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Don Laughlin dies; he launched Nevada resort town that bears his name

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

LAUGHLIN, Nev. (AP) — Donald “Don” J. Laughlin, a resort owner and the namesake of a southern Nevada town that he turned into a tourist destination, has died. He was 92.Laughlin died Sunday of natural causes at his penthouse home at the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino in Laughlin, said Diana Fuchs, the resort’s marketing director.Family and other relatives had been with Laughlin for several days before his death.“Don … in true Don Laughlin spirit, was still trying to make them laugh with his jokes,” Fuchs said in an email to The Associated Press.Laughlin is credited as the architect behind the transformation of an area of dirt and weeds 100 miles south of Las Vegas into a thriving alternative to Sin City.“When we came here there was a dirt road in here and you had to come in by way of the dam,” Laughlin told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2016 while celebrating the resort’s 50th anniversary. “If it rained, you couldn&#...

Football recruiting: Bay Area high school star de-commits from Stanford

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

Fremont-Oakland’s Naki Tuakoi, a four-star edge rusher, announced on social media that he has withdrawn his oral commitment to Stanford and has reopened his recruitment.Tuakoi did not say why in his post on Monday night on X, formerly known as Twitter.The 6-foot-4, 222-pound senior has 18 offers, including 15 from Power 5 schools, according to 247Sports.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | High school football rankings Week 10, 2023: Bay Area News Group Top 25 High School Sports | High school girls volleyball rankings: Bay Area News Group Top 15 High School Sports | Vote now: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week High School Sports | Vote now: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week High School Sports | Monday Morning Lights: What’s at stake in league races across the Bay Area Tuakoi thanked Stanford coach Troy Taylor and a number of his assistants “for offering me a chance...

‘Airbnb becomes machine gunBNB,’ cops say after 11 guns found at teen’s birthday party

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

Stolen credit cards from Shoreview led Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies to a suspect who was celebrating his 17th birthday at a house party in Maple Grove, where deputies said they found 11 handguns hidden in the home.The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office said it found 11 guns in a house being rented for a teen’s birthday party in Maple Grove on Oct. 21, 2023. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Live on Patrol) Seven of the guns had a “switch,” which is installed on a handgun to make it fully automatic, said Undersheriff Mike Martin on Monday. “… When you pull the trigger, it basically dumps out all the rounds that are in the gun and many of the guns had extended magazines, so for example, one of those guns could shoot 33 rounds in two seconds.”Deputies tracked the teen on Saturday night to what they called a “booze-filled” party at a house that had been rented through Airbnb.The sheriff’s office on its Live on Patrol Facebook page dubbed the situation: “AIRBNB becomes...

Kurtenbach: The 49ers and Brock Purdy are learning about life in the NFL

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

This is how the rest of the NFL lives.And the 49ers — namely head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy — need to get used to living this way now, too.The Niners’ duo at the two most important positions in the sport has been living a charmed life since it came together a year ago this month.Until Purdy had his elbow explode in the NFC Championship Game, everything seemed to have broken the Niners’ way. Even Purdy’s recovery from that injury was charmed.The pixie dust has disappeared. This team is dealing with some actual, honest-to-goodness adversity following a second straight loss on Monday — this one to a 3-4 Vikings team in Minneapolis, capped by two Purdy interceptions in the final six minutes.“We flat-out got beat. Right now, you have to take it like a man,” Shanahan said of the 22-17 loss.Here’s what the 49ers are facing: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel isn’t playing because of a fracture in his left shoulder. Left tackle Trent W...

Man charged after reporting child missing from supermarket parking lot whom he forgot at home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

A man faces DUI and child endangerment charges after he reported that a child had gone missing from his vehicle while he was in a supermarket in Mansfield on Monday only to later learn he had left the juvenile at home.The child was reported missing by 30-year-old Colby Parker of Mansfield sometime around 8:18 p.m. at the Price Chopper located at 1220 Storrs Road, according to Connecticut State Police.Troopers combed the area along with officers from the UConn and Coventry Police Departments during a search that included K-9 units as well as employees of Price Chopper, state police said. A reverse 911 call was also sent out to residents notifying them of the missing child report.While crews were searching the area, employees of Price Chopper were able to review the store’s video surveillance and discovered that Parker had made two trips to the supermarket that evening and that he did not bring the child during the latter visit.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | San ...

Dense fog advisory up for North Bay interior valleys

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

(BCN) -- A dense fog advisory is in effect through 10 a.m. Tuesday for North Bay interior valleys, according to the National Weather Service.Under dense fog conditions, visibility is reduced to a quarter of a mile or less. Sudden visibility changes also add to the risks, the weather service said. Dense fog advisory up for North Bay interior valleys Due to widespread dense fog, residents and motorists are advised to travel carefully and allow for extra time when driving through the affected areas.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Arrest made in smash-and-grab at Sam's Jewelers in Sunvalley Mall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

(KRON) -- A Pittsburg man has been arrested in connection to a May smash-and-grab robbery at Sam's Jewelers in the Sunvalley Mall, the Concord Police Department said Monday. Concord PD received a 911 call on May 18 regarding a robbery in progress at the store. Employees, according to police, reported that a man armed with a hammer was inside the store. He reportedly confronted staff, began smashing the glass and took approximately $25,000 worth of jewelry. Who is pilot Joseph Emerson? Pleasant Hill neighbors say he’s ‘very friendly’ Before officers arrived, the suspect had fled in a vehicle. The Concord PD Financial Crimes Unit took over the case. After several months of follow-up, the suspect was identified as 35-year-old Bryant Donquile Gray of Pittsburg.The case was then forwarded to the Contra Costa County District Attorney. The DA filed the following felony charges against Gray:Second degree robberyGrant theft of personal propertySecond degree burglarySpecial allegations rega...

Slam your breaks — ‘explosion’ of deer population could lead to more crashes next month

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

Turn on the high beams when you can and get ready to brake often, new data suggest that there are more deer out and about on roads, after more of them were spared last year.November is always the month with the most deer strikes because it is mating season, but the Highway Loss Data Institute released new data that shows animal strikes for insured drivers were considerably down last year.“The most recent November claim frequency that we have for animal strikes is the lowest we’ve seen in a long time. We’re not exactly certain why that is,” Senior Vice President with the Highway Loss Data Institute Matt Moore told WTOP.It was even lower than during the initial pandemic year in 2020 when far fewer drivers were on the roads. Insurance claims on hitting animals dropped from 14.1 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years in 2019 to 12.6 claims per 1,000 insured the next year, according to data gathered by the institute.In 2021, it rebounded to around the 10-year average, but the...

Strikes trim profit at GM in an otherwise strong quarter; more losses likely if picketing spreads

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A strike by auto workers against General Motors is expected to cut pretax earnings by $800 million this year, and another $200 million per week after that, the company’s chief financial officer said.And those figures include only factories that are on strike now, so if more plants are added by the United Auto Workers union, the losses will pile up further, CFO Paul Jacobson told reporters.The strike is already taking a toll, and shortly after the conference call the UAW expanded the strike to Arlington, Texas, one of GM’s most profitable plants. Five thousand workers walked off their jobs at the factory which makes SUVs.GM on Tuesday posted net income of more than $3 billion from July through September, down 7% from the same period last year due to lost production from the strike, and also increased warranty costs, Jacobson said. The company also withdrew its previous full-year pretax earnings estimates, citing uncertainty over the length of the strike and...

Column: Getting to the majors is tough for LIV Golf players. Making the Olympics is even harder

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:19:32 GMT

Eighteen players from LIV Golf competed in the Masters, a number that already has been cut in half for next year. Only past Masters champions and recent major champions are currently eligible. Everyone else is well out of the top 50 in the world.It figures to be like that at the other majors, too. When the Official World Golf Ranking committee rejected LIV’s application, it made it tough for them to get into the majors.Overlooked in the reaction to the OWGR’s decision was another major event. It’s going to be even tougher for LIV players to get into the Olympics next year in Paris.The Olympic Golf Ranking for the 2024 Games began June 13, 2022, two days after LIV Golf finished its inaugural event outside London.LIV players can argue with anyone willing to listen that the world ranking no longer has credibility without them. They can plead with the four majors to create a pathway for their top players to get into their championships.But there’s no turning back...