Fire leaves 1 senior dead, 100 homeless

Fires claim lives in Victoria, Toronto
Two Christmas Eve fires — one near Victoria,B.C. and the other in Toronto — claimed two lives. A Toronto Emergency Medical Services official said a call to a low rise apartment in the North York region was received shortly before 8 p.m. on Friday. One person was pronounced dead on the scene, and two others were transported to Hospital — one with burns, and the other with injuries that may not have been a direct consequence of the fire. “They may have had something wrong t...

Blaze that killed two firefighters blamed on trash fire
Firefighters on the scene of a 3-11 alarm fire in the South Shore Wednesday. (Brian Jackson/Sun-Times) The fire at an abandoned laundry on the South Side that claimed the lives of two Chicago Firefighters was started by someone lighting wood or trash on fire. That finding, announced by the Chicago Fire Department on Friday, fits investigators’ working theory that a Homeless person trying to stay warm accidentally set the fire Wednesday morning at the rear of the building at 1744 E. 75th ...

Officials: Blaze that killed 2 firefighters began as rubbish fire
A blaze in a vacant Southeast Side building that killed two Firefighters and injured 17 others was caused by wood or rubbish that was lit on fire, fire officials said today. The findings appear to bolster the theory held by investigators that someone seeking shelter in the back of the former laundry accidentally started the fire. Killed in the blaze were Firefighters Edward Stringer and Corey Ankum. Services were set today for Stringer and are still pending for Ankum. The fire started in the b...

Blazes spark good will
Two devastating Christmas Eve fires that left one woman dead, a man in critical condition and more than a dozen people Homeless in Chelsea had community members coming out in droves yesterday to offer to help. “It was the day before Christmas,” said Patricia Sullivan, 68, of Revere, who dropped off a large bag of clothes for fire Victims. “I just spent $3,000 on toys for my grandkids, for LCDs and Xboxes, and these kids have nothing. I’m just in a better position to ...

Blaze that killed two firefighters blamed on trash fire
Firefighters on the scene of a 3-11 alarm fire in the South Shore Wednesday. (Brian Jackson/Sun-Times) The fire at an abandoned laundry on the South Side that claimed the lives of two Chicago Firefighters was started by someone lighting wood or trash on fire. That finding, announced by the Chicago Fire Department on Friday, fits investigators’ working theory that a Homeless person trying to stay warm accidentally set the fire Wednesday morning at the rear of the building at 1744 E. 75th ...

Hundreds Remember Dead Homeless Woman In NYC
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — It was 25 years ago on Christmas morning that an elderly Homeless woman known only as “Mama Doe” died at Grand Central Terminal. Her death changed the way New Yorkers look at the Homeless and helped start the “Doe Fund,” a program to help Homeless people to become self-sufficient. Hundreds of people who once were homeless, gathered at the station to remember her on Christmas, lighting candles in her memory. Listen: Ginny Kosola reports. The gr...

Skywalk Santas brighten lives with gifts
Last week, Peggy Myer got a home. Friday, she got shirts, a comforter and a pair of size 3½ kids' sneakers. Before moving into Elsie Mason Manor last week, the diminutive 59-year-old had been Homeless, had her things stolen at a shelter and spent a week in the Hospital with Pneumonia. "I can't believe people are so kind, to do this on Christmas Eve," Myer said, clutching some tops and showing off the new shoes she had immediately donned. Myer's Windfall was made possible in part by a woman who...

Christmas weather: Rain on the coasts, possible snow elsewhere
Stay cozy Canada. The east and west coasts are facing wet weather this Christmas while parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Prairies could see snow. Several parts of eastern and central Newfoundland are currently under storm surge warning, which could end up bringing 20 to 30 mm of rain in areas that have already dealt with close to 100 mm in the last several days. Parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were pummeled earlier in the week with Heavy Rains and high winds, causing power outages and floo...

Killing Spree: At Least 45 People Murdered In Haiti For Using Voodoo To Spread Cholera
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AP) - At least 45 people have been killed across Haiti due to accusations they are using “black magic” to spread Cholera, the director of a Voodoo association said Friday. Most of the killings are occurring in the southern coastal town of Jeremie, where people are being lynched, set on fire and attacked with machetes, said Max Beauvoir, a Voodoo priest. But he said killings also have been reported in Cap Haitien and the Central Plateau. Local police did not...

Hospital back to normal after leak
POTSDAM — Canton-Potsdam Hospital is back to business as usual after a 2-inch natural-gas pipe was ruptured by a construction crew Wednesday. A few appointments had to be rescheduled, but the hospital is open and construction of the Cancer-treatment center has resumed. "The operating unit in the hospital was shut down. Some appointments could be rescheduled and some were filled in the afternoon," hospital spokeswoman Rebecca J. Faber said. "The surgeries that were rescheduled were all e...

Fire causes disruptions on Blue Line in Logan Square
CTA officials have suspended service on the Blue Line this morning after a fire was reported on the tracks in the Logan Square neighborhood this morning. The fire, reported about 8:20 a.m. near the Logan Square station, caused moderate levels of smoke in subway tunnel, said Chicago Fire Department Spokesman Will Knight. Fire officials called for an EMS Plan 1 which requires multiple ambulances to be called to the location. There were no trains in the tunnel near the smoke at the time of the fi...

Charity starts with home
Emergency housing in motels costs the state $2.4 million a month and is a costly, unstable solution that does little to help solve the long-term problem of Homelessness. Lisa Bradley once owned her own flower shop - and her own home. But things changed, and Lisa recently found herself unemployed, divorced and with no place to live with her young daughter. So the state placed her in a motel - everyone’s last choice. Last year, there were nearly 1,000 Homeless families living in motels,...

Cardinal's message: hope, redemption
Cardinal Sean O’Malley yesterday visited with Homeless men and woman in Boston to deliver a holiday prayer service that resonates all year long. “The message he delivered to them is one of hope, one of redemption, and really helps folks understand that even in their darkest hour people and God are still there to love them,’’ said Karen LaFrazia, Executive Director of St. Francis House in Boston. “I think that’s a message that’s important for people to k...

Newsom legacy in word, deed
Gavin Newsom will likely be most remembered among San Franciscans for his early support of same-sex marriage, potentially losing the 49ers football team, his efforts on Homelessness, his personal foibles and his hair. Later this week we will take a more serious look at his legacy, but for now, we've gathered a tongue-in-cheek look at his tenure and how he's seen among the Press Corps, where he may be most remembered as a human broken record, repeating the same phrases again and again. And aga...

Top Army Official Peter Chiarelli: Soldiers Need More Time At Home Between Deployments
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Repeated troop Deployments are putting an enormous strain on members of the U.S. Military who are forced to deploy to Iraq and/or Afghanistan with an insufficient amount of time at home between rotations, according to a top Army official. On ABC's "This Week," host Christiane Amanpour asked Peter Chiarelli, The Army's vice-chief of staff, how U.S. servicemembers are affected by repeated deployments. There are approximately 2 million men and women who have been rotated through...

Well-wishers flock to fallen firefighters' homes
Under a gentle Christmas Eve Snowfall, Chicago Firefighters poured in and out of the small brick home of former colleague Corey Ankum, offering condolences to his grieving widow and three Children as they face their first holiday without him. Dozens of Firefighters spilled into the street and huddled in small groups on Friday, some bringing flowers, others planning a catered supper for Ankum's relatives. The Rev. Jesse Jackson stopped by the home in the Burnside neighborhood and led a prayer. ...

Man charged with having 'mobile meth lab'
A Washington man faces felony Drug Charges after he was found passed out Christmas Day in the back of a taxi, seated beside a duffel bag holding an alleged "mobile meth lab" and nearly $450,000 worth of suspected Methamphetamine. The Cab Driver brought Joseph Andrew Hoffman, 25, of Vancouver, Wash., to the Rogers Park District Police Station around 2 p.m. Saturday, stating Hoffman was unresponsive and would not pay his fare, a Police Report states. When officers went through Hoffman's bag searc...

Ethnic cleansing in Silwan
I'm currently writing in Silwan from the home of a local community leader. We've been anticipating the Ethnic Cleansing of yet another house in occupied East Jerusalem since early morning and the occupation authorities have been swarming all day. Seven families - a total of forty-five people - will be made Homeless once they're evicted. Beit Yonatan, a settler outpost about forty meters down the street, is set to be evacuated as well. The idea is to resettle the settlers in the Pales...

Light Rail needs more than disinfectant
Vivian Paige, noted blogger and Virginian-Pilot columnist, with whom I usually disagree, hits Hampton Roads Transit pretty hard. Just not hard enough. In her latest VP column “Bring on the Disinfectant” , she writes: “Had any of the stakeholders in HRT exerted a culture of transparency over the organization, much of what occurred would likely not have happened.” Vivian’s right, but what she fails to express is how contrary that is to so many of those leading the l...

Christmas breakfast for 2,000 kicks off day of sharing
This Christmas, the Allison clan woke up at 5 a.m. and drove from Temperance in Monroe County to downtown Detroit to give back. "We were just starting out," Lisa said as she helped serve the Salvation Army's Christmas breakfast at the Masonic Temple. "It was a great Christmas. They got snowsuits, dolls, boots, gloves. We've talked about doing this for many years." For many people, Christmas morning is a time to spend with family and friends. For others...

Virginia's first family heads home for the holidays
Gov. Bob McDonnell and First Lady Maureen McDonnell will head back to the family's homestead outside Richmond for much of the long Christmas holiday weekend. Yes, the family still owns the house. Remember the Governor voted in that Glen Allen neighborhood on Election Day despite moving to the historic Executive Mansion in January? All five of the McDonnells's Children will be in town -- Jeanine, Cailin, Rachel, Bobby and Sean -- and one of the first lady's sisters. The McDonnell clan will help ...

HBO Nixes Secret Santa, Adopts 10 Families Instead
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) - As the Christmas holidays approached, HBO executive assistant Molana Kasanova wanted to do something other than the traditional Secret Santa office exchange. “Rather than getting presents for each other or doing a Secret Santa, I suggested maybe we do an adopted family. Our family taking care of another family for the holidays,” she said. Her idea worked. She and her coworkers adopted 10 families and raised around $1,500 to buy toys, bikes and even pamper...

Peru police clear archaeological site of squatters
Source: AFP LIMA — Riot Police on horseback clashed with thousands of squatters wielding clubs and rocks, in a pitched battle over an archaeological site near Lima that was occupied a day earlier to demand decent housing conditions. "It was a successful operation, because a protected area must not be violated," Police Colonel Roberto Lujan told reporters after the hour-long clearing operation that involved 2,000 police and one Helicopter and resulted in 50 arrests. He said the squatters, some 4,...

Coat Drive Keeping New Yorkers Warm For 22nd Year
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - When William Cresbo lost his job packing boxes in the garment district about a year ago, he had no choice but to move onto the streets. In addition to facing a tough job climate, he’s had to a face a winter season that’s already well below average in temperatures. That’s why he came to the 22nd annual coat drive run by New York Cares at the New York City Rescue Mission where the spirit of Christmas is being felt by those in need of getting warm, wint...

San Francisco Christmas cheer for those in need
It was hard to tell who was having more fun Saturday at Boeddeker Park in San Francisco's Tenderloin - the kids or the elves. The kids got toys and the elves - also known as volunteers - got to give the toys away. "If I wasn't here, I'd be home watching 'Christmas Story' and drinking," said Ieanna Cruz of San Francisco, who works in Internet marketing when she's not giving race cars and teddy bears to Children. "This is definitely the best Christmas I've ever had." About 400 children saw their...