Latest news with #EasterBasket
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police allege accused killer broke into storage unit with hacksaw before 2 Mass. bodies were found
30-year-old Jay Blodget, according to court records, a homeless man, was arraigned in Salem District Court on Thursday on two counts of murder. On Wednesday afternoon, a dog walker called police after finding a body in woods next to a Salem Walmart. Investigators soon found a second body, both buried in dirt debris. And both murdered. 'We eventually found two individuals with apparent blunt force trauma and stab wounds,' prosecutor James Gubitose told the court. The prosecutor also said Blodget made statements implicating himself in the double murder. 'Do you know anything about these incriminating statements?' I asked Blodget's defense attorney, Michael Phelan. 'I don't,' Phelan said. 'I know they'll provide me with a 90-minute interview that he had a chance to speak to police.' Not much is known about Jay Blodget right now, but we know, about a week ago, he was arrested for breaking into a storage unit just across the street from where the double murder happened. Salem Police allege Blodget used a hacksaw to cut open the unit in an attempt to move himself in. Police say they recovered nearly $1,000 in cash, and that Blodget said he earned the money panhandling. Blodget was arrested and later released on personal recognizance. Tonie Singh, the owner of the storage unit, said that he is shocked over the new murder charges. 'I made a decision to hide my Easter Basket there and knowing that I sent my kids there on Sunday was just even more shocking,' Singh said. Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller said the two murders are an isolated case and that the perpetrator is behind bars. Jay Blodget was ordered held on no bail. He is due back in Salem District Court on May 28 for a probable cause hearing. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
The Guardian
19-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Carrot-shaped lights, bunny wreaths and beauty boxes – forget Easter, welcome to 'Eastermas'
As a child, I was keenly aware of the inequitable practices of the tooth fairy, Santa Claus and the so-called Easter Bunny. How could it be that my teeth were less valuable than Abbie Smith-Arthur's? Why was my stocking sock-sized, and the Walter boys next door had novelty sacks the size of their sofa? For what reason did I get but one big Easter egg, and Bethany down the road got 11? If I was a child today, I would be even more confused (and radicalised), thanks to the relentless rise of 'Eastermas'. More than quarter of British adults now buy Easter presents, giving their loved ones not only chocolate but flowers, toys and clothes. On TikTok, videos tagged #EasterBasket show the headphones, trainers, face creams, keyrings, hoodies, teddies and concert tickets that parents bestow upon their children – in short, more gifts than most people receive at Christmas. I won't deny that it is nice to give each other nice things, but I fear the trend puts pressure on parents, and normalises a level of consumption that would perhaps have been unthinkable even a decade ago. Pop into any high street shop and you will see our current levels of capitalist egg-cess. John Lewis sells carrot-shaped string lights and bunny-shaped wreaths; for £10, you can get a snow globe featuring two bunnies in a carrot car. Who among us doesn't need a 'plush chicken ballpoint pen' from Flying Tiger, or egg-shaped salt and pepper shakers from Next? And nothing says 'he is risen' like the £52 'Easter Luxury Beauty Box' from Boots, featuring 'revitalising supreme youth power crème'. It's not that I think we shouldn't go all out at Easter. My mum has long hung little decorations on an 'Easter tree' in our dining room – and she has a wooden bowl of hand-painted eggs passed down from her own mother. But I do worry that the £3 speckled egg-shaped side plates from Dunelm are not made to last in the same way. I fear that no one actually has the cupboard space for an £18 plant pot moulded like a bunny in a mint green suit and matching top hat. It's hard not to think of this stuff as landfill fodder that will be used once and never again. There's an easy retort to my cynicism: let people enjoy things! We live in dark times and have to find happiness where we can! But who told you that joy could be bought? Who popularised the idea that shopping was self-care? Commenting on Eastermas, a senior seasonal manager at the supermarket Ocado told the Guardian: 'After a long winter, people are looking for something to celebrate.' How very considerate, then, that Ocado wants to help us celebrate with £18 pull-apart Easter crackers. I think we all need to scrutinise how happy spending actually makes us – and how long that feeling really lasts before we're overwhelmed by the desire to declutter. If you Google 'Easter toys', the search engine reveals that other people have Googled: 'What to get kids for Easter who have everything?' Might there be alternatives that make us happier than more stuff? Because no offence to Bethany down the road, but I'm certain I savoured my one Easter egg more than she did her 11. If you're looking for a bit of happiness in these difficult times, instead of buying something new may I suggest an egg-tapping battle? It's a tradition in my Polish family – and I believe many others – to dye and paint eggs (real ones, not glass ones from Oliver Bonas) and then smash them into each other to see whose cracks first. We never stuffed baskets with headphones and hoodies but instead filled them with bread, eggs, sausage and salt that would be blessed by a priest in a ceremony known as 'święconka'. Of course, for many Easter is now secular, but that doesn't mean it can't still be meaningful, marked by what we create rather than what we consume. According to the market research company Kantar, 3.4 million Britons will spend £50 each on Easter gifts this year – and most of these people are parents. I don't think it's a coincidence that these high spenders are also more likely to consume magazines and video on demand than the average adult. Easter baskets stuffed with gifts seem to be an American tradition that's starting to cross the Atlantic thanks to social media. And it's not just Easter: we are living in an era of extreme basketification, with Halloween boo baskets, Christmas Eve boxes, 1 December boxes, Valentine's baskets and burr baskets (for the winter) popularised on TikTok. Now, hardly a month can go by in which parents aren't expected to fill a basket with tat for their kids. Six years ago, my brother and I broke an Easter decoration that has been in our family for decades. That makes it sound like a terrible accident: in fact, we deliberately smashed the black-and-red painted egg because we shook it and heard an ominous rattle within. Our curiosity got the better of us and we cracked it open to discover a petrified purple-brown yolk that our dog inexplicably wanted to eat. I get that breaking an heirloom – even if it is a literal rotten egg – is wasteful, but I'd still venture that it's far less wasteful than a metre-long artificial grass table runner. It's not that I'm recommending destroying decorations as a fun-filled, family Easter activity, but I think I do recommend filling your home with meaningful (if biohazardous) objects that are made to last. I recommend painting an egg or rolling it down a hill, and gluing fluffy yellow chicks to a bonne. And, of course, buying your child some chocolate eggs – just definitely less than 11. Amelia Tait is a freelance features writer
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Warren Family Mission welcomes Valley for Easter meal
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN)- As we head into the Easter weekend, there are plenty of events happening across the Valley. Friday is the Warren Family Mission's 27th annual Easter meal, and they are prepared to serve a lot of people both here at the mission and on the road delivering to people's homes. 'People really do want to serve, and it's a tradition for many, in fact, space is limited, we typically have to turn volunteers away because we get that response of people wanting to serve our community, which is really gratifying to see,' said Dominic Mararri of the Warren Family Mission. The meal is free, and all are welcome to attend. Last Easter, the mission served over 2,300 year, over 1,600 people have signed up to have a meal delivered to their home, and they're planning on serving at least 400 meals in person at the mission. 'We're just fortunate for our donors, who when we have a need come through, we were lacking hams and lacking food items for our meal and over 200 hams came in and we're just very thankful for our community's generosity in helping needy families this Easter,' Mararri said. This whole effort takes a lot of help from donors and volunteers. Mariarri said that over 100 volunteers are involved from set up to serving to delivering meals, making the day possible. In addition to the meal, kids under 12 who come to the mission will get an Easter Basket. The bunny will also be here for photos. The meal is happening from Noon to 2 p.m., all are welcome to attend Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Creating Easter Baskets for children in need
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A sporting goods store in Sioux Falls is helping hand out sweet treats to children in need at a local nonprofit organization. Easter is late on the calendar this spring, but Scheels is getting an early jump on its annual Easter Basket Drive. Minnehaha County Jail sees rise in violence 'Customers can come in, fill a tote here right at Scheels or take it out to the community and fill it there and then bring it back to us at Customer Service by the tenth,' Events Coordinator Cierra Von Bergen said. Von Bergen is asking the public to create Easter Baskets to be given to the kids at Children's Home Society. 'Waking up with an Easter Basket growing up was always so fun, so we wanted to bring that joy to these kids that morning,' Von Bergen said. 'These kids have the same reaction, just pure joy,' CHS Chief Philanthropy Officer Jon Mammenga said. 'At Children's Home, we're very focused on hope and healing and really I think if you can normalize things each and every day, you think about your own kids waking up, finding their Easter Baskets, we want to give that experience to kids at Children's Home as well,' Mammenga said. Scheels will host a party, complete with games and crafts, at Children's Home Society on Sunday the 13th, while the actual baskets will be handed out the following weekend. 'Obviously chocolate, candy, those are the things that they're looking for, little toys in there, things that just bring them joy I think is what we're looking for more than anything,' Mammenga said. They only ask you to limit your purchases to $25 to keep it fair for the kids. 'Toy cars, Barbies, some NeeDoh, or the slime, kids love to play with, chalk, coloring books and crayons, all those fun things,' Von Bergen said. Making Easter for the kids exactly that, fun. You can start filling Easter Baskets on Wednesday, and they must be returned to Scheels by Thursday, April 10. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
