Heightened security ahead of busy downtown weekend 

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Heightened security ahead of busy downtown weekend  ST. LOUIS - You will not have to look far to find something to do this weekend in downtown St. Louis.The event-filled weekend kicked off late Friday afternoon with the City Social block party on Washington Avenue."This is a great opportunity for people to reacquaint themselves with downtown," said Chief Kurt Weigel for Greater St. Louis Inc.On Friday evening was the start of a three-game series at Busch Stadium, and on Sunday, City SC hosts a match. Neighbors next to decomposed body say they smelled pungent odor for weeks "I think it's good that people can come and be downtown and enjoy it," said Pete Wagner, a St. Louis resident.Heightened security will be on hand. Before heading into Friday's block party, people needed to go through security. City sheriffs were also on hand for added security, and throughout the area, more officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are expected as part of the department's summer violence enforcement detail.The block party which i...

Rockies lose again as Padres hit five home runs at Coors Field

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Rockies lose again as Padres hit five home runs at Coors Field While the Nuggets were taking care of business in Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Miami Friday night, it was business as usual at Coors Field.In front of an announced crowd of 32,551, the punchless Rockies lost their fifth straight game and fell for the ninth time in their last 11 outings.In their 9-6 loss to the Padres, the Rockies were outhit, out-homered, and out-pitched. San Diego slugged five balls over the wall, while Colorado hit one — a 441-foot, two-run blast by Mike Moustakas to right in the eighth off of Nick Martinez.That brings up an interesting — and if you’re the Rockies, a disconcerting — statistic. Opponents have hit 45 home runs at Coors Field this season, while the Rockies have hit 30. Please don’t tell the Blake St. Bombers.San Diego pounded lefty Austin Gomber like a piñata: seven runs on 11 hits over four-plus innings. The Rockies, meanwhile, didn’t begin solving veteran right-hander Yu Darvish until their three-run sixth inning,...

Nuggets-Heat Game 4 superlatives: Denver on verge of NBA championship thanks to non-Jokic minutes late

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Nuggets-Heat Game 4 superlatives: Denver on verge of NBA championship thanks to non-Jokic minutes late HeroThe other guysNikola Jokic probably should’ve known Bam Adebayo would try to draw a quick fifth foul on him on the possession after Jokic’s fourth. After Jokic got tangled and Adebayo’s pro embellishing job benched Jokic with five fouls and nine minutes remaining, the Nuggets needed their supporting cast like they needed water. Especially when Miami closed within 86-81. A lineup of Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the charge for five minutes. Their defensive toughness put Denver on the verge of a title. KCP’s steal from Jimmy Butler under the basket was the underrated highlight of the game. Green hit a huge three. Brown stuck the dagger in.ZeroGabe VincentAfter an outstanding first two games of this series, the Nuggets locked down Vincent twice in Miami. He shot 3 for 16 in Games 3 and 4, taking away one crucial piece from the Heat’s arsenal of unsung role players. When Butler is shooting as ineffi...

Gritty Nuggets stymie Heat in fourth quarter to take commanding 3-1 lead in NBA Finals

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Gritty Nuggets stymie Heat in fourth quarter to take commanding 3-1 lead in NBA Finals MIAMI – As Stan Kroenke roamed the sidelines before Friday’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals, he issued a prophetic missive.“Opportunity knocks,” he said, his bold statement matched only by his blue jacket.The gritty and grimy Nuggets wrestled the Heat to the mat, seizing a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals with their resounding 108-95 win. All that was left was the pin, which could happen as soon as Monday when the series flips back to Denver for Game 5.There, the Nuggets will have a chance to clinch their first-ever NBA championship.“We’re not celebrating like we’ve done anything yet,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.Nikola Jokic picked up his fifth foul three minutes into the fourth quarter, which preempted the defining sequence of the night. As their MVP shouted and coached from the baseline, the rest of Denver’s resilient group clawed to keep the Heat at bay.Jamal Murray buried a dagger 3-pointer. Reserve Jeff Green knocked one down, too. Together, as a unit, they put th...

Limited May inventory continues to drive metro Denver home prices

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Limited May inventory continues to drive metro Denver home prices Despite close to 7% mortgage rates, limited supply drove home prices higher again in May.Last month, all properties sold in metro Denver had a median closed price of $595,000, up from $580,000 in April. May was the third month in a row to record price increases.Sellers posted 5,180 listings in May, 8.9% more than the 4,758 available in April.But that number remains much lower than the 14,895 average for this time of year based on historical data from 1985-2022. May 2006 set the record high with 30,457 listings, while the record low for May fell in 2021 with only 2,075 available homes.“Spring felt like a failure to launch, which has led to a summer kick-off where the natural rhythm of the Denver real estate market simply feels off,” Libby Levinson-Katz, chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, said in the monthly report.“Due to the lack of inventory, buyers are experiencing a bit of fatigue as they wait for either the perfect home or to uncover a good deal.”...

Nuggets 3-pointers: Bam Adebayo, that flop you pulled on Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic deserved a yellow card

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Nuggets 3-pointers: Bam Adebayo, that flop you pulled on Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic deserved a yellow card Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ win over the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals:1. Bam Adebayo deserves a yellow card: With international soccer stars Neymar and Paul Pogba in attendance, Heat center Bam Adebayo made a point to sure as heck do them proud. Because his dive with 9:06 left in the game was straight out of the FIFA playbook. As he jockeyed with Nikola Jokic for position midway through the final stanza, the Heat big man saw a window — and then flopped ihs way through it. The act of untangling himself with the Joker and chucking himself onto the floor in mock pain was enough to convince the officials to whistle Jokic for his fifth foul, a potentially fatal loss for the Nuggets, who had a 10-point lead at the time, on the road, against a desperate host. Only without Joker on the floor, the Nuggets still managed to keep a desperate Miami team at arm’s length.2. Jokic gets another assist — at the rim, no less!: I mean, who says Joker doesn’t have hops? (Other than ever...

Over $1.2 million worth of fake luxury watches seized at LAX

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Over $1.2 million worth of fake luxury watches seized at LAX Over $1.2 million worth of fake luxury watches were seized at the Los Angeles International Airport over the span of several weeks.U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to LAX seized a total of 41 counterfeit watches “bearing luxury trademarks" over a five-week period from April 12 to May 22. “If genuine, the seized watches would have had an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $1,294,500,” authorities said.The counterfeit goods arrived through individual packages via air cargo from China to destinations across the U.S.In what authorities say was an attempt to evade detection by officers, the watches were falsely declared as “bracelet,” “belt,” “decoration,” “watch box,” and “wall clock.”Among the confiscated watches, authorities found 37 counterfeit Rolexes, one Luminor Panerai, one Patek Philippe, one Audemars Piguet and one Omega watch.Over $1.2 million worth of fake luxury watches were seized at Los Angeles International Airport.(U.S. Customs and Bor...

Grand jury raises concerns about OC Animal Care's policies

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Grand jury raises concerns about OC Animal Care's policies A grand jury in Orange County is raising concerns about the OC Animal Care shelter in Tustin after several complaints were received last year. This is not the first time a grand jury has looked into the agency.Rescue and animal advocacy communities have been complaining about some of OC Animal Care’s policies and now a new grand jury report is reinforcing some of their concerns. Like many other large municipal animal shelters, the OC Animal Care shelter is not a "no-kill" shelter, and a new report by the O.C. grand jury says euthanasia rates related to dog behavior and cats have significantly increased over the last two years. According to the grand jury, the shelter could improve euthanasia rates for dogs by hiring an animal behaviorist to work with the dogs. The euthanasia rate for cats went up when the county stopped participating in the trap neuter and return program, a program that involves catching and neutering feral and community cats, and then returning them to wh...

Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness reveals cancer diagnosis

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness reveals cancer diagnosis Mike Ness, the lead singer of legendary Orange County punk rock band Social Distortion, has revealed that he is battling stage-one tonsil cancer.Ness, 61, shared the diagnosis on his Instagram account Wednesday, saying his treatment has forced the band to postpone its summer tour.“We think that life is going to go according to our plan, but it has a way of saying ‘I don’t think so!’” Ness shared.He says the cancer diagnosis came during pre-production on a new Social Distortion album.“I was feeling well enough to continue with recording in the studio up until the very day before surgery. The band and I were so inspired and excited to lay down these tracks, which by the way sound f-ing AWESOME!,” he wrote.Mike Ness, of Social Distortion, performs at Welcome to Rockville at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)Ness formed "Social D" in Fullerton in 1978 at a time when the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones ...

Man rescued after jumping off Pacifica Pier

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:28 GMT

Man rescued after jumping off Pacifica Pier PACIFICA — Authorities on Friday rescued a man after he jumped off the Pacifica Pier.The incident was reported around 4:40 p.m. at the pier in the 2100 block of Beach Boulevard, the North County Fire Authority said in a statement. Crews arrived to find a man in the water.The man told bystanders he wanted to go swimming before jumping, according to the fire authority.Crews lowered a life jacket to the man, who put it on, the fire authority said. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter then arrived at the scene and lowered a rescue swimmer into the water. The swimmer retrieved the man and both were lifted back into the helicopter.The man was then lowered from the helicopter to the pier, where he was assessed and treated by firefighters, according to the fire authority. He was then taken by ambulance to an area hospital for further evaluation.An update on the man’s condition was not immediately available.Check back for updates.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | 4 children, missin...