The Bluffton Lady Pirate Youth Basketball Camp will be held on June 24 and 26 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

This camp is open to all girls entering grades 3-6 and will be held in the Bluffton High School gym.

Staff will be Bluffton High School Girls Basketball coaching staff as well as current Lady Pirate basketball players.

Participants will need t-shirt, shorts, tennis shoes and a water bottle. The cost is $30 per camper.

Please send in registration by June 9 to be guaranteed a T-shirt and basketball.

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – The City of Enterprise continues to evolve and grow.

Enterprise Parks and Recreation has partnered once again with RCX Sports, a premier youth sports platform and official youth sports operator of Major League Soccer, to bring to the city of Enterprise its first-ever youth soccer program.

The program will debut this fall and teach children ages 5-12 the fundamental skills needed to play the “Beautiful Game,” while also providing them with an inclusive experience rooted in community.

“We’re so excited that our youth sports continue to grow. We’ve grown by 50 percent in the last five years,” said Blake Moore, Director of Community Services and Recreation for the City of Enterprise. “So, we’re totally excited to get a new program going and a new sport to bring to our community and watch it evolve and grow.”

The action will occur at the Enterprise Sports Complex on three multipurpose fields. Adjacent to the fields at Peavy Park will soon be three more multipurpose fields that will also be utilized primarily for the youth soccer program.

“We want the youth to get outside and play soccer. Also, the economic impact this will bring to the community,” Moore said. “Now we can offer travel tournaments out here, whether youth soccer or adult sports. We have the room and space again, our mayor and council have greatly emphasized building these multipurpose fields, and we look to get the youth out here and playing some soccer.”

Registration for the soccer program runs from June 2 through July 11. Each player pays a $45 registration fee.

Registration for fall sports, including soccer, will run through the same dates. The season will start in August.

You can register in person at the Enterprise Park and Rec at 421 East Lee St or online.

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LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – A debate is heating up in the capital city as lawmakers push for bills aimed at trans youth in sports.

Bills before the Michigan House target transgender youth in kindergarten to 12th-grade girls’ sports

The bills advanced out of committee Thursday morning with a three-to-two vote. Supporters are calling it protection for girls, while opponents say it targets and excludes trans students.

“Mr. Chair, you have three yeas, two nays, zero passes, the motion prevails,” heard from a screen in the overflow room as Michigan’s House Government Operations Committee voted on two House bills that are sparking emotional responses in the state capital.

Republican Representative Jason Woolford (R-Howell) is leading the charge to ban transgender girls from participating in K-12 girls’ sports.

“The NCAA has already adjusted their rules to President Trump’s executive order, so why would we not protect our little kids K-12 if they’re already going to be subject to that protection at grade 13?” said Rep. Woolford.

Supporters of the bills say allowing trans girls to compete takes opportunities away from cisgender girls, in addition to the potential to cause injury. While Democrats on the committee didn’t speak for or against the bill, they ultimately voted no.

Opponents like Emme Zanotti with Equality Michigan say the bill’s passage could lead to further discrimination.

“This will her way more young women who were assigned female at birth than it will hurt trans women, because you will have republican politicians telling when who they think have too short of hair, too broad of shoulders that they should get out of bathrooms and that they’re not allowed to play soccer with their friends,” said Zanotti.

Payton McNabb, who gained national attention following a head and neck injury, the result of a spiked ball by a transgender athlete, spoke at Thursday’s committee meeting.

“If the adults in the room don’t start standing up and putting an end to this senseless threat to females, there won’t be female sports,” said McNabb.

With comments coming from both sides of the issue.

“A transgender girl is not a boy,” said Sarah Antaya, a transgender coach.

The bills are now headed to the full House for a vote. Rep. Woolford says he expects the bills to pass.

Currently, 27 states restrict trans youth from taking part in sports that align with their gender identity.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association allows transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports on a case-by-case basis. The association says there are typically two inquiries each year for $180,000 athletes statewide.

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We’re done talking about loss, broken promises, and teams skipping town. With spring season in full swing, we’re excited to be bringing the community together to talk about what’s new and what’s next by shining a spotlight on three passionate folks who are bringing energy, pride and joy back to sports in Oakland.

Join us on Thursday June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the New Parkway Theater for an unforgettable evening of discussion with Oakland Ballers General Manager Laura Geist, Oakland Roots Soccer Club co-founder Tommy Hodul and Oakland Girls Softball League President Amanda Wentworth. They’ll be swapping stories about what it takes to build and sustain community-powered sports teams in Oakland—and what it means to root for teams that truly represent the people.

We’ll also be treated to a special live musical performance by the rising bluegrass duo, Spicy Sally.

If that weren’t enough, audience members will get a chance to score some great merch (including game tickets and team swag!) with giveaways happening throughout the evening.

Come out to connect, and be part of the next chapter in Town sports.

Laura Geist, Oakland Ballers

Geist is the general manager of the Oakland Ballers, a professional baseball team competing in the independent Pioneer League. The team was founded and began play in 2024 at their refurbished home field at Raimondi Park in West Oakland. In her role, Laura is responsible for overseeing operations and community development for the organization.

Before joining the Ballers, Laura held key positions at tech companies including Google, Meta and Microsoft, where she gained expertise in managing large-scale programs and product optimization. She is a third generation Oakland resident with a deep love for the city. She lives in Oakland with her husband and two daughters and is anxiously awaiting the Ballers’ Opening Day on May 20.

Amanda Wentworth, Oakland Girls Softball League

Oakland native Amanda Wentworth grew up playing softball with the Oakland Girls Softball League (OGSL) and the Oakland Athletic League (OAL) and now serves as president of the OGSL. She also has 10 years of experience coaching girls softball, including for the past two years as the assistant coach at Fremont High School.

Passionate about youth sports, Amanda believes that creating opportunities for Oakland kids to play, compete, and grow requires a community effort. As OGSL president, Amanda has sought to expand access to softball and increase the league’s enrollment in underrepresented communities. She is also focused on strengthening the OAL’s high school program, ensuring that student athletes have pathways to continue their softball careers, regardless of what school they attend.

Tommy Hodul, Oakland Roots & Soul

Tommy Hodul is a co-founder of the Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul sports clubs. With nearly a decade of experience in sports-related communications, he oversees all public relations and media efforts for both soccer teams in his current role as vice-president of communications.

Born and raised in Oakland, Tommy graduated from Skyline High School and holds degrees in Jazz Performance from Cal State Northridge and Music Pedagogy from the University of Miami. Now back home with the Oakland Roots and Soul, he combines his deep love for The Town and passion for music and sports to craft stories that help to uplift Oakland. You can find him on most weekends hiking with his dogs at Sibley and Redwood Regional Parks.

Spicy Sally

Led by former Oakland School for the Arts students NAIMA and MK Martinez-Griffith, Spicy Sally is a new offshoot of the rising bluegrass band Salty Sally. MK is a cellist and violinist who has performed with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, Mariachi Juveníl de Hayward and the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra. 15-year-old NAIMA is a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has performed at BottleRock, supported Valerie June, and performed at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass as part of the emerging artists supergroup Oakland Rising. The duo is appearing at Culture Makers through their partnership with Follow the Music, an emerging artist and music education program.

Two years ago, Michael Brown died while playing golf on the Vineyard due to anaphylactic shock from a wasp sting, an allergy he didn’t know he had. This year, thanks to the advocacy work of his wife Megan Shai Brown, three bills have been introduced at the State House that could increase access to lifesaving allergy medication.

The bills aim to make it easier for police departments, schools and other organizations to store and use epinephrine auto-injectors, such as EpiPens, in emergency situations, and in the process save lives.

Mr. Brown died suddenly in 2023 at the age of 41. He first visited the Island during summers and eventually moved here full time, working at the Wharf, where he and Ms. Shai Brown met. He later worked for Performance Mechanical Industries on the Island, and was an Little League coach for he and Megan’s two sons.

Following Mr. Brown’s death, Ms. Shai Brown began to advocate to make epinephrine more accessible. Her work started on the Vineyard. Thanks in part to her advocacy, the Edgartown police department began to carry EpiPens to administer in emergency situations this fall.

“He is, of course, my motivation for this doing in his honor, keeping his memory alive and going, and to try and ensure that no other families have to go through this senseless pain,” Ms. Shai Brown said in a recent interview with the Gazette.

Epinephrine auto-injectors are only available to individuals through prescription. People who experience a severe allergic reaction for the first time, as Mr. Brown did, do not have access to the medication.

Ms. Brown with sons Calvin and Miles.

— Ray Ewing

The new legislature, if passed, would make it possible for more locations, including restaurants and youth sports leagues, to carry the medication. The bills would also provide legal protections to police departments carrying epinephrine auto-injectors and require schools to stock the medication.

In order to increase awareness about these bills, Ms. Shai Brown and others will host an education day at the

state house on June 24. Physicians, law enforcement and people impacted by anaphylaxis will present on the topic.

State Rep. Thomas Moakley, who introduced one of the three bills in February with state Sen. Julian Cyr, said that Ms. Shai Brown has been instrumental in organizing the event.

“Megan Shai has done amazing advocacy work on the Island and beyond,” Mr. Moakley said.

The first bill, which Ms. Shai Brown calls the Michael Brown Law, would allow for any organization where allergens may be present to stock auto-injectors and train employees to use them. She also emphasized the importance of training.

“It will take the fear factor out if it happens in their place of business,” she said. “It will give staff the tools to recognize the symptoms and act fast.”

She added that she knew nothing about allergic reactions before her husband suffered an anaphylactic shock.

“Before this happened to my husband, to be honest, I thought if you touched an EpiPen, you could die,” she said. “Since this has happened, I’ve talked to so many people across different aspects of life, and there is so much misinformation out there about EpiPens.”

Ms. Shai Brown compared the idea to the availability today of automated external defibrillators (AED). She goes through CPR-AED training every other year because her family owns restaurants. In the training, she said, everyone is taught how to use the AED and to call 911.

“You want to try to get that medical device that’s life saving on the person as fast as possible,” she said. “That is the same idea with the EpiPens, having them in our communities and available in restaurants and in stores, hotels, wherever it is, available as fast as possible.”

While researching how to make epinephrine more accessible, Ms. Shai Brown met others in similar situations, including Chandler Smalling Sullivan, from Walpole, whose daughter almost died from an anaphylactic reaction in preschool. Since the incident, Ms. Smalling Sullivan had been advocating for the Walpole Police Department to carry auto-injectors.

According to Ms. Shai Brown, Ms. Smalling Sullivan’s daughter had an allergic reaction to sunflower butter. The police were the first to respond, but did not have an EpiPen. The ambulance followed close behind, and those responders did have the medication.

“You could see a way where, if the ambulance was held up, that’s a horrible, very different outcome,” Ms. Shai Brown said.

Ms. Shai Brown and Ms. Smalling Sullivan worked with state Rep. John Rogers, a Democrat from Norwood, to re-file a second bill that would help protect police who administer medical assistance for an anaphylactic reaction.

“It increases liability protection for police officers and hopefully encourages police chiefs to put [EpiPens] in their medic bags,” Ms. Shai Brown said. “They are usually the first on the scene….Let’s give them all the tools that they need to save a life.”

The third bill Ms. Shai Brown is seeking support for would require schools to maintain a stock of epinephrine auto-injectors. She said that it is important to have non-patient specific medication in schools because many people do not know that they have allergies before a reaction happens.

For example, during the 2021-2022 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Health reported 286 anaphylactic events across schools in the state. Of those, 19.2 per cent did not have have a known history of allergies. These numbers include students, teachers and visitors to schools.

“If the school doesn’t have undesignated EpiPens in their school, then they have to call an ambulance and wait for that ambulance to come, and that’s again, valuable life saving time,” Ms. Shai Brown said.

At present, the three bills have been referred to committees. The next step will be for each bill to receive a public hearing, where people will be able to testify in person, virtually or in writing.

Ms. Shai Brown is encouraging people to reach out to their representatives and senators to help her honor her husband’s legacy, who she said was a strong community member, incredible father and wonderful husband.

“We have the medicine that can save lives,” Ms. Shai Brown said. “Let’s make sure that we can get it out there, so it can do what it’s there for.”

CLEVELAND — Last week, with state legislators considering make-or-break funding for a new suburban Cleveland Browns stadium, Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne pleaded with Columbus to help them keep the Browns Downtown.

On Thursday afternoon, team owner Haslam Sports Group sent a letter to Ronayne criticizing his recent comments – while standing firm on the team’s desire to build an enclosed stadium in Brook Park.

The letter, signed by Haslam Sports Group Chief Operating Officer Dave Jenkins, chides Ronayne for sharing “misleading information,” offers a bulleted list of reasons why local leaders should support the team’s Brook Park plans, and then states:

“It is truly disheartening to see you, as County Executive, actively work against a potential $600 million investment from the State that would be paired with $2 billion+ in private investment for an unprecedented $3 billion+ economic development project centrally located in Cuyahoga County. These are the types of inexplicable decisions that keep the Greater Cleveland region from thriving, while other regions like Columbus and Cincinnati continue to grow and evolve.”

You can read the entire letter here:

In the letter, shared with News 5, the Browns make clear that they’d still prefer to get the county’s buy-in – and help with stadium financing. But Jenkins says Haslam Sports Group can move forward with or without the county: “To further clear up misinformation, while we have not given up on our elusive goal of local unity, and the upside for the public is far greater with the County’s partnership, we remain undeterred and are not relying on the County’s participation to execute this project.”

Ronayne responded to the letter by calling the Browns’ plans “unrealistic,” saying the $2.4 billion Brook Park stadium proposal will create “an unacceptable amount of risk for taxpayers.”

Haslam Sports Group is asking the public to cover half the tab – $1.2 billion. They’ve been asking the state and county to each borrow $600 million by issuing bonds – debt that would largely be repaid using tax revenues from the entire 176-acre Brook Park stadium district.

Budget time

In a joint letter to members of the Ohio Senate last week, Ronayne and Bibb asked lawmakers to help pay for a renovation of Huntington Bank Field instead of ground-up construction of an enclosed stadium in Brook Park.

“The lakefront stadium transformation plan is a far more reasonable and responsible one for Ohio taxpayers,” Bibb and Ronayne wrote.

Local leaders and the Browns recently went back and forth on the issue:

Local officials push to keep Browns Downtown; HSG says Brook Park best solution

RELATED: Local officials push to keep Browns Downtown; Haslam Sports Group says Brook Park is best long-term solution

Bibb and Ronayne said there is a viable plan to keep the Browns in the central business district, as an anchor for a reimagined lakefront. They’re asking the state to kick in $350 million for a $1.2 billion renovations of the city-owned stadium. They said Cleveland and Cuyahoga County will chip in, too.

The Browns are on a tight timeline to line up financing and start construction in Brook Park. They need to break ground early next year in order to move by the start of the 2029 NFL season. The team’s lease on the existing stadium ends in early 2029.

The Ohio House recently included $600 million in bonds for the Brook Park stadium in its version of the state budget bill. The Senate is working on its own version of the budget now, with the goal of passing a bill by mid-June.

Then the chambers will work out any differences between their versions before sending the budget to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature. The deadline for signing the budget is June 30.

The governor, meanwhile, is urging lawmakers to take a different – and more holistic – approach to paying for pro sports facilities. He wants to increase the tax on sports-gaming companies’ profits to create a dedicated fund for stadiums and investments in youth sports.