy. Responding paramedics transported the four patients to a hospital.Meanwhile, the married couple inside the Ford SUV – both 70 years old – were taken to Baylor Scott and White Hospital for minor injuries.On Monday, the Texas Department of Public Safe confirmed the death of 12-year-...

Harvest Moon: Arts Calendar September 28 – October 4

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

Between Harvest Moon, a bit of sweater weather, and Halloween in September, it seems we’ve truly turned the corner into Autumn. Kick off your spooky season with elevated immersive experiences at the museum and in the mountains; plus contemporary dance at classic and brand new theaters, new opera at the observatory and in the heart of downtown, insightful conversations on the power of art; a new edition of L.A.’s favorite biennial, a beloved museum’s birthday party, moving music at a local landmark; theater, craft-based visual art, the glossy pages of LGBTQ+ history.Deana Lawson: Afriye, 2023, pigment print (Courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery)Thursday, September 28Artists Deana Lawson and Arthur Jafa in conversation at David Kordansky Gallery. An in-gallery conversation between artists Deana Lawson and Arthur Jafa expands on an ongoing dialogue between the two artists, and explores themes and concepts related to Lawson’s new body of work. In Mind’s Eye (on view ...

Hit Girls Sets the Punk Rock Record Straight

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

The word “Girls” is no longer a pejorative in the punk world, but when it comes to being on stage, there’s still a stigma that must be fought. The luminaries featured in Jen Larson’s new book, HIT GIRLS: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983 (Feral House), helped define the genre, and they are so much more than their gender, which is the point.HIT GIRLS (Feral House)Women and queer folk were more important to the development of punk, and hence rock music in general, than they have ever been given credit for and it’s only due to documentarians like Larson (also a musician, writer and teacher) that the record continues to be set straight. Clearly, in 2023, it is still very much needed.With sexist media moguls like Jann Wenner in the news recently for diminishing the contributions and cerebral depth of female music makers, this focus on regional bands and national musicians feels refreshingly celebratory and wide-ranging. Jen B.’s subjects (Niagra, Texacala Jones, Stoney Rive...

Bay Area beer-centric day trips: Four Santa Cruz breweries to explore

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:10:40 GMT

For this month’s brewery day trip, I visited four Santa Cruz taprooms — Humble Sea Brewing, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Sante Adairius Portal and Gilman Brewing — on a route that took me from the coastal city’s Westside to Soquel Avenue.Humble Sea BrewingMy first stop was Humble Sea Brewing, the Westside brewery founded in 2015 by three locals and childhood friends, Frank Scott Krueger, Nick Pavlina and Taylor West. With a nautical-themed interior in sea blue and foam white, the brewery offers indoor seating in what feels like a ship’s interior and a large outdoor beer garden with picnic tables and benches.The brewery offers around 20 beers. Both Float, a German-style pilsner, and Paisley Pils, an Italian-style dry-hopped pilsner, are tasty. But my warm weather picks have to include the Humble Sea Helles and Socks and Sandals, a double dry-hopped IPA offered in clear and haze versions. There’s also Super Pops! Tropical Blue, a smoothie beer brewed with...