Latest news with #DavidJones
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio lawmakers work together to ban ticket, arrest quotas for law enforcement
The Ohio legislature has proposed two bills that would make traffic ticket and arrest quotas illegal, and they are inching closer to becoming law. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7's John Bedell hears from lawmakers and the community to see how this bill could impact Ohio LIVE on News Center 7 at 6 p.m. TRENDING STORIES: Area police chief placed on paid leave pending misconduct investigation SWAT, police presence block off busy Dayton street Homicide investigation launched after body found in Dayton neighborhood Some state lawmakers hope this will help law enforcement focus on more serious crimes. Right now, there are identical companion bills in the Ohio Senate and House. They have each passed their own versions and have sent them to the other chamber. Both the House and Senate will have to agree on one bill to send to Governor DeWine. 'I think that would be a great idea to do,' David Jones from Harrison Township said. Banning traffic ticket and arrest quotas have been around the block in Ohio's legislature before, but previous bills have not made it to the governor. State lawmakers set up this bipartisan plan for companion bills in February. 'When the public believes that police officers are writing tickets based on a need to meet a weekly quota, it undermines the public trust in law enforcement,' Representative Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) said. Several law enforcement groups support this plan, including the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police as well as civil justice reform advocates. Ohio could join 25 other states that have banned these quotas. 'What our bill does is says you can't mandate a certain amount of tickets. It's just an arbitrary number,' Representative Kevin Miller (R-Newark) said. Supporters of the bills say it would allow officers to focus on other priorities, and that quotas lead to bad police-community relations. News Center 7 spoke to people in the community who say tickets can be a lot to handle for people who are already struggling. 'People are pushing to make ends meet,' Stacey Cure from Cincinnati said. The Ohio State Highway Patrol banned quotas as a part of their collective bargaining agreement. 'Yes, I've gotten a speeding ticket,' David Jones from Harrison Township said. 'They are pretty pricey for the speeding tickets that I've got.' As long as there are no changes to these companion bills, the first one to pass out of both the House and the Senate will head to the governor's desk. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
1 dead, 2 seriously hurt in head-on Darlington County crash on Interstate 20
DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — One person was killed and two people were seriously hurt after a two-vehicle crash Sunday morning on Interstate 20 in Darlington County, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said. The crash happened on eastbound Interstate 20 near mile marker 138, Cpl. David Jones said. It happened at about 5:30 a.m. A 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling east on Interstate 20 when a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe, traveling west, crossed the median into oncoming traffic and crashed with the Tahoe head-on, Jones said. The driver of the Tahoe was transported with serious injuries, the driver of the Santa Fe was pronounced dead at the scene, and a passenger in the Santa Fe was transported with life-threatening injuries. No additional information was immediately available. Count on News13 for updates. * * * Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Whipsnade Zoo lion to be renovated with tonnes of chalk
A hillside lion that is seen as a regional landmark is due to be restored using 1,100 tonnes of animal near Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire is thought to be the largest hill figure in zoo said maintaining the lion was an "enormous" job because of weed growth, but that new chalk would make the task Anne James, who helped remove weeds, described the project as "fantastic". Ms James, 74, regularly takes a rake to the steep slope to remove unwanted plants, and was volunteering there on mother saw construction of the lion in the early 1930s and her children "loved it".After two years of volunteering to clean up the lion she said "everybody is saying how wonderful it is to see it again". In 2023, the former Mayor of Dacorum Gbola Adeleke said he was concerned the figure was not being maintained properly and he offered to buy zoo said it was not for team leader Ben Mawhood said maintaining the lion was an "enormous" said the work "got a lot harder" in the 1980s when the area was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which meant pesticides could not be used and weeding must be done by hand. Volunteer David Jones, 75, said the lion was an "iconic part" of his life and a year ago the lion looked "green" because of the number of said the lion should look "brilliant" once the work was chalk was last added in 2018 and the zoo said it wanted the lion to look "spectacular" for next year's 200th anniversary of the Zoological Society of London, the charity that runs the zoo. The 147m-long (483ft) structure was designed by RB Brook-Greaves and was covered in World War Two to prevent it from assisting German pilots with new chalk is due to be laid this summer. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- CBS News
Defense for Colorado man accused of shooting teenager says gun to blame
The defense for a Colorado man accused of shooting a 17-year-old in the face last September plans to put the onus on the weapon used. "He's absolutely sorry for what happened. It was a complete mistake. It was an unintentional firing of his weapon," said defense attorney David Jones. Jones and co-counsel Chris Decker plan to make the case that the weapon used by Brent Metz in a shooting along Pleasant Park Road in Conifer was faulty and misfired. The teen survived. CBS "The facts as we understand them are he was drawing it from his truck to place it on his hip, as he was turning, the weapon went off," said Decker. Metz is very familiar with weapons and regularly carries, said the attorneys. "He's been a concealed weapon carrying permit for 18 years, he's got extensive experience with firearms," said Jones. The defense blames the functioning of the Sig Sauer P320 that Metz used. "There are a number of circumstances well documented where these weapons are going off without the intent or physical interaction of the person holding it," said Decker. "Should there be responsibility? Absolutely. And we feel that should fall on Sig Sauer." CBS There have been claims from some police officers that weapons have fired while holstered. In February, a federal judge in Georgia denied Sig Sauer's request for a new trial after a Georgia man was awarded $2.3 million after one of the P320s fired as he was holstering it. Sig Sauer did not reply to a request for comment on the allegations by Metz's attorneys. But last year, it did post a public statement about claims involving the P320. "Claims that the P320 is capable of firing without a trigger pull are without merit and have been soundly rejected as a matter of law." Still, the company did offer a free update on the weapon in 2017 and redesigned some internal parts, including the sear, a part that holds back the striker until proper pressure is applied to the trigger. Metz's gun was produced after the change, admitted Decker. "Which we believe does not and did not solve the problem here," he said. Some police departments, including Denver, do not allow the use of the weapon. "The Denver Police Department Firearm Unit evaluated the Sig Sauer P320 platform and were able to recreate safety issues, which ultimately led the department to make what we believe to be a prudent decision to disallow DPD officers' use of this firearm platform," said DPD in reply to an emailed inquiry. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the arresting agency in the Metz case, says its use of the P320 is under review. Deputies buy their own weapons, and about 8% use the P320. "We have had zero problems," said department spokesperson Jacki Kelley. CBS Metz, a town councilmember in Mountain View who is on leave after his arrest, faces a recall election next week. Whether the gun was faulty or not may not be the core issue of the case. The defense still has significant challenges, even if it claims the gun was faulty, says former prosecution attorney Raj Chohan. "Very likely the prosecution is going to say that's a bunch of nonsense, given all the context in place: pulling the vehicle in to block the other car from leaving, getting out, pointing the gun in the direction of the person who was shot, and then having the gun go off," said Cohan. Metz reportedly pulled his vehicle in front of the victim's car at an angle and got out, grabbing a gun off the seat. CBS The affidavit shows the other teenager in the car told the arriving deputy that Metz got out and walked toward their car. He "pulled a handgun from his holster and pointed it towards them," the teenager said, before it went off, firing a bullet through the windshield and into his companion's face. The 15-year-old said he heard Metz exclaim, "Oh _____, my gun went off." The defense says they will make the case that he was mistaken about the gun being pointed towards them. "We don't believe that's the case," said Jones. Among the gun safety rules published by the National Rifle Association, the first states, "Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. This is the primary rule of gun safety." At some point, the gun was pointed toward the victim to fire in that direction. Chohan believes the defense will have to put Metz on the stand to testify his version of events, which will open him to cross-examination. He said, "The question is going to be, why did you pull the gun to begin with? And if you didn't mean to use it, why was it out? And why did you block the car in?" The jury will have to weigh the motivation behind Metz's claims and any conflict with other testimony, particularly from the boys. "There's going to be some deference given to what they saw and what they remember. And the person who's got the most self-serving version of this is going to be the shooter," said Chohan. But he added that the defense is doing its job, going after the issue of intent, which is important for the most serious charge of assault in the second degree. The district attorney in Jefferson County had no comment, noting the case is pending. The next court date is in late June, and the trial will be beyond that. It will be up a judge or jury to decide the validity of the defense's arguments. "They're going to sit there and go, what makes more sense?" said Chohan.
Japan Today
16-05-2025
- Health
- Japan Today
Chewing gum is plastic pollution, not a litter problem
By David Jones Thousands of tons of plastic pollution could be escaping into the environment every year … from our mouths. Most chewing gum on sale is made from a variety of oil-based synthetic rubbers – similar to the plastic material used in car tires. If you find that thought slightly unsettling, you are not alone. I have been researching and speaking about the plastic pollution problem for 15 years. The people I talk to are always surprised, and disgusted, when they find out they've been chewing on a lump of malleable plastic. Most manufacturers just don't advertise what gum is actually made of – they dodge around the detail by listing 'gum base' in the ingredients. There's no strict definition of synthetic gum base. Chewing gum brand, Wrigley Extra partners with dental professionals around the world to promote the use of sugar-free chewing gum to improve oral health. The brand's Wrigley Oral Health Program states that: 'Gum base puts the "chew' in chewing gum, binding all the ingredients together for a smooth, soft texture. We use synthetic gum base materials for a consistent and safe base that provides longer-lasting flavor, improved texture, and reduced tackiness.' It almost sounds harmless. But chemical analysis shows that gum contains styrene-butadiene (the durable synthetic chemical used to make car tires), polyethylene (the plastic used to make carrier bags and bottles) and polyvinyl acetate (woodglue) as well as some sweetener and flavoring. The chewing gum industry is big business, worth an estimated $48.68 billion in 2025. Three companies own 75% of the market share, the largest of which is Wrigley, with an estimated 35%. There are few reliable statistics available about the amount of gum being produced, but one peer-reviewed global estimate states 1.74 trillion pieces are made per year. I examined several types of gum and found that the most common weight of an individual piece of gum is 1.4 grams – that means that globally, a staggering 2.436 million tons of gum are produced each year. About a third (30%) of that weight, or just over 730,000 tons, is synthetic gum base. If the idea of chewing plastic isn't disturbing enough, consider what happens after you spit it out. Most people have experienced discarded gum under bench seats, school desks and on street pavements. But, like other plastics, synthetic chewing gum does not biodegrade and can persist in the environment for many years. In the environment it will harden, crack and breakdown into microplastics but this can take decades. Cleaning it up is not cheap because it is labour intensive. The average cost is £1.50 per square metre and estimates suggest that the annual clean-up cost for chewing gum pollution for councils in the UK is around £7 million. There have been some efforts to address the problem. In many public locations around the UK, gum collection pots supplied by Dutch company Gumdrop Ltd have been installed to collect and recycle used gum. Signage provided by councils encouraging responsible disposal is also now a regular feature in some UK high streets, and there is a growing number of small producers offering plant-based alternatives. In the UK, the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy launched the chewing gum task force in 2021. This collaboration involves three major manufacturers who have committed to investing up to £10 million in order to clean up "historic gum staining and changing behavior so that more people bin their gum'. But, here lies the crux of the issue. The first objective implies that cleaning up gum is a solution to this form of plastic pollution; it isn't. Manufacturers making a financial contribution to clean-up efforts is like plastic manufacturers paying for litter pickers and bin bags at volunteer beach cleans. Neither addresses the root cause of the problem. Binning gum is not the solution either. Addressing gum as a plastic pollutant dictates that the prevention of gum pollution should include the well-known tenets, like all plastic pollution, of reduce, reuse, recycle and redesign. It is not only a disposal issue. Another issue that I have uncovered is definition. In the two annual reports published by the gum litter task force since its inception, there is no mention of the word pollution. The distinction between litter and pollution is important. By calling it chewing gum pollution, the narrative changes from an individual negligence issue to a corporate one. That places an onus for accountability onto the producers rather than the consumers. Single-use solutions Like single-use plastic items, chewing gum pollution needs to be tackled from all angles – education, reduction, alternatives, innovation, producer responsibility, and legislation. Educating people about the contents of gum and the environmental consequences those ingredients have will reduce consumption and encourage better disposal habits. More transparent labeling on packaging would empower shoppers to make informed choices. Stricter regulations can hold manufacturers to account – a levy tax on synthetic gum can help pay for clean ups. In turn, this would incentivize more investment in plant-based gums and other sustainable alternatives. We can all reduce the environmental consequences of this plastic pollution by kicking the gum habit, calling on councils to enforce stricter pollution penalties and encouraging governments to put a tax levy on manufacturers to fund clean ups and force them to list the contents of gum base. Throwing away any non-disposable, inorganic products is unsustainable. Chewing gum pollution is just another form of plastic pollution. It's time we start treating it as such. David Jones is Sessional Teaching Fellow, School of the Environment and Life Sciences, University of Portsmouth. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. External Link © The Conversation
