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‘I was granted an opportunity and that’s what I’m representing’: Pedro Martínez hosts backpack drive in Roxbury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

Red Sox legend Pedro Martínez is helping out with back to school shopping this year.“Baseball gave me a great opportunity,”  Martínez said. “Because of education, I have been able to make the transition from baseball to everything else and I was granted an opportunity and that’s what I’m representing here.”The Hall of Fame pitcher held a backpack drive at The Base in Roxbury to benefit underserved children and families around Boston. More than 200 kids left with supplies to begin the new school year.Martínez grew up in the Dominican Republic where he didn’t have many opportunities to receive support in his community. Now, he wants to encourage students who need it most. “I remember being a kid and really struggling to get everything together to go to school, and sometimes I found myself borrowing stuff from other kids,” he said. “I don’t want any kid to go through that.”His foundation collaborated with Boston Community Pediatrics and Gordons. They collected donated backpa...

Sharing the bounty of Toronto’s urban orchard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

If you’re lucky enough to have a fruit tree on your property in Toronto, it doesn’t have to be a raccoon buffet! You can connect with a harvesting program.It’s estimated that Toronto’s urban orchard produces 1.5 million pounds of fruit every year and some tree owners can’t keep up.Volunteers with Not Far From The Tree (NFFTT) pick fruit and share the bounty with social agencies. It’s split three ways – 1/3 to the tree registrant, 1/3 is split amongst the volunteers and 1/3 donated to one of the group’s social service agency partners.Program Manager Rachel Lissner tells CityNews it’s a combination of putting food on the table and reducing fruit waste.“Some people have shared with us that it does supplement their grocery bill. Some people also just like having access to fruits that are native to this part of the world but we have seen an increase in people saying that it does help a little with their wallets.”NFFTT says...

Canada romps over Lebanon to go 2-0 at FIBA World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

Canada climbed to a 2-0 record at the FIBA World Cup with a dominant 128-73 victory over Lebanon on Sunday in Jakarta, Indonesia.Nine Canadian players finished with double digits in scoring and the team set a senior men’s national team record for points – it scored 126 against Jordan at the World Cup four years ago – while also setting a tournament record with 44 assists in a single game. FIBA began keeping assist records in 1984. RJ Barrett led the way with 17 points. Trae Bell-Hayes added 15 points shooting five three-pointers on six attempts and also had a team-high eight assists.After recording 27 points in his World Cup debut, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in 17 minutes.Melvin Ejim (13), Kelly Olynyk (12), Zach Edey (12), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (12), Kyle Anderson (10) and Dillon Brooks (10) were the others who scored in double figures. Canada opened the tournament Friday with a 95-65 win over France.Lebanon, which lo...

40th annual Chicago Triathlon underway, swimming removed due to dangerous Lake conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

CHICAGO -- The 40th annual Chicago Triathlon is expected to take flight Sunday morning with over 8,000 athletes expected to participate.The swimming portion of the event was cancelled due to unstable lake conditions and potentially dangerous waves, according to NWS Chicago. Over 1,000 athletes from ages 7 to 86 will bike, run and bike again to replace the swimming portion. The Great American Dog Show happening this weekend at McCormick Place WGN's very own reporter, Mike Lowe will be participating in the triathlon for his third year and the second time the swimming portion got cancelled. "You work for a summer to try to get yourself in shape to swim but you have to respect the organizer's decision," Lowe said. Low is participating in the Triathlon to raise money for the non-profit “It Takes a Village Chicago,” that builds weight rooms for youth in underserved communities and underfunded schools. You can donate here. Lowe is expected to take off around 8:06 a.m.WGN is actively fo...

How Nameless, Texas, found its name

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) -- Off FM 1431 in Leander lies Nameless Road. About 1.5 miles down on the left resides the Nameless School, a one-room schoolhouse that, alongside the road and a corresponding cemetery, are some of the last remnants of a northwest Travis County community.Residents first began settling in the stretch of land around 1860, said Genny Kercheville, vice president of the nonprofit Friends of Nameless School. Around 1880, Kercheville said residents decided they wanted to construct a post office so carriers on horseback wouldn't have to travel as far to deliver mail.Residents sent in a request to dub the area Fairview due to its beautiful Hill Country views. However, the U.S. postal system wrote back and denied the request, saying the name was taken.Residents sent in several more name requests, all of which were already in use. "So finally they just said, 'well then, let it be nameless and be damned," Kercheville said, laughing. "So that's how it became Nameless."Off N...

Maureen Downey: Growing up in public with zero privacy and constant judgment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

ATLANTA — Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen dozens of first day-of-school photos posted on social media by proud parents. No longer are pictures limited to beatific kindergartners with unicorn backpacks. Parents are badgering college students to text them first-day photos, leading to shots like the one I saw of a sour-faced University of Georgia senior holding a sign that explained, “My mother made me do this.”Children today lead well-documented lives, starting in their cribs with enthusiastic picture-taking and posting by their parents and then, as adolescents, revealing themselves on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat.As a result, children now have major benchmarks shared in public: first steps, first words and first days of school. But lives played out on social media hold risks as kids get older, from being canceled or even denied college admission because of their online missteps, and that increasingly worries parents.U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. ...

Crash in north St. Louis harms two officers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A developing story unfolds in North St. Louis County, where two police officers sustained injuries in a crash on I-70 near Jennings Station Road. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that the officers had exited their police vehicle to attend to an abandoned car on the shoulder of I-70 east.Allegedly, a 2003 Honda Accord driver lost control, colliding with a guardrail and striking both officers. Identified as Benjamin Santoyo and Andrew Hapgood, both officers are 27 years old. The crash report indicates serious and moderate injuries. They were subsequently transported to a hospital, while a 64-year-old car driver was apprehended by troopers on suspicion of DWI, after allegedly causing the collision. The incident occurred shortly before 8:30 p.m. yesterday.

St. Louis man fatally shot over the weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A 30-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the head during an incident that occurred over the course of a violent weekend in St. Louis. He was discovered in south St. Louis on California Ave., near Potomac St. Law enforcement officers responded to the scene shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, August 26. Tragically, the man succumbed to his injuries following the ride to the hospital by ambulance. Homicide detectives from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police have taken charge of this investigation.

Joseph Sebastian Sinisi, longtime Denver Post reporter, dies at 80

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

The Dodgers left Brooklyn, but Joseph Sebastian Sinisi never did. Well, sort of.Sinisi, a Denver Post reporter and staff writer for 25 years, died suddenly Monday in his Denver home. He was 80.Known to Denver Post readers by the name in his byline, J. Sebastian Sinisi, the Brooklyn-born Sinisi was familiar to colleagues and friends as Joe. Sinisi began his long career with the Post in 1979, and through the years he never lost his heavy, characteristic Brooklyn accent.Frank Scandale, a former Denver Post city editor who also served as Sinisi’s editor at times during the 1990s and into the 2000s, hails from New York. He recalled the first time they met, in 1990.” ‘Ey, I heer yoor froom da neighbahood,’ ” Scandal recalled of Sinisi’s Brooklyn-laced greeting.“I look at him, I think he’s giving me the business, busting my chops,” said Scandale, who has a New York accent, although not as pronounced. “I said, ‘Hey, what the ...

Can there be too many drive-thrus? One Colorado city is considering whether to impose a limit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:47 GMT

The venerable American ritual of palming a burger while gripping the steering wheel, as grease and ketchup drip onto shirt and lap, could soon face resistance as thick as honey mustard sauce in Golden.Last week, city leaders launched a monthslong effort to explore whether this city of 20,000 should limit — or even outlaw — new drive-thru operations in the name of cleaner air and better mobility for pedestrians and cyclists.“Drive-thrus can have such impacts not just on sustainability aspirations but on the safety of people and drivers,” said Golden Councilman Casey Brown, who brought the issue up at the council meeting Tuesday. “And they can be difficult to manage once they’re there.”The city found that out the hard way a couple of years back during the pandemic when the drive-thru at a Starbucks on South Golden Road was overwhelmed after government-ordered restaurant closures. Long lines of cars spilled onto the road, gumming up the nearby ...