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Vanessa Tha Finessa is Top Notch

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Vanessa Tha Finessa is Top Notch: Ghanaian-American rapper Vanessa Tha Finessa has released new single “Top Notch,” which serves as a preview to her EP, due out later in May.“This one is so special to me,” said Vanessa Tha Finessa in a statement. “It was the first time where I felt like I could lean into the Afrobeats sound and make it my own. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever done because it expanded my creative brain and how I viewed myself as an artist.”“Come rock my boat,” she croons, “because it’s murder she wrote.” Angela Lansbury references aside, the song is a banger, and further evidence of an impressive rise.“Vanessa eventually moved across the country to Los Angeles, where she is currently based,” reads the press bio. “It was in L.A. where she met her closest and most consistent collaborator, the DJ/producer Smiles Davis. It was Smiles that encouraged Vanessa to bring her witty personality and dynamic style...

Jamie Foxx moved to Chicago center known for stroke and brain injury care: report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Jamie Foxx’s daughter, Corinne, was being more or less straight up with fans last week when she said her father was “out of the hospital and recuperating.”But the 55-year-old actor hasn’t returned home, with a new report saying he’s recuperating in a Chicago rehab center known for stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury care. The report from TMZ will no doubt renew speculation about the undisclosed “medical complication” that the “Ray” star suffered last month.Jamie Foxx in Physical Rehabilitation Center in Chicago, Family by His Side https://t.co/Yuo7c4tmdi— TMZ (@TMZ) May 15, 2023TMZ broke the news Monday that Foxx was in Chicago at a facility, “touted as the top physical medicine and rehabilitation center in the country.” The gossip and entertainment site also published photos of family members, including his daughters Corinne and Anelise, arriving at the center over the weekend to spend time wi...

Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’ haunted Warren Zanes. So he wrote a book about it

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Warren Zanes remembers the first time he heard “Nebraska,” the landmark 1982 album by Bruce Springsteen.The record, with its now-famous black, white and red cover, came as a shock to fans of the Boss, who weren’t expecting stripped-down instrumentation and production and dark songs about people on the margins, facing sometimes impossible circumstances.Zanes, who had been turned on to Springsteen’s music by his older brother, first heard the album while at boarding school, where he had just been busted for drinking beer and smoking pot. (He didn’t get in trouble with his mother, who he says had bought the beer and grown the pot.)“‘Nebraska,’” Zanes says, “just had this defiance and refusal to behave that I associated with punk rock, however different the sound, the instrumentation, the subject matter. I got a hold of that, and then the stories brought me deeper.”As a member of the garage-rock band the Del Fuegos — he was a teenager when he joined the band, fronted by older brother, D...

Niles: Can SeaWorld’s Pipeline inspire a new wave of coaster innovation?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Can stand-up roller coasters make a comeback?More than a dozen stand-up roller coasters once ran at theme parks across the United States. But no parks have installed a new model since Six Flags Over Georgia’s Georgia Scorcher in 1999. Six Flags Magic Mountain continues to run its Riddler’s Revenge, but California’s Great America converted its Vortex from stand-up trains to sit-down floorless ones in 2017, renaming the coaster Patriot.That was just one of several examples of parks abandoning stand-up train designs over the years. Why? Ultimately it’s just easier — and more comfortable — to accommodate roller coaster riders of varying heights and builds in some form of a seated position. When guests no longer want to ride something, parks are going to follow the market and make changes.SeaWorld and coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard are trying to bring back the stand-up, starting in Orlando. Pipeline: The Surf Coaster is a next-generation stand-up coaster, with a unique bou...

BART train hits wayward pickup truck on tracks; operator hospitalized, 45 evacuated

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

OAKLAND — A BART train operator was hospitalized, a passenger injured and 45 passengers evacuated Monday after a train hit a wayward truck on the tracks, officials said.The collision between the train and truck happened around 11:35 p.m. and shut down service between the Coliseum and Lake Merritt stations until early Tuesday, according to BART spokesperson Jim Allison.The damage from the crash was repaired overnight, and trains were expected to run normally Tuesday, Allison said.The truck driver remained at the scene and was given a field-sobriety test, according to Allison. Oakland police were investigating the incident, and they did not say immediately whether an arrest was made.Allison said the driver was operating the truck on 8th Street near Park Way and crashed onto the track. A Daly City-bound train then smashed into it.One passenger suffered an injury but it was not known whether he went to a hospital, Allison said.The train operator went by ambulance to a hospital, he...

Planning to go camping this summer? Here’s what to know after all those California winter storms

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

All those winter storms made for a lot of lingering snow in parts of the Golden State that are typically dry and ready for campers by May. But plenty of places remain for camping this spring and summer, if you know where to look.How do I book a campsite?California State Parks campground reservations can be made six months in advance, and early booking is often essential for popular locations. Go to ReserveCalifornia.com or call (800) 444-7275Some State Parks campgrounds are first-come, first-served, although they may have primitive facilities or require hiking in. Backup plans are advised in case they’re full.RELATED: Huge Sierra snowpack throws frozen wrench into campers’ plansEven at popular State Parks campgrounds, sites may open up because of cancellations. Call a park directly to see if you may be able to show up that day and snag a site.I’ve heard some campgrounds are closed because of residual snow, storm damage and possible flooding. Which areas have been a...

Huge Sierra snowpack throws frozen wrench into campers’ plans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Emily and Jeremy Cross from Scotts Valley are planning to travel with their two boys to a family reunion in July at a Sierra Nevada campground. But a big, frozen question hangs over the trip: Will California’s near-record snowpack melt in time?“We’re just going to keep an eye out — we’ll probably call the ranger station and find out updates on what is the status of the snowpack,” said Emily Cross, 43, who homeschools her two sons, 6 and 8, while Jeremy teaches elementary school in the South Bay.Persistent snow around the planned reunion site at Clark Fork south of Lake Tahoe and in the backpacking paradise of Emigrant Wilderness nearby, where the family intends to go after the gathering, could mean a pivot to a Mendocino County coastal getaway and hiking in the Lost Coast south of Eureka, Cross said.Emily Cross of Scotts Valley talks about her family camping plans for this year on May 9, 2023, while staying at the New Brighton State Beach campgrou...

The Bay Area’s most pothole-riddled highway finally getting repaired: Roadshow

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

Q: Once again, please remind this reader (and probably others who are also interested) when El Camino Real from San Antonio Road up through Palo Alto is scheduled to be repaved?  The drive through that stretch is a challenge.Lydia Cooper, Menlo ParkA: Hallelujah! The Bay Area’s most pothole-riddled highway is finally going to get repaired.Beginning Tuesday, May 16, Caltrans maintenance crews will perform two consecutive overnight lane closures of southbound El Camino Real between Hansen Way and Military Way, in Palo Alto. Lane closures will be part of the process in order for Caltrans maintenance crews to safely repave portions of the road.  Then the state will begin repairing Highway 82 south toward Interstate 880. Work should take several weeks to be completed by the end of the summer.Q: I go through the Caldecott Tunnel several times a week and the right eastbound lane remains very wet, well into the middle of the tunnel. Water is seeping through the walls and/or floor. I i...

Marin Water considers 20% rate increase for service

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) -- Marin Water is considering a 20 percent rate increase for water service. If the new water rate is approved, it could affect 200,000 customers.The increase could start showing up on people's bills July 1 and get higher every year until 2026.This would mean for single family homes, if your bimonthly bill is currently $138, by July 1, it would go up to $170. And by 2026 you’d be paying $218 bimonthly.The district said the last rate update was in 2019. Since then, it's experienced a reduced demand for water along with record inflation.This new plan will allow for updates to aging infrastructure, attempt to reduce wildfire risk and enhance forest health. It will also strengthen water supply resiliency replenishing reserves for future emergencies and keep up with inflation for its rising operating costs and capital expenses.The board is set to vote on this Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. during an open board meeting which the public can attend through Zoom or in ...

Fate of Arizona Coyotes arena project in the hands of voters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:16 GMT

The Arizona Coyotes are about to learn the fate of a proposed entertainment district that would include a new home for the team, which has crisscrossed the city searching for a permanent place to play. Residents in Tempe are voting Tuesday on a referendum that will determine whether plans for the $2.3 billion Tempe Entertainment District will move forward.The vote is taking place after the city of Phoenix and Sky Harbor International Airport expressed concerns about the residences that would be built as part of the project in the high-noise area under the airport’s flight path.If the arena is built, the Coyotes would finally be able to settle down after playing in three different venues since moving to Arizona. The franchise shared a downtown Phoenix arena with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns after relocating from Winnipeg in 1996 then moved to Glendale’s Gila River Arena in 2003. But the Coyotes’ had a troubled tenure in the Phoenix suburb.Then-owner Jerry Moyes took the Coyotes into ...