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Alton High School students face expulsion over fights on campus

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

ALTON, Ill. – As many as 21 students at Alton High School face disciplinary hearings on their future at the school after a series of fights broke out Aug. 30, causing the campus to go into a soft lockdown.The school reverted to remote learning for a few days, set new protocols for football game attendance, and installed new electronic security measures.On Monday, school board members began holding the first of a weeklong set of meetings.“As a former school board member, I don’t envy the decisions the Alton School Board has to make concerning the expulsion of students,” said Alton Mayor David Goins, a former member of the school board.Following Monday’s hearings, five students were expelled and told they could enroll in the Madison County Regional Office of Education's Alternative Schooling Program. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News ...

Palisade grower using digital art to promote local agriculture

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

By DAN WEST, The Grand Junction Daily SentinelPalisade’s peach growers have long looked for ways to get their fruit directly in the hands of consumers from farmers markets to roadside fruit stands, but this year one grower is expanding into the digital world in a unique effort to connect with buyers.(Courtesy PΞACHES)This summer Drew Harding, owner of Harding Homegrown in Palisade, began selling non-fungible tokens or NFTs of peaches — or PΞACHES as they are calling the artwork — that buyers can redeem for a box of Palisade peaches come harvest. An NFT is a unique digital file that is recorded on a blockchain — the same technology behind some cryptocurrencies.NFTs have in the past been associated with digital art, which is what Harding decided to base his NFTs around. He partnered with United Kingdom-based artist Waxbones to design artwork for the 2023 release. It features peaches with unique faces that anyone can purchase and later redeem for real peaches.Related ArticlesColo...

Endangered fish may doom Malibu Triathlon

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

This year’s Malibu Triathlon is likely to be canceled due to a series of issues stemming from the protection of an endangered fish.On Monday, the Malibu Planning Commission rejected the triathlon’s permit.The 38th edition of the race, which was scheduled for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, historically travels through a Zuma Beach undercrossing at Busch Drive, at the southernmost end of the beach. Recent rainfall, however, has flooded the underpass, and the water is now occupied by Tidewater Goby, a small endangered fish found in lagoons, estuaries, and marshes along the California coast.When flooding occurred in the past, race organizers would simply install a temporary bridge. Tidewater Goby. (US Fish & Wildlife Service)In mid-August, the City and race organizers were told by state wildlife and water officials that a bridge could not be erected this year due to the presence of the Goby.Race organizers scrambled to reconfigure the route, which required a new review of the triathlon's perm...

Restoration of historic Westwood theater completed

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

Welcome to the Nimoy.Renovations at the historic Crest Theatre in Westwood are officially complete, following a $24 million renovation by UCLA. The Crest Theatre is now the UCLA Nimoy Theater, aka, the Nimoy, named after the late filmmaker and "Star Trek" star Leonard Nimoy.The renovated theater is located on Westwood Boulevard and will provide UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance a "flexible, state-of-the-art performance center."The restoration project was spearheaded by Shawmut Design and Construction, and BAR Architects & Interiors Completes, and was made possible by a sizeable donation from the Spock actor's widow, Susan Bay Nimoy.The theater originally opened in 1940 as a movie theater and performing arts venue. A renovation in the 1980s turned it into a 299-seat, 10,500 square-foot Art Deco-inspired landmark.Construction and renovation photos of the Crest Theater, renamed The Nimoy Theater, the new performance space for UCLA Center For The Art Of Performance (Jason Wil...

Pringles unveils new snack kits with caviar

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

A new snack duo that pairs Pringles with caviar has taken TikTok by storm and is now available to consumers nationwide.Pringles on Tuesday announced a brand-new collaboration with The Caviar Co. The two companies collaborated to sell the “Crisps and Caviar Collection,” which pairs different Pringles and caviar flavors together. McDonald’s to phase out self-serve soft drink fountains “Pringles and caviar are the high-low snacks the world didn't know we needed, but the combination is simply delightful," Petra Higby, chief executive officer and founder of The Caviar Co., said in a statement.“We expertly paired our high-quality, sustainably sourced caviar and roe with Pringles flavors that complement each other in taste, aroma and texture – the result is a must-try collection that takes the guesswork out of pairing and serving caviar, is sure to elevate any occasion, and brings your caviar dreams to life.”The Pringles x The Caviar Co. 'Crisps and Caviar' Flight, which retails for $140...

Letters: Paying workers | Corruptible official | Music is basic | Dystopic world | TB fight | Don’t negotiate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Paying workers onlyway to ensure servicesRe: “Pay pendulum swings too far toward workers” (Page A6, Sept. 14).It is true that there is constant tension between institutions that would prefer to minimize the costs associated with the labor required to fulfill their mission. But to deny the fundamental value and needs of the labor that is required to ensure their sustainability in every economic climate is extremely flawed.Nothing in government services can be accomplished without skilled labor. None of the desired outcomes we expect from tax-paid services is achievable without the quantity and quality of staffing determined by experts on behalf of taxpayers. Parks and Recreation don’t exist without the labor to create and maintain them.So this idea that our taxes can be put to better use than paying the necessary qualified staff living wages is beyond my understanding or the realities of good governance. ...

Life without parole? Bill that could free some aging California killers fails to advance for now

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

A bill that could have freed some of California’s aging killers serving life in prison without parole failed to advance this year, after running into opposition from victim advocates and law enforcement officials.Sen. Dave Cortese, a San Jose Democrat, said he’ll reintroduce, SB 94, for consideration in next year’s session as a two-year bill after it failed to move off the Assembly floor before the end of the legislative session last Thursday.“We need to be constantly vigilant about improving our justice system, making sure that public safety is paramount, but at the same time ensuring that we don’t infringe upon basic issues of due process and equity,” Cortese said. “I’ll continue to be very focused on this work next year and beyond.”The bill would allow killers who have served at least 25 years of a sentence of life without parole for an offense before June 5, 1990, to petition the courts for a life sentence with parole conside...

At 20, San Jose’s MLK library remains a partnership for the books

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

Over breakfast at the Fairmont in 1997, Susan Hammer and Bob Caret — then the mayor of San Jose and president of San Jose State — hit on the idea to collaborate on a brand-new library that would be open to both residents and SJSU students. Together, they later said, both entities could expand their library services beyond what either could do alone.It seems like a simple idea, but they were pioneers. When the $177.5 million Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library opened on the edge of campus in August 2003, it was the first collaboration of its kind between a major U.S. city and university.The two institutions are coming together again Wednesday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a building and partnership that — despite its bumps — has worked out better than most would have predicted.SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 25: "East Side Story" is a table at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in San Jose, Calif., made from parts of a Schwinn Stingray bicycle. It is one of 3...

Mother of two slain by stray bullet fired into Oakland home is identified

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

OAKLAND — A 42-year-old mother of two killed Friday night when she was struck by a stray bullet while inside her Laurel district home was identified by police Tuesday as Wing Yin Wong.No arrests have been made yet in her killing.The shooting happened about 9:40 p.m. Friday while Wong was lying on a couch inside her home in the 3600 block of 38th Avenue.Her husband and their two children were also in the house, but were not injured.Police said a dispute broke out about a block away in the area of 39th Avenue and Masterson Street, where a group of people were gathered and shots were fired.One of the bullets went through a window at Wong’s home and struck her. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:15 p.m. Friday.Police are trying to determine what the dispute was about and why shots were fired. Some parked vehicles were hit by the gunfire but no other victims were found. Multiple shell casings were recovered at the scene.Related ArticlesCrime and ...

One killed, one badly injured in fiery Oakland freeway collision

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:31 GMT

OAKLAND — One woman was killed and another woman was badly injured Tuesday morning in a fiery two-vehicle collision on an Oakland freeway, authorities said.The name of the woman killed, who authorities said was 44, was not immediately released.The collision happened about 11 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 580 east of Fruitvale Avenue, the California Highway Patrol said.It involved a Chevrolet Volt driven by the 44-year-old woman and a Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV driven by another woman, the CHP said. They were the only occupants of the vehicles, according to CHP Officer Adib Zeid.After the crash, the car ended up stopped in the center divider. The SUV came to a stop on the right shoulder, where it caught fire, with flames spreading to nearby vegetation, the CHP said.Oakland firefighters extricated both women from their vehicles and extinguished the fires.Both women were taken to a hospital, where the one woman later died. The condition of the other woman was not available Tuesday af...