Latest news with #DeLaRosa
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Winner will make history as Harris, DeLaRosa vie in Bastrop's mayoral runoff election
Ishmael Harris and Wille DeLaRosa are once again knocking on doors trying to convince Bastrop's voters that they are the right person to be mayor. On May 3, Harris won nearly 49% of the vote in a three-way race, coming just short of winning outright and avoiding a runoff. DeLaRosa finished second and won a spot in the runoff by earning 34% of the vote. Ward Northcutt placed third with 17% of the 1,285 votes cast. Whoever wins on June 7 will make city history. Harris could become Bastrop's first Black mayor and DeLaRosa would be its first Latino leader since the City Council started meeting in 1837, said city historian Ken Kesselus. The winner will serve one year to finish the term of former Mayor Lyle Nelson, who resigned in January following tensions created by an investigation into alleged financial mismanagement of the city's tourism board. Third-party investigators could not prove that Nelson knew of any misused funds. Harris said he was not frustrated about almost winning the May 3 race. "I just think it was pretty good I got so close to 50%," he said. More: Northcutt, Harris, DeLaRosa vying to be Bastrop's next mayor in May 3 election Both candidates said they are focusing on spreading their message and encouraging residents to take the time to vote. In the May election, 1,285 of Bastrop's 53,000 registered voters cast ballots in the special mayor's race. It's difficult, DeLaRosa said, to get voters to show up for a runoff election. "I'm working very hard to get voters out by visiting neighborhoods, talking to people in their driveways, in their yards, at the grocery store, at restaurants and anywhere I see them," he said. Harris said he has hosted meet-and-greet events and is planning to visit neighborhoods to connect with residents. "I've also had more people reach out to me with support since the time of the runoff announcement," he said. "It seems like a different demographic. The older population are contacting me." Northcutt did not respond to a request for comment about whether he is endorsing anyone in the runoff. DeLaRosa, 69, has served 27 years on the Bastrop City Council and and spent nine years working for the city's economic development corporation. He is a retired U.S. Postal Service carrier. Harris, 43, has served 1½ years on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission and has worked for 21 years for the city of Austin's water department, where he is a supervisor at a wastewater treatment plant. He ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2019. DeLaRosa said he is the best candidate because of his experience on the City Council. "Nobody in this race understands the budget process better than I do," he said. As a member of the city's economic development corporation, he said he helped bring Buc-ee's to town. DeLaRosa also said he can bring needed stability to the council. "I think the council was in a disruptive mode for a year because of what was going on with the former mayor," he said. "It just broke apart the council. I think we have good council members. I know all four of them very well and I can sit down and visit with each one of them and understand where we need to go and how to get there." More: Bastrop Mayor Lyle Nelson resigns ahead of possible move to hold recall election DeLaRosa said his goals, if elected, include attracting development that would "not only protect our neighborhoods, but historic areas and the overall quality of our life." He also wants to reduce traffic congestion in a central area of the city, bounded by Texas 304, Blakey Road, FM 969 and the Texas 71 frontage road. "It's the worst area in town," he said. DeLaRosa said public safety also is an important priority for him. "My focus is making sure seniors and kids are safe in our community," he said. If he wins the election, DeLaRosa said he doesn't plan to run again for mayor. Harris said if he wins, he does plan to run again for a full three-year term. "I feel that I'm the right person for the job due to my lifelong relationships that I've developed with the people of Bastrop by growing up here, coaching here and living here," said Harris. Harris said his experience coaching young people in basketball, football, soccer, and softball, along with his achievements on the zoning commission, will serve him well in leading the city. "There's a lot of things I've had my hand in including developing (Americans with Disabilities) access at Delgado Park," he said. His primary goals, if elected, include "reestablishing trust between the citizens, the City Council and the mayor," he said. Harris also wants to address traffic congestion, upgrade city parks and open a new recreation center for the city. The current recreation center doesn't have basketball courts, a swimming pool, or a gym with workout equipment, he said. If pending legislation passes in the Texas Legislature, the city could secure funding for a new convention center and repurpose the current one as a recreation center, Harris said. He also hopes to bring a larger hospital to Bastrop. "The city has a smaller hospital, but you can't have major surgeries there," he said. The city has Ascension Seton Health Center Bastrop that provides emergency, primary and specialty care and rehab services. Early voting starts May 27 and ends June 3. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 7. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Harris, DeLaRosa to face off in Bastrop's mayoral runoff on June 7
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘In the dark': Bills tracking impact of Texas' truancy courts on kids not likely to pass
Editor's Note: The video at the top of the story is from our original reporting on a lack of truancy court data. AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Independent School District released data showing how often it referred kids to truancy court this school year, revealing a significant decline from the previous year. Austin ISD is the largest school district in Central Texas, and the fight for its truancy data highlights how difficult it can be to understand the scope of Texas' truancy system without accessible data. In November, our investigative team discovered that, despite school districts sending thousands of children to court for truancy each year, no state agency is tracking individual district referral trends or student outcomes in court. The investigation sparked legislation that would create a uniform truancy tracking system across the state, but the bill is stalled in committee and not likely to pass this session. Our investigative team requested Austin ISD's truancy data in June 2024. Nine months after our initial request, and after several check-ins, the district's public information office provided an answer: As of March 1, the district referred 69 children to truancy court in the 2024-25 school year. The public information office did not share the count from previous school years, as we requested, but in an interview, the district's new Attendance Director, Carla De La Rosa, explained that the year before, the district referred five times more students to court for truancy – 364. De La Rosa said the district decreased its truancy referrals and reformed its process after getting feedback last summer from the justices of the peace, who handle their cases. Individual Austin ISD campuses are responsible for initiating prevention measures when students have accumulated 3 unexcused absences within six months. The campuses are also responsible for filing truant conduct complaints against students, but according to De La Rosa, the campus leaders must initiate prevention measures for the student before referring a student to court. De La Rosa said this year, the district began requiring campuses to do a 'root cause analysis' as a part of its prevention measures. It also instituted a checklist for campuses seeking to refer kids to court, which is screened by her office. Other judges previously told KXAN the court must dismiss cases in instances where the student is missing school because they are homeless, pregnant or have a disability. 'If they are not providing all that information that says we've done everything we possibly can, we've engaged in every way possible way, then we are sending it back and we're not letting them submit for truancy,' De La Rosa said. 12,000+ Texas kids sent to court for missing class, no one tracks what happens next 'I think it has been effective,' De La Rosa said. 'I think we have had less cases turned away from our [Justices of the Peace], and I think it helps us focus and really helps as a reminder to our campuses: have you done everything you can?' Following KXAN's investigation, State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, filed legislation to add numerous data points for the Office of Court Administration to collect. Zaffirini's measure, Senate Bill 1850, would require the OCA to gather and post a multitude of information showing school districts' and courts' numbers of truancy referrals and how they were handled, judgments against students, remedial orders broken down by type, driver's license suspensions and more. The legislation would also require tracking of contempt of court charges and fines collected. KXAN profiled the case of Nathaniel Karle, a Georgetown High School student who was sent to court over excessive absences in 2024, disenrolled, and given the option to finish schooling through a G.E.D. program or homeschool. Nathaniel missed dozens of school days, opting to stay home out of fear he could get a visit from his father who had been charged with sexual assault but was not in jail at the time, Nathaniel and his mother told KXAN. KXAN spoke with several parents of students sent to truancy court in Central Texas. We sat and watched more than a dozen truancy cases handled in justice of the peace and municipal court in Burnet and Travis counties. In most of those cases, KXAN found, the causes of truancy were complicated, personal and often traced back to family and health issues that students couldn't control. To get a better understanding of how truancy cases were playing out, KXAN submitted over 200 public information requests to school districts, municipal courts and justice of the peace offices. From the courts, we asked for details of orders – such as how many students were ordered to get finish high school through a G.E.D. program. From school districts, we sought records on outcomes. Neither the courts, nor the school districts, nor the Texas Education Agency could provide a clear picture of how the thousands of students sent to truancy court have fared in the system. Zaffirini's bill hasn't budged since being referred to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee in early March, so it is unlikely to pass this legislative session. There are, however, other bills that have moved further in the legislative process that could affect Texas' truancy system. 'The consequences of the Legislature not creating a uniform truancy tracking system include our remaining in the dark about how truancy cases are handled across Texas and our continuing to lack the tools to evaluate what's working,' Zaffirini said in a statement. Inside the Investigation: Texas bill could unlock 'mystery' of what happens to students in truancy court De La Rosa said the data would go a long way for school districts that don't always know the result of truancy hearings. 'Sometimes the judge is very clear, and we know, and we can document what the [court] order was, but sometimes we don't have the follow-up information about what is happening,' De La Rosa said. House Bill 2947, authored by Don McLaughlin, R-Uvalde, would change the rules governing how school districts handle students prior to referring them to truancy court. Currently, school districts must use truancy prevention measures before referring a student to court. Truancy prevention measures are policies districts use to identify students with absence problems and potentially provide additional services or counseling. The prevention measures also recognize students who don't have to be sent to court, like those who are pregnant, in foster care, homeless or their household's primary breadwinner, according to TEA. McLaughlin's bill would allow districts to forgo those prevention measures after they've been used once on a student. McLaughlin, the former mayor of Uvalde, told KXAN he authored the bill in part because he saw truancy as a major problem in his hometown's school district. 'Not that I want to penalize anybody or make criminals out of anybody, but, if there is no accountability, you don't get kids to comply,' McLaughlin told KXAN. 'Most of these kids' parents probably don't even know they are not at school.' His bill also caps fines against parents at $100 for the crime of contributing to nonattendance. Courts would also have to dismiss the charge if a parent can show their student reached 21 years of age, graduated, got an equivalent high school diploma or enlisted in the military. Lawmakers to examine Texas truancy data collection after KXAN investigation In 2015, the Texas Legislature overhauled truancy punishments by decriminalizing it and swapping criminal penalties with civil ones. McLaughlin said Texas 'most certainly' needs to track truancy outcomes since those changes. 'There is no statewide tracking on it at all. So, we don't know the results,' he said. 'What we have seen right now with what we put in place in 2015, it is not working.' To that end, his measure requires school districts to submit attendance reports to TEA showing a variety of campus and grade-level data, such as the number of students who received truancy prevention measures, were referred to court, had over 10 unexcused absences, and the number of parents that school districts filed a complaint against for contributing to nonattendance. At an early April hearing on McLaughlin's bill, representatives of three police unions and the Texas Association of School Boards registered in favor of the measure. Opposing the bill were individuals from the Texas Civil Rights Project, National Association of Social Workers, Texas Association of School Psychologists and Texas Center for Justice and Equity. 'To have this bill take away the opportunity to include more truancy prevention measures after that first attempt feels very harmful for us,' Texas Appleseed's Education Justice Project Director Andrew Hairston told lawmakers on April 3 during a public hearing. McLaughlin's bill passed the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee with a vote of 6-5. As of May 14, the measure was awaiting consideration by the full House. Senate Bill 570 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would require schools to adopt an attendance policy. Under the bill, schools must inform parents of the policy and the repercussions of truancy. Parents would also be alerted to student absences. Bettencourt's legislation would also require schools to hold meetings with students at risk of 'becoming truant' and conduct a home visit if a parent fails to attend those meetings. Additionally, the bill requires schools to create guidelines to identify students needing support and provide services to address their absenteeism. Many school districts that KXAN spoke with described already having attendance policies that address truancy, utilizing home visits and notification systems for parents and students who are approaching an excessive number of unexcused absences. The bill does not require the school or truancy courts to collect or report any additional data on the students referred to court for truant conduct. '[My bill] focused on how to get school back into the business of asking about truancy. Allowing them to literally knock on a door if they need to find out where the parents are, being able to bring the parents into the schools to have a discussion,' Bettencourt told KXAN. Bettencourt's bill passed the full Senate and was referred to the House Public Education Committee in late April. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hamilton Spectator
16-05-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
No detection of bird flu among Yukon wildlife in 2025 so far
There are no confirmed cases of avian influenza among wildlife in the Yukon for 2025 yet. The avian influenza, or bird flu, is caused by the avian influenza virus, of which there are several strains. One strain known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, is known to cause severe illness and high death rates among infected birds. It has also infected mammals like domestic livestock. So far in Canada, HPAI has been detected in domestic birds, such as poultry in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador, according to Public Health Agency of Canada. However, the agency said that the strain found in U.S. dairy cattle hasn't been detected in birds, cows or other animals in Canada. According to data collection done by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, there are 2,858 samples from wildlife which have tested positive. Ontario had 20 per cent of positive cases, followed by British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Saskatchewan. The earliest cases in the data set date back to 2021. The Yukon, with 6 total positives recorded, represented 0.21 per cent of positive cases in the country. In an email to the News on May 12, the Yukon department of the environment said the only confirmed cases of avian influenza in wildlife in the Yukon occurred in 2022 and 2023. So far this year, despite increased surveillance during the spring migratory season, there have been no detections of avian influenza in wildlife in the Yukon, according to Yukon department of environment spokesperson Mara De La Rosa. Also, the virus hasn't been detected in any domestic poultry in the territory, she said. Despite there being no detection, the virus is likely circulating in wild bird populations, said De La Rosa. The risk of a bird transmitting the virus to a human is 'very low,' but De La Rosa said hunters are recommended to take precautions when handling birds. Those precautions, as detailed by the Public Health Agency of Canada, include wearing gloves when handling bird harvests, avoiding contact with the bird's mouth and respiratory secretions, washing hands thoroughly after handling, and cooking meat and eggs thoroughly. It is also recommended to disinfect any tools or work surfaces used for butchering after the fact, and to wash any contaminated clothes immediately. The agency also recommends not eating or handling animals that appear to be sick or have died from unknown causes. De La Rosa said the Yukon government is working with the Canadian Wildlife Service to monitor infections among wildlife within the territory. YG is also providing sample kits to the public or any organization that requests them. For example, said De La Rosa, Ta'an Kwäch'än Council was provided with sample kits for harvested birds. As of right now, according to Yukon Chief Medical Officer Sudit Ranade, there are no known human cases in the Yukon. Last year, a teenager in B.C. was hospitalized in what is Canada's first known human case of avian influenza. Contact Talar Stockton at
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bastrop mayoral candidates hope to heal relationship between city council and the public
The Brief Three candidates are vying for the Bastrop mayor seat in the May elections FOX 7 Austin sat down with Ishmael Harris, Willie DeLaRosa, and Ward Northcutt Election day is May 3 BASTROP, Texas - Three candidates are vying for the Bastrop mayor seat in the May elections. Election day is May 3. The backstory It comes after the former Bastrop mayor, Lyle Nelson, resigned after accusations of interfering with a financial investigation and having a romantic relationship with a former city official. A Bastrop grand jury decided there wasn't enough evidence to formally charge him. What they're saying Now, the three candidates are hopeful they'll be able to serve the remainder of his term as Mayor next year. "I remember as a kid being able to take this path down this bridge here before they were shutting it down," said Ishmael Harris, one of the three people putting in a bid for Bastrop mayor. "It signifies what I'm running for, bridging the gap." He's a fifth-generation Bastrop resident. For a year and a half, Harris also served as the chair of the planning and zoning commission, helping plan the renovations soon to come to the bridge running along Chestnut Street. He's got a much longer to-do list that he'd like to check off as mayor. It includes making more parks ADA-accessible, building a rec center, and better housing options. With the area's growth, he'd also like to build another hospital. "That amount of people to me is enough to sustain a regional-style hospital," said Harris. "We have a hospital here, but if it's anything major, right, a few nights overstay, overnight, ICU, major surgeries, they have to go to Austin." What they're saying Willie DeLaRosa also cites his experience working with the city government as his selling point. "I'm pro-business, I'm pro-growth, but we need to plan and manage that growth," said DeLaRosa. He said he is proud to say he helped bring Buc-ees to Bastrop. "The mayor asked me if I want a shot at it," said DeLaRosa. "I said sure, and so I met with Mr. Aplin, Beaver Aplin is his name, the owner of Buc-ee's, and by September we had an agreement that at a city council meeting and approved Buc-ees, and the rest was history." DeLaRosa spent 27 years on the city council, with 12 of those years as mayor pro-tem. "I think I have a lot to offer from my past years as far as knowledge of the budget and everything that goes on with the city," said DeLaRosa. What they're saying "I want to be kind of a caring mayor," said Ward Northcutt, another candidate. "I want to be a mayor of Bastrop who has the personal interest of the people." He also wants to help Bastrop grow sustainably. "[Lost Pines Toyota] is one of our newest car dealerships here in Bastrop, and you know something like this where you know to be a small town. We suddenly have a lot of quality services that in the past we'd have to drive all the way up to Austin to get," said Northcutt. Northcutt is a retired law enforcement officer. He spent 32 years running the University of Texas' Police Department at its Bastrop facilities. "I'd like to see some regular people like a retired police officer like just a regular person to get on our city council and try to make a difference for the people that live here," said Northcutt. Big picture view All three candidates have one big goal in common. They want to heal the relationship between the public and city government after the last mayor resigned. "The connection and trust between citizens in our city government, which I think that we are getting back to," said Harris. "The first thing I need to get done is pull this council back together because it's been in a distraction for a year and a half with all the disruption on the council," said DeLaRosa. "As a mayor, I would want to be a practice listener and to be a proactive listener, and to be a proactive listener. What that means is I open up my office to people, allow kind of an open door," said Northcutt. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Neenah man sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for child pornography distribution
A 45-year-old Neenah man was sentenced April 14 to five years in prison for distributing child pornography. Robert De La Rosa pleaded guilty in January to one count of possessing and distributing child pornography. A second charge was dismissed in a plea deal. Following his time in prison, De La Rosa will spend seven years on supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender. According to a criminal complaint, an analyst with the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force contacted the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Oct. 1, 2024, about a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, generated by online messaging application Kik. The CyberTip indicated uploading of 32 files of suspected child sexual abuse material, including a video depicting child sexual abuse that had been uploaded by an individual and sent to another account on June 10, 2024, the complaint says. On Oct. 28, 2024, a second CyberTip related to the same IP address was forwarded to the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office. It found multiple videos of child sexual abuse material had been uploaded and sent to other accounts, according to the complaint. Officers executed a search warrant Oct. 20 at a home on the 500 block of County Road G in Neenah, which was associated with the IP address. There, they made contact with De La Rosa's girlfriend, who they determined was not sharing child sexual abuse material. The following day, De La Rosa spoke to investigators, at which time he provided the passcode to his phone and said, "There is stuff on there you are going to find, which is what you are looking for," the complaint says. An analysis of De La Rosa's device revealed 44 videos depicting child pornography, according to court records. The investigation found he repeatedly viewed, collected and distributed child sexual abuse material on multiple occasions, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. De La Rosa's five years in prison is the mandatory minimum prison sentence for a federal child pornography conviction. The case was brought forward as part of the U.S. Department of Justice's initiative Project Safe Childhood. Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli. This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Neenah man sentenced to federal prison for distributing child pornography
