TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalVermont couple looking for family peacock among the turkeys
This undated photo taken from video provided by Rene Johnson, shows the peacock known as Pea. The bird belonging to Rene and Brian Johnson in Springfield, Vt., has been missing for six weeks since it ran off with a flock of turkeys. On Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018 the Johnson's posted a message on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Facebook page: "My peacock has run off with the turkeys. Do you have any suggestions on how to catch the little twerp?" (Rene Johnson via AP)
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont woman whose family peacock ran off with a flock of turkeys says she's hopeful to get close enough to catch it with a net.
The peacock belonging to Rene and Brian Johnson has been on the run for six weeks.
On Wednesday, the Johnsons posted a message on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Facebook page: "My peacock has run off with the turkeys. Do you have any suggestions on how to catch the little twerp?"
Rene Johnson told WCAX-TV she thinks the bird she calls Pea was lonely so it sought turkey companions.
Read more: https://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/strange_news/vermont-couple-looking-for-family-peacock-among-the-turkeys/article_bc703222-d6cf-5e7a-a7db-348b2bfcebc1.html
Shipping companies to pay $4M for dumping oil in SETX water
BEAUMONT -- Two Greek shipping companies pleaded guilty to illegally discharging oil in Texas port waters and to giving false information to authorities during the investigation process, according to information from the United States Department of Justice.
Avin International LTD and Nicos I.V. Special Maritime Enterprises pleaded guilty in Beaumont Monday to one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding, one count of failure to report discharge of oil and three counts of negligent discharge of oil.
Court records say the companies dumped oil when en route to the Port of Port Arthur from the Port of Houston in the summer of last year.
Under a plea agreement the companies will pay $4 million in criminal fines and serve four years probation, during which time they will be required to implement an environmental compliance plan and undergo inspections.
Read more: https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Greek-shipping-companies-to-pay-4-million-for-13425797.php
Write then run: Democrats pen books while weighing 2020 campaigns
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaking to a packed auditorium of enthusiastic young people Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders already seemed to be campaigning for the White House again. But the Vermont senator was appearing at George Washington University as an author — not a presidential candidate.
Sanders' new book, "Where We Go From Here," went on sale Tuesday, giving him a fresh opportunity to promote his ideas without going through the formality — yet — of launching another presidential campaign.
"What I believe from the bottom of my heart is that it is absolutely imperative that Donald Trump not be elected president of the United States of America. And I'm going to do everything that I can to make certain that that does not happen," Sanders said.
He later added that if he concludes he is the strongest candidate to take on Trump, he'll jump into the race.
Read more: https://www.oaoa.com/people/entertainment/article_126a6b94-ae77-54e5-81ce-04942faa612d.html
(Odessa American)
US waived FBI checks on staff at growing teen migrant camp
TORNILLO, Texas (AP) — The Trump administration has put the safety of thousands of teens at a migrant detention camp at risk by waiving FBI fingerprint checks for their caregivers and short-staffing mental health workers, according to an Associated Press investigation and a new federal watchdog report.
None of the 2,100 staffers at a tent city holding more than 2,300 teens in the remote Texas desert are going through rigorous FBI fingerprint background checks, according to a Health and Human Services inspector general memo published Tuesday.
"Instead, Tornillo is using checks conducted by a private contractor that has access to less comprehensive data, thereby heightening the risk that an individual with a criminal history could have direct access to children," the memo says.
In addition, the federal government is allowing the nonprofit running the facility — BCFS Health and Human Services — to sidestep mental health care requirements. Under federal policy, migrant youth shelters generally must have one mental health clinician for every 12 kids, but the federal agency's contract with BCFS allows it to staff Tornillo with just one clinician for every 100 children. That's not enough to provide adequate mental health care, the inspector general office said in the memo.
Read more: https://www.oaoa.com/news/us_news/article_1c67e4eb-5bf0-56db-8b7c-61bab50d4c91.html
(Odessa American)
SeaTac mayor resigned, gave up law license after allegations he swindled vulnerable client
On the evening of Sept. 11, SeaTac Mayor Michael Siefkes (R) made a surprise announcement.
“I have enjoyed being up here and doing this… but with some continuing health issues, and with other things, this is going to be my last council meeting,” Siefkes said at the end of a SeaTac City Council meeting. He resigned effective the next day and said he’d be leaving town.
Siefkes’ statement left a lot out.
By the time he quit, Siefkes (pronounced “Seef-kees”), an attorney specializing in elder law, was facing potential disbarment over allegations he’d wrongfully extracted as much as $300,000 from a vulnerable client, according to interviews and public records.
He also had been investigated by the King County Sheriff’s Office, with a detective last year recommending a charge of first-degree theft, though no charges were filed.
Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seatac-mayor-resigned-and-gave-up-law-license-after-allegations-he-swindled-vulnerable-client/
Politician, ex-codebreaker Baroness Trumpington dies at 96
LONDON -- British socialite, codebreaker, politician and bon vivant Jean Baker — better known by her title, Baroness Trumpington — has died. She was 96.
Son Adam Baker says she died Monday in her sleep.
Born into a wealthy family, Baker served in naval intelligence at the Bletchley Park codebreaking center during World War II.
She later became mayor of Cambridge and entered the House of Lords in 1980. She served as a whip and minister in 1980s and 90s Conservative governments.
Read more: https://www.thenewstribune.com/entertainment/celebrities/article222234035.html
Seattle reaches $75K settlement with one of ex-Mayor Murray's accusers
The city of Seattle will pay $75,000 to settle a lawsuit by the former foster son of ex-Mayor Ed Murray, who had accused Murray of misusing his official position to defame the man while fighting accusations of decades-old sexual abuse that led to the mayor’s resignation last year.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a statement Monday the negotiated settlement with Jeff Simpson allows the city to avoid the uncertainty and expense of a trial, “which helps limit further financial exposure of the taxpayer. I wish Mr. Simpson nothing but the best, and I hope this settlement allows him to move forward.”
In an interview, Simpson said he sees the settlement as a vindication and a blessing.
“My gosh. I am so grateful. I didn’t think it would be possible. Everybody told us it would not be possible,” he said. “To me, as a survivor and a victim of a sexual predator who was a powerful person, God does answer prayers.”
Read more: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/26/seattle-reaches-settlement-with-one-of-ex-mayor-mu/
Idaho regulators take testimony on Avista's sale
Hydro One Ltd.’s independence was on the stand Monday as Idaho attorneys grilled executives about the Ontario government’s influence on the utility trying to buy Avista Corp.
Most of the discussion in the Idaho Public Utilities Commission’s 6 1/2-hour hearing revolved around whether the Canadian province acts primarily as an investor in Hydro One or whether it meddles in management.
About 47 percent of Hydro One’ s stock is owned by the province of Ontario. In July, newly elected Premier Doug Ford called for the resignation of Hydro One’s board of directors and the retirement of its chief executive officer. Hydro One’s credit rating dropped as a result of the sudden ouster, which company executives said was politically driven.
“Avista is fairly well run. They’ve got good credit ratings and they’ve got some of the happiest customers in the state,” Kristine Raper, one of the three public utilities commissioners, told Hydro One executives. “They’re asking us – you’re asking us – to approve a merger.”
Read more: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/26/idaho-regulators-take-testimony-on-avistas-sale/
Federal Way Megachurch Faces Financial, Sexual-Abuse Suit
Federal Way, Washington -- On the heels of a sexual-harassment lawsuit that was recently settled against megachurch Christian Faith Center, a local attorney is gearing up to file another suit.
The suit, which attorney Joan Mell plans to file next week, will include allegations of sexual harassment, exploitation, abuse of authority, and financial corruption against former and current Christian Faith Center pastors, as well as founder and senior pastor Casey Treat and his wife, Wendy.
“The Treat enterprise is a personal for-profit enterprise or business disguised as a church,” Mell told the Federal Way Mirror during an interview at her office with the plaintiffs in the soon-to-be-filed case. “It’s really the Treat’s personal enterprise and that includes exploiting … the women and men of the church for purely personal self-gratification.”
Plaintiffs in the case include Leslie Massey, also the plaintiff in the sexual-harassment case against Treat and the church, which settled for an undisclosed amount on Oct. 9. In that case Massey claimed that Treat’s son, Caleb Treat, who was a pastor there, had sexually harassed her and other female employees and church members. The other two plaintiffs in the upcoming case include former church members Janet and Kelly Russell, who claim that another campus pastor sexually assaulted Janet.
Read more: http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/families-speak-out-as-federal-way-megachurch-faces-financial-sexual-abuse-suit/
Two Doofuses Pulled Off One of Mexico's Greatest Art Heists
It's the subject of Alonso Ruizpalacios's hypnotically beautiful new film, Museo.Two huge events happened in Mexico City in 1985 that shook the entire country. First, there were the literal shakes: In the early morning of September 19, 1985, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck the greater Mexico City area. The quake was almost 220 miles away from the city, but since it's precariously built on top of an ancient lake bed, around 412 buildings collapsed and the quake caused the deaths of at least 5,000 people. A second earthquake would hit Mexico City the following April with a magnitude of 7.0. The tremors left the whole city exposed.
The second event that rocked Mexico City was confined to just one location, the city's National Museum of Anthropology and History, but the aftershocks of the event extended across the entire globe. On Christmas Eve, while the guards were drunk, thieves took advantage of the museum's faulty alarm system and got away with around 125 Mayan, Aztec, Miztec, and Zapotec artifacts. The country panicked.
Most of the theories around who stole the items involved foreigners, with many suggesting that the CIA or KGB were behind the heist. (In 1972, a Mexican law banned the sale of pre-Columbian objects for private collections. People argued this theft was an example of how foreigners were getting around that law.) "It’s no secret to anybody that pre-Hispanic pieces stolen from different zones of our country leave Mexico daily, to be taken principally to the United States, a country which, lacking its own valuable cultural antecedents robs or buys others," wrote the columnist Joel Hernandez Santiago in the weekly newspaper Punto.
But three and a half years later, federal officials retrieved nearly all of the stolen artifacts and arrested two men who were behind the theft: Carlos Perches Trevino and Ramon Sardina Garcia. Far from KGB operatives, the men were two ordinary guys who "visited the museum more than 50 times, made sketches and plans, then jumped the fence, crawled through an air-conditioning duct and looted seven display cases before dawn on Christmas Day, 1985," according to the New York Times.
Read more: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/11/26/36181812/two-doofuses-pulled-off-one-of-mexicos-greatest-art-heists
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