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Axios
a day ago
- Politics
- Axios
Porn, Styrofoam, fantasy football: New DMV laws, explained
Hundreds of new laws are in effect as of July 1 in the DMV, ranging from abortion access to school cell phone bans and cocktails to-go. Here are some major ones to know. The District Economy 💸 The city's minimum wage rose from $17.50 per hour to $17.95 per hour. 👀 A scheduled hike in the tipped minimum wage from $10 to $12 under Initiative 82 is paused by an emergency order, as the law is under review by the DC Council. If their tips fall short, businesses must pay tipped workers the difference to reach the full $17.95/hour tipped minimum wage. Maryland Economy 💲 A variety of higher taxes and fees on tech, cannabis sales, sports betting and more go into effect. Education 🗣️ GED tests for adults to obtain high school diplomas are now offered in Spanish. Health A new grant program for abortion care seeks to improve access and clinical coverage. 📞 The state will operate a 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in each jurisdiction for better coordination, versus individual crisis communication centers. Environment 🍂 Gas-powered leaf blowers are banned in Montgomery County (fines up to $500) with some exceptions for state-run parks. Public safety 🚨 An AI-generated " visual representation" of a person used in porn can be considered revenge porn. Victims can file civil lawsuits. Virginia Education 📱 School districts must create policies to ban cell phones " bell to bell." 🚫 Schools must adopt anti-cyberbullying policies, including for off-campus situations, and list resources for victims. They also must notify parents of school-connected drug overdoses within 24 hours. Food and drink 🍴 Food chains, including grocery stores, with 20+ locations can't use Styrofoam containers. The ban expands to all food vendors next July. 🍔 Delivery apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash must show total prices upfront, including service fees, instead of at checkout. 🍹 Cocktails to-go are here to stay. Health 🚭 If you're vaping under 21, officers can deem it contraband and confiscate. 🤰🏻 Virginia Medicaid will cover up to 10 doula visits — four during pregnancy and six within 12 months after birth. Public safety
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Health
- Business Insider
I took a $12-an-hour job at Whole Foods after losing my job in higher education. It changed the trajectory of my life.
Being let go from a job is not always a surprise. Sometimes, there are whispers before the door slams shut, small signs that your time is winding down. That's how it was for me. In 2010, I was an academic counselor at a community college in Washington, DC. I had also volunteered to develop the tutoring center, believing I was stepping into a dream role. For over a decade, I'd worked in community education as a GED writing teacher, a tech training program manager, and an ESL teacher. I didn't just help students pick a major — I asked them to connect their education to who they wanted to become in the world. I took my job personally, and I found myself drowning in responsibilities. The tutoring center had no budget or staff. I was expected to build something from scratch, relying on volunteers on top of my full-time advising load. It wasn't sustainable. Starting a new life in a new job Eventually, complaints about the tutoring center's limitations reached leadership. When my one-year contract ended, it wasn't renewed, and I was laid off. The long hours and low pay had worn me down. I was making $42,000 a year with a master's degree, and I woke up anxious and in tears, dreading Monday mornings. Getting let go gave me the breathing room I desperately needed. With six months of unemployment benefits and temporary health insurance, I had just enough to survive. I decided to follow a long-held curiosity: food. I'd always been drawn to Whole Foods I loved the hot bar, soups, salads, and desserts, which actually looked homemade (because they were). At this time of my life, the stress of my previous job, the death of my mother, and a failing marriage all contributed to significant weight gain. I decided to get divorced while simultaneously navigating my job situation. I threw myself headfirst into learning how to heal my body with food. Though I once dreamed of culinary school, I couldn't justify taking out more debt on top of what I already owed for my master's degree. I sought out other ways to satisfy my culinary interests, like completing the ServSafe food handler certification. I took a leap of faith and applied for a job in the Whole Foods kitchen I had amassed a wealth of culinary knowledge after years of watching my favorite chefs on the Food Network, YouTube, and PBS. I read cookbooks like novels and took countless in-person cooking classes in raw food preparation, fruit pie baking, and making handmade pasta. Whole Foods took a chance on me, and I fell in love with being in a professional kitchen. I was hired as a cook for $12 an hour. The drop in pay required me to make some adjustments in my lifestyle. I moved from a one-bedroom apartment into a single rented room in a house that was shared with five other adults. I sold my car, couch, and all my other worldly belongings. I had no real plan — I was just excited about the possibility of engaging an interest I had held for years. I learned how to filet a 30-inch salmon, perfectly grill a steak with crosshatch marks, properly arrange the deli salad display for visual appeal, and properly scrub down every greasy kitchen surface each night. My muscles ached in ways my old desk job never asked of me, but this work was creative, and I felt alive. Finding my creative rhythm I stayed at Whole Foods for six months. Food service moves fast, and I learned I wasn't built for that pace. But something had awakened in me. I started teaching healthy cooking classes in the Whole Foods community education program. I watched people recreate those recipes at home and come back surprised by their own success. That joy sparked my writing. I began documenting recipes on my health blog and pitching food stories to small publications. I worked for a year in an after-school program teaching kids to cook healthy meals while learning STEM. I noticed how the kids were excited to talk about their country of origin and the foods they made with their mom at home that were similar to what we had prepared in class. After being dismissed from my job at the community college, I felt like a failure. I discovered that talking about food, culture, and science fed my soul in ways that teaching did not. Transitioning to a new life abroad I knew that the after-school program would only last for one year, so I looked for an opportunity that would allow me to build a career in writing, food, and health. In 2013, I took another leap of faith and moved to Orlando with my fledgling freelance writer business, starting with food and then branching into writing for wellness brands and the tech industry. Over the course of five years, I built a foundation for a freelance business I could take anywhere in the world. I wrote blog posts, ebooks, white papers, customer case studies, and more. After watching hours of YouTube videos of other freelance writers who moved to Southeast Asia, I decided to do the same. I booked a one-way ticket from Florida to Thailand. I was drawn to Thailand for its affordable living and access to traditional healers who could support my weight loss journey. While there, I lost 60 pounds. Since 2018, I've lived in 10 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and now Mexico. I continue to explore what it means to sustain vibrant health while building a business that blends freelance writing with author coaching. I now live in Playa del Carmen I'm deepening my knowledge of healing herbs, local chile varieties, and the region's rich culinary traditions. In January 2025, I ran my first half-marathon, a milestone that reflects just how far I've come in my health journey. Looking back, I realize I wasted too much time feeling like a failure after losing my job in higher education. I now see the experience very differently. It wasn't a failure so much as a freeing of my soul. Most people never stop to ask if what they're doing still fits who they are and what they want to experience as they get older. I was given that opportunity, and it changed the trajectory of my life.
Chicago Tribune
17-06-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Man gets 11-year split term in son's death
A former Gary man got an 11-year split term Tuesday for his baby son's death. His lawyer Patrick Young said Devon Howard was caring for four kids on his own, including two born addicted to drugs. Howard wasn't watching when one of the children placed the baby on a top bunk bed, who fell off. The child, Devon Howard, Jr., only 23 days old, was taken to Methodist Northlake before he was later airlifted to the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A Lake County Metro Homicide Detective was called at 3:40 a.m. April 29, 2022, to an apartment on the 5800 block of Cypress Avenue in Gary for an unresponsive child. Howard, Sr. told dispatchers his son was 'possibly choking' or making a 'strange noise' that started the day before, according to the affidavit. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office told Indiana investigators that a Comer's doctor found the boy was hemorrhaging in his brain. It was a 'non-accidental injury,' she concluded. Howard told police his son started fussing the day before and he tried to soothe him by changing his diaper and making a warm bottle. He propped up the bottle by the boy so he could keep eating, then went into another room to pick up a phone conversation with a relative, according to court records. A half-hour later, the child was 'screaming' and 'trying to turn over,' he told police. As he started CPR, the child was gasping for air, he told investigators. He called 911 and paramedics came quickly, Howard said. His client was 'not equipped' to handle that many children on his own, Young said. It was a 'sad situation.' Howard, 28, admitted July 24 to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 3 felony, court records show. Judge Gina Jones sentenced him to 11 years — he would have to serve seven, then can petition with good behavior to go to Lake County's community transition court, modify his sentence and get out early. He faced up to 16 years in prison. 'I don't want to punish you for the circumstances you find yourself in,' Jones said. 'There has to be a consequence.' He is required to get a GED in prison, attend anger management, parenting classes, and substance abuse counseling. Howard indicated he will appeal. In court earlier, he asked Jones for 'mercy,' saying he never wanted to 'bring any harm' to his kids. Jones said the plea deal was a compromise due to various 'holes' in the case. Deputy Prosecutor Judy Massa was assigned.
Int'l Business Times
17-06-2025
- Health
- Int'l Business Times
Vision, Grit, and Growth: How Dr. Walter Leise Built Himself and Sarasota Medical Products from the Ground Up
Dr. Walter Francis Leise III was once the kid that teachers wrote off. Diagnosed with dyslexia early on, he lagged behind in reading. His school performance led some educators to believe he wouldn't catch up, a label that stuck painfully, even though it couldn't have been further from the truth. "I could read a word on a flashcard just fine," Leise recalls. "But when I looked at a page, it was just noise: multiple focal points, jumbled text. It didn't come together." Everything changed when he was referred to a specialist who trained his eyes to focus, an intervention that would prove life-changing not only in the classroom but eventually in the cockpit of a helicopter. What began as a struggle to make sense of the written word turned into a lifelong lesson in focus, discipline, and belief in oneself. Today, Dr. Leise is the CEO, President, and 'Chief Scientific Officer' of Sarasota Medical Products, Inc. , a Florida-based medical device company he co-founded in 2010. With five degrees (including a PhD and MBA), a background in biotech innovation, and a distinguished military service record, his journey is anything but typical. But it is defined by a clear through-line: the slow, steady building of confidence and the refusal to let early failures write his story. Growing up, academics never felt like a place he could thrive in. Sports, however, did. Leise threw himself into pole vaulting, wrestling, and football, anything that allowed him to lead with physicality and drive. "Sports were my lifeline in school," he shares. But that path was cut short. So, the day after graduation, Leise went searching for direction. He visited every military recruitment office and took the ASVAB test. His scores were impressive, surprisingly so for someone who had always doubted his intellect. When he asked which branch had the fastest promotion cycle, they told him: the Army. He enlisted that day. At just 18, he returned home and announced the decision to his parents. They were stunned. But for Leise, it was the first real leap into taking control of his future. In the Army, Leise became a decorated combat veteran, eventually serving as a squad leader and Cobra helicopter crew chief in Germany and Panama. It was in the military that his view of himself started to shift. One night stands out: he had kitchen duty and a critical test the next day. Failure didn't mean a bad grade; it meant starting the course over. So for the first time in his life, he studied. He passed with a perfect score. "I realized: if I actually read and prepare, I can succeed," he says. "That moment completely rewired how I saw myself." From there, he began taking extra classes, earned a GED just to reinforce what he missed in high school, and started thinking seriously about college. He bartended to pay for his education and enrolled in community college, stacking five challenging science courses in his first semester. "I told myself if I get Cs or better, I'll keep going." He got straight A's and a scholarship. That newfound academic confidence snowballed. He earned degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology, conducted groundbreaking research during his PhD (including a key discovery about cell migration and proliferation tied to cancer development), and eventually landed at a renowned laboratory company, where he helped bridge the gap between research and manufacturing. He was rising fast but feeling lost in the crowd. "I was employee number 7-something-million. And I felt like it," he says. "I didn't feel like a person. I wanted more leadership, more purpose." Sarasota Medical Products, Inc. So he pivoted. Leise earned his MBA, earned a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and co-founded Sarasota Medical Products, Inc. (SMP) in 2010. Since then, he's transformed the business from an idea into a respected player in the medical device market. Every career step, he says, has been less about the goal and more about growing in confidence. "You build confidence by failing, learning, applying, and getting better." Now in his 50s, Leise continues to push himself, both mentally and physically. He exercises daily, lifts weights each morning, and trains in Krav Maga with plans to earn his black belt and become an instructor. "Physical fitness teaches discipline, confidence, humility; all things that help you lead," he says. He also gives back through mentoring, particularly women in business. "All of my direct reports are women. I think it's important to help people overcome the barriers they think they have. Often, these barriers are not real; just internal narratives that need rewriting." One of the biggest influences in his life was his grandfather, a gruff, no-nonsense Navy veteran who drilled into him the value of hard work. "I couldn't stand him as a teenager," Leise recalls. "But he taught me that you should be proud of effort. If you're dirty and sweaty from a hard day's work, walk into that store with your head high." Looking back, Leise doesn't romanticize the challenges, but he does recognize their value. Dyslexia, rejection, academic insecurity, being underestimated: none of it stopped him. "If I can help one or two people break through what they think is holding them back," he says, "then I've had a successful life."
CBS News
15-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Inside SoCal: Learning at Any Age (6/15)
Tuition-free learning to jump-start a new career is the goal of LAUSD's DACE program for adults – at any age. Students share how it's changed their lives for the better. LEARNING AT ANY AGE Sponsored by LAUSD Division of Adult and Career Education Life can get in the way at times, but it's never too late to learn or to change your future. Through LAUSD's DACE program (Division of Adult and Career Education), you can get your GED or learn a brand new skill set in a shorter time frame so you can jumpstart your new career. Tuition-free classes are a key component of this program, as are the diverse classes available – healthcare, tech, trades, and more. It's also designed for people juggling work, family, and everything else. They have campuses all over LA, as well as online options. Learn more at It's never too late to pursue your dreams.
