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Philp: California fire victims may be taxed for their suffering

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

Warren Thompson was having his first cup of coffee on a November morning nearly five years ago in his home in Paradise, when his sister-in-law called to warn him of an approaching fire. He looked out the front window.“It was completely dark like it was in the middle of the night,” Thompson said.He immediately left to drive toward Chico in his 2004 Honda Accord, leaving all of his belongings — save for his Tabby cat, Cinder. What was normally a 20-minute drive took a harrowing four hours. But he was among the survivors of the second deadliest fire in modern American history, which claimed 85 lives.“And then,” Thompson said, “the fun began.”The 72-year-old’s idea of fun is putting his financial life back together. The final insult to his financial injury is that his total payout from Pacific Gas & Electric, which caused the Camp Fire, is subject to federal income tax. Relief can only happen if Congress does something helpful.The day that relief legislation was to be heard earlier ...

Walters: Why two Bay Area cities are falling behind in housing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

Why can’t California build enough housing to meet its demand, even though the state’s population is declining?The state Department of Housing and Community Development was recommending that the state build 180,000 units of housing each year and has been leaning on local governments to zone enough land and reform their approval processes to make that happen. More recently, the housing goal was reduced to 148,000 in light of population declines, but actual production runs, at best, about two-thirds of that level.Two recent reports on housing in two of the state’s larger cities provide some insight into the factors that must change if California wants to meet its housing needs.The first is a state review of housing policies in San Francisco, which is notorious for erecting multiple hurdles to approval of projects.“San Francisco has the longest timelines and some of the highest procedural hurdles in the state for advancing housing projects to construction,” the report declares. “These d...

California parks to increase penalty for camping no-shows, tighten reservation rules

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

Try to nab an online reservation at a popular State Park campsite and you might be discouraged to see all the spots are gobbled up.Or so it seems. Often, the reserved spots end up empty, with no-shows leaving the coveted sites unused. But starting next year, a slew of changes by State Parks could make nabbing a campsite easier.Campers Katie Harper, left, and Shannon Holman, both of Las Vegas, chat at their beachfront camping spot at Doheny State Beach Camp Ground in Dana Point on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. Gov. Newsom signed Assembly Bill 618 that will amend the state’s campsite reservation system to deter cancellations and no-shows. The new law starts Jan. 1, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)Campers enjoy their beachfront camping spot at Doheny State Beach Camp Ground in Dana Point on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. Gov. Newsom signed Assembly Bill 618 that will amend the state’s campsite reservation system to deter cancellations and no-shows. The new law s...

Knott’s Berry Farm owner and Six Flags exploring potential merger, reports say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

The parent companies of Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain are exploring a potential merger that would combine two of the largest regional theme park chains in North America, according to published reports.The Wall Street Journal and Reuters are reporting that Cedar Fair and Six Flags could unveil a merger deal as early as this week.Cedar Fair — the owner of Knott’s in Buena Park, California’s Great America in Santa Clara and other theme parks across the U.S. and Canada — could make an announcement on Thursday, Nov. 1 when the company reports quarterly results, Reuters reported.“An agreement could be finalized as soon as this week assuming there is no last-minute snag,” according to the Wall Street Journal.Cedar Fair owns 15 theme parks and water parks in the U.S. and Canada — including Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio, Kings Dominion in Virginia and Carowinds in North Carolina.Six Flags owns 27 amusement parks and water parks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico — in...

Airbnb posts $4.4 billion profit with help from tax break, revenue surge

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

Airbnb said Wednesday it earned $4.37 billion in the third quarter as it booked a large tax benefit and posted higher-than-expected revenue during the summer travel season.However, the rental giant’s forecast of fourth-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations. Its shares fell more than 2% in after-hours trading.Airbnb said that excluding the tax benefit, net income would have been $1.6 billion, up from $1.2 billion a year earlier.Related ArticlesBusiness | ‘Airbnb becomes machine gunBNB,’ cops say after 11 guns found at teen’s birthday party Business | Airbnb host’s ‘tenant from hell’ also lived rent-free in an Oakland house Business | An Airbnb, Vrbo or other rental host ghosted you. Now what? Business | Airbnb is fundamentally broken, its CEO says. He plans to fix it Revenue rose 18% to $3.4 billion as the company saw a 14% increase in bookings and slightly higher average prices for sho...

See Disneyland Jungle Cruise boat towed to safety — and the skipper never misses a joke

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

The jokes continued flying from the skipper of a stranded Jungle Cruise tramp steamer as a rescue boat arrived to tow the castaways to safety after the Disneyland attraction broke down and left riders stuck along the tropical rivers of the world.A video posted by the Disney Food Blog to social media on Tuesday, Oct. 31 shows a Disneyland cast member lashing a rope to the bow of the marooned Jungle Cruise boat and tugging it along the winding river course as the skipper continued with his comedic spiel.The shipwrecked skipper cracked jokes about checking the service engine light and saving on gasoline throughout the ordeal.Trouble over on the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland as one of the boats broke down and had to be towed through the rest of the attraction!Thanks to DFB reader Barb Close for sharing with us! pic.twitter.com/h4lD842UZc— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) October 31, 2023Related ArticlesEntertainment | Voices of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure...

Before Joining White House, Karine Jean-Pierre Slammed Netanyahu For Alleged War Crimes Against Gazans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Karine Jean-Pierre applauded the decision by every Democratic candidate to skip the annual conference put on by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC. She slammed it for “racist, Islamophobic” rhetoric and for inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak. Netanyahu, Jean-Pierre correctly noted, was facing allegations of war crimes and a raft of corruption charges.Though Netanyahu still faces those allegations, and many more, Jean-Pierre has defended Netanyahu’s bombardment of Gaza in her current role as press secretary for President Joe Biden.“Netanyahu not only has personal charges levied against him—he’s been indicted on both bribery and fraud charges—but under his leadership of Israel, according to the United Nations, Israel may have committed war crimes in its attacks on Gazan protesters,” Jean-Pierre wrote in a March 2019 column in Newsweek.“It’s time to call a spade a spade,” she continued....

Lancaster Colony: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

WESTERVILLE, Ohio (AP) — WESTERVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Lancaster Colony Corp. (LANC) on Thursday reported profit of $44 million in its fiscal first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Westerville, Ohio-based company said it had net income of $1.59. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.70 per share.The specialty food maker posted revenue of $461.6 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LANC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LANCSource

Milk carton shortage has schools scrambling for options

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 16: Cartons of milk are seen for sale September 16, 2003 in New York City. Milk prices have risen over the summer and jumped up 21 percent from August to September. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)(Getty Images/Mario Tama) NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 16: Cartons of milk are seen for sale September 16, 2003 in New York City. Milk prices have risen over the summer and jumped up 21 percent from August to September. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)(Getty Images/Mario Tama) Milk does a body good — and that’s why schools nationwide are scrambling for options to ensure students don’t miss a precious drop during a paper carton shortage.Some schools have followed federal guidelines issued ...

Crocs: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:30 GMT

BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) — BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) — Crocs Inc. (CROX) on Thursday reported third-quarter profit of $177 million.On a per-share basis, the Broomfield, Colorado-based company said it had profit of $2.87. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $3.25 per share.The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.09 per share.The footwear company posted revenue of $1.05 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.03 billion.Crocs expects full-year earnings in the range of $11.55 to $11.85 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CROX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CROXSource