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Pride now a minefield for big companies, but many continue their support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

Many big companies, including Target and Bud Light's parent, are still backing Pride events in June despite the minefield that the monthlong celebration has become for some of them.Target and Bud Light recently came under fire for their efforts to appeal to the LGBTQ+ community, only to come under more fire when they tried to backpedal.But even as they battle the negative publicity, Target and Bud Light haven’t pulled away from this year’s Pride celebrations. Target is a platinum sponsor of NYC Pride, which requires a $175,000 donation. And Bud Light’s parent Anheuser-Busch is a sponsor of Pride celebrations in Chicago, San Francisco, Charlotte and elsewhere.Many other big companies are sticking to their sponsorships as well, including PepsiCo, Starbucks, General Motors and Jeep parent Stellantis — all of which said they have been supporting Pride events for decades and aren’t hesitating to back them again this year.Jeff Gennette, CEO of Macy’s, another major Pride sp...

City of Austin executives return to in-person work

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- City of Austin employees in management positions will return to in-person work Monday, following a memo from City Manager Jesús Garza asking employees to return to work later in the year. An Austin city spokesperson said most of the employees in management positions have already returned to work in-person for a majority of the week, and do not expect Monday to be a major transition for workers. But other non-executive staff who have been working from home are criticizing the move, and have protested the memo outside of city hall. Carol Guthrie, the business manager for AFSCME Local 1624, the union representing both Travis county and Austin workers, said she is working with the city manager to find a more data-driven policy. "Our hope is that we will be able to collaborate with the city manager and his office and come up with a win-win situation for all of us," Guthrie said. Data-driven policyGuthrie said employees are against the policy because of long commutes in A...

Toxic algae treatment underway on Lady Bird Lake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Monday afternoon the City of Austin will start applying a treatment to Lady Bird Lake in an effort to slow down the growth of toxic algae.This is the third year in a row that Austin's Watershed Protection Department will apply the treatment to combat blue-green algae on the lake.It’s part of a pilot program the city started after several dogs died in 2019 after coming in contact with the slimy substance at Red Bud Isle. City of Austin to treat harmful algae growth on Lady Bird Lake Brent Bellinger is a supervisor with the Austin Watershed Protection Department. He says it’s time to treat the algae near Red Bud Isle once again.“This has been our most toxic spot with very high visibility,” Bellinger explained.This week, he’ll be working with a water treatment task force from EutroPHIX, specialized in detecting and treating harmful algal blooms.“We're going to do a maintenance treatment around Red Bull Isle,” Bellinger said. “Then we're going to head back down river t...

South Padre Island offers 'medicinal' time at the beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

(KVEO) -- South Padre Island, one of Texas' islands, is a top Spring Break destination, as well as a popular vacation spot for "winter Texans" escaping the snow and cold of the north.Even locals across the Rio Grande Valley prioritize time at the beach, with one couple from Mission describing the experience as "medicinal."South Padre Island is home to many places that celebrate the natural wildlife of deep South Texas. One popular animal found along the Island is Sea Turtle Inc."There's an entire education division who can talk about what you can really do to help save sea turtles," Sea Turtle Inc. Chief Executive Officer Wendy Knight said.Visitors to the island can happen across sea turtles nesting."You can be out enjoying our beaches, and a nesting female can walk right up next to you, dig a hole, lay a nest, and then go back into the ocean," Knight said.Sea Turtle Inc. is in the process of constructing the largest sea turtle rescue hospital in the world, and gladly accepts volunt...

5 things to know this Monday, June 5

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The countdown to Friday begins again. Happy Monday! We hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. According to Meteorologist Jill Szwed, today will be a little bit breezy under partly sunny skies. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Firefighters and police officers responded to a fire near the intersection of Madison Avenue and Ontario Street late Sunday night. Information regarding the fire is limited at this time. Meanwhile, the coaching carousel at the Albany Empire continues. Three days after accepting the head coach position with the team, Terry Foster will not be on the sidelines for the Empire. These stories, and more, are covered in your five things to know this Monday morning. 1. Firefighters respond to late-night Madison Avenue blazeFirefighters and police officers responded to a fire near the intersection of Madison Avenue and Ontario Street late Sunday night. Information at this time is limited r...

Vermont man gets 10 years for attempted enticement of a minor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Rutland, Vermont man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. Thomas Cesiro, 69, was convicted on October 13, 2022. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! During a three-day trial for his conviction, trial evidence established that Cesiro exchanged over 1,000 text messages and nine phone calls with Albany-based investigators posing as both a 12-year-old girl and her adult mother. The Department of Justice (DOJ) says during one call, Cesiro gave the girl instructions on how to conduct a sexual act.The DOJ says on October 20, 2020, Cesiro traveled from Rutland, Vermont, to meet the purported mother and 12-year-old child. With him, he brought several sex devices and gifts for the child, including a "Frozen" themed toothbrush. Firefighters respond to late-night Madison Avenue blaze Cesiro was met by law enforcement officials when he arri...

Sunday storm collapses church wall in north St. Louis City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Isolated stormy weather left behind some damage at a church in north St. Louis.Strong winds took off part of the wall at the church, located on the Union Avenue and MLK Boulevard church. Thankfully, no one was hurt.The storm hit just hours after Sunday's service at Williams Temple Church of God in Christ. Sunday morning, windows were shattered, roofing was ripped off, and a portion of an outside wall collapsed.Bishop Lawrence Wooten said it's too early to know how much the damage will cost or how long repairs will take. He shared that most of the damage is to the educational building. Ballwin man killed in I-44 collision with abandoned truck According to a preliminary storm report by the National Weather Service, thunderstorm winds caused damage to the church, but people driving by Union and MLK saw this and stopped to help clean up debris."Even the people that were just riding by with concerns, we thank God for that," First Assistant Pastor Larry Perkin...

School safety summit taking place today in Edwardsville, Illinois

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Madison County, Illinois regional superintendent of schools is hosting a school safety summit Monday morning.It's from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Madison County Administration Building in Edwardsville, Illinois. Person dragged onto front lawn, killed during home invasion on Sunday morning Representatives from the Illinois State Police, the Madison County Sheriff's Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office are invited to participate.

Artist Virgil Ortiz’s sci-fi retelling of the historic Pueblo Revolt of 1680 blends fact with the fantastic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

Virgil Ortiz’s “Revolt” is a history lesson told in the language “Star Wars.”The exhibit at the History Colorado Center is a shape-shifting, time-jumping, sci-fi fantasy that tells the tale of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, when indigenous fighters rose up and drove Spanish conquistadors from land that is now New Mexico.Safe to say, this momentous event, a rare but decisive win for the underdog, is not one many people know, at least not far and wide, and Ortiz has spent his distinguished career as an artist telling it — object by object, exhibit by exhibit — in a way that makes people pay attention.For this show, Ortiz wraps fact into hyper-fiction, morphing characters that actually took part in the uprising into fantasy beings called the Recon Watchmen that exist 500 years into the future and are fighting their own, corresponding battle against an enemy called the Castilians.Virgil Ortiz makes the costumes for the characters he created to tell the story of the Pueblo Revolt of 16...

Heat’s biggest advantage against Nuggets in Finals? This is Denver’s first postseason adversity: “It’s like a muscle that you work on and you get better”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:29 GMT

As Michael Malone’s team powered through the postseason and into the NBA Finals, he found himself steadily relying on a couple of go-to thoughts about his team’s performance.He’s repeatedly noted – and as weeks progressed, cautioned – that his team faced very little true postseason adversity as it dispatched Minnesota in five games, Phoenix in six and Los Angeles in four.Before Game 3 in Phoenix, he said, “we’ve had no adversity in the postseason yet. Things have gone really, really smooth. And adversity is coming. It’s knocking on the door.”Phoenix tied that series with a pair of blistering offensive performances at home, but that led Malone right to his other go-to: The old basketball cliché that a series doesn’t start until somebody wins a road game.That lack of postseason adversity took the form of a 13-3 mark overall going into Sunday’s Game 2 against Miami and a 9-0 run at Ball Arena.No longer. The NBA Finals are on. Adversity knocks.“I mean, we know that that’s not goin...