Latest news with #Riegel
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cincy-based ‘Dandelion' on-sale for limited Blu-ray run
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Nicole Riegel's second feature film is available to purchase on Blu-ray for a limited time. 'So much growth going from film one to film two': Nicole Riegel talks 'Dandelion' The filmmaker and Wright State University alum said Monday that her film 'Dandelion,' is receiving a limited edition slipcover Blu-ray release. 'Only 500 limiteds were made and when they're gone, they're gone,' Riegel said in an Instagram post. 'Support physical media.' The release includes the following special features: Audio commentary with Riegel and cinematographer Lauren Guiteras. A booklet of essays from the filmmakers, including Guiteras, Producer Adam Cobb, Colorist Phil Beckner, Sound Mixer/Designer Brian Berger. Deleted scenes. Behind the Scenes footage. A stills gallery. A lyric/music video for 'River.' A trailer for the film. 'Dandelion' is available for pre-order now from 'Vinegar Syndrome,' a film restoration and distribution company. They focus primarily on independent films. Quantities are limited, with only 238 left in stock as of writing. 'Dandelion' was filmed in and is set in Cincinnati, Ohio. It also stars Cincy's own Kiki Layne as the titular 'Dandelion.' Learn more about the film here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
As Harvard fights Trump admin in court, professors are quietly dropping courses
Jules Riegel, a lecturer in History and Literature, planned to teach a course in the fall at Harvard University on global transgender history. Now they are opting out of teaching the course due to fears of content-based retaliation and fears for their students' safety and as an openly transgender individual, according to a Monday court filing. 'I have had to reevaluate how I can safely teach courses on topics including global transgender history, World War II and the Holocaust,' Riegel said. Riegels' decision comes at a time when Harvard University says it is fighting in federal court to protect its academic freedom, aiming to push back billions of dollars in funding cuts executed by the federal government. The Harvard faculty chapter of the American Association of University Professors is also suing the federal government in a separate lawsuit. Riegel's commentary is included in court documents on the case. Both Harvard and the association submitted motions for summary judgment on Monday. As a non-tenure-track faculty member, Riegel said they are worried the Trump administration's goal of 'reducing the power held by students and untenured faculty,' as stated in an April 11 letter. They are concerned about having 'even less control around my curriculum, such as hindering my ability to determine my own course content, or being forced to teach content with which I disagree,' they said. 'I am fearful for the safety of my students, especially international students or students with immigrant backgrounds, including their ability to engage with critical scholarship around the Holocaust and transgender history,' Riegel said. 'Because of the administration's actions, I could not in good conscience recommend that doctoral applicants attend Harvard right now,' they said. Riegel isn't alone in altering course plans. Read more: Harvard foreign students feel like 'poker chips,' consider transfer after Trump attacks An anonymous faculty member in the court filing also changed their teaching plans for next semester due to fears of harassment. The professor, a member of the faculty of arts and sciences, planned to teach a course addressing the lead-up to the U.S. Civil War, according to a court filing from Harvard professor Kirsten Weld. However, they felt like the topic would be considered a part of diversity, equity and inclusion programing due to its focus on slavery, settler colonialism, Indian removal and the U.S.-Mexico War. The professor was concerned that they would face false accusations under Title VI — which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin — since the course would explore white supremacy in American history. They were also nervous that, because they had already experienced public targeting and harassment at Harvard due to being in support of pro-Palestine student protesters, greater emphasis could fall on them. For other Harvard professors, canceling courses isn't an option. One anonymous faculty member, who has been working at the medical school and has decades of clinical expertise, said they will be working outside of the U.S. next year and plan to eventually leave the country 'because they do not feel comfortable being at Harvard anymore.' The faculty member said their pro-Palestine advocacy and opinions make them a target at Harvard, according to the court filing. Harvard researchers are also being discouraged from publishing in scholarly and public-facing materials on topics opposed by the federal government, according to Weld's court filing. Since the attacks against Harvard, the American Association of University Professors has had to prioritize training on digital surveillance and information security and a Know Your Rights workshop, using up valuable resources for the organization. They also have had to hold twice as many meetings with members as they typically do to help navigate the Trump administration's actions, according to the court filing. Clark University to lay off up to 30% of faculty amid enrollment woes 'Incredibly ironic': Trump antisemitism effort may force out Harvard's Israeli Jews MIT bans class president who gave pro-Palestine speech from commencement Why the fight over foreign students at Harvard has some US students leaving, too Harvard affinity group graduations held off campus amid 'capitulation' to Trump Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stratacache CEO: City needs to be ‘more proactive' about decaying buildings
He owns the three tallest buildings in the Miami Valley and believes the city should do more to clear out or shore up vacant and decaying downtown buildings. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] This comes almost two months after strong winds knocked the siding off a building at the Stratacache Tower, causing more than $1 million in damage. 'There were 22 windows that were kind of blown out and or damaged by huge chunks of bricks coming through windows, destroying offices,' Founder and Chief Executive of Stratacache Chris Riegel said. TRENDING STORIES: Local industrial facility closing; over 100 employees impacted Police respond after threat made at Greene County school Coroner releases cause of death for former OSU player found dead in his apartment Riegel put the price tag for repairs at almost a million dollars. He still hasn't reopened the upper floors of the parking garage or the surface parking lot. 'I mean, it's frustrating, it's a challenge,' Riegel said. Riegel also owns the former Premier Tower, but decaying downtown buildings threaten his and everyone's investments in the area. 'They can't just sit there without maintenance and care. Otherwise, this is going to happen again. And the city needs to be a little more proactive in terms of tackling that problem,' Riegel said. He estimates there are two dozen large vacant buildings downtown. One is on 34 North Main Street, another is the Fidelity building across from the Convention Center. 'It's a two-fold problem. You have the direct risk of the buildings falling down, plus also, homelessness, prostitution, drugs, all sorts of bad things that hang around these abandoned buildings,' Riegel said. A city spokesperson told News Center 7 they do not employ a structural engineer, so they are not going into buildings and must work with landlords who are often absent. The city also provided contributions to jump-start the plans to refurbish the City Center Building. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio housing advocates want lawmakers to nix budget language that alters affordable housing funding
Stock photo from Getty Images. Housing advocates are urging Ohio senators to remove an amendment from the state's two-year operating budget that would significantly affect a source of funding for local homelessness and affordable housing programs. The Ohio House added language to their version of the budget that would change the Ohio Housing Trust Fund. The Ohio Senate is currently working on the budget and will send it back to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who must sign it into law by June 30. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'The Ohio Housing Trust Fund is the primary source of state funding for local homelessness, emergency home repair and affordable housing development,' the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio's executive director Amy Riegel said during a press conference Thursday. 'We see that making any type of change and overhauling it would be drastic and would make huge ripple impacts across the state.' The trust fund was created in 1991 and is administered by the Ohio Department of Development. It is funded by a portion of the fees collected by county recorders, with half of the fees staying with the county and the other half going back to the fund — which requires at least 50% of the funds be spent in non-urban areas. The House budget proposal would remove the requirement for county recorders to send the state Department of Development money to reallocate the funds, making it less effective across the state. 'This would leave counties with only the funds that they are able to collect, which creates a drastic impact on communities where they might not be collecting as many revenues as other counties,' Riegel said. 'Shifting to a county-by-county approach will negatively impact folks who are struggling to just keep her roof over their heads.' Robert Bender, CEO of the Provident Companies, is concerned counties could lose their leveraging ability and wouldn't have the capacity to administer funds. 'We have an easy solution: just don't mess with it,' he said. 'This is really elected officials who don't have enough information trying to tinker with something to make it better when it's going to make it worse.' The Housing Trust Fund provided emergency shelter for more than 27,000 Ohioans last year, Riegel said. 'That's just one year,' Riegel said. 'Multiply that by the last 23 years, and you can see this has a huge impact across our state.' Housing advocates asked House lawmakers why the amendment was added, but Riegel said the rationale behind it remains unclear. Now, they are talking to Ohio senators about trying to remove the amendment. 'We have heard from many of them that they do support removing the language … however, it is the decision of the entire body of how to move forward,' Riegel said. Habitat for Humanity of Ohio's Executive Director Ryan Miller said they serve primarily populations of people who have paid off their homes, are living on fixed incomes and dealing with health issues. 'They have no other option, and we must keep the current funding structure in place to let them live in dignity and peace,' he said. The trust fund is one of the most effective tools to reduce homelessness, said Becky Eddy, chief community development officer for the Integrated Services for Behavioral Health. 'The current regional approach isn't broken,' she said. 'Shifting to a fractured county-by-county model would slow things down, drive the administrative costs and ultimately increase homelessness across the state.' Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Local not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate drops to 4.6%
The not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area dropped four-tenths of a percentage point to 4.6% in March after sitting at 5% in January and February, according to data from the state Department of Labor & Industry. However, the rate is up three-tenths of a percentage point from March 2024. 'When I tend to look at the unadjusted unemployment rates, you have monthly volatility that could be due to seasonal factors,' said Lauren Riegel, a statistician manager for the state Department of Labor & Industry. 'When I'm looking at the unadjusted data, I like to look at the over-the-year movement.' The statewide rate was 3.9%, up three-tenths of a percentage point from March 2024, and the national rate was 4.2%, also up three-tenths of a percentage point from last March, according to the department. 'Basically, the Scranton MSA is right on track with the trends we're seeing in the greater region and the nation,' Riegel said. The number of seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the local metro area increased by 600 over the month to a record high 270,400 in March, according to state data. 'This was the third record high in the last four months,' Riegel said. 'Last month's record high matched the record high set in December, and before that a record high had been set in October and September — which broke the April 2019 record. Since then, it seems like every few months it's trending upward and continuing to hit record highs.' Over the year, the region added 2,900 jobs, an increase of 1.1% while the statewide increase was 1.4%. Annual revisions to the historical (pre-2025) not-seasonally-adjusted labor force series are now complete and are reflected in the news release; however, due to methodological changes and conversions to the 2020 Census-based Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delineations, seasonally adjusted substate area data will not be available until summer 2025, the department announced. In March, six of the 10 supersectors saw increased employment in the local metro area with education and health services reaching a record high 56,900 jobs, according to state data. Over the year, education and health services saw the largest employment gain — up 1,800 jobs. 'I think that's a trend we will probably continue to see, especially in a state like ours, because we have an aging population and an increased need for health care services,' Riegel said.
