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Puppet Up! Uncensored Offers Fuzzy Grown-up Fun

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

Brian Henson (Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island), and actor Patrick Bristow (Ellen, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Whose Line Is It Anyway?) have popped up again for Summer with their wild improv experience Puppet Up! – Uncensored. The show boasts that it’s “never the same show twice” but the stars of the show do have a consistent thread (well, many threads)– they are cloth, felt and faux fur creatures come to life thanks to Henson top puppeteers.Suggestions from the audience create the storyline but expect these “Miskreant puppets” to do the unexpected. The Miskreant Puppets, by the way, have been seen in Henson Alternative productions such as the film The Happytime Murders, and Coldplay’s recent music video “Biutyful.” The unusual show has a unique element that those who’ve never seen it might not expect as well– the improvised puppet presentation is projected live on big screens, but guests also get to watch the puppeteers moving around on stage, making for a ...

Taste-Off: The best sour cream and onion potato chips at Bay Area markets

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

If there is such a thing as the ultimate picnic food, it has to be potato chips. They’re a grab-and-go snack that goes with any menu, and they hit all the right notes — salty, crunchy, familiar and satisfying.Regular potato chips are great, but when the mood hits for a flavor tweak, its time to reach for the sour cream and onion-flavored variety. Crazy popular — second only to BBQ chips — sour cream and onion are an addictive nibble. If they’re made right.Infusing a chip with those flavors is a tricky process involving more science than cookery. Most recipes incorporate a handful of powdered flavorings, such as sour cream, whey, buttermilk, onion, parsley and some form of sugar. Finding just the right blend requires a great palate — and precision. Some brands lean so hard on buttermilk powder that it buries the flavor of the potato. Others add so little onion or sour cream that the result is bland and underwhelming.The best sour cream and onion chips are crispy rounds that balance p...

USWNT hopes its record diverse World Cup roster will inspire next-gen stars

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

By Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles TimesSAN JOSE, Calif. — As a child growing up just across the East River from Manhattan, Crystal Dunn played soccer. She didn’t have a lot of teammates — or opponents — who looked like her, however. Neither did Lynn Williams, who grew up in Central California, or Naomi Girma, who was born into an immigrant family in San Jose.“It hasn’t been the easiest road, obviously,” said Dunn, one of two Black players on her club team, the Portland Thorns. “There were moments where I felt like I needed to conform to the environment and say ‘OK, let me tone down who I am.’ “That moment might have passed because the team the U.S. will field in this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is the most diverse in history. The 23-player roster includes a record seven Black women and two Mexican Americans. There are three gay players and three others who became mothers since the last World Cup.Then ...

Historic East Bay theater gets new operator

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

The city of Pittsburg has agreed to hire Entertainment Lane Inc. of Salinas to manage and operate the historic downtown California Theatre.Previously operated by the Pittsburg Arts and Community Foundation, the 500-seat beaux arts theater at 515 Railroad Ave. has offered a blend of films, theater, comedy, live music and other cultural programming over the years.The council approved the three-year agreement on a 3-to-1 vote with Mayor Shanelle Scales Preston and Councilwoman Dionne Adams absent. The council also allocated $350,000 for the entertainment company to provide services for the first year, 2023-24, with the city’s Pittsburg Power Company providing the funding.Kolette Simonton, director of recreation, said two groups, including Pittsburg Theatre Company, were interviewed as potential operators, with staff later recommending Entertainment Lane, which has 30 years of experience managing performing arts venues and booking entertainment. The company produced the Festa Italia in ...

Alleged squatter in South SF home arrested after standoff

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

(BCN) -- A man has been charged with burglary after allegedly squatting in the home of a South San Francisco couple and causing several thousand dollars in damage while the homeowners were on vacation.On Saturday, an individual the homeowners hired to watch their pets found 43-year-old Levi Joe Smith, of Forestville, in the South San Francisco home on Lassen Street. According to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, Smith emphatically claimed that he was the owner and that she was at the wrong address. 3 pedestrians struck by car, infant dies in San Jose The pet sitter called the homeowners, who reported it to the police.South San Francisco police found evidence of forced entry in the back of the home when they arrived. Police called the home's landline and Smith answered, giving a false name, prosecutors said.At the home, Smith allegedly brandished a knife and threatened officers. After a two-hour standoff, a SWAT team was able to enter the home and arrest Smith, accor...

San Francisco deli chain burglarized eight times

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

(KRON) -- The Lee family says their remaining two delis are hanging on by a thread after their sandwich chain has been burglarized eight times this year. “We grew up in San Francisco. Our business started in San Francisco. We just don’t feel safe anymore,” said Frankie Lee, Sunset Subs and Irving Subs manager.In each case, tablets were stolen, windows were shattered and doors were broken. The break-ins became so bad the family decided to close their Mission location, Valencia Subs."Even our employees don't really feel safe. It was very hard to hire at that location. They never knew when someone would come in and steal something,” said Lee. 3 pedestrians struck by car, infant dies in San Jose Two locations still remain open in the Sunset District, Irving Subs on 12th Avenue and Sunset Subs on 9th Avenue. Lee says this has been happening for years and they can't afford for it to continue. "I can't even put a number to it. It's thousands a day, or we have to shut down for the da...

Community rallies after Fremont contractor gets tools stolen

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

FREMONT, Calif. (KRON) -- A 78-year-old Fremont man was left with no resources to support his family after thieves broke into his work truck and stole his tools. The community and police association has since stepped in to help get him back on his feet.  3 pedestrians struck by car, infant dies in San Jose On Saturday, Danny Ray woke up early to go to work and discovered his truck had been broken into in front of his home. "It was pretty much all of my tools, somewhere in excess of six-thousand dollars of hand tools, electric power tools of all kinds. It was pretty much my livelihood,” said Ray.Last year, Ray’s wife suffered three strokes and is currently in the hospital. "It's been a slow recovery. She's still not walking. It was another thing to add to the burden of what's happened this year,” said Ray.After Ray reported the break-in to police, the Fremont Police Association offered their help. The union is in the process of creating a charitable foundation to help victims and d...

No Labels Board Member: If MLK Were Alive Today, He’d Be Aligned With Joe Manchin and No Labels

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

At the No Labels luncheon at the Puritan Backroom in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Monday, the punchline was hard to miss. A who’s who of failed moderate politicians and politicos — including former Sen. Joe Lieberman, former Govs. Pat McCrory and Jon Huntsman Jr., and former Reps. Fred Upton and Joe Cunningham — gathered alongside Sen. Joe Manchin. They were assembled to tout their political program in the form of a 73-page centrist manifesto outlining the path forward for a moderate American presidency. Neither press nor clergy were seen entering the private event, where, in a literal backroom, the fading stars of a puritanical third way met to further a plan that they have all but described as political blackmail.  Most Read As Democrats Line Up Behind Israel’s Right-Wing Government, One Progressive Candidate Says He Is Unafraid of AIPAC ...

Maine governor expands access to abortion later in pregnancy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Wednesday that expands access to abortions later in pregnancy in Maine, joining a half-dozen states that leave it to doctors and patients to make the decision without restrictions on timing.The new law allows abortions at any time if deemed medically necessary by a doctor, making the law one of the nation’s least restrictive. The old law banned abortions after a fetus becomes viable outside the womb, at roughly 24 weeks, but allowed an exception if the patient’s life is at risk. Mills said during her reelection campaign that the old law didn’t need to be changed. But she reversed course after learning of a Maine veterinarian who had to travel to Colorado for an abortion after learning at week 32 of her pregnancy that her unborn son had a fatal condition that would not allow him to survive.The veterinarian, Dana Peirce, was present at the bill signing, standing behind the lectern alongside medical pr...

The British Open is not ruling out Saudi funding

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:58:40 GMT

HOYLAKE, England (AP) — The R&A is not ruling out taking money from Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund as prize money in golf keeps increasing to the point CEO Martin Slumbers thinks the sport will have to reassess its business model.The R&A runs the British Open, where the prize fund of $16.5 million this year is slightly double more than it was 10 years ago. The Open still has the smallest purse of the four majors.The Public Investment Fund already is the primary source of money for LIV Golf, which offers $25 million in prize money at each tournament. The PGA Tour and European Tour last month reached an agreement with the PIF to pool commercial business and rights.According to a PGA Tour official at last week’s Senate hearing, PIF is expected to contribute more than $1 billion to the new partnership.Is the R&A next?“We have a number of large corporate partners that help us make this thing happen,” Slumbers said Wednesday. “I think the world has changed in the la...