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During record-breaking heat, can your power be shut off for non-payment?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- AARP Texas and the Texas Consumer Association sent an emergency petition to the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) this week calling for the PUCT to put a pause on cutting people's power because of record temperatures. But the PUCT Chief Press Officer Ellie Breed said a moratorium is already in place. How to donate to the 33rd Family Eldercare Summer Fan Drive “The PUCT has rules in place to ensure reliable and continuous electric service during extreme heat and cold. These rules prohibit electric providers from disconnecting service to any customer during extreme weather events,” Breed said.She said that current rules prohibit retail electric providers in ERCOT from disconnecting power because of non-payment during extreme weather events. Also, electric transmission and distribution utilities must notify PUCT when such an emergency has been issued in their area.PUCT’s rules define these emergencies as whenever:the previous ...

Yankees Notebook: Jose Trevino to undergo season-ending wrist surgery, Aaron Judge continues progress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

Yankees catcher Jose Trevino is set to undergo season-ending surgery on a tear in his right wrist that’s ailed him all season, he revealed Friday.Trevino says the injury stems from spring training and was a matter of pain tolerance he could no longer endure.“I knew what I was getting myself into,” Trevino said before Friday’s game at Yankee Stadium against the Royals. “I knew at some point that it was going to come to a point where I couldn’t take the pain anymore.”The tear is in Trevino’s triangular fibrocartilage complex, a load-bearing structure. To replace him, the Yankees brought up catcher Ben Rortvedt, who played five games during a call-up in May.Trevino says the wrist injury bothered him when he hit and threw. After hitting .248 with a career-high 11 home runs during an All-Star 2022 season, Trevino batted just .210 with four homers this year.“I’m not one for excuses,” Trevino said. “I was out there pla...

New and sold listings in June drop statewide in Colorado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

Low inventory and higher mortgage rates stymied Colorado’s typically robust spring housing market, according to the June report from the Colorado Association of Realtors.The number of new single-family homes listed statewide last month dropped 24% compared to June 2022. The number of sold listings dropped 21% year over year. But the median sold price dropped only 1.1% to $583,125 in June from $589,500 in June 2022. Sellers received roughly 100% of their list price last month compared to 102% in June 2022.While the housing market may appear frustrating, it’s showing signs of normalizing as buyers adjust to the new normal of higher interest rates.“While a slowing market may appear concerning on the surface, it’s crucial to remember that the fast-paced, expensive conditions we’ve experienced over the past few years have been abnormal, and these changes are best characterized as a normalization of the market. Douglas County is and will continue to be one of...

Rockies’ trade candidates — C.J. Cron, Jurickson Profar, Elias Diaz — homer in win over Marlins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

If the Rockies are indeed shopping a few of their veterans as the Aug. 1 trade deadline looms, they did a bang-up job of advertising Friday night.In a 6-1 win over Miami at loanDepot Park, first baseman C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer in the first, left fielder Jurickson Profar launched a two-run shot in the second and catcher Elias Diaz lifted a solo shot to left in the third. All three, to varying degrees, have been the subject of trade rumors.Right-hander Peter Lambert, called up from Triple-A Albuquerque Friday, gave Colorado a much-needed quality start and cemented a spot in Colorado’s injury-battered rotation. It was Lambert’s first victory on the road since his major league debut on June 6, 2019, over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.The Marlins plated their only run in the seventh against Pierce Johnson, who gave up singles to Bryan De La Cruz and Jean Segura, uncorked a wild pitch saw De La Cruz score on Nick Fortes’ groundout. Miami is 0-7 since the All-Star break...

Racist text scandal rocks California police department

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

A court hearing to determine whether Northern California police officers who traded racist text messages violated a state law aimed at eliminating racism in the criminal justice system adjourned Friday without any officers taking the stand to answer questions about the scandal that has roiled the San Francisco Bay Area city.Defense attorneys for four men charged with murder and attempted murder in a 2021 shooting had subpoenaed the Antioch police officers to testify about heavily redacted text messages made public in April by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office. The attorneys were expected to argue before Judge David Goldstein that their clients, two of them mentioned in the text messages, were unfairly targeted based on their race. The state’s Racial Justice Act prohibits the state from pursuing or securing criminal convictions or sentences on the basis of race, ethnicity or national origin.But the judge spent much of Friday’s hearing ruling on motions and not on evi...

Oxnard teen breaking track records despite running on prosthetic not meant for competition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

An eleventh grader at an Oxnard high school is excelling in cross country and track and field, despite running on a prosthetic leg that is not built for athletic competition.Erick Aleman is a junior at Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard who has been competing in school and CIF-sanctioned running events since middle school. Erick is diagnosed with Hanhart Syndrome, a congenital issue that causes undeveloped extremities. In Erick's case, all of his upper and lower limbs have been affected, especially his left leg. "I'm missing my hand and my left foot, and then my right hand and my right foot are different than other people," Erick said. Erick Aleman runs in a race in this undated photo provided by Garrett Reynolds and GoFundMe.Despite his challenges, he's found a love for running, finishing in the middle of the pack in many races against fellow athletes who do not have any disabilities, as well as dominating many races against fellow para-athletes.In July he competed in the Angel City Ga...

Controversy continues over Temecula school district banning book with LGBTQ+ figures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

An emergency Friday meeting is scheduled after the Temecula Valley Unified School District voted 3-2 to reject California's new social studies book and curriculum for the second time this week.The emergency meeting will vote on whether the new curriculum will be adopted despite the board's objections over the book's coverage of LGBTQ+ figures in history.Tension and emotions were high during a five-hour Tuesday hearing where parents, teachers, and community members debated over the state's curriculum for elementary school kids.The new social studies book in question is called, "Social Studies Alive!" and complies with 2011 state laws requiring that students get instruction about "the role and contributions of people with disabilities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans; and other ethnic and cultural groups."Conservative members of the school board have complained that supplemental material for the curriculum contains a three-paragraph mention of gay rights leader Harve...

Chino Hills man arrested for impersonating a police officer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

A Chino Hills man was arrested on Thursday after he was caught on camera allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. On July 11, a victim in Chino Hills reported that a person impersonating a law enforcement officer stopped him for a traffic violation, according to a news release from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department. The traffic stop was also recorded from a home surveillance camera. The suspect’s car, identified as a white colored Ford F-350 truck with California Exempt license plates had emergency lights and "fire" decals on the front hood and rear tailgate.  During the crime, the suspect, 42-year-old Andrew De Boer of Chino Hills, wore a law enforcement uniform, duty belt with a firearm, Santa Muerte Fire Department badge, baton, pepper spray, and handcuffs. Items confiscated from Andrew De Boer after he was arrested for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. (Chino Hills Police Department)Items confiscated from Andrew De Boer after he was arrested for ...

California black bear shows surprising concern for road safety

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

Video shared by Caltrans Friday shows a bear putting a fallen safety cone back into place along a roadway.Though it is unclear when and where the video was captured, officials made sure to praise the furry pedestrian.“This bear deserves the ‘Bear of the Year’ award!” Caltrans tweeted. “While his buddy before him caused traffic cone chaos, this bear showed us what safety partners are all about! Let's all take notes from this responsible bear and be like him! Stay safe out there!”After fixing the orange cone, the bear continued on its walk.

Mayor blasts police union attorney over accusations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:13 GMT

Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe on Friday blasted the Antioch police union’s attorney after he accused him in the media of taking away the police chief’s authority to make decisions.“I think he just finally got tired of not being able to make the decisions to guide both the investigation and the department the way he wanted to,” Attorney Mike Rains, who represents the Antioch Police Officers’ Association, said in a Thursday interview with KTVU.Thorpe countered the assertions in a Facebook post Friday morning, saying the attorney was seeking to make the police department’s current state of affairs about politics. The chief announced he was retiring on Wednesday.“The moral crimes that your clients have committed are so egregious, and so outside of normalcy, that it required a leader with internal fortitude to bring order to the Antioch Police Department.”In his letter, meanwhile, Thorpe said Ford “was that person,” someone who came in and “believed he could change the hea...