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Austin Public Library's puppetry program delights audiences for 45 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On a recent Wednesday morning at the Austin Public Library's Howson Branch, the sound of delighted squeals could be heard from the dozens of children gathered in the library's meeting room. For 30 minutes, the wide-eyed onlookers were transported into the world of "Wiley and the Hairy Man," a Southern folktale told through puppetry. How did ‘Texas, Our Texas’ become the official state song? For more than 45 years, APL's Literature Live! has sprinkled the magic and wonder of puppetry into APL's youth programming. Ellen Scott, Devo Carpenter and Gabriel Ransenberg are the three puppeteer masterminds behind "Wiley and the Hairy Man," with multiple performances planned throughout the spring."It's magic, you know?" Scott said. "It suspends your disbelief and kids, more than adults, can do that at the drop of a hat."The challenge behind creating a puppet show is navigating the millions of ways the stories can be told, each said. From a script-writing standpoint, Carpente...

What do ‘immersive experiences’ say about the future of entertainment?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

CHICAGO — We live in “the experience culture.”That’s what David Barbour calls it. He’s editor-in-chief of Lighting & Sound America, the monthly trade publication of the entertainment technology industry. Barbour sees no more conspicuous example of that culture, and our ever-theme-parkier menu of experiences for a price, than the multi-projection exhibits like “Immersive Van Gogh,” one of many Van Gogh attractions now playing around the world. Audiences pay their money for a bone-dry swim in an ocean of digital projections and swirly images from famous paintings accustomed to being still.Moving digital images at Lighthouse ArtSpace as the “Immersive Van Gogh” exhibit is previewed in Chicago on Feb. 9, 2021. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS)“Immersive Van Gogh” recently concluded a two-year run engagement at Chicago’s shrewdly renovated and reconfigured Germania Club Building, built in 1889 and located in Old Town. More than 650,000 people paid to see that exhibit. Now...

Nanda: Arrest warrant for Putin is first step to justice for Ukraine’s victims

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

The International Criminal Court’s groundbreaking arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin should not be dismissed as merely symbolic. It is a historical first step and an important one toward accountability and justice for Ukrainian victims.The actual indictment on the current charge of war crimes in Ukraine has yet to follow, as well as likely further charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. Prosecutor Karim Khan said, “We will not hesitate to submit further applications for warrants of arrest when the evidence requires us to do.”A panel of ICC Judges granted the prosecutor’s request for warrants, saying that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, bear individual criminal responsibility for “unlawful deportation [and] unlawful transfer of children” from the occupied territories and that Putin also bears individual responsibility for his failure to exercise control over...

Meet the people being priced out of Denver as surging housing costs outpace wage growth

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

Gustavo Navarrete Hernández spends his working days installing insulation in Denver’s luxury homes before catching a bus back to his modest apartment off South Federal Boulevard, where he and his family face have faced eviction after falling behind on rent.His three youngest children sleep huddled for warmth in the living room surrounded by space heaters after an ongoing battle with their landlord to fix a broken heater.“I have worked on the nicest apartments, and it makes me sad that I cannot afford one,” Navarrete Hernández said. “I work hard, and I haven’t done anything wrong.”Navarrete Hernández, his pregnant wife and their children sought refuge in Denver a decade ago, fleeing a homeless shelter in the Bay Area where they had lived when unable to keep up with increasing rent. They were headed to Florida, where they have family, but stopped in Denver so Navarrete Hernández could earn enough money for the rest of the journey. They never left.No...

In test of Colorado law, two lawsuits seek to hold school districts responsible for failing to stop bullying

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

Amber Harford’s son was in gym class at his Grand Junction middle school when a group of students attacked him. One of his classmates struck the 13-year-old on the back of his head so hard he fell to the ground and vomited.Less than a month later, another student hit Harford’s son more than 27 times in Orchard Mesa Middle School’s hallway, causing his head to bleed and swell.His injuries were so severe that the teen — who is not being identified because he is a minor — lost the ability to use his mouth and became unable to talk in the weeks after the attack. He was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, which causes paralysis on one side of the face, Harford alleged in a lawsuit filed against Mesa County Valley School District 51 in October.The assaults, which occurred in the fall of 2020, are among a string of bullying incidents the boy faced at school dating back to 2018 that employees failed to stop, the lawsuit alleges. Harford is suing the school district in one of at least t...

Colorado high school baseball players to watch in Class 3A, 4A, 5A in 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

With the prep baseball season underway across the state, here’s a look at top players to watch in Class 3A, 4A and 5A this year.Class 3AEaton Sr. INF Walker Martin, Eaton Sr. P/1B Tate Smith, Eaton Sr. UTL Ryder True, Bruce Randolph Jr. P/3B Pedro Carillo, Bayfield Sr. 1B Noah Chamblee, Pagosa Springs Sr. INF/P Kaison Clifford, La Junta Jr. SS/P Luke Garner, North Fork Sr. UTL Yandel Guereque, Alamosa Sr. INF/P Kade Jones, The Academy Sr. INF/P Corbin Miller, The Classical Academy Sr. 1B/P Vinny Miller, Faith Christian Sr. UTL Isaac Olson, Colorado Academy So. OF Jordan Reiter, Coal Ridge Jr. 3B/P Alexis Serna, Kent Denver Sr. 1B/P Aiden Shipman, Coal Ridge So. 1B/P Ben Simons, Delta Sr. OF/P Braeden Sprout, Bayfield Sr. C Nic Twedt, Eaton Jr. P/INF Mitch Haythorn.Class 4APalisade Sr. C Brett Rozman, D’Evelyn Sr. P Tate Aurich, D’Evelyn Sr. UTL Colin Kim, Erie Sr. P/1B/OF Ethan Dillinger, Cheyenne Mountain Sr. 2B/P Ben Myers, Erie Sr. INF Holden Pantier, Pueblo Cen...

Post Premium: Top stories for the week of March 20-26

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

Gustavo Navarrete Hernández spends his working days installing insulation in Denver’s luxury homes before catching a bus back to his modest apartment off South Federal Boulevard, where he and his family face have faced eviction after falling behind on rent.His three youngest children sleep huddled for warmth in the living room surrounded by space heaters after an ongoing battle with their landlord to fix a broken heater.“I have worked on the nicest apartments, and it makes me sad that I cannot afford one,” Navarrete Hernández said. “I work hard, and I haven’t done anything wrong.”Navarrete Hernández, his pregnant wife and their children sought refuge in Denver a decade ago, fleeing a homeless shelter in the Bay Area where they had lived when unable to keep up with increasing rent. They were headed to Florida, where they have family, but stopped in Denver so Navarrete Hernández could earn enough money for the rest of the journey. They never left.No...

“Apparently, we’re too stupid”: Colorado mayors blast Gov. Jared Polis-backed plan to regulate local zoning codes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

Mayors from several Colorado cities criticized Gov. Jared Polis’ sweeping land-use reform bill Thursday as state overreach, with some floating lawsuits to block what they describe as infringement on local control.“I think that’s something that cities and the (Colorado Municipal League) would certainly have to consider because local control is sacred,” said Arvada Mayor Marc Williams. “I really see this as the camel’s nose into the tent. So I think we have to be aggressive in our opposition.”The Colorado Municipal League, which represents the state’s cities and towns, has publicly declared its intent to fight any land-use reform for months. When the measure — which would significantly reshape single-family zoning in a bid to increase density and middle-housing stock — was unveiled Wednesday, the league’s executive director called it “breathtaking overreach.”Polis, legislative leaders and the broad coalition of ho...

Antisemitism in Italy stays out of politics, yet 'endures' within the country

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

It is certainly one of the best times in history for relations between Italy and Israel, as there is no longer any antisemitic or even anti-Zionist political forces in the Italian Parliament -writes Alessandro Bertoldi in The Jerusalem Post.It is certainly one of the best times in history for relations between Italy and Israel, as confirmed by PM Netanyahu's recent visit to Rome, followed by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani's visit to Israel. The meeting between Netanyahu and PM Georgia Meloni went very well. The two, in addition to being the government leaders of two friendly countries close to each other, are also political allies in the conservative field. Italy and Israel have revived economic cooperation, and after 11 years, there will be a new bilateral intergovernmental meeting. Netanyahu has also announced that he intends to export gas to Europe through Italy.The other good news is that there are no longer any antisemitic or even anti-Zionist political forces in the I...

Monterey spent one-fifth what Santa Cruz did on Pajaro River flood control. Did that contribute to catastrophic levee break?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:48 GMT

Twelve miles of levees were built to hold back the Pajaro River — a waterway with Monterey County on one side, Santa Cruz County on the other. But a Bay Area News Group review reveals there had been significantly less flood control work on the south bank where the levee failed this month, catastrophically flooding the small farming town of Pajaro, than along the north bank, where the city of Watsonville escaped a similar fate.That may help explain why the nearly 75-year-old south levee crumbled March 11, despite the river never rising to levels historically associated with disastrous floods — or even topping flood stage.It could almost be called the Tale of Two Levees.Because the river forms the border between the two counties, flood control work — including levee maintenance like tree and vegetation removal, rodent control and slope rehabilitation — has historically been done by separate agencies that devoted vastly different resources to the upkeep, the new...