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Los Angeles Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
The event of the year? A ‘diva' bookstore cat's 10th birthday party
The cupcakes were ordered, the decorations were up and the children were buzzing. After months of preparation, the employees at Once Upon a Time Bookstore in Montrose were all set for their biggest event of the year: Pippi Longstocking, the resident cat at the country's oldest children's bookstore, was turning 10 years old. The only hitch? The guest of honor was sound asleep on the ledge above the store's front door. Once Upon a Time's owner Maureen Palacios envied the slumbering cat. 'I didn't get any sleep last night,' Palacios said as she flitted about, making last-minute space adjustments to accommodate an expected 100 guests — almost double last year's attendance. At her past parties, Pippi always descended from her perch in time for the birthday festivities. But during this go-round Sunday, Palacios was in full panic mode as the cat cut it closer than ever. Pippi, a dilute calico-tabby mix, took up residence at Once Upon a Time in 2015. Her feline predecessor, Kitty Mama, was a difficult act to follow, Palacios said. 'I've had cats my whole life,' the bookstore owner said, 'and none of my cats would ever make the cut to come and be nice and gentle and all that, [but] that's how Kitty Mama was.' After Kitty Mama died, Palacios worried she'd never replace her. But after consulting with Pasadena Humane, which promised to put its finest behaviorists on the job, her fears were assuaged. The shelter offered a few options, but once Palacios laid eyes on Pippi, it didn't even feel like making a choice. 'She was 9 months old and just literally calm and sweet and not skittish whatsoever,' Palacios said. She was perfect. On any given weekday, the refrain 'Where's Pippi?' will be recited a dozen times over by Once Upon a Time's pint-size visitors. When business is slow enough, the cat will give guests a tour of the shop or even a book recommendation. Pippi is the bookstore's employee of the month every month, although recently another employee suggested they instead give the accolade to a dog, 'because Pippi's been bad.' Naughty behavior notwithstanding, Pippi is a fan favorite who has essentially become synonymous with Once Upon a Time. 'She's a bit of an institution here,' said Laura Festen, a longtime bookstore patron and local teacher. Festen said the store for her is like a second home, and 'a cat just makes any home a better place.' Drew Daywalt, author of the bestselling children's book 'The Day the Crayons Quit,' added that as independent bookstores fight to stay alive, a bookstore pet is not only a way to warm up the space, but also a tool for drawing business. 'I think Maureen is a genius for having a kitty cat birthday party, because, look!' Daywalt said, gesturing to the crowd of party attendees who couldn't help but bump elbows as they moved about the store. Most of the afternoon, both the store's checkout lines were open. In the hour before Pippi's party, children scoured the room on a scavenger hunt to find nine Pippis, donning disguises from a Dodgers jersey to a 1920s flapper dress. Some parents tagged along, while others hugged the bookshelves lining the room. All the while, Pippi savored her beauty sleep, and Palacios contemplated grabbing a contingency ladder to retrieve her. At 2 p.m. on the dot, Palacios officially welcomed the guests, packed into the bookstore like sardines, and prepared for her classic party kick-off: story time (cat-themed, of course). But before she could begin her dramatic reading, Pippi — 'diva' that she is, in Palacios' words — stole the show. Rising from her slumber, the cat leaped down to the checkout counter, where she posed as if for a royal portrait. As a chorus of 'Pippi!' erupted across the room, children sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor hopped up onto their knees to get a peek. The more emboldened made for the checkout counter, hoping to pet the cat. Palacios herself cheered at the sight of the birthday girl. But once her delight settled into relief, she gently bade the young ones to return to their seats. 'We are going to let Pippi do her thing,' Palacios told the children. 'She is the star.' As the bookstore owner carried on with her reading of Brendan Wenzel's 'They All Saw a Cat,' most of the children behaved, while a few strays near the front inched closer and closer to Pippi. One of them kept her eyes glued to Palacios as she reached sneakily for the cat's speckled fur. After story time, select party guests presented their submissions to the writing contest prompt: 'What does Pippi do at night in the bookstore?' One guest posited that the cat intercepted meat deliveries to nearby restaurants, while another suggested she attended a local underground 'catsquerade.' Megheti Feghali, 6, chronicled in a homemade picture book Pippi's epic journey to reunite with her cat mother. 'Pippi saw a castle,' Palacios narrated as Feghali's story drew to a close, 'but she didn't know what a castle is.' 'The end,' Feghali delivered her punch line as she read the story for a smaller group a while later. As she closed her hand-stapled five-page manuscript, the young author chuckled to herself. 'She's a little comedian,' Feghali's mother, Tsoleen Feghali, said. The Tujunga residents are regulars at the bookstore. On the days Pippi is asleep upon their arrival, Megheti Feghali begs her mother to stay until the cat wakes up. When the 6-year-old heard about Pippi's birthday party, her mother said, 'She wanted to be a part of it.' At last, the time came to sing 'Happy Birthday.' Indifferent to the serenade in her honor, Pippi celebrated by wolfing down her tuna cake, which had been special-ordered from Andersen's Pet Shop across the street and literally presented to the cat on a silver platter. Then, as swiftly as she'd arrived, Pippi scaled the bookshelves and resumed her post above the door. In the end, Jessica Palacios, Maureen Palacios' daughter and manager of Once Upon a Time, estimated the party had drawn more than 150 attendees, from loyal Pippi fans to passersby who wondered, 'What did we walk into?' Whoever they were and however old, both Palacios women said it warmed their hearts to see so many people in their beloved bookstore. If throwing cat birthday parties is what it takes to keep them coming, Maureen Palacios said she's perfectly OK with that.
Scoop
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Massive US-led military exercise underway in CNMI
, RNZ Pacific Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas correspondent The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) will be front and center of the Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC) 2025 as the US Air Force launched its most expansive military exercise in the region last week. The Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs official Edward Camacho said nearly 300 aircraft and over 600 troops will conduct military exercise in about 25 locations on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota and their surrounding airspace during exercise set from 7 July to 8 August. The special assistant for military affairs to the CNMI governor Arnold Palacios said that Saipan military exercises started on 7 July, followed by Tinian and Rota's on 8 and 9 July 8, respectively. The Saipan exercises will be happening until 8 August, with both Tinian and Rota's concluding at the end of July. Relaying a message from the Pacific Air Forces deputy commander, he said the goal of the exercise "is to integrate and experiment with logistics, sustainment, and enabling capability to bring Fifth Generation Fighters, command and control aircraft, and airlift and air refueling into the Western Pacific region at the speed and scale that has not been seen." Palacios welcomed the US military and forces from allied and partner nations as they commence REFORPAC 2025. "The US Armed Forces and our esteemed international partners who are gathering in our region for vital military presence underscores a shared commitment to regional security, stability, and humanitarian cooperation," he said. Palacios said REFORPAC will go a long way in strengthening the alliance between the US and its allies. The Air Force will deploy over 500 Airmen on Saipan with two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, four Black Hawk medium utility helicopters; approximately 115 Airmen on Tinian and six F-22 Raptor stealth fighter aircraft; and 25 personnel and two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft on Rota. Camacho said the Air Force assured stakeholders they will toe the line when it comes to mitigation processes to ensure the military exercise is not disruptive to the islands' ecosystems and way of life. He said REFORPAC is vital to the United States and the region's security "because it showcases our air power and then it also showcases our ability to work with other countries as far as operational interoperability capabilities and as well as communications and maneuvering." Asked to comment on a request made by four CNMI and Guam groups to have a 45-day extension on the comment period for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), Camacho said that it is not his decision to make. The Revised DEIS' current 75-day review window for public comments on the Mariana Islands Training and Testing and CNMI Joint Military Training proposals began 6 June 6 and is scheduled to close on 20 August. "I don't have any problem with an extension of the 45 days. Unfortunately, others might, and the others that might have that issue are beyond my level to make that decision."
India Gazette
02-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
EAM Jaishankar calls on Paraguay President Santiago Pena Palacios
New Delhi [India], June 2 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Monday, called on the visiting President Santiago Pena Palacios of Paraguay, who is on his first State visit to India. In a post on X, Jaishankar highlighted the potential for enhanced cooperation between the two countries. 'Pleased to call on President Palacios of Paraguay at the start of his State Visit to India. Appreciate his positive sentiments and guidance for enhancing cooperation in many domains. Confident that his talks with PM Modi today will open new avenues for India's engagement with Paraguay and the South America region,' Jaishankar said in a post on X. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with President Santiago Pena Palacios of Paraguay at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Earlier in the day, President Palacios paid a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, laying a wreath at the memorial. The visit is part of his three-day state visit to India, which will conclude on June 4. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) took to X to post, 'Honouring the values of peace & non-violence. President Santiago Pena Palacios of Paraguay paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat today.'President Palacios arrived in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India and was accorded a ceremonial welcome along with a Guard of Honour at Palam Air Force Station. The President was warmly received by Minister of State Harsh Vardhan Malhotra, highlighting the strong bilateral ties between the two countries. Sharing an update on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal welcomed President Santiago Pena Palacios on his arrival in the national capital. Jaiswal posted, 'Bienvenido, President @SantiPenap! President @SantiPenap of Paraguay has arrived in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India, to a ceremonial welcome & Guard of Honour. Warmly received by MoS Harsh Malhotra @hdmalhotra at the airport. This visit will provide an opportunity to strengthen the relationship.' The MEA emphasised that President Pena's visit, scheduled from June 2 to June 4, aims to deepen and broaden India-Paraguay ties across political, economic, and cultural spheres. At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Paraguayan President will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials, and business representatives. During the visit, President Pena is set to hold high-level talks with Prime Minister Modi and other senior leaders to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations. Prime Minister Modi will host a lunch in his honour, while President Droupadi Murmu is expected to meet him and host a banquet. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar is also scheduled to call on the visiting dignitary. President Pena will also travel to Mumbai to engage with state political leadership, business and industry representatives, startups, innovators, and technology leaders. The State Visit provides an opportunity to comprehensively review bilateral ties and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest. India and Paraguay have enjoyed warm and friendly relations since establishing diplomatic ties on September 13, 1961. Cooperation between the two countries spans trade, agriculture, health, pharmaceuticals, and information technology sectors. Paraguay is an important trading partner for India in Latin America, with several Indian companies active in Paraguay's automobile and pharmaceutical sectors. Paraguayan companies, mainly through joint ventures, also have a presence in India, strengthening economic ties. Both nations share common views on international issues, including United Nations reforms, climate change, renewable energy, and combating terrorism. (ANI)
News18
02-06-2025
- Politics
- News18
PM Modi Meets Paraguay President Santiago Pena Palacios At Hyderabad House
Last Updated: President Palacios arrived in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India and was accorded a ceremonial welcome along with a Guard of Honour at Palam Air Force Station. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President Santiago Pena Palacios of Paraguay at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday. Earlier in the day, President Palacios paid a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, laying a wreath at the memorial. The visit is part of his three-day state visit to India, which will conclude on June 4. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) shared the moment on X, stating, 'Honouring the values of peace & non-violence. President Santiago Pena Palacios of Paraguay paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat today." President Palacios arrived in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India and was accorded a ceremonial welcome along with a Guard of Honour at Palam Air Force Station. The President was warmly received by Minister of State Harsh Vardhan Malhotra, highlighting the strong bilateral ties between the two countries. Sharing an update on X, Randhir Jaiswal from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) welcomed President Santiago Pena Palacios of Paraguay as he arrived in New Delhi for his first State Visit to India. In his tweet, Jaiswal wrote, 'Bienvenido, President @SantiPenap! President @SantiPenap of Paraguay has arrived in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India, to a ceremonial welcome & Guard of Honour. Warmly received by MoS Harsh Malhotra @hdmalhotra at the airport. This visit will provide an opportunity to strengthen the relationship." The MEA emphasised that President Pena's visit, scheduled from June 2 to June 4, aims to deepen and broaden India-Paraguay ties across political, economic, and cultural spheres. At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Paraguayan President will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials, and business representatives. Following the Delhi visit, President Pena will travel to Mumbai to engage with state political leadership, business and industry representatives, startups, innovators, and technology leaders. The State Visit provides an opportunity to comprehensively review bilateral ties and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest. India and Paraguay have enjoyed warm and friendly relations since establishing diplomatic ties on September 13, 1961. Cooperation between the two countries spans trade, agriculture, health, pharmaceuticals, and information technology sectors. Paraguay is an important trading partner for India in Latin America, with several Indian companies active in Paraguay's automobile and pharmaceutical sectors. Paraguayan companies, mainly through joint ventures, also have a presence in India, strengthening economic ties. Both nations share common views on international issues, including United Nations reforms, climate change, renewable energy, and combating terrorism. First Published: June 02, 2025, 14:38 IST
Miami Herald
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Héctor Palacios, founder of an opposition movement in Cuba, dies in Miami
Héctor Palacios Ruiz, a prominent former political prisoner and one of the first dissidents who broke with Fidel Castro's revolution to create an opposition movement in Cuba, died in Miami on Saturday. He was 82. For years, Palacios had battled cancer and several other illnesses – including several strokes and heart disease – stemming from his time in prison due to his political activities in Cuba, including months of isolation in a tiny walled-up cell, relatives said. He was one of the 75 well-known dissidents who were incarcerated during a government crackdown in 2003 known as the Black Spring, accused of treason. He was sentenced to 25 years, but was released in 2007 due to mounting international concern for his poor health. At a time when publicly opposing the Cuban government was perceived as quixotic and dangerous by most of the population, Palacios, along with other prominent figures like the late Oswaldo Paya, the late Vladimiro Roca, and Martha Beatriz Roque, embarked on what would be decades of trying to foster an opposition movement inside the island. 'Palacios is part of the original group of founders of the civic and political opposition in Cuba, with an immense level of prominence,' said opposition leader Manuel Cuesta Morúa from Havana. 'For several years, he was president of the Democratic Solidarity Party, the largest Liberal-leaning party in the country, with representation in almost every province. For a long time, he played an important role in [opposition] projects such as Concilio Cubano in 1995 and Todos Unidos in 1999, and, along with Oswaldo Payá, he was one of the driving forces behind the signature collection for the Varela Project.' After leaving the Communist Party and his position as director of a state music agency in the late 1980s, Palacios headed the Democratic Solidarity Party and was one of the leaders organizing Concilio Cubano, Cuban Council, a coalition of about 140 dissident groups and human rights organizations that showed Cuban authorities that opposition was gaining momentum. Along with the 'Homeland is For All' declaration penned by Roca, Roque and the Varela Project, the plebiscite initiative spearheaded by Payá, Concilio Cubano was one of the most serious efforts by Cuban dissidents to coalesce early on around a platform of political goals, including a general amnesty for all political prisoners, free and direct elections and economic freedoms. But the government arrested many participants, including Palacios ahead of their planned big gathering on Feb. 24, 1996. That day, the Cuban government shot down two civilian U.S. planes flown by members of Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue that flew that day from South Florida. Palacios said the Concilio leadership attempted to have the gathering later that year, but he was arrested in November and then again in January 1997. He was imprisoned while awaiting trial for charges of contempt of the authorities. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for criticizing Castro – using the word 'crazy' to describe him – in an interview with a foreign media outlet. He was released early, thanks to the mediation of Pope Jean-Paul II, who visited Cuba in January 1998. Palacio's efforts faced the same challenges that members of the opposition in Cuba experience today: how to unify dissident groups, connect them to the broader population, build alliances with exile organizations and navigate shifting U.S. policies, all in an effort to mount a successful opposition to the six-decade communist rule on the island. Palacios served as the secretary of Todos Unidos, All United, a coalition of dissident groups created in 1999. A sociologist, he also founded the independent Center for Social Studies and turned his Vedado apartment into a library where activists were exposed to the political writings and other books by Czech dissident and late President Vaclav Havel, Morúa said. None of those organizations were allowed to function legally, as the Cuban government bans independent civic or political organizations, and state security agents were at times able to infiltrate them. An affable six-foot tall 'guajiro' — Cuban slang for peasant — 'he was a full time activist. You could count on him at any time,' said Juan Adolfo Fernandez, one of the 75 dissidents imprisoned in 2003 who knew Palacios well. María Elena Alpizar, an independent journalist and one of the founders of the Ladies in White movement, a group of female relatives of political prisoners, called him 'a great anti-communist Cuban patriot,' in a publication lamenting his death. But he also took positions that made him unpopular at times and created controversy among peers and exiles in Miami, such as supporting President Barack Obama´s policy of engagement with Cuba. 'We must engage in dialogue; this policy of isolation is what the Cuban government wants,' he wrote in a letter he sent to Obama. He also told U.S. legislators that the amount of U.S. foreign aid reaching dissidents on the island was minimal. He met with then-Senator Obama during a campaign stop in Miami in 2008, after Cuban authorities let him travel to seek medical treatment in Spain. Palacios told the Miami Herald at the time that he welcomed Obama's ideas to ease travel and remittances to Cuba, which he advocated for in a congressional hearing that same year. 'What Obama intends to do about Cuba includes many things that I share,' Palacios said. 'This is not the moment to fence in the people of Cuba. This is the moment to open the doors so Cubans and Americans can go there. We cannot subject the people of Cuba, after 50 years of war, to one more war and we cannot continue killing each other. Changes in Cuba are taking place and people have not realized this. Fidel Castro is no longer there but the people are and the people are stronger than ever.'' Palacios resisted pressure by the Cuban government to go into exile and returned to the island after having received medical treatment in Spain and after visits to Miami and European countries, where he advocated for the release of political prisoners and democratic change on the island. He told el Nuevo Herald at the time: 'I'm returning to Cuba first because I'm Cuban, and second because I've earned the right. I've fought and suffered enough for my homeland.' He continued his opposition work and remained a spoken critic of the Raúl Castro government, warning that the Cuban ruler couldn't bring meaningful reforms to the island. After a life under constant surveillance and harassment by Cuban state security, he finally went into exile in 2014. He became a U.S. citizen and lived a quiet life in Miami, his liberal views at times unpopular among Cuban exiles who have increasingly aligned with the Republican Party and its hawkish Cuba policies. 'Palacios advocated for more avenues for exchange and more opportunities between Cuba and the United States as a way to foster a democratic transition, especially a peaceful one,' Morúa said. 'Once the idea of doubling, tightening, and increasing sanctions and making them more radical began to gain much more traction, this led to his losing media coverage in the United States and presence among others in Miami who advocate for this same approach.' In 2014, Palacios told el Nuevo Herald that the dissident movement's main challenge remained the same: forging a broader 'connection with the Cuban people, the only one who can change the situation on the island. Until those people have faith in the opposition, and at the same time, the opposition educates them for change, it won't happen.' Born in a humble family of farmers in El Escambray, the mountainous enclave in central Cuba, he wanted his ashes scattered there in a free Cuba, his relatives say. He is survived by his three children, Frank, Héctor Mario and Odalys Palacios, and two grandchildren.
