Latest news with #Velez
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
CT man convicted of murder over marijuana deal gone bad
A Connecticut man was convicted Wednesday of killing one of his partners in a marijuana deal gone bad back in 2012. Melkuan Scott, 34, was found guilty of killing Serafin Velez in Hartford on Feb. 16 of that year, the Justice Department said in a press release. Scott was already in federal prison, where he had recently completed a 13-year sentence for running a drug trafficking operation in Connecticut. Velez was the broker on a marijuana deal between Scott and several people in New York, according to federal investigators. But when Scott paid the New Yorkers for the weed, they handed him fake marijuana in return. Scott blamed Velez for the faulty deal, investigators said. He retaliated by forcing Velez into a vehicle, driving him to a street in Hartford and fatally shooting him, according to the feds. Velez was 27 years old at the time. More than 10 years after the killing, Scott was charged in Velez's death in March 2023. Another man also in federal prison, Arthur Stanley, was also charged. The jury convicted Scott of kidnapping resulting in death and killing Velez in service of a drug trafficking operation. Scott faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Buzz Feed
25-05-2025
- Health
- Buzz Feed
Work Habits That Are Secretly Depression In Disguise
We all go through ups and downs at work, but if hard days are becoming your new normal, you might be experiencing what 280 million people go through worldwide: depression. Depression is a mental health condition that can show up as visible sadness and exhaustion, but a lot of times, it can also show up in ways you would not expect. 'Depression symptoms at work can sneak up on you, and it's common to be tough on yourself about them rather than recognizing them for what they are,' said Shannon Garcia, a psychotherapist at States of Wellness Counseling based in Illinois and Wisconsin. Sustained feelings of hopelessness, diminished pleasure in activities, weight loss or gain, sleep disturbances, fatigue, feeling worthless, or difficulty with concentrating are depressive symptoms that can affect you on-and-off the clock, said Ryan Howes, psychologist based in Pasadena, California, and the author of ' Mental Health Journal for Men.' To help professionals learn the difference between a bad day and a depressive symptom, HuffPost asked different therapists about the work habits that are commonly signs of depression in disguise. See if these work behaviors resonate: 1. You are working harder than ever to avoid going home. Depression can look different from person to person. Some co-workers may never guess that you are coping with depression because you are still functioning as a hardworking, reliable employee. 'For successful working professionals who have made a career out of achievement and getting validation from work, depression might look more active,' said Alicia Velez, a licensed clinical social worker based in Brooklyn, New York. She gave the example of an employee going through a divorce or taking care of a sick family member. 'You might have someone working more hours than usual, maybe raising their hand to go on that long business trip, or wanting to be the one to tackle challenging cases or problems,' Velez said. 'Validation and recognition at work tend to feel better than having to confront that a marriage may be over or that a family member may be at the end of his/her life.' 2. You were once a social butterfly but now you avoid co-workers. How you interact with co-workers at work can help you understand if you are dealing with just a bad day or something deeper. Withdrawing from colleagues and isolating yourself are two common signs of depression, Velez said. 'This may look like someone who used to actively participate in meetings is [now] quieter, sits in the back of the room, or even misses the meeting altogether,' she said. 'Perhaps the employee no longer takes part in off-sites or after work happy hours. He or she might find ways to evade interactions with colleagues or managers. The worker may let their calls go to voicemail, or be slow to respond to emails or even not respond at all.' In extreme examples, a person who is exhibiting these behaviors can get in trouble at work and be at risk of losing their job, which can also result in a cycle of shame and guilt, Velez said. If handing in work on time or even showing up to work is becoming a daily struggle, it could also be a symptom of depression, Howes said. 'I knew someone who enjoyed his work, was actively engaged in his projects, and had a lot of contact with his coworkers. When he became depressed, he started sleeping through his alarm and showed up late to work. He was falling behind on deadlines, stopped going to lunch with colleagues, and became highly critical of his [own] and his co-workers' performance,' Howes said. 'All of these changes were noticed by colleagues and bosses, who reached out to him and encouraged him to seek help,' Howes continued. 'Fortunately, he did, and through a combination of changing diet and sleep hygiene, beginning therapy, and receiving a prescription for an antidepressant, he was feeling better within a few months.' 'Depression isn't just feeling down in the dumps ― it can make you super irritable too,' Garcia said. If every little annoyance is setting you off at work, it could be a signal to look deeper at the cause. People with depression deal with symptoms of overt or suppressed anger, and can make their colleagues the target of their ire. 'At work, you may find yourself easily annoyed by everyone and everything. Your fuse is short with your co-workers, customers, and even your inbox,' Garcia said. 5. You lose motivation or interest in the work you used to enjoy. There's a difference between a one-time boring assignment and a worrisome pattern of apathy. Notice changes about how you feel regarding work that you used to take satisfaction in doing, Garcia said. 'You might notice yourself just staring at your screen, pretending to be busy, or doing anything but tackling the big stuff,' Garcia said. 'That loss of interest that depression can cause may have you thinking 'I just don't care' about your work.' What you can do next if you suspect you have depression. If these signs are resonating with your experience at work, know that you do not have to deal with depression on your own. There are steps you can take immediately to address how you are feeling and get better: Listen to what your body is telling you about your health. If your depression shows up as you hyper-functioning at work, it helps to check in with your body. 'It can be easy to miss depressive symptoms when work is tricking you into feeling competent and self-efficacious,' Velez said. That's why Velez suggests asking yourself questions that can help you notice changes in your physical health like: Are you feeling more tired than usual? What's your relationship with alcohol or marijuana? Are you getting too little or too much sleep? How is your relationship with exercise and movement? Are there points of nagging tension anywhere in your body? 'Physical signs and signals can alert you that it may be time to acknowledge those uncomfortable feelings,' Velez said. Talk to loved ones and trusted peers about how you're feeling. When you are depressed, you might not want anyone to know and may feel unworthy of your friends' support. But in fact, talking to a few trusted peers and loved ones can be just what you need to help you against withdrawing and isolation. 'The best way to start managing depression is to talk with someone about it,' Howes said. He said you could open up to a friend or loved one, and let them know what you're experiencing and how it's impacting you. Velez said it can also help for employees experiencing depression to ask trusted colleagues to stop by their desk for a quick coffee chat a couple times a week or to check in with them via text. Seek professional help. 'Know that depression is very common and often responds well to treatment,' Howes said. 'If it seems like this is depression, talking with a physician or a mental health professional is crucial. They will be able to assess your symptoms and recommend a course of treatment that may include therapy, medication or both.' With written documentation of your depression by a medical professional, you may also qualify for reasonable accommodations at your job under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Examples of these accommodations can include permission to work from home or an altered schedule. If you choose to share your condition with HR or your manager, they may be able to help you get company-sponsored resources and support. 'Many workplaces offer EAPs [Employee Assistance Programs] which have counselors on staff to provide short-term therapy or can also give the employee referrals for other services that may be needed such as child care, food and housing assistance, and therapists in the community,' Velez said. Assess whether your job is making your depression worse. Citing psychiatrist Dr. Aaron T. Beck 's research on cognitive behavioral therapy, Velez said it is also important to learn if your job is providing you with the ability to feel pleasure, or a sense of enjoyment, and mastery, or a sense of achievement, because those are factors people need in order to combat depression. To monitor if your job is exacerbating symptoms or is the source of them, Velez said an employee can keep track of work activities for one or two weeks in a spreadsheet, with one column for 'pleasure' and another column for 'mastery.' 'Having visual evidence can be a great way to confirm or deny our feelings,' Velez said. 'Taking an inventory can let you know if you are getting pleasure and mastery from your job or if it's time to start looking for a new job.' Understand that tiny wins do make a difference. 'Depression often pushes you to isolate, do nothing, and be unkind to yourself. Doing the opposite, even in tiny ways, can really help,' Garcia said. For instance, Garcia said that if you're struggling to get out of bed and are showing up late to work, you can try sitting up when you wake instead of staying horizontal. And if projects feel overwhelming, Garcia recommended breaking them down into smaller steps or committing to just five minutes of focused effort. Ultimately, it helps to understand that you are more than your depression. 'See depression as something separate from who you are and practice resisting its urges,' Garcia recommended.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fort Worth ISD board approves plan to close 18 schools over four years
The Fort Worth Independent School District's board voted Tuesday to approve a plan to close 16 schools over the next four years. The closures the board approved Tuesday are in addition to two others the board had already approved. District officials say the cuts will allow them to redirect millions of dollars toward academic priorities. The board approved the plan by an 8-0 vote, with board member Wallace Bridges absent. The closures are a part of Fort Worth ISD's facilities master plan, which has been months in the making. The plan is intended to help the district manage revenue losses from declining enrollment. Fort Worth ISD has seen its enrollment drop by 15% since the 2019-20 school year, and officials project the district will lose another 6% of its enrollment by 2029-30. District leaders didn't discuss the plan at Tuesday's meeting. But at a work session last week, Deputy Superintendent Kellie Spencer said closing the campuses would save Fort Worth ISD about $10 million over the next five years. That's money that the district can redirect toward literacy priorities, she said. During the meeting, groups of parents and other supporters of Briscoe and De Zavala elementary schools held signs asking the board not to close their schools. Several spoke during public comment, explaining what made their campuses special and how students and their families would be affected if they closed. Stephany Velez, the mother of two students at De Zavala, said she enrolled her sons at the school in spite of Fort Worth ISD's overall lackluster performance because it was a consistently high-rated campus. She had planned to home school her kids, but she changed her mind when she heard about De Zavala's dual language program. As a Spanish speaker herself, Velez said she wanted to make sure her sons had the chance to learn in both languages. Velez acknowledged that De Zavala's enrollment is well short of the building's capacity. Last year, more than half the school's seats were empty. But she told the board she doesn't think the district has done enough to attract students to the school. The dual language program is one of De Zavala's biggest strengths, she said, but the school only has one dual language class per grade. That means it's forced to turn away many students who would like to enroll. Danyelle Liggins, a fourth-grade reading teacher at Briscoe, told the Star-Telegram that the elementary school is 'a campus like no other.' More than 95% of the school's students are classified as economically disadvantaged. Every year, teachers help families with Christmas gifts and Thanksgiving dinners, Liggins said. Otherwise, many families couldn't afford either. Liggins worries about what will happen to Briscoe's students when the school closes. The majority of Briscoe's students walk to school, Liggins said. Once it closes, they'll move to Carroll Peak Elementary School, a little over a mile and a half away. The district only provides transportation for students who live more than two miles away from school. That means most students will be too close to Carroll Peak to qualify for bus service, but too far to walk, she said. Most families at Briscoe don't have the means to drive their children to school themselves, Liggins said. She worries that those students won't be able to get to school at all. 'They're going to be left out,' she said. 'And that's what we're scared of for our kids.' But not every speaker at the meeting opposed the closures. A few encouraged the board to be willing to make tough decisions that will put the district on sounder financial footing. Graham Brizendin, a member of the district's steering committee that worked on the plan, said committee members didn't take the process lightly. The plan allows Fort Worth ISD to move toward the goal of giving all its students a chance at success, he said. Brezendin acknowledged that the process is difficult for families with a personal connection to the schools being closed. It's a list that includes Brezendin himself, he said — his grandmother attended De Zavala in the 1930s. 'I'm not excited to see it close, but I am also cognizant that the future students' success should not be bound by my emotional connection to bricks and mortar,' he said. The closures approved Tuesday include: Milton L. Kirkpatrick Elementary School (Closing in June 2026) Charles E. Nash Elementary School (Closing in June 2026) Riverside Applied Learning Center (Closing in June 2026) Edward J. Briscoe Elementary School (Closing in June 2026) De Zavala Elementary School (Closing in June 2027) A.M. Pate Elementary School (Closing in June 2027) J.T. Stevens Elementary School (Closing in June 2027) Atwood McDonald Elementary School (Closing in June 2027) McLean 6th Grade Center (Closing in June 2028) West Handley Elementary School (Closing in June 2028) Harlean Beal Elementary School (Closing in June 2028) H.V. Helbing Elementary School (Closing in June 2028) Sunrise-McMillan Elementary School (Closing in June 2028) Kirkpatrick Middle School (Closing in June 2029) Morningside Middle School (Closing in June 2029) Hubbard Heights Elementary School (Closing in June 2029) In addition to the closures outlined in the plan, Fort Worth ISD is also scheduled to close S.S. Dillow and Eastern Hills elementary schools next month. District officials said S.S. Dillow, an 88-year-old building in southeast Fort Worth, has structural problems that would require 'costly, extensive, and invasive work' to fix. District officials plan to build a new campus for Eastern Hills. Students at the school will go to West Handley Elementary School until the new building is finished, and the entire consolidated student body will move from West Handley to the new Eastern Hills in 2028.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Authorities probe motor vehicle crash involving Paterson councilman
PATERSON — Councilman Luis Velez was involved in a motor vehicle crash in the early morning hours of May 12 and the other driver said he smelled of alcohol after allegedly going through a red light at a high rate of speed. Velez issued a statement about 13 hours after the incident confirming he had been in 'a traffic accident' with his wife as his passenger. He said both of them were 'doing well.' 'I am fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation, but I want to be clear: any claims circulating on social media are entirely false, and I urge residents to allow law enforcement to complete their investigation,' Velez said regarding Facebook assertions that he was drunk.'As a councilman, I believe no one is above the law — including myself — and traffic laws exist to protect everyone,' Velez added. 'I remain committed to transparency and accountability as the facts come to light. I'm praying for all.' It remains unclear whether the police officers who responded to the scene asked Velez to submit to a field sobriety test, which checks a driver's balance and coordination, or if he was given a breathalyzer, which measures the alcohol content in a person's breath. Law enforcement sources said the incident is being probed by the police department's Internal Affairs division. More Paterson news: Meeting devolves into verbal attacks. Did councilman say 'guts' or 'gun'? The police department issued the following statement: 'On May 12, 2025 at approximately 1:43 a.m., Paterson police officers responded to the intersection of 12th and Madison Avenues on reports of a motor vehicle accident. The incident is currently under investigation.' The other motorist, Knolaisha Washington, and her passenger, Jahvon Parker, both Paterson residents, said they were taken from the scene in an ambulance before police officers arrived at the scene. Washington said a Paterson police officer went to St. Joseph's University Medical Center to get a statement from her. She said she asked the officer whether Velez had been given a breathalyzer test and that the officer told her he did not know because he had not been at the scene of the collision. The crash happened at about 1:45 a.m. at the intersection of Madison and 12th avenues, Washington said. Velez was driving north on Madison, while Washington was going westbound on 12th Avenue, she said. Washington said the traffic light at the intersection was green for vehicles traveling on 12th Avenue and red for Madison Avenue. She said Velez' vehicle was going more than 45 mph when it went through the red light. Washington said Parker was knocked unconscious for a few seconds after the crash. She said she suffered a burn on her chest from her car's air bag. They both were treated at the hospital and released, Washington said. Washington took photos and recorded several videos of her interactions with Velez, prior to her being taken away in an ambulance. 'You don't give a [expletive]? You don't give a [expletive]?' she said to Velez in one video. 'Good night, have a good night,' Velez responded. 'I'm calling PD to handle this [expletive].' 'Listen, listen,' the councilman continued, before holding up his cell phone, showing Washington he had called the police headquarters number, as a message played suggesting he call '911' for an emergency. A video from an overhead security camera in the area showed Velez urinating next to a vehicle at the crash scene. This article originally appeared on Police probe car crash involving Paterson councilman
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Real ID enforcement takes off Wednesday at Charlotte airport and across Carolinas
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Starting on Wednesday, May 7, if you're headed to the airport for domestic travel, you need a Real ID or TSA acceptable identification to expedite the security process. At Charlotte Douglas International Airport Security Checkpoint 1, agents now ask you if you have a Real ID driver's license, passport, or any of these approved identification cards. North Carolina TSA spokesperson Dan Velez said if you don't have any of these, you can still get through security, but you have to go through an additional screening where agents will ask you additional questions to verify your identity. 'Wings For All' takes children with intellectual disabilities through Charlotte Airport 'Our federal security directors are ready to go for their specific airports,' Velez said. 'It'll vary from airport to airport, but for the most part, you'll be pulled aside, and you'll have to go through an additional verification process to make sure that you are who you say you are.' An agent at Checkpoint 1 told Queen City News that anyone without these IDs would go through the line, then visit agents at lines 11-13 to go through the additional screening. TSA asks that you arrive three hours before your flight to allow time for this process. Security lines averaged 10 minutes Wednesday morning on the first day of the new enforcement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
