Supertoys last all summer long

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 15 Gaggles of girls, broods of boys and packs of parents descended on the Houston Zoo Saturday morning for a novel experience. It was not goggling the new baby elephant or feeding of the giraffes, though plenty did marvel at those creatures as well. In fact, it wasn't any animal that drew the children on a July day with a heat index of 110 degrees. It was snow. Some stayed in their bathing suits and sunhats while other families bundled up their litters in snow boots and gloves to plow through the 4-inches of snow during the zoo's two-day summertime tradition. Some particularly prepared parents pulled from their bags carrots planned for snowmen's noses. While most had inch-long baby carrots, one family brought a hulking 12-inch specimen fit for rabbit royalty. For many of Houston's smallest residents, it was … [Read more...] about Houston Zoo’s rare summer attraction draws big crowds

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 21 KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 37, authorities said Monday, as western analysts identified signs the Kremlin was preparing for a drawn-out war in Ukraine after almost 11 months of fighting. The victims from Saturday's strike on the multi-story residential tower included two children, Ukraine’s National Police reported, and 15 children are among the 75 injured. The rescue and search operation was ongoing, with 39 people, including six children, taken from the ruins so far, the police said in a statement. About 1,700 people lived in the apartment building. Residents said there were no military facilities at the site. The reported death toll made it the … [Read more...] about As 37 die in apartment strike, Russia seen readying long war

As many as 17 million people flocked to Connecticut’s state parks in 2022, filling parking lots, campgrounds and scenic areas to near-record levels for the third year in a row — and leaving some lawmakers to question whether the parks are equipped to handle the crowds. Attendance at state parks shot up during the first year of the pandemic , despite strict capacity limits that were put in place at many parks to limit the spread of coronavirus. That phenomenon was shared by other states as well as the National Park Service , with many officials describing the sudden rush to the outdoors as a national example of “cabin fever.” Even as regular, indoor activities have resumed over the last two years, however, officials say that park attendance remains 50 percent above pre-pandemic levels. After welcoming 11 million visitors in 2019, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection estimates that between 16 and 17 million people entered state parks last year, according to … [Read more...] about As millions flock to Connecticut’s state parks, lawmakers weigh placing new limits on crowds

Montrose continues to be a foodie destination in Houston thanks to the numerous restaurants that dot the neighborhood. And there are even more dining options on the horizon this year, from established local chefs opening more venues to completely new concepts (did someone say pickleball?). Here are some of the restaurants opening in Montrose soon. Andiron Andiron's arrival has been on foodies' calendars since the steakhouse project was first announced by Houston restaurant group Sambrooks Management, which owns the ever-popular Pit Room barbecue joint on Richmond. The long-awaited restaurant is now projected to open March 2023 with chef Louis Maldonado (formerly of French Laundry) at the helm. Andiron promises to be a live-fire cooking experience with an abundance of small plates. Opening date: March 2023 Location: 3201 Allen Pkwy Suite E-110, Houston, TX 77019 Annabelle Berg Hospitality has brought restaurants like B&B Butchers, B.B. Lemon and Trattoria Sofia … [Read more...] about What to know about all the restaurants opening in Montrose soon

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails The Biden administration is temporarily delaying stepped-up legal protections for two imperiled species following efforts by congressional Republicans to derail the actions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday it was postponing reclassification of the northern long-eared bat from “threatened” to the more severe “endangered” category until March 31. The change had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 30. On Tuesday, the service announced that new designations for the lesser prairie chicken scheduled to take effect then had been bumped to March 27. The agency is granting endangered status to the grassland bird's southern population segment while listing the northern segment as threatened. The administration said the delays were intended to give regulators and those affected by the changes — such … [Read more...] about Agency delays protections for imperiled bat, prairie chicken

When it comes to taxes, the question state officials are trying to answer this year isn’t whether to cut them. For Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly, the larger issues are how deep to cut — and who should benefit. Even as the national economy flirts with a recession, state government continues to ride an unprecedented wave of prosperity that began in 2018. But so much of this boom comes from sources that historically have been unstable, surging for four to five years at a time, and then plunging for an equally long stretch. This recent revenue explosion still is dwarfed by Connecticut’s long-term debt, a problem amassed by more than decades of fiscal irresponsibility going back to the late 1930s. “You’ve heard me say it before, ‘I don’t want more taxes, I want more taxpayers,’” Lamont told the legislature earlier this month in his State of the State Address. “More taxpayers will guarantee a bigger economic pie that lets us keep up the progress in progressive” … [Read more...] about CT is likely to see tax cuts this year, but who will benefit?

Scott Keyes has been finding and sharing cheap flight deals since 2013 after he scored a mistake fare that made his friends envious: a scheduling error got him a roundtrip ticket from New York City to Milan for $130. What started as a hobby – and a service for friends and colleagues – has since grown to a business with more than 2 million subscribers and a team 65 people strong. The name he first gave his newsletter — Scott’s Cheap Flights — now seems misleading and limiting, Keyes told SFGATE this week. The company’s new name, Going , and sleek branding to go with it, went live earlier this month. Keyes, the company’s founder and chief flight expert, says the changes encompass the company’s old mission (finding people cheap flights) with its goal of providing personalized flight deals as well as helpful travel guides. Keyes expects 2023 to be a really good travel year with fares dropping at least 5% compared to 2022, fewer full flights (meaning more elbow room!), some cheap … [Read more...] about How to score cheap flights (and mistake fares) in 2023

Give the Washington Wizards this: They aren't boring. Some NBA franchises prefer to comfort the anxiety of their fan bases with rebuilding plans. They'll tank games and hoard high draft picks, as the Philadelphia 76ers did during "The Process" days. Or they'll make painful decisions and trade away superstars while embracing a youth movement, as the Oklahoma City Thunder is doing now. This humdrum way of running a franchise, which provides a sense of stability for a fan base and even a vision for the future, might be for other cities. But not here. No, ma'am. In Washington, we want mystery. Give us instability and a nebulous future, please and thank you. A vision? Pfft! That's for losers! We prefer to spend hours in front of our crazy walls, connecting red strings from the Issuf Sanon draft pick to the Isaiah Thomas era and trying to unearth the truth: Was taking Jan Vesely sixth overall in 2011 just a way to distract us from the government bugging our landlines - or at least … [Read more...] about What are the Wizards doing? No, seriously, what are they doing?

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Tortuguita’s cautious voice rang out from a platform amid the tall pines the first time Vienna met them: “Who goes there?” she remembers them calling. The tree-dweller, who chose the moniker Tortuguita – Spanish for “Little Turtle” – over their given name, was perched above the forest floor in the woods just outside Atlanta last summer. Vienna quickly identified herself, and Tortuguita’s watchfulness melted into the bubbly, curious, funny persona so many in the forest knew. They welcomed the newcomer and helped her settle in alongside the other self-proclaimed “forest defenders” on an 85-acre (34-hectare) site officials plan to develop into a huge police and firefighter training center. Protesters derisively call it “Cop City.” “It was a magical experience for me, being able to live out our ideals,” … [Read more...] about Protesters: ‘Cop City’ activist’s killing doesn’t make sense