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NYC Department of Ed manager brought family to Disney World with funds meant for homeless children

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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.

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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.

ONE-THIRD OF US PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE BEHIND GRADE LEVEL, DATA SHOWS: ‘FAILING’ OUR CHILDREN

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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.”

empty Classroom

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. 

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The cases were not referred for criminal prosecution due to “the lack of available documentation,” an SCI spokesperson told the newspaper.

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Maine

Janet Mills welcomes suspension of tariffs on Canada but says chaos harms Maine's economy

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Janet Mills welcomes suspension of tariffs on Canada but says chaos harms Maine's economy


Gov. Janet Mills welcomed news Thursday afternoon that President Donald Trump has suspended tariffs on many goods imported from Canada.

But Mills says the economic uncertainty caused by Trump’s on-again, off-again trade policy is already harming Maine residents and businesses. And it remained unclear Thursday evening whether certain Canadian exports that are important to Maine’s economy, such as gas and heating oil, are exempt under the new plan.

Trump reversed course less than 48 hours after his administration imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. The president announced that goods covered under an existing trade pact, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA, will not be subject to tariffs at least until April 2.

“The president’s broad tariffs on our major trading partners will increase prices for Maine people and businesses and cause havoc to our economy,” Mills said in a statement on Thursday. “While today’s temporary tariff reprieves are welcome, they are creating significant economic uncertainty that is also damaging to our people, businesses, and our economy. I urge the president to stop his pursuit of these unnecessary tariffs and focus on fulfilling his campaign commitment to lower the prices of eggs, bread, heat, housing, and cars.”

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The short-lived tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports rattled the financial markets and caused alarms on both sides of the border, including in Maine.

Mills and most members of Maine’s congressional delegation had strongly opposed the tariffs on Canada because the state’s economy is interwoven with its provincial neighbors. They predicted that tariffs on Canadian goods — combined with reciprocal tariffs from Canada on U.S.-made products — will only harm Maine consumers, households and businesses that operate on both sides of the border, such as those in the forest products and commercial fishing industries.

There were also growing concerns about the impact on tourism. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau drove that message home earlier this week when he predicted that some citizens of his country will opt not to visit Canadian vacation hotspots like Old Orchard Beach this year.

Canada is Maine’s largest trading partner, by far, accounting for more than $6 billion in cross-border trade last year. Maine imported more than $4.7 billion in Canadian goods last year and exported nearly $1.3 billion in products to Canada.

Maine is particularly reliant on Canada for gasoline and heating oil, which would have been subject to a 10% tariff under Trump’s original plan. More than 80% of the refined petroleum products consumed in Maine come from Canada.

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But it was unclear immediately following Trump’s announcement whether Canadian petroleum products would still be subject to additional import levies despite the suspension on other tariffs.

The Associated Press reported that roughly 62% of imports from Canada would still face tariffs because they are not covered by the USMCA, according to a White House official who briefed reporters. The New York Times, meanwhile, reported that the White House official said Canadian oil was not typically covered by the earlier trade agreement and would, therefore, still be subject to a 10% tariff. Canadian power plants also sell electricity to parts of Maine and to the New England power grid.





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Massachusetts

Four friends committed to bi-monthly platelet donation in Boston

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Four friends committed to bi-monthly platelet donation in Boston


Four friends committed to bi-monthly platelet donation in Boston – CBS Boston

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Four friends are committed to doing their part to help people fighting cancer. WBZ-TV’s Lisa Hughes reports.

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New Hampshire

NH man with felony warrants in several states arrested after highway chase

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NH man with felony warrants in several states arrested after highway chase


A New Hampshire with felony warrants has been arrested after an erratic highway chase, according to state police.

A trooper on I-290 in northern Massachusetts noticed a rental car with a Virginia registration that was the subject of a BOLO around 2:45 Thursday afternoon, according to a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson.

Police believed the driver, Jaquelle Anderson, 39, of Portsmouth, was wanted on more than a dozen warrants in Massachusetts and several other warrants in New Hampshire, Virgina, and Maryland. Some of the warrants were for felony offenses.

Anderson allegedly refused to stop for police and began traveling in the breakdown lane.

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A short time later, Troopers were able to deploy stop sticks at the exit 67 off-ramp on Interstate 495.

Anderson continued to travel erratically west on Route 62 and troopers stopped the chase, according to an MSP spokesperson.

With help from the rental car company, the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and an Air Wing unit were able to locate the suspected rental car in Clinton.

Shortly before 3:30 p.m., Troopers located the operator in a wooded area near the parking lot and took him into custody.

Video shared by Massachusetts State Police shows the moment troopers swarmed the suspect in a residential area and placed him under arrest.

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Anderson is expected to appear in Marlborough District Court tomorrow.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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