Today in History: Disneyland opens
Today in History:
On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, after its $17 million, yearlong construction; the park drew a million visitors in its first 10 weeks.
Also on this date:
In 1862, during the Civil War, Congress approved the Second Confiscation Act, which declared that all slaves taking refuge behind Union lines were to be set free.
In 1902, Willis Carrier produced a set of designs for what would become the world's first modern air-conditioning system.
In 1918, Russia's Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began as right-wing army generals launched a coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic.
In 1944, during World War II, 320 men, two-thirds of them African-Americans, were killed when a pair of ammunition ships exploded at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California.
In 1945, following Nazi Germany's surrender, President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II.
In 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower link-up of its kind.
In 1981, 114 people were killed when a pair of suspended walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a tea dance.
In 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Europe-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long Island, New York, shortly after departing John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people on board.
In 2014, all 298 passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine; both Ukraine's government and pro-Russian separatists denied responsibility.
In 2020, civil rights icon John Lewis, whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who went on to a long and celebrated career in Congress, died at age 80.
In 2022, a report said nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to a mass shooting that left 21 people dead at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, but 'egregiously poor decision-making' resulted in a chaotic scene that lasted more than an hour before the gunman was finally confronted and killed.
Today's Birthdays: Former sportscaster Verne Lundquist is 85. Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom is 78. Rock musician Terry 'Geezer' Butler is 76. Actor Lucie Arnaz is 74. Actor David Hasselhoff is 73. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is 71. Film director Wong Kar-wai is 67. Television producer Mark Burnett is 65. Singer Regina Belle is 62. Country music artist Craig Morgan is 61. Rock musician Lou Barlow is 59. Actor Bitty Schram (TV: 'Monk') is 57. Actor Jason Clarke is 56. Movie director F. Gary Gray is 56. Country singer Luke Bryan is 49. Film director/screenwriter Justine Triet is 47. R&B singer Jeremih is 38. Actor Billie Lourd is 33. NHL center Connor Bedard is 20.
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CBS News
18 hours ago
- CBS News
Philadelphia teachers prepare for possible strike if a deal is not reached by Aug. 31
With the first day of school just weeks away, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is preparing for a possible strike. Teachers made picket signs and posters during an event for members Wednesday in Northeast Philadelphia. The union is asking for an end to the school district's controversial sick leave policy, which it says punishes teachers for using sick days and requires them to meet with their principal after taking three days. The union also wants paid parental leave, extra pay for oversized classes and the restoration of school libraries. Union members have already authorized a strike in case a deal is not reached by Aug. 31, when the one-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement ends. The first day of school for students in the district is Aug. 25. In a statement, the School District of Philadelphia said it "continues to actively participate in conversations with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and engage in good faith negotiations with the hope of securing a new contract as soon as possible." "More than 50 years of research shows that the single most important factor in student academic growth is a highly qualified, well-supported and stable teacher as well as principal over time. We look forward to working with the PFT on a proposal that honors the hard work of our educators," the statement says in part. The district is "optimistic" it can reach an agreement with the union, the statement says. The union, which represents nearly 14,000 teachers and other professionals in the district, also has strike preparation events planned for August 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, according to the union's website.
Chicago Tribune
21 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Historic St. Charles home to remain for now, after City Council denies request to demolish it
A historic house in downtown St. Charles, which recently made a state nonprofit's list of the most endangered historic places in Illinois, will remain for now, after the City Council Monday night denied its owner's request to demolish it. Owned by Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, the house at 217 Cedar Ave. has for years faced an uncertain future, as its owner has pursued city approval to tear it down and reuse the space. The house at 217 Cedar Ave. is also referred to as the Judge William D. Barry House, for its original owner. William D. Barry was a lawyer, a Kane County judge around the time of the Civil War and the first president of the Kane County Bar Association, who may have known Abraham Lincoln, according to former board president of the St. Charles History Museum Steve Gibson. Gibson has been researching Barry and the house since 2017, when he sat on the city's Historic Preservation Commission that first voted against demolishing the house. The building dates back to the 1840s, according to Gibson's history written for the St. Charles History Museum. Because it's located within the city's Historic District, exterior changes to the building must be reviewed by the city and its owners must receive a certificate of appropriateness before it can be demolished. The church brought a request about the property to the city in 2017, according to past reporting, but its application was withdrawn before the City Council could vote on the house's fate. In 2017, the church proposed creating a green space and prayer garden on the site, per the city. More recently, the church's pitch has been to turn it into parking spaces, citing a need for additional parking in the area, its financial situation and other concerns. Baker Memorial also owns the buildings at 211-215 Cedar Ave. and the parking lots to the south, west and north of the buildings, according to past reporting. The city's Historic Preservation Commission in 2017 OK'd the demolition of the structure at 211-215 Cedar Ave., but not the house at 217 Cedar Ave., per city documents. In October, the city's Historic Preservation Commission recommended the City Council deny the more recent request for a certificate of appropriateness to demolish the Judge Barry House, based on findings about the building's significance and architecture. In December, it went on to the City Council's Planning and Development Committee, which ultimately postponed making a decision so city staff and the church could discuss their options. From there, the city and the church continued to discuss the house's future, including whether the city could purchase it from Baker Memorial, but they were unable to reach an agreement. So the matter went back to the City Council Planning and Development Committee in May and was recommended for approval, despite facing some opposition from residents and advocates. But a final City Council vote on the fate of the house was delayed because of offers to buy the house or move the structure off the property, according to past reporting. That brings the matter to Monday's meeting, when the City Council took up the issue again. But the council did not deliver the church its long-awaited green light to take down the house and put up the parking they have been expressing a need for. Mayor Clint Hull noted the months-long conversations that have been going on among the city, church and those advocating for preservation. 'The goal has been and always will be to continue to find a solution that would be what I would characterize, and many characterize, as a win-win,' Hull said Monday evening. 'That win-win would allow the church to sell the property at a fair-market value and would also preserve the Barry House for future use.' In their conversations, Hull said three options were being considered: Baker Memorial selling the house at a fair-market value to a person or organization that would preserve it, the church selling or giving the structure itself to a person or organization that would move it off the property and, lastly, the church selling the property to the city. But none of those options were achieved. Hull said he has reflected on his own background as a Kane County judge as this issue has made its way through the city. 'When you make a decision like this, at the city council level or at a courtroom, you understand that people are very passionate on both sides of the issue,' Hull said. 'I have asked myself over the past three months, 'What would Judge Barry expect the City Council to do?'' He said he thinks Judge Barry would have wanted the City Council to research and understand all the facts, listen to both sides and keep an open mind, deliberate and reflect and make the decision transparently and communicate that decision. 'I can guarantee you that the City Council members that are here tonight have done all that and more,' he said at the meeting. City Council member Jayme Muenz, who shortly after voted against allowing the building to be demolished, emphasized that many residents are concerned about a reverence for history. 'I also feel that there is a precedent that is set when you make changes to historic structures,' Muenz said. 'You decide for the entire community what that value is.' Council member Vicki Spellman, who also voted against the house's demolition, said the issue is not just about the historic significance of the home, which has been debated, but the neighborhood it exists in. 'To me, it's not just a home,' Spellman said. 'I do think that it would affect the character of the neighborhood.' Ultimately, the request to allow for demolition was shot down, with three council members voting for it and seven voting against. Baker Memorial United Methodist Church did not immediately return The Beacon-News' request for comment. Al Watts, the community engagement director of local nonprofit Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley, told The Beacon-News on Tuesday that, with demolition not an option, the Preservation Partners could assist the church with applications for grant money to do maintenance on the house, connect them with contractors or help them get information on the value of their property if they were to sell, for example. Watts explained that members of the Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley are 'always going to be happier' that a historic building was preserved rather than demolished, but said they also don't want to see such buildings deteriorate and become a problem. 'The number one thing about historic preservation is if the building doesn't have a use, then it's never going to get saved,' Watts said. 'It's going to, eventually, it's going to get demolished one way or the other, either just because it'll literally fall down or because it'll just be too much of a problem that somebody has to knock it down. This building is not in that category yet, but, if nothing is done, eventually it will be.' But what happens next remains to be seen. 'This is just one vote,' Hull said at Monday's meeting. 'The city is committed to continuing to work together with both sides to continue to try to figure out if we can achieve that goal of a win-win.'
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
In photos: The atomic bombing of Hiroshima 80 years ago
Wednesday marks the 80th anniversary of the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan — an event that helped end World War II but also brought the world into the nuclear age and the Cold War. Japan uses the anniversary to commemorate the lives of the Hibakusha, survivors of the bombing, and asks the world to heed the dangers of nuclear war. The big picture: Here are some images from this crucial moment in world history.
