Columbus, OH

Kentucky State

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Northern Kentucky Tribune

Secretary of State Michael Adams announced that participation in Kentucky’s Safe at Home Program has increased by 460 percent in the first year since the General Assembly expanded the program at his request.

Kentucky’s safe at home program sees 460 percent participation increase in first year

Denver, CO

David Heitz

In this week’s installment of Homeless Hotel Diary, broken glass again leads the lineup. Someone smashed a window in the lobby of Fusion Studios, the Colorado Coalition for the homeless property where I live and pay a third of my income for rent. This same person shattered the door to the case manager’s office and threw rocks through the windshield and side windows of the community van. Multiple residents told me who did the damage – the same person allegedly committed all three crimes – and last I knew that person still was at large. I could not get any official reports from Coalition staff. They were not available to speak with me Friday.

Opinion: Homeless Hotel Diary: Busted door, windows at Fusion Studios in Denver, internet spotty

Florida State

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville Today

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said he will consider more DUI patrols if voters legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida. Voters will consider Amendment 3 in November. It would allow adults 21 or older to possess, purchase or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical purposes.

More DUI patrols possible if marijuana issue passes

Colorado State

A bill quietly introduced this spring in the Colorado legislature to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia obtained by harm reductionists has become law. As low-key as the legislation was introduced, the bill was signed into law without fanfare June 6. It garnered little to no media attention.

Colorado legalizes needles, pipes for meth and crack if obtained by harm reduction group

Salem, OH

Every day, 8-year-old Emma sits in a small garden outside her grandmother’s home in Salem, Ohio, writing letters to her mom and sometimes singing songs her mother used to sing to her.

Thousands of parents die of overdoses; advocates say their kids need more help

Wyoming State

Pinedale, WY

WyoFile

PINEDALE—Rep. Albert Sommers (R-Pinedale) lost to a political newcomer in a close-fought contest for a state Senate seat Tuesday, an upset that ousts one of the most influential figures in Wyoming politics in recent years.

Speaker of the House Sommers loses bid for Senate seat

More dangerous substances are entering the Denver drug supply, Harm Reduction Action Center warned in a newsletter this week. “The Iron Law of Prohibition posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases,” HRAC Executive Director Lisa Raville wrote in the newsletter. That is exactly what is happening, she said.

Dangerous substances entering Denver drug supply

Chicago, IL

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NewsNinja

Some people have had a flattering experience of being well-over 21 and being carded at a local bar or restaurant. But one woman was more confused than thrilled when it happened at her local Target.

'I have to ask': Target shopper gets stopped by security guard at entrance. She is puzzled as to why

Palm Springs Tribune

Taylor Swift broke Wembley stadium records playing the venue eight times in a single tour at her final London show in of the Eras Tour and debuted her track So Long London live from her latest album, Tortured Poets Department . The timing of her last European performance is politically intriguing, as it coincides with the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where she might have the opportunity to endorse Kamala Harris for President.

Taylor Swift’s Potential DNC Appearance and Endorsement of Kamala Harris: Will It Happen?

Louisiana State

The Lens

During my childhood, when my family visited relatives “across the river,” in Bayou Plaquemine, Bayou Goula, Caddo, the Pointe, and White Castle, my siblings and I would sometimes race up and down the levees, some distance away from the cows grazing there. At the summit of the hill, you could see the Mississippi River waters through stands of trees and brush. It never occurred to me that our “playground” was the living testimony of Black men, prisoners of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola whom the state of Louisiana had re-enslaved in the convict leasing system.

No longer ‘half slave, half free’

New Jersey State

New Brunswick, NJ

Morristown Minute

NEWARK, N.J. -A Middlesex County man, Kenneth Strickland, 57Kenneth Strickland, 57, from New Brunswick, has been convicted of his involvement in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin. U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced that Strickland was found guilty on July 29, 2024, of all six counts in a superseding indictment.

NJ Man Convicted in Large-Scale Fentanyl & Heroin Trafficking

Georgia State

The Current GA

A state Supreme Court’s decision reversing a lower court’s ruling that a private contractor was exempt from the Georgia Open Records Act is being hailed as a win for open government.

State Supreme Court rules Open Records Act applies to private contractors working for governments

Migrants enrolled in the Denver Asylum Seekers Program won’t get cash benefits after all. The council amended a contract with Haven for Hope during the Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee meeting Wednesday. Instead of Haven of Hope providing migrants with cash assistance on debit cards, it will instead provide “culturally appropriate” food, if the change is approved by the full council.

Denver may revoke cash assistance for migrants

Aurora, CO

The Public Safety, Courts and Civil Service Committee of the Aurora City Council voted Thursday to advance an ordinance to the full council that would allow Aurora to seize abandoned and stolen shopping carts.

Abandoned and stolen shopping carts targeted by Aurora council

Angie Nixon’s mammoth margin of victory over Democratic challenger Brenda Priestly Jackson in Florida House District 13 surprised even her. According to unofficial results, Nixon earned more than 80% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary to advance to November’s election, where she faces Terrance Jordan, a write-in candidate who has not raised a dime in support of their campaign. Nixon will be a heavy favorite to return to the Legislature for a third term.

Nixon trounces Priestly Jackson in House District 13

Uncovering Florida

Most people are guilty of doing it at least once in their lives, many people do it by accident, some do it because they find it fun, and others do it for reasons like honoring loved ones. Regardless of the situation, just about everyone has released a balloon. The difference is that intentionally releasing balloons is now illegal by House Bill 321’s standards.

Law Signed By DeSantis Makes It Illegal To Release Balloons In Florida

Appling County, GA

Daily Coffee Press

A 40-year-old man from Appling County, Christopher Eric Stone, with a significant criminal history, was recently sentenced to over five years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, according to officials from the Department of Justice.

Georgia Man Sentenced to Over 5 Years for in Federal Prison for Meth Distribution

What exactly happened at a large gathering of migrants in Aurora last Sunday depends on who you talk to. And a showdown is imminent between City Council member Danielle Jurinsky and the Aurora Police Department, according to Jurinsky.

Migrant mayhem in Aurora? Showdown imminent between PD, council member Jurinsky

Thomson, GA

A Georgia city mayor has been arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation following an investigation and a grand jury indictment. According to GBI officials, the Thomson Police Department requested the agency to investigate an allegation that Thomson City Mayor, 52-year-old Benjamin Cary Cranford, provided alcohol to an inmate on work detail within the city limits on June 4, 2024.

Georgia City Mayor Arrested for Allegedly Giving Alcohol to an Inmate on Work Det

A historic marker could be erected to honor the victims of the racist mass shooting at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville’s New Town neighborhood nearly a year ago. If approved by the Jacksonville City Council, a marker would be installed at Kings Road and Canal Street on Aug. 25, a day before the first anniversary of the shooting, when a white gunman took the lives of three Black people.

Memorial considered to honor Dollar General victims

WBEZ

NewsBreak

Press freedom is at stake during the DNC, advocates say

Journalists are protected by the First and Fourth amendments – but advocates fear violations as reporters try to do their jobs at the DNC. As...

Press freedom is at stake during the DNC, advocates say

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