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Senate committee advances marijuana banking bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

While full federal legalization of marijuana is likely a ways off, advocates continue to chip away at hurdles for the industry.On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs approved the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act in a bipartisan vote, sending it to the full Senate for approval.The SAFER Banking Act, as it's known, "will help make our communities and small businesses safer by giving legal cannabis businesses access to traditional financial institutions, including bank accounts and small business loans," said a statement from the bill's supporters, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-OR; Steve Daines, R-MT; Kyrsten Sinema, I-AZ; and Cynthia Lummis, R-WY. Federal restrictions on marijuana may soon be eased "It also prevents federal bank regulators from ordering a bank or credit union to close an account based on reputational risk," the senators added. Currently, cannabis being illegal under fe...

Ten Students Hospitalized after Bus Accident on Berkley Street [Houston, TX]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

Several Injured in School Bus Crash on Interstate 610HOUSTON, TX (September 27, 2023) – Wednesday morning, ten students were hospitalized after a bus accident that occurred on Berkley Street.Police arrived at the scene at approximately 6:46 a.m., near the 2900 block of Berkley Street, close to the South Loop east feeder road.According to eyewitness accounts, a car collided with a school bus as the bus was negotiating a sharp turn onto Berkley Street. The force of the collision resulted in the bus tipping over onto its side.The Houston Fire Department officials transported ten children and both drivers to a nearby hospital for medical attention.During preliminary tasks, authorities temporarily closed the I-610 South Loop feeder, which was later reopened. As of now, Houston officials are actively investigating the bus accident on Berkley Street to determine which driver is at fault.Even a minor error in judgment while driving can have severe consequences, leading to a hazardous ...

Macayla Meshell Bartek, Lance Scott Jerome Walker Killed in Head-On Crash on FM 493 [Bell County, TX]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

Two-Vehicle Collision near FM 93 Left Two People DeadBELL COUNTY, CA (September 27, 2023) – Early Monday morning, a head-on collision on FM 493 claimed the lives of Macayla Meshell Bartek and Lance Scott Jerome Walker.The crash happened at around 4:15 a.m., along Farm to Market 493 (FM 493), a mile east of FM 93.According to reports, a westbound 1992 Chevrolet truck collided with an eastbound 2020 Kia Optima. Unfortunately, the first responders declared both drivers dead at the scene.Later, the DPS identified both deceased drivers as Macayla Meshell Bartek, 30, and Lance Scott Jerome Walker, 46. Both victims were determined to be from Belton TX.At this time, the investigators are working to determine which vehicle crossed over the opposite lane.The husband of Bartek started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the funeral expenses of his wife, Macayla.The team at Sweet James sends their warm and sincerest sympathies out to the friends and family of Macayla Meshell Bartek an...

Ayden Randle, Wyatt Randle Killed in ATV Crash on Boz Road [Waxahachie, TX]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

Two-Vehicle Crash near Greathouse Road Leaves Two Brothers Dead and Two Girls HospitalizedWAXAHACHIE, TX (September 27, 2023) – Sunday evening, an ATV accident on Boz Road claimed the lives of Ayden Randle and Wyatt Randle.The deadly crash just after 7:00 a.m. at the intersection of Boz Road and Greathouse Road.According to reports, Ayden Randel, Wyatt Randel, and another teen were riding in a westbound 2008 Can-Am Defender driven by a 16-year-old girl. The driver of the vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed into a Ford pickup truck.The impact of the collision ejected all four occupants of the ATV, including a 16-year-old girl, a 14-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy, and a 12-year-old boy. Responding paramedics transported the four patients to a hospital.Meanwhile, the married couple inside the Ford SUV – both 70 years old – were taken to Baylor Scott and White Hospital for minor injuries.On Monday, the Texas Department of Public Safe confirmed the death of 12-year-...

Harvest Moon: Arts Calendar September 28 – October 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

Between Harvest Moon, a bit of sweater weather, and Halloween in September, it seems we’ve truly turned the corner into Autumn. Kick off your spooky season with elevated immersive experiences at the museum and in the mountains; plus contemporary dance at classic and brand new theaters, new opera at the observatory and in the heart of downtown, insightful conversations on the power of art; a new edition of L.A.’s favorite biennial, a beloved museum’s birthday party, moving music at a local landmark; theater, craft-based visual art, the glossy pages of LGBTQ+ history.Deana Lawson: Afriye, 2023, pigment print (Courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery)Thursday, September 28Artists Deana Lawson and Arthur Jafa in conversation at David Kordansky Gallery. An in-gallery conversation between artists Deana Lawson and Arthur Jafa expands on an ongoing dialogue between the two artists, and explores themes and concepts related to Lawson’s new body of work. In Mind’s Eye (on view ...

Hit Girls Sets the Punk Rock Record Straight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

The word “Girls” is no longer a pejorative in the punk world, but when it comes to being on stage, there’s still a stigma that must be fought. The luminaries featured in Jen Larson’s new book, HIT GIRLS: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983 (Feral House), helped define the genre, and they are so much more than their gender, which is the point.HIT GIRLS (Feral House)Women and queer folk were more important to the development of punk, and hence rock music in general, than they have ever been given credit for and it’s only due to documentarians like Larson (also a musician, writer and teacher) that the record continues to be set straight. Clearly, in 2023, it is still very much needed.With sexist media moguls like Jann Wenner in the news recently for diminishing the contributions and cerebral depth of female music makers, this focus on regional bands and national musicians feels refreshingly celebratory and wide-ranging. Jen B.’s subjects (Niagra, Texacala Jones, Stoney Rive...

Bay Area beer-centric day trips: Four Santa Cruz breweries to explore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

For this month’s brewery day trip, I visited four Santa Cruz taprooms — Humble Sea Brewing, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Sante Adairius Portal and Gilman Brewing — on a route that took me from the coastal city’s Westside to Soquel Avenue.Humble Sea BrewingMy first stop was Humble Sea Brewing, the Westside brewery founded in 2015 by three locals and childhood friends, Frank Scott Krueger, Nick Pavlina and Taylor West. With a nautical-themed interior in sea blue and foam white, the brewery offers indoor seating in what feels like a ship’s interior and a large outdoor beer garden with picnic tables and benches.The brewery offers around 20 beers. Both Float, a German-style pilsner, and Paisley Pils, an Italian-style dry-hopped pilsner, are tasty. But my warm weather picks have to include the Humble Sea Helles and Socks and Sandals, a double dry-hopped IPA offered in clear and haze versions. There’s also Super Pops! Tropical Blue, a smoothie beer brewed with...

Woman who disappeared in Sierra foothills is now thought to be a homicide victim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

More than a year after Wendy Pullins disappeared on what was supposed to have been a short drive in the Sierra Nevada foothills, investigators say she is believed to have been killed.Wendy Pullins (Family photo via Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office) Pullins, 57, was reported missing on June 18, 2022, three days after she drove away from her home in Ahwahnee. She reportedly was headed to Mariposa, 25 miles away, to register her vehicle, and planned to stay the night at a friend’s home on Stumpfield Mountain Road, off Highway 49 between the two cities.Her cellphone location indicated she left the friend’s house, but she never made it to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Mariposa County sheriff’s office said.On Sept. 8, 2022, her Jeep Cherokee was found down a steep embankment in a remote area of Mariposa County, the sheriff’s office said. Blood found in the car was determined to be Pullins.’“Because of the amount of time since Wendy wa...

From Mr. Roadshow’s archive: Here are some of his favorite columns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

Mr. Roadshow wanted to share some of his favorite columns and stories from more than 30 years of informing, entertaining and getting things changed for drivers in the Bay Area (and beyond).Gary Richards, aka Mr. Roadshow, began covering traffic and transportation in the Bay Area in 1992. Scroll down for some of his most memorable columns.Are you frustrated with wonky metering lights, “road boulders” in express lanes or just wondering when that terrible stretch of Highway 101 will finally be repaved? Email your questions to [email protected] and find his latest columns for The Mercury News here and for the East Bay Times here.Mr. Roadshow also has a newsletter. MercuryNews.com readers can sign up for that and other newsletters we offer here. EastBayTimes.com readers can do that here.Now, on to his favorite columns from the Roadshow archive:Dressing on the freeway and other bad driver stuntsBeing thankful for the kindness and heroism in othersWhen the Sunol G...

One man killed, three others wounded in Oakland shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:50 GMT

OAKLAND — One man was killed and three other men were wounded in four Oakland shootings that occurred from Tuesday afternoon to early Wednesday, authorities said.None of the four shootings are believed to be connected, authorities said.The fatal shooting happened about 12:46 a.m. Wednesday in the 5700 block of International Boulevard in East Oakland.Police responding to a gunshot detection system alert found shell casings and other evidence of a shooting, but no victim.It turned out the victim, a man believed to be in his 20s, was driven from the scene by someone who dropped him off on a street near Highland Hospital. The unconscious man was taken inside the hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 2:46 a.m. authorities said.A motive for the shooting was not immediately determined and no arrests were announced.The killing is the 95th homicide investigated by Oakland police this year. Last year at this time police had investigated 96 homicides in the city.About 11:50 p.m. T...