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Internal audit from Francis Howell School District reveals major missteps in spending

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. - The Francis Howell School District released a scathing audit over the spending of tens of millions of dollars from Proposition S, a $244 million bond issue approved by voters in 2020.The most dramatic item in the audit was how the construction of Francis Howell North High School, which was supposed to cost $86 million, ended up costing nearly $164 million. The audit stated that many of the financial decisions about the project were made without the approval of the board of education.The audit also said the district was working from inaccurate cost estimates during the conceptualization and initial design of the project. Top story: Mishandled evidence leads to murder case dismissal Additionally, it claimed that the administration had not accurately informed the board or consistently engaged the public regarding project changes. Inconsistent communication from the district administration, according to the audit, affected board oversight.The spending on the ...

Downtown West prepares for busy, but cold, weekend of sports and entertainment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Downtown St. Louis is preparing for another busy, but cold weekend with the Battlehawks, CITY SC, and more entertainment bringing crowds together.The bitter cold that rolled in on Friday is going to continue through the weekend. Despite this, the soccer stadium and much of downtown is expected to be flooded with people.Coming off big wins for the Battlehawks and CITY SC, major crowds are returning Saturday and converging at the same time.The kickoff for the Battlehawks will be at 6 p.m., and CITY SC will take the field at 7 p.m. Not to mention a TobyMac concert at Enterprise Center also at 7 p.m."Any increased patrols that we can have from some of the other supportive units," said Sgt. Charles Wall for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. "We'll have them this weekend as well for increased visibility, increased traffic control, and hopefully another good weekend."Meters at St. Louis public parking lots will automatically be set to dynamic pricing during events, ...

Limited supply keeps Colorado’s housing market off balance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

Colorado homebuyers continue to struggle with an ongoing housing shortage.Although the Denver metro area experienced an inventory increase from 2475 active listings in February 2022 to 4108 last month, the housing market remains unbalanced, according to the Colorado Association of Realtors February report.Last month, the monthly supply of houses statewide was just over one month, and while that’s a 120% year-over-year increase, there still need to be more homes to meet demand.“With supply remaining low — up four times the amount from this time last year but still 75% short of anything resembling a balance of supply and demand — one would hope that more inventory and lower prices would be a positive development for the buyers who just want to get into a good home,” Realtor Matthew Leprino said in the report.Prices tick upStatewide, single-family homes recorded a median price jump of 3.1%, rising from $520,000 in January to $536,000 in February.The number of homes so...

Pittsburg man charged with vehicular manslaughter in teen’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

PITTSBURG – A 34-year-old Pittsburg man is facing vehicular manslaughter and other charges in connection with the hit-and-run death of a 17-year-old girl earlier this month.On Friday, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office announced it filed a four-count complaint against Roberto Matthew Sainez. In addition to vehicular manslaughter, Sainez is charged with hit-and-run resulting in the death of another person, destroying evidence and driving with a suspended or revoked license for a DUI conviction.The hit-and-run was reported around 7:15 p.m., on March 7 near Stoneman Avenue and Briarcliff Drive. Officers arrived to find the victim, Brooke Jeffrey, lying in the center of the road. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.Investigators identified Sainez as a suspect and arrested both him and his fiancée – Vanessa Landeros, 30, of Pittsburg – while serving a search warrant in the 3000 block of Gladstone Drive on Wednesday.At Sainez’s arraignment Friday, De...

Santa Clara County could soon provide Narcan at public libraries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

(KRON) -- This week, the Santa Clara County board of supervisors voted to move forward with a proposal to make Narcan available at public libraries. Before that vote, KRON4's Stephanie Lin spoke with Supervisor Otto Lee-- who submitted the proposal -- to learn more about the fentanyl crisis in his county, and the changes he hopes to achieve by making Narcan more readily available. You can watch the interview using the video player above.

Selland carries South Dakota State past Southern Cal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Myah Selland scored 29 points to lead No. 9 seed South Dakota State to a 62-57 overtime victory over eighth-seeded Southern Cal on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s Seattle Region.Selland scored 16 consecutive points spanning the fourth quarter and overtime for the Jackrabbits (29-5), who won their 22nd consecutive game despite shooting 35.2% (19 of 54) and committing 20 turnovers.Destiny Littleton led Southern Cal (21-10) with 18 points.Littleton tied the game at 47 on a 3-pointer with 7 seconds in regulation. Selland then missed a tough jumper at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.Selland scored nine consecutive points in overtime for the Jackrabbits, who opened the extra session with an 11-2 run and never trailed. Littleton had a chance to tie the game at 58, but missed an off-balance 3-pointer with 14 seconds left and Tori Nelson’s two free throws with 11 seconds to go all but sealed it for the Jackrabbits.Selland connected o...

Smith hits late 3-pointer, Rockets beat Pelicans 114-112

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. hit a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to give the Houston Rockets a 114-112 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in the first of straight games between the teams.Smith hit the shot over defender Naji Marshall from slightly right of straightaway and immediately turned to his coach Stephen Silas, who was pointing at Smith in celebration.Smith had 11 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes. It was his only 3-pointer in three attempts.Jalen Green led Houston with 25 points and had seven rebounds and six assists. Kevin Porter Jr. added 20 points and six assists.Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 31 points. Jonas Valanciunas added 22 points and 17 rebounds, one shy of his season high. Valanciunas had his first 20-point game since Jan. 20, bullying the Rockets in the paint and going 10 for 16 from the field with four blocks on the defensive end.The teams will meet again Sunday night in Houston.The Rockets entered the four...

March Madness: Miami gets 21 from Pack to rally past Drake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Nijel Pack scored 21 points — including the go-ahead jumper and a pair of free throws in the final minute — to rally No. 5 seeded Miami past Drake 63-56 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night.The Hurricanes (26-7) scored the final 10 points in just barely getting past 12th-seeded Drake only a year after reaching the Elite Eight.Norchad Omier added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who won despite being held to a season-low 63 points. Wooga Poplar had 15 points.Darnell Brodie had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Drake (27-8). The Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions were outscored 16-1 over the final 4:29 and 10-0 in the last 2:28. The Bulldogs missed their last seven shots from the field and were scoreless the final 3:24.Mo Valley Player of the Year Tucker DeVries, whose father is the coach, scored three points on 1 of 13 shooting.Miami will face the winner of the game between fourth-seeded Indiana (22-11) and 13th seeded...

Gonzaga wears down Grand Canyon 82-70 in March Madness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Slow-starting Gonzaga finally shook off the first-round jitters, then wore out Grand Canyon 82-70 behind 28 points and 10 rebounds from Julian Strawther in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.Zags senior Drew Timme brought his sweatband and handlebar moustache back to March Madness and finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the third-seeded Bulldogs (29-5), who haven’t lost a first-round game in the tournament since 2008.Next up for Gonzaga is a game Sunday against the winner of a later West Region contest between TCU and Arizona State.Like almost every Zag outside of Strawther, Timme was bottled up and frustrated in the first half, then came out of halftime and looked like a different player. After trailing by as many as seven, Timme’s three-point play gave Gonzaga a 48-40 lead early in the second half. “As I walked into the locker room, Drew was talking to guys about ‘Hey, now the jitters are out of the way and now we’ve got to play,’” coach...

Rybakina routs Swiatek 6-2, 6-2 to reach Indian Wells final

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:44 GMT

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Elena Rybakina fired seven aces in routing top-ranked Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-2 on Friday to advance to the BNP Paribas Open final.Rybakina will play second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3, in Sunday’s final in the Southern California desert.“It’s going to be huge,” said Sabalenka, who won the doubles title in 2019. “This tournament feels like a Grand Slam. I really want to hold this trophy as a singles champion.”Rybakina needed just 76 minutes to finish off Swiatek, the defending champion. She won 82% of her first serve points. Rybakina also beat the Polish star at the Australian Open in January on her way to finishing runner-up.Swiatek had won 10 straight matches in the desert until being stopped Friday.Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, improved to 17-1 this year. Sabalenka took control against Sakkari, seeded seventh, from the start. She attacked the Greek’s second serve, winning 20 of 26 points off it. Sakkari, ru...