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State Wildfire Preparedness Level increases to Level 4 — what that means

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A significant increase in the wildfire activity in Central Texas and across the state is the reason the Texas A&M Forest Service has increased its Wildfire Preparedness Level to Level 4. This has also been done due to the potential of more of these wildfires becoming more severe as time goes by.Over the past seven days, local and state firefighters have battled as many as 119 wildfires that have burned 9,012 acres. Evacuation checklist: What to grab when evacuating Chief Meteorologist David Yeomans spoke with Karen Stafford from the Texas A&M Forest Service. She said rising to Level 4 has more to do with the volume of the wildfires, resulting in an increase in the commitment of the resources needed to battle these fires. She added we've been here before; during the summer of 2022, the Forest Service reached Level 5.If Level 5 would be needed this year, it would not only take into account the volume of these wildfires but also how complex they become to mana...

Lake Travis focused on the road ahead, not what's behind them

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — For a program with the success Lake Travis has had over the years, a 7-5 season in 2022 isn't exactly something to be happy about. The Cavaliers are looking to rectify that and go deep in the postseason once again, where they feel like they belong.The Cavaliers kicked off training camp Monday, and senior running back Nico Hamilton said this year will be better than last year's third-place district finish.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"I think we'll be a lot better than last year," he said. "I think we'll beat a lot of the teams we should have beaten last year, for sure. We have the firepower to do it."Hamilton rushed for 1,278 yards last year and 12 touchdowns and has multiple scholarship offers, mostly from Ivy League schools and both Air Force and Naval academies. He said something missing from last year's team was solid senior leadership, and he we...

Massachusetts governor declares state of emergency as shelter for migrants fills up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts Tuesday as local emergency shelters fill up with an ever-increasing number of migrants arriving from other countries and surging housing costs hurt residents already here.Healey is the latest governor to turn to emergency action to respond to migrants fleeing unstable conditions in their home countries. The Massachusetts Democrat also paired the declaration with a full-throated appeal to the federal government for funding and expediting work authorizations for migrants, which she said was a primary driver of the emergency.At a press conference inside the State House with shelter providers, faith leaders, and other advocates, Healey said the emergency declaration directs local officials to utilize “all means necessary” to secure housing, shelter, and health and human services to address the “humanitarian crisis.”“These families include newborns, very young children, and expecting mothers. It’s more families than our sta...

Ramsey County names West director of property tax, records, election services and auditor/treasurer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

Ramsey County has appointed Tracy West to the position of director of property tax, records and election services and auditor/treasurer. West had served in the position on an interim basis since March.Undated courtesy photo, circa August 2023, of Tracy West, who will serve as the Director of Property Tax, Records and Election Services and Ramsey County Auditor/Treasurer after holding the position in an interim capacity since March. (Courtesy of Ramsey County)Since 2016, West has held the positions in controller for information and public relations service team, and principal financial management analyst with Ramsey County.Ramsey County’s Property Tax, Records and Elections Services was established in 1849 to track property ownership, collection and balancing of funds and maintaining legal documentation like birth certificates. The department also administers city and county elections including providing staffing.“I am honored to take on this role as director. This opportunity ...

Patricia Murphy: In Aldean’s Macon hometown, they’re trying everything

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

Country superstar Jason Aldean, who grew up in Macon, Georgia, got into hot water recently with the video for his song “Try That in a Small Town.” It featured images of Black Lives Matter protests and Aldean wearing a pricey leather jacket, growling during a nighttime video shoot, “Try that in a small town, see how far ya make it down the road.”The video sparked a national debate so loud that Sunny Hostin of “The View” spoke up to say that Aldean’s hometown of Macon is “one of the most racist places in this country.”Her father had also grown up in Macon when there were not one, but two, Confederate monuments in the middle of town. But he also grew up there before Macon elected its first Black mayor, Jack Ellis, and before the current mayor of the city of 160,000 (it’s not actually a town) took over in 2021.I met Mayor Lester Miller during my first road trip series two years ago and was surprised that, like Atlanta, the bigg...

Trudy Rubin: Lessons from a military funeral in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

TORKIV, Ukraine — At the entrance to the village cemetery, where they buried Vasyl Pushkar, stands a tall, gray stone marker.The stone is engraved with an Orthodox cross and the words “Holodomor, 1932-33,” a memorial to the 4 million or more Ukrainian peasants who were starved to death by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin when their farms were collectivized and their harvests seized.Ninety years later, Vladimir Putin is sending food prices for poor nations soaring by blocking Ukraine’s grain exports, which come from black earth villages such as Torkiv, a community of a thousand people about 200 miles south of Kyiv. Meantime, on Monday, village residents gathered to bury their latest casualty from Moscow’s current genocidal effort to erase Ukraine from the map.No wonder the pain and the defiance here run deep.Mobilized in March, the 42-year-old Pushkar died from wounds sustained in a mine explosion on the war’s front lines in the Donbas region of easte...

I-94/Manning Ave. ramp closures Friday in Woodbury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

The Manning Ave ramp along eastbound Interstate 94 will be resurfaced beginning 5 a.m. Friday and be in effect through Sept. 1.The Minnesota Department of Transportation recommends exiting to Manning Avenue using westbound I-94 by way of the state Highway 95/St. Croix Trail exits.Additionally, eastbound I-94 is currently reduced to two lanes between state Highway 120/Century Avenue and Keats Avenue N. through Aug. 26 and the ramp from Woodbury Drive to eastbound I-94 is closed through mid-November.The project as a whole is set to cost around $120 millions and is set to be completed fall 2024.Related ArticlesLocal News | Potentially toxic algae bloom prompts swimming closures, warnings at Woodbury lake Local News | Charge: Woman used ‘sleight of hand’ distraction scheme to steal from metro-area retail stores Local News | Teen pleads guilty in adult court to fatally shooting North St. Paul man during gun heist Local News | ...

Siena friars go green with garden mission

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Father Bob Sandoz and Father Greg Gebbia are first-time gardeners, but their zeal for sustainability has transformed their fledgling garden into a vegetable wonderland. Siena College is home to 18 Franciscan friars with a commitment to service, prayer, and creation. Father Sandoz and Father Gebbia started their garden makeover last October, carefully planting their seeds in May. Bennington skydiver dares 57 jumps to honor dad “I love it. I can't believe it," Fr. Gebbia said. "These were actually started from packets of seed we had mailed to us, and then we did them in solo cups, red solo cups, and they just flourished." Their garden boasts 23 varieties of vegetables, everything from zucchinis and eggplants to tomatoes and cabbages. "On the first level is to simply provide some sustenance for the friars in the community. There are 18 of us. So, this helps," Fr. Sandoz. "On a larger picture, we're concerned about the sustainability of our planet." Tak...

Teens aid family in sinking boat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

ROUND LAKE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Two teenagers went fishing and saw a family in distress so they stepped in to help. It was a classic case of being in the right place at the right time. Seventeen year old’s AJ Powhida and Carson Starr headed out to Round Lake for some Kayak fishing. That’s when they saw two adults and one child waving at them from a larger motorized boat.Couple rescued from Hudson River in Corinth“I realized the front end of the boat was slowly lowering, I yelled to Carson, I said that boat's sinking, and that was about it, we just started paddling over” said Powhida. The boys’ calm demeanor is no accident. The pair are certified lifeguards.Powhida and Starr proceeded to get their kayaks closer to the family in distress.“It's definitely important to know how to move yourself in a kayak cuz if you need to get to somebody like we did you have to know how to get there quick” Powhida added. Schenectady County water rescue trainingThe teens calmed the family down and too...

Dedication of first Safe Haven Baby Box in Missouri

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:29 GMT

MEHLVILLE, Mo. – Our region received its first infant rescue box with a dedication ceremony at the Mehlville Fire Protection District.Legislation allowing for Safe Haven Baby Boxes was passed in 2021. On Tuesday morning, the box was finally installed.This would be Safe Haven Baby Box no. 157, but it is the first in Missouri. Inside are a climate-controlled bassinet and blankets.The baby box allows a parent in crisis to put a newborn into the safe incubator in the event they’re unable to care for the child.“Thank you for allowing women in this community to have this resource, and we’re so proud to be a part of the family here that you guys have so graciously welcomed us in," said Monica Kelsey, founder of Save Haven Baby Box. 5-year-old girl shot and killed in Belleville, Illinois State Representative Jim Murphy (District 94) was the law's sponsor.“Nothing will happen to that baby that isn’t good. And then [the parent] can walk away. There’s no cameras out here. But that gives them...