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Former NYC buildings commissioner surrenders in bribery case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s onetime top building-safety official took cash, New York Mets tickets, a discount on a luxury apartment and other bribes from a real estate developer, a restaurateur and others and repaid them with favors, prosecutors said Wednesday.Former Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich was awaiting arraignment on bribery, conspiracy and other charges; six co-defendants were charged with bribery. Defense attorney Sam Braverman said Ulrich intended to plead not guilty.Besides serving as Mayor Eric Adams’ buildings chief, Ulrich was a city councilman and an adviser to the first-term mayor. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Ulrich in a statement of illegally “monetizing each elected and appointed role he held in New York City government.”“At every possible turn, he allegedly used his taxpayer-funded positions as city councilmember, then senior mayoral advisor and finally Department of Buildings commissioner to line his pockets,” said Bragg. ...

Housing gap steady as lower incomes expected to offset construction slowdown: CMHC

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

TORONTO — Canada will be short about 3.5 million homes by the end of the decade compared with what’s needed to restore affordability, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Wednesday.The estimate is similar to the estimate last year, but that’s because the federal housing agency now expects lower economic growth will push down demand, offsetting the slowdown in home construction seen in the past year.“We were too optimistic about Ontario’s growth coming out of the pandemic,” CMHC deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth said.The lower growth, and lower incomes that go with that, means the agency expects more people especially in Ontario to stay living with parents or roommates, along with other trends that keep people from striking out to look for a home of their own.“You know, we hear of divorced couples staying together because they can’t afford to live in separate housing,” ab Iorwerth said.The lower growth projection for the provinc...

GOP legislative leaders’ co-chair flap has brought the Ohio Redistricting Commission to a standstill

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s latest attempt to draw fair political maps crumbled amid Republican infighting Wednesday, begging the question of whether a commission unable even to appoint its co-chairs will be able to negotiate a bipartisan redistricting solution within the few short weeks it’s been allotted.Gov. Mike DeWine grudgingly gaveled the reconstituted Ohio Redistricting Commission to order. That was despite fellow Republicans Senate President Matt Huffman and House Speaker Jason Stephens — presumably from separate locations somewhere off-site — failing to come to any agreement on who the GOP’s co-chair should be.Without their joint appointee, the panel was unable to begin the business of fixing Statehouse district maps that the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans five different times.“Our fear is more of the same,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.As commissioners were ...

Writers’ Trust announces nominees for LGBTQ+ Dayne Ogilvie Prize

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

TORONTO — A memoir, a play and a short story collection have been nominated for the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s Dayne Ogilvie Prize. The $10,000 award goes to an emerging LGBTQ+ writer for their debut book in any genre. The organization says jurors selected “Scenes from the Underground,” a memoir by Gabriel Cholette and translated by Elina Taillon, for its unapologetic approach to telling queer stories of excess. The jury praised the play “Body So Fluorescent” by Amanda Cordner and David di Giovanni as a rousing examination of anti-Blackness in queer spaces. And they nominated “Chrysalis” by Anuja Varghese, saying the collection blends Hindu folklore with magical realism to explore issues of colonialism and queerness.The award will be handed out at the annual Writers’ Trust Awards on Nov. 21.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2023.The Canadian Press

Canada to match donations to Red Cross to help earthquake-stricken Morocco

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

The federal government says it will match donations to the Canadian Red Cross over the next two weeks to help Morocco recover from a devastating earthquake.International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen says every donation to the Red Cross made by individuals from Sept. 8 to 28 will be matched by the government, to a maximum of $3 million.Global Affairs Canada says the money will help the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement deliver life-saving services, such as emergency food, water, emergency cash and vouchers, and sanitation and health services.Another $2 million in federal assistance will go toward immediate needs.The magnitude 6.8 earthquake had caused more than 2,900 deaths and several thousand injuries as of Tuesday.Global Affairs Canada says it is in close contact with Moroccan authorities and humanitarian partners to respond to evolving needs.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2023.The Canadian Press

WestJet ‘non-partisan,’ will revisit policy after Poilievre speech on PA system: CEO

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

OTTAWA — The CEO of WestJet says the company will revisit its policy after the airline faced backlash for allowing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to speak on the PA system on a recent flight. A video circulating online shows Poilievre making short remarks on a Sunday night flight that was leaving Quebec City for Calgary after the Conservative Party of Canada’s convention. Poilievre’s campaign-style speech lasts for about 45 seconds and is met with laughter and cheers from passengers. The airline’s top executive, Alexis von Hoensbroech, said the flight was added specifically for the convention and was largely filled with Conservative delegates who were attending the event. “The leader of the party was given the opportunity to greet delegates onboard (which is not unusual), but this was not a political endorsement nor should it be interpreted as such. We are non-partisan by nature and will revisit our policy on this,” von Hoensbroech said on Wednesd...

How they got him: Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante arrested after 2-week pursuit in Pennsylvania

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

UNIONVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Thermal imaging equipment in the air, experienced search teams working through a stormy night, a search dog and the element of surprise all played critical roles in the capture of escaped murderer Danelo Souza Cavalcante on Wednesday morning after a 14-day manhunt across southeastern Pennsylvania’s rolling farmlands and forests.Some of the hundreds of law enforcement personnel searching on foot and from the air finally located Cavalcante near the outer perimeter of a nearly 10-square-mile (16-square-kilometer) search area set up when he was seen Monday just after dark crouching near a tree line and, two hours later, fleeing from a garage.Here’s how they caught Cavalcante, according to Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens:BURGLAR ALARMThe first possible sign of Cavalcante that alerted searchers shortly after midnight Tuesday was a burglar alarm. Law enforcement personnel investigated it, and did not find Cavalcante. But the alarm attract...

Loudspeaker message outside NYC migrant shelter warns new arrivals they are ‘not safe here’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New Yorker upset that the city has been housing homeless migrants on his suburban block has set up a loudspeaker to deliver an unwelcoming message to his new neighbors: “The community wants you to go back to New York City. Immigrants are not safe here.”The message, recorded in six languages, blares all day from a loudspeaker on Scott Herkert’s well-groomed front lawn on Staten Island, urging migrants brought to a temporary shelter inside a long-vacant Roman Catholic high school not to get off the bus. The message also claims the building has rats and cockroaches.It is one of several ways some people have let shelter residents know they are not welcome on Staten Island, which, despite what the recording says, is part of New York City. Hundreds of protesters have also held a large rally outside the former school, urging the city to house migrants elsewhere.The women and families placed by the city inside the former Saint John Villa Academy have heard the messag...

Fallen CFD Lt. Kevin Ward laid to rest Wednesday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

CHICAGO — A fallen Chicago firefighter was laid to rest Wednesday.The funeral service for Lt. Kevin Ward began at 11 a.m. at the The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, located at 126 East Chestnut Street, just off Michigan Avenue.Ward was one of three firefighters injured in a blaze Aug. 11 in the 8300 block of West Balmoral in the city's Norwood Park neighborhood. He died days later.Ward, 59, joined the department in 1996 and worked out of Truck 9, located in the 5300 block of North Cumberland. CFD lieutenant dies following Northwest Side fire earlier this month The Chicago Fire Department will fly flags at half-staff until sunset Wednesday to honor his service.Ward’s death is the third line-of-duty death the department has dealt with in 2023. In the same week in April, CFD lost Jermaine Pelt, 49, and Jan Tchoryk, 55, in separate fires.

Wednesday Forecast: Temps in upper 60s with cooler conditions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:09 GMT

CHICAGO — Mostly cloudy Wednesday morning with a 20 percent chance of showers and decreasing clouds. Winds: NE 5-10. High: 68. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly clear tonight. Winds: NNE 5-10. Low: 52.Thursday Forecast: Mainly sunny, E 5-10. High: 71.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog