Monthly Archives: August 2017

Harvey threw 25 pitches to Nimmo, who made little solid contact but did line a couple of singles to right field.

I havent faced Harvey before, so I didnt have too many preconceived notions, Nimmo said. But obviously you know the name and go in there expecting good stuff. It looked like good stuff to me.

Harvey seemed to agree. I got after it pretty good today, he said. I was obviously a little rusty at first, but then towards the end I was able to get the ball down and finish the pitches that I wanted to. Everything felt great.

Harvey made just 13 starts this season, with a 4-3 record and career-high 5.25 earned run average, before sustaining a shoulder injury. This is the third injury-shortened season of Harveys five-year career; he missed all of 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and much of 2016 because of thoracic outlet syndrome, requiring more surgery.

But Collins said that Harvey, who was also suspended by the team after failing to show up to a game in May, had shown a strong commitment to his rehabilitation this year.

Hes got himself in tremendous shape, and hes done everything weve asked him to do, Collins said. Hes determined to be back, and I think he will be back.

Harvey, 28, left that June 14 game after four innings, having allowed four earned runs and three home runs. His fastball was clocked at 87 miles per hour, a number Harvey said he had not seen since high school.

The next day, a magnetic resonance imaging test revealed a stress injury to the scapula in his pitching shoulder. Harvey was treated with a platelet-rich plasma injection and shut down.

The long-term prospects for Harveys Mets career are still in doubt his status in the rotation has been supplanted by Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom and although he is under team control for one more season, there is no guarantee the Mets will try to retain him when he becomes a free agent.

In the short term, Collins cautioned that Harvey faced plenty of work before he could return to the majors. Youre going to have increase the pitches, youre going to have to increase the effort, hes going to have to see hitters, and hes got to find his off-speed pitches, Collins said.

He added, Its going to be a process.

A version of this article appears in print on August 9, 2017, on Page B9 of the New York edition with the headline: Harvey Advances Toward a Return This Year.

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For Matt Harvey, Pitching to a Teammate Represents Progress - New York Times

For the first time in decades, progress is being made in cleaning up the abandoned Days Inn hotel near downtown Houston.

Matt Dougherty , KHOU 6:27 PM. CDT August 08, 2017

Nearly one month later, progress has been made on almost all of the citys stipulations for the abandoned former Days Inn hotel downtown, except for the 24-hour security guard. (Photo: KHOU)

HOUSTON - Obvious progress has been made nearly one month after KHOU 11 News first started asking questions about downtowns most dangerous building.

The abandoned and vacant former Days Inn hotel located on 801 St. Joseph Parkway has been an eyesore for residents and visitors alike for nearly two decades.

Related:Exclusive look inside 'dangerous' vacant downtown hotel

Houstonians doing business in downtown told KHOU 11 News the building had become a hazard with falling shards of broken glass and a place that attracted crime.

City code enforcement officials gave the owners a three-week timeline to secure entry points into the property, cover up all visible graffiti, remove all broken windows from the building and hire a round-the-clock security guard to supervise the property.

Nearly one month later, progress has been made on almost all of the citys stipulations, except for the 24-hour security guard.

Enforcement is a useful tool the city will continue to use to make Houston as livable and safe as ever, said Houstons public works and enforcement spokeswoman,Alanna Reed, in an e-mailed statement. But punishment is not the goal.Compliance is. In this case the owner is making efforts to comply, and city departments will continue to work with the owner and monitor the case until we get the final result that the public deserves.

Passersby in downtown Tuesday did not seem to share the optimistic sentiments of the city.

Well, they need to renovate it or tear it down, Ed Welch said. Im not so sure it can be renovated, so lets implode it.

The propertys owners could not be reached by Tuesday evening. In previous interviews, the owners said they had been approved by the parent company of Holiday Inn to construct an $85 million hotel.

The former Days Inn remains at the top of the citys most-dangerous downtown buildings list.

Photos: Exclusive look inside 'dangerous' vacant downtown hotel

2017 KHOU-TV

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Progress made at 'dangerous' vacant downtown hotel - KHOU

Christine Stuart, CTNewsJunkie.com

Photo: Christine Stuart / CTNewsJunkie

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, and House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz.

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, and House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz.

Little progress following Connecticut budget discussions

HARTFORD >> It was the first meeting of Democratic and Republican legislative leaders since passage of the state employee concession package, but theyre no closer to resolving the two-year budget deficit than they were in June.

The labor package resolved $1.57 billion of the two-year $5.1 billion budget deficit, but the two parties were no closer to eliminating the rest of the $3.5 billion state budget deficit Tuesday.

After meeting for more than an hour behind closed doors at the state Capitol, members of both caucuses and parties emerged to tell reporters they are continuing to share information about how to resolve the remainder of the budget deficit.

I want to share ideas and thoughts, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said. I think the people of Connecticut want us to work together.

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said theres no question the people of Connecticut want the parties to work together, but we have different ideas about how the state of Connecticut moves forward.

She said Republicans dont believe tax increases will fix those problems.

Were open to see if there are any other ways to move the budget forward without them, Klarides said.

The Senate Democratic caucus has also bristled at the notion of a sales tax increase to 6.99 percent. The House Democrats have maintained their support for a sales tax increase to help municipalities keep property taxes low, but Aresimowicz admitted that a budget with a sales tax increase wouldnt pass the Senate.

Aresimowicz said Tuesdays discussion was hard because they dont have a completed budget document to negotiate.

This isnt a single party negotiation, Aresimowicz said.

He said it has to pass the House, the Senate, and it has to be signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. And theres no document they can all agree on that would get enough votes at this point to become law.

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Little progress following Connecticut budget discussions - New Haven Register

Mike Williams, the Chargers first-round pick, has been sidelined since injuring his back during rookie minicamp.

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Already ruled out for the remainder of training camp with a lower back disc herniation, rookie receiver Mike Williams is getting better and began running on the field Monday, according to Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn.

"Hes back on the grass," Lynn said. "Hes running. Hes doing well."

Williams was evaluated by team doctors just before training camp, and according to the team will continue to follow a plan put together by his own specialist, Dr. Robert Watkins.

The Chargers placed Williams on the active/physically unable to perform list as players reported to camp.

Selected No. 7 overall, the big-bodied Williams was drafted by the Chargers to give quarterback Philip Rivers another impact player on third downs and in the red zone.

However, the Clemson product suffered a back injury on the first day of rookie minicamp in May.

The Chargers still hold out hope that Williams could make it on the field during exhibition play so they can get him ready for the regular season.

We just want him to keep progressing and not have any setbacks, Lynn said. And well see what happens.

Cumberland a father: Lynn told reporters that tight end Jeff Cumberland missed practice on Tuesday for the birth of his child, a 6 1/2-pound boy. Cumberland suffered an Achilles tendon tear in exhibition play in 2016 and had to sit out the season. Hes been one of the pleasant surprises in camp so far for the Chargers, making several explosive plays in the passing game.

Injury update: Cornerback Jason Verrett was a full participant in practice for the first time on Tuesday during training camp and looked like his old self, knocking down a couple of passes and running stride for stride with speedster Tyrell Williams on a go route. After a rest day, Rivers returned to practice, and tight end Antonio Gates returned from attending the 2017 Hall of Fame ceremony. Keenan Allen returned to practice after sitting out three days with a sore calf. Receiver Geremy Davis (hamstring) also returned to practice on a limited basis. Defensive end Chris Landrum (shoulder), Andre Patton and Craig Mager did not practice.

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Chargers WR Mike Williams making progress, running on the field ... - ESPN (blog)

LENOIR COUNTY, NC (WITN) Tuesday marked ten months since Hurricane Matthew brought historic flooding to parts of eastern Carolina, including much of Lenoir County.

Communities there have spent countless hours and millions of dollars to rebuild homes and businesses, and now they're looking into what options they have to protect themselves from future floods.

But that unfortunately is much easier said than done and something that worries local business owners.

Russell Rhodes of Neuse Sport Shop in Kinston says, "On the outside looking in everything looks good, but we're still struggling a little on the inside and nervous. Everytime a thunderstorm comes through I check the river levels to see if it can handle that water."

As a result, some businesses aren't taking any chances. Places like this Bojangles on U.S. 70 constructed their building on an additional four feet of land that should protect it the next time it floods.

Mayor BJ Murphy says that it's preparation like this that will best serve businesses in the area, as help on a larger scale will not be quick. "The truth is no matter where we are in our flood prevention discussion with the Army Corps of Engineers it's still not going to be fast enough for this hurricane season, next hurricane season, this is literally going to take an act of Congress."

And as far as residents go, officials say the best option they're looking into involves purchasing properties and relocating people to keep them out of harms way.

All roads that were closed and in need of repair due to the flooding in Lenoir County have reopened according to Len White, the Lenoir County Maintenance Engineer, who is now overseeing the upsizing of drain pipes under local highways that will hopefully alleviate some of the flooding when it happens in the future.

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Much progress, but more recovery to go 10 months after Hurricane Matthew hits Lenoir County - WITN

The Sedalia City Council approved a bid for the removal of this building at 302 W. Third St. during Monday nights meeting. The building will make way for the future Sedalia Police Department station.

Photo by Nicole Cooke | Democrat

While there havent been many public updates on the future Sedalia Police Department station, the Sedalia City Council approved a bid during Monday nights meeting to help move the project forward.

Council approved a bid from All Weather Heating and Cooling for disposal of property, 302 W. Third St. in downtown Sedalia, which formerly housed the Bryant Motor sales office and multiple hair salons. According to the contract in the meeting packet, All Weather will remove the building in mid-September and pay the city $500.

Mayor Stephen Galliher told the Democrat that removing the building will save the city the cost of demolition.

The police station came in a little under budget, Galliher said. We hope to get the building removed soon and the other one (on the future SPD station property) demoed.

Galliher said he believes groundbreaking will occur in October for the new station, noting that is weather dependent.

We just have to finish up finalizing the financing of it. Theres a couple options were looking at and well take the best option in the near future. Ill be happy when I see machinery digging dirt over there, Galliher said. Its a much-needed expansion. It shouldve been done years ago.

Galliher said the city is trying to plan ahead by creating a building that can be expanded in the future, to avoid the current problem of needing to construct a new building.

With the new station underway, Galliher added that staff is now starting to work on ideas for a future Sedalia Community Center, after he and council told former Park Director Mark Hewett and the Park Board to go back to the drawing board to lower the cost.

Were trying to move forward with that and get it done. Im hoping we come in much less than the original. I thought we could do it a lot less so I put a halt to it a few months ago and now were starting back up, Galliher said. I think the city really needs one and weve tried for years. Maybe this time well get it done.

During the pre-council meeting, council heard from Sedalia Regional Airport Director Eric Bowers regarding the need to control wildlife at the airport for safety reasons. He said deer are frequently in the area of the airport and even on the runway, which can cause a crash if pilots are unable to see the animal in time.

He obtained councils approval to move forward with pursing options to contain the problem. One option was obtaining a permit from the Missouri Department of Conservation for a closed hunt. Another was thining out the treeline to discourage wildlife from the area.

Bowers said he looked into getting a wildlife fence for around the airport property, but said that option isnt feasible because it would cost roughly $1.5 million.

During the meeting council also:

Approved a bid of $28,564 and an ordinance approving and accepting an agreement with Agricycle Inc. for the yard waste grinding No. 9 project.

Approved an ordinance approving an agreement with Mission Communications LLC for software utilized by the Water Pollution Control Department SCADA system and ratifying the actions previously taken on past agreements.

Approved a bid of $73,737 and an ordinance approving and accepting an agreement with Poort Excavating LLC for storm drainage improvements, project areas 5B and 32 from the Storm Water Master Plan. This is the plan approved by council about three years ago.

Approved the appointment of Alice Clopton to the Sedalia Public Library Board for a three-year term expiring in June 2020.

Ward 4 Councilman Tollie Rowe was absent. A detective sergeant with the Pettis County Sheriffs Office, he was in Henry County assisting with the manhunt for a suspect who shot a Clinton police officer Sunday night.

The Sedalia City Council approved a bid for the removal of this building at 302 W. Third St. during Monday nights meeting. The building will make way for the future Sedalia Police Department station.

http://www.sedaliademocrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TSD080817Council.jpgThe Sedalia City Council approved a bid for the removal of this building at 302 W. Third St. during Monday nights meeting. The building will make way for the future Sedalia Police Department station. Photo by Nicole Cooke | Democrat

Nicole Cooke can be reached at 660-530-0138 or on Twitter @NicoleRCooke.

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Progress continues on new Sedalia Police Department station plans - Sedalia Democrat