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7 ways to keep your dog calm during fireworks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

Even though personal fireworks are illegal in many cities, we know many people ignore the law around the July 4th holiday weekend.This means the sight and sound of crackling bottle rockets, Roman candles, flowers and sparklers – legal or illegal – will echo through neighborhoods for several nights, which poses a unique risk to dogs.There are two main reasons why man’s best friend is easily spooked by fireworks.The first is the most obvious. Fireworks are loud.“Dogs have exceptional hearing,” Purina explains. “If a dog comes running to the sound of a crinkling food wrapper from a different part of the house, you can imagine how sensitive they are to firecrackers.“Smithsonian digs a little deeper.“Dogs hear more than twice as many frequencies as humans, and they can also hear sounds roughly four times further away. Reacting to every sound would demand too much energy, and so dog brains must determine which sounds are significant and which can be tuned out.”Fireworks, Smithsonian expla...

From Aqua to Madness – the New LA Weekly Playlist is Live

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

From Aqua to Madness: The 163rd LA Weekly playlist, reviewing the musicians that we’ve been writing about all week, is live now. There’s electronic music from Grabbitz, hip-hop from A.R. The Mermaid, pop from Bebe Rexha, punk from the Vandals, ska from Madness, and so much more.Find us on Spotify here,or on Soundcloud here.Don’t forget to “Like” the playlists and “Follow” the profiles.Man On Man (A.F. Cortés)From Aqua to MadnessAlso this week:Joey Holman of print stars Man On Man told us that, “Just because there are laws created doesn’t introduce a new form or paranoia, but it certainly adds weight to the existing paranoia. Even in liberal cities like L.A. or New York, it’s cute to pretend that we’re all good and safe, but we’re not. People are still targeted in these bigger cities. To present that part of yourself to the world is dangerous. It wasn’t safe for me as a teenager to be gay. It just wasn’t. It wasn’t safe for Roddy either, and we grew up in very different places. Roddy...

Emmy-Considered Laura Hopper: A Resolute Force in the Film Industry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

In the glitz and glamor of the film industry, where dreams are both shattered and fulfilled, Laura Hopper stands as a true powerhouse. With her recent Emmy consideration for outstanding guest actress in a drama series for her role as Rachel Herschberger in Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, she carved a niche for herself in an industry notorious for its challenges and obstacles. Hopper’s extraordinary journey as an actor and filmmaker reveals her unwavering determination and belief in herself, and her willingness to advocate for women in her field is inspiring.It all began in a small town where Hopper’s passion for the arts ignited. As a young girl, she lost herself in the magic of movies, watching in awe as her favorite actors brought their characters to life. She didn’t realize that one day she would be the one captivating audiences.However, Hopper’s path to success was not without its hurdles. Like any aspiring artist, Hopper faced countless rejections, auditions that ...

Toll Brothers announces clubhouse grand opening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL), the nation’s leading builder of luxury homes, announced the July grand opening of The Resort clubhouse at Regency at Folsom Ranch, an exclusive gated 55+ master-planned community featuring an array of luxury home designs with access to first-class amenities, dog parks and miles of outdoor trails and biking paths in Folsom, California. Homebuyers are invited to tour the new clubhouse during the grand opening celebrations, which will be held July 15, July 22 and July 29 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 3561 Olive Orchard Drive in Folsom.The Resort clubhouse at Regency at Folsom Ranch in Folsom, California, offers a luxurious 55+ active-adult lifestyle and stunning resort-style amenities. The 18,000-square-foot clubhouse features a wide array of amenities including indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, an on-site market, fire pits, gathering areas, bocce and pickleball courts, and a state-of-the-art fitness center showcasing premier opportunities for recreation ...

Southern California bakeries, smokehouses may be first in U.S. required to go electric

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

Dozens of businesses across Southern California that churn out popular baked goods, smoked meats and other products soon could be required to swap their gas-powered commercial ovens for emissions-free electric versions under a set of rules due for a vote by the local air quality district this summer.Major tortillerias, food dehydrators, and coffee and nut roasters also would have to upgrade equipment to reduce how much nitrogen oxide, or NOx, they produce under the proposed regulations.It’s the latest touchpoint in a growing culture war over how we cook our food, as mounting research links gas and wood-burning stoves with both health and environmental harms.The limits on commercial ovens are aimed at helping Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties — a region now home to the worst pollution in the country — hit federally mandated air quality targets by cutting in half the 0.2 tons of NOx these company’s 218 ovens now emit each day, according to South Coast Air Qual...

Lessons from hummingbirds: Instilling wonder and curiosity in nature

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

By Ayala Berger | Contributing ColumnistHummingbirds are a reminder to appreciate and discover the wonder of nature.Throughout my time studying hummingbirds they have taught me many lessons. I have learned about the sounds they make, where they live, what they eat, where they nest and about the incredible feats of athleticism they display. Hummingbirds have also taught me to continue to wonder, to become ever more curious, observant, and appreciative of the natural world around me.During my time working toward my doctorate at UCR, I studied the sounds hummingbirds make, specifically the sounds of Anna’s and Costa’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna, C. costae). Anna’s and Costa’s are common residents of much of Southern California. They can be seen fluttering among native flowers, fighting over hummingbird feeders, searching building edges for cobwebs with which they build their nests, hovering in the air while catching and eating gnats and flashing their colorful iridescent throat feather...

South Bay dim sum eateries pair traditional with fusion to appeal to changing tastes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Workshop for Bay Area high school students, a two-week intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.From the decor to different flavors, both Asian fusion food and traditional dim sum can provide a feeling of comfort and acceptance.Modern eatery Dumpling Time, which has several locations in the Bay Area, aims to bring good vibes to everybody, said Manager Nghia Nguyen, who runs the San Jose location at Santana Row.Their mixed Asian cuisine and aesthetic have evolved in many ways. Nguyen said he chooses to take a slight turn from traditional dim sum, thought to originate in China’s southern Guangdong region. “You will see a restaurant like this — the neon sign, color theme, the dumpling logo, as well as the chair and table,” Nguyen said.Other cultural foods are also on the menu, like Southeast Fried Rice Noodles “that are pret...

New NIH Emails Released: What Are Officials Trying to Hide About Covid’s Origins?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

A top National Institutes of Health official told Covid scientists he uses his personal email to evade strictures of the Freedom of Information Act, according to records obtained by congressional investigators probing the origins of Covid-19. This week on Deconstructed, journalist Jimmy Tobias joins Ryan Grim to discuss the U.S. government’s response to the question of Covid’s origins, attempts by NIH officials to skirt transparency, and the ongoing battle to access intelligence investigations into the origin of the pandemic.Transcript coming soon.The post New NIH Emails Released: What Are Officials Trying to Hide About Covid’s Origins? appeared first on The Intercept.

French interior ministry instructs that all bus and tram services shut down across France at night amid rioting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French interior ministry instructs that all bus and tram services shut down across France at night amid rioting.Source

Australia leads England by 172 runs at tea on Day 3 at Lord’s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:41 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Australia stretched its lead to 172 runs against England for the loss of David Warner’s wicket by tea on day three Friday of the second Ashes test.With a first-innings lead of 91, Australia crawled to 81-1 in its second innings.Usman Khawaja was on 45 and Marnus Labuschagne on 8 after overturning a leg before decision against him on 3.Until Warner was leg before wicket to Josh Tongue, Lord’s had grown quiet after lunch as he and Khawaja handled difficult batting conditions superbly.The floodlights could only partly leaven the gloomy skies as the wind picked up with a threat of drizzle.The stickability of Khawaja and Warner in a stand of 63 from 24 overs was in stark contrast to England’s performance in the morning, when only Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Broad scored more than 10 runs of the seven batters on show. England slumped from 278-4 overnight to 325 all out before lunch.But the home bowlers couldn’t make the same breakthroughs that Australia...