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CU joins Big 12: What Buffs fans need to know about football, basketball, travel, kickoffs, television, rivalries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

BOULDER — The Power 5’s redheaded stepchild is heading back to live with the other parent again.The People’s Republic of Boulder has always been a drinking town with a slight football problem: CU Buffs donors and alums, by and large, sprawl from Denver to the Pacific Ocean. The vast majority of top-shelf prep gridiron talent and television sets are east and southeast of Denver.The only way for CU president Todd Saliman and athletic director Rick George to truly thread the needle and appease both sides of that equation would be as part of the Big Ten, which has remarkable penetration to TV homes nationwide and just added the Los Angeles/Southern California market as a sweetener.Alas, the Buffs don’t see that invite from Chicago coming — not in the next four to seven years, at any rate.So given a choice between a Pac-12 without SoCal and a television package or a Big 12 with a reported $2.3 billion from ESPN and Fox and without Texas and Oklahoma, CU brass elected Thursday to ride wit...

CU Buffs officially re-joining Big 12, leaving Pac-12

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

Boulder is officially Big 12 country again.The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted unanimously Thursday to accept an invitation to re-join the Big 12, a conference that CU had left in 2011 to join an expanding Pac-12.Thursday’s Regents meeting was held remotely and attended virtually by CU president Todd Saliman, CU chancellor Phil DiStefano and athletic director Rick George. The three opened the meeting by each offering a short statement justifying why the Buffs should leave the Pac-12 and return to the Big 12.All three cited, directly or indirectly, stability, exposure, economics and enhanced opportunities for CU student-athletes coming via a return to the Big 12.“We think the time has come for us to change conferences,” Saliman told the regents. “We really see this as an opportunity to create more opportunities for the University of Colorado.”Roughly 14 minutes into a virtual meeting that lasted 15 minutes and 53 seconds, the motion to rejoin the Big 12 was approved aft...

Firefighters battle brush fire near freeway in Granada Hills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

Firefighters are battling a brush fire that broke out in the San Fernando Valley Thursday afternoon.The fire was first reported around 2:07 p.m. in Granada Hills, just off of the 118 Freeway at Balboa Boulevard.Video from Sky5 showed large plumes of white smoke billowing from active flames as Los Angeles Fire Department helicopters dropped water from above.According to the California Highway Patrol online incident log, multiple trees and brush were on fire, with flames burning on both sides of the freeway. Aerial video from overhead confirmed there were two plumes of smoke. CHP was working to close the Balboa off-ramp on the eastbound side of the freeway. The Fire Department later requested all lanes of the freeway to be stopped.Check back for details on this developing story.

Potential bomb-making material found during FBI raid in Reseda

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

Local and federal law enforcement agents raided a home in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley on Thursday, seizing dozens of items, including potential bomb-making material, authorities said.The search warrant was executed in the 7500 block of White Oak Avenue between Saticoy and Valerio streets in Reseda.Sky5 aerial video showed a significant amount of evidence that had been removed from the property and spread out along the sidewalk and under tents. Among the items was a 3D printer that appeared to have a swastika on its base.Evidence collected from a home in the 7500 block of White Oak Avenue as part of a federal search warrant on July 27, 2023. (KTLA)Local and federal agents are seen outside a home in the 7500 block of White Oak Avenue in Reseda on July 27, 2023. (KTLA)Evidence collected from a home in the 7500 block of White Oak Avenue as part of a federal search warrant on July 27, 2023. (KTLA)Local and federal agents are seen outside a home in the 7500 block of White Oak Avenu...

Hotel workers union asks Taylor Swift to postpone Los Angeles-area shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

A labor union representing thousands of hotel housekeepers in Southern California is asking Taylor Swift to postpone her upcoming concerts at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood until they are paid "a living wage."UNITE HERE Local 11 published an open letter to the pop star in The Los Angeles Times on Thursday.“We make beds, clean bathrooms, and take care of every guest need. Your shows make our hotels a lot of money,” the letter reads. “In Los Angeles, hotels are doubling and tripling what they charge because you are coming. They also add junk fees on rooms, just like Ticketmaster does. But we see none of it.” Taylor Swift fan’s attempt to sell concert tickets for charity takes an unexpected twist Experts predict Swift's 52-night, 20-city tour will become the highest-grossing of all time. It is also having a notable economic impact on each city she visits with the surge of Swifties snatching up hotel rooms at jacked-up rates.She is slated to perform six straight nights at SoFi Stadium begi...

The world’s largest Costco may be built in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

The world’s largest Costco could be coming to the Golden State.The City of Fresno has released a report of its findings for a 241,000-square-foot complex that would include a member-exclusive store, gas station and car wash, KTLA's sister station KGPE/KSEE reports.It would be constructed on Riverside Drive at West Herndon Avenue.The proposal would need to first be presented to the Fresno City Council to vote on a zoning change for the massive empty lot on the northwest side of the city. Plans for the world's largest Costco in Fresno, California. July 2023 (KGPE/KSEE)The city says the new store will replace the existing Costco on Shaw and Blythe avenues that has been open since 1985.Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi, who represents the district where it would be built, would not comment on the matter since it is in the “pipeline” for city council action, he said.Public comment must be submitted before August 25th by emailing Fresno's supervising planner, Jose Valenzuela, at jos...

Ryan Martin and Daniel Curtis Hospitalized Following Motorcycle Crash near Steptoe Butte State Park [Colfax, WA]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

Riding-in-Tandem Motorcyclists Seriously Injured after Collision near Washington ParkCOLFAX, WA (July 27, 2023) – On Sunday afternoon, July 23rd, Ryan Martin and Daniel Curtis were hospitalized following a motorcycle accident.It happened near the entrance of Steptoe Butte State Park where the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office stated that two motorcyclists traveling together crashed.Investigation showed that the riders were traveling near the park when the outside motorcyclist turned inside and caused a collision.Furthermore, the two riders were identified as 48-year-old Ryan Martin and 56-year-old Daniel Curtis.As a result, one of them suffered a broken arm and minor abrasions, and the other obtained head, back, and neck injuries, possibly broken ribs, and minor abrasions.Consequently, both Martin and Curtis were transported to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.Additionally, the officers stated that both riders were wearing their helmets at that time.No other in...

Lisa Esparza, Cerra Corner, Javan Runnels, Felix Begay, Erick Tsosie, Calsie Sockyma Killed in Two-Vehicle Crash on Highway 509 [Tacoma, WA]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

Two-Car Collision near Alexander Avenue Resulted in Six FatalitiesTACOMA, WA (July 27, 2023) – Sunday morning, Lisa Esparza, Cerra Corner, Javan Runnels, Felix Begay, Erick Tsosie, and Calsie Sockyma were all killed in a car accident.The incident occurred at about 11:15 a.m., on July 16th, on Highway 509.According to reports, Esparza, Corner, Runnels, Begay, Tsosie, and a driver occupied a Kia Forte hatchback. Two people other people involved in the crash occupied a BMW SUV.Investigators state that the Kia was traveling on Alexander Avenue. There, a BMW, that was traveling northbound on Highway 509, T-boned the Kia. The collision caused the Kia to flip over and burst into flames.As a result, the crash killed six of the occupants of the Kia. Officials identified them as 19-year-old Cerra; 19-year-old Lisa Esparza; 22-year-old Javan Runnels; 25-year-old Felix Begay; 25-year-old Calsie Sockyma; 25-year-old Erick Tsosie. They were all from Arizona.Meanwhile, paramedics transported...

Pac-12 survival: Colorado bolts as commissioner George Kliavkoff works to hold the conference together

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

If a school participates in a conference for 12 years, wins no major championships, churns through five football coaches, then decides to leave, was it really ever there?We jest, but not entirely.Colorado’s strange journey from the Big 12 to the Pac-12 and back to the Big 12 — the move became official Thursday — reflects the school’s unique geography and dynamics.Also, CU’s departure is, at this moment, more about the psychological toll it could have on the remaining Pac-12 schools than any material damage sustained by the exit.The Buffaloes can be replaced, and easily so. They have made little competitive impact and lack the brand value and  media market to kneecap the Pac-12 as it negotiates a broadcast contract.But Colorado’s departure looks bad, especially for commissioner George Kliavkoff, and counts as yet another body blow for a conference that has taken repeated hits over the past 13 months. (Some would say 13 years, but that’s a top...

Pac-12 survival: Colorado’s exit becomes official as conference takes another hit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:42 GMT

The Pac-12’s existential crisis grew more dire Thursday when Colorado’s board of regents unanimously approved a return to ancestral ground. The Buffaloes will enter the Big 12 Conference, their home for more than six decades, for the start of the 2024-25 college sports season.Colorado, which joined the Pac-12 (along with Utah) a dozen years ago, becomes the third member to depart the conference in the past 13 months after last summer’s announced exit of the Los Angeles schools, which are bound for the Big Ten.The totality of the departures — 25 percent of the membership — heaps additional pressure on commissioner George Kliavkoff, whose two years at the helm have been arguably the rockiest in conference history. His year-long, unsuccessful (so far) pursuit of a media rights contract created the circumstances for Colorado to accept an offer from the Big 12.Pac-12 survival depends on what happens next.As a singular entity, Colorado’s departure will have little impact. The ...