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Is it a “skip” or a “pause”? Federal Reserve won’t likely raise rates next week but maybe next month.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — Don’t call it a “pause.”When the Federal Reserve meets next week, it is widely expected to leave interest rates alone — after 10 straight meetings in which it has jacked up its key rate to fight inflation.But what might otherwise be seen as a “pause” will likely be characterized instead as a “skip.” The difference? A “pause” might suggest that the Fed may not raise its benchmark rate again. A “skip” implies that it probably will — just not now.The purpose of suspending its rate hikes is to give the Fed’s policymakers time to look around and assess how much higher borrowing rates are slowing inflation. Calling next week’s decision a “skip” is also a way for Chair Jerome Powell to forge a consensus among an increasingly fractious committee of Fed policymakers. One group of Fed officials would like to pause their hikes...

Sewage spill prompts closure of swim areas in Long Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

Long Beach closed all coastal swimming areas Tuesday evening due to a massive sewage spill. About 50,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the Alhambra Wash, which leads to the Rio Hondo Channel and flows into the Los Angeles River, a public notice from the city stated. An apparent blockage led to the sewer line overflow, the notice stated. No further details about the blockage were released. The spill prompted an order from Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis to close the beaches until the water quality improves. Water monitoring with continue until results comply with California's water quality standards. Long Beach has about 7 miles of public beach. A Water Hotline is available at 562-570-4199 for the latest on the Long Beach recreational beach water quality. People can also get updates by visiting longbeach.gov/beachwaterquality.

Truck crashes into homeless encampment, injuring 1 in North Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

A pickup truck crashed into a homeless encampment after rolling down an embankment in the North Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles early Wednesday morning. The crash occurred around 12:15 a.m. on the southbound 405 Freeway onramp near Roscoe Boulevard. The truck drove off the ramp and rolled over, landing on an occupied homeless encampment, a California Highway Patrol spokesperson said.A person inside the encampment was injured and transported to a local hospital in unknown condition. There were also parties trapped inside the pickup truck but they were freed and uninjured, according to the spokesperson. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

WeHo solidifies late-night hours for Rainbow District nightclub

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

The party isn't stopping West Hollywood.Heart WeHo patrons who have enjoyed partying and dancing until 4 a.m. on weekends for the past several months will get to continue doing so after a unanimous vote by the West Hollywood Business License Commission Tuesday evening.The nightclub at 8911 Santa Monica Blvd., which opened in January 2022, has been using special event permits to stay open two hours past the normal closing time of 2 a.m. since November. Now, those permits are no longer necessary, as Heart WeHo was awarded an extended hour business license. Alcohol sales, however, will continue to halt at 2 a.m.At the hearing, "the public came out strongly in favor of the move," WEHOville reported. Aside from one 24-hour strip club, Heart WeHo is the only establishment on the Sunset Strip or the Rainbow District to be allowed to stay open past 2 a.m.

It’s a Metaphor: Arts Calendar June 8-14

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

Mark-making like everything is a metaphor, queer avant-garde anti-capitalist horror, not your daddy’s dad jokes, performative food artistry, painting every ocean, gay and gonzo illustration art, looking at men, smoothing out information overload, fateful individual and collective creative journeys, Puck and the Scottish play, a big arts party in the park, Indigenous crafts and Native playwrights, a hot take on a cold classic of ancient theater, a celebrity guide to activism, poetry in the former temple, LGBTQ elders get their flowers, and a project aimed at sustaining the theatrical voices of women of color.Beck+Col: Red NightThursday, June 8Lauren Powell Projects presents Beck+Col: Red Night at the art room. Artist duo Beck+Col use costume-based performance and video to build alternate universes populated by monsters, spawning a counter-mythology and the queering of existing norms. Tonight they present a group exhibition and first look inside their new film Red Night, set in the co...

Oakland A’s stadium bill to be considered in special session in Nevada Legislature after all

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

The Oakland A’s bid to have their public financing package plan heard in the Nevada Legislature has gone into extra innings and will be discussed Wednesday morning.Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo issued a proclamation late Tuesday night calling state officials for a second consecutive special session, this time to discuss a potential $380 million public financing package to help fund a Las Vegas stadium project for the A’s, who are seeking to leave Oakland after 55 years.The proclamation is here! The measure would be consistent with the provisions of Senate Bill 509 (as introduced in the 82nd regular session of the Nevada Legislature). https://t.co/r002Zo92DU pic.twitter.com/9bpCx1BZ67— Tabitha Mueller (@tabitha_mueller) June 7, 2023The A’s hopes for up to $380 million from the state of Nevada appeared to stall when the state legislature adjourned Monday night without considering a bill proposing public financing to help pay for the construction of a new baseball st...

Salt & Straw ice creamery opens in Old Town Los Gatos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

Los Gatos is now among the 20 plus locations of Salt & Straw, this one at Old Town. The Portland-based company is known for eclectic ice cream flavors like sea salt with caramel ribbons, salted malted chocolate chip cookie dough, and pear & blue cheese.Salt & Straw is featuring an Upcycled Food Series this month, highlighting partners committed to reducing food waste in the U.S. The menu is fully certified by the Upcycled Food Association.A detour through downtown Saratoga to avoid a traffic accident took me by the adorable new Darla Café that has taken over the former Basin restaurant. Roommates Nina Summers, Papatsara Chaipong and Mookie Varunthorn are serving up a stew—and slew—of American and Asian fusion dishes, with Japanese, Thai and Hawaiian influences. You’ll find loco moco, congee (rice porridge) with shrimp, crispy French toast, bibimbom with Gochujang sauce, duck and waffles, Hella crab spaghetti, braised bone-in lamb shank in Massaman curry, and softshell cr...

Taxpayer moves to California drop by 11% in 5 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

A swiftly declining number of Americans are choosing to move to California.While the great “California exodus” debate grabs headlines, another slice of migration patterns reveals a far more ominous population trend for the Golden State. Basically, it’s become “a great place to visit, but who’d want to move there?”This is not good news in a world of numerous shortages that now includes people, who have been elevated to a critical commodity. Who will fill our jobs? Use our facilities or businesses? Or, more crucially, pay taxes?Consider what my trusty spreadsheet learned while studying fresh taxpayer stats from the IRS. This data tracks where Americans lived in 2021 when they filed their 2020 tax returns – and if they moved in that year.Now, this math isn’t perfect – it doesn’t track non-filers, for example – but it’s a decent indicator of migration trends for a lucrative demographic cohort: taxpayers.With caveats noted, California in 2021 had 385,188 new taxpayers – that’s the number...

Caltech researchers show power can be wirelessly transmitted in space; the implications are huge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

A solar panel in a lab of the Space Solar Power Project at Caltech. Donald Bren donated $100 million to this project. (Courtesy: Caltech)Sketch of solar array from the Space Solar Power Project at Caltech. Donald Bren donated $100 million to this project. (Courtesy: Caltech)A look at how thin the solar panels are for Caltech’s Solar Space Power Project. Donald Bren has given $100 million-plus to fund Caltech’s research. (Courtesy: Caltech)Microscopic closeup of technology used in Caltech’s Solar Space Power Project. Donald Bren has given $100 million-plus to fund the research. (Courtesy: Caltech)Show Caption of ExpandA team of Southern California researchers were buzzing this week after an out-of-this-world milestone.In a kind of galactic Thomas Edison-esque moment, the Caltech team demonstrated, for the first time, their ability to wirelessly transmit power in space and beam a detectable amount back to Earth.The experiment of space solar power is still very much i...

‘Our daughter is coming home’: Alexis Gabe family prepares to lay her to rest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:59 GMT

With officials having wrapped up an autopsy and forensic tests, the family of Alexis Gabe can finally lay their daughter to rest.The remains of the 23-year-old Oakley woman – killed more than a year ago – have now been given to her family, which plans to honor her with both public and private events this month.“Our daughter is coming home,” Gwyn Gabe wrote on Facebook. “Yes, we’re able to bring her home at last.”Gabe disappeared on the evening of Jan. 26, 2022, after she left her Oakley home to visit her ex-boyfriend Marshall Curtis Jones in Antioch. Police later determined Marshall killed her, but before they could arrest him at the Seattle-area apartment where he had relocated, he charged at the arresting officers and was fatally shot.The case drew national attention and a Facebook page to help find Gabe drew nearly 17,000 followers. After many months of searching for her, her partial remains were found in November in a remote area near Plymouth in Amador County and again in Janua...