Northeast
NYC Department of Ed manager brought family to Disney World with funds meant for homeless children
A New York City Department of Education manager and five other employees brought their own family to Disney World and on other excursions with city funds meant for homeless students, according to a report.
The New York Post first reported that the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) for New York City schools alleges the workers’ actions robbed disadvantaged children of the opportunity to go to the Magic Kingdom and on other trips to Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Boston, Rocking Horse Ranch Resort in upstate New York and Frost Valley YMCA campground between 2016 and 2019.
Linda Wilson, the regional manager for the NYC Department of Education’s Queens Students in Temporary Housing, took her two daughters on city-funded excursions while encouraging her colleagues to do the same with their families, according to the SCI report released this month.
While some students were brought on these trips, investigators alleged that spots were taken up by the employees’ family members. DOE rules state that employees cannot bring family on trips even if the DOE is reimbursed.
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Wilson and five other employees allegedly took their own families on trips meant for homeless students. One such trip included Disney World. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, File)
Wilson allegedly skirted the rules by “forging permission slips in the names of students,” the report said.
Wilson scheduled some of these trips under the belief that students would be visiting colleges, according to the report. Instead of visiting the schools, the investigation found that Wilson would take trips to other destinations.
The city-funded trips were meant to be for disadvantaged students. (iStock)
On one such trip in June 2018, Wilson allegedly went with students to visit Syracuse University. But the university said that Wilson never toured the school. The subsequent investigation alleged that Wilson instead took a detour to Niagara Falls.
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In 2018, Wilson learned that someone told others within the DOE of their actions, the report says, prompting her to cancel a visit to Philadelphia. She then allegedly told her colleagues, “What happens here stays with us.”
Investigators allege that Wilson forged permission slips with the names of students so that she and other colleagues could bring their own families on the trips. (iStock)
Workers have blamed Wilson for telling staff that they could bring family on these trips, with one employee telling the Post that Wilson instructed them “to lie to investigators.”
“She said everyone should stick to the same story that we did not take our children on the trip,” the employee said.
The other Students in Temporary Housing workers accused of bringing family members on these trips include Program Manager Shaquieta Boyd, Family Assistant Joanne Castro, Family Assistant Mishawn Jack, Family Assistant Virgen Ramos and Community Coordinator Maria Sylvester.
The SCI completed its probe in January 2023 and recommended to Chancellor David Bank that all six employees be terminated and pay restitution to the DOE.
The cases were not referred for criminal prosecution due to “the lack of available documentation,” an SCI spokesperson told the newspaper.
Read the full article from Here
Crews battle blaze on salvage barge in Delaware bay
Crews battled a blaze on a salvage barge in the Delaware Bay Tuesday morning. No injuries were reported. 3/10/26
Delaware, Pennsylvania, and federal agencies have been responding to a barge fire in the Delaware Bay.
The barge, which is carrying salvage metal, is being moved to shallow water so it can be secured, allowing on-scene responders to extinguish the fire and complete salvage operations, according to a March 10 statement from the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.
No injuries have been reported as of 1:15 p.m.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is on scene to perform air monitoring, the statement said.
Responding agencies include the Wilmington Fire Department, Good Will, Leipsic Volunteer, Bowers and South Bowers fire companies. Also there are Delaware State Police, DNREC, New Castle County Office of Emergency Management, Kent County Department of Public Safety, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay.
The Philadelphia Fire Department was enroute.
This is a developing story. Check back with delawareonline.com for more information.
Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
Health care premiums set to rise as ACA subsidy deal collapses
Obamacare subsidies are set to expire after Congress failed to reach a deal, leaving millions facing higher health care costs.
Thousands of Rhode Islanders dropped health insurance coverage through Rhode Island’s public insurance marketplace instead of maintaining plans with rising premiums and lower subsidies, HealthSource RI said.
Enrollment through HealthSource, Rhode Island’s “Obamacare” exchange, plunged 20% between the end of last year and the close of the annual enrollment period a month later, as federal funding for premium tax credits expired, according to a HealthSource new release.
There were 48,060 individual and family enrollments on Dec. 31 of last year, the day the premium subsidies from the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act ended.
On Feb. 1, there were 38,557 enrollments.
Before this drop, HealthSource has posted enrollment increases almost every year since Affordable Care Act exchanges launched in 2013.
How did we get here?
Last year, the Republican-controlled federal government declined to extend premium tax credits after a protracted budget battle with congressional Democrats, who are now negotiating to restore the health insurance subsidies.
The lapse in subsidies coincided with an increase in premiums, driven by a combination of factors, which sent the total cost of coverage climbing.
The average premium across HealthSource enrollees more than doubled (101%,) the exchange said, or $111 per person, per month.
Many enrollees opted for cheaper insurance plans despite their higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.
Others dropped coverage altogether.
“The increase in premiums, combined with the decrease in federal supports, makes this an incredibly challenging year for folks depending on HealthSource RI for health coverage,” HealthSource Director Lindsay Lang said in the release. “Having health coverage helps protect against one bad turn of luck becoming years of financial burden. We will work with every customer to find options that are best for their needs and budget, and continue to work with state leaders and our federal delegation to find long-term solutions.”
Could help be on the way?
Gov. Dan McKee included $9.5 million in his proposed state budget for the year starting July 1 to subsidize coverage for some of the lowest-income exchange enrollees.
The enrollment declines show that may be too little for some Rhode Islanders, and too late for others.
“It is disheartening but not surprising that, as President Trump’s policies have caused health insurance costs to skyrocket, more Rhode Islanders are struggling to pay for health coverage,” McKee said.
Since the exchange opened in 2013, Rhode Island’s uninsured rate has declined by two thirds, down to 2.2%, HealthSource said.
A portion of a Vermont highway has been shut down following a rock slide on Tuesday.
Vermont State Police said in an email around 1:22 p.m. that they had received a report of a rock slide on Route 5 in Fairlee, just south of the Bradford town line.
“Initial reports are of a substantial amount of rock & trees in the roadway, making travel through the area difficult or impassable,” they said. “Motorists should seek alternate routes or expect delays in the area.”
Route 5 is a nearly 200-mile, mostly two-lane highway running from the Massachusetts border to Canada.
In an update shortly after 2 p.m., state police said Route 5 in Fairlee between Mountain Road and Sawyer Mountain Drive will remain closed while the Vermont Agency of Transportation assesses the stability of the roadway.
No further details were released.
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