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St. Paul Sears site on Rice Street sells for $7 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

The south entrance to the former Sears store on Rice St. in St. Paul on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Shuttered since early 2019, the site near the state Capitol has been sold to new owners. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)The long-vacant Sears property on St. Paul’s Rice Street has been sold to the Pacifica Group/Windfall Group, an Illinois-based real estate partnership with a Twin Cities tie, for $7 million.Eddie Ni, chief executive officer of the Windfall Group, is working with Marshall Nguyen, a partner and broker on the transaction and vice president with the Edina-based Caspian Group.“I know Marshall fairly well,” said Andrew Heieie, a broker with Colliers International’s Twin Cities office, which listed the 17-acre property for sale last November. Heieie worked with Andrew Jacobs from Colliers’ New York office to market the listing.“He’s told me there’s really no concrete plans. However, it’s likely to be transformed through an adapt...

Former Missouri prison guard admits assaulting inmate, possessing child porn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A Farmington, Missouri, man who worked at a state prison in Bonne Terre appeared in federal court on Tuesday and admitted to attacking an inmate and to possessing child pornography.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Carl Hart, 37, worked as a sergeant at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center at the time of the assault, which took place on Oct. 28, 2021.Hart told the court he and an inmate got into an argument while the two were in his office. Hart ordered the inmate to leave. When the victim didn't immediately return to his cell, two other guards at the facility pepper-sprayed him.The inmate went to the showers to wash the spray off his face and body. St. Louis County man charged after crashing truck near the White House Hart admitted to following the inmate and striking him once in the shower and again after the inmate had left the shower, and was already handcuffed on the ground.Prosecutors said ...

Former scout leader sentenced in Arapahoe County to 36 years in prison for possessing child porn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

A habitual sex offender and former Boy Scout leader was sentenced Monday in Arapahoe County District Court to 36 years in prison for possession of child pornography.Floyd David Slusher, 70, was convicted Dec. 9 by a jury of sexual exploitation of a child video possession, and sexual exploitation of a child possession with intent to distribute, both felonies, according to the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Pair arrested in Wheat Ridge store suspected in serial thefts worth about $200,000 Crime and Public Safety | Boulder King Soopers defendant undergoes neuropsychological exams, involuntary treatment Crime and Public Safety | Family of Christian Glass to receive $19 million in settlement over son’s 2021 police shooting death Crime and Public Safety | Frontier passenger arrested after striking flight attendant Sunday morning with intercom phone Crime and Public S...

Live-action “Little Mermaid” largely sticks to what worked in the 1989 animated version

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

At a time when the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence is a major topic of conversation, it’s good to know that sometimes it’s all about the people.Disney’s latest live-action “reimagining” of one of its animated musical classics, “The Little Mermaid,” succeeds largely because of three folks: leads Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King and director Rob Marshall.Let’s start with the latter. Having helmed a couple of impressive musical-theater adaptations — 2002’s Academy Award-winning “Chicago” and 2014’s “Into the Woods” — and most recently delivering with the high-stakes sequel “Mary Poppins Returns” in 2018, Marshall was a safe and smart choice for “Mermaid.” There is the occasional misfire — you may have to work not to laugh out loud at a major moment late in the film — but Marshall has crafted an update that should please fans of the original and those new to the story, as well.More bold are the picks to portray the titular mermaid, Ariel, and Eric, the young human p...

Woman possibly kidnapped by armed man at East L.A. bus stop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

Authorities are hoping the public can help identify and track down a woman who may have been kidnapped by an armed man while trying to board a bus in East Los Angeles on Monday.The woman was boarding a Montebello Transit bus in the 3800 block of East Third Street at about 8:38 p.m. when she was "confronted from behind" by a man, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.Surveillance footage shows a passenger and the bus driver tried to step in to help, but the man broke a window on the bus and pointed a handgun at the driver, then "appeared to coerce the female into" a nearby white Honda Civic, authorities said.The man then drove off east on Third Street to the 60 Freeway.LASD released surveillance images of the suspect (left) and the woman who was possibly kidnapped (right). May 23, 2023. (LASD)Deputies are searching for the woman, man, and the Civic, which they believe is a four-door car possibly from the 2022 model year.The woman is believed to be in her ...

Walmart to pay $500k over illegal sale of brass knuckles to Californians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

(KTXL) — Walmart will pay $500,000 to settle allegations that the company and third-party sellers operating on Walmart's website sold brass knuckles to consumers in California, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday. California state law prohibits the sale and possession of brass knuckles. •Video Above: Newsom proposes reforms to environmental law CEQA California Attorney General Rob Bonta ‘seriously considering’ run for governor “Illegal weapons have no place in California," said Bonta. "The settlement we have reached with Walmart makes crystal clear that online retailers are responsible for what they are allowing to be offered for sale in our state.” A Walmart representative provided a statement, saying “We are committed to being the most trusted retailer. While we believe our policies and procedures comply with California law and admit no liability or wrongdoing, we believe this agreement is in the best interest of all parties.”NOW: CA Attorney General @AGRobBonta @R...

Italian 'pasta strike' proposed amid soaring prices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

Whatever you do, don't mess with Italians' pasta.Pasta prices in Bel Paese -- that's "beautiful country" to us non-Italians -- are soaring, much to the chagrin of carb-loving Italians.Pasta costs rose by 17.5% in March and 16.5% in April. That's more than double Italy's roughly 8% inflation rate.The reason is simple: Much of the pasta now making its way to store shelves (and imported here to the U.S.) was manufactured during the pandemic, when commodity costs were higher.As a result, retail costs now reflect the higher production expenses.Even so, that's not sitting well with Italians."High prices are maintained in order to have greater profits," an Italian consumer group called Assoutent told CNBC.The group is seeking a "pasta strike" by consumers lasting at least 15 days to reduce demand and force retailers to lower costs.The situation is so dire that the Italian government convened an "emergency meeting" to discuss the pasta crisis. Pasta makers, government officials and consumer...

Integrative Medicine Guru Dr. Andrew Weil Opens True Food Kitchen in Century City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

Founded by integrative medicine specialist and creator of the anti-inflammatory food pyramid, Dr. Andrew Weil, True Food Kitchen opens its 44th location this week at the Westfield Century City mall. The chain celebrates 15 years with an expansive, wrap-around indoor/outdoor dining patio and the brand’s first location to feature a stand-alone island bar with a colorful and juicy cocktail program.Once considered a little quirky and avant-garde with his ideas of treating food as medicine back in the ‘70s and ’80s before anyone was throwing around words like gluten-free, vertical farming  or food sustainability, Dr. Weil’s philosophy has become this generation’s mantra. The pioneer of how we view food and the future of how we eat was on hand to celebrate the opening.“One of my motivations in starting this was that there weren’t a lot of places that I could eat out at with foods that met my nutritional needs,” the razor-sharp 81-year-old pescatarian who is the Clinical Professor of...

Want to share your Netflix account? That’ll be an extra $8

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

By Michael Liedtke | Associated PressNetflix on Tuesday outlined how it intends to crack down on the rampant sharing of account passwords in the U.S., its latest bid to reel in more subscribers to its video streaming service as its growth slows.To combat password sharing, Netflix said it will limit U.S. viewership of its programming to people living in the same household. Those who subscribe to Netflix’s standard or premium plans — which cost $15.50 to $20 per month — will be able to allow another person living outside their household to use their password for an additional $8 per month, a $2 discount from the company’s basic plan.Without providing details how it authenticates subscriber identities or accounts, Netflix assured that everyone living in the same household of a U.S. customer will still be able to stream TV series and movies “wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday.” The company based in Los Gatos, California has roughly 70 million U.S....

VP Kamala Harris leaves her mark on Applied Materials building

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:09:55 GMT

I haven’t heard if Vice President Kamala Harris got to take home a souvenir from her visit Monday to Applied Materials in Sunnyvale, but she definitely left one for the Silicon Valley company to remember her by.Harris signed her name to a 150-pound cylinder made of 99.999% pure silicon — the same material sliced into thin wafers during semiconductor manufacturing — surrounded by Applied CEO Gary Dickerson, Semiconductor Group President Prabu Raja, California Go-Biz Director DeeDee Myers and Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein. Leaning big time into its Silicon Valley image, Applied officials thought launching the new Epic Center with a “silicon cornerstone” was a lot more cutting edge than turning over some dirt with shovels.The “cornerstone” won’t actually be hidden in the foundation of the building but will be incorporated into the building’s design in such a way that visitors will be able to see it and Harris’ signature.By the w...