Xcel Energy will cut power to 9,000 customers in northern Colorado starting Friday morning ahead of strong winds and fire danger, utility officials announced Thursday.
National Weather Service forecasters issued a red flag warning for critical fire weather in the northern Colorado foothills from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, with low humidity and winds up to 75 mph creating conditions “favorable for rapid fire spread” and extreme fire behavior, the agency wrote in an alert.
Xcel Energy customers in Larimer and Weld counties will see power cuts starting at 8 a.m., including in parts of Fort Collins, Loveland, Kerns and Bellevue, according to an online outage map.
The outage area’s rough footprint is Wellington to the north, Windsor to the east, Horsetooth Reservoir to the south and Ted’s Place to the west.
Central Fort Collins is not included in the planned outage, including Old Town and neighborhoods near Colorado State University, according to Xcel’s map.
Planned outages in Loveland include neighborhoods north and south of Fourteenth Street/U.S. 34 between Glade Park to the west and North Wilson Avenue to the east.
While weather conditions are expected to improve around 4 p.m., “restoration work won’t begin until high winds and elevated fire risks have subsided,” Xcel officials wrote.
“It may take several hours to several days for customers’ power to be restored because a crew must patrol the entire power line to ensure it’s safe to turn service back on before a power line can be re-energized,” utility leaders said Thursday.
Customers can report outages and damaged power lines through the Xcel Energy app, online at xcelenergy.com/out, by texting OUT to 98936 or calling 1-800-895-1999.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – An Orlando man booked Thursday in Brevard County is accused of stealing some $118,413.45 in merchandise from Best Buy stores across the state in a crime spree lasting the better part of a year, according to investigators.
Earl Glover, 30, made a habit of almost exclusively targeting merchandise on display — such as cellphones and laptops — ripping the devices from their security cables, triggering an alarm and running out of the stores, some of which he pilfered from more than once, according a sworn complaint filed last year by the Melbourne Police Department.
Glover’s alleged actions took place between June 11, 2022, and March 22, 2023, the report states.
The timeline given in the complaint, as well as what Glover is accused of doing, is as follows:
June 11, 2022 — Stealing four iPhones worth $3,239.96 at a Best Buy in Daytona Beach.
June 26, 2022 — Attempting to steal $8,367.27 worth of display merchandise at a Best Buy in Lakeland. A citizen reportedly tried stopping Glover as he ran out of the store, causing him to fall and drop the merchandise as well as his personal cellphone. The report adds Glover then tried ripping out an additional display unit before retrieving his cellphone, sprinting across the parking lot and jumping into an SUV being driven by another person.
June 29, 2022 — Stealing three MacBook display models worth $4,794.98 at a Best Buy in Melbourne.
July 11, 2022 — Stealing three more MacBook display models, also worth $4,794.98, at a Best Buy in Ocala.
July 29, 2022 — Stealing $5,219.95 worth of display merchandise at a Best Buy in Plantation.
July 29, 2022 — Stealing $2,471.98 worth of display merchandise at a Best Buy in Stuart.
Aug. 8, 2022 — Stealing three MacBooks worth $4,358.99 at a Best Buy in the Gainesville area.
Aug. 12, 2022 — Stealing $4,806.97 worth of display merchandise at a Best Buy in Jacksonville.
Aug. 22, 2022 — Stealing $5,057.97 worth of display merchandise, including three Sony digital cameras, at a Best Buy in Daytona Beach, Glover’s second time targeting the store.
Aug. 26, 2022 — Stealing two gaming laptops and an Apple AirPods Max worth $3,330.97 at a Best Buy in Altamonte Springs.
Sept. 9, 2022 — Stealing four iPads, an Apple Pen and an Apple AirPods Max worth $2,652.93 at a Best Buy in Orlando.
Sept. 16, 2022 — Stealing $4,182.97 worth of display merchandise, including three gaming laptops, at a Best Buy in the Orlando’s Millenia area.
Oct. 5, 2022 — Stealing nine iPhone display models worth $9,593.92, joined in the act by an unknown female, at a Best Buy in Plantation. A Best Buy Asset Protection employee reportedly attempted to stop Glover, who evaded the employee only to run toward an off duty Plantation police motor officer. Glover led Plantation police on a foot chase, ultimately evading arrest, yet would also drop and leave behind his personal cellphone, the report states. This was allegedly Glover’s second time targeting the store.
Oct 20, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,166.08, joined in the act by an unknown female, at a Best Buy in Jacksonville.
Oct. 28, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $3,820.97 at a Best Buy in Orlando’s Millenia area, Glover’s second time targeting the store.
Nov. 4, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,283.07 a Best Buy in Clearwater.
Nov. 14, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,015.95 at a Best Buy in Ocala, Glover’s second time targeting the store.
Nov. 28, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $6,749.97 at a Best Buy in the Orlando area.
Nov. 30, 2022 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,949.97 at a Best Buy in Daytona Beach, Glover’s third time targeting the store.
Dec. 14, 2022 — Stealing merchandise worth $6,479.96 — joined in the act by an unknown female, who selected three new-in-box laptops — at a Best Buy in Melbourne, Glover’s second time targeting the store.
Dec. 19, 2022 — Investigators make contact with the Best Buy Asset Protection employee from the Oct. 5 incident, learning more about the cellphone that Glover left behind.
Jan. 22, 2023 — Stealing display merchandise worth $6,134.96 at a Best Buy in Jacksonville.
Jan. 24, 2023 — A search warrant is approved for the cellphone that Glover dropped in Oct. 2022, used in part to verify his identity as well as to access photographs of the stolen merchandise stored on the device.
Jan. 30, 2023 — Stealing display merchandise worth $9,719.96 at a Best Buy in the Kissimmee area.
Feb. 22, 2023 — A warrant is approved for the cellphone’s historical location data, showing Glover in the area of ten of the thirteen thefts that occurred between June 11, 2022, and Oct. 5, 2022.
March 17, 2023 — Stealing display merchandise worth $4,499.98 at a Best Buy in Orlando’s Millenia area, Glover’s third time targeting the store.
March 22, 2023 — Stealing display merchandise worth $5,847.30 at a Best Buy in Wellington.
March 24, 2023 — Investigators make contact with the Florida Department of Corrections, providing surveillance images of the thefts for further confirmation Glover was behind them.
Glover was arrested via warrant and faces a charge of grand theft over $100,000, held at the Brevard County Jail on $200,000 bond, records show.
Central Wellington’s ageing parking meter system is being updated with new technology, with the new meters installed and going live next week.
There are 400 new Pay by Plate machines in central Wellington, Kelburn and by the Botanic Gardens ki Paekākā; 260 are card-only and 140 are cash and card machines. The new parking system will be live from Wednesday 3 January.
Pay by Plate is a paperless system that uses the vehicle plate number, rather than a numbered car park, to record the parking time and payment.
Parking prices will stay the same, from $3 – $5 per hour on weekdays depending on the location, and $3 per hour on weekends.
So what do you need to know to be ready for the switch?
Tips for smooth parking with Pay by Plate:
· There are two types of new meter – all meters accept PayWave and a third of them also take coins.
· Coin/card meters are the black and yellow rectangular meters that sit on the ground, the card-only meters are on a pole.
· Take a note of your Parking Area, which is on the side of the meter, eg W01. You can ignore the old kerbside numbers – these will be removed in the new year.
· Your active parking session can be used in any parking space until it expires, so long as the vehicle plate number and parking area are the same. If you park in another parking area which has a different ‘W’ (Wellington) number, you’ll need…
One youth has been referred to youth services after they allegedly set fire to items inside a Central Wellington building that later burnt down, police say.
Three others have also been referred to youth services, two weeks after the major inferno that gutted the vacant Toomaths Building on Ghuznee Street in the CBD.
Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Leitch said officers had identified and located the four youths allegedly involved after previously appealing to the public for help.
“Four youths aged between 13 and 14 from Wellington have spoken with police and are understood to have been in the building at the time the fire started,” he said.
“All four will be referred to youth services for unlawfully being in the building.
“One of the young people has also been referred for setting fire to items which subsequently caused the building fire.
“Police are not able to provide any further comment at this time.”
The third alarm fire broke out on the afternoon of October 15 and caused serious structural damage to the building after starting out on the third floor.
Work to demolish the heritage building began earlier this week due to safety concerns.
Earlier, police said it had received reports of three boys and one girl “jumping the fence at the rear of the building shortly before the fire.”
An investigation into a blaze which broke out in a vacant building in the Wellington CBD this afternoon, sending smoke billowing through the city, will resume tomorrow.
Fire crews were alerted to the third alarm fire, located on the third floor of the building, around 2.35pm, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) spokesperson told 1News.
The fire has since been extinguished.
One fire truck will remain at the scene overnight to check for and dampen any hotspots.
Specialist Fire and Emergency investigators will return to the scene tomorrow after facing difficulties entering the building.
Members of the public were earlier asked to avoid the area while work got underway to extinguish the blaze.
Patrons in neighbouring stores were asked to evacuate, with witness Brittany Van de Waardt telling 1News she saw emergency services “smashing the doors down… to get in and get people out.”
“We saw people getting their pets out with the carriers,” she said.
“They blocked off the streets while a lot of people who had been evacuated were watching this unfold.”
Police are speaking to people in the area to determine the cause of the blaze.
The road is closed where Ghuznee St intersects with Cuba St and Taranaki St.
The building on fire appears to be Toomath’s Building, which was built in 1900. The building is part of the Cuba St Heritage Area, in the Wellington CBD.
There were no reports of injuries or danger to neighbouring buildings.
Firefighters are at the scene after a blaze broke out in a vacant building in the Wellington CBD this afternoon, sending smoke billowing through the city.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) spokesperson told 1News multiple units are in attendance.
Fire and Emergency said they were alerted to the fire, located on the third floor of the building, around 2.35pm.
There are no reports of injuries or danger to neighbouring buildings.
Fire services have asked members of the public to avoid the area while work is underway to extinguish the blaze.
Patrons in neighbouring stores were asked to evacuate, with witness Brittany Van de Waardt telling 1News she saw emergency services “smashing the doors down… to get in and get people out.”
“We saw people getting their pets out with the carriers,” she said.
“They blocked off the streets while a lot of people who had been evacuated were watching this unfold.”
Police are speaking to people in the area to determine the cause of the blaze.
The road is closed where Ghuznee St intersects with Cuba St and Taranaki St.
The building on fire appears to be Toomath’s Building, which was built in 1900. The building is part of the Cuba St Heritage Area, in the Wellington CBD.
Police at the crash scene near Te Papa Museum in Wellington. Photo / Ethan Griffiths
Two people are in hospital, one in a critical condition, and two others have been arrested after a serious crash in Wellington early on Sunday morning.
Police were called to Cable St about 1.15am after a report of a car hitting two pedestrians.
The car then fled the scene, which is across the street from Te Papa Museum.
Car fled the scene after hitting and injuring two people. Photo / Ethan Griffiths
The two injured pedestrians were transported to hospital – one in a serious condition, and one critical.
Wellington City Council launched the Pōneke Promise programme in 2021 with the aim of making the CBD safer.
“Businesses and of course local residents were feeling unsafe and they wanted to create a safer environment in the city,” says mayor Tory Whanau.
One answer is a new partnership between the council, Wellington Free Ambulance and Wellington District Police, that will see cops and paramedics team up on Friday and Saturday nights to patrol Courtney Place and its surrounds.
Sergeant Will Buchanan leads the team, and says it’s a positive initiative.
“It’s a game-changer for police in terms of our times, it’s a game-changer for WFA in terms of their response times, it’s a game-changer for the way the public are able to get the help that they might need immediately.”
Emergency services working together is hardly new, but traditionally paramedics would remain a small distance away from the action, ready to be called up.
But last year’s protest and occupation at parliament changed that, with a trial put in place where paramedics were paired up with police on the frontline.
“They were trained up to such a level that they could work in what you might call hostile situations where normal paramedics don’t operate,” says WFA’s general manager of operations, Eric Tibbott.
“But in some of the downtime we had, they went down with some of the local district police, in Courtenay Place just to test what it would look like to have paramedics there and then.”
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was caught on a hot mic Tuesday using a vulgarity against a rival politician in a rare misstep for a leader known for her skill at debating and calm, measured responses.
After five years as prime minister, Ardern faces a tough election campaign in 2023. Her liberal Labour Party won reelection two years ago in a landslide of historic proportions, but recent polls have put her party behind its conservative rivals.
The comment came after lawmaker David Seymour, who leads the libertarian ACT party, peppered Ardern with questions about her government’s record for around seven minutes during Parliament’s Question Time, which allows for spirited debate between rival parties.
As an aside to her deputy Grant Robertson, Ardern said what sounded like, “He’s such an arrogant pr———,” after sitting down. Her words are barely audible on Parliament TV but are just picked up in the background by her desk microphone as House Speaker Adrian Rurawhe talks.
Ardern’s office said she apologized to Seymour for the comment. When asked by The Associated Press to clarify, Ardern’s office did not dispute the comment. In an interview with the AP, Seymour said she had used those words.
“I’m absolutely shocked and astonished at her use of language,” Seymour said. “It’s very out of character for Jacinda, and I’ve personally known her for 11 years.”
He said it was also ironic because his question to the prime minister had been about whether she had ever admitted a mistake as leader and then fixed it. “And she couldn’t give a single example of when she’s admitted she’s wrong and apologized,” Seymour said.
Seymour said that in her text, Ardern wrote that she “apologized, she shouldn’t have made the comments, and that, as her mom said, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.”
Seymour, who said he admired some of Ardern’s political skills immensely, said he’d written back to Ardern thanking her for the apology and wishing her a very Merry Christmas.
After 15 years, one of New Zealand’s most significant properties has been priced for market at $5.2 million―the grand estate’s otherworldly gardens blushed with myth. Its substantial lake was the set piece for a doomed hobbit who found a golden ring buried on its murky bottom for two and half millennia.
New Zealand film director Peter Jackson, in fact, lives a half-hour drive north of the residence. Jackson was the director, writer and producer of The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies filmed in New Zealand.
The lake area of the New Zealand estate was used in the filming of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
PQ Property Intelligence
The historic country house’s own origin story dates to 1860 when the property was secured via a crown grant with a spread of 2,300-plus acres. It’s since been pared to about 29 acres and its previous structures razed. Now, a 1924 American Colonial Revival home graces the land, its eight-bedroom interior done in a Georgian layout of 900 square meters.
Located in the South Wairarapa district at the southeast end of the country’s north island, the heritage estate called Fernside was mastered by Kiwi architect Heathcote Helmore. He also designed the 1933 Vogel House, for a time the official Wellington residence for the country’s Prime Minister.
An oak-lined entry drive of nearly 2 kilometers is best driven at a leisurely pace. A dozen or more sheep wander the road’s edge, keeping grasses tidy.
The 1924 Georgian-style home has been restored to its former grandeur.
PQ Property Intelligence
Fernside’s exterior is of white weatherboard accented by forest green shutters, all topped with a steep neo-Georgian slate roof. Fully restored gardens that gratify at every turn―they’re counted as among the finest in the country―lie beyond. But first, the home.
Upon entry, the residence’s highly symmetrical L-shaped layout begins with the foyer’s ample wainscoting done in cream set against pale golden walls. It’s a warm welcome.
To the left, there’s a formal dining room and to the right, two drawing rooms, one with an adjacent sunroom. “The drawing rooms are big, but they’re still intimate and with views onto the gardens,” says listing agent Anthony Morsinkhof of PQ Property Intelligence. “They’re north-facing with lots of light and with views to the gardens. With big roaring fires blazing in them, it’s very special.”
The grounds have also undergone an extensive rehabilitation since the sellers took ownership in … [+] 2007.
PG Property Intelligence
Overall, “you feel you’re at home” in the estate, he adds. “It’s very livable. You don’t get lost in this home even though it’s large, whereas, in other properties, it can be so easy to get absolutely lost.”
Beyond the dining room are a modern commercial kitchen, utility areas and staff offices with a dedicated staircase that ascends to three staff bedrooms. On the first floor near the kitchen, there’s a flower room, a box room and one for wine. Of note is a centralized bell system linked to upper rooms for summoning servants―it recalls the one featured in Julian Fellowes’ historical drama series, Downton Abbey.
There’s also a lift, currently not working―the first of its kind in New Zealand.
Interior details include wainscoting, high ceilings and crown molding.
PQ Property Intelligence
Just up the handsome Georgian-style staircase, separate from the staff stairs and bedrooms, are five spacious bedrooms, four of them en suite, “which was very much ahead of its time,” says Morsinkhof, adding that the bathrooms have original tile and Carrara marble.
Floors in the residence are of oak and Jarrah, a eucalyptus native to Western Australia prized for its beauty and durability.
Intricate Regency-style plasterwork adorns the walls in “Ella’s bedroom” set with a fireplace. The room was named in honor of socialite Ella Elgar, wife of Charles Elgar who purchased the property in 1888. Elgar built a homestead that grew to 24 rooms. Thirty-five years later, a fire destroyed the residence and the numerous antiques collected by the well-traveled couple. The Elgars rebuilt in 1924.
The formal dining room can easily accommodate a party of 14.
PQ Property Intelligence
In 1949, after the Elgars died, Fernside was carved up and sold to the United States government for £12,000 as a residence for the American ambassador to New Zealand, Robert M. Scotten. He and his wife lived at the English country estate from 1949 to 1955. Under their watch, the address furthered its reputation as an elegant venue for parties. The Scottens’ overnight guests included American diplomat John Foster Dulles, who later became a U.S. Secretary of State.
Subsequent owners oversaw the property’s repeating cycles of deterioration and renovation. But by 2007, when the current owners bought the property, it was in dire shape. Free-roaming sheep had chewed up the gardens and hedges and the grounds were overgrown. The owners dredged the lake and shored it up. Paths and bridges were restored and a new orchard and herbaceous borders were planted―to start the lengthy list.
The grounds are designed in the Arts and Crafts style with numerous garden rooms.
PQ Property Intelligence
Before that, a yearlong exterior renovation included such details as replacing cast iron gutters, section by section. The interior was also improved and freshened.
“Everything the owners added or improved was absolutely in keeping with the property’s history,” Morsinkhof says. “They’ve brought the home right up to top condition. It’s just beautifully presented.”
That presentation includes a two-story 200-square-meter cottage that can be rented or used for guest or staff quarters. It has a full kitchen and three double bedrooms.
Formal hedges surround the central fountain.
PQ Property Intelligence
In preparation for the garden extension and restoration, the owners visited the United Kingdom’s stellar heritage gardens for inspiration: Great Dixterer, Rousham, Hidcote, Heligan and Sissinghurst.
The arts and crafts-style gardens now proceed with a formal entrance courtyard set with a fountain wreathed by white carpet roses and box hedging. A restored rose garden is adjacent, anchored with a nimble statue of Mercury.
The sprawling main lawn, just outside a drawing room terrace, is ideal for croquet and other lawn sports. Beyond that is Fernside Lake, its mature trees an optimal match for fictional Middle-earth. In 1999, the lake’s now 123-year-old bridge was tricked out Elvin-style for The Lord of the Rings filming. Scenes in the trilogy’s first two films were shot there.
Mature trees shade the extensive lawn, which can be used for croquet or quiet strolls.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, elves, wizards and trolls (but never orcs) could be spotted in the gardens―opened on occasion for The Lord of the Rings tours, popular with costumed fans.
The lake, which dates to the late 1800s, is fed by 3 miles of water races that travel the grounds. They were engineered by Charles Elgar and are sourced at the Tauherenikau River. The lakeshore is planted with an abundance of vibrant flowering plants.
The tranquil lake reflects mirror images of the surrounding vegetation.
PQ Property Intelligence
Many of the original Victoria garden details remain, including a brick-lined sound shell that offers a quiet sit. The enclosure amplifies nearby bubbling water.
There are also waterfalls, a well-ordered chess garden (clipped Buxus is used as chess pieces), a formal knot garden, a Japanese water garden, a Victorian sunken garden, a stream-cut native garden and, of course, a secret garden. It’s anchored with a central Italian fountain and includes a summerhouse and entertainment area.
“You walk up to a small opening in a hedge not realizing there’s a walkway there and suddenly you’re entering another garden,” Morsinkhof says. “There are all sorts of little surprises in the garden like that.”
The country estate is being offered at US $5.2 million.
PQ Property Intelligence
As for the new formal gardens, “the owners created them so they look like they’ve been there a hundred years,” he says, “When, in reality, they’re 10 to 15 years old.”
While the variety of vegetation is vast, a common theme centers on naturalized hellebores, bluebells, giant Himalayan lilies, as well as rhododendrons, maples, magnolias and dogwoods.
The property’s Australian and New Zealand native woodlands include species well over 100 years old: oaks, cedars, elms, liquidambars, poplars, eucalyptus, beech, linden, chestnut, weeping willow.
“There’s a cathedral of oak trees,” Morsinkhof says. “You walk through them with the light beaming down and you’re lost for words. It’s so incredibly beautiful.’
Via the orchard, the estate’s kitchen is cyclically stocked with fresh apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, feijoas, figs, persimmons, avocados, lemons, grapefruit, limes, mandarins, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, mulberries and medlars.
The chess garden adds a touch of whimsy.
PQ Property Intelligence
The kitchen garden serves up strawberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, red currants, gooseberries, raspberries, kiwifruit and boysenberries.
Outbuildings include a 1920s-era greenhouse and a newly built three-car garage (in addition to the original two-car garage) with a workshop, loft storage area and staff room. Beneath is a 70,000-liter concrete water tank. There’s also a four-bay implement shed that houses a tractor, truck, riding mower and other utility vehicles.
The property comes with an extensive list of utility and garden equipment, with additional items available for purchase. The estate’s various Sotheby’s-quality antiques are also procurable via separate purchase.
Fernside is set in farmland, yet close to services.
PQ Property Intelligence
Fernside is a short drive from Featherston and Greytown. The latter is “much like the Hamptons in the States,” Morsinkhof says. “Little boutiques, high-end shops and nice restaurants.” About 100 kilometers from Fernside: the ultraluxury Wharekauhau, an Edwardian-style lodge that edges Palliser Bay.
New Zealand’s largely rural Wairarapa district is dotted with 60 boutique wineries, with pinot noir being the region’s standout product.
Via the country’s Metlink system, Fernside is an hour’s train ride to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital. The Wellington International Airport is adjacent to the city.
PQ Property Intelligence is an exclusive member of Forbes Global Properties, a consumer marketplace and membership network of elite brokerages selling the world’s most luxurious homes.
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