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Western Colorado safest region in country against rising tide of natural disasters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

Rodney King heads up emergency management efforts in Conejos County and plans ways to protect residents from the worst-case scenarios. But when it comes to having to act on those plans, not much catastrophic happens in this off-the-beaten-path border region south of Alamosa.“We have no hurricanes and we have no tornadoes, although we do get high winds, the kind that can knock over power poles. We get some hail, usually pea-sized and sometimes it will get to marble-sized,” he said. “We do have earthquakes, usually along the Sangre de Cristo Range, but they are so mild that we don’t ever feel them.”Snow is plentiful higher up, but lower down, where most residents live, paralyzing dumps aren’t common. Winter temperatures can get bitterly cold and storms do knock the power out about twice a year up in the canyons. But locals are used to burning wood and coping until the power comes back on.The county was among the first in Colorado to record a severe pine b...

East High shooting spotlights tenuous balance between school safety, “moral obligation” to educate kids

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

The shooting inside Denver’s largest high school last month by a student who administrators had been checking daily for weapons raises a stark question: How do you balance a child’s right to an education with the need to keep students and school staff safe?Parents and community members are left wondering why Denver Public Schools enrolled Austin Lyle — the teen who shot and wounded two administrators while being searched at East High School — after he was expelled by the Cherry Creek School District and while on probation for a weapons charge.Educators and others have criticized DPS’s broader record on student discipline, describing the district’s policies as too tolerant and administrators too hesitant to expel students. But activists and other teachers worry the outcry over the March 22 violence — and a fatal shooting near the school in February — will disrupt the progress the district has made in combatting the school-to-prison pipeline, especi...

‘This tragedy was avoidable’: New records show how Hayward police found 8-year-old Sophia’s Mason — but it was already too late

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

Newly-obtained documents in the killing of Sophia Mason show that Hayward police – after getting a missing person’s report about the 8-year-old in March 2022 – swiftly determined what Alameda County social workers had failed to see for more than a year: The girl was in danger and needed immediate help.But by the time officers found Sophia just three days later, it was too late. She was already dead, decomposing in the bathtub of a house where her mother and the mother’s boyfriend had lived in Merced.At a home where 8-year-old Sophia Mason’s body was found in March on the 500 block of Barclay Way in Merced, Calif., a curbside memorial remains outside the now empty house, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) The documents, compiled by police and obtained after this news organization successfully sought a court order, confirm the findings of ongoing reporting by the Bay Area News Group detailing how Alameda County’s Department of Children and Family Servi...

From buried grottos to mysterious orbs, could this Santa Cruz Mountains property be the next Fatima or Lourdes?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

BOULDER CREEK – Brut Farris moved into a cottage among the towering redwoods overlooking the Boulder Creek deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains about 15 years ago because it was scenic — not sacred.It didn’t hurt that there was plenty of space for him and his friends to shoot their bows and park their Harleys.So when he stumbled upon a toppled-over statue of the Virgin Mary in a stone enclosure while helping extend the driveway to the edge of a hillside, he didn’t think much  about chucking it into a sinkhole with other debris.Cora Evans, who died 56 years ago, has been declared a “Servant of God” by The Catholic Church, the first step on the path to sainthood. (Courtesy of family) He had no idea back then that the property’s previous owner, the late Cora Evans who died here in 1957, was a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic Church. He hadn’t heard the stories that she was considered a mystic and fell into deep trances and wrote thousands of pages about walks with G...

Will the 49ers move up from historic low entry point in the NFL Draft?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

SANTA CLARA — On the last Friday of this month, the 49ers finally will be “on the clock” at the NFL Draft, after 98 picks have come and gone. That is the current order, at least.Pick No. 99 marks the 49ers’ lowest entry point ever in the NFL Draft. Not exactly Friday Night Lights excitement, is it?Armed with 10 other picks, they certainly can and likely will move up the queue.How high should they go — and how much can they offer — for those one or two players envisioned as finishing touches for this winter’s Super Bowl push?The first round is likely out of reach for a second straight draft, having dealt those selections to the Miami Dolphins in the 2021 haul for the No. 3 overall pick, quarterback Trey Lance.Trey Lance, San Francisco 49er’s quarterback, speaks to reporters in the locker rooms in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Come Friday, April 28, the Niners will be in pla...

Baby born on I-270 in Montgomery Co., officials say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

A baby delivered by first responders on Interstate 270 in Montgomery County, Maryland, early Friday morning is expected to be OK.Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer said the birth happened at around 2 a.m. while the pregnant mother was heading south on Interstate 270 near Ridge Road.Piringer said first responders got to the family and helped deliver the newborn before getting them to the hospital.“Mother & newborn child were transported,” he said in a tweet. “Everyone is reportedly doing well.”The baby is one of many born along I-270 in the past decade, according to reports from WTOP.These include baby Amir Mason in 2013, baby Atticus in 2014, Jacob in 2015, two more babies in 2019 — just after New Year’s Day and right before New Year’s Eve in the same year — and a Thanksgiving surprise in 2022.ICYMI (~2a) child birth on SB I270 between Route 121 and near Route 27 (Ridge Rd) @MCFRS_EMIHS A735 responded & family w/ ...

AMA’s first gay president to take over at tumultuous time

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The first openly gay person to lead the American Medical Association takes the reins at a fractious time for U.S. health care. Transgender patients and those seeking abortion care face restrictions in many places. The medical judgment of physicians is being overridden by state laws. Disinformation is rampant. And the nation isn’t finished with COVID-19.In the two decades since Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld first got involved with the AMA as young medical resident, the nation’s largest physicians’ group has tried to shed its image as a conservative self-interested trade association. While physician pocketbook issues remain a big focus, the AMA is also a powerful lobbying force for a range of public health issues.Two years ago, the AMA won widespread praise for announcing a plan to dismantle structural racism within its ranks and the U.S. medical establishment. It has adopted policies that stress health equity and inclusiveness — moves that inspired critics to accuse it of “woken...

Tiger Woods se retira del Masters de Augusta por lesión, dicen los organizadores

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

(CNN) — Tiger Woods no reanudará su tercera ronda en el Augusta National el domingo luego de que el cinco veces campeón del Masters saliera del torneo debido a una lesión.Una publicación en la cuenta de Twitter del evento decía: “Debido a una lesión, @TigerWoods se retiró oficialmente del Masters después de completar siete hoyos de su tercera ronda”.El golfista tuvo un comienzo agitado en su tercera ronda y el sonido del claxon, que puso fin temprano al tercer día de The Masters el sábado, pudo haber sido música para sus oídos.En un sábado frío y húmedo, con la lluvia torrencial, se pudo ver a Woods cojeando mientras realizaba lo que parecía ser la tarea dolorosa y agotadora de recorrer el montañoso campo de Augusta.Cuando los organizadores consideraron que la lluvia persistente hizo que el campo no se pudiera jugar, Woods tenía nueve para el torneo y seis para la ronda.Antes de las graves lesiones en las piernas sufridas en un accidente automovilístico en 2021, Woods se somet...

Masters Live Updates | Masters, Koepka facing long final day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Live updates from Sunday’s third and fourth round of the Masters (all times local):8:30 a.m.Get set for a long day at Augusta National.Players are back on the course at the weather-plagued Masters for the completion of the third round, with Brooks Koepka holding a four-stroke lead over Jon Rahm.The tournament was suspended both Friday and Saturday because of inclement conditions, leading to a condensed schedule for the final day.One player who won’t face the grueling day is Tiger Woods. He withdrew Sunday morning, noting on Twitter that he had reaggravated his plantar fasciitis.After the third round is completed, the players will be re-grouped into pairings and sent off at 12:30 p.m. from both the first and 10th tees. That should provide enough time for the usual finish early Sunday evening.It’s been 40 years since the Masters ended on a Monday.Koepka’s fitness could be a factor since he’ll have to play 30 holes on Sunday. He’s still got 12 more holes left ...

4 injured, including 1 Montgomery Co. firefighter after house fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:30 GMT

Three people are hospitalized, one with serious injuries, after a home in Montgomery Village, Maryland, caught fire Easter Sunday, Montgomery County Fire and EMS officials say.It happened just before 1 a.m. in the 9600 block of Whetstone Drive. toggle audio on and off change volume download audio Listen to fire department spokesman Pete Piringer describe the injuries. $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); A Montgomery County firefighter who sustained non-life-thre...