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Unruly passenger incidents on airplanes up 47% last year worldwide

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

Terry Castleman | Los Angeles Times (TNS)With air travel recovering from the pandemic, a new study found that bad behavior among airline passengers has continued to rise.A new analysis by the International Air Transport Association shows that unruly passenger incidents on airplanes increased 47% from 2021 to 2022, from one incident per 835 flights to one incident per 568 flights.Though incidents of physical abuse often draw the most attention, the most common types of incidents were “non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication,” according to the report. Other misdeeds included bringing outside alcoholic drinks into the cabin, failing to wear a seat belt and packing too much baggage.Physical abuse incidents occurred on 1 in every 17,200 flights, a small fraction, but still an increase of 61% over the prior year. By comparison, the odds of a person being struck by lightning in their lifetime are 1 in 15,300, according to the National Weather Service.The rise of incidents...

Editorial: Let Jor’Dell Richardson’s family see the video of Aurora police shooting the 14-year-old

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

Aurora’s interim police chief, Art Acevedo, should immediately invite the grieving family of Jor’Dell Da’Shawn Richardson into the police department to view the video recordings showing the events before, during and after an Aurora police officer shot and killed the 14-year-old.Acevedo’s attempt to describe the incident in a public briefing has left everyone confused about what transpired, and while video evidence isn’t guaranteed to offer clarity in the shooting, often the video helps a family move forward from such a devastating loss.Members of Richardson’s family visited police headquarters Monday to demand to see the video from both security cameras in the area and police officers’ body cameras, the latter of which is required by state law to be recorded during police responses and also required to be released. Police refused.Acevedo said that Richardson was part of a group of teens who robbed a small store that sold vape nicotine cartridges near Dayton and 8th Avenue in Aurora....

More than 5,300 postal workers attacked by dogs while delivering mail in 2022: USPS

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

David Matthews | New York Daily News (TNS)More than 5,300 employees of the U.S. Postal Service were attacked by dogs while delivering mail in 2022, the agency said.The number represented a slight drop from 2021 when more than 5,400, and 2020 when more than 5,800 were attacked. Dog bites remain one of the chief occupational hazards for letter carriers.Dog bites can lead to a number of other health effects, including dangerous infections.The figures were announced as part of the agency’s annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week public service campaign, which runs from June 4 to June 10.“When letter carriers deliver mail in our communities, dogs that are not secured or leashed can become a nemesis and unpredictable and attack,” Leeann Theriault, USPS employee safety and health awareness manager, said. “Help us deliver your mail safely by keeping your dog secure and out of the way before your carrier arrives.”The theme of this year’s campaign: “Even good dogs have bad days.”The agency st...

The Arctic will have ice-free summers as soon as the 2030s

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

By Danielle Bochove, BloombergEven in a best-case scenario, the Arctic will begin to experience summer months with no sea ice sometime around the middle of the century — sooner than leading climate scientists had predicted, new research finds.The United Nations-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggested in its most recent landmark report that the region would start to see Septembers without sea ice around 2050 if humans continue to emit greenhouse gases at high or moderate levels. However, the new study, published Tuesday in Nature Communications, says this will happen even in a low-emissions scenario. Higher emissions will result in ice-free Septembers by 2030 to 2040.“We basically are saying that it has become too late to save the Arctic summer sea ice,” said Dirk Notz, an oceanographer at the University of Hamburg in Germany who specializes in sea ice and is one of the authors of the study, as well as an IPCC report author. “There’s nothing really we can ...

Longmont City Council to contemplate a regional minimum wage Tuesday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

During its regular meeting Tuesday, the Longmont City Council is expected to hear a presentation from several speakers about the possibility of establishing a regional minimum wage.Representatives on behalf of the Boulder County Consortium of Cities, the Boulder Area Labor Council and the Longmont Chamber of Commerce are scheduled to present to the council about the issue.In 2019, the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 19-1210, which allows a local government such as Longmont to establish its own minimum wage.However, before enacting its own minimum wage law, a local government must consult with surrounding jurisdictions and stakeholders, according to the legislation.“If anybody’s going to do this and make it work — any municipality — it’s going to have to be in concert with other municipalities,” Councilman Tim Waters said Monday.In addition to serving on the City Council, Waters is one of the city’s representatives on the Longmont Economic Development Partnership Bo...

Jeffrey Glenn Patterson Killed in Motorcycle Crash on Petrol Road [Bakersfield, CA]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

Motorcycle-Auto Collision Near Airport Drive Kills 62-Year-Old RiderBAKERSFIELD, CA (June 6, 2023) – Sunday, a motorcycle accident on Petrol Road fatally injured Jeffrey Glenn Patterson.The collision happened on May 28th, at the intersection of Petrol Road and Airport Drive. However, the circumstances that led up to the incident remain unclear.Responding medical personnel at the scene transported the rider to Kern Medical for serious injuries. On June 1st, while at the hospital, the motorcyclist succumbed to his injuries.The Kern County Sheriff’s Office later identified the deceased rider as 62-year-old Jeffrey Glenn Patterson of Bakersfield.At this time, the Kern County Officials have not released any information about a possible suspect.Those with further information regarding the Petrol Road motorcycle crash are encouraged to contact local authorities as soon as possible.The Sweet James team sends their warm and sincerest sympathies out to the friends and family of Je...

DOUBLE RAINBOW: The 2023 PRIDE GUIDE 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

Our 2023 Pride Guide is here, and clearly one Pride celebration isn’t enough for L.A. Though the circumstances that led to LA Pride and WeHo Pride throwing two different events might have started out  somewhat contentiously amid the pandemic and BLM protests, things seem to have settled in the best possible way in 2023. Both big banner gatherings enjoyed their own successful celebrations in 2022, and just last weekend, West Hollywood’s event with JJLA and Outloud (featuring musical headliners Grace Jones, Orville Peck and Carly Rae Jepson, plus the Dyke March, Summertramp and more) drew thousands for three days and nights of activism and revelry. Christopher Street West’s LA Pride dominates for the rest of the month and they’ve got some huge happenings going on all month long.As other parts of the country seek to deny equal rights to the LGBTQ+ community, it’s become apparent that not only is there room for multiple events in this city, we need them more than ever. Celebration...

‘I am not a coward and won’t go running down to Mexico’: San Jose man gets 54 months for transporting 44 pounds of meth

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

SAN JOSE — A city resident who was convicted of acting as a drug courier for a group that collectively sold hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin was sentenced to four years and six months in federal prison, court records show.Manuel Sanchez-Pedraza was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman after pleading guilty to a methamphetamine distribution charge. Prosecutors say that in August 2021, Sanchez-Pedraza was caught with 44 pounds of the drug — worth an estimated $36,000 wholesale — during a traffic stop.Sanchez-Pedraza was one of five people charged in connection with the drug ring, which authorities say was linked to the sale of 198 pounds of methamphetamine, 40 pounds of cocaine and 10 pounds of heroin. Two of his co-defendants have been sentenced, receiving wildly different outcomes; Edgar Portillo received no jail time and three years probation, while the alleged dispatcher of the drug ring, 24-year-old Raul Jimenez-Verduzco...

Pacific Termite Experts Answer Your Questions…

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

At Pacific Coast Termite, they are dedicated to helping homeowners answer questions about termite swarming and infestation questions. Below are a few questions and answers they wanted to share with our readers when considering termite infestation.Q: How do I know if I have a termite problem?A: You may see swarms of flying insects both inside and outside your house, usually in the spring. After swarming, the termites shed their paper-like wings and you may find them on windowsills, counters or floors. Tiny holes in wood, small piles of wood shavings, crumbling drywall, and sagging doors are all indicative of a termite infestation. Also, termites often make tubes of mud and other debris across concrete surfaces. Unfortunately, these signs indicate structural damage to your home or business has already occurred. By the time you see them, the damage has already started. Q: How do I tell the difference between a termite and flying ant?A: Termites have a straight antennae, two pairs ...

‘Past Lives’: How a real-life meeting forged surreal love story

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:01 GMT

Associated more often as the scenario in which bad decisions go down late at night and logic gets tossed back like a watered-down gin and tonic, an exchange in a bar one night in New York led to something much different — one of the best movies of 2023.“Past Lives,” opening June 9 in Bay Area theaters, centers on two South Korean childhood chums who parted ways meet again on the East Coast after two decades of intermittent Facebook and Skype exchanges. Their tender reunion leads to a soul-shaking encounter that includes, you guessed it, that crucial time spent in a bar.Eloquently told, the story exudes a lived-it experience. While the screenplay was  inspired by personal events, it’s  not entirely autobiographical.But the bar bit did happen.Director Celine Song says “Past Lives” was inspired by an actual awkward meeting in a bar. (Theo Wargo/Getty Image) “I found myself in this very odd situation of sitting between my husband, who I’ve been with fo...