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The new St. Paul school board — with 3 new members — will face challenges in 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

When three new members join the board in charge of St. Paul Public Schools in January, they’ll face significant challenges right away.The school district, which has 33,000 students and a $1 billion budget, will face not only a $150 million shortfall in the coming year as federal pandemic aid ends but also contract negotiations with the St. Paul Federation of Educators.There’s already a major gap between what the union is asking for and what the district is willing to spend on pay in the future. SPPS says it’s set aside a little more than $12 million for increases, while an early, incomplete estimate from the district found union asks could total at least $106 million. Teachers nearly went on strike in 2022 when the union and district positions were closer together.“They’re not coming into this placid scene where they have time to absorb, to evaluate, to bring their own good judgment to the table and to try to figure these things out,” said former St. Paul school board member J...

John Goodman leads effort to help support challenged St. Louis theater

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. - One of the most accomplished actors in the St. Louis area hopes to help a local theater persevere amid financial challenges.John Goodman is leading a holiday benefit experience called "Rally For The Rep." It's a fundraiser to support the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in Webster Groves, which has served the community since 1966 but recently fallen on hard times. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Riverfront Times and others, "The Rep" announced in October that it was dealing with a $2.5 million budget shortfall. Essentially, the theater needs to cover these costs by the end of the year, or it could be at risk of closing doors. Lindenwood University drops 10 athletic programs, cuts several jobs According to the Riverfront Times, Goodman is expected to share "insights, anecdotes, and a special holiday treat" during his upcoming appearance. He told FOX 2 back in 2017 that he has been a longtime fan of "The Rep" and once auditioned for several roles at th...

7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck Saturday off the southern Philippine coast, prompting many villagers to flee their homes in panic around midnight after Philippine authorities issued a tsunami warning.The quake struck at 10:37 p.m. at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said that based on the magnitude and location, it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia. But the center later dropped its tsunami warning.In Japan, authorities evacuation orders were issued in various parts of Okinawa Prefecture, including for the entire coastal area, affecting thousands of people.Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told The Associated Press his agency advised residents along the c...

2 California cities among top 10 most expensive in the world, new data shows 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living report for 2023 has been released, and three American cities are amongst the most expensive to live in on Earth. The report compares more than 400 prices across 200 products and services in 173 cities across the world and found that while supply chain disruptions and energy price hikes have eased, overall prices rose by an average of 7.4 percent. According to EIU, two cities are tied for the most expensive places to live: Singapore and Zurich, Switzerland.  7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off southern Philippines; tsunami warnings issued This is the ninth time in 11 years that Singapore has been ranked as the most expensive city in the world to live in, EIU data showed. Three U.S. cities were included in this year’s list, including New York City, which tied with Singapore as the most expensive city in the world last year. In 2023, the Big Apple is tied for third place with another major Swiss city, Geneva. Los A...

Pac-12 football: Ranking the champions from the expansion era (Washington is No. 1, just not this team)

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

Washington stands alone. The 2023 conference champions are the only team of the Pac-12’s expansion era to produce a perfect regular season.The Huskies are 13-0, but are they No. 1?Are they the best of the 13 teams to win the championship game?To provide context for judging the Huskies — and putting a bow on Pac-12 football — the Hotline examined the resumes of the championship game winners.The teams are listed below in the order we would seed them for a mythical Pac-12 Tournament of Champions.Notes:— Only five schools have won the title: Oregon (four), Washington (three), Stanford (three), Utah (two) and USC (one).— Bowl games/playoff results are not included in order to create an apple-to-apples comparison with 2023 Washington, which doesn’t have postseason results just yet..— The point differentials are for conference play only (and include the championship game).— Rankings are taken from the end-of-season AP polls, except for 2023 W...

Disneyland ticket prices quadruple since 2000, annual passes up 700%

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

Disneyland has quadrupled the top price for tickets since 2000 and increased the cost of premium annual passes more than 700% during the same period while holding the lowest price admission to the Anaheim theme parks steady for about a decade.The cost of tickets to Disneyland has increased 351% from $43 in 2000 to $194 in 2023 — more than quadrupling the cost of admission on the most expensive days in less than a quarter century.Since the parks returned from a yearlong pandemic closure, top-tier ticket prices for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have jumped 35% from $144 in April 2021.The lowest-priced daily tickets for the least-popular dates have climbed 13% over the past decade — rising from $92 in 2013 to $104 in 2023.That rock bottom $104 ticket is above the cost of inflation since 2000. The $43 ticket from 2000 adjusted for inflation would be $76 in 2023, based on the Consumer Price Index.Disneyland ticket prices outpace inflation. (Jeff Goertzen/SCNG) Jeff Goer...

Southern California police looking for possible serial killer targeting homeless people

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

Los Angeles police are searching for a possible serial killer targeting homeless people sleeping alone at night after connecting three shootings this week to one suspect.The killings occurred early in the mornings of Sunday, Nov. 26, Monday, Nov. 27 and Wednesday, Nov. 29.In each case, a man approached a homeless person sleeping alone, shot them with a handgun, then fled in a two-door vehicle.The killings were in the Westmont area in South Los Angeles, downtown L.A. and East L.A. just over the L.A. River from Elysian Park.From LAPD’s headquarters on Friday, Dec. 1, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass issued a widespread alert to people living on the streets, urging them to seek out city shelters or to gather in groups to stay safe. She said homeless-service providers would fan out across the city to get as many people as they could in shelters.“I want to be very clear about what we’re facing today — this is a killer preying on the unhoused,” Bass said. “Do not sleep alone tonight.“Seek shelter, s...

Sunnyvale to reconsider property transfer tax ballot measure

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

(BCN) -- Sunnyvale officials are considering a property transfer tax ballot measure for a second time.The Sunnyvale City Council on Tuesday voted 5-1 to discuss--at a future meeting--putting a property transfer tax on the November 2024 ballot. Councilmember Russ Melton dissented and Councilmember Alysa Cisneros was absent. San Jose approves hundreds of homes east of downtown Councilmembers will begin discussing the details of the tax early next year, which if ultimately approved by voters would bring more revenue into the city to help meet service and budget needs.Mayor Larry Klein and Councilmember Richard Mehlinger reintroduced the discussion, hoping to find various ways the city can meet demands."There's not a lot of flexibility on kicking off new programs and having funding to implement some of the measures we're looking at unless we talk about cutting service levels," Klein told San Jose Spotlight.The city council previously discussed a property transfer tax in 2022, but the ...

Big 12 committed to title game even with CFP expansion and changes in league, Yormark says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said his still-evolving conference remains committed to having a championship game even as the College Football Playoff expands from four to 12 teams after this season.“This is a tentpole event. Everything leads up to this moment, it creates a wonderful narrative for this conference. It’s a showcase event, and something I’m committed to,” Yormark said before Saturday’s title game. “I know there’s been a lot of discussion amongst the commissioners about what that might look like, but as it relates to the Big 12, we love this game. We love being at AT&T (Stadium). … It lets the world know who we are and where we’re going.”Seventh-ranked Texas, the Big 12’s last hope to get into the final four-team version of the playoffs, played No. 19 Oklahoma State at the home of NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, where it has a contract to play its championship game through 2031.Texas is leaving along with Oklahoma for the Sou...

Titleholder Italy joins Spain, Croatia in tough group at Euro 2024. Host Germany opens vs Scotland

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:49 GMT

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Defending champion Italy was drawn in a tough group at the 2024 European Championship with two-time winner Spain, 2022 World Cup semifinalist Croatia and Albania on Saturday.Italy, the Euro 2020 winner, shaped as the most difficult option from the draw pot of lowest-ranked teams and so it proved.Italy beat Spain — the back-to-back title winner in 2008 and 2012 — in the semifinals to win that title.The draw ensured the other Euro 2020 semifinal also will be a rematch in Germany next year. England will again face Denmark, which it beat to reach the final. Their group also includes Slovenia and Serbia.France, the World Cup finalist a year ago, was drawn with Austria, the Netherlands — which the French beat twice in a qualifying group this year — and the winner of a playoff bracket in March involving Poland, Estonia, Wales and Finland.Germany, on a run of poor results, will open its home tournament against Scotland on June 14 at Bayern Munich’s stadium. The group...