City News

Mesa: Infant found in hot car at Mesa mall dies, becoming first Arizona hot-car death this year

Mesa: Infant found in hot car at Mesa mall dies, becoming first Arizona hot-car death this year

Miguel Torres | Monica D. Spencer | Arizona Republic Troy Warren for MesaNewsAndTalk.Com   An infant died after being left in a hot parked car outside a Mesa mall on Saturday afternoon, said police. At approximately 1:30 p.m., officers responded to a call about a 7-month-old boy not breathing outside a JCPenney at Superstition Springs Center, located near the U.S. 60 and Power Road. When they arrived, they discovered the infant had been left alone inside a parked car that was not running, according to authorities. Fire crews attempted resuscitation and transported the infant to a local hospital, but he later died. Officers learned the boy's…
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Hollywood: The Thompson Hotel Makes Hollywood Debut

Hollywood: The Thompson Hotel Makes Hollywood Debut

BY URAL GARRETT | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for HollywoodNewsAndTalk.Com #Lifestyle #Travel The 11-story hotel includes 190 guest rooms, a restaurant helmed by chef Lincoln Carson and a rooftop bar and pool: "We stepped up our game in sophistication." Relevant Group, developer of Hollywood’s Dream Hotel, is betting big on the neighborhood, which suffered from a loss of tourism during the pandemic. In recent weeks, though, the area has seen pedestrian activity reach 80 percent of pre-lockdown numbers and saw hotel occupancy rise 50 percent in second quarter 2021 compared to first quarter. Now, Relevant is launching its second Hollywood hotel, the Thompson (1541 Wilcox Ave., thompsonhotels.com),…
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Phoenix: This is how Arizona colleges and universities plan to tackle COVID-19, given state limitations

Phoenix: This is how Arizona colleges and universities plan to tackle COVID-19, given state limitations

Alison Steinbach | Arizona Republic Troy Warren for PhoenixNewsAndTalk.Com #COVID-19   As Arizona universities and colleges get ready to welcome students back for the fall semester, they also face a challenge: How to combat COVID-19 on campus while complying with the state's rules that restrict their methods. Schools like Arizona State University had planned to require masks and twice-weekly tests for unvaccinated students, but the governor and lawmakers barred them from taking such action. Now, the public universities are focusing their efforts on encouraging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine byraffling off prizes like scholarship money, gift cards and show tickets and by making vaccines…
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Atlanta: Dennis Quaid shooting faith-based ‘On A Wing and a Prayer’ in Georgia

Atlanta: Dennis Quaid shooting faith-based ‘On A Wing and a Prayer’ in Georgia

By Rodney Ho, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Troy Warren for AtlantaNewsAndTalk.Com The shoot is scheduled to start Sept. 13 Dennis Quaid is coming to Georgia next month to star in a faith-based film called “On a Wing and a Prayer.” Production for the modestly budgeted movie by Lightworkers Media is scheduled to begin Sept. 13 and runs through Oct. 19. In the film, a small-town pilot dies unexpectedly while flying a plane, forcing passenger Doug White (Quaid) to land the plane safely in order to save his entire family. The film was written by Brian Egeston, with Roma Downey (”Touched by an Angel”)…
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Austin: Soho House’s First Texas Outpost and 4 More New Hotspots to Check Out in Austin

Austin: Soho House’s First Texas Outpost and 4 More New Hotspots to Check Out in Austin

BY LAURIE BROOKINS | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for AustinNewsAndTalk.Com #RealEstate  Spurred by "so many of our members moving there," the private club just opened in the Texas capital. SOHO HOUSE The members-only social club known for drawing stars to its splashy locations in L.A., London and New York has chosen Austin for its first Texas outpost. Situated between downtown and South Austin, the club opened in June with amenities that include 46 hotel rooms, a rooftop pool (above), a screening room and restaurant. “It was an obvious city for us — so many of our members were moving there from the West…
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Phoenix: Official – Phoenix Suns re-sign Chris Paul, Cameron Payne

Phoenix: Official – Phoenix Suns re-sign Chris Paul, Cameron Payne

Duane Rankin | Arizona Republic Troy Warren for PhoenixNewsAndTalk.Com   Phoenix Suns begin officially announcing their free agent signings with the biggest one. Chris Paul. The Suns and the 11-time NBA All-Star have a agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $120 million, league sources informed The Republic on Monday when teams could begin negotiating with free agents. Paul declined a $44.2-million player option to become an unrestricted free agent, thus leading to the 16-year veteran agreeing to a multiyear contract. In his first season in Phoenix a trade with Oklahoma City, Paul led the Suns to the NBA Finals…
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Mesa: 3 years later, no word on Justice Department inquiries into Mesa Police Department

Mesa: 3 years later, no word on Justice Department inquiries into Mesa Police Department

Joshua Bowling | Arizona Republic Troy Warren for MesaNewsAndTalk.Com   Three years before the U.S. Department of Justice would open an investigation into the Phoenix Police Department, the feds launched a pair of probes into a fatal shooting and three use-of-force cases in the Mesa Police Department. There's no word on where those investigations stand. The probe in Phoenix — much like recent ones opened in Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky — is focused on systemic issues, investigating a "pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution or federal law." The Mesa investigations were much more narrow, focused on specific officers and use-of-force cases, Arizona Police Association Executive…
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Phoenix: Arizona state senator accused of sexual conduct with minor

Phoenix: Arizona state senator accused of sexual conduct with minor

By The Associated Press Troy Warren for PhoenixNewsAndTalk.Com PHOENIX — Democratic Arizona state Sen. Tony Navarrete has been arrested on suspicion of charges accusing him of sexual conduct with a minor, police said Friday. Police received a report Wednesday about sexual contact that allegedly occurred in 2019. Navarrete, who represents a west Phoenix district, was arrested Thursday after detectives interviewed a juvenile victim and witnesses, police said in a statement. Navarrete, 35, was booked into jail on suspicion of charges that included multiple counts of sexual conduct with a minor, the statement said. Navarrete did not immediately respond to email and…
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Austin: Why I Left Hollywood for Austin

Austin: Why I Left Hollywood for Austin

BY BECCA TOBIN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for AustinNewsAndTalk.Com Becca Tobin, who stars in the new Disney+ series 'Turner & Hooch,' explains why she traded Laurel Canyon for the Texas burbs: "People now realize that life is short." In the middle of the pandemic, I was living in Los Angeles when my husband and I formed a pod with two of our other really close friends — Jamie-Lynn Sigler and her husband, Cutter Dykstra, and Haylie Duff and her husband, Matt Rosenberg. We had been chatting about how we’ve been able to do all our work remotely and were getting fatigued…
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Austin: How Austin Has Undergone a Pandemic Influx From Hollywood: “Growth on a Turbocharger”

Austin: How Austin Has Undergone a Pandemic Influx From Hollywood: “Growth on a Turbocharger”

BY JAMES HIBBERD | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for AustinNewsAndTalk.Com  As stars like Stephen Amell and Zachary Levi flock to the Texas capital, median home prices have risen a stunning 43 percent in one year in the "cool," "friendly" city: "I've just been waiting for the secret to get out," says Matthew McConaughey. “It’s absolutely insane,” marvels Jared Padalecki. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s growth and expansion on a turbocharger. You’re just going like … whoa.” That the Walker actor might struggle a bit to express the seismic changes to Austin over the past year is perfectly understandable. The Texas capital has undergone…
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