Tuesday, March 19

Local

Hudson Falls Man Steals Thousands From Elderly Man, Faces Charges in Three Cities
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Hudson Falls Man Steals Thousands From Elderly Man, Faces Charges in Three Cities

A Hudson Falls man faces numerous felony charges for criminal possession of a forged instrument as well as misdemeanor petit larceny for cashing checks that had been stolen from an 80-year-old Hudson resident during his hospitalization. Police say Allen R. Cox, 40, faces four counts of criminal possession in total. Cox made out roughly $2,000 worth of checks to himself in the victim’s name and cashed them at banks in Queensbury, Glens Falls, and South Glens Falls. All three municipalities are cooperating in the investigation and charging Cox separately, according to the Post Star. The checkbook had been stolen from the victim’s home some weeks earlier, while he was admitted to the hospital for emergency care. The theft comes at a time when attacks on the elderly are skyrocketin...
Former Chicago Police Department Employee Charged with Stealing Inmate Property
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Former Chicago Police Department Employee Charged with Stealing Inmate Property

UPDATED 11/18/20 At an adult correctional facility in Chicago, a long time employee was caught stealing from inmates. The culprit was taking the items from the inventory storage, some of which included money and jewelry. According to police, the 19 year veteran had been taking items for a long time and when they were finally on to her, they decided to videotape the storage area. The woman, Paula Brown, was caught red handed stealing cook county jail inmate property. When it comes to inmate property, all items, including cash, wallets, lighters, cigarettes, clothing, and any items in the defendant's possession is taken from the defendant at the booking department after the suspect is arrested. If bail is granted, the items will be returned to the defendant. If bail is not granted, ...
Drivers in D.C. Waste More Time in Traffic Jams Than Commuters in Any Other City
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Drivers in D.C. Waste More Time in Traffic Jams Than Commuters in Any Other City

New York City and Los Angeles are probably the top two cities that have a reputation for having "the worst traffic ever," but it seems that neither of these metropolitan monsters can win against the nation's capital, Washington D.C., for that coveted title of disdain. A new study was just released by the Texas AandM Transportation Institute and Inrix, a travel data analysis company located in Kirkland, Washington, and the findings show that D.C. tops the list of worst rush hour traffic congestion in major U.S. cities. As USA Today described it, "Rush hour congestion adds 82 hours of suffering each year to the average commute around Washington, D.C." Runners-up for the unofficial Worst Traffic Ever title include L.A., where the average commuter spends 80 hours stuck in traffic, San...
D.C. Mayor Proposes To Release All Police Body Camera Footage to the Public
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D.C. Mayor Proposes To Release All Police Body Camera Footage to the Public

According to the Washington Post, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser recently announced a new proposal that will make police body footage camera available to the public. This includes any footage that is shot outdoors, such as a sidewalk or traffic stop. In this plan, private citizens will be given access to thousands of videos documenting police interactions with citizens. The footage would be available to the public at police stations for a period of 90 days. Previously, Mayor Bowser rejected the idea of releasing the body camera footage to the public. Bowser says she changed her mind after the increased amount of shootings by police officers being reported around the nation. ”Earlier this year, I proposed putting D.C. at the razor’s edge of body worn camera implementation,” Bowse...
NYC Welcomes New Rooftop Oasis
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NYC Welcomes New Rooftop Oasis

According to a recent report from CBS News, the Jacob Javits Center in New York City has installed a rooftop green oasis the size of nearly five football fields. The 17-story building, which was once one of the leading causes of bird deaths in NYC due to its windows, is now home to one of the largest rooftop sanctuaries in the city -- and bird deaths are down nearly 90%. By replacing the blacktop roof, which would absorb 85-95% of the heat and energy from the sun, with a roof made of soil, grass and shrubs, the building has saved 25% on heating and cooling costs. Susan Elbin, head of the New York City Audubon Society, said, "When I am walking around up here, like right now even, I have a hard time believing I am on a roof in New York City. I feel like I am in a meadow somewhere." Javits...
Buffalo, NY’s School-Bus-Sized Snow Piles Finally Melt
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Buffalo, NY’s School-Bus-Sized Snow Piles Finally Melt

A full eight months after last year's infamous "Snowvember" storm, snow still remains in Buffalo, NY -- in the form of two massive snow piles. The 10-foot piles, located in an abandoned lot near Central Terminal, don't really look like snow anymore; nearly one foot of soil covers the piles due to the long, slow melting process, which has actually insulated the snow even more. The only evidence of melting snow is the swampy soil that surrounds the piles. "It's not unprecedented, but it is weird when you think about it," said WGRZ Meteorologist Patrick Hammer. Last November, a freak lake-effect snow storm dropped seven feet of snow onto the Buffalo area. Snow removal crews had nowhere else to put all this snow, so the lot at Central Terminal became the dumping ground for 10,000 to 11,000 ...
High-Tech Plumbing Comes to Small-Town America
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High-Tech Plumbing Comes to Small-Town America

People don’t tend to think of plumbing repairs as being particularly high-tech. But the use of “trenchless” sewer and pipe rehabilitation is slowly starting to revolutionize the plumbing industry. In the beginning of August, that paid off for the town of Adrian, MI, where a trenchless repair of a stormwater sewer averted what could have been an emergency in the small city, located about an hour outside of Ann Arbor. “We had a collapse on this line just over a month ago and found this concrete pipe to have significant deterioration,” City Administrator Shane Horn told the Adrian City Commission Aug. 3, highlighting the need for an immediate solution. To fix the line, a special liner was inserted into about 1,000-foot length of the pipe, which runs beneath Michigan Avenue. The pipe thickn...
New York’s Hottest WiFi Hotspot Isn’t What You’d Expect
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New York’s Hottest WiFi Hotspot Isn’t What You’d Expect

The Internet of Things may have started as nothing more than a theory, but today just about everything is connected -- from our smartphones to refrigerator egg trays (seriously). One New York City waste management company is looking to top that, however, with garbage bins that double as WiFi hotspots. Massachusetts-based Bigbelly has placed 170 solar powered "smart bins" around Manhattan. The containers also contain WiFi units that provide 50 to 75 megabits per second -- more than enough to run a small business, download an HD movie in nine minutes, or upload 200 photos in 27 seconds. But the bins aren't just there to give New Yorkers free internet access. They also serve a more environmentally friendly purpose by sensing when the bin is too full or too smelly. The company previously us...
Victim of Horrific Rock-Throwing Prank Demands Overpass Fencing
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Victim of Horrific Rock-Throwing Prank Demands Overpass Fencing

After being seriously injured over a year ago by rocks thrown over an interstate overpass, a Uniontown, Ohio woman named Sharon Budd is now making sure that no one else will go through what she has. She is urging Pennsylvania and Ohio lawmakers to install protective fences on all new highway overpasses, to prevent people from throwing objects over them. Seven surgeries later, Sharon has had an eye removed and part of her skull replaced. The four-and-a-half pound rock that 19-year-old Bret Lahr hurled over the overpass shattered the windshield and hit Budd in the face, causing her severe injuries and permanent brain damage. Though they are pursuing a civil suit, Budd's husband has stated publicly that a slap on the wrist is not enough. What was supposed to be a prank changed their lives fo...
San Jose Teen Planned Inside Job Home Invasion with Gang Members to Rob His Family
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San Jose Teen Planned Inside Job Home Invasion with Gang Members to Rob His Family

In San Jose, CA, a teenager has been charged with orchestrating a burglary with three known gang members. The twist, however, is that the 17-year-old planned for the others to rob his own home. Simerjeet Singh knew the three gang members from school and is accused of "masterminding" a home invasion. Singh helped Moses Perez Herrera, 17, Alvaro Valdivia, 16, and Moses Noel Torres, 22, get into his home to steal from his father, Bikram Jeet Singh, and other family members. But the family home contained several high-definition surveillance cameras, which caught the burglary on video. Three family members were also home at the time of the robbery. Simerjeet Singh's grandmother, mother and 14-month-old half-sister were in the house when the burglars got in. One of the women heard noises dow...