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Ex-Avs defenseman Erik Johnson overcome with emotion ahead of Ball Arena return: “A special place for me, for my family”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

Erik Johnson’s eyes were already red and filled with tears when he asked for a second to try and collect himself.Johnson needed more than one, and apologized twice as the emotions of returning to Ball Arena overwhelmed him Wednesday morning. The whole scene, with a collection of Colorado-based writers encircled around him in a small visiting locker room, was a bit surreal.It was also a genuine reminder of how much 13 years, more than 700 games and one brush with immortality at the end of a long journey meant to Johnson. The feeling is likely to be mutual when Avalanche fans serenade the Buffalo Sabres defenseman Wednesday night.“A special place for me, for my family,” Johnson said. “Really excited to get back. It’s just a great organization with great people. Fortunate to spend the time I did here.”Johnson spoke for about five minutes. He started by wishing Samuel Girard well while he’s in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. He thanked Avalanche fans and Ball Arena employees, a...

In-N-Out Burger giving out free hot cocoa on rainy days

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

Select In-N-Out restaurants will be giving out free treats to customers on rainy days.The burger chain announced that customers 12 years old or younger could receive a free hot chocolate when they visit participating locations on either rainy or snowy days, depending on the In-N-Out location.Customers who are ineligible to receive the freebie item can also purchase the drink for under $2. Doritos rolls out nacho cheese-flavored liquor The California-based restaurant makes hot cocoa by combining a chocolate powdery mix from Ghirardelli with hot water. Hot chocolate was added to menus in 2018.The company recently celebrated its 75th anniversary with a festival at the newly renamed In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, formally the Pomona Raceway, in October.In-N-Out Burger opened in 1948 as a tiny stand at Francisquito and Garvey avenues in Baldwin Park. Harry and Esther Snyder, the company’s founders, are credited with inventing the world’s first drive-thru with a two-way speaker box t...

Lenny Kravitz lands 1st Golden Globe nomination for his song 'Road to Freedom'

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

Lenny Kravitz is a rock star in his own right and this week he was nominated for his first Golden Globe.While the rocker is the epitome of cool, he is ecstatic over the nod for Best Song for his "Road to Freedom" from the Netflix film "Rustin." Dionne Warwick reveals feud with viral ‘Surprise Surprise’ singer "It definitely excites me, it means something to me, because of this movie 'Rustin,' which is celebrating the life of Bayard Rustin, who was such an outstanding activist," he explained to KTLA 5's Dayna Devon. "I'm really proud to be part of something so beautiful in telling this story. That should have been told a long time ago, but here we are."Kravitz then walked Dayna through the process of creating the song for the meaningful film. "I got the phone call about the film, I spoke to director George Wolfe. I also had lengthy conversations with Colman Domingo, who is the lead of the movie," he said. "I took all the information in and I just asked God to give it to me as I alw...

L.A. Weekly Counts-Down To New Year’s Eve 2024 With DJ/Producer, Tim Clark

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

Photo Credit: James HickeyThe Las Vegas-based multimillionaire entrepreneur-turned-DJ, Tim Clark, is not average at anything. One could argue that the successful businessman-turned-music producer attacks every goal he sets out to accomplish with a vengeance. Ask those who know him personally and it’s likely they will tell you he manifests his reality. It’s not just working hard and wishing a dream will come true; he actually manifests his reality.A mere 24 months ago – while fully entrenched on the business battlefield running a tight-knit group of lucrative companies under the Tradebloc banner – Clark felt that his lifelong passion for music needed some serious tending. The music was calling him, and its pull could no longer be ignored. Flash forward to the current day and Tim Clark is an Electronic Dance Music Awards (EDMA) 2024 Best New Artist nominee; touring DJ on global EDM icon, Markus Schulz’s, ‘Rabbit Hole Circus’ tour; recording artist with releases via Coldharbour Recordi...

49ers’ re-signed CB Verrett: ‘My heart was always wanting to be here’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

SANTA CLARA — In the locker next to Nick Bosa were the gold helmet and upside-down shoulder pads of No. 22, waiting for cornerback Jason Verrett to put them on for his first 49ers practice in 13 months.“I’m just excited to be back. Missed all the guys,” Verrett said Wednesday. “I’m just ready to help them get on this run.”Verrett officially returned Monday to the practice squad, where he will get his injury-battered, 32-year-old body into game shape. His most immediate impact will be mentoring an up-and-coming cornerback corps, not too dissimilar to what he has done since originally joining the 49ers in 2019.Just don’t expect the NFC-leading 49ers (10-3) to rush him into the lineup, even with starter Charvarius Ward (groin) likely sidelined Sunday when they visit the last-place Arizona Cardinals (3-10).Verrett tore his left Achilles tendon on Nov. 9, 2022, just as he was on the verge of returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the 2021 opener at De...

Kurtenbach: The Warriors’ demise was years in the making. It’ll take years (and possibly the unthinkable) to reverse

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

These 2023-24 Warriors are the most expensive team in NBA history. Watching them play this season, you’d never guess it.These Warriors seem to be heading nowhere, fast: The team is below .500 and showing few signs of that changing anytime soon.The Warriors look old, disorganized, and, perhaps most damning of all, disinterested.When “it” goes, it apparently goes fast.And while the Warriors’ goal was to win another title for Steph Curry this season, one cannot say this decline wasn’t by design.The Warriors are in this situation because following the 2022 title, the organization doubled down on their veterans.Yes, there was a “two timelines” plan, but despite Klay Thompson’s game clearly declining and Draymond Green being a bench mainstay during the 2022 NBA Finals, the Warriors refused to move off either player.That didn’t work out. Yet this past offseason, following the team’s first Western Conference playoff exit in Steve K...

Retired Pittsburg detective charged with attempting to kill Pleasant Hill cops

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

MARTINEZ — A retired Pittsburg police detective who allegedly fired at police vehicles during a lengthy standoff outside his home is being charged with multiple felonies, including shooting his wife and the attempted killing of Pleasant Hill police officers.Chunliam Saechao, 40, was charged Wednesday with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, six counts of assault with a firearm on a police officer, and one domestic violence charge, along with enhancements alleging use of a firearm. He remains in county jail on a no-bail hold and is set to be arraigned later this week.Saechao was the subject of two lengthy armed standoffs as police waited outside his Pleasant Hill home; the first started after he allegedly barricaded himself inside and fired a shotgun at his wife as she attempted to gain entry. Pleasant Hill police spent hours trying to coax him outside, then left the area en masse and announced Saechao was not a threat to the public, a decision that drew critici...

Hanukkah menorah near Lake Merritt destroyed by vandals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

OAKLAND — Vandals on Tuesday night destroyed a large Hanukkah menorah set out for the public at Lake Merritt.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland man gets no additional jail time for biting off cousin’s earlobe during drive Crime and Public Safety | One person killed in East Oakland shooting Crime and Public Safety | Police arrest suspect in Berkeley double stabbing Crime and Public Safety | East Bay hit-and-run victim from January dies; police seeking harsher charge against suspect Crime and Public Safety | Investigation underway into Castro Valley road-rage shooting Police confirmed Wednesday afternoon that they were called to Lake Merritt in the late morning, and that they are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.The vandalism comes during a time that concern about anti-Semitism locally and nationally is rising, with the FBI director earlier this year lamenting the R...

‘Criticizing a judge is not illegal’: Charges dropped against San Mateo County man accused of threatening jurist

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

SAN MATEO COUNTY — Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped two felony charges against a man that was accused of threatening a San Mateo County judge, citing a lack of evidence.The accusations were levied against Edward Day, a 67-year-old Belmont resident, after he sent a series of emails to a judge who he had appeared before on firearm-related charges in 2019. He was stripped of his 12 guns as a result of the outcome of the case.Day allegedly sent two emails to the same judge on May 30 of this year that were then reported to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. These emails were given to the Bay Area News Group by Day’s lawyers in a memo on Tuesday evening.The attorneys said the missives contained crude language but didn’t explicitly threaten the judge. They include statements such as “I will be requesting the death penalty be handed to you guys. You … ruined my life with the goal of making sure I was murdered … I assure you I am committed to getting you guys for what you...

Hunter Biden defies subpoena, still offering public testimony

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:12:49 GMT

By Farnoush Amiri and Colleen Long | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings. He insisted he would only testify in public.The Democratic president’s son slammed the GOP-issued subpoena for the closed-door testimony, arguing that information from those interviews can be selectively leaked and manipulated.“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol in a rare public statement. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, has said Republicans expect “full cooperation” with the private deposition. Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who leads the House Judiciary Committee, t...