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Housing advocacy groups donates $50K to rent control ballot question committee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

An out-of-state advocacy group is throwing its weight early into a ballot question push to institute rent control in Massachusetts, handing $50,000 to supporters looking to repeal a 1994 ban on the measure.Housing Is A Human Right made the donation to a ballot question committee run by state Rep. Mike Connolly, the Cambridge Democrat said in a statement. The organization has taken part in successful rent control campaigns in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, and Pasadena, California.“We are engaging with a broad set of stakeholders to build consensus for the roll out of a full-fledged signature-gathering campaign this fall,” Connolly said in a statement. “We’re also working with experienced campaign professionals to map out a winning campaign plan for the 2024 general election and hoping to bring everyone to the table in support of housing justice in our commonwealth.”Housing Is Human Right is the housing advocacy division of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare, a global ...

Hundreds more migrants reach the Greek islands in boats and smaller vessels from Turkey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More than 450 migrants reached Greece’s Aegean Sea islands in boats from Turkey in less than two days, Greek authorities said Thursday, including 51 people who made landfall on the high-end resort of Mykonos.The new arrivals come amid a steady rise in migration to the European Union country, which officials mostly attribute to better summer sailing conditions.While Greece was once the main entry point to the EU for people seeking a better life in the wealthy bloc, its Mediterranean neighbor Italy now has nearly seven times more arrivals.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni discussed immigration during a working dinner in Athens late Thursday, Mitsotakis’ office said. It added both leaders agreed on the need to police Europe’s borders and crack down on migrant smuggling networks.In the Mykonos incident, a Greek coast guard statement said a motor yacht that had landed 42 men, eight women and a child on the ...

Ongoing cost-of-living crisis should trigger another housing benefit payment: Singh

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government needs to issue another $500 benefit payment for low-income families struggling to keep a roof over their heads, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Thursday.Singh was in Sooke, B.C., on a cross-country summer tour where the national housing crisis and ongoing anxiety about the cost of living is taking centre stage. In an interview, he said the federal Liberals have done an “abysmal” job dealing with the housing crisis and he intends to make the upcoming fall sitting of Parliament all about getting more housing built.“They’re a failure,” he said bluntly of the Liberals.He said the NDP have a long list of policies they want the government to implement, but chief among them is a second top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit targeting low-income Canadians who spend more than a third of their income on rent. The first $500 top-up, which was announced in September 2022 alongside a temporary boost to the GST rebate, was rolled out just ...

Owners of Scranton Times-Tribune, 3 other Pennsylvania dailies sell to publishing giant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania media conglomerate sold its four daily newspapers, including The Times-Tribune of Scranton, to publishing powerhouse MediaNews Group on Thursday, ending nearly 130 years of local ownership.Times-Shamrock Communications CEO Jim Lewandowski made the announcement to staff, The Times-Tribune reported.The other papers in the sale are The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre, the Republican Herald of Pottsville, and the (Hazleton) Standard-Speaker, as well as Times-Shamrock’s weeklies, commercial printing business and other divisions.Times-Shamrock retained control of its radio and billboard operations as well as the landmark Scranton Times building downtown, the Scranton paper reported.The terms of the sale were not disclosed.MediaNews Group’s parent company is Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that has been buying up newspapers across the country and faced criticism for slashing budgets and cutting jobs.A majority of Times-Shamrock’s shareholders...

Lululemon ups forecast, tops expectations with double-digit earnings growth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

VANCOUVER — Lululemon Athletica Inc. reported an 18 per cent surge in profits last quarter, prompting it to raise its fiscal forecast for the year after beating expectations.The Vancouver-based company, which reports in U.S. dollars, says net income jumped to US$341.6 million in the three months ended July 30 from US$289.5 million a year earlier.The retailer says net revenue in its second quarter also rose 18 per cent to US$2.21 billion from US$1.87 billion the year before.Comparable store sales increased seven per cent year-over-year, while direct-to-consumer net revenue leaped 15 per cent.The gains prompted Lululemon to boost its full-year outlook for the second time this year, forecasting net revenue in the range of US$9.51 billion to US$9.57 billion — 17 per cent to 18 per cent growth — versus guidance of between US$9.4 billion and US$9.5 billion three months ago.The company says diluted earnings reached US$2.68 per share last quarter versus US$2.26 the year before, beating anal...

Orsted delays 1st New Jersey wind farm until 2026; not ready to ‘walk away’ from project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — Orsted, the global wind energy developer, says its first offshore wind farm in New Jersey will be delayed until 2026 due to supply chain issues, higher interest rates, and a failure so far to garner enough tax credits from the federal government.The Danish company revealed the delay during an earnings conference call Wednesday, during which it said it could be forced to write off about $2.3 billion on U.S. projects that are worth less than they had been.It also said it had considered simply abandoning the Ocean Wind I project off the southern New Jersey coast.But Orsted still believes the wind farm, to be built in waters off of Atlantic City and Ocean City, will be profitable in the long run.“As it stands today, we believe the best direction is to continue to invest in these projects,” said David Hardy, an executive vice president and CEO of the company’s North American operations. “It still is the better choice than walking away today.”The company did ...

New York police will use drones to monitor backyard parties this weekend, spurring privacy concerns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Those attending outdoor parties or barbecues in New York City this weekend may notice an uninvited guest looming over their festivities: a police surveillance drone. The New York City police department plans to pilot the unmanned aircrafts in response to complaints about large gatherings, including private events, over Labor Day weekend, officials announced Thursday. “If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party,” Kaz Daughtry, the assistant NYPD Commissioner, said at a press conference.The plan drew immediate backlash from privacy and civil liberties advocates, raising questions about whether such drone use violated existing laws around police surveillance “It’s a troubling announcement and it flies in the face of the POST Act,” said Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, referring to a 2020 city law that requires th...

Record number of overdoses in Montreal; two-thirds of drug deaths occur at home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

Montreal’s public health authority is pushing for more supervised drug-use sites, including facilities for drug inhalation, amid an increase in overdoses.Four Montreal organizations currently offer supervised drug injection, whereby visitors can consume their own substances in the presence of trained personnel. However, those sites lack provisions for people to smoke illicit substances, an increasingly prevalent practice, according to Dr. Benoit Corriveau of the regional health authority.“At the moment, supervised consumption centres don’t allow us to have inhalation rooms,” Corriveau said. “But it’s becoming more and more common for people to inhale certain drugs, be it fentanyl or others.”Montreal public health reiterated its commitment to supervised drug-use sites on Thursday as it released new data showing what it says was a record number of non-fatal overdoses in the last year. Officials counted 708 emergency interventions in overdose c...

B.C. woman disappointed by ‘slap on wrist’ for Mountie who dragged her, stood on head

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

A British Columbia woman assaulted by a Kelowna Mountie during a wellness check more than three years ago says she’s disappointed the officer received a conditional discharge and probation this week, calling the sentencing “a slap on the wrist.”Mona Wang was a nursing student at the University of B.C.’s Okanagan campus in January 2020, when Const. Lacy Browning dragged her from her apartment after Wang’s boyfriend asked police to check on her well-being.Surveillance video disclosed as part of a civil lawsuit filed by Wang shows Browning dragging Wang by the arms face down along a carpeted hallway, then stepping on her head in the lobby.The BC Prosecution Service has confirmed that Browning was handed a conditional discharge and was placed on probation for two years during Monday’s hearing after pleading guilty to one count of assault in November 2022.Browning must also complete 160 hours of community service over the first year, and a $200 “...

Man charged after attempting to kidnap 2 Chicago firefighters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:09 GMT

CHICAGO -- The 47-year-old man who was accused of barricading two Chicago firefighters in his basement and attempted to stab them Wednesday has been charged.According to the Chicago Fire Department, crews responded to reports of a fire on the 7700 block of South Marshfield in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood around 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday.Upon arrival, crews discovered a detached garage engulfed in flames. The homeowner, 47-year-old Melvin Jordan, told the CFD crew that he also smelled gas coming from inside his home.A battalion chief and truck lieutenant went inside Jordan's home. The three men went downstairs and the fire personnel said they didn’t smell anything just as Jordan went back upstairs.The Chicago Fire Department reports that Jordan was holding a power tool and removed screws from a board blocking the door. Jordan allegedly barricaded two doors and held a knife towards the two firefighters.The CFD battalion chief and truck lieutenant called for help over their radio and ...