Land O Lakes -

The Land O' Lakes sinkhole that first opened weeks ago has grown by another 30 feet. Now two more homes are condemned and even more evacuated.

Another piece fell in like yesterday and you never know if another ones going to come over here, homeowner Lorelis Prieto said.

It's a moment Lorelis will always remember.

I just kept hearing pieces falling and there was water and I saw a palm tree go down and Im like immediately I was getting stuff out of my house because I didnt know how big it was going to grow, if it was going to stop, she said.

The Land O' Lakes sinkhole swallowing two homes, just a few doors down. Now county officials confirm that sinkhole has grown by another 30 feet, making it about 260 feet at the widest point.

"200 feet away there was this huge massive hole that opened up in the ground and like in the middle of the night anything can happen so I dont think I'd be coming back," Lorelis said.

County officials said some of their equipment may have caused the additional collapse but they don't think this is an active sinkhole.

Over the weekend, dozens of dump trucks bring lime stone and boulders to steady the sinkhole. Crews are even planning to create a boat ramp so a small barge can work from the inside. Right now, this site is a spectacle.

Shows you theres not much to do in land o lakes on a Saturday night, one neighbor said. Just hope that they can get it fixed and people can get back home and their homes are safe."

Crews are cleaning debris throughout the weekend.

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Sinkhole draws neighbors checking out progress - ABC Action News

OMAHA, Neb.

A big breakthrough for Omaha's sewer separation project took place Saturday when a giant tunnel-boring machine drilled through a shaft in Heartland America Park. This moves one of the city's newest sewer mains forward, after some major setbacks and big costs.

"It's a big relief seeing this tunnel machine show up today," said Scott Aurit, the project delivery team lead for the Clean Solutions for Omaha program.

The tunnel 80 feet under Heartland America Park is just a small piece of the massive CSO project, which is aimed at reducing waste from flowing into the Missouri River.

In December 2015, construction workers began digging the 3,500-foot tunnel, starting near Sixth and Leavenworth and working toward the northeast corner of Heartland America Park.

Work came to a halt in May 2016 when the tunnel-boring machine got stuck underground.

"Our machine that was designed to go through rock was unable to continue tunneling because we started encountering boulders and also ground water conditions," Aurit said.

The hiccup cost the city an additional $2.5 million, bringing the portion of the CSO project to more than $30 million and pushing the completion date back by a year.

"The contractors have done a really good job working diligently and we've been maintaining the schedule to complete this by the end of the year," Aurit said.

Workers built a new shaft to reach the trapped drill and brought in a bigger and better tunnel-boring machine. They started working from the opposite direction, and Saturday nearly finished drilling the 900 feet of the tunnel that the old machine couldn't.

With the new machine reaching the shaft, the current phase of the project is almost complete. Next, workers will install another pipe, test it and hope to start operation by October or November.

"Replacing our aging and our old infrastructure as well as maximizing," Aurit said. "We want to try and get as much flow to the Missouri River treatment plant for treatment."

While the new machine reached the shaft Saturday, it still has a little ways to go. It only moves about five feet every hour.

Workers will also remove the machine that's stuck sometime next week.

The total cost of the CSO project is $2.2 billion.

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Big progress for new sewage pipe project in Heartland America Park - KETV Omaha

IOWA CITY Six practices into fall camp and four Saturdays away from its season-opening game against Wyoming, the Iowa football team remains a little rough around the edges.

The Hawkeyes areas of need are mostly on what coach Kirk Ferentz labels the perimeter, in the secondary on defense and at receiver, tight end and quarterback on offense.

Every time you start a new season, you have new challenges, new opportunities, said Ferentz, preparing for his 19th season as Iowas head coach. Its a different equation every year and the trick is to put it all together.

That remains a work in progress, particularly behind center where sophomore Nathan Stanley and junior Tyler Wiegers continue to battle for the opportunity to replace C.J. Beathard as the Hawkeyes starter.

Were making each other better, Stanley said. Were close friends competing for the same thing, but in doing that we are moving each other forward.

I think weve both gotten better and we worked hard this summer and I feel like things went well, Wiegers said. We came back to camp ready to go. Weve both been working at it. Its a good competition for both of us.

Ferentz said Saturday it remains an ongoing competition.

Both continue to split reps with the first-team offense and ultimately, Ferentz said coaches believe Iowa can be successful with either quarterback.

Theyve made strides since last spring, certainly, and they have improved in the last couple days, as well, Ferentz said.

Quarterbacks coach Ken OKeefe said the pair have had their ups and downs during the first week of fall camp.

Thats normal. One will look good one day, the other the next. This past week was a little like spring in that we were starting up again, working to get back in the routine and that leads to a little inconsistency, OKeefe said.

History tells me that we can probably expect the same for about another week. I dont think were going to see one guy separate this next week. Id be surprised by that.

OKeefe helped the Hawkeyes break in Brad Banks, Nathan Chandler, Drew Tate, Ricky Stanzi and James Vandenberg as successful first-year starters during his previous tenure as Iowas offensive coordinator.

As was the case then, every statistic is being documented. Every completion percentage, quarterback rating number, throw times, plusses, minuses, theyre all being charted.

They will all be discussed, reviewed, reviewed again and ultimately will factor into a decision.

You cant rush it, though, OKeefe said. As much as you would like me to stand here today and say this is the guy, I cant say that because we arent at that point yet. Thats the reality of it.

First-year offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz doesnt expect or want to be in a position where Iowa would platoon two quarterbacks and let a final decision play out on the field once the season starts.

What we want is what is best for the team and Ive never been around a situation where a two-quarterback rotation of some sort was best for the team, he said.

He believes that Iowas current situation at quarterback isnt necessarily a bad one.

We have two guys working hard, two guys who their teammates believe in and two guys who are capable of leading our football team. Thats a good thing, Brian Ferentz said. The tough thing is that only one of them can start and I still believe that will sort itself out on the field.

A year ago as a true freshman, the 6-foot-5, 212-pound Stanley completed 5 of 9 passes for 62 yards. Wiegers didnt play last fall, but did complete 3 of 4 passes for 32 yards as Iowas back-up in 2015.

Both said they have benefitted from OKeefes knowledge and experience, providing them with tips that are helping them grow as quarterbacks.

All we can do right now is keep working to be consistent, Wiegers said. Thats the main thing. Every day, you want to be as consistent as you can.

Stanley said ultimately, that will likely be the difference-maker.

The consistency is the big thing that I think were both working toward, he said. All we can do every day is show up ready to work and try to put our best out there with every snap we get.

As the second week of camp begins, the Hawkeyes continue to seek answers at receiver, where Matt VandeBerg has enjoyed a good opening week of camp in his return from two foot surgeries.

He has 106 career catches on his resume, the extent of the experience at Iowa for current Hawkeye receivers.

The group is working hard, making progress, receivers coach Kelton Copeland said. Its a daily thing, trying to take one, two steps forward and eventually, it will work.

Junior-college transfer Nick Easley currently joins VandeBerg on the top of the depth chart, but one week into camp Copeland has been pleased with the progress Adrian Falconer has made since spring and he likes the potential he sees in a collection of four true freshmen.

Were going to need some help from them and they came in ready to compete, Copeland said.

On defense, Kirk Ferentz said the Hawkeyes will also likely need help from at least a couple of the four true freshmen Iowa brought in at cornerback.

Theres been a lot written and said about our youth at the receiver position, but I would say thats who we are on the back end (on defense), too, Ferentz said. Were just really young on the perimeter right now. Young, inexperienced, that is us at the corners, at safety and at receiver. Quarterback, too. Thats our team in a nutshell right now.

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Iowa football: Hawkeyes remain a work in progress - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

The Burnout Road Fire on Chuckanut Mountain was 80 percent contained as of Saturday afternoon.

The fire was estimated at 48 acres, though the state Department of Natural Resources said fire does not mean flame, but hot embers, coals, that need to be brought to the surface and extinguished by mixing with water.

The fire is 6 miles southeast of the Lost Lake Trailhead of the Larrabee State Park.

It is on Department of Natural Resources and private land.

There are about 104 people working the fire. They have been helped by higher moisture content in the air, cooler temperatures and calm winds.

Meanwhile, the Suiattle Fire that is 9 miles northeast of Darrington increased in size from Friday.

The fire is now at 216 acres and 25 percent contained. The fire was 200 acres with 15 percent containment on Friday.

There are 356 people fighting that fire.

The causes of both fires are under investigation.

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More progress made on Chuckanut fire - goskagit.com

Jamie Collins has felt great in his first training camp with the Browns but somethings been missing.

Hue Jackson has been on the lookout for it, too.

Getting the ball out, Collins said. I cant get the ball out enough.

Collins, who is one of the best in the league at popping the ball out and doing something with it when he gets his hands on it, was speaking for himself, but the Browns defense as a whole is echoing the same mantra.

See ball, get ball has been heard countless times from defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, but the Browns defense isnt close to satisfied with how many times its followed through with the edict. At Fridays Orange and Brown Scrimmage, the defense nabbed one interception, when undrafted free agent J.D. Harmon came away with a jump ball thrown by wide receiver Corey Coleman, but felt like there were more for the taking.

Just trying to get to the ball a little more and creating more turnovers, defensive back Joe Haden said. We didnt have too many strips or interceptions so that is something else that we need to work on. Besides that, the tackling was really good and the communication was really good.

Its one of the main reasons why Clevelands defense feels good about what its accomplished thus far but, as Myles Garrett said Friday, is nowhere near satisfaction.

Simply put, the Browns want to force way more turnovers than they did last season, when they ranked 30th in total takeaways with 10 interceptions and three forced fumbles. The Browns turnover margin of minus-12 was 29th while five of the leagues top six were playoff teams.

All 10 of those interceptions came from cornerbacks, something the team would like to see diversified a bit in the upcoming season. Haden, who had three of them while dealing with multiple injuries, believes hell personally help pad the total after a training camp at which turnovers are emphasized the moment he parks his car at the Berea facility.

Just trying to be locked in and just trying to play my coverage. When I am in good shape, make sure to get my head around and create turnovers that is the biggest thing. Just trying to get the ball back to the offense. I feel like with my playmaking skills, when I know I am in good shape, being able to get my head around.

At the start of camp, as he evaluated the quarterback competition and offense as a whole, Browns coach Hue Jackson was thrilled with the lack of turnovers. Following the first off day of camp, a thorough analysis of the film gave him mixed feelings because, well, hes the coach of the entire team, not just the offense. He wanted to see more turnovers, even if it meant the competing quarterbacks were throwing them.

Later that day, the defense delivered with interceptions to end back-to-back two-minute drills.

We just have to come up with more turnovers, Jackson said. That is what we are stressing. That is what we are after.

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Browns D happy with progress but itching for more turnovers - ClevelandBrowns.com

Bears rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky has steadily improved throughout training camp, but the second overall pick in the draft remains a work in progress.

The biggest area has been just understanding the offense, understanding what defenses look like, to start to be able to read coverages, said offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. Its a lot for a guy who has never taken a snap in pads under center.

Bears rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky has been focusing on pre-snap reads in practice.

Trubisky, who worked primarily out of the shotgun at North Carolina, is gaining valuable experience in camp against coordinator Vic Fangios defense.

Coach Fangio does a great job and runs more coverages than anyone in the NFL, Loggains said. So to see [Trubisky] get exposure to all that and be able to get as many reps as hes gotten has been tremendous.

The Bears traded up one spot in the draft to select Trubisky at No. 2, the franchises highest pick since 1951 when Notre Dame quarterback Bob Williams was also chosen second. Last year Trubisky set North Carolina passing records in his only season as a starter with 447 attempts, 304 completions, 3,748 yards and 30 touchdowns.

At North Carolina, Trubisky lined up and called protections based on signals from the sideline. With the Bears, protections are called in the huddle and can be changed at the line of scrimmage. Those pre-snap progressions may be the biggest adjustment the Bears' quarterback of the future faces as a rookie.

Loggains discussed other key topics while speaking to the media Friday for the first time since the Bears reported to training camp July 26.

On starting quarterback Mike Glennons comfort level:

Just being able to go through OTAs and go through the offseason and then having four or five weeks to study on his own. He organized a trip to Florida and that was a great experience for the guys. You feel a difference in the chemistry and those guys being able to communicate with each other. They got to know each others personalities. I think Mike is more comfortable now speaking to those guys.

On that chemistry paying dividends on the field:

I think Mike has an understanding of where a receiver is supposed to be, when hes going to get there, because each guy is different. We talked earlier about developing chemistry. Some of that comes from learning what your guy does well and what his strengths are.

On progress of offense in general:

Weve been pleased to this point with all three quarterbacks. [Receiver] Cam Meredith has become a much better practice player and has a good feel for the offense. Each guy has grown a little bit with the tight ends, the new guys. We do have a lot of new guys. Last year our offensive captains were Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery. Theyre gone. So theres an opportunity for a lot of the young guys to step up and were excited about those guys.

On rookie tight end Adam Shaheen:

Im really pleased with him so far with what hes done, especially in the passing game. Coming from a smaller school we knew that the biggest adjustment would be in the run blocking and pass protection. Hes done a nice job to this point.

On the impact of veteran receivers Victor Cruz, Kendall Wright and Markus Wheaton, all of whom were signed as free agents:

The No. 1 thing that has shown up is that this group is starting to hold each other accountable. They get on each other. Victor, Kendall and Wheaton, theyve done it at high levels and had a lot of production. They do help Kevin [White]. They do help Cam and the quarterbacks. They have difference experience they bring to the room which was a really young room.

On Wright, who played for Loggains with the Titans:

He has football savvy. When you look at himand he wont mind me saying thishes not fast. He has unbelievable lean. He just has a great feel to run twist routes and option routes and be able to get open and sit in zones. Thats what always has made him a good slot and a productive player in this league.

On White, who has missed 28 of 32 games due to injuries in his first two NFL seasons:

The biggest challenge for Kev is just being able to get out there and play and be able to play and stack multiple good days together. Its just getting those reps. Hes missed a lot. The growing experience, he might have got it mentally. But he needs to go out there and experience that and feel what its like to go against a press corner. Its been a long time since hes had an opportunity to do that and run the whole route tree. Weve got to figure out, Hey, this is what Kev does well. And maybe its everything. Maybe its seven or eight routes. Maybe its three or four. But we have to figure out what that is.

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Trubisky making steady progress in camp - Chicago Bears - ChicagoBears.com

Rwandan President Paul Kagame greets the crowd after addressing supporters at the closing rally of the presidential campaign in the capital, Kigali, this week. Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Rwandan President Paul Kagame greets the crowd after addressing supporters at the closing rally of the presidential campaign in the capital, Kigali, this week.

Updated at 7:15 a.m. ET Saturday

Some people walked hours to get to Shyira. They trekked down the steep hills that surround the small town in northern Rwanda last month not only to celebrate Liberation Day, but to get a close view of the country's president, Paul Kagame.

As music rose from the speakers, Kagame emerged from the behind the stage, a small man wearing his trademark black rim glasses.

The crowd went wild they waved; they sang; they screamed. At least there, you would be hard-pressed to find any detractors.

Angelique Nakure said Kagame has built schools and hospitals and he would do even more if he wins a third term.

"Kagame is the best president," Nakure said.

In Rwanda, many consider 59-year-old Kagame a national hero. He's the man who, 23 years ago, rallied a beleaguered group of rebels and marched into the capital Kigali to oust the government. While the international community just watched, his troops ended a genocide that killed some 800,000 people.

Kagame won 98 percent of the vote in Friday's election, with 80 percent of the votes counted, the electoral commission said.

His victory was widely expected.

But as he nears two decades in power, Kagame is in the midst of a mixed legacy: that of a leader who has ushered in peace, stability and progress and that of a brute with little patience for dissent.

"People have a reason to fear"

Frank Habineza, a 40-year-old politician, has tried for years to run for president as the candidate for the Democratic Green Party. But he says the government citing security concerns had blocked him from registering his party. This was the first election in which the Green Party was recognized, and Habineza made it on the ballot.

Sitting in his small office in Kigali, he says one should be very skeptical of what one hears on the streets of Rwanda.

"Rwandans are afraid of their government," he says.

When he tried to run for president in 2010, his deputy ended up dead and two of his colleagues ended up in jail. Fearing for his life, Habineza went into exile.

"We are beaten, our people imprisoned, others exiled," he says. "So basically, when people see all that, people have a reason to fear."

It's also not just political repression. Recently, Human Rights Watch issued a report that found Rwandan security services deal with petty crimes ruthlessly. The group found that one man was shot three times for allegedly stealing a cow; another was executed by the military for stealing bananas.

That version of Rwanda is definitely not what you see on the surface. Under Kagame's tenure, Rwanda has made significant strides toward becoming a middle-income society.

Roads are paved; streets are lit. The GDP has grown more than 1,000 percent since the genocide; life expectancy has shot up, from 28 years during the genocide to 64 years in 2015, and Rwanda has become one of the least corrupt countries on the continent. It's a place where all state employees post their supervisor's cellphone outside their office, and public officials are fired if they don't meet the stated goals in their performance contracts.

"Kagame has put Rwanda on another map today," says Albert Rudatsimburwa, a political analyst and an unapologetic fan of Kagame. "When he took over, he transformed a whole defeat into a success story."

Rudatsimburwa thinks Kagame is misunderstood. To him, Kagame is the last liberation leader on the continent, following in the footsteps of Yoweri Museveni in Uganda and Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.

"Except Kagame has learned from their mistakes," Rudatsimburwa says.

The political analyst is certain that Kagame doesn't plan to stay in power as long as Museveni or Mugabe, who has been in power for 37 years. But he says that Kagame also understands that Rwanda is fragile, still recovering from the kinds of tribal divisions that led to the 1994 genocide. Demanding the same kinds of freedoms that mature democracies enjoy, he says, is naive.

"Those democracies are based on an accumulated wealth that makes things run anyway so that people can play political games," he says. "This is not where Africa is and certainly not Rwanda."

"We deserve freedom"

Diane Rwigara, a 35-year-old accountant turned politician, lives in nearly the same neighborhood as the presidential palace.

A tall concrete wall surrounds her house, and when this reporter arrives, she asks if she can borrow his phone. She says she can't call friends from her phone line anymore because they're afraid they'll be linked to her.

"In Rwanda, you are guilty by association," she says.

Rwigara tried to run for president, but she says the government first shamed her by leaking naked photos of her and then put up insurmountable procedural hurdles.

For example, she had to collect signatures from supporters across the country to get on the ballot. But she says state security agents would show up beforehand and intimidate people. She says they told supporters it was treason to support her campaign.

"It's very dangerous," she says. "But the truth of the matter is people are tired. People are ready for change."

President Kagame declined NPR's request for an interview, but during a recent press conference he was asked directly about Rwigara's allegations.

He chuckled and then issued a couched condemnation.

"Let me assume what you are saying is correct," he said. "If anybody was denied their rights, it's absolutely wrong."

Rwigara says she is sure, if an election were free and fair, she could be president. She wants Rwandans to be able to question government policies. She says she wants Rwandans to be able to express views on simple things like whether farmers should be able to choose what crops they plant or whether the government should have spent millions building a state-of-the-art convention center.

"We deserve freedom," she says. "We're no different than any other human being. Like I said, that's just insulting to me to think that we need to be told what to say and what to do."

Kagame's re-election puts him in office for a third term. In 2015, 95 percent of Rwandans voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that extended the president's term limits. Under that new constitution, Kagame can serve until 2034.

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Rwanda's Kagame Has Ushered In Peace And Progress, And Crushed Dissent - NPR

CHICAGO Max Scherzer arrived at Wrigley Field on Friday morning with the intention of throwing his first bullpen session since cutting his start Tuesdayto one inning. He didnt, but not because hes still dealing with major discomfort in his neck. Instead, Scherzer and the Nationals postponed the session until Saturday and the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner is preparing to start Monday in Washington against the Marlins.

We were like, we can just throw a bullpen tomorrow when Im truly 100 percent because Ive made progress every single day, and in 24 to 48 hours its going to be completely gone, Scherzer said. So no ones even concerned, really. Its just doing what we think is best to make the start on Monday.

Scherzer said he visited a chiropractor for an adjustment. Some residual stiffness remains, but he insisted it should be alleviated with medication and treatment in time for Monday. The Nationals wrestled with the idea of starting Scherzer on Sunday, which is his regular turn, butdecided not to.

An ace not missing a start is always uplifting news for a club, but its particularly vital for the Nationals given their rotation disorder. In addition to Scherzers early departure, Joe Ross was lost for the season, Stephen Strasburg is on the disabled list, and Gio Gonzalez isprepared to leave the club for the birth of his second child.

The muddle meant the Nationals werent ready to announce who would start Saturday and Sunday against the Cubs after Tanner Roark started Friday. Manager Dusty Baker provided clarity Friday morning, announcing that Edwin Jackson will start Saturday and Erick Fedde will get the ball Sunday.

Fedde was optioned Wednesday, but he will be recalled to replace Gonzalez on the roster when he goes on the paternity leave list. It will be his second career start; he allowed seven runs over four innings against the Rockies on Sunday.

Strasburgs return, however, remains unclear. The right-hander, who was placed on the disabled list on July 27 with a right elbow nerve impingement, said he was scheduled to throw a bullpen before Fridays game, but he didnt know when he would throw the simulated game Baker has said is planned for him. Strasburg revealed that he had an increasingly tough time recovering between starts before exiting after two innings against the Diamondbacks on July 23.

It was adding up, Strasburg said.

Strasburg, however, did say he has made significant progress in recent days, but with a 12-game division lead, the Nationals arent in any rush.

I feel better about it now than I did a few days ago, he said. But we want to make sure Im 100 percent. If this was the last game of the season, Id be out there. But we want to make sure Im right.

NATIONALS (63-43) Brian Goodwin CF Howie Kendrick LF Bryce Harper RF Daniel Murphy 2B Anthony Rendon 3B Adam Lind 1B Matt Wieters C Wilmer Difo SS Tanner Roark RHP

CUBS (57-50) Jon Jay CF Kris Bryant 3B Anthony Rizzo 1B Willson Contreras C Ben Zobrist 2B Kyle Schwarber LF Jason Heyward RF Javier Baez SS Kyle Hendricks RHP

More Nationals coverage

Fridays result:Bullpen delivers a 4-2 win over Cubs

Nationals place Romero on disabled list, recall Solis

An early look at a Nats-Cubs postseason matchup

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Max Scherzer preparing to start Monday; Stephen Strasburg making progress - Washington Post

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. With one Tennessee player announced out for the 2017 season, another one is making progress toward a return.

Coach Butch Jones announced right tackle Chance Hall would miss the season with a knee injury. However, defensive tackle Shy Tuttle took to the practice field Friday in full pads.

Shy is continuing to progress, Jones said. Hes working individual drills. He has not done any team activities, yet. He continues to progress and we are very encouraged so far.

RELATED: Tuttle still a leader despite injuries in eyes of D-line coach Brady Hoke

Although Tuttle may not be ready for the season opener against Georgia Tech on Sept. 4 in Atlanta, Jones said Tuttle has made strides in the right direction.

Hes maybe a little bit ahead of schedule, Jones said. Again, hes doing the individual drills. Hes doing some movement. You can see him getting better and better each day with his movements. Thats been the encouraging thing.

A tear in Tuttles right knee kept him from playing in the final five games of the 2016 season. Tuttle played in six games in the 2015 season before suffering a broken left fibula.

The injuries have not kept Tuttles spirits down according to Jones.

Its really encouraging when you get him out here in full pads today, and hes doing individual drills with teammates, Jones said. Its extremely encouraging. Hes worked very hard. So, you can see the excitement as well in his demeanor.

Tuttle can be a disruptive force on the defensive line when healthy. The junior has 19 tackles, 1 for a loss and two fumble recoveries in his career.

Fellow defensive linemen have taken notice of Tuttles progress in his rehab from injury.

Shy is doing great, Kendal Vickers said. He looks like hes getting back in shape, in football shape. Hes been looking like he can move on his knee and stuff like that. Im looking forward to getting him out there.

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Tennessee football: DT Shy Tuttle 'continuing to progress' from injury - SECcountry.com

Free Press sports writers Dave Birkett and Shawn Windsor discuss what they saw from Lions rookies Kenny Golladay, Teez Tabor and Jarrad Davis and their expectations in Year 1 on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017 in training camp. Detroit Free Press

Lions linebacker Tahir Whitehead stretches at Ford Field, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 in Detroit.(Photo: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press)

After the first week of training camp, the Detroit Lions' new-look linebacker corps is taking shape and making its mark literally, if you count the stick marks rookie Jarrad Davis has left on offensive players during padded practices.

I think as a group weve been doing a great job of really pushing each to get better, linebacker Tahir Whitehead said. I think we have depth. That and itself and just challenging each other is going to definitely make the group better.

The linebackers are charged with a lot. They have to simultaneously support the run defense and pass coverage. The Lions ranked 30th in the NFL with 26 sacks last season and, as Whitehead pointed, teams have to take holistic approach to rushing the passer.

More: Lions 1st-round pick Jarrad Davis living up to the hype

It definitely goes hand in hand, he said. Sometimes you need to give the defensive linemen a bit more time to get to the quarterback in order to get those sacks. The pass rush definitely frees up the back seven to get interceptions with rushed throws and everything. If the back seven takes care of everything in the pass, then its probably going to free up the defensive linemen to get to the quarterback.

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One issue Whitehead took umbrage with was the linebackers weakness last season against tight ends, who victimized the Lions early and often. According to Pro-football-reference.com, the Lions gave up nine touchdowns last season to tight ends, fifth worst in the NFL.

They get paid, too, Whitehead said. Guys go out there, they make plays. Weve made a bunch of plays against tight ends. Its not like they went out there and fried us up all year long.

So I wouldnt say thats anything alarming, by any means. You wont necessarily know what were playing, what coverage were playing, so I could care less what people think about our defense.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

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Detroit Lions' Tahir Whitehead happy with linebackers' progress - Detroit Free Press

BOURBONNAIS Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is entering his third year with the Bears. Only two maybe three of his starters can say the same.

Theres a limit to the Bears sense of continuity entering a must-win season, but Fangio is hoping last season provided, at least for a while, a sense of momentum.

I thought for the most part we played hard, hung in there tough under adverse situations and were really, in some ways although the record sucked making progress, Fangio said Friday at Olivet Nazrene University. But then the last three games ... the dam broke on us.

The Bears allowed 109 points in those three games and lost by a combined 51 points.

Thanks to the team signing two new starting cornerbacks and at least one safety in the offseason, Fangio has reason for optimism though he wont say it.

When youre coming off 3-13, you dont have the right to predict anything, he said.

That includes his future.

Fangio is heading into the final year of the three-year contract he signed shortly after coach John Fox was hired. He said hes not worried about his life beyond this season.

Obviously, every year has an effect on what happens, good or bad, he said. Im just hopeful someone will want me next year, thats all.

Including the Bears?

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. For sure. Oh, yeah, he said. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. Im not looking to go anywhere.

Fangios continued presence thats six straight yeahs, for those keeping score would be a boon for the Bears. He has had a tremendous influence on Leonard Floyd, the Bears first-round pick from a year ago, who could be a Pro Bowl edge rusher as soon as this season.

Willie Young and Lamarr Houston each transitioned from defensive end during Fangios first year and are happy to see him taking a more hands-on approach with the position group he knows best, outside linebacker.

When you have the guy who invented all of this giving you that information, its simplified, but its clearer, Young said. And that makes a big difference when you have a guy like myself transitioning from a 4-3.

Fangio said his outside linebacker focus hell work alongside first-year coach Brandon Staley, the position coach is nothing new. Before becoming a pro coordinator, he coached the Dome Patrol, the notorious Saints linebacker corps that sent four players to the Pro Bowl in 1992.

His secret: explaining to the players why theyre asked to do certain things.

I just like having it hands-on and hearing it come from my mouth, he said. They hear the whys and the reasons for everything we do.

Fangio said the Bears got a little spike in talent but know they need difference-makers. Hes not sure what to expect from Pernell McPhee, who started training camp on the physically unable-to-perform list and had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

Floyds main candidates to pop: Floyd, defensive linemen Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks and, he hopes, either cornerback Prince Amukamara or Marcus Cooper. If half of those players hit, the defense will be improved.

We stress knowing what to do, do it the right way, and play as hard as you can, he said. If were talented enough, well have good results, and thats it.

Follow me on Twitter@patrickfinley.

Email: pfinley@suntimes.com

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'Not looking to go anywhere,' Bears' Vic Fangio to build on progress ... - Chicago Sun-Times

The new Deep Deuce entry sign is seen on the Santa Fe Railroad bridge at the intersection of Robert S. Kerr and E.K. Gaylord in downtown Oklahoma City. [Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman]

The Oklahoman's Steve Lackmeyer fielded questions from readers in Friday's OKC Central Live Chat. You can join Steve's Q&A's on Fridays at 9:30 a.m. and submit your questions about the happenings in and around downtown Oklahoma City. Below is an edited transcript of Friday's chat.

Q: Will road construction (in the name of progress) ever be completed? I don't think it will.

A: Downtown Oklahoma City street detours are the missing 10th level of Dante's Purgatory. We've endured Project 180 shutdowns and detours for the past several years and now we're seeing streets being torn up again to install the streetcar system.

I am impressed by the speed and consistency of work being done on the track installation. I've yet to see these contractors abandon job sites (something City Hall has tolerated for years both with Project 180 and jobs throughout the city).

Yet when it was lightly raining the other day, the streetcar folks were still out and working. The contractor doing the Project 180 makeover of nearby E.K. Gaylord was nowhere to be seen.

We are set to see Bricktown tracks finished pretty soon. I have no faith in the completion dates provided to date for finishing the Project 180 work along E.K. Gaylord.

Q: What do you think is the most likely fate for the Buy for Less building at NW 23 and Penn? That remaining vacant and the apartment building on the north side of their parking lot are major detractors for that area.

A: Yeah, big win for the owners not doing a deal to keep Buy For Less in place and instead ending up with a decaying empty grocery store and crumbling parking lot.

Q: The Deep Deuce sign looks great! I am so glad it was funded. What other projects could we crowd source to make happen sooner?

A: The Deep Deuce sign at NE 2 facing E.K. Gaylord provides the district a much-needed gateway, but more is needed. And we thankfully have Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. to make these things a reality.

Give the Deep Deuce folks some credit they got the ball rolling by crowdfunding $6,200 for the sign, which then was matched with $14,000 provided by the downtown business improvement district managed by Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. That funding will include some future lighting and art under the railway viaduct bridge.

Jill DeLozier, vice president of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. confirms any art project done in the viaduct will likely involve a light installation to reflect the desire of the Deep Deuce Business Alliance to do something different from the murals painted along the viaducts in neighboring Bricktown.

As an aside, DeLozier said the Main Street viaduct as of this morning is confirmed to get the next viaduct mural.

So, what could we crowdfund into reality? I would love to see an outdoor exhibit showing Deep Deuce's great history of music (Charlie Christian, Blue Devils, Jimmy Rushing, all the great visiting performers like Count Basie and Cab Calloway) and of course, the legendary author and native son Ralph Ellison.

Q: I saw your article about the development of NW 13 and Western by Shyon Keoppel and I think it will be a great segue to get more people interested in the Classen 10 Penn area. What other developments do you know of happening in the area that will have an impact?

A: A New York developer has acquired much of the land between Classen, Western, NW 9 and NW 12. But I see no signs of any imminent move forward with it. The Oklahoma City Public School system will either make or break the area with how it handles the sale of its former headquarters at 900 N Klein Ave.

If they sell the property to the highest bidder as they did in the past and award it to a slumlord, this could be a huge deterrent to the area's long-term success.

Q: Why is the city wanting to build a new parking garage near the civic center with the new Arts Parking Garage only at 53 percent? Is the thought process that it will be near capacity by the time the new parking garage is built?

A: The city is not building this garage. The garage is being developed by the private police association, which has several surface parking lots in the area.

The association originally wanted to build the garage where the old police headquarters is set to be torn down. This site makes a lot more sense, but the association could not get a deal done with City Hall. I've yet to get a good explanation as to why.

More:

The painful progress of Oklahoma City downtown street 'improvements' - NewsOK.com

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- When Christian Hackenberg receives a playcall from the sideline, it could sound something like this:

"Blast to Joker right 'X' motion 372 'R' Slant spacing."

It's a base pass play in Jon Gruden's version of the West Coast offense, known for its complicated verbiage. He taught the system years ago to New York Jets offensive coordinator John Morton, who introduced it to the team in April.

Hello, crash course.

Veteran quarterbacks say it takes years to master the West Coast offense. Some have complained, claiming it takes too long to receive the play and relay it to the huddle. The Jets are hoping Hackenberg -- in his fourth offensive system in the past five years -- can learn it well enough to play this season.

Mentally, it's an enormous challenge, particularly since Morton hasn't streamlined it. He's installing the system in its original form, which means a giant playbook and a lot of memorization.

"You have to keep getting reps at it, hearing it, saying and spitting it back out," Hackenberg said.

The well-traveled Josh McCown, 38, who has played in just about every system known to man, said the West Coast offense is "like learning a new language." He said the average playcall is 10 to 12 words, which means they're longer than some of Todd Bowles' news conference answers. Every word and every number has a specific meaning, covering the formation, motions/shifts and pass-protection schemes. Mess up one syllable, and you ruin the entire play.

The Jets' quarterbacks -- McCown, Hackenberg and Bryce Petty -- drill each other on the verbiage. Not only do they want to memorize the playcalls, but their goal is to repeat them with conviction.

"[You] want to rattle that out smoothly, where the guys in the huddle believe in what were talking about," McCown said.

League insiders think McCown has the edge in the Jets' quarterback competition, in large part, because of his background in this offense. He has played in variations of the West Coast offense, which is a new world for Hackenberg and Petty.

Former NFL quarterback Jim Miller has a unique perspective because he played under Gruden (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and former Jets coordinator Chan Gailey (Pittsburgh Steelers). Miller said there's little similarity between the two systems, one of the reasons why he favors McCown in the competition.

"I think it will be McCown, I really believe that," said Miller, who co-hosts a SiriusXM NFL radio show with Pat Kirwan. "He gives them their best chance to win. He knows that offense, inside and out. Let the young guys learn from him."

Miller, who visited the Jets this week on his training-camp tour, was kind enough to give a detailed breakdown of the playcall: Blast to Joker right "X" motion 372 "R" Slant spacing. If you like Xs and Os, you'll enjoy this.

Blast: The type of shift.

Joker right: The final formation after the shift. In this case, a running back shifts out of the backfield and splits out wide right.

X motion: The X receiver motions across the formation from weak to strong.

372: This is the protection. Gruden called it Jet 2 (right) or Jet 3 (left). Miller used a numerical code. It's 372 because the play requires a three-step drop by the quarterback and "72" is the protection, with the line sliding toward the weakside linebacker. The line is responsible for the four-man line, plus the Will linebacker -- a 5-on-5 situation.

R Slant: After shifting, the running back runs a slant route.

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How the play unfolds: The remaining running back reads the middle linebacker and strongside linebacker. If they both rush, the quarterback is a blocker short and must throw quickly to his best matchup. The tight end runs a five-yard hook. The X receiver, after motioning across the formation, runs a flat route. The Z receiver hooks at five yards.

Mind you, this is only one play. There are hundreds in Morton's playbook, and each one has variations because of different formations. This is a small sample of what's spinning in Hackenberg's brain when he steps into the huddle, and he must convince 10 other players he knows what he's doing.

"You want to convey that, 'Hey, I'm in control of this ship and I understand what's going on,'" Miller said. "That's command, that's huddle presence, that's conviction. Make those players believe in you."

Read this article:

Will Jets' complex offense slow Christian Hackenberg's progress? - ESPN (blog)

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts text messaged Clayton Kershaw on Thursday asking for an update on the left-handers rehabilitation from a lower back strain.

Roberts was waiting to hear back when he met with the media before his team faced the Atlanta Braves in a series finale at SunTrust Park. Even so, Roberts reported only progress for Kershaw, who he said was pushing to throw off a mound soon.

Hes more on the aggressive side, which is no surprise to any of us, Roberts said. Were trying to temper that, a little bit.

When you hear Clayton wanting to do more, and be more aggressive, thats a good thing.

Kershaw injured his back during a game at Dodger Stadium on July 23. The team has not announced a timetable for his return, although the initial prognosis was a four-to-six week absence. An examination of his back showed no damage to the disk he herniated last summer, the team has said.

The Dodgers do not want Kershaw to rush back and risk re-injury, as he did while trying to come back in 2016. Roberts said the team had not set a date for Kershaw to pitch off a mound again. Kershaw started to play catch only five days after the initial injury. He is expected to meet the team on Tuesday in Phoenix.

Im sure Ill know more in the next day or two, Roberts said. But the good thing is he feels physically that he can do more.

Cingrani arrives

After the Dodgers acquired left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani from Cincinnati on Monday, general manager Farhan Zaidi mentioned how Cingrani would benefit from altering his approach. Cingrani had posted a 5.40 earned-run average for the Reds, despite striking out 24.2% of the batters he faced.

In informal conversations before Thursday, when Cingrani was activated, Dodgers officials relayed their hope that Cingrani would use his slider more. He had thrown his fastball 88.4% of the time this season, according to FanGraphs. The slider clocked in at 2.4%.

Im very open to most things, Cingrani said. Im not, like, set in my ways by any means. I definitely am hardheaded, but when the point is smart and brought up to you in a convincing way, and youre like Yep, that works, and it sounds right, you cant disregard that. Youve got to take it.

McCarthy slowed

Brandon McCarthy has not pitched for the Dodgers since July 20. On the 10-day disabled list because of blisters on his right hand, McCarthy will try to synchronize the upper and lower halves of his delivery, Roberts said.

McCarthy experienced mechanical glitches during his last four starts and struggled to command his pitches.

In talking to our medical staff, physically hes not synced up, Roberts said. And he feels that theres still some things mechanically, and physically, that he needs to work through to give himself the best chance to have success in a major-league game.

There is no timetable for his return, Roberts said.

Short hops

To make room on the 40-man roster for Cingrani, the Dodgers optioned pitcher Brock Stewart to triple-A Oklahoma City. Adrian Gonzalez was expected to begin a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on either Thursday or Friday. Roberts was not interested in discussing President Donald Trumps nomination of former Dodgers co-owner Jamie McCourt as the ambassador to France. Yu Darvish took a flight to New York on Thursday afternoon. He will make his Dodgers debut there on Friday against the Mets.

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes

See the article here:

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw making progress, pushing to pitch again soon - Los Angeles Times

The FC crew discuss Riyad Mahrez's performance at Leicester last season and weigh in on a potential move to Roma.

Roma sporting director Monchi has said there has been no further movement in the club's attempts to sign Leicester playmaker Riyad Mahrez.

The Giallorossi are the only club to have made a bid for Algeria international Mahrez, who submitted a transfer request earlier this summer.

Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare has said the 26-year-old would prefer to stay in England, and Monchi told a news conference: "The situation with Mahrez has not changed.

"I would like to say a couple of things, though. A club like Roma, who can boast the calibre of players like [Lorenzo] Pellegrini, [Kevin] Strootman, [Radja] Nainggolan, [Edin] Dzeko, [Federico] Fazio or [Aleksandar] Kolarov, cannot think that their overall performance is going to depend on the arrival of just one specific right-winger.

"The guarantee comes from the route you are on and the group you have.

"The second message I wanted to give is that I don't know if Mahrez or somebody else will come but, whoever arrives, he will be a big player who is able to add quality to an already magnificent squad."

He said Roma would "prefer a left-footer, but it is the player's profile which counts," adding: "For the way the team play -- where the wide players tend to come inside -- a left-footer would be better, but it could also be a right-footer with natural tendencies to come inside.

"All the names that have been mentioned are interesting players and potential Roma targets, but the important thing is that I keep a certain degree of discretion in my work so I don't create confusion."

The sporting director also gave details of the players he expected to leave before the close of the window, saying: "We are looking for solutions for [Norbert] Gyomber, [William] Vainqueur, [Leandro] Castan and [Juan] Iturbe.

"We are close to a solution in some cases, whereas we are quite far away in others -- but there is still a month left."

Ben Gladwell reports on Serie A, the Italian national team and the Bundesliga for ESPN FC, UEFA and the Press Association. @UEFAcomBenG.

Read more here:

No Roma progress in bid to sign Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez - Monchi - ESPN FC

NASHVILLE, Tenn. A week into training camp, quarterback Marcus Mariota is feeling good about himself.

Even if it takes him a little longer to get warmed up for practices.

It is feeling better with every day, Mariota said on Thursday. We havent had a setback or anything like that, so a lot of credit goes to the training staff here in helping me get warmed up and helping me once practice is done, get prepared for the next one.

Mariota was limited during the teams offseason work as he worked his way back from the fractured fibula he suffered against the Jaguars last December.

But hes looked better each day during the first week of training camp, especially from a mobility standpoint.

Mariota has taken off and shown his speed and the ability to make sharp cuts -- on numerous plays, including some sprints to the outside when hes faced pressure. Hes been mostly accurate throwing the football, although cornerback Adoree Jackson stepped in and picked off one of his passes on Thursday.

Ive seen nothing but good things from Marcus, tight end Delanie Walker said. You see him out here throwing, running around. He looks like his old self. He looks good to me.

Offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie agreed, while saying the Titans are gearing practices to allow Mariota time to work himself back to 100 percent.

Marcus is looking good, and he is moving around real well, Robiskie said. As far as what we are putting in for him, what we are going to call and directions of things from that nature, the easy thing for me is I can leave all of that with (quarterbacks coach) Jason Michael. Jason might say, Today, Marcus has a little soreness in his left leg or His hip is hurting him a little bit. And whatever J-Mike says to do, that is what we are going to do.

He is outstanding in monitoring Marcus and saying, He feels this way or he feels that way. And Marcus is going about it pretty good.

Mariota admits it takes him a little longer to warm up before practices, however.

It gets stiff once practice kind of stops and we are done for the day, Mariota said. But thats just how it is, and what is going to happen. If I have to spend an extra five to ten minutes getting my body prepared, Ill do that.

Mariota is also using training camp to develop chemistry with his receivers, from veteran Eric Decker to rookies Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor. Mariota described Taylor as electric and said the team needs to find ways to get him more involved. He already seems to have nice chemistry with Decker, signed in late June.

Davis left practice on Thursday with a hamstring injury. Titans coach Mike Mularkey said Davis was scheduled for an MRI to determine the severity, and how much time he might miss.

I thought hes done a great job of stepping in, and knowing what to do and making great plays, Mariota said of Davis. Hes made bunch of plays on the football, attacking the ball at the high point. We need him to get back and get ready to go and Im sure he will.

Read more:

Titans QB Marcus Mariota Encouraged by Progress - Titansonline.com

With about a month left in the traditional summer season, road construction crews have completed or made significant progress on a number of projects throughout Emmet and Charlevoix counties. The following is a look at where those long-term projects stand and what is yet to come.

Michigan Department of Transportation

The Michigan Department of Transportation has already completed a few significant projects in repaving a section of M-119 east of Harbor Springs and overhaul work on Memorial Bridge in Charlevoix this past spring. However, there is one bigger project that still has several weeks to go, and one more that will be starting just after Labor Day.

U.S. 31 north of Pellston: Since early April, crews have been working on a major reconstruction project on a 4.2-mile stretch of U.S. 31 between Douglas Lake Road on the north side of Pellston to Levering Road. The $5 million project includes realigning a curve south of Ball Road, excavating several feet of unstable subsurface soils, other roadbed stabilization work and culvert replacement.

Portions of the project have required a detour around the affected area.

Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman James Lake said this week that the project remains on track for its originally estimated completion date in late October.

Were still on schedule, having wrapped up the northern and southern sections of this project, and moving on to the middle section where were replacing some culverts. We just started work on the last large box culvert, then well move on to some remaining road base work and then initial paving. By the end of the month we plan to lift the detour and maintain traffic with a single-lane closure under flag control for the remainder of the project, scheduled to be complete by the end of October, Lake said.

U.S. 131 in southern Emmet County: An earlier announced project to resurface a 4.2-mile section of U.S. 131 from Lears Road to Bear River Road is still expected to begin shortly after Labor Day.

Lake said the $970,000 project will involve grinding off and replacing the top layer of asphalt. The project will require single-lane closures and is expected to be completed by Oct. 20.

M-75 North in Charlevoix County: Earlier this summer Michigan Department of Transportation crews spent about two weeks doing maintenance work on M-75 North between Boyne City and the village of Walloon Lake. The work left some area motorists puzzled about the project and concerned about the plan for the road section going forward.

Lake explained that the maintenance work done is known as durapatching which is a hybrid of crack sealing and chip sealing. He said the process is primarily aimed at sealing the roadway and filling in some cracking and potholes.

Lake further explained: Its more durable than cold asphalt patching, but it is built up slightly higher than the surrounding roadway, as we need to taper it to the sound pavement. Thats the reason it feels somewhat bumpy to drivers. This is work done by an MDOT maintenance crew that performs this type of work all over Northern Michigan. Its just intended to keep the road held together for a few more years when we return with a resurfacing project on this stretch currently slated for 2019.

Petoskey

Emmet Street: The most significant street and infrastructure project in the city of Petoskey this year has been taking place for about the past two months on a three-block section of Emmet Street between Washington and State streets. The project involves complete replacement of water, sewer and storm sewer, infrastructure, placing electrical and cable lines underground, street and sidewalk reconstruction, and streetscaping. Around the Fourth of July crews finished work on most of the southern portion of the project and began work on the northern half.

On Wednesday, city public works director Mike Robbins said as of today, Friday, crews are expected to wrap up the majority of the underground infrastructure work involved. He said next week crews will start placing gravel and bringing the street up to grade. After that concrete crews will move in and begin pouring curbs and sidewalks.

He said weather permitting, crews could begin paving the first course on the north section by the end of the month. He said the project is still on track to be completely wrapped up by mid-September.

Gas line work: Although not a city project, Robbins also highlighted an ongoing a DTE Energy natural gas pipeline extension project that will have some impact on neighborhood traffic in the coming weeks.

Robbins said on Wednesday crews began working on Kalamazoo Avenue. They will then move down Grove Street to Waukazoo, and then eventually from Waukazoo to Beach Street. Robbins said the city has asked the crews to limit traffic restrictions related to the work to one block at a time to keep traffic impacts to a minimum.

Emmet County

Emmet County Road Commission Engineer-Manager Brian Gutowski said the road commission is having a record year for township-funded road projects with more than $3 million in work taking place.

Ongoing Emmet County Road Commission projects include:

Atkins Road from Cedar Valley Road eastward for approximately 0.65 mile in Bear Creek Township. This is a reconstruction of the road. The road has temporary closures. The project is expected to be completed sometime next week. This is a township-funded project.

Mackinaw Highway from U.S. 31 to Trails End Road for 2.2 miles in Wawatam Township. This is a total reconstruction and also has temporary closures. This project just started on Monday of this week. The work is expected to be completed by Sept. 15. This project is funded through the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians with Federal Highway Administration - Bureau of Indian Affairs funds.

Osborne Road from State Road westward for 1 mile in Readmond Township. The road is a gravel road and is being widened in preparation for future paving. This is a township-funded project and is expected to be completed toward the end of September.

Asphalt wedging on various roads in Carp Lake Township, Bliss Township, Cross Village Township, Center Township and McKinley Township. These are township-funded projects.

Projects still to be started this year are as follows:

Townline Road from Middle Village Road then south for 0.91 mile in Friendship Township. This is an asphalt overlay project and funded by the township.

Beacon Hill Road from Stutsmanville Road then south for 0.09 mile in Friendship Township. This is an asphalt overlay project and funded by the township.

Channel Road from Pickerel Lake Road to the Minnehaha Creek for 1 mile in Springvale Township. This is a reconstruction project and funded by the township. There will be lane closures during the project. The work is expected to begin before the end of August and be completed by the end of September.

Maxwell Road over Minnehaha Creek for culvert replacement. Crews will be replacing 2 3-foot culverts and installing a 14-foot culvert. This project is slated to begin the week of Aug. 14 and be completed by Aug. 24. This section of road will be closed during the project which is being funded through the Tip of the Mitt watershed with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funds to improve fish passage in the creek.

Charlevoix County

The most notable project for the Charlevoix County Road Commission is one that wasnt planned. On May 6 a many-decades-old culvert on Shadow Trail collapsed as a vehicle drove over it and that road has been closed ever since. Last week, after many weeks of delays, crews began work to replace the culvert.

Road commission engineer Jim Vanek said work is progressing with crews driving sheet piling in to prepare for putting the new culvert in place. He said if the weather cooperates, crews are hoping to have the road back open before Labor Day. He said the weather can have a significant impact on the work because even a small amount of rain can raise the level of Fineout Creek. He noted that the rain that fell on the area early Wednesday raised the water level about a foot when crews arrived later in the morning.

Anderson Road: Vanek said work is expected to begin in the next two to three weeks on a project along boundary between Boyne City and Wilson Township. The project will involve reconstructing a 0.53-mile section of Anderson Road from Marshall Road nearly to Day Road.

The work will include reconstructing the road using a process known as crush and shape, in which the existing pavement is pulverized and used as the roadbed for the new pavement, removal of some poor subgrade soils and installing about 1,200 feet of storm sewer lines on each side of the road.

The contract calls for the project to be completed by Sept. 22.

Vanes said a few other smaller projects are also still on the schedule for yet this construction season. Perhaps the most notable will be a project to replace a culvert on Horton Bay Road in Bay Township right at the Lavender Hill Farm location.

The project is expected to start in mid-September and take about two weeks to complete. The road will be closed and traffic will be detoured to Pincherry and Church roads while the work is taking place.

Other upcoming project include repaving the Sumner Road entrance to Villa De Charlevoix, which is expected to start Sept. 8; a small paving job in the Springbrook Hill subdivision in Melrose Township; and some paving work on residential streets on the north side of U.S. 31 in Bay Shore, expected to take place in the next few weeks.

Charlevoix

Just this week The Charlevoix City Council approved a street resurfacing contract.

All of the work will involve pulverizing the existing asphalt, regrading the road and compacting that material, and then laying two, 1.5-inch layers of asphalt for a total of 3 inches of asphalt.

The work will take place on portions of Stover, Lake, Newman, Auld, Oak, Elm, Prospect, Burns, West Dixon, Coast Guard Drive, and two small sections of May Street.

These roads and/or sections of city roads were chosen due to their degraded condition and the amount of time and money the city has spent spent filling potholes and other repairs, city manager Mark Heydlauff said.

Boyne City

Boyne City officials took care of several road resurfacing projects earlier this summer. Those projects have all been completed and no other significant street projects are planned this year, city street superintendent Andy Kovolski said.

East Jordan

East Jordan City Administrator Tom Cannon said the city had no major street projects on the docket this year. He said a few minor projects will probably take place yet this year on some residential streets.

Harbor Springs

Harbor Springs City Manager Tom Richards said the city had no street projects planned this year. The only work taking place yet this year is some guard rail replacement on Pennsylvania Avenue and replacing a failing retaining wall near the intersection of Third and Judd streets. Work on the retaining wall project is expected to begin in September.

Go here to see the original:

Work in progress - Petoskey News-Review

As a casualty of extreme weather conditions, dead fish began to appear on the surface of Lake Elsinore and wash up on shore Thursday, Aug. 3, city officials said.

City employees deployed to beaches and on the water to collect and dispose of the carcasses as quickly as possible, City Manager Grant Yates said.

He described the dying fish as 98 percent shad minnows and carp. The cleanup activity is expected to continue Friday.

Yates said the fish kill was relatively minor compared to some of the episodes in previous years when large numbers of bass and other sport fish were affected.

The incident in progress now is similar to what happened in August 2015 when a die-off occurred during a series of days when temperatures reached well over 100 degrees.

Officials say the health of Southern Californias largest natural, freshwater lake remains fragile because of ongoing high heat and algae blooms. Lake overseers believe a sudden drop this week in the lakes oxygen levels resulting from heat, overcast skies and a thunder storm sparked the die-off.

See the original post here:

Fish die-off in progress at Lake Elsinore - Press-Enterprise

Advertisershave long lamented Snapchats lack of third-party data to track return on ad spend.But now that Snapchat is adopting a marketing mix modeling program, which measures the value of all marketing inputs, media buyers are more willing to guide clients to open their purse strings.

On Tuesday, Snap announced The Snap MMM Partner Program, which gives marketers access to third-party measurement data from Neustar MarketShare, Analytics Partners, MMA and Nielsen. The new data will let marketers isolate and track specific Snapchat ad formats and their return on ad spend and sales lift. Those metrics are crucial to determine the success of past campaigns and compare ads across social media channels. This partnership will afford Snapchat advertisers even more flexibility and precision in measuring their campaigns, reads Snapchats blog.

David Song, managing director at Barker Advertising, said the new program convinces him that his clients, which include brands like SlimFast and Aston Martin, should try Snapchat, a platform he avoided recommending before. Snapchat was never seen as a serious platform for our clients. We focus a ton on ROI, and we couldnt justify a big enough spend before to advise our clients to buy the platform, he said. Now that [Snapchat] is willing and able to do MMM, its a much easier proposition to recommend them to clients.

It brings a level of instant credibility that Snapchat desperately needs, said Stephen Boidock, director of marketing and business development at Drumroll. It will definitely help marketers justify spendingsomemoney on the platform.

The move comes at a time when Snapchat shares continue to drop, and marketers shift their focus to platforms that have more robust analytics. Since Instagram replicated Snapchats Stories in August 2016, marketers have started to favor the former, partly due to Instagramsdedicated followings, but also because Snapchat couldnt prove sales.

Now more than ever, marketers are demanding a certain level of ROI and analytics, said JC Uva, managing director at MediaLink, and that hasnt been one of [Snapchats]key attributes. Before the announcement, Snapchat had 15 measurement partners such as Moat, DoubleClick, Oracle Data Cloud and Millward Brown that assessed viewability metrics, app impressions, reach and targeting, but not foot traffic or return on investment. Meanwhile, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have had MMM programs. It also didnt help that Snapchat ads are known to be more expensive than those on other platforms such as Instagram. While a bidding auction determines the pricing of Snap Ads, Snap Lenses can cost upward of $300,000 for a day, and Snap Geofilter CPMs can range from 27 cents to $48.

The fact that Snap didnt have robust analytics and ROI on ad spend previouslymade it a tougher sell for some clients, said Lisa Evia, president of Havas Media Chicago.

Luggage brand Away, for instance, was on Snapchat but turned its priority to Instagram because it offered more transparency, engagement and analytics, said Away co-founder Jen Rubio. Now, it doesnt have a Snapchat presence at all.

However, Snapchats new MMM program has the potential to turn things around. If Snapchat can prove it has great ROI, said Rubio, its not off the table for us. Scott Linzer, who oversees paid social as vp at iCrossing, also sees potential. With Snap innovating and finding data partnerships to provide more platform insight, he said, there is reason to be optimistic.

Song said if the new data proves Snapchat has strong ROI, he will advise his clients to spend between $150,000 and $300,000 on ad formats, three times more than the amount he would suggest for trying any new channel for the first time.

Read the rest here:

ROI-focused ad buyers see progress on Snapchat's measurement shortcomings - Digiday

Posted: 7:39 p.m. Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Straus dismissed the claim by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick that he refuses to meet with him, saying his door is open.

Brushing aside concerns that they are not moving swiftly enough to enact Gov. Greg Abbotts 20-point agenda, Texas House members opened the second half of the special session Wednesday with a flurry of activity Wednesday.

We made good progress, and were only half the way through, House Speaker Joe Straus told the American-Statesman.

Ive been spending my time, the first half of the 30-day session, trying to get the House in a place to consider the items that the governor has placed on the agenda, said Straus, a San Antonio Republican. We work more slowly than the Senate does because we listen to people and we try to get the details right. And so the House committees have been meeting and have shown some good progress, moving many of the items that are on the call.

Still, the House has given final passage to bills that address just four of Abbotts priorities, compared with18 for the Senate.

READ: Special legislative session: Why Joe Straus might have the upper hand

Straus addressed the running criticism of his leadership from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate and decries Straus as a moderate and potential obstacle to the conservative agenda he shares with the governor. Patrick insisted again this week that Straus refuses to meet with him to work out a seamless way to do the peoples business.

But I am going to say this one more time my door is open, the speaker has my phone number. He knows where I am most of the time, Patrick said Tuesday evening on a Facebook Live video stream with Michael Quinn Sullivan of Empower Texans and Jim Graham of Texas Right to Life, two relentless Straus critics.

I dont care about our differences. I dont care about anything thats been said in the past. I want to sit down and find a way to complete the governors agenda, which is my agenda and is the peoples agenda, Patrick said.

Straus dismissed the criticism.

Theres no resistance to meeting him, Straus said. My doors always open to anyone who wants to have a constructive conversation about issues facing the state of Texas, and Ive always expected that we would be having meetings at the appropriate time.

Bathroom bill

Straus has indicated he opposes a measure favored by Patrick that would pre-empt schools and local jurisdictions from making their own transgender friendly bathroom rules.

But, its sponsor, Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, said he considered that bill an outlier the only one he knows of that Straus explicitly opposes, and so its not surprising to me that that has not moved expeditiously.

Simmons said there had been an effort to discourage members to sign on to his bill and so he only had about 50 members willing to do so, far fewer than in the regular session.

Of his other bill onschool choice for special needs students also part of Abbotts agenda Simmons said, Im not sure it will get voted out of committee. He said he holds out a faint hope that it might advance if there is some grand bargain on education.

The governor wants school finance and were going to do that; were going to pass our plan on Friday, said Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, chairman of the Public Education Committee. I think its very clear that the House has not agreed on the voucher issue, but we have a solution to help special needs students.

READ: Senate clears most Abbott priorities, shifting attention to House

The House is doing what it should do, which is being deliberative, thoughtful and being sure that legislation that we would pass is sound policy that would benefit the citizens of the state of Texas, said Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, chairman of the State Affairs Committee. The House is not built for speed.

This is the House, said Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, who chairs the House Republican Caucus Policy Committee. We will use all 30 days. Theres plenty of time.

Goldman said it looks like the bill he is carrying for the governor to pre-empt local cellphone ordinances is unlikely to make it out of committee.

Nothing nefarious, he said; theres just too much opposition from local police and elected officials who hold great sway with House members.

Goldmans other bill the House version of the Senates already-passed mail-in ballot fraud bill was left pending Wednesday by the Elections Committee. TheSenate bill has been sent to the House. The committee did approve on a 5-2 vote House Bill 47, by Rep. Mike Schofield, R-Katy, which would make lying on an application for a mail-in ballot, applying without the voters knowledge and permission, and altering the application without the voters request punishable by up to two years in state jail.

Showboating

Both Abbott and Patrick had said property tax reform is their top priority.

The House Ways and Means Committee last week approved a bill that would require cities and counties to get voter approval for tax increases of 6 percent or more. While the Patrick-backed Senate version sets the rollback rate at 4 percent, the bill passed by the Houses tax-writing committee represents a significant departure from the regular session, when the same lawmakers opted to leave untouched the current rollback rate of 8 percent.

The House version, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, the chair of Ways and Means, must still be approved by the agenda-setting Calendars Committee before heading to the House floor.

On Wednesday, the House approved several other bills related to property taxes. HB 32 by Bonnen aims to increase transparency around the appraisal and rate-setting processes to encourage taxpayers to become more involved in the process.

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Amid all the other activity, Rep. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place, chairwoman of the House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics, and Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, led anews conference Wednesday calling on the governor to expand the call for the special session to include ethics reform.

The governors office, concerned that the House hasnt been sufficiently single-minded in pursuit of his agenda, wasnt pleased.

Instead of working to advance items on the special session agenda that could reform property taxes, fix school finance, increase teacher pay and reduce regulations, Reps. Davis and Larson are showboating over proposals that are not on the governors call, Abbott press secretary John Wittman said in a statement. Their constituents deserve better.

But Rep. Cecil Bell, R-Magnolia, a staunch conservative, pronounced himself pleased as he left Wednesdays session that the House was getting on track.

Were in better shape today than we were yesterday, Bell said. We are hearing bills that are consistent with the call.

We talked about taxation today. We talked about appraisal districts and we voted on them and that is progress in the right direction, Bell said. We just need to keep doing that.

Staff writers Johnathan Silver and Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this report.

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At halfway mark, House Speaker Straus cites special session progress - MyStatesman.com