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Woman campaigns to get the 'World's Largest Rubber Duck' to St. Louis

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A woman's determined campaign to bring the World's Largest Rubber Duck to St. Louis has captured significant attention. Scarlett Horton recently posted on the Collinsville Connection, urging residents to join her in requesting the World's Largest Rubber Duck to make a stop in St. Louis.Horton expressed her enthusiasm, stating in an interview with FOX 2, "Honestly, I love seeing The World's Largest things and take the opportunity to drive off the beaten path for a "world's largest" whenever I can. I even live in Collinsville now, right down the road from the world's largest ketchup bottle. So when I found out about this duck, I knew I needed to see it."A giant inflatable rubber duck floats past the USS Iowa battleship at the Port of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. The world-famous sculpture sailed into the port for the first time Wednesday to kick off the Tall Ships Festival LA and will remain in the harbor through Sunday. The duck was designed by Dutch artist Fl...

St. Louis among top 'most fun' cities in US

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

People crunch any variety of metrics when settling on a city to visit or live in. Some of these factors have to do with the cost of living or staying, or how easy it is to go around by foot or public transit. Other considerations might be in the architecture, culture, and history of a place. But for many people, there's one prevailing question: Is it any fun?Some cities offer the same degree of fun or even the same type of fun, of course, so how do you figure out where to cut loose? To find out, and because "fun" can be an elusive variable, Stacker referred to WalletHub data which applies science in its methodology.The site compared 182 cities—including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state—across three dimensions: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost. Next, the cities were evaluated according to 65 key metrics, which ranged from fitness centers per capita to movie costs to average open hours of brew...

New Colorado law hides medical debt on credit reports

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

Under a new Colorado law, any medical debt on your credit report should have been hidden, but it’s a good idea to double-check, according to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.House Bill 23-1126, which took effect in early August, requires credit reporting companies to remove medical debt from Colorado consumers’ reports. It applies to specialized medical credit cards, but not to debts charged to an ordinary credit card.The new law doesn’t eliminate the debt, but limits who can see it. A separate law passed earlier this year capped the interest rate Colorado residents can be charged on medical debt at 3%, though.An estimated 700,000 people in Colorado have medical debt in collections, which works against them if they need to take out a loan, said Julia Char Gilbert, a policy advocate at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. Some landlords and employers also check applicants’ credit reports, so an unpaid hospital bill can have repercussions for years after...

Woman missing from Winter Park, police say she is endangered

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

A 34-year-old woman is missing from Winter Park, and authorities are asking for the public’s help in locating her.Melissa Whitsitt was last seen Sunday in the 100 block of Woodspur Lane, according to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation endangered missing person alert.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Missing man found dead in canal at Harmony Golf Club in Timnath Crime and Public Safety | Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies searching for missing 73-year-old woman Crime and Public Safety | Search underway for medically at-risk adult in Timnath at Harmony Golf Club Crime and Public Safety | Police seek help finding Indigenous man last seen in May in Colorado Springs Crime and Public Safety | Woman abducted in Aurora, endangered missing person alert issued “Investigators have learned her phone was used by an unknown male on (Aug. 13) to contact various individuals in the Denver metr...

Rialto officer drives over body of man already killed in hit-and-run, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

A Rialto man who was arrested Wednesday after the Rialto Police Department identified him as the driver who'd killed another man in a hit-and-run on Sunday before an RPD officer ran over the deceased man's body.Bryan Perez, 23, was arrested after police connected his 2003 Ford Explorer to the fatal hit-and-run from three days earlier, the RPD said in a press release. At a few minutes after 4:30 a.m. Sunday, an RPD officer drove over an object in the roadway of the 800 block of Rialto Avenue east of Spruce Street. That object was the body of 37-year-old DeAngelo Banks of Fontana, who had previously been hit by at least one car and killed, according to the RPD.Surveillance footage from nearby properties helped police identify a "vehicle of interest" in the collision, and when Perez got into that vehicle on Wednesday, police said they pulled him over."Perez was found to be unlicensed and subsequently interviewed and arrested for being the driver that struck and killed DeAngelo Banks on...

Germany poised to legalize cannabis

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

One of the biggest countries in Europe is on the precipice of legalizing cannabis possession.On Wednesday, Germany's cabinet endorsed the measure, meaning only the Bundestag, the country's parliament, approval prevents Germans from being able to legally possess up to 25 grams of cannabis, according to multiple reports. Marijuana legalization was part of the current ruling coalition's platform when they took power two years ago, and if legalization is approved, Germany will be "the first major European country to legalize marijuana," the New York Times reported.“This is an important law that will represent a long-term change in drug policy,” Germany's Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach said in a Wednesday news conference.On Thursday, he fleshed out his view in a tweet that described prohibition as "failed drug policy.""So far, consumption, crime and the black market are growing. Often there are toxic admixtures. It just couldn't go on like this," he wrote.

$50K reward offered for information in Arleta fatal hit-and-run investigation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

A $50,000 reward is being offered for information in a hit-and-run crash that left a bicyclist dead in Arleta over the weekend.The incident occurred around 10:50 p.m. Aug. 12 when a black Infiniti Q50 was heading west on Van Nuys Boulevard.The car crashed into a bicyclist who was also heading west, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.The driver of the car fled the scene without stopping to identify himself or help the bicyclist, who suffered fatal injuries.LAPD released a description of a vehicle and suspect involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash in Arleta on Aug. 12, 2023. The Infiniti was last seen heading south on Canterbury Avenue from Van Nuys Boulevard, leaving debris on the roadway, police said.The driver was described as a man about 24 years old, standing around 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing around 180 pounds.He was wearing a red and black baseball cap and a gray tank top, and has a tattoo of a “P” on his right forearm. Police did not elaborate on how they had...

Doc on Stephen King’s Influence on Screen is Horror-Lite

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

Stephen King is the undisputed “King of Horror,” a prolific wordsmith who’s published 65 novels and nearly 200 stories, selling more than 400 million copies to date. He’s also the third most adapted author in history (just behind Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare) with innumerable page-to-screen versions of his work. And at 75, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down (his new novel Holly comes out next month and he’s become a biting cultural critic on social media).Daphne Baiwir’s new documentary King on Screen takes on a large task, perhaps too large: exploring the movies and TV shows adapted from King’s writing. It’s a sincere attempt to understand the author via interviews with the filmmakers who adapted his stories, but unfortunately, there’s nothing incredibly consequential here.The doc opens with Baiwir herself walking through set pieces filled with Stephen King easter eggs. It’s a charming sequence that sets the tone for a lighthearted affair before becoming a traditi...

SF Giants update: Kapler talks Harrison and ‘soft landings’; Yastrzemski discusses latest setback

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – So when will left-hander Kyle Harrison, the San Francisco Giants’ top pitching prospect, be promoted to the big leagues for the first time?Simply put, whenever the Giants really need him, according to manager Gabe Kapler.Maybe that time is approaching.The Giants, in the middle of a crowded National League playoff race, have a day off Thursday but are about to embark on another treacherous part of their schedule with six games against the Atlanta Braves, MLB’s best team, and three against the Philadelphia Phillies, who lead the National League Wild card race.It’s part of a stretch that sees the Giants play 18 games in 19 days up until Sept. 6.“I think whenever you’re talking about graduating a prospect to the major leagues, you consider everything,” Kapler said before Wednesday’s series finale with the Tampa Bay Rays at Oracle Park. “And oftentimes, and when you’re in the middle of August and you’re in a playoff position, you have to thin...

Palo Alto: Former two-star Michelin restaurant team says ‘au revoir’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:08 GMT

After running high-end and Michelin-starred restaurants in Palo Alto for 14 years, chef Bruno Chemel and wife Christie Ledesma Chemel have closed their Bistronomie by Baumé and bid “au revoir” to diners.The news came via a posting on the restaurant website. “Merci Beaucoup! We would like to thank our customers, farmers and vendors for supporting us for the last 14 years. Au Revoir!” the Silicon Valley Business Journal first reported.Aug. 12 was the last day of service. No mention was made of the couple’s next culinary move.In early 2022, they closed Baumé, which had received Michelin honors for nearly a decade and reopened the California Avenue space as Bistronomie, with Chemel saying he saw “an opportunity to serve high-level meals at lower prices in a more relaxed environment.”The emphasis remained on creative gastronomic cooking techniques using local, seasonal ingredients, but in a more affordable style — $168 for six courses, compared with pr...