“What we’re seeing right now is with this abnormal, very, very warm weather that insects are becoming active,” said Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Maryland, Mike Raupp, also known as The Bug Guy.

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Raupp told 草莓传媒 that some insects like ladybugs and stink bugs that have been wintering in homes are already starting to try to move outside, and expects to see them once temperatures reach the 60s or 70s. That’s because insect development is temperature dependent, Raupp said.

“The warmer it is, the quicker they develop, the more active they become,” he said.

Raupp added that some home invader insects could show up in some homes soon. He also said that ticks are active and mason bees could begin showing up within the next week or two.

Raupp said that the earlier than normal arrival of insects does not necessarily mean that they will be any harder on your plants than in previous years, and actually, it may extend the growing season.

“It simply means in a warming world that we’re in right now, that pests are going to start earlier. But you could also be able, we hope, to plant earlier,” he said.

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Del. Melissa Wells introduced in the Maryland General Assembly last month, which would require a landlord to notify a tenant of rent increases of 4% or more with at least 120 days’ 鈥� or four months’ 鈥� notice.

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Wells said she introduced the bill after hearing about the large rent increases that many Marylanders were seeing.

“I saw some people in Baltimore whose rents went up by like $1,000 a month,” she told 草莓传媒.

Wells said she is hoping that the bill will give renters more time to make a decision and to potentially find a new, more affordable home.

“This would also help individuals basically be able to make a decision not from a point of crisis about whether they should stay in their existing lease,” she said.

Wells previously introduced the bill in 2022, but said it did not pass in the Senate.

There is no statewide law requiring notice of rent increases in Maryland. Montgomery County requires landlords to give 90 days’ notice when raising rents. Takoma Park and Baltimore City landlords are required to provide 60 days’ notice before increasing rent.

Wells also said the bill is not about rent control, but she will be working on other ways to address affordability issues.

“We need to also address affordability, but like, this is probably the one of the lowest cost ways that we can maybe help address individuals that might end up in the revolving door of the failure to pay rent and eviction court process,” she said.

During a hearing about the bill Feb. 7, Economic Action Maryland Tenant Advocacy Coordinator Michael Donnelly said the measure is needed.

“They get a lease proposed to them for another 鈥� year but it’s massively unaffordable and without enough time to find alternative housing to like, get moving, to change where they live and find other affordable housing, they’re stuck either paying much higher unaffordable rents or they shift to a month-to-month and it’s even higher 鈥� and at that point they have even less security than on a one-year lease,” Donnelly said.

Laura Graziano of the Maryland Multi-Housing Association, an association for owners and managers of multifamily homes and apartments, said during the hearing that MMHA is requesting an amendment to the bill that would change the proposed requirement of notice to 60 days. She also said the association like to remove any reference to an increase cap and would be willing to provide notice to tenants of any rent increase.

She said the amendment would be consistent with an existing law which requires landlords to give notice if they do not want to renew a tenant’s lease in a year-to-year lease, at least 90 days before.

“The current proposal of 120 [days] is a little unworkable,” she said. “It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to notify someone of a rent increase at 120 days if we as the landlord haven’t determined that we’re going to continue on with this relationship, which we’re required to do at 90 days.”

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at Black Jack, Tilt Side Bar and Pearl Dive Oyster Palace starts Friday at 5 p.m. and features a Mardi Gras themed cocktail menu, Creole-inspired dishes, a masquerade ball and bayou all-you-can-eat drag brunch. The brunch is invitation only. .

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Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The event features live music, food and drink specials on 8th Street.

The Wharf will hold its with a mile-long parade featuring floats, stilt walkers and live music, starting at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The parade also features appearances by Eastern High School Marching Band, the Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents, the Wizards’ G-Wiz and Batal谩 Washington.

A dance party to continue the celebration at the Wharf starts at 4:30 p.m., with live music by the Naptown Brass Band. At 6:30 p.m., a fireworks finale will finish off the celebrations.

On Saturday, a Bourdon to U Street Mardi Gras Bar Crawl is being hosted from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at seven bars. It features DJs, a blues style brass band, plenty of Mardi Gras beads, hurricanes and other drink and food specials. for $20.

from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Attendants can expect New Orleans offerings, such as Cajun food, king cakes, a live jazz band and more.

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The Tuckerman Lane project would reduce 1.17-mile stretch of the road from four lanes to two lanes (with one lane going in each direction) between Old Georgetown Road to Rockville Pike in North Bethesda. The project would use flexible plastic posts to close off existing lanes. The goal of the project is to enhance safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

“The intent of this diet is to reduce the crossing distance for pedestrians and bicycles using Bethesda Trolley Trail,” said Michael Paylor, chief of Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s Traffic Engineering and Operations Division.

Paylor presented a video showing people nearly getting hit by vehicles while crossing the section of road where the project is set to take place.

“You can see bicyclists and pedestrians crossing the road in front of moving vehicles without using the pedestrian hybrid beacon, and near-crashes occurring,” he said. “You’ll see in a few moments as a jogger that’s about to come into view and he’s about to be struck by this vehicle and the car stops at the last minute.”

Earlier this year, a jogger was killed after being struck on another stretch of Tuckerman Lane 鈥� where a woman was also killed crossing the street in 2019.

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Several residents shared their thoughts about the proposed project during the meeting 鈥� and many were not happy about it.

“It seems to me that what’s going to occur here is only going to cause traffic jams,” said one man.

Artur Kalil said he thinks the project does not address the traffic safety issues in the right way.

“You’re creating more problems to try to solve a problem that won’t be just because of … behaviors, not because of the way it’s designed,” said Kalil. “You’re trying to out-engineer a problem that’s not an engineering problem to begin with. It’s a behavioral issue.”

Elyse Grossman asked if Montgomery County DOT thought about looking at the use of the road during different times when planning the project.

“It seems like maybe you went out once or twice and said, ‘OK, this is a problem, but it’s a very different road depending on what time of day, whether it’s a weekday or a weekend, whether it’s raining,'” she said. “And if the issue is just where the trolley trail is, there has to be a way to address that without ruining the entire road for those who live there and who want to get home.”

If implemented, a decision will be made about whether or not to make the project permanent in one year.

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D.C. police have released the name of a suspect connected to an assault in Anacostia Friday morning, and another man who was shot by an officer investigating that assault.

In a news release sent out on Sunday, police identified 38-year-old Steven Shaw of Northeast D.C. as the man who was shot by an officer canvassing the area after the reported assault. Police have not connected Shaw to the assault.

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Police said the shooting occurred just before 10 a.m. on the 1300 block of Good Hope Road after an officer investigating an assault saw Shaw entering a parked car on the passenger side and, believing that he may be the suspect in the assault, ordered Shaw to get out of the car and to “stop reaching.”

Police said that after Shaw refused to comply with the officer’s commands and reached into his waistband, the officer fired his gun, striking Shaw.

As police pulled him from the burgundy Jeep, the driver of the vehicle, an unidentified woman, left the scene.

After Shaw was taken from the vehicle and handcuffed, he was taken to the hospital for treatment of his wounds. As Shaw was being treated, officials discovered he had a quantity of “suspected cocaine” with him, according to the release.

Police said they arrested and charged Shaw on Friday for possession with intent to distribute.

Police said the officer involved with the shooting has been placed on administrative leave as internal teams investigate the incident. Body camera footage from the shooting is also being reviewed.

Separately, police said they have identified the suspect in the original assault. Wallace Lewis, 59, of Southeast Lewis was arrested and charged Friday with assault with significant bodily injury and threats to do bodily harm.

In the news release, police say he struck a woman with a metal box during an argument and threatened the woman. Last week, police said the assault involved a pipe.

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At the event, members of the Park Service and others spoke about the legacy of Lincoln. As well, there was a reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address of 1863.

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Mike Litterst, a spokesperson for the National Mall, said what Lincoln dealt with during his presidency relates to today.

鈥淵ou look at what Abraham Lincoln went through in his presidency: guiding the nation through the Civil War; he reunites the United States; he frees more than four million enslaved people. And the issues that he deals with are many issues that are on the forefront of what the nation is grappling with today,鈥� he said.

During the ceremony, wreaths from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee and other organizations were presented.

Michael Null of Austin, Texas, helped present one of the wreaths. He said it is important that the principles Lincoln stood for continue to live on.

鈥淚f you don’t memorialize that, don’t put it in textbooks, don’t bring it up in classrooms, people might not remember,鈥� he said.

鈥淓veryone can reflect back on what it meant for Lincoln to do that at the time when the nation was so divided.鈥�

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Since 2010, people have been taking part in these undie runs in D.C. and other U.S. cities to raise money for research on neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder of the nervous system that mainly affects how nerve cells form and grow.

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鈥淲e鈥檙e here today fundraising for [neurofibromatosis], and the money goes to the Children’s Tumor Foundation,鈥� Co-Race Director David Dosberg said.

He said, at last check, that the runners at the D.C. event raised about $140,000 this year.

Some come back to the run year after year, like Ben Burdick and Megan Thynge.

鈥淲e’ve done it every year for the past 10 years. It raises money every year for the Children’s Tumor foundation and our son is affected by neurofibromatosis, NF, which is the reason for this run,鈥� Burdick said.

They both said the money raised from the events has been very helpful for people, like their son, who are living with the disorder.

Fortunately for the runners, Saturday was a pretty warm day, but Thynge recalled years when it was a little tough to run in just underwear.

鈥淲e’ve had years when we ran in the snow. We’ve had years when it’s been like seven degrees, but today is an awesome day. Sunny and beautiful,鈥� she said.

Dc鈥檚 annual Cupid鈥檚 Undie Run is underway here at The Wharf!

鈥� Stetson Miller (@stetsonmreports)

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CBS 草莓传媒 Travel Editor Peter Greenberg said airfares will remain expensive because airlines have been cutting back in some respects, even though people are still looking to travel.

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鈥淎irlines are shrinking capacity; they’re reallocating their airplanes to other regions that are not in the United States,” he said. “A lot of airlines have cut or completely eliminated service to many U.S. cities. And as a result, with the demand not decreasing, we are now living in the supply and demand rule where those prices have nowhere to go but up.鈥�

He also said some airlines are deciding to cut back because some of these routes are no longer economically viable.

鈥淭hose 50-seat regional jets are so costly to operate right now based on pilot salary, bonuses, cost of fuel, other costs of operation that in order for them to turn a profit, they have to be 95% full before they can do that. Well that just doesn’t make any sense,鈥� Greenberg said.

Try France instead of Fort Lauderdale

To save some money on spring or summer travel, Greenberg recommended travelers look at flights to Europe.

鈥淚nstead of Fort Lauderdale, try France. And the reason for that is the power of the U.S. dollar against the euro and so much competition now across the North Atlantic. Airlines have doubled 鈥� in some cases tripled 鈥� down on their service across that body of water,鈥� Greenberg said.

He said some round-trip fares across the pond only cost $398.

For travelers who want to save while looking to stay domestic, look for pop-up fare sales on airlines like Southwest Airlines and Breeze Airways, with some sale fares starting as low as $29.

Beware ‘junk’ fees

But look out for extra fees on many of those low-cost carriers, Greenberg said.

鈥淭hey’re going to charge you for everything short of breathing, in terms of fees,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e heard President Biden talk about the junk fees. Well, those low fare airlines 鈥� that’s the festival of junk fees. So, you have to be at least aware of that when budgeting your trip.鈥�

The cheapest fares from D.C. airports can be found going to Midwest cities, Greenberg said. He also said traveling during the “shoulder months” 鈥� April, May, September, October and November 鈥� could save you some money on airfare this year.

One bit of good news for travelers is that many are combining leisure and business trips, which could benefit consumers, according to Greenberg.

鈥淭he one thing that left the whole world of travel during the pandemic is seasonality, we’re no longer planning our summer travel or spring travel,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re combining our leisure trips with our business travel. So the original models of traveling and pricing have been turned upside down and that, in the long-run, can only benefit travelers.鈥�

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The county began installing eight cameras in school zones on Friday, promising two additional school zones at a later date.

The cameras come after county officials surveyed five school zones in 2022 and found that thousands of drivers exceeded the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.

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The county said the following schools will see cameras installed:

• Chesterbrook Elementary School: Kirby Road near the school (Dranesville District)
• Irving Middle School: Old Keene Mill Road near the school (Braddock District)
• Key Middle School: Franconia Road- near the school (Franconia District)
• London Towne Elementary School: Stone Road near the school (Sully District)
• Sleepy Hollow Elementary School: Sleepy Hollow Road near the school (Mason District)
• South County Middle School: Silverbrook Road near the school (Mt. Vernon District)
• Terraset Elementary School: Soapstone Drive near the school (Hunter Mill District)
• West Springfield High School: Rolling Road near the school (Springfield District)

Two additional cameras near Oakton High School (Blake Lane near Sutton Road) and at Route 28 (near Old Mill Road) will be installed later.

The program’s goal is to improve safety, while reducing crashes and injuries, .

“This program, in coordination with the Police Department and Fairfax County Public Schools, is a critical tool to deter dangerous behavior and ultimately save lives,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay in a statement. “As you drive in our neighborhoods and school zones 鈥� the message is clear, please take a moment to slow down.”

An escalating fine structure, starting at 10 miles above the speed limit, is in place for the program with fines maxing out at $100. No points or insurance impacts will result from a speed camera citation.

For the first 30 days of the program, drivers will only receive a warning if the speed camera captures them speeding.

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Northern Virginia-based food bank opened a new expanded facility on Thursday that includes a grocery-store like shopping experience for people that rely on them.

The 10,391-square-foot expansion includes 鈥淢y Market,鈥� a space for people to pick out food for themselves from shelves and coolers.

鈥淯ntil now, people have just come to the warehouse and received a box of food,鈥� said Glenn Rosenthal, a donor and volunteer with the food bank. 鈥淭his enables them to come into a facility where they can choose their own food with dignity.鈥�

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Giving people those choices and allowing them to shop for their own food is important, executive director Annie Turner told 草莓传媒.

鈥淚t’s difficult to come to a food pantry. It takes a lot of courage,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd so to provide a place that’s less institutional and more like a grocery store, it’s more welcoming. It’s more respectful.鈥�

Turner said the space also allows them to serve more people and the need has been growing. In 2022, the organization distributed 3.7 million pounds of food to 49,893 households, a 28% increase from the year before.

鈥淏ack in March when inflation hit and the gas prices, food prices skyrocketed, that’s when we started seeing the uptick again up to 200, 250 (families) per day,鈥� Turner said.

Clients become eligible to shop at the market though U.S. Department of Agriculture support, or with a referral.

Turner also said the market distributed 82,000 pounds of food in its first two weeks.

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According to , which looked at USDA and Federal Reserve Economic Data, costs for chicken wings, avocados, sirloin steak, bacon and shrimp have all gone down.

The report said that whole chicken wings dropped from $3.38 per pound in February 2022 to $2.65 in January, thanks to the supply of chickens being at the highest level since the beginning of 2019.

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Sirloin steak prices have dropped almost a $1 per pound since last December.

Avocados are 20% cheaper with the average price dropping from $1.50 per pound in February 2022 to $1.20 in January.

But high prices persist and the report found that some food and drinks still could cost you more than they did during Super Bowl 56. In particular, the cost of hamburgers, beer, soda, wine and spirits all up.

Beer has gone up by 11% since January 2022 while at the same time, spirits and wine increased by 2% and 4% respectively, the report said. Also, the rise in ingredients and shipping costs show a 25% increase in prices of soft drinks.

Michael Swanson, who is Wells Fargo’s chief agricultural economist and who wrote the report, suggests the following tips to get people ready for the Super Bowl.

• Contemplate wine or spirits over the traditional beer to cheer on your team
• Guac the table with avocado-focused appetizers
• Help yourself to hamburgers
• Look for sales on wings at the grocery store and your favorite restaurant
• Make a bunch of cocktails and use an array of fruits on the side for garnishes

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The would not only decriminalize street vending, but also wave currently unpaid citations for vendors, making it easier for street vendors to get licenses. It would also establish zones for sidewalk vending.

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“The decriminalization piece is very important because there’s just really no need to involve the police when somebody is vending without a license,” said Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, who introduced the legislation alongside Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.

“Our licensing agency has the authority to go out and issue citations, and that’s how it should be handled,鈥� she added.

Nadeau has introduced similar legislation in the past to assist street vendors. She says the process to get licensed is difficult.

鈥淚t’s incredibly expensive and it’s onerous, and there is a significant amount of red tape,鈥� she said.

Eloisa Diaz, an empanada street vendor who has been selling for the last four years, told 草莓传媒 that being a street vendor in the District is stressful and difficult. She said that many vendors have had issues with police who confront them for selling without a license.

“We need support from the city to help us to be free, and be independent and not have any difficulty with the police because it’s a hard struggle to sell outside,鈥� said Diaz.

She said she appreciates the council members who have drafted up the legislation.

鈥淚 was so excited and screaming when somebody called me and told me Mr. Mendelson … is trying to help us get a better way to get the license,鈥� she said.

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Prince George’s County Council Vice Chair Wala Blegay told 草莓传媒 that the public safety forum presented an opportunity for dialogue between constituents and stakeholders, and that its purpose was to hear more about the community’s concerns and to talk about what can be done to mitigate the issues.

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鈥淚t is important that we create a safe space for residents to express their public safety needs and concerns. The root causes of crime in our communities must be addressed, and we want the community to be a part of the conversation as we work towards effective solutions,” . “Enhancing the quality of life for the residents of Prince George鈥檚 County is a Council priority 鈥� it is of major importance to me and my colleagues.”

鈥淭here鈥檚 been too many killings, carjackings, all of these things, and people don’t know what’s going on,鈥� Blegay said. 鈥淎 lot of people reached out and said ‘why aren鈥檛 you all doing anything about this crime? The crime is increasing.'”

Christopher Hammond was one of the people who voiced his concerns about the amount of crime happening in the community. He said he was concerned about the amount of drug activity happening at the BP gas station on Pennsylvania Avenue near Walters Lane.

鈥淲e just want to be as engaged as much as possible as a voting block for our community … We can all unify behind the concerns of the things that happened, not only in the larger community specifically right there in that hub of what has grown into be a crime area,鈥� Hammond said.

The gas station was shut down, which caused a drop in loitering and criminal activity, and officers have been deployed there 24 hours a day. Hammond asked stakeholders if there was a more permanent plan in place to prevent crime there.

鈥淲e want to know how the law enforcement will engage to make long-term solutions,鈥� he said. One stakeholder said that one solution is to create more opportunities for young people who have been arrested.

Blegay said it’s because of concerns like Hammond’s that she held the forum. She said she wanted constituents to be able to talk about crime directly with her, members of law enforcement and other community leaders who were present at the forum.

One of the concerns she says the council will focus on is trying to fix staffing issues with departments, like the police, to reduce crime.

鈥淧eople say ‘we want to make sure that we have more police on the street.’ Well, you don鈥檛 have enough police on the street because they鈥檙e saying they don鈥檛 have enough staffing,鈥� Blagey said.

She said she wants people to know they鈥檙e working to address the crime issues聽by getting more funding to address law enforcement staffing problems.

Blegay said she will be holding more community discussions in the future.

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If you are looking for inspiration for your next vacation, you might want to check out the happening this weekend at the Washington Convention Center.

Attendees will be able to meet travel experts from around the world. Cruise line and tour operators will also be at the show.

“There’s over 230 exhibitors here from all over the world. So, you meet people face to face and ask them, ‘What should I do when I come to either your state or your country or your city?’鈥� said Samantha Brown, host of the PBS show 鈥溾�� and a keynote speaker of the event.

Other speakers include travel writer and actor Andrew McCarthy, CBS 草莓传媒 Travel Editor Peter Greenberg and Patricia Schultz, bestselling author of “1000 Places to See Before You Die.”

The show will host 30 sessions, where travel experts will cover various vacation topics: packing and travel technology, how to travel solo, budget hacks, minimizing environmental impact through sustainable travel, destination-specific information on when to go, how to get there, what to see and off-the-beaten-path attractions.

Brown told 草莓传媒 she will recommend some relatively undiscovered destinations during her keynote address.

“Going to where people aren’t going is going to be a huge travel trend going forward,鈥� she said.

Attendees can also access tens-of-thousands of dollars in exclusive travel deals and specials throughout the weekend.

The show runs from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Single-day tickets are available for $11 for one day or $18 for both days at the show’s . Tickets are available on site for $16 for one day or $24 for both days, cash only. Children 16 and under as well as Active-Duty Military + 4 family members can get tickets for free and must show ID.

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In a , deputies said they responded to the Target on Stafford Market Place in Virginia on Jan. 26 after getting a call about an intoxicated man at the store.

When deputies got there, they found a 54-year-old man in front of his car with bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, claiming he went to the store to buy more beer.

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The sheriff鈥檚 office said that according to security video, the man had driven to the Target, then entered the store with a half empty bottle of Corona beer in-hand.

Deputies claim when they searched the man’s car they found multiple suspected controlled substances and other paraphernalia.

The sheriff鈥檚 office also discovered that the suspect had an active warrant out of Newport 草莓传媒 for violation of a court order. He was then arrested and taken into custody.

After the man had been transported, he urinated on the ground and began acting aggressive towards two deputies. As they attempted to deescalate the situation, he allegedly assaulted them. He eventually apologized to the deputies but continued making threats toward them.

The man is facing nine charges, including driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia, disorderly conduct, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of assault on law enforcement and vandalism for the urination.

He was served on all nine charges, as well as his outstanding warrant. He is now being held in jail without bond.

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