Category: CNN Regional

By Lorien Nettleton

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    TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KIVI) — Idaho voters will decide in November whether to amend the state constitution, giving the Idaho Legislature exclusive authority over marijuana and narcotics legalization — and removing citizens’ ability to put such measures on the ballot through the initiative process.

House Joint Resolution 4, if passed, would grant the Idaho Legislature sole power to legalize marijuana, narcotics, or other psychoactive substances, preventing citizen-led ballot initiatives from doing so.

Clint Hostetler, one of 32 co-sponsors of HJR4 in the Idaho House of Representatives, lived in California as marijuana became legalized there. He argues that legalization led to negative changes in communities where he lived.

“No one wants to see us turn into Portland or Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, you take your pick at the failed blue dystopian city,” Hostetler said.

“The smell of weed every single place you went, wherever, and you saw zombies, and it began to feel like you were being pushed and in a real unsafe unhealthy environment,” Hostetler said.

Hostetler says HJR4 is a tool to protect Idaho from citizen initiatives that would legalize marijuana or other Schedule 1 drugs.

“This just is asking the citizens. Hey will you guys give us a tool to protect the state from citizens initiative that would legalize marijuana or any schedule one drug,” Hostetler said.

As it stands now, Idaho voters could petition to have legalization on a future statewide ballot — a process that took place this year but failed to gather enough signatures.

I asked Hostetler about concerns that HJR4 takes a right away from Idaho voters.

“I think it’s rather ironic because we are asking the voters, you know? They get to make the ultimate decision if they trust the legislature,” Hostetler said. “So we are asking the people, we’re not stripping the initiative process away in any other aspect.”

Not all Republicans agree. At their fall convention, the Idaho Federation of Republican Women held a debate on whether to pass a resolution in support of HJR4.

Alexandra Caval, president of Southern Idaho Republican Women, debated against the resolution.

“We just really don’t need to give up constitutional rights in order to protect ourselves from marijuana and its effects,” Caval said.

Caval says the voting demographics in states that have legalized marijuana differ from Idaho, where a majority of registered voters are Republican.

“Say you get enough signatures to put it on the ballot — statistically speaking something like that is going to have a difficult time passing in Idaho, regardless of how much money people spend to get that initiative on the ballot in the first place,” Caval said.

“If any marijuana initiative passes and the legislature has the ability to repeal or amend it. Why do you need to give up the right to the constitutional right to pass initiative on that topic?” Caval said.

Hostetler says the measure is a necessary tool.

“Things creep in with deceptive marketing, and emotional narratives and people are easily swayed, so we really have to be careful and I believe this is a good tool,” Hostetler said.

Caval is unconvinced.

“I don’t think we should give up that liberty for safety. I think we’re already safe,” Caval said.

– This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KIVI’s editorial team 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 Dean Hensley

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    NORTH CAROLINA (WLOS) — A black bear cub with its head stuck inside a plastic jar for a few days was recently rescued by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission staff.

The agency told News 13 it had received reports through its Wildlife Helpline starting on Oct. 6 of a cub in the Haw Creek vicinity with its head stuck in a large plastic jar. Wildlife officials said they starting searching the area to locate the cub.

“At 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, staff were able to locate the cub, distract its mother and another cub, and successfully remove the container,” Anna Gurney, the public relations manager with the Wildlife Resources Commission, said.

Gurney said the jar had to be carefully cut off of the cub.

“While the cub was unable to forage for at least several days due to the jug covering its head, there was a crack in the plastic jug, which allowed it to breathe,” Gurney said.

Staff were able to observe the cub from a distance prior to darting it, and the cub appeared to be moving normally with no appearance of injuries.

“Once the cub was anesthetized, staff evaluated the cub and no visible injuries were observed. The focus was removing the jug quickly and safely and waking the cub back up to reunite it with its family group as quickly as possible,” Gurney said. “The mother bear stayed in the area and quickly reunited with her cub after the jug was removed and the cub was back up on its paws.”

The Wildlife Resources Commission said in instances like these, the public should always call the Wildlife Hotline, since wildlife staff are trained and experienced with these types of situations.

“Members of the public should not attempt to approach wildlife, particularly a female bear with cubs,” Gurney said.

Staff noticed a nearby business had a full dumpster with a trail of trash leading away from it. Wildlife officials believe bears have been “dumpster diving,” foraging for food in the dumpster. Other bears were also seen foraging through residential trash cans in the same neighborhood in the days leading up to biologists locating and assisting the cub, Gurney said.

“We appreciate the community members for reporting this cub in distress and are happy to report it returned to its mother once we removed container. We ask that both residents and businesses secure their trash to avoid these types of issues,” James Tomberlin Western Management Western Supervisor, said.

Anyone seeing wildlife in distress should contact the N.C. Wildlife Helpline at 866-318-2401 or send an email to hwi@ncwildlife.org.

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 Allen Cone

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    PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida (WPBF) — The family of the 14-year-old Treasure Coast High School student hit by a vehicle while he was walking to school has chosen to donate his organs, the Port St. Lucie Police Department said Sunday.

Chief Leo Niemczyk gave the update after disclosing on Friday that the unnamed boy died from injuries sustained in the crash Wednesday morning.

He was pronounced clinically deceased shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.

“Amid this unimaginable loss, the student’s family has made the heartfelt decision to donate his organs in hopes of helping others in need and keeping their beloved son’s memory alive,” the news release reads. “In the midst of their grief, their decision offers the possibility of hope and healing for other families and individuals whose lives may be changed through this extraordinary gift.”

Treasure Coast High School will also be providing grief counseling for students and staff, “providing support to those navigating the loss of their classmate and student.”

The release ended: “The Port St. Lucie Police Department extends its deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the student’s family, friends, classmates, loved ones, and the entire Treasure Coast High School community during this devastating time. We recognize that no words can ease the pain of losing a child, and our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this heartbreaking tragedy.”

The preliminary investigation revealed the freshman was walking northbound along Port St. Lucie Boulevard near the edge of the roadway when he was struck from behind by a 2002 Ford Excursion driven by a 72-year-old man.

The investigation remains ongoing as detectives continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Investigators said the vehicle involved was a 2002 Ford Excursion. According to police, the driver initially believed he had struck a construction barrel and did not realize he had hit a person. The driver later made a U-turn at the next safe location, returned to the scene, activated his hazard lights and found the teenager unconscious on the side of the roadway. He then called 911.

The driver has remained cooperative with investigators, and police said they have not observed any apparent signs of impairment. Authorities noted that the assessment is preliminary and could change as the investigation continues.

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 Arielle Mitropoulos

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    REVERE, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Tensions escalated during a youth flag football game in Revere on Saturday when an argument between a referee and a coach became physical.

The incident was captured on video by a grandparent of one of the players at the game. It showed the two men getting pulled apart by a crowd of adults, as several children watched the scene.

“I was outraged. I was totally outraged. I said, ‘what the heck is going on here?'” one grandparent, who did not want to be identified, told NewsCenter 5.

Jeff Etienne, the referee, identified himself as the official involved in the altercation with the coach. Etienne, who has been officiating flag football games for two decades, said that in all his years, an incident like this has never happened.

“In the 20 years that I’ve been officiating, that’s the first time it happened, and it will be the very last,” Etienne told NewsCenter 5.

According to Etienne and multiple witnesses who were at the game, the two men had become involved in an argument about a disagreed upon call. The coach of one of the Mass Outlaws teams began yelling in Etienne’s face about the play, witnesses said, and when the coach refused to back off, Etienne said that he defended himself and pushed him away.

“I do take responsibility and just like many other times that I’ve had coaches yell at me – I’ve walked away from it, and that’s what I should have done,” Etienne said.

Mass Outlaws, the organization whose coach was involved in the altercation, confirmed that one of its coaches became frustrated by a call.

“Our coach was frustrated with calls being made and was questioning a call about blitzes that were originally in our favor and then flipped to the other team’s favor within the course of one play,” the organization wrote in a statement. “The situation unfortunately escalated quickly and got physical. The game was stopped at that point.”

The organization stressed that the incident does not reflect the standards that it tries to uphold for its athletes, nor does it represent the character of the two men who were involved.

“This sort of situation should never happen in youth sports… sometimes a negative situation arises in the heat of the moment in a game, and it overshadows many of the more positive moments and outcomes that come from youth sports,” the organization said. “These two people are generally level-headed and positive around players and strive to present a positive influence and this situation is not indicative of their character.”

According to Etienne, after the game, he and the coach came together to discuss their frustrations and apologized, adding that they even hugged before they went their separate ways.

“It should never ever be that serious. We’re not playing for millions of dollars. We’re not playing in the NFL. It’s youth. At the end of the day, these kids are learning. They should have fun. Let’s not make it about us,” Etienne said.

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 Adam Bartow

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    MAINE (WMTW) — The massive algae bloom along the Maine coast is starting to dissipate, at least in some areas, but the severe impacts continue to grow.

The Friends of Casco Bay says it, along with several other groups and the state, has been monitoring the Karenia mikimotoi bloom, commonly known as red tide, in Casco Bay for over a month.

The dense blooms that were present throughout September discolored the water, lowered dissolved oxygen levels, and caused die-offs of marine organisms, particularly soft-shell clams and marine worms.

In late September, testing found high-density blooms near Harpswell. High-density blooms are generally considered those having a density of more than one million cells per liter. Testing in Maine at the time found a density of 20 million cells per liter. Video shared by Harpswell Marine Resources & Harbor Management showed very brown and murky water.

In Casco Bay, the Friends of Casco Bay said on Friday that the bloom is still present but appears to be dissipating. The Maine Department of Marine Resources reports that Karenia cell counts are declining in inner Casco Bay, although some areas continue to have very low oxygen.

“We are still seeing massive shellfish die-offs. Last week, Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca surveyed Maquoit Bay in Brunswick by airboat and found white bacterial mats and extensive soft-shell clam die-offs. Meanwhile, Mike Doan has been keeping an eye on pH and dissolved oxygen levels, both of which are still low,” Friends said.

The algae is not dangerous to humans and the state says it is still safe to eat shellfish and fish harvested from Maine waters. However, Maquoit Bay and the eastern side of Middle Bay remain closed to shellfish harvesting, due to concerns about additional stress on the shellfish.

Friends of Casco Bay says its science team plans to collect sediment samples to learn more about what is happening below the surface.

On Sept. 8, sampling confirmed the presence of Karenia mikimotoi in Portland Harbor at levels known to affect fish and shellfish.

On Sept. 10, Harpswell Harbormaster Darcie Couture told Maine’s Total Coverage she had received reports of dead and dying clams and worms from clam harvesters.

She said this problem could impact shellfish harvesting in Harpswell for two years.

You can track all current shellfish closures online.

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.