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Letters : Denver sidewalk fees — Voters sold a perpetual bill of goods

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

Denver sidewalk fees: Voters sold a perpetual bill of goodsI just checked my estimated sidewalk fee Denver plans to charge me. It is $542 a year, partially because I live along a “mixed-use collector,” and those rates per foot are higher than for “local streets.”Living along a busy street already makes my property worth less, yet I pay more for the sidewalk? Zillow puts my home at $611,000, but I paid only $300,000; I could not afford to buy it now. Meanwhile, an acquaintance just built a $2 million home nearby with the same sidewalk frontage, although not on a busy street. She has an estimated sidewalk fee of $378 a year.Whatever consultant developed the algorithm for this could have focused a little more attention on equity. Adding a few more variables to the algorithm to include things such as our newly assessed property values or home purchase price should be an easy task for a database scientist to include.Jessica Nolle, DenverDenver estimates it will co...

Westlake Village purse thieves sought by Sheriff's Department

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is asking for the public's help in identifying a group of three thieves who are accusing of stealing a woman's purse at a Westlake Village restaurant and using the stolen credit cards.At about 10:45 a.m. on Aug. 13, a customer at Cici's Café, located at 30990 Russell Ranch Road, had her purse stolen while it was placed on her chair, the LASD said in a news release.Investigators tied the purloined bag to a group of three people who split up and walked around the restaurant while on their cell phones. The man in the group actually nabbed the bag and put it in his backpack, the LASD said. Images provided by the LASD show the other two alleged thieves appear to be women.After the theft, the woman's credit cards were used at Target and Walmart in Thousand Oaks.Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Lopez at 818-878-1808.To provide information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

Airbnb data reveals top destination for family bookings in California, U.S.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

Summer is soon coming to an end. The kids are heading back to school, your job is getting crazy, and — let's face it — the windows aren't going to weatherize themselves.In other words, there's little time for another fun family vacation before the season's over.But there's always next year. And if you start planning early, you just might be able to book a few nights at some of the most popular (and unexpected) U.S. travel destinations for families.After all, family vacations have come a long way since your last trip to Colonial Williamsburg.To illustrate this point, Airbnb has recently revealed the top-booked travel destinations for families in every state. Using data obtained from the first half of 2023, Airbnb focused only on "family night" bookings (i.e., guests traveling with kids) to find out where folks planned to go in June, July and August.So where, exactly, were they headed?In some cases, the results weren't too surprising. The top destinations in California and Florida, fo...

'Barbie' set to be Warner Bros. highest-grossing global release

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

"Barbie" may have lost the weekend box office, but the movie is set to mark a major milestone on Monday. The film is on track to become the highest-grossing global release in Warner Bros. history, passing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2."This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Ryan Gosling, left, and Margot Robbie in a scene from "Barbie." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)The movie has already earned $1.34 billion worldwide according to Variety. "Barbie" is likely to overtake "The Super Mario Brothers Movie" soon as well to become the year's top film at the global box office. However, it looks like "Barbie" has been dethroned from the top spot at the box office by the new movie "Gran Turismo," which earned about $200,000 more, reports AV Club. The final numbers are set to be released later on Monday.

Need to know about lifesaving CPR? A new study says it's probably wise not to ask Alexa or Siri

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

Ask Alexa or Siri about the weather. But if you want to save someone’s life? Call 911 for that.Voice assistants often fall flat when asked how to perform CPR, according to a study published Monday.Researchers asked voice assistants eight questions that a bystander might pose in a cardiac arrest emergency. In response, the voice assistants said:— “Hmm, I don’t know that one.”— “Sorry, I don’t understand.”— “Words fail me.”— “Here’s an answer … that I translated: The Indian Penal Code.”Only nine of 32 responses suggested calling emergency services for help — an important step recommended by the American Heart Association. Some voice assistants sent users to web pages that explained CPR, but only 12% of the 32 responses included verbal instructions.Verbal instructions are important because immediate action can save a life, said study co-author Dr. Adam Landman, chief information officer at Mass General Brigham in Boston. Chest compressions — pushing down hard and fast on the victim’s c...

Bhag Mal Killed in Hit-and-Run Crash on Snyder Avenue [Modesto, CA]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

Destiny Aguillon Arrested after Fatal Hit-and-Run Incident near Prescott Road.MODESTO, CA (August 24, 2023) – Wednesday morning, Bhag Mal was killed in a bicycle collision on Snyder Avenue.The incident happened on August 2nd, at 8:30 a.m., near the intersection of Snyder Avenue and Prescott Road.According to reports, Bhag Mal was riding his bicycle along Snyder Avenue when he was struck by a 2012 Dodge Ram. The impact of the collision caused the rider to sustain critical injuries.Emergency crews arrived shortly after and transported Mal to a local hospital. Later, officials pronounced 79-year-old Bhag Mal dead due to the extent of his condition.Meanwhile, the driver of the Dodge, 19-year-old Destiny Aguillon, initially stayed at the site of the collision. However, she then took off and was later found and arrested.Police booked her to Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run causing death.No words can mend the broken he...

Meet Existential Paper Doll Lucy Black

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

Lucy Black is known for her cheeky, emotional, unsettling life-size “paper doll” mixed media works—large-scale kinetic collages that are raucous, raunchy, impressionistic, cleverly made, funny, ultimately pensive, and beguilingly weird. Working off a performance-based foundation through collage, photography, and sculpture, Black essentially photographs and/or photocopies her own body in order to assemble her cohort of paper doll avatars. Elements referencing props and costumes create hints of settings, while the figures themselves enact anatomically interpretive and frequently unsettling choreography. Some dolls exist as still framed mixed media works—but many of them are mechanical and functional and crucially, controllable by the viewers. In these and related works, Black taps a cozy nostalgia and a surreal disconcertion, the better to investigate how we construct our own shifting identities, the problematics of photography, subjectivity, and truth, and the uncanny in-between plac...

Queen Bey or Mayor Bey?: Santa Clara to name Beyonce honorary mayor, give her the key to the city ahead of Levi’s show

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Mayor Taylor Swift has left the dais after last month’s two-night stint at Levi’s Stadium — and as the leader of Swiftie Clara — and Queen Bey is expected to take over her mayoral duties.On Tuesday night, the Santa Clara City Council will vote on whether to name Beyonce honorary mayor the following day and present her with a key to the city. Beyonce is set to play Levi’s Stadium on Aug. 30 as part of her Renaissance World Tour, which has been projected to gross $2.1 billion in ticket sales.“The city of Santa Clara is excited about Beyonce’s upcoming visit to the world-renowned Levi’s Stadium,” Santa Clara spokesperson Michelle Templeton said in a statement. “Her concerts will certainly bring a great deal of energy and excitement.”The proclamation to make Beyonce the honorary mayor, which bears Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s name, said the pop sensation “has had a tremendous cultural impact as one of the most...

San Jose housing project crafted as “builder’s remedy” gets bigger

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

SAN JOSE — An affordable homes project being eyed on the former San Jose site of a domed movie complex is getting a bit bigger and is being pitched through a “builder’s remedy” gambit.The proposed housing development would be constructed at 741 South Winchester Boulevard in San Jose, the site of the former Century 24, a domed movie house, according to documents filed in July with city planners.The current development plans envision a 264-unit, seven-story residential building at the site, the San Jose planning files show. That’s somewhat larger than a previous proposal for 257 units.The Century 24 movie house has already been bulldozed. A fitness center at one point had been proposed for the property, but those plans have been scrapped.The developer is SyRes Properties LLC, according to a July 5 filing with the city. SyRes is a unit of Syufy Enterprises, which for decades owned and operated a string of Century Theaters movie houses known for their domed...

Woman fatally shot in East Oakland on Sunday night

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:59 GMT

OAKLAND — A woman died Sunday night after an East Oakland shooting, according to police.Officers responded to a gunshot detection system alert on the 3400 block of 82nd Avenue, above McArthur Avenue, just after 9 p.m. Police didn’t find anyone at the scene upon arrival.Investigations revealed that the victim, believed to be a woman in her 40s, was transported to the hospital by another person, where she later died. Police were yet to identify a suspect or motive as of Monday morning.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | One stabbed after violent brawls involving hundreds of young adults erupt at East Bay mall Crime and Public Safety | One dead, one wounded in Oakland shootings Crime and Public Safety | Man shot and killed near East Bay BART station early Sunday morning Crime and Public Safety | ‘Consequences across the board’: Criminal case dismissals mount amid Antioch police scandals Crime and Pu...