Redondo Beach celebrates the groundbreaking for Wilderness Park lower pond

Redondo Beach, along with the South Bay Parkland Conservancy, held a groundbreaking ceremony and sign unveiling for the lower pond at Hopkins Wilderness Park on Monday, August 25.

Long-awaited improvements on the lower pond were celebrated at the event.

Pond construction should be completed around Thanksgiving and will "provide a good habitat for species to return," said Redondo Beach Mayor Jim Light during the event.

We used to have frogs and salamanders down here," Light said, "and once it got concreted, they don't like that type of environment, (so) they disappeared.

Ducks used to be common at the pond, he said, but "ducklings got eaten by critters," like coyotes and raccoons.

The new pond construction, however, will provide some protection for native wildlife, Light said.

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Mayor Jim Light speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the long-anticipated improvements to the lower pond and stream system at Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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New interpretive displays are unveiled at the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Mayor Jim Light, center, along with current and former city council members break ground on the long-anticipated improvements to the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Lauren Williamson quietly listens to an audiobook at Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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The view from Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Turtles look for food in a pond at the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Hopkins Wilderness Park breaks ground on long-anticipated improvements to the park's lower pond and stream system in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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New interpretive displays are unveiled at the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Mayor Jim Light, center, along with current and former city council members break ground on the long-anticipated improvements to the Hopkins Wilderness Park's lower pond and stream system in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Mayor Jim Light speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the long-anticipated improvements to the lower pond and stream system at Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Four interpretive signs — focusing on native plants, the history of the site and its importance to monarch butterflies — were also unveiled at the event, as the SBPC is spearheading and overseeing the restoration of native habitats in several areas of the park.

In October, Wilderness Park received much-needed funding when SBPC received a $40,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and decided to use that money on the park's upgrades.

The grant is being used to restore six acres of native coastal sage scrub, which will provide a habitat for western monarch butterflies to help them survive the winter months before mating and migrating during the spring.

Coastal sage scrub habitat, which has been decimated for multiple reasons, from climate change to development, provides a home for threatened species, such as the gnatcatcher, cactus wren and the El Segundo blue butterfly.

The SBPC has helped "re-wild" the park, restoring native plants to several acres since 2017.

At 11 acres, Wilderness Park is the largest in Redondo Beach.

Before it was established in 1977, the area was a Nike missile site LA-57 from 1956 to 1963. The sites - which included nearby locations in San Pedro and Rancho Palos Verdes - were established during the Cold War.

The federal government turned the land over to Redondo Beach in 1971 for public recreation, Light said.

In 2021, then-Public Works Director Ted Semaan said that besides a drought issue, which instigated the water being shut off at the lower pond, it had become a dumping ground for unwanted pets and garbage, including tires.

After the SBPC started replenishing native plants there, Light said, "one of the questions we get most often is, what happened to the lower pond, and are you going to redo it?"

I took that on as a passion project," Light said. "I convinced my best friend Bill Brand to take it on as his project, and he eventually made it his number one project.

Former Mayor Brand died in February 2024 from lung cancer.

Light was a founding board member of the SBPC, which Brand launched in 2004, and has also served as president.

"We've designed this to have between 30 and 40% native wetland plants in the water," Brand said, "to help reproduce what would be a normal ecosystem here that will not only help with filtering the water, (but also) keep the nitrogen levels down" to combat algae.

The upper pond is currently home to turtles and koi fish, as well as other wildlife, including an occasional heron.

The city has no plans at this time to add native animals to the lower pond, Light said.

"Nature will find a way," he said.

© 2025 Daily Breeze, Torrance, Calif. Visit www.dailybreeze.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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New tiny libraries sprout up across Ulster County

PORT EWEN, N.Y. — Residents of Esopus, Kingston, and New Paltz may have noticed some new, rather unconventional tiny libraries appearing in local community spaces.

Installed with a grant from "The Field," a Manhattan-based organization, the five tiny libraries were all constructed by area artists.

All of them are just so wonderful," said Nina Nichols, a local artist and member of the Esopus Town Environmental Board who coordinated the project, in an interview. "This project came along and they all went so hard on it.

The term "library" is used rather loosely, as participating artists were encouraged to be as creative as they wanted. For example, Hudson-based artist Dinah Gumbs' library, dubbed "The Worm Church," dispenses moss and seeds from the Connelly Community Garden in James Reiker Park.

"You can come and leave plants and seeds and take plants and seeds," Nichols said.

Gumbs interprets her library as a portal connecting the deep earth and the living world.

The Kingston Land Trust's Red Fox Ravine, located off Wilbur Avenue in Kingston, is home to the "Library of Magical Objects," crafted by local artist Cal Trumann. Trumann manages the grounds for The Rêve, a trans- and people of color-led collective house and community sanctuary located outside of Kingston.

Constructed primarily out of wood pieces reclaimed from damaged and discarded furniture, the library is home to natural items like stones and fossils, as well as zines and tarot cards.

"They left some interesting stones inside, and you can come and leave objects of importance to you," Nichols said.

Another library in Kingston, "Baba Yaga's Little Free Library," sits in the Kingston Land Trust Forest Preserve. Crafted by artists Aurora Brush and Sam Goldberg, the library is inspired by the Slavic folk character Baba Yaga, a trickster, healer, and witch who dwells in a house that walks on chicken legs.

The library will be maintained by Cosmic Dog House Press, which regularly stocks it with zines, used books, seeds, art supplies, and other items from Hudson Valley creators and collaborators.

Another seed library sits outside the Unison Art Center in New Paltz. Constructed by Kingston-based artist Kai Navarrete, the library offers seeds, plant cuttings, and small gifts donated by local residents, all free to take, grow, and share.

Navarrete mainly works with tile, wood, and found objects.

"Kai printed all this seed-embedded paper to put in there," Nichols said. "Those flew off the shelves," Nichols said.

Outside the Town of Esopus Library in Port Ewen is artist Langston Williams' Star Wars-inspired AT-AT Walker Library. Two doors on the side of the AT-AT open to reveal a variety of books donated by members of the community. Locals are encouraged to take a book and leave a book.

Williams' library also serves as a bulletin board.

We're all on our phones, we're on the internet, we're so hyper-focused on everything else," Williams said in an interview. "I grew up in a time where I had to read books to learn. I had to look at words and put them together to make sentences.

People don't do that anymore," Williams added. "It's instant gratification.

I like robotics, I like technology," Williams said when asked why he chose a Star Wars theme. "Even though it's kind of a bad guy creature, I liked it. I just thought it was so cool.

Williams said he hopes the library continues to be a place for the community to come together.

"I want to be a part of the solution, not part of the problem," he said.

© 2025 Daily Freeman, Kingston, N.Y. Visit www.newsrealtime . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Sacramento's cat-loving community hosts Caturday in Land Park

Cat lovers from across Sacramento gathered at William Land Regional Park on Saturday for Caturday, a community-organized event for residents to meet and greet with other feline fanatics.

Organized by resident Danielle Keaton, the event aims to help cat owners from the area meet each other. Keaton is the cat parent of Angel, and she has been organizing Caturday since 2022.

I like hosting events, and I have a lot of cat crazy friends who are already taking their cats out," Keaton said. "So I was like, 'hey, why don't we just, like, get together at the park?'

Located in a quiet corner of Freeport and 13th Street in Land Park, cats of all ages and sizes were playing with cat toys, sniffing one another, or sleeping in their respective carriers. As Keaton looked upon the dozens of cats sitting on picnic blankets and walked across the park in harnesses, she remarked that she would "die for any of these kitties."

Among the cat owners was 6-year-old Sloane Santos, who wore fluffy purple cat ears and snacked on cat-shaped cookies. Sloane Santos owns Farmey, an orange cat who is "more fluff than cat," said Adrian Santos, father of Sloane Santos.

Farmey was adopted from the Sacramento County Bradshaw Animal Shelter three years ago, and her favorite playmate is the family's yellow lab, Ruby.

"My favorite thing is I like when the tail brushes against the window and when she rides it long on the porch," said Sloane Santos.

"Farmey is a social cat," Adrian Santos said. Currently, the family is trying to train her to go paddleboarding with them. But while Farmey has a social attitude, it has been hard for the family to find outings to take her on. So when they found out about Caturday, they knew it would be perfect, they said.

As a dog and the cat family, there are way more events for dogs out there. Dogs are very social," said Adrian Santos. "So meeting other cat owners at an event like this is really cool. It's a different type of bond.

Will Smith, a midtown resident, took his two 1-year-old cats, Persephone and Louie, to Caturday. The two usually join him on his weekend outings at the downtown farmer's market from inside Smith's backpack.

Despite the notion that cats have an anti-social nature, many of the residents remarked that they frequently take their cats on walks with a harness. One resident, Taryn Davis, was being led by her cat, Steak, a gray tortoiseshell cat. She said that she and Steak will take walks along the river in West Sacramento because the cat "loves nature."

She's really into, like, looking at squirrels and birds," Davis said. "And if I'm not home and it's like nighttime, I'll put on bird TV for her.

Cats are classified as facultatively social animals, which means they prefer to live in both solitary settings and social environments, often switching between the two, according to the IAABC Foundation Journal .

Michelle Woodbury described her 18-year-old cat, Teloola, as a "super personable love bug," who has been harness trained since she was 6 months old. Woodbury said Caturday has been a fun way to meet other cats and cat owners within Sacramento. She added that Caturday has helped those interested in adopting a cat, but remain unsure, become familiar with interacting with a feline.

"Getting out to do this shows people that people won't look at you that weird, if you train your cat, or get a stroller and take him out and get him some fresh air," Woodbury said. "They like fresh air just as much as the rest of us."

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Meet the people who gave the Spirit of Norfolk new life underwater, after the fire

The Spirit of Norfolk, taken out of service in the summer of 2022 after a fire broke out on board, will now have a second life. And people can now catch a glimpse of the ship, more than 100 feet underwater.

The Spirit of Norfolk saw decades full of cruising, creating memories for those who climbed aboard. After the fire, it sat vacant, until Tim Mullane of Coleen Marine Inc. purchased it and It was transformed into an artificial reef off the coast of Florida.

Coleen Marine Inc., a company that tows, salvages, and works to create artificial reefs from old ships, sought to give the Spirit of Norfolk new life.

"The number one artificial reef maker that no one's heard of," said Mullane.

Mullane calls his work the equivalent of a funeral home director.

The Spirit of Norfolk was declared a $5 million total loss following the fire, adding that the cleaning process was "no joke" to prepare it for sinking.

"The Spirit of Norfolk was a mess, it was bad. It had installations hanging out of the overhead, hanging out the walls. It was a post-fire mess, from top to bottom," said Mullane.

Once the ship was presented through a sale involving the U.S. military, it fell into the hands of Destin-Fort Walton Beach in Florida. Their Natural Resources Chief, Alex Fogg, said it was sunk in late June to create an artificial reef.

It joins a fleet of roughly 15 large vessels on the floor of the Gulf. The material is perfect, Fogg said, to create a thriving ecosystem.

"It allows organisms to attach to it, so your sponges, your barnacles, and other organisms. That provides additional habitat for smaller critters, then bigger critters, then bigger and bigger, so you end up with a fully functioning ecosystem after a couple of years," said Fogg.

The Spirit of Norfolk serves a dual purpose: a brand new habitat to form ecosystems, but it is also an underwater museum.

Fogg said each ship chosen has a story worth visiting.

Some divers, including Chris Howard, who had taken a dive to the Spirit of Norfolk with the help of the Shark Quest Dive Shop, said it was neat to see the ship underwater.

"Also, it attracts a lot of people to the destination to go diving. So it became a tourist attraction as well. Kind of win-win for everything involved, from the environment to the people," said Fogg.

For Mullane," he said, "The Spirit of Norfolk was important to the millions who cruised on it, and he's proud to give it a new home, underwater.

"The paintings and everything that's historical are a little more important. Instead of just chopping it up into little pieces, it can go into a second life like this," said Mullane.

Fogg said anyone visiting who wants to see the Spirit of Norfolk can do so. There are several dive companies in Florida that will take you there.

He said they are close to acquiring SS United States as well, which also has ties to Newport News.

Fogg said each ship they sank could support an ecosystem for more than 200 years.

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East Las Vegas golf course transforming into affordable housing development

A city-owned golf course In East Las Vegas, a mixed-use housing development with more than 1,500 units will be transformed, including hundreds of homes for sale at market value and rentals, with a percentage of them reserved for lower-income residents.

The City Council on Wednesday approved the $17.5 million sale of Desert Pines Golf Club and affirmed land-use entitlements for the 95-acre course, clearing a significant hurdle for the project to move forward.

The sprawling community is being developed by McCormack Baron Salazar and the nonprofit Urban Strategies Inc., both operating under Desert Pines Master Development LLC.

We focus on a quality, mixed-income approach," said Vincent Bennett, CEO of McCormack. "Resilient housing is key, but also places where families and children can be resilient.

He said the firm had operated in 24 U.S. states for a half-century.

The vision for the project started to come together in 2022 when "the future of the golf course was in question," Councilwoman Olivia Diaz told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "And all of our minds came together and we started hammering out this vision."

Diaz, who represents the ward that includes the golf course off Bonanza and Pecos roads, said the land will "provide all kinds of housing opportunities for our community."

"It will also provide workforce training and education opportunities," she added.

The community will house a College of Southern Nevada training center and offer 10 acres for recreation, and space for commercial use, according to city officials. An early education campus has also been proposed.

Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong said the project gives her hope for her Ward 5, which includes the underdeveloped Historic Westside.

People are afraid of the words affordable housing," she said. "They think it's going to affect them disproportionately.

Uplift the community

A total of 400 homes will be put up for sale and about 1,100 will be offered for rent, according to McCormack Baron and Salazar, which committed to reserve at least half of the rentals for lower-income residents.

Two-thirds of the project will have two- to three-bedroom units, and the remaining will house one-bedroom homes, said Falcon Groupe President Daniel Falcon, who is partnered with McCormack.

The homes being sold at market value will help protect property values in surrounding neighborhoods, he said. "We want to uplift the community, not just what we're building but (also) what's surrounding."

The community will be divided into parcels and built in two phases, said Dina Babsky, the city's director of economic and urban development.

The first phase, expected to break ground in 2027, will include 10 parcels split evenly between homes for sale and affordable rentals, she said. The final phase is expected to begin in 2030 with completion estimated for 2036.

The affordable housing portion of the development is expected to cost $440 million, according to the city.

The developer has secured a $25 million loan from the Nevada State Infrastructure Bank. Clark County and the city of Las Vegas have invested another $22 million from American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Funds generated through home sales will be reinvested into the affordable housing portion, Babsky added.

The federal government pre-approved $5 million for the training center, she said.

Falcon said the partners were "very very happy to be trusted by the city and the councilwoman's leadership to select us."

Diaz said building the community aims to address a growing affordable housing shortage in Southern Nevada.

"Cost of everything has exploded and rents have skyrocketed, so many people feel like they're one paycheck away from being homeless," the councilwoman said. "I feel like the rentals will help people save some resources to then be able to attain that homeownership dream that so many of us have," she added.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com .

©2025 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Louisvillians express skepticism toward gun violence data, LMPD hosts community events to address the issue

On Tuesday, the Kroger in the Fern Creek neighborhood in Louisville looked like a party at the front entrance.

The Louisville Metro Police Department's Community Engagement Unit held their monthly community engagement event in partnership with the grocery chain. It's an opportunity for police to meet the community and address their concerns.

Even though it seems like a fun time, there is a serious tone in their attempt to raise awareness about gun violence within the city.

They are making us aware of gun violence and how rampant it is not only in Louisville, but around the country, and how important it is that if you do own a gun to lock it up," said Laura Williams, a Fern Creek resident who was provided a free lock from LMPD. "And I'm going to take this and give it to a person I know that has a gun and let them know that they need to be more responsible.

Sgt. Tony Sacra with the unit said they also provide free information on other crimes such as internet safety for children and online scams targeting the elderly.

"We're giving away 150 free meals," Sacra said. "We're going to be there providing free gun locks, free crime prevention, answering the tough questions. Come out and have a conversation with us. We'll discuss anything you want to discuss, and we'll do what we can to make the neighborhood safer for you and your family."

This engagement comes just after the city's west neighborhoods experienced chaos earlier Tuesday morning.

LMPD confirmed that a 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg on Duncan Street. Also during the early morning hours, officials reported two shootings around the same time. One on South 39th Street where a 13-year-old boy was found also suffering from a bullet to the leg, and on 38th and Broadway Streets, police found a man who had been shot dead.

"It's just ridiculous," said William Commons, another resident who spoke with LMPD at the event. "Algonquin Pool opened, beautiful pool, turn around next day with shooting, you know, really?"

According to data given by Mayor Craig Greenberg earlier this month, overall gun violence is dropping in the city. The information revealed in the first half of 2025 shows homicides are down 36% and nonfatal shootings are down 30% compared to last year.

The data is clear: our efforts to combat gun violence through neighborhood outreach, collaboration with community groups, and stronger law enforcement are resulting in fewer shootings and homicides in Louisville," said Greenberg. "But as I've said since day one, even one victim is too many, and we will continue to double down on our efforts to stop the violence.

WHAS11 asked both Williams and Commons if they believe in the statistics provided by the Metro Government.

I don't [know] because every day you hear about gun violence, every day, and we need to go a month without it," Williams said. "A month or two months or a year without it totally. Until we can get the message out to everyone. Whether it be in our schools, whether it be parents taking the initiative to be proactive in their guns and even other weapons. They need to be more proactive.

"The gun violence is just getting out of control," Commons said. "But the laws need to be stiffer and they need to open the juvenile center back up."

Although there seems to be distrust in the numbers, Sacra said they do not plan to stop their commitment to the community.

The LMPD's next community engagement event will take place in two weeks in the Portland neighborhood Kroger. They encourage families to visit them from 6-8 p.m. to discuss their concerns about gun violence.

► Contact reporter Jose Alonzo at jalonzo@whas11.com or on Twitter.

► Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.

Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com , or visit our Facebook page or X feed .

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Larkspur extends parking restrictions near Redwood High School

July 6 - Larkspur is expanding a parking program to prevent Redwood High School students from using space in nearby neighborhoods.

The Larkspur City Council reviewed the program in the Larkspur Marina and Heather Gardens neighborhoods at a meeting on Wednesday. Council members directed city staff to keep the program as is and decided against an option to charge a $50 permit fee.

The preferential parking program was created in 2019 after reports of littering and reckless driving by students parking in the neighborhoods. There is no fee for the permit and it doesn't expire annually, though the City Council did contemplate a $50 fee when first creating the program.

The program is only in effect during the school year. Its costs nearly break even, with expenses — including $7,300 alone in police services — totaling $17,300, and revenue from about 260 citations coming to $17,000, according to a staff report.

The city reviewed the pilot program in 2023. The council members directed city staff to omit warnings, set a $100 fine and remove an escalating fine.

Around 80 residents completed a survey about the program in June. Generally, respondents felt the program was successful, and noted the process to get a permit was not too difficult. Eighty percent of respondents said the program should continue as is. When asked if the program should have a permit fee, only around 36% of respondents supported that.

Another common complaint we've heard over the last few years is that there isn't enough signage," said City Clerk Alison Foulis. "So we asked people about that.

The majority of those who said more signage is needed lived in the Larkspur Marina area, Foulis said.

Councilmember Sarah Margulies said that after looking at the sign maps, she felt she would get a ticket because the signs appeared too far apart.

City Manager Dan Schwarz said that a few months ago, the signs were replaced with more visible ones.

"Do we feel that people who live in a certain area should have an exclusive right to public parking on their street?" Councilmember Scot Candell asked.

Candell noted how parking is limited in general, and wondered if the City Council still supports the philosophy that created the program.

Schwarz noted that the areas have shallow driveways and the program reduces conflict.

"They are not always very cautious of the world around them," Schwarz said about teenagers.

We had two main complaints. We had kids racing through those neighborhoods at high speeds, very dangerous," he said. "Then we had the kids who were hanging out by their cars and throwing trash into people's yards, and when they were actually confronted by homeowners, verbally abusing the homeowners for asking them to pick up their trash.

Vice Mayor Stephanie Andre wondered about making the areas two-hour parking zones, except for residents. Schwarz said it would increase the costs five to six times because timed zones require intense enforcement.

"This is timely because Redwood is closing their east parking lot for the installation of solar panels and that may bring more student parking and faculty parking into our residential area come August," said Mayor Catherine Way.

© 2025 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.). Visit www.marinij.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Central PA 4th Fest Returns to Showcase Community Patriotic Pride

Central PA 4th Fest returns to the State College area on Friday, bringing the community together with a full slate of activities and events to celebrate Independence Day.

Organized Fourth of July celebrations in State College began in 1927 when the Alpha Fire Company hosted a neighborhood carnival, and over the years the festivities have evolved and expanded into an elaborate community event.

“The next evolution in our community was a group that did what they called ‘The Great American Fourth of July,’ and they did that event up at the stadium and put out the fireworks,” Celesta Powell, Central PA 4th Fest executive director, said. “... This was the '80s into the '90s, and then in the early 2000s, another group evolved, and that's the Central PA 4th Fest. 4th Fest knew that people were coming up, tailgating during the Great American Fourth of July, hanging out all day, so they decided to make an entire festival out of it.”

This year's festival promises a jam-packed itinerary of events for all ages, concluding with one of Pennsylvania's most anticipated fireworks displays.

To kick off the day, the 21st annual Firecracker 4K The Fun Run will start at 9 a.m. at the gates of Medlar Field on Porter Road. Registration will close right before the race, at 8:55 a.m.

With the $20 registration fee, participants will receive a 2025 Firecracker 4K race T-shirt, and awards will be given to the top runners in each age group. All proceeds from the race go to support all 4th Fest activities.

Last year more than 700 community members ran and walked around Penn State's campus. This year's race is expected to host over 1,000 participants.

Following the race, at 11 a.m., the parade will begin, traveling along College Avenue from Burrowes Road to Shortlidge Road with a salute to military veterans, first responders, local leaders and community groups.

The second annual 4th Fest 자동차 전시회 , featuring vintage cruisers, muscle cars and American classics, will begin at noon in the Jordan East Lot near Beaver Stadium and will run until 5 p.m.

Entertainment will include live music throughout the festival, along with local food trucks and vendors offering everything from carnival food to barbecue favorites. Families can explore various activity zones, games, and interactive displays as the day goes on.

Performers will also be showcasing their talents throughout the day, including BMX racers from Dialed Action Sports, shows from the PA Professional Lumberjack Organization, and "Tyler's Amazing Balancing Act," to name a few.

At 4 p.m., Medlar Field will open for the community all-stars baseball game, followed by the Great American Baby Races and, later, VIP viewing of the fireworks show. Tickets for Medlar Field are $20.

Parking starts at $10 and festival grass seating tickets are $10 per person. Both can be purchased in advance or on the day of the event.

As a thank you to the community, the event organizers will be giving away 1,000 free hot dogs, while supplies last.

“Our event is a community event, which means we the people, by the people, for the people, kind of deal that if there's only 10 people showing up and paying for it, that's not a community event anymore,” Powell said. “I feel like this is one of the years you're going to see the Central PA 4th Fest look like what people have anticipated it would. But I do believe, and I am excited about it, that I think in 2026 [the nation’s 250th anniversary] you will see a different Fourth of July celebration in our community.”

Around sundown, at approximately 8:45 p.m., the community can enjoy a larger-than-life 32-minute fireworks display set to patriotic music. Named as one of the top fireworks shows in the U.S., this year’s performance promises to be one of the best the festival has seen thus far.

Powell estimates that approximately $275,000 was spent on this year’s event, covering costs such as permitting, venue fees, security, safety, and fireworks. She and her team are expecting an attendance of between 15,000 to 20,000 people throughout the day.

I think that it allows our community to be as vibrant as it is because we offer events like this," Powell said. "I think that events like Sips and Sounds or Arts Fest or the Fourth of July, or People's Choice, are necessities for having safe communities. And so the investment that the [Happy Valley] Adventure Bureau has in those is incredibly important... For decades, we have said the Central PA 4th Fest is only and can only be what the community supports.

The post Central PA 4th Fest Returns to Show Off Community Patriotic Pride appeared first on newsrealtime .

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Giant pre-Columbian spheres found on artificial island in Amazonian lake

Fishermen from the community of Arumanduba, located in the Médio Solimões region of the state of Amazonas, Brazil, made a discovery. After a 15-meter Paricarana tree fell, they noticed seven giant pre-Columbian funerary urns made of ceramic hidden under its roots. This unexpected find led to an archaeological investigation by researchers from the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development.

An archaeological team from the Mamirauá Institute, in partnership with residents of the São Lázaro do Arumandubinha community, excavated the site and uncovered ancient pottery beneath the fallen tree. Inside the urns, researchers discovered human bones, as well as remains of fish, turtles, and frogs, indicating that the burials were associated with food practices and rituals. "These artificial islands are a form of indigenous engineering conceived to stabilize the land and adapt it to the seasonal conditions of the region," explained Márcio Amaral, an archaeologist at the Mamirauá Institute. According to IFLScience These structures, called landfills and excavations, were created by local indigenous peoples to protect communities from river floods.

The burial site is rare and features urns with characteristics previously unknown in the region, such as their large size and absence of lids. Preliminary analyses revealed that the urns were made using different ceramic techniques and a little-studied composition, including a mixture of clay and non-plastic additives composed mainly of a freshwater sponge called cauxi and caraipé—the ash of tree bark. "We also found fragments with applied layers of clay on the exterior and painted red bands, though it is not yet possible to link these to any known ceramic styles," said archaeologist Geórgea Layla Holanda, who co-led the excavation. Live Science .

The largest urn measures 90 centimeters wide and 55 centimeters high, and with its interior filled with sediments, it is estimated to weigh around 340 kilos. To extract the urns, the community actively participated in the excavation process, building an elevated structure of wood and vines to access them due to challenging terrain conditions. The transfer of the urns to the Mamirauá Institute involved extensive navigation in canoes over a distance of 190 kilometers, taking between 10 and 12 hours depending on the river's flow. To protect the urns during transport, layers of plastic film, plaster bandages, bubble wrap, and wooden supports were used, ensuring they arrived in good condition.

At the Mamirauá Institute's laboratory in Tefé, the urns are undergoing further analysis to learn more about the ancient cultures that once inhabited this corner of the Amazon. Preliminary analyses showed that the urns were made with greenish clay, which is uncommon in the region, and they feature slip and red decorative bands. "These characteristics do not match any known Amazonian ceramic tradition, such as the widely studied Amazonian Polychrome Tradition, which suggests a possible undocumented cultural lineage in the upper Solimões River basin," the researchers clarified.

The age of the urns is currently unknown; however, the team estimates they could be between 200 and 3,000 years old. "Now that the excavation is done, the researchers plan to date the urns, with narrowing the time range being one of their main challenges for the future," reported Live Science. The discovery suggests the existence of a previously unknown multicultural society, contributing to the understanding of pre-Hispanic ceramic traditions in the region.

The area where the urns were found is part of a series of artificial islands constructed by native communities centuries or perhaps millennia ago. These islands were built as protection against seasonal floods, demonstrating indigenous engineering techniques and land management by ancient populations. "These people chose to live permanently in the floodplain and they succeeded: they developed technologies and construction engineering to achieve it," Amaral told El Nacional.

Collaboration with the local population was crucial for the success of the excavation. Community members provided valuable knowledge about the environment and assisted in the challenging excavation process. "This research is more than archaeology: it is about building knowledge through respectful collaboration with traditional communities," Amaral stated. Holanda added, "These are the silenced stories, the hidden truths. It gives indigenous peoples the prominence they deserve: those who truly built the Amazon and who were already here in Brazil long before the invasion," according to El Nacional.

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