| An unparalleled yachting adventure begins at the end of the ...
A green glass oasis glittering on the hem of the Pacific sheltered by the broad shoulders of the Coast Mountains, the City of Glass wins legions of admirers for its stunning geography, mild climate, and resulting bounty of outdoor opportunities. Vancouver might be lacking in big-city bustle, but it's no slouch when it comes to picking up the pace. In summer, pine-scented mountain air and ocean breezes cool fit, active Vancouverites as they cast off their Gore-Tex and pelt along Stanley Park's trails, Rollerblade the Sea Wall, trek North Shore canyons, heli-hike nearby mountains and skimboard Jericho Beach. When the sun is out, it's a city always on the go. Founded as the sawmill settlement of Granville in the 1870s, archeological evidence traces the area's appeal back to at least 500 B.C., when coastal Indians made their home by the waters of the Georgia Strait.
Recent sources agree: The old folks are at home in Tallahassee
Once a sleepy southern town, Tallahassee has reinvented itself over the years as a growing educational and political center. But the community's recent recognition as a senior-friendly place by at least two national magazines - and by the state of Florida - has put the spotlight on the retirees who come here for its quality of life. .
Crashes Leave 2 Dead, 1 Facing Charges
TAMPA - Lucia "Lucy" Thibodeaux was a typical teenager. The 16-year-old Alonso High School freshman sang in the school chorus and lived to hang out at the mall with her friends on the weekends. "She loved to go shoe shopping," said her older sister, Nicole. "Oh, my God, she had every pair of Jordans." Late Saturday night, Lucy hopped into a two-door, 2000 model Honda belonging to a friend of a friend. She didn't know him that well, but because his car was low-slung, he could only carry one passenger. A load of people in Pedro Quinones silver car would cause it to bottom out. Lucy's friends got into other cars and they all headed west on the Courtney Campbell Parkway. Robert Lee Kolp also was westbound on the causeway that night, a few seconds behind Quinones.
In the caverns of the new theater at Westfield Garden State Plaza ...
Curious to know what type of structures are being erected inside the mammoth theater building at Westfield Garden State Plaza Shopping Center, I made a special request to GSP Manager, Philip St. Pierre and Marketing Manager Lisa Herrmann. They obliged coordinating with a pre-benefit tour along with Teri Duda, a woman of many hats, but in this case, in addition to the hard hat she had to wear, Teri was representing the Paramus Cultural Council. Westfield is planning a black tie benefit the night before the grand opening with proceeds benefiting the Paramus Cultural Council.
Donning our hard hats, we proceeded underground to the surrounding fence. Before entering, GSP Manager St. Pierre admonished us to keep our eyes down since we were entering a construction area that was unsafe for regular passage.
Playground of the rich and richer
The day I arrive in Malibu, locals are fretting over the high fire risk brought on by the warm, dry Santa Ana winds. Still half-frozen from single-digit temperatures in Chicago, I struggle to summon sympathy but fail. Instead, I spend the next three days exulting in the dry warmth and suppressing pangs of guilt over my unprincipled fondness for the weather. (A month after my visit, a Santa Ana-fueled wildfire destroyed five homes along Malibu Road, causing some $60 million in damage.)
It helps, when visiting Malibu, to be gifted in the art of guilt-suppression, or, at the very least, comfortable with the practice of reality-avoidance. This is, after all, a 27-mile stretch of almost unbearably beautiful and ecologically delicate coastline, lined with unspeakably expensive mansions, dotted with shopping malls hawking $80 T-shirts, populated by unreasonably wealthy people with little or no taste and less wealthy people with more taste but less power.
Bowling alley not spared
EAST BRUNSWICK When East Brunswick resident Don Versace heard that Mid State Lanes was set to close for good on May 6, he said it felt like a combination of losing a job as well as a second home.
"As the news sunk in even further it was like, "Aw, man, I'm not going to see these people anymore,' " said Versace. "I'd come over here and have another family of friends. There was a camaraderie here. This was like the neighborhood meeting place, people would come here not even to bowl just to hang out and see who's here." According to James Long, district manager of AMF Bowling Centers, which has operated the facility since 1997, exhaustive negotiations for a new lease broke down with the landlord, Mid State Hye. Long, who was not involved in negotiations, said he heard rumors a health club will replace the lanes, which have been in operation since 1958.
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