Hudson House opened a few weeks ago, and, apparently, nobody can get a reservation. At least that’s the story from the annoying reservation system –– while perusing it recently, I found it easier to reserve a table for a party of four than a party of two (three days’ wait versus five). Instead of dinner for two, my quartet ventured out for Saturday brunch. When we arrived, the place was busy but not overcrowded –– the large back room was less than half full –– which made me question the reservation system. Maybe management is being deliberately protective of their new employees. Maybe the decision to use mostly horseshoe-shaped booths, best for parties of four or six, is responsible for the weird reservation math.
However, once the Bleu and Gold martini showed up, I had no reservations about anything. Are these the coldest martinis in the world? Perhaps. Did I love the acerbic combo of frosty vodka, a splash of olive brine, the glorious dusting of blue cheese salt, and house-made blue cheese-stuffed olives? Absolutely. The salted rim was a revelation — deeply pungent kosher salt infused with blue cheese provided a surprisingly nutty, slightly briny pleasure.
The Lupton roll turned out to be more like a crab cake than actual sushi. Photo by Laurie James.
Although there’s no dedicated brunch yet, the regular menu offers a boggling selection of sushi options (eight), four entrée salads, burgers and fish, and, oddly, “avocado dip.” So, “guacamole” is too … ethnic? Side note to the chain with four locations in Texas and one in California: All my Long Island relatives and everyone in your service areas know what guacamole is.
An appetizer of deviled eggs came out with the yellow centers piped to perfection –– the yolks rose majestically and slightly gravity-defying-ly above the whites. If you like celery in your deviled eggs, this is the treat for you. The strong flavor and crunch of celery has a place in many dishes but not here.
Deviled eggs — the higher the yolks, the closer to heaven. Photo by Laurie James.
The Lupton roll, our second shared app, was detailed on the menu as a riceless roll with crab, tempura flake, avocado, Hamachi, salmon, and truffle. What came out tasted remarkably like the center of a crab cake, right down to the slightly crunchy tempura mimicking a crust. It was off-putting if you were expecting a beautifully composed roll with individual elements that harmonize beautifully, rather than what amounted to fancy crab dip in a roll.
Highlights of the rest of lunch included the Hudson salad, packing the punch of a club sandwich with bacon, tomato, avocado, and popcorn chicken on mixed greens along with cheese and a heavenly, savory Green Goddess dressing. The salad was a beautifully layered feast for the palate as well, with each bite delivering a nice amount of protein or creamy avocado. Skinny fries (perfectly crispy matchstick potatoes, lightly salted with truffle and Parmesan) were lovingly seasoned and presented with ketchup and house-made ranch dressing.
The palm-sized serving of pan-seared and allegedly flown-in-daily redfish, which is generally mild, tasted overly fishy. Blackened seasoning didn’t perk up the filet much, and the beurre blanc sauce was scant and thin. As the side, whole broccoli crowns (not cut into manageable bites) arrived al dente with good-sized chunks of parmesan cheese.
Steak frites may be the ultimate bistro staple, with French or Belgian origins depending on which story you read. The dish is ridiculously simple: Season the meat, cook to desired doneness, slap it on a plate with a little au jus or béarnaise — or horseradish cream sauce if you’re fancy — and throw down a healthy handful of fries. The fist-sized piece of meat looked like a hockey puck, well done instead of medium, with a slim portion of the skinny fries and, inexplicably, a mixed green salad that dwarfed the actual star. Wherever Anthony Bourdain might be, I picture him having a fit of apoplexy seeing this.
Anthony Bourdain would have been mad at the presentation of the steak frites. We sure were. Photo by Laurie James.
Hudson House claims that its cuisine has roots in “the rich culinary history of the Hudson Valley.” To that end, the oyster selection is firmly East Coast — on the day we visited, the bivalve specials included two varieties from Prince Edward Island on Canada’s east coast and one from Connecticut. I thought I felt a little déjà vu going on, and I was right. The corporation behind Hudson House also owned the defunct East Hampton Sandwich Company, which at one point maybe a decade ago was a prime spot for a lobstah roll.
The restaurant may be the new place for the Athleta-clad set to see and be seen, but bless their hearts, there are other places in town that do what Hudson House does better. Lobster roll and icy martini? Hit up Lucille’s, just up the street. Hankering for fresh oysters? Jon Bonnell’s Waters has you covered. Hudson House’s opening coincided with the very public closure of several locally owned restaurants, including La Onda just this week, and what we recently said about rock clubs after the recent closure of 16-year-old Lola’s is true for our food scene as well: “Municipalities are not liable for the survival of rock ’n’ roll clubs. The people who live in a city are.” Hudson House looks beautiful –– the corporation that owns it spent a fortune making it so — but other than the martini, fries, and salad (one of the world’s best lunches, a scandalous $48 here), there is very little to recommend the place, save for the facts that it’s new and we in the Fort will run to the next new restaurant — at least once.
Hudson House Steak frites $49 Pan-seared redfish $31 Lupton roll $21 The Hudson salad $17 Skinny fries $7 Deviled eggs $9 Bleu and Gold martini $14
If it’s not the coldest in town, the Bleu and Gold martini may be the only one with actual blue cheese-infused salt. Photo by Laurie James.
Peering across the black box theater, you might be forgiven for assuming Marjorie Prime is a sentimental examination of family. After all, based on its sparse, four-person cast and its minimally decorated and rotating stage in the center of the Evelyn Wheeler Swenson Theater, it seems, well, small. But like memory, time and space are merely constructs expertly manipulated by Allen Dean’s excellent set in this well-executed production directed by Sasha Maya Ada at Stage West through February 11.
“How much does she have to forget before she is not your mom anymore?”
Early in Jordan Harrison’s Pulitzer-finalist play, Marjorie’s son-in-law posits this question to his wife regarding her mother’s condition. A great one to pose when a family member is steadily slipping toward the thief of time and memory, Alzheimer’s. Though the play does examine familial and generational trauma, don’t be fooled. This progressive work owes as much of its DNA to a Black Mirror episode or Spike Jonze’s Her as it does to Arthur Miller.
First performed in Los Angeles in 2014, Marjorie Prime presciently explores the world of artificial intelligence and the importance of the stories we tell ourselves. Joseph Campbell, meet Chat GPT 4. The title character (Cindee Mayfield), an octogenarian dealing with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, is under the care of daughter Tess (Shannon J. McGrann) and her husband Jon (Jakie Cabe) at the younger couple’s home. The only catch is that they have help via an AI program appearing as a hologram. The purpose of Walter (Parker Gray) is to keep Marjorie from slipping any further into mental deterioration by reinforcing her past through forgotten memories and stories, but the crux of this entire endeavor hinges on this very idea: Whose stories are these? Experience, perspective, motive, and time all begin to weave complicated webs. This, though, is only the initial conceit. The story continues to evolve in interesting and unexpected ways, which I won’t spoil here.
Because so much of Marjorie Prime depends on the changes of characters over time, the small cast has a heavy burden to carry in this tightly focused space. Mayfield’s expertly nuanced performance as Marjorie drives much of the narrative and provides a perfect backdrop for the other characters to react. The mother/daughter dynamic between her and Tess is central to the play’s success, and as the daughter, McGrann portrays the duality of both mourning and anger with precision. Son-in-law Jon is afforded the leeway to act as both a mediator and a detached caregiver, which gives Cabe the space to leverage much of the needed comedic respite, and in this, he shines.
The tricky part of delivering a high-concept idea is translating the technological aspects of the production for the stage. How do you insert an artificial intelligence onto an already crowded space when the AI appears and disappears based on different characters’ perspectives? If even that sounds confusing, it doesn’t play that way thanks to both Gray’s measured performance as Walter in its early learning stages and to Ada’s deft staging. Walter, when not directly working with Marjorie or Jon, is just on the outskirts of the stage in power-down mode with what appears to be some sort of lapel light. Not always quite “there” but not completely gone, he exists as the algorithms that run our lives. Always in the peripheral. Walking the line of both being and not being a person requires a restrained performance, and Gray does an excellent job exploring the multifaceted personality of Walter in all of his stages.
The set is both a gift and an obstacle. The ever-changing perspectives of the characters is matched by the slow rotation of the stage, which is an interesting and effective mirroring of the changing character perspectives through time, but it limits the space the actors must work in, putting them in closer proximity to the AI, who is not always visible to all the characters. Perhaps a touch more physical connection among the main characters would make a starker contrast between the humans and the AI more noticeable. Not that these characters necessarily lack this, but in close quarters, the stage becomes a tad overcrowded but never seriously problematic. And it all pays off in Part 3, when we reach the Bradbury-esque coda that enables the staging to pay off in a satisfying way.
Marjorie Prime
Thru Sun, Feb 11, at Stage West Theatre,
821 W Vickery Blvd, FW. $45.50-49.50.
817-784-9378.
Commercials used to be great. They used to be an art form. They used to be fun. Today’s advertising is boring in comparison.
Television commercials were something to which I looked forward when I was a kid. Some were better developed and more interesting than the shows they sponsored.
By John Moore
For more on this story see the January 24, 2024 print, or digital edition of The Wylie News. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.
Nobody alive today saw the last total eclipse in Wylie. And nobody who sees this year’s April 8 eclipse will live to see the next in this location.
The most recent total eclipse for the area occurred July 29, 1878, the week Texas Rangers killed outlaw Sam Bass during a gunfight in Round Rock.
By Bob Wieland
For more on this story see the January 24, 2024 print, or digital edition of The Wylie News. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.
A new Texas law has brought steep punishments for students caught vaping on school campuses. Signed June 13 by Gov. Greg Abbott, House Bill 114 (HB 114) went into effect Sept. 1, just weeks after the school year started.
With punishment previously at a district’s discretion, the bill set discipline requirements for students selling, giving, possessing or using e-cigarettes on school grounds. HB 114 makes vaping punishable by pulling students out of class with mandatory assignment to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) with the length of punishment handled on a case-by-case basis.
For more on this story see the January 24, 2024 print, or digital edition of The Wylie News. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.
The filing period opened Wednesday, Jan. 17, for the May 2024 Wylie City Council election. The last day to file is Friday, Feb. 16.
Two places are open, Place 2 held by Dave Strang and Place 4 held by Scott Williams. Williams has filed for reelection. No other candidates have filed as of Monday, Jan. 22.
For more on this story see the January 24, 2024 print, or digital edition of The Wylie News. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.
A Luzerne County Council majority voted Tuesday to approve a $3 million earmark for a hotel/convention center project at the former Hotel Sterling site in Wilkes-Barre, but no council members made a motion to provide funding for another project on Public Square in the city.
Council members had lengthy discussion before voting on the earmark toward H&N Investment’s $37 million, 112-room Gateway Hyatt Place Hotel and Conference Center on a 2.1-acre lot at River and Market streets where the landmark Hotel Sterling once stood.
Several council members said they were willing to move forward with the Sterling site earmark due to added conditions that help protect the county funding if problems surface.
Tuesday’s vote authorized county Manager Romilda Crocamo to negotiate a final agreement with H&N.
The following council members voted for the Sterling project earmark: Harry Haas, Chris Perry, Joanna Bryn Smith, Vice Chairman Brian Thornton, Kevin Lescavage and Chairman John Lombardo.
Voting no were: Patty Krushnowski, Jimmy Sabatino, Brittany Stephenson, LeeAnn McDermott and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr.
Perry said he came to the meeting “thinking one way” but was convinced to support the project, in part due to points and questions from Thornton and Haas.
Smith said she wants to see progress at the site.
Lombardo said he also appreciates the many comments and questions answered Tuesday and wants to see development at the site, noting he was upset when the Hotel Sterling was demolished.
In voting no, McDermott said she wants to see “something there” but was sorry that she had to vote no because she still considers the proposal “iffy.”
In the Public Square project that had no vote Tuesday, Bloxton Investment Group’s entity — BIG Public Square LLC —sought $2 million to acquire and convert the former First National Bank building into an upscale restaurant linked to a 105-room “Tribute by Marriott brand” boutique hotel it is creating inside its adjacent Luzerne Bank Building. That project is estimated at $23.8 million.
One added condition for the Gateway Hyatt project is an indemnification clause in which H&N must agree to repay the award if the county is sued or otherwise requested by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, to return funds the county is using as a grant for the project.
The county earmark will come from community development funds that had been set aside in case HUD, follows through with a $6 million penalty threatened a decade ago over a lack of development at the Sterling site when it was owned by the nonprofit CityVest.
Some argue the county should keep $6 million intact unless HUD drops the threatened penalty, but the federal agency has not communicated any willingness to do so to date, officials have said. Others maintain using the set-aside funds on a project at the Sterling site would be the best way to clear up the disagreement with HUD because that project would address HUD’s original complaint that no development or job creation has occurred there.
H&N representative Stephen Barrouk told council the indemnification will create challenges for the developer but would not jeopardize the project. A council majority rejected a motion to eliminate the indemnification clause.
Among the other council conditions for the developer: proof of a minimum $500,000 match from another public or private grant and an agreement it won’t be applying for a real estate tax break.
The other caveats include:
• Providing proof of adequate funding for the project prior to the release of county funds.
• Publicly bidding construction using prevailing wages and keeping certified payrolls, with copies of bids and payrolls furnished to the county.
• Completion of a job creation and economic impact report during construction and three years after completion.
• Submission of construction plans and contract documents to the county prior to the release of grant funds or upon request.
• Furnishing of environmental reports, including plans to remediate and resolve any issues.
The county grant would be rescinded if construction does not start within 36 months. County funds would be released in two phases — the first after the structure shell is completed and the second after the remainder of the work is finished.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
Luzerne County’s Election Board has two new members: Republican Rick Morelli and Democrat Albert Schlosser.
Council had to fill the seats with one Republican and one Democrat and held off on appointments earlier this month to see if additional eligible applicants would surface.
Originally on the eligibility list were Republican Roxanne Arreguin, of West Pittston, and Democrat Audrey Serniak, of Plains Township, who had served on the board from July 2019 through 2023. Morelli, Schlosser and Democrat Albert Flora were added following a public interview session Monday.
Regarding the Republican seat, Arreguin also was nominated Tuesday and supported by four council members — Patty Krushnowski, Kevin Lescavage, Joanna Bryn Smith and Brittany Stephenson. The remaining seven selected Morelli: Harry Haas, LeeAnn McDermott, Chairman John Lombardo, Chris Perry, Jimmy Sabatino, Vice Chairman Brian Thornton and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr.
Council unanimously approved Morelli’s appointment in the final selection.
In the Democratic selection, Flora also was nominated by Krushnowski, Sabatino, Smith and Stephenson. Schlosser’s final appointment confirmation vote was unanimous.
Morelli, of Sugarloaf Township, works as a strategic account executive and served as a county councilman twice. He also served on the commission that drafted the home rule charter, the home rule transition committee and the volunteer manager search committee activated in 2021.
Morelli said he applied for the election board because he is a big proponent of the county’s home rule structure and wants its successes to continue.
He said his past experiences running for office and in county government could “add value” to the election board.
A major presidential election is coming up, and it is important the public has confidence in the election, Morelli said.
A Hanover Township resident, Schlosser is retired and said he most recently worked for three decades at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital — the last 20 years as a patient advocate.
He had served on the Hanover Area School Board in the 1970s and said he had reported absentee ballot and election fraud in 1978 that led to an official investigation and charges against numerous individuals.
Schlosser said he applied for the election board seat because he saw the county’s plea for applicants and thought his experience could help.
“The election process is so important to our democracy. It’s so fragile. It has to be protected,” he said.
The five-citizen, volunteer election board serves as an independent citizen body to oversee elections, make determinations on flagged ballots and write-in votes and certify election results.
The two new election board members will serve with Democrats Daniel Schramm and Denise Williams (chair) and Republican Alyssa Fusaro.
In addition to preparing for and attending evening board meetings, election board members must be available on Election Day and during the day for a little over a week to two weeks after each primary and general election for the adjudication process.
Council also made other appointments Tuesday, including:
• Convention Center Authority — Robert Mehalick
• Luzerne/Wyoming Counties Mental Health and Developmental Services Program Advisory Board — Craig Mark and Tom O’Neill
• Board of Tax Assessment Appeals — Peter Bard
• Luzerne/Wyoming Counties Drug and Alcohol Executive Commission — Michael Maguire
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
The Garland Police Department has issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in last week’s fatal shooting of two Wylie teenagers.
The GPD’s public information officer, Lt. Pedro Barineau, said a Directive to Apprehend warrant names 16-year-old Amancio Anton Noriz of Dallas.
While it is not customary for police to disclose information regarding minors, the court granted permission because of the severity of the offense, Barineau said.
He described Noriz as Hispanic with dark hair, brown eyes, about 4 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing around 120 pounds.
Barineau said anybody with information about Noriz should call 911 immediately.
The shooting victims were identified as 18-year-old Alan Jesus Chavez and Ruben Santibanez-Arzola, 17, both from Wylie.
Santibanez-Arzola attended Wylie ISD’s Achieve Academy, WISD said. Chavez previously attended Wylie ISD schools but was not enrolled at any district campus this school year, the district said.
Detectives believe the two met the shooter at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, in a parking lot in the 2300 block of West Buckingham Road, almost across the street from North Garland High School.
A small shrine to the victims’ memory was placed on the sidewalk in front of a barber academy.
Police said tips may be submitted anonymously to Garland Crime Stoppers at 972-272-TIPS (8477), with a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
For more on this story see the Jan. 24 print, or digital edition of The Wylie News. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.
A giraffe named Benito started a 50-hour road trip Monday to leave behind the cold and loneliness of Mexico’s northern border city of Ciudad Juarez to find warmth — and maybe a mate — in his new home 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) to the south.
A campaign by animal rights activists won the four-year-old giraffe a transfer to an animal park in Puebla state in central Mexico, where he will join a group of resident giraffes and enjoy a more suitable climate.
It has been a long and lonesome road for Benito. Jealousy forced him to leave his home at a zoo in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa; he was taken last year to a city-run park in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas to lead a life alone.
With temperatures in Ciudad Juarez reaching as low as 39 degrees F (4 degrees C) Monday, Benito set off in a crate strapped to the back of a flat-bed truck. He is a tall load, about 16 feet (meters) high, and the roof of his crate can be lowered to pass under bridges.
AP Photo
A truck carrying Benito the giraffe is escorted by a convoy of vehicles with officers from the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection and the National Guard in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. After a campaign by environmentalists, Benito left Mexico’s northern border and its extreme weather conditions Sunday night and headed for a conservation park in central Mexico, where the climate is more akin to his natural habitat and already a home to other giraffes. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
The animal’s head sticks up through the top of the big wooden and metal box, but a frame allows a tarp to cover over Benito and insulate him from the cold, wind and rain as well as from noise and the sight of landscape speeding by.
Residents gathered to say goodbye late Sunday in Ciudad Juarez as a crane lifted the container holding the giraffe onto the truck in preparation for the journey. “We love you, Benito,” some of them shouted.
“We’re a little sad that he’s leaving. but it also gives us great pleasure … The weather conditions are not suitable for him,” said Flor Ortega, a 23-year-old who said she had spent her entire life visiting Modesto, another giraffe who was at the zoo for two decades before dying in 2022. Benito arrived last May.
Benito is being transported across Mexico to Africam Safari park in central Puebla state where the low temperatures are about 20 degrees F warmer than in Ciudad Juarez.
More importantly, Benito may finally find a mate: There will be three female giraffes at his new home.
Environmental groups had voiced strong complaints about conditions faced by Benito at the city-run Central Park zoo in Ciudad Juarez, where weather in the summer is brutally hot and temperatures plunge during the winter.
Benito originally came from a zoo in the much more temperate climate of Sinaloa, a state on Mexico’s northern Pacific coast. Benito couldn’t stay with the two other giraffes there because they were a couple, and zookeepers feared the male would become territorial and attack the younger Benito.
So he was donated to Ciudad Juarez. In the summer there, he had little shade in his half-acre (0.2 hectare) enclosure; photos showed him crouching to fit under a small, circular shade canopy in the summer. In the winter, ice sometimes formed in the enclosure’s pond. There were few trees for him to munch on.
At the Africam Safari park, the giraffes live in a much larger space that more closely resembles their natural habitat. Visitors travel through the park in all-terrain vehicles to observe animals as if they were on safari.
The container specially designed to transport Benito is more than five meters high (16.5 feet). The giraffe was allowed to become familiar with it during the weekend, said Frank Carlos Camacho, the director of the Africam Safari park.
In a video update posted Monday from the cab of the truck about ten hours into the trip, Camacho said “up to now everything is going perfectly … the giraffe is doing very well.”
Inside the container is straw, alfalfa, water and vegetables, and electronic equipment monitors the temperature and even allows technicians to talk to the animal.
Outside, Benito is being escorted by a convoy of police, environmental officials and the National Guard.
At his new home, it will be almost like life will begin again for him, Camacho said. “He’s ready to be a giraffe,” he said. “He will reproduce soon, and contribute to the conservation of this wonderful species.”
___
Associated Press writer Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.
A giraffe named Benito started a 50-hour road trip Monday to leave behind the cold and loneliness of Mexico’s northern border city of Ciudad Juarez to find warmth — and maybe a mate — in his new home 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) to the south.
A campaign by animal rights activists won the four-year-old giraffe a transfer to an animal park in Puebla state in central Mexico, where he will join a group of resident giraffes and enjoy a more suitable climate.
It has been a long and lonesome road for Benito. Jealousy forced him to leave his home at a zoo in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa; he was taken last year to a city-run park in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas to lead a life alone.
With temperatures in Ciudad Juarez reaching as low as 39 degrees F (4 degrees C) Monday, Benito set off in a crate strapped to the back of a flat-bed truck. He is a tall load, about 16 feet (meters) high, and the roof of his crate can be lowered to pass under bridges.
AP Photo
A truck carrying Benito the giraffe is escorted by a convoy of vehicles with officers from the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection and the National Guard in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. After a campaign by environmentalists, Benito left Mexico’s northern border and its extreme weather conditions Sunday night and headed for a conservation park in central Mexico, where the climate is more akin to his natural habitat and already a home to other giraffes. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
The animal’s head sticks up through the top of the big wooden and metal box, but a frame allows a tarp to cover over Benito and insulate him from the cold, wind and rain as well as from noise and the sight of landscape speeding by.
Residents gathered to say goodbye late Sunday in Ciudad Juarez as a crane lifted the container holding the giraffe onto the truck in preparation for the journey. “We love you, Benito,” some of them shouted.
“We’re a little sad that he’s leaving. but it also gives us great pleasure … The weather conditions are not suitable for him,” said Flor Ortega, a 23-year-old who said she had spent her entire life visiting Modesto, another giraffe who was at the zoo for two decades before dying in 2022. Benito arrived last May.
Benito is being transported across Mexico to Africam Safari park in central Puebla state where the low temperatures are about 20 degrees F warmer than in Ciudad Juarez.
More importantly, Benito may finally find a mate: There will be three female giraffes at his new home.
Environmental groups had voiced strong complaints about conditions faced by Benito at the city-run Central Park zoo in Ciudad Juarez, where weather in the summer is brutally hot and temperatures plunge during the winter.
Benito originally came from a zoo in the much more temperate climate of Sinaloa, a state on Mexico’s northern Pacific coast. Benito couldn’t stay with the two other giraffes there because they were a couple, and zookeepers feared the male would become territorial and attack the younger Benito.
So he was donated to Ciudad Juarez. In the summer there, he had little shade in his half-acre (0.2 hectare) enclosure; photos showed him crouching to fit under a small, circular shade canopy in the summer. In the winter, ice sometimes formed in the enclosure’s pond. There were few trees for him to munch on.
At the Africam Safari park, the giraffes live in a much larger space that more closely resembles their natural habitat. Visitors travel through the park in all-terrain vehicles to observe animals as if they were on safari.
The container specially designed to transport Benito is more than five meters high (16.5 feet). The giraffe was allowed to become familiar with it during the weekend, said Frank Carlos Camacho, the director of the Africam Safari park.
In a video update posted Monday from the cab of the truck about ten hours into the trip, Camacho said “up to now everything is going perfectly … the giraffe is doing very well.”
Inside the container is straw, alfalfa, water and vegetables, and electronic equipment monitors the temperature and even allows technicians to talk to the animal.
Outside, Benito is being escorted by a convoy of police, environmental officials and the National Guard.
At his new home, it will be almost like life will begin again for him, Camacho said. “He’s ready to be a giraffe,” he said. “He will reproduce soon, and contribute to the conservation of this wonderful species.”
___
Associated Press writer Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.
The Mustangs reserves cheer on another three-pointer for Sachse against Rowlett. While the Eagles gave the Mustangs some issues last week, Sachse’s perimeter shooting was too good to deny in the 58-48 victory. Austin Smith/The Sachse News
January has been quite kind to the Sachse Mustangs, as they have now rattled off back-to-back week’s of undefeated play to start 2024. After a pair of big wins over Wylie and North Garland to open the new year, the Mustangs defeated Lakeview and Rowlett last week to move to 6-2 in the district.
That puts them in a three-team tie for second place with Wylie East and Naaman Forest. While Sachse split their games with those two teams during the first half of the district schedule, that was before this recent streak has seen them win their last five contests with district foes.
Against Lakeview, both teams came out of the gate hot, combining for 74 points in the first half. Still, it was the Mustangs who carried that momentum over to the second half, as they tallied 25 points in the third quarter to the Patriots’ 12.
To read the full story and support continued coverage of your local sports teams, subscribe to The Sachse News today!
Kamsi Ikegbunam (21) goes up for the two-handed flush in Wylie’s 72-38 victory over South Garland. The Pirates only took the floor once last week, as they prepare for the second half of their district schedule. Austin Smith/The Wylie News
GARLAND – The Wylie Pirates officially hit the midpoint of their district schedule last week, following their 70-38 win over South Garland. Despite a loss to Sachse the week before, Wylie will enter their final eight district matchups atop the standings at 7-1.
Last week, against the Titans, Wylie’s focus and effort seemed to be dialed up a notch in anticipation for the upcoming schedule that will feature a target on the back of all the Pirates.
While they are currently at the top of the district standings, four teams are within two games of the district lead, meaning the race for title really is still wide open. However, Coach Stephen Pearce is making sure to keep his team focused on their own game. “One thing we always talk to our guys about is winning the day,” Coach Pearce said. “Whether it’s in a game or practice, how can we get better. That was the goal out here today. We want to keep taking small steps in the right direction.”
The first regular council meeting of the year on Tuesday, Jan. 16 included updates on a few notable projects.
In the works since 2017 and delayed by COVID, construction on the Merrit Road project is not expected to begin until 2025. Spanning a mile and a half from Pleasant Valley Road to Sachse Road, the project will realign the intersection at Sachse Road and Woodbridge Parkway, add traffic signals at Hudson Drive and Sachse Road and include drainage and elevated roadway improvements for flooding mitigation.
As for Bond 2021 projects, the new Sachse Animal Shelter is currently under construction with “substantial completion” expected this year in the fall. The design contract for the expansion and upgrades to Sachse Road will be awarded in February. The city will be taking bids for upgrades to several neighborhood streets and roads in the first quarter of this year.
Construction for the Heritage Park expansion project is underway. The pavilion should be completed within a few weeks and the train bridge has already been constructed.
For more on this story see the Jan. 25 print, or digital edition of The Sachse News. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.
Favor Anyanwu (13) has continued to pile up awards after an incredible senior season on the volleyball court. She was most recently named First Team All-State on the Blue Bell/Texas Sports Writers Association’s All-State teams. File Photo
In late December, the Texas Sports Writers Association released their annual All-State teams, honoring players from across the state for their tremendous 2023 campaigns. For Sachse, senior Favor Anyanwu and junior Kaelynn Sims were each included following a 32-13 season by the Lady Mustangs.
The pair of outside hitters helped lead Sachse to a district title, and a berth to the Regional Semifinals where they ultimately fell to the eventual State Champions from Grand Oaks. It was a tremendous run in which both Anyanwu and Sims shined.
“It was a really great season,” Coach Rikki Jones said. “It didn’t start as well as we hoped. We had some adversity in the beginning before we were able to turn it around at Volleypalooza. That’s when I felt we really came together as a team. The girls were so much fun to coach, and getting to the Regional Semifinal is a big deal. We gave (Grand Oaks) everything we had, but just fell a little short.”
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Social activity helps seniors when it comes to exercise
Overcoming the lack of motivation to exercise is a common challenge, affecting people of all ages, including seniors.
Recent studies are a testament to that difficulty.
In a 2021 survey from the global fitness brand Orangetheory® Fitness and Kelton Global, 43 percent of respondents indicated they suffered from a lack of motivation to exercise. Lack of motivation can affect people of all ages, including seniors. However, seniors may be uniquely positioned to overcome their lack of motivation to exercise, particularly if they’re retired and have time on their hands. Seniors who aspire to exercise more frequently can consider these strategies if motivation becomes an issue.
By Carrie Dunlea
For more on this story see the January 18, 2024 print, or digital edition of The Sachse News. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.
4. ‘It’s a Freaking Bow Tie’: Child’s artwork at center of debate at Michigan school
An 11-year-old girl’s artwork is at the center of a debate at a Michigan school after the child’s mother said her daughter was unjustly targeted due to a misinterpretation of the drawing.
5. Mom responds after photo of her hugging her son raises eyebrows
Friday, two American hostages were released in Gaza Mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan were held hostage for two weeks by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Diplomacy by the U.S., Israeli, and Qatari governments acting as negotiators brought about the release.
“It’s a chess move,” former special agent Department of State senior advisor Ron Holloway said. “That’s what it is in a game of multi-dimensional chess with an infinite board.”
Working in diplomatic security services Holloway said this release is just a start to a longer process ahead.
“This is an opening of a negotiation,” Holloway said.
President Biden celebrated Friday’s release in a statement saying he is overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family.
State Department Secretary Antony Blinken said the fate of the 10 Americans and other hostages is still unknown.
“Some of them are being held hostage by Hamas along with 200 other hostages,” Blinken said.
Israel confirmed that of the more than 200 hostages, the majority are still alive and in Gaza.
Still, a lot is unknown about the future of the other hostages, but Holloway feels the release of two Americans is a positive sign.
“It’s a good move,” Holloway said. “It’s a game of inches like football. We inched a little closer to peace today. But there is still a big board and a lot of pieces to move around before the game finally comes to an end.”
The James Webb Space Telescope is celebrating its first anniversary. The telescope uses infrared technology and is positioned a million miles away from Earth. Over the past year, you have probably seen some of the breathtaking images produced by the telescope.
Some of the big accomplishments from the past year include taking some of the deepest images of the universe that we have ever seen.
“We have have been learning a lot about the early universe, about how galaxies form , there have been some surprises that make us re-look at the modeling. We’ve detected the first black hole in the universe but we’ve also studied the planets in our own solar system and we can study weather on these planets and their moons” said James Webb Space Telescope manager Lee Feinberg.
On Wednesday, NASA released a new image. Feinberg explains what the image shows. “The closest star-forming region to us, its only a little over 400 light years away, so it is in our galaxy, but we are seeing baby stars being born out of dust and gas, much like how our own sun formed.”
The James Webb telescope is designed to take us back into the early universe so we can learn more about how it formed.
To keep up with the latest findings from the JWTS visit nasa.gov or follow them on social media.
