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Lawmakers ask for state park to temporarily reopen before permanent closure, sale to private developer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Lawmakers have asked the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to consider temporarily reopening a state park before its sale to a private developer later this summer.Fairfield Lake State Park, about 70 miles east of Waco, closed at the end of February after almost 50 years in operation. The site is not owned by the state, but rather leased by Vistra Energy, which operated a coal plant on the lake until 2018.The company is selling the land to a private developer, Todd Interests, which plans to turn the land into an exclusive community with multi-million dollar homes and a private golf course, according to the Dallas Morning News.The Parks and Wildlife Department was given a 120-day termination of lease notice on Feb. 13, meaning the state would have to vacate the property by June 13. TPWD decided to close the park to the public at the end of February to ensure the department had time to close all operations on the property. ‘Not constitutional’: Lawmakers hear how ef...

Colorado’s Independence Pass “John Doe,” found in 1970, identified as lost legendary skier Gardner Smith

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

A body found in the tundra atop Colorado’s Independence Pass in 1970 has been identified as legendary ski racer Gardner Paul Smith, a Beat-era adventurer who, before he went missing at age 39, was revered as a free-and-easy companion.“Whatever is right, friend,” he would say.Now the daughter he abandoned, who since childhood has wrestled with “a frustrating mystery,” is appealing for details from the end of his life “chasing winter” worldwide.“Obviously it is good to have closure,” said daughter Jeanne Gaida, a 60-year-old Texas real estate agent, in an interview this week. “I feel sad that he seemed to have had a lonely, tragic ending. …..“I’m still sorting it out. I am just sad – sad that he was alone,” said Gaida, who interpreted his “whatever is right, friend” expression as evidence of a kind and tolerant man who accepted others’ thinking.Smith’s exhumed remains sat for years in the Leadville office of a former co...

A Gen Z mystery: My Instagram posts keep showing up on Facebook!

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

More than a decade ago, Qu’ana Underwood, then a middle school student in Philadelphia, joined Facebook. But as other social media platforms appeared, Facebook “became an afterthought,” she said.Then last March, after Underwood posted photos of herself at a university formal on Instagram, she was suddenly flooded with Facebook notifications from relatives and friends she doesn’t normally keep in touch with. Her Instagram post had also appeared on her Facebook profile, prompting her Facebook friends to like and comment on it.Underwood said she was mystified by what was happening, especially when every post or story she shared on Instagram ended up on Facebook — even though she couldn’t remember the last time she had posted there.“What is going on?” Underwood, a 22-year-old behavioral health specialist in Nashville, Tennessee, said she had asked herself.Like Underwood, other teenagers and young adults have discovered in recent months that they’ve been unusually active on Faceboo...

Tech is allowing businesses to overcharge you in tips

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

You might be wondering why I, a tech columnist, would write about tipping. The reason is that tipping is no longer just a socioeconomic and ethical issue about the livelihoods of service workers.It has also become a tech problem that is rapidly spiraling out of control, thanks to the proliferation of digital payment products from companies like Square and Toast. Since payment apps and touch screens make it simple for merchants to preset gratuity amounts, many businesses that didn’t ordinarily ask for tips now do.And many consumers feel pressured to oblige or don’t notice the charges. This phenomenon — known as “guilt tipping” — was compounded in recent years when more privileged professionals shelled out extra to help essential workers weather the pandemic. But even as businesses have somewhat returned to normal, the gratuity requests have remained steadfast.Tipping practices may become part of a broad government crackdown on so-called junk fees, extra costs that businesses ta...

Pickleball is booming in Colorado. One city isn’t so sure it likes the sound.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

“Research shows that continuous impulsive sound such as pickleball paddle impact with a pickleball make it difficult to relax, concentrate or sleep soundly without disturbance as each impact heard draws attention and creates distraction.”And with that passage from an ordinance before Centennial City Council this month, this southern suburb will consider a six-month ban on the construction of any outdoor pickleball courts within 500 feet of homes.Centennial’s potential moratorium comes as pickleball — a mashup of tennis and ping-pong that is easy to learn and highly social — explodes in popularity. In February, the Sports and Fitness Industry Association reported that 8.9 million people played pickleball last year — nearly doubling 2021’s 4.8 million — making it the fastest-growing sport in the United States for the third year running.But with that growth has come an increasing number of coast-to-coast stories of sonic assault and desce...

Betting on social media as a news destination for the young

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

NEW YORK — If young people are spending so much time on social media, it stands to reason that’s a good place to reach them with news.Operators of the News Movement are betting their business on that hunch. The company, which has been operating for more than a year, hopes to succeed despite journalism being littered with years of unsuccessful attempts to entice people in their 20s to become news consumers.The brainchild of former Dow Jones executives, the News Movement is using a staff of reporters with an average age of 25 to make tailored news content for sites like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.“You really have to stay humble and stay open to different trends and ideas,” said Ramin Beheshti, president and a founder of the organization with former Dow Jones CEO Will Lewis. “We’ve built a newsroom that reflects the audience that we’re trying to go after.”Among the newsrooms the company is producing TikTok videos for is The Associated Press. The AP has provided office...

49ers free agency: Which quarterback joins Trey Lance and Brock Purdy?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Just imagine the 49ers’ sales pitch to veteran quarterbacks when free agency talks officially can start Monday:“Sure, we already have two quarterbacks we love. But we still have room in our heart — and quarterback room — for you.” “Come to the 49ers, where we’ve started three quarterbacks in every season except one (2019) since Kyle Shanahan took over as coach in 2017.”“Joe Montana. Steve Young. And you. The only quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl for the 49ers. Imagine that. Could be your ticket to join them in Canton.”Last season proved the value of having a quarterback, particularly one who can throw a forward pass, when competing for a championship.Trey Lance, as was the case a year ago, is poised to serve as QB1 throughout the offseason and summer, which is a long enough runway to secure the starting job for the regular season.Brock Purdy’s elbow surgery Friday brought optimism that he could be ...

Editorial: California lawmakers try again to deceive voters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

Every two years, local officials use the ballot to carry out one of California’s biggest consumer frauds.Rather than stop this repeated hiding of borrowing costs, state legislators are once again trying to enable it. Gov. Gavin Newsom used a veto to block the lawmakers in 2019. That hasn’t deterred the chief enabler, state Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, from trying again this year.At issue is transparency for billions of dollars of bond measures put before voters by school, city, county and transit district leaders. The money is to be used for capital improvements, such as new schools, government offices, roads or commuter rail cars.Many voters don’t understand that bonds are a form of borrowing, which means these measures also require tax increases, usually property tax increases, to pay off the loans.The payments are typically hundreds of dollars a year for homeowners and more for larger commercial properties. The charges last for three or four decades. It’s like commit...

Opinion: UC Berkeley should stop planned library closures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

Arguably more than housing and other issues that typically attract more attention, the latest battle at UC Berkeley threatens the heart of the university: its libraries.The Anthropology Library is inside the Anthropology and Art Practice Building, shown here. (Photo courtesy of the UC Regents)Distressingly, the university says it wants to close three libraries, including its anthropology library, because it says it can’t find the money in its $3.1 billion budget to keep them open.It may not seem like much amid all the challenges facing higher education. Yet the fate of the anthropology library, the only one of its kind in the state, and its nearly 45,000 volumes are at the forefront of a planned transformation of the entire library system at the oldest public university in the UC system.UC Berkeley intends to shrink the number of libraries from 23 to 10 “hub” libraries, and seven “satellite” libraries, the latter with fewer services, shorter hours if budgets are reduced, and wi...

Most Alpine Skiing World Cup Wins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:27 GMT

Skiers with the most World Cup race wins:Women:1. Mikaela Shiffrin, United States, 87.2. Lindsey Vonn, United States, 82.3. Annemarie Moser-Proell, Austria, 62.4. Vreni Schneider, Switzerland, 55.5. Renate Goetschl, Austria, 466. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 42.7. Marlies Schild, Austria, 37.8. Katja Seizinger, Germany, 36.9. Lara Gut Behrami, Switzerland, 35.10. Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein, 33.Overall:2. Mikaela Shiffrin, United States, 87.1. Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden, 86.3. Lindsey Vonn, United States, 83.4. Mercel Hirscher, Austria, 67.5. Annemarie Moser-Proell, Austria, 62.6. Vreni Schneider, Switzerland, 55.7. Hermann Maier, Austria, 54.8. Alberto Tomba, Italy, 50.9. Renate Goetschl, Austria, 46.(tie) Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg, 46.10. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 42.Source