A family in Pennsylvania took advantage of this week’s cold weather to make some memories. Ashley Barron showed off the colorful igloo her family finished after days of preparing frozen blocks.Ashley, Brandon, Colton, Coy and Kaia Barron started the whole process on Monday and finished the build on Saturday.Click the video above to see both inside and outside of the igloo.
SOMERSET, Pa. —
A family in Pennsylvania took advantage of this week’s cold weather to make some memories.
Ashley Barron showed off the colorful igloo her family finished after days of preparing frozen blocks.
Ashley, Brandon, Colton, Coy and Kaia Barron started the whole process on Monday and finished the build on Saturday.
Click the video above to see both inside and outside of the igloo.
Aiming to secure a winning record in a three-game road trip that concludes with Friday’s visit to the Chicago Bulls, the Orlando Magic will look to build upon a clutch performance that boosted them Wednesday.
Paolo Banchero swished the go-ahead layup with 7.5 seconds left to lift the Magic to a 112-110 win at Indiana.
Orlando trailed by 10 points in the third quarter but rallied behind Banchero (29 points, 10 rebounds) and a deep attack that included Desmond Bane (18 points) and Anthony Black (15).
‘We just had to battle it out and play to the final buzzer,’ Banchero said.
Monday’s 107-106 loss in Toronto to open the trip saw the Magic stumble in that regard; they squandered a 21-point second-quarter lead while tallying just 12 points in the fourth quarter.
While Orlando remains without top scorer Franz Wagner (high ankle sprain), the team is getting closer to full health after welcoming point guard Jalen Suggs (hip) back to the lineup after a seven-game absence.
Suggs contributed 11 points and three assists at Indiana.
‘Great to see him back out there, great to have him out there,’ Banchero said of Suggs. ‘Just his energy out there, he’s just a huge part of the team. So when he’s out there, I just think we’re better.’
Chicago knows too well about the impact injuries can have on cohesion. The Bulls’ top two scorers – Josh Giddey and Coby White – recently were sidelined by a left hamstring strain and right calf tightness, respectively, and will sit out Friday.
Center Zach Collins (right toe sprain) also is out for at least another week.
On Wednesday, shorthanded Chicago stopped a two-game skid with a 134-118 win against New Orleans to improve to 1-2 on a five-game homestand.
Sparked by Isaac Okoro’s season-best 24 points and double-doubles from Tre Jones and Jalen Smith, the Bulls placed eight scorers in double figures. Each starter contributed at least 14 points.
‘That’s how we’ve been winning,’ Jones said. ‘Guys down (now), we need everyone on the team; depth is one of our main things. Having that many guys in double figures, we need that to continue to stack these wins. Definitely a good way to go out in the year and head into a new year on a good note.’
The winner of Friday’s game will earn at least a split of the season series. The visiting Bulls topped the Magic by 12 on Oct. 25 behind 21 points from Giddey before Orlando defended its home court with a 125-120 victory on Dec. 1. Bane scored 37 points, a season-high total he has achieved three times, in that win.
Orlando has won seven of 10 the series with Chicago but has been susceptible to one of its former players lately.
Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, who spent parts of nine seasons with the Magic before joining the Bulls in a midseason trade in 2020-21, has posted a double-double in seven of his past 10 games against Orlando. He is averaging 17.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game over that span.
SAN JOSE — A big San Jose apartment complex has landed a key loan that will bankroll a wide-ranging upgrade of the property, which consists of affordable units.
Monte Alban Apartments in San Jose has landed nearly $30.2 million in a refinance loan, according to JLL, a commercial real estate firm.
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department provided the new loan, which was structured as a cash-out loan that provides funds to undertake renovations and improvements at the apartment complex.
The 192-unit apartment complex is located at 1324 Santee Drive in San Jose. It consists of garden-style units within 12 buildings.
The residential property is near one of the Bay Area’s major interchanges, where U.S. Highway 101 connects with interstates 280 and 680. It’s also fairly close to downtown San Jose and the city’s international airport.
“The community maintains 100% occupancy with many long-term tenants and provides rents that are 40% to 60% below market rates,” JLL stated.
The 30-year, fixed-rate loan from HUD exceeds the estimated value of the property, which was $24.8 million as of January 2024, according to documents on file at the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office.
San Francisco-based The John Stewart Co., the property owner and loan recipient, intends to conduct upgrades on the site.
“The refinancing allows for $47,000 per unit in property renovations and upgrades,” JLL stated. That would equate to a total of about $9 million.
John Stewart Co. and JLL didn’t specify whether these upgrades wiould occurr within the units, in the common areas, or both.
Monte Alban Apartments was built in 1970 and renovated in 2006 and contains a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, according to the Apartments.com website.
“Monte Alban Apartments offers a range of amenities including air conditioning, appliances, a community room, laundry facilities, an exercise room, a basketball court, two swimming pools and two playgrounds,” JLL stated.
SAN JOSE — The Bay Area’s three primary office markets, haunted by empty buildings, have reached forbidding new milestones of record-high vacancy levels, according to a grim new report.
Silicon Valley, which roughly equates to Santa Clara County; downtown Oakland; and San Francisco all hit record-high office vacancy rates in the most recent three-month period, JLL, a commercial real estate firm, reported in separate surveys of those markets.
Downtown Oakland, as seen in a July 2024 drone picture. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Tenants continue to seek ways to reduce their corporate footprints, a dynamic that is keeping office vacancies at brutal levels.
JLL measured the vacancy levels for the July-through-September period.
Sunset arrives in San Francisco. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Here are the details for each market in the third quarter:
— San Francisco, which is locked in what numerous experts believe is an economic “doom loop”, posted a third-quarter vacancy rate of 34.5%.
— Downtown Oakland’s office vacancy rate was 29.1%.
— Silicon Valley reported an office vacancy level of 22%.
In all three instances, the vacancy levels rocketed to record highs, according to JLL researchers for each market.
Despite the ominous statistics, JLL researchers believe some signs of hope have begun to emerge for the battered Bay Area office markets.
“Leasing activity in Silicon Valley is up 21.6% from the previous quarter,” JLL reported in their assessment of the South Bay office market for the third quarter. “The San Jose Airport and Santa Clara submarkets led the activity, accounting for 22.7% and 18.2% of deals, respectively.”
In downtown Oakland, the July-through-September quarter was bleak with little room for optimism. Downtown Oakland’s office market was sluggish at best.
Leasing activity, the number of rental deals and the average lease size declined in the July-September period compared with the April-through-June quarter in downtown Oakland.
Downtown Oakland also faces an ominous challenge due to huge blocks of office space being vacant.
“Two more full floors came to the market this quarter” in downtown Oakland, JLL reported. “Clorox listed another floor for sublease at 1221 Broadway and APEN’s former space at 426 17th Street was listed. This brings the total number of full floors available to 133 in downtown Oakland.”
Put another way, if a typical Oakland office highrise is 20 stories high, 133 empty floors could equate to six or seven completely vacant office towers in downtown Oakland.
San Francisco is — by far — the worst of the three office markets, with a vacancy rate that is 5 to 12 percentage points higher than downtown Oakland or Silicon Valley.
“Vacancy increased to 34.5%” in San Francisco, “largely due to continued consolidation” by office tenants in the city’s Financial District, JLL reported.
Even worse, office rental rates are particularly weak in San Francisco. Rents are roughly 33% below the levels seen in 2019, the final full year before coronavirus-spawned business shutdowns began in 2020.
The JLL report did offer some hope for these three key office markets — although the reports warned that any real improvement in vacancy levels won’t materialize until sometime in 2025.
“Return-to-office rates have trended upward, 6% higher than this time last year” in San Francisco, JLL reported. “Remote job postings are also down 16% year-over-year. Both indicate that companies are shifting away from a remote-friendly work environment.”
Some encouraging signs for downtown Oakland have emerged due to government entities seeking to rent or own office spaces in the East Bay city’s urban core.
“Downtown Oakland has seen stabilization among its public sector tenants, including major commitments from BART PD, the FBI, and FEMA,” JLL reported. “As remote work mandates shift, so will workweek activity shift in downtown Oakland.”
Silicon Valley is starting to see a big increase in tenant demand as companies scout for office space to a greater extent, JLL reported.
“JLL is tracking approximately three million square feet of office requirements, a 21.4% increase” in the third quarter compared with the second quarter, JLL reported.
Plus, more tenants scouted for much larger spaces in the July-through-September third quarter than they did in the April-through-June second quarter.
“While smaller requirements see higher demand and activity, 100,000-plus square feet requirements have tripled this year, signaling potential new deals,” JLL stated.
SAN JOSE — An eye-catching San Jose office building has landed a big lease with a cutting-edge tech company in a deal that offers a hopeful counterpoint to the dismal swaths of empty spaces in the Bay Area.
A large new tenant has agreed to take some space at One Santana West, a new office building at 3155 Olsen Drive across the street from the Santana Row neighborhood in San Jose, according to executives with Federal Realty Investment Trust, the principal owner and developer of Santana West.
One Santana West office building (foreground left), located at 3155 Olsen Drive in San Jose across the street from Santana Row (background). (Federal Realty Investment Trust)
The disclosure of the rental agreement came during a conference call that Federal Realty’s top officials held with Wall Street analysts to discuss the real estate firm’s financial results for the April-through-June second quarter.
“Lease-up at Santana West continues with a newly signed deal with an AI-powered cloud database provider for 24,000 square feet on the first floor of the state-of-the-art building,” Donald Wood, Federal Realty chief executive officer, said during the conference call.
The tech company’s deal extends what appears to be brisk leasing activity at One Santana West, which totals roughly 376,000 square feet.
“Active negotiations with other prospective tenants for much of the remainder of the building should enable us to continue to report on new deals,” Wood said during the conference call.
Before the lease with the artificial intelligence tech company, One Santana West had enticed two other companies to sign rental agreements.
— PwC, a professional services titan, signed a lease during the spring to occupy 141,000 square feet.
— Acrisure, a fast-expanding financial technology and insurance company, leased 29,000 square feet in late 2023.
Newmark, a commercial real estate firm scouting for office tenants for Santana Row, has used the array of amenities at the destination neighborhood to entice tenants to sign up for spaces in One Santana West.
“The leasing at Santana West with this new AI-based tech company is going to bring us well above 50%,” said Dan Gee, Federal Realty’s chief financial officer, referring to the amount of the building that is rented.
Federal Realty didn’t disclose the name of the tenant that took the space.
The rental agreement materializes at a time when office vacancies throughout the Bay Area have reached or are near all-time highs.
“This is an important sign for the San Jose office market,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a commercial real estate firm. “Every lease matters to dig out of the huge number of vacant square feet of existing office space.”
One Santana West appears poised to land even more tenants that collectively could take big chunks of additional space in the office building.
“We’re working back and forth, actually pretty rapidly right now, with about another 70,000 square feet of demand there,” Federal Realty’s Gee said. “We may not be able to sign all of them. We’ll see.”
The activity and interest are strong enough, however, that Federal Realty envisions a time in the relatively near future when One Santana West could be filled up.
“We’ll start to get pretty well leased up by the end of the year, beginning of the first quarter of next year,” Gee said.
In 2023, Federal Realty began to seek multiple tenants for One Santana West. The focus on landing tenants that would take less than the entire building appears to be paying off.
“That’s where we’re seeing really, really strong demand,” Gee said, referring to the interest from smaller tenants.
The real estate firm’s original approach was to sign up a single big tenant to occupy the entire One Santana West building.
“Federal Realty is showing true leadership in being able to break apart their building into smaller spaces,” Staedler said.
Springtime means it’s keynote season in the tech world, and in 2024, that means “time to show off your AI bona fides.” Google and OpenAI have already revealed big new upgrades to Gemini and ChatGPT this month, and now it’s time for Microsoft Build. The tech giant’s annual developer conference kicks off with a keynote slated for Tuesday, May 21 at 12 PM ET/9 AM PT, and you can watch the entire event live on YouTube (which is also embedded below) and at Microsoft’s site (registration required). What about that Microsoft Surface event you may have heard about? Well, that’s actually happening a day earlier: Monday, May 20. Confused? Don’t worry, here’s the tl;dr version of what to expect, summarized from our more in-depth What to expect from Microsoft Build 2024: The Surface event, Windows 11 and AI.
New Microsoft Surface products expected: Monday, May 20
One day before the official Build keynote, Microsoft is hosting a more intimate event for journalists at which it plans to reveal its “AI vision across hardware and software.” That event won’t be livestreamed, but Engadget will have full coverage as it unfolds.
The rumor mill strongly suggests that we’ll see new consumer-targeted Surface PCs. And unlike the enterprise-centric models like the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 introduced back in March, these new models may be powered by updated Qualcomm Snapdragon chips – Arm chips that run cooler and offer far better battery life than their Intel and AMD equivalents, but often at the expense of reduced app compatibility and processing speeds.
Microsoft Build keynote: Tuesday, May 21
The thought is that Microsoft is following the template that its fellow tech giants have demonstrated this season: get the hardware announcements out of the way first, clearing the runway for an all-AI showcase at the developer conference. That’s what happened with Apple and Google in recent weeks, as they respectively revealed new iPads weeks before the WWDC event in June, and a new Pixel 8a phone in the days leading up to Google I/O.
What’s that mean for Tuesday? Last year’s Build announcements give you the general flavor: Microsoft’s Copilot AI (possibly with more impressive OpenAI-powered smarts) integrated into even more of Microsoft’s DNA, likely both at the device level (Windows) all the way up to the company’s massive cloud infrastructure.
While much of Tuesday’s news will be through the prism of Microsoft’s developer community, we’re looking forward to giving you the big picture on what it all means for end users – and how it dovetails with the hardware announcements we expect to hit on Monday. Stay tuned.
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SAN JOSE — The decision by two tenants to exit downtown San Jose might worsen the maladies that already afflict the urban core’s economy in the wake of the coronavirus.
PwC, a professional services titan, and its recently purchased tech company, Surfaceink, are poised to leave downtown after PwC signed a lease for a big chunk of space in a new office building at Santana Row in west San Jose.
The prospect of tenant departures comes at a time when downtown San Jose already struggles with office vacancy levels that have soared to worrisome heights.
“This is going to raise the vacancy rate in downtown San Jose,” said David Taxin, partner with Meacham Oppenheimer, a commercial real estate firm. “With the amount of vacancy downtown, this won’t help the cause.”
At the end of 2023, downtown San Jose’s office availability rate was at an all-time high of 35.7%, according to a report from Savills, a commercial real estate firm. Office availability measures the combination of empty office space offered directly by building owners and space that tenants are offering through sublease.
As further evidence of a feeble real estate market in downtown San Jose, within the last four months, two large office properties were sold at a big loss compared with their prior sales.
In December 2023, an office tower at 303 Almaden Boulevard was bought for slightly under $23.8 million — which was 70% below the price paid for the highrise at the time of its prior sale in 2017 for $80.2 million.
In February 2024, a two-tower office complex at North Market Street and West St, John Street was bought for $34.2 million — a nosedive of 77% compared with the $141.4 million paid in 2019 for the highrises.
While the price declines are jaw-dropping, experts such as David Sandlin, an executive vice president with Colliers, a commercial real estate firm, point out that the newly established prices at least set a current value for office buildings for office buildings in downtown San Jose.
“We now know the price that a Class A building in San Jose will trade for,” Sandlin said in a prior interview with this news organization on the topic.
The price for the 303 Almaden tower worked out to $151 a square foot while the price for the 111 Market Square tower was $105 a square foot. Some experts note that the 303 Almaden highrise is deemed to be of greater quality than the two-tower office complex.
Also of interest with these deals is that the buyers of each of the office properties are separate groups that both are headed up by George Mersho, chief executive officer of Morgan Hill-based retailer Shoe Palace.
PwC, as a result of its decision to move to Santana Row, a destination mixed-use neighborhood in San Jose, will also shift its new subsidiary, Surfaceink, into the same One Santana West office building near the corner of South Winchester Boulevard and Stevens Creek Boulevard.
“The great thing about the PwC deal is that they stayed in San Jose,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy. “With the amenities at Santana Row, it’s understandable why PwC would go there.”
About 1,200 PwC employees will be located at the One Santana West office building. That move is slated to occur in 2026.
Still, downtown San Jose appears more than capable of being a vibrant host for office tenants and conventions.
The recent Nvidia artificial intelligence convention, in addition to compelling keynotes and packed events, was also the catalyst for lively crowds that poured into the downtown in search of meals, drinks, or entertainment.
“The activation of downtown San Jose and the energy downtown is what is going to appeal to companies with younger employees,” Staedler said. “Having a constant stream of events and activities such as jazz festivals, live performances and other exciting events is the way to attract companies to downtown San Jose.”
PwC is expected to vacate 80,000 square feet at an office tower in downtown San Jose, property experts say. Surfaceink leased 7,000 square feet on Stockton Avenue on the western edges of the downtown.
“You could get a new AI company or software company that wants to be in an urban environment in the PwC spaces,” Staedler said.
Political and city leaders will need to adjust their thinking regarding the downtown in order for the city’s urban core to truly rebound.
“Antiquated dreams of a Trader Joe’s or a Safeway in the heart of downtown are days gone by. They are over,” Staedler said. “Downtown needs to focus on vibrancy.”
SAN JOSE — A big affordable housing project in San Jose is pushing ahead with a property purchase and the landing of a crucial money package for the construction of the residences, public documents show.
The affordable residences are part of Stevens Creek Promenade in San Jose, a big mixed-use development that will feature housing, retail and a hotel.
Pacific West Builders, acting through an affiliate, has paid roughly $3.5 million for the site where the affordable homes would be built, according to documents filed on Feb. 21 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
Miramar Capital Group, which is the primary developer of the Stevens Creek Promenade complex, sold the site for the affordable housing portion of the project to Idaho-based Pacific West Builders.
In 2020, Santa Monica-based Miramar Capital Group and Machine Investment, acting through affiliate MPG Stevens Creek Owner, paid $54.5 million for the overall development site, including the just-sold affordable homes parcel. The overall development property is located on the south side of Stevens Creek Boulevard between Kiely Boulevard and Palace Road.
The California Housing Financing Agency authorized the issuance of a bond package to enable construction financing for the affordable housing project, according to a staff report prepared for a recent meeting during which the state agency approved bonds and funding for the project.
The affordable residential development would consist of 173 homes. Of these, 171 will be affordable apartments that will be rented to residents belonging to households making 30% to 70% of the area’s median income, according to the state housing agency’s report. Two of the units will be market-rate homes for on-site managers.
The Santa Clara County area median income in 2023 was $181,300 for a four-person household. That would mean the income limits for the affordable homes in this project would range from about $54,390 a year to $126,910.
The total construction package is valued at $125.6 million, according to the agenda materials for the state Housing Finance Agency.
Of that overall amount, Citibank is providing the project with $98.6 million in construction financing through two separate loans. Bonneville Multifamily Capital is providing a third loan of $10 million, according to the California Housing Finance Agency documents.
The 173-unit project will include 44 studio units of 422 square feet each, 37 one-bedroom units ranging in size from 563 to 573 square feet, 45 two-bedroom units of 776 square feet and 47 three-bedroom units of 1,064 square feet. Two of the three-bedroom units will be manager’s homes.
“This is an inclusionary project and will be part of a larger development that will include two market-rate apartment buildings and a 250-room hotel,” the state housing agency documents state.
One of the market-rate apartments will be 191 units and the other will be 216 units.
The market-rate apartments as well as the hotel are expected to be built at some point after the affordable housing is built, or at least under construction. The project is being built in phases in a way to enable the affordable homes to be developed first.
This project is located at 4300 Stevens Creek Boulevard, a short distance from San Jose’s two mega malls, Westfield Valley Fair and Santana Row.
Construction of the affordable apartments is slated to begin within weeks and should take roughly two years to complete and potentially open in 2026, the state agency documents show.
When originally conceived, Stevens Creek Promenade was expected to feature 233,000 to 300,000 square feet of office space, up to 582 apartment units and as much as 22,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor.
In the latest version, the retail component has been trimmed to 10,800 square feet. The developers have scrapped the office component completely in an uncertain market for that type of product as well as fast-rising office vacancies.
We’ve got to live with the white stuff, so why not embrace it and make it as fun as possible? After all, it’s our safest play-place this winter. Check out these 6 ways to make snow play more fun.
Make shapes. Snow is super moldable, especially the wet, sticky stuff. Break out buckets and bowls, sand toys, tupperware, or lightweight metal baking pans. Fashion bricks or unique shapes for giant animals and snowmen. Even the dollar store has rectangular building moulds for snow as well as snowball makers.
Make it colourful. Spray bottles with coloured water can add whimsy and personality to any snow creation.
Make it glow. Nighttime snow play can be almost more fun than in the daytime, and since darkness creeps in earlier these days, this is totally doable. Glowsticks look super cool under the snow and make for a fun game of hide-and-go-seek.
Make a science lab. You can get as messy as you want since you’re outdoors! You could create a snow volcano: fill the top with baking soda and add some vinegar. Coloured water and alka-seltzer tablets are also fun.
Make something delicious. Outdoor snow cone stand? Frozen lemonade cafe? An iced coffee for the adults? What about your own sugar shack where you pour warm maple syrup on the snow for a gooey sweet treat? Let the snow be your sous chef.
Make it an ongoing project. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was your snow castle, or snow mechanic’s garage, or snow restaurant. Start a larger backyard snow-build that you can work on over the course of a few days.
Four years ago, Zeus was surrendered to the city’s municipal shelter, after living the first two years in a yard, largely left alone. And in 2021, he was pulled into APA!’s care so that the Dog Behavior Program could help support Zeus who was struggling with behavioral challenges that were causing him to be overlooked. Since that time, he’s gone in and out of foster care. The behavior team, along with his circle of friends, have continued to work with him, offering tools to navigate his world and giving him time and space to build his confidence. Zeus has plenty of love to give and he so deeply deserves a home to call his own.
Zeus is not a difficult dog. He has behaviors that can be difficult if not approached appropriately, but APA!’s Dog Behavior team, paired with Zeus’ best friends (staff and volunteers) work to break down the barriers of how people interact with certain behaviors while also working to understand what the dogs are trying to communicate when they showcase those difficult behaviors. Zeus struggles with “stranger danger” and can also act out when over-aroused. This boy has a whole team of friends who have stayed by his side, offering him tools to help manage those behaviors to help him find a loving home.
Not all dogs get excited and wiggly to meet new people. Zeus needs new people to go slowly with him. We use treat tosses to build up trust, and watch for his body language to relax and for him to show consent before getting too close and offering any pets. A dog’s body language is an important part of their communication! With time and patience, Zeus will build enough trust to let you into his circle! Our team of staff and volunteers, will work with potential fosters or adopters to ensure they have the right tools to successfully become a Zeus BFF!
Another of Zeus’s quirks is the behaviors he exhibits when he is over stimulated. He may hump, or give “leg hugs” as his friends jokingly call it! Zeus does this when he is happy and excited, but we also know this isn’t exactly a desirable behavior. This is easily managed with treat tosses down and away or redirecting his behavior with a toy. He also loves to give little “pibble nibbles” when giving kisses. While he does this out of affection, not all people want face nibbles. Luckily treats and toys and appropriate chews and toys help redirect Zeus when he’s getting too excited!
This silly pupper also has a number of behaviors that we love to see! Zeus enjoys carrying one of his beloved toys whenever he goes on walks. Not only is it adorable to witness, having a toy in his mouth is a helpful tool to combat stranger danger, too! Zeus loves to go on adventures, whether that be to a local park or going to a friend’s house with a swimming pool. And afterwards, he turns into a snuggle bug — by cozying up on a couch with his best bud by his side.
Zeus has waited for his family long enough — let’s get this boy home! His ideal home would be low-traffic without small children. He could live in either a house or apartment. Zeus goes to playgroup at APA! and would be best suited to live with a similar-sized dog who has the same play styles. Our teams are happy to help assess a potential friendship and facilitate a meet and greet! Most importantly, this deserving dog is looking for someone who will trust the process, be patient as he warms up to a new human and new surroundings and pledge to love him for the good boy he is!
What can 24 pallets of donated pet food do? It can connect a community, build a community, and keep the individuals in that community fed and safe.
In 2022, APA! became a benefiting partner of a program created by the Humane Society of the United States and Chewy that connects Chewy’s warehouse returns to shelter partners in need. This collaboration has helped build upon our expanding PASS (Positive Alternative to Shelter Surrender) program, which has seen extreme growth over the last few years.
A large delivery that we welcomed to our main location will make its way across Austin in a few stages. First, our friends at Austin Humane Society have collected eight pallets that will help stock one of their quarterly food banks. Next, several partnering organizations—multiple rescues, food pantries, and municipal partners—will come to APA! to load up supplies to support their efforts. And finally, APA! will welcome community members in need to load up supplies that may mean the difference between keeping their pet or having to rehome.
When a community member is facing hard times, they may find themselves having to make the hard and heartbreaking decision to find a new home for their beloved pet. The last three years have been an eye-opener for so many, and for APA!, we saw the gap our community, and communities beyond Austin, have in providing support for a family that includes pets. Our PASS program, which had been quietly running in the background for years, shifted to a program that we recognized needed fast growth and that we needed to bring to the foreground of operations—so we could support people and pets in our community, and keep families together.
In 2022, this “little program that could” raised over $44,000 for community members who needed medical support or pet deposit support in order to keep their pet, distributed over $300,000 worth of supplies and foods to various shelters and rescue partners, fulfilled 400+ individual pet pantry orders which served over 1500 pet family members and, when rehoming a pet was the best option for all parties, intaked a little over 1000 pets, typically, directly into foster homes.
We’re honored to be a central hub partner for the HSUS and Chewy donation program as a way to continue to support our community members when they need a helping hand.
What better way to countdown to the holidays than with an advent calendar. There are differently-themed calendars for everyone, young and old alike. Whether you go with something to nibble or something to spoil yourself, these are some of the year’s best advent calendars that will having you feeling festive for December.
The 2022 Classic Holiday Advent Calendar from L’Occitane features 24 formulas for daily surprises in sustainably sourced and reusable packaging. Every day you’ll unlock travel-sized versions of classics, including nourishing shea-enriched formulas, signature Verbena and Rose hand creams, indulgent body lotions, gentle cleansing soaps, and a full-sized Almond Delicious Hands for a touch of warmth and softness all season long.
The PAW Patrol: 2022 Advent Calendar with 24 surprise toys, available at Toys R Us, has a new surprise waiting behind each door. Kids will discover their favorite pups Chase, Marshall, Skye, Rubble, Everest, Rocky and Zuma, dressed up for the holidays, two bears, a baby turtle, a kitten, a snail, a bunny and a deer, Chickaletta wearing her hat and scarf, two tents, a cabin, two Pine trees, a fire pit, a lantern and more. Once all 24 gifts have been opened, kids can use their imaginations to create an adventure bay snow day and send the pups and their friends on exciting holiday missions.
The LEGO Star Wars’ Advent Calendar, also available at TRU, features eight LEGO Star Wars characters, including C-3PO and R2-D2 in holiday sweaters decorated with each other’s portraits, a Gonk Droid dressed as Santa and Darth Vader in a summer outfit from LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation on Disney+. Build and play A super holiday gift idea for Star Wars fans aged 6 and up, the calendar contains 16 mini builds, such as an ARC-170 Starfighter, Bad Batch Shuttle, V-35 Landspeeder and a moisture vaporator. Kids will find assorted builds and accessories to play out Battle of Hoth stories, a Wampa cave in which the Luke Skywalker LEGO minifigure can be hung upside down and a beach scene for Darth Vader on vacation.
The Body Shop’s Share the Love Big Advent Calendar not only has an amazing pop-up construction that transports you to a joyful Christmas world. but it’s packed with some seriously good head-to-toe treats for keeping you and that beautiful body pampered all season.
The 24 Days of Matcha Advent Calendar from David’s Tea has 24 of your fave one-of-a-kind blends, must-sip classics, as well as festive best sellers. Made from finely ground full tea leaves, their selection is sourced directly from Japan to bring you the highest quality green. It’s matcha so good, it even makes the Grinch smile.
