New Year’s Eve Visitors To Squaw Valley Enjoy Fresh Snow - CBS Sacramento

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SQUAW VALLEY (CBS13) – Fresh snow is bringing excitement to Squaw Valley this New Year’s Eve.

“We are going to miss the fireworks though, normally there are fireworks,” said Korbyn Walls.

Although this year there won’t fireworks, the excitement of spending New Year’s Eve in Squaw Valley is still special.

“Start the day out with a lot of powder — it’s great there aren’t too many people out, so you just kind of make your own tracks do your own thing. It snowed overnight so the conditions were really good,” said Conor Boone.

Squaw Valley woke up to fresh snow on the mountains making for fun rides on the trails. Workers have been making sure people are following guidelines wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

“It’s been really buttoned-up; people take it seriously; we are pretty regular Squaw people and this year feels different, and if you are not wearing a mask they call you out, said Sarah Thayer.

More from CBS Sacramento:

The James brothers are thankful to be spending time together this New Year’s Eve.

“It’s been fun got the party hat, the beads, and everything, so we are just enjoying it. Trying to spend as much time out here because it’s one of the only things open right now,” said Collin James.

“Safe 2021 and hopefully some more snow,” said Adam James

Although the moment the excitement may be focused on the fresh snow and getting outdoors, for others it’s about starting new journeys for the better.

“I was laid off for six months; I was working in San Francisco, got let laid off and I have a job now so 2021, I’ll be working again,” Walls said.

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January 01, 2021 at 09:12AM
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/12/31/new-years-eve-snow-skiing/

New Year’s Eve Visitors To Squaw Valley Enjoy Fresh Snow - CBS Sacramento

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Public health alert: Fresh Thyme Farmers Market ravioli contains unmarked allergen - Cleveland 19 News

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It made headlines this week. A statue of President Abraham Lincoln standing over a newly freed slave was removed in downtown Boston and put into storage for now. 19 News did some digging, and we found a similar monument exists here in Cleveland.

By 

Michelle Nicks

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January 01, 2021 at 10:30AM
https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/12/31/public-health-alert-fresh-thyme-farmers-market-ravioli-contains-unmarked-allergen/

Public health alert: Fresh Thyme Farmers Market ravioli contains unmarked allergen - Cleveland 19 News

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

From Northern California, Farm-Fresh Skin Care - The New York Times

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In certain parts of Northern California, cultivating edible plants — beets, rosemary, kale, lavender — is so central to the lifestyle that, as the Marin County resident Claudia Mata puts it, “It’s a rarity to find someone who isn’t growing their own food or herbs in their backyard.” With its moderate oceanic climate, nutrient-rich soil and free-spirited hippie vibes, the area — which extends roughly from Monterey to Siskiyou County — has long been fertile ground for landmark food and agricultural movements: organic farming in the 1940s, winemaking in the 1960s, farm-to-table cooking in the 1970s. More recently, it has also fostered an influential community of beauty entrepreneurs. Since at least the early aughts, plant-based brands have thrived in the region, offering potent formulas derived from homegrown ingredients and produced in small batches with minimal preservatives. Such principles, coupled with increasing and widespread interest in the kind of holistic living that many Northern Californians have been practicing for decades, have paved the way for today’s larger clean-beauty boom.

“When we started out, the organic food movement was well established in the Bay Area, but it hadn’t really caught on in the skin-care industry yet,” says Veronique Nadeau, who founded her nontoxic brand, Marie Veronique, in Berkeley in 2002. She cites the Berkeley-based chef Alice Waters’s influential Chez Panisse restaurant, which has made eating locally grown produce deliciously appealing since its opening in 1971, as one of her inspirations. “I wanted to be the Waters of skin care — the idea has always been to make our products in small batches and to source locally,” Nadeau says. Soon after her line launched, others followed, including the San Rafael-based Juice Beauty in 2005 and, later, in 2014, the San Francisco brand True Botanicals and Napa Valley-based Vintner’s Daughter. “It’s amazing how much of the organic skin-care movement was spearheaded by little companies that sprang up all over Northern California,” says Nadeau.

Now well known, these brands aren’t so little anymore. But others are carrying on the region’s grass-roots tradition. Mata founded Vertly, her CBD-infused-skin-care range, in 2017. The herbal-extract-centered line may be sold at Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s but it remains dedicated to the ingredients and culture of Novato, a laid-back, rustic town nestled among rolling hills and wineries about 25 miles outside of San Francisco, where she creates her healing serums, mists and bath salts using crops from nearby farms. “I’m very hands-on, always touching my plants and inspecting them,” she says of her process. “This attention to detail is what we are most proud of.” And there are others like her, dedicated to honoring the region’s farming legacy while also using modern innovations in sustainability and green chemistry — measures that feel especially important in light of the recent wildfires — to produce powerful, highly effective formulas. Here, five small-batch brands that capture the essence of this wild, bountiful part of California.

Botnia, Sausalito

Justine Kahn grew up in Woodstock, Vermont, with parents who believed that eating fresh, organic produce was essential to a healthy body. After becoming an aesthetician, she realized the same theory can be applied to what we put on our skin. Kahn launched Botnia, her nature-focused, science-backed brand, in 2016 while studying herbalism and biodynamic farming in California. Many of her ingredients, including roses, comfrey, chamomile, calendula and yarrow, are cultivated on her quarter-acre microfarm in Sausalito (the rest come from local growers), and she collaborates with a chemist to develop and test the range. Her Hydrating Serum ($49), a rich but nongreasy elixir made from rose geranium and soy-based hyaluronic acid, is the brand’s most beloved product, and its sea buckthorn-infused Wisdom Oil ($72), which protects against environmental aggressors such as pollution and sun exposure, isn’t far behind. While Botnia is expanding — it’s currently sold by 15 retailers and 130 spas in the U.S. — Kahn is committed to keeping her production process simple and manageable. Case in point: When she needs more jojoba oil, one of the farmers she partners with simply “goes into the field, picks the fruit, presses it and sends us a fresh batch.”

Biophilia Botanicals, Sonoma and San Rafael

The Paris-born Alice Duvernell spent the early part of her career in ethnobotany, the study of a region’s plants and their practical uses, at a nature preserve in northeastern Brazil. After a bad bout of acne, she sought out a local plant master, who taught her about topical skin-care solutions — and so began her mission to harness the healing power of botanical ingredients. In 2014, she moved to Marin County and put her decades-long studies to use with Biophilia, a beauty line that encompasses skin care, perfumes, healing salts and honey. Duvernell grows roughly 80 percent of her ingredients on her one-and-a-half-acre farm in Sonoma, where she also leads workshops on such topics as essential-oil distillation and biodynamic plant medicine. Her vitamin C-rich Rose Hydrosol ($25), which is made from Rosa Damascena flowers that only bloom four weeks of the year, is particularly hydrating, while the line’s Monk’s Balm ($25) is a medicinal salve of comfrey and propolis inspired by an ancient recipe. Up next is a holistic acne line that features locally grown antibacterial olive leaf and anti-inflammatory yarrow, and has been 20 years in the making.

Vertly, Marin County

In 2016, cannabidiol — or CBD, an active ingredient derived from cannabis — was hardly a common element in beauty products. But that was the year Claudia Mata, a former magazine editor, saw the potential in combining the plant’s anti-inflammatory properties with skin-revitalizing herbs such as marjoram, calendula and dandelion — an idea that, a year later, formed the basis for Vertly. Mata sources her full-spectrum, rigorously tested CBD from Colorado and extracts the rest of her ingredients, a process that can take up to four weeks, from plants grown near her Marin County laboratory. Mata, who was born in El Salvador and raised on holistic remedies, spends even longer tinkering with the her formulas: The hydrating Glowing Face Serum (from $55), packed with 24 botanical extractions (including rose hip and nettles), went through more than 350 iterations before Mata was satisfied with the results. “Each batch should almost have a vintage, like wine, because of the variance of the plants,” she says. Another standout is the Relief Lotion ($48), infused with arnica to soothe muscles (it’s great post-workout, as her husband, a trained yogi, can attest). Mata also plans to release a line of one-off items produced in small, limited batches from seasonal crops beginning this winter. Much like an offering of fresh produce at the farmers’ market, once an item sells out, she says, “it’s gone.”

Earth Tu Face, San Rafael

The Bay Area herbalist Sarah Buscho had an auspicious start to creating Earth Tu Face, her skin-care line that employs California-grown food-grade ingredients. In 2008, she took over one-third-acre garden plot in San Rafael — to cultivate flowers and herbs for beauty products — that had once supplied the lettuce and fava beans for Waters’s Chez Panisse. (The soil, says Buscho, has good karma.) She now grows calendula, lavender and heritage roses there for her pore-refining Exfoliant Powder Mask ($72) and purifying Honey Mask ($52) and all her offerings are developed with sustainability in mind. Her healing Skin Stick ($34) is known for its stylish-yet-compostable tube, and her Passion Fruit and Yuzu Lip Balm ($25) comes in a zero-waste compact crafted from a seashell. Everything is free of harsh preservatives, and many formulas, including that of the immortelle-based Face Balm ($68), are free of water, meaning they’re “super concentrated with botanical benefits,” says Buscho, who also adjusts the brand’s offerings periodically according to plant populations. (A vanilla and peppermint lip balm is currently being phased out because “the vanilla industry is experiencing a reduction in yields due to climate change.”) This winter, she will introduce a new collection of botanical home and body mists — a first for the brand — that she hopes will help everyone “breathe a little easier.”

Fat and the Moon, Grass Valley

Born in Milwaukee and raised by Slovenian parents, Rachel Budde grew up around folk medicine. Her family had a cabinet full of fresh and dried plants for creating home remedies, such as tart cherry schnapps, which is prized for its immune-boosting benefits. In 2011, Budde began studying permaculture, and later herbalism, before moving to Grass Valley — an area in the Sierra Nevada foothills about three hours northeast of San Francisco. There, Fat and the Moon, a skin- and body-care line informed by both traditional Slovenian recipes and Budde’s background in botany, was born. The brand’s popular Deodorant Cream (from $12) blends odor-absorbing arrowroot with clary sage and tea tree essential oils; the skin-illuminating Highlighters ($18) come in three sunflower-oil-based shades (the pearlescent Beam variety is imbued with extracts from the leaves and branches of the Madrone tree, a species that is considered by many communities in the Pacific Northwest to be spiritually sacred). Budde will soon launch Kosmos Spa(ce), a wellness center in nearby Nevada City that will offer facials, body treatments and freshly made herbal goods, some of which will be inspired by ancient Slovenian preparations, even if the ingredients are distinctly Californian.

The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 11:40PM
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/t-magazine/northern-california-skin-care-beauty.html

From Northern California, Farm-Fresh Skin Care - The New York Times

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In the New Year, These 7 Value Stocks Deserve a Fresh Look - Barron's

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Illustration by Jack Richardson

The new year promises changes on many fronts: economic, political, and public health, to name a few. It may also bring about a major shift in U.S. stock markets. A growing cadre of investors and strategists are betting that 2021 will finally be the year when value stocks outperform growth.

Value has plenty of catching up to do. The Russell 1000 Growth index of U.S. stocks bested its value equivalent by 36 percentage points in 2020, the largest margin on record. It’s the exclamation point on a decade of leadership from growth stocks such as Apple (ticker: AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), and Netflix (NFLX), at the expense of old-economy industries, including banks, mining, and energy.

As a result of the divergence, value stocks haven’t been this cheap, relative to growth issues, since the dot-com bubble in 2000, a gap that could narrow with a postpandemic recovery and eventual higher interest rates.

“Value has been in the dog house for the longest period I can remember,” says Mark Boyar, who founded The Boyar Value Group in 1975. “But we think now we’re going into one of these periods where value will significantly outperform growth.”

Jonathan Boyar, Mark’s son and president of the firm’s research division, Boyar Intrinsic Value Research, warns that not all value will benefit. “You really still need to look at high-quality businesses with good balance sheets and strong competitive positions—it’s not just about buying every retailer and airline that’s cheap right now.”

To that end, Boyar and team puts together an annual list of 40 stocks they see offering compelling value in the year ahead. They’re not necessarily the cheapest stocks in the market, but they’ve been overlooked and each has at least one positive catalyst on the horizon.

New Year, New Stocks

These seven stocks might not all look cheap on the surface, but they each meet some definition of value—and they could all outperform in the year to come.

Data through Dec. 30; *Dividend on hold in 2020; E=Estimate. N/A=Not applicable

Sources: Bloomberg; FactSet

Boyar’s Forgotten Forty portfolio has produced an average annual gain of 9.6% over the past decade, versus about 8%, on average, for the Russell 1000 Value index. The broader index, including growth components, has risen some 12% a year over that period.

The Boyar team gave Barron’s a preview of its 2021 Forgotten Forty list. Here are some highlights presented in alphabetical order, with context from Jonathan Boyar and Barron’s:

At a recent price of $30, Bank of America (BAC) trades at 14 times 2021 estimated earnings and 1.5 times tangible book value, cheap relative to the market and its own history. An improving economy, expectations of a steeper yield curve, and a green light from the Federal Reserve to boost share buybacks and dividends in 2021 are all promising catalysts.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) has been adding to its stake in Bank of America; it currently owns about 12% of the stock. Boyar expects greater capital returns, a cyclical recovery, and Buffett’s vote of confidence to boost Bank of America shares to 1.6 times his estimate of 2022 tangible book value, or about $36—20% above a recent quote. BofA’s dividend currently yields 2.4%.

Coca-Cola (KO) was one of Barron’s top 10 stock picks for 2021, and it makes Boyar’s Forgotten Forty for similar reasons. The reopening of restaurants, stadiums, and other public venues will lead to a near-term rebound in sales, as the world’s largest soft-drink company also begins to benefit from longer-term initiatives in 2021, Boyar says. That includes a push into new categories, including coffee and hard seltzer, along with the divestment of Coca-Cola’s bottling operations. New contracts will continue to give the company favorable pricing with those bottlers.

“That’s a better, more asset-light structure that should expand their profit margins,” Boyar adds, noting that a weaker U.S. dollar will boost overseas profitability. Coke’s stock isn’t particularly cheap at more than 25 times next year’s forecast earnings, but the Boyar team expects it to hold its multiple as the company returns to growth. They see the shares going to $66, 20% above their recent close of $55. The stock yields 3%.

Pharmacy chain CVS Health (CVS) will play a vital role in the U.S. vaccine-distribution effort in 2021, expanding its database of customer information and bringing new patients into its stores and clinics. Boyar cites the advantages of CVS’s omni-channel approach. It has stores close to 80% of the U.S. population, along with a sophisticated prescription delivery business.

At $68, CVS stock looks cheap, trading at just nine times next year’s expected earnings. Boyar applies a 13 times multiple on his 2022 profit estimate to get to a $106 target, 55% above the recent close.

Liberty Braves Group (BATRK) and Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) are rare examples of publicly traded sports teams. They own baseball’s Atlanta Braves, and basketball’s New York Knicks and hockey’s New York Rangers, respectively. Those are trophy assets that should be valued by what a potential acquirer would pay for them, says Boyar, rather than the cash flows they produce. Fortunately for the New York basketball team, the value holds up regardless of on-court performance. Still, all three teams can boost their sales and profits in coming years, he says, as television rights are renewed at higher rates and the legalization of online gambling increases fan engagement and attracts more advertising dollars.

Leagues have also opened the door to investors such as private-equity firms. They now can take minority stakes in teams, which could drive valuations even higher. Boyar values Liberty Braves stock at $41 and MSG Sports at $231, giving them estimated upsides of 60% and 24%, respectively. Boyar’s price targets are based on a roughly 30% premium to the teams’ latest valuations from Forbes.

Sysco (SYY) is in pole position to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic stronger than it went in, as the largest player in the heavily fragmented U.S. food distribution industry. With a market share of just 16%, Sysco generates more in sales than its next two rivals combined. Management has been aggressive in trying to grow through acquisitions and in recruiting new customers.

“In this environment, restaurants and hotels are not only looking for the cheapest-price supplier, but also for companies that will survive this,” says Boyar, who sees Sysco going to $93, from a recent $73.

Walt Disney (DIS), at a recent 72 times next 12 months estimated earnings, isn’t inexpensive, based on traditional value metrics. But the entertainment giant has several catalysts ahead of it. First and foremost is the postpandemic recovery of its theme parks, which Boyar expects to surprise to the upside in 2021. The longer-term story is Disney’s transformation into a streaming-focused global content company, fueled by the rapid growth of Disney+ and its other direct-to-consumer services.

Boyar values Disney using a sum-of-the-parts approach. He applies a multiple of 12 times to estimated 2022 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, for Disney’s non-streaming businesses, and 5.5 times to estimated 2022 streaming revenue. That yields a price target of $237, or 30% above the stock’s recent close of $181.

And there’s an argument for giving Disney an even higher target price: Applying Netflix’s current 10 times sales multiple yields a price of $339 per share.

Write to Nicholas Jasinski at nicholas.jasinski@barrons.com

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January 01, 2021 at 03:17AM
https://www.barrons.com/articles/in-the-new-year-these-7-value-stocks-deserve-a-fresh-look-51609445850

In the New Year, These 7 Value Stocks Deserve a Fresh Look - Barron's

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

7th Street Commons brings fresh look to downtown - Steamboat Pilot and Today

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This conceptual drawing shows what the 7th Street Commons will look like when completed. When these drawings where made, the ownership was thinking of using the name the 7th Street Marketplace but have since decided to call the project the 7th Street Commons. (Drawing courtesy of Cam Boyd)

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — A new name and new look, including a deck overlooking the slopes of Howelsen Hill Ski Area, will help define a fresh concept aimed at creating a new type of venue in downtown Steamboat Springs.

“We are kind of looking at it as a community space set up like a food hall featuring local food and beverage vendors,” said Cam Boyd, who purchased the property at 56 Seventh St. with business partner Adam Feiges last January. “We may also have some local art, artisans and pop-ups in there.”

The 7,200-square-foot property was formerly the home of the Ghost Ranch Saloon, which closed its doors in January 2019. Since the business partners purchased the building a year ago, the world has been turned upside down by COVID-19, but Boyd and Feiges remain committed to their original idea of creating a place that people can gather and get a taste of what Steamboat has to offer even when they don’t know what they’re hungry for.

“We are making it more of a social place to go where you can have different selections of food and whatever meal you’re looking for,” Boyd said. “We want to offer something that’s changing and is not always the same.”

The project recently got approval from the city to begin renovations, which will include decks for additional outdoor seating and great views of Howelsen Hill, Boyd said. Work on the property should begin later this winter with plans to start bringing in vendors sometime in summer 2021. The project will be completed in phases, Boyd said, starting indoors with the exterior of the building updated in the later phases.

When finished, the project will have room for four to five vendors that will be sectioned off in areas from 150 to 250 square feet with seating on the upper levels of the building, which overlook the main floor. Boyd said the historic bar, which was a centerpiece of the Ghost Ranch Saloon, is expected to be removed to make more room for seating and allow the upstairs sections of the building to be connected.

He said he was disappointed the bar will need to find a new home, but he said he’s already had several people interested in purchasing it.

This conceptual drawing shows what the entrance of the 7th Street Commons may look like when completed.(Drawing courtesy of Cam Boyd)

“We have Clyde’s Pies in there right now, and then if we can get three our four more upstairs, that would be great.”

Boyd said he is talking to several other vendors but was not ready to make any public announcements. He did say they are talking to a coffee company, and there will probably be some lunch and dinner selections in the mix as well as wine and beer vendors.

“We are trying to make it so it opens first thing in the morning and make it a place where people can come in and have meetings, a place to have their have coffee or lunch together or to hang out all the way up through happy hour and dinner with family and friends,” Boyd said.

Developers plan to add decks to the alley side of the 7th Street Commons to provide additional outdoor seating and great views of Howelsen Hill, which is located just across the Yampa River.(Drawing courtesy of Cam Boyd)

“We will have some local art, artisans and pop-ups,” Boyd added. “But not a lot, because it’s not that big of a space.”

However, he is keeping an open mind and is hopeful there will be room for an open market space.

“We’re building it organically, and we want to have the right team assembled there, and we want it to be more focused on the individuals and the company brands as opposed to the building,” Boyd said. “It’s really important for us to have the right players involved.”

This conceptual drawing shows what the 7th Street Commons from the alley that runs behind the building. Developers plan to add decks with a view of Howelsen Hill that will provide additional outdoor seating. (Drawing courtesy of Cam Boyd)

To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.

The Link Lonk


January 01, 2021 at 03:14AM
https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/7th-street-commons-brings-fresh-look-to-downtown/

7th Street Commons brings fresh look to downtown - Steamboat Pilot and Today

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Bethel business owners look for fresh start in new locations after fire - Danbury News Times

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BETHEL — Several local businesses have found new homes after a devastating commercial building fire on Greenwood Avenue two months ago.

Bethel Upholstery owner Ana Matias, whose shop at 270 Greenwood Ave. was severely damaged by the Oct. 16 fire, plans to move to Danbury.

Matias said she has signed a one-year lease at 29 Federal Road, but has not yet moved into the new space.

“I’m looking forward to moving to Federal Road, but everything takes a little longer with COVID,” she said this week.

The interior of the Federal Road space is being renovated, said Matias, who is awaiting word on when she can settle into the new storefront. She said she hopes it will happen this month.

Matias was in her upholstery shop on Greenwood Avenue when the Oct. 16 fire broke out.

While working that morning, Matias said she started to smell smoke around 11:30 a.m. A short time later, she said, smoke filled the upholstery shop’s work area and she called the fire department.

Firefighters got to the scene shortly before 11:50 a.m., saw smoke coming from the eaves of the building and quickly discovered an “active fire in the ceiling,” according to dispatch reports.

Tri-Star Graphics, Pretty Little Things and Willows Massage & Wellness Center also were located in the Greenwood Avenue commercial building.

Bethel Volunteer Fire Chief Scott Murphy said the upholstery shop sustained fire and water damage, and the other businesses had water damage. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, but “it appears to more than likely have originated from an electrical malfunction in the ceiling of the second-floor upholstery shop” Fire Marshal Thomas Galliford said .

Matias wasn’t the building’s only tenant in search of a new place to reopen.

After losing about $150,000 worth of equipment and material to water damage, Tri-Star Graphics owner Jim Hansen consolidated his storefront into his nearby screen print shop at 264 Greenwood Ave.

He said packing everything into the print shop has been an “inconvenience” since the space is “pretty tight.”

“We had the storefront and the shop for a reason,” said Hansen, who plans to return to his former space once the building is repaired — although he does not know when that will be.

“Nothing’s really happening with the building,” he said. “When we were clearing out (after the fire), they had a contractor coming in and he thought it would be eight months to a year depending on when they were able to start.”

Hansen said he doesn’t think he’ll be moving back until “well into [2021] sometime.”

When asked what he lost in the Oct. 16 fire, Hansen said “Everything.”

“The fire was pretty much contained to the upholstery shop upstairs, but the bulk of the fire was right above our store so there was like a river of water running out the front door,” he said. “Anything that was electronic was destroyed. We had embroidery machines, a laser engraver, all of our computers, our vinyl-cutting system — we pretty much lost everything in the store.”

The fire added to an already rough year for Tri-Star Graphics, which had seen a slight decline in business due to COVID-19.

“A lot of our clients were schools, events, sports — things that just weren’t happening in 2020. It wasn’t a great year, but we were getting by. The fire on top of it was tough,” said Hansen.

In addition to working in tight quarters, Hansen said he’s been wrestling with insurance — something he’s never had to deal with in his 30-plus years in business.

“It’s hard to explain to people, and I don’t think I ever had enough empathy for people who were dealing with this, because the amount of stuff you have to deal with — let alone trying to get work done or anything else — it’s staggering,” he said.

Hansen said he plans to move back into his storefront and hopes things will “go back to the way (they) were prior to the fire.”

Pretty Little Things owner Shannon Anderson has found a temporary space for her consignment shop at 269 Greenwood Ave. — across the street from her former storefront.

Nearly all of the shop’s inventory was damaged in the fire, and Anderson’s sister started a GoFundMe shortly after the incident. More than $2,000 was raised to help Anderson get her business back up and running.

Pretty Little Things will open with an outdoor ribbon-cutting on Jan. 5.

Willows Massage & Wellness Center, owned by Lori Mikell, has moved to 251 Greenwood Ave., according to the business’ website.

Matias said she hasn’t decided whether Bethel Upholstery’s move to Federal Road will be permanent or temporary.

“It’s a new location for a business that’s been (on Greenwood Avenue) for a long time — I think more than 40 years — so we’ll see how the first six months go,” she said. “I think it’s going to be good, and I think my clients will follow me no matter where I am. I’m hopeful. All of that is positive thinking.”

Since the fire, Matias said she’s been working on the orders she had before the fire.

“I haven’t picked up any new orders or anything because people want to buy fabrics but I don’t have a place to sell fabrics or anything. What I’m doing is working on the work that I had there at the shop,” she said. “I had orders for Christmas that were not at the shop yet, and those I have picked up.”

Matias said she and her clients are ready for Bethel Upholstery to be back up and running.

“I have so many people calling me, asking me when I’ll be open and when they can come in,” she said. “Maybe it will be the middle of January. I don’t know — but I’m ready.”

Once she gets the keys to her new space, Matias said she expects it to take her about two weeks to settle in and put up the showroom.

“For things to be back to normal — my showroom done and everything settled in — I think beginning of February, if we’re lucky,” she said.

The Link Lonk


January 01, 2021 at 02:07AM
https://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Bethel-business-owners-look-for-fresh-start-in-15838706.php

Bethel business owners look for fresh start in new locations after fire - Danbury News Times

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

JCPenney begins new CEO search for fresh start - Fox Business

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Former Toys 'R' Us chairman and CEO Gerald Storch provides insight into the future of shopping malls post-coronavirus recovery.

After emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, 118-year-old retail giant JCPenney is planning a fresh start for 2021, beginning with a search for a new leader.

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JCPENNEY CLOSING MORE STORES IN 2021 AS NEW OWNERS RESHAPE RETAILER

The retailer's new owners, Brookfield Partners and Simon Property Group, announced that they are looking for someone "focused on modern retail, the consumer experience, and the goal of creating a sustainable and enduring JCPenney." The search will be conducted in partnership with Authentic Brands Group.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
BPY	BROOKFIELD PROPERTY PARTNERS	14.62	-0.01	-0.10%
SPG	SIMON PROPERTY GROUP INC.	83.06	-0.92	-1.09%

J.C. Penney's current CEO, Jill Soltau, is set to exit the company on Thursday. Soltau was brought on to J.C. Penney's leadership team in October 2018 after stints as president and CEO of JOANN Stores, a fabric and crafts retailer, and president of Shopko Stores, according to the company. Soltau's appointment sent the company's shares soaring at the time in hopes that she would help turn the company around.

Meanwhile, Simon Property Group's chief investment officer Stanley Shashoua will take over as interim CEO effective on Jan. 1, 2021.

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J.C. Penney filed for bankruptcy in May as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the retail industry. The company's financial struggles led to 154 store closures across 38 states in June and an additional 152 store closures and 1,000 job cuts in July.

In September, J.C. Penney said it had reached a rescue deal in principle with its landlords, Simon and Brookfield, valued at $800 million in cash and new-term loan debt. The deal was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in November.

As part of the deal, Simon and Brookfield would own 160 of JCPenney's real estate assets and all of its owned distribution centers as part of a separate property holding company. Bankruptcy lawyer Joshua Sussberg of Kirkland & Ellis said at a hearing in September that the rescue deal would save roughly 70,000 jobs.

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In addition to the CEO search, the department store chain plans to close additional store locations in March.

"As part of our store optimization strategy that began in June with our financial restructuring, we have made the decision to close an additional 15 stores," JCPenney said in a statement to USA Today. "These stores will begin liquidation sales later this month and will close to the public in mid- to late March."

Overall, the company's two-year restructuring will permanently close nearly a third of its 846 stores, leaving it with just over 600 locations.

The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 07:31AM
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/jcpenney-begins-new-ceo-search-for-fresh-start

JCPenney begins new CEO search for fresh start - Fox Business

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

United Fresh Rolls Into 2021 With United Re-Fresh Experience - Southeast Produce Weekly

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United Fresh Produce Association will kick start the new year with programming beginning Jan. 5 — the United re-Fresh Experience, a series of 10 events taking place throughout January will guide the industry through business strategies and objectives to meet the needs of the new business reality.

Tom Stenzel

“Despite the trials and tribulations across our supply chain in 2020, we’re all ready to turn the corner into brighter days,” United Fresh President & CEO Tom Stenzel said. “The new United re-Fresh Experience will help companies and teams build a stronger future and explore what new and innovative opportunities lie ahead in 2021.”

Ten sessions will bring together peers from across the industry. Each curated experience has been developed with input from experts and will allow engagement in peer-to-peer breakout discussions.

“As the co-chair of the United re-Fresh Experience Advisory Committee, I can attest that our association once again has developed an experience that will help set you and your business on the right course in the new year,” said Kristen Reid, Executive Vice President, MIXTEC Group. “My favorite part of the re-Fresh Experience is how interactive it is going to be. Reconnect with old friends and make some new ones while you explore and challenge responses to the presented content.”

The United re-Fresh Experience will address:

“From diversity and inclusion to food safety, shopper marketing to rebuilding restaurant and hospitality, the United re-Fresh Experience touches on our most critical topics for the new year,” United Fresh Vice President, Education & Program Management, Amanda Griffin said. “I look forward to gathering with the industry in this new and unique way, beginning next week, to advance business in a refreshed frame of mind.”

There are several ways to participate in the United re-Fresh Experience. Individuals can choose to register a-la-carte for each session at the fee of $100 per session for United Fresh members ($150 for non-members).

For a 20% savings, companies and individuals can purchase a United re-Fresh Experience ten-session package for $795 for United Fresh members ($1,095 for non-members). Share sessions with your peers, colleagues and teams based on content topics. Register by visiting www.unitedfresh.org.

To save even more, companies and individuals can purchase United’s annual SmartPass Education Package which includes registration to the Association’s three annual events, United re-Fresh Experience, the United Fresh Convention & Expo and the United Fresh Washington Conference. The SmartPass offers further savings, and the convenience of a single registration for multi-event access.

For more about the United re-Fresh Experience, email Amanda Griffin at agriffin@unitedfresh.org.

The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 05:28AM
https://southeastproduceweekly.com/2020/12/30/united-fresh-rolls-into-2021-with-united-re-fresh-experience/

United Fresh Rolls Into 2021 With United Re-Fresh Experience - Southeast Produce Weekly

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

As playoffs near, Bucs running backs seem to have fresh legs, perspective - Tampa Bay Times

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[unable to retrieve full-text content]As playoffs near, Bucs running backs seem to have fresh legs, perspective  Tampa Bay Times The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 05:25AM
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2020/12/30/as-playoffs-near-bucs-running-backs-seem-to-have-fresh-legs-perspective/

As playoffs near, Bucs running backs seem to have fresh legs, perspective - Tampa Bay Times

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Bean's Cafe gets surprise after tractor trailer overturns: 15 tons of fresh food - Alaska Public Media News

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Workers sort and prepare food at Bean’s Cafe on July 13, 2020. (Kavitha George/Alaska Public Media)

Anchorage soup kitchen Bean’s Cafe received a Christmas surprise after a tractor-trailer overturned and spilled groceries into a ditch on the Glenn Highway on Christmas Eve: about 30,000 pounds of fresh produce and meat.

The food was deemed no longer fit for retail, but the towing company helped salvage what they could for the kitchen, says Bean’s executive director Lisa Sauder.

“To have basically half of a refrigerated truck full of produce is quite something this time of year. So we’re working really hard right now to make sure we process it and put it up so that we will have a lot of it for down the road.”

The Dena’ina Center offered refrigerator space for the salvaged food. Sauder said the towing company, Bean’s and Dena’ina Center staff, and even the tractor trailer driver worked to collect and store the food the night before Christmas. 

Some of the food will be processed, preserved or frozen to keep for a few weeks, but right now Sauder says it’s extra special to be able to offer fresh food such as salad greens, strawberries and clementines in winter, particularly in the middle of a pandemic.

“It’s a real treat for many people in Alaska, especially those right now that are struggling, many for the first time ever, with trying to figure out how to feed themselves and their families.”

Between an emergency mass shelter and a few other sites, Bean’s Cafe is feeding hundreds of people a day. Monday night, Sauder says the count was more than 700. She expects the surprise fresh food delivery to last through January.

The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 12:25AM
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/12/30/beans-cafe-gets-surprise-after-tractor-trailer-overturns-15-tons-of-fresh-food/

Bean's Cafe gets surprise after tractor trailer overturns: 15 tons of fresh food - Alaska Public Media News

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

AMC hopes to raise $125 million in fresh funding round as it fights bankruptcy - CNBC

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People walk outside the newly boarded AMC 34th Street 14 movie theater as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on September 4, 2020 in New York City.

Noam Galai | Getty Images

Movie theater chain AMC is hoping to raise $125 million in fresh capital to stave off bankruptcy by selling 50 million shares in a new funding round, the company said Wednesday.

The largest cinema chain in the world raised $104 million earlier this month after selling roughly 38 million of 200 million in available shares. The company is trying to shore up its balance sheet to withstand the prolonged economic downturn as the coronavirus pandemic drags into a second year and threatens the viability of the movie industry.

Earlier this month, AMC received a $100 million investment from Mudrick Capital Management, but the cash-strapped cinema chain still needed at least $750 million of additional liquidity to fund cash requirements through 2021.

The company has reiterated in several SEC filings that bankruptcy is a possibility if it can't raise more funds.

"We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Class A common stock offered by this prospectus for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment, refinancing, redemption or repurchase of existing indebtedness or capital stock, working capital, capital expenditures and other investments," AMC said in the Wednesday filing.

While the Covid-19 crisis has battered theaters since March, perhaps no chain has been hit harder than AMC. The company headed into the pandemic with nearly $5 billion in debt, which it had amassed by outfitting its theaters with luxury seating and from buying competitors such as Carmike and Odeon. 

AMC has been focused on fundraising for months. It already renegotiated its debt to improve its balance sheet this year and is exploring several options for additional liquidity. It is also trying to figure out ways to increase attendance even as the outbreak worsens across the U.S.

Shares of the company closed down 5.7% on Wednesday and have slumped by 70% since January.

The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 01:12AM
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/30/amc-hopes-to-raise-125-million-in-fresh-funding-round-as-it-fights-bankruptcy.html

AMC hopes to raise $125 million in fresh funding round as it fights bankruptcy - CNBC

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

A Breath of Fresh Air - CT Examiner

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I decided at the end of 2019 to leave a job at a small town paper in Missouri and take a shot at freelancing. As COVID shutdowns quickly led to newsroom budget cuts, that plan unraveled. Then Gregory Stroud offered me a job reporting at the CT Examiner. 

I jumped at the opportunity, and it may be the best decision I’ve made in 26 years.

I’ve found the CT Examiner to be a breath of fresh air in the journalism industry – a small, growing operation that invests in local reporting, rather than a massive conglomerate that strips small papers for parts. I no longer worry about the next round of layoffs coming from an office halfway across the country, or if my paper’s new owner will sell my office out from under me.

Over the last six months, CT Examiner has allowed me to report with a level of freedom and independence many papers don’t allow.

One of my favorite aspects of how CT Examiner operates is that reporters aren’t siloed into covering beats or specific towns. While we all have areas of interest that we focus on – I am always looking to write about energy – we recognize that reality doesn’t fit neatly into different categories. 

The New London State Pier, which Cate Hewitt has been covering better than anyone, is a perfect example. It’s an issue of land use, but it also includes the offshore wind industry, questions about our energy future, and questions about public access to meetings and information.

In the same way, issues don’t fit neatly into town borders. If something is happening in East Lyme, there’s a good chance another town on the shoreline is having similar issues – whether that’s water quality, waste management, schools or turf fields. At CT Examiner, we’re not only encouraged, but expected to cross town borders when we write.

CT Examiner is not like any other paper I’ve worked at. We don’t need to fill pages and in many cases we don’t have the pressure of a tight deadline. We are dedicated to local coverage, but not in a way that obsesses over each gear turning in local government. We’re given the freedom to ask bigger questions and see how our issues connect to issues in other places.

I’m incredibly grateful to have found work at a time when that has been so challenging for so many people, and I am grateful to be back east, much closer to my family in New Jersey after spending seven years in Missouri. 

In the next year, I’m looking forward to continuing that work at the CT Examiner. I hope I’ll be introduced to a Connecticut unrestricted by COVID for the first time since I moved here in May, and I especially hope I’ll have the opportunity to meet more of you in person.

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The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 12:38AM
https://ctexaminer.com/2020/12/30/a-breath-of-fresh-air/

A Breath of Fresh Air - CT Examiner

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

‘Fresh Prince’ Star Janet Hubert Slams Lori Loughlin After Prison Release - TMZ

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The OG Aunt Viv is pissed ... this time she's taking aim at Lori Loughlin, claiming Hollywood's about to reward her -- after a super light prison sentence -- simply because Lori's white.

"Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star Janet Hubert's been railing against Lori ever since the actress got out of federal prison on Monday ... after serving just under 2 months for her role in the college admissions scandal.

So when white actresses commit crimes they get new shows, pilots, etc. Lori Loughlin ...I assume, will get an Emmy for her time in prison. Hmmmm...oh to be white, blond, and privileged!
No thanks I would rather be bold, black, and dignified!#onlyinamerikkka pic.twitter.com/TW52HIWhVz

— Janet Hubert (@OGJanetHubert) December 28, 2020 @OGJanetHubert

Following Lori's release, Janet went nuclear ... saying white actresses get new shows and pilots when they commit crimes, and predicted Lori "will get an Emmy for her time in prison."

Janet summed up her disgust with the hashtag #onlyinamerikkka.

Janet's still fuming ... on Wednesday, she compared Lori's 2-month sentence to the 5-year sentence handed down to Tanya McDowell, the Black mother who was punished for sending her kid to the wrong school district.

Remember ... Lori and her husband, Mossimo, entered guilty pleas after prosecutors accused them of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters into USC.

Janet insists her anger isn't just because she's Black ... she added, "there are many white parents who are pissed as well."

After years of attacking Will Smith -- a beef they squashed during the recent 'Fresh Prince' reunion -- it looks like Janet's got a new nemesis.

The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 02:56AM
https://www.tmz.com/2020/12/30/fresh-prince-janet-hubert-slaims-lori-loughlin-prison-college-admissions-scandal-white-privilege/

‘Fresh Prince’ Star Janet Hubert Slams Lori Loughlin After Prison Release - TMZ

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

No fresh Dungeness crab for New Year’s Eve as Bay Area fleets push for better prices - San Francisco Chronicle

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Thanksgiving. Christmas. And now New Year’s Eve.

Bay Area households will again miss out on Dungeness crab for a major holiday as local fleets continue negotiating for higher wholesale prices. The commercial Dungeness crab season was set to begin on Dec. 23, but local fleets chose not to work the waters because they said the wholesale prices they were being offered weren’t enough to justify them spending money on fuel, insurance, bait and boat maintenance.

For more than a decade, wholesale prices for Dungness crab have hovered at around $2.50 to $3.25 per pound. Pacific Seafood, one of the West Coast’s largest wholesale buyers of Dungeness crab, offered boats $2.25 per pound just before Christmas, when the commercial season was due to start after more than a monthlong delay to protect endangered whales in fishing zones. San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association President John Barnett said crabbers in the region want to see the price closer to $3.30.

The work stoppage isn’t just happening among San Francisco fishers. Most commercial fishermen along the coast from Monterey up to Bodega Bay are planning only to start working once the price negotiations are settled, said Mike Conroy, president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.

Conroy said the negotiations were still “about 50 to 80 cents” apart on pricing as of Tuesday evening. Both Conroy and Barnett said the negotiations look as though they could last through New Year’s Day.

“It’s their livelihoods,” Conroy said of fishers demanding better wholesale prices. “They want to find something that works and makes sense for them.”

While Pacific Seafood has been mentioned by multiple members of the Northern California fishing industry as a significant player in the ongoing negotiations, the company sent a statement to The Chronicle last week downplaying its role in the process.

“The notion that Pacific Seafood is holding up the Dungeness season is absurd,” Jon Steinman, Vice President of Processing for Pacific Seafood, said in the statement. “We have to do the best we can for our customers, our fishermen and our team members who are counting on us to run a good business and be here for this season and years to come.”

Negotiations between wholesale buyers and fishers happens nearly every year, but local fishers say the stakes are higher due to a number of recent delays and financial setbacks, including the 2015-2016 season being delayed due to the presence of domoic acid in crabs, which is a neurotoxin poisonous to humans; another delay last year due to migrating whales; a fire at Fisherman’s Wharf earlier this year; and this year’s delay to the commercial season again due to migrating whales.

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @JustMrPhillips

The Link Lonk


December 31, 2020 at 02:16AM
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/No-fresh-Dungeness-crab-for-New-Year-s-Eve-as-15836478.php

No fresh Dungeness crab for New Year’s Eve as Bay Area fleets push for better prices - San Francisco Chronicle

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Pandemic, Fresh Food Act Influencing Farm-to-School Efforts in West Virginia - Food Tank

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The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the way schools in West Virginia are sourcing local food as part of the state’s Fresh Food Act. The lessons learned through this crisis may influence how districts meet legislation benchmarks for the next five years.

In 2019 West Virginia legislature passed the Fresh Food Act (HB 2396), which mandates that state-funded institutions source five percent of their fresh produce, meat, and poultry from farmers within the state, if possible.

Currently, the rule is in a phase-in stage. Institutions must procure one percent of qualifying foods within the state or receive a waiver from the Department of Agriculture. The aim is to increase that number by one percentage point each fiscal year with a goal of meeting the five percent benchmark by fiscal year 2025.

For many institutions, making strides towards that one percent goal has been a challenge, and enforcement mechanisms have not yet been put in place. Schools, however, are ahead of the curve, according to Crescent Gallagher, Director of Communications for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. “I expect that many school districts are already meeting the [one percent] goal. Each county is different, but many of them have been working hard to source locally,” he tells Food Tank.

In light of the pandemic, farmers are thinking differently about the way they provide local food to schools. “Most of our farm to school sales is all around the salad bar, and now there’s no salad bar anywhere. There was no need for our product,” Fritz Boettner, Director of Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective explains to Food Tank. The Collective aggregates food from local farmers and conducts wholesale and retail sales.

Changes in food distribution methods—often through pre-packed boxes or to-go meals—have dramatically changed the sourcing landscape. But according to Bekki Leigh, Farm-to-School Coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Education Office of Child Nutrition, many schools are still looking to local producers to round out the meals.

Turnrow has managed to keep farm-to-school sales up by focusing on one product schools can use: apples. Abundant in the state’s eastern panhandle, he explains they do not require constant refrigeration and are easy to incorporate into to-go meal packs.

This type of single-product sourcing, however, still presents issues for Turnrow’s overarching goal, which is to help local farmers increase production and improve agricultural capacity within the state.

“If you look at our farm-to-school sales, it’s more than it’s ever been, but it’s all one product,” Boettner tells Food Tank. He explains that while apple sales have been a boon to orchardists, they aren’t doing much to increase farmers’ production or sales.

Farmers and officials hope that building on new relationships to bring more locally-sourced foods into schools will lead to more product diversity. And according to Leigh, these partnerships have the potential to continue beyond the pandemic.

The production of packaged, ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables is one avenue worth exploring, says Melinda Francis, Coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Education Office of Child Nutrition. “If we had the capacity to make that happen it would definitely be a huge hit, because it’s something that they could utilize.”

While stakeholders are still working on building relationships, the pandemic has had a positive impact on sales of local food, both direct-to-consumer and through initiatives spearheaded by food access organizations.

“Local processing facilities and farmers’ markets have doubled what they were doing last year, so we know there’s an increase in demand,” Gallagher tells Food Tank.

“The markets have changed slightly,” said Boettner, “but we were able to be resilient to that change because we had a very diverse market landscape to sell to, so when restaurants and schools dried up, retailers increased, and food access increased.”

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Content like this article is only possible because of Food Tank members. Please join today and get exclusive member benefits at FoodTank.com/Join.

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The Link Lonk


December 30, 2020 at 03:00PM
https://foodtank.com/news/2020/12/pandemic-fresh-food-act-influencing-farm-to-school-efforts-in-west-virginia/

Pandemic, Fresh Food Act Influencing Farm-to-School Efforts in West Virginia - Food Tank

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Opinion: 'The Fresh Prince' was a breath of fresh air for 2020 - DW (English)

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I wouldn't call myself a TV series person, but for obvious reasons, I've had extra time at home this year, and I've found myself compulsively drawn to one show. No, it's not Tiger King (innocent) nor Emily in Paris (guilty).

In fact, the show is actually 30 years old, but for me, it's been the perfect accompaniment to 2020: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. How could a show whose theme song begins, "Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down" fail to ring particularly true this year?

From climate change to racial justice: How far have we come?

The American family comedy ran from 1990-96 and became a smash hit, launching Will Smith's acting career. Since it debuted, it has been broadcast around world, in languages from Spanish to German to Russian.

The premise, familiar to millions, is simple: A street-smart Black teen from West Philadelphia moves out to the mansions of Bel-Air, Los Angeles, to live with his rich lawyer uncle and college professor aunt, their three kids and the sarcastically deadpan British butler.

The Banks family included Aunt Viv, Uncle Phil, their kids Carlton, Ashley and Hilary, butler Geoffrey and, of course, Will

Lifestyles clash, and conversations about Black identity ensue, as does family drama, most of it taking place in the obviously studio living room and kitchen — but hey, my life's been centered on those rooms lately, too.

Despite the show's age, its themes are universally relatable and undeniably globally relevant in 2020. Watching episodes about the inevitability of being pulled over in your car because of the color of your skin or the absence of Black history in school curricula made me ask myself how far we've really come in a year when we've seen worldwide protests against police brutality and racial profiling and for the decolonization of history. The awareness is greater, the movement is wider, but the crimes remain the same.

Uncle Phil and Will's plotlines often touched on aspects of life for African-American males in the US

Every mention by the older sister about attending climate change protests bluntly underlined how the planet's ongoing existential crisis has been drawing people to the streets for decades — even if she was primarily motivated by her social image. Today, she'd be taking protest selfies.

New meaning in the coronavirus era

Not all the show's elements have aged well, though I'm not talking about the clothes. (As a child of the 90s, I've got a soft spot for neon, denim on denim and nylon windbreakers.)

Punchlines with gay relations as the butt of the joke, backed with audience laughter, hung heavy in front of my screen. Contemporary shows can't get away with this anymore. That's a good thing. It's called progress. And in a year that's often felt stagnant, it has been important to be reminded that over the long term things can change for the better. 

DW editor Cristina Burack

Then there were the instances that resonated in a way unintended by The Fresh Prince's creators. When the grandma who just got over the flu and the uncle argue about whether she should be allowed to leave the house, I couldn't help think of similar conversations I've had with my family this year, as we — like so many others, I suspect — have struggled to balance protecting our elderly from COVID and their desires to live fulfilling lives.

And how could anyone in 1994 have known that a certain blond poofy-haired, thin-lipped real-estate mogul with a walk-on, walk-off cameo would one day go on to be US president? While The Donald's guest appearance definitely disrupted my TV break from reality, I at least got to live vicariously through the younger daughter, who yells at him, "Thank you for ruining my life." That was rather cathartic.

Long before he landed in the White House, Donald Trump found himself on the family couch next to Will Smith

It feels good to laugh

From absent fathers to life after the loss of a spouse, The Fresh Prince thoughtfully handles the heavy stuff of drama. But it's a comedy — one that doesn't take itself too seriously. It made me laugh. And I needed reasons to laugh this year, with bad news piled upon bad news.

I also needed the show's nostalgia — nostalgia for a time when I watched it with my family under one roof; for a time when George H.W. Bush was president (never thought I would write that!); and for a time when you had to haul out the VHS camcorder if you wanted to make a home video. In a year that has been, to put it mildly, a dumpster fire, indulging in such nostalgia, even if superficial, has been comforting.

The Fresh Prince is wrapping up its 30th anniversary year with a remake in the works, a sleek-looking dramatic twist on the original. I'll watch it when it comes out. But until then — or at least until Netflix Germany pulls the old series off its platform — you'll find me on my sofa re-watching the best show of 2020.

The Link Lonk


December 30, 2020 at 01:12PM
https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-the-fresh-prince-was-a-breath-of-fresh-air-for-2020/a-55975740

Opinion: 'The Fresh Prince' was a breath of fresh air for 2020 - DW (English)

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Offensive Player Rankings, Week 17: Six players who need a fresh start in 2021 - NFL.com

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It just feels like Wentz is done in Philadelphia. The organization has invested a ton of money in the former No. 2 overall pick, but the production just hasn't been there. Sure, the offensive line is banged up and a lot of his supporting cast has been in and out of the lineup over the last two seasons, but the staff has bent over backward in an effort to help Wentz, who's dealt with a number of injuries in his career, get back to his 2017 form by trying to run more plays out of shotgun and tweaking the play-calling routine. Nothing has worked, as Wentz tries to make "the play" on every down. The stark contrast of the offense's success when it's led by Jalen Hurts, as opposed to Wentz, further proves that the rookie is the future. 

The best thing for Wentz would be to move on, though it's going to be tough for him because of his lucrative contract. If something can get figured out there, Wentz has the talent and potential to revive his career somewhere new with a coaching staff that believes in him. One landing spot that comes to mind is Indianapolis, as old friend Frank Reich was the Eagles' offensive coordinator in Wentz's first two seasons. There is potential for a turnaround from Wentz, it's just not in Philly.

The Link Lonk


December 30, 2020 at 03:14AM
https://www.nfl.com/news/offensive-player-rankings-week-17-six-players-who-need-a-fresh-start-in-2021

Offensive Player Rankings, Week 17: Six players who need a fresh start in 2021 - NFL.com

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Some Minnesotans Welcome Fresh Snow With Open Arms - CBS Minnesota

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — With at least a few inches expected out of this latest round, we wondered how people were feeling about more snow.

With not as much snow predicted Tuesday afternoon and evening, and without that wild wind and ice beforehand, it seems this snowfall is highly anticipated by the winter lovers WCCO talked with.

“It’s good, I like being outdoors, I like being outside, and I like the winter,” David Ruckle said.

From those like Ruckle out taking in the beauty of the winter landscape to Mark Johnson trying his luck on the frozen water.

“Bring it on,” Johnson said.

It seemed outdoor enthusiasts were embracing all Lake Phalen has to offer this time of year.

In Minneapolis, an already snow-covered West River Parkway still kept people moving.

“Just trying to get a run in before it starts snowing,” one runner told us.

“With COVID-19 and not being able to go to the gym and experience there, more snow means more skiing,” another said.

All-in-all, a full agenda ahead as another Minnesota winter settles in.

 

More On WCCO.com:

The Link Lonk


December 30, 2020 at 05:40AM
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/12/29/some-minnesotans-welcome-fresh-snow-with-open-arms/

Some Minnesotans Welcome Fresh Snow With Open Arms - CBS Minnesota

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

'A labor of love': Ocean Beach carousel horses get fresh paint - theday.com

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New London — Jeff Mullen, owner of Action Amusements, was working on applying a third coat of paint on the saddle of the Juliana McCourt horse while using an air hockey table as a work bench Tuesday in his arcade at Ocean Beach Park in New London.

The horse was the 4-year-old Juliana McCourt's favorite and the only one she would ride when she visited the park; it was dedicated to her after she and her mother died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when flying to Disneyland.

Mullen said taking care of all his amusement rides at the park is "a labor of love." He and an employee started the repainting last Wednesday and the goal for the winter is to paint at least 15 of the carousel's 36 horses. The project will probably take six weeks to complete because more than one coat of paint will be needed, he said.

The Link Lonk


December 30, 2020 at 05:55AM
https://www.theday.com/local-news/20201229/a-labor-of-love-ocean-beach-carousel-horses-get-fresh-paint

'A labor of love': Ocean Beach carousel horses get fresh paint - theday.com

https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en