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“Merchant of landscapes”: The lasting footprint of a Japanese gardener in Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

By Elda Cantú and Marian Carrasquero, The New York TimesMEXICO CITY — The Mexican president wanted cherry trees.It was 1930, and President Pascual Ortiz Rubio had seen them lining the streets of Washington and desired the same beautiful spectacle for his country’s capital.To try to fulfill the leader’s request, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs tapped Tatsugoro Matsumoto, a Japanese immigrant who tended the gardens of Chapultepec, then the presidential residence in Mexico City. But winters in the capital were not cold enough for the cherries to fully blossom, the expert gardener said. The president wouldn’t get his hanami, the flower contemplation ritual the Japanese celebrate every spring.At least not a pink one.If cherries were not suitable for the Mexican capital, another tree with colorful flowers might do the trick: jacarandas.Matsumoto had already advised another president to plant jacarandas in the city. But those were the post-revolutionary years when there were...

Body found in burned van on Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

Authorities are investigating after a body was found in a burned van in Woodland Hills Tuesday morning.The burning vehicle was reported at 7:23 a.m. in the 21000 block of Mulholland Drive near Rosario Road, according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department and Officer Marin of the Los Angeles Police Department.After firefighters extinguished the flames, they found a body inside the vehicle.The person's age and gender have not yet been released. The investigation is ongoing, and no further details were available.Nidia Becerra and Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this story.

Planets on Parade: 5 will be lined up in night sky this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

Keep an eye on the sky this week for a chance to see a planetary hangout. Five planets - Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars - will line up near the moon.WHERE AND WHEN CAN YOU SEE THEM?The best day to catch the whole group is Tuesday. You’ll want to look to the western horizon right after sunset, said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke.The planets will stretch from the horizon line to around halfway up the night sky. But don't be late: Mercury and Jupiter will quickly dip below the horizon around half an hour after sunset.The five-planet spread can be seen from anywhere on Earth, as long as you have clear skies and a view of the west.“That’s the beauty of these planetary alignments. It doesn’t take much,” Cooke said. Pluto (Credit: APL/SWRI/NASA) DO I NEED BINOCULARS?Maybe. Jupiter, Venus and Mars will all be pretty easy to see since they shine brightly, Cooke said. Venus will be one of the brightest things in the sky, and Mars will be hanging out near the moon with a reddish glow. Me...

Pico Union School Receives $10K Donation to Support Healthier Hydration for Students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

Credit: Zurn Elkay Water SolutionsAll across the country, school-aged children are faced with high lead levels in their drinking water every day. In California alone, it’s estimated that 40,000+ children have been exposed to unsafe lead levels, prompting millions of dollars being used for lead testing and water system repairs – in fact, Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district, has spent more than $30 million over the last decade.Earlier this year, California lawmakers made progress by introducing a bill aimed at removing lead from water used in schools which would help protect children from its serious long-term effects. If signed into law, testing for lead at all drinking water fountains in K-12 schools would be mandated with a goal of reducing lead levels in schools to zero. But there’s much to be done and action that can be taken now to ensure children have access to cleaner drinking water.Credit: Zurn Elkay Water SolutionsElkay, the...

Smashing Pumpkins bring World is a Vampire Tour to Bay Area, SoCal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

The Smashing Pumpkins are hitting the road in July for a 26-date North American trek,The outing, dubbed the World Is a Vampire Tour, includes a Bay Area stop on Aug. 3 at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain view.Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. March 31, livenation.com. There is also an artist presale that runs noon March 28 to 10 p.m. March 30.Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons are the support acts for the Shoreline show, while Interpol is performing on some other dates. See the tour dates listed below for information about the specific opening acts or visit https://smashingpumpkins.com/tour/.“I grew up in a world where I needed to know bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cure existed, it meant there was a place for people like me to hang out and belong,” says Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan. “That’s what The World Is a Vampire is about. Bringing back that sense of community. If you don’t fit in, you belong here.“...

Thrun’s NHL debut on hold; two Sharks wingers could miss rest of season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

SAN JOSE — Defenseman Henry Thrun, who signed an entry-level contract with the Sharks over the weekend, will make his NHL debut on Thursday, coach David Quinn said.Thrun arrived in San Jose on Monday, two days after he signed a two-year deal with the Sharks that expires after the 2023-24 season. Thrun, though, arrived too late to be able to practice with the Sharks, and was ruled out for tonight’s game at SAP Center against the Winnipeg Jets.Thrun, 22, skated with the Sharks on Tuesday morning and is slated to play Thursday when the Sharks host the Vegas Golden Knights.INJURY UPDATE: Wingers Andreas Johnsson and Evgeny Svechnikov could miss the rest of the regular season with lower body injuries, Quinn said.Johnsson was injured when he blocked a shot in the Sharks’ game on March 20 against the Edmonton Oilers. Svechnikov hasn’t played since he was hurt in San Jose’s game with the Seattle Kraken on March 16.Quinn said he didn’t have a health update...

San Jose: Police arrest suspect in serial school burglaries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

SAN JOSE — A man was arrested on suspicion of burglarizing several San Jose-area schools of technological equipment — including specialty equipment for hearing and vision-impaired students, according to authorities.A series of burglaries were reported from August 2022 through February 2023 in the East Side Union, Mount Pleasant, and Alum Rock school districts, according to a news release sent Tuesday morning by San Jose police. Authorities said that the suspect struck well after school hours, targeting portable classrooms that lacked alarm systems and allegedly prying open doors to take equipment.Police said they identified a 44-year-old San Jose man as a suspect “through extensive follow-up,” but they did not divulge how investigators were led to the man. The suspect was arrested in a stolen car containing several pieces of equipment from the schools, police said.Authorities said they served a search warrant March 21 at the man’s residence, where detectives found ...

Juvenile driver suspected of eluding police crashes into Concord home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

CONCORD — A driver under 18 years old crashed into a house Monday after he sped away from officers while in a stolen vehicle, police said.Nobody inside the home was injured, nor were the driver and a passenger in the vehicle, Concord police Lt. Mark Robison said in a statement. Police arrested the driver on suspicion of evading, driving a stolen vehicle and hit-and-run, he said.The passenger also was a juvenile. Police did not say whether that person was arrested but did say that the driver and the passenger both ran from the scene after crashing into the house.It all happened about 9:35 a.m., when an officer spotted the vehicle driving in an undisclosed location in downtown Concord. Robison said the vehicle had been reported stolen from an undisclosed location about 8:35 a.m.Robison said that when the officer tried to pull over the vehicle, the driver accelerated. The officer followed briefly, then called off the chase because of the vehicle’s speed, Robison said.Relate...

Judge rules Mike Pence must testify about pre-J6 talks with Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

By Katelyn Polantz, Paula Reid and Zachary Cohen | CNNA federal judge has decided that former Vice President Mike Pence must testify to a grand jury about conversations he had with Donald Trump leading up to January 6, 2021, according to multiple sources familiar with a recent federal court ruling.But the judge said — in a ruling that remains under seal — that Pence can still decline to answer questions related to his actions on January 6 itself, when he was serving as president of the Senate for the certification of the 2020 presidential election, according to one of the sources.Pence still has the ability to appeal. Trump has repeatedly lost executive privilege assertions he’s tried to make in the special counsel’s investigation.It’s another win for special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating the Trump-aligned effort to subvert the 2020 election. Smith subpoenaed Pence for testimony and documents earlier this year.Days after news broke of the sub...

49ers seek funds to spruce up Levi’s Stadium for World Cup, Super Bowl bid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ 9-year-old home needs a makeover, and the Santa Clara-based franchise wants to tap into the NFL’s proverbial equity line for upgrades ahead of hosting 2026 World Cup soccer games.Seats and scoreboards will be enhanced if the 49ers secure $120 million from the NFL’s stadium fund, which the franchise sought to secure Tuesday at the league meeting in Phoenix, The Athletic reported.Enhancements could also lead to the Super Bowl’s return to Levi’s Stadium, which is owned by the city of Santa Clara and managed by the 49ers in what’s been a contentious relationship. The NFL is to announce in May the sites for Super Bowl 60 and 61; Levi’s Stadium hosted Super Bowl 50 to cap the 2015 season.Renovations would begin next year, after this coming season, and stadium suites could be renovated and expanded, from 170 to 179.“We’re in the heart of Silicon Valley and the heart of the second largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies,” Brent Schoeb, the 49ers’ ...