Latest news with #StephanieColeman
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
Alderwoman wants to require Chicago boaters to wear life vests after woman drowned in Playpen
A tragedy on Lake Michigan claimed the life of a Chicago hairstylist last month. Zahrie Walls was not wearing a life jacket when she fell off a boat at the Playpen and died. Now a proposed city ordinance is seeking change. Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) has proposed an ordinance that would require all boaters on the lake or other waterways in Chicago to wear a personal flotation device, or face fines of $100 to $500. Boat owner David Johnson prepared to take his friends out on his 24-foot-long jet boat for the afternoon on Friday, and said what's always part of his plan before leaving the dock at 31st Street Harbor is making sure everyone onboard has their life jacket on. "I know when I take people out on the boat with me, a lot of times from the moment we pull out to the moment we come back, I'm making sure they got life vests on. I'm identifying who knows how to swim, who doesn't," he said. For passenger AdeOla Fadumiye, a life jacket is a priority. "If I fall over, I would float and not drown. I can swim, but open water scares me," Fadumiye said. Coleman introduced the life vest ordinance to the City Council on Wednesday. It has been assigned to the Transportation Committee, but no hearings have yet been scheduled. Coleman said the goal is to get it approved by the City Council in September. The ordinance would make it mandatory for anyone on any "watercraft, sailboat, recreational boat, personal watercraft or specialty prop-craft" to wear a personal flotation device, unless they sign a release certifying they are able to swim and release the boat's operator of any liability for the risks of failing to wear a life jacket. Coleman said she introduced the ordinance after Wells died on June 21, after falling from a boat in the area of Lake Michigan known as the Playpen, near Navy Pier. Walls didn't know how to swim and wasn't wearing a lifejacket. "I have witnessed the pain of her family and losing a life, and then her family will forever be traumatized because of the loss of such young, motivating, inspiring young lady," Coleman said. Anyone on a boat in Chicago not wearing a life jacket could face fines of between $100 and $500. Boat operators who fail to make sure all their passengers are wearing life vests could face fines of $100 to $1.500 and between 10 days and 6 months in jail. Coleman said her goal is to name the ordinance in memory of Walls.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Civic leaders strategically built up Nashville's brand. Can they tackle its growing pains?
This story is part of America's Evolving Cities, a USA TODAY Network project that takes a close look at four regions across the country and their unique paths to success — and how residents have benefited or suffered along the way. Boom town. Now-ville. Red hot. It city. Nashville boasts many nicknames, including those bestowed by Forbes, GQ, Time Magazine, The New York Times and countless other national news publications. Since the Great Recession, the city has garnered a reputation for its economic resiliency and creative community. Some of that press attention, including the 2013 New York Times feature story that dubbed Nashville the next "It City," came about thanks to collaboration between the city's power players and well-sourced public relations firms, according to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Stephanie Coleman. All told, Nashville's song of success is more like a well-rehearsed stage production than a spontaneous open mic performance. "We were in constant communication with them about, not just local but national media as well ... really marketing Nashville as the low-cost alternative to Los Angeles and New York," said Coleman, who worked at the Chamber for 17 years before her recent ascent to its chief position. Nashville had tangible strengths to show off to the press. Ten years ago, it was a burgeoning health care hub seeing expansion in the tech industry and boasting a plethora of universities. Tennessee is known as a low-cost, business-friendly state, and Nashville attracted creative workers to its powerhouse music industry. Since then, Nashville and Tennessee have bet millions on continued success. The Music City Center cost $623 million, while the TV show "Nashville" collected millions of dollars in incentives from the city and state to continue local production. AllianceBernstein, Amazon and Oracle all zeroed in on Nashville thanks to incentive deals. All of these moves were communicated to the outside world through marketing and public relations strategies, including capitalizing on the popular show "Nashville," which had billboards all over the world. The city's population has grown accordingly, leading to pressures on the region's infrastructure systems and housing market. "Everyone was singing from the same song sheet," Coleman said. "I do think that catapulted us to where we are today, but we can't forget that, and we can't lose sight of the importance of that branding for the city and the region. That remains just as important as it ever was." Nashville may have many nicknames, but it chose one for itself: Music City. The roots of the name trace back to the legendary travels of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a respectable origin story. At the same time, Music City is a brand, strategically formed to attract tourists and convention and business travelers in droves. Deana Ivey, now the president and CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., was a staff liaison for the 150-person citywide branding effort led by the NCVC in 2004. Stakeholders included business executives, higher education leaders and local policymakers. "We spent months around the table, kind of arguing, to be honest, about what Nashville is known for," Ivey said. Options included "Buckle of the Bible Belt," "Athens of the South" and "Music City, U.S.A." Ivey and the rest of the naming committee went to Nashville International Airport to role-play as visitors to the city. They got in a taxi and headed downtown. "We went around town … and we knew where the music was, but it wasn't easy for visitors to figure out," she said. So the team put together a plan to incorporate the brand into everything the city had to offer, from live music in the airport to music note air fresheners in the taxis. And Nashville's local businesses know how to put on a good show, so the strategy took off from there. "We're at 20 years," Ivey said. "But that's what it takes to really build a brand and keep it going." Under the limelight, Nashville hasn't yet faded. It's now a small town with a population of almost one million people. Maybe, after all that growth, there would be a sense of arrival. But the curtain call has not yet come. The city's tourism leaders recognize that the global appetite for both country music and corporate relocations is only growing. Nashville International Airport in April kicked off two new international flights, to Dublin, Ireland, and Reykjavik, Iceland, and the airport could soon build its runway to Asia. Nashville broadcasts its marquee tourism events, like CMA Fest or the New Year's Eve celebration, to the rest of the world, garnering millions in views in a tradition that traces back to the Grand Ole Opry's place at the heart of country music radio. When the Predators made a playoff run for the Stanley Cup in 2017, for example, Ivey remembers checking in with her contacts at the NFL, hoping to prove Nashville's worthiness to host an upcoming draft. "Are you watching? Are you paying attention?" she recalls asking. "Oh, we're paying attention," was the response. The NFL brought its draft to Nashville in 2019. With a new Nissan Stadium under construction, future events are likely to grow in prominence. It's as if the city is constantly sending a message around the world: Watch, listen, visit, come back soon. Nashville performed in unison to earn recognition from the outside world. Now, perhaps, the city can work together well enough to solve its growing pains. "It's tricky, but it's the next critical step," Coleman said. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Inside the 20-year campaign to build up Nashville's brand
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Mashpee employee files race-based discrimination complaint against the town
MASHPEE — After experiencing what she calls racial discrimination as a town employee, a woman has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination against the town of Mashpee. Stephanie Coleman, a former administrative secretary for Town Manager Rodney Collins, filed the race, color, and retaliation complaint on March 25. The commission has scheduled an investigative conference with the town and Coleman on Aug. 6. The race specifically identified is African American. Coleman, 39, of Mashpee, identifies as Wampanoag and African American. She alleges she was underpaid compared to a white co-worker and that the town retaliated against her for speaking openly about wages. She resigned from her job Feb. 7. "Mashpee deserves a government that values fairness, integrity, and equal treatment for all employees," Coleman said in an interview with the Times. In an email on April 22 to the Times, Collins said the town strongly denies any discriminatory practices or decisions related to Coleman. The complaint is "filled with factually inaccurate information," he said. The town won't comment any further, while the matter is pending, he said. Coleman has not hired a lawyer related to her complaint against the town, she said. She was not a member of a union, and instead worked under a personnel administration plan, she said. The commission, a state agency, enforces Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws by investigating complaints in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other aspects of everyday life. There is no cost to file a complaint, and no lawyer is needed. The commission first reviews a complaint to see that it falls within its jurisdiction, according to the agency's online guide. An investigator is assigned, and the complaint is then sent to the person filing the complaint and the entity or persons named in the complaint for a response. The complainant can then give an answer to the response. An investigative conference may be held, mediation may lead to a settlement, or an investigation and disposition will be made on whether unlawful discrimination may have occurred. From there, a number of avenues exist to move forward, such as appeal, settlement or a public hearing. In fiscal 2024, the commission recorded 3,553 new complaints, according to the annual report. The top three protected classes in the complaints were retaliation, disability and race. Since 2020, two other complaints were filed with the commission against the town of Mashpee, both against the town school department and school officials, according to information provided by the commission to the Times. One complaint was closed in July 2021, and the second was closed in January 2024. The commission does not confirm or deny the existence of an open complaint filed with the agency, Justine LaVoye, the press secretary for the commission said. Coleman started her work in town hall in 2017 in the town treasurer and tax collector department, and in 2023 she was working in the the four-person town manager and Select Board office with a salary of $60,000, according to the town reports. Coleman's supervisor, the administrative assistant, was making $90,000 in 2023. The four people in the office at that time were Collins, an assistant town manager, an administrative assistant and Coleman. In the 2023 town report, the Select Board describes Coleman and the administrative assistant as "vital intermediaries" with the public. In total, the town paid about 800 people for work in 2023, ranging from $241,168 for a firefighter with overtime to a building department worker for $31, according to the town report. In March 2024, Coleman learned her supervisor — the administrative assistant — was retiring. To prepare for that retirement, Coleman trained for the supervisor's position, according the the complaint. In September 2024, Collins offered another town employee, from the health department, a pay increase to assist with administrative assistant duties for the town manager's office, according to the complaint. Coleman said she learned about the pay increase because in her job she regularly handled salary paperwork. She knew the increase was higher than her pay and that she was working her normal duties and also training to replace her supervisor. She talked to an assistant town manager about it. The town then dropped the other employee's pay increase, according to the complaint. In September 2024 Coleman's supervisor retired, and she was hired in October 2024 to fill the job, at $37 an hour, according to the complaint. In November 2024, the town posted an additional administrative assistant role externally for the town manager's office, and the other town employee, from September, who is white, was hired at $45 per hour, according to the complaint. Because the pay was more than what Coleman was offered she asked Collins to increase her pay so it was comparable. He refused, according to the complaint. In December 2024, Coleman spoke to a town human resource manager about the difference in pay and her claim of discrimination based on race, according to the complaint. At a meeting, then, with Coleman, Collins and the human resource manager, Coleman repeated that she felt the difference in pay was discriminatory. Collins raised his voice at that meeting and said he would not be accused of being a racist, according to the complaint. On Dec. 30, 2024, Coleman formally withdrew any request for an increase in pay, according to the complaint. She became fearful, she said to the Times, that she could lose her job for speaking out. "I felt really alone. I felt no one was listening to me," Coleman said. Throughout January, 2025, Coleman continued working full time. The town gave her back pay for the extra work she performed in September and October, according to the complaint. In or around January, 2025, an anonymous letter was sent to Collins, stating that the town was paying people differently based on race, according to Coleman's complaint filed with the state agency. On Feb. 3, 2025, Collins held a meeting with Coleman and others about the letter, according to the complaint. In that meeting, Coleman denied knowing who wrote the letter. At the meeting, Collins became angry and said the letter was Coleman's fault, for discussing salaries in the office, according to the complaint. In an email Feb. 4, Coleman told an assistant town manger that she was uncomfortable in the office and wouldn't be back to work the next day, according to the complaint. Coleman was placed on paid administrative leave on Feb. 6, and told to attend an administrative hearing on Feb. 11, according to the complaint, due to unprofessional conduct and falsified sick time. Coleman denied these allegations and did not attend the hearing, the complaint stated. "This isn't about me," Coleman said to the Times. "It's about ensuring that no other employee of color faces the same discrimination and retaliation that I have endured." Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @RachaelDevaney. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: A former secretary to Mashpee Town Manager Rodney Collins claims bias
Jordan News
28-02-2025
- Health
- Jordan News
Study Reveals the Impact of Fast Food on the Brain After Just 5 Days - Jordan News
A recent study revealed that consuming foods high in fats and sugars for just five days can negatively affect the brain's response to insulin, even without any weight gain. اضافة اعلان The results showed that changes in brain activity might be the foundation for reduced insulin sensitivity, which could lead to obesity and related diseases. The study, conducted by neuroscientist Stephanie Coleman from the University of Tübingen in Germany, involved 29 healthy adult men. Eighteen of them were put on a high-calorie diet for five days, consuming snacks rich in sugar and fat, such as chocolate, brownies, and potato chips, adding 1200 extra calories per day to their usual diet. Using MRI scans, the researchers observed blood flow to the brain to study its activity before, during, and after the experimental period. To assess the brain's response to insulin, participants were given a nasal spray of insulin before each scan. The results showed that the group consuming fast food experienced increased brain activity in three areas associated with responding to dietary changes and the reward system, resembling patterns observed in individuals with obesity and insulin resistance. Additionally, a decrease in brain activity was noted in two areas linked to memory and responses to visual food-related cues after one week of finishing the unhealthy diet. The study, whose findings were reported by the Italian magazine "Focus," indicated that these changes in brain activity could serve as a precursor to insulin resistance in the body, which might lead to type 2 diabetes. Previous research has shown that people with brains more sensitive to insulin lose more weight when they change their lifestyle compared to those with insulin resistance. These findings highlight the rapid and dangerous effects of fast food on the brain, even before any noticeable changes in weight or metabolism occur.
