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St. Louis City employee mask mandate ends after a few hours

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - After only a few hours of requiring city employees to mask up indoors again, the decision has been reversed. The Department of Health released an updated statement Friday afternoon saying employees were strongly recommended to wear a mask indoors after announcing earlier in the morning that masks were required. The prior decision was made due to an increasing number of cases regarding RSV, COVID-19, and influenza.The department also clarified information that was released Thursday about the percent changes from this season to previous seasons. The data now shows the difference for one month. Influenza had the highest increase in the number of cases, with over a 450% spike. Those aged 25–49 had the largest number of infections, followed by children aged 5–14 years old. COVID-19 hospitalizations rose by 38%, with 270 people hospitalized during the week of Dec. 23. RSV positive tests also showed an increase of 34%, with 400 positive tests. Light rain and snow to impa...

Public vote opens over how St. Louis should use Rams settlement funds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Board of Alderman is asking residents to participate in a public vote on how the City of St. Louis should use its funds from the NFL Rams relocation settlement. The Board of Alderman presents 20 ideas on an online voting page. Voters are asked to decide on investments "they want the Board of Aldermen to prioritize for serious consideration." The voting period runs from Friday to Feb. 2. Residents can cast their ten votes, either for a single idea or to spread across multiple ideas. Dome leaders ready to welcome back Battlehawks; schedule in the works The Rams relocation settlement, which yielded $790 million in December 2021, led to St. Louis City splitting a sum of those funds with St. Louis County and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Authority. Around one-third of the Rams settlement earnings went toward attorneys’ fees.Since the settlement, the City of St. Louis placed around $250 million into an interest-bearing account with the Missouri S...

Roberta Gambarini, Victor Wooten and more jazz in January

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

Live music in January? What else is there to do?I mean, in addition to staying home and listening to records.Here are some highlights:The expressive singer Roberta Gambarini, who has collaborated with some of the top names in jazz over the course of her respectable career, will perform at Dazzle Jan. 7-8. She’s back in Denver with a top-shelf lineup of local musicians, too: Eric Gunnison, Mark Simon and Paul Romaine. Watch this YouTube video of an extended Dazzle performance from 2022 to hear and see her committed stage presence, with the same rhythm section. The Jan. 7 shows are scheduled for 4 and 630 p.m., and on the following night, there’s a single performance at 6:30. Tickets at dazzledenver.com.Bass palyer Victor Wooten poses for a picture during day 3 of the 2016 NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center on Jan. 23, 2016 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM)Electric bassist Victor Wooten has been awarded five Grammys for his prowess. Probably ...

17-year-old girl reported missing, possibly in crisis in Lakewood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

A 17-year-old girl reported missing in Lakewood on Friday morning could be in crisis.Alijandra Ayala was last seen about 11 a.m. in the 9800 block of West 22nd Place, according to a Missing Endangered Alert from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.ENDANGERED MISSING ALERT ACTIVATION: 17-year-old Alijandra Ayala was last seen on January 5, 2024 in Lakewood. Alijandra maybe experiencing mental health symptoms or may be in crisis. If seen, please call 9-1-1 or the Lakewood Police Department at 303-980-7300. pic.twitter.com/C6uVuWAVDA— CBI (@CBI_Colorado) January 5, 2024She is a 120-pound, four-foot-ten-inch girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing maroon sweatpants and a maroon top, a brown jacket and a “hippie” flower bag.She may be experiencing mental health symptoms or could be in crisis, according to the alert.Anyone who may have information can call 9-1-1 or the Lakewood Police Department at 303-980-7300.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Saf...

Charge dismissed against Pueblo man accused of tampering with voting machine in 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

An election tampering charge filed against a Pueblo man accused of removing an official seal and pulling a USB port from a voting machine during the June 2022 primaries has been dismissed.A Pueblo District Court judge ordered Richard Patton, 32, to undergo an outpatient mental competency exam following his arrest, and, in December 2022, the judge ruled that he was not competent to stand trial. The judge ordered Patton to participate in outpatient mental health treatment in hopes of bringing him to trial at a later date.Instead, Patton’s felony election tampering charge was dismissed Wednesday, although court records do not specify the reason.Prosecutors could not immediately be reached Friday for comment.A competency evaluation considers whether a criminal defendant is mentally ill or developmentally disabled and whether that prevents the defendant from understanding the court process.A gag order was placed on those involved in the criminal proceedings because the case generat...

Alleged EBT scammer from SoCal nabbed in Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

A suspected EBT scammer wanted by the FBI in Southern California was taken into custody in Florida.The alleged scammer, known only by the alias "Walerian Grabowski," was taken into custody on Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.Seamus Hughes of Court Watch connected Grabowski's arrest to the alleged bank fraud and identity theft ring that operated in Southern California from about November 2021 to September 2022.Grabowski and four others — Birdal Osman, Ilie-Sebastian-Laur Vasilescu, Bogdan Adrian Purgariu and Silviu-Florin Spiridon — used card skimming devices to steal money from victims' EBT cards, according to the FBI. 5 men sought by FBI in Los Angeles for EBT scams  An indictment indicates the thefts took place in Alhambra, Garden Grove, Tustin, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Fullerton, Brea, Culver City, Los Angeles, Santa Ana and Newport Beach.The skimmers were placed on terminals operated by Bank of America, Citibank, Fi...

Thousand Oaks woman arrested in fatal hit-and-run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

A Thousand Oaks woman faces a hit-and-run charge after she allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian and fled the scene last month.Just after 6 a.m. on Dec. 9, Robert Paul Quiroz Jr. was found unresponsive near the intersection of Janss Road and Windsor Drive, and investigators "located evidence that suggested the pedestrian was struck by a vehicle just east of the intersection," the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Quiroz did not survive his injuries.On New Year's Eve, a deputy spotted the suspect vehicle in Thousand Oaks, and "evidence was located that tied the vehicle to the crime," authorities said.Tracy Nadine Smith, 51, was identified as the driver and arrested on a charge of leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death, the VCSO said.Jail records show she was released on her own recognizance on Jan. 3, and she is due to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Jan. 12.Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Senior Deputy Marc...

Time running out for Inverness boat that became social media star

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

Associated PressINVERNESS — Time is apparently running out for California’s “Inverness Shipwreck,” an old wooden boat that became an Instagram star as it rotted on a shoreline north of San Francisco.Recent storms have made a shambles of the forlorn vessel named Point Reyes, which was already deteriorated from the over-attention of visitors to the Marin County coast, San Francisco Bay news media reported this week.“The National Park Service is aware that additional damage occurred to the vessel as a result of the most recent storms and tides,” Point Reyes National Seashore officials said in a statement to the SFGATE news site. “While we recognize that this is a local landmark and destination, the NPS is evaluating options to remove it safely.”The boat was built in the 1940s and was used for transportation and fishing before it was abandoned years ago, aground near the community of Inverness on a section of the Tomales Bay shoreline that is pa...

Kurtenbach: Jonathan Kuminga’s complaints will blow over, but they highlight real issues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

Last spring, the Warriors made the bold but correct decision to trade away 21-year-old James Wiseman.But don’t expect a similar decision with 21-year-old Jonathan Kuminga, who is reportedly complaining about how Warriors coach Steve Kerr is using him.Yes, again.It’s undeniable that Kerr made a bad call to keep the rock-solid Kuminga on the bench as the Warriors’ best win of the season turned into the worst loss of the season in a mammoth fourth-quarter collapse.But the Warriors organization still believes in Kuminga, even if Kerr’s belief in the 21-year-old can understandably wain.Kuminga’s passive-aggressive complaints do highlight real issues, though.Related ArticlesGolden State Warriors | Warriors get a reality check in loss to Nuggets: They aren’t yet close to winners Golden State Warriors | Nikola Jokic buzzer-beater stuns Warriors in 130-127 loss to Nuggets Golden State Warriors | Warriors’ St...

Golden Globes explained: Who votes now, who owns them, how to watch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:11 GMT

This year, the Golden Globes is off to a fresh start with new owners, a new network, a new host and new voters following an industry-wide backlash aimed at the group that ran the show for decades.A 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation investigation detailing ethical lapses and a lack of diversity within the ranks of the scandal-scarred Hollywood Foreign Press Association led to the revamping of the small but influential not-for-organization.Last October, the Golden Globes announced the new list of voters for its 2024 ceremony, made up of 300 journalists from around the world, calling it the most diverse voting panel of any major Hollywood awards show.Who votes for the Golden Globes winners?The voters who decide the winners are all entertainment journalists for recognized media organizations, according to the Golden Globes website. Voters must follow a code of conduct. Those rules include not accepting gifts or promotional items from any studio, network, streamer, agency or publicist...