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City of Austin Parks and Rec Dept. hiring for full-time temporary positions, offering up to $800 in bonuses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Wednesday, the City of Austin announced a new bonus program within the Parks and Recreation Department to attract would-be workers with a bit of extra money.The city said the department needs cashiers, ground assistants and maintenance workers for the spring and summer. There are currently about 50 full-time temporary positions needing to be filled.People can get up to $800 in bonuses depending on the number of hours worked, according to the city.The city said an employee must work a certain number of hours until October 31, 2023, to be eligible. With 400 hours worked, there is a $400 bonus, and at 600 hours worked another $400 bonus would be added.The department is also offering similar bonuses to lifeguards this summer. The jobs themselves pay $20 an hour.

'Fix it:' Senators urged to pass bill to eliminate paper tags

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

KXAN (AUSTIN) -- State senators heard testimony on a bill Wednesday that would replace Texas' temporary paper license plates with metal ones. The bill, SB 2567 -- similar to one introduced in the House -- aims to crack down on widespread fraud and criminal activity tied to paper tags. It's a problem KXAN has investigated for years. Among those who testified: A Dallas-area police chief whose officer was killed last November while pursuing a suspect with a bogus paper tag."Fraudulent paper tags are the criminal instrument of choice for drug traffickers, human smugglers, auto theft rings, street gangs, street takeover groups," said Grand Prairie Police Chief Daniel Scesney. "And, yes, cop killers."His officer's death isn't the only one linked to fraudulent paper tags.Scesney gave lawmakers a copy of a fraudulent paper license plate his team made with a working QR code to show how easy it can be done -- even with the state's new security-enhanced features.He said his officers have seize...

Poop pills: First med to transplant healthy bacteria in fecal matter wins FDA approval

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials on Wednesday approved the first pill made from healthy bacteria found in human waste to fight dangerous gut infections — an easier way of performing so-called fecal transplants.The new treatment from Seres Therapeutics provides a simpler, rigorously tested version of stool-based procedures that some medical specialists have used for more than a decade to help hard-to-treat patients.The Food and Drug Administration cleared the capsules for adults who face risks of repeat infections with Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that can cause severe nausea, cramping and diarrhea.C. diff is particularly dangerous when it reoccurs, leading to between 15,000 and 30,000 deaths per year. It can be killed with antibiotics but they also destroy good bacteria that live in the gut, leaving it more susceptible to future infections. The new capsules are approved for patients who have already received antibiotic treatment.More than 10 years ago, some doctors began repo...

Child struck by car at Steinmetz Homes in Schenectady

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Schenectady police are investigating after a child was struck by a vehicle on Wednesday.Around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday, police were called to the Steinmetz Homes Apartments for a report of a child being struck by a vehicle. The vehicle then fled the scene, police said. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to police, the vehicle was driving on the walkways within the housing complex. The child was treated at the scene and then taken to Ellis Hospital as a precaution. They did not sustain any injuries.The investigation is ongoing.

Driver in deadly Clinton Avenue crash sentenced

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An Altamont man will serve eight to 24 years in prison for hitting and killing 31-year-old Tanisha Brathwaite with his car in September 2022 on Clinton Avenue in the city of Albany. Nsikak Okure, 34, was sentenced in Albany County Court on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in February to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and Leaving the Scene of an Accident.Prosecutors said Okure caused another crash about an hour later. His blood alcohol content at that time was nearly three times the legal limit. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Brathwaite, who was from Brooklyn, had just graduated from the University at Albany and planned to continue her studies. She was walking home from work at the time of the crash. Her family remembered her for her creativity and kindness."We have no Tanisha. We just have memories, and this is just so hard, just coming up here. I would never, ever, ever imagine my family sitting right...

AARP hosts free shredding event to prevent identity theft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The AARP held a free shredding event in Albany on Wednesday. With spring cleaning underway and tax season behind us, the event was meant to give people the chance to safely get rid of personal financial records and other sensitive documents.Officials said improper disposal could put your information at risk. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "It's really about preventing identity theft," AARP New York Assoc. State Dir. for Community Engagement Robyn Haberman said. "If you're throwing away documents that have your name, your social security number, your birthday, your address, throwing it right in the garbage, somebody might find it and use that information to scam you out of money or steal your identity."Event organizers said they've seen documents from more than 30 years ago at previous events.

Two people die in two-vehicle crash with Arapahoe County deputy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

Two people died in a two-vehicle crash with an Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy Wednesday afternoon.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Victim in Jefferson County rock-hurling attacks mourns the loss of life in crime spree Crime and Public Safety | Parking garage at SouthGlenn mall reopens as police investigate suspicious death Crime and Public Safety | One dead, two others hospitalized in Lakewood apartment fire Crime and Public Safety | Suspect arrested in southwest Denver fatal shooting Crime and Public Safety | Outdoor death in Denver’s La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood investigated as a homicide The crash happened at about 3:25 p.m. at East Broncos Parkway and South Blackhawk Street, according to the Colorado State Patrol.The 69-year-old male driver of a vehicle involved died at the scene, said CSP Master Trooper Gary Cutler. A 75-year-old female passenger in the vehicle was taken ...

L.A. rapper dies in prison stabbing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

Rapper MoneySign Suede has died after he was stabbed in a shower at a California prison, authorities and his attorney said.Jaime Brugada Valdez, 22, of Huntington Park, was found in the shower area of the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.Despite life-saving efforts, he died at a prison medical facility.The agency didn't detail his injuries but said his death was being investigated as a homicide.“They said it was a stabbing to the neck,” Valdez's attorney, Nicholas Rosenberg, told the Los Angeles Times.Suede signed to Atlantic Records in 2021, and released his most recent album “Parkside Baby” last September, the Times said.The Monterey County prison houses more than 4,000 minimum- and medium-security inmates.Valdez was sent there after being sentenced in Riverside County last December to serve two years and eight months on two charges of being a convicte...

Former pediatrician in L.A. pleads guilty in child pornography case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

A former pediatrician from Beverly Grove pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing hundreds of images and dozens of DVDs containing child sexual abuse material, federal authorities announced.  In Nov. 2021, 62-year-old David Goulin, admitted to having four DVDs containing sexually explicit material involving minors who were under the age of 12, as well as another 57 DVDs with child sexual abuse material.  According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Los Angeles Office, the average run time on the DVDs was nearly three and a half hours.  “Goulin admitted that in August 2021 he used his cellphone to knowingly receive a video of (child sexual abuse material). In total, Goulin possessed more than 600 images that he knew constituted child pornography, some of which showed children engaging in sadistic or masochistic conduct,” the news release stated.  The former pediatrician, who was prohibited from practicing medicine in Nov. 2021 by the Medical Board of Cal...

Why SF Giants manager Gabe Kapler told the story of ‘the worst I’ve ever been in my career’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:43 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Wednesday afternoon, Giants manager Gabe Kapler found himself thinking about the worst moment of his playing career.He was empathizing with Giants rookie Blake Sabol, who, despite hitting a walk-off home run in the Giants’ 5-4 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday night, has been the worst player in baseball at making contact this season.The growing pains were to be expected with Sabol, a Rule 5 pick who had just 25 games above the Double-A level before the season. Still, he’s struggled enough that Kapler has needed to remind Sabol – and himself – just how hard it is to be a rookie.It was back in 2005 that Kapler was a rookie in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization in Japan.At 29 years old, Kapler had plenty of professional experience, but none in Japan. He had just come off a season in which he won a World Series with the ‘04 Red Sox, the first team in baseball history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit in the postseason. He hit .272 with ...