Mike Conley was traded by the Timberwolves on the Tuesday of trade deadline week. The following morning, Minnesota held its usual morning shootaround in Toronto ahead of a game versus the Raptors.

Traditionally, those sessions ended with Conley bringing the team together. Without the point guard in attendance, Minnesota’s players and staff stood awkwardly for five seconds, unsure of what to do.

“We were lost without him,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “Nobody knew who to say, ‘1-2-3, Wolves,’ at the end of our huddle up. We had a few of those quiet moments.”

Minnesota considers itself fortunate to have Conley back in the fold after the guard was traded a second time ahead of the deadline, then waived by Charlotte. Those events paved the way for a reunion between veteran and contender.

Wolves basketball boss Tim Connelly got on the horn with the 38-year-old guard and expressed the team’s hope to get its leader back. Conley didn’t have to be sold.

“Just happy that somehow this all worked and I didn’t have to move the family. I think the best-case scenario for all of us was to be here, and finish out the year with what we started, and don’t have to uproot everybody and can keep everybody happy,” Conley said. “This was how I was hoping that it all worked out, man.”

Conley is Minnesota’s calming force in the locker room. He’s the one players feel they can turn to whenever they’re in search of an ear. He’s a connector between coach and court.

That dynamic may change a bit moving forward. While he still had a sizable role in the rotation pre-trade, Finch said he doesn’t “have anything pre-scripted” regarding reserve roles.

Conley — who has seen his on-court impact decline this season — sounds like a guy who doesn’t expect to play on a nightly basis.

“Ayo (Dosunmu), Bones (Hyland), all these guys, have earned their time and minutes on the court to get their opportunities and do what they do,” Conley said. “I’m getting older, man. … I just really think that it’s their opportunity more than it is mine. You know what I mean? Like, they’re at the stage of life where they’re right before their prime or in their prime and they should be getting these runs, and it should be getting these big minutes and big moments, and learning on these big games and big situations. And I’ve done all that.

“I can be the stopgap here and there, or pinch hitter when you need me, or whatever you need. But I’m prepared for that. I’m prepared for that role.”

Spoken like a true veteran. In his absence, Wolves guard Anthony Edwards took an opportunity postgame to stare into a camera and publicly state, “We want you back, Mike.”

He wasn’t alone, as one teammate after another noted Conley’s value to the team and themselves personally. Those aren’t things Conley heard on a daily basis during his initial tenure.

“But as soon as somebody leaves or you’re not gonna see them again, they start being real about the situation, their feelings towards you as a player, as a person. The overwhelming text messages and phone calls, and people talking to the media and stuff like that kind of got me through a lot of it, where you’re like, ‘Hey, this is pretty cool that all these guys feel this way,’” Conley said. “They don’t tell you that upfront all the time, but you have an impact on them in a way not a lot of people know, and this shows a lot about how tight we are and what kind of a family atmosphere we have.”

Perhaps there would have been more opportunity to contend for minutes elsewhere. Players around the league reached out to Conley to ask about his next steps after hearing of the news, likely hoping to lure the veteran to their respective teams. Yes, the veteran is still chasing that elusive NBA title.

But it would mean more to win one here. Minnesota is where Conley feels he was meant to be — with his wife, his children … and his brothers.

“It’d have been really unfulfilling not to be able to be a part of whatever happens, whether we win (the title), lose or not,” Conley said. “You know you were a part of why this thing changed. You know, just being part of the training camps, the preseasons, the offseasons, the good, the bad, the tough losses, the playoff series where we lay an egg, and have to come back and figure out the next year, like, all that stuff is built up, and that’s sweat equity that you have together.

“This would be really awkward for me to go somewhere else, and have to leave that behind, you know? I kind of go all in wherever I’m at. So, yeah, so this is the place you just want to see it through and see us try to get to that top.”

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The first project to make use of an accelerated review process for housing will turn a parking lot in the Bronx to 84 affordable homes. Voters approved ballot measures last year that will enable the city’s housing agency to seek project approval within 90 days.

This empty city-owned lot at 351 Powers Ave. in the Bronx is slated for 84 new apartments. (NYC HPD)

ULURP’s faster, younger sibling is making its debut in the Bronx.

A new development on Powers Avenue in Morris Park will be the first city project to take advantage of a new expedited approval process for affordable housing, turning a vacant city-owned lot into 80 apartments and community space.

The Expedited Land Use Review Process, dubbed “ELURP,” will allow the city to dispose of the land faster, providing 60 days of simultaneous review by the local community board and borough president, followed by 30 days for the City Council.

The speedier review was one of several ballot measures passed by New York City voters last year to speed up the process to build affordable housing and give city agencies new tools to use public land for development.

The city’s existing land use process, called the Uniform Land Use Review Process, or ULURP, produced costly delays that prevented new housing, according to the NYC Charter Commission that wrote the ballot proposals. The expedited version pushes select projects through faster.

“Instead of a seven month process over to our development partners, we can now do that in just 90 days,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing Leila Bozorg.

The City Council was critical of the ballot initiatives last year, which they said cut out community voices in the planning process.

But new Councilmember Elsie Encarnacion, who represents the Morris Park area where the site is located, said this development was a collaboration with the community. It will have a workforce development training center on the ground floor, a theater, and recreation space.

“I’m really proud of this project, because throughout that whole planning process, community was at the table making sure that they demanded what they will need for the future of this community,” said Encarnacion Friday.

351 Powers Ave. is eligible for expedited review because it takes city owned land and turns it into 100 percent affordable housing.

The building, called Powerhouse Apartments, will have 84 units—24 studios, 18 one bedrooms, 31 two bedrooms, and 11 three bedrooms—including 30 apartments set aside for formerly homeless New Yorkers.

All 84 units will be affordable using the city’ s extremely low and low income affordability standards—a program which Mayor Mamdani touted as an example of true affordability on the campaign trail. Families living there will make about half the median income on average—around $73,000 for a family of three.

“Speeding up the development timeline and creating a more predictable process for public approvals, makes our projects more affordable,” said Michael Sandler, associate commissioner for neighborhood strategies at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

Mamdani set an ambitious goal of building 200,000 “truly affordable” units in New York City within 10 years.

In his first few days in office, he passed an executive order asking agencies to identify city-owned sites that could be developed as housing. Lots like 351 Powers, which was used for parking at an adjacent school, could be good candidates.

“This is the new era of turning ready-to-build sites into quality, affordable homes at the speed this housing crisis demands,” said HPD commissioner Dina Levy at a press conference Friday.

Officials also said they will also be using the expedited approval for an environmental project on Staten Island which will expand the Saw Mill Creek Marsh park. 

Other housing projects could qualify for a “fast track” approval process next year if they’re located in districts that have produced little affordable housing in recent years. 

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Move Over, ULURP: First Project Using ‘Expedited’ Land Use Review Kicks Off In The Bronx appeared first on City Limits.

By JULIA FRANKEL

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Spectators trekking through heavy snow to the Cortina Olympic curling stadium were delighted to be greeted by a traditional Scottish bagpipe performance from a group of high sock-wearing, kilt-sporting, snare drum-carrying, glengarry-topped … Italians.

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The Milan Cortina Winter Games have put their own spin on the tradition of having a pipe band play at Olympic curling medal ceremonies, an homage that is meant to honor the sport’s Scottish heritage.

For this Games, the bagpipers are from northeastern Italy, more than 2,000 miles (about 3,200 kilometers) from Scotland. The Cateaters Pipe Band say they are one of two pipe bands in the Veneto region.

Until recently, the Cateaters’ performances were limited to local concerts, ballet performances and ceremonies around Veneto. Performing at the Olympic medal ceremony is their biggest gig yet.

“It’s so emotional for us to play here for the world,” said Marianna Spadarotto, the lone woman in the band, who is on the bass drum. “For me, yes, it is exciting, but also I’m shy, so it makes me nervous.”

Asked if they add Italian flair to the Scottish tunes, they emphatically shake their heads. They don’t mess with tradition — though it is not unknown in Italy.

Luca Eze, who plays the bagpipes, says he started his career on the zampogna, a type of instrument common in central and southern Italy. In the Veneto region, it’s sometimes called a “piva,” and is played on Christmas and during other festivities.

“I played the electric guitar and then a friend passed along this instrument to me,” says Mauro Fortuna, a Venetian who began playing Scottish music in 2008.

Curling is believed to have originated in Scotland, with the first written evidence of the sport’s existence documented, in Latin, by a notary living in Paisley, Scotland, in the sixteenth century, according to World Curling.

The notary told of a stiff contest between a monk, John Sclater, and a representative of the Abbot, Gavin Hamilton, involving sliding stones across ice. It was in Scotland where organized curling clubs originated, with players sliding stones across frozen lochs.

Italian bagpipers practice outside the curling stadium, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

On a snowy day in front of the Cortina curling center, Olympic fans paused to take in the scene, some wondering how the musicians’ ungloved hands were not too cold to play.

The tufts of Eze’s hair, jutting out from beneath his glengarry cap, were covered in snowflakes that fell down his face with every puff of the bagpipe. He’s bright red and smiling.

Some fans proudly wave Scottish flags. They’re here to watch the four players representing Britain on the ice, all of whom are from Scotland.

Italian bagpipers practice outside the curling stadium at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Italian tourists look animated in the breaks between tunes, realizing they understand the chatter between the bandmates. Cristian Negro, on snare drum, says that as an Italian, choosing to pursue Scottish music has given him frequent opportunities for gigs.

“I focus more on high tension snare drums because there are so few people who play it here,” he says. “I get to play more music — and it’s necessary for someone to do.”

It’s also pretty cool, he admits, because it has brought him to the Olympics.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

By MATT BROWN and LISA MASCARO

WASHINGTON (AP) — The late Rev. Jesse Jackson will not lie in honor in the United States Capitol Rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office due to past precedent.

Johnson’s office said it received a request from the family to have Jackson’s remains lie in honor at the Capitol, but the request was denied, because of the precedent that the space is typically reserved for former presidents, the military and select officials.

The civil rights leader died this week at the age of 84. The family and some House Democrats had filed a request for Jackson to be honored at the U.S. Capitol.

Amid the country’s political divisions, there have been flare ups over who is memorialized at the Capitol with a service to lie in state, or honor, in the Rotunda. During such events, the public is generally allowed to visit the Capitol and pay their respects.

Recent requests had similarly been made, and denied, to honor Charlie Kirk, the slain conservative activist, and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

There is no specific rule about who qualifies for the honor, a decision that is controlled by concurrence from both the House and Senate.

The Jackson family has announced scheduled dates for memorial services beginning next week that will honor the late reverend’s life in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and South Carolina. In a statement, the Jackson family said it had heard from leaders in both South Carolina, Jackson’s native state, and Washington offering for Jackson to be celebrated in both locations. Talks are ongoing with lawmakers about where those proceedings will take place. His final memorial services will be held in Chicago on March 6 and 7.

Typically, the Capitol and its Rotunda have been reserved for the “most eminent citizens,” according to the Architect of the Capitol’s website. It said government and military officials lay in state, while private citizens in honor.

In 2020, Congressman John Lewis, another veteran of the Civil Rights movement, was the first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda after a ceremony honoring his legacy was held outside on the Capitol steps due to pandemic restrictions at the time.

Later that year, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allowed services for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Capitol’s Statuary Hall after agreement could not be reached for services in the Capitol’s Rotunda.

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It is rare for private citizens to be honored at the Capitol, but there is precedent – most notably Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks, in 2005, and the Reverend Billy Graham, in 2018.

A passionate civil rights leader and globally-minded humanitarian, Jackson’s fiery speeches and dual 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns transformed American politics for generations. Jackson’s organization, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, became a hub for progressive organizers across the country.

His unapologetic calls for a progressive economic agenda and more inclusive policies for all racial groups, religions, genders and orientations laid the groundwork for the progressive movement within the Democratic Party.

Jackson also garnered a global reputation as a champion for human rights. He conducted the release of American hostages on multiple continents and argued for greater connections between civil rights movements around the world, most notably as a fierce critic of the policies of Apartheid South Africa.