#NaptownNewsie: Indiana Fever Protest Racial Injustice & Police Abuses; Son Of Indy Mayor Dodges Weed Charges; Violent Protests Continue In Charlotte; Tamika Catchings Retires After Playoff Loss To Mercury; More

The Indiana Fever  Source: Ron Hoskins / Getty

@kwellscomm  TLCNaptown.com News & Sports  — 

Congratulations on the retirement of Indiana Fever player Tamika Catchings, also to head coach Stephanie White. Wednesday night’s playoff game against the Phoenix Mercury was their last. It was also a historic socially. Catchings and the entire roster of Fever players locked arms, lowered their heads and knelt during the National Anthem. They were also joined by two Mercury players, Mistie Bass and Kelsey Bone. The Fever are the first professional sports team –entire team— to join the protest against racial inequality started by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, in the U.S. The ladies were eliminated from the WNBA Playoffs after their loss to the Mercury with a final score of 89-78. Reaction has been mixed with many in support and some in opposition. More game details are below in sports.

A toddler and grandmother are recovering from a hit-and-run. Indianapolis Metro Police say they were hit Wednesday evening crossing West Washington Street at Fleming Street. The two-year-old was thrown from her stroller. The vehicle that hit them is believed to be a brown pickup truck.

Source: amos / amos

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s son is avoiding marijuana charges in Rush County. William Hogsett was arrested back in July after being pulled over for crossing the center line and for failing to use a turn signal. Prosecutors have filed a pre-trial diversion agreement that drops charges against him, if he pays a fine and has no criminal offenses for a year.

The Republican state superintendent candidate, Jennifer McCormick, says teachers and schools across Indiana can’t be summed-up with a simple letter grade A to F. She says those grades don’t paint the full picture. McCormick says many of Indiana’s schools aren’t improving because districts and teachers have ‘severed’ their relationship with current state superintendent Glenda Ritz.

Job seekers, Castleton Square Mall is looking for holiday help. A job fair will be held next Thursday, September 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The mall has about 200 seasonal positions to fill. Applicants are asked to bring a resume or copy of their work history and dress to impress.

Source: Anthony Bradshaw / Getty

The first presidential debate is Monday between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. This one will be moderated by NBC’s award-winning anchor, Lester Holt. But before you get to that race for the White House, join us to hear from and talk to the candidates right here, vying for the statehouse and governor’s mansion. We’ve partnered with the Indianapolis Recorder to bring you a Gubernatorial Forum Sunday at the Central Library—downtown. It will be moderated in the auditorium by the Recorder’s Shannon Williams and begins at 1 p.m.

National…

Source: Michael Tubi / Getty

Streets are quiet on this Thursday morning in Charlotte, North Carolina after a second night of violence, but some major employers have been telling their workers to stay home today. Governor Pat McCrory called for a state of emergency Wednesday night and is today initiating additional efforts to deploy the National Guard and State Highway Patrol to help police in Charlotte after a police shooting death of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott. Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts is considering a curfew tonight.

Source: Tonya Jameson / Tonya Jameson

The North Carolina NAACP is addressing Scott’s fatal shooting by police. The civil rights group released a statement calling on the Charlotte Police department to release any video or information in Scott’s shooting death Tuesday. This latest incident has sparked violent protests in Charlotte the past two nights. One person was reportedly critically shot Wednesday night by a civilian, according to police officials there. Police say Scott was armed with a gun and “posed an imminent deadly threat.” Witnesses say Scott was waiting for his daughter and had a book. Police have produced the gun they say Scott had. North Carolina is an Open Carry state. NAACP officials plan to meet with Scott and community leaders today.

Yahoo is expected to confirm this week that a massive data breach has exposed the information of tens of millions of its users, maybe you. The tech news website Recode says Yahoo has been investigating claims that a hacker was trying to sell the usernames, passwords and birth dates of Yahoo account users on the black-market “dark web.” Recode says the breach could affect up to 200-million accounts.

Twitter is loosening, but not getting rid of its 140-character limit. The social network tweeted this week that photos, videos, polls, and GIFs no longer count toward the total number of characters in a tweet. Twitter handles, marked with an “@” symbol, still count toward the 140-character total, but Twitter says the company will soon update its rules to exclude those from the total. Twitter said last spring the changes now in place would make having conversations on Twitter easier.

In Sports…

Tamika Catchings  Source: Ron Hoskins / Getty

Tamika Catchings scored 13 points in her final WNBA game as the Fever fell to the Mercury 89-78 Wednesday night in downtown Indy. Though the team unified and protested on their home floor, they didn’t ultimately protect it, though many made a valiant effort, just coming up short. Marissa Coleman also added 13 points in the single-elimination playoff matchup. Shenise Johnson tied a team record. Johnson made her 42nd straight free throw. The Fever end the year with a 17-and-18 overall record.

Tamika Catchings & Briann January  Source: Ron Hoskins / Getty

Regarding Catchings, the 37-year-old forward spent her entire 15-year career with Indiana after being drafted third overall in 2002. Catchings won WNBA Rookie of the Year, led the Fever to the Finals three times, and the multi-Olympian Gold Medalist brought home one championship in 2012.

The NBA and NBA Players’ Association are looking to work together in dealing with potential protests as the season approaches. The national anthem has become a hot button issue, led by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling in protest as a statement against racial injustice and police brutality here, in the U.S. The protests have now trickled throughout the NFL as well as into other sports. (Refer back to the historic unified move of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever before their playoff game against the Phoenix Mercury at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.) A joint letter signed by NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NBAPA president Michele Roberts on Wednesday discussed how they can join forces to make progress on the issue. The preseason opens October 1 and the regular season begins October 24.

Source: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty

Another Bay Area sports celebrity is supporting Kaepernick’s national anthem protest. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said the “Kaepernick issue” has people talking and the NBA Coach of the Year went on to say, that’s a good thing. Kerr told reporters Wednesday, “You better be disgusted about the things that are happening.” Kerr also said protests should be non-violent. Kerr spoke in the days after black men were killed by police in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Terrence Crutcher) and Charlotte, North Carolina (Keith Lamont Scott).

Indianapolis Weather…

Today is the autumnal equinox which is a fancy term for it’s the beginning of fall. It rolls in at 10:21 a.m. Thursday morning. Don’t expect fall’s cool temperatures just yet though. Warm temperatures will stick around in most places except the northwestern and north-central part of the country. That also means it’s going to be hot in Indy today. Morning clouds clear for a sunny afternoon with today’s high of 89 degrees.

Finally…

A treat on a hot day like the one we’re expecting today is ice cream… so listen up if you love that creamy stuff. Blue Bell is doing yet another recall over Listeria concerns. The Texas-based creamery says the voluntary recall involves chocolate chip cookie dough sent from an Iowa supplier. The dough was sent to Blue Bell plants in Texas and Alabama. Maybe try an ice pop instead.