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City council passes homeless encampment ban: What's next?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The City of San Diego will soon have a new law that bans homeless encampments in public places.The San Diego City Council voted 5-4 late Tuesday night to pass the Unsafe Camping Ordinance, which would prohibit people from sleeping on sidewalks if shelter beds are available.San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria plans to sign the new ordinance into law once it goes before city council for a second reading.The measure also bans encampments at all times, regardless of shelter availability, in sensitive areas like parks, canyons and near schools.The city council heard from nearly 300 speakers, who were both in favor and against the polarizing plan. Billionaire Stan Kroenke joins sports arena development group as majority investor In the end, the majority of the councilmembers chose to use the ordinance as another tool to help people get off of the streets and help unsheltered individuals get connected to services. FOX 5 spoke to the Mayor Gloria Wednesday morning about what comes nex...

Dump day: How to dispose unwanted items for free this weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- There's no better time to finish up your spring cleaning than now. Another free dump day event is being held in Santee this weekend. On Saturday, San Diegans looking to dispose of non-hazardous, unwanted items free of charge can head on over to the Caltrans Santee Maintenance Yard, which is located at 8502 Railroad Ave. San Diego City Council votes to approve homeless encampment ban Caltrans says staff will be on-site to accept approved waste and debris from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., or until capacity is reached at the site.San Diegans are asked not to bring hazardous waste like batteries, paint, oils or flammables. Other undesired items include e-waste like televisions, computers, microwaves, stereo equipment and electronics, or construction debris like concrete, dirt, asphalt and asbestos.According to Caltrans, four mattresses and four tires separated from the rims will be accepted per household. More information on rules and prohibited items for this dump day event can be...

Markham mayor looks to consolidate York region, other mayors in region not on board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti is asking the province to review York region’s current structure and to reduce the local and regional governments into one region.Scarpitti released the statement Wednesday, citing the restructuring of Toronto and Peel Region, saying he believes the same needs to be done for York Region.“I am calling on the provincial government to consolidate all the municipalities in York Region into one city. York Region is made up of 10 municipal governments – nine local municipalities (Aurora, East Gwillimbury, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Whitchurch-Stouffville) and the Regional Municipality of York,” said Scarpitti in the statement.“This provincial government has taken bold steps restructuring the City of Toronto Council and Peel Region and should be doing the same for York Region. There is no rationale for taking bold steps in other GTA cities and keeping the status quo in York Region.”On May 18, the provi...

Pennsylvania using tons of recycled glass nuggets to rebuild collapsed Interstate 95

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania will truck in 2,000 tons of lightweight glass nuggets to help quickly rebuild a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia and crews will work 24 hours a day until they can reopen the critical commercial artery, officials said Wednesday.By using the recycled glass to fill in the collapsed area, they’ll be able to avoid supply-chain delays for other materials, Gov. Josh Shapiro said. But Shapiro repeatedly declined to estimate how long it will take to get traffic flowing again on the busy East Coast highway.“We’re going to get this job done as quickly as possible,” Shapiro said at a news conference, over the sounds of heavy machinery working to clear wreckage.Investigators continued to look into why a truck hauling gasoline went out of control on an off-ramp and flipped on its side, igniting a fire early Sunday that caused the collapse of the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 and severely damaged the southbound lanes. Shapiro said unionized w...

Kosovo says 3 border police officers ‘kidnapped’ by Serbia; Belgrade says they crossed illegally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian authorities said Wednesday they have captured three “fully armed” Kosovo police officers inside Serbia near their mutual border, while Kosovo police said they have likely been “kidnapped” on Kosovo territory as they patrolled the area.The latest incident sharply raises tensions between Serbia and its former province. Serbia had put its troops on the border on the highest state of alert amid a series of recent clashes between Kosovo Serbs on one side, and Kosovo police and NATO-led peacekeepers on the other.Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the “kidnapping” of the police officers represents an “act of aggression aimed at escalating and destabilizing” his country and called on the international community to react.“We call for the immediate release of the three kidnapped police officers and invite international actors to denounce Serbia’s act of aggression,” he said in a statement.Kosovo police said in a statement Wednesday that th...

Synagogue massacre survivor cried ‘Mommy’ as her 97-year-old mother was shot and killed by her side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A survivor of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre said Wednesday that she saw her right arm “get blown open in two places” by a gunman and cried “Mommy” after her 97-year-old mother was shot and killed by her side in the nation’s deadliest attack on Jewish people.Andrea Wedner was the government’s last witness as prosecutors wrapped up their case against Robert Bowers, who burst into the Tree of Life synagogue building with a military-style rifle and other weaponry and opened fire, shooting anyone he could find. Bowers’ attorneys did not put on a defense after the prosecution rested, setting the stage for closing arguments and jury deliberations on Thursday.Bowers killed 11 worshippers and injured seven others, including five police officers, in the 2018 attack. The 50-year-old truck driver is charged with 63 criminal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death and the obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death. Some of the charges car...

Advance voting sees 11 per cent increase over last municipal election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

Voters in the Toronto mayoral byelection came out in droves during advance voting, setting the highest single day of advance voting since amalgamation on Tuesday when 38,621 residents cast their vote.During the six day period just under 130,000 eligible voters marked their ballots for the next mayor of the city. It was an 11.9 per cent increase from the 115,000 voters who voted during the eight day period of advance voting in the October general election.John Tory was re-elected for his third term in October that saw very low voter turnout, with just 40 per cent of eligible voters casting a ballot.Tory stepped down back on Feb. 17 after announcing he had an “inappropriate relationship” with someone who used to work on his staff, triggering the byelection.Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie has assumed his duties on an interim basis and is not among the candidates running to replace him.Most polls suggest Olivia Chow is the clear frontrunner, with just over two weeks left until election d...

Canada will continue to rely on foreign firefighters as wildfires increase: Trudeau

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

SAGUENAY, Que. — Canada will continue to rely on foreign crews to help fight wildfires in the coming years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, as more reinforcements from abroad were expected to join the fight against the country’s worst wildfire season in decades.Trudeau told reporters in Saguenay, Que., that Canada will count on other countries to send help, just as other countries depend on Canadian firefighters.“In terms of international firefighters, it’s something that we count on during our fire seasons, but the same way our international friends and partners count on Canadian firefighters during their fire seasons,” he told reporters after meeting with armed forces members at Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, in Quebec’s Saguenay region. “From Northern Hemisphere to Southern Hemisphere, from one region of the world to another, the fire seasons aren’t always aligned and that allows for a travelling of resources that is part ...

MGM says it did nothing wrong as ‘fraudster’ gambled online

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Gambling giant MGM Resorts International says it did nothing wrong in its dealings with a New York City man who accuses it of preying on his gambling addiction with repeated cash bonuses intended to keep him gambling.In court papers, MGM says Sam Antar, a twice-jailed “fraudster” who repeatedly victimized friends, relatives and strangers, is engaging in “his latest scheme” by falsely accusing MGM of wrongdoing.MGM is asking a federal judge to dismiss Antar’s lawsuit and refer the matter to arbitration, which it says is required by the terms of service to which Antar agreed when he opened an online gambling account with the company.The company also denies it violated any New Jersey laws.“Sam Antar is a convicted felon and repeat fraudster who has pled guilty to defrauding numerous individuals out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in false stock investment schemes,” MGM wrote in its June 9 response to Antar’s litigation, filed in U.S. District ...

CP NewsAlert: Canada halting activity at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:09 GMT

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada will halt all government-led activity at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.This comes after a Canadian citizen resigned from the financial institution, alleging it is dominated by the Chinese Communist Party.More Coming.The Canadian Press