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Person detained following hi-rise fire in downtown Austin

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin firefighters responded to a hi-rise building in downtown Austin Sunday after a person reportedly set items on fire on the twenty-third floor, according to the Austin Fire Department.AFD said the fire on Red River Street was controlled by a sprinkler system, and crews were working to mitigate the smoke and water inside the hi-rise building.The person involved in the fire was detained by officers with the Austin Police Department for fire investigators, according to AFD.

Man sentenced in fatal 2021 road-rage shooting

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man was sentenced Wednesday in connection with a 2021 fatal road-rage shooting in north Austin.According to Travis County court documents, Xzaver Griffin, 23, was sentenced to serve 15 years in state prison for manslaughter, a second-degree felony, in connection with the death of Arlen Sanchez on Sept. 14, 2021.According to court documents, Griffin faced a murder charge but was convicted on the lesser charge of manslaughter following a plea deal.Travis County jail records showed Griffin was booked into the jail Dec. 2, 2021. It is unclear if he will receive jail credit toward his sentence.

U of M police ask for help in finding missing college student

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

University of Minnesota police on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, were asking for help in the search of 19-year-old Sumith Maddi. (University of Minnesota Police)University of Minnesota police are asking for help in finding a 19-year-old college student.Sumith Maddi was last seen leaving the 17th Avenue Residence Hall around 2:40 a.m. on Saturday wearing a black puffy down jacket, black pants and white shoes, according to the department.Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the University of Minnesota Police Department at 612-624-2677.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Justice Barrett expresses support for a formal U.S. Supreme Court ethics code in Minnesota speech Crime & Public Safety | Tyler Cowen: U.S. higher education needs a revolution. What’s holding it back? Crime & Public Safety | Some Rosemount residents hesitant about $700 million Meta data center at UMore site Crime & Public Safety | L...

Exercise horse rider dies at Los Alamitos race track

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

An exercise horse rider was killed during a training exercise at Los Alamitos race track early Saturday morning. The rider, identified as 53-year-old Alfredo Luevano, was training a 2-year-old filly on when he was found on the ground on the backstretch of the track by first responders, Los Alamitos said in a release. He was rushed to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. Los Alamitos is located in Cypress.“As of now, there have been no eyewitness accounts with any precise details on the incident,” the Los Alamitos Race Course release said.  The 2-year-old horse, named Fly From The Fire, was not injured and ran off, race course officials said.  She had made five starts this year for trainer Mike Casselman and was entered in the seventh race at Los Alamitos on Saturday night, but was scratched from the race as a precaution, according to track management.  San Fernando politician, environmental justice advocate Cindy Montañez dies “On behalf o...

Manhunt continues for Nashville police chief's son suspected in shooting of 2 Tennessee officers

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

LA VERGNE, Tenn. (AP) — Police in Tennessee were searching Sunday for the estranged son of Nashville's police chief as the suspect in the shooting of two police officers outside a Dollar General store.Officers in La Vergne, a city about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Nashville, were investigating a stolen vehicle outside the store Saturday afternoon when they sruggled with the suspect, who pulled a handgun and shot them, said LaVergne Police Chief Christopher Moews. Police identified the suspect as John C. Drake, Jr., 38, who is the son of Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake.One of the officers was shot twice, in the groin and right forearm, while the other officer was hit in the rear left shoulder. Both were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. One of the officers was released from the hospital Saturday night. The other officer was kept overnight for observation and was in stable condition, said Anne Smith, a spokesperson for the city of...

Can MMJ Cardholders Grow CBD Hemp?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

Read the original article about Legally Growing Hemp here.More American patients than ever before have access to medical cannabis products. Even though marijuana isn’t federally legal in the USA, many states have regulated MMJ programs. Plus, let’s not forget Canada fully legalized weed in 2018!Although it’s easier for patients to get medical weed or CBD hemp products, many complain about the cost of these items. Even diehard cannabis supporters admit that lab-verified CBD and THC items can cost a pretty penny. Understandably, some MMJ cardholders have considered growing cannabis cultivars at home to cut their monthly expenses.However, just because someone has a valid MMJ card doesn’t mean they have the right to grow cannabis at home — including CBD hemp strains. MMJ patients must carefully review their territory’s latest home-cultivation policies before ordering a batch of high-CBD seeds.Why Can’t MMJ Patients Grow Hemp At Home?There are a few glaring ambiguities in the 2018 US Far...

Bay Area high school football: Where to find our complete Week 9 coverage

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

That’s a wrap for Week 9 of the 2023 high school football season.Serra left no doubt that it’s the West Catholic Athletic League’s dominant team. Livermore running back Kamarri Robinson delivered one of California’s all-time great rushing games, finishing with 534 yards.San Ramon Valley’s Marco Jones did it all in a tough win over California.De La Salle won just hours after learning about the sudden death of defensive line coach Steve Jacoby. Leigh, down to its third quarterback, beat Overfelt in a crucial league game.As always, the Bay Area News Group has you covered.If you have not already, please subscribe here for digital access all season long. Your contributions keep us going.Here is our complete Week 9 coverage.Enjoy.Roundup: Best of Week 9Saturday roundup: Wilcox, Berkeley win close onesResults: Weekend scoreboard, how Top 25 faredPhotos: Our staff’s Week 9 imagesTotal dominance: Serra overpowers RiordanEmotional triumph: DLS wins in honor of la...

Sunnyvale high school district seeks public input on trustee areas

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

FUHSD districting committeeAs part of its transition from at-large to trustee area elections, the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) is forming a Community Trustee Area Districting Committee to facilitate the process of gathering input and developing draft district maps.These maps will then be considered by the FUHSD Board of Trustees for elections from 2024 and through 2032. The district is looking to create five trustee areas.The committee will be tasked with holding multiple community meetings to gather public input. The board of trustees’ goal is that the committee will represent the diverse communities, interests and experience of the residents of the Fremont Union High School District.The committee application is available at https://www.fuhsd.org/newsroom/trustee-areas/ctad. The application deadline is Oct. 30 at 4 p.m.Lawrence Expressway closuresSections of Lawrence Expressway near Tasman Drive will be closed Oct. 30-Nov. 13 while Valley Transportation Authority comp...

Local Audubon Society creates online gallery for bird art

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (SCVAS) is continuing its inaugural September Bird Celebration with an online gallery featuring photos and artwork of birds submitted by community members. Submissions will also be featured in SCVAS materials including Instagram, Facebook and newsletters.“We had almost 50 people submit their artwork, including several youth,” Teresa Cheng, the volunteer leading the September Bird Celebration, said in a statement. “While this was the first year for this event, we’re very pleased with how it went and look forward to sponsoring similar initiatives in the future.”Artists and photographers represented in the gallery at https://bit.ly/SCVASgallery include Cheng and Floy and Dave Zittin of Cupertino and Jeremy Frank, Ed Reed and Camden Bac of Sunnyvale. San Jose residents with works in the online gallery are Sushanta Bhandarkar, Chris Johnson, Kristin Lynn, Rajesh Pasupathy, Orizema Cruz Pina, Howard Friedman, Sapana Kapadia, Karen Maor, Chris Henry, ...

Some San Jose neighborhoods placed under quarantine for fruit flies

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:30 GMT

The Willow Glen and Rose Garden areas of San Jose are within a portion of Santa Clara County that the California Secretary of Agriculture has placed under quarantine for the oriental fruit fly following the detection of eight flies in the cities of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale.The quarantine area also includes all of the cities of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale as well as portions of Saratoga, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos and Mountain View. These areas are expected to remain under quarantine until June 1, 2024, and the boundaries of the quarantine area may be expanded.The oriental fruit fly is an invasive pest that poses a significant threat to California’s agricultural industry. It is known to infest more than 230 fruits and vegetables, including valuable California crops such as avocados, apples, stone and citrus fruits, tomatoes and peppers.To prevent the spread of oriental fruit flies, residents in the quarantine areas should not move homegrown fruits and vegetables from their propert...