Latest news with #Texas-raised
Elle
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Susan Choi Recommends a Book So Engrossing It Made Her (Almost) Lose Her Luggage
Welcome to Shelf Life, What began as a short story in The New Yorker is now Susan Choi's sixth and latest novel, The Indiana-born, Texas-raised, New York-based bestselling author studied literature at Yale University; was once The New Yorker and co-edited Likes: theater; Dislikes: Good at: rocking her Bad at: cleaning menorahs; coming up with Scroll through the reads she recommends below. The book that…: …made me miss a train stop: It's not exactly a missed-the-train moment, but I was re-reading …made me weep uncontrollably: Philip Roth's …I recommend over and over again: Jenny Erpenbeck's …I swear I'll finish one day: All of Proust. Or even just some decent amount of Proust. I love the prose but also find it so exquisite it's almost unbearable to continue reading for any length of time, at least for me, which makes me feel like a total failure as a reader. I might have to set aside a year of my life just to read Proust. ...I read in one sitting; it was that good: Sarah Moss's …currently sits on my nightstand: …made me laugh out loud: Paul Beatty's …has a sex scene that will make you blush: In Francisco Goldman's ...I've re-read the most: ...makes me feel seen: looking at me, like it knew exactly who I was. The protagonist has, like me, a real culture-clash background, and up to the point in my life when I read the book—the '90s—I'd never encountered that in fiction, so it was very emotional when I finally did. ...everyone should read: ...I could only have discovered at ...fills me with hope: Everything by elating observer of us humans and the strange things we do. Bonus questions: If I could live in any library or bookstore in the world, it would be: The literary organization/charity I support: Read Susan Choi's Book Recommendations Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Now 24% Off Credit: Vintage Everyman by Philip Roth Now 12% Off Credit: Vintage Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck Now 66% Off Credit: New Directions Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss Now 50% Off Credit: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Real Americans by Rachel Khong Now 32% Off Credit: Vintage The Sellout by Paul Beatty Credit: Farrar, Straus and Giroux The Ordinary Seamen by Francisco Goldman Credit: Grove Press The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Now 30% Off Credit: Charles Scribner's Sons A Feather on the Breath of God by Sigrid Nunez Now 36% Off Credit: Picador Paper Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie Credit: Riverhead Books
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residential developer eyes D&D lots to build homes for seniors and veterans
May 8—Six single-family homes could be constructed on city-owned D&D lots so long as the developer is awarded funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank Homebuyer program. If Paramount Development grant is successful in obtaining its grant, the homes will target people with lower incomes, senior citizens and veterans. Jerry Floyd of Paramount Development told members of the Newton City Council that he won't know until December whether he received the awarded funds. The six homes would be built with two bedrooms over basements. Floyd said in order to score well enough in the program, the homes need to target certain populations. "In our particular case, all of these homes will be reserved for seniors for purchase," he said. "Seniors are defined as someone 62 and older. On top of that we have some additional targeting that three of these homes must be sold to a veteran. So that will be our targeted market." It would cost around $280,000 to build each of these houses. Floyd said the Federal Home Loan Bank comes in with a $150,000 subsidy, allowing the developer to sell the homes for $125,000-$140,000. These prices, he said, are affordable for seniors, and he expects they would be sold before they are built. "They will have a five-year period to sign," he said. "If they try to re-sell the home in that time, the Federal Home Loan Bank will recapture some of that money it receives over that period of time. But they're kind of in for five years, and once they're there that $150,000 for their benefits is no longer over their head." According to city documents, the developer anticipates the construction and sale of these homes to occur over a 24- to 30-month period. The D&D lots were purchased for $30,000 under the condition the developer is awarded funds. Otherwise the sale is null and void. The properties included: 1017 West 4th Street South, 1219 South 4th Avenue East, 902 1st Avenue West, 625 East 5th Street South, 917 1st Avenue West and 717 West 6th Street South. Council member Randy Ervin praised the idea of establishing new houses for seniors and veterans, but he asked Floyd why he chose Newton. Floyd said he has ties to the Iowa town. While he is not originally from Iowa, his wife was born in Skiff Medical Center and lived in Newton until the third grade. "Newton has been a special place in my heart," the Texas-raised Floyd said. "...But you guys are doing a phenomenal job with these D&D lots. We can't go buy $60,000-$70,000 lots in Waukee and do what we're doing. It just doesn't work. We're offering $5,000 which is pretty much the most I can offer." Paramount Development also purchased four other D&D lots in Newton, but with the same contingency that the sale is approved if its Iowa Finance Authority HOME Program Rental application is accepted. These three-bedroom, single-family homes are only targeted to those who have lower income. Unlike the earlier six homes, these four residences will be rentals owned and operated by Paramount Development for a 20-year period. Those properties include: 509 West 2nd Street South, 514 South 2nd Avenue West, 315 East 4th Street South and 616 West 4th Street South.
Time Out
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Bangkok, you're getting D4VD and it won't cost you a satang
May's here! May your luck follow you. New York-born, Texas-raised D4vd is hitting town soon. Here's your shot to be one of only 300 fans meeting the man himself at Lido Connect on May 14. Want in? Here's what to do If your luck's still holding up in 2025, keep an eye on your DMs for a link to register. Hit that and lock in your chance for the live show. Lucky perk alert The first 30 to sign up get access to an exclusive workshop, plus a surprise straight from D4vd himself. What's hitting the setlist? Heads-up
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Would you eat a ‘Texas Strip?': Texas Lt. Gov. in talks to change name of this famous steak cut
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the Texas Senate would work to change the name of the New York Strip to the 'Texas Strip.' The change would apply to the cuts of meat in the Lone Star State only. Patrick attributed the need for the change to Texas-raised cattle and the Texas cattle ranchers. 'We ask restaurants to change the name of this strip of meat the next time they reprint their menus, and grocery stores to do the same. We want this to catch on across the country and around the globe,' Patrick said. According to Patrick, the change would help market Texas beef, as well as benefit the state's economy and jobs. 'After session ends this summer, I might take a short cruise across the Gulf of America and have a juicy medium-rare Texas Strip,' Patrick said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
08-02-2025
- General
- CBC
New Calgary zoo boss promises 'exceptional care' for animal safety, conservation
Social Sharing The first thing Kyle Burks does when he gets home from work is greet his cat. "I tell her about my day and she tells me about hers," said the new president and CEO of the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. "And then I kiss my wife." The Texas-raised zoo boss took on the role last month after previously serving as chief operating officer at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans. He's also held key leadership positions at the Sacramento Zoo, Denver Zoo and the Walt Disney Co. in Florida. Burks, in an interview with The Canadian Press, said he fondly remembers the school field trips he'd take to a zoo in Houston, roughly 90 minutes away from where he grew up in Huntsville. "Man, did I love it," Burks said with a chuckle. "It was my favourite one every year." Burks takes over the Calgary job after a rough year for the zoo. One of its mandrills died in April after undergoing emergency surgery. A polar bear drowned in July when its trachea was crushed by another bear during rough play. Just a few months ago, a young lowland gorilla was killed after a worker closed a wrong door and hit its head. Burks said the increased attention does put more pressure on the zoo when it comes to the well-being of animals. "Everybody should expect the highest degree of professionalism and care from us, and that's what we should deliver on and then some," he said. "I've worked next to some of the most professional, dedicated people you'll ever imagine that spend more time with these animals than they do with their own families." Burks says going forward the focus will be on animal safety, wildlife conservation and saving species for the future. The zoo announced earlier this month it would begin an expansion of its Exploration Asia zone next month with larger and improved habitats for some of its more prominent residents like the snow leopard, red pandas and red-crowned cranes. The project is to be completed by next summer. Burks said with the Calgary zoo celebrating its centennial in 2029, work is underway to repair some aging habitats to improve the well-being of the animals in care. Some were built in the 1980s for the 1988 Winter Olympics, he said. Burks said zoos have evolved over the past 30 years. "Our public now expects us to not only provide exceptional care for the animals that they come and enjoy ... but they expect us to do conservation work," he said. "Our future is about saving species and creating a world where people and animals can thrive together." After 32 years of caring for animals, he said he understands why the public cares so much about their health. "We have an emotional connection with animals that makes our lives better," he said.
