Latest news with #LosAngelesTimes
USA Today
6 hours ago
- Climate
- USA Today
Tsunami fears ease following 8.8 earthquake: 'A great relief to us'
Waves spawned by a massive earthquake in Russia's Far East turned out to be modest. In Hawaii, the governor calmly told residents to head for higher ground and warned of heavy damage. In Japan, where residents are still scarred from a 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, a normally staid TV newscaster screamed at his viewers: "Do not be glued to the screen. Evacuate now!" A wave of dread moved at lightning speed across the Pacific Ocean after one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded hit Russia's Far East early on July 30, churning up instant fears of a tsunami with the power to devastate communities from Alaska to California and as far away as French Polynesia and Chile. Then, hours later, after thousands braved gridlocked evacuation routes and displaced residents bedded down on hard shelter floors, came the relief. "So far, we have not seen a wave of consequence, which is a great relief to us," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told reporters as he lifted some evacuation orders. More: Tsunami evacuation orders lifted in Hawaii, threat to West Coast eases Modest tsunami waves 'a blessing' More: Sirens blare, traffic gridlocks as Hawaii braces for tsunami threat The tsunami spawned by the quake turned out to be modest. Amid flooding and some injuries in Russia's Kamchatka region, the earthquake and seismic sea wave caused no reported loss of life. Tsunami waves of 5.7 feet reached Kahului in Hawaii, while the highest waves to hit the U.S. mainland were 4 feet in Crescent City, California. "It's kind of a blessing to not be reporting any damage," Green said. 'This is not going to be a 1964 event that we're looking at, destroying several blocks of the town,' Crescent City Manager Eric Weir told reporters, according to the Los Angeles Times. 'However, it is going to be an event that creates a lot of disruption in the ocean, a lot of strong currents. We're asking people to stay away from the beaches, stay away from the mouths of the river and any low-lying area.' Traumatic memories in Japan Memories are more recent – and much more raw – in Japan, where the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake struck with a force of 9.0 off the northeast coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami that caused widespread destruction and a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, killing more than 20,000 people. Tsunami warnings were downgraded in parts of Japan on July 30, as officials reported no injuries or damage as waves higher than 4 feet reached the Kuji Port. Contributing: Reuters
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
After push from L.A., Newsom plans to weaken state duplex law in wildfire areas
Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to issue an executive order Wednesday allowing local governments in Los Angeles to limit development in wildfire-affected neighborhoods by exempting them from provisions of a landmark housing law, a spokesperson for his office said. The proposed order would let the city and county of Los Angeles and Malibu restrict construction that was allowed under Senate Bill 9, a 2021 law that lets property owners build up to four units on land previously reserved for single-family homes. The order will apply to Pacific Palisades and parts of Malibu and Altadena — areas that burned in January's Palisades and Eaton fires that are designated as "very high fire hazard severity zones" by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos said. The decision came after concerns about the potential of a significant population increase if there were widespread use of SB 9 developments in rebuilding areas, making future fire evacuations even more difficult, Gallegos said. The governor's action follows pressure this week from elected officials in Los Angeles. On Monday, City Councilmember Traci Park, who represents Pacific Palisades, sent a letter to Newsom requesting he suspend SB 9, warning otherwise there could be "an unforeseen explosion of density" in a risky area. "When SB 9 was adopted into state law, it was never intended to capitalize on a horrific disaster," Park wrote. On Tuesday, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass released a statement supporting Park's request, citing similar concerns about SB 9 straining evacuation routes and local infrastructure in the Palisades. "It could fundamentally alter the safety of the area," Bass said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
Colorado: The Best State To Feel The Wild West, New Study Says
Horseback riders watch as aspiring ballet dancers frolic on a corral fence at a theater school in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, which, a new study says, is the nation's No. 1 Wild West destination. (Photo by Dean Conger/Corbis via Getty Images) Corbis via Getty Images Colorado is the No. 1 state for travelers looking for the best Wild West experience, a new study says. Three cities and one town in Colorado finished in the top 5 of Wild West destinations, according to a study done by InsureMyTrip, a travel insurance comparison website. The study analyzed 50 cities and towns in seven states that were once part of the Wild West and compared them based on various criteria, including average cost of ranch-style accommodations, number of hotels with horseback riding and number of nature and wildlife parks. Steamboat Springs, a small skiing town in Yampa Valley about 155 miles northwest of Denver, ranked first. It has 142 hotels that offer horseback riding and about 20 nature and wildlife parks in its small town, according to the study. Steamboat rated highly for ranch-style accommodations but at an expensive price: Nightly lodging averages $579 during high season. The town also has an average summer temperature of 63.9 degrees, which can be ideal, InsureMyTrip says, because horses prefer exercising in 53.6-66.2 temperatures. Tourists take a covered wagon ride in Durango, Colorado. (Photo by Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Colorado cities in the top 5 are No. 2 Durango, No. 3 Estes Park and No. 4 Colorado Springs. The non-Colorado locale in the elite five is No. 5 West Yellowstone, Montana. Besides Colorado and Montana, the study evaluated cities and towns in Arizona, California, Idaho, Texas and Wyoming. 'With more travelers looking to tap into their inner cowboy and explore the Great West, we wanted to make it easier to find the best spots for a true Wild West experience,' says Sara Boisvert, InsureMyTrip's marketing director. 'These destinations offer something special for anyone chasing that frontier feeling: horseback riding, ranch stays or just soaking in the scenery.' Durango, about 335 miles southwest of Denver and 220 miles north of Albuquerque, New Mexico, scored highly for number of lodgings with horseback riding, average cost of ranch-style accommodations and average temperature. The city is among the most affordable for lodging. It is known for its Victorian-era architecture and the scenic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The city has been a backdrop in more than 145 Western films, including The Revenant , The Mask of Zorro and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid . Estes Park, about 65 miles north of Denver and the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, scored highly in the study because of its ranch-style accommodations, affordable lodging and 10 nature and wildlife parks. Following No. 4 Colorado Springs and No. 5 West Yellowstone in the rankings are No. 6 Tucson, Arizona; a 7th-place tie between Granby, Colorado and Harrison, Idaho, and an 8th-place tie between Douglas and Cody, Wyoming. The Garden of the Gods attracts tourists year-round to Colorado Springs, one of the best cities, according to a new study, to experience the Wild West. Gary Stoller According to a March story in Vogue , 'a renaissance' of Western fashion and a Wild West travel trend have emerged. The magazine said the emergence can be atributed to Beyoncé's Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter album, the popularity of Western melodrama Yellowstone, Netflix's Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders docuseries and other factors. 'Dubbed cowboy-core, an increasing number of travelers are saddling up to visit destinations where 10-gallon hats are as common as caps and where ranches and rodeos reign,' the Vogue story said.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Playful Story Collection Unbound From Realism or Form
AN ORAL HISTORY OF ATLANTIS: Stories, by Ed Park Fifteen years after his comical debut novel, 'Personal Days,' skewered white-collar work culture in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, the writer and editor Ed Park published a second novel that reached beyond mundane office realities. Inventive, dense and more than 500 pages long, 'Same Bed Different Dreams' was a demanding literary collage of spy and metafiction devices, real and manufactured South Korean and Korean American history, and pop culture. It went on to become a 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist and the winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for its energy, ambition and sly humor. Now Park's third book is out, a collection called 'An Oral History of Atlantis' whose 16 stories are similarly unbound by run-of-the-mill realism. Like 'Same Bed Different Dreams,' it is a pastiche of forms and nods to genre fiction, from commentaries on campy sci-fi movies to middle-aged dissections of long-gone relationships to indignant epistolary rebukes. The tales often adopt a knowing, nerd-chic irony. Characters with names like Bethany Blanket and Vernon Bodily are rendered in prose full of writerly self-deprecation and mock hipsterdom: In Portland my handler, Jonas, took me to lunch at a locavore haunt that featured seafood haggis and artisanal jelly beans. Park's flash fictions can be capsules of wit. In one, a man lists the antic behaviors of his medicated wife in a series of repeated assertions: 'The wife on Ambien hacks into my Facebook account and leaves slurs on the pages of my enemies.' The introductory story, 'A Note to My Translator,' is a critique by a disgruntled novelist of an arbitrary translation of one of his books. His lofty, antiquated diction and ego reminded me instantly of Charles Kinbote, the deranged scholar-narrator of Vladimir Nabokov's 'Pale Fire': Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- General
- Korea Herald
Wallis Annenberg, billionaire philanthropist who backed arts, science and other causes, dies at 86
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wallis Annenberg, the billionaire philanthropist who supported the arts, science, education and animal welfare causes over decades in Los Angeles, died Monday, her family said. She was 86. Annenberg died at home from complications related to lung cancer, the family said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "Wallis transitioned peacefully and comfortable this morning to her new adventure," the statement said. "Cancer may have beaten her body but it never got her spirit. We will hold her and her wisdom in our hearts forever." Her name adorns institutions across the Los Angeles area, including the Wallis Annenberg Building at the California Science Center, the Wallis Annenberg GenSpace senior center and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, the world's largest bridge for animals on the move, will open next year over an LA freeway. During her 16-year tenure as president and chief executive of the Annenberg Foundation, the nonprofit organization has donated about $1.5 billion to thousands of organizations in Southern California, the Times reported. Under Wallis Annenberg's leadership, the foundation expanded its philanthropic scope beyond media, arts and education to include animal welfare, environmental conservation and healthcare. Her father, Walter Annenberg, started the foundation after selling his publishing empire, including TV Guide and other publications, in 1989 to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Walter Annenberg died in 2002. Wallis Annenberg was a longtime board member of LA's Museum of Contemporary Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA. In 2002, she gave $10 million to endow LACMA's director position. "Wallis Annenberg blessed the Los Angeles community not only with her philanthropy, but also with her guidance about how to improve our community," said LACMA Chief Executive Michael Govan, who filled that endowed position in 2006. Born in Philadelphia, she moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s after marrying neurosurgeon Seth Weingarten. The couple divorced in 1975. Wallis Annenberg received the 2022 National Humanities Medal from President Joe Biden for her life in philanthropy.
