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Tag: organization

  • HHS moves to shut down major organ donation group in latest steps to reform nation’s transplant system

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    As part of its efforts to strengthen the country’s organ transplant system, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it is moving to decertify a major organ procurement organization – essentially shutting it down and removing it from the nation’s network of organ donation groups.HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the move a “clear warning” to other groups that also work to coordinate organ donations.HHS officials are moving to close the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, a division of the University of Miami Health System, after an investigation uncovered unsafe practices, staffing shortages and paperwork errors, Kennedy said Thursday.“We are acting because of years of documented Patient Safety Data failures and repeated violations of federal requirements, and we intend this decision to serve as a clear warning,” he said.The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency is one of 55 organ procurement organizations that are federally designated nonprofits responsible for managing the recovery of organs for transplantation in the United States, in which they focus on specific geographic regions and work with hospitals.The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) said in a statement Thursday that the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency serves 7 million people across six counties in South Florida and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.“Through this process, AOPO pledges that we and our members will keep saving lives nationwide. We will continue to support the team at Life Alliance to ensure South Florida organ donors, transplant patients and their families have access to organ donation and transplantation services,” AOPO President Jeff Trageser said in a statement, while thanking federal health officials for recognizing the importance of organ donation.“Because there is only one OPO per donation service area, it’s critical for CMS/HHS to manage the situation carefully and work with Life Alliance, hospitals & the wider donation community to ensure there are no lapses in donation during this process so lives can continue being saved,” he added in an email.There is a process by which the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency could appeal the decertification. Neither the organization nor the University of Miami Health System immediately responded to CNN’s request for comment.“The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency based in Miami, Florida, has a long record of deficiencies directly tied to patient harm,” Kennedy said Thursday.“Staffing shortfalls alone may have caused – it was a 65% staffing shortage consistently across the years – and may have caused as many as eight missed organ recoveries each week, roughly one life lost each day,” he said. “Our goal is clear: Every American must trust the nation’s organ procurement system. We will not stop until that goal is met.”Kennedy also plans to direct organ procurement organizations to appoint full-time patient safety officers to monitor safety practices, report incidents and ensure that corrective actions are implemented, among other responsibilities.“This officer will be responsible for coordinating responses across clinical operational teams, ensure compliance with federal priorities and take corrective action whenever patients are at risk,” Thomas Engels, administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, said Thursday.These moves are part of an ongoing initiative to reform the organ transplant system after a federal investigation earlier this year found what Kennedy called “horrifying” problems, including medical teams beginning the process of harvesting organs before patients were dead.‘We are sending a tough message’Each year in the United States, more than 28,000 donated organs go unused and are discarded because of inefficiencies in the system, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said Thursday.“We are sending a tough message to all the other nonprofit organ procurement agencies, organizations, so they know we’re serious,” Oz said. “We want them to know there’s a new sheriff in town, and we’re coming for them if they don’t take care of the American people.”Organ transplant programs are certified under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and they must meet certain requirements to be approved by Medicare.“We’re going to crack down on noncompliance with Medicare requirements,” Oz said, adding that more action could be coming.“We’re going to be tougher than ever before, because if we lose trust in the organ transplantation system of this country, tens of thousands of people are going to die yearly whose lives could be saved,” he said.Public trust of the organ donation system is essential since the system relies on people to volunteer to donate their organs when they die. Most sign up when they’re getting their driver’s license.As of 2022, about 170 million people in the U.S. have signed up to donate their organs, but there is always more demand than there are organs available.Last year, there were more than 48,000 transplants in the U.S., but more than 103,000 people were on waiting lists. About 13 people in the United States die every day waiting for a transplant, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.Investigations into organ procurementIn July, HHS announced its intention to fix the nation’s organ donation system. The agency directed the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, the public-private partnership that runs the complex donation system in the United States, to improve safeguards and monitoring at the national level and to find ways to strengthen safety protocols and transparency.An investigation by the Health Resources and Services Administration – detailed in a hearing in July and a memo from March – found problems with dozens of transplant cases involving incomplete donations, when an organization started the process to take someone’s organs but for, some reason, the donation never happened.The cases were managed by a procurement organization that handles donations in Kentucky and parts of Ohio and West Virginia; formerly called Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, it has merged with another group and is now called Network for Hope.Network for Hope said on its website in July, “We are equally committed to addressing the recent guidance from the HRSA and we are already evaluating whether any updates to our current practices are needed.”Of the 351 cases in the federal investigation, more than 100 had “concerning features, including 73 patients with neurological signs incompatible with organ donation,” HHS said in a July news release.The investigation was launched after one Kentucky case came to light during a congressional hearing last year. In that case, 33-year-old TJ Hoover woke up in the operating room to find people shaving his chest, bathing his body in surgical solution and talking about harvesting his organs. Staffers had been concerned that he wasn’t brain-dead, but the concerns were initially ignored, according to the federal investigation.Staff told CNN that the procedure to take Hoover’s organs stopped after a surgeon saw his reaction to stimuli.The federal investigation found “concerning” issues in multiple cases, including failures to follow professional best practices, to respect family wishes, to collaborate with a patient’s primary medical team and to recognize neurological function, suggesting “organizational dysfunction and poor quality and safety assurance culture” in the Kentucky-area organization, according to a federal report.Since the federal review, the Health Resources and Services Administration said, it has received reports of “similar patterns” of high-risk procurement practices at other organizations.

    As part of its efforts to strengthen the country’s organ transplant system, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it is moving to decertify a major organ procurement organization – essentially shutting it down and removing it from the nation’s network of organ donation groups.

    HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the move a “clear warning” to other groups that also work to coordinate organ donations.

    HHS officials are moving to close the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, a division of the University of Miami Health System, after an investigation uncovered unsafe practices, staffing shortages and paperwork errors, Kennedy said Thursday.

    “We are acting because of years of documented Patient Safety Data failures and repeated violations of federal requirements, and we intend this decision to serve as a clear warning,” he said.

    The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency is one of 55 organ procurement organizations that are federally designated nonprofits responsible for managing the recovery of organs for transplantation in the United States, in which they focus on specific geographic regions and work with hospitals.

    The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) said in a statement Thursday that the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency serves 7 million people across six counties in South Florida and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

    “Through this process, AOPO pledges that we and our members will keep saving lives nationwide. We will continue to support the team at Life Alliance to ensure South Florida organ donors, transplant patients and their families have access to organ donation and transplantation services,” AOPO President Jeff Trageser said in a statement, while thanking federal health officials for recognizing the importance of organ donation.

    “Because there is only one OPO per donation service area, it’s critical for CMS/HHS to manage the situation carefully and work with Life Alliance, hospitals & the wider donation community to ensure there are no lapses in donation during this process so lives can continue being saved,” he added in an email.

    There is a process by which the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency could appeal the decertification. Neither the organization nor the University of Miami Health System immediately responded to CNN’s request for comment.

    “The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency based in Miami, Florida, has a long record of deficiencies directly tied to patient harm,” Kennedy said Thursday.

    “Staffing shortfalls alone may have caused – it was a 65% staffing shortage consistently across the years – and may have caused as many as eight missed organ recoveries each week, roughly one life lost each day,” he said. “Our goal is clear: Every American must trust the nation’s organ procurement system. We will not stop until that goal is met.”

    Kennedy also plans to direct organ procurement organizations to appoint full-time patient safety officers to monitor safety practices, report incidents and ensure that corrective actions are implemented, among other responsibilities.

    “This officer will be responsible for coordinating responses across clinical operational teams, ensure compliance with federal priorities and take corrective action whenever patients are at risk,” Thomas Engels, administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, said Thursday.

    These moves are part of an ongoing initiative to reform the organ transplant system after a federal investigation earlier this year found what Kennedy called “horrifying” problems, including medical teams beginning the process of harvesting organs before patients were dead.

    ‘We are sending a tough message’

    Each year in the United States, more than 28,000 donated organs go unused and are discarded because of inefficiencies in the system, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said Thursday.

    “We are sending a tough message to all the other nonprofit organ procurement agencies, organizations, so they know we’re serious,” Oz said. “We want them to know there’s a new sheriff in town, and we’re coming for them if they don’t take care of the American people.”

    Organ transplant programs are certified under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and they must meet certain requirements to be approved by Medicare.

    “We’re going to crack down on noncompliance with Medicare requirements,” Oz said, adding that more action could be coming.

    “We’re going to be tougher than ever before, because if we lose trust in the organ transplantation system of this country, tens of thousands of people are going to die yearly whose lives could be saved,” he said.

    Public trust of the organ donation system is essential since the system relies on people to volunteer to donate their organs when they die. Most sign up when they’re getting their driver’s license.

    As of 2022, about 170 million people in the U.S. have signed up to donate their organs, but there is always more demand than there are organs available.

    Last year, there were more than 48,000 transplants in the U.S., but more than 103,000 people were on waiting lists. About 13 people in the United States die every day waiting for a transplant, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.

    Investigations into organ procurement

    In July, HHS announced its intention to fix the nation’s organ donation system. The agency directed the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, the public-private partnership that runs the complex donation system in the United States, to improve safeguards and monitoring at the national level and to find ways to strengthen safety protocols and transparency.

    An investigation by the Health Resources and Services Administration – detailed in a hearing in July and a memo from March – found problems with dozens of transplant cases involving incomplete donations, when an organization started the process to take someone’s organs but for, some reason, the donation never happened.

    The cases were managed by a procurement organization that handles donations in Kentucky and parts of Ohio and West Virginia; formerly called Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, it has merged with another group and is now called Network for Hope.

    Network for Hope said on its website in July, “We are equally committed to addressing the recent guidance from the HRSA and we are already evaluating whether any updates to our current practices are needed.”

    Of the 351 cases in the federal investigation, more than 100 had “concerning features, including 73 patients with neurological signs incompatible with organ donation,” HHS said in a July news release.

    The investigation was launched after one Kentucky case came to light during a congressional hearing last year. In that case, 33-year-old TJ Hoover woke up in the operating room to find people shaving his chest, bathing his body in surgical solution and talking about harvesting his organs. Staffers had been concerned that he wasn’t brain-dead, but the concerns were initially ignored, according to the federal investigation.

    Staff told CNN that the procedure to take Hoover’s organs stopped after a surgeon saw his reaction to stimuli.

    The federal investigation found “concerning” issues in multiple cases, including failures to follow professional best practices, to respect family wishes, to collaborate with a patient’s primary medical team and to recognize neurological function, suggesting “organizational dysfunction and poor quality and safety assurance culture” in the Kentucky-area organization, according to a federal report.

    Since the federal review, the Health Resources and Services Administration said, it has received reports of “similar patterns” of high-risk procurement practices at other organizations.

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  • WATCH: Trump Designates Antifa A ‘Major Terrorist Organization’

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    President Donald Trump is designating Antifa a “major terrorist organization,” he announced in a social media post Wednesday evening.

    The Center Square asked the president Monday afternoon if he would be designating the left-wing group a domestic terror group following a spate of political violence against conservatives and Republicans, including the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

    “I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” the president posted.

    On Monday, the president told The Center Square that he “100%” supported designating the group a domestic terror organization.

    Consistent with his latest social media post, the president said he would consider designating other groups, but wouldn’t indicate others by name. He said he’s talked with Attorney General Pam Bondi about bringing federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charges against some of these organizations and their donors.

    In May 2020, the Department of Justice “formally labeled Antifa violence as domestic terrorism.”

    ‘‘The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly,” according to a DOJ statement.

    Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.

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    Sarah Roderick-Fitch – The Center Square

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  • Shuffleboard club files lawsuit against Leesburg for donating land

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    The Leesburg Shuffleboard Club has filed a lawsuit against the city of Leesburg for donating the land on which its shuffleboard courts were to a nonprofit to build tiny homes for youth in need.The decision was a controversial one, made in late August to donate the property to construct tiny homes for at-risk teens, displacing the shuffleboard club.Following the vote, the shuffleboard club sued the city, bringing on Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini as legal representation.“It is disturbing that members of the Leesburg City Commission are giving away our public parks and taxpayer money to cram in more dense housing – it’s wrong, it’s illegal and it’s corrupt, since it was pushed by a commissioner to his wife’s nonprofit,” Sabatini said. “We need to be protecting all of our parks and recreational areas and stop the rampant growth.”Leesburg Commissioner Jimmy Burry is married to the executive director of the Forward Paths nonprofit.”We’re just looking to give them a start after facing abuse and neglect, a chance to start off life as an adult,” said the organization’s executive director, Denise Burry. Burry said they have been working to find a spot in Leesburg to build 10 tiny homes where these young people could live for free — similar to a project they have in Eustis.”We always have a waiting list, so we’re looking to accommodate the need here in Lake County,” she said.Leesburg declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.

    LEESBURG, Fla. —

    The Leesburg Shuffleboard Club has filed a lawsuit against the city of Leesburg for donating the land on which its shuffleboard courts were to a nonprofit to build tiny homes for youth in need.

    The decision was a controversial one, made in late August to donate the property to construct tiny homes for at-risk teens, displacing the shuffleboard club.

    Following the vote, the shuffleboard club sued the city, bringing on Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini as legal representation.

    “It is disturbing that members of the Leesburg City Commission are giving away our public parks and taxpayer money to cram in more dense housing – it’s wrong, it’s illegal and it’s corrupt, since it was pushed by a commissioner to his wife’s nonprofit,” Sabatini said. “We need to be protecting all of our parks and recreational areas and stop the rampant growth.”

    Leesburg Commissioner Jimmy Burry is married to the executive director of the Forward Paths nonprofit.

    “We’re just looking to give them a start after facing abuse and neglect, a chance to start off life as an adult,” said the organization’s executive director, Denise Burry.

    Burry said they have been working to find a spot in Leesburg to build 10 tiny homes where these young people could live for free — similar to a project they have in Eustis.

    “We always have a waiting list, so we’re looking to accommodate the need here in Lake County,” she said.

    Leesburg declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.

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  • Trump attends the US Open as Rolex’s guest despite Swiss tariffs. Mixed cheers and boos greet him

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    President Donald Trump attended the U.S. Open on Sunday and briefly stepped out from a luxury box to wave at a main court crowd mostly still arriving for the men’s final. He drew mixed cheers and boos.Arthur Ashe stadium was only partially full and Trump’s waves weren’t announced beforehand. They were also brief enough so that some of those in attendance didn’t notice them.The president attended as a guest of Rolex despite imposing steep tariffs on the Swiss watchmaker’s home country, and organizers were seeking to keep booing of him from being seen on the TV broadcast.Trump has built the bulk of his second term’s domestic travel around attending major sports events rather than hitting the road to make policy announcements or address the kind of large rallies he so relished as a candidate.Because of extra security screening, the final between second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, and No. 1 seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner, 24, of Italy, was pushed back half an hour — meaning Trump arrived more than 45 minutes before the new start time. The president was watching from Rolex’s suite, and his acceptance of Rolex’s invitation comes mere weeks after the Trump administration imposed a whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products.The levy is more than 2 1/2 times higher than the one the Trump administration agreed to for European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. It has raised questions about Switzerland’s ability to compete with the 27-member bloc that it neighbors.The White House declined to comment on Trump accepting a corporate client’s invitation at the tournament, but the president has had few qualms about blurring lines between political and foreign policy decisions and efforts to boost the profits of his family business.That includes tirelessly promoting cryptocurrency interests and luxury golf properties around the country and the world that bear his name. He announced Friday that the U.S. will use its turn hosting the Group of 20 summit in December 2026 to stage the sweeping event at Trump National Doral in South Florida.Any negative reaction to Trump’s presence won’t be shown on ABC’s national telecast, per standard policy, the U.S. Tennis Association says.”We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” the organization said in a statement.As heavy rains began mostly clearing, and throngs of fans arrived for the match, no major street protests against the president could be seen from the touranment’s main stadium. Attendees also steered clear of wearing any of the president’s signature “Make America Great Again” caps, though.A 58-year tennis fan originally from Turin, Italy, came from her home in the Boston area to watch the final and said that when she bought a U.S. Open cap, she went with a fuchsia-hued one so it wouldn’t be mistaken for the signature darker color of MAGA hats.”I was careful not to get the red one,” said the fan, who declined to give her name because of her employer’s rules about being publicly quoted.Attending with Trump were White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special administration envoy Steve Witkoff and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.Elsewhere in the crowd were a slew of celebrities — some of whom publicly backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s election against Trump. Among them were Pink, Bruce Springsteen, Shonda Rhimes, Michael J. Fox, Sting, Shaggy, Ben Stiller and Courtney Cox.Trump came back to the press cabin on Air Force One during the flight to New York to note that the plane would be flying over Ashe stadium, but didn’t offer any further comment.Trump was once a U.S. Open mainstay, but hasn’t attended since he was loudly booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign.The Trump Organization once controlled its own U.S. Open suite, which was adjacent to the stadium’s television broadcasting booth, but suspended it in 2017, during the first year of Trump’s first term. The family business is now being run by Trump’s sons with their father back in the White House.Trump was born in Queens, home of the U.S. Open, and for decades was a New York-area real estate mogul and, later, a reality TV star. Attending the tournament before he was a politician, he usually sat in the suite’s balcony during night matches and was frequently shown on the arena’s video screens.In recent years, however, including between his presidential terms, Trump primarily lived at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.Alcaraz said before the final that having Trump on-hand would be a privilege and “great for tennis,” but also suggested that such sentiment went for any president watching from the stands. “I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it,” he said.The president has also frequently attended sporting events — where the roar of the crowd sometimes features people booing him while others cheer him.Since returning to the White House in January and prior to Sunday’s U.S Open swing, Trump went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500, as well as UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Having a sitting president attend the U.S. Open hasn’t happened since Bill Clinton went to the 2000 tournament, though former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended the event’s opening night in 2023.___Associated Press writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

    President Donald Trump attended the U.S. Open on Sunday and briefly stepped out from a luxury box to wave at a main court crowd mostly still arriving for the men’s final. He drew mixed cheers and boos.

    Arthur Ashe stadium was only partially full and Trump’s waves weren’t announced beforehand. They were also brief enough so that some of those in attendance didn’t notice them.

    The president attended as a guest of Rolex despite imposing steep tariffs on the Swiss watchmaker’s home country, and organizers were seeking to keep booing of him from being seen on the TV broadcast.

    Trump has built the bulk of his second term’s domestic travel around attending major sports events rather than hitting the road to make policy announcements or address the kind of large rallies he so relished as a candidate.

    Because of extra security screening, the final between second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, and No. 1 seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner, 24, of Italy, was pushed back half an hour — meaning Trump arrived more than 45 minutes before the new start time. The president was watching from Rolex’s suite, and his acceptance of Rolex’s invitation comes mere weeks after the Trump administration imposed a whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products.

    The levy is more than 2 1/2 times higher than the one the Trump administration agreed to for European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. It has raised questions about Switzerland’s ability to compete with the 27-member bloc that it neighbors.

    The White House declined to comment on Trump accepting a corporate client’s invitation at the tournament, but the president has had few qualms about blurring lines between political and foreign policy decisions and efforts to boost the profits of his family business.

    That includes tirelessly promoting cryptocurrency interests and luxury golf properties around the country and the world that bear his name. He announced Friday that the U.S. will use its turn hosting the Group of 20 summit in December 2026 to stage the sweeping event at Trump National Doral in South Florida.

    Any negative reaction to Trump’s presence won’t be shown on ABC’s national telecast, per standard policy, the U.S. Tennis Association says.

    “We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” the organization said in a statement.

    As heavy rains began mostly clearing, and throngs of fans arrived for the match, no major street protests against the president could be seen from the touranment’s main stadium. Attendees also steered clear of wearing any of the president’s signature “Make America Great Again” caps, though.

    A 58-year tennis fan originally from Turin, Italy, came from her home in the Boston area to watch the final and said that when she bought a U.S. Open cap, she went with a fuchsia-hued one so it wouldn’t be mistaken for the signature darker color of MAGA hats.

    “I was careful not to get the red one,” said the fan, who declined to give her name because of her employer’s rules about being publicly quoted.

    Attending with Trump were White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special administration envoy Steve Witkoff and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.

    Elsewhere in the crowd were a slew of celebrities — some of whom publicly backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s election against Trump. Among them were Pink, Bruce Springsteen, Shonda Rhimes, Michael J. Fox, Sting, Shaggy, Ben Stiller and Courtney Cox.

    Trump came back to the press cabin on Air Force One during the flight to New York to note that the plane would be flying over Ashe stadium, but didn’t offer any further comment.

    Trump was once a U.S. Open mainstay, but hasn’t attended since he was loudly booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign.

    The Trump Organization once controlled its own U.S. Open suite, which was adjacent to the stadium’s television broadcasting booth, but suspended it in 2017, during the first year of Trump’s first term. The family business is now being run by Trump’s sons with their father back in the White House.

    Trump was born in Queens, home of the U.S. Open, and for decades was a New York-area real estate mogul and, later, a reality TV star. Attending the tournament before he was a politician, he usually sat in the suite’s balcony during night matches and was frequently shown on the arena’s video screens.

    In recent years, however, including between his presidential terms, Trump primarily lived at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

    Alcaraz said before the final that having Trump on-hand would be a privilege and “great for tennis,” but also suggested that such sentiment went for any president watching from the stands. “I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it,” he said.

    The president has also frequently attended sporting events — where the roar of the crowd sometimes features people booing him while others cheer him.

    Since returning to the White House in January and prior to Sunday’s U.S Open swing, Trump went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500, as well as UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

    Having a sitting president attend the U.S. Open hasn’t happened since Bill Clinton went to the 2000 tournament, though former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended the event’s opening night in 2023.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

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  • Microsoft fires 2 employees arrested during pro-Palestine protest

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    REDMOND, Wash. – Microsoft says it has fired two of its workers who were arrested during a sit-in protest in the company president’s office.

    The workers were among seven current and former Microsoft workers and community members arrested on Tuesday. A group occupied a Microsoft executive building, renaming it the “Mai Ubeid Building” after a Palestinian software engineer killed in Gaza.

    via No Azure for Apartheid

    Microsoft cited serious breaches of company policies as one of the reasons for the terminations. The group behind the protest, “No Azure for Apartheid,” said the employees lost access to their Microsoft accounts before receiving voicemails notifying them that they had been fired.

    What they’re saying:

    A Microsoft spokesperson sent the following statement regarding the employee terminations:

    “Two employees were terminated today following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct. The first violated the Business Conduct Policy, participated in the unlawful break-in at the executive offices, and other demonstrations on campus, and was arrested by authorities on our premises on two occasions. The second was involved in the break-in at the executive offices and was subsequently arrested.
    These incidents are inconsistent with the expectations we maintain for our employees. The company is continuing to investigate and is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding these matters.”

    However, No Azure for Apartheid claimed the employees were not notified of the exact reason for termination, nor did Microsoft highlight a specific policy violation as the basis for the termination.

    “We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality. We are a few among thousands of workers who refuse to let their labor be used for the mass murder of Palestinians,” said one of the fired employees.

    7 protesters arrested at Microsoft president's office

    Dig deeper:

    Tuesday’s protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations organized by No Azure for Apartheid, which has been demanding for months that Microsoft sever its business ties with the Israeli military.

    On Aug. 20, 18 people were arrested following a protest at the Redmond Microsoft campus. Demonstrators were seen setting up tents, blocking a pedestrian bridge and pouring red paint on the Microsoft sign.

    Microsoft protest video

    Microsoft said it is reviewing allegations that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have used its Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians.

    No Azure for Apartheid says those who were arrested as part of the sit-in plan to hold a press conference on Thursday.

    The Source: Information in this story came from Microsoft, No Azure for Apartheid and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.

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    Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news. 

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    Will.Wixey@fox.com (Will Wixey)

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  • Seattle police lieutenant settles lawsuit over misconduct claims

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    SEATTLE – A high-ranking Seattle Police Department officer who claimed retaliation, harassment and racial discrimination in a February lawsuit against four female police officers has settled with the city.

    Lieutenant John O’Neil did not demand a specific dollar amount in the lawsuit, but the city of Seattle has agreed to settle with him for more than $200,000.

    In his legal filing, the veteran officer claimed that SPD failed to refute defamatory accusations against him when they knew they were false.

    Lt. John O’Neil is a 20-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department in Seattle, Wash.  (FOX 13 Seattle)

    Keep reading to learn more about the lawsuit.

    The focus of John O’Neil’s lawsuit

    The backstory:

    The focus of O’Neil’s lawsuit was against Lieutenant Lauren Truscott, Sergeant Jean Gulpan and Seattle police Officers Valerie Carson and Kame Spencer.

    In the lawsuit, O’Neil accused the women of conspiring to bring him down with false allegations because he held several of them accountable for bad performance.

    O’Neil’s lawsuit follows a lawsuit filed by the four women back in April 2024.

    The four officers went public with accusations against O’Neil accusing him of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation. Shortly after the female officers’ allegations, Mayor Harrell demoted then Police Chief Adrian Diaz.

    Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz was accused of supporting John O’Neil’s behavior

    Dig deeper:

    Diaz was also named in the women’s lawsuit accusing Diaz of supporting O’Neil’s behavior.

    In the lawsuit, O’Neil also claimed six other female SPD employees came to his defense, complaining to Human Resources that the four female officers tried to recruit them to target O’Neil.

    O’Neil has more than 20 years of experience at the SPD and continues to work for the department.

    Prior to O’Neil’s lawsuit, FOX 13 Seattle obtained hundreds of pages of internal documents that displayed a timeline of accusations and findings in O’Neil’s case. 

    John O’Neil asked SPD for intervention

    Local perspective:

    For over three years, O’Neil made repeated pleas to SPD and the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) for intervention.

    O’Neil says his pleas went unresolved, leading to the continuation of frivolous complaints and the weaponization of the EEO system.

    As for the lawsuit filed by the four female officers, that case is still pending.

    MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

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    To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.

    Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.

    The Source: Information in this story came from legal documents obtained by FOX 13 Seattle.

    Seattle PoliceSeattleNews

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  • Protest at Microsoft campus leads to 18 arrests

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    18 arrested after protest at Microsoft campus

    Police arrested 18 people during a protest at the Microsoft campus after demonstrators reportedly vandalized company property, blocked a pedestrian bridge and resisted officers’ attempts to remove them.

    REDMOND, Wash. – Police arrested 18 people Wednesday afternoon during a protest at the Microsoft campus in Redmond after demonstrators reportedly vandalized company property, blocked a pedestrian bridge, and resisted officers’ attempts to remove them.

    Protesters held Palestinian flags and chanted “free Palestine.”

    arrests at microsoft campus photo

    A protest at Microsoft’s Redmond campus resulted in 18 arrests for charges including trespassing and malicious mischief. (Redmond, WA Police Department)

    What we know:

    The Redmond Police Department was dispatched to the Microsoft courtyard at approximately 12:15 p.m. in response to a large gathering of protesters. According to the police, officers first attempted to issue trespass orders to the protesters, but they became “aggressive” and resisted.

    Protesters reportedly poured paint on the Microsoft sign and on the ground. Other demonstrators blocked a pedestrian bridge, creating a barrier with stolen tables and chairs from vendors. No injuries were reported.

    red paint splattered on microsoft sign photo

    Red paint was splattered on the Microsoft sign in Redmond, WA on Aug. 20, 2025. (Redmond, WA Police Department)

    Those arrested face multiple charges, including trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest, and obstruction. The police department’s investigation is ongoing. The Washington State Patrol, Bellevue Police, and Kirkland Police assisted Redmond officers during the incident.

    Dig deeper:

    The protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations at the Microsoft campus organized by the employee-led group No Azure for Apartheid. The group has been protesting for months, demanding the company cut its business ties with the Israeli military.

    arrests at microsoft campus photo

    A protest at Microsoft’s Redmond campus resulted in 18 arrests for charges including trespassing and malicious mischief. (Redmond, WA Police Department)

    The recent protests follow allegations reported by the British newspaper The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians.

    Microsoft announced on Aug. 15 that it is undertaking a formal review of the allegations. The company stated that its standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage.

    “The Guardian’s recent report raises additional and precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review,” the company said.

    Microsoft has hired the law firm Covington & Burling LLP and an independent consulting firm to conduct the review. The company said it will share the findings with the public after the review is complete.

    The backstory:

    In February, an investigation by The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giant’s partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of its commercial AI products skyrocketing after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Microsoft acknowledged the military applications but said a previous review found no evidence that its Azure platform and AI technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. The company did not share a copy of that review or say who conducted it.

    This is not the first time Microsoft employees have been disciplined for protesting the company’s military contracts with Israel. In May, an employee was fired after interrupting a speech by CEO Satya Nadella. In April, two others were fired for interrupting the company’s 50th-anniversary celebration.

    MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

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    Reptile Zoo to close in Monroe after 30 years

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    Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.

    The Source: Information in this story came from the Redmond Police Department and Microsoft.

    MicrosoftRedmondCrime and Public SafetyNewsIsrael Hamas war

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    FOX.13.Seattle.Digital.Team@fox.com (FOX 13 Seattle Digital Team)

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  • ‘It’s real stressful’: Dozens evicted from Orlando motel amid safety concerns

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    Dozens of people were forced to pack up their belongings and leave an International Drive motel where they had been living on Monday morning.The city of Orlando condemned the Howard Johnson by Wyndham motel because of what officials call “immediate life safety concerns.” The property has no working fire alarm system, and all utilities were cut off on Monday.Many people told WESH 2 they had nowhere to go. “I’ve been here for two years,” Candi Glenn said. “They collected everyone’s money. Turned the water off, everyone’s got to go. Look at all the people standing around with their kids.”Glenn had been living at the Howard Johnson with her three children. She did not know where she was going to move next.The Coalition for the Homeless stepped in to provide shelter for five families. The charity brought vans and SUVs to the motel and drove them to another motel.”They’re giving us a hotel for two weeks, and then they’re going to give us an apartment, we got blessed,” said Christopher Wilcox, who’s been staying at the motel with his family, including three young daughters.The property owner, Rore Orlando I-Drive LLC, is evicting them, leaving nearly 200 people searching for new housing options.Several residents, including a couple with three dogs, are struggling to find transportation for their belongings. The motel, located in a tourist area, has been home to about 60 families who have been paying weekly to live there. Motel resident Ronald Miller said flatly, “They deceived us!”He and his family have been living here while he works at a local restaurant.Now, they’re getting ready to find a new place to live on Monday morning. “It’s real stressful. Some people probably can’t sleep at night; it’s real. If anybody was to get in our shoes, they wouldn’t know what to do,” Wilcox said.The charitable Community Legal Services was on the property Monday as well to provide resources to evicted residents and gather information to take potential legal action against the owners.Many residents said the living conditions at the motel were horrible. They described moldy rooms with rodents and roaches. Trash could also be seen piled up in breezeways and in the parking lot.Despite its name, the motel is not owned by Wyndham. Records show the current owner is ROR Orlando I-Drive LLC. A man whom residents identified as the person who ran the property showed up at the motel on Monday, but refused to answer questions.

    ORLANDO, Fla. —

    Dozens of people were forced to pack up their belongings and leave an International Drive motel where they had been living on Monday morning.

    The city of Orlando condemned the Howard Johnson by Wyndham motel because of what officials call “immediate life safety concerns.”

    The property has no working fire alarm system, and all utilities were cut off on Monday.

    Many people told WESH 2 they had nowhere to go.

    “I’ve been here for two years,” Candi Glenn said. “They collected everyone’s money. Turned the water off, everyone’s got to go. Look at all the people standing around with their kids.”

    Glenn had been living at the Howard Johnson with her three children. She did not know where she was going to move next.

    The Coalition for the Homeless stepped in to provide shelter for five families. The charity brought vans and SUVs to the motel and drove them to another motel.

    “They’re giving us a hotel for two weeks, and then they’re going to give us an apartment, we got blessed,” said Christopher Wilcox, who’s been staying at the motel with his family, including three young daughters.

    The property owner, Rore Orlando I-Drive LLC, is evicting them, leaving nearly 200 people searching for new housing options.

    Several residents, including a couple with three dogs, are struggling to find transportation for their belongings.

    The motel, located in a tourist area, has been home to about 60 families who have been paying weekly to live there.

    Motel resident Ronald Miller said flatly, “They deceived us!”

    He and his family have been living here while he works at a local restaurant.

    Now, they’re getting ready to find a new place to live on Monday morning.

    “It’s real stressful. Some people probably can’t sleep at night; it’s real. If anybody was to get in our shoes, they wouldn’t know what to do,” Wilcox said.

    The charitable Community Legal Services was on the property Monday as well to provide resources to evicted residents and gather information to take potential legal action against the owners.

    Many residents said the living conditions at the motel were horrible. They described moldy rooms with rodents and roaches. Trash could also be seen piled up in breezeways and in the parking lot.

    Despite its name, the motel is not owned by Wyndham. Records show the current owner is ROR Orlando I-Drive LLC.

    A man whom residents identified as the person who ran the property showed up at the motel on Monday, but refused to answer questions.

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  • T-Mobile lays off 121 workers in western Washington

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    BELLEVUE, Wash. – T-Mobile is laying off over 100 employees across western Washington next month.

    What To Know:

    The layoffs will affect 121 workers, with separations expected to begin on Oct. 13, according to a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) announcement.

    T-Mobile’s headquarters are located in Bellevue. The wireless carrier also has locations in Bothell and Snoqualmie.

    FILE – The T-Mobile logo is seen outside a shop in Washington, DC, on July 26, 2019. (Photo by ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Images)

    The layoffs come after T-Mobile’s $4.4 billion acquisition of UScellular, which gained the company more than 4 million new customers and over 2,000 cell towers.

    WARN notices are sent by the Washington State Employment Security Department, which works to ease the transition for employees affected by a closure or layoffs.

    The WARN layoff and closure database can be found on the Employment Security Department’s website.

    The Source: Information in this story came from the Washington State Employment Security Department and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.

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    To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.

    Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.

    T-MobileNewsWashington

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  • Comprehensive Plan’s all done, to be presented tonight to City Council

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    The City Council on Tuesday evening, July 22, is scheduled to hear a presentation on the navigation chart for America’s oldest seaport over the next decade as Mayor Greg Verga announces the completion and official adoption of the city’s Comprehensive Plan for 2025 to 2035.

    If you want to learn more about the plan, the Community Development Department is scheduled to present it to the City Council at its at 6:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Rose Baker Senior Center, 6 Manuel F. Lewis St. The meeting is being carried on Zoom; the link is https://gloucester-ma-gov.zoom.us/j/86257093786.


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    By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer

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  • Police Commission forwards three LAPD chief finalists’ names for mayor’s consideration

    Police Commission forwards three LAPD chief finalists’ names for mayor’s consideration

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    The Los Angeles Police Commission has forwarded the names of three finalists for LAPD chief to Mayor Karen Bass — but like much else about the search process, the identities of the front-runners have been kept a secret.

    The announcement came as the commission returned from closed session at the end of a special meeting Wednesday. Commission President Erroll Southers said the board had “discharged its duties as set forth in the city charter…and will be forwarding a list of recommended candidates to the mayor,” according to a recording of the meeting.

    He then made a motion to adjourn the meeting, without further comment. The brief announcement went largely unnoticed outside the commission, which did not issue a news release or otherwise publicly announce the decision.

    The move brings the city one step closer to ending what has been a months-long search for what is widely considered one of the most high-profile and challenging jobs in law enforcement. The post has been vacant since February, when former Chief Michel Moore retired.

    Under the city charter, the commission — a five-member civilian body that acts like a board of directors for the LAPD — is required to select three finalists for Bass to consider. But if the mayor is unsatisfied with the choices, she can ask commissioners to send additional names or continue the search. Whomever she picks will then need to be confirmed by the full City Council.

    Bass has declined through a spokesman numerous requests for comment from The Times about her priorities for chief, and she did not reschedule an earlier interview about the topic that she had canceled.

    Zach Seidl, a spokesman for the mayor’s office, said in a text message there was “[n]othing to share about the search at this time other than the Mayor is continuing to work with urgency on this search and her work to make LA safer.” He did not respond to a follow-up question about whether the mayor had started considering the finalists.

    Wednesday’s announcement squares with a previous timeline given by commissioners, who said they hope to finish evaluating what could be dozens of candidates and offer Bass their top three suggestions by the end of August.

    That hasn’t stopped fevered speculation among LAPD rank-and-file and command staff about who their next leader will be.

    There were at least 25 applicants for the job.

    Among the outside executives who received second interviews, according to sources, were Jim McDonnell, a one-time LAPD assistant chief and former Los Angeles County sheriff; former Houston and Miami chief Art Acevedo; and Robert Arcos, a former LAPD assistant chief who works for the L.A. County district attorney’s office. A high-profile former chief from a West Coast department was also said to have applied, but that name has never been confirmed.

    Those entries, confirmed by multiple sources, add another dynamic to what many consider a wide-open race to be the city’s next top cop.

    The department veterans who received second interviews, sources said, are: Assistant Chief Blake Chow, who oversees LAPD special operations; Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides, commanding officer of the department’s South Bureau; Deputy Chief Donald Graham, who heads the Transit Services Bureau; Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton, head of the Detective Bureau; and Cmdr. Lillian Carranza of the Central Bureau.

    Finding the city’s next police chief is one of the most closely watched decisions made by any mayor.

    Bass and commissioners have in recent months embarked on a citywide listening tour to canvass residents, officers and business owners about what they want to see in the next chief. The mayor has also made regular visits to police roll calls across the city.

    During the community forums, many attendees pushed for the selection of an insider who is attuned to policing in a city as vast and diverse as L.A.

    Others talked about the importance of picking someone who understands the complicated history between the department and the communities it policies. And yet, unlike in other recent chief searches, a growing number of people within the LAPD are pushing for an outside candidate to breathe new life into the organization.

    The process has been shrouded in an unusual level of secrecy.

    Although the names of candidates have occasionally been withheld to protect the identities of those working in other cities, officials this time have also declined to reveal how many people applied for the position, only saying that the number was “more than 25.” Sources have since told The Times that the number was more than 30.

    In the absence of information, the search has been the subject of almost daily rumors inside the department. A LinkedIn post by a former LAPD sergeant-turned-policing consultant went viral after it claimed to reveal a list of semi-finalists. Among those named in the post was Anne Kirkpatrick, the current police commissioner in New Orleans, who quickly issued denials of any interest in the LAPD job.

    At stake is the chance to lead the country’s third-largest local police force at a crucial time in its history. Whoever gets the job will be inheriting a wary department eager for clear leadership and a city worried about crime and the use of force.

    One of the key questions facing Bass is whether an outsider would be better at introducing reforms in the organization, rather than someone who has come up through the ranks here and already understands the political and labor landscape.

    The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the powerful bargaining body for the city’s rank-and-file officers, has not publicly staked out its position on the insider-outsider debate.

    One of Moore’s former assistant chiefs, Dominic Choi, was picked as interim leader. Moore has stayed on as a consultant on the chief search, and Choi has said he will not seek the job permanently.

    More risk management than crime-fighting, the job of running the LAPD — a vast, multibillion-dollar organization with more than 10,000 employees that operates under an intense microscope — involves balancing demands that are often at odds:

    Even though violent crime numbers have started to level out, with the exception of robberies, anxiety over public safety remains high among many Angelenos; the number of police shootings has also increased, raising concerns from the Police Commission. Meanwhile, any new leader, particularly one from the outside, will be expected to be a quick study and hit the ground running.

    Prognosticators have said Bass’ selection will indicate a lot about what direction she thinks the department is headed. Picking someone from within the organization to follow in Moore’s footsteps would signal that the mayor is looking to continue some of the reforms he started but would stop short of the wholesale changes that some have called for.

    Choosing an outside candidate would signal that the mayor is seeking a new direction for the department, some observers say. The city has hired only two outside chiefs in the past 75 years: Willie L. Williams and William J. Bratton. Both selections followed seismic scandals: the Los Angeles uprising in 1992 and the Rampart scandal of the late 1990s that saw more than 70 police officers implicated in unprovoked shootings, assaults and evidence-planting.

    Experts say the LAPD job is one of the toughest in law enforcement.

    Any serious candidate will have to have a proven track record as an experienced leader. The chief must be comfortable speaking extemporaneously — and often in front of cameras — about the work of the police department through the progressive lens of the city’s elected leaders, including the mayor and City Council.

    Whoever gets the job will need to navigate through many challenges at once, while dealing with the myriad issues confronting the city, including homelessness and the fentanyl crisis.

    The next chief will also have to recruit and inspire a new generation of officers, some of whom weren’t even born when the department was forced to undergo sweeping changes in the wake of the Rampart scandal and who grew of age in the Black Lives Matter era.

    The Olympics and the World Cup also loom as security challenges in coming years. Others are keen to see how the next chief will tackle a much-maligned discipline system that, depending on whom one asks, either lets too many bad cops off or has been weaponized to favor the well-connected.

    In March, the city hired the Northern California-based headhunter Bob Murray & Associates to conduct the nationwide chief search — the same firm that helped pick Bratton more than two decades ago.

    Joel Bryden, a vice president for the firm, said he could not discuss the search, referring questions to city officials.

    “It’s our hard and fast rule,” said Bryden, one of the two main recruiters on the chief search. “We at least have kept everything confidential even though leaks have occurred, some accurate, and some not.”

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    Libor Jany

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  • Orbitkey’s Nest Desktop Organizer Now Stores More and Charges Devices Faster

    Orbitkey’s Nest Desktop Organizer Now Stores More and Charges Devices Faster

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    The second generation of Orbitkey’s portable desk organizer has a larger storage area, fitting MacBook chargers with plenty of room to spare. The built-in Qi charging pad on the lid has also been upgraded to support up to 15W wireless charging. It’s available in black or light gray, but there are also Star Wars-branded variants in black or brown.

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    Lambert Varias

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  • West Gloucester in mix for 3A zoning

    West Gloucester in mix for 3A zoning

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    Officials this week mulled a possible multifamily zoning district in proximity to the West Gloucester commuter rail station as Gloucester faces coming into compliance with state MBTA Communities Act guidelines in less than six months.

    Officials also discussed Tuesday the possible creation of multifamily zoning districts at existing Gloucester Housing Authority property on Maplewood Avenue and Riverdale Park and possible mixed-use districts for the Shaw’s Plaza on Eastern Avenue and in the Maplewood and Railroad avenues area.

    This discussion came as the city has until Dec. 31 to comply with the state law. Communities that do not comply face the loss of eligibility for a number of state grants.

    The meeting was a way for the Planning Board’s Housing Subcommittee, the City Council’s Planning and Development Standing Committee and planning staff to get on the same page to give marching orders to the city’s consultant, RKG Associates, to model the various scenarios.

    The law, known as Section 3A, requires Gloucester adopt zoning to create one or more districts to allow multifamily housing by right. About half of the districts must be within a half-mile of one or both of the city’s train stations, with a unit capacity of at least 2,270 units, and an allowed density of at least 15 units an acre.

    In outlining the timeline, Community Development Director Alex Koppelman said there was a need for consensus to allow the consultant to draft and review zoning regulations, and have enough time so the state could review them and the City Council could hold a vote.

    At a public forum last month at which there was little consensus among residents, the consultant recommended three approaches, the first being the “simple approach” to allow the construction of three-family homes by right, instead of by special permit, in the downtown R-5 zoning district.

    This simple approach included the entire R-5 district. Factoring in lots that already comply and existing multifamily units, this could net 627 additional units over time than what is allowed under present zoning.

    A “minimal impact” approach would create several districts downtown, which comes up with 196 more units than what is allowed now.

    A third option for “housing production” proposed districts downtown and a district on Lexington Avenue in Magnolia with the potential for 244 more units than would be allowed now.

    On Tuesday, officials debated the fairness of zoning the entire R-5 district for three-family multifamily housing, or whether it made sense to create smaller sub-districts or narrow the zoning in the downtown somehow.

    Ward 2 Councilor Dylan Benson, who represents much of the downtown in the area of the Railroad Avenue station, was asked what he favored.

    “I think there has to be burden sharing,” Benson said, “and I think it shouldn’t just be in one specific area in the R-5 district.”

    Officials also looked at a proposed small district in West Gloucester of more than 17 acres along Essex (Route 133) and Lyndale avenues with a capacity of 416 units and a density of 27.1 units per acre. The area has sewer service, is unaffected by flooding and is proximate to the West Gloucester station.

    There was also concern about making a zoning district with mixed use optional as opposed to mandatory in the Railroad Avenue neighborhood in a move to encourage housing in the vicinity of the Shaw’s grocery store.

    Officials said creating a Mandatory Mixed Use district would require an economic feasibility analysis and pre-approval from the state, which would take time with not a lot of it left. There was some concern among officials that a developer might not keep the grocery store given the option to create just housing.

    “An optional mixed use,” Grow said, “would mean a greater likelihood that Shaw’s might disappear because they wouldn’t be obliged to keep any sort of retail use on the ground floor.”

    “We have to make sure that it’s mandatory if we are zoning that lot on Railroad Ave., specifically the Shaw’s there,” said Benson, who represents Ward 2. “This is critical.”

    Officials also discussed the creation of a district in and around the Shaw’s Plaza on Eastern Avenue, though this might be a subject for another time, they said.

    “I wanted to talk about Eastern Avenue because I think it’s really a good opportunity whether it’s included in the 3A or not,” Planning Board member Beverly Bookin said.

    Officials at the meeting did not give a date for another public forum.

    Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.

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    By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Supporting People that Help Pets

    Austin Pets Alive! | Supporting People that Help Pets

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    APA! has always operated outside of the “typical” role that animal
    welfare plays. Our teams and programming have contributed to thousands
    of lives saved and as we’ve continued to grow our organization and
    lifesaving, we recognized that much more needs to be done for the people
    who have given their time, talents and love to the animals who need us
    most!

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  • San Francisco man arrested after allegedly vandalizing mosque, leaving community ‘living in fear’

    San Francisco man arrested after allegedly vandalizing mosque, leaving community ‘living in fear’

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    A San Francisco man suspected of vandalizing a Nob Hill mosque was arrested Wednesday evening while visiting the scene of his alleged crime for the second time in as many days.

    San Francisco resident Robert Gray, 35, was booked on one felony count of vandalism with damage of more than $400 and a misdemeanor violation of civil rights by damaging another property. He currently sits in a county jail.

    Neither Gray nor a representative were reached for comment.

    San Francisco Police officers responded to a call from congregants of Masjid al-Tawheed mosque around 7:55 p.m. on Wednesday. Mosque-goers told police that Gray was the man who had vandalized their sanctuary on April 4, having recognized him for security footage.

    Arriving officers detained Gray after they concluded he matched the description of the suspect wanted in the attack.

    “Through the course of their investigation, officers developed probable cause [for] arrest,” Police spokesperson Paulina Henderson said in a statement.

    Henderson said the investigation was still active and police were looking for more information.

    Surveillance video obtained by the San Francisco Standard shows a man with a skateboard smashing multiple mosque windows on April 4.

    The man returned to the mosque, according to the Standard, on Tuesday and Wednesday. During the latter incident, mosque congregants confronted Gray and distracted him long enough to call police, who arrived in time to arrest him.

    “Community members were living in fear for the last two weeks,” said Yemeni American Aseel Fara, 24, a Masjid al-Tawheed mosque member and a San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commissioner.

    Fara said the incident shocked many community members who emigrated to San Francisco because of its pluralistic society.

    He said he received a call from another Bay Area mosque that suffered similar vandalism incident wanting to review surveillance footage to see if Gray was involved.

    “You don’t expect this here,” he said. “This has been very divisive and hopefully we can begin to heal thanks to this arrest.”

    The news of Gray’s arrest was celebrated by the Council on American-Islamic Relations Bay Area chapter.

    “We are relieved that an arrest has been made in these distressing incidents,” CAIR Bay Area Executive Director Zahra Billoo said in a statement. “It’s important for our community to see tangible actions being taken to protect our places of worship, where everyone has the right to feel safe and secure.”

    Billoo said that the number of complaints of Islamophobia made nationwide is at a 30-year high.

    There were 8,061 reports received by CAIR last year. The organization said nearly half of those complaints took place in the last three months since the Oct. 7 Hamas’ assault on Israel that sparked a war, resulting in the killing of 30,000-plus Palestinians by Israeli forces. That number of Islamophobic complaints represents a 56% increase in incidents from 2022 to 2023, according to the organization.

    “This arrest sends a clear message that hate-driven behaviors will not be overlooked and serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges we face in combating Islamophobia,” Billoo said.

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    Andrew J. Campa

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  • Amazon Shoppers Bought This $18 Drawer Organizing Set More Than 60,000 Times Last Month — and It’ll Declutter Your Space for Good

    Amazon Shoppers Bought This $18 Drawer Organizing Set More Than 60,000 Times Last Month — and It’ll Declutter Your Space for Good

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    It’s so versatile!
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    Morgan Pryor

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  • 500 stitches later, injured brown pelican ‘Blue’ continues healing process

    500 stitches later, injured brown pelican ‘Blue’ continues healing process

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    A 3-year-old brown pelican hobbled about the San Pedro Pier, injured and unable to feed itself for at least a day.

    Cuts ran parallel to the jaw, straight and through to the back of the neck and into the feathered skin, according to reports from a bird rescue group.

    A member of a local sport-fishing crew spotted the disoriented bird March 10 and tossed it a fish. The pelican caught it with its beak, but the snack slid out of its exposed and damaged pouch.

    The fisherman drove the bird two miles to International Bird Rescue, which is known for providing care and rehabilitation services.

    The organization announced Thursday that the brown pelican, christened “Blue,” is improving, “eating with bravado” and has gained nearly two pounds.

    “We got the bird quickly, and it’s fair to say that Blue is on the road to recovery,” said Russ Curtis, the group’s communications manager. “The bird is eating, and it has a bright future.”

    Curtis said the pouch is a “vital organ” for brown pelicans that allows the birds to scoop up and swallow fish.

    Blue at International Bird Rescue’s aviary. The organization believes the wounds were man-made.

    (Russ Curtis / International Bird Rescue)

    “If it’s cut, it’s a death sentence,” Curtis said.

    Curtis said Blue required 400 immediate stitches, performed by the organization’s chief veterinarian, Dr. Rebecca Duerr. Another 100 stitches were added after Blue rested for five to six days, to sew up the rest of the exposed mouth area, Curtis said.

    “The back of Blue’s mouth required careful reconstruction but came together well,” Duerr said.

    Blue spent Friday morning and afternoon in International Bird Rescue’s flight aviary. The group posted a YouTube video Thursday of the brown pelican attempting to grab small fish out of a blue crate.

    “We want to thank the bird lovers of Southern California and beyond for their support of our efforts to save Blue,” Chief Executive JD Bergeron said in a statement.

    Duerr and other International Bird Rescue staffers believe humans inflicted the injuries on the bird.

    “We see many pelicans with pouch trauma due to fishing gear and eating dangerous, sharp items like fish skeletons, but the wounds do not look like this,” said Duerr, director of research and veterinary science. “The cuts are reminiscent of a knife, machete or other sharp object.”

    The injuries reminded staffers of an attack 10 years ago on a Long Beach brown pelican called “Pink.” International Bird Rescue officials labeled that incident “the worst deliberate pouch slashing we’ve ever seen.”

    Pink needed two surgeries and almost two months of recovery at the same aviary where Blue is convalescing. Pink was released at San Pedro’s seaside White Point Park in June 2014. Blue was named as an homage to Pink.

    The assault on Blue is the first one thought to be by a human that International Bird Rescue has come across this year, according to Curtis.

    “I don’t know what would lead a person to attack a bird, out just looking for food, so cruelly,” he said. “It’s a sad statement about the world.”

    The injury was reported to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for investigation.

    Capt. Patrick Foy, a member of the department’s enforcement division, said he was aware of a handful of birds with injured pouches over the last several years between Ventura and Dana Point. However, his division could not identify what or who was wounding them.

    “There’s no doubt these birds have been horribly injured,” Foy said. “Whether it’s caused by a human has not been proven yet.”

    Foy said his department could not conclude that a human was responsible for the attacks until the animals are inspected.

    Until then, he said, “we have an investigation that is ongoing, but we have very little to go on.”

    Foy and International Bird Rescue have a tip line at 888-334-2258 and hope members of the public will provide information.

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    Andrew J. Campa

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  • MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million, with $137 million going to California nonprofits

    MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million, with $137 million going to California nonprofits

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    When a nonprofit serving Los Angeles’ homeless and foster youth applied last year for a slice of billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s latest round of giving, the group hoped to get $1 million.

    Instead, the team at Youth Emerging Stronger learned this week it was one of almost 300 community groups nationwide to be awarded $2 million.

    “It doubled the amount that we were hoping for,” said Mark Supper, chief executive and president of Youth Emerging Stronger, adding, that they were “a bit dumbfounded by it, but we’re so happy.”

    Scott, who co-founded Amazon with her ex-husband, chief executive Jeff Bezos, donated $640 million to more than 350 community groups nationwide, more than doubling the amount she initially planned to give, according to Yield Giving, Scott’s website. Of that pot, $137 million went to 76 organizations that serve Californians. The majority received $2 million, but about 80 organizations received $1 million.

    Supper’s nonprofit was among the 25 Southern California groups that shared $47 million.

    “For us, it’s really a transformational kind of gift,” Supper said. “It allows us to really think long term in our strategies and our approaches.”

    The news of the massive donation is still only days old, and Supper said his team is still working on specific plans for how to use the money. But he said the group will definitely focus on expanding housing and mental health services for the vulnerable youth, ages 12 to 24, whom it serves.

    Supper said his nonprofit was notified recently that it was among the finalists from Scott’s open call — which got more than 6,000 applicants — for “community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to advance the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles.”

    “We’re just so pleased that they saw the value of our work,” Supper said. “It’s a critical age bracket that I think a lot of people don’t spend a lot of time on when we look at the unhoused issue.”

    Among the other Southern California awardees are the LGBTQ Center in Long Beach; Pacoima Beautiful, an environmental justice group in the San Fernando Valley; Reality Changers, a San Diego group working with first-generation college students; the California Native Vote Project, which advocates for Native American community; and Achievable Health, which provides healthcare to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to Scott’s database of gifts.

    “We were just jumping up and down with joy when we heard this was happening,” said Carmen Ibarra, the chief executive of Achievable Health, based in Culver City.

    “It comes at just the right time,” she said, as the organization’s community health center is working on plans to expand to provide services to more people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who she said are “often underserved and overlooked in healthcare.”

    “We’re limited right now in terms of our capacity, mainly around space,” Ibarra said. “We will be expanding our services, expanding our site, expanding the staffing that we have to be able to serve more patients in the community. … This really is jumpstarting those efforts.”

    This round of donations follows many others from Scott, who has pledged to donate more than half of her wealth, which is estimated at about $32 billion, according to Forbes. Scott has typically given to organizations without an application process, but this time she worked with philanthropic group Lever for Change to analyze the thousands of applicants.

    “Grateful to Lever for Change and everyone on the evaluation and implementation teams for their roles in creating this pathway to support for people working to improve access to foundational resources in their communities,” Scott wrote on her website Tuesday. “They are vital agents of change.”

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    Grace Toohey

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  • The $38 West Elm Organizer That’ll Instantly Double Your Counter Space (and It’s Selling Fast!)

    The $38 West Elm Organizer That’ll Instantly Double Your Counter Space (and It’s Selling Fast!)

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    It’s a must for any small kitchen!
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    Morgan Pryor

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