Mayor of Peculiar resigns amid impeachment proceedings; new mayor named
The city said in a statement posted to its Facebook page that Stark and the city 'came to a mutual agreement.'
The announcement comes after the city's board of aldermen voted unanimously on May 2 to begin impeachment proceedings.
Person stabbed outside of High Blue fitness center in Belton
It also comes after a bitter battle last fall between residents and city leaders over a proposed large-scale data center that did not come to fruition.
Soon after the board of aldermen approved the mayor's resignation during a meeting Monday night, they voted to appoint Alderman John Shatto as mayor.
Shatto was elected as alderman in April 2024 and was serving a two-year term, according to the city's website. Shatto will be expected to serve out the remainder of the term as mayor, which is up for election in April 2026.
'With all that business behind us, we are moving forward,' the city said in its statement Monday night. 'We are entering the beginning of a new and very exciting time of prosperity in our small town.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Associated Press
5 minutes ago
- Associated Press
FACT FOCUS: Trump misrepresents facts about wind power during Cabinet meeting
President Donald Trump expressed his disdain for wind power during a meeting with his Cabinet recently, calling it an expensive form of energy that 'smart' countries don't use. His comments on Tuesday contained false and misleading information about the use of wind power in the United States and around the world, and came on the heels of an executive order he signed Monday that would end subsidies around 'green' energy. Here's a look at the facts. CLAIM: 'Wind is a very expensive form of energy.' THE FACTS: Onshore wind is one of the cheapest sources of electricity generation, with new wind farms expected to produce electricity around $30 per megawatt hour. This compares to a new natural gas plant, around $65 per megawatt hour, or a new advanced nuclear reactor, which runs over $80, according to estimates from the Energy Information Administration. Onshore wind farms cost less to build and operate than natural gas plants on average in most regions of the United States, even without tax credits. Though natural gas plants are available to produce electricity at any time of the day, unlike wind. Offshore wind is among the sources of new power generation that will cost the most to build and operate, at $88 per megawatt hour, according to the EIA. While electricity rates have risen nationwide over the past decade, states that have added a significant amount of onshore wind power, such as Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, have kept rates from rising as fast as other states, said Brendan Pierpont, director of electricity modeling at the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation. For example, the share of electricity generated from wind in Iowa increased from 15% in 2010 to nearly 60% of the state's electricity generation in 2023, while the state's electricity rates grew at a rate slower than that of 42 other states, his research found. Wind power can be expensive if it's built where winds are weaker, but the United States is adding it in places with strong wind resources, he added. 'Wind should be seen as part of an overall portfolio of electricity system resources and is an important part of keeping costs down,' he said Wednesday. Trump has committed to increasing U.S. energy production, particularly fossil fuels. He signed an executive order Monday aimed at phasing out tax credits for wind and solar facilities. CLAIM: Wind turbines are 'almost exclusively' made in China, but President Xi Jinping told Trump they have 'very, very few.' THE FACTS: China is the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines, producing more than half of the supply. It is also installing them in China at a record pace. In total, China has 1.3 terawatts of utility-scale wind and solar capacity in development, which could generate more electricity than neighboring Japan consumed in all of 2023, according to a report from the Global Energy Monitor released Wednesday. The report highlighted China's offshore wind development, calling China the undisputed leader in the offshore wind sector, though it also said coal and gas are still on the rise across China. 'The whole narrative that we're led to believe in the West is that China is building coal plants and that it's doing nothing for its carbon footprint,' Tom Harper, partner at the global consultant Baringa, said Tuesday. 'So the surprising thing is China is building a portfolio of zero-carbon resources that are designed to not perfectly complement each other, but to work alongside each other to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.' CLAIM: 'If you look at smart countries, they don't use it.' THE FACTS: At least 136 countries around the world use wind power to generate electricity, according to the EIA, with many countries growing the amount they produce. The top five markets for wind power in 2024 were China, the U.S., Brazil, India and Germany, while Uzbekistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia represent the next wave of wind energy growth, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. Council CEO Ben Backwell said 2024 marked yet another record year for wind energy growth, with the 'industry increasingly pushing into new regions.' Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, disputed the idea that smart countries don't use wind power. China is soaring ahead in building a massive amount of wind power while Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, Sweden, France and many other countries in Europe have large programs of wind construction, he said Wednesday. 'By cutting back on wind power development, the U.S. is ceding the lead to China in this important technology, and killing a lot of U.S. jobs,' Gerrard said in an e-mail. CLAIM: In New England, two whales washed up over 50 years, 'and last summer they had 14 washed up. Now, I'm not saying that's the wind farm that was built, that maybe it is right.' THE FACTS: There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA says it analyzes the causes of death whenever possible, following the science and data. Unfounded claims about offshore wind threatening whales have surfaced as a flashpoint in the fight over the future of renewable energy. The nation's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm officially opened in 2024 east of Montauk Point, New York. The nation's second-largest offshore wind farm is under construction off the coast of Massachusetts. A five-turbine pilot project has been operating since 2016 off the coast of Rhode Island. CLAIM: 'The birds are dying all over the place.' THE FACTS: Turbines, like all infrastructure, can pose a risk to birds. However, the National Audubon Society, which is dedicated to the conservation of birds, thinks developers can manage these risks and climate change is a greater threat. An Audubon report found that two-thirds of North American bird species could face extinction due to rising temperatures. In January, the nonprofit said responsible offshore wind development is a clear win for birds, the U.S. economy and the climate. 'While persistent myths claim widespread and devastating effects of offshore wind turbines on wildlife, the science tells a different story. Our findings clearly indicate that we can responsibly deploy offshore wind in a manner that still protects birds and their habitats,' Sam Wojcicki, Audubon's senior director for climate policy, wrote in a January post. The organization also supports wind energy on land when it is sited and operated properly to minimize the impact on birds and other wildlife. CLAIM: 'You can't take them down because the environmentalists don't let you bury the blades.' THE FACTS: Wind turbine blades are challenging to recycle. They are designed for durability to withstand hurricane-force winds. However, the U.S. already has the ability to recycle most wind turbine materials, according to the Department of Energy. It issued a report in January that found 90% of wind turbines can be recycled using existing infrastructure, while new strategies and innovative recycling methods will be needed to tackle the rest. The wind power industry acknowledges that the disposal of wind turbine blades is an issue. Danish wind energy developer Ørsted committed in 2021 to never sending turbine blades to landfill, instead reusing, recycling or otherwise recovering them. ___ Find AP Fact Checks here:
CNN
19 minutes ago
- CNN
‘It could be his Obamacare': GOP senator reveals his warnings to Trump before voting against his agenda
Before Republican Sen. Thom Tillis bucked his own party and voted against President Donald Trump's agenda last week, he warned the president how its toxic political ripple effect could soon wipe out Congress' GOP majority. 'As I told the president, if we don't get this right, he's probably going to have two of the most miserable years of his life if Democrats take the gavels in the House. And I'm trying to avoid that,' Tillis said in a wide-ranging interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Wednesday – his first national sitdown interview since announcing his retirement a day after voting to block the president's agenda. 'I told the president, I really do believe it could be his Obamacare,' Tillis said of the sweeping tax and spending cuts package that Trump signed into law last week, without Tillis' vote. 'I think it's politically just devastating.' The plainspoken North Carolinian was clear about who he blames for the details of that law, repeatedly calling out unnamed White House staffers that he said failed to grasp the real-life consequences of the new policy, particularly the spending cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care to millions of low-income Americans. Those advisers, he said, are the 'biggest risk to [Trump's] legacy' — though he declined, for now, to identify any by name. 'I don't have a problem with President Trump. I got a problem with some of the people I consider to be amateurs advising him. And I want to make it very clear to them: When you act like the president when he's out of the room, you don't impress me,' Tillis said. The senator may not be quiet for long. Asked about how he planned to spend his remaining 18 months in office, Tillis said he would demand accountability for some of those same Trump advisers. 'I am going to hold some of these people accountable, who I think are shielding him, who do not understand the legislative process, certainly do not understand the executive. And they're the biggest risk to his legacy,' Tillis told Tapper. The swing-state Republican had multiple issues with Trump's agenda. But it's the cuts to Medicaid that's drawn his sharpest rebuke, and which eventually led him to vote against the sprawling package. Tillis had repeatedly urged Trump and his team not to cut so deeply into the program, which he feared would cut off access to people who legally qualify for the program and cause Trump's downfall — just like then-President Barack Obama's health care law that led to Democrats' self-described 'shellacking' in the 2010 midterms. But in the end, GOP leaders passed their bill without Tillis' help, spurring Trump himself to publicly threaten to help primary the senator. In response, Tillis recalled sending the president a private missive of his own — just before announcing he would retire from Congress instead of seeking reelection next November. 'I told the president in another text: 'Now's the time to start looking for my replacement because I don't deal with that kind of bullsh*t,' Tillis recounted. Tillis has helped confirm nearly all of Trump's key nominees this term. But with hindsight, Tillis raised concerns with one of those now in power: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The senator suggested he would not vote to confirm Hegseth, if a vote were to be held again today. 'With the passing of time, I think it's clear he's out of his depth as a manager of a large, complex organization,' Tillis said, pointing, for instance, to Hegseths' recent failure to inform the White House before he authorized a pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week. 'The whole idea of having a pause on Ukraine defensive arms, that's just amateurish,' Tillis said. Asked by Tapper whether he would vote to confirm Hegseth knowing what he does now, Tilis said: 'Now, I have the information of him being a manager and I don't think his probationary period has been very positive.' Tillis offered another clear warning to his party about next November: Keep scandal-plagued Republican Mark Robinson out of the GOP's race to replace him in the Senate. 'There's no way if he became the nominee in North Carolina I could possibly support him,' Tillis said of Robinson, the former lieutenant governor who suffered a historic defeat in 2024 after a CNN KFile investigation found he made dozens of lewd comments on an online porn forum. 'Of course I wouldn't support the Democratic nominee. I would just have to take a pass.' And notably, Tillis was tight-lipped when asked about another possible candidate — Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee. 'Our state is very difficult for Republicans to win. … So they need to be really smart about the name on the ballot and the profile on the ballot to have an opportunity to win,' Tilis said when specifically asked about Lara Trump. 'This is gonna be a tough race for someone. They need a good, solid, business, right-of-center conservative to match up against whoever it is.' When Tillis made his stunning decision late last month to not seek reelection, he called out DC politicians who 'don't bother to do the hard work' to understand what their policies would mean for someone like a young person living in a trailer park – a reference to his own humble beginnings. Tillis has been a waiter, a warehouse worker, and even, once, as an 8-year-old kid who got paid in biscuits, a walker of an elderly neighbor's cat. (Yes, a cat.) He said he thought about those living in his former trailer park in Nashville when he decided to vote against Trump's agenda. Again, he compared it to the 2010 health care law that led to a massive red wave after some people were forced off their private health plans. 'Now it's like, if you like Medicaid and you're eligible, you can keep it. That's fundamentally untrue,' Tillis said. Asked if many of those who will be impacted understand what's in Trump's bill, Tillis said: 'No, they don't, but they will' — referring to the Democrats' plans to broadly message the GOP cuts ahead of the midterms. 'If you're a competent Democrat, you're going to figure out how to communicate to them how it affects their lives. And it almost certainly will,' he said.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Central Falls voters approve a school board for their city. What comes next?
Central Falls voters have approved a plan to create a hybrid school board for the city. During a July 8, 2025 election on the referendum, only 194 voters cast their ballot on the question, but 91% were in favor. Currently, schools in the 'One Square Mile' city are governed by a six-member Board of Trustees appointed by Rhode Island's education commissioner. Under the new plan, Central Falls will replace that model with a school board comprised of nine members, four of whom will be elected and the remaining five appointed. Mayor Maria Rivera's administration encouraged residents to vote yes on the ballot measure. 'We will introduce a resolution – sponsored by every council member – to put before our voters a historic referendum: a new school board structure that brings greater local control and accountability to our schools,' she announced during her budget address in May. 'For the first time in decades, our community will have the power to shape the future of our schools.' The Central Falls School District has been under state control since 1991, when local officials sought support for its borderline bankrupt public schools. Despite initial optimism for state intervention, the city's schools are still struggling financially more than 30 years later. The district ranked last among all Rhode Island school districts in English Language Arts, math and science standardized testing during the 2023 – 2024 school year, according to Central Falls officials. In October, Rivera released a report detailing 'systemic failures' that continue to plague the schools, after a year-long survey with input from hundreds of teachers, students, parents and other community members. Following the report's release, a team of school and city leaders worked to redesign the school district's governance structure, recommending more local and community involvement. Rivera has said she would like to see the schools returned to local control and that ongoing reform efforts are a key part of that plan. The General Assembly agreed this year to create a commission for studying the effects of returning the Central Falls school system to local control. In the upcoming school year, the state is funding the district's entire $54.8 million budget, so the commission will research sustainable financial strategies for Central Falls to contribute money to its schools going forward, along with a plan to transfer control tentatively by July 1, 2026. Central Falls City Council introduced a resolution in May that would amend the city's charter to create a school board. Now that voters have approved that plan, the city can prepare to elect four members in November's general election and appoint the other five members in time for the board to assemble in January. The City Council established a framework for a five-person School Board Nominating Committee: One member will be selected by a majority vote of the City Council. At least one member selected by the city council must be a family member of a current student. One member will be selected by the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. After an initial term of three years, this member will be replaced by another appointment from the City Council. One member will be selected by the mayor. One member will be selected by the Central Falls Teachers Union. At the time of selection, this member must be a current or former educator. One member will be selected by the Student Council at Central Falls High School. At the time of selection, this member must be a current student. The School Board Nominating Committee is supposed to engage in a community-led process to nominate school board members for appointment, who the mayor will then approve. The city has already opened applications to join the board. Along with the referendum, voters cast their ballots on July 8 to elect Anthony A. Solano as city councilor for Central Falls Ward 4, and Stefano V. Famiglietti in the Senate District 4 primary. Voter turnout was 23%. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Central Falls will get a new school board to transition out of state takeover
