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Mainers vote against new utilities proposal, approve a stop to foreign spending in referendums

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine voters turned down an attempt to oust the state’s corporate-owned electric utilities among several ballot initiatives Tuesday, and approved one to stop foreign spending in referendums.Voters also decided to restore language about honoring obligations to Native American tribes to printed versions of the state constitution. Polls closed at 8 p.m. on an Election Day that saw consistent participation despite a lack of statewide offices on the ballot.The Maine Department of the Secretary of State saw “steady turnout at the locations we’ve visited, maybe even strong for an odd-year election,” said Emily Cook, a spokesperson for the office.The state’s busy slate of referendums came a year before Maine will likely once again emerge as a battleground for a congressional seat and a presidential electoral vote in its more conservative 2nd Congressional District.NEW POWER COMPANYMaine voters rejected the proposed takeover of two investor-owned utilities that distrib...

Colorado voters reject measure that would have lowered property tax by eating into their tax refunds

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Despite seeing assessed home values soar by double digits, Colorado voters on Tuesday rejected a measure that would have lowered property tax bills for homeowners in return for decreasing a tax refund unique to the state that last year provided $750 to each taxpayer.Under the measure the the owner of a $500,000 home would have paid anywhere from $186 to $276 less in property taxes this year than they normally would, depending on local tax rates, according to estimates by legislative analysts.In exchange, after an initial increase in the taxpayer refund for everyone this year, the refund checks would have started to decrease and possibly disappear for people of all income levels over the next decade, depending on how much revenue the state takes in, according to legislative analysts.And renters would have gotten smaller taxpayer refunds — known as the TABOR refund, a reference to Colorado’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights — without getting any of the direct relief that homeown...

Democratic candidates win seats in key Virginia Senate districts; majorities still unclear

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats Schuyler VanValkenburg and Russet Perry won critical seats in Virginia’s state Senate on Tuesday, buoying their party’s bid to maintain control of the chamber and blunt GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s conservative agenda.The victories by VanValkenburg, Perry and others brought to at least 20 the number of seats that will be held by Democrats in the state’s 40-seat upper chamber, where the Republican lieutenant governor breaks ties. Other key Senate battlegrounds were too early to call. The balance of power in the House of Delegates was also at stake Tuesday, with Democrats aiming to defy Youngkin’s hopes of a trifecta. While all 140 General Assembly seats were on the ballot in a costly and competitive election year, the majorities were expected to be decided in about a dozen districts in Hampton Roads, suburban Richmond and northern Virginia. Vote counting was still underway late Tuesday. In a statement, VanValkenburg thanked his opponent, incumb...

Cozart scores 20 in Eastern Kentucky’s 108-72 victory against WVU Tech

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) — Isaiah Cozart had 20 points in Eastern Kentucky’s 108-72 season-opening victory over West Virginia Tech on Tuesday night.Cozart also contributed 14 rebounds and five blocks for the Colonels. Collin Cooper added 16 points while going 6 of 13 (4 for 10 from 3-point range), and he also had three steals. John Ukomadu shot 4 for 10 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free throw line to finish with 12 points.Braden Chapman led the way for the Golden Bears with 18 points. Thomas Hailey added 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for WVU Tech. Brant Smithers also had 12 points.NEXT UPEastern Kentucky hosts Wilberforce on Friday.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Aurora NAACP demands acquitted officer not be reinstated

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — The three officers charged in the death of Elijah McClain have faced their day in court, which has some questioning their role, if any, within the Aurora Police Department. The big question surrounds whether suspended Officer Nathan Woodyard will return to the department after Monday's not-guilty verdict. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Jason Rosenblatt was fired from Aurora Police shortly after the 2019 incident for his role in mocking McClain's death. A jury acquitted the former officer in October. Randy Roedema was fired three weeks ago after a jury in the same trial found him guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault.Nathan Woodyard, the officer who placed McClain in a carotid neck hold, was suspended from the department pending the outcome of his trial. On Monday afternoon, Woodyard was acquitted on charges of reckless manslaughter and the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.On Tuesday...

Park Hill shop owner wants to relocate because of neighborhood violence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A businessman in the Park Hill neighborhood said he may have to close his doors and relocate after continued violence outside of his shop, most recently over the weekend.James Chapman, owner of "The Buttonman Shop," said the shooting outside the Hell's Lovers Motorcycle Club this weekend could force him to close up shop. The shooting happened early Sunday morning. Two people were killed and five more were injured. CBI forensic scientist under investigation linked to high-profile cases The Buttonman Shop has been around for nearly a decade, creating shirts, buttons and all types of novelty items. Chapman said he wants to serve his community, but people don’t feel safe coming to him anymore. "It's been unexpected and it's been traumatizing," Chapman said. "Due to the violence, it's like people are questioning coming up here. We survived the pandemic, but it's really difficult surviving random violence."Relocating a business is costly, especially one that’s been stru...

Que va dire Emmanuel Macron aux francs-maçons ?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

C’est un petit événement en soi : Emmanuel Macron est attendu à 12h45 ce mercredi au 16 rue Cadet, dans le IXe arrondissement de Paris, au siège du Grand Orient de France. La principale obédience maçonnique célèbre en effet cette année ses 250 ans, ou plus précisément l’anniversaire de l’appellation “Grand Orient de France”.Une occasion toute trouvée pour que le président resserre encore un peu ses liens avec les frères, même si l’Elysée assurait hier qu’il est simplement “respectueux des consciences et des expressions des uns et des autres”, invitant la presse à ne pas faire “d’autre lecture de ce déplacement”.Sa deuxième visite depuis 2016Car il fallait bien un tel prétexte. S’il n’est pas rare qu’un ministre ou même un président de chambre parlementaire s’y rende, la venue d’un chef de l’Etat au siège du Grand-Orient n’a en effet rien d’habituel. Emmanuel Macron est certes déjà “venu ‘plancher’ dans le temple Groussier de la rue Cadet”, comme l’...

Coconut curry beef from Milk Street

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

After a long day of work or play, I’m a fan of any dinner that doesn’t take too much thought. That’s especially true when I’m coming off of a vacation and not yet back into the rhythm of cooking at home.Milk Street’s latest cookbook comes to the rescue with a theme, spelled out in its title, that anyone tasked with daily cooking can appreciate: “Simple.”A simple recipe, the team writes, isn’t so much easy — though many are — as it is so perfectly constructed that every component is essential and in balance with the whole. Drilled down to the essence, “Simple recipes are reductionist, each step and ingredient integral to the final dish.”This easy weeknight recipe beautifully illustrates how just a handful of ingredients can be transformed into a quick, nourishing and extremely flavorful supper. Inspired by the dry style curries of southern India, it embraces blooming — or heating spices in hot fat to extract their flavor and...

Jesse Eisenberg answers male call in ‘Manodrome”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

BERLIN – Men and issues of masculinity are the center of “Manodrome,” where Jesse Eisenberg’s Uber driver hopes to find meaning in male bonding.South African writer-director John Trengove scored internationally in 2017 with as highly praised debut, “The Wound,” which focused on two closeted gay men during a tribal initiation ceremony.“Manodrome,” Trengove’s second film, follows Eisenberg’s unhappy Ralphie as he desperately searches for meaning and finds himself in an all-male self-help cult led by Adrian Brody’s Dan.The film was inspired, the filmmaker said, “By an online community of men who group together for different reasons. The film has a character who immerses himself in this world of men that blurs the lines of camaraderie and sexuality and leads to madness.”“As an American reading a script about this dangerous spiraling and based on dangerous ideas about masculinity, it seemed like a natural progression into gun violence,” Eisenberg, 40, observed at the film’s world premier...

Gaskin: Addressing bias in Boston’s creative economy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

The creative economy provides an entrepreneurial opportunity for Black artists. It also contributes to economic development and quality-of-life improvements in neighborhoods. After attending a reception at the Boston Society of Architects, I learned that there was a relationship between public art and economic development.This inspired me to look at a webpage produced by the Boston Arts Commission (BAC) that mapped the location of public art in Boston.  There were hundreds of “red dots” marking the locations of public art in downtown Boston, but in Grove Hall there was one lonely red dot for a painted utility box. Although the map missed several pieces of public art in Grove Hall such as the iconic clock tower and murals, the point was clear: the private sector and the City of Boston had under-invested in public art in Grove Hall and other communities of color, rendering them public art deserts.City-supported public art should be found in every neighborhood, as every neighborhood pa...