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Six Flags, Knott's Berry Farm owner will merge to create amusement park giant

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

Cedar Fair, the owner of Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, and Six Flags are merging to create an expansive amusement park operator with operations spread across 17 U.S. states and three countries. The combined company, worth more than $3.5 billion, will boast 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It will also have entertainment partnerships and a portfolio of intellectual property including Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts. Amusement parks have seen an uptick in revenue but have struggled to raise attendance since the pandemic, even as other entertainment sectors have bounced back. A tie-up between two huge players is expected to at least lower costs. Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain seen in this undated photo (Six Flags)Cedar Fair reported an attendance of 12.4 million guests in its third quarter, a 1% increase from a year earlier. Six Flags, which owns Magic Mountain in Valencia and Discovery Kingdom in the S...

Jacob Levinrad: The Digital Visionary Behind a Business Empire

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

In a digital age where entrepreneurs are emerging at every corner, some stories stand out, not just for the success achieved but for the journey undertaken. One such inspirational tale is that of Jacob Levinrad, the man behind a triumvirate of thriving businesses.Jacob’s beginnings were far from conventional. As a high school dropout, his path to success began in the world of Shopify drop-shipping. Fast forward to today, and he oversees a versatile e-commerce brand, an innovative ad agency, and an e-learning company that’s changing the game.“Most of what I’ve accomplished was through learning from my mistakes,” Jacob mused during our recent sit-down. This very philosophy birthed his e-learning initiative. “With so many reaching out for advice and guidance, I saw an opportunity to coach and mentor,” he explained. His e-learning platform isn’t just another online course – it’s a journey Jacob takes alongside his students, ensuring ...

King Matta: The Hip-Hop Phenomenon Lighting Up the Stage and Charts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

In the pulsating heart of the American music scene, a blazing star has emerged. At just 26 years old, Matthew Alexander Bell, professionally known as “King Matta,” is igniting the hip-hop universe with a fervor that’s both awe-inspiring and irresistible.King Matta’s meteoric rise began in 2021 with an explosive debut that sent shockwaves through the industry. Teaming up with the acclaimed artist Tyler Lepley, his inaugural single, “Make it Work,” was more than a song; it was a proclamation.This track didn’t just enter the scene; it crashed through the gates, securing a formidable spot among the top 100 on the iTunes HipHop / Rap chart. It was a bold announcement of a new contender on the hip-hop horizon, showcasing raw talent that promised much more to come.But King Matta is no one-hit wonder.He swiftly followed up with the irresistibly infectious “DropDat,” a track that not only solidified his status as a musical juggernaut but ...

Phranc’s Queer Cardboard Fashion Sense

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

A butch lesbian who came out early and with gusto; a singer/songwriter who started out a punk legend but embraced a more progressive folk; a sculptor with a gift for transforming paper and cardboard into charming, meaningful objects—Phranc is a rebellious spirit with a taste for the retro and nostalgic. A new exhibition at Craig Krull Gallery (Bergamot Station) examines the artist, musician, and one-time Tupperware Lady’s 40-year archive of multidisciplinary gestures of affection and activism.Phranc: Shirt & Tie, 2022 Kraft paper, gouache, thread, 33 x 35 x 3 in (Courtesy of Craig Krull Gallery)The Butch Closet aligns Phranc’s parallel pursuits in music and art, beginning from her twin stories of influence—studying at the Feminist Studio Workshop at The Woman’s Building in the mid-70s, while simultaneously cutting a major figure in the Los Angeles punk scene—and offering a more thorough examination of the overarching garment motif that continues to express in her visual art to t...

A starfish’s body is ‘a head crawling along the seafloor’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

By Ashley Strickland | CNNThe heads of most animals are easily identifiable, but scientists haven’t been able to say the same for sea stars until now.A starfish has five identical arms with a layer of “tube feet” beneath them that can help the marine creature move along the seafloor, causing naturalists to puzzle over whether sea stars have defined front and back ends — and if they have heads at all.But new genetic research suggests the opposite — that sea stars are largely heads that lack torsos or tails and likely lost those features evolutionarily over time.The researchers said the bizarre fossils of sea star ancestors, which appeared to have a kind of torso, make a lot more sense in evolutionary terms in light of the new findings.The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.“It’s as if the sea star is completely missing a trunk, and is best described as just a head crawling along the seafloor,” said lead study author Laurent Formery, postdoctoral scholar at Stanfo...

How the Michigan scandal could impact Pac-12 football, and what it says about the future of the sport

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

Although unprecedented in nature and riveting in detail, the Michigan sign-stealing controversy is unfolding thousands of miles from the Pac-12 footprint and easy for fans to follow on merely a cursory basis.After all, the conference’s only known connection to the spy ring is largely immaterial: Connor Stalions, Michigan’s suspended analyst, purchased tickets to the Oregon-Washington game last season in Eugene. (He then transferred the seats, which were on the visiting side of the stadium, to another individual.)While the Big Ten roils and NCAA investigators descend on Ann Arbor, the Pac-12 collectively has a playoff berth to secure, a Heisman Trophy to win, a legal battle to resolve and transition plans to make.There’s no reason for stakeholders to concern themselves with the actions of a disgraced analyst for a football program in another conference.Or is the Michigan mess worth more than a glance at the latest headlines?The Hotline is here to offer a counter-narrative: There’s a ...

Green Day announce huge concert lineup for latest stadium tour

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

Green Day has announced a massive 2024 tour.And the East Bay act — featuring Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool — will have some mighty cool company for the road show, with Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas signed up as the support acts in North America and Nothing But Thieves, The Hives, Donots, The Interrupters and Maid of Ace setting the table in the United Kingdom and Europe.Green Day’s The Saviors Tour — in support of the soon-to-released album of the same name — begins its North American run on July 29 at Nationals Park in Washington, DC and includes a stop in San Francisco.The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is set to perform Sept. 20 at the home of the San Francisco Giants — Oracle Park.“We’ve never been more excited to unleash new music than with Saviors, a record that’s meant to be rocked live, together. So let’s thrash. We’ve got some amazing friends who are coming along for the ride!” Green Day said in a news release...

Best Online Slots to Play in 2023: Top 10 Real Money Slot Sites with High RTPs

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

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'Large-scale' forgery operation busted in Pleasanton

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

(KRON) -- A “large-scale” ID theft and forgery operation was uncovered by the Pleasanton Police Department last week as they assisted the United States Marshals Service in arresting a wanted fugitive at their Pleasanton home, authorities said Thursday. According to Pleasanton PD, the victims of the forgery operation are throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.Police officers recovered two unregistered firearms, over a kilo of cocaine and around $3,000 in cash during the arrest, Pleasanton PD said. Suspects at large after Piedmont armed robbery The suspect was taken into custody.

Convicted Oakland doctor facing 30 years in prison for health care fraud, kickback schemes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:31:11 GMT

(BCN) -- A doctor in Oakland is facing up to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of accepting kickbacks for patient referrals, health care fraud, and false statements relating to health care, federal prosecutors said.A jury convicted Henry Geoffrey Watson of 25 counts of various fraud charges for engaging in three health care kickback schemes from 2013 to 2019 while being a licensed medical doctor, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement Wednesday.One of the schemes the 67-year-old Watson was involved in was agreeing to refer patients to home health agency Amity Home Health Care in exchange for illegal kickback payments.Prosecutors said Watson and employees of Amity and its CEO, Amanda Singh, conspired to pay the doctor regular and recurring amounts, sometimes in the form of cash payments of $3,000 a month, to ensure that he referred Medicare patients to Amity each month.Watson also accepted kickback payments from an undercover ...