Latest news with #TacoFestival
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Columbus police ramp up summer violence prevention efforts
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Summer in Columbus is ramping up. Columbus police data shows there is typically an increase in violence in those months. Last weekend, there were at least five shootings around the city and the Taco Festival at Goodale Park had to shut down early due to reports of fights. Police data shows there were 13 homicides in the month of May, which is the most of any month so far this year. The city's homicide rate is still the lowest it has been in more than a decade. 'Obviously, we're never happy with one homicide, let alone, you know, the numbers that we've had in the month of May,' Columbus Police Deputy Chief Smith Weir said. Officials release video showing when 2 Mifflin Township officers were shot Weir said they are constantly watching behaviors and trends to prevent violence. He said their summer safety initiatives officially start next week. 'Each zone is going to put together a plan and everybody in that starts June 1 and the zone will be implementing a community plan where they will have additional officers out on the streets working on quality of life issues, working on being visible, on being at events and places that tend to get crowds in the summer,' Weir said. He said they are also bringing back Operation Moonlight where more officers will be on patrol at city parks and events. 'It'll prioritize areas where there's going to be large crowds like festivals and everything like that,' Weir said. Weir said another focus is solving crimes that have already happened, specifically non-fatal shootings. He said they are expanding their non-fatal shoot team. Their goal is to get shooters off the street before they pull the trigger again. 'We've been running a pilot project on that for about a year now and we just got approval to move forward, making it a permanent fixture. So that process, that implementation process will be going, playing out over the course of the summer and then into the fall in terms of building out those teams and those detectives. So we're really looking forward to that,' Weir said. Weir said that the team started in just zone six and has been successful. He said the plan is to start expanding it through the entire city this summer and into next year. Weir said with festival season now underway they have plans to meet with organizers to talk about security and restrictions they can put in place to ensure a safe event. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fans wait out rain at Tacos and Tequila Festival
The Brief Attendees at this year's Taco and Tequila Festival had to evacuate because of severe weather Saturday. The event was delayed for around 30 minutes. Attendees said the delay wasn't as bad as waiting to reenter the festival. FORT WORTH, Texas - The Tacos and Tequila Festival was evacuated for about 30 minutes Saturday while a storm moved through the area. Organizers said the safety measures in place worked exactly as planned. Thousands packed Panther Island Pavilion for the fourth annual festival. Organizers kept a close eye on the forecast, as there was potential for severe weather in the area. What they're saying "We actually opened gates a little bit later because we wanted to make sure the site was safe when that storm cell or if any storm cells come through, that we're prepared for them," Social House Senior VP Joshua James said. The evacuation plan was put into motion around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Everyone was asked to evacuate and encouraged to take shelter in their car or under a bridge at a nearby park. Fort Worth Police and the city's emergency management office were at the venue to help. The storm passed within 30 minutes, and people started to line up again, but the gates didn't open right away. High winds stuck around, and there was concern for the stage. When the gates reopened around 7 p.m., people were not allowed near the stage. What they're saying "Some people were agitated, but it is what it is, keep going," Oogande Vassel said. We're here now. The sun is shining, keep going." Vassel took shelter in the parking lot outside the gates and other people in his group went back to the truck to weather the storm. "I work outside for a living, it wasn't that bad," Vassel said. Evacuating because of the storm wasn't a big deal for other festival-goers like Roshanda Dorrough either. It was the waiting to get back in that was the difficult part. "All they said was 'wind hold," but they didn't say they were having trouble with the stage, and they were saying it was going to be like a two-hour wait to get back in," Dorrough said. "And when you've paid that much for a festival, you expect to enjoy it and not sit in line for an hour and a half." Organizers said it's important to have a plan in place for weather during the Texas spring. "It's not fun for people to have to work around weather," James said. "I mean it throws a wrench in everybody's plans and we appreciate everyone just being patient and understanding we are doing everything we can to keep everyone safe and safety is our number one priority." Organizers estimate around 10,000 people came to the festival. The Source Information in this article comes from interviews by FOX 4's Amelia Jones.
