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Building a Movement: Ryan O’Connell’s Unlikely Journey to Becoming a Housing Influencer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

As Californians struggle with surging rents and real estate scarcity, the last thing we need is more influencers. Nevertheless, ADU specialist Ryan O’Connell is determined to popularize ADUs and empower normal Californian homeowners to fix the housing crisis through How To ADU, a platform dedicated to educating homeowners about Accessory Dwelling Units.Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) rules allow homeowners to build small homes in their backyards, or convert part of their existing home into an apartment. As an alternative to traditional housing, they allow homeowners to accommodate additional family members, earn rental income, and generally create more affordable housing. But these are expensive, complicated projects and Ryan has made major headway for the entire ADU industry just by talking about them on platforms including YouTube, TikTok, his Facebook Group, and his website.Ryan’s distinct approach to educating California homeowners sets him apart. Rather than picking up a ha...

The Art of Elysium’s Art Salon: A Glorious Night Honoring Sébastien Léon

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

Los Angeles welcomed a captivating fusion of art, music, and philanthropy as The Art of Elysium’s Art Salon hosted a spectacular event in tribute to the accomplished visual artist Sébastien Léon. On July 12th, 2023, art enthusiasts, philanthropists, and notable figures united for an inspiring and unforgettable evening.The Art Salon, an esteemed initiative by The Art of Elysium Charity, provided a vibrant platform where artists, thought leaders, philanthropists, and brands converged, creating a mesmerizing blend of art and philanthropy. Founded by the visionary Jennifer Howell, The Art of Elysium is a renowned charitable organization dedicated to bringing the transformative power of the arts to communities and individuals in need. With over 100 programs each month, reaching an impressive 300 thousand people annually, the organization delivers joy and healing through the arts. From providing music to children in hospitals to delivering artistic experiences to those in hospice ca...

Plane landed in French Valley, took off and rolled over before fatal crash, NTSB says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

The single-engine Cessna that crashed near French Valley Airport on July 4, killing its pilot, briefly touched down before climbing about 60 feet high, rolled over and then crashed, according to the preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident released on Thursday, July 20.Temecula chiropractor Jared Alan Newman, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene. Three of his young sons who were aboard suffered broken bones and other injuries but were recovering, their mother wrote on a GoFundMe page.The report did not explain why the events that led to the crash happened. That information, if it can be determined, would be provided in the final report that an NTSB spokesperson said would be issued in one to two years.Surveillance video showed that just before 2 p.m., the single-engine Cessna 172N airplane touched down on the runway, rolled for about 2 seconds and then lifted off, the report says. At 60 feet, the airplane banked left.“The airplane rolled inverted and t...

Opinion: Newsom says CEQA is broken. So why won’t he fix it?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

In February, after yet another court decision stalling sorely needed housing development, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that California’s landmark environmental law is “broken.”The California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, is supposed to protect the environment by requiring governments to study and mitigate any harms of development before they approve it. But as Newsom noted, CEQA has been “weaponized” by “wealthy homeowners” (among others) to block housing — often in the urban and suburban areas where people have the least environmental impact.And housing isn’t all that’s on the line. To meet the state’s greenhouse-gas emission targets — and secure its share of federal green-energy funding — California needs to quickly approve wind and solar energy projects, electricity transmission lines, car-charging networks and mass transit. To that end, in May, the governor unveiled an 11-bill infrastructure package to “assert a different paradigm.” No longer would we “screw it up” wit...

Collins: West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has a lot of explaining to do

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

Sen. Joe Manchin, behave.Perhaps you’ve heard the rumor that Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who made his name by driving his party crazy on close votes, is now possibly running for president. Sort of.“If I get in a race, I’m going to win,” he predicted at an appearance in New Hampshire this week. “With that being said, I haven’t made a decision.”A crowd had packed the auditorium, straining to hear his every word. Really. A lot of them were undoubtedly drawn not so much by the promise of thrilling rhetoric as by rumors Manchin might announce he was going to be a third-party candidate in 2024.Didn’t happen. Although Manchin was certainly dropping hints. He appeared onstage with Jon Huntsman, the former Republican governor of Utah and former Sen. Joe Lieberman.Lieberman is now one of the public faces of No Labels, a new would-be political party that’s all about being, um, against political parties. No Labels is busy qualifying for the presidential ballot in as many states as possibl...

Review: ‘Underrated’ explores the resilience of Steph Curry

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

By Lindsey Bahr | Associated Press“Stephen Curry: Underrated ” is easily one of the most inspirational movies of the year.This is a portrait of a man — the greatest three-point shooter of all time — who has felt inferior playing the game he loves since he was a scrawny kid playing on his local under-10 team. It’s easy to roll your eyes at supermodels who say they were teased when they were kids or famous actors who look like the captain of the football team insisting they were outcasts in high school. In the rear-view mirror, when things have gone so well after that origin story, it just always rings a little false.But in this documentary, directed by Peter Nicks and streaming on Apple TV+ Friday, the filmmakers put you in Curry’s shoes. They show you video of him on that under-10 team, indeed looking scrawnier than his counterparts and with the posture of someone who’s already self-conscious about it.They have Reggie Miller on hand to read the draft re...

Good Samaritan spots ‘Help me!’ note in California parking lot, triggers rescue of kidnapped 13-year-old girl

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

A 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped in Texas and repeatedly sexually assaulted was rescued in Long Beach earlier this month after a Good Samaritan came to her aid, authorities said.On July 6, the young victim was walking down the street near a bus stop in San Antonio, Texas, when a man in a sedan approached her at gunpoint and ordered her to get into the vehicle. The suspect threatened the girl, saying, “If you don’t get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.Once in the vehicle, the girl told the suspect, identified as Steven Robert Sablan of Cleburne, Texas, that she had a friend in Australia. He told the victim he could take her to a cruise ship to visit her friend, but she “had to do something for him first,” according to court documents.He drove her for two days from Texas to California, with Sablan, 61, suspected of sexually assaulting her at least three times during the commute.Three days after the kidnapping,...

California man convicted of killing elderly neighbor during rape attempt

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

A 36-year-old man was convicted Thursday of beating an elderly woman to death during an attempted rape in an early-morning attack that took place in the Garden Grove neighborhood where they both lived.An Orange County Superior Court jury on Thursday afternoon found Michael Aon Varela guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of 68-year-old Dzung Thi Nguyen on Sept. 9, 2017. The jurors also determined that the slaying occurred during an attempted rape, court records show.A drunken Varela committed the “brutal, horrific, senseless murder” after returning home from a night out drinking, Deputy District Attorney Casey Cunningham told jurors during his trial. The prosecutor alleged that Varela “brutalized” Nguyen, ripping her clothes off and beating her unconscious when she “didn’t submit.” Nguyen died several days after the attack.Varela’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Arlene Speiser, countered that Varela was an innocent bystander who discovered an unresponsive Nguyen and tried ...

Comic-Con 2023: Fans say loss of Hollywood stars means more time for other attractions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

By Natallie Rocha and Phillip Molnar | San Diego Union-TribuneHollywood might have needed Comic-Con more than Comic-Con needed Hollywood.Most San Diego Comic-Con International fans said Thursday July 20, the convention’s first official day, that they were fine with almost all major studios, from Marvel to HBO, staying away this year. A writers’ and actors’ strike has ground Tinseltown to a halt, preventing creators and actors from showing up at San Diego’s big show.It might have sounded like Comic-Con would be a drag this year, but the show stayed sold out and tickets were still going for more than $1,000 on secondary markets a day before it started.RELATED: Netflix’s Los Gatos headquarters swarmed with protesters amid film and TV strikesAnthony Kalvans, 30, of San Luis Obispo, said he couldn’t care less about Hollywood not being there. On Thursday morning, he was with his girlfriend at an installation promoting several FX shows near San Diego Bay.“We’re here for the entire experien...

15 tips to stay cool: How to beat the triple-digit heat forecast

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:39 GMT

The heat is here. And, for many residents in California, trying to get through the day of triple-digit temperatures is the name of the game.Here is a list of 15 tips for staying cool in hot weather, compiled from our news stories over the years:Read up on heat exhaustion and heatstroke.Drink plenty of water (in the fitness word they call this “hydrating”), even if you’re not thirsty.Wear loose-fitting, lightweight clothing, sunscreen and sunglasses. Your eyes need protection, too.Seek shade whenever you can. Many cities offer cooling centers to beat the heat.Check in on friends and family, especially senior citizens.Maybe not travel to visit Death Valley, where it can get over 100 degrees in the middle of the night.Eat cold foods for breakfast, like melon, yogurt or cottage cheese.Avoid high-protein foods, which require a cranked-up metabolism to burn. Eat shorter meals more frequently.Draw the blinds early in the day, say 9 a.m.; it’ll keep the house cooler.Check your medication an...