Category: CNN Regional

By Olivia Young

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    CASTLE ROCK, Colorado (KCNC) — A Colorado restaurant has experienced two fires in two days. The couple that owns Hideaway Bar & Grill in Castle Rock say this week’s fires are being investigated as suspicious. While they are determined that Hideaway will reopen, they say there are a lot of questions that need to be answered before then.

Castle Rock Fire said there were two separate fires — one Tuesday and then another Wednesday morning. Wednesday’s fire was not a rekindling of Tuesday’s, and it’s not known if the fires are related. What caused them is still unknown.

“It’s been a rough week,” said Becky Stroh, owner of Hideaway Bar & Grill.

Hideaway Bar & Grill is the longtime dream of Stroh and her husband, which they realized in 2012.

“It took years of working hard and saving and all that stuff, you know, to get there,” said Stroh. “Built this amazing Hideaway family, their regulars, and of course, our staff.”

Just after midnight Tuesday, Stroh got an alert about a power outage at the restaurant.

“We called the police because we were concerned,” said Stroh. “They said that there was the fire department, police here on scene because there was a fire.”

Crews put out a fire burning on the front of the restaurant. Castle Rock Fire says the fire burned the south and east sides of the building with a minor extension into the kitchen.

It came just a day after Stroh says someone tried to rob the restaurant late Sunday night.

“We’re not saying that the two are related. We’re not saying that the person is responsible. We can’t, we don’t know,” said Stroh.

Before the smoke could clear from Tuesday’s fire, Stroh got one more dreaded message early Wednesday morning: Another fire was burning at Hideaway.

“Part of me was shocked, part of me is not. I feel like we’re under attack,” said Stroh.

Castle Rock Fire says this fire was not a rekindling of the previous one. This fire caused damage to the back of the restaurant, including its game room and bar.

“The kids loved it. Adults loved it. They played pool there,” said Stroh.

The restaurant appears to have been closed during all three incidents, and no one was injured in the fires.

Castle Rock police say a “person of interest” was taken into custody Wednesday on other charges, and the official causes of the fires are under investigation.

“We have to wait before we can even know what our next steps are,” said Stroh. “The road to recovery from this, it will be very long.”

Stroh is left feeling devastated, scared and uncertain.

“We want to feel like we are safe right now. We don’t want to get another phone call saying this happened again, or something,” said Stroh.

But she’s determined not to let her dream be extinguished.

“We’re not the type of people that are going to let this destroy us,” said Stroh. “We have to keep going.”

The only bright side to come out of the situation? Stroh says their Douglas County community has stepped up in a big way to support them. Neighbors have donated to help support her 21 employees who are now out of work, and other restaurants have offered to give those employees free meals.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Anna Alejo

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    AURORA, Colorado (KCNC) — If you walk the halls of Aurora Central High School, you’ll hear dozens of languages. With about 2,200 students from more than 40 countries speaking more than 50 languages, it is one of the most diverse schools in Colorado, and its principal is working to make sure the staff reflects that.

To fill his classrooms with teachers who mirror the global makeup of his students, Principal Kurtis Quig has looked overseas, recruiting educators on J-1 visas.

“I currently have 11 staff members, and I’ve worked out to go and find from Kenya, from the UK, from the Philippines to be in this building,” Quig said.

Roughly half of Aurora Central’s students are learning English, and Quig says the benefits of his international hiring strategy go well beyond simply filling open positions.

“Instead of being taught that this is the only way to do things, they’re getting multiple perspectives on how teaching can be done,” he said.

Among those international recruits is Mary Joy Alunday, who came from the Philippines to teach mathematics — a subject, along with science, that Colorado schools have often struggled to staff. Alunday says walking into an Aurora Central classroom was unlike anything she had experienced back home.

“I have at least 20 different cultures in the class, so that’s different from what we have in the Philippines,” she said.

She also quickly noticed a difference in the level of family support some students receive – or lack.

“The importance of education for Filipinos is very, we say top one,” Alunday said. “I’ve seen a lot of kids who really want to study but they don’t have a strong support from their parents,” Alunday said. “So I want to stand up for them.”

Science teacher Jan Michael Sotto, another J-1 visa recruit from the Philippines, said his biggest concern when he arrived was whether students would accept him.

“I want them to know that I appreciate them a lot, like they accepted me — that’s my first fear,” Sotto said.

That fear has since been replaced by pride.

“I have lots of kids who are excelling, doing good stuff — not only academically,” he said.

The school recently hosted a Culture Fest, an all-school assembly where students showcased their heritage, as they, like their teachers, navigate new surroundings together.

For Quig, the mission is straightforward.

“Ultimate goal: student achievement, student engagement,” he said. “This program does exactly that.”

Aurora Public Schools currently has 16 teachers working on J-1 visas, 11 of them at Aurora Central. The J-1 visa program allows educators who are already fluent in English to live and work in the United States for three to five years.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Scott Gelman

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    FAIRFAX, Virginia (WTOP) — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a series of healthcare bills Wednesday, aimed at lowering the cost of insulin and promising that insurance company rules won’t delay necessary medical care.

The signing ceremony, which took place at Inova’s Schar Cancer Institute, featured many elected officials representing Northern Virginia in the General Assembly.

Spanberger said many of the measures passed through the Commonwealth’s legislative body with bipartisan support, and she touted the new laws as part of the affordability agenda on which she campaigned.

“We just had quite a few bills specific to the needs of Virginians, making sure that we are increasing access and ensuring that patients can get the care that, importantly, their doctors intend and want to deliver. And that parents and families are supported with policies that we have here in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Spanberger told reporters after the event.

One measure, spearheaded by Del. Karrie Delaney, decreases the out-of-pocket cost for a 30-day supply of insulin from $50 to $35. It also includes a cap of $35 for a 30-day supply of equipment and supplies.

The change is scheduled to go into effect July 1.

“This is making a life-saving difference on so many families — for hundreds of thousands of Virginians, in fact,” Spanberger said.

Separately, Spanberger signed a bill that adds doula care, infertility treatment and hearing aids to Virginia’s Essential Health Benefits. The EHB includes the benefits that individual and small group health insurance plans have to provide.

That measure is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 because it has to receive approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

House and Senate bills also signed by Spanberger aim to stop insurance companies “from quietly reducing what they can pay on a claim behind closed doors,” the governor said.

Spanberger signed Del. Michelle Maldonado’s plan that restricts insurance companies from using prior authorization as a reason to delay or deny care that doctors have approved and deemed necessary.

“Because of these bills, when your family needs care, you can get it,” Spanberger said. “When your doctor writes you a prescription, you should be able to afford it. And when you get sick, the cost of getting better shouldn’t break a family’s bank. But this is not the reality for far too many Virginians.”

Martin Figueroa, Virginia’s secretary of health and human resources, said, ”We’re living through a moment when the federal government is making decisions about healthcare that will reach into the lives of ordinary Virginians in ways most people haven’t fully felt yet.”

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By abc15.com staff

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    SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (KNXV) — Three employees at a Scottsdale Costco store helped save the life of a pharmacy customer last month.

Barry Baker was waiting near the pharmacy of the store, near Hayden Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, when he suffered a medical emergency and lost consciousness.

Two pharmacists, Todd Gookin and Gary Bachmeier, jumped in to help, calling 911 and starting CPR.

One of the store managers, Mike Weston, got the store’s automated external defibrillator (AED) and used the machine on Baker, who was then taken to the hospital for further treatment.

Scottsdale Fire credits the rapid response with saving Baker’s life.

Baker was found to have arteries that were 60% blocked, and he spent more than a week in the hospital.

On Wednesday, the Scottsdale Fire Department honored the three employees who took action.

If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. So am I thankful? You bet,” Baker said.

According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the United States.

Without CPR, about 90% of those victims do not survive. When high-quality CPR starts immediately, a person’s chance of survival can double or even triple.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Ryan Ketcham

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    HENDERSON, Nevada (KTNV) — A 75-year-old Henderson man who has lived in his townhome complex near Boulder Highway and Warm Springs for 18 years is now fighting his homeowners association over outdoor security cameras he says have made his life safer.

Manuel Galindo installed five cameras on the outside of his home earlier this year, plus one inside. He says the results were immediate.

“Now that I have it, my life is so much better,” Galindo said.

Galindo says he had several packages stolen in the past. Since putting the cameras up, that has stopped.

“My packages, I haven’t had one stolen from my porch because my camera is on all the time,” Galindo said.

On April 24, Galindo received a notice of violation from his HOA. The letter states the security cameras are in violation of a community rule prohibiting alterations or additions made to the exterior of the structure. The rule lists examples such as security doors and awnings, but is written broadly — which, according to the HOA, includes security cameras.

While he admits he didn’t ask permission to put up his security cameras, Galindo doesn’t believe he needed to and disagrees with that interpretation.

“Do you think this rule as written should stop you from putting up security cameras? Absolutely not,” Galindo said.

The HOA’s management company, Assured Real Estate Incorporated, was contacted for comment. An Assured representative responded by email, saying they could not discuss specifics about Galindo’s case. However, they did provide some general information on HOA policies.

The company said that, according to its governing documents, exterior alterations generally require prior approval from the association. Assured also said the rule is not intended to discourage residents from protecting their homes or families, but rather helps the association avoid liability or repair costs, since the exterior of the building is not owned by the homeowners.

The statement went on to say:

Activities such as drilling into stucco, mounting devices, penetrating waterproofing systems, attaching wiring, or modifying exterior surfaces can impact building integrity, create maintenance and insurance concerns, affect uniform aesthetics, and potentially expose the Association and other homeowners to liability or repair costs.

Architectural review processes are intended to allow the Association to evaluate proposed installations for factors such as mounting methods, placement, wiring, safety, waterproofing, visibility, and consistency with community standards. In many situations, modifications can be approved when proper procedures are followed.

A drive through the community found only doorbell cameras or smaller cameras attached near doors.

Galindo says keeping his cameras gives him peace of mind.

“Not having to think about it is a wonderful idea,” Galindo said.

Based on his HOA agreement, Galindo has several options. He can remove the cameras, submit an architectural form to the board for approval, or attend a hearing over the violation scheduled for July 29. If the issue is not resolved by May 24, he could face fines ranging from $50 to $1,000.

Galindo says those fines would not be right.

“I don’t think they should have a right to influence my way of life if it doesn’t infringe on anybody else around me,” Galindo said.

Galindo says he will continue to fight the violation and will take legal action if necessary.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KTNV verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Abby Wray

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    WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — Outside of Century II, a fight broke out Tuesday night, after the Chester Lewis Learning Academy graduation and police say other smaller skirmishes also happened that evening, which were quickly resolved by officers on scene.

“It seemed like everyone was having a good time… and then all of a sudden it just went south,” said Elizabeth Bock, a mom who witnessed the fight.

Bock was excited to see her daughter graduate, but she was not expecting a fight to break out just outside of the building immediately after the ceremony, sparking a large police presence.

“Next thing I know, we’re all running and trying to catch our breath and coughing and eyes watering and it was like, wow, that is not what I was expecting,” said Bock.

Bock was right there when police used pepper spray near the crowd, she says she’s still coughing on Wednesday.

Witnesses said the pepper spray impacted dozens of graduation attendees in addition to the suspects.

“This was the first graduation I’ve attended where this was an issue,” said Bock.

Century II said on social media it was students who were fighting, but police did not confirm that information on Wednesday.

Police say officers had to use a taser to take down and arrest a suspect. WPD also says that after the initial fight, multiple skirmishes happened.

“Anytime you have a large number of people that get together, you have the opportunity for people who don’t get along,” said Terri Moses, the director of safety and security at Wichita Public Schools.

Moses says all graduations are staffed with police, security, and metal detectors.

“Anybody entering our events does have to go through a scanner to make sure no weapons are involved,” said Moses.

Police said Wednesday, “Those who participated in the fight will be held accountable.”

“Keep your family close and the moment you hear anything that doesn’t sound right, get away, get to safety,” said Bock after the experience.

Police say they’re still looking for other people involved in last night’s fights. Wichita Public School officials say they debrief after each large event they host, so they can always be better prepared for the next.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Richard Gearhart

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    SANTA BARBARA, California (KSBY) — A scam involving a famous actor and musician living on the Central Coast is making the rounds on social media.

KSBY News anchor Richard Gearhart recently sat down with Billy Bob Thornton to talk about his love for the Central Coast and ties to Cal Poly.

This week, a KSBY viewer reached out, saying she was contacted by someone who appeared to be Thornton on Facebook, but it was a scam.

After a month of chatting with a person she thought was Thornton, the imposter tried to sell her a membership card for a private autograph signing at a cost of more than $1,000.

Gearhart contacted Thornton and the actor confirmed this is a scam.

“It happens all the time. We had it removed but it just comes back,” Thornton said.

The viewer said she doesn’t want anyone to fall victim to the scam.

It’s a reminder to be skeptical of social media accounts that ask for money, no matter how legitimate they seem.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.