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Safer streets for pedestrians at the heart of new Montgomery Co. master plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

Montgomery County, Maryland, has a detailed road map with one goal: making the county’s streets safer for pedestrians. Now, the comprehensive plan to improve pedestrian safety has gotten a stamp of approval from the county’s council.The Pedestrian Master Plan was passed unanimously by the 11-member county council on Tuesday.According to county officials, 12 pedestrians have been killed and 450 have been injured so far this year.Last year, 19 pedestrians were killed and 541 were seriously injured in Montgomery County.Dan Langenkamp, whose wife Sarah was killed by a driver as the couple rode their bikes in a bike lane along River Road in Bethesda in August 2022, calls the adoption of the master plan “a good, incremental step” that, he said, “will help save lives, I’m sure of it.”Features of the plan call for increasing “pedestrian satisfaction,” creating a sense of comfort within a “convenient pedestrian network” and improving access to ...

3 stabbed at hotel shelter for families in northeast Denver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Police said three people, including a juvenile, were stabbed at a Denver shelter on Tuesday evening.It happened at the Comfort Inn shelter, which Denver leases to house families, in the 4600 block of Quebec Street. Two adults and one juvenile were transported to a hospital with stab wounds, a police spokesperson told FOX31. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Police did not immediately release information about any suspect in the incident, nor did they say anything about the age of the juvenile.The stabbing happened on the hotel's second floor around 6:45 p.m., according to Laura Wilson, a spokesperson with the Salvation Army. The organization provides case management services for people at the shelter.Wilson said the hotel provides staff for the shelter and was on site when the stabbing happened.Police in Denver said three people were stabbed at a shelter in northeast Denver on Oct. 10, 2023. (KDVR)Safety concerns at Denver shelter f...

Americans in Nazareth barely cross into Jordan after Hamas attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A couple with ties to Colorado is still overseas after their trip to Israel took an unexpected turn with a breakout of war.Anne and Randy Vrabel said they were in Nazareth with their church group at the time of the Hamas attack."They told us there had been an attack and that Israel was at war and they didn’t know what was going to happen, so they thought the Dead Sea would be a good place to go to,” Anne said. Colorado’s Jewish, Palestinian communities both hope for peace Anne said they traveled by bus to the Dead Sea, first crossing through the West Bank. "While we were there, refugees were coming in to stay there, refugees from the Gaza Strip that were affected by the violence," Randy said. Once they reached the border to cross into Jordan, the two said they weren’t sure they were going to get through.“It took us four and a half hours, and we finally got through and found out they closed it shortly after we got through, and it hasn’t opened since," Ann...

Construction begins on apartments for unhoused people ages 55 and up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver is working to house a thousand people by the end of the year, but other housing developments were already in the works before the mayor launched his plan. On Tuesday, the city celebrated a separate project getting ready to open in the middle of all the other construction. Come next year, dozens of older people who are homeless in Denver will have a place to stay thanks to a collaboration between the city and a community organization."This is really inspiring, I think, to see the kind of momentum we know we need," Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said about the housing development. Denver announces location for first micro-community Momentum is building around the city as more shovels hit the ground for housing projects to get more people off the streets and into stable housing."This is the second permanent supportive housing development that we've welcomed to Council District 3, and we have two more that are coming," Denver City Council President Jamie Torres said...

World Mental Health Day: How therapy benefits people in drug treatment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Heath Burgess now works on a ranch in Lyons and is proud that he turned his life around after decades of opioid abuse."I've been opioid and drug-free since 2020," Burgess said.He said before that, he used drugs to self-medicate. "It was an easy way out for me, instead of dealing with the hard stuff, which is facing reality and accountability," he said. Can you guess these Colorado-based ‘Jeopardy!’ questions? Burgess got medication-assisted treatment at Front Range Clinic and said mental health therapy helped him stick with it."The biggest thing that helped me was learning techniques like breathing techniques, things like that and meditation, being able to be out in nature to really reset and calm your mind," he said.Staff at Front Range Clinic highly recommend mental health therapy as part of their drug treatment plans. There are group meetings and patients are provided with other resources."I think therapy is a key part of the treatment process," said Michel...

Aurora officers investigated in Jor'Dell Richardson's shooting death back on duty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) -- Three Aurora police officers investigated by the department after the deadly shooting of 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson have returned to full duty.According to a release from the Aurora Police Department, Sgt. Stephenson Cary, Officer Roch Gruszeczka and Officer James Snapp were all part of the response to an alleged robbery by a group of juveniles at a convenience store on June 1. Denver announces location for first micro-community One of those allegedly involved in the robbery was Jor'Dell, who was chased by police as he ran away and later shot by Gruszeczka while on the ground.Jor'Dell was carrying what responding officers said they believed was a handgun but was later found to be a pellet gun.Richardson family releases statementAn attorney for Jor'Dell's family released a statement on Tuesday.The Aurora Police Department exonerated its officers in the murders of Naeschylus Carter-Vinzant, Gary Black and Elijah McClain. Three cases our firm handled. Bet...

Cooper City family stuck in Tel Aviv describe scene as war rages throughout Israel; rally of support held in Hallandale Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

A South Florida family who traveled to Israel found themselves trapped and terrified in the war-torn country.They described the horrifying experience to 7News. The siren and the urgency isn’t something Allison Zur Morag, a mother from Cooper City, is used to in the states.On Oct. 2, she and her husband, Ron Schmid Morag, as well as their two children, traveled to Schmid Morag’s home country Israel.Zur Morag and Schmid Morag’s friends and family members were after a barrage of missiles entered Israel. The incident has left a lasting impact that was felt over every square mile.The two have been glued to their TV like sitting ducks in Schmid Morag’s parents’ two bedroom apartment in Tel Aviv. When they hear the warning sirens, they make their way to the bomb shelter with their two children.Their plan was to come home Oct. 17, but with many airlines stopping services, they’re unsure of when they’ll get back.“Every time I look it’s j...

‘He lived like a hero and he died like a hero:’ South Florida family’s brother killed during Hamas attack in Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

A South Florida family is grieving after their brother, a commander for the Israeli military, was killed during the Hamas attack over the weekend. Israel Consul General Maor Elbaz-Starinsky delivered the heartbreaking news at The Shul of Bal Harbour, Chabad Lubavitch Jewish synagogue, about the loss of 38-year-old Captain Abraham Hankin. Hankin, a devoted father of four and a member of the Israel National Police Special Forces, tragically lost his life during a battle with Hamas terrorists on Saturday night.https://twitter.com/elbazstarinsky/status/1711419304023826872?s=46&t=0sQr6lemjwbpjlnY6d1Qzg“He lived like a hero and he died like a hero,” said Consul Elbaz-Starinsky. Captain Hankin’s siblings, who reside in Surfside and North Miami Beach, are currently in Israel. Hankin had been living in Israel at the time of his tragic death. “Breaking the news to his family, especially to his brother, was one of the most difficult tasks I’ve ever undert...

Biden administration mounts defense of transfer of Iranian assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

Biden administration officials are taking to the airwaves to defend a transfer of frozen assets to Iran, as the administration’s critics seek to draw a connection between an unprecedented surprise attack against Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the terms of a prisoner swap with Iran announced last month.Since Hamas fighters launched their assault against Israel on Saturday, senior Biden administration officials have tried to throw water on reports that Iran was directly tied to the attacks and rebut allegations that the Biden administration enabled them by unfreezing $6 billion dollars’ worth of frozen Iranian assets as part of an agreement to release six American citizens from Iranian custody.The Biden administration defended the unfreezing of the assets, saying that the money was Tehran’s to begin with, the profits of oil sales to South Korea that experienced currency conversion challenges during a period under the Trump administration when sanctions against Tehr...

Tuesday’s high school roundup/scores: Jack Carstensen fires 3-under par to lead St. John Paul II golf team

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:51 GMT

Jack Carstensen shot for a school record of three-under par (33) to steer St. John Paul II (15-1) toward a 234-264 Cape and Islands League golf win over Sturgis West.Hank Brown shot a four-over par for Monomoy (8-4) in a 254-237 win over Nauset. … Sean Kearns carded a 35, and Braden Shapiro shot a 36 as Oliver Ames bested Stoughton 147-168 in a Hockomock League contest.Matt Nejame shot a 33 as Duxbury defeated Hanover 232-240 in a Patriot League matchup.Cam Poirier shot the best round of his career with a 35 as Apponequet (7-9) outlasted Fairhaven 251-256 in the South Coast Conference. … Ky Princi fired a 40 for Norwell (8-2-2) in a 118-107 nonleague win against Sandwich.Field hockeyCoco Clopton dished two assists in a game Swampscott (6-5) had three different scorers, blanking Ipswich 3-0 in nonleague play to snap a five-game skid. … Lily O’Donnell’s early goal proved to be enough as Whitman-Hanson (1-6-4) held on to defeat Norwell, 1-0. … Chloe Pickett led the way with...