Home

Glynis Johns of 'Mary Poppins' dies at 100

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

Glynis Johns, a Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie “Mary Poppins” and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim, has died. She was 100.Mitch Clem, her manager, said she died Thursday at an assisted living home in Los Angeles of natural causes. “Today’s a sad day for Hollywood,” Clem said. “She is the last of the last of old Hollywood.” Actress Glynis Johns is shown in September 1982. (AP Photo/Carlos Rene Perez)Johns was known to be a perfectionist in her profession — precise, analytical and opinionated. The roles she took had to be multi-faceted. Anything less was giving less than her all.“As far as I’m concerned, I’m not interested in playing the role on only one level,” she told The Associated Press in 1990. “The whole point of first-class acting is to make a reality of it. To be real. And I have to make sense of it in my own mind in or...

Nick Carter is 'completely heartbroken' over sister Bobbie Jean's passing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

Nick Carter is breaking his silence following the passing of his sister Bobbie Jean. The singer took to Instagram on Tuesday afternoon to pen a heartfelt tribute to his younger sibling. Actress Glynis Johns, ‘Mary Poppins’ star, dies at 100 "It may take a lifetime to fully process the loss my family has endured over the years – most recently, with the sudden passing of our sister Bobbie Jean. I am completely heartbroken," he wrote in the caption alongside a childhood photo of the brother and sister. The Backstreet Boy then thanked his fans for their support.Instagram: Nick Carter"Thank you for all your love and kind words. We are reminded again that life is precious, fleeting and to cherish the time we have with the ones we love," he continued. "I know she is finally at peace with God. I love you BJ."Bobbie Jean's passing comes after her little brother, Aaron Carter's untimely death in November 2022 at 34. Their sister Leslie also died in 2012 at just 25 years old.The 4...

Here's how long $1M in retirement savings will last in California

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

For Americans planning to retire soon, having $1 million may seem like enough to retire comfortably, but depending on where someone decides to spend their post-working years, that money may or may not be enough.A new study from Go Banking Rates analyzed how long a $1 million retirement fund will last nationwide. Angelenos who make $70,000 a year are still considered ‘low-income’ The study assumed a retirement age of 65 or older and examined the annual cost of living expenses, such as housing, utilities, and food, in all 50 states.  Researchers used the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2020 Consumer Expenditure Survey and the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center in the study.In some states, like Mississippi and Oklahoma, a $1 million retirement fund would last about 22 years.In other states like New York and Hawaii, which already have high cost of living expenses, the $1 million retirement fund would last less than 15 years.For retirees in Californ...

Disneyland to resume Magic Key annual pass sales next week

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

Disneyland Magic Key passes will go back on sale on Jan. 10, according to the Disneyland website.All Magic Keys passes will be available for purchase no earlier than 9 a.m. The keys give park guests access to the parks on select dates, depending on availability and pass type, along with select discounts on food, merchandise and Genie+, the park’s paid line-skipping service that replaced the FastPass program. Several Disneyland attractions temporarily closing as holiday season ends The resort offers four tiers of annual passes. Those tiers are:Inspire Key$1,649Includes: Free standard parking, 20% off select merchandise, 15% off select food and drinks, Unlimited Disney Photo Pass digital downloads, and 20% off Disney Genie+.Believe Key$1,249Includes: 50% off standard parking, 10% off select merchandise, 10% off select food and drinks, Unlimited Disney Photo Pass digital downloads, and 20% off Disney Genie+.Enchanted Key$849 Includes: 20% off Disney Genie+, 10% off select merchandise...

Cassoulet Night Returns At A.O.C. And More Drag Bingo – Here’s What’s Popping Up

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

Chef Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne’s famous Cassoulet Night returns to A.O.C. on Sunday, Jan. 14. The winter celebration of the Southern French country classic features the traditional slow-cooked dish of duck confit, sausage and white beans. The event marks its 20th anniversary and pays homage to the annual tradition that started at Lucques. The three-course menu starts with a salad of young greens with blue cheese, walnuts and wildflower honey, followed by the Cassoulet de Maison with duck and pork confit, garlic sausage and white beans. An apple croustade with vanilla ice cream and Armagnac prunes is for dessert. Wines by the glass or bottle to pair with the menu have been selected by Styne.Cassoulet Night is priced at $95 per guest, menu only; advance ticket purchase required. To reserve tickets, contact A.O.C. at 323-655-6277 or online at OpenTable Experience. Cassoulet Night at A.O.C. is served for one night only from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m.Wellness Booster (Courtesy Urban Plat...

The Peninsula has a new micro-batch organic chocolate shop

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

Four years ago, Menlo Park-based chef Michael Sigmon was visiting his local farmers market, where a vendor was selling custom chocolate, when inspiration struck. He decided he wanted to try making his own chocolate from scratch.Sigmon is no stranger to restaurant kitchens. He has worked at North Carolina’s fine-dining Fearrington House, as a private chef for Chris Webber of the Sacramento Kings and at his own Windmill Cafe in Santa Cruz. But he was ready for a new chapter.“I’ve been in kitchens so long. My body’s done with that,” he says.Now his Minée Chocolate shop sells its wares — five types of bean-to-bar chocolates plus coffee beans — at Sigona’s Markets in Palo Alto and Redwood City and Willows Market in Menlo Park.Sigmon sources his cacao from an organic co-op in Ecuador, where the beans produce a deep chocolate with tropical fruit notes. The flavor is “the aromatic essence of what the jungle could be like on a warm day,&#...

Barnes & Noble to locate new store in Brentwood

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

Nearly two decades after opening East Contra Costa’s only large book store at Antioch’s Slatten Ranch, the retailer will be heading down the road to a similar-sized site in Brentwood.The new site is 1.5 miles away at the Streets of Brentwood shopping complex, filling a prime anchor spot vacated by REI in 2014 – only five years after the outdoor sporting goods giant opened shop there.“They (Barnes & Noble) are staying in the market, which is good for East County,” Jim Shepherd, a broker for Slatten Ranch shopping center, said. “You know, it provides something …there aren’t really any other bookstores out there.”Deborah Hanks, a spokesman for Barnes & Noble, confirmed the move and said the business is targeting an early fall opening.“Our lease ended in Antioch and we have found a new home at Brentwood, which will feature our new layout and design,” she said.The new nearly 21,000-square-foot store on Sand Creek Road will consist of book “rooms” created by a series of book...

California prisoner whose lawsuit exposed secret jail recordings pleads guilty to RICO murder

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

SACRAMENTO — For the second time in a month, a California prisoner has pleaded guilty to a federal murder charge as part of a massive investigation targeting the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang.This time, Patrick “Big Pat” Brady, 53, pleaded guilty to the July 20, 2018 fatal stabbing of Donald “Joker” Pequeen at High Desert State Prison. Pequeen was targeted by the Aryan Brotherhood for fraudulently posing as a member of the all-white prison gang and for failing to pay for drugs he’d obtained from another person, both violations of an unofficial code of conduct at the prison, prosecutors say.Brady was among two dozen alleged Aryan Brotherhood members and associates charged in 2019 as part of a massive probe led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. While on pretrial detention in the Sacramento jail, Brady filed a federal lawsuit that publicly revealed Sheriff’s employees had been re...

Dublin woman arrested after repeatedly ramming ex with car in Mountain View, police say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

MOUNTAIN VIEW — An East Bay woman is in a South Bay jail after she ran her ex-boyfriend off the road then drove at him after he got out of his car, according to Mountain View police.The episode was reported around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 2 near Central Expressway and San Antonio Road, police said in a news release. According to an investigation, a 24-year-old Dublin woman hit a car driven by a man she once dated.This caused the man to crash, and once he got out of his car to assess the damage, the woman reportedly “accelerated toward him, hitting both him and his vehicle once again,” police said.The woman drove away from the crash site but soon after returned while police officers were investigating the scene. Police said officers stopped her car and detained her, then later booked her into the Elmwood women’s jail in Milpitas on suspicion of attempted murder, hit and run and domestic violence crimes. Records show she was being held without bail.Police said the vi...

Homicides in big US cities down more than 10 percent in 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:45:42 GMT

By Eric Levenson and Mark Morales | CNNAfter three years of distressingly high levels, homicides in the US declined significantly across the board in 2023 – even as the public’s concerns about crime remained at its highest in over two decades.In particular, the five biggest cities in the US – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Phoenix – each saw homicides fall by over 10%, according to the latest data from those police departments.Further, national data from the FBI covering January to September 2023 showed an 8.2% drop in all violent crime, including a 15.6% drop in murders, compared to the same period in 2022. These declines were seen in cities over 1 million people and those under 10,000, and across all four regional quadrants of the US. The full year of data won’t be released until this fall, but the trend is clear.Taken together, the broad decline in crimes in 2023 suggests societal disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 police murder of George Floyd have ...