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High travel costs forcing Coloradans to book holiday trips early

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

More than half the Colorado residents who are planning to travel for Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays said they are booking earlier this year, according to a new AAA survey.The survey found that the main reason was the high cost of airline flights, gas and other travel expenditures, according to Skyler McKinley, regional director of public affairs for AAA.“2023 has been a bonkers year for travel, with record-breaking demand throughout the summer,” he said in a statement. “By all accounts, those trends will persist into the year-end holidays.”All told, 60% of Coloradans surveyed said they are planning a holiday trip. Of those, 58% are booking early and 70% are planning to fly. But 36% of the responders said “they are less likely to fly this year because they’re concerned about flight delays and cancellations,” AAA reported.RELATED: “That can’t happen again”: Southwest Airlines CEO prepares for winter in Denver to avoid last year’s ...

Man found dead near Sanderson Gulch prompts homicide investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

A man was found dead early Tuesday morning, and Denver police are investigating the man’s death as a homicide.Police at about 6:30 a.m. received the report of a dead body outside near Mexico Avenue and Julian Way and Sanderson Gulch in Denver’s Mar Lee neighborhood, a Denver police spokesperson said in an email.UPDATE: This incident is now being investigated as a homicide. The victim's ID and cause of death will be released by the #Denver Office of the Medical Examiner. Anyone with information is asked to call @CrimeStoppersCO at 720-913-7867.— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) September 26, 2023The Office of the Medical Examiner will release the cause of death, the spokesperson said, but “there are indications that it is suspicious,” which prompted the homicide investigation.Anyone with information on the death is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | One man killed, one injured in overnigh...

Los Angeles housing market up $202B in past year, Zillow says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

Everyone knows buying a house in Los Angeles is expensive, but the numbers just released by Zillow are likely still jaw-dropping to many.In a report released Tuesday, Zillow estimated the total value of the housing market in the L.A. metro area — the sum of Zillow's estimates for every home — is up $202 billion in the last year alone.The area's total value, $3.7 trillion, has seen a rapid increase since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, rising 38% over the past three years, Zillow said. In August 2023 alone, the median price in Los Angeles County was up 4.2%, according to the California Association of Realtors. "While a small chunk of this growth can be attributed to a 1.3% rise in the average value of a US home over the past year, the powerhouse behind this surge has been new construction," Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy explained. "Builders have chipped away at the housing deficit as a steady flow of new homes have hit the market this spring ...

Why your next Uber may be a Yellow Cab

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

A multi-year partnership between Uber and Los Angeles Yellow Cab was announced early Tuesday morning. Under the deal, Uber will combine its operations with Los Angeles Yellow Cab's five partner taxi fleets in Southern California, including, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.Taxi drivers will gain access to Uber trip referrals, which should provide drivers with better earnings opportunities, a news release stated. “We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Uber because it’s a clear win-win for drivers and riders,” said William Rouse, CEO of the taxi operations.The deal provides drivers with more earnings opportunities and riders with faster pickups, officials said. “Uber’s ride referrals are going to help fill in our slower times and keep the drivers busy making money. Drivers are going to benefit from this partnership for a long time to come,” Yellow Cab of Los Angeles board member and long-time owner-operator Aydin Kavak said.The six Southern California taxi compan...

Target closing 9 stores in 4 states, including California, for safety of workers and shoppers amid thefts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

Target will close nine stores in four states, including one in East Harlem, New York, and three in San Francisco, saying that theft and organized retail crime have threatened the safety of its workers and customers.The closings, which will be effective Oct. 21, also include three stores in Portland, Oregon, and two in Seattle. Target said that it still will have a combined 150 stores open in the markets where the closures are taking place. Target will offer affected workers the opportunity to transfer to other stores.Target described the decision as “difficult."“We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all," Target said in a statement on Tuesday.Before making the decision, Target said it had invested heavily in strategies to prevent and stop theft such as adding more security team workers, using third-party guard services and installing theft deterrent tools like locking up...

One Dead, Multiple Injured after DUI Crash on Highway 6 [Sugar Land, TX]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

One Died and Four Others Sustained Injuries after Van Collision near Imperial BoulevardSUGAR LAND, TX (September 26, 2023) – On Saturday evening, a DUI crash on Highway 6 resulted in multiple injuries and one person.The incident happened around 7:45 p.m. on September 9th, on Highway 6, between U.S. 90A and Imperial Boulevard.According to SLPI, the driver of a white van lost control and veered into a ditch while heading north on Highway 6. One person died instantly while another one was transported to the hospital by helicopter. Three more passengers sustained non-life-threatening injuries.The driver of the van has been charged with intoxication and manslaughter.In addition, all lanes of Highway 6 were closed for several hours while the investigation was still ongoing.At this time, no further details regarding the DUI crash on Highway 6 are available. Authorities will release additional information as it becomes available to the public.No words can express the sorrow felt in a ...

Woman Killed in Pedestrian Crash on Cuyamaca Street [El Cajon, CA]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

Person Versus Vehicle Collision on Weld Boulevard Left Female Pedestrian DeadEL CAJON, CA (September 26, 2023) – Friday night, a pedestrian crash on Cuyamaca Street left a woman dead.Emergency personnel responded to the incident around 10:21 p.m. at the intersection of Cuyamaca Street and Weld Boulevard.Upon arrival, the first responders learned that a 2016 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck collided with a female pedestrian.Paramedics declared the woman dead at the scene. However, her identity remains undisclosed to the public, pending notification from the next of kin.Meanwhile, the Tacoma driver remained at the site of the incident and cooperated with the investigators.The El Cajon Police Department does not suspect drugs and alcohol to be a factor in the collision.Anyone with additional information about the fatal Cuyamaca Street pedestrian crash is urged to contact the ECPD at 619-579-3311.The team at Sweet James sends their warm and sincerest sympathies out to the friends and fa...

Fascist Autocrats as Vampires make for Messy Metaphors in El Conde

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

Via our sister publication, The Village Voice: Pablo Larrain’s latest imagines Pinochet as a bloodsucker (it’s not as inspired as it sounds). Larrain has become one of global film culture’s most capricious voices — brooding biopic here; ironic ethical-political nightmare there; movies that flit poetically around angsty women like a moth, unable to settle. (He’s gearing up a Maria Callas project next.) You expect to be surprised by him, but exactly where Larrain thought he was going with this new film is a chin-scratcher that somehow adds to its flighty, impulsive character. Like, okay, bloodthirsty fascist autocrats are like vampires? It’s a thick, loose sweater of a metaphor, and El Conde (The Count) wears holes in it going for the gusto, envisioning a cowled elderly Pinochet flying over cities like Superman, eating hearts out of victims’ chests and at last pining to die for real.Shot in spectral gray tones by Ed Lachman, Larrain’s film, narrated in suspiciously Thatcheresque ...

With time running out, Congress moves into crisis mode

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

By Lisa Mascaro and Stephen Groves | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Congress is rushing headlong into crisis mode Tuesday with a government shutdown days away, as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means halting pay for the military and curtailing federal services for millions of Americans.There’s no clear path ahead as lawmakers return with tensions high and options limited. The House is expected to launch an evening vote on a package of bills to fund parts of the government, but it’s not at all clear that McCarthy has the support needed as holdouts demand steeper spending cuts.“It’s easy,” McCarthy quipped Tuesday when asked about keeping the government open.But with just five days to go before Saturday’s deadline, McCarthy is reviving his plan for a stopgap measure to prevent a federal shutdown that was already rejected outright by a handful of hard-right Republicans who say t...

Antioch woman charged with child porn distribution was working as family’s nanny

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

MARTINEZ — Contra Costa County prosecutors on Tuesday charged an Antioch woman working as a nanny inside a home with seven felony counts related to possessing and distributing child pornography, authorities said.Investigators with the Contra Costa County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Michelle Nicole Hidalgo, 28, on Friday after serving a search warrant at her home, according to a statement from District Attorney Diana Becton.The task force had been notified by a social media company on Sept. 21 that the images had been shared on their platform.Officers seized undisclosed equipment that Becton said Hidalgo used to produce the pornographic images and the distribution of them.The woman was working part-time as a nanny. Becton said the victim in the child porn distribution was part of the family.Hidalgo remained in custody at the county jail Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $800,000 bail, according to jail records. She is scheduled to make her first court appear...