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Enchanted experience makes for ideal festive treat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

Dragons flying around your head and immersing you with mysterious unicorns and little elves.... . not a scene from a Harry Potter film but this year’s festive treat at ZOO Planckendael.Called 'Dragons & Unicorns', the seasonal spectacular (which runs to January 7) is the third time it's been organized at ZOO Planckendael.Countless magical creatures come to life after sunset via luminous objects scattered throughout the park. A 6metre-high, fire-breathing red dragon is, arguably, the most impressive creature in the “Enchanted Forest” but there are lots of other charming characters, including unicorns, fireflies and elves along with a constellation of stars.No less than 7,000 LED bulbs, 6,000 metres of LED cables and 15,000 metres of silk have been used for the show. There are more than 60 compositions and over 1,000 luminous objects on display.The luminous objects are again the work of the creators of China Light Festival and it all makes for an enchanting experience and a c...

San Bernardino men killed husky with machete, SBSD says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

A San Bernardino man is behind bars and another man is sought after they allegedly tied a husky to a tree and killed it in Muscoy on Tuesday.Leobardo Martinez, 68, and another man are accused of tying up the dog after it "entered Martinez' property and allegedly killed his fowl," the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. After tying it up, Martinez and the other man "struck it with a machete and large piece of wood until it died," authorities said.Martinez faces a charge of felony cruelty to animals and is being held at the West Valley Detention Center in lieu of $30,000 bail.He is due to appear in San Bernardino Superior Court Thursday afternoon.Investigators are working to identify the second man.Anyone with information is asked to contact the SBSD Central Station Detective Bureau at 909-387-3545. To remain anonymous, contact WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or go to wetip.com.

Matt Wedel’s Botanical Pots and Paintings at LA Louver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

Fans of sculptor Matt Wedel’s eccentric ceramics—and especially his hearty, eccentric, mottled, expressively colorful take on succulents and botanicals—might be surprised when visiting his current exhibition at LA Louver, to encounter an exhibition of paintings instead. But what his work in two dimensions releases in hefty object presence, jaunty-edged planarity, and irresistible tactility, it reclaims with a super-charged palette, optical lushness, and a sinuous, cheeky life force. What both of Wedel’s approaches to the evocative potential of exotic flora have in common, is that despite their nearly extraterrestrial strangeness, it’s all palpably based on the inherent flourishes and fancies of nature itself. If the spiked leaves of bulbous succulents reference jaunty cactuses in the desert, Wedel’s recent gouaches are redolent instead of the fecund verdance and blossom-rich landscape of Hawaii.Matt Wedel: Flower Tree (Hawaii), 2023, gouache and pen on paper, 14 x 11 in (Courtesy of...

GM is first of the big Detroit automakers to seal deal with UAW

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

By Tom Krisher | Associated PressDETROIT — United Auto Workers union members have voted to approve a new contract with General Motors, making the company the first Detroit automaker to get a ratified deal that could end a contentious labor dispute and a series of crippling strikes.A vote-tracking spreadsheet on the union’s website shows that with all local union offices reporting, the contract passed by just over 3,400 votes, with 54.7% in favor. A union spokesman on Thursday confirmed that the spreadsheet had the official GM totals.The outcome was closer than expected after the UAW’s celebrations of victories last month on many key demands that led to six weeks of targeted walkouts against GM, Ford and Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles.On Thursday the contract had a big lead in voting at Ford and Stellantis. Ratification was leading at Ford by more than 10,000 votes, with 66.7% of ballots in favor. At Stellantis, the lead was over 5,700, with 66.5% v...

New book pushes Harry’s claims William cruelly rebuffed him on day queen died

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

Prince Harry appears to be getting another chance to air his grievances about being “kept in the dark” about Queen Elizabeth II’s failing health on the day she died and about how his brother, Prince William, apparently prevented him from joining him and other royal relatives on a flight to Balmoral Castle to pay their last respects.This opportunity for Harry comes in a new book, “Endgame,” by his biographer Omid Scobie, a portion of which was excerpted in People on Wednesday. The excerpt amplifies claims Harry already made in his memoir “Spare,” which are that his estranged brother refused to respond to his messages about catching a ride to Scotland on Sept. 8, 2022, so that he could see his grandmother before she died.According to Scobie’s excerpt, Harry tried to reach William at least twice via text message. “William ignored him,” a family source told Scobie. “He clearly didn’t want to see his brother.” The book suggests that William...

California man’s fatal shooting of co-worker deemed self-defense by DA’s office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday declined to file charges against a man accused of fatally shooting a co-worker during an argument saying the evidence supports his claim of self-defense.The victim, Stephen Totten, 40, of Whittier, died in the 13600 block of Chestnut Street Saturday night.It’s unknown what the two men argued about, said Officer Thomas Mattsson, spokesman for the Whittier Police Department.Whittier Police arrested the 40-year-old suspect on Monday and presented their case to the DA’s Office on Wednesday.“The totality of the evidence supports a self-defense claim. As presented, suspect has a viable self-defense claim which cannot be refuted,” Deputy District Attorney Thushari Wijesing wrote in the form that explained the reasons why the suspect wasn’t charged.The two men were friends and co-workers, he said, adding the suspect had a gathering at his home on Saturday “where all parties were drinking.”According to a witness, the two men argu...

Timeline: All the times A’s ownership has tried to move out of Oakland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

Major League Baseball’s team owners voted Thursday morning to approve the A’s plan to leave Oakland behind and head to Las Vegas.That won’t happen immediately, though: Their lease at the Coliseum runs through next season, and the proposed $1.5 billion ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip is not expected to be finished until 2028.There are still contracts to sort out with the construction and operation of the Vegas stadium and a teachers union in Nevada is presenting a two-pronged legal challenge to the funding for that stadium.The vote moves along the A’s relocation but if they stumble further down their path to the desert, it would not be the first time this team has failed in a relocation bid.Here’s a timeline of Oakland’s often tenuous hold on its baseball team:1970: Two years after moving the A’s from Kansas City to Oakland, owner Charlie Finley reportedly talks with Toronto representatives about moving the team to Canada.1975: Finley, the ab...

New Hampshire poll: Haley moves into 2nd behind Trump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

By Jennifer Agiesta and Ariel Edwards-Levy | CNNFormer President Donald Trump maintains a significant lead among likely voters in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary, but former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has moved ahead of Trump’s other rivals and holds second place, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire.Trump’s advantage in New Hampshire remains short of the majority support he garners in primary polling nationally: 42% say they would vote for him, followed by Haley at 20%, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 14%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 9%, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 8%, and no other candidate holding more than 2% support. Haley’s support has climbed 8 percentage points from the last CNN/UNH poll in September, with Ramaswamy dipping 5 points and support for Trump, Christie and DeSantis remaining relatively steady.The survey finds that Trump’s standing in New Hampshire is boosted by majority support among regi...

Three-bedroom home sells for $3.4 million in Palo Alto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

3704 Carlson Circle – Google Street ViewA house located in the 3700 block of Carlson Circle in Palo Alto has new owners. The 1,812-square-foot property, built in 1952, was sold on Oct. 31, 2023. The $3,400,000 purchase price works out to $1,876 per square foot. This single-story house has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. In addition, the house features a double carport.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:A 2,254-square-foot home on the 3700 block of Carlson Circle in Palo Alto sold in April 2023, for $3,090,000, a price per square foot of $1,371. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In October 2022, a 1,488-square-foot home on Redwood Circle in Palo Alto sold for $2,950,000, a price per square foot of $1,983. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Roosevelt Circle, Palo Alto, in June 2023, a 1,474-square-foot home was sold for $2,820,000, a price per square foot of $1,913. The home has 4 bedroo...

Pilot dead after plane out of East Bay crashes in Southern California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:10 GMT

BY KAREN KUCHER | San Diego Union-TribuneSAN DIEGO — A small Cessna plane crashed in La Jolla Wednesday night, killing the pilot, officials said.The wreckage of the plane, a single-engine Cessna P210, was found shortly after 2 a.m. in a brushy area off Caminito Claro near Gilman Drive, said San Diego police Officer David O’Brien.Residents called 911 around 9:35 p.m. reporting that they heard or saw a distressed plane and that it had crashed.“We got reports that the plane was low, circling the area” and reports that “the plane had gone down,” O’Brien said.Officers searched the area, but it took hours to locate the wreckage in the dark. O’Brien said the aircraft missed a condo complex and hit a hillside.According to the Federal Aviation Administration registry, the plane’s registered owner lives in Carlsbad.The pilot was the only person on board the six-seater and died before he could be taken to a hospital. His name was not released, pending notification of family.According to Flight...