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LA Preps for The Biggest Zalympix Yet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

Los Angeles is preparing to crown its latest Zalympix champion after the most competitive version of the contest yet. Over the past couple of years, Greenwolf’s Zalympix has firmly taken hold of the title of L.A.’s elite cannabis contest. This was even as it expanded throughout the state with Mainstage in Sacramento and The Outpost in Santa Rosa now taking part in the distribution of the boxes. I think one of the things that makes Zalympix so fun is the fact it’s genuinely highlighting the best of the best. It’s a pure representation of the Ethos that Greenwolf has used to fill the shelves at the shops since day one. It’s also refreshing to see a bunch of names in one place that are all crushing it during these dark times in cannabis.This rendition of Zalympix was the wildest yet. It was simply massive. The initial amount of over 120 entries is considerably larger than all the previous Zalympix boxes combined. The Greenwolf team selected 25 judges to go through the entries and whitt...

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is Truly Outrageous

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is still going strong, showcasing the best in local alternative L.A. theater– and there’s still time to catch a show as it runs through June 25. If you’ve never been to a Fringe show, now is truly the best moment to do so.We suggest looking through the schedule and picking something at random based on its name– there are also reviews of each show, often done by people in the Fringe community. We’re very intrigued by The Jem and the Holograms Musical Parody (see photo) and Barry’s Gardening Service puppet show, but there are dozens more wonderfully weird offerings.We’re living in strange times and one of Fringe’s strengths has always been skewering pop culture’s surreal twists and turns. Fringe always seems to offer fresh perspectives on humanity and history as well personal stories and far out ideas, presented via comedy, drama and improv. Due to lack of resources, LA Weekly doesn’t get to cover L.A. theater like we used to, but ...

Borenstein: MLB’s abusive gaslighting of A’s fans, Oakland officials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred’s gaslighting of A’s fans and Oakland officials shows why it’s time for the city to quickly extract itself from this abusive relationship.The fate of the team seemed sealed on Thursday when Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a bill granting $380 million in public subsidies for the construction of a new ballpark in Las Vegas.And then Manfred turned around and tried to blame the fans for the team’s poor attendance and the city for its departure.“I think that the real question is ‘What is it that Oakland was prepared to do?’,” he said. “There is no Oakland offer. They never got to the point where they had a plan to build a stadium at any site.”Anyone who has paid attention to the negotiations knows what a distortion of reality that is. It wasn’t the city that stood in the way of the team getting a new East Bay ballpark, it was A’s billionaire owner John Fisher’s greed.Thanks to Manfred and Fisher, this is turning into an ugly divorce. R...

Arson arrest: Mariposa man, 71, accused of starting last summer’s huge Oak Fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

A 71-year-old Mariposa man was arrested Friday on suspicion of starting last summer’s Oak Fire, which burned almost 200 buildings west of Yosemite.The felony charges include multiple arson counts, said the law enforcement division of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It did not say what led investigators to suspect the man.The fire was reported on the afternoon of July 22, 2022, near the store in the community of Midpines, along Highway 140.In the first day after its ignition, the fire exhibited extreme behavior,  spreading unusually quickly and producing a pyrocumulus cloud that could be seen as far away as Reno.It eventually burned 19,244 acres (30 square miles) and destroyed 127 homes and 66 outbuildings. Three firefighters were injured.At the time, it was the state’s biggest wildfire of the season. Large fires in the early fall bumped it to No. 5.CalFire was assisted in the investigation by agencies including the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Off...

Outpouring for two East Bay pilots who died in plane crash near Rio Vista airport ‘almost beyond words’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

CONCORD — Lizzy Fenner took note of the money already received on a fundraising page dedicated to helping her brother-in-law’s family in the wake of his death, and she was humbled.“Almost beyond words,” she said.It’s been more than a week since a small plane crash near the Rio Vista Municipal Airport killed 41-year-old Concord resident Benjamin Shreve and 33-year-old Martinez resident Jesse Buckner, two friends and, according to Fenner, two beloved and unforgettable people.Friends and pilots Jesse Buckner, left, and Benjamin Shreve bonded over their love of flying and their kind personalities, according to Shreve’s relative. The two died June 8 in a plane crash near Rio Visa Municipal Airport. Photo courtesy Lizzy FennerThe fundraiser for Shreve, created a week ago by Fenner, had generated about $68,000 by noon Friday. It seeks $100,000 to help support his two children, ages 7 and 2.A fundraiser for Buckner had raised about $57,135 of the $10...

346 people died from drug overdoses in San Francisco in 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Within the first five months of 2023, 346 people died in San Francisco from accidental drug overdoses, according to data recently released by the city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The city's overdose crisis spiked last month with 74 deaths reported in May. Fentanyl -- a highly addictive, cheap, and deadly street drug -- is the primary culprit behind overdoses. Fentanyl was detected in 275 of the 346 victims. According to city data, 77 percent of the overdose victims were between ages 35-64 years old. Eighty-two percent were men, 41 percent were white, and 32 percent were Black. San Francisco recorded 725 overdose deaths in 2020, 638 in 2022, and 640 in 2021, data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows. 2023's overdose numbers are tragically outpacing 2022 and 2021. 2023-SF-Overdose-ReportDownloadAccording to the Department of Public Health, fentanyl first became prevalent in local street drug supplies in 2018. The opioid spread through...

Opinion: Canada urgently needs a FEMA-like emergency management agency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

By: Ali Asgary, York University, CanadaDisasters often bring politicians, policymakers, researchers and the public to the discussion table. Due to their catastrophic impacts, disasters and emergencies prompt a large array of stakeholders to focus intently on the issues at hand, providing windows of opportunity for change.This focus often exposes the operational, co-ordination and governance deficiencies and weaknesses of emergency management systems. Disasters like the ongoing wildfires in Canada raise questions about whether the current system and approaches are best suited to protect people, property and the environment from hazards — and can bring about change and investment in corrective measures.Many of the world’s leading emergency management governance approaches and national agencies have gone through extensive changes and enhancement following major disaster events, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the United States following hurricane Katrina in ...

Bear gets inside home and 'hangs out'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Bears are smart animals. One in Steamboat Springs was clever enough to get itself inside a home but couldn't figure out how to get out. As you can see in the video sent by H. Hannah above, the bear is hanging out an upstairs window of a home it got into through a window downstairs. Luckily, the residents weren't home so neighbors called police, according to Steamboat Radio's Shannon Lukens. After the bear was in the home, it tried to get out of an upper-level window numerous times but wouldn’t make the jump, Lukens told FOX31. It eventually pulled itself back inside and made its way back downstairs. The bear went back to the original window that it broke into, and managed to get out and head back into the neighborhood. Video: Young bears try to get into Steamboat Springs home Local police alerted Colorado Parks and Wildlife about the incident. Bearproof your propertyCPW says to be loud and make loud noises to try and chase it away if you encounter a bear, but to ...

Denver violent crime still rising in first half of 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Denverites who think their city doesn't feel as safe as it once did - police data confirms your hunch. Several acts of violence marred the week when the Denver Nuggets won their first-ever NBA championship. During the downtown celebration of the Nuggets' victory on June 12, 10 people were shot in what police say was a drug deal gone wrong. The next day, a road rage incident resulted in a double homicide killing two brothers. Another double shooting happened near the Nuggets' championship parade on Thursday. 10 people shot in LoDo after Denver Nuggets win NBA Finals Cities typically see more violent crime in summer months, meaning the year will have to play out to make a fair comparison about 2023 violence. However, Denver Police Department data shows violent crime increasing in 2023 relative to the same months in previous years.Both the monthly number of violent crimes and the total number of violent crimes to date are rising in 2023. The graph above shows the mo...

Tamarac man gets 4 years, 9 months for attacking officer at US Capitol insurrection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Tamarac man was sentenced Friday to four years and nine months in federal prison for storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and attacking a police officer.Mason Joel Courson, 27, of Tamarac, Florida, was sentenced in District of Columbia federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in November to assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon. The judge also ordered three years of supervised release and restitution of $2,000.Courson was arrested in South Florida in December 2021.According to court documents, Courson joined with others objecting to Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory over former Republican President Donald Trump. A mob attacked the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying election results, authorities said. Five people died in the violence.According to an indictment, Courson participated in an assault of a Metropolitan Police Department office...