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Dear Abby: How can I light a fire under the poky tradespeople in my new town?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I moved to a smaller city from a larger one seven years ago. There are fewer businesses here.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I think she meant to humiliate me at her child’s birthday party Advice | Dear Abby: My mother-in-law hit my kids, and I’m being pressured to reconcile Advice | Dear Abby: I want to have a talk with my wife’s co-worker, but she says she’s handling it Advice | Dear Abby: Am I awful for living well while my daughter flounders? Advice | Dear Abby: My husband is desperate for women’s attention, and I don’t know what to do I often struggle to get home repairs done because people here operate on “regional time,” meaning they get to stuff when they feel like it, if they feel like doing it at all.Some of my home repairs had to wait nine to 12 months, in spite of weekly or biweekly follow-ups to check the status of repairs and pa...

These homes were in the week of Dec. 11 best deals for Los Gatos

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

A condo in Los Gatos that sold for $167,000, is the most affordable real estate sale in Los Gatos in the past week.For comparison, the overall average price of real estate in Los Gatos during the last week was $2 million. The average price per square foot ended up at $918. A total of 9 home sales were recorded for the period with an average square footage of 2,216 square feet, 2 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms.The list below includes the best deals on real estate priced between $10-$10,000,000.Please note that the prices in the list below are for real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of Dec. 11, even if the property may have been sold earlier.9. $4.5 million, single-family residence in the 18400 block of Daves Ave.The 2,892 square-foot single-family home in the 18400 block of Daves Ave., Monte Sereno, has now been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in November and the total purchase price was $4,500,000, $1,556 per square foot. The house was built in 1961...

Pakistani police free 290 Baloch activists arrested while protesting extrajudicial killings

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani police Monday freed 290 Baloch activists who were arrested when they attempted to hold a protest last week in the capital, Islamabad. Their release came days after protest organizers gave authorities a deadline to release all those detained. The activists had traveled 1,600 kilometers (about 1,000 miles) on Thursday from Turbat, a town in Baluchistan province, to protest forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the militancy-ravaged southwest. The protesters were mostly women and some had brought along their children, aged 7-12, when security forces used batons and water canons to disperse and arrest them.They wanted to draw attention to the case of 24-year-old Balaach Mola Bakhsh, who died in November while in police custody in Baluchistan. Authorities said he was killed after militants ambushed the police vehicle transporting him.Police said Bakhsh was carrying explosives when he was arrested. His family insists he is innocent, demanding justi...

1 driver seriously injured after 4 crashes along I-295, officials say

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

D.C. officials are responding to a crazy string of Christmas morning accidents along one stretch of Interstate 295.D.C. Fire and EMS and the D.C. Department of Transportation tell WTOP that four separate car accidents happened between 11:40 p.m. on Christmas Eve and 1 a.m. on Christmas Day.The first two minor crashes happened in the northbound lanes at 11:40 p.m., according to officials.At around midnight, as DDOT was on the scene clearing those crashes, another collision happened, flipping a vehicle in the southbound lanes upside down and pinning a man underneath the car.Traffic was snarled waiting for EMTs to free the trapped driver when first responders reported a fourth and final crash along the same stretch of I-295 between Eastern Avenue and Burroughs Avenue Northeast.Officials said a man driving the overturned car had to be removed using extraction equipment and was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. No one else was in the car with him and no other serious injur...

Bruins’ Christmas wish list: Plenty of gifts to go around

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

The Bruins are in the midst of their NHL-mandated three-day holiday break. And so, with no games to chronicle, it’s time to give out some Bruin-related gift wishes for the 12 days of Christmas. Any resemblance this list may have to a Festivus Airing of Grievances is purely coincidental:A hot streak for Jake DeBrusk. The oft-maligned winger’s all-around game has been much improved from the time his trade request became public two years ago. He kills penalties on the top PK unit in the NHL and can be relied upon to play in defensive situations. But he needs to score on a regular basis and he hasn’t. Every time he pops in a goal, you think “here comes that tear.” It just hasn’t happened. The lack of production is coming at a terrible time for him personally as he’s set to enter unrestricted free agency in the summer. It doesn’t help the Bruins in figuring out what to offer him, either.Some slack for coach Jim Montgomery. He’s been t...

Quebec judge authorizes class action lawsuit alleging abuse at Indigenous day schools

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec Superior Court judge has authorized a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Indigenous people who allege they received lower-quality education than other Quebecers at day schools where abuse was rampant. Thousands of First Nations and Inuit children were required by the provincial or federal government to attend the schools. “The plaintiffs assert that the day school system had a stated goal of cultural assimilation and that the children who attended them were victims of acculturation as well as, for many, psychological, physical and sexual abuse by teachers, administrators, other employees and other children at these schools,” Justice Sylvain Lussier wrote in his Dec. 8 decision. The lawsuit includes all First Nations people who were required between 1951 and 2014 to attend day schools that were run by the Quebec government and its school boards in Indigenous communities for the federal government. It also includes all Inuit who were required to attend Q...

Take stock, revamp, overhaul: How to refresh your finances for 2024

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

With the turn of the calendar signalling a fresh start, it’s the perfect time of year to take stock of your finances, update your goals and leave bad money habits behind.In doing a financial refresh for the new year, the first order of business, according to Saijal Patel, founder and CEO of financial wellness firm Saij Elle, is to identify what worked well for you over the past 12 months.“You can’t change what you’re not really aware of. So go through that process of what worked, what you’re proud of and the areas where you believe there is an opportunity to improve,” she said in an interview.“Maybe this sounds cheesy, but you have to have the right conversation.”She also advises clients to avoid feeling too guilty about spending habits they’re not so proud of, because it could get in the way of setting themselves up for success in 2024.Kalee Boisvert, a financial advisor with Raymond James, takes a similar approach with clients in that the first step needs to be identifying where t...

Vancouver skateboard community longs for indoor space as city policy tries to keep up

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

VANCOUVER — When parents come into Michelle Pezel’s skateboard shop on Vancouver’s Main Street around Christmas, they often ask where their kids can go to practise. Pezel, who co-owns Antisocial Skateboard Shop with longtime pro skater Rick McCrank, then has to explain that skateboarding in Vancouver during the rainy winter months is “tough.” “They get a gift and it’s a skateboard and they can’t really use it that much,” she said.“It’s dark at 4:30. There are not that many facilities even with lights in our city.”As the sport morphed from a rebellious counterculture activity to making its Olympic debut in Tokyo, cities across the world have embraced the demand for facilities. But for skateboarders in Vancouver and elsewhere in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, there’s a lack of city-supported covered or indoor spaces. The region has produced and nurtured a long line of pro skaters including McCrank, Chris...

Daily horoscope for December 25, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions after 11:30 p.m. PST today. The Moon is in Gemini.Happy Birthday for Monday, Dec. 25, 2023:You have great strength and energy of purpose. You bring energy to everything you do. You are also a dreamer. This year you received accolades and recognition for your work. Next year you will finish a nine-year cycle and let go of whatever is holding you back from your goals.ARIES(March 21-April 19)★★★Naturally, today is a mixed bag. It’s easy to be irritable with others. Therefore, zip thy lip and be patient. Think of your objective. Your objective is that you want to have a pleasant day. Fortunately, in the bigger picture, people feel mutually sympathetic to each other today. Tonight: Conversations!TAURUS(April 20-May 20)★★★★Squabbles about shared property, money or possessions might take place today. These disputes also might be about shared responsibilities. Fortunately, a stronger influence means that friends and partners are sympat...

Miss Manners: I find it rude that the TV stays on when I enter. Am I overreacting?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:45:40 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Growing up, when visiting my grandparents and other relatives, I remember the TV would be turned off when we entered as guests. I remember music playing when we had Christmas parties or other family get-togethers, but the TV was always turned off.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Maybe these new neighbors think their mock pity is cute. I find it annoying. Advice | Miss Manners: What should I have done when the groom insulted my wedding cake? Advice | Miss Manners: I had an awkward exchange with the friends I discarded Advice | Miss Manners: I try to make draft dodgers feel bad. Is this wrong of me? Advice | Miss Manners: People are noticing my watch and it’s making me uncomfortable But lately, when visiting friends, relatives and others, I’ve noticed more and more that the TVs are staying on. In many cases, they are not even muted.In my opinion, it is very distracting ...