Latest news with #Cravens
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate Bill 68 requires schools to regulate student phone use
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Cell phones at school are the focus of a bill passed in Jefferson City this week. Carthage settles lawsuit with former city administrator Choosing the right storm shelter Volunteers revive history in Carthage for Great Americans Day Asbury shutting off water temporarily for repair work Six months in, Joplin police see success with Co-Responder program Senate Bill 68 has been passed by both the State House and Senate and has been sent to the Governor's desk for approval. Senate Bill 68 requires school districts to adopt a policy about students' use of cell phones while on campus. Many districts, like Joplin, already have one in place, but this would make it statewide. East Middle School principal, Jason Cravens says his students aren't allowed to use phones in school—which minimizes distractions and cuts down on their looking up answers online. 'That's not helpful in an educational environment where we want them to do their own work. And then also you have social connections, and we want kids interacting face to face and learning good social skills in person,' said Cravens. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Why Middle Tennessee isn't under a freeze warning Wednesday morning
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Temperatures are forecasted to drop near and below freezing across all of Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky on Wednesday morning. Freeze warnings or frost advisories have been issued in Southern Kentucky, West Tennessee, and North Alabama, but not in Middle Tennessee. News 2 spoke to the National Weather Service in Nashville to learn why. According to Caleb Cravens, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Nashville, frost advisories and freeze warnings will only be issued during the growing season. He said they use past weather data and spoke with local farmers to determine the growing season to be from May 1st until September 30th. 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → 'In this area we standardize our frost advisories and our freeze warnings and we only issue them when it's outside of climatological normal to see freezing temperatures, and so in Middle Tennessee on average our last freeze is going to be between April 10th and the 15th, and because of that, because it's not unnormal to see freezing temperatures until April 10th or 15th we will not issue a frost advisory or freeze warning before that date,' Cravens told News 2. Along with Nashville, the National Weather Service office in Morristown, Tennessee, also follows these dates, while other surrounding offices follow different criteria. The offices that change their criteria year to year are in communication with local farmers to determine when to start issuing frost advisories and freeze warnings. National Weather Service Huntsville meteorologist Dan Dixon said, 'The growing season is primarily based on the status of growing vegetation in our region.' ⏩ All the different criteria can be confusing. So the easiest way to know if you are going to get a frost is to watch the News 2 Weather Authority team's forecasts! Don't forget to take the power and reliability of the WKRN Weather Authority with you at all times by downloading the News 2 Storm Tracker app. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trouble brewing: Tariffs hit Spokane coffee roasters already facing higher prices
Apr. 6—Crop conditions already made a cup of Joe more expensive in Spokane, but the announcement this week of new tariffs on the countries that produce coffee beans will bring even more uncertainty, and, mostly likely, higher prices. "Essentially, the whole system of buying coffee has broken," Simon Thompson, founder of Spokane-based Cravens Coffee Co., said. "The tariffs are just another break in that mechanism." Cravens sources coffee beans from 11 countries for its variety of blends that includes Mission Mountain, Montana Jacks and Spokane Express. Bobby Enslow, owner of Indaba Coffee, said he's already had to raise wholesale prices that he charges restaurants and stores as a result of a poor crop in Brazil, which leads the world in coffee production. He noted that he may be insulated, somewhat, from the decision this week by President Donald Trump to hit U.S. trading partners with new tariffs, because he paid for contracts a year ago for the coffee beans he's using today. "So, all the coffee we will be serving for the next year, that price has been locked for the majority of our coffee," he said. Asked if those deliveries will face tariffs even though they've already been paid, Enslow said he didn't know. "I haven't dealt with that," he said. "I'm still figuring this out. We are only a couple days into this. They may choose to pass that cost to us. I don't know how it's going to play out." As of Friday, Thompson said he had coffee beans, which are shipped unroasted and green, on transport ships headed to Spokane when the tariffs hit. He believes he'll have to pay higher duties to get that already-purchased coffee to the Lilac City. "If it has not left the country of origin, it will be tariffed," Thompson said. "Even if the coffee is on the water, the chances are it's going to be tariffed." Tariffs are charged by the importing country. If a 250 -pound bag of coffee costs $100, for example, a 10% tariff would force the roaster to pay $110 to get those beans into the U.S. "We buy coffee directly from Costa Rica," Thompson said. "We've been doing it for 18 years with the same guy. That coffee hasn't left yet. They said they are not going to tariff us. They will absorb it. But going forward, they will have to tariff future coffee." Growing conditions Even before the announcement this week, coffee prices had risen to a 47-year high, Thompson said. He explained that both Brazil, which produces arabica beans, and Vietnam, which produces the robusta beans mostly used in commercial-grade coffee, had crop failures last year. In addition, demand for beans has increased because of more coffee drinkers in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and China. "All those things happened, which caused coffee to rise in price," Thompson said. "That has already meant that any roaster who wants to stay in business has had to raise their prices." Aaron Jordan, owner of Roast House Coffee, said it's not an exact science, but a spike in coffee prices hits by a multiplier of four. "If you face a 50-cent cost hike, it might mean a $2 raise in prices to the customer," Jordan said. "It's only pennies per cup. But if a pound of coffee goes from $15 or $16 to $18, that seems like a lot to the consumer." Like Enslow, Jordan still doesn't know what the tariffs will mean to his business. "We haven't heard anything from our suppliers, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a 10-to-20% increase," he said. Much of the uncertainty comes from different rules. For instance, coffee from Brazil will likely face a 10% tariff. Vietnam, however, will face a staggering 46% tariff. Thompson said he uses Sumatra beans, which are only grown in Indonesia, in every blend he makes. That country was hit with a 32% tariff. "The hits just keep on coming," he said. "There will be tariffs on every coffee that we buy, except Mexico, because Mexico cut a deal. We've seen swings before, but nothing ever like this in 30 years. This is as volatile as we've ever seen it." Coffee is particularly vulnerable to price pressures because there are only so many places where it can be grown. Most coffee is produced in countries located along the equator. Jordan, of Roast House, said he sources organic beans from Colombia, Brazil and Ethiopia. "Essentially, the supply chain for coffee is the farmer, the mill that processes it as a product, then an exporter to legally export it and then an importer. Then it comes to us," he said. "So, you have two governments you have to navigate. We are waiting to see how the other countries respond." Thompson said the only coffee grown in the U.S. is in Hawaii and a little in California, but he said both regions only have what he called a "hobby farm" level of production. Technically, coffee could be grown in Brownsville, Texas, but only if it somehow rose about 5,000 feet above sea level and started to have about 70 inches of rainfall a year, he said. "We can't grow coffee in the U.S. The conditions just aren't there," Thompson said. That leaves the dozen or so roasters in Spokane at the end of a long supply chain full of uncertainty. "Everything is moving so quickly. If it doesn't even itself out, pricing will be impacted," Thompson said. "There is only so much the consumer can afford when it comes to coffee. Roasters need to be cognizant of that."
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Feds offering up to $2K reward for info on 'Black-Clad Bandits' who robbed ATM in NE ABQ
Mar. 24—The FBI and Albuquerque Police Department are looking for two men who police said took money from a Bank of America ATM last month. On Feb. 21, two men — known as "Black-Clad Bandits" — went to Bank of America in the 11900 block of Copper, near Juan Tabo, forced an ATM maintenance technician to the ground then took an undisclosed amount of money from the ATM, FBI Albuquerque Division spokesperson Margot Cravens said in a news release Monday. Both men are described as Black with slim builds. During the incident, they wore dark pants and face masks, according to the FBI. One of the men had on a black Nike hoodie while the other wore a dark blue hoodie, Cravens said. The FBI is offering up to a $2,000 reward for information leading to their arrests and convictions, she said. If anyone has information, Cravens said, people can contact the FBI at 505-889-1300 or Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 505 843-STOP.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
After severe weather, cold front hits Nashville area: 'A little taste of winter again'
After a bout of severe weather hit Middle Tennessee leading to tornado warnings, flash flooding and strong thunderstorms, the National Weather Service in Nashville says temperatures are expected to drop to near or below freezing as the region dries out. Tennessean's can often be heard saying, 'If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes'. And that seems to be the case this week, as the region moves from a severe weather system to freezing temperatures at night and dry conditions later this week. Flash floods have been reported across the region Sunday after a significant weather system brought anywhere from half an inch to 6.5 inches of rain recorded in Bedford County, the National Weather Service in Nashville said. Between 1.26 inches and 4.39 inches of rain were recorded in the Nashville area. Flooding concerns continue to linger Sunday morning. 'Several of our rivers and creeks are still in flood stage, so we still have several flood warnings and flood advisories out for those across the Midstate,' NWS Nashville Meteorologist Caleb Cravens said. Live updates: At least 30 dead as tornadoes and extreme weather push across US The National Weather Service in Nashville deployed a survey team Sunday morning to assess if any tornadoes touched down in Middle Tennessee over the weekend. Across the U.S., the severe weather led to at least 30 deaths in five states. Nearly three dozen counties in Tennessee were under a tornado watch and at least one warning was issued for parts of Rutherford County on Saturday. More: Tornado warning issued for parts of Rutherford County, tornado watch for Middle Tennessee A wind advisory was issued ahead of the storm front Friday. Wind speeds were recorded as high as 61 mph in Bedford County and 51 mph winds were reported in Williamson County. 'Through the day today as our team goes through the counties where we issued those warnings, where we have reports of damage, we'll be able to make that decision if there was anything confirmed,' Cravens said. Good news? We're past the severe weather, he said. 'We're actually going into some relief," he said. As a cold front moves into the region Sunday, temperatures will drop overnight. 'We're gonna get a little taste of winter again,' he said. Temperatures near or below freezing are expected Sunday night. 'Right around 28-32 degrees (Fahrenheit) tonight across the whole Midstate as that cold front moves through today,' Cravens said. Cooler temperatures are expected Monday morning, upper 50s to near 60 for the highs. 'But after that we warm up again,' he said. Middle Tennessee can expect to see mid to upper 70s by Tuesday and Wednesday. There's a chance of rain showers beginning Wednesday, but Cravens said the region will dry back out into the second half of the week with spring-like temperatures in the mid 60s. As Middle Tennessee dries out from the severe weather weekend, a marginal fire concern may present in some areas on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons. 'There will be a little bit of an elevated risk for fire weather … we just caution folks against burning outdoors and things like that,' he said. Burn bans are issued at the county level based on individual, local criteria. 'That's going to be up to the cities on what they decide to do," he said. "It doesn't look quite that bad though, I don't think anyone will be doing anything like that.' Contact local authorities for local restrictions and active burn bans in your area. Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Weather in Nashville: After storms, freezing temps, dry air ahead
