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DPS cracks down on fraudulent vehicle inspections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Department of Public Safety said it was cracking down on fraudulent vehicle inspections and inspectors through an operation it launched in August 2022 called “Operation Cinderblock.”According to DPS, the regulatory and criminal operation focuses on vehicle inspection stations and inspectors who were potentially “clean scanning” vehicles instead of conducting the required emissions test during the inspection process.DPS said clean scanning was the illegal act of a vehicle inspector that results in a fraudulent “pass” for a vehicle’s emissions test. “The fraudulent test involves performing the emissions test on a different vehicle or using a simulator, which then bypasses actual emissions testing of the vehicle being inspected,” DPS said.According to the department, it originally identified approximately 270 vehicle inspection stations for having a high volume of questionable inspections, of those, 34 stations had gross misconduct and DPS quick...

Allie B's opening second location on Albany's South End

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Owner Kizzy Williams celebrated the ninth anniversary of Allie B's Cozy Kitchen, located at 353 Clinton Avenue, on March 30. Now, she's opening up a second location on Albany's South End. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Allie B's Mac & Cheese will be located at 347 South Pearl Street. Customers will be able to choose their own mac and cheese toppings, which could include bacon, lobster, corn, buffalo chicken, and broccoli.Williams will be starting out by offering 10 toppings, but hopes to eventually expand to about 25. Vegan mac and cheese will also be available. Soul food restaurant opening in Crossgates Commons However, Williams said they will not be cooking in the new location. They're be making the mac and cheese and toppings at Allie B's Coxy Kitchen and deliver it to Allie's B's Mac & Cheese each morning."I've always wanted to expand but I wanted to expand in a way that would be sim...

Amsterdam man convicted of chasing family with knife

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Anthony Ropas, 27, of Amsterdam was found guilty on Thursday of attempted burglary in the second degree, menacing in the second degree, and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges stemmed from an incident in May 2022, where Ropas, knife in hand, chased a neighbor carrying his two-year-old child, and his girlfriend into their apartment. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to court documents obtained by NEWS10, Ropas tried to break down the door to the apartment while the victims frantically called 911. Officers with the Amsterdam Police Department responded to the call and eventually arrested Ropas. Months later, before he was convicted for the May 2022 incident, Ropas allegedly groped a seven-year-old girl and sent her indecent photographs. Officials say when he was arrested for sexually abusing the girl, he busted out of a police car. He allegedly ran into a nearby parking lot, sti...

Crews rescuing drivers trapped in Eureka creek

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

EUREKA, Mo. - Emergency crews are responding to an accident that has left drivers stuck in a Eureka creek.That accident happened on the State and Boemler Roads. The cause of the accident has not been revealed. Top Stories: Severe weather expected near St. Louis Friday Our Bommarito Automotive Group SkyFOX helicopter is flying over the area. FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

Car theft is still on the rise in Colorado — including at Denver-area hospitals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

Zach Vine thought he would only be at the hospital for about an hour.His Jan. 30 visit to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora involved routine care for his epilepsy, and he figured he’d be in and out and back home to Centennial with no issues.But when he and his wife left the hospital to return to their self-parked car, it was nowhere to be found.“We asked the valets; they kind of laughed at us like we should have known better,” Vine said. “We went to speak to someone at the front desk, and the lady was like, ‘Why did you park your car there,’ as if it was our fault. It felt like everyone was in on the joke but us, essentially.”He sought out information on car thefts at the hospital and discovered not only had thefts on campus at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center doubled in 2022 compared to 2021, but his car was also the 22nd stolen just this January.But that situation is not unique to UCHealth’s Aurora hospital. Several other metro area hospitals hav...

Denver Police Department to put armed officers in East High, 10 other schools beginning next week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

Twelve police officers will be stationed in 11 Denver high schools beginning next week in response to the recent shooting of two East High administrators by a student.Two armed and uniformed officers from the Denver Police Department will be at East High School when classes resume Wednesday after spring break. Additionally, one officer will be at each of the following high schools: North, South, West, Montbello, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Manual and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College.The officers will remain on the campuses for at least the remainder of the school year. Denver Public Schools will convene a series of community meetings in the coming months to determine whether to implement school resource officers permanently.“This is not the ultimate solution in creating safety in schools,” Denver police Chief Ron Thomas said of reinstating school resource officers. “We still believe there needs to be a community conversation so th...

Colorado’s composting rules change this weekend. Here’s what you can and can’t put in those bins.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

The changes in Colorado’s composting rules are kicking in this weekend after the state’s largest compost manufacturer has struggled to handle the large volume of contaminants that end up in its supply chain.Starting Saturday, people who participate in composting programs, including Denver’s, should only put food and yard waste in their bins. All packaging, paper, utensils and other products that claim to be compostable or biodegradable — with one exception — must go in the regular garbage.“When in doubt, throw it out,” said Clinton Sander, marketing manager for A1 Organics. “Don’t put it in the bin.”A1 Organics is the largest compost manufacturer in Colorado, and earlier this year the company announced it was altering the products it will accept for composting. The company takes material from Denver, Boulder and other large cities along the Front Range as well as from schools such as the University of Colorado Boulder and o...

There’s plenty of snow, but some Colorado ski areas are closing anyway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

Despite deep snow cover at most Colorado ski areas, five are closing this weekend and two more will close next weekend.Those closing Sunday are Buttermilk, Crested Butte, Granby Ranch, Sunlight and Telluride. Wolf Creek and Powderhorn will close on April 9, and 10 more will close a week later.Nineteen Colorado ski areas are reporting base depths of five feet or more. Wolf Creek’s base depth is nearly 14 feet and Steamboat’s exceeds 10 feet. Crested Butte is closing despite a base depth of nearly eight feet.Despite having received more than 39 feet of snow since November, Wolf Creek officials have not considered extending the season. Wolf Creek closed April 17 last year.“We found there’s too little people that have an interest in (April) skiing,” said Wolf Creek spokeswoman Rosanne Pitcher. “That’s always been our meter — if we don’t have enough skiers to make it worthwhile for us. The other thing is that more areas will be open s...

CHP officer shoots person at homeless encampment along 405 Freeway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

Northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway in Hawthorne were closed Thursday evening after a California Highway Patrol officer shot a man while responding to a fire at a homeless encampment, authorities said.The incident unfolded just before 8 p.m. when the officer received a call reporting a fire near the on-ramp to the 405 at Rosecrans Avenue. When the officer arrived, they encountered a person who became uncooperative and began throwing bricks at them, a CHP spokesperson said.That’s when the officer opened fire, striking the man, authorities said. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the shooting.Sky5 images show traffic was backed up for over a mile as officers shut down northbound lanes to investigate.The California Highway Patrol shut down 405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne after a shooting involving CHP officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)The California Highway Patrol shut down 405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne after a shooting involving CHP officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)The ...

Los Angeles County COVID-19 emergency ending Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:44 GMT

The end of March is bringing with it a milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles: the end of the county's emergency declaration.The March 31 expiration brings with it the end of COVID-related renter protections, a measure the Board of Supervisors declined to extend in a meeting last week. Another change is masking in health care facilities. Employees will still be required to wear masks around patients, but patients and visitors will not.The emergency order that allowed restaurants to create outdoor seating on public walkways and parking lots is ending as well, though restaurants with an existing outdoor dining permit can continue to operate.