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Julian Strawther’s breakout game “surreal moment” for Nuggets rookie. Credit Nikola Jokic with the assist: “Empowering people is pretty cool”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

Julian Strawther took his seat on the bench Monday night not knowing whether he would have an opportunity to play more minutes than usual, with Jamal Murray injured.The rookie definitely didn’t expect he’d be strutting along the sideline after a heat-check 3-pointer in the middle of a stirring comeback that he helped ignite.“Obviously you know that there are minutes up for grabs, but you don’t know where they’re gonna go,” Strawther said after scoring 21 points across 19 minutes in a 134-116 Nuggets win. “That was not something that was communicated to me pregame.”Once the Nuggets were trailing by double digits in the second quarter, sorely missing Murray, it made sense to have an extra shooter on the floor who could at least give Denver a chance to match the Pelicans’ lineup of flamethrowers. Even while the team was shooting 2-for-15 from 3-point range.Strawther is self-aware about his job and the circumstances.“Come in, p...

Vail Jazz closes the curtain after nearly three decades of high notes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

Internationally renowned jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson once said, “Change is always happening. That’s the wonderful thing about jazz music.” But for the Vail Jazz Foundation, an organization-altering change forced the Vail-based nonprofit to shut down the bulk of its operations in late October after 29 years.The seismic shift? The passing of beloved founder Howard Stone, who died on Aug. 3, 2022, from post-surgical complications. Stone’s passing left a huge void, and his deep fundraising reach and managerial acumen have left the foundation with a substantial financial burden.Howard Stone, the founder of the Vail Jazz Party and the Vail Jazz Foundation, addresses the crowd at a past Vail Jazz performance. Stone died August 2022.Steven Pope/Courtesy photo via Vail Daily“When Howard died in the summer of 2022, we knew that replacing him would tax the organization on many levels. However, the staff rose to the occasion and in 2023 pulled off a terrific summer festival, workshop and La...

Airbnb renter who wouldn't leave Brentwood home is finally removed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

Elizabeth Hirschhorn, referred to as the “tenant from hell," has moved out of the Brentwood Airbnb rental she has been staying in since 2021.Hirschhorn was escorted out of the guest house last Friday by police after she had been living there “rent-free” for 575 days, People magazine reported. Before moving out, Hirschhorn refused to leave unless she received $100,000 for relocation costs. Airbnb renter stays at Brentwood home for more than a year without paying Sascha Jovanovic, the landlord, met Hirschhorn when she rented his guesthouse through Airbnb for six months at $105 per night. When her stay was over and she refused to leave, that’s when the trouble started.Hirschhorn’s attorney previously told the Los Angeles Times that “she was not required to pay rent because the city had never approved the unit for occupancy and that its shower was constructed without a permit.”“This is like a nightmare, to be honest,” Jovanovic previously told KTLA. “This is extortion. This is like ma...

Former L.A. pro soccer player flashes Nazi salute at pro-Israel demonstrators

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

Angel City Football Club is condemning the actions of a former player who was seen on video giving a Nazi salute at a pro-Israel rally in Beverly Hills.The video, which was first shared on social media Monday morning by the watchdog group, StopAntisemitism, shows Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel riding in the passenger seat of a car driven by another pro soccer player, identified by the group as Samim Haydari.Ferrer Van Ginkel flashes a “Seig Heil” salute as pro-Israel demonstrators shout “Shame on you!” It was unclear what occurred before the recording started.Ferrer Van Ginkel, 25, played in Angel City FC's inaugural season in 2022. The Brazil native left the team in November of that year after her contract was not renewed.“Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel does not play for Angel City Football Club, nor has she been affiliated with the club since November 2022. We condemn her recent actions and statements,” the team said in a statement Monday afternoon.According to a now-deleted Instagram post,...

Moorpark man questioned in Jewish demonstrator's death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

Paul Kessler died due to head injuries consistent with a fall, but it remains to be seen if charges will be filed against the person who allegedly struck him, according to Ventura County officials.On Tuesday, the Ventura County Sheriff provided an update on the incident, which occurred Sunday afternoon as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards.Kessler, 69, was "struck in the head by a megaphone wielded by a pro-Palestinian protestor," the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles said. A video posted to social media showed him lying on the ground next to a Shell gas station with an obvious head injury. He died at a hospital the following day.Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said investigators have "not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime," and said Kessler's death is being investigated as a homicide, which does not inherently mean a crime was committed."There was clearly an interaction between the two [men] b...

Rams sign Wentz 7 years after passing on him in NFL Draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

Seven years ago, the Los Angeles Rams had a choice to make: They had the first overall pick in the draft and were looking for a quarterback.The Rams ultimately went with Cal QB Jared Goff over North Dakota State's Carson Wentz, but it appears they may end up getting both of them.On Tuesday, the Rams announced they'd signed Wentz after starting QB Matthew Stafford — for whom the team traded Goff — suffered an injured hand and his backup, Brett Rypien, underperformed against the Green Bay Packers.In the years since the 2016 draft, the Rams have been proven right. Wentz has had limited success, but he's also floundered in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., in recent years. He had not been signed by a team this season before being picked up by the Rams.The Rams, meanwhile, went to a Super Bowl with Goff, then won a championship after trading him for Stafford. Goff, who was sent to Detroit, has also thrived.But now they must turn to the man they once spurned, a move that led to much mock...

San Jose Sharks describe ‘eye-opening’ meeting with GM Grier. Will they respond?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks players said Tuesday that they heard general manager Mike Grier’s message loud and clear after two embarrassing losses last week not only left the team winless but shattered its confidence.Days after seeing the Sharks get throttled by a combined 17 goals in home games against Vancouver and Pittsburgh, Grier made his feelings known Monday in a meeting described by some Sharks players as straightforward and needed.“The last two are unacceptable, and embarrassing to say the least,” Sharks winger Luke Kunin said. “Everything he said, I agreed with. Now it’s time to go out and compete.”The Sharks enter Tuesday’s game with the Philadelphia Flyers with a 0-11-1 record and need a victory to avoid becoming the first NHL team to lose its first 12 games of the season.Grier would obviously love to see his team end its losing skid but indicated he would no accept more performances like the ones he saw the Sharks play against the Canucks and Penguins. Those catast...

Jennifer Aniston ‘dreaded’ Matthew Perry’s death for years, ‘kept to herself’ at funeral

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

Jennifer Aniston was reportedly one of the first people to arrive outside the venue for Matthew Perry’s funeral last week, but she mostly “kept to herself” once she and the other mourners went inside.The image of 54-year-old Aniston playing a solitary figure at Perry’s service, even though she was surrounded by their beloved “Friends” co-stars, gives weight to reports that she’s having a particularly hard time coming to terms with his sudden death. Perry, who once admitted he had a crush on Aniston, died unexpectedly on Oct. 28 at the age 54 of an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles-area home.It’s an outcome that Aniston “dreaded” for 20 years,” a friend told The Daily Mail. Perry was open about struggling with addiction to alcohol and drugs, suffering multiple relapses, stints in rehab and dire health consequences.“It doesn’t matter whether he died as a result of a freak accident or whether it was directly con...

The nine most expensive homes reported sold in Fremont in the week of Oct. 30

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

A house that sold for $2.6 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Fremont in the past week.In total, nine residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $1.6 million, $928 per square foot.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of Oct. 30 even if the property may have been sold earlier.9. $525K, condominium in the 2700 block of Country DriveThe 950 square-foot condominium in the 2700 block of Country Drive, Fremont, has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in October and the total purchase price was $525,000, $553 per square foot. The condominium was built in 1970. The condominium features two bedrooms and one bathrooms.Country Drive8. $615K, condominium in the 38600 block of Cherry LaneThe sale of the condominium in the 38600 block of Cherry Lane, Fremont, has been finalized. The price was $615,000, and the new owners ...

Rested 49ers out to prove 5-0 start is more fitting than 3-game skid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:20 GMT

SANTA CLARA — We’ll find out this week about the rest and reset capabilities of the 49ers under coach Kyle Shanahan.They’ll reach the midway point of a 17-game season at halftime Sunday of a road game against Jacksonville. Whatever the score, we should have some idea whether the kind of football that got the 49ers off to a 5-0 start is still somewhere beneath the surface, or if the mistakes and one-step-slow play that led to an 0-3 pre-bye slump are still in evidence.I’ve heard a lot of assessments from head coaches at the bye week before, but Shanahan’s “slow and tired” soliloquy in the aftermath of a 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was a first. Coaches seek speed, explosion and conditioning over just about everything else, and if there are concerns in those areas, they seldom admit it in public.But Shanahan is a blunt man and has enough job security to give his own honest opinion without fear of reprisal. He’s not going to get d...