26 Oct 2023

Maine mourns as it shelters-in-place from Lewiston to Lisbon

by | posted in: Society | 0

LEWISTON, Maine — Miia Zellner and Hunter Kissam realized something was wrong in their hometown when they heard sirens blaring outside their apartment.

A sign advises residents to stay home, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, following a mass shooting at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. Police continue to search for the suspect. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Jess Paquette expresses her support for her city in the wake of Wednesday’s mass shootings at a restaurant and bowling alley, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Police continue their manhunt for the suspect. Authorities urged residents to lock themselves in their homes and schools announced closures on Thursday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Chris Van Buskirk/Boston Herald

Law enforcement armed with long rifles stand at the entrance to Central Maine Medical Center on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, after a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills provides updates on a mass shooting during a press conference at Lewiston City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (Chris Van Buskirk/Boston Herald)

Maine State Police Col. William Ross (center) provides an update on a mass shooting at Lewiston City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (left) and Maine Public Safety Department Commissioner Michael Sauschuck (right) stand next to Ross. (Chris Van Buskirk/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald)

Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre speaks during a press conference about the mass shooting on Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the shooting, Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people in two separate locations on Wednesday night. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images/TNS)

Police officers stop to question a driver at a roadblock, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. The shootings took place at a restaurant and bowling alley in nearby Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Maine Public Safety Department Commissioner Michael Sauschuck provides an update on a mass shooting during a press conference at Lewiston City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (left) and Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre (right) stand next to him. (Chris Van Buskirk/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald)

Chris Van Buskirk/Boston Herald

Law enforcement armed with long rifles stand at the entrance to the emergency department entrance of Central Maine Medical Center on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, after a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.

Law enforcement armed with long rifles stand at the entrance to Central Maine Medical Center on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, after a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (Chris Van Buskirk/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald)

A law enforcement officer carries a rifle outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

People depart an emergency department entrance at Central Maine Medical Center, past a member of security, behind right, during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A passer-by walks past law enforcement officers carring rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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As they investigated what was happening, they said a cop came up to their car Wednesday night and told them to show their hands, and then “move on.”

Zellner, 22, and Kissam, 27, were only a short distance away from Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant, one of two sites involved in a mass shooting that left 18 people dead and 13 wounded, according to police.

“We didn’t think it was nearly as bad as it was,” Kissam told the Herald Thursday while he was walking down Lisbon Street, a main thoroughfare in downtown Lewiston. “We thought like, okay, somebody got mad at a bar and shot somebody or whatever. And then we heard a shooter. Then we saw headlines with active shooter, and we were not expecting it to be what it was.”

The shooting is the 36th mass killing in the United States this year, according to a database run by Northeastern University in Boston in conjunction with media outlets.

The horrific events that unfolded Wednesday rocked residents in Lewiston and across Maine, as other mass shootings have done with the seemingly never-ending list of cities and towns nationwide.

An artist by trade and originally from Central Massachusetts, Zellner decided Thursday to make heart-shaped cutouts from poster board adorned with phrases like “to my community” or “to my friends” to place on light posts throughout downtown Lewiston.

“I was feeling a lot of emotions about the whole thing this morning and it kind of manifested physically into this. I just wanted to show my support and love for the community and give people a visual representation of the type of support that people feel,” Zellner said in-between placing the heart cutouts onto street lights and trees.

Areas around Lewiston were nearly deserted Thursday as law enforcement maintained a shelter-in-place order for the city as well as the neighboring communities of Lisbon and Bowdoin.

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Sirens, then eerily quiet: Scenes from the night of Maine’s worst mass shooting

Occasional dog walkers interspersed with people experiencing homelessness slowly meandered through a main park just across the street from City Hall. But the media nearly outnumbered the locals who were venturing into public spaces.

Businesses were largely shut down in Lewiston, with most gas stations, restaurants, and shops shuttered as law enforcement continued a massive manhunt for 40-year-old Robert Card, who they said is a suspect connected to the shootings.

Lisbon Street, where Zellner hung the heart-shaped posters, was nearly empty.

“It’s usually so much busier than right now,” she said, hoping her posters would help promote “some type of positive from this.”

At a press conference earlier Thursday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said the shooting tore through the “peace of mind” of all residents in the state, but especially in Lewiston.

“This is a dark day for Maine. I know it’s hard for us to think about healing when our hearts are broken,” Mills said. “But I want every person in Maine to know that we will heal together. We are strong. We are resilient. We are a very caring people.”

26 Oct 2023

Trick or travel? Halloween holiday options for the whole family

by | posted in: Society | 0

Lynn O’Rourke Hayes | FamilyTravel.com (TNS)

Trick or treat? Why not treat your family to a haunted holiday. Here are five to consider:

1. New Orleans, La.

A recent TripAdvisor survey ranked New Orleans as the spookiest city in the U.S., based on the number of spooky tours and events available to visitors. Among the options in NOLA is a family-friendly, small group tour during which your clan will learn about the legends that are part of the French Quarter’s storied past. It’s a spooky, but not over-the-top wander through an historic neighborhood said to be frequented by ghosts and goblins.

For more: www.Viator.com

2. Great Wolf Lodges

Choose from 18 resorts across the country where seasonal décor — think Fall leaves, pumpkins, and other ghostly treats — await youngsters. During October, select resorts will feature special packages through which families can swim through a sea of floating pumpkins to find their favorite gourd, embark on an immersive journey to reunite a little pumpkin with its family, and enjoy seasonal treats like cider and donuts while they decorating pumpkins.

Also, be on the lookout for Trick-Or-Treat Trails, a Monster Bash Dance Party, Howl-O-Ween trivia and engaging crafts. Visit the Great Wolf Lodge in the Pocono Mountains, Pa., Gurnee, Ill., Grapevine, Texas, LaGrange, Ga. or Garden Grove, Calif. and you can check into a Pumpkin Spice Suite. That means you’’ll have access to bottomless Pumpkin Spice Lattes from the coffee shop located in the lodge, a daily amenity service that includes warm buns with pumpkin cream cheese frosting and sleep in a room with pumpkin pillows and pops of oranges and browns to further celebrate the season.

For more: www.GreatWolf.com

3. Sleepy Hollow, New York

Check out the brilliant autumnal display while hiking, biking, visiting historic attractions and celebrating the spooky season. Take in the Jack-o’-lantern Blaze where more than 7,000 individually hand-carved and illuminated jack-o’-lanterns glow in a historic, riverside landscape.

Learn more about Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow during a spine-chilling tour on the Irving estate. Take part in a literature-themed scavenger hunt and take in a special exhibit that highlights how the Legend has lived on in popular culture.

Take your chances during a haunted hayride and pay homage to the author and the season with a visit to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Washington Irving is buried.

For more: www.visitsleepyhollow.com

4. Virginia City, Montana

Perhaps it’s the ghost of Calamity Jane who saunters back into town. Or maybe it’s the gold miner whose luck ran out. No one knows for sure, but the colorful mining town is said to be “spirited.” Once home to as many as 10,000 residents, lively saloons and dance halls, Virginia City was considered the capital of the Montana Territory.

Today, travelers who make their way to this well-preserved treasure are treated to old-time theater, music, train rides, living history demonstrations as well as walking or horse-drawn carriage tours. And, plenty of good ghost stories.

For more: www.virginiacity.com; www.visitmt.com

5. A haunted house near you

Sticky cobwebs, spine-chilling music, hair-raising sights. If you dare, find a haunted place near you and go boldly into the night.

During this spooky season expect fields of screams, terror in the cornfields and whole towns devoted to scaring you out of your wits. If you dare, you can find a chamber of horrors to suit your family’s tastes.

For more: www.hauntedhouse.com

_____

26 Oct 2023

Los Angeles travel guide: How to have a free yet fabulous time in the City of Angels

by | posted in: News | 0

Susan Manlin Katzman | Chicago Tribune

The City of Angels offers tourists a heavenly number of star-studded attractions. Many come with sky-high price tags, but not all. Some of the best sights, sounds, attractions and activities in the city are free.

Visitors can join Angelenos at play, gain an insider’s appreciation of the city and indulge in a plethora of pleasures without paying a penny.

Here’s where to go and what to do to maximize the Los Angeles experience:

Beaches

Life is a beach in LA. As if ocean, sunshine and long stretches of soft sand aren’t enough, LA beaches come with all sorts of enhancements. The beaches are free for the access, but they vary in style, substance and extracurricular activities (that may come with fees).

A sign marks the end of the historic route 66 as people walk on the Santa Monica Pier on April 30, 2021 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Santa Monica State Beach

All day and well into the night, the Santa Monica State Beach brims with fun. During the day, over 2 miles of sandy coastline lures beach lovers with surfing, swimming, sunbathing and a variety of sports. The 114-year-old Santa Monica Pier (the iconic end point of Route 66 — selfie anyone?) is a bright and buzzing spot from which to watch the sunset over the Pacific. The pier’s fee-based fun includes an amusement park, aquarium and food outlets.

Venice Beach

Tourists from around the world head to Venice Beach, not so much for sunbathing and swimming — although there is that, but rather to soak up the vibrant, boho spirit. Stroll along the2-plus-mile boardwalk rich with street performers, art galleries, casual food outlets and quirky souvenir shops. Gawk at the scantily dressed skaters who whiz around and the perfectly toned bodybuilders working out at Muscle Beach, an outdoor gym where the famous train. Participate in activities on the fishing pier, at the skate park, on different sports courts, or simply stroll and savor the scene.

Trails

Mellow weather. Flourishing flora and fauna. Panoramic views. LA provides the perfect setting for year-round hiking. These two exceedingly popular urban parks are filled with trails ranging from easy to challenging. Note: Best to wear sunscreen and hydrate when tackling any trail.

Tourists walk around the Griffith Observatory on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, on July 25, 2023. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Griffith Park

This city-owned park spreads over 4,200 acres at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountain range and offers hikers a broad range of excitements, including breathtaking trails leading to the Griffith Observatory (free to visit — except for planetarium shows). Griffith Park is also home to the Hollywood Sign, as well as some of its best viewpoints. Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails.

Runyon Canyon Park

Highly popular with locals, so a bit crowded (think celebrities and those who come to see celebrities), Runyon Canyon Park covers 160 acres in the heart of Hollywood. Trails offer workouts of various difficulties and steep rises yield sweeping views of Hollywood, downtown LA and even Catalina Island on clear days. Don’t miss Rock Mandala, a meditative circle designed by artist Robert Wilson. The park sports some off-leash areas for canine companions.

Art Museums

Some are large. Some are small. And most are just right to delight a variety of special interests. LA hosts a wealth of museums dedicated to different subjects. While some charge hefty fees, a few display their treasures free of charge.

Although entrance is free, these museums require advance reservations with timed entrance (available on each museum’s website). Prepare to be wowed!

Getty Center

This crown jewel of the LA art scene sits at the top of a hill in the Santa Monica Mountains in Brentwood. Visitors must park in a designated lot (for a hefty fee) at the hill’s base and take a free, four-minute tram up to the center. With more than 120,000 objects in its collection, the center’s exhibits cover a broad time frame — from the Middle Ages to today — and a wide range of subjects including illuminated manuscripts, photography, decorative arts, sculpture and painting (from Rembrandt to Manet). Captivating modern architecture, lush landscaping and spectacular views complete the picture. More information at getty.edu/visit/center

The Broad comtemporary art museum in Los Angeles, California is seen on November 15, 2021 ahead of the exhibition ‘Since Unveiling: Selected Acquisitions of a Decade’, which opens on November 20. – The Broad hosts a Diversity Apprenticeship Program, an initiative to create career opportunities for underrepresented communities in the museum field. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Broad

A modern architectural wonder located downtown, The Broad is a must-visit for fans of contemporary art. Galleries showcase works of more than 200 artists including such popular favorites as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons. Timed entrance tickets give access to Yayoi Kusama’s incredible Infinity Mirror Room — one of the most popular installations in Los Angeles. More information at thebroad.org

Ethnic Enclaves

The ethnic communities of LA cover the world. Take your pick: Thai Town, Chinatown, Cambodia Town and the “Littles,” such as Little Saigon, Armenia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Moscow and many more. These are the places to explore different cultures, try special foods, shop for imports and enjoy unique festivals that express the neighborhood’s celebratory joy. Two to try:

Koreatown

The 3 square miles that make up Koreatown are packed with trendy fun. Shops, bars and particularly restaurants draw customers from all over Los Angeles. According to DiscoverLosAngeles.com, Koreatown not only houses more Koreans than anywhere else in the world outside of Korea, but also holds one of the largest concentrations of nightclubs and 24-hour businesses and restaurants in the country, and contains more large malls than any other similar-sized area in the U.S.

Little Tokyo

Little Tokyo began life in the 1880s, was recognized as a historic landmark in 1986, and remains the culture core for LA’s Japanese descendants. Covering an area of about five city blocks in downtown LA, the district holds the Japanese American Community and Cultural Center; the lovely, serene Garden of the Clear Stream; Buddhist temples; and shops selling video games and anime. Eateries specialize in Japanese delights such as ramen and sushi (the famed California roll was supposedly invented here).

Nightlife and entertainment

Yes, it is possible to go clubbing, attend concerts, discover new comedians and enjoy assorted entertainment in LA for free. Check online for free listings and tickets at TimeOut, Eventbrite and Discotech.

Only window shopping is free, but there are two areas where one can window shop and people watch — win-wins easy on the budget.

Rodeo Drive

A 2-mile street flashing famous shops, glitzy boutiques and legendary fashion houses, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills draws the wealthy Hollywood crowd. Pretty women shop here. Celebrities with tons of money do too. Good place to see how the other half fills their closets.

The Grove and The Original Farmers Market

Referred to as an open-air mall, The Grove in LA’s Melrose neighborhood emits an upscale, small-town main street ambiance. A double-deck trolley (free rides) travels the central corridor, looping around a water fountain that dances to piped tunes of Frank Sinatra and his contemporaries. The mall offers popular retail shops (See’s Candies gives free samples — yippee), a movie theater and restaurants. Next door, The Original Farmers Market, dating to 1934, draws both locals and tourists to enjoy shopping at the stalls of gourmet food purveyors that fill the market.

Catching the Vibe

Tour downtown to see rich and diverse architectural gems. Don’t miss the shining, stunningly dramatic Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Pay tribute to celebrities at both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in the forecourt of the nearby TCL Chinese Theatre (also known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre).

Drive (or stroll) through Beverly Hills to see celebrity homes (from a distance).

Cruise along Mulholland Drive (avoid rush hour) for glorious views captured in many movie scenes.

Look here, there, everywhere to behold awesome street art. Sculptures sit on street corners. Installations front buildings. Murals cover walls. Graffiti brightens alleys.

26 Oct 2023

‘Pain Hustlers’ review: Emily Blunt helps lift slight drug-scandal drama

by | posted in: Politics | 0

We are told from the onset that “Pain Hustlers” is “inspired by real events.”

It quickly becomes clear that what that means in this case is the movie, though largely entertaining, is not telling a dramatized true tale set within the country’s opioid crisis.

Its characters — including those played by appealing leads Emily Blunt and Chris Evans — never feel all that authentic. And as for what transpires … let’s just say “Pain Hustlers” isn’t afraid to lay it on a little thick now and then.

That said, does this story of ambitious folks getting caught up in pushing doctors to prescribe a potentially harmful drug in the hopes of lining their pockets ring true at various points? Oh, sure.

Its genesis was screenwriter Wells Tower being sent journalist Evan Hughes’ 2018 New York Times article “The Pain Hustlers,” about the scandal surrounding the company Insys Therapeutics. Furthermore, the book Hughes would later write, eventually titled “Pain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup” and developed alongside the movie, serves very loosely as its basis.

However, “Pain Hustlers” — helmed by David Yates, the director of seven movies in the “Harry Potter” universe — is more interested in being engaging than it is in hitting hard.

It wants us to invest in Blunt’s Liza Blake, a scrappy if not always reliable single mom whom Evans’ Pete Brenner meets at the exotic dance club where she works.

Looking to do the best she can for teen daughter Phoebe (Chloe Coleman, “Gunpowder Milkshake”) and needing to move out of her judgemental sister’s garage, Liza takes Pete up on an offer for a sales position at Zanna, the failing Florida-based pharmaceutical company where he’s in management and works with people he despises.

Chris Evans portrays the ambitious Pete Brenner in “Pain Hustlers.” (Betina La Plante/Netflix/TNS)

She is given just one week to hook a “whale” — a doctor who will prescribe the company’s fentanyl-based drug, Lonafen, intended to relieve pain in cancer patients. With much effort, she finds that whale, Brian d’Arcy James’ Dr. Lydell, whom Chloe refers to at one point as “Doctor Sketchball.”

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Soon, more prescriptions are being written by more doctors, money is flowing into Zanna and rules increasingly are being bent and broken by drug reps and docs alike.

While Liz and Pete are making the highly profitable moves, the puppetmaster is Zanna head Dr. Jack Neel (Andy Garcia). He talks of creating the drug because the idea of his wife being in pain while she died of cancer broke his heart but is obsessed with the company maintaining its incredible growth rate.

Yates and Tower want us to have someone to root for, so Emily — after buying an incredible home and paying “enhanced tuition” at her daughter’s exclusive private school — develops a conscience. She worries about what doctors agreeing to prescribe Lonafen for not-FDA-approved uses will mean for patients and wants to take steps to make Zanna less of a target for the feds. However, Jack — an increasingly paranoid germaphobe who has worked to isolate himself from the actions of his employees — isn’t interested.

Thanks to the almost always compelling Blunt (“Edge of Tomorrow,” “A Quiet Place”), it is, in fact, pretty easy to care about what happens to Liza, whose motivation for (eventually) doing the right thing includes her daughter’s need for a pricy medical procedure. She’s no angel, Blunt is so good that we forget that for big stretches of “Pain Hustlers.”

It’s a little harder to worry about what will become of Pete, a character given little dimension by Tower and Yates and who, for some reason, has been provided with a distracting Boston accent by Beantown native Evans (“Avengers: Endgame,” “Knives Out”).

We wouldn’t have minded a bit more screen time for Garcia (“Expend4bles”), who adds a little color to “Pain Hustlers” as the eccentric if ultimately loathsome Jack.

Likewise, the film doesn’t find quite enough for the talented Catherine O’Hara (“Best in Show,” “Schitt’s Creek”) to do as Jackie, Liza’s loose-cannon mother, whom she hires to be a sales representative. (What could go wrong there?)

“Pain Hustlers” doesn’t ignore the damage the drug is doing to the people taking it and their loved ones, but that isn’t where its focus lies. The movie wants to be “The Wolf of Wall Street” rather than something akin to the excellent Hulu limited series “Dopesick.” As a result, it feels a bit slight, short story writer Tower’s lack of screenwriting experience perhaps showing a bit.

On the other hand, in Yates’ hands, it’s brisk and punchy. There’s simply something to be said from any streaming offering that doesn’t stagnate.

“Pain Hustlers” shines more light on a shady and dangerous world, one in which doctors are incentivized to write prescriptions and where profit can be more important to some than quality health care. It isn’t the first work to do that, and it isn’t the best.

But at least it has Emily Blunt.

‘Pain Hustlers’

Where: Netflix.

When: Oct. 27.

Rated: R for language throughout, some sexual content, nudity and drug use.

Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes.

Stars (of four): 2.5.