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What drove these Coloradans to clown school? A need for joy in face of layoffs, cancer and anger.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

In First Presbyterian Church of Englewood’s basement Sunday afternoon, five Coloradans dressed in wacky regalia and big, honkin’ shoes marched before their loved ones — and past a painting of the Last Supper — belting “Pomp and Circumstance” on kazoos.An audience of family, friends and plainclothes clowns squinting to recognize each other without white-painted faces cheered on as the five men, women and teens each leveled up from layperson to professional goofball.It was graduation day for the 2023 cohort of Colorado Clown Alley’s 10-week clown school. The newly-inducted jesters are now not only card-carrying members of a different variety of postsecondary institution, but rising masters of belly laughs, balloon animals and spreading joy in uncertain times.The clown class of 2023 tickled Clown Alley president Isabel Nuanez as there were multiple young members, she said, inspiring hope for a rebound in the clown industry.Whether people were c...

Ex-New Belgium brewer opens Second Dawn near Stanley Marketplace

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

Aurora has a new taproom just a five-minute walk from Stanley Marketplace.Owner and brewmaster Ross Koenigs recently opened his dream brewery, Second Dawn Brewery Co., with his wife Amy at 2302 Dayton St.The name references Aurora, which is Latin for dawn. The Koenigs believe if there were two dawns, the second would be after work enjoying a cold beer.Ross Koenigs previously worked for New Belgium Brewing Co. as a sales associate, brewer and head of new product design and research. The couple decided to open their own brewery during the pandemic.“It has really always been my dream and ambition,” Ross Koenigs said. “Entrepreneurship has always been very important to me.”Koenigs paid $1 million for the property last year. The 5,100-square-foot taproom used to be an auto body repair shop. Koenigs completely gutted the space, although garage-like doors still lead from the taproom to the brewing area behind it. There’s 1,000 square feet of patio space that wraps around the side and rear ...

European Parliament approves EPP-led data law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

The European Parliament has approved its position on new rules on the access and use of data collected by connected machines, modern household appliances or industrial robots.The so-called "Data Act", fundamentally shaped by EPP Group Member and Parliament's lead negotiator Pilar Del Castillo MEP, will provide much needed legal certainty on who owns data that currently is mostly unused. The new rules concern connected machines and appliances which collect enormous amounts of data, be it mobile phones, industrial robots or even washing machines. Until now, harmonised rules on how this data is accessed and used have been lacking. The EU Data Act aims to close this legal gap."The Data Act is an opportunity to optimise existing business models and processes, boost the development of new ones, create new value, structures and partner networks. In other words, an immense opportunity for competitiveness and innovation. It will change how we interact and use data", Del Castillo said."For th...

The Constitutional Court decides on the referendum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

At a meeting of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the issue of compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan was considered by the decision of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On holding a referendum of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the draft Constitutional Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan” (with annex), writes M. Komilova, correspondent of UZ.The court session was chaired by the Chairman of the Constitutional Court Mirzo Ulugbek Abdusalomov.Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan Askar Gafurov addressed the meeting.As noted, mechanisms have been introduced to summarize and respond to the opinions and proposals of citizens regarding the draft law. So, through the electronic platform meningkonstitutsiyam.uz, the call center, the postal service, mahallas, local councils of people’s deputies and social networks, more than ...

10 Teslas vandalized in Carson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

The windows of 10 Teslas were smashed in while they were parked in a Carson lot early Tuesday.Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the lot at 20151 S. Main St. and found the vandalized vehicles, officials told KTLA.It does not appear that any property was taken from the vehicles at the off-site lot for the car company.No one has been taken into custody in connection with the incident.Video from the scene showed several Sheriff's Department vehicles in the lot. No further details about the incident have been released.

Silicon Valley Bank collapse stirs up fears of 2008 bailouts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank brings back memories on Capitol Hill of rescuing the financial markets during the 2008 collapse, raising concerns among lawmakers that taxpayers may have to pay to bail out risky financial bets. President Biden assured the nation Monday that no taxpayer money will be used after lawmakers warned over the weekend they will not support bailouts, which are unpopular with voters.  The president said the money to cover depositors would come from the fees banks pay into the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and promised that managers at failed banks would be fired and stock-holding investors would not be protected — sidestepping a fight with Congress.  Still, there is already disagreement over what constitutes a “bailout” and the fund being used to pay depositors — including over the $250,000 for standard insurance from the FDIC — is backed by “the full faith and credit of the United States government.”And some conservative...

Paul Sorvino got the same Oscars tribute as Sacheen Littlefeather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

Oscar winner Mira Sorvino is speaking out against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for omitting her father, the late great character actor Paul Sorvino, from the “In Memoriam” segment that was played on the show Sunday night.The “Goodfellas” star, who died in July at age 83, was relegated to an online tribute page on the Academy’s website, as were “Wag the Dog” star Anne Heche and Charlbi Dean, the South African star of this year’s best picture nominee, “Triangle of Sadness.” These three actors and several others have emerged as the Oscars’ most troubling omissions from the video segment that played during Sunday’s live broadcast, with a moving tribute by John Travolta and musical accompaniment by Lenny Kravitz.What could be even more troubling for Sorvino’s family, friends and fans is that he received the same level of attention from the Oscars as problematic Bay Area activist and actor Sac...

Steph Curry turns 35, carrying weight of Warriors’ hopes on his shoulders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Donte DiVincenzo was a Stephen Curry hater before this season.It was nothing personal, he assures. It was resentment born from respect. Curry’s quickness and skill give even the league’s most dogged defenders trouble. It’s why teams often double- or triple-team him just to try to slow his roll.“I really didn’t like him when I wasn’t here. I had to chase him all around the court,” DiVincenzo said. “He was quiet, I didn’t understand him at all… but when I got here, he’s amazing.”After years of cowering in fear whenever Curry launched a shot, now DiVincenzo gets to watch in awe and reap the rewards.“It’s fun to watch,” he said of his teammate’s sweet shooting. “Sometimes I’m looking at some of the shots and I’m like, ‘There’s no way’ and they don’t even touch the rim. Every time it leaves his hand, I think it’s good.”Curry has shown no signs of taking his foot off the gas in his 14th NBA season. He’s stil...

Why 49ers’ addition of Sam Darnold is no small-time deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

The biggest news for the 49ers on the opening day of the free agency negotiating period was agreeing to terms with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, another high-profile, top-dollar star to go along with Trent Williams, Chrisitan McCaffrey, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Fred Warner, Arik Armstead and Charvarius Ward.The 49ers aren’t afraid of big names and big contracts.But as OTAs give way to training camp, the preseason, the regular season and beyond, the most significant Day 1 acquisition could be the insurance policy coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are planning on purchasing in quarterback Sam Darnold.The same Sam Darnold who, like Trey Lance, was the No. 3 overall pick of an NFL Draft. The same Darnold who lasted three ineffective seasons with the New York Jets and couldn’t seize the moment in 2021-22 with the Carolina Panthers.Darnold reportedly agreeing to terms on a one-year deal brought a collective groan from a segment of 49ers fans in social media. ...

Bay Area powers to strong job gains in January despite tech layoffs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:42 GMT

Downtown Oakland skyline. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)The Bay Area economy powered to robust job gains in January, an upswing led by the South Bay, the East Bay and the San Francisco-San Mateo metro region, newly released government figures show.In addition, the Bay Area and California have now both reached crucial milestones in what has literally been a years-long quest: to fully recover from the mammoth job losses that occurred during the first two months of the government-mandated business shutdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus.California and the Bay Area have managed to gain more jobs than they lost during March and April 2020, according to this news organization’s analysis of figures posted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Some disappointing trends, however, emerged from the new calculations that were produced as a result of the government’s annual revision of nonfarm job totals in California, the other 49 states and hundreds of metro regions...