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Casa Bonita reveals its new menu and offers a sneak peak inside

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

Like many people, Dana Rodriguez stayed away from the Tex-Mex platters when she used to go to Casa Bonita, filling up on margaritas and sopapillas instead.“The food was really secondary,” she said about her visits to the famed Lakewood restaurant and entertainment venue. “We either ate before or after.”But after new owners and “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker hired Rodriguez, a four-time James Beard-nominated Denver chef, to revamp the menu and run the kitchen, she is ready to change Casa Bonita’s notorious reputation for inedible cuisine. To do that, she jettisoned the inventory of canned food, deep-cleaned and overhauled the kitchen, and designed dishes that are actually worth the price of admission. “The Health Department loves us now,” she said.Casa Bonita’s Matt Stone, executive chef Dana Rodriguez and Trey Parker (Photo by Paul H. Trantow for Casa Bonita)Ahead of Casa Bonita’s highly anticipated reopening — there is still no official date despite th...

Baby boom at Planckendael

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

Spring has sprung and so few have the new arrivals at Planckendael ZOO, on the outskirts of Brussels.In fact, there has been something of a baby boom at the animal park in recent weeks with the arrival of lots of “little ones”.The park, for example, just welcomed an anteater, the first baby anteater born there in the history of Planckendael ZOO.A golden-headed lion tamarin was also recently born, also very special for the park because Planckendael ZOO has coordinated the breeding programme of golden-headed lion tamarins for over 30 years.Golden-headed lion tamarins are severely endangered so every new-born golden-headed lion tamarin is a very good news for survival of the species.Yet more recent births include a baby black lemur, again an endangered species which live only on the island of Madagascar, along with two Asian lion cubs.They are staying with their mum until they are big enough to meet their father and brother Yari and Wishu. The cubs are expected to venture outside for t...

Dodgers, Kershaw announce 'Christian Faith' event amid Pride Night controversy

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

The Los Angeles Dodgers and future Hall of Fame pitcher Clayton Kershaw have announced a “relaunch” of Christian Faith and Family Day.The announcement comes after the Dodgers first invited, then uninvited, and then re-invited a group of self-described queer and trans “nuns” to be honored at the team’s Pride Night event in June. “Excited to announce the relaunch of Christian Faith and Family Day at Dodger Stadium on July 30th,” Kershaw tweeted on Friday. “More details to come - but we are grateful for the opportunity to talk about Jesus and determined to make it bigger and better than it was before COVID. Hope to see you on July 30th!”“Stay after the game to celebrate and be part of a day of worship,” the team said in a retweet.An official page for the event on the Dodgers’ website promised more information "soon."The Dodgers’ decision to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a Community Service Award at its 10th annual Pride Night celebration on June 16 was met with ba...

Star Ballroom in Monterey Park may be closing for good

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

The Star Ballroom in Monterey Park, the site of a mass shooting that occurred earlier this year, may be on the brink of closing for good. The dance studio’s owner told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that she has “almost” made up her mind on not reopening the business.Though renovations have started at the location, Maria Liang told the newspaper she would be open to offers from possible buyers, but she hasn’t had any offers to take over the business. ‘We really look out for each other’: Hero of Monterey Park shooting discusses how his life changed after lifesaving actions Liang said it’s been “difficult” to return to work where a gunman fatally shot 11 people on Jan. 21., the start of the Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year shooting first responders honored The victims were elderly dancers and included the studio’s original owner.Liang told the Tribune that a month after the massacre she issued nearly 300 refund checks to people who had paid for group classes or access to the communi...

The five most expensive homes reported sold in Hayward in the week of May 15

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

A house in Hayward that sold for $1.1 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Hayward in the past week.In total, five residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $784,900. The average price per square foot was $545.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of May 15 even if the property may have been sold earlier.5. $550,000, detached house in the 22300 block of Montgomery StreetThe 1,211 square-foot single-family home in the 22300 block of Montgomery Street, Hayward, has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in March and the total purchase price was $550,000, $454 per square foot. The house was built in 1920. The house features three bedrooms and one bathrooms.Montgomery Street4. $675,000, single-family house in the 22200 block of Pearce StreetThe property in the 22200 block of Pearce Street in Hayward has new owners. T...

Mailbag: No accountability for the Pac-12 presidents, the Power Five left-behinds, Cal’s fate, SDSU’s timeline and more

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

The Hotline mailbag is published every week. Send questions to [email protected] and include ‘mailbag’ in the subject line or hit me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline.Some questions have been edited for clarity and brevity.While former commissioner Larry Scott was either totally incompetent or a shrewd grifter, when are the Pac-12 presidents going to be held accountable for a lack of oversight that has put athletic departments into a financial swamp that continues to get deeper? — @RockDawg3If the Pac-12 were a publicly traded company, a shareholder revolt would be in order.The bumbling chief executive, Larry Scott, was effectively fired by the board in the winter of 2021. But the board itself has made a plethora of major mistakes and should, by all rights, be ousted.Unfortunately, there is no recourse for Pac-12 fans, members of the athletic departments and the athletes themselves — the three constituencies suffering from board-level mismanagement.Granted, many...

Subway owner who paid workers $265K in bounced checks hit with federal injunction

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The owner and operator of several Subways who allegedly issued employees $265K in bad checks and violated child labor laws has been slapped with a preliminary federal court injunction. The injunction forbids John Michael Meza from violating child labor laws, threatening and retaliating against workers and obstructing a federal investigation, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Labor. Old Navy closing down SF Market Street location Meza owns and operates 14 Subway franchise locations around the Bay Area. The injunction comes in the midst of allegations made by investigators with the DOL Wage and Hour Division. According to investigators, Meza instructed employees as young as 14 and 15 to operate dangerous equipment, allowed children to work longer hours at times not permitted by law, issued hundreds of bad checks to employees, failed to pay wages, and kept tips from customers.Meza also interfered with the investigation and coerced employe...

DA: Doctor who drove family over cliff needs to be held accountable

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

(KRON) -- What was going through Dharmesh Patel's mind when he, according to investigators, intentionally drove his entire family over a San Mateo County cliff and crashed their Tesla into the rocky beach below? A search warrant affidavit was unsealed this month revealing what Patel told emergency responders who airlifted the family of four to trauma centers on January 2. District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said it was an "absolute miracle" that Patel, his wife, and their two young children survived a 300-foot plunge from the cliff at Devil's Slide.Patel’s defense attorney told a judge that Patel’s wife no longer wants him to face any charges. Prosecutors said it's not uncommon for domestic violence victims to become uncooperative. Wagstaffe said, in about 80 percent of domestic violence cases, the victim will recant their statements and not want the case to move forward. "It's part of the cycle of violence. This is a domestic violence case. I hope she realizes that there is a duty t...

In a Gift to Polluting Industries, Supreme Court Rolls Back Clean Water Act Protections

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

The vast majority of wetlands in the United States — more than 100 million acres — are no longer protected by the Clean Water Act, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday in Sackett v. EPA. Wetlands are critically important to clean drinking water and flood mitigation; they’re also effective at sequestering carbon and a boon to drought resilience, storing water during dry periods. But in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court brushed off peer-reviewed science and plain old common sense that you can’t protect the water downstream, which even the majority agreed is covered by the law, if you’re polluting it upstream.The case was filed by a wealthy Idaho couple, Michael and Chantell Sackett, who were annoyed that they were required to get a special permit from the Environmental Protection Agency to build on their land because of its proximity to Priest Lake. The Sacketts’ land contains wetlands, but because the wetlands are separated from the lake by a road, they argued the permit was unnecessary. It...

The 15 NBA teams that have come closest to overcoming a 3-0 series deficit

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:25:49 GMT

A list of the 15 teams that forced at least a Game 6 in a best-of-seven NBA playoff series after dropping the first three games:___1947 BAA Semifinals: Washington Capitols trailed Chicago Stags 3-0, lost in six.1949 BAA Finals: Washington Capitols trailed Minneapolis 3-0, lost in six.1951 NBA Finals: New York trailed Rochester Royals 3-0, lost in seven.1962 Western Division finals: Detroit trailed L.A. Lakers 3-0, lost in six.1994 Western Conference semifinals: Denver trailed Utah 3-0, lost in seven.1996 NBA Finals: Seattle trailed Chicago 3-0, lost in six.2000 Eastern Conference semifinals: Philadelphia trailed Indiana 3-0, lost in six.2003 Western Conference first round: Portland trailed Dallas 3-0, lost in seven.2007 Eastern Conference semifinals: Chicago trailed Detroit 3-0, lost in six.2010 Eastern Conference finals: Orlando trailed Boston 3-0, lost in six.2013 Eastern Conference first round: Boston trailed New York 3-0, lost in six.2013 Western Conference first round: Houston ...