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St. Paul man gets 12-year prison term in woman’s 2019 overdose death at Roseville motel

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

Michelle Werlein had waited more than three years for Friday, the day her daughter’s killer was sentenced to prison.It took two years for Bret Ryne Lott to be tracked down and charged with selling the suspected opioids that caused Werlein’s daughter, Zhennavie Bauman, to overdose on fentanyl-laced heroin and die in a Roseville motel room in 2019. She was 27.Bret Ryne Lott (Courtesy of Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)A year later, after a seven-day trial in April, jurors found Lott, 32, of St. Paul, guilty of third-degree murder in the Burnsville woman’s death.Now, Werlein was in a Ramsey County courtroom for his sentencing.“We have had to have an immense amount of patience, perseverance and faith in our judicial system,” she said. “I am beyond grateful to be here today representing my daughter Zhen. There are many families that will never get this chance we were given.”Judge Nicole Starr denied a motion from Lott’s attorneys for a durational departure from sentencing guidelines...

Historic preservationist group sues to stop demolition, replacement of Hamline-Midway Library

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

A group of historic preservationists filed a civil lawsuit this week against the city of St. Paul and the St. Paul Public Library asking for an injunction to stop the demolition and rebuilding of the Hamline-Midway Library.The library, also known as the Henry Hale Memorial Library, Hamline Branch, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January, over the mayor’s objections, through the concerted efforts of neighborhood advocates and historic preservationists dubbing themselves “Renovate 1558.”Because the library — at 1558 W. Minnehaha Ave. — is listed on the National Register, the city must seek an environmental review before determining whether the structure can be demolished, the Renovate 1558 group claimed in court documents. The group instead wants to see the 93-year-old building undergo a renovation to modernize it yet retain its historic character.Statement from the cityIn response, the city released a statement saying it was aware of the civil suit and was r...

NY man convicted of leaving swastikas in churches as a hate crime

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

HORNELL, N.Y. (WETM) -- A Hornell man is now the third person guilty in connection to a string of hateful symbols and pamphlets that appeared in local houses of worship and on City property last summer.The Steuben County District Attorney's Office announced that Ryan Mulhollen, 28, was convicted on 10 counts of 1st-degree Aggravated Harassment and nine counts of 4th-degree Criminal Mischief as a Hate Crime. All the charges are class-E felonies. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The decision came after Mulhollen and two others (Aubrey Dragonetti and Dylan Henry) were arrested in July 2022 when Hornell Police investigated reports that pamphlets and stickers of swastikas and racial slurs showed up in two local churches, as well as throughout James Street Park.According to the DA's announcement, Mulhollen placed the swastikas, nooses, and "other racially directed statements of hate... in the name of the Aryan National Army", a gr...

NBA commissioner Adam Silver on future of Nuggets, NBA broadcasts: “We have an opportunity now to redesign how fans can receive games”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Friday looked to a future beyond the ongoing Nuggets broadcast impasse between Altitude and Comcast sports and said he thinks a larger “redesign” of how Denver fans and basketball fans more broadly consume games is in order.After an NBA Cares ceremony at the Arthur E. Johnson Boys & Girls Club in Denver, Silver outlined what he thinks the league’s role can be — he said Thursday before Game 1 of the NBA Finals that solving the problem is “on us” — given it’s not directly involved in the conflict.“We have an opportunity now to redesign how fans can receive games,” Silver said. “It’s clear to me that, where I’m saying it’s on us, the last thing we want to do is disenfranchise fans. Not that it should be any different, but particularly when you have a Finals-caliber team and we know that there’s intense interest in seeing these games. I’m very sympathetic to fans and I get a lot of emails and I’ve seen on social media and just comments while I’m here ...

L.A. County health officials investigate case of reported hepatitis A at Men’s Central Jail

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

Los Angeles County Public Health officials are investigating a report of a person who reported having a hepatitis A infection while detained at Men’s Central Jail.They advise anyone who was detained at the jail, located at 441 Bauchet St near downtown L.A., between May 13 and May 28 to get vaccinated against the virus. Anyone who was held at the jail during that time and later developed symptoms of hepatitis A should seek medical care.Officials are offering vaccines to everyone at the jail who may have been exposed.Hepatitis A is highly contagious and can spread before someone even feels sick.The virus causes short-term liver infection and is found in the stool and blood of those who are infected.It is usually transmitted through eating contaminated food, or through close contact with a person who is infectious. Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dark urine or yellow eyes/skin, officials explained.While there is no specific therapy for hepatitis A, v...

Man killed by deputies after holding family hostage in Hesperia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

A man was killed by deputies after holding his family hostage in Hesperia on Thursday.The suspect was only identified as a 44-year-old man by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.Deputies responded to an “unknown problem” at a residence in the 8800 block of C Street around 1:26 p.m.When officers arrived, they discovered the suspect had barricaded himself and his family inside the home and was making threats.At one point, the children’s mother was able to grab her kids and escape the home through a window, authorities said.The suspect, however, took one of the children back and retreated inside the home.When deputies entered the residence, they found the suspect holding a knife to the child.Officers opened fire and struck the suspect, authorities said. Despite lifesaving measures, the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The child was not injured during the ordeal.The deadly incident remains under investigation. The victims' identities were not released.Anyone with informa...

Ivanka Trump seen chatting with Prince William at Jordan’s royal wedding

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

Blink and you could have missed Ivanka Trump amid the crowd of world leaders and international royals at the so-called wedding of the year: The marriage of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II of Jordan and his fiancée Rajwa Al Seif.But the controversial daughter of former President Donald Trump was there, specifically spotted at the wedding reception Thursday in a long, blue gown. At one point, the former White House senior adviser also was seen schmoozing with Prince William, while his wife, Kate Middleton, walked ahead, Page Six reported. Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner made an under-the-radar appearance at the wedding, perhaps trying to avoid too much attention because the couple remain polarizing figures in the United States and beyond.Another spot! In this picture, you can see Prince William talking with Ivanka Trump. It looks like the couple were invited to the banquet. pic.twitter.com/yQ8GDPPve1— Royal News Network (@RNN_RoyalNews) June 2, 2023It’s int...

Hayward handyman charged with violently molesting 8-year-old girl as she screamed for help

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

HAYWARD — A 49-year-old Hayward man has been charged with sexually abusing a girl multiple times, beginning when she was 8 years old, after her family hired him as a handyman, court records show.Ruperto Espinoza Villanueva was charged May 17 with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and enhancements alleging use of violence and being in a position of trust. He was also charged with first-degree residential burglary, a related offense that stems from one of the alleged incidents where he came over to the family home for dinner.The girl, now in her teens, kept the molestation to herself until recently. She was scared to come forward because Villanueva was in a position of trust and due to her trauma, authorities say.Villanueva was arrested May 16, and pleaded not guilty on May 18. He is being held in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail.Prosecutors allege that the first act of molestation occurred when the girl was 8 years old, when Villanueva allegedly grabbed her...

Letters: Air traffic | Not unique | Early detection

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Increased air trafficis bad news for climateRe: “Airport reaches key passenger milestone” (Page B4, June 2).Maybe soaring isn’t such a great idea. Increasing numbers of people are choosing to fly less because it’s one of the most effective things an individual can do to reduce their carbon emissions.According to the carbon calculator at flightfree.org, the round-trip emissions per passenger of a flight to New York from the Bay Area are 1.5 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.Where else can you take one action and make such a big difference for the climate?Although I wish economic prosperity for the Bay Area, I believe we can achieve this by promoting rail and bus travel.The overnight Flix bus from the Bay Area to San Diego lets me sleep (uncomfortably) and I can get there without losing a day. The discomfort of a night of poor sleep is small compared to the discomfort of an overheated p...

Letters: Heirloom artichokes | AI progress | Light on laughs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:55 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Heirloom artichokesare worth the searchRe: “A new breed in artichoke battle” (Page A1, May 28).Suspicions confirmed. I have wondered why these new roundish artichokes have nothing of the flavor which we so loved of yore.Growers who produce the “new breed” are shooting themselves in the foot. I’d given up on buying ‘chokes but now will search small markets for original, “real” artichokes. Thanks for the tip.Nancy BarnbyMenlo ParkDon’t let regulationstymie AI progressChatGPT has opened the door for the creation of a human-machine interface that could potentially engage in human-like interactions.It has started removing barriers for those who thought they had to be a technical expert to interact with the machines. Programming a machine to get specific tasks done is no longer confined to computer experts.ChatGPT and similar generative AI have limitations....