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How to break up with your lawn and boost resale value

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

From rain gardens to xeriscaping, the environmental benefits of resilient landscaping are well documented. Replacing grass with lawn alternatives can save water, attract pollinators and reduce the need for harsh fertilizers and pesticides.But if you’re eventually planning to sell your home, what will potential buyers think?Thankfully, you don’t have to choose between landscaping that’s good for the environment and resale value. Here’s how to ditch your grass thoughtfully.Do: Consider curb appealFirst impressions matter. More than 90% of Realtors recommend that sellers boost their home’s curb appeal before listing, according to a 2023 joint report from the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Landscape Professionals.Whether you’re moving now or in the future, landscaping projects remain a surefire way to produce a positive return on investment. Homeowners can recoup the full value of an overall landscape upgrade, according to the report.For maximum curb ap...

Chris Perkins: Work begins for Dolphins team that’s built to ‘go further’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard said what needed to be said Wednesday, two days after players reported for the first day of the offseason program.Howard, a four-time Pro Bowl selection who was drafted by the Dolphins in 2016, has seen lots of roster manipulations in his seven seasons in South Florida.This year, however, is a bit different.This year, for the first time in many years, the Dolphins have legitimate Super Bowl hopes. It’s evident to everyone, and momentum is building.“I feel like we finally got a team,” Howard said, “that I feel like we can go further.”That feeling might even be perceptible throughout the organization.But they must hurry down the path. The way the Dolphins are constructed they have a two-year “win now” window with the guys on their roster.And next week’s NFL Draft doesn’t figure largely into the “win now” window.Although this is a young team, the vast majority of the top players have two...

3 dead in East County house fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. -- Three people are dead following a house fire in El Cajon, the San Diego Sherriff's Department confirmed.Firefighters responded to reports of a structure fire at a residence in the 900 block of North Anza Street in El Cajon shortly before midnight Thursday, officials said.Firefighters from San Miguel, Heartland, Santee and Lakeside Fire Departments all responded to the scene. Rules of the Road: California license plate rules Michael Christiansen, Battalion Chief for San Miguel Fire & Rescue, said crews discovered a single-story, single-family home in flames. He described the blaze as "high volume."Neighbors described hearing what sounded like small explosions.Officials told FOX 5 it was an aggressive fire fight that left the home destroyed. A utility pole also caught fire in the process."At some point the gas line ruptured and it ruptured before the gas meter, so that's why SDG&E's gas side is on scene to secure that in the street," said Battalion Chief ...

Man wanted in NC shooting waives extradition from Florida

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A North Carolina man accused of shooting and wounding a 6-year-old girl and her parents after children went to retrieve a basketball that had rolled into his yard waived extradition during a brief court appearance Friday morning in Florida.Robert Louis Singletary, 24, was arrested Thursday in the Tampa area by Hillsborough County deputies, according to online jail records. He wore a dark colored protective vest during the hearing.Singletary replied, “indeed,” when Hillsborough Circuit Judge Catherine Catlin asked if he would sign the waiver to allow officials to take him back to North Carolina to face charges in Tuesday’s shooting of the girl and her parents. He will be held without bond on a fugitive warrant.The judge said she would hold another detention hearing if North Carolina officials haven’t picked Singletary up by April 24.Singletary is facing four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with the int...

Mississauga chef sets record for blindfolded cucumber slicing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

Wallace Wong, also known as the Six Pack Chef on social media, is a chef, fitness athlete, tv personality, entrepreneur and the latest, a Guinness Book of World Records holder.Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Wallace is a Michelin trained chef and national level body builder. He has worked in many notable restaurants, like Langdon Hall in Toronto and Alinea in Chicago.The chef has been on many shows, as the winner of both Fridge Wars and Chopped Canada, and a finalist on Top Chef Canada and Bake it Possible. He’s also a cancer survivor.“All those things together is sort of what you see now, or what people see in the world as Six Pack Chef,” says Wallace. He adds, “Especially with cancer, I learned that life is valuable.In early February, Wallace made his way to Milan, Italy, where he set a record for the most slices of cucumbers, sliced, while blindfolded, in 30 seconds. He was contacted by Lo Show Dei Records, a show that showcases record attempts.“I have that one video on ...

Frequent shootings put US mass killings on a record pace

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. is setting a record pace for mass killings in 2023, replaying the horror on a loop roughly once a week so far this year.The carnage has taken 88 lives in 17 mass killings over 111 days. Each time, the killers wielded firearms. Only 2009 was marked by as many such tragedies in the same period of time.Children at a Nashville grade school, gunned down on an ordinary Monday. Farmworkers in Northern California, sprayed with bullets over a workplace grudge. Dancers at a ballroom outside Los Angeles, massacred as they celebrated the Lunar New Year.In just the last week, four partygoers were slain and 32 injured in Dadeville, Alabama, when bullets rained down on a Sweet 16 celebration. And a man just released from prison fatally shot four people, including his parents, in Bowdoin, Maine, before opening fire on motorists traveling a busy interstate highway. “Nobody should be shocked,” said Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was one of 17 people kill...

Norwegian sovereign wealth fund to support Teck Resources plan to split business

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

VANCOUVER — Norway’s sovereign wealth fund will vote to support Teck Resources Ltd.’s plan to split the company’s metals and steelmaking coal businesses into two separate companies at a key shareholder meeting next week. The decision comes as Teck works to secure support for its plan over an unsolicited takeover proposal by Swiss company Glencore, which is urging shareholders to reject the company’s proposal in favour of its offer to acquire the company.Glencore has said it cannot pursue its bid if Teck’s plan to separate its businesses goes ahead since it would add significant complexity to the deal. Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, published its voting intentions as part of its routine disclosures on its website. It held a roughly 1.5 per cent stake in the Canadian mining company as of the end of 2022.The United Steelworkers (USW), the union which represents over 4,000 Teck employees in B....

NFL suspends 5 players for violating gambling policy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL suspended five players for violating the league’s gambling policy on Friday.Detroit Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore and Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney were suspended indefinitely, while Lions wide receivers Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams were suspended six games.Cephus, Moore and Toney are suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season, and may petition for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2023 season.Berryhill and Williams were suspended for betting from an NFL facility on non-NFL games. They are eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason activities, including preseason games., and their suspensions will take effect at the final roster cutdown. The Lions released Cephus and Moore on Friday. Detroit Lions executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes said in a statement that the players “exhibited decision makin...

Police say woman assaulted parking enforcement officer in downtown Toronto

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

Toronto police have charged a 58-year-old woman after an alleged assault on a parking enforcement officer last week in the city’s downtown core. Officers were called to the Baldwin and Beverley Streets area on Wednesday, April 12 at around 11:13 a.m. Police say the officer spotted a vehicle that was double parked and advised the driver to move the vehicle. When that apparently didn’t happen in a timely fashion, the officer began issuing a parking violation ticket. That’s when a person came out of a nearby home, approached and allegedly pushed the officer.“The driver also exited the vehicle and the two individuals began to verbally abuse the officer while following him,” police said in a release on Friday. Ever Nyakachanga, 58, has been charged with assaulting a peace or public officer and is scheduled to appear in court on June 1.

Tech and industrial stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite, U.S. stock markets lower

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:07:59 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in technology and industrial stocks helped Canada’s main stock index creep higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets fell on the final day of trading for the week.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 4.33 points at 20,635.02.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 54.51 points at 33,732.11. The S&P 500 index was down 4.48 points at 4,125.31, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.84 points at 12,049.72.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.88 cents US compared with 74.24 cents US on Thursday.The June crude contract was up 43 cents at US$77.80 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was down three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was down US$30.00 at US$1,989.10 an ounce and the May copper contract was down four cents at US$3.99 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press