Free Republic

Our friends at Factory Entertainment are boldly setting a new course… one where you’ll need deep pockets to follow. The company today announced a new line of planned studio-scale and studio-quality Star Trek starship models — the first of Factory Entertainment’s planned FE MasterWorks line — which aims to bring Hollywood-level recreations of the franchise’s greatest vessels out to those willing to meet the hefty price tag. We’ve got exclusive first-look video showcasing the detail in these large-size constructions here at TrekCore, so be sure to check them out below! Launching officially at San Diego Comic Con later this month,...

Six months ago, Los Angeles County leaders signed off on an unprecedented transaction: They would return two parcels of beachfront property in Manhattan Beach to the Bruce family, the first example of the government giving back land to a Black family after acknowledging it had been stolen On Tuesday, the county announced a surprise twist in the historic deal: The family would sell the Bruce's Beach property back to the county for nearly $20 million.... ... the land was not zoned for development, and the family was wary of the years-long permitting fight they would need to wage if they...

Medicare beneficiaries are getting a rare bit of good news as their Part B premiums and deductibles will tick down next year after the government health insurance plan spent less than projected in 2022. Unfortunately, the cost reductions beneficiaries will see next year are much smaller than the increases they shouldered this year. But costs will also go down for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. At the same time, deductibles for hospitalization costs under Part A will be going up. If you’re new to Medicare and wondering what these letters are all about, we’ll get to...

Graham Filler, a state legislator in Michigan, describes two recently enacted civil forfeiture bills as a "reform" that closed a dangerous "loophole." In reality, the new laws open a dangerous loophole by authorizing forfeiture of cash carried by travelers at Michigan airports without a criminal conviction. That change represents a substantial reversal of reforms that Michigan enacted in response to complaints about a system that allows police to seize and confiscate property based on little more than a bare allegation that it is somehow connected to criminal activity. "Traveling with cash is not a crime," notes Institute for Justice senior...

The first sign of trouble for Empyreal came on May 17, when a sheriff's deputy in Dickinson County, Kan., pulled over one of its vans' drivers on I-70 for an alleged traffic violation and questioned her. She told the deputy she was on her way to pick up cash at medical pot dispensaries in Kansas City, Mo., then planned to drive the money back through Kansas the next morning to deposit it at a credit union in Colorado, according to the DEA. Medical marijuana is legal in Missouri but not in Kansas. The next morning, the DEA put the driver...

House Democrats are plotting a huge tax raid on the wealthy, businesses and investors to raise $2.9billion to cover the cost of President Joe Biden's domestic plans, leaked documents reveal. The plans are a major rollback of Donald Trump's tax cuts and will see the corporate rate hiked from 21 per cent to 26.5 per cent according to the draft proposal circulating among Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee. Democrats are also expected to propose a 3 per cent surtax on individual income above $5million, which alone will raise $127billion. The plans are a major rollback of Donald...

After years of concern about the number of traffic accidents that occur in road construction zones, Pennsylvania is doing something about it. Beginning Jan. 4, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike will begin a 60-day pilot program to formally test what’s called the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program. The program is designed to cause drivers to slow down in construction areas by setting up speed monitoring equipment in work areas. After the pilot program is finished, the two state agencies expect to deploy private contractors in white Jeep Cherokee SUVs at various sites throughout the state to...

NEW hi-tech cameras that detect drivers using their mobile phones without them even knowing and automatically issues fines could soon change everything. -- DISTRACTION is one of the leading causes of fatal road crashes in Australia but new hi-tech cameras that detect drivers using their mobile phones without them even knowing could soon change everything. A New South Wales Police spokesman told news.com.au that officers currently "use a variety of methods to detect drivers using their phones while driving". "Line-of-site, by trained officers is the primary method of detection, however, long-ranged cameras have been used with success, and helmet cameras...

Users of the Dulles Toll Road can expect to pay more in 2019, according to a 2018 draft budget presented to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board today.No increase from the $3.50 toll ($2.50 at the plaza and $1 at the ramp) is planned in 2018; however, it is expected to jump to $4.75 the following year. Numbers presented by the Board’s Finance Committee show that is only the beginning of the hikes.In 2023, the toll is projected to go up to $6. Additional jumps of $1.25 or more are projected every five years for the following two decades, resulting...

LOS ANGELES (FOX 11 / CNS) - The City Council on Wednesday approved a $650,000 payout for a man who successfully fought how the city of Los Angeles processes challenges to parking tickets. Cody Weiss, who sued the city in 2014 after he received a parking ticket, argued that the city unlawfully allows a private for-profit company to process challenges to tickets. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled in his favor last year, and the decision was upheld by the Second District Court of Appeal. City Attorney Mike Feuer petitioned the California Supreme Court to review the appellate decision,...

Speed cameras became a cash cow for the small village of New Miami, Ohio. The town, with a population of about 2,200, collected over $3 million in revenue from heavy-footed motorists after it installed stand-alone speed cameras along one of its major throughways, US 127. The speed cameras in New Miami, which is less than one square mile, automatically fined motorists $95 if they drove faster than 50 miles per hour. It proved to be a lucrative venture for the village just 35 miles north of Cincinnati. Flush with cash, it raised its annual budget from roughly $1.5 million to...

Why is China’s huge toll road system running massive losses despite billions of income from toll fees? It’s another strategy devised by the communist regime to siphon wealth from the public, says Cai Shenkun, a well-known Chinese economist and blogger.The Chinese state operates the largest toll road system in the world. Toll roads across the country collect more than 400 billion yuan (US$60 billion) each year. But strangely, this profitable monopoly industry reports huge losses year after year. According to recently released data by China’s Ministry of Transportation, revenue from toll roads was 409.78 billion yuan in 2015 while operating...

A former Chicago transportation official was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for taking bribes to steer $100 million in red-light camera contracts to a company in Phoenix. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall sentenced John Bills, 55, in Chicago moments after he apologized for his actions. Federal prosecutors had asked the judge for at least a 10-year prison sentence. The former second-in-command at Chicago's Department of Transportation was convicted in January of bribery, conspiracy and extortion. Bills was accused of accepting envelopes stuffed with cash, along with gifts — including condos in two states and a Mercedes — to...

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has announced with members of the state general assembly a plan allowing the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to add at least one additional lane in each direction to a 25-mile stretch of Interstate 55 near Chicago using a public-private partnership (P3) agreement. IDOT is allowed to use P3 agreements only if the general assembly adopts a resolution supporting a proposed project, a state law in place since 2011. This would be the first P3 managed lane project in the state. “By using existing resources to leverage private investment, we can build the type of infrastructure...

Joel Ramer and his girlfriend got stuck off-roading this old Jeep Cherokee on a powerline road in Walpole, Massachusetts last week. Seems egregious that he was arrested for trespassing and disturbing the peace, but the $48,000 recovery charge is downright offensive. It’s unclear whether Ramer got slapped with a trespassing charge after calling for help, or if somebody spotted and busted him while he was screwing around in the mud. And yeah, you can be jailed for that in Massachusetts. But after Walpole PD rolled up on him Fox25 says the cops called what is presumably their go-to recovery outfit,...

SEATTLE -- Panhandlers carry them. Protestors call them essential. But one Seattle man's sign -- warning of a speed trap -- has been dubbed illegal and could end up costing him $138. "I thought it was nonsense," said Daniel Gehlke, who made the handwritten sign "Cops Ahead! Stop at sign and light!" with a marker and a Rubbermaid top. "I am a believer that the Constitution, the Bill of Rights are there specifically so they can't be modified or restricted. This clearly is not a stop sign." Gehlke was holding the sign near 14th Avenue S. and S. Washington Street...

Karen Finley, former CEO of the Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems, pleaded guilty today in federal court to an eight-year bribery-and-fraud scheme that helped the company retain photo-enforcement contracts with two Ohio cities. Finley, 55, of Cave Creek, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Terence P. Kemp of the Southern District of Ohio to a charge of "conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and honest services wire and mail fraud," the U.S. Department of Justice announced this morning. She resigned from the company in 2013 after the corruption scheme was alleged by a whistle-blower. Top executives in Redflex's Australian-based parent company,...

A former chief executive officer of the red-light camera company Redflex has pleaded guilty to bribing Columbus elected officials - including Council President Andrew Ginther - through the Ohio Democratic Party to install the cameras and keep them operating in the city. Karen L. Finley, 55, of Cave Creek, Ariz., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, according a press release from Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. Records from the U.S. District in Columbus show that from 2005 to 2013, Finley made campaign contributions to elected public officials in...

MIAMI (Reuters) - As courts across the United States struggle to determine the legality of red-light cameras, drivers are slipping through a patchwork of often conflicting laws to avoid millions in fines. Two south Florida judges dismissed 24,000 red-light tickets worth an estimated $6.3 million earlier this week over concerns Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions Inc (ATS), which provides the cameras, was too involved in the outcome of cases. By Florida law "the police have certain powers they cannot delegate to private vendors," said Ted Hollander, who represented the Florida drivers. "What we found in testimony is that (the company) had...

Breaking the law in Finland will cost you, but exactly how much depends on a couple of things. One is the severity of the crime committed, and the other is the lawbreaker's income. The latter factor is in place to ensure that punishments are equally felt by all be they rich or poor. Due to his millionaire status, Reima Kuisla was handed a roughly 60 thousand dollar ticket for traveling 14 miles per hour over the posted limit. Before issuing the citation, authorities looked up the man's 2013 tax return and calculated the amount accordingly.Though the ticket value is based...