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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) There was a dramatic rescue in Brooklyn as more than 100 firefighters rushed to save two construction workers trapped underneath a collapsed retaining wall.

As CBS2s Kevin Rincon reports, in the backyard of 454 42nd Street in Sunset Park, a 9 wall suddenly collapsed Monday afternoon, pinning two construction workers underneath it.

One of the two men did not survive.

Firefighters rushed to try and save the two who were underneath a pile of debris after the wall collapsed. Chopper 2 was on the scene as a stretcher was moved into place. One of the men was loaded into an ambulance and rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn. The FDNY says that man was seriously injured and in critical condition.

The other worker died at the scene.

Tomel Shamsuddim was working with those men. After the collapse, hesat across the street, thinking it could have been him.

God saved me. God saved me, he said.

Shamsuddim says they came to work on the project when things went wrong.

I call last night, you guys work with me, work together. They said OK, he said.

He had left moments before the collapse to get lunch.

The FDNY says more than 100 firefighters, EMS and other personnel were called to the scene.

It was a 9 foot retaining wall. It was a 90 degree collapse onto the workers, said Deputy FDNY Chief James A. Boyle.

The NYPD was also on the scene to assist. The investigation is ongoing.

Its not yet clear what kind of work the men were doing, and what exactly led up to the wall collapse.

The scene will remain closed off so investigators can comb through the debris and piece together what went wrong.

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Kevin Rincon contributed to this report.

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Construction Worker Killed After Retaining Wall Collapses In Brooklyn - CBS New York

THREE RIVERS - A storm retaining wall built on the municipality's land has been ordered to be removed.

The decision was made by Three Rivers council during a committee of council meeting in Georgetown on Dec. 21.

Brad and Kim Evans had built the wall over the past few months on a Three Rivers' easement which is intended for public works directly in front of their home on Chestnut Street in Montague.

"The town office (had) confirmed that the transportation department sees no issue with the retaining wall where it is and there are no deviations of bylaws," Kim told council during the meeting.

However, Danny Clements, the couples neighbour, expressed concern about how the wall might impact one of his property's driveways, which utilizes the easement to help those exiting to get onto Chestnut Street.

"Bottom line is that this was built on the public right-of-way," he said.

As a result of their dispute, the Evans applied to enter a legal easement agreement with Three Rivers in order to keep the wall.

Both parties spoke during the meeting before council made its decision on the agreement.

Chestnut Street is located on a hill, so the Evans had built the wall largely to protect their home and its roadside front steps from erosion caused by heavy weather runoff, Kim said.

"We need that soil to stay around the cracked foundation of our old home."

As well, because traffic runs right beside the Evans' front step, the wall was intended to make using the steps and entering their home-based business a little safer.

"(And) the road conditions have noticeably improved without mud and tree debris entering and then freezing onto the roadway," Brad said. "My family and I have invested hours of labour and money into this retaining wall."

The Evans understood that the easement is town property but argued it's there to help them access the street from their home and driveway.

"And not for our neighbour to use the easement in front of my house as their driveway," Kim said.

Clements said the wall makes it riskier to enter and exit his driveway as it has made the already narrow street even more narrow.

"It creates a dangerous obstruction," he said, "especially in the winter."

During the meeting, he questioned who was liable if the wall were to cause an accident, to which council had no answer.

He also argued property value in the area would be affected and that the wall wouldn't help counter erosion.

"I fail to see how this would be an improvement over grass," Clements said. "You can clearly see that grass would take care of any issues of erosion at least as well as the stone."

Ultimately, council denied the Evans' request to enter an agreement, on the basis it would set a bad precedent for similar requests in the future.

"We're opening ourselves up to a lot of extra costs and time," Coun. Alan Munro said. "I think that those easements are there for a reason."

During a standing vote on the decision, no councillors stood. Council gave the Evans 30 days from the meeting to have the wall removed pending a discussion to see whether that's a reasonable timeframe for them.

Council also clarified that the wall does violate Three Rivers' bylaw, as the agreement would have been required before the wall's construction.

"Seems like it was a miscommunication with the town at the time," Coun. Cameron MacLean said.

Daniel Brown is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.

Twitter.com/dnlbrown95

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Montague homeowners ordered to remove retaining wall built on town land - The Journal Pioneer

FAYETTEVILLE -- The City Council will meet twice this week to accommodate a large agenda.

The first meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Another meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Both will be held online on Zoom.

The Tuesday meeting will cover consent items and unfinished business. Consent items are noncontroversial items such as buying gravel or retaining wall blocks. Mayor Lioneld Jordan will read the items consecutively, and the council will vote on them in one motion.

Unfinished business items are those discussed at previous meetings that remained for Tuesday's meeting. Items will include a contract for a public-private partnership to build a new parking deck on Dickson Street, rezoning about 112 acres at the Marinoni family farm on Wedington Avenue and Fayetteville Police Department policies relating to juvenile interactions.

Staff will ask the council to send a set of proposed regulations for short-term rentals such as Airbnb to the council's ordinance review committee, rather than hold a vote.

Council members-elect D'Andre Jones, Matthew Petty, Sarah Bunch and Holly Hertzberg also will take their oaths of office Tuesday. Jordan will announce council committee appointments, and council members will select a vice mayor to serve for the year.

Thursday's new business items include raises for city employees, a rezoning and annexation request for land southeast of Zion Road and Julie Lane and a rezoning request for Fayetteville Public Schools on about 23 acres northeast of Catalpa Drive and Rupple Road.

The two-meeting approach is intended to avoid going late into the night, according to a city news release.

Registration is required for members of the public to speak on an item. Zoom meeting links are provided on the meeting calendar of the city's website at http://fayetteville-ar.gov/publicmeetings . Comments also can be submitted beforehand at http://bit.ly/faycityclerk or by emailing cityclerk@fayetteville-ar.gov .

Meetings can be viewed live at the city's YouTube page at http://youtube.com/cityoffayettevillear or on the city's website at http://fayetteville-ar.gov/meetinginfo . On TV, tune into Channel 216 with Cox or Channel 99 on AT&T U-verse.

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Fayetteville City Council to meet twice this week - Arkansas Online

DULUTH, MN It was a year like NONE OTHER! Dozens of stories took us by surprise, both good and bad.

Here's a quick recap nationally: In January, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit the royal family and we lost basketball legend, Kobe Bryant.

In March we were in the early stages of this thing called the coronavirus.

May and June, the police-involved killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor sparked a wave of peaceful and sometimes violent protests across the world.

There was a quick blimp of Murder Hornets, which still remains a mystery.

July the coronavirus worsened, affecting millions. States began shutting down, schools shifted to a virtual learning model.

As if it couldn't get any worse, by August, deadly wildfires erupted from California to Washington state, burning millions of acres.

In September, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at 87.

Rounding out the last half of the year, it wasn't until Nov. 7 when the world found out Joe Biden would become the 46th president of the United States.

And finally, with December we have hope, the first Americans began to receive the first dose of the new COVID-19 vaccine.

Now, here are the top 10 MOST VIEWED Northland stories of 2020:

#10 Minnesota governor: some businesses can reopen, schools will stay closed for the rest of academic year The pandemic forced schools and businesses to close. On this day, Gov. Walz made an announcement for some businesses to reopen, but all of the state's public K-12 schools were ordered to stay closed the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year.

#9 Duluth McDonalds retaining wall has collapsed The retaining wall at the Duluth McDonald's off London Road collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt and contractors were called for clean up. The food joint remained open for business.

#8 Costco alters course on plans for Duluth store Bulk-chain retailer Costco will not be building a store in Duluth. In a statement from the city, they said, "The City of Duluth worked for months to advocate with and for Costco and have enjoyed a very positive working relationship. We are proud to lead with our values of expectation that local financial investment on the part of the city yields specific local job creation. Together with Costco, we found a great way to achieve this."

#7 Mystery wooden boat found off Wisconsin shoreline after 27 years A Wisconsin couple made an unusual discovery off the shores of the Apostle Islands. Lynn and Mike BeBeau stumbled upon a little wooden boat dating back nearly three decades and 50 miles.

#6 Missing Winter 3-year-old found alive A happily ever after for a family in Winter WI. Abigail Ladwig, a 3 year-old who went missing was located safe in the woods a short distance from her residence. Abigail sustained minor scratches, insect bites and dehydration during her nearly 24 hours of being in the woods.

#5 Suspect arrested in Cloquet double-homicide After an extensive search, authorities located and arrested the man in connection to the death of a 27-year-old woman and her 18 -month-old son. He was booked into the Carlton County Jail on two counts of second-degree homicide.

#4 Duluth photographers drone captures 3 very comfortable bobcats Images that will blow your mind. A Duluth photographer's drone came face to face with three bobcats right on the St. Louis River. These images and drone video spread across social media faster than Photog., Mike Mayou had ever expected.

#3 Wisconsin Safer-at-Home order: Heres where you can and cannot go Gov. Tony Evers today signed a stay at home order that he's calling, "Safer at Home." Theorder went into effect March 25, through April 24. In the order, Evers requested WI residents to only:

#2 Authorities end search for naked person in Duluth sewers Fortunately, after hours of searching, authorities came to the conclusion the person had made it out of the sewer system before first responders could locate them.

#1 Major winter snow storm moves in Our first major snowstorm. The day started with a wintry mix and even straight rain for Wisconsin. Then it turned COLD. Rain quickly froze on surfaces, snow became heavy at times, and road conditions were BRUTAL for the evening commute. Snow continued into the overnight and slowly diminished after 3 a.m. for Duluth. It was a storm we will not forget.

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Looking back: Here are the Top 10 stories of 2020 - KBJR 6

BROOKLYN, NY A fatal wall collapse in a Brooklyn backyard on Monday happened after unpermitted construction on the wall, according to investigators.

Inspectors with the Department of Buildings investigating the collapse at a home on 42nd Street near Fifth Avenue found that workers had been excavating the length of the retaining wall "without adequate shoring" the day of the collapse, according to a DOB spokesperson.

The collapse, which happened shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, left two people trapped under the retaining wall and brought more than 120 emergency responders to the backyard.

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One of the people, a construction worker, was pronounced dead on the scene and the other was sent to the hospital with serious injuries, officials said.

The workers had been hired by the owners of a home on 43rd Street that shares a backyard with the 42nd Street home, where they were granted access during the construction, the inspectors said.

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There were no DOB permits issued for any construction at either property, according to the department.

DOB has issued a partial vacate order on both the 42nd Street and 43rd Street backyard and is still investigating the incident.

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

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Fatal BK Wall Collapse Result Of Unpermitted Construction: DOB - Patch.com

WOODSTOCK, N.Y. COVID-19 may have represented the worst of times in 2020, but Supervisor Bill McKenna said he enters the new year knowing the pandemic brought out the best in people.

McKenna made the observation during a telephone interview Thursday, Dec. 31. Not only did town employees step up to keep municipal business operating smoothly, he said, but they found ways to help residents help one another.

The departments all functioned well, they functioned under pressure, and they got the job done, he said. We had people coming up from the city to get marriage licenses. ... We didnt go over our budget, we conserved. It worked perfectly.

McKenna added that among the efforts to keep residents safe was a program that had volunteers taking care of residents' shopping needs.

That was an interesting task, he said. I really enjoyed it and it was just a great, great group of people. A few of them have even reached out to me recently and said (they) were going to start that again. There was some word about Project Resilience starting up and food being an issue and they would be happy to help.

Among the issues that started in 2020 and expected to continue into the new year is the dumping of dirt laced with construction and demolition debris on a Church Road property. McKenna said the property owners have been willing to cooperate with efforts to test for contamination and are deciding what action to take on removing the illegal material.

I think what were talking about is to dig up any of the construction debris and get that out of there ... and possibly put a retaining wall in there and cut down the steepness of it so that its not a safety hazard, he said. If they decide to leave any of the fill, we make sure its certified that its clean.

Board members are working to draft a law that would require a permit before bringing fill onto properties, according to McKenna.

It would help ensure that residents dont fear what we had happen on Church Road, he said.

McKenna also said he would like to move forward with long-planned renovations to the Comeau municipal building. The renovations are expected to include the addition of about 2,000 square feet that would include a basement and updates to existing offices to improve handicapped access. improvements.

We were really close to moving forward with that (in 2020) and going out for bonding, he said. I would like to finalize those plans and move forward. That would have been one of the things that would have been helpful to have that building. With the COVID, it didnt allow us to spread out and just all around its going to make the building more user friendly.

Among problems that are expected to continue will be keeping the Big Deep and Little Deep swimming holes clean. The issue was complicated by COVID-19 during 2020 when visitors would not practice social distancing. By closing the sites, however, there was an improvement in sanitary conditions.

The shutting down of it kept it clean so that we didnt have to go in there and clean up a mess every week ... but thats not a solution, McKenna said. For me, they have to be solutions that dont require $50,000 worth of lifeguards.

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Pandemic brought out the best in people in 2020, Woodstock Supervisor Bill McKenna said - The Daily Freeman

Weve had several inquiries lately about whats going with the fencing and teardowns at Delanson Circle off of Linden Street across from the now mostly empty Wellesley Square commuter rail lot. Its not surprising that the proposed condo project for that property might have faded from much of the communitys memory given that its been in the works for so long and lately out of the spotlight.

Thats the future site of Wellesley Crossing, a condo development that has been slogging through the towns approval process since 2017, originally as a 40B proposal that would have given the developer a break on zoning rules in exchange for including a certain percentage of affordable units. It was among a spate of 40B proposals that developers a few years back foisted upon the town, which has since scrambled to address its lack of affordable housing stock per state standards, in part by developing a housing production plan and in part by making progress on a 40R project at Wellesley Office Park. Theres a movement in town now to be more proactive about making housing in Wellesley more affordable and diverse, such as through the Building a Better Wellesley initiative.

We realized this week that we hadnt written much since mid-2019 about the Delanson project, or another one dubbed Wellesley Park from the same developer at 148 Weston Road and two adjacent properties. At that time we reported on the projects being scaled way down following meetings between the developer, neighbors, and town officials, and Town Meeting blessed the change in May of that year. Per usual, the developer rode into town aiming high95 units on Delansonand settling for less (35), and 55 units across five stories on Weston Road, and settling for 28 units across three stories and a separate 2-family building with affordable units.

In our defense, its been tough to keep track of these projects. Not that those developing the projects havent been visibletheyve subjected themselves to a seemingly endless gauntlet of meetings with the Planning Board, Design Review Board, Board of Selectmen, Zoning Board of Appeals, and we must be missing others, over the past few years. Its not uncommon to see the development team, at the end of the longer stages, jokingly bid a well miss seeing you on Zoom farewell to board members (as seen just before the 1-hour 30-minute mark of this Nov. 2 Planning Board meeting recorded by Wellesley Media).

But were not gluttons for the punishment of sitting through many of those often hours-long affairs. Theres no big payday coming for us at the end of this process as there presumably must still be for the condo project teams.

Developer Victor Sheen and team grinded out a 2-hour meeting with the Zoning Board of Appeals on the Weston Road project on Dec. 8 fresh off a stint at the Design Review Board on Dec. 2. Sheen (who we did reach out to by email for an update) sounded a bit worn out, no doubt from repeating his project development narrative for the umpteenth time.

But the developer still was making fresh appeals for assorted relief, this time related to building height (three stories above a garage) and a retaining wall. Sheen mentioned numerous times how much their plans had already been reviewed by others in town, and how what they are asking for is a matter of fitting in with the topography of the location, which is sandwiched between often busy Weston Road and quieter open space used for trails and gardens.

Not surprisingly, the hearing is being continued into early January for more action-packed discussion, with plans to focus on the construction management plan.

Both projects have passed through two major stages with the town. These are the residential incentive overlay (RIO) and project of significant impact (PSI) approval processes, the latter of which entails everything from town infrastructure to traffic concerns, according to Planning Director Don McCauley, who recently gave us a quick status report on the projects.

While the Weston Road project is already in the process of jumping the last big hurdlesite plan approvalat the ZBA, the Delanson project was waiting for an obligatory appeals period to end before it headed there. Once the projects get through the ZBA it shouldnt be long until construction is in sight.

That would make for big changes on and around Linden Street, where property manager Federal Reality also has a sizeable Linden Square upgrade in mind that would get underway in 2021. One break for residents concerned about the construction, increased traffic and other threats to the character of their neighborhood is that all appears quiet on plans to redevelop the parking lots at the train station, which have largely gone unused since the pandemic emerged except for a series of drive-in movies.

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Whatever happened to Wellesley's ex-40B projects on Delanson Circle & Weston Road? - The Swellesley Report

Paris Heres a look at work planned in the district during the week of Jan. 4, 2021. These schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues. Motorists are advised to remain alert and pay special attention to all signs, barricades and traffic controls, and reduce their speed as they approach and travel through work zones. They should also avoid distractions such as cell phones, eating, drinking, or car audio or navigation systems.

Sherman Area (Fannin, Grayson Counties)

Contacts: Sherman Area Office (903) 892-6529; Grayson Co. Maintenance (903) 893-8831; Fannin Co. Maintenance (903) 583-7566.

The annual contract to perform crack sealing operations in Grayson County is in progress. Daytime lane closures will be present during crack sealing operations and drivers should expect delays. The following roadways in Grayson County will be crack sealed this year; Business US 377D in Tioga, Business US 377C in Collinsville, SH 289 from the Collin County line to US 82, FM 996 from FM 120 to FM 1417, SH 91 from US 75 to FM 1310, the US 82 frontage road in Sherman, FM 120 from FM 1753 to the Oklahoma State line, FM 1897 from US 69 to the end of State maintenance, FM 898 from SH 11 to the Fannin County line, FM 121 from FM 3356 to SH 289, FM 120 in Pottsboro from Chrissa Drive to Vine Street, and the US 75 frontage roads from FM 902 to the Collin County line.

US 75, Grayson County: from FM 1417 to SH 91 (Texoma Parkway). Watch for shoulder closures and lane shifts on northbound and southbound US 75 between Center Street and FM 1417 as crews work on building new main lanes and the new South Travis Street Bridge. Watch for lane closures on the frontage roads between FM 1417 and SH 91 as crews work on building detours and installing drainage structures. The northbound exit ramp for Houston and Lamar Streets (SH 56) is currently closed, and exiting traffic is requested to use the Park Avenue exit ramp. The northbound exit ramp for Pecan Street and Washington Street is currently closed, and exiting traffic is requested to use the next exit ramp for North Travis Street. The southbound exit ramp for Park Avenue is currently closed and exiting traffic is requested to use the Houston/Lamar Street (SH 56) exit. The southbound Washington Street exit ramp is currently closed, and exiting traffic is requested to use the North Travis Street exit. The northbound frontage road from South Travis Street to near Park Avenue is closed for crews to work on building the remaining portion of the retaining wall along US 75 at the South Travis Street intersection. Traffic is requested to use the US 75 mainlanes during this closure. A reduced speed limit of 60 mph on the US 75 mainlanes has been set for this construction project.

During the week of Jan. 4 through 9, the Houston Street intersection at US 75 will be closed to through traffic in order for crews to perform pavement improvements in the left lane of the northbound and southbound frontage roads. Traffic on Houston Street will be able to make a right turn only onto the frontage road and will detour to the next intersection. This same process will occur for the Washington Street and Lamar Street intersections. This work is weather dependent and may be adjusted due to unfavorable weather.

The US 75 pedestrian bridge near Pecan Street in Sherman is closed to pedestrian traffic. The east side over the frontage road has been removed. The remaining pedestrian bridge will be removed at a later time. Pedestrians wishing to cross US 75 are advised to cross at the Houston Street signalized intersection.

FM 1417, Grayson County: from US 82 to SH 56. Watch for lane shifts and shoulder closures between US 82 and SH 56 while crews are working to construct a portion of the new Sand Creek bridge and the approaches to the bridge. Watch for occasional daytime lane closures as crews perform utility work. A reduced speed limit of 45 mph has been set for this construction project.

FM 121, Grayson County: from Jim Jones Road to FM 3356. Watch for occasional daytime lane closures as crews work to build portions of the new bridges and roadway. Watch for lane shifts and narrow lanes throughout the project as crews have moved traffic to the temporary detour section. The ultimate roadway will be a five-lane section consisting of concrete pavement when the project is completed.

US 377, Grayson County: Willis Bridge at the Oklahoma State line. Watch for occasional lane closures on the existing bridge as workers pour concrete for the new bridge structure.

US 75 Ramp Reversal in Denison, Grayson County: on the southbound US 75 main lanes and frontage road between Spur 503 and FM 691. Watch for occasional daytime lane closures on the southbound US 75 frontage road while construction crews work on completing the remainder of the project. The new FM 691 exit ramp is open to access FM 691. The new entrance ramp to southbound US 75 has been opened to traffic.

US 377, Grayson County: from US 82 to FM 901. Watch for temporary daytime lane closures and shoulder closures as workers install safety treatments on fixed objects.

US 75 debris pickup, Grayson County: from Collin County line to Oklahoma State line. Watch for mobile lane closures as workers pick up debris from the roadway every Monday and Thursday during the daytime.

US 82 & US 69, Grayson County: from FM 131 to FM 1897 on US 82, and from SH 56 to US 75 on US 69. Watch for temporary daytime lane closures and shoulder closures as workers install safety treatments on fixed objects.

FM 697, Grayson County: between FM 2729 and US 69. Watch for daytime lane closures as maintenance crews blade level the roadway.

FM 1753, Grayson and Fannin County: from FM 1897 to SH 78. Watch for temporary one-lane closures as workers rehab and widen the roadway.

The annual contract to perform crack sealing operations in Fannin County is in progress. Daytime lane closures will be present during crack sealing operations and drivers should expect delays. The following roadways in Fannin County will be crack sealed this year; FM 1396 from SH 78 to FM 2029, FM 1752 from US 82 to FM 1753, US 82 from SH 121 to the Grayson County line, SH 11 from SH 121 to SH 78, SH 78 from SH 11 to US 69, and FM 68 from SH 78 to SH 34.

FM 898, Fannin County: from the Grayson County line to SH 121. Watch for temporary one-lane closures as workers rehab and widen the roadway.

FM 1743, Fannin County: from SH 56 to FM 1550. Watch for temporary one-lane closures as workers rehab and widen the roadway.

FM 824, Fannin County: from SH 56 in Honey Grove to the Lamar County line. Watch for temporary one-lane closures as workers rehab and widen the roadway.

FM 1550, Fannin County: from County Road 3330 to SH 34. Watch for temporary one-lane closures as workers rehab and widen the roadway.

SH 121, Fannin County: from the Collin County line to SH 56. Watch for temporary daytime lane closures and shoulder closures as workers install safety treatments on fixed objects.

US 82, Fannin County: from SH 121 to the Lamar County Line. Watch for slow moving construction equipment as crews work on widening US 82 from a two-lane roadway to a four-lane divided roadway. Westbound US 82 traffic has been shifted to the new pavement on the eastern end of the project between the Fannin-Lamar County line and County Road 2975. Eastbound traffic will remain in its current lane, while crews work on the inside lane to build crossovers and turn lanes. Drivers who frequent this roadway are advised that all driveways, county roads and farm-to-market roads approaching the new westbound main lanes on US 82 will have a full stop before crossing over to the median. The on-ramp to westbound US 82 from SH 78 has been closed while crews work on building the new westbound main lanes. The westbound exit ramp for SH 121 is closed as crews work on building the new main lanes in this area. Exiting traffic for SH 121 is asked to use the SH 78 exit and continue along the frontage road to SH 121.

Weather permitting, on Jan. 7, westbound US 82 traffic will be moved to the new travel lanes between County Road 2975 and SH 121. Eastbound traffic will remain in its current lane, while construction crews begin work on the inside lane, building the crossovers and left turn lanes. Drivers who frequent this roadway are advised that all driveways, county roads and farm-to-market roads approaching the new westbound main lanes on US 82 will have a full stop before crossing over to the median.

SH 56, Fannin County: between FM 897 and FM 1396. Watch for daytime lane closures as maintenance crews perform spot milling on the roadway.

Sulphur Springs Area (Hopkins, Franklin Counties):

Contacts: Sulphur Springs Area Office (903) 885-9514; Franklin Co. Maintenance (903) 537-4976; Hopkins Co. Maintenance (903) 885-4031.

I-30, Hopkins & Franklin Counties: From Titus County Line to Hunt County Line. Watch for lane closures and short traffic delays as crews upgrade metal beam guard fence.

FM 3389, Hopkins County: From IH 30 to FM 1567. Watch for lane closures and short traffic delays as crews begin work on rehabilitation of the roadway.

SH 37, Franklin County: At Winnsboro City Limit. Watch for lane closures and short traffic delays as crews perform work on cross drainage structure.

Paris Area (Delta, Lamar, Red River Counties)

Contacts: Paris Area Office (903) 784-1357; Delta Co. Maintenance (903) 395-2139; Lamar Co. Maintenance (903) 785-4468; Red River Co. Maintenance (903) 427-3561.

FM 1507, Lamar County: from South Collegiate Drive to Loop 286. This roadway is closed while crews rehabilitate and resurface the existing roadway.

Loop 286, Lamar County: from US 82 W to 0.5 mi. south of US 82 E. Watch for lane closures while crews perform full-depth concrete repairs.

BU 82H (Bonham St./Lamar Ave.), Lamar County: from 19th St. SW to 33rd St. SE. Watch for crews performing safety improvements to traffic signals.

FM 1487, Red River County: from FM 909 to FM 910. Watch for temporary lane closures while crews widen and rehabilitate the existing pavement and improve drainage structures.

FM 911, Red River County: from BU 82K (Avery) to FM 44. Watch for temporary lane closures while crews rehabilitate the existing pavement and improve drainage structures.

SH 37, Red River County: from US 271 (Bogata) to Franklin County Line. Watch for daytime lane closures as crews mill existing pavement, upgrade bridge rail, and place new hot mix.

BU 271D, Red River County: from US 271 to SP 38 (Bogata). Watch for daytime lane closures while crews rehabilitate the existing roadway.

US 82, Red River County: from FM 1159 to Bowie County Line. Traffic is shifted to the north side of the roadway between FM 44 and FM 1699 while crews perform pavement widening work on the south side.

Greenville Area (Hunt, Rains Counties)

Contacts: Greenville Area Office (903) 455-2363; Hunt Co. Maintenance (903)455-2303; Rains Co. Maintenance (903) 473-2682.

FM 2194, Hunt County: between Merit and FM 903. Work on this project is completed. Please be careful when traveling in this area.

FM 499, Hunt County: at Lynn Creek. The contractor has begun demolition work and will be working on forming and prep work for the concrete deck. Road closures began on Nov. 30 and will continue throughout the duration of this project. Please be aware of lane closures, and watch for workers and work zones when traveling in this area.

FM 1566, Hunt County: from FM 272 near Celeste to State Highway 34. The contractor is currently working on compacting flexbase and prepping material on a two-mile stretch of roadway rehabilitation beginning at FM 272. Please be aware of lane closures, and watch for work zones and workers when traveling in this area.

SH 66 at FM 1570, Hunt County: The contractor will be prepping the right-of-way and placing culverts for this project. Please be aware of lane closures, and watch for work zones and workers when traveling in this area.

Maintenance crews in Hunt County will be performing pothole repairs, mowing and metal beam guard fence repairs around the county, and removing debris from I-30 early this week. Please be careful when traveling in these areas, watch out for workers and maintain a safe distance from work crews.

Maintenance crews in Rains County will be performing various sign installations, potholing and debris removal. Please watch for lane closures, work zones and workers along the roadway, and maintain a safe distance from work crews.

SH 34 bridge, Hunt County: 3.5 miles south of Quinlan. TxDOT has placed a temporary concrete traffic barrier to protect travelers from the damage caused by an 18-wheeler accident. A project pre-construction meeting is scheduled for Jan. 7. The bridge/road is now open to both lanes of traffic. Please drive cautiously and safely in this area.

Please be careful when traveling in these areas, watch out for workers and maintain a safe distance from work crews. Debris and litter operations are ongoing throughout multiple parts of the county. Please be careful when traveling, and watch out for workers.

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Paris District Road Report for the Week of January 4, 2021 - KSST

Going into the 2021 session of the Connecticut General Assembly, legislators will grapple with prioritizing bills that are urgent because of the COVID-19 pandemic, revisitinglegislation from 2020 that didn't go anywhere because of the pandemic and passing a biennial budget.

But due to the impacts of virtual meetings, some legislators have noted they don't expect or wantvery many bills to be introduced this year.

Incoming House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, doesn't think it will be feasible to have as many bills as normal and said the legislative process will move even slower because of remote work.

Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, said we shouldn't see the usual number of bills submitted, and legislators must concentrate on what's important. She said she and her caucus feel "the focus should be on COVID recovery, from a public health point of view, from an economic point of view, from a mental and spiritual health point of view."

Ritter and Cheeseman shared their thoughts on legislative logistics and priorities with The Day this past week, as did Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven; Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague; and Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton.

The session starts Wednesday, and the plan is for senators and representatives to be sworn in outside the State Capitol building.

Ritter said committee meetings and public hearings will happen virtually on Zoom, but his hope is that as more people get vaccinated and the weather gets warmer, business will become more normal.

Outside of Zoom, CT-N will be covering some but not all hearings, and Osten said others will be on YouTube. Channels have been set up on YouTube to correspond with different hearing rooms.

Ritter said even with committees meeting over Zoom, they still will have to reserve room space, because that will prevent too many committees meeting at once. He said legislators must have their video camera on to vote, and if their video isn't working, they'll have to go to the Capitol.

Lawmakerswill have to vote on opening day to adopt the rule changes so the legislature can operate virtually. For example, Ritter said legislators have had to physically sign proposed bills, but a proposed change would create a mechanism to do this electronically.

Somers said some legislators "are very concerned about going to a completely virtual legislature, because it really infringes and dampens and lessens the ability to have a true democracy."

Legislators often have meetings for different committees they're on happening at the same time, so Somers questioned how members can run from one meeting to the next on Zoom. She also questioned how to hold votes open on Zoom and how to "ensure legislators are not just putting up a picture and tuning out." She would like to see a hybrid approach, where at least committee leaders are in person, spread out.

Somers said residents and other legislators have asked why legislators are reconvening now, and what role they'll play, considering Gov. Ned Lamont's emergency powers run until Feb. 9.

Cheeseman expressed concern about the digital divide, noting that many people particularly those who are older don't have a computer or smartphone. She said it would be wrong if people are precluded from weighing in because they don't have access to technology.

Leadership priorities

Ritter said his priority is "the budget, the budget, the budget." On odd years, the General Assembly is in session from January through June and passes a biennial budget, while on even years, the session is from February to May.

Ritter said there will "be a lot of wait and see" on the budget, because it depends on the impacts to the state of the $900 billion stimulus bill Congress just passed and there won't be a real sense of revenue projections until April.

Looney noted the governor will submit his proposed budget in February and then the Appropriations Committee of which Osten is co-chair will kick into action.

Regarding pandemic-related bills, Looney said he thinks the legislature will be looking at mental health needs, and at issues related to health insurance and access to quality care.

"In addition, I think we're going to be looking at things through a social justice focus, and how state policies affect racial justice matters, social justice matters, the huge gap between rich and poor in our state," Looney said.

He also expects a debate on legalizing cannabis, and hopes to legalize sports betting. He noted Lamont said he isn't proposing a bill on tolls this session.

Ritter said some of his priorities include amending the state Constitution to provide for early voting and no-excuse absentee balloting, and lowering health care costs, particularly on the exchange.

Asked about perennial topics such as marijuana legalization and sports betting, Ritter commented, "Would I vote for those? Yes. Are they my number-one priorities? No."

Cheeseman, an opponent of recreational marijuana legalization, thinks this issue is too important to do virtually, that it "deserves scrutiny in a regular session where the public can have access to the legislature."

Ritter thinks Connecticut should join other states and get rid of the religious exemption for childhood vaccination requirements. This has come up before: Lawmakers heard nearly 24 hours of public hearing testimony in February.

Looney, who thinks exemptions should be for only health-related reasons, thinks COVID-19 will provide momentum for the bill's passage, because "for the first time in a long time, we're confronted by a deadly virus for which there was no vaccine but now there is one."

Somers thinks "those types of super controversial bills," such as the religious exemption, should be put to the side "and we should focus on the things that are most critical in public health during a pandemic."

Local senators share priorities

The portal for legislators to start submitting bills opened last month. Once bills for 2021 are available online, the public can visit the CGA website, http://www.cga.ct.gov, to search for bills by keyword or by subject, and to track bills to get an alert when a certain bill changes status or when a public hearing is scheduled.

Aside from the budget, Osten said the Appropriations Committee will be working on a big piece of legislation on teachers' retirement.

A big priority for her and others in eastern Connecticut is passage of a gaming modernization bill that would allow sports betting.

In December, Osten outlined proposed legislation to create a standing Office of Pandemic Preparedness and a Medical Manufacturing Pipeline, similar to the Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative.

Osten also referenced several Native American issues she's working on: She wants to see Native American history incorporated into school curriculum, the John Mason statue removed from the Capitol Building and put in a museum, the phase-out of Native American mascots, and a retaining wall for a Schaghticoke burial ground that isunderwater.

She also said she's putting in legislation to look at mental health in the prison population, saying she wants to assess the amount of time served as a portion of the sentence and the recidivism rate or the likelihood to be arrested and imprisoned again for people with mental health conditions, compared to those without.

Both Osten and Somers, a ranking member of the Public Health Committee, said their top priorities are extending telehealth.

Somers also would like to see medical assistants be able to administer vaccines; Connecticut and New York at the only states that don't allow this.

Her other public health priorities include developing a physician recruitment program, limiting liability for health care workers treating COVID-19 patients with off-label drugs, improving access to funds for long-term care facilities and repealing the tax on personal protective equipment.

Somers said she is also interested in various environmental issues this session, such as implementing a deposit on nip bottles and providing resources to rural towns for enforcement of safe recreation on lakes.

Somers also said she is certain we will see bills that try to address issues in the police accountability bill that passed last summer.

e.moser@theday.com

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The legislative session starts Wednesday. Here's how the pandemic is impacting operations and policy priorities. - theday.com

With its stock down 35% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Korea Computer Terminal (KOSDAQ:089150). It seems that the market might have completely ignored the positive aspects of the company's fundamentals and decided to weigh-in more on the negative aspects. Fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes so it makes sense to study the company's financials. In this article, we decided to focus on Korea Computer Terminal's ROE.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Korea Computer Terminal

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Korea Computer Terminal is:

3.6% = 1.3b 37b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each 1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made 0.04 in profit.

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

It is hard to argue that Korea Computer Terminal's ROE is much good in and of itself. Not just that, even compared to the industry average of 6.1%, the company's ROE is entirely unremarkable. Therefore, Korea Computer Terminal's flat earnings over the past five years can possibly be explained by the low ROE amongst other factors.

As a next step, we compared Korea Computer Terminal's net income growth with the industry and discovered that the industry saw an average growth of 3.8% in the same period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. Its important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Korea Computer Terminal is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Korea Computer Terminal doesn't pay any dividend, which means that it is retaining all of its earnings. This makes us question why the company is retaining so much of its profits and still generating almost no growth? So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Korea Computer Terminal's performance. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. So it may be worth checking this free detailed graph of Korea Computer Terminal's past earnings, as well as revenue and cash flows to get a deeper insight into the company's performance.

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Does The Market Have A Low Tolerance For Korea Computer Terminal Inc.'s (KOSDAQ:089150) Mixed Fundamentals? - Simply Wall St