Latest news with #Trumble
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Man breaks in and kills neighbor to steal his Xbox a second time, FL cops say
A man stole his neighbor's Xbox, then when his neighbor bought a new Xbox, he broke in again, killed him and stole his new Xbox, Florida authorities said. James Conyers, 45, was convicted of second-degree murder and dealing in stolen property, and now he's been sentenced to life in prison, Duval County records show. His attorney declined to comment to McClatchy News on June 3. The investigation began when Terrill Trumble, 28, didn't show up to work July 24, 2023, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. He wasn't answering his door, but one of his friends noticed his back door was unlocked, police wrote in an arrest report. When he went inside, he found Trumble dead on the bathroom floor with a gunshot wound to the head, and his new Xbox had disappeared, according to police. Neighbors at the apartment complex said Trumble had ongoing issues with Conyers, adding Conyers had 'bragged' about breaking into Trumble's apartment and stealing his Xbox and a shotgun a month earlier, according to police. Trumble bought a new Xbox, but on July 23, 2023, Conyers' girlfriend reported that he had disappeared from their apartment with her gun and her vehicle, officers said. He came back later that day but refused to explain why he had taken her gun, she told officers, according to the report. The next day, Trumble was found dead, police said. Conyers denied killing Trumble, saying they were friends and had no issues, but detectives said they found out someone had sold both of Trumble's stolen Xboxes to a gaming store. Trumble's new Xbox was sold to the store hours after he was killed, investigators said. Phone records showed Conyers was in the same area of the store when the Xboxes were sold, and he had looked up the store online, police said. The bullet used to kill Trumble was fired from Conyers' girlfriend's gun, investigators said. Detectives said they learned Conyers had previously been convicted of manslaughter in South Carolina from a similar incident in which Conyers' friend was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head. He was prohibited from possessing a firearm. A jury found Conyers guilty in April, prosecutors announced.
Dominion Post
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Dominion Post
Has Morgantown conducted its last standalone election?
MORGANTOWN — The current iteration of the Morgantown City Charter was approved April 29, 1977. Among the municipal powers and responsibilities outlined in the document are details explaining exactly when and how the city is to conduct elections — on the last Tuesday in April each odd-numbered year. As it turns out, the final election conducted to those specifications may have been held Tuesday on the 48th anniversary of the charter's passage. A bill passed by the state Legislature and signed into law last week by Gov. Patrick Morrisey requires municipalities to align their standalone elections with county-run primary or general elections by 2032. With that in mind — coupled with a perceived change in the majority opinion on city council following Tuesday's election — is it safe to assume Morgantown has conducted its last stand-alone election? That remains to be seen. 'I do not believe that we will do it any earlier than we are forced to,' Councilor Danielle Trumble said. While the question of moving the city's election has been raised periodically going back a decade or so, it's never really gotten any traction until about two years ago. Trumble initially called for a charter review immediately following her re-election in 2023, citing the elimination of the city's standalone election as the number-one issue raised by voters. Ultimately, moving the election was one of a handful of charter changes taken up by council — but the body voted 4-3 in October not to put the question before the city's voters. Trumble was joined by Dave Harshbarger and Brian Butcher in backing the charter change as a ballot question. She cautioned at the time that the city should make the jump proactively as it was only a matter of time before the West Virginia Legislature required it. Six months later, that requirement is in place, along with the 2032 deadline. Trumble said the scenario currently being discussed by city administration would have the city conduct its own elections in 2027, 2029 and 2031. In this scenario, candidates in the 2nd, 4th and 6th wards would run for special, three-year terms in 2029, and candidates for the other four seats would run for three-years terms in 2031 in order to move the city from odd to even year elections. 'I think plenty of municipalities have proactively done this, and it was not quite the big deal that we are making it out to be. I know there's a lot of talk about making precinct lines match with the city boundaries and things like that, but, you know, the other municipalities in Mon County have already figured this out,' Trumble said. 'I don't know why it's going to take us another seven years to figure it out.' Ultimately, the question of when and how to move the election will be up to the city council. It would seem — based on campaign comments from newcomers Jodi Hollingshead and Mark Downs — that the votes are there. Proponents point to the promise of increased voter turnout and the elimination of election expenses. Those opposed to the change, like outgoing 2nd Ward Councilor Bill Kawecki, have long expressed concerns that city issues would get lost in the partisan noise of county, state and federal politics. Hollingshead, the incoming 2nd Ward councilor, has a different take. 'That's up to us. It's up to us to make sure we're educating voters and getting out there and registering people to vote and stating our causes and letting people know about us,' she said. 'That's our job. That's on us.'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Has Morgantown conducted its last standalone election?
Apr. 30—MORGANTOWN — The current iteration of the Morgantown City Charter was approved April 29, 1977. Among the municipal powers and responsibilities outlined in the document are details explaining exactly when and how the city is to conduct elections—on the last Tuesday in April each odd-numbered year. As it turns out, the final election conducted to those specifications may have been held Tuesday on the 48th anniversary of the charter's passage. A bill passed by the state Legislature and signed into law last week by Gov. Patrick Morrisey requires municipalities to align their standalone elections with county-run primary or general elections by 2032. With that in mind—coupled with a perceived change in the majority opinion on city council following Tuesday's election—is it safe to assume Morgantown has conducted its last stand-alone election ? That remains to be seen. "I do not believe that we will do it any earlier than we are forced to, " Councilor Danielle Trumble said. While the question of moving the city's election has been raised periodically going back a decade or so, it's never really gotten any traction until about two years ago. Trumble initially called for a charter review immediately following her re-election in 2023, citing the elimination of the city's standalone election as the number-one issue raised by voters. Ultimately, moving the election was one of a handful of charter changes taken up by council—but the body voted 4-3 in October not to put the question before the city's voters. Trumble was joined by Dave Harshbarger and Brian Butcher in backing the charter change as a ballot question. She cautioned at the time that the city should make the jump proactively as it was only a matter of time before the West Virginia Legislature required it. Six months later, that requirement is in place, along with the 2032 deadline. Trumble said the scenario currently being discussed by city administration would have the city conduct its own elections in 2027, 2029 and 2031. In this scenario, candidates in the 2nd, 4th and 6th wards would run for special, three-year terms in 2029, and candidates for the other four seats would run for three-years terms in 2031 in order to move the city from odd to even year elections. "I think plenty of municipalities have proactively done this, and it was not quite the big deal that we are making it out to be. I know there's a lot of talk about making precinct lines match with the city boundaries and things like that, but, you know, the other municipalities in Mon County have already figured this out, " Trumble said. "I don't know why it's going to take us another seven years to figure it out." Ultimately, the question of when and how to move the election will be up to the city council. It would seem—based on campaign comments from newcomers Jodi Hollingshead and Mark Downs—that the votes are there. Proponents point to the promise of increased voter turnout and the elimination of election expenses. Those opposed to the change, like outgoing 2nd Ward Councilor Bill Kawecki, have long expressed concerns that city issues would get lost in the partisan noise of county, state and federal politics. Hollingshead, the incoming 2nd Ward councilor, has a different take. "That's up to us. It's up to us to make sure we're educating voters and getting out there and registering people to vote and stating our causes and letting people know about us, " she said. "That's our job. That's on us."
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Status of 2024 earmarks uncertain
Mar. 22—MORGANTOWN — The continuing resolution signed into law this past week averted a government shutdown, but may have closed the door on a number of projects across West Virginia. As previously reported, the temporary spending plan did not include any fiscal year 2025 congressionally directed spending, or earmarks, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars across the Mountain State. Now, local officials are questioning the status of yet-to-be-received funds awarded as congressionally directed spending from FY 2024. The Dominion Post reached out to WVU after the university made an emergency request to the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization to amend its Transportation Improvement Plan to reflect a change in funding for upcoming improvements to the university's Personal Rapid Transit system. The university had been awarded $6.4 million in congressionally directed spending in the FY 2024 appropriations cycle for the work. The funds were to be used as part of a multi-year overhaul of the transit system, including aesthetic and infrastructural updates to stations, platforms, staircases, elevators and guideway components. "Currently, a lot of those grants are frozen, including this PRT grant, " MPO Executive Director Bill Austin said. "WVU would like to continue with that work. That's about $3 million worth of work they were hoping to get done this summer. So, working with the [Federal Transportation Administration ] they figured a way to shift some funds around from the next fiscal year so they could accommodate that work." But that was just one of many FY 2024 earmarks anticipated by WVU, the city of Morgantown and other local agencies that have yet to materialize. WVU Executive Director of Communications April Kaull said the university is working with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's office "to better understand the potential impacts and are hopeful that funding will be available for important university and related projects and initiatives." Morgantown City Councilor Danielle Trumble was part of the Morgantown delegation that traveled to Washington D.C. earlier this month for the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference. Trumble, who met with Capito while in D.C., said she was surprised to learn the 2025 congressionally directed spending was being eliminated. When asked about the 2024 funding, Trumble said she left the conference concerned about any federal funding that's been announced but not received. "I think that it's not automatically gone like fiscal year 25, but other grants that the city has been awarded seem to be frozen, and I think we should be moving forward with the assumption that they are not guaranteed any longer, " she said. "The fiscal year 25 congressionally directed spending is certainly gone now, but I'm concerned about any other money that we don't already have in hand. I think the freeze is affecting a lot more than fiscal year 2025, and even more than just earmarks." Capito's office previously told The Dominion Post the continuing resolution only eliminated the 2025 congressionally directed spending requests. "Senator Capito understands the frustration, and she shares in that frustration, but remains committed to supporting initiatives that benefit West Virginia, " Capito Communications Director Kelley Moore said.
