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Review: Miyazaki’s ‘Boy and the Heron’ is masterful, magical

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

By Jake Coyle | Associated PressWhen Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, the filmmaker Guillermo del Toro said in his introductory remarks: “We are privileged enough to be living in a time where Mozart is composing symphonies.”You might be tempted to call that hyperbole, but — this being Miyazaki, the legendary anime filmmaker of “Spirited Away,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” — it’s closer to fact. The occurrence of a new film from Miyazaki deserves to be treated like the coming of a seldom-seen comet or something rarer still, like a winning New York Jets season.Ten years ago, Miyazaki released the profoundly personal “The Wind Rises.” It was then expected to be his swan song. But the 82-year-old filmmaker — known for his propensity for retiring again and again — soon announced that he would make one mo...

Douthat: Is South Korea disappearing as nation’s birthrate plummets?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

 For some time now, South Korea has been a striking case study in the depopulation problem that hangs over the developed world. Almost all rich countries have seen their birthrates settle below replacement level, but usually that means somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 children per woman. For instance, in 2021, the United States stood at 1.7, France at 1.8, Italy at 1.3 and Canada at 1.4.But South Korea is distinctive in that it slipped into below-replacement territory in the 1980s but lately has been falling even more — dropping below one child per woman in 2018, to 0.8 after the pandemic, and now, in provisional data for both the second and third quarters of 2023, to just 0.7 children per woman.It’s worth unpacking what that means. A country that sustained a birthrate at that level would have, for every 200 people in one generation, 70 people in the next one, a depopulation exceeding what the Black Death delivered to Europe in the 14th century. Run the experiment thr...

Olompali State Historic Park to reopen 9 months after mudslide damage

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

Olompali State Historic Park near Novato is expected to reopen this week following mudslide damage repair that blocked access for nearly nine months.The slide happened during heavy rain in March. It buckled a 100-foot section of Redwood Boulevard near the Buck Center for Research on Aging and threatened two major utility lines serving Marin. While the park itself was not in need of repair, the damage cut off the only access road, forcing it to remain closed.The $13 million project is still weeks from wrapping up, but Caltrans plans on restoring public access for one-way traffic control around 3 p.m. Friday. The single-lane access will be in effect until Caltrans completes construction along a retaining wall, which is expected to continue through at least January, said Matt O’Donnell, an agency spokesperson.Park officials plan to open the park Friday afternoon, and reinstate its normal operating hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Saturday.“It’s an important place, not only for what it means...

Review: ‘Leave the World Behind’ is a satirical, dark thriller

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

By Mark Kennedy | Associated PressImagine that it’s close to midnight and there’s a knock at the door of your luxurious weekend rental home. A man is standing there, calmly apologizing. He says it’s his home and that he and his daughter need your help. He’s also dressed immaculately in a tux.What would you do?Did the tux make a difference? Would the man’s race?That early scene is when Netflix’s “Leave the World Behind” really kicks into gear and never slackens as this terrific, apocalyptic, psychological thriller races to its conclusion, exploring race, affluence and responsibility along the way.The luxurious home becomes a castle of sorts as the outside world crumbles. The man who says he’s the owner tries to explain why he’s turned up. “Under the circumstances, we thought you’d understand,” he says. But understanding is in short supply here.Adapted from Rumaan Alam’s acclaimed novel, the movie is s...

Plea seal reached in vast Capitola vacation rental scam

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — In a sweeping real estate scam affecting more than 130 people, a former Capitola property and vacation rental manager agreed to a plea deal and was sentenced for four felony embezzlement charges Thursday.Dolores “Dede” Harrington, 49, had co-owned the Capitola Avenue business Beach House Rentals LLC since 2004, brokering high-end vacation, home, condo, cottage and townhome rentals. During a period spanning early 2020 through August 2022, however, Harrington began failing to pay property owners their rental income, withholding rental deposits, canceling vacation rental contracts with little or no notice and other similar activities, numerous complainants told the Sentinel. Even before her October 2022 criminal arrest by Capitola police, civil breach-of-contract actions had begun piling up against Harrington.Of 16 original felony charges filed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office in the case, 12 were dismissed as part of the plea deal. Santa Cruz County Sup...

Former California police chief gets 11-year sentence for role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

Alan Hostetter, a former La Habra police chief-turned yoga instructor and conservative Orange County activist who called for the execution of his political enemies after the 2020 elections, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years and three months in federal prison for joining a mob of rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.The former law enforcement officer planned for weeks in the leadup to Jan. 6, transported weapons across the country and while armed with a hatchet joined the group of rioters that overran the U.S. Capitol.While Hostetter himself was not accused of taking part in direct violence on Jan. 6, prosecutors in the leadup to his sentencing compared his actions to “terrorism,” saying he was “eager to stoke the fires of revolution” and called for the killing of those he deemed “tyrants and traitors.”Hostetter — who represented himself at trial and sentencing — has continually downplayed the events of Jan. 6, arguing they were the result of a “federal setup” ...

California woman gets 25 years to life for slaying ex-foster mother of her 2 kids

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

A woman was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life in prison for killing a 75-year-old Pasadena resident who was the former foster mother to two of her children, authorities said.A jury on Nov. 1 found 46-year-old  Mary Jean O’Connor guilty of first-degree murder.She didn’t speak at her sentencing Thursday, according to Deputy District Attorney Ryan Erlich, who said: “Anyone who is involved in the case or heard about the case can agree it is incomprehensibly tragic.”O’Connor’s lawyer couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.O’Connor’s five children were taken from her by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, police said. Jeri Douglas had been the foster mother of the two oldest children, a boy in 2010 and a girl in 2011, Erlich said in an earlier interview. The boy later was adopted by one of Douglas’ daughters and O’Connor’s parents got custody of the girl, he addedWhile only two of the children were placed with Douglas, O’Connor blamed her for the loss...

Banned for a game, Arsenal manager Arteta says it’s hard to curb celebrations in big moments

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Mikel Arteta says managers deserve some leeway when it comes to goal celebrations.Like when your team scores a 97th-minute winner that keeps you atop the Premier League.The Arsenal coach will be banned from the touchline at Aston Villa on Saturday after he received his third yellow card of the season on Tuesday for his excessive celebrations following Declan Rice’s winner in a 4-3 victory at Luton.“When you get those moments in sport, you should be able to do that, but I understand as well there are certain boundaries and you have to respect them, such as when you are in an away ground,” he said Friday at a news conference. “But if I was given the chance, I would be there jumping.”It’s “very difficult to demand” that coaches shelve their emotions, he added.“I don’t know how to stop (it). It was a really emotional moment. You have everybody bouncing around and you lose sense of where you are, and the space that you have to be in,” Arteta said. “It was unfortunate ...

Soccer fans launch legal challenge to stop French authorities from banning away supporters at games

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

PARIS (AP) — An umbrella organization for soccer fan groups has taken legal action aimed at stopping French authorities from banning away supporters attending some games this weekend.The National Supporters’ Association said Friday it has referred the matter to France’s highest administrative court as it seeks to challenge bans targeting four matches, including two in the top-tier of the French league.The bans ordered by the French government and local authorities followed the death of a supporter in Nantes last weekend.Sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said this week that preventing supporters from traveling to rival clubs could help restore calm following a series of incidents this season. “These appeals are in no way intended to minimize the seriousness of last Saturday’s tragedy,” the group said. “No one can doubt the immense sadness in the French stands. Nor can anyone doubt our sense of responsibility.”The group argued that it’s essential to let away fans ...

Polis unveils roadmap to make Colorado more affordable

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:53:18 GMT

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — Colorado is in the middle of a housing crisis and Gov. Jared Polis wants the state to get cracking on development. He wants to start with creating more affordable housing across the state.The governor said a key part of making the state more affordable is making housing more affordable and accessible to get to."Whether you are in Grand Junction at a town hall with 85 people or Pueblo or the Denver metro area, the number one issue is affordability, affordability, affordability, right? And people are frustrated because while the job market is strong and people have jobs, costs have gone up more than salaries, the biggest part of that is housing," Polis said about why he's starting with housing when it comes to making Colorado more affordable. Denver man searching for missing emotional support dog The governor wants housing in the Centennial State to become more affordable and easier to get to by the time the state turns 150 in 2026. The governor said the top...