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Mellencamp Brings Golden Age to Life in Hollywood

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

Mellencamp Brings Golden Age to Life in Hollywood: Going to a rock & roll concert at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood was a new one on us. The venue is normally associated with theatrical performances — musicals, plays and comedy. As it happens, it was the perfect room to watch this latest John Mellencamp show.The theme appeared to be the Golden Age of moviemaking in Hollywood (appropriately enough), and how that relates to telling the stories of outsiders (of which he considers himself one). The stage was dressed like a movie set, with statues of (we think) Marlon Brando and other assorted stars of that era dotted around. It really was beautiful.In addition, rather than an opening act we were treated to a 30-minute video, narrated by Mellencamp, with clips from classics such as The Misfits, The Grapes of Wrath, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Mellencamp takes us through what he loves about them, how he relates to them, what makes them so very special to him, and how they infl...

Mary Nunez-Ramirez Killed in Two-Car Crash on Grande Avenue [Tucson, AZ]

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

94-Year-Old Female Passenger Dies in Two-Car AccidentTUCSON, AZ (March 23, 2023) – Sunday night Mary Nunez-Ramirez died after being involved in a two-vehicle accident.The incident happened on March 3rd, at about 6:45 p.m., near the intersection of North Grande Avenue and West St. Mary’s Road.According to reports, a blue 2007 Chevrolet Silverado was traveling eastbound on St. Mary’s Road when it attempted to make a turn on North Grande Avenue. There, the Chevrolet collided with a black 2013 Hyundai Sonata traveling westbound on St. Mary’s Road.Emergency crews arrived at the site of the collision shortly after. Medics then transported Nunez-Ramirez and the driver of the Hyundai to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries.It was reported later, on March 5th, officials pronounced 94-year-old Mary Nunez-Ramirez dead at the hospital, due to the extent of her injuries. The condition of the Hyundai driver is currently unclear.No words can mend the broken hear...

Berkeley: Peek inside World Pizza Champion Laura Meyer’s first restaurant, opening today

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

One of the most exciting and highly-anticipated restaurants to hit downtown Berkeley in ages is opening for dinner tonight. Pizzeria da Laura, the debut restaurant from celebrated World Champion pizzaiola Laura Meyer, opens at 5 p.m. with four styles of pizza plus house-made pastas, super-fresh salads and low ABV cocktails.Yup, it’s a pizza place. And, no, it’s not fancy. But by now we know that pandemic-proof artisanal pizzerias — those with variety, high-quality qualities and a geeky devotion to dough fermentation — could probably outlive an apocalypse in the Bay Area. And this one is particularly special.Guests mingle while sampling food and beverages during an opening party at Pizzeria da Laura in downtown Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) Tucked into the art deco building formerly housing Passione Emporio on Shattuck Square, the two-story pizzeria is the long-awaited debut from one of Northern Californi...

Sharks’ top prospect injured in AHL game in Colorado

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

William Eklund, the Sharks’ top forward prospect, is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury he sustained in the San Jose Barracuda’s game with the Colorado Eagles on Wednesday.Eklund was injured in the second period when he fell to the ice in an awkward fashion following a puck battle with Colorado’s Nate Clurman. Eklund then slowly skated to the Barracuda’s bench, holding his arm, and did not return to the game.Sharks coach David Quinn said the organization will probably know more about Eklund’s injury after the Barracuda return to San Jose today.The Barracuda lost to Colorado 3-2 as the Eagles completed the two-game series sweep.Eklund, 20, had three points in eight games for the Sharks this month but was officially returned to the AHL on Sunday. He played in the Barracuda’s game against Colorado on Tuesday, an 8-0 San Jose loss.William Eklund hurt here pic.twitter.com/kp80aagTVZ— JD Young (@MyFryHole) March 23, 2023The Barracuda (26-31-1-4) are trying to secure a s...

Battered California faces billions in storm damage to crops, homes and roads

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

By David R Baker, Kim Chipman, Mark Chediak and Brian K Sullivan | BloombergThe costs of California’s relentless winter storms keep rising. And outside of the human toll — with at least 28 people killed since January — the price will be measured in billions. The “bomb cyclone” that lashed San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday was the latest in an epic series of extreme weather events to hit California since New Year’s Eve. It blew out windows from skyscrapers, flung barges into a historic bridge, sent trees tumbling across roads, knocked down power lines, and threatened a major freeway as the waterlogged hillside beneath it started to collapse. Just to the south, in the Santa Cruz area, the river that flooded the town of Pajaro a week ago rose again, while nearby strawberry fields that were already submerged received a fresh round of rain.  And on Wednesday, the National Weather Service confirmed that a rare tornado hit an industrial area of Montebello, east of downtown Los Angeles, inj...

Pajaro residents cleared to return to flood-ravaged Monterey County farm town

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

Monterey County authorities Thursday morning lifted evacuation orders for the flood-ravaged farm town of Pajaro, allowing residents to return to their homes in most cases for the first time since they were forced to flee in the middle of the night March 11 after a levee failed and inundated their community.But county officials who lifted the orders at 10 a.m., a day earlier than they had indicated Wednesday, cautioned that Pajaro is still far from livable, with no water or sewer service and many homes requiring restoration work.“There are health risks to people returning to Pajaro,” a Monterey County notice said. “The county and Pajaro Sunny Mesa Services are working diligently to restore the sewer system. There is no potable water and toilets can’t be flushed. It isn’t recommended that residents stay until sewer and water are restored. Those entering the area do so at their own risk.”Related ArticlesWeather | Authorities find body of m...

Manhattan DA rejects GOP demands for Donald Trump case info

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

By Farnoush Amiri | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Manhattan district attorney investigating Donald Trump rebuffed House Republicans’ request Thursday for documents and testimony about the case, dismissing it as an “unprecedented inquiry” with no legitimate basis.In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the general counsel for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg slammed the congressional request as “an unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty.”“The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene,” Leslie Dubeck wrote in the letter. “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry.”The Republican chairmen of three House committees on Monday sent a letter to Bragg seeking information about his actions in the Trump case. The Republicans criticized the grand jury investigation as an “unpre...

UC Berkeley investigating AD Jim Knowlton, associate AD Jennifer Simon-O’Neill

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

The University of California-Berkeley has launched a formal investigation into Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton and executive associate athletic director Jennifer Simon-O’Neill’s handling of dozens of allegations over the course of years that former Golden Bears women’s swimming head coach Teri McKeever bullied swimmers on an almost daily basis, the Southern California News Group has learned.Attorneys hired by the university have begun contacting current and former Cal swimmers and their parents as part of a follow-up investigation to an eight-month, $2-million probe that led to McKeever’s firing on January 31, according to three people familiar with the investigation.The current investigation comes against the backdrop of months of mounting criticism of Cal from former and current swimmers, including Olympic gold medalists, and prominent financial boosters of the Golden Bears athletic program that Knowlton and Simon-O’Neill and other university employees prioritized athletic succ...

‘You can’t think an apology will make this all better’: Judge throws out controversial plea deal for man accused of three Oakland killings

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

OAKLAND — Less than two months after lamenting “he had never seen a case pled down like this before,” an Alameda County Superior Court judge rejected a plea deal that would have imposed 15 years for a reputed West Oakland gang member accused of gunning down three people when he was 18 years old.Judge Mark McCannon ruled Thursday that 31-year-old Delonzo Logwood should go to trial, saying he had decided against accepting a plea deal proposed by prosecutors. Logwood had previously been eligible for a sentence of death or life without parole before being offered the unusual plea deal by District Attorney Pamela Price.Before he rejected the deal, McCannon said he has had “many sleepless nights” about this case. He then picked apart comments by Logwood’s attorney, who had attempted to rebuff the evidence against his client.“You can’t think an apology will make this all better,” McCannon said in court Thursday. “What are you sorr...

Pac-12 expansion: Would SMU create media value? “I think it probably helps,” sports media analyst says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:11:50 GMT

The Pac-12 began evaluating candidates for expansion long before USC and UCLA announced their intentions to leave the conference.The process commenced in the summer of 2021, after Texas and Oklahoma agreed to join the SEC and the Big 12 lurched toward the brink of extinction.Pac-12 presidents ultimately passed on extending membership invitations and concluded none of the available schools (in the Big 12 or elsewhere) met the competitive, financial and institutional criteria.Now here we are, 21 months later, and the Pac-12’s geographic footprint features a crater in Southern California as the conference negotiates a new media rights contract and considers expansion.The candidate list includes SMU. It is not known whether the conference sized up the Mustangs in the summer of ’21, but the calculation deployed back then is essentially the same one being applied now.Does SMU fit academically? Could its football program eventually clear the competitive bar? And does the school...