San Jose will take action after video surfaced five months ago showing a bikini-clad woman walking out of a fire truck and into a strip club, nbcbayarea.com reported.

The city is not saying what that action is, but provided the following statement on Monday after NBC Bay Area reached out for an update on the probe:

“The investigation has been concluded. We are in the process of taking appropriate action based on what was discovered during the course of the investigation and will provide more information as it is appropriate to do so.”

NBC Bay Area reached out to new Mayor Matt Mahan for comment, who provided the following statement:

“Like all of our residents, I was shocked when I saw the video, and have to believe the investigation will show conduct well below the high standard the women and men of San Jose Fire hold themselves to everyday. I have the utmost confidence Fire Chief Sapien will conduct a thorough review of what happened and take appropriate action once that work is done.”

• San Jose (CA) Fire Department Investigating Video of Stripper in Fire Truck

Carrie Rengersv – The Wichita Eagle

Mar. 6—An unusual building is up for auction in Riverside this month.

The 2,112-square-foot property at 901 N. Porter Ave., which is at the northwest corner of Franklin and Porter, was built as Wichita’s Firehouse No. 7 in 1922.

“That’s really got a lot of history to it,” said auctioneer Rick Brock of McCurdy Real Estate & Auction.

According to the Kansas Firefighters Museum archives, the $25,000 station initially had four firefighters assigned there.

Though it was Wichita’s seventh firefighting station, it was only the sixth actual firehouse since two stations shared the same downtown building.

Since 1973, the building has been home to the Civitan Club of Wichita, an international volunteer organization that in particular helps people with physical and developmental disabilities.

The group has used the building as the Civitan Community House for itself and others to hold meetings.

“They’re a very neat organization,” Brock said.

He said the club is donating all proceeds from the auction to various charities that align with its own principles and goals of service.

The chapter is not closing.

“They really don’t have a need for a building anymore,” Brock said.

The online auction opens at 2 p.m. March 14 and closes at 2:10 p.m. March 23.

There is an open house at the building from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

There is not a minimum bid for the auction.

The property is zoned for multifamily use.

“There’s actually a lot things that fall under that zoning classification,” Brock said.

In addition to a variety of residential uses, there are public and civic uses — such as churches, hospitals and schools — along with some commercial uses. A nightclub or event center would not be allowed.

Historian Jay Price is watching what happens.

He said the building was built at a time when things like firehouses and gas stations were built to look like little cottages so they’d fit in with their residential surroundings.

That means the building is “a hallmark of what’s there.”

“The building is certainly part of a landscape,” Price said.

He often describes a landscape as being like a smile.

“If the building is gone, it’s like a gap in the teeth.”

Price said that history is what survives.

“What survives is what we remember,” he said. “When the building is gone, it sort of distorts our memory.”

When neighborhoods change, Price said, “What do you do with buildings that no longer have the original use? . . . How do you maintain the integrity of a neighborhood while at the same time maintaining the usability of the space?”

Preservationists won’t want the building dramatically altered, Price said.

He said he likes the possibility of it becoming a house, noting that “people live in all sorts of weird and unusual spaces.”

“It would be a really fun, quirky house.”

Visit the auction listing here.

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(c)2023 The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)

Visit The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.) at www.kansas.com

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Two firefighters were hurt Sunday when a Shallowater fire truck crashed responding to a grass fire.

The firefighters were on the way to assist New Deal firefighters with a grass fire on County Road 2300 at about 2:15 p.m. when the accident occurred on Farm to Market Road 1294.

Both firefighters were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, KCBD reports. One firefighter told police a strong gust of wind rocked the apparatus, leading to a turn off the road and an overcorrection.

Kathleen E. Carey
Daily Times, Primos, Pa.
(TNS)

Mar. 4—Delaware County wants to turn the Briarcliffe fire station into a multi-use county community resource center, and as such has entered into an agreement of sale to purchase the Darby Township building for $705,000.

Council unanimously approved entering into an agreement of sale to buy the building at 767 Beech Ave.

According to the agreement of sale, closing is scheduled for April 30. However, county officials cautioned it may take longer than that.

“I’m happy to see that we’re moving forward with it,” county Councilman Richard Womack said of the county community resource center, adding that it will be a great asset in that part of the county.

Womack was formerly a Darby Township commissioner before assuming his county seat in January 2022.

In April, the Briarcliffe Fire Company moved to disband following the revelation of racist statements and comments from firefighters came to light during a discussion after an online meeting.

After a Jan. 27, 2022, online meeting, some Briarcliffe members were heard but not seen engaging in an hour and 45 minute conversation after the initial meeting.

Comments ranged from racist and insensitive comments about Black firefighters to mocking the name of Fanta Bility, the 8-year-old who was shot by former Sharon Hill police following an Academy Park High School football game in August 2021.

After the comments came to light, Darby Township officials suspended the Briarcliffe Fire Company and notified county emergency dispatchers that it was placed out of service.

Two other fire companies serve Darby Township: Goodwill and Darby Township No. 4.

County Emergency Services Director Timothy Boyce outlined the intention and the need for a county community resource center.

“The goal really here is … a champion county resource center in southeast Delaware County,” he said. “During the pandemic, obviously we struggled very much with the storage of PPE (personal protective gear), getting materials out to our community members and we still struggle with storing material.”

He explained that a 12,000-square-foot space in Granite Run had been donated to the county during the pandemic for the storage of materials such as masks, diapers and sanitizer. However, that is no longer available.

“By asking for this facility, the major ask is that we establish a warehouse and distribution facility in partnership with the health department,” Boyce said. “They are going to use it as a point of distribution if we have another pandemic or flu. They also see it as an opportunity to put an educational space in the community.”

‘Makes a lot of sense’

He noted that the facility is already compliant with Americans With Disabilities’ Act regulations, has ample parking, is along a bus route, already has a meeting room, is climate controlled and has bathrooms.

The plan is to use 5,000 square feet of the space for warehousing needs and the other 5,000 for offices, meeting and training spaces.

Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer said the space has potential beyond warehousing and distribution.

“I feel like this is a really multi-use space in a community in a part of the county where a lot of these services are demanded,” she said. “So it makes a lot of sense to make this investment.”

Officials said the space will be beneficial as the county prepares to dive into harm reduction work after being earmarked to receive $63 million from the opioid settlement, which must be spent in 18 years.

Rick Green
The Keene Sentinel, N.H.
(TNS)

Mar. 4—MARLBOROUGH — Residents will vote on a variety of articles on March 14 during Marlborough’s annual elections and town meeting.

Here’s a look at what’s on the warrant:

Budget proposal: $2,578,963, up $135,852, or 6 percent, from the $2,443,111 budget voters approved last year.

If all warrant articles pass, the tax rate would increase by an estimated 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, according to Town Administrator Ellen M. Smith.

Hot topic: Voters will be asked to consider raising $550,000 to buy a fire truck, $400,000 of which would come from bonds, $75,000 from the fire equipment capital reserve fund, $66,000 from various other funds and $9,000 from donations. A three-fifths affirmative vote is required for passage.

Other warrant articles: In another article that requires a three-fifths majority to pass, voters will decide whether to raise $100,000 through bonds for stormwater projects. This is for engineering associated with installation of stormwater infrastructure in the downtown area of Church and School streets.

Also proposed is raising $25,000 for the police cruiser reserve fund, $20,000 for the highway equipment fund, $20,000 for the municipal facilities fund and $10,000 for the fire equipment fund.

Contested races: Julie Farhm and Charley Wright are running for a 3-year term as library trustee.

Elections: Tuesday, March 14, 1 to 9 p.m., Marlborough School, 41 Fitch Court

Meeting: Tuesday, March 14, 7 p.m., Marlborough School

Rick Green can be reached at RGreen@KeeneSentinel.com or 603-355-8567

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(c)2023 The Keene Sentinel (Keene, N.H.)

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