FORT WORTH, Texas — Although Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker gives the new city manager finalist the thumbs up, the selection process is coming under fire by one of her fellow council members. After a national search, in Parker’s opinion, Jay Chapa is what Fort Worth needs. “So excited to welcome Jay Chapa as our solo finalist," said Mayor Parker. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion and their feelings about the process. This process was transparent. We had buy-in from every single member of the council. It is no any different from a sweep search across this country.” But Councilman Chris Nettles has a different opinion saying Chapa was the pick all along calling the process flawed. “This process did not have an independent source from this process, did not allow community engagement. This process has been rushed and poured down our throats," Nettles said. Chris Nettles has been serving on the Fort Worth City Council since he was elected in May 2021. Representing District 8, Nettles is known for his advocacy on issues such as public safety, economic development, and infrastructure improvements. He ran unopposed for re-election in 2023 and has been a vocal leader in his district. The annual budget for the City of Fort Worth for the year 2025 was recently approved by the city council totaling $2.79 billion. Under the current City Manager, David Cook, Fort Worth managed to maintain the same tax rate. The new budget includes increased funding for the fire department and police department, hiring more 911 operators, and adding more school resource officers. David Cook announced he is retiring in February 2025 after being the longest-running City Manager in Fort Worth history . When Jay Chapa served as Fort Worth's Deputy City Manager, he oversaw several departments including Economic Development, Finance, Human Resources, and Public Events. He also managed the city’s Police Department playing a pivotal role in the controversial firing of f ormer police chief Joel Fitzgerald . Eventually, the city settled with Fitzgerald paying him $5 million in damages. Chapa’s fingerprints are on big city projects like the development of Dickies Arena. After leaving the city he provided consulting to help Fort Worth land the multi-million-dollar contract for the Texas A&M University downtown campus. “Jay will work with our legal department to cut ties with any client where there might be some kind of perceived issue there," said Mayor Parker. Most council members are expected to support Chapa during an official vote on Tuesday, December 10. Mayor Parker and other council members believe Chapa will eventually win over Nettles’ full support. Fort Worth Councilman Michael Crain began serving on the Fort Worth City Council as the representative for District 3 in 2021. He is now in his second term after being reelected in 2023. Crain focuses on communication, public safety, infrastructure, and fiscal responsibility in his role. Just like Nettles, Crain is often seen at many community events in his district. He paid close attention to the process as well for selecting the next City Manager. “Six months from now, Chris and other council names that might be negative about it, we will find that Jay is top-notch," said Michael Crain. If hired, Chapa would make history, becoming the city’s first-ever Hispanic City Manager. Related Articles 'It makes us more competitive.' | Fort Worth Police get big pay raises with new labor contract Dallas names four semifinalists for city manager job Fort Worth poised to replace its longest-serving city manager with first Hispanic city manager
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MEDIUM RARE As a “food-obsessed” people, is it true we eat six times a day? Which would put snacking as a national pastime. And yet we have laws against donating unconsumed food to charities like orphanages, homes for the aged and such. It’s also true that whatever food is left uneaten in the restaurant, it is usual for diners to tell the waiter, “Please pack the leftovers in a doggie bag for me to take home.” Legends, like habits, grow over time. Many of us of a certain generation or generations were brought up supposing that people in certain countries in the Far East and South Asia were “starving” – an unfounded rumor that mothers and grandmothers unfairly passed along to teach their young why not to waste food. Nonetheless, it is assumed that we do waste too much food. If you ask your friendly waiter, he’ll probably confirm your worst fears: 30 percent of water and 20 percent of food are left unconsumed on the table in a typical middle-class restaurant. As a happy people who celebrate by eating and feasting, we are forever on the lookout for new restaurants. When Tikya discovered that a newly opened restaurant was in her neighborhood, she invited our so-called eating club to join her and “give it a try” – which we did. The restaurant is named Thai Siam, and true enough, it serves Thai food. Happily, it does not lack for Siamese local color. The waiters and waitresses wore aprons in violet and purple, with a printed pattern of elephants on parade. At the end of the meal, the chef, Thai born-and-bred, came out to pose for pictures with Gringo Honasan. It was then that the easily recognizable Gringo, “cashiered colonel,” former coup leader, senator, and cabinet secretary (Communications and Technology) confirmed that he’s running again for senator in the 2025 elections. Another former soldier and secretary, Ping Lacson, will come out of retirement to join the race. The initials of Gringo’s party, PRG for People’s Reform Group, are tattooed on his right hand, between the thumb and forefinger. It took the tattoo artist two hours to do the job. Was it painful? Yes, but soldiers are expected to be brave. Gringo: “You cannot give what you do not have.”
Twilio Inc. (TWLO) Barclays 22nd Annual Global Technology Conference (Transcript)
Queens of the deal: These women reached the top of corporate Britain while raising children - so what are the secrets of their success?The expanded Big Ten is poised to be a major player in this season's College Football Playoff. The 18-team conference had three of the top-four teams in the AP poll this week — No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State. A one-loss Indiana team is ranked 10th but is still very much a contender to make the playoff, given how many Southeastern Conference teams have three defeats or more. Indiana's rise has been perhaps the Big Ten's biggest story this season. Much of the spotlight was on newcomers Oregon, Southern California, UCLA and Washington, but aside from the top-ranked Ducks, that foursome has struggled to impress. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers won their first 10 games under new coach Curt Cignetti before losing at Ohio State last weekend. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 back in October, and if the Buckeyes beat rival Michigan this weekend, they'll earn a rematch with the Ducks for the Big Ten title. And it's entirely possible another matchup between those two teams awaits in the CFP. Dillon Gabriel has quarterbacked Oregon to an unbeaten record, throwing for 3,066 yards and 22 touchdowns in 11 games. But don't overlook Iowa's Kaleb Johnson and his 21 rushing TDs, and quarterback Kurtis Rourke has been a big part of Indiana's improvement. Penn State's Abdul Carter has eight sacks and two forced fumbles and could be one of the top edge rushers drafted this year. Oregon (11-0, 8-0), Ohio State (10-1, 7-1), Penn State (10-1, 7-1), Indiana (10-1, 7-1), Illinois (8-3, 5-3), Iowa (7-4, 5-3), Michigan (6-5, 4-4), Minnesota (6-5, 4-4), Washington (6-5, 4-4), Southern California (6-5, 4-5), Nebraska (6-5, 3-5) and Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) have already reached the six-win mark for bowl eligibility. Michigan State (5-6, 3-5) and Wisconsin (5-6, 3-5) can join them. There may not be many firings in general at the top level of college football. The prospect of sharing revenue with athletes in the future might lead schools to be more judicious about shedding one coach and hiring a new one. Who should be most worried in the Big Ten? Well, Lincoln Riley is struggling to stay above .500 in his third season at USC. Purdue is 1-10, but coach Ryan Walters is only in his second season. Maryland's Mike Locksley has been there six years and his Terrapins are 4-7, but this was his first real step backward after guiding the team to three straight bowl wins. Cignetti has shown it is possible for a coaching change to push a previously moribund program to some impressive heights in a short amount of time — but the improvement has been more incremental at Michigan State following Jonathan Smith's arrival. Sherrone Moore wasn't a completely unknown commodity at Michigan after he won some massive games in place of a suspended Jim Harbaugh last year. But in his first season completely at the helm, the Wolverines have declined significantly following their national title a season ago. The Big Ten is home to one of the most dynamic freshmen in the country in Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith. He has 52 catches for 899 yards and nine touchdowns. Highly touted quarterback Dylan Raiola has teamed up with fellow freshman Jacory Barney (49 catches) to lead Nebraska to bowl eligibility. Ohio State is on track to land the Big Ten's top class, according to 247 Sports, but the big news recently was quarterback Bryce Underwood flipping from LSU to Michigan. If the Wolverines do in fact keep Underwood in his home state, that would be a big development for Moore. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Maryland is suing the company that produces the waterproof material Gore-Tex often used for raincoats and other outdoor gear, alleging its leaders kept using “forever chemicals” long after learning about serious health risks associated with them. The complaint, which was filed last week in federal court, focuses on a cluster of 13 facilities in northeastern Maryland operated by Delaware-based W.L. Gore & Associates. It alleges the company polluted the air and water around its facilities with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances , jeopardizing the health of surrounding communities while raking in profits. The lawsuit adds to other claims filed in recent years, including a class action on behalf of Cecil County residents in 2023 demanding Gore foot the bill for water filtration systems, medical bills and other damages associated with decades of harmful pollution in the largely rural community. “PFAS are linked to cancer, weakened immune systems, and can even harm the ability to bear children,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement. “It is unacceptable for any company to knowingly contaminate our drinking water with these toxins, putting Marylanders at risk of severe health conditions.” Gore spokesperson Donna Leinwand Leger said the company is “surprised by the Maryland Attorney General’s decision to initiate legal action, particularly in light of our proactive and intensive engagement with state regulators over the past two years.” “We have been working with Maryland, employing the most current, reliable science and technology to assess the potential impact of our operations and guide our ongoing, collaborative efforts to protect the environment,” the company said in a statement, noting a Dec. 18 report that contains nearly two years of groundwater testing results. But attorney Philip Federico, who represents plaintiffs in the class action and other lawsuits against Gore, called the company’s efforts “too little, much too late.” In the meantime, he said, residents are continuing to suffer — one of his clients was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer. “It’s typical corporate environmental contamination,” he said. “They’re in no hurry to fix the problem.” The synthetic chemicals are especially harmful because they’re nearly indestructible and can build up in various environments, including the human body. In addition to cancers and immune system problems, exposure to certain levels of PFAS has been linked to increased cholesterol levels, reproductive health issues and developmental delays in children, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Gore leaders failed to warn people living near its Maryland facilities about the potential impacts, hoping to protect their corporate image and avoid liability, according to the state’s lawsuit. The result has been “a toxic legacy for generations to come,” the lawsuit alleges. Since the chemicals are already in the local environment, protecting residents now often means installing complex and expensive water filtration systems. People with private wells have found highly elevated levels of dangerous chemicals in their water, according to the class action lawsuit. The Maryland facilities are located in a rural area just across the border from Delaware, where Gore has become a longtime fixture in the community. The company, which today employs more than 13,000 people, was founded in 1958 after Wilbert Gore left the chemical giant DuPont to start his own business. Its profile rose with the development of Gore-Tex , a lightweight waterproof material created by stretching polytetrafluoroethylene, which is better known by the brand name Teflon that’s used to coat nonstick pans. The membrane within Gore-Tex fabric has billions of pores that are smaller than water droplets, making it especially effective for outdoor gear. The state’s complaint traces Gore’s longstanding relationship with DuPont , arguing that information about the chemicals' dangers was long known within both companies as they sought to keep things quiet and boost profits. It alleges that as early as 1961, DuPont scientists knew the chemical caused adverse liver reactions in rats and dogs. DuPont has faced widespread litigation in recent years. Along with two spinoff companies, it announced a $1.18 billion deal last year to resolve complaints of polluting many U.S. drinking water systems with forever chemicals. The Maryland lawsuit seeks to hold Gore responsible for costs associated with the state’s ongoing investigations and cleanup efforts, among other damages. State oversight has ramped up following litigation from residents alleging their drinking water was contaminated. Until then, the company operated in Cecil County with little scrutiny. Gore announced in 2014 that it had eliminated perfluorooctanoic acid from the raw materials used to create Gore-Tex. But it’s still causing long-term impacts because it persists for so long in the environment, attorneys say. Over the past two years, Gore has hired an environmental consulting firm to conduct testing in the area and provided bottled water and water filtration systems to residents near certain Maryland facilities, according to a webpage describing its efforts. Recent testing of drinking water at residences near certain Gore sites revealed perfluorooctanoic acid levels well above what the EPA considers safe, according to state officials. Attorneys for the state acknowledged Gore’s ongoing efforts to investigate and address the problem but said the company needs to step up and be a better neighbor. “While we appreciate Gore’s limited investigation to ascertain the extent of PFAS contamination around its facilities, much more needs to be done to protect the community and the health of residents,” Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain said in a statement. “We must remove these forever chemicals from our natural resources urgently, and we expect responsible parties to pay for this remediation.”Photos: World’s biggest marine battery powers Brittany Ferries’ Saint Malo
Published 4:48 pm Sunday, November 24, 2024 By Data Skrive Ranked teams are on Monday’s college basketball schedule in 10 games, including the Duke Blue Devils taking on the Kansas State Wildcats. Watch women’s college basketball, other live sports and more on Fubo. What is Fubo? Fubo is a streaming service that gives you access to your favorite live sports and shows on demand. Use our link to sign up for a free trial. Catch tons of live women’s college basketball , plus original programming, with ESPN+ or the Disney Bundle.PTI leader's name 'mistakenly' put on PCL