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Brandon Johnson, a progressive organizer backed by teachers union, wins Chicago mayor’s race over moderate Paul Vallas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Johnson, a progressive organizer backed by teachers union, wins Chicago mayor’s race over moderate Paul Vallas.Source

Park Hill golf course plan losing in early Denver election returns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Early returns show Denver voters rejecting the plan to develop the former Park Hill golf course.The first and second round of results showed more than 60% of voters so far rejected the plan. That's nearly 56,000 voters against the question and around 36,200 in favor as of the 8:30 p.m. drop. Full Results: Denver ballot questions The 155-acre property, located north of 35th Avenue and west of Colorado Boulevard, has sat vacant since 2018 and was purchased by developers. It has a city-owned conservation easement on it requiring the land to be used primarily for golf-related reasons.In January, Denver City Council voted to change the conservation easement and put the issue before voters. Arguments in favor of removing the easement focus on the potential development of the land.If passed, Westside Investment Partners said it plans to build 2,500 to 3,200 housing units, 25% of which would be affordable housing, a large park and a grocery store.Opponents say the land sh...

Snowmelt could make rivers deeper, faster this kayak season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Experts say waterways across Colorado could be higher and faster this spring and summer.Many factors could make rivers and waterways around the state much more dangerous. Chief among them is the fact that snowpack is at 139%.When snow melts, it can make rivers much more treacherous for kayakers."With the snowpack being what it is, we are expecting to see higher waters than we've seen in the last few years," JD Chism, with the Denver Fire Department, said. How much snow fell where you live on Tuesday? More snow means more water when warmer weather starts melting it, making our rivers deeper and faster-moving. Chism said drier years from before could have as much of an impact."Since we haven't had such great water for the last couple of years the new debris is being pushed into that river," Chism said.That debris, combined with deeper water, could make kayaking much more dangerous.Kayakers, prepare for a difficult riverAt Confluence Kayaks, a kayak store in Denver, e...

Chicago Bulls clinch a spot in the NBA play-in tournament — but a dismal loss leaves little room to improve their seeding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

The Chicago Bulls clinched a spot in the NBA postseason Tuesday night — and they didn’t even have to do the heavy lifting.But the celebration was short-lived as the Bulls lost 123-105 to the Atlanta Hawks an hour later, all but cornering themselves into the least favorable seed.The Orlando Magic provided the Bulls with a gift by losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-113, clinching a spot in the play-in tournament for the Bulls, who are guaranteed to finish no worse than 10th in the Eastern Conference — but also unlikely to move any higher after failing to secure the tiebreaker with the Hawks.With three games to play, the Bulls (38-41) trail the Hawks and Toronto Raptors by two games, and the Raptors own the tiebreaker against the Bulls based on head-to-head record. The Bulls and Hawks split four games, so a tiebreaker would come down to conference record, in which the Bulls currently hold a half-game edge.Tuesday’s game carried the highest stakes of the final...

Chicago Bulls are in the NBA play-in tournament. Here’s how it works.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

The Chicago Bulls have clinched a spot in the NBA play-in tournament, a battle for the last two playoff seeds in each conference. Here’s an explainer about the history of the event and how it works — and where the Bulls stand.When did the play-in begin?The NBA introduced the idea after the restart of the pandemic-delayed 2019-20 season, with a team needing to be within four games of the No. 8 seed to force a play-in for the last playoff spot in the conference.The Memphis Grizzlies finished a half-game behind the No. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, and the Blazers won the first game of a play-in, thus earning the final playoff spot. In the East, the ninth-place Washington Wizards finished 7½ games behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic, meaning a play-in was unnecessary.How has the tournament evolved?The next year, the NBA expanded its play-in rules, with only the top six seeds in each conference guaranteed of a playoff spot and the Nos. 7-10 ...

Denver’s more moderate mayoral candidates pull ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

DENVER (AP) — As votes for Denver’s mayoral election poured in Tuesday night, two of the more moderate candidates in the unusually large and divergent field of 16 contestants pulled far ahead in the initial results.If early results hold, Kelly Brough, the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Mike Johnston, a former state senator, could be pushed to a runoff election. They would leave behind the more progressive candidates in a largely left-leaning contestant field.All are vying for an increasingly powerful position in a city that faces a rising crime rate not seen for decades, growing homeless encampments and dizzying housing costs. The fear that undergirds the race is clear: Denver — the fast-growing, relatively young, business and tech hub of the U.S. Mountain West — is tumbling toward a fate similar to that of other major cities.The stakes are high, said Ty Robertson, an engineer in Denver and Johnston supporter. The city has rapidly burgeoned into...

India’s push for 24/7 clean energy from dams upends lives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

KINNAUR, India (AP) — The pickup truck jostled away from the roaring Sutlej River and up the steep mountain path flanked by snow-capped Himalayan peaks, some nearly 7,000 meters (22,965 feet) high. The nine passengers, farmers-turned-activists campaigning to prevent more dams from being built, were traveling to the remote Kandar hamlet in India’s Kinnaur district. The few-dozen Indigenous residents were forced to relocate after falling boulders destroyed most of their previous homes in 2005. And villagers believe tunneling for dams was to blame, although authorities deny it. Indigenous activists like Buddha Sain Negi, 30, went there to learn more about the continued struggles faced by Kandar. Sitting atop a steep slope overlooking a 19-year-old dam, the activists heard residents speak of ways India’s hydroelectric push had upended their lives and led to nearly two decades of protest. Some families took shelter in sheds, and more lives were lost because of falling boulder...

LIVE BLOG: Brandon Johnson elected Chicago mayor, defeating Paul Vallas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Former teacher and union organizer Brandon Johnson has been elected Chicago mayor, according to Associated Press projections.City Council seats, as well as suburban mayor and village presidents races, continue to be decided.The Chicago mayoral race pitted former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat endorsed by Chicago’s police union and several trade unions, against progressive Johnson, the Cook County Board Commissioner, who was backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and several public sector unions. All Chicago and Illinois Election ResultsTuesday's runoff election is due to no candidate receiving over 50% of the vote on the Feb. 28 election. On that day, Vallas, 69, was the majority frontrunner. Johnson, 46, followed and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot finished third in the polls. The soon-to-be-ousted Lightfoot was the first city mayor in 40 years to seek reelection and lose.WGN News’ special coverage begins at 7 p.m. and will include analysis and ...

Who was elected to the Chicago City Council?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

CHICAGO -- Chicago residents voted for their new Alderperson's Tuesday night.Following the results of the Feb. 28 elections, 14 wards were still looking for their next City Council representative during the April 4 runoff election. 2023 Chicago Runoff and Illinois General Election results Find out below who was elected to represent your ward for the Chicago City Council:Ward 4LAMONT ROBINSONLamont Robinson has been a State Representative since 2019, representing parts of the South Side and South Loop. He is Illinois’ first black openly gay lawmaker. In Springfield, he helped pass $15M in funding for a new South Side LGBTQ community center. Robinson also owns his own Allstate Insurance agency.He has the backing of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (a former 4th Ward alderwoman), Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Robinson won 46.3% of the vote on February 28th.Ward 5DESMON YANCYDesmon Yancy is the Director of Community Organizing for Inter-city Muslim Action N...

Texas comptroller changes defunding determination against Harris County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:25 GMT

HOUSTON (KIAH) -- On Monday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar took back his determination that Harris County illegally reduced funding for Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's office. His original determination was announced in February. The reversal of the decision came shortly after Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee filed a lawsuit against him on the determination.Both Hegar, a Republican, and Democratic Harris County officials each tried to claim victory in the matter. "I’m glad the Comptroller admitted his error and is no longer holding Harris County’s budget process hostage," Menefee said in a statement. "I hope that in the future, we can talk through these types of allegations, as the law requires, before the Comptroller makes a final decision."However, Hegar claims that his decision to rescind the defunding of Harris County was because of a review which showed that District 5 was being defunded, but in the context of countywide budget reductions, therefore allowable un...