March 26th, 2015 at 9:00 am
Moving a house to a new location is formidable enough. But moving an entire city of more than 23,000 people to a new site two miles away? That’s a job paved with logistics of the highest order. But it’s what the residents of Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost city, are gearing up for.
The move is necessitated by ongoing extraction at the world’s largest iron mine nearby. Future digging will be go even deeper, which would unsettle the ground under 3,000 homes, city hall, the train station, and a 100-year-old church. So city. officials decided to bite the bullet and work with the state-controlled mine operator to move the whole town–lox, stocks, barrels, homes and buildings–to safer ground east.
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March 19th, 2015 at 10:00 am
Photo courtesy of nessa_flame / Shutterstock.com
Few things announce to the world that your city is a center of arts and culture like a first-class opera house. Spectacular buildings that are as much works of art as the performances they house are attractions everywhere from Sydney to Copenhagen to Vienna, and now Yuhang in China can add itself to this prestigious list.
Henning Larsen, the world-renowned architectural firm behind the Royal Danish Opera House and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Riyadh, has turned its considerable expertise toward designing the Yuhang Chinese Opera House. Featuring a design modeled around a unique geometric façade with a sloping roof, the proposed opera house will be the centerpiece of a cultural arts district, complete with two museums and an art school.
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March 19th, 2015 at 8:00 am
You don’t need to know the difference between a monkey flower and a coyote mint to know that “wildflower season” is upon us in Southern California. From now into May, countless uncultivated varieties greet the spring with bursts of color from the desert to the sea.
Knowing when and where to visit the seasonal blooms can be a challenge due to elevation and climate. One of the best sources is the Theodore Payne Wild Flower Hotline, founded 32 years ago as a weekly phone report but now offered only online. Reports with the latest sightings, photos, and directions are published weekly as Word and PDF files.
Below is a list of some of the more reliable places to view, photograph, and revel in the beauty of our region’s wildflowers. Some are an easy walk to get to, others can be a bit of a hike. To avoid monochromatic landscapes, check ahead before you put pedal to the metal to see the petals.
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March 12th, 2015 at 10:00 am
Warm weather means that spring is on the way, and with spring comes the sunny Southern California summer right on its heels. And where better to be in the sunshine than out on the water, riding the waves on a brand-new kayak or paddleboard? But you need to have the best equipment to get the best experience, and recent developments in maritime equipment mean that 2015 will be one of the most exciting years on the water yet.
Some of these developments include:
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March 12th, 2015 at 8:00 am
It’s that time of year again. Through April 3, the Cactus League boys of summer head to their spring training camps near Phoenix to sharpen the skills that have lain dormant over the winter. However, it’s not just the athletes on the field that need to prep for the oncoming season; loyal fans and supporters also need to make sure they are ready to cheer on their team through the 162-game march to the World Series. So why not make the trip out to Arizona and help your favorite Major League team start its year off right?
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