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St. Paul to invite bars and restaurants to a ‘SAC’ lottery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

The city of St. Paul is inviting restaurants, bars, breweries and micro-distilleries to participate in one of the most unusual lotteries around — a proverbial roll of the dice for a “SAC” credit.When a business expands, the Metropolitan Council, the metro’s regional planning agency, requires municipalities to pay a one-time “sewer availability charge” to cover the added cost to wastewater maintenance and infrastructure. That little-understood charge, which is passed along by the city, often takes new restaurant and bar owners by surprise, especially when they suddenly incur what can be a sizable charge for installing outdoor seating.The Met Council calculates SAC differently for various types of uses, but one “SAC” credit covering up to 1,200 square feet of outdoor seating area for a restaurant or bar is currently $2,485. The same credit would cover up to 3,000 square feet of outdoor seating area for a micro-distillery. A new business ...

Hastings school board member gets probation for DWI

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

A Hastings school board member has been sentenced to probation and 40 hours of community service for drunken driving.Mark Zuzek, 58, admitted he drank vodka in his garage and then drove to Woodbury, where a police officer stopped his car at 8:45 a.m. on Nov. 17, according to court records. A breath test indicated his blood alcohol level was .18, more than twice the legal limit to drive.courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff's OfficeA booking photo of Mark Zuzek of Hastings following his arrest on Nov. 17, 2022. (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)He pleaded guilty March 14 to fourth-degree DWI, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced the same day.Washington County District Judge Douglas Meslow gave Zuzek a 90-day suspended jail sentence with credit for the two days already served and two years of supervised probation. Other terms include paying $512 in fines and fees, attending a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim impact panel and using an ignition locking d...

Schenectady man sentenced to 7 years on drug and gun charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- On Thursday, Brandon Prawl, 28, of Schenectady, was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Prawl was convicted of distributing heroin, possessing heroin with the intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On October 4, 2019, Prawl was found to be in possession of a .45 caliber pistol and loaded magazine, over 21 grams of heroin, and drug distribution paraphernalia. Prawl will also serve a 3-year term of post-imprisonment supervised release.

Crossgates Mall roundabout construction starts April 3

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The CDTA is constructing a new roundabout at Crossgates Mall for access to and from the I-87 Northway as part of its Purple Line Project. Construction begins on Monday, April 3 and is expected to finish by the end of July. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Traffic signals will also be upgraded on Crossgates Mall Road along with repaving, restriping, and updated landscaping. The CDTA explains the improvements will help with the flow of buses in and around the mall and future developments in the area. CDTA reports that the Purple Line is its third bus rapid transit line. It will operate along Washington and Western Avenues, connecting downtown Albany, the Harriman Office campus, UAlbany and Crossgates Mall. It will also connect to the existing Red and Blue Lines, providing CDTA customers with great access to destinations across the Capital Region. Construction schedulePhase 1A April 3 – April 21: On ram...

Cuomo on Nashville shooting: 'You don't hunt with an assault weapon, you don't need it for self-defense'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (HILL) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo weighed in on gun control in the wake of a mass shooting in Nashville where three children and three adults were killed at an elementary school. He argued that assault-style weapons aren’t needed for self defense and should be banned. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Even the National Rifle Association (NRA) supported the country’s 1930s move to outlaw machine guns, Cuomo said in an interview with John Catsimatidis, “because we as a society said, ‘It’s too dangerous to take the risk. Maybe somebody who is mentally ill could get a machine gun and could be on the corner and could kill 100 people before anyone could do anything.’” “So, we outlawed machine guns. Why can’t we bring that same intelligent, rational thought today? A machine gun and an assault weapon are basically the same issue,” Cuomo said. "Why run the risk of having weapons that are so dangerous? You don’t h...

St. Louis County man found not guilty in deaths of 5 people

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis County man has been found not guilty in the deaths of five people who were shot at an apartment complex in 2019.The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a jury deliberated less than two hours Wednesday before acquitting 33-year-old Anthony Watkins of five counts of first-degree murder and five weapons charges.Prosecutors said Watkins and another man, Terrance Wesley, were seeking missing drugs before they killed five men in a partially boarded-up apartment known for drug deals on July 6, 2019. But Watkins' attorney, Robert Taaffe, said Wesley was behind the killings and tried to implicate Watkins in an effort to get leniency.Wesley reached a plea deal in July in exchange for his cooperation and testimony during the trial. He pleaded guilty to five counts of second-degree murder and weapons offenses and is awaiting sentencing.St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement that prosecutors struggled with witness availabi...

TikTok ban pushed by Missouri's Hawley blocked in Senate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley tried to force a Senate vote Wednesday on legislation that would ban TikTok from operating in the United States, but he was blocked by a fellow Republican as lawmakers in both chambers are still trying to figure out what action, if any, is appropriate against the social media app.In trying to force a vote — a move that rarely works in the Senate, since one senator’s objection can block it — Hawley called TikTok “digital fentanyl” and argued it could give the Chinese government access to data from 150 million American users. His bill would block and prohibit U.S. transactions with TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., within 30 days.The bill “sends the message to Communist China that you cannot buy us,” Hawley said. Top Stories: Man accused of plowing into officers should not have been driving Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to Hawley’s motion, arguing that trying to ban an app would violate the Constitutio...

March Madness: South Carolina favored against Clark’s Iowa

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

By The Associated PressMarch Madness is down to the Women’s Final Four. Defending champion South Carolina remains on track to repeat and complete the 10th undefeated season in the women’s game after its 86-75 win over Maryland. Virginia Tech became the second top seed to make it to Dallas with its 84-74 victory over Ohio State to round out the regional finals. With the Hokies advancing, it is the seventh time in the last 10 years there will be a first-time participant in the Final Four. LSU and Iowa won on Sunday to break long droughts. Here is what to know:GAMES TO WATCHNo. 3 LSU (33-2) vs. No. 1 Virginia Tech (31-4), Friday, 7 p.m. EDT, ESPNLSU has completed its rapid rise with Kim Mulkey, reaching the Final Four in its second season under the former Baylor coach. The Tigers are in the Final Four for the first time in 15 years after beating Miami 54-42. The Hokies have won 15 straight games and are in the Final Four for the first time in school history. Elizabeth Kitle...

DPS failed to provide speech therapy to more than 1,000 young students due to staff shortages, state says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

More than 1,000 young Denver students with disabilities missed all or some of their legally required speech therapy recently due to staffing shortages, according to a state decision that found Denver Public Schools in violation of federal requirements.The March 18 decision was in response to a complaint filed with the Colorado Department of Education by the unnamed family of a 6-year-old boy.The boy, who is in kindergarten, has a developmental delay and is nonverbal, the decision says. He uses an augmentative and alternative communication device, or AAC, to communicate by pushing buttons that convey words or phrases.The boy’s special education plan required he receive 24 hours of therapy from a speech language pathologist between August and February: 12 hours inside the classroom and 12 hours outside the classroom, where there are fewer distractions.Related ArticlesEducation | Colorado delays free preschool program matching date to April 26 Education | May...

Lawsuit: Celebrity-friendly church attended by Russell Wilson required workers to tithe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:30 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A Seattle-area megachurch that counts celebrities such as Russell Wilson and Justin Bieber among its thousands of members has been accused in a lawsuit of requiring employees to donate some of their earnings back to the religious organization or risk being fired.Employee Rachel Kellogg alleges Churchome and its leaders “engaged in a systemic scheme of wage and hour abuse against their employees,” including the requirement that all employees tithe 10% of their gross earned wages per month, according to the lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court last week.If they didn’t, the lawsuit says, they would face pressure, discipline or termination, The Seattle Times reported.Kellogg, who worked in video and production for Churchome, says she wasn’t informed of the policy until after her hiring in 2019. The lawsuit argues the practice violates the state’s Consumer Protection Act, as well as hour and wage laws.“Regardless of whether this is a church, or not a church, or a no...