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Toronto couples left scrambling after weddings cancelled as Berkeley Events goes into receivership

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

Couples expected to get married at one of Berkeley Events’ three venues in the east end of downtown Toronto were devastated to hear the events company has gone into receivership.Tyrelle Hunt was devastated to discover her wedding at her dream venue of Berkeley Field House in just 10 days won’t be happening.Hunt’s original wedding was scheduled for May of 2020, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was cancelled. The family physician said due to the stress of working in health care during the pandemic, they decided to delay their wedding until August 12, 2023. Hunt said she didn’t receive a call from anyone from the venue but found out about the closure through a screenshot from a former VP with the company.Michael Sherman, the former VP of Berkeley Events, posted on LinkedIn that he was deeply upset and sad to hear about the sudden closure. He told CityNews he was terminated immediately like everyone else at the company.“Berkeley Events was operating e...

RioCan REIT Q2 net income rises by almost 43% from last year

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

TORONTO — RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says its second-quarter net income was almost 43 per cent higher this year than last.The Toronto-based real estate company says net income for the period ended June 30 amounted to $112 million, up from $78.5 million a year ago.It attributed the large increase to lower fair value losses on investment properties in the latest quarter.Revenue for the quarter was $276 million, down from $308.4 million a year earlier.Funds from operations totalled $131.6 million, or 44 cents per diluted unit, a slight decrease from $131.7 million a year ago, or 43 cents per diluted unit.RioCan blamed the small drop in funds from operations per unit on lower residential inventory gains and lower lease cancellation fees.RioCan’s committed occupancy rate for the quarter was 97.4 per cent, up from 97.2 per cent a year ago.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)The Canadian Press

Fargo shooter was reportedly interviewed by police about guns, propane tanks in 2022

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

The gunman who last month killed a Fargo police officer and wounded two others and a civilian reportedly admitted owning nearly a dozen guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition in a 2022 police interview following a kitchen fire at his home.Firefighters notified police after seeing guns, ammunition and propane tanks in Mohamad Barakat’s apartment, according to a report provided to The Associated Press Wednesday by the City of Fargo Fire Department.Battalion Chief Jason Ness noted what appeared to be “a significant amount of gun ammunition,” “multiple ‘assault style’ rifles,” a 20-pound propane cylinder in a bedroom, a second smaller propane cylinder in the kitchen, and “a funnel, blender, and other items that looked to be for measuring purposes” in his report on the Sept. 6, 2022 fire. “FPD determined everything was legal with the gun collection,” Ness wrote. “The individual admitted to owning approximately 10 guns and 6,000 rounds of ammunition. My decision to r...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife, Sophie, announce separation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, have announced they are separating after 18 years of marriage.The couple were married in Montreal on May 28, 2005 and have three children together.The Prime Minister’s office released a statement confirming the separation.“Sophie and the Prime Minister have signed a legal separation agreement. They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward.“They remain a close family and Sophie and the Prime Minister are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment. Both parents will be a constant presence in their children’s lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together.”The statement concludes by announcing that the family will be vacationing together next week.On her Instagram page, Sophie also addressed the separation, saying the decision ca...

Amazon begins offering grocery delivery for customers who are not Prime members

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon has begun offering its Fresh grocery delivery service to customers who aren’t Prime members. The initial rollout will only be available in a dozen cities, including Boston, Phoenix, Dallas and San Francisco, the company told customers Wednesday in an emailed announcement. Previously, Amazon had only offered grocery deliveries for Prime members, who pay $139 a year for faster shipping and other perks. Non-Prime members who’re interested in trying out the service will pay $13.95 for deliveries under $50. That’s $4 more than Prime members have to pay for the same order size. Deliveries for orders between $50 and $100 will cost $10.95, and orders over $100 will incur a $7.95 fee. The company said pick-up orders are free from select metro areas. Amazon operates 44 Fresh grocery stores across the country, most of which are located in California, Illinois, Virginia and Washington state. It also operates more than 20 cashier-free convenience stores in the U.S. under t...

Lighthouse featured in ‘Forrest Gump’ goes dark after lightning strike

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

PORT CLYDE, Maine (AP) — Lightning has knocked out a lighthouse on the Maine coast that was featured in the movie “Forrest Gump.”The Marshall Point lighthouse, established in 1832, has been dark since Thursday when a lightning strike took out the light and foghorn, and damaged the associated circuitry, said Nat Lyon, director of the Marshall Point Lighthouse and Museum.“It fried everything. It fried the light, the circuit breakers, the foghorn,” Lyon said Wednesday. “At this point we have a lightless lighthouse until the Coast Guard can effect the repairs.”A tenant living in the keeper’s house reported a “tremendous crash” and noticed the light was out after the lightning strike, Lyon said. Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor, which is responsible for the navigational aid, removed the light for repairs on Monday and is still working on getting the foghorn working, he said. The Coast Guard didn’t respond to messages from The Associated Press.The lightho...

Greece plans hourly caps on visitors to ancient Acropolis and will let in up to 20,000 daily

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Visits to the Acropolis of Athens, Greece’s most popular archaeological site, will be capped starting next month at a maximum 20,000 daily and subject to varying hourly entry limits, the Greek government said Wednesday.Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the controls are needed to prevent bottlenecks and overcrowding at the UNESCO World Heritage site. As many as 23,000 people a day have been squeezing into the monument complex, mostly large groups visiting before noon.“That’s a huge number,” Mendoni said in an interview with the Real FM radio network. “Obviously tourism is desirable for the country, for all of us. But we must work out how excessive tourism won’t harm the monument.”The new entry limits will be implemented on a trial basis from Sept. 4, and will come permanently into effect from April 1 2024, the minister said. There will be no limit on how long visits may last, although Mendoni said people who come with organized tours or from c...

Court rules Austin short-term rental ordinance unconstitutional

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A federal judge ruled Tuesday in a lawsuit against the City of Austin for its short-term rental (STR) ordinance, which a Houston couple said unfairly prevented them from listing their Austin property, according to court documents.The ruling from Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra granted plaintiffs Robert and Roberta Anding's motion for summary judgement, and rejected the City's motion to dismiss the Anding's claims.“The City is disappointed with the ruling and is evaluating how best to regulate short-term rentals going forward," a City of Austin spokesperson said. Austin’s crackdown on unlicensed short-term rentals loses steam due to legal questions Ezra's full ruling can be read below:show_temp.pl_DownloadThe Andings, who are Houston residents, acquired a six-bedroom property next to Lake Austin in 2014 with the intent of operating it as a STR. In 2016, the City of Austin issued an ordinance that prohibited non-residents from listing properties in such a...

Specialized therapy team for at-risk youth coming to Hays County

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) --- Hays County will welcome a specialized response team to support at-risk youth. According to a press release by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, the new Multisystemic Therapy (MST) team is a family and community-based treatment for at-risk youth from 12 to 17 years old. "It has proven most effective for treating youth who have committed or are at risk of committing violent offenses, have serious mental health or substance abuse concerns, are at risk of out-of-home placement, and have experienced abuse and neglect," the release read. The team is funded through part of the state's $105.5 million response to the Uvalde school shooting. RELATED COVERAGE: One year after Uvalde shooting, fight for transparency and accountability beats on $4.7 million was included to fund seven new MST teams across the state. The seven new MST teams include: Hill Country MHDD (Uvalde, Comal, Hays Counties)Bluebonnet Trails Community Services (Guadalupe, Caldwell a...

The Rio Grande's new reality: Kayaking through Operation Lone Star

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

EAGLE PASS, Texas (Nexstar) -- Life on the river is not as it once was. As Jessi Fuentes sets his kayak free in the Rio Grande, he's struck by the abrupt entrapment of his favorite pastime - the river, once free-flowing and free for all to access, now outfitted like the outer walls of a prison.The banks are bogged in mud, and the Carrizo cane is uprooted for concertina wire. Its razors are strewn with torn T-shirts, perhaps the only thing their one-time owners had on their backs before they surrendered to state troopers.Fuentes said it looked like Texas was fortifying for an army to invade."For me, it hurts," he said. "We live and die by how this river flows. If people don't take care of it, everybody's gonna suffer."Nexstar received special access to join Fuentes on a kayaking excursion down the river, which is now closed to the public as the state ramps up border security efforts under Operation Lone Star. The goal: reach the buoy barriers. Governor Greg Abbott ordered the thousan...