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Is pickleball becoming too popular? 'Turf wars' break out in south Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – There is no doubt that pickleball is exploding in Texas. In the U.S., The Sports and Fitness Industry Association said that participation in the sport nearly doubled in 2022, seeing a year-over-year increase of around 85% and a 158.6% increase over the last three years. At the South Austin Recreation Center, the increase in participation in the sport is overwhelmingly clear. Matt Winebright started playing three years ago. He said he started seeing the courts get more crowded during the COVID lockdown. “I think pickleball was starting to become more popular,” he said. “But then it turned into a sport people could still play – even when tennis nets were down, basketball hoops were boarded up and the gyms were closed.”Pickleball was invented in the 1960s by three dads living in Washington state, according to USA Pickleball. It’s sort of like a cross between ping-pong and tennis and takes up about half of the space as a traditional tennis court. Courts at...

Wild stole home ice advantage from Stars. They feel that outweighs blowout loss.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

Regardless of what it might have felt like after the Wild suffered a 7-3 blowout loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night, the sun came out on Thursday morning, and everyone had completely turned the page by the time the team landed back in the Twin Cities.What started as a best-of-seven series is now a best-of-five, and, yes, the Wild have stolen home-ice advantage from the Stars.That was the message from most players in the Wild locker room Wednesday night, and after a 2½-hour flight home on Thursday afternoon, coach Dean Evason shared a similar sentiment.“Just nice to be back here at home 1-1, right?” Evason said. “That’s the positive.”Evason noted how there’s no point to the Wild dwelling on the negatives, so long as they are able to correct their mistakes moving forward.“What’s the point? The game is over. We’re 1-1,” Evason said. “We’ve got most importantly probably our crowd. Our guys are going to be jacked. Looking forward t...

Kenta Maeda leaves with injury, avoids broken bone in blowout Twins loss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

BOSTON — Somehow, Kenta Maeda got up, scrambled to the ball and made an on-target throw to first base to get the out. And then he crumpled into a heap near the Fenway Park mound, the result of being struck on the left ankle by a batted ball traveling at 111.6 miles per hour.A group of players and staff quickly gathered around Maeda, who, after staying down on the ground for a couple minutes, gingerly walked off the field with what the Twins called a left ankle contusion. X-rays did not reveal a break, a stroke of good fortune for the Twins and the veteran pitcher, on a tough day — the Twins lost 11-5 to the Red Sox — at Fenway Park.“He got hit squarely,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You’re really hoping not to get a really bad result, like a broken ankle or something like that. We were fearful, to be honest, watching him on the ground out there.”But for as scary as the moment was, the Twins (11-8) seem to have avoided the worst with Maeda, who said after the game that he didn’t exp...

Legacy Dispensers opens in Capital Region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. -Legacy Dispensers kicked off their opening day with sales stating at 4:20p.m., for four hours and twenty minutes. President and CEO, Matthew Robinson, worked under a delivery model before marijuana was legal in New York state. "I grew up doing delivery. So I've sold cannabis since the late 90s early 2000s," explained Robinson. Stage One Dispensary coming to Rensselaer Now, Robinson looks forward to being a large part of the legal cannabis industry, seeing delivery as a productive way to sell to the community. "With delivery you don't need as much. I don't have to build out a building. I don't need contractors coming putting flooring down," described Robinson.Owner of Star Lit 420, Justice Merkel, shares that prior to Legacy Dispensers opening, he has not been able to make a profit off his wares. "Us as growers, we're struggling. To be honest with everybody, we've been holding the bag for a year and a half now with no outlets to make money," said Merkel. Get...

Suspect arrested in Denver homicide in the La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

A suspect has been arrested in connection to an April 18 homicide in Denver’s La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood.The body of 34-year-old Jonathan Douglas was found about 6:50 a.m. Tuesday lying on the sidewalk in the 1200 block of Mariposa Street, according to the Denver Police Department.Douglas was bloodied and a blue tarp had been placed over the body, according to an arrest affidavit. A metal bar was found near the body. The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner determined that Douglas died of blunt force trauma, noting he had facial fractures and numerous lacerations.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Suspect arrested in southwest Denver fatal shooting Crime and Public Safety | Barry Morphew’s attorney accuses DA of misrepresenting, withholding evidence in dismissed murder case Crime and Public Safety | Winslow’s “City of Dreams” and more mystery books for April Crime and Public Safety | ...

Broncos focus on weight lifting, conditioning in Phase One of offseason workouts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

Amid the Broncos’ 50-minute pre-NFL Draft news conference which coach Sean Payton jokingly called record-setting in terms of time, he shed some light on Phase One of the team’s offseason workouts.From the time the players returned to the facility this month, Payton has put a shield around the team, limiting media access, including to recent free-agent additions. On Thursday, Payton broke his silence to some degree, sharing his excitement for seeing the players and putting faces to names.“It’s our first chance to meet and interact,” Payton said. “It was kind of like quiet crickets in here for a while, and then last Tuesday was the beginning of it. We’re a little over a week, and it’s great to be meeting a lot of these players.”Payton’s vision for his offseason program is similar to his mentor, Bill Parcells, whom he worked for during his time as an assistant for the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-05. He has the players solely focused on lifting and running this month, add...

Ventura County fatal crash, Walmart stabbing suspect charged with murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

Austin Eis, the homeless man accused of committing a series of violent acts that culminated in a crash that killed a ninth-grade student at Westlake High School, did not physically appear in court as scheduled on Thursday. Instead, he appeared electronically from jail and, through his attorney, postponed arraignment until May 19, prosecutors said.Eis, 24, is charged with murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, use of pepper spray, false imprisonment, and several other serious charges.On Tuesday, authorities say Eis pepper-sprayed and stabbed a Walmart employee in Simi Valley, threatened others with a knife, and attempted to drag another employee out of the store. He is also accused of forcing his way into a relative’s home in Camarillo.Austin Eis is seen in this undated photo provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.Family and friends console each other at the scene of a fatal crash in Thousand Oaks, California. April 18, 2023. (KTLA)A 15-year-old ...

Locals worried over Verdugo Mountains luxury housing development

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

A proposal to construct a luxury gated housing development in the Verdugo Mountains has residents concerned over the potential devastation of wildlife and native plants while leaving tenants in a fire zone.Residents in the Verdugo Mountains love enjoying the undisturbed wilderness that surrounds their community. But locals say a newly proposed luxury development will threaten everything.The proposed project, called The Canyon Hills Development, was approved by the Los Angeles City Council in 2005.It was given a 20-year timeframe during which it was allowed to build about 220 new homes.But over the last 18 years, nothing has happened until the developer, Whitebird, Inc., requested permits to begin preparing the site in January 2023.That’s when the group “No Canyon Hills” reorganized to protest the proposed plans.Residents concerned that a proposed luxury housing development in the Verdugo mountains will wipe out natural landscapes and displace wildlife. (KTLA)Residents concerned that...

Wanted felon arrested for burglary, evading arrest, other charges alongside teen busted for drug possession 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

A wanted felon who was on probation and fled from deputies was arrested with a teenager in Fillmore on Wednesday, and they now both face charges. According to a release from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, a call regarding two suspicious individuals in a parked vehicle at the intersection of Mockingbird Lane and Sierra Vista Avenue came in around 11 a.m. on Wednesday.  A male suspect, later identified as 28-year-old Juan Torres of Oxnard, gave deputies a false name before immediately fleeing on foot. The second suspect, Victoria Nunez, 19, of Camarillo, was arrested at the scene and booked into the Pre-Trial Detention Facility for possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, officials said. Deputies began a search for Torres and were unable to locate him until several hours later, when a resident reported seeing Torres on their property in the 400 block of B Street. Deputies returned to search for him and found him, but he fled again on foot an...

GOP senator demands DEA boss defend no-bid contracts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:06 GMT

By Joshua Goodman and Jim Mustain | Associated PressA senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee is demanding that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram address allegations of improper hiring and contracting of her past associates.The request Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa follows an Associated Press investigation finding that a federal watchdog is investigating whether strict federal rules on no-bid contracting and hiring may have been violated to channel DEA work to Milgram’s associates.“These are serious allegations, and DEA must respond to them and clear the air,” Grassley wrote in a letter sent to Milgram’s office, a copy of which was obtained by the AP.The scrutiny by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector Genera comes as the DEA is struggling with repeated revelations of agent misconduct and a fentanyl crisis claiming more than 100,000 overdose deaths a year that Milgram has called the “deadliest dr...