Latest news with #Larrabee
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fountain Hills Town Council members retaliate against local newspaper for its reporting
Fountain Hills Town Councilman Rick Watts felt insulted. He'd spent three hours at a public meeting discussing the town's budget and fire department needs in painstaking detail. Then, he read a news article the next day and saw a headline that, in his view, overly simplified the meeting. "Fountain Hills Town Council defers fire department budget plan," the headline read. It wasn't inaccurate. The town's fire chief had wanted more money to promote a few people. Those promotions would support a regional "automatic aid" program the town was applying for. If approved, Fountain Hills would be part of a regional network so that when a customer called, the nearest municipal fire department responds, regardless of town boundaries. The council approved the funding but delayed its start to January to reduce the cost in the current fiscal year. The problem with the headline, Watts said in an interview with The Arizona Republic, was it could "sound more egregious than it is." He didn't offer up an alternative, he just said it should have better represented the complexity of the discussion. Beyond the headline, the article from the Fountain Hill Times Independent did have an error: it reported that the promotions were required for the application. But they weren't. The error frustrated Watts. It also irritated Vice Mayor Hannah Larrabee, who had a growing list of grievances with the paper since she took office two and a half years earlier. So they decided to do something about it. As Larrabee put it, in an interview with The Republic, they decided to "send a message." That message has since raised eyebrows among First Amendment experts and advocates, who said the retaliation was "improper" and "disrespectful" to free speech and free press freedoms. Watts and Larrabee fired off emails to town staff in mid-April. They requested staff remove the desk at the back of the meeting room designated for reporters. They didn't dance around their motive. "Frankly, I am fed up with the Times partisan reporting and think it is time to remove the corner 'reporters' table," Watts wrote in an email to Town Manager Rachael Goodwin. "I do not wish to further encourage unbalanced reporting, and believe it is best if the Times Independent sits with the audience to allow for more chairs in that corner, making more room for the public," Larrabee wrote. In their letters, they elaborated on their frustration of "melodramatic" headlines, one-sided stories and being misquoted. They did not request to ban reporters. Having journalists sit among the audience wasn't a novel concept; most City Hall reporters in the Valley are not accommodated with designated tables. But the request upended a tradition that was in place for decades. Some town staff couldn't remember a time when there wasn't a press table. But by the end of the month, it was gone. Not all councilmembers were clued into the change — there was no vote on it. When Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis found out, she was furious. Watts and Larrabee were frustrated with the paper's error because they said it left readers with the impression that by deferring fire department funding, the council was willing to jeopardize the application for the program and, by extension, the community's safety. They were bombarded with accusations that the council didn't care about the fire department, they said. Watts said people should have been informed of the lengthy back and forth and deep consideration the council gave the issue. Yes, the council deferred funding. But in doing so, they had also approved new funding that didn't previously exist. The councilmembers' grievance was largely an issue of framing — the concept referring to how a reporter writes a story and which information is emphasized. Despite their frustration, neither Watts nor Larrabee requested corrections. They said they believed it would fall on deaf ears, though both acknowledged they had never been explicitly denied a correction from the paper. Watts, who took office in January, said he had never requested a correction. He was skeptical of reaching out because "the sentiment in town right now is that it's a very liberal paper, since it has new ownership. That, I have no basis for, other than hearsay." The Fountain Hills Times was purchased by Independent Newsmedia, Inc. USA in 2023 and became the Fountain Hills Times Independent. Through the changeover, all newsroom leadership and advertising staff remained, Managing Editor Ryan Winslett told The Republic. Watts also didn't like how the paper covered his campaign. There weren't inaccuracies, he said, "but not everything was included." Larrabee had made one correction request in the past. The paper said she worked for Turning Point USA, but actually she worked for the affiliated political action committee, Turning Point Action. The paper promptly corrected the article, which Larrabee acknowledged. But she had also requested a phone call to discuss opinion columns that mentioned her and which she wanted to respond to. She never got that call, she said. "That's what makes it a little bit difficult to talk about, because it's like, 'OK. He said you work for TPUSA and you work for TP Action. Who cares, right?' But it's like, I have 100 different little tiny instances," Larrabee said. The removal hasn't changed much for the paper, whose reporter still attends and covers meetings. "It's easier to take notes and manage documents during a busy meeting with a table, but its removal will have no real impact," Winslett said. The paper strives to be "accurate, thorough and down the middle in all of our reporting," he said. Fountain Hills Times Independent also follows a policy to "promptly correct all factual errors" upon notification, and offers a "right to reply" to anyone whom the paper writes about. "That fact is stated in every print edition of our paper," Winslett said. To Larrabee's claim of an unreturned call, Winslett said he didn't recall the request, "but I have always made myself available for such things." "But whether we're talking about two years ago or more recently, I can't address a perceived grievance if I'm not notified about it in the first place," he said. Kalivianakis asked about the table's removal at a meeting in early May. Goodwin informed her of the request from the councilmembers as well as Mayor Gerry Friedel. She was stunned, and asked why the change was made without a council vote. Goodwin did not explain, and neither she nor the town's communications manager responded to that specific question from The Republic. The mayor also did not respond to The Republic's repeated requests for comment. Kalivianakis was outraged. The local paper was a staple in the community and its reporter, she said, ate, shopped, worked and worshipped among them. This wasn't some agenda-driven outsider, she said. She wrote a column in the Fountain Hills Times Independent on May 28 blasting the decision. "This incident highlights disregard for transparency by our local officials. Punitive measures are meant to control, influence and silence news coverage and criticism by concerned private citizens," she wrote. She argued the table removal was retaliation. "Retaliation inherently has a chilling effect, making journalists and citizens hesitant to investigate controversial topics or criticize those in power. If journalists are reluctant to report on sensitive topics, the people regrettably pay the price," Kalvianakis wrote. Free press advocates and First Amendment experts likewise expressed concern. "Local governments don't have to roll out the red carpet for reporters. A physically designated space also isn't required for Arizona local journalists to do their jobs," said Chris Kline, President and CEO of the Arizona Media Association and Arizona Local News Foundation. "But small actions like this can send a big message, and when that message is frustration with coverage, it risks eroding openness in government.' Marc Randazza, the attorney who successfully represented the right-wing Gateway Pundit website in its lawsuit against Maricopa County after officials barred a writer from the outlet from attending an on-site election news conference, said, "When government acts this way, it obviously has something to hide. And even if all it has to hide is a lack of respect for the First Amendment, it needs to be called out." Gregg Leslie, executive director of Arizona State University's First Amendment Clinic, called the move "improper." "The government should not retaliate against people based on their viewpoint, their speech," Leslie said. "That is one of the grounds to sue for a civil rights violation." The table removal was not necessarily a violation of free press rights though, Leslie acknowledged. The town is under no legal obligation to provide a table for reporters. Watts and Larrabee both stressed this point, saying they had no intention to ever ban the press and, in fact, hoped for more reporters to provide the public a variety of perspectives. "I'm talking to you, aren't I?" Larrabee responded when The Republic asked about concerns of a chilling effect. The Republic asked these questions as part of a nationwide effort to put a spotlight on First Amendment issues. That three-year project, which includes reporters at The Republic, the Indianapolis Star, the Tallahassee Press Democrat, The Tennessean in Nashville and USA TODAY, is funded by the Freedom Forum's Local Press Initiative and Journalism Funding Partners, a nonprofit that works to increase the depth, diversity and sustainability of local journalism. Larrabee and Watts didn't shy away from the fact they hoped the decision would alter the paper's coverage. "It was simply to send a message of, 'Hey, if you start reporting honestly, then maybe we'll have a different situation," Larrabee said. "I don't care if they have a liberal lens. I really don't. But at least report it honestly." Leslie said more elected officials have wanted to clamp down on the press since the proliferation of online blogs that don't strive for objective reporting. "It leads to people saying, 'Well, I shouldn't have to put up with that,'" Leslie said. But the sentiment is wrong, he said. "I think we need to educate elected officials that yes, you should put up with a lot of criticism, even if you feel it's improper. Because people have a right to their opinions," Leslie told The Republic. Fountain Hills' fire chief did ultimately request a correction on the fire budget article. Winslett said they reviewed the request and made the change immediately. An editor's note was added to the bottom of the article, notifying readers. The paper doesn't plan to respond to the removal of the press table, which Winslett said its reporter had used for 20 years. "We will simply continue to cover the community's news, just as we have for more than 50 years," Winslett said. Taylor Seely is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at The Arizona Republic / Do you have a story about the government infringing on your First Amendment rights? Reach her at tseely@ or by phone at 480-476-6116. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fountain Hills Town Council retaliates against newspaper over coverage
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
At Nvidia's GTC event, Pat Gelsinger reiterated that Jensen 'got lucky with AI,' Intel missed the boat with Larrabee
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. At GTC 2025, former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger reiterated his oft-repeated claim that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang 'got lucky' with the AI revolution but explained his rationale more in-depth. As GPUs have taken center stage in AI innovation, Nvidia is now one of the world's most valuable companies, while Intel is struggling. But it was not always this way. Fifteen to twenty years ago, Intel CPUs were the dominant force in computing as they handled all major workloads. During this time, Intel missed its AI and HPC opportunities with Larrabee, a project that attempted to build a GPU using the x86 CPU ISA. In contrast, Nvidia bet on purebred GPUs, said Pat Gelsinger, former CTO and CEO of Intel, while speaking at Nvidia's GTC 2025. "The CPU was the king of the hill [in the mid-2000s], and I applaud Jensen for his tenacity of just saying, 'No, I am not trying to build one of those; I am trying to deliver against the workload starting in graphics," said Gelsinger. "You know, it became this broader view. And then he got lucky with AI, and one time I was debating with him, he said, 'No, I got really lucky with AI workload because it just demanded that type of architecture.' That is where the center of application development is [right now]. One of the reasons why Larrabee was canceled as a GPU in 2009 was that it was not competitive as a graphics processor against AMD's and Nvidia's graphics solutions at the time. To some extent, this was due to Intel's desire for Larrabee to feature ultimate programmability, which led to its lack of crucial fixed-function GPU parts such as raster operations units. This affected performance and increased the complexity of software development. "I had a project that was well known in the industry called Larrabee and which was trying to bridge the programmability of the CPU with a throughput oriented architecture [of a GPU], and I think had Intel stay on that path, you know, the future could have been different," said Gelsinger during a webcast. "I give Jensen a lot of credit [as] he just stayed true to that throughput computing or accelerated [vision]." Unlike GPUs from AMD and Nvidia, which use proprietary instruction set architectures (ISAs), Intel's Larrabee used the x86 ISA with Larrabee-specific extensions. This provided an advantage for parallelized general-purpose computing workloads but was a disadvantage for graphics applications. As a result, Larrabee was reintroduced as the Xeon Phi processor, first aimed at supercomputing workloads in 2010. However, it gained little traction as traditional GPU architectures gained general-purpose computing capabilities via the CUDA framework, as well as the OpenCL/Vulkan and DirectCompute APIs, which were easier to scale in terms of performance. After the Xeon Phi 'Knights Mill' failed to meet expectations, Intel dropped the Xeon Phi project in favor of data center GPUs for HPC and specialized ASICs for AI between 2018 and 2019. To a large extent, Larrabee and its successors in the Xeon Phi line failed because they were based on a CPU ISA that did not scale well for graphics, AI, or HPC. Larrabee's failure was set in motion in the mid-2000s when CPUs were still dominant, and Intel's technical leads thought that x86 was a way to go. Fast forward to today, and Intel's attempts at adopting a more conventional GPU design for AI have largely failed, with the company recently canceling its Falcon Shores GPUs for data centers. Instead, the company is pinning its hopes on its next-gen Jaguar Shores that isn't slated for release until next year. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This Texas ICE Attorney Allegedly Tweeted 'America is a White Country,' and That's Not All
An attorney who worked for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been accused of disturbing online behavior. James Rodden, who worked as the agency's assistant chief counsel, allegedly operated a 'racist, bigoted, xenophobic, hateful, harassing and dishonest' X account, according to a legal complaint filed against him. The complaint was made by J. Whitfield Larrabee, a Massachusetts-based attorney. Last week, the Texas Observer reported that Rodden was behind the X account of user @GlomarResponder. The publication made this determination due to the 'overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.' It extensively reviewed posts by the account since 2012 and deduced that it was Rodden by connecting those to federal court records and background interviews. CBS News stated that Larrabee used the the Texas Observer's article in the complaint and it seemingly serves as the crux for his legal filing. The account, which boasts over 17,000 followers, contained tweetsincluding, 'America is a white country, founded by whites,' and 'Migrants' are all criminals.' The complaint says the posts correlate to Rodden's role as he works with immigrants, political asylum applicants and refugees. As an assistant chief legal counsel, the document also labels his voice as a powerful one in court. 'When the representative of the United States in our immigration courts is motivated by bigotry, racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant bias and hatred of immigrants, this seriously interferes with the administration of justice and undermines the integrity of our legal system,' the complaint explains. The document was filed with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in Washington, D.C. Larrabee stated it's also the city where Rodden was licensed to practice. The complaint ultimately calls for an investigation as well as for Rodden to be suspended from practicing law. 'U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not comment on the substance of this article pending further investigation, to include whether the owner of the referenced 'X' account is a current employee,' an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to the Texas Observer. The spokesperson also shared that ICE takes allegations of inappropriate conduct by its employees seriously. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
CBS News
21-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
ICE attorney in Dallas accused in complaint of allegedly making "racist, bigoted, xenophobic, hateful" posts on X
An attorney employed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement allegedly made "racist, bigoted, xenophobic, hateful, harassing and dishonest" posts on an X account where he tried to hide his identity, according to a legal complaint filed against him. James Rodden — who, as of at least Wednesday, was employed by ICE as assistant chief counsel, functioning as a prosecutor — allegedly identified himself on the social media platform as Mr. X with the username @GlomarResponder, according to the complaint, which was made by J. Whitfield Larrabee, an attorney in Massachusetts. The Texas Observer claims it has identified Rodden as the operator of the @GlomarResponder X account and published an article on Wednesday titled "ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account." The publication said it identified Rodden "based on an overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation." The article was included in Larrabee's complaint and appears to be the basis for his legal filing, which doesn't include any independent evidence that Rodden is responsible for the posts made on the @GlomarResponder X account. CBS News has not independently confirmed that Rodden is connected to the account. The posts on the X account, which has over 17,000 followers, included comments made over the last year such as "America is a white country, founded by whites,'" "'Migrants' are all criminals," and "I'm a fascist," the complaint says. The posts "directly" relate to Rodden's work as an attorney representing the United States in removal proceedings before judges, the complaint says. Those in such proceedings are often vulnerable immigrants, refugees and political asylum applicants, and Rodden, as an assistant chief legal counsel, "plays a key role in the immigration justice system" and has a "powerful voice in Court." "When the representative of the United States in our immigration courts is motivated by bigotry, racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant bias and hatred of immigrants, this seriously interferes with the administration of justice and undermines the integrity of our legal system," the complaint argues. The complaint was filed with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in Washington, D.C., where Rodden was licensed to practice, and with the Office of Professional Responsibility for ICE, Larrabee said. It calls for an investigation and for Rodden to be suspended from practicing law. CBS News has reached out to ICE multiple times for comment and did not receive a response as of Friday afternoon. According to the Observer, an ICE spokesperson said in an email to the publication that the agency would not comment on the "substance" of its article "pending further investigation, to include whether the owner of the referenced 'X' account is a current employee." "Notwithstanding, ICE holds its employees to the highest standards of professionalism and takes seriously all allegations of inappropriate conduct," the email reportedly said. CBS News Texas reached out to Rodden at a phone number and email address listed as his in public records. The Observer said Rodden did not respond to multiple emailed requests for comment, and that a man reached at a phone number associated with Rodden declined to confirm his identity and hung up. "When approached in a public hallway outside the Dallas immigration court and asked to confirm receipt of the emailed requests, Rodden said only to 'call [his] press office,'" the Observer wrote. Rep. Marc Veasey, who represents Dallas Fort-Worth in Congress, said in a post on Thursday on the platform: "James Rodden has exposed himself as a white supremacist while serving as ICE's Assistant Chief Counsel. I am demanding answers, sending a letter of inquiry, and calling for a full investigation now."
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Customers of distressed rural water company can't wait for state investigation to play out, lawyers say
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at BELLEFONTE — Lawyers for a distressed rural water company have asked a Centre County judge to approve an emergency takeover, but state regulators argue they have control over the situation. Attorneys James Bryant and Carolyn Larrabee, who were hired by Rock Spring Water Company, argued in court Thursday that the company's poor management and deteriorating infrastructure should justify handing over interim operations to neighboring State College Borough Water Authority. 'We're trying to light a fire under someone, and there won't be any water in Rock Spring to put it out,' Bryant told Spotlight PA. A lawyer for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, however, told Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine that state regulators have the authority to appoint an interim operator or force a sale — a lengthy process already in progress and with no guaranteed outcome. Bryant and Larrabee were hired by Rock Spring owner J. Roy Campbell last fall after the Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement, an independent division within the commission, launched a review of the business. Despite a recent email from Rock Spring's account ending all legal services with the pair, the lawyers said in a filing that they refused to abandon their client because dismissing them would require more than a 'one-line email from an unidentified party.' A June Spotlight PA investigation found that Rock Spring, state regulators, and elected officials have failed the roughly 1,000 customers in Ferguson Township who rely on the 20-mile system, which needs $13.5 million in repairs, according to a 2022 engineering report. Efforts to find new ownership have gone nowhere, while years of neglect have led to crumbling infrastructure, low water pressure, regular outages, and sometimes lengthy boil water advisories. The company has also racked up dozens of regulatory violations and tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid civil penalties as part of an ongoing legal battle with the Department of Environmental Protection over excessive water loss. Larrabee previously told Spotlight PA that she and Bryant thought asking a local court to intervene would be the quickest way to help customers who — though frustrated with the water company — have resigned themselves to working around unreliable service after years of inaction by the PUC. (The PUC even erroneously told a customer in 2018 that it doesn't regulate Rock Spring.) The lawyers, in their initial filing, called the water system and its management by Campbell and his daughter, Elizabeth, a 'clear and present danger.' The Campbells attended court Thursday but did not speak. Prior to the hearing, they asked for more time to find new legal counsel and said the PUC likely had jurisdiction over the case. In a filing, Campbell wrote, 'There is no imminent danger to anybody that would result from continuing the hearing to a later date.' Customers can't wait any longer, Larrabee said in court on Thursday. Joseph Cardinale Jr., attorney for the PUC, argued that the statewide regulatory body has jurisdiction. The case is before an administrative law judge, with a two-day hearing scheduled for late April. He noted that state regulators could appoint an interim operator, also called a receiver, in that proceeding. Lawyers for Rock Spring argued that the PUC's power isn't absolute. They also said that regulators had ample opportunity to hold the company accountable for hemorrhaging water and failing to pay at least $40,000 in fines. Instead, the legal battle over water loss with the Department of Environmental Protection has dragged on for years, Bryant noted. Customer issues with Rock Spring go back at least a decade. Charles Williams, who inherited 12 shares in the company from his father, detailed in court his struggles to access information about the business. He testified that Rock Spring appears to be under 'the full control' of J. Roy Campbell. In October, Campbell said he'd rather sell the company and avoid a lengthy process by state regulators to force an acquisition. In December — after persuasion by his attorneys, according to legal filings — he signed a letter of intent to sell the business to the State College authority for $65,000. The letter reflects a mutual interest in negotiating, but the State College water authority has entertained buying the company in the past and been ghosted by Rock Spring. An acquisition would ultimately require approval from the water authority's board, the company's shareholders, and state regulators. A sale has yet to be completed. The deadline to submit briefs addressing jurisdiction and the emergency request to let the State College authority handle interim operations while lawyers attempt to reach a final sales agreement is 5 p.m. today. and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
