Latest news with #cityofficials
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Storm batters St. Cloud with 60 MPH winds, uprooting trees and damaging homes
The Brief Severe storms with 60 mph wind gusts battered St. Cloud, Florida, on Thursday night, tearing roofs and toppling trees. Several homes and power lines were damaged, but no injuries were reported. City officials are urging residents to begin hurricane preparations now ahead of what's expected to be an active season. ST. CLOUD, Fla. - Strong winds from severe thunderstorms late Thursday caused widespread damage in St. Cloud, toppling trees, tearing off rooftops and knocking out power, just days ahead of the official start to hurricane season. What we know Severe thunderstorms rolled through St. Cloud late Thursday, producing wind gusts up to 60 mph and large hail, according to the National Weather Service. The powerful winds peeled the aluminum roof off a home on Jersey Avenue and ripped away a screened-in patio. In other parts of the city, trees were toppled onto homes, power lines, and buildings—one of which was later declared unsafe. Despite the destruction, no injuries have been reported. What we don't know Officials have not released a full assessment of the damage or the number of homes affected. It remains unclear whether any residents have been displaced or if utility services have been fully restored across the impacted neighborhoods. Long-term recovery plans or insurance estimates have yet to be announced. The backstory The storm struck just days before the official start of hurricane season, amplifying concerns about readiness. The National Weather Service had issued warnings ahead of the storm, but its force still caught some residents off guard. One family on Fifth Street narrowly avoided tragedy when a tree crashed down near their home moments after they fled with their grandchild. Big picture view The storm has heightened awareness in St. Cloud about the need for early hurricane preparation. City officials are encouraging residents to trim trees and clear debris before more storms arrive. With forecasts predicting an active hurricane season, the damage is being viewed by some as an urgent reminder of the threats ahead. What they're saying In one hard-hit neighborhood along Jersey Avenue, the aluminum roof of a home was peeled back by the storm's force. Across the street from Lakefront Park, public works crews were seen removing a massive tree that had been threatening nearby homes and cars. "There's a lot of people that picnic across the street, and I was afraid that it may even hit a car, you know, as it's going by," the homeowner said. "So I'm glad they went ahead and took it down." Another tree fell near a home on Fifth Street and Missouri Avenue, knocking down power lines and sending a scare through one family. "It came up so fast," a resident said. "Me and my wife were in the bedroom right there with the grandbaby. I seen the tree rocking back and forth. I yelled at her to get the baby out of the room, and as soon as I said that, that tree—it went over." City officials say the recent storms serve as a wake-up call just ahead of hurricane season, which begins Sunday. "Our public works crew — they've really been getting a dress rehearsal for hurricane season," one city official said. "They do predict that we're going to have a very active season, so I would encourage our residents to take those steps now." What you can do As cleanup continues, residents are being asked to place storm debris in their regular trash bins to make it easier for city crews to collect. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by the City of St. Cloud and residents who live along Jersey Avenue.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Pittsburgh-area representative stands in hole, halting construction project to get city's attention
Call him a pothole politician or a local lawmaker standing on principle. On Thursday, a state representative stood in a hole for more than five hours, trying to force construction crews to call 911 and alert city officials. He said it was all because of a paving mishap. State rep wants road paved Forget the yellow safety vest or the hard hat. Rep. Joe McAndrew is donning a shirt and tie, trying to prove a point. McAndrew says the city of Pittsburgh agreed to pave Verona Boulevard from Lincoln Avenue to the Penn Hills border. But when he stopped by the project, he said he noticed the hired paving crew stopped short, failing to honor the agreement between his office and city leaders. So, he did what felt right, planting his dress shoes in the unpaved hole. (Photo: KDKA) "The city of Pittsburgh officials continued to ignore my pleas to have the road continued to be paved to the Penn Hills border to the point where I ended up having to go into the way of the construction vehicles to have the city of Pittsburgh officials come and speak to me about this issue and this mishap," he said. Crews stop work His performance worked. It forced the crews to stop. Police officers started showing up, and he says the city caught wind. "They have communicated to me that they were in error on where they were stopping this road today and over the next several weeks, they do plan to finish this road in its entirety," McAndrew said. That means the long-neglected stretch between Penn Hills and the city, from Mt. Carmel Road to Lincoln Avenue, will soon see fresh blacktop. "But it took me getting into a hole and having this argument with them in order to get it done for the people of our community and for the people of Lincoln Park and for the people of Penn Hills," McAndrew said. Olga George, press secretary for the mayor's office, said there appeared to be some "miscommunication" about the project. "While the scope of repaving has now been resolved, additional Council approval is required to complete the repaving of a portion of the road which is currently paved in brick," George's statement said. Work has been stopped to allow the city to get the council's approval to replace the brick portion of the street, allowing the project "to move forward in a complete and coordinated manner, rather than in two separate phases."
CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Flin Flon residents asked to prepare for evacuation as fire crosses Manitoba border
The City of Flin Flon told its residents to brace for a possible evacuation on Tuesday as a wildfire that started at a landfill in Creighton, Sask., crossed over the Manitoba border. Flin Flon, which is 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg by the Saskatchewan border, said it issued a pre-evacuation notice Tuesday night due to dry conditions and proximity to the fire. On Tuesday afternoon, city officials said the fire crossed Kisseynew Lake Road north of Trout Lake Mine. Cliff Lake Road and Kisseynew Lake Road have been closed to the public. In a statement posted to Facebook at 7:40 p.m., city officials suggested that residents prepare an emergency kit that includes prescription medications, personal items like clothing, pet supplies, phones and laptops, important documents, and valuable or meaningful items that cannot be replaced. Vehicles should be fully fuelled and travel ready, the city warned. Officials are asking vulnerable people who would require help during an evacuation to register in person at city hall or call 833-210-6435. An evacuation centre will be set up if the fire situation gets worse, the city said. Across the border, the Town of Creighton is also asking citizens to pre-register in case of a possible evacuation. Creighton said its fire department continues to work alongside provincial wildfire officials from both Manitoba and Saskatchewan to control the fire.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Honolulu sees doubling of vacation rental registrations under new rules
As Honolulu cracks down on illegal vacation rentals, registrations of units in sanctioned resort areas have more than doubled in the year since the process was streamlined. But neighbors complain some owners are still holding out — avoiding the higher tax rate and costing the city revenue. Short-term rentals aren't allowed in residential areas, a restriction intended to prevent neighborhoods from being overrun by tourists at the expense of local residents. Instead, the units can operate in the island's five resort zones and some surrounding areas as long as their owners register with the city and pay an initial $1,000 fee along with $500 each year to renew. Although making the registration process less cumbersome has helped, city officials say they're focused on complaints about illegal short-term rentals in residential areas and don't even know how many unregistered units may be operating in the resort zones. Owners who followed the rules expressed frustration at having to pay the higher tax rate while others continue to rent their properties without regulation, underscoring the intractability of the problem as Honolulu grapples with how best to navigate the pressures of a tourism-driven economy. 'It really makes me feel angry,' said Kuilima Estates East short-term rental owner Michael Heh. He said he and his wife jumped through all the required hoops while others have escaped regulation, which also enables them to host more people than allowed by law. 'They're escaping the higher property taxes, and they're able to rent to six (people) instead of four,' he said as an example, bringing in more money per night and crowding communal spaces. Simplifying The Registration Process The city began requiring short-term rental owners to register in 2022 as Airbnb and other rental platforms grew in popularity, prompting complaints about rowdy behavior and parking as some neighborhoods became crowded with tourists. But the process was cumbersome. 'It required a lot of documents,' said Pam Taylor, who with her husband Bryan Taylor owns a one-bedroom unit at Turtle Bay's Kuilima Estates East. The Taylors, who live in Utah, purchased the unit in 2019 after their Kahuku-based son got tired of them sleeping on his couch during their visits to the island. They said it took nearly a month to register their property in 2022. It helped that Bryan Taylor was familiar with some of the paperwork required through his experience in the mortgage business. Honolulu passed a law to streamline the process last year, requiring fewer official tax certificates, instead allowing website screenshots and attestations that the city can follow up on if needed, among other changes. The number of properties registered as short-term rentals rose from 680 on July 3 to just over 1,000 properties by Sept. 18, then to about 1,380 as of last week, according to Department of Planning and Permitting spokesperson Davis Pitner. Like many cities, Honolulu's biggest source of money is property taxes. Different users pay different rates: Residential units where the owner doesn't live on the property are charged one of the lowest rates, at 0.04% for their first million dollars of assessed value and 1.14% for everything over that. Hotels and resorts are charged the highest rate, at 1.39% of all assessed value. Short-term rentals don't fit neatly into either of those categories. That's why the city recently created a new transient vacation classification, which it set last year at 0.09% for the first million dollars of assessed value and 1.15% for everything over that. That means a million-dollar short-term rental unit should be paying $9,000 each year rather than the $4,000 required of non-owner occupied residences. At that rate, city officials estimated last year, short-term rentals could bring in about $16 million of annual property tax revenue. That number is projected to rise to $17.8 million next fiscal year, spokesperson Ian Scheuring said in a text. Scheuring said it's difficult to know how many eligible properties aren't correctly registered, so the city doesn't have an estimated dollar amount of what it's missing out on. Kuilima Estates East is in Turtle Bay, one of Oʻahu's five sanctioned resort zones. The others are Waikīkī, Ko Olina, Mākaha and Hoakalei. About 80% of the complex's 168 units are used as short-term rentals, Bert Wilkinson, president of the Kuilima Estates East HOA, said Friday. Of that 80%, he said, a little more than half were registered with the city as of December. Owners at Kuilima Estates East were reminded to register their short-term rentals during a recent homeowners association meeting ahead of a heavy tourist season. Like the city, the HOA doesn't know exactly how many neighbors are supposed to register but still haven't. Enforcement Is Coming People don't register their units largely because it would mean higher property taxes and because of a lack of city oversight, Oʻahu Short Term Rental Alliance director Jill Paulin said. 'They're not enforcing,' she said. 'That's the biggest reason.' Enforcement against registration scofflaws is coming eventually. Pitner said the city is finalizing a template to give notices of violation to people who don't register, but he declined to give an estimated timeline. Meanwhile, the city is picking its battles, focusing on complaints that point in the direction of illegal units operating where they shouldn't in residential areas. 'If you're in the resort areas, we presume that you're able to do these things,' Department of Planning and Permitting director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna said at a council hearing last year. 'Just pay the fee and let us know, and then we can be more focused on enforcing against illegal (short-term rentals).' ___ This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Atlanta cracks down on illegal auto repair shops in residential neighborhoods
The Brief City officials issued citations to two homeowners in northwest Atlanta for allegedly running illegal auto repair shops in a residential area after years of complaints from residents. Neighbors have reported ongoing issues such as junk vehicles, oil-stained driveways, and safety hazards due to cars parked near a blind curve, despite repeated attempts to get city intervention. The homeowners are scheduled to appear in municipal court to respond to the citations, with residents hopeful for effective enforcement this time. ATLANTA - After years of complaints from residents in a northwest Atlanta neighborhood, city officials have issued citations to two homeowners accused of illegally running auto repair shops from their properties. SEE ALSO: Atlanta residents fight against alleged illegal car repair shop What we know City planning inspectors were seen citing one property on Adkins Road Friday, a day after the neighboring house received a similar violation. Both citations allege the operation of mechanical repair businesses in a residential district. The enforcement comes after what residents say has been a decades-long struggle to get city officials to intervene. Neighbors on Adkins Road, near Fairburn Road, have repeatedly reported junk vehicles, oil-stained driveways, and a rotating cast of cars and tow trucks — even a sign advertising auto repair services. What they're saying "They clean up for a few days or a few weeks and then it starts right back over," said Dama Riles, whose elderly parents live across from the cited homes. "So it's been a start and stop cycle." James and Janie Riles, ages 91 and 84 respectively, say they've been pleading for help for years. "We've been trying to get something done so long, we just gave up," Janie said. "We call, we call, we call, and nothing happens." "They're lying to you, really, to be honest about it," added James Riles when told the homeowners denied doing repair work. Neighbors say the issue has gone far beyond being a simple nuisance — they claim it's become a safety hazard. Eunice Guilford, who also lives nearby, said cars parked on both sides of the street near a blind curve have nearly caused multiple crashes. "I have almost had three accidents because it's a curve right there and you can't see around the curve," Guilford said. The other side According to the city of Atlanta's code enforcement database, dozens of complaints have been filed over the years against the two properties, including issues with inoperable vehicles, cars parked on the lawn, and suspected business activity in a residential area. Despite denials from the homeowners, FOX 5 cameras documented numerous auto parts, hoses, and fluids on the premises. What's next Both property owners are scheduled to appear in municipal court to respond to the citations. Residents say they're hopeful this time the enforcement will stick. The Source FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor spoke with Atlanta residents and the city of Atlanta's code enforcement officials.
