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Greszler: Raising minimum wage would spike child care costs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

As families are still trying to cope with rising prices and declining real wages, a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour would drive up costs, especially for child care.According to my original analysis, based on data of child care wages across the states and the economics of child care, a $17 per hour minimum wage would increase child care costs by an average of 20% throughout the U.S., costing a family with two children an extra $4,185 per year.Most families today would be hard-pressed to come up with that extra money, especially considering that wages haven’t kept pace with inflation. Over the past two years, the average worker has received a $4,300 pay increase, but inflation has eroded $7,000 of value, leaving everyday Americans $2,700 poorer.Bad government policies were a primary cause of this decline in real wages. By driving up demand for goods and services through massive government spend...

Pozniak: 911 dispatchers vital, often unappreciated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

With the words “911 what’s your emergency,” an emergency dispatcher offers reassurance to a call for help.Emergency 911 dispatchers play a critical and oftentimes overlooked role in every community. These highly trained professionals are the first point of contact for people faced with critical emergencies, whether it’s an accident, fire, criminal activity or the recent storms that caused serious flooding. They serve as the vital link between citizens and emergency responders — the skilled, calm and composed voices for callers experiencing fear, stress, anxiety or anger.A new survey by the National Emergency Number Association polled more than 800 emergency call center dispatchers from around the country, including Massachusetts. It found that many dispatchers are experiencing high levels of stress and burnout as a result of a dramatic increase in call volume especially from those experiencing a mental health crisis. Respondents also  reported that they felt undera...

It’s Halloween every day on ‘Spooky Kisses Haunts’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

Halloween may be months away but for Rich Perry and his Amazon series “Spooky Kisses Haunts” the holiday is celebrated every day.“Spooky,” where first season episodes are $2.99 each, guides viewers to the history and locations of some of the country’s most venerable scare sites.Halloween haunted attractions, it turns out, are a nationwide industry. “Spooky” is founded and run by Perry and his wife Beverly, who live in New Hampshire.He explained, “We have a very unique story about how this show was created. My wife and I have both lost prior spouses to cancer. But we found a way to look death in the eye and are now producing a series about the Halloween haunted attraction industry.“Just over a year ago, we were filming demo reels with an iPhone, and now we have a full blown series show streaming on Amazon Prime.“I was working on video production,” he explained, when his first wife died in 2012.  In 2022, remarried to Beverly (whose spouse had also died – the two couples were friends)...

Dear Abby: Hubby’s iffy about a baby, wife’s at a loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

Dear Abby: My husband and I have been married 10 years. When we tried to have kids for the first time, we discovered I have polycystic ovary syndrome. We quit trying when the doctor visits became more than we could afford. We tried again after my husband saw a movie that moved him emotionally. Nothing came from that, so we stopped trying again.I always assumed we’d give it a go one last time, but now my husband says he doesn’t want a kid right now and may never want one. He did say that if we wound up pregnant, he’d be fine with it. He also said he’d be terrified at first, but he’d settle into emergency mode and handle it.Abby, I don’t know what to do. I most likely won’t get pregnant without a fertility specialist, but my husband made it clear he’s not into trying to have a baby. He’d only be fine with a baby if it “just happened.” What do I do? –Empty Arms in TexasDear Empty Arms:  Your husband doesn’t s...

Back to school: Here's when students head back to class in San Diego County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The first day of school has either already started or is soon approaching for schools in San Diego County.Here's a list of schools in each area of the county and their start dates:SAN DIEGOSan Diego Unified School District: Aug. 21CORONADOCoronado Unified School District: Aug. 24SOUTH BAYChula Vista Elementary School District: July 19National School District: July 24San Ysidro School District: July 24Sweetwater Union High School District: July 19South Bay Union School District: July 24 3 San Diego-area spots among top 100 dog-friendly places to eat in US: Yelp EAST COUNTYAlpine Union School District: Aug. 16Borrego Springs Unified School District: Aug. 21Dehesa School District: Aug. 16Jamul-Dulzura Union Elementary School District: Aug. 17Julian Union School District: Aug. 15Julian Union High School District: Aug. 7Lemon Grove School District: Aug. 16Poway Unified School District: Aug. 16Warner Unified School District: Aug. 9Bonsall Union Elementary School District: ...

Number of dead from Maui wildfires reaches 99, as governor warns there could be scores more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — The number of deaths caused by the Maui wildfires stood at 99 Monday, a figure that is likely to increase as search crews comb neighborhoods where flames moved as fast as a mile a minute.The blazes that consumed most of the historic town of Lahaina are already the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. The cause was under investigation.Gov. Josh Green said the search will take time and and asked for space to do it properly. “For those people who have walked into Lahaina because they really wanted to see, know that they're very likely walking on iwi,” he said at a news conference on Maui, using the Hawaiian word for “bones.” “They will find 10 to 20 people per day, probably, until they finish," Green told CBS Mornings in a recorded interview that aired Monday. "And it’s probably going to take 10 days. It’s impossible to guess, really.” As cellphone service has slowly been restored, the number of people missing dropped to about 1,300 from over 2,000, Gree...

3 San Diego-area spots among top 100 dog-friendly places to eat in US: Yelp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diegans are known for their love of dogs.Yelp recently compiled the top 100 dog-friendly places to eat in 2023, with three local spots making the list.Viewpoint Brewing Company, found along the San Dieguito Lagoon, came in at No. 11. The Del Mar brewery and restaurant offers Boozy Bones treats and doggy bowls to keep your pups full and hydrated. The location also features the Coast to Crest trail, ideal for dog walking after a satisfying meal."This place literally embodies San Diego in restaurant form. Good beer, chill people, a great waterfront view, lots of space, dog-friendly, all in a gastropub!" Yelper Jennifer B. said.The New Zealand-inspired Kairoa Brewing Company, which is a brewpub and rooftop bar overlooking the iconic University Heights sign, ranked No. 20 on the list."Kairoa is one of my favorite spots to go to. The rooftop is wonderful and it is dog friendly! We have been here many times for group gatherings or birthdays. The staff is so friendly a...

Hillary Clinton says ‘justice is being pursued’ in Trump Georgia case. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

Follow along for live updates on the indictment of former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia. The charges focus on alleged schemes by Trump and his allies to attempt illegally overturn his loss in the state. It’s the fourth criminal case brought against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House, and the second to allege that he tried to subvert the results of the vote.___WHAT TO KNOW— Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has overseen the sprawling Georgia case against Trump— A law associated with mobsters and organized crime is central to the Georgia charges— Trump was charged earlier this month by the Justice Department for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election— A look at all of the investigations currently pending against Trump— Trump also was indicted in June on charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents___HILLARY CLINTON: ‘JUSTICE IS...

Georgia court’s apparent error in early publishing of charges gives Trump opening to attack case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

Hours before a Georgia grand jury handed down an indictment charging Donald Trump and 18 allies over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss late Monday, a mysterious document posted on the court’s website erroneously suggested the former president had already been charged before the file was quickly deleted. The posting of the case before grand jurors voted on the indictment — and officials’ failure to explain what happened — gave the former president an opening in court and on the campaign trial to try to paint Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ case as tainted and the criminal justice system as rigged against him. There is no evidence that the grand jury process was somehow compromised, or that the document was intentionally leaked by prosecutors or court officials. But the court’s clerk did little to tamp down speculation, refusing to say how the erroneous filing got online or publicly rule out whether it could have been the result of a hack. “Trump̵...

Texas wants Planned Parenthood to repay millions of dollars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas wants Planned Parenthood to give back millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements — and pay far more in fines on top of that — in a lawsuit that appears to be the first of its kind brought by a state against the largest abortion provider in the U.S. A hearing was set for Tuesday in front of U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who earlier this year put access to the most common method of abortion in the U.S. in limbo with a ruling that invalidated approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The case now before him in America’s biggest red state does not surround abortion, which has been banned in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. But Planned Parenthood argues the attempt to recoup at least $17 million in Medicaid payments for health services, including cancer screenings, is a new effort to weaken the organization after years of Republican-led laws that stripped funding and imposed restrictions on how its clinic...