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Opinion: Devastating allegations against House leaders, force the question of Colorado’s open meetings law

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

Colorado state Representatives Elisabeth Epps (D-Denver) and Bob Marshall (D-Highlands Ranch) filed a lawsuit against House leadership and the House itself alleging both legislative caucuses were meeting in violation of the Colorado open meeting law.Taken at face value, the allegations are devastating. Among other things, Epps and Marshall allege the caucus meetings violated the law because they were held without any public notice; deliberately concealed those meetings from the public; and members conducted legislative business using encrypted group texts.Conflicts between rank-and-file members and legislative leadership are not unusual. However, it is highly unusual for members to sue the leadership over those conflicts, especially over meetings that have existed in some form for generations of Colorado legislators. As a former speaker of the House, I’m no stranger to internal conflicts and I also understand the importance of caucus meetings to the General Assembly. In fact, one of...

UCG Takes Center Stage in Central Asia's Infrastructure Boom

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

Further afield in the riskier frontier lands, Kazakhstan’s KazMuniGas, an integrated oil and gas company, has been selling shares to foreign investors in the country’s privatization program. Foreign investors are still waiting for this IPO, estimated to be valued at around $6.5 billion.Their neighbour, Uzbekistan, is thinking the same thing as a means to capture local and global investor interest in infrastructure investments.“As one of the directors of United Cement Group (in Uzbekistan), I would like the company to develop further, including through an IPO,” said Andreas Kern, Member of the Board of Directors, of UCG.United Cement Group has a total production capacity of just over 10 million tons of cement per year. Cemex’s installed capacity is 80 million tons.An example of what UCGs corner of the world looks like: The large infrastructure project "New Tashkent", presented by the President of Uzbekistan. Smart city in Tashkent, with a total city area of 20,000 hectares. It will b...

Hollywood film festival lets athletes tell their own story Uninterrupted

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

Some of the biggest names in sports were in Hollywood Thursday night, but it wasn't just because the ESPY Awards were in Los Angeles the day before.Stars like Summer and Winter Olympian Lolo Jones, NFL player Kayvon Thibodeaux and four-time NBA champion Draymond Green were on hand for the inaugural Uninterrupted Film Festival to discuss not only their athletic accomplishments, but also the changing media landscape for athletes.In the past few years, high school and college athletes have been allowed to be compensated for their name, image and likeness — a rapid about-face from the stiff penalties for such payments in the past — and stars can skip the press entirely and reach their fans directly on social media or through a podcast. To highlight these trends and others for sports stars, the festival showed off what it called "a whole new ball game in storytelling." Uninterrupted, the athlete-empowerment brand of the SpringHill Company founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, high...

China's Shein hit with lawsuit citing RICO violations, a law originally used against organized crime

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

China's fast fashion retailer Shein is facing a lawsuit that claims the clothing maker's copyright infringement is so aggressive, it amounts to racketeering.The filing this week claims that Shein is in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, a law originally crafted to prosecute organized crime. “Shein has grown rich by committing individual infringements over and over again, as part of a long and continuous pattern of racketeering, which shows no sign of abating,” the filing says.In an organized effort to create as many as 6,000 new items per day, Shein uses a “byzantine shell game of a corporate structure” to rip off designers, a coordinated illegal operation that can best be combated through the use of RICO statutes, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit is just the latest in a series of difficulties Shein has faced. In May a bipartisan group of two dozen lawmakers asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to put the brakes on...

Nikki Hu Injured, 3 Others Killed in Wrong-Way Crash on SR-20 [Sutter County, CA]

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

3 Dead, 1 Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash near Acacia AvenueSUTTER COUNTY, CA (July 14, 2023) – Wednesday morning, Nikki Hu sustained injuries after a fatal 3-vehicle crash on State Route 20.The accident happened at 8:30 a.m. on July 5th, near Wadsworth Canal Bridge and Acacia Avenue.According to CHP, a 30-year-old man driving a 2016 Nissan Versa east on SR 20 swerved and crossed the solid double-yellow lines, colliding with a westbound Chevrolet Tahoe.As a result, a Ford F-350 pickup truck following the Tahoe rear-ended it.First responders extricated the pinned Nissan driver and pregnant woman passenger and their dog from the vehicle and took them to the hospital.Despite medical efforts, the unborn child did not make it, and the Nissan driver died as a result of his injuries.Sutter County Animal Control also responded and rushed the dog to Northpointe Animal Hospital, where he died from his injuries.The driver of the Tahoe, Nikki Hu, 45 of Yuba City, sustained minor injuries, ...

Jorge Salas Lopez, 2 Others Killed in Crash on Interstate 5 [Federal Way, WA]

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

Truck-Sedan Collision on Interstate 5 Left Three DeadFEDERAL WAY, WA (July 14, 2023) – Early Sunday morning, a vehicle crash on Interstate 5 killed Jorge Salas Lopez and two other people.The incident happened on July 9th, at around 3:50 a.m., in the area of Interstate 5 near Kitts Corner, involving a silver Acura Integra and a Chevrolet truck.According to Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson, the Acura was driven by 25-year-old Lopez with a 27-year-old and a 25-year-old passenger, and the truck was driven by a 31-year-old man.The investigation showed that Lopez collided with the Chevrolet upon approaching South 336th Street overpass at high speeds.As a result, the Chevrolet and the Acura ended up on the right shoulder of the interstate. At the time of the collision, Lopez and his two passengers were not wearing any seatbelts. Due to the impact of the collision, all three occupants of the Acura died at the scene.Meanwhile, the driver of the Chevrolet did not suffer any ...

Woman Pronounced Dead after Hit-and-Run near Story Road [San Jose, CA]

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

Deadly Hit-and-Run Incident near South White Road Left One Woman KilledSAN JOSE, CA (July 14, 2023) – Friday afternoon, a woman died following a hit-and-run crash near Story Road, police said.On July 7th, just before 2:30 p.m., officers responded to the intersection for a reported pedestrian hit-and-run.According to Sergeant Christian Camarillo, the female pedestrian was identified as homeless and she was pushing a cart when she was struck by the suspect.Furthermore, the suspect was determined to be headed southbound on White Road at the time of the collision.Consequently, the woman was then struck by two other vehicles and the drivers both remained at the scene and cooperated with the authorities.Following the events, the woman suffered extreme injuries and paramedics stated that she later succumbed to it and died.At this time, the woman’s identity was not yet released and the suspect is still at large.Further investigation is being handled by the San Jose Police Depart...

From Sparks to Claud — the New LA Weekly Playlist is Live

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

From Sparks to Claud: The 165th LA Weekly playlist, reviewing the musicians that we’ve been writing about all week, is live now. There’s electronic music from DJ Minx, R&B from Lakeyah, alt-pop from Claud, punk from Le Tigre, metal from Girlschool and Toxic Holocaust, and so much more.Find us on Spotify here,or on Soundcloud here.Don’t forget to “Like” the playlists and “Follow” the profiles.Jeff Goldblum at the Sun Rose (Michelle Shiers)From Sparks to ClaudAlso this week:Lina Lecaro wrote about the Sun Rose venue in print. Director of Talent Sharyn Goldyn said that, “T-Pain, who released his ‘Covers’ album last March, did a three-night residency at The Sun Rose that sold out in seconds. These were the only shows in the country he hosted, trading in his infamous auto tune and rapping for an evening of cover songs highlighting his unexpected, stunning vocal range that crowned him the first winner of The Masked Singer. Nicole Scherzinger, a judge on the show and former...

2 huge lottery jackpots worth a combined estimated total of $1.45 billion are up for grabs this weekend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

By Jay Croft | CNNA Mega Millions jackpot estimated at $560 million is up for grabs on Friday night.And don’t worry if things don’t go your way with that drawing. There’s another whopper offered on Saturday: a Powerball prize estimated at $875 million, according to the Powerball website.The Powerball prize is the third-largest in its history, officials said this week. A grand prize hasn’t been won since April 19, and it has “rolled over” 36 times since then.Both lotteries had drawings this week that failed to produce grand-prize winners. Both are played in 45 states.Related ArticlesCalifornia News | Letters: Share the wealth | Better education | Little changes | Overgrown forests | Fireworks enforcement California News | Powerball jackpot grows to an estimated $875 million after no winner in Wednesday’s drawing California News | Powerball prize jumps to an estimated $725 million after no jackpot winners Monday California News | ...

Make your camping trip more sustainable by swapping out this one item

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:59:14 GMT

California has a pretty efficient system set up to handle propane tanks used for barbecues. People buy a tank at full price, empty it cooking up great meals, then bring that tank back to one of thousands of retailers, where they can swap it out at half-price for one that’s already been refilled by trained professionals.That system keeps most BBQ propane tanks out of landfills, while reducing the number of tanks that need to be manufactured. It also brings the cost down for consumers, and it makes propane use safe and convenient for all parties.But we have yet to set up a similarly effective system for the estimated 4 to 7 million one-pound propane cylinders that Californians use with camping stoves each year, or for the untold numbers of smaller isobutane canisters paired with backpacking stoves. Those tanks often aren’t re-used, and they often do become hazardous waste.To date, efforts to stem the tide of single-use fuel canisters, both through legislation and by setting up reuse p...