Latest news with #Weiser
Los Angeles Times
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
15 ways to make the most of your summer melons
On a recent foray through the Ueno Marui depachika — one of the sprawling food halls located in Tokyo's department-store basements — a fancy, chimerical tart caught my eye: It was topped with Arus muskmelon from Kumamoto, a first sign of the best of summer fruit. The individual-size tart had a sablé crust, mousse filling, piped whipped cream and chunks of juicy, glowingly pale-green Arus melon, rind and all. It's one of the prized fruits of Japan, along with the Crown and Yubari King varieties, from Shizuoka and Hokkaido respectively. Melons are a cultural symbol, and a pair of Yukari Kings once famously sold for $45,000 at auction. Fortunately I don't need to pay thousands (or even hundreds) of dollars for a melon to tap into the thrill of peak fruit eating. (The small tart, which cost 4,149 yen, or about $29, was delicious though.) Last week in L.A., I bought a Weiser Family Farms Brilliant melon ($4 to $5 a pound) at DTLA Cheese Superette, so ripe it was like custard, which I ate with a spoon. Melon season in California brings a full spectrum of honeydews and cantaloupes and watermelons: Piel de Sapo, Bonny, Galia and Ogen are among the many grown across the state. This weekend I fully anticipate cutting into at least a few melons, which are more versatile than you might expect. Serve them with slices of prosciutto or speck, sure. But also turn them into smoothies or granita; make a watermelon curry or gazpacho. Former L.A. Times cooking columnist Ben Mims slices watermelon and figs and arranges them over ricotta on toast. And his watermelon salad with tahini, chiles and pistachios is spicy, fruity, juicy, crunchy and refreshing all at once. Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes to get our restaurant experts' insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they're dining right now. Use cantaloupe, honeydew or Charentais melons for this simple granita, which requires no cooking. There's just freezing time to achieve the right icy consistency. Rosewater — or orange blossom water — complements the melon, and the granita is served over chunks of fresh melon on a platter. Spoon the melon and icy dessert into glasses or the recipe. Cook time: 30 minutes (plus 4 hours freezing time). Serves 8. Mayfield chef Jon Sarmenta makes this version of melon and speck his own by roasting spice nuts for garnish and making a melon vinaigrette to drizzle all over the dish. It's important to buy really great melons and cured speck. 'We slice the speck in-house so it is really soft and fresh,' says Sarmenta, 'but if I was making it at home, I'd just go to a great Italian deli or butchery and ask them to slice it for me.'Get the recipe. Cook time: 20 minutes (plus overnight resting for the dressing). Serves 4. Alternating slices of crisp watermelon and lush figs are a fun pairing with fresh ricotta. This crunchy-creamy toast is seasoned with salt, pepper, tahini, lime zest and sesame seeds. Ripe cantaloupe or other musk melon can stand in for the watermelon, but will be slightly more sweet. For serving this as a canapé for a party, cut each toast in half, thirds or the recipe. Cook time: 10 minutes. Serves 2 to 4. This vibrant summer salad is at once opulent and refreshing: Crunch, juicy watermelon meets a creamy, spicy dressing. One key here is to macerate the watermelon with salt and sugar for 20 minutes, which draws out excess liquid, concentrates the melon's flavor and allows the seasoning to penetrate the fruit. Get the recipe. Cook time: 30 minutes. Serves 6 to 8. Watermelon is a big flavor, so it stands up to other big flavors, whether salty, spicy or rich. Here it's feta, toasted cumin, fresh mint, lime and jalapeños. When choosing your watermelon, notes former L.A. Times Food editor Russ Parsons, look for a vivid green color and check the couche, the pale spot where it rested on the ground: It should be pronounced and golden. And go ahead and give a watermelon a thump. It should sound like a hollow-core the recipe. Cook time: 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6. Try a savory-spicy-fruity melon curry. This recipe from chef-owner Geeta Bansal of Irvine's Clay Oven restaurant enhances the summer fruit with turmeric, serrano chile and cumin for a flavorful take that can be served with basmati rice, quinoa or couscous. Get the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour. Serves 4. This melon-tomato gazpacho was made for entertaining, served in small glasses chilled in the fridge. Depending on the varieties of your tomatoes and melons, you can make a red, orange or green gazpacho. Try ripe green tomatoes, such as Green Zebra, with sweet green melons, such as Ogen, Galia or honeydew. Or use ripe red, yellow or orange tomatoes with orange-fleshed the recipe. Cook time: 30 minutes. Serves 8.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump admin's pause on Job Corps could hurt certain Mesa County residents, Weiser says
MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) – Job Corps in Collbran – the only center in Colorado – is facing an uncertain future after the U.S. Department of Labor announced freezing the program. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, along with 17 other AGs, urged a federal court to protect the national program that provides career training and housing for those with a low-income background. Although operations at the center in Collbran will continue, its future remains in doubt, Weiser said. 'Despite facing financial hardship and other adversity in their lives, the students who enroll in Job Corps and live at centers like the one in Mesa County are working to improve their lives by learning important skills like carpentry, masonry, or even wildland firefighting,' said Weiser. 'This reckless decision will rob hardworking young people of a chance to better themselves and their communities, and risks leaving thousands of vulnerable young people homeless. I am urging the court not to allow the Trump administration to continue with this cruel and illegal plan.' A bipartisan group and U.S. Rep Jeff Hurd have asked the Trump administration to keep Job Corps running. According to Weiser, many students were either homeless or living in foster care. They also do not have another place to go if the center closed, the Colorado attorney general said. In a brief filed Friday, Weiser and the other AGs said, 'in the 60 years since Congress created Job Corps, millions of young Americans from low-income backgrounds have been served by the program's unique combination of education, training, housing, health care and community.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado joins lawsuit against ATF over deal ending ban on rapid-fire triggers for rifles
DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado is one of 16 states that have sued the Trump administration over its plan to allow the sale of forced-reset triggers that make semiautomatic rifles fire more rapidly and return devices already seized to their owners. The suit announced Monday argues that returning the triggers would violate federal law, pose a threat to residents and law enforcement and worsen gun violence. It was filed in federal court in Maryland. Governor signs bill requiring training for semiautomatic guns, banning rapid-fire conversion devices 'It's hard enough for our local law enforcement officials to protect Colorado communities from gun violence without the federal government willfully ignoring the law,' said Attorney General Weiser. 'The law is clear: machine guns, and devices that turn a semiautomatic weapon into a machine gun, are illegal. We're suing to stop the ATF and the administration from making our communities more dangerous by distributing thousands of devices that turn firearms into weapons of war. These weapons have no place in our communities, and I will continue to fight to keep Coloradans safe from gun violence.' The Colorado law banning the sale of rapid-fire conversion devices, including forced-reset triggers, was signed into law in April and will go into effect on Aug. 1, 2026. Second Amendment supporters have called on the U.S. Attorney General to investigate the measure as an infringement on the U.S. Constitution. Weiser said in a release announcing the state's participation in the lawsuit that machine gun conversion devices like the forced-reset triggers are frequently used in violent crimes and mass shootings. The state attorney general said that by using these devices, firearms can exceed the rate of fire of many military machine guns. 'ATF has noted a significant rise in the use of these types of devices, leading to incidents of machine-gun fire increasing by 1,400% from 2019 through 2021,' Weiser said in a press release. There had been several legal battles over the devices, which replace the typical trigger on an AR-15-style rifle. The Biden administration had previously argued the triggers qualify as machine guns under federal law because constant finger pressure on the triggers will keep a rifle firing, essentially creating an illegal machine gun. The ATF previously classified the triggers as machine guns, but under a directive from the Trump Administration, the bureau signed the settlement agreement that promises to stop enforcing federal law against the devices. New requirements begin July 1 for Colorado concealed carry permits Rare Breed Triggers, the maker of the devices, had argued that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was wrong in its classification and ignored demands to stop selling the triggers before being sued by the Biden administration. The Justice Department reached a deal announced last month with Rare Breed Triggers to allow the sale of forced-reset triggers. The company was previously represented by David Warrington, Trump's current White House counsel. Under the settlement, Rare Breed Triggers agreed not to develop such devices to be used on handguns, according to the Justice Department. The settlement requires the ATF to return triggers that it had seized or that owners had voluntarily surrendered to the government. The states' lawsuit is being led by the attorneys general of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. Other states involved are Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, along with the District of Columbia. The attorneys general in those states are all Democrats, though the office in Hawaii is technically nonpartisan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
05-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Mr. Gad Issues Definitive Proxy Statement for Upcoming Annual Meeting at Paragon
Urges Stockholders to Vote on the BLUE Proxy Card to Elect His Slate of Director Nominees Who are Committed to Prioritizing Stockholders' Interest, Restoring Confidence and Unlocking Value NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / June 5, 2025 / Hesham 'Sham' Gad, who beneficially owns approximately 28.2% of the outstanding shares of common stock of Paragon Technologies, Inc. ('Paragon' or the 'Company') (OTC Pink:PGNT) and is Paragon's largest stockholder, announced that he has mailed his definitive proxy statement in connection with the Company's upcoming 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and sent a letter to the Company's stockholders outlining why he believes significant change is needed in the boardroom for the Company to fulfill its potential. The full text of the letter is set forth below: Dear Fellow Paragon Stockholders: I believe that stockholders would greatly benefit from significant changes to the composition of Board of Directors (the 'Board') of Paragon Technologies, Inc. ('Paragon' or the 'Company'). As the Company's largest stockholder and a loyal long-term investor and Board member, my interests are aligned with those of all Paragon stockholders. I believe there is significant value to be realized at Paragon. However, as the past few months have shown, I am deeply concerned that the majority of the incumbent Board has not demonstrated a commitment to acting in the best interests of stockholders and has failed to deploy an effective strategy at the Company. Unfortunately, the majority of the incumbent directors have spent the past year doing what failing boards so often do, rewriting history and burning through stockholder capital to entrench themselves. Today, Paragon stands at a critical juncture-not because of external forces or market challenges, but because a group of entrenched directors are waging a deceptive and self-serving campaign to seize control of your company. They offer no strategy, no experience, and no track record-only distractions, distortion, and destruction. This proxy contest is not about personalities-it's about performance, capital allocation, integrity, and the future of Paragon. The Real Track Record - Built for Stockholders by Stockholders During my 10-year tenure as CEO of Paragon from 2014 through August 2024, stockholders realized an 11% annualized return. In 2017, when I assumed oversight of SI Systems, LLC ('SI Systems') and complete capital allocation of all of Paragon, stockholders realized approximately 30% annualized return through August 2024, when Weiser began his personal campaign against me and removed me as CEO. During my time running SI Systems beginning in 2017, both SI Systems and Paragon have been radically transformed: How was this capital allocated? All of the above was achieved starting with a single business generating around $8 million in revenue and losing money. From that single business, Paragon is now generating over $100 million in revenues and significant profitability for shareholders. Most importantly these results were achieved without raising outside capital or taking on debt, and with minimal stockholder dilution - a hallmark of prudent, shareholder-centric, and disciplined capital allocation. Best of all, our shareholders had been rewarded with significant shareholder returns until Weiser and his hand-picked directors took control. However, I am optimistic that the shared culture we have created over many years will withstand the distracting rhetoric, and I hope the Company's faithful, long-term shareholders will soon see their continued commitment and investment guided by the right leadership. These returns reflect real value-not speculation, not promises to deliver in the future. With the right plan and right people in place, I am confident that Paragon can deliver meaningful long-term value to our stockholders, who are truly our partners. I urge you to protect and enhance the value of your investment by voting for my director nominees - David Duquette, Hesham M. Gad, James Kaufman, Elodie Leoni, and Ronell Rivera. Together, we can again make Paragon exceptional. PLEASE VOTE YOUR BLUE PROXY CARD TODAY. I look forward to continuing to engage transparently and collaboratively with my fellow stockholders and urge you to support my slate of uniquely qualified director candidates to help usher in a new era of growth and success at the Company. Further information and resources in connection with my campaign for change, accountability and a stockholder-first culture at Paragon are available at Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Sham Gad For inquiries, please reach out to the address below: [email protected] Saratoga Proxy Consulting LLC John Ferguson (212) 257-1311/(888) 368-0379 [email protected] SOURCE: Sham Gad press release
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Colorado joins states supporting law against conversion therapy for minors
DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado on Wednesday joined a multistate coalition in a court brief defending a Michigan law prohibiting licensed health professionals from practicing conversion therapy on minors. Conversion therapy, also known as sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts, has been widely discredited as harmful and ineffective by leading health organizations, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office. 'So-called conversion therapy is an inhumane and abusive practice overwhelmingly shown to harm young people,' said Attorney General Phil Weiser, in a statement. 'We won't tolerate it': Immigration lawyer, AG Weiser weigh in on Boulder attack A group of Catholic therapists filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan law last July, arguing the ban is a violation of the First Amendment. The lawsuit is currently in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Colorado, meanwhile, joined 18 other states and the District of Columbia in filing the brief in support of the Michigan law, arguing conversion therapy is 'not only ineffective and unsafe,' but also leads to increased risks of suicide, depression and other 'serious mental health issues.' 2 arrested after shooting near Coors Field on Monday night 'We have a compelling interest in protecting children from this dangerous pseudoscience. Colorado stands firmly with Michigan in protecting professional standards of care to prioritize the well-being of our youth,' Weiser said. Colorado is currently one of 25 states that ban or restrict conversion therapy, according to the attorney general's office, which argues the Michigan ban is 'consistent with states' long history of establishing and regulating professional standards of care.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
