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Los Angeles Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Costa Mesa Arts Commission tests its power, as authority of citizen-led groups is disputed
When a city appoints citizens to serve on municipal commissions and committees, what rights and responsibilities do those individuals have to inform policy, make recommendations to city leaders and to generally get things done? That point is being pondered in Costa Mesa, the self-proclaimed City of the Arts, where some council members this week sought further clarity after learning about a dispute on the subject between arts commissioners and staff. Upon reviewing the city's arts budget during a May 1 meeting, commissioners recommended shifting $160,000 from a large-scale art installation fund to a public-private mural initiative that would support the painting of historical scenes on participating local businesses. Vice Chair Fisher Derderian, who proposed the motion, explained it would be a more immediate way of getting eye-catching art into public places, particularly if businesses chipped in to cover a portion of the expense. Historical murals would also be a fitting way to celebrate Costa Mesa's rich and storied past, while positioning the city for federal arts grants aimed at honoring America250, the nation's bisesquicentennial, in 2026, Derderian reasoned. 'We have to be ambitious. We have to have a vision that says let's get art out there tomorrow, if at all possible,' he said at the meeting. 'I don't think there's any reason we couldn't at least propose this as part of the budget and then, if it gets approved, really flesh out what the idea would be.' The move, which passed in a 4-2 vote, is more than a mere recommendation. It's a test of the civic reach of the Arts Commission, established in 2022 to function as its own legislative body, compared to the erstwhile advisory-only Cultural Arts Committee. The vote followed a discussion between commissioners and Director of Parks & Community Services Brian Gruner, who oversees the panel, regarding the roles and responsibilities of the group and its power to seek new funding sources and create public art programs. Derderian asked Gruner to clarify whether the commission could form a subcommittee to discuss incorporating art in future public works projects or displaying it on city-owned buildings. Or maybe the commission could call a study session or make a motion to the City Council to hold a discussion at a higher level? The answer was, essentially, no. 'We'd have to have a discussion and dialogue, and connect with [then-City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison] first and see what the recommendation would be from her,' Gruner responded. Costa Mesa municipal code seems to state otherwise, specifying the commission shall: '...by its own motion, conduct studies and investigations and hold public hearings as it may deem necessary for the formulation of policies, plans and procedures relating to arts, or to determine the wisdom and efficacy of such policies, plans and procedures, or to determine an action plan to pursue in implementing the city's arts and culture master plan and report its findings and recommendations.' When asked about the rights described in the legislation, Gruner said he could request the city clerk hold a training session for commissioners on how to properly interpret the law. Instead, Derderian took a different course. During a discussion on the city's arts budget later on, he made a motion recommending $100,000 in a previously approved art-installation fund, and an additional $60,000 in the new budget cycle, be repurposed for the historical mural initiative. The motion carried on a 4-2 vote. And, just like that, the Costa Mesa Arts Commission took a first tentative step toward independence. Derderian said in a follow-up interview he reviewed the city's municipal code after hearing public comments — particularly from Jim Fitzpatrick, a former planning commissioner-turned-cannabis consultant and vocal City Hall critic — indicating the commission had more power than it was being allowed to exercise. 'There's a real question as to what we're supposed to be doing and how we fulfill that purpose,' Derderian said Wednesday. 'We're developing precedent in trying to understand what our role is.' Although it's unknown whether the Costa Mesa City Council will approve the commission's recommendation, it seems city leaders are open to exploring the power of citizen-led municipal groups. Councilman Jeff Pettis said during a regular council meeting Tuesday commissioners should feel empowered to carry out the duties defined in the municipal code. 'I do not believe the Arts Commission is functioning to its full capacity,' Pettis said. 'I'm going to be watching every minute of every Arts Commission meeting going forward to ensure they are being able to function within their role as commissioners to their highest level of authority.' Councilman Mike Buley asked whether a council study session might be convened to clarify the responsibilities of the groups. 'We've got citizens donating an extensive amount of their time,' he said. 'A lot of them are very skilled and knowledgeable in their specific areas, and it's a resource we should rely upon. They should be given a citizen voice in what we do in this community.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare Snail Captured on Camera for the First Time Laying an Egg Through Its Neck
A rare New Zealand snail had been captured on video for the first time laying an egg from its neck The Powelliphanta augusta snail was undergoing a routine weight check when the egg appeared The snail species lays roughly five eggs a year, which can take over a year to hatchWhat came first, the snail or the egg? New footage of a rare New Zealand snail laying an egg from its neck for the first time is now picking up steam online, and it's not happening at a snail's pace. The clip, shared by CBS News and The Guardian, shows a Powelliphanta augusta snail pushing a tiny egg from the neck of its body. Animal experts who witnessed the moment in person and New Zealand's Department of Conservation are calling the moment "quite remarkable." "In all the years we've been doing that [work], we've never encountered it," Ingrid Gruner, the regional biodiversity liaison of the department, told The Guardian. Gruner, per the outlet, helps manage a captivity program for the Powelliphanta augusta snails — otherwise known as the Mount Augustus snail — launched nearly 20 years ago. Experts with the program were weighing the egg-laying snail as part of a routine weight check when the creature started pushing the egg out of its neck. Gruner told The Guardian that the team "struck lucky" and captured the moment on camera. The snails lay roughly five eggs annually, which can take longer than a year to hatch, per a news release. Senior science advisor for New Zealand's conservation department, Kath Walker, noted in the release that snails have a genital pore on their necks to mate while remaining in their shells. According to The Guardian, other snails mate or lay eggs similarly, with some species even birthing live young. "It extends its penis out of this pore and into its mate's pore, and its mate does the same, simultaneously exchanging sperm, which they can store until they each fertilize the sperm they've received to create eggs," Walker said of the Powelliphanta augusta snail's procreation methods. "As hermaphrodites, they have both male and female genitalia, so although they usually mate with another to cross-fertilize their eggs, as carnivores which have to live at relatively low density, being able to occasionally self-fertilize must help with the survival of the species." Following a mining proposal in 2006 for the Mt Augustus ridge line on South Island — which The Guardian reports as the snail's sole native habitat — scientists have since been managing the critter's population. At the time, 2,000 snails were used to start a captive colony, while 4,000 were transferred to areas nearby. Faulty temperature controls of a department refrigerator led to roughly 800 of the snails dying in 2011. According to The Guardian, as of March, 1,884 snails (hatchlings to adults) and 2,195 eggs were in the captive breeding program. New colonies in the wild have since been established, and the department is monitoring them. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "It's remarkable that in all the time we've spent caring for the snails, this is the first time we've seen one lay an egg. We caught the action when we were weighing the snail. We turned it over to be weighed and saw the egg just starting to emerge from the snail," Lisa Flanagan, who has worked with the snails for over 12 years, said. "Some of our captive snails are between 25 and 30 years old," Flanagan added of the snails, which take eight years to reach sexual maturity. "They're polar opposites to the pest garden snail we introduced to New Zealand, which is like a weed, with thousands of offspring each year and a short life." Read the original article on People
West Australian
23-04-2025
- Business
- West Australian
APT christens new Euro river ship
APT christened its new luxury river ship, APT Solara, in Rotterdam yesterday (April 21, 2025). And that both marks a major milestone in the Australian company's 98-year history and starts a new chapter in European river cruising. APT Travel Group CEO David Cox and co-owners Robert McGeary and Lou Tandy were there for the ceremony, with Lou becoming the ship's Godmother. 'It's a true honour to serve as Godmother for a ship that means so much to our team, our guests and my family,' she says. 'The Solara celebrates where we've come from and marks the exciting future ahead. It's a tribute to our legacy, but more importantly, it's a bold step forward in how we design, deliver and share extraordinary travel experiences. I couldn't be prouder to christen her today.' 'Solara is the result of a true collaboration between world-class Australian creatives and the APT team,' said Robert McGeary. 'As a family-owned Australian company, we've designed this ship with the Antipodean traveller in mind as it brings together the comforts our guests value most, from elegant lounges and genuinely quality coffee to regionally sourced produce — all in a ship that feels tailored, not templated. That's what sets APT apart.' David Cox adds: 'The Solara is everything APT stands for — timeless travel, trusted service and ongoing innovation. She's more than just a new ship; she sets a new benchmark for how we deliver exceptional experiences on Europe's rivers.' A celebration dinner on board exemplified APT's commitment to local produce — and it was served in the world's first hydraulically lifted venue. The Gruner Bar and Dining lifts hydraulically to give 360-degree views from the Sun Deck. The ship can carry up to 154 guests, and has balcony and owner's suites. Its maiden voyage is APT's Magnificent Europe itinerary, from April 25, 2025, along the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers.
USA Today
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Volkswagen announces plans for hybrid Tiguan and Atlas at 2025 New York Auto Show
Volkswagen announces plans for hybrid Tiguan and Atlas at 2025 New York Auto Show Show Caption Hide Caption New York International Auto Show celebrates its 125th anniversary The New York International Auto Show is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. "The New York Auto Show really got things started for the auto industry back in 1900 at the old Madison Square Garden," said Show president Mark Schienberg. It will take a couple of years, but Volkswagen has plans to get some hybrids into the hands of North American customers. It isn't that the German automaker doesn't have them — it has regular and plug-in hybrids for sale in Europe. But the company, like many others, miscalculated the speed with which American customers would adopt electric vehicles, betting they would go all-in on full battery electric cars, trucks and SUVs with greater speed. But the forecasts were too ambitious, and the market is more interested in hybrids than pure EVs right now, catching VW flat-footed. 2025 New York International Auto Show: Why these three cars could steal the show The biggest miss: When the all-new 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan goes on sale this summer, this third generation of VW's bestselling vehicle will not offer a hybrid. A decision has been made The decision has been made to feature two vehicles with hybrid powertrains, Volkswagen of America CEO Kjell Gruner told a small group of media at the 2025 New York Auto Show. A hybrid is coming for the U.S. Tiguan to right the aforementioned wrong, but it is still a couple years off. To help bridge the gap, VW used the New York auto show to unveil a performance version of that small SUV that will be added for the 2026 model year. 2025 New York Auto Show: Highlights of every new car and SUV reveal The Tiguan hybrid will be joined by a hybrid version of the Volkswagen Atlas in roughly the same time frame. The next-generation Atlas is due in 2027, and we will get our first look at the updated three-row SUV next year. However, the hybrid is not expected to be ready at launch, Gruner said. Not plug-in hybrids This means VW will have added electric motors to its top-selling models by volume in North America. But they will be conventional hybrids which that don't require customers to change their behavior, not plug-in hybrids, Gruner says. This also saves on weight and cost. The automaker also wants to see how the regulatory environment unfolds over the next 24 months or so — the existence or absence of credits for low-emission vehicles is a factor. Volkswagen wants to make the hybrids — and source batteries — in North America even though it would be faster to import them from Europe where they are already offered. Gruner said there could be a mild hybrid for the VW Jetta in the future, as well. Volkswagen offered a Jetta hybrid in the past, discontinuing it after the 2016 model year. Photos by MotorTrend
Los Angeles Times
12-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Costa Mesa earmarked a slice of cannabis tax revenue for the arts. Where is it going?
When Costa Mesa officials drafted the city's retail cannabis ordinance, they agreed to dedicate one-half cent of the 7-cent-per-dollar tax toward the implementation of an Arts & Culture Master Plan. But until recently, it's been unclear where the money's going. Adopted in 2021, the same year as the cannabis law was crafted following the passage of Measure Q, the arts master plan took years to create as public input was sought on how citywide art and cultural events, programs, policies and staffing might be developed over a five-year period. The document comprised existing events — like a utility box art program and the annual ARTventure — and also called for new commitments, such as establishment of the seven-member Arts Commission and creation of a full-time arts specialist, hired in 2022 at an annual salary of $120,000. Some saw the tax earmark as a shot in the arm for local arts, including Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens, who helped draft the recommendation as part of a council-appointed cannabis ad hoc committee. 'Everybody, I think, realized it was a good thing to put money behind — here's a fund to hopefully spur and inspire some investment into public art,' Stephens said Thursday. 'My view was we'd see some great public art.' Now, with more than $3.3 million in total revenue having so far been generated from the legal sale of marijuana, the application of the arts funding is not so visible. Parks & Community Services Director Brian Gruner explained during an April 3 Arts Commission meeting the cannabis tax funds were not being accumulated for a special purpose, but were going into the city's general fund, from which arts programs and initiatives have historically been covered. Gruner told commissioners while city leaders initially projected the cannabis tax revenue would be sufficient to fund the total implementation of the master plan's programs — around $8 million annually — actual income has been less robust, possibly due to a cap placed last year on the number of dispensaries allowed to do business. 'Currenlty, the tax revenue coming in is not sufficient to basically fund the arts master plan, so the council has been supplementing additional funds from the general fund to help offset that,' he said. 'The council has been very, very supportive of the arts, and they certainly make that a priority to continue the funding, at least for the next fiscal year.' Total implementation of the five-year plan — which began July 2021 and ends in June 2026 — is estimated to cost $1,941,700, including a projected cost for next fiscal year of $457,300, according to figures provided by Gruner at last week's commission meeting. But given the arts master plan funding constitutes 1/14 of the total cannabis tax taken in, the city would have to earn $27,183,800 in revenue from dispensaries for arts and culture programs to be fully funded. By contrast, figures provided in the 2024-25 adopted budget show only $420,967 in arts-related cannabis taxes will have been collected by June 30. That the earmark is being returned to the city's general fund came as a surprise to resident Jim Fitzpatrick, a former planning commissioner-turned-cannabis-consultant who makes frequent appearances at public meetings to decry what he sees as waste and misspending at City Hall. 'Measure Q came after the Arts & Culture Master Plan. [The arts tax] was never intended to fund it,' Fitzpatrick said during the Arts Commission meeting. 'It was always intended to be incremental, over and above, to do more for the City of the Arts. Now [staff] is saying they're having to supplement it with the general fund. They've got it backwards.' City Finance Director Carol Molina, in the throes of preparing next fiscal year's budget, deferred questions about the cannabis tax to Costa Mesa spokesman Tony Dodero, who clarified that the city's intention was that the revenue would be the sole funding source for programs identified in the document. 'Ultimately, the money from Measure Q is supposed to totally fund the master plan, but at this point it's not. And, because of that, for the last three years the city's been taking money out of the general fund to fund the master plan,' Dodero said Wednesday. Stephens said while that's not exactly what he envisioned when the council approved the tax set-aside, he doesn't think of using the general fund to pay for arts programming as a 'subsidy.' 'My vision was that it would be tangible, that people would be able to see a tangible art piece and trace it back to the cannabis art funds,' the mayor said Thursday. 'But it's still obviously an additional source of funds we didn't have before. If that allows us to get [an arts specialist], that wasn't what I was thinking — but I don't disagree with that.'
