Latest news with #KenTurner
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Auckland's Zig Zag track reopens after closure due to storm-damage in 2023
The Zig Zag track in the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park connects the Titirangi community to its local beach. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Council A popular track in Auckland's suburb of Titirangi has reopened this week, following closure after storm-damage from the weather events of early 2023. Auckland Council said the Zig Zag track, which links Titirangi Beach Road to the beach, has undergone significant upgrades to stabilise its path and improve drainage since the storms. The work is part of the council's ongoing programme to restore weather damaged tracks across the Waitākere Ranges, with stronger safeguards for kauri and improved experiences for users of the track. The council's manager of regional parks, Scott De Silva, said the restoration was not as easy as clearing a path. "Our contractors and rangers work around steep terrain, mature native trees, and ongoing flood damage - all while protecting the sensitive ecology of the area. It's careful, complex work, and I'm proud of what the team has achieved to reconnect this local accessway," he said. Parks Committee chairperson councillor Ken Turner said the reopening of the Zig Zag track was a milestone for the community. "It's a sign of the steady progress being made across the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park to get things back to normal after the extreme weather events of 2023," he said. Three more tracks are also set to reopen in the ranges in the coming months, including the Smyth Ridge track, the Kuatiaka track and the Zion Hill track in Karekare. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
News.com.au
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
The Awesome story behind the namesake of Blake Ryan's talented two-year-old
Hawkesbury trainer Blake Ryan will be at Rosehill on Saturday armed with his exciting two-year-old debut winner Just Awesome. The gelding's name will be instantly recognisable for racing fans and breeding scholars in particular. Enter the Magic Millions Sales Director David Chester who had a front-row seat for the original Just Awesome 's brief but spectacular career. 'I remember the late Ken Turner trained him and he was a pretty smart racehorse,'' Chester told Racenet. For the record, the son of Last Tycoon was foaled in 1990 and was a member of the same crop sired by the Breeders' Cup Mile winner as Mahogany, Lady Jakeo, Tracey's Element and Magic Of Money. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Just Awesome, unlike the modern-day version, was beaten on debut but hardly disgraced given it was behind Geoff and Beryl White's future Galaxy winner, Jetball. As for Just Awesome, his stakes-win came at Rosehill on August 27 in 1994 when Shane Dye steered the colt to a narrow victory in the Concorde Stakes. His race record and pedigree was enough to earn Just Awesome a place on the then revered stallion roster at Wakefield Stud which at the time, included Kala Dancer, who would go on to throw Melbourne Cup winner Subzero and the ill-fated Angst. 'The late Brian Agnew bought the horse as a stallion prospect to stand in the Hunter Valley,'' Chester explained. 'And he (Just Awesome) was at a farm at Beaudesert, I can't remember the name of it, but anyway it was 'gelding day' and I think they had about half a dozen horses to geld and they brought down Just Awesome. 'They never checked the brand. Anyway the vet took out one testicle and then he said 'are you sure this is the right horse?' 'And then all hell broke loose. They checked the brand and found out they'd taken a testicle out of Just Awesome.' • Kosciuszko build-up begins without defending champ Needless to say it was a big deal at the time, with the career of one of the nation's boom soon-to-be stallions almost over before it began. 'Brian rang me and he said 'David, can you help me sell the horse, I don't want him now','' Chester said. 'So I rang Fred Brown who had a property at Southbrook. 'He was quite a big client of (the Magic Millions), as a breeder and racehorse owner. John Size used to train for him when he trained in Brisbane; Fred was one of John's best clients. 'So I rang Fred and Fred said 'I like the horse, but Jesus David, let me talk to Reg Pascoe' who was the leading horse vet on the Darling Downs. 'Reg said 'Fred, first year you might have to just go a little bit easy on him but that testicle will develop and he will be able to cover as many mares as you want, it should not affect him at all later on.' Which is exactly what Brown did. Just Awesome covered a mere 56 mares in his first season in 1996. That number rose to 68 in the following season but then tragedy struck. Just Awesome died in April, 1998, leaving behind an eventful and ultimately unfulfilled career that only became evident as his limited number of offspring made it to the racetrack. 'He was a very good stallion,'' Chester said. 'He was sensational in what he did in the first couple of seasons. 'You couldn't believe it. Just everything he got could run.' According to figures supplied by Racing And Sports, Just Awesome's two (small) crops delivered winners of 318 races including five stakes-winners, led by Sound The Alarm who won the Group 1 Railway Stakes at Ellerslie on New Year's Day in 2002. Vale Just Awesome (1990-1998), gone but not forgotten.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Watch a 98-Year-Old World War II Vet Absolutely Demolish a Tesla With a Tank
A 98-year-old World War II veteran, who served in the British Army, absolutely destroyed a Tesla vehicle with the license plate "FASCIM" in a recently shared YouTube video. As first spotted by Gizmodo, veteran Ken Turner used a Sherman tank, one of the most widely used tanks used by the US and its western allies against the Nazis in World War II, to turn a navy blue Tesla into a pancake. The video was uploaded by the British anti-Brexit and anti-conservative political group Led by Donkeys to send a clear message. "Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is using his immense power to support the far-right in Europe, and his money comes from Tesla cars," the group wrote in the video's caption. "We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again." The symbolic stunt highlights Musk's embrace of extremist and racist views. The mercurial CEO has used his considerable platform to further unhinged conspiracy theories and spread hurtful anti-immigrant rhetoric. And who could forget president Donald Trump's post-inauguration celebration, during which Musk performed not just one but two Nazi salutes? He has appeared at a rally for the Alternative for Germany party — a growing, far-right nationalist contingency boasting ties to neo-Nazism — and attended meetings with Italian right-wing populist political party Lega. As a result, anti-Musk sentiment has soared, giving life to an international protest movement, dubbed "Tesla Takedown." It's a terrifying new predicament, with experts warning of the rise of technofeudalism, ruled by a tiny number of "broligarchs," like Musk. To some, it's an eerie deja vu of some of the darkest chapters in recent human history. "I'm old enough to have seen fascism the first time around, now it's coming back," said veteran Turner in the latest video — before crushing the Tesla in a tank. More on Elon Musk: As Sales Continue to Plummet, Tesla Is Considering a Massive Payday for Elon Musk
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beloved SF sandwich spot announces March closure
(KRON) – A popular San Francisco sandwich spot Turner's Kitchen is closing at the end of March, the restaurant posted on its social media. Almost 10 years ago, Ken Turner purchased Clare's Deli after beginning his career at Zuni Cafe in SF. Turner said that the decision to close was difficult. However, he looks forward to a lighter load. 'I've normalized a 50 hour work week that balloons to 70+ with private dining and catering,' said Turner. 'I used to be so proud of my work ethic and while the accomplishments and memories have made it more than worth it, it's time to slow down…' JCPenney to shut down lone Peninsula location In the next couple of months, Turner said he will be focused on fundraising and pop-ups, but still providing catering and private dining. Turner said he has not sold the business. He said, 'Who knows, maybe I'll reopen it again.' According to Yelp, Turner's Kitchen's most popular dishes are the Original 500 Club, French Dip sandwich, Mission fig sandwich and more. Patrons still have a little over two months to enjoy the tasty subs. Turner's Kitchen is located at 3505 B 17th St. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
