Latest news with #JeffBrady
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
San Diego man drowns after saving two young boys in Colorado River
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — On Saturday afternoon, a San Diego native, 51-year-old Jeff Brady, drowned in the Colorado River after saving two young boys who were swept away by the river's current. Brady went to Granite Hills High School where he met his longtime friends, Summer Needham and Joann Ripley. That friendship lasted decades, and that's why it's so hard for them to learn to live without him. 'They were the fun boys to be around,' Ripley said when asked what Brady was like in high school. 'He was a giant of a man, but his heart was pure gold,' Needham said, smiling. That years-long friendship was cut short too soon. 'The shock hit like how is this really real,' Ripley said. It was a regular weekend fishing trip on the Colorado River near the Hidden Shores Resort in Yuma, Arizona for Brady, his girlfriend Elen Ellis, his twin brother Greg, and their loved ones. 'They did it almost every weekend during the summer,' Ripley said. The summer fun quickly turned tragic when Ellis' 10- and 12-year-old nephews were swept away by the river's current. 'The boys, they know how to swim and everything, so it's just the current at the river this weekend happened to be pretty strong, and it swept the little one out, and then it just snowballed from there,' Needham said. Needham says Brady dove into action immediately, swimming out to the boys to keep them above water until they could get help. 'It's not shocking or surprising at all that he was the one that went in after them and saved them,' Ripley said. While struggling to battle the strong current, Ripley says Greg and his girlfriend jumped in after Jeff to help save the boys. 'There was a boat that showed out of nowhere, and they were able to throw the boys on the boat and Julie on the boat, and Greg turned around, and Jeff was gone,' Needham said. Several agencies, including the Yuma County Sheriff's Office responded to the river, searching for Brady after he was swept under the water, but at 7:20 pm, they found him and pronounced him dead on the scene. 'She's just heartbroken and misses him,' Ripley said of Jeff's girlfriend. 'She wants the one more hug, the one more walk through the door, the one more everything that she's not gonna get anymore.' Even though the friends will miss the hugs, laughs, and fun reunions, they say their proud to know he died a hero. 'We want people to know how amazing he was,' Needham said. 'He went out with his angel wings on.' Needham says she set up a GoFundMe page to support the family after his death. She adds Jeff moved to Yuma two months ago to take care of his dad who had some medical concerns, and the money help support him as they mourn Jeff's loss. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Dana White steps up to support family of PFL staffer Jeff Brady who 'died a hero'
UFC CEO Dana White has stepped up in a big way to support the family of a PFL staff member Jeff Brady, who died during an act of heroism over the weekend. Brady, who worked for Bellator, PFL and Cage Warriors during his career, is being hailed a hero after he died Saturday while rescuing two children from drowning in the Colorado River near Yuma, Ariz. The two children were his girlfriend's nephews, aged 10 and 12. Seven hours after Brady disappeared because of the current, his body was retrieved from the water. He was 51. A GoFundMe was launched Monday with a goal of $60,000 to help with expenses for Brady's funeral and his family. As of Tuesday afternoon, White was listed as the top donation of $10,000, with more than 330 people contributing. The fundraiser had collected more than $48,000 at the time of publishing this story. Brady had just moved from California to Yuma two months ago and bought a home, living with his girlfriend, Elen, and 84-year-old blind father, whom Jeff and Elen cared for. "Jeff Brady died a hero, but he lived as one too," a message read on the GoFundMe page. "Let's rally together in his honor and show his family that they are not alone."
Chicago Tribune
26-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Glenview OKs 60-home development aimed at empty nesters
A proposed development of single-family homes on the site of the former Scott Foresman textbook publishing headquarters in Glenview has received approval from village elected officials. The Glenview Board of Trustees on Feb. 18 voted 5-1 in favor of the plan, which calls for the construction of 60 homes in four different model styles on the 19-acre property at 1900 East Lake Avenue. The board agreed to waive a required second vote on the proposal, which would have taken place March 4. Built in 1966, the Scott Foresman property has been vacant since June 2020. Landmarks Illinois in 2021 identified the mid-century modern campus, designed by Perkins and Will architects, as one of the state's most endangered historic places. In January, Kendra Parzen, advocacy manager for Landmarks Illinois, had asked if a portion of the existing complex that once housed the campus' library, cafe and community space could be retained, but Jeff Brady, director of community development for the village of Glenview, said the approved housing plan does not call for retention of any buildings. Under the plan, at least nine of the constructed homes will be single-story ranches, while the remainder will be two-story—a majority of which will have a primary bedroom on the first floor. This, representatives of the developer say, will make the three-bedroom homes palatable to Baby Boomers and so-called 'empty-nesters,' which are the target market for the new development. Real estate broker Grace Kaage, speaking on behalf of the developer, 1900 Glenview Partners, LLC, told the board that families of school-age children would be less likely to purchase the homes with the primary bedroom on the first floor because, in general, they prefer for all bedrooms to be on the same level. Home prices will range from $900,000 to $1.3 million, Brady said. 'There is an opportunity here to build inventory that caters to empty nesters—specifically because there is such a shortage of housing in that market,' Kaage said. Trustee Mary Cooper, who cast the only 'no' vote on the plan, suggested that the best way to address such shortages would be to build more single-story ranch homes instead. She also objected to the higher density allowed under village's R6 zoning designation that the developer was seeking for the property. 'I am really leaning toward wanting this to be R4 (lower density) with more ranches and focused more on the empty-nester product than we're seeing,' Cooper said. The projected number of new students that could enroll in Glenview schools as a result of the development differed among estimates by the developer, the village and Glenview School District 34. While the developer has projected 21 new elementary school students, the village, using a formula based on numbers of bedrooms per residence, calculated the number at 25. District 34 projects 32 additional students will result. Under the village's model, the development would generate eight students attending Glenbrook High School District 225. A Jan. 17 email to the village from R.J. Gravel, superintendent of Glenbrook High School District 225, stated that the district does not have concerns regarding the property's redevelopment. While not opposing the new housing, the board of education and administration of Glenview School District 34 did question the accuracy of the developer's projected student count and the development's financial impacts, according to an email from Eric Miller, assistant superintendent of business services. Trustee Adam Sidoti noted that other recent residential developments have not had a significant impact on school enrollment. Examples shared with the board included Haverford, which contains 51 residences with nine school-age children. 'While I do know we have a current operational funding issue with District 34 and we do have a space issue, I also understand that is not the sole problem of this developer or the sole problem of our board,' said Trustee Katie Jones, urging taxpayers to support the school district's needs. Voters rejected a tax-rate increase for District 34 in the November 2024 election. The village will require the developer to pay impact fees to the local school and park districts due to the additional population that is added. The Village Board is expected to discuss potential changes to these fees, but as they are calculated today, the developer's cost would be approximately $393,000 to the two school districts serving the area, and approximately $395,000 to the Glenview Park District, Brady said. Impact on schools as well as traffic and concerns about stormwater detention were issues raised by several neighbors in the adjacent Tall Trees neighborhood. Glenview Village President Michael Jenny said he would like to see the village continue to invest in stormwater mitigation for this area. In 2023, a proposal for the construction of 140 apartments on the site was withdrawn after the developers were unable to convince Glenview's development commission to recommend the plan to the Village Board.
