Middletown, NJ Patch • 18th December 2020

Teens Save Children Who Sledded Into Frozen Pond

Thursday was the first time Olivia Heid, 8, and her little brother, RJ, 4, had ever gone sledding. And their parents, Rich Heid and Stephanie Irlbeck, of Middletown, never imagined the two children would sled onto a partially frozen pond, break through the ice and have to be rescued by a group of five local teenage boys, who formed a human chain to enter the water and save them.

Oak Lawn, IL Patch • 9th December 2020

Abandoned Newborn Twins Could Have Been Saved By Safe Haven Law

Advances in genetic genealogy were used this past weekend to charge a 41-year-old Michigan woman in the cold-case deaths of her newborn twins. Investigators uploaded evidence collected in 2003, and compared it to DNA in online public database from at-home genetic tests. Police said the twin boys were still alive when the woman, then 24, dumped them into a garbage bin after giving birth alone in her grandparents' home. It didn't have to end up this way, said Susan Walker, founder and president of

North Fork, NY Patch • 8th December 2020

'Miracle' As Homeless Music Teacher Trades Shelter For New Start

NORTH FORK, NY — Two weeks ago, Eldie, a Long Island music teacher left homeless and without a job during the coronavirus pandemic, had no idea where to turn. But two weeks can change everything — and now, thanks to scores of Patch readers who opened their hearts, Eldie left the shelter and found a new job and place to stay as she seeks her path to a forever home. After reading Eldie's story on Patch, many reached out to ask how they could help. A GoFundMe page was created by Nancy Baylis of So

Los Angeles, CA Patch • 3rd December 2020

Southland Restaurant Owner Says No Relief, No Rent

LOS ANGELES, CA — Andrea Borgen Abdallah, owner of Barcito in downtown Los Angeles, says it's time for restaurant owners to stop paying rent during the coronavirus pandemic.

Oak Forest, IL Patch • 3rd December 2020

Love Story Over 56 Years In The Making Ends In Coronavirus Death

OAK FOREST, IL — An Oak Forest resident of 25 years died from COVID-19 in late November, leaving behind a loving family and ending a love story of more than a half-century. Aldo Murer, 80, left behind his kids, grandkids and wife of 56 years.

Midtown-Hell's Kitchen, NY Patch • 18th November 2020

Owl Rescued From Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — On Monday afternoon, Ellen Kalish got a call from a woman she didn't know, asking if her husband might be able to donate an owl to Kalish's wildlife rehabilitation center.

Detroit, MI Patch • 6th November 2020

Detroit Election Workers Describe 'Aggressive' Poll Challengers

Here's what three women working inside the TCF Center counting ballots in Detroit had to say about the experience.

Across America, US Patch • 18th October 2020

Unity Day Upstanders Talk Candidly To Adults: Stop Being Bullies

And in response to an angry national conversation that seems somehow normalized in a year that has wrought so much change, America's youths have something to say. As we adults rage against, name-call and bully each other over wearing masks, over who we're voting for next month, and over who's right and who's wrong about any one of several existential crises our country faces, the kids are tuned in. Kids are taught to look up to their elders, but as a collective, we adults are setting some stun

Across America, US Patch • 17th September 2020

'Zoom Bombing' Is A Pandemic Thing; It's Also A Bullying Thing

The timing of the "Zoom bombing" in a high-profile federal court hearing Friday in Georgia made it especially hurtful, but it's emblematic of the intrusions that courts, schools, businesses and government councils are confronting as they gather online during the coronavirus pandemic. And, some kids are still bullying other kids, finding new ways in virtual classrooms to torment their classmates.

Across America, US Patch • 30th August 2020

Millions Made Hungry By Pandemic Could Include Your Neighbor

Hunger and food insecurity are increasing dramatically across America. Patch has teamed with Feeding America to get more food on the tables of our neighbors in an ongoing, sustained effort. This story, running nationally across our network of Patches, provides information on how you can help. That's 17 million more Americans struggling with food insecurity than before the pandemic. That's about twice the population of New York City.

Stoughton, MA Patch • 7th August 2020

Black Students Disciplined At Disproportionate Rates In Stoughton

STOUGHTON, MA — Black students in Stoughton are suspended and arrested in school at rates higher than their white peers, public records show. During the previous school year, Black students accounted for two-thirds of referrals, though they made up less than a quarter of the district's student body. White students accounted for one-third of referrals that year, despite comprising more than 53 percent of the school population. During the 2019-20 school year, Black students accounted for 63.6 pe

Chicago, IL Patch • 14th April 2020

Coronavirus: No Time For 'Terrified' Chicago Nurses To Break Down

Patch spoke with two nurses who each spend at least 12 hours per shift working in major Chicago hospitals' coronavirus units.

Bryn Mawr-Gladwyne, PA Patch • 3rd April 2020

Bryn Mawr Man's Squirrel Picnic Tables Bring Joy Amid Coronavirus

The new coronavirus has had hard impacts on many working Americans' lives, leaving many wondering when they will work again, how will they pass time, and when the next paycheck will come in. Rick Kalinowski of Bryn Mawr found a unique way to ease those anxieties while giving people across the country a way to find joy amid an uncertain time. Kalinowski, 43, is a plumber and HVAC contractor whose work came to a halt when the COVID-19 virus hit the Philadelphia region.

Middletown, CT Patch • 27th March 2020

Eli Cannon's Closes, Lays Off Staff Amid Coronavirus Concerns

Owner Rocco LaMonica says laying off his entire staff, including his father, was the hardest day of his life – but vows they'll be back.

Brick, NJ Patch • 26th March 2020

Delayed Coronavirus Result Puts Grieving Brick Family In Limbo

Sue Cranga died Saturday at Ocean Medical Center; six days later, her husband's waiting to bury her, and doesn't know if he was exposed.

Across America, US Patch • 26th March 2020

Blind Faith Meets Coronavirus Science In Potentially Deadly Clash

As public health officials preach social distancing to slow the new coronavirus, some church leaders are relying on dangerous faith.

New York City, NY Patch • 24th March 2020

Coronavirus Cases Already Overwhelming Elmhurst Hospital: Source

Officials are prepping for a wave of COVID-19 cases that could overwhelm hospitals. At Elmhurst Hospital, the wave may have already arrived.

Chicago, IL Patch • 21st March 2020

Chefs Call Lawmakers To Help Before Coronavirus Kills Restaurants

CHICAGO — Chicago chefs took to Instagram Friday in attempt to rally public support for federal help to keep their restaurants alive amid the new coronavirus crisis. Chef Carlos Gaytan joined culinary stars from across America posting a selfie video from his home kitchen. Chefs Stephanie Izard from Girl and the Goat, the first woman to win Bravo's "Top Chef," and Kevin Hickey, owner of Duck Inn in Bridgeport, were among the Chicago restaurateurs taking part in the the Instagram campaign, #toosm

Land O' Lakes, FL Patch • 21st March 2020

Pasco Man Surprised To See Florida Announce His Coronavirus Death

LAND O' LAKES, FL — Despite the Florida Department of Health reporting his death Friday, 46-year-old Land O' Lakes resident Gene Della Sala, the first Pasco County resident to test positive for the coronavirus, said he's feeling "90 percent better." "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," he told Patch lightly, using Star Trek character Capt. Jean Luc Picard's adaptation of the famous Mark Twain quote.

Mansfield, MA Patch • 20th March 2020

Coronavirus: MA School Athletics Adjust To Shock Of New Reality

HINGHAM, MA — The spirit of community is strong around the Hingham High School athletic department. On a typical school day, Hingham athletic director Jim Quatromoni said it's not unusual to have three, four, five coaches hanging out in and around his office, along with waves of high school athletes who come and go through the hallways past the office, on their way to the gym and surrounding athletic fields. "Sometimes I'm involved with those conversations, and sometimes I'm not," Quatromoni to

New York City, NY Patch • 24th March 2020

Coronavirus Cases Already Overwhelming Elmhurst Hospital: Source

Officials are prepping for a wave of COVID-19 cases that could overwhelm hospitals. At Elmhurst Hospital, the wave may have already arrived.

Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills, IL Patch • 28th February 2020

D-86 Board Silent On Email Policy

HINSDALE, IL — If you want to contact members of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board, you can contact them through school email addresses listed on the district's website. But if you're expecting a response, that may be another matter. Earlier this month, board Vice President Kevin Camden announced he would no longer respond to constituents' emails and that he would forward messages to the district's communications director. When Patch reached out to him about his policy, he did just

Seattle, WA Patch • 25th February 2020

Community Police Commission Raises Concerns Over Independence

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle's Community Police Commission is raising concerns over its independence after a former co-chair on the 21-member citizen police reform panel was ousted during a confirmation hearing at City Council last week. The news was first reported by The Stranger. After the Feb. 18 hearing, Councilmember Lisa Herbold said she would nominate Catague for reappointment, with a new confirmation hearing scheduled in March. The CPC was first established in 2013 as part of a settlement wi

Seattle, WA Patch • 25th February 2020

Mother Of Man Killed By Police Is Still Seeking Accountability

SEATTLE, WA — Rose Johnson had waited months to hear whether the two Seattle police officers who shot and killed her son would face any sort of disciplinary action. In February, the city's police watchdog released its findings, clearing everyone involved. Ryan Smith, 31, died on May 8, 2019, after his girlfriend called 911 from their Queen Anne neighborhood apartment, saying Ryan was drunk, armed with a knife and threatening to kill her and himself. She told the dispatcher she had barricaded h

Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills, IL Patch • 25th February 2020

Ex-Hinsdale Official Gets $315K Pension

HINSDALE, IL — There must have been something about Mary — former Hinsdale schools Superintendent Mary Curley, that is. In her final two years before retiring, she received two 20 percent raises. She left the school system with a salary of $385,378, up from $267,624 two years before. That's more than $100,000 in increases. From 1999 to 2007, Curley led Community Consolidated School District 181, which serves kindergarten through eighth grade. While Hinsdale taxpayers bore the brunt of the sa

Stratford, CT Patch • 25th February 2020

Residents Call For Stratford School Board Member To Resign

STRATFORD, CT — Stratford residents seeking the resignation of a school board member who took a plea deal after he was accused of sexually assaulting a young girl were limited at a recent meeting in what they could say due to a new public comment policy. But their presence spoke volumes. Such a large crowd turned out for the Monday meeting that it was moved from the conference room at the school district administration center to the Stratford High School cafeteria, where police looked on as res

New York City, NY Patch • 13th February 2020

NYC Council Member Used Cop Connections To Beat Ticket

NEW YORK CITY — A former NYPD watchdog and current City Council member will pay $5,000 for getting a high-ranking cop at a local precinct to fix a traffic ticket. Bronx City Council Member Vanessa Gibson admitted to avoiding a ticket by calling a 44th Precinct deputy chief when a cop pulled her over for using a phone while driving in March 2014, Conflicts of Interest Board records show. "I used my City position to benefit myself," the Bronx politician admitted in a settlement released Thursday

La Grange, IL Patch • 13th February 2020

Lyons Township Won't Say Why Teacher Was Warned

LA GRANGE, IL — Lyons Township High School is keeping under wraps the details about why it publicly reprimanded a teacher last month for "unacceptable and unprofessional conduct." At a meeting, the school board voted for a resolution warning teacher Greg Elwood it would suspend him without pay or fire him as a tenured teacher if he repeated such conduct. Patch filed a public records request for the information related to the resolution on Elwood, a teacher in the applied technology departmen

Burr Ridge, IL Patch • 5th February 2020

Burr Ridge Mayor Writes Rival's Boss

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso has gone over Trustee Zach Mottl's head to find out whether the trustee is really going on business trips when he misses village board meetings. Grasso has written two letters to Mottl's boss, Daniel Mottl, who is also the trustee's father. Grasso and his father work at Atlas Tool & Die Works Inc. in suburban Lyons. Since last year, Mottl has not been present for five meetings, but he participated by phone for two of them. For last week's meeting

Evanston, IL Patch • 5th February 2020

Evanston Voter Initiative Sues To Overturn Electoral Board Ruling

CHICAGO — In a case that hinges on differing interpretations of the Illinois Constitution, a Cook County judge is considering whether a panel of Evanston elected officials violated the law last month when they blocked a referendum from an upcoming ballot. The citizen-initiated referendum question, dubbed the Evanston Voter Initiative, aims to give voters the opportunity to propose and enact new local legislation. According to the proposal, valid signatures from about 2,800 local voters would b

Evanston, IL Patch • 24th January 2020

Evanston Settles With Northwestern Grad Who Sued Firefighters

EVANSTON, IL — Aldermen are set to approve a $25,000 payout Monday to end a civil rights lawsuit filed against the city by a recent Northwestern University graduate. Kanan Wanha sued Evanston and five members of its fire department last year, alleging they mistreated him after being called to his apartment during a mental health episode in October 2018. Wanha, 23, was dragged, dropped and punched in the back by firefighters during the incident, according to the suit. Attorneys for the city den

Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, IL Patch • 6th November 2019

Board Accepts Principal's Surprise Resignation At Raucous Meeting

LAKE FOREST, IL — The unexplained departure of a popular middle school principal culminated in a contentious school board meeting last week in Lake Forest. After being placed on administrative leave in late September, the admired administrator accepted a severance package and acknowledged unspecified shortcomings involving "information reporting" amid an disciplinary investigation into an undisclosed "teacher concern," records show. The Lake Forest School District 67 board voted Oct. 29 to acce

Framingham, MA Patch • 4th November 2019

New Super PAC Spends Big On Local Massachusetts Races

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A new super PAC with ties to Republicans and some of the state's largest businesses has spent big on candidates in a handful of city-level races across the state this election season, according to campaign finance records. Mayoral and city council candidates from Boston to Worcester have received support from the Massachusetts Majority Independent Expenditure PAC ahead of Tuesday's election. The MMIE PAC was set up in May, and has bought direct-mail pieces supporting 15 candida

Orland Park, IL Patch • 18th September 2019

Orland Leaders' Ethics Questions Persist While Village Fixes Code

ORLAND PARK, IL — An ethics complaint filed against Orland Park's mayor and police chief has languished unresolved for months because the village has no system in place to handle it. However, a new ordinance that would outline the steps officials should take to investigate such complaints is one step closer to making it to the board of trustees for approval. The issue is one that has dogged Mayor Keith Pekau throughout his term. Members of Orland's board of trustees and other residents have cri

Round Rock, TX Patch • 19th August 2019

Round Rock Rape Victim Re-Traumatized By Cop's Social Media Page

Editor's note: This article contains language and images that may be triggering to some. ROUND ROCK, TX — When Round Rock resident Michelle Litz-Clawson was a junior in high school, she went to a party and, admittedly — and today with great regret — consumed alcoholic drinks. She ultimately found herself bloodied on the side of a road without undergarments and dry vomit caked in her hair. She had been raped by two male classmates, losing her virginity in the process. She wouldn't tell her p

Seattle, WA Patch • 30th July 2019

Photoshopped Campaign Ad Linked To Moms For Seattle Group

SEATTLE, WA — A new, well-funded political action committee involved in the 2019 Seattle City Council race is sending a mailer to voters that shows homeless people camping in the middle of a U-District playground — but the image appears to have been faked, created with stock photos that can be purchased for about $30 online. The Moms For Seattle mailer shows two tents set up near swings at Cowen Park in the U-District. Behind the tents, a park building is covered in yellow graffiti. The image i

Evanston, IL Patch • 16th July 2019

City Council Considers Censure Of Clerk Over Staff Complaints

EVANSTON, IL — Aldermen declined to formally rebuke City Clerk Devon Reid Monday after Mayor Steve Hagerty asked that the clerk be censured for a series of violations of the city's healthy work environment policy, the Illinois Open Meetings Act and Evanston City Council rules. After a 5-4 vote to table the resolution, the measure could be reconsidered at any future meeting. In April, three city employees, including two in the law department with whom Reid had clashed on public records issues,

Orland Park, IL Patch • 18th June 2019

Illegal Investigation? Fact-Checking Orland Park Mayor's Claims

ORLAND PARK, IL — The release last month of Orland Park's internal investigation of bidding irregularities involving Mayor Keith Pekau has put the mayor on the defensive, and he is waging a public war to protect his reputation. The investigation did not find evidence of wrongdoing but recommended the village continue its investigation. However, Pekau has published no fewer than four email newsletters since then to campaign supporters that defend his actions and accuse former village manager Jos

Tinley Park, IL Patch • 26th March 2019

One Tinley Park's Campaign Cash Gives CCTP Run For Its Money

TINLEY PARK, IL —When it comes to campaign cash, the new One Tinley Park party is giving its opponents a run for their money. So to speak. OTP, as the party is called, had raised $44,700 as of March 25 — or $8,879 less than Concerned Citizens for Tinley Park, the party in power, had on hand. That's no small feat for a party founded by incumbents that is running a slate of candidates who never have been elected to office before. A look into contributors could indicate just how much clout OTP ha

Tinley Park, IL Patch • 8th March 2019

CCTP Campaign Cash Shows Relationship Between Donors, Government

TINLEY PARK, IL — In 2018, Robinson Engineering donated $1,000 to Concerned Citizens for Tinley Park, the political party of mayor Jacob Vandenberg and three sitting trustees. The same year, the Village of Tinley Park paid the firm more than $1.2 million for road work and repair throughout the village. South Street Development LLC also donated $1,000 to the campaign. In September 2018, the trustees approved that developer's apartment complex that is planned to go up south side of South Street,