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Toronto-area pianists, choreographers among Ontario performing arts award winners

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

TORONTO — A Métis playwright, a pianist who combines baroque and Middle Eastern music and a dance industry veteran are among the winners of this year’s Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes. The Metcalf Foundation awarded five Ontario artists $25,000 each, plus $10,000 for their selected proteges. The winners named at a Toronto ceremony include Métis playwright, actor and Toronto theatre director Keith Barker with protégé Chris Mejaki; and Brampton-born pianist and composer John Kameel Farah, with protégé Evan Pointner.Other Toronto-area winners include choreographer and dancer Natasha Powell, with her protégé Raoul Wilke; composer and music educator Suba Sankaran, with protégé Shirsha Chakraborty; and orchestra composer Roydon Tse, with protégé Sami Anguaya. The five winners, chosen from a list of 15 finalists, have all been producing and showing work for at least a decade. The remaining 10 finalists will each receive $2,000. Organizers say the prizes — dubbed “Johannas̶...

Leaked document says US is willing to build energy projects in case Snake River dams are breached

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. government is willing to help build enough new clean energy projects in the Pacific Northwest to replace the hydropower generated by four controversial dams on the Snake River, according to a leaked Biden administration document that is giving hope to conservationists who have long sought the removal of the dams as a key to restoring depleted salmon runs.Still, Congress would have to agree before any of the Lower Snake River dams in Washington state are removed, and that’s unlikely to happen in the near future.The document is a draft agreement to uphold 168-year-old treaties with four tribes in the Pacific Northwest that preserved their right to harvest fish in the river, among other things. The Columbia River Basin was once the greatest salmon-producing river system in the world, with at least 16 stocks of salmon and steelhead, according to the document. But today, four are extinct and seven are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Conservationists...

Travis Kelce 'loves watching' Connor Bedard, wants to try out playing goalie at Blackhawks practice

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

Superstar tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift love interest Travis Kelce shared praise for the Chicago Blackhawks rookie sensation Connor Bedard Wednesday, and said he wouldn't mind lacing up some skates at a Blackhawks practice in the near future.On "New Heights," a podcast hosted by him and his his older brother, Philadelphia Eagles all-pro center Jason Kelce, the two were debating which football players they would choose for their personal starting fives if they were to take on a group of NHL players in a game of hockey. Jason Kelce mentioned he would take Tyreek Hill to play left wing just based purely on speed. Travis Kelce replied with, "we're assuming everyone can skate," and that's when the conversation took a tangent toward Chicago's young phenom.“This is like the rookie that the Blackhawks just got that I was talking about," Travis Kelce said. "Connor Bednar, or Bed-Bendard — I don’t even know how to say his last name. I just know I love watching that dud...

Man arrested after Naperville man found dead in Bolingbrook parking lot in 2022

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. -- U.S. Marshals have taken a Bolingbrook man into custody in connection to the shooting death of a 38-year-old Naperville man nearly one year later.According to the Bolingbrook Police Department, officers responded to the 600 block of West Boughton Road on reports of suspicious circumstances in a parking lot just after 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6. 2022. ORIGINAL: Naperville man found shot to death inside car in Bolingbrook parking lot Upon arrival, authorities discovered 38-year-old Eric Stubblefield had been shot multiple times in a vehicle parked in the parking lot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Sammy L. Gibson, 58, of Bolingbrook, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Milwaukee in connection to the shooting death of Stubblefield on Tuesday, Nov. 21.Gibson faces two counts of first degree murder and one count of concealment of a homicide charges.

Austin FC pays $15K worth of groceries at H-E-B for families

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It was a surprise for the Austin H-E-B shoppers when their grocery bills were fully paid for by members of Austin FC on Tuesday in north Austin."There are people, who especially this time of year, have a difficult time making ends meet and it's things like this we are able to take care of a $100, $200 or $300 grocery bill and it makes a big difference," said Andy Loughnane, Austin FC president. Austin FC paid for $15,000 worth of groceries at the H-E-B on North Lamar at Rundberg Lane. The head coach, sporting director and president were there to greet shoppers at the checkout. This is part of the Austin FC's Season of Giving, according to the team.Austin FC player Diego Fagúndez surprises H-E-B customers by paying for their groceries as part of a "Surprise and Delight" event hosted by Austin FC and H-E-B. (KXAN Photo/Ed Zavala) Austin FC coach Josh Wolff surprises H-E-B customers by paying for their groceries as part of a "Surprise and Delight" event hosted by Austi...

Garage fire under investigation in Clifton Park

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An investigation is taking place after a garage fire in Clifton Park Wednesday. The fire took place just after 6 p.m. in the area of Kinns Road and Carlton Road. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Multiple departments arrived on the scene to help put out the fire. Kinns Road was closed while crews battled the fire.There were several cars and propane tanks inside the garage. No one was hurt, and the cause remains under investigation.

Troy PD adding electric bikes to fleet

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Troy Police Department will be using a new form of transportation to better connect with community members. The department is adding two electric bicycles to its fleet of vehicles. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! City leaders said it will make it easier for officers to interact with members of the public while also allowing them to respond quickly to an emergency.The bike's manufacturer said they can travel as fast as 28 miles per hour and get about 50 miles of range between charges. Officers will go through training before using them.

Man killed by Denver police in Commons Park had AK-47, more than 400 rounds of ammunition

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

The man shot and killed by Denver police on Nov. 20 after chasing people in Commons Park with an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle and shooting at officers had more than 400 rounds of ammunition on him, Denver Police Department officials said Wednesday.Investigators have not determined if 42-year-old Joshua Mitchell had a plan when he abandoned his vehicle in the street and walked a mile to Commons Park while carrying an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle and 14 magazines of ammunition covered by a blanket, Cmdr. Matt Clark said in a Wednesday news conference about the investigation.The department is still working to get information from Mitchell’s cell phone and social media accounts, Clark said.Police initially responded to reports of a man with a rifle yelling at a group of people and chasing people near 16th and Platte streets at 3:40 p.m. on Nov. 20.Officers located the man, later identified by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner as Mitchell, sitting on a bench in the west side of...

Serial shrubbery thief busted with $8K in stolen greenery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

A serial shrubbery thief who has been targeting a renowned Orange County nursery has finally been arrested, authorities announced. Over the last several months, surveillance cameras at the beloved Newport Beach nursey Roger’s Gardens captured a thief sneaking into the “botanical haven” at night and making off with thousands of dollars of merchandise.  “The suspect brazenly took prized bushes, carefully snatched exotic plants, and even made off with an entire bench, leaving the business in disarray,” according to a news release from the Newport Beach Police Department.  Officers with the Newport Beach Police Department arrested an Irvine man on Nov. 29, 2023, for stealing at least $8,000 worth of merchandise from Roger's Gardens. (NBPD)NBPD detectives worked the case and learned that the unidentified Irvine man had a “passion for garden décor,” decorating his backyard with nicked greenery from the nursery, including trees, plants and pots.  In all, investigators r...

Opponents of proposed Dodger Stadium gondola protest ahead of upcoming public hearings

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:08:17 GMT

Supporters and opponents of a proposed aerial transit project that would connect Dodger Stadium with downtown Los Angeles gathered in Chinatown Wednesday, days before L.A. Metro is set to begin its latest round of hearings regarding the project.The Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (ARTT) is a suspended gondola system that would connect the baseball stadium to Union Station and Chinatown at Los Angeles State Historic Park.The gondola is a privately funded zero-emissions transit project that has drawn support from local businesses and transit activists, but has received equal opposition from those whose homes will be underneath the proposed suspended pathways and those with concerns about parking congestion near the gondola stations on game days.If ultimately built, L.A. Metro says the system could transport up to 5,000 people per hour each direction on game days in a 1.2-mile journey that takes about seven minutes. Traveling to and from Dodger Stadium is a major headache for many Ang...