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These home features could sell your house faster as spring-buying season takes off

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

Amber Bonefont | (TNS) South Florida Sun-SentinelWith spring-buying season in full swing, home sellers eager to see their properties sold quickly could benefit from having certain features in their house, a new analysis shows.Homes that have attributes such as a steam oven, quartz finishes or even hurricane shutters/windows, typically sell for a higher price than the average home, according to data from Zillow. And homes that have a characteristics such as a doorbell camera or even a fenced-in backyard typically sold between three to five days faster than a home without those added items.“Multifunctional homes that offer retreat spaces and features for outdoor entertaining are particularly appealing to post-pandemic buyers, who expect their homes to be a place where they can work and play,” the report from Zillow noted.And as the spring-buying season takes off, sellers should use every opportunity they have to get their home sold quickly, said Alex Platt, with the Platt Group at Com...

Magic’s Paolo Banchero becomes Rookie of Month for 4th time in a row

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero accomplished a feat on Tuesday that’s been attained by only one other player in franchise history.Banchero was named the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in March and April, the league announced.He joined Shaquille O’Neal as the only Magic players to be named Rookie of the Month four consecutive times.The No. 1 pick in the draft, Banchero led rookies in scoring with 20.3 points per game for March/April to go along with 6.6 rebounds (sixth) and 4.2 assists (sixth). He also shot 38.7% (24 of 62) on 3-pointers.Banchero, O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Mike Miller and Victor Oladipo are the only Magic players to be named Rookie of the Month more than once.The nine Magic players who won Rookie of the Month:Dennis Scott (March 1991);O’Neal (four times — November 1992-February 1993);Hardaway (twice — January and April 1994);Miller (twice — February and March 2001);Oladipo (twice — Decemb...

Multiple derailments quickly follow MBTA leadership change

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

Two pieces of work equipment quietly derailed on back-to-back days on the Blue and Red Lines, an MBTA spokesperson confirmed.The derailments occurred within a roughly eight-hour time frame on the Blue and Red Lines Monday night and Tuesday morning, respectively, following positive press coverage that accompanied Phillip Eng’s first day as MBTA general manager.T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said a “rail-borne vehicle with welding equipment derailed at a track switch near Orient Heights” Monday night, while Blue Line service was suspended for previously scheduled track work.“There were no injuries nor damage, and the vehicle was re-railed before 1 a.m.,” Pesaturo said. “Regularly scheduled Blue Line service was operating at the start of service this morning.”Another derailment occurred at approximately 7:15 a.m. the next morning, when “the back wheels of a piece of work equipment came off the rails on a track siding along the Red Line,” Pesaturo said.There were no injuries or damage from...

Train service to resume after cliffs shored up

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (AP) — Metrolink and Amtrak train services will be restored next week following months of stabilizing repairs due to shifting ground beneath a stretch of seaside track in Southern California, transit officials said Monday.Service between Orange and San Diego counties was halted Sept. 30 after a storm surge caused waves that shifted the tracks near the coastal community of San Clemente.The Orange County Transportation Authority said Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail services will roll again starting April 17. The restoration will re-connect Los Angeles, the Inland Empire and Orange County to San Diego County.Originally, the tracks were expected to be reopened by February, the Orange County Register reported.“This emergency work has posed an unprecedented challenge, especially with the heavy rainfall this season, and we’re very pleased to announce that passenger service can safely resume on this key stretch of Southern California rail,...

At least 1 killed in semi-truck crash near Camp Pendleton

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO — At least one person was killed Tuesday in a crash near Camp Pendleton involving a semi-truck, the California Highway Patrol said.According to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page, the crash happened shortly before noon on southbound Interstate 5, just south of the Aliso Creek Rest Area.The collision was reportedly between a white SUV and a semi-truck, which caused the SUV to overturn, according to the CHP incident page. At least 1 killed after semi-truck crash in Encinitas A Sig Alert has been issued in the area. According to Caltrans, the two righthand lanes of southbound I-5 are closed due to the crash.It is not yet known how long the closures are expected to last. FOX 5's Traffic Map shows heavy traffic starting to build up on the southbound lanes of I-5 between San Clemente and Oceanside.The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office has been called out to the scene of the crash, per CHP.This is the second deadly crash involving a semi-truck on southbound I-5 ...

Coastal fog contributes to what NWS calls 'Gray-pril'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- If you’ve been in the desert or inland the last few days and experienced the warm up in temperatures and then come to the beach and experienced a complete lack of sunshine, there’s a reason for that -- and apparently a name for it, too.“Not only do we have the “May gray” and the “June gloom," but when it happens a little bit earlier in April, we call it “Gray-pril," said Elizabeth Adams, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.None of these descriptions are official meteorological terms but they help describe what’s going on.“Basically what’s happening is the deserts are heating up and with that lower pressure with the heat in the desert, all of this marine layer air is pushing from the ocean on to the coast. That’s bringing cooler temperatures and higher humidity, which leads to that fog formation,” Adams said.Our Southern California coast has been noticeably missing the sunshine, covered in fog the last few days. Cold temperatures, strong winds in store for ...

Video shows Louisville police under fire from bank shooter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police body camera video released Tuesday shows Louisville officers being fired upon as they arrive at the bank where five people were killed and the harrowing minutes while officers confront the shooter and work to rescue a wounded colleague.Two patrol officers who responded to the shooting were wounded, one of them struck in the head by a bullet in the Monday morning shooting. Louisville Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey walked reporters through edited footage and still photos at a new conference Tuesday. One still image from surveillance video showed the shooter holding a rifle inside the building, surrounded by broken glass. Police said he set up an ambush position to attack officers as they arrived.Officer Corey Galloway’s body camera shows him perched behind a stairway outside the building after rookie Officer Nickolas Wilt was wounded. He waits and as other officers arrive, more gunshots are heard and Galloway fires then shouts that he ...

ACLU sues North Carolina over harsher riot punishments

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Harsher punishments for violent protests in North Carolina are being challenged by a prominent civil rights group, which said in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that several parts of a new anti-riot law are unconstitutional.The North Carolina law was drawn up in response to protests against racial injustice and police brutality in 2020. The demonstrations following George Floyd’s death were largely peaceful but occasionally descended into chaos after dark.The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina is asking a U.S. District Court to block enforcement of several provisions of the new law, arguing it “impermissibly criminalizes North Carolinians who exercise their fundamental free speech, assembly and petitioning rights.”“It is a flagrant attempt to vilify and criminalize a social justice movement,” said Sam Davis, an attorney with the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation. The law was passed last month by the Republican-controlled General Assembly with...

Alberta premier commits to medicare; NDP points to past musings on private options

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith, in an election-style event, says her United Conservative Party will not make Albertans pay out of pocket to see their family doctor or get medical treatment.Smith says her party, should it win next month’s general election, would also not delist from public funding any future medical procedures or prescriptions.Smith made the announcement Tuesday in a party-sponsored event in front of a medical clinic in Sherwood Park, just east of Edmonton.“Rest assured you will never use a credit card to pay for a public health-care service. You will only ever need your Alberta health-care card,” said Smith.Smith said she was making this “Public Health Care Guarantee” to counter the Opposition NDP “lying” that she has plans to eventually make Albertans pay for some of their care or to see a family doctor.“Liberal-NDP fear and smear politics don’t work in Alberta. Albertans have always seen through these lies for what they are,” said Smith.NDP health critic ...

Canada’s restaurant industry adjusting to single-use plastics ban

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:50 GMT

Canada’s restaurant industry is one of many sectors that has had to adjust in light of the Canadian government’s plastic ban, including changing checkout bags, cutlery, food service ware, stir sticks and straws.It was a prominent part of the discussion on how restaurants will adapt at the Restaurants Canada (RC) show in Toronto this week. The plastics ban is a part of Canada’s goal to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030.Businesses will now have to shift towards non-single-use plastic alternatives, and LEAF Canada is a non-profit trying to help with this transition.“The ban came into effect in December 2022, so it’s in the transition period now where whatever you have now that is single-use plastics you can use until you run out, you won’t be able to buy anymore,” said Vicky Huang, Education and Environmental Resource Coordinator for LEAF Canada.“It definitely impacts the food service industry because that is a big part of how we do.R...