27 Aug 2024

Twins’ Matt Wallner is just looking for a pitch to hit

by | posted in: News | 0

The longer Matt Wallner plays in the majors, the more comfortable he gets. The more comfortable the Twins’ outfielder gets, the more he hits.

With the exception of two games in Texas this month — 0 for 6, four strikeouts in a pair of victories over the Rangers — Wallner said he has felt good at the plate since returning to the big league club on July 7, and the numbers show it. Since then, he’s hitting .307 with 20 extra-base hits (nine of them home runs) and a 1.100 OPS.

“In Texas, I didn’t feel great. But now I feel good again,” he said before Monday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves at Target Field. “Now, it’s just a matter of getting a pitch to hit, honestly.”

Wallner, 27, is hitting a lot of what he can get to, and hitting it hard. His long, left-handed stroke is one of the more powerful in the majors, sending balls flying at an average speed of 94 mph, which ranks sixth among MLB hitters with at least 50 batted-ball events this season.

His max velocity of 116.8 this season ranks 11th. Always a slugger, Wallner didn’t become aware of how hard he hits the ball until fairly recently.

“I probably didn’t really care about it until a couple years ago — not that I really, really care about it,” he said. “Obviously, I want to hit the ball hard, but I didn’t even notice it until a couple years ago.”

Wallner’s fly balls and line drives this season average 99.4 mph, fourth in the majors, just below New York Yankees boppers Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, who rank 1-2-3 in FB/LD exit velocity. Judge on Sunday hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season, putting him on pace to break his own American League record of the 62 he hit in 2022.

It’s a remarkable feat at any time, but especially in a season with batting averages down. It was a league-wide .244 after Sunday’s games, a level most commonly associated with the last pitchers era in the late 1960s.

“It’s unbelievable,” Wallner said. “You look every day, he and (Shohei) Ohtani (40) have another homer. It really is unreal.”

Asked if he sees a fellow slugger like Judge and aspires to that kind of success, Wallner said, “No, I feel like he’s kind of one of a kind.”

But then he continues.

“I mean, yeah, it would be awesome,” he said. “So, yeah, I guess yes. It would be great to aspire to be that good, but I don’t look to him to see how he does stuff, or his swing or anything. But, yeah, what he does is incredible.”

The Twins will take Wallner’s current pace of production, and his improving play in left field.

“We’re working on jumps,” he said. “That’s really the one thing I need to work on, I feel — just timing, reacting once the ball’s off the bat. That’s a little bit below average. But my routes have been good. I feel like I’m making smart decisions about where to throw the ball for the most part. Little stuff like that adds up for me.”

Buxton watch

Byron Buxton missed his 13th game since pulling himself out of an 8-3 victory over Kansas City on Aug. 12. He was later placed on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right hip.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said Monday that Buxton is “getting closer” and likely will be sent on a rehab assignment before rejoining the big league team.

“I’m anticipating him going on a rehab assignment when he’s ready to come back, and I think we’re getting closer to that,” he said. “We’re not there yet as far as picking dates, but I do think he will.”

Buxton has been playing center field most of the season — 69 games — after being limited to designated hitting by hip and knee injuries in 2023. Badelli said he doesn’t anticipate bringing Buxton back only as a DH.

“We’re at our best when he’s in center field,” the manager said. “We need to get him ready to come back, play the outfield. Could anything change between now and the coming weeks? Maybe. But I don’t anticipate that.”

Briefly

Left-hander Steven Okert cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Class AAA St. Paul. He is expected to report Tuesday. … Shortstop Carlos Correa missed his 35th consecutive game since being sidelined by plantar fasciitis in his right foot. … Monday’s game was halted after 1½ innings because of strong thunderstorms in the area and resumed after an 86-minute delay.

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27 Aug 2024

Expressing outrage after building tour, St. Paul mayor seeks court-appointed receiver for Lowry Apartments

by | posted in: Adventure | 0

The central elevators at the Lowry Apartments have been out of service since Saturday, forcing tenants of the 11-story building to take the stairs or try their luck with the freight elevator, which one tenant described as touch-and-go.

Ciela Arguelles, a mother of three small kids who gave birth by cesarean section to her newborn son in July, said she’s been paying property owner Madison Equities $1,250 monthly with the help of a rent assistance program that is expiring.

That’s left her with three pressing questions, said Arguelles, 21, holding up cellphone video of the dog feces on the carpet outside her fourth-floor apartment and the giant roach she found inside her residence. First, what is Madison Equities doing with her money? Second, if she has to move out in a hurry, how can she do that without elevator access? And third, where else can she move?

Alarmed by conditions he called deplorable, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Arguelles outside City Hall on Monday evening and said he shared many of the same questions as the 134 or so lease-holders at the Lowry, and that he was dedicated to finding answers. Carter said he had taken a tour that day of the once-storied building, which sits around the corner from City Hall at Fourth and Wabasha streets, with City Attorney Lyndsey Olson and inspectors from the city Department of Safety and Inspections.

“It was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Carter said. “It’s disgusting and it’s unacceptable.”

Lenders attempting to acquire the building through the foreclosure process have already filed a request in Ramsey County District Court for a court-appointed receiver to collect rents, pay bills and better manage the property in advance of a recently-delayed sheriff’s sale now scheduled for early September.

City Attorney Lyndsey Olson said the city on Tuesday would ask the courts to fast-track the request for a receivership. Olson said several units in the building have already been condemned as a result of mice and insect infestations, among other issues, and the city has informed Madison Equities it is on the verge of losing its fire certificate of occupancy, which could force tenants out by April unless conditions improve.

Also Tuesday, the mayor’s office plans to send Madison Equities a one-page letter, signed by Carter, indicating “my outrage related to the unacceptable condition of your property at 345 Wabasha Street (Lowry Apartments), which has endangered the health, safety and property of over 100 residents. … This urgent situation requires immediate action.”

Carter and Olson said Monday they would explore legal and code enforcement options, and urge Madison Equities to move tenants to another one of its properties while the Lowry is brought up to code.

Efforts to reach Madison Equities principal Rosemary Kortgard for comment have been unsuccessful over the past month.

Olson showed cellphone pictures she had taken of clumps of dog feces on hallway carpeting, trash covering the vestibule by the elevator doors and a section of concrete stairwell propped up by a 2-by-4 stud. She also recognized, she said, that moving too quickly would leave more than 100 families homeless.

“Every option is on the table for us,” Carter said. “There is a delicate balance between making sure people have an opportunity to transition in a way that is healthy … and also making sure basic fire code safety is honored, because this is an unsafe place to live, and it’s just untenable and unsustainable.”

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27 Aug 2024

Judge in Texas orders pause on Biden program that offers legal status to spouses of US citizens

by | posted in: Politics | 0

By VALERIE GONZALEZ

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas on Monday paused a Biden administration policy that would give spouses of U.S. citizens legal status without having to first leave the country, dealing at least a temporary setback to one of the biggest presidential actions to ease a path to citizenship in years.

The administrative stay issued by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker comes just days after 16 states, led by Republican attorneys general, challenged the program that could benefit an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the country, plus about 50,000 of their children.

One of the states leading the challenge is Texas, which in the lawsuit claimed the state has had to pay tens of millions of dollars annually from health care to law enforcement because of immigrants living in the state without legal status.

President Joe Biden announced the program in June. The court order, which lasts for two weeks but could be extended, comes one week after the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications.

“The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” Barker wrote.

The judge laid out a timetable that could produce a decision shortly before the presidential election Nov. 5 or before a newly elected president takes office in January. Barker gave both sides until Oct. 10 to file briefs in the case.

The policy offers spouses of U.S. citizens without legal status, who meet certain criteria, a path to citizenship by applying for a green card and staying in the U.S. while undergoing the process. Traditionally, the process could include a years-long wait outside of the U.S., causing what advocates equate to “family separation.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the order.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cheered the order.

“This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,” Paxton posted on the social media platform X.

Several families were notified of the receipt of their applications, according to attorneys advocating for eligible families who filed a motion to intervene earlier Monday.

“Texas should not be able to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and their immigrant spouses without confronting their reality,” Karen Tumlin, the founder and director of Justice Action Center, said during the press conference before the order was issued.

The coalition of states accused the administration of bypassing Congress for “blatant political purposes.”

The program has been particularly contentious in an election year where immigration is one of the biggest issues, with many Republicans attacking the policy and contending it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who broke the law.

To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived continuously in the U.S. for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history, and have been married to a citizen by June 17 — the day before the program was announced.

They must pay a $580 fee to apply and fill out a lengthy application, including an explanation of why they deserve humanitarian parole and a long list of supporting documents proving how long they have been in the country.

If approved, applicants have three years to seek permanent residency. During that period, they can get work authorization.

Before this program, it was complicated for people who were in the U.S. illegally to get a green card after marrying an American citizen. They can be required to return to their home country — often for years — and they always face the risk they may not be allowed back in.

26 Aug 2024

St. Paul man charged with exposing himself through porch windows, trying to open sliding door

by | posted in: Society | 0

A St. Paul man is accused of sexually exposing himself outside multiple homes with children present — and trying to open at least one door.

Adonjai Dashi Benson, 21, was charged Thursday with a felony count of attempted burglary and 5th degree criminal sexual conduct for masturbation and lewd exhibition with children present. A judge Monday set Benson’s bail at $35,000.

Adonjai Dashi Benson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

According to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court, police were called Aug. 2 to the intersection of Aurora Avenue and North Mackubin Street, in the Summit-University neighborhood, on a report of a naked man showing himself through a woman’s porch window, as well as the adjacent homes’, and attempted to break and enter.

Several people were inside the homes, including multiple children as young as 3 years old.

According to the criminal complaint, after walking around exposing himself through the glass doors on the porches, backyards and windows of the two adjacent homes, Benson stood in front of a sliding glass door, asked the woman who was home for water and continued to expose himself. He then opened the screen door and attempted to open the locked glass sliding door. Police were immediately called.

Benson was identified by police through photos taken by the woman that she provided as evidence.

Benson was also charged with exposing himself in front of building residents and children Aug. 14 outside 10 W. Exchange St., a public housing hi-rise in downtown St. Paul.

According to the report, Benson was exposing himself outside the lobby entrance. A resident let Benson into the apartment, and when St. Paul police identified themselves and knocked on the apartment door, there was no response.

The report details that before leaving the building the officer was approached by a resident and asked if they were there for “penis man.” The resident said Benson visits the apartment often and regularly exposes himself to residents inside and outside of the building.

Benson exposed himself and urinated on the building that same day, with children present, according to witnesses.

Police located Benson the next day at the Exchange Street building, where he had been staying with a resident. According to the complaint, when asked why he was revealing himself, Benson did not respond.

Benson previously was arrested June, 10, 2023, for indecent exposure after following a woman around Cub Foods at 1177 Clarence St. openly masturbating. According to the criminal complaint, police identified Benson from the store’s security footage, and when they tried to arrest him, Benson pushed an officer, causing them to fall on the ground. He was found legally incompetent to proceed with the court case against him.

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