Latest news with #Alderman
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Deputies: Two men arrested for animal neglect after 6 dogs rescued from Polk County Home
On May 30, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said they arrested two men on multiple counts of animal neglect after discovering six dogs living in awful conditions inside a home that had no power or ventilation. Deputies said when they arrived at the scene, they were unable to contact anyone at the residence but could hear multiple dogs inside. The temperature inside the home was measured at 107 degrees Fahrenheit. The dogs were visibly panting, and the interior of the house was littered with trash, feces, and urine, according to PCSO. In one of the bedrooms, deputies said they found trash piled up to the ceiling, making it difficult to navigate through the house, forcing them to climb over items and through excrement to move around. Deputies said when they found the dogs, their temperatures reached as high as 105 degrees Fahrenheit. During the investigation, 29-year-old Alan Alderman and 65-year-old Thornton Arnold arrived at the property where they claimed only two of the dogs belonged to them, stating that three belonged to Alderman's girlfriend, who is currently in jail, and they were unaware of the existence of the sixth dog. Both men were arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail. All dogs were taken to Polk County Animal Control for medical evaluation and treatment. Deputiesa said Alderman and Arnold were both charged with six counts of animal neglect, a first degree misdemeanor. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City council follow-up on Enmarket Arena parking lot
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — After a heated city council meeting yesterday over the new Enmarket arena parking lot that, if completed, will be the most expensive parking lot in Georgia's history. 29 million dollars. That's how much money the City of Savannah would spend on the flat surface Enmarket Arena parking lot if the new 14-million-dollar proposal gets approved at the workshop set to take place in two weeks. 'Council members have a right to be outraged right now, and the public has a right to be outraged because we burned through $15 million so far,' Nick Palumbo District 4 Alderman said. 'The same contractor has billed us for an additional $1.9 million, which we have not paid. And the city is now recommending that we continue with the same contractor for another $14 million. I think, honestly, we need to ask whether or not they're going to be able to finish the job. What has changed on the site to render this recommendation?' According to the cities contract, they are required to remediate the site due to the soil in the area being contaminated. Palumbo said there are a lot of other less expensive ways to fulfill their obligations. 'The alternatives include we don't have a sidewalk that runs east to west from the arena to the site,' Palumbo said. 'We don't have a bike lane that runs east to west, from the arena to the site, you know, where all of the hotels and parking are downtown. We don't have a safe mobility connection that runs east to west that's there.' Palumbo said other council members agree with him that the parking lot is not needed and would add no value to the city or the patrons who call it home. 'It is in the 100-year flood plain adjacent to the Springfield Canal, surface parking produces the heat island effect, making our environment worse. And it really doesn't add any value to the community whatsoever, outside of just more convenient parking for the arena and for those arena patrons, perhaps,' Palumbo said. The workshop is set for May 22, and they will be taking a deep dive into the budget and other options available instead. We will keep you updated as we learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
14-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
Looming federal cuts spark confusion and worries among Denver nonprofits
The executive director for the mental health nonprofit Caring for Denver says slashed federal funding could lead to higher demand for its already-scarce grant dollars. Why it matters: As local nonprofits scramble to determine how cuts will affect their ability to provide services, those that don't rely on federal dollars, like Caring for Denver, are trying to see how they can step in. By the numbers: The nonprofit, which generates its grant money through local sales tax, provided $43.7 million in 103 grants to 98 organizations supporting mental health programs last year, documents show. State of play: Colorado is home to 34,251 nonprofits contributing roughly $62 billion in total economic impact, including supporting 262,000 jobs, per a 2024 report from the Colorado Nonprofit Association. "We're already seeing the strain across the sector, but it's the Coloradans who depend on these services who stand to lose the most," Paul Lhevine, Colorado Nonprofit Association president & CEO, said in a statement. Context: Cuts from the Department of Health and Human Services are worrying some Caring for Denver grantees, the nonprofit's executive director Lorez Meinhold says. "We're all trying to understand how we can best support, but we also cannot replace all the dollars that have been lost, or still may be lost," Meinhold tells us. Caveat: Meinhold emphasizes Caring For Denver's money can only be used for programs supporting mental health and substance use treatments. Zoom in: The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless last year received just over $300,000 from Caring For Denver to provide recovery and housing support for its Native American services program. Already, the Coalition this year lost federal money that paid for two staffers who helped families get housing and a FEMA grant that provided hotel and motel vouchers for homeless families, spokesperson Cathy Alderman tells us. Those were relatively low-cost line items — roughly $240,000 total — but still impactful, Alderman says. Threat level:"What we are anticipating, and it's very worrisome, is the upcoming potential cuts to Medicaid and potential cuts to HUD," Alderman tells us. That could put some people's housing at risk, Alderman says, because it could mean losing money for direct rental payments. Losing Medicaid would be interrelated, she says: "If people don't have Medicaid coverage, they're less likely to pay for housing." What's next: Nonprofits serving the local LGBTQ+ community are also bracing for blowback.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Va. lawmaker's federal PEER Support Act aims to bolster recovery specialists
The U.S. Capitol is shown on March 14, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) As someone with the lived experience of battling addiction — to include the criminal record that often goes hand in hand with the disease — Rachel Alderman is among the best-suited people to help others cope. Alderman is a peer recovery specialist and community health worker at the Community Health Center of the New River Valley, where she helps people overcome drug addiction. Lately, she's felt a fresh sense of pride in her role, since new federal and state efforts to support these types of mental health workers have made headway. But it's often been challenging for professionals like her to land their dream job because it's common for people coping with substance use disorders to have also entered the criminal justice system. Then their past convictions, time-served, probation status or fines still owed can prevent them from obtaining many types of jobs. In Alderman's case, her possession charges could have prevented her from working in the field, if not for law changes and permissive employers. While private or nonprofit organizations have been able to more freely hire people with certain criminal records, state or federal-funded facilities often can't. Virginia state lawmakers have chipped away at some of these barriers over the years and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, now hopes to support those efforts nationwide. Peer recovery specialists like Alderman interface directly with patients and collaborate with clinical social workers or medical officers to help patients address their physical and mental health while they try to overcome their addiction. Alderman always had an interest in working in the mental health field, but her struggles with substance use disorder held her back. When she was seeking care from clinicians, she said it was a visit with a peer recovery specialist who helped her both recover and realize her professional pathway was still possible. 'I knew my clinicians cared about me. I knew that they wanted to see me get better, but they didn't really get (how addiction feels). And then this guy comes in, and somehow he's figured it out,' Alderman explained. 'So I'm like 'Well he did it, so maybe I'll listen to his suggestions that I might have been hard-headed against at first.'' This week, Kaine and Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks introduced the Providing Empathetic and Effective Recovery (PEER) Support Act. If it becomes law, it would direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the U.S. Department of Justice to study states' screening processes for peer support specialists and examine which factors are barriers for certification or hiring. This matters, Kaine said, because not every state has taken the steps to reform that workforce the way that Virginia has. The bill would also direct the U.S. Office of Management and Budget to revise the Standard Operational Classification system to recognize peer support specialists as a profession to help ensure data reporting on the field. His bill is 'driven by conversations' he's had with his constituents around the state, Kaine said. 'It is only acts like this bill that hopefully will allow for these changes to be made,' said Michelle Brauns, Community Health Center of New River Valley's CEO. Kaine also suggested that he believes his bill can inspire more public esteem for the work peer support specialists do. 'Let's raise the respect for this profession,' Kaine said. Alderman said it could also boost respect for people recovering from addictions. 'We're often seen as less-than or not a whole person,' Alderman said. 'This kind of recognition on this kind of level really feels good.' While his efforts at the federal level can't overwrite the way states regulate their professionals, Kaine said that the PEER Act can help guide the way for states to rethink how they regulate peer recovery specialists. It's something Virginia has already been tackling. Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, and Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington, passed legislation to prevent certain criminal convictions from barring people from peer recovery work. Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed their bills last year. Other barriers have also been addressed in the statehouse, such as a bill this year by Del. Katrina Callsen, D-Charlottesville, which t eliminates the need to have paid off any owed fines or fees to be considered for peer recovery jobs. Youngkin signed this bill, too. 'If you can't get a job that you're best-poised to do, how do we expect people to ever be able to pay?' Price said. Price also emphasized the racial disparities at play in the criminal justice system. She noted that people of color are more likely to have interactions with law enforcement, so people of color with substance use disorders are also more likely to serve time as a result of their disease. But the bipartisan work she and others have achieved in this space is something she wants to see continue. While Kaine has introduced his bill previously, he's said he is hopeful this time it will gain more traction and pass, particularly since it has bipartisan support from numerous cosponsors. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Say yes to the dress — at a higher price
SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — You can still say yes to the dress, but tariffs will likely increase its cost. President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs Wednesday as part of a plan to boost U.S. manufacturing and punish other countries for what the president says are unfair trade practices. The big concern — the impact on you. Trump announces sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs 'Foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once-beautiful American dream,' Trump said in an announcement Wednesday declaring a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries, as well as higher tariff rates on dozens of countries running trade surpluses with the U.S. Tariffs are impacting everyday life, including the biggest day of your life — your wedding. One of the biggest expenses for a bride-to-be is that show-stopping dress. Allison Alderman, owner of Virginia's Daughter Bridal Boutique in Suffolk, is just one of several shop owners who will be affected by Trump's tariffs, meant to boost U.S. manufacturing and punish other countries for what he calls unfair trade practices. 'We were just coming in this morning to take a look at some of the increases to update some of our prices,' Alderman said. A lot more goes into a gown than one might think, and it all adds up, 'including the materials and veils, the accessories and whatnot. So we have to mark up our prices accordingly. Alderman said she may have to mark up her dresses from anywhere between $100 to $200 more to compensate for the tariffs. And while brides should budget accordingly, Alderman said she tries to work with customers on that. 'We were just coming in this morning to take a look at some of the increases to update some of our prices,' Alderman said.A lot more goes into a gown than you might think–that all adds up.'Including the materials and veils, the accessories and what not. So, we have to mark up our prices accordingly,' she says she may have to mark up her dresses anywhere between $100 to $200 more to compensate for the tariffs. A bride should budget accordingly, but Alderman says they try to work with customers on that.'We try to make it easier for them by offering a payment plan,' Alderman said. 'We only require half down to order your dress, while the second half can be made with payments as we wait for it to come in. They're pretty much understanding. Prices are increasing everywhere. So the weddings aren't the exception. They're increasing here too.'Alderman opened in 2021 just after the pandemic — so business was good. Now, the future is a little more uncertain. She's hopeful people will be willing to pay more. 'I hope so,' she said. 'It'll keep me in business.' Alderman carries dresses by four designers in her shop, and only one of them is based in the U.S. She said she might be ordering more from that designer in the future. Other options for brides on a budget include local thrift or consignment stores. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
