Latest news with #Wilbourn
San Francisco Chronicle
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Outside Lands hosted an open mic. Here's how it went
Duboce Triangle, Outside Lands' newest stage is giving festivalgoers an hour of intimate coffeehouse vibes amid the three-day outdoor event's booming sets. Nestled in the eucalyptus trees of McLaren Pass, Bay Area folk group Rainbow Girls kicked off programming with a relaxed open mic on Friday, Aug. 8. The set was packed with performances by their own musician friends and, for the first time ever, a few handpicked attendees. 'The spirit of an open mic is imperfection,' Rainbow Girls member Caitlin Gowdey, 35, told the early afternoon audience on Friday in introducing the first act. 'Do your best, and if it's not perfect, that's great. I want this space to be really welcoming and warm.' The open mic started out with a humble crowd, some festivalgoers lounging on the couches situated around the grassy area. But soon, others trickled in from Polo Field. By the time it ended nearly an hour later, the space had filled out with a few dozen people dancing near the stage. 'I think indie music and local art is one of the most important things,' San Francisco resident Jane Symmes told the Chronicle. 'We have to support it and raise awareness around it.' The 31-year-old was one of the local acts handpicked by the Rainbow Girls to participate in Friday's festivities. 'I just wanted to meet more people, other musicians,' she said after her performance. 'It's so important to have a networking group of musicians to support each other.' Symmes submitted an application to perform at Duboce Triangle via Google Forms last month, sharing a sample of her skills and other relevant information with the Rainbow Girls. She found out she was selected to perform earlier this week. She took the stage after Rainbow Girls member Vanessa Wilbourn, 34, kicked things off with her new song 'Summer Suns.' Symmes was followed by a slew of the Rainbow Girls' friends such as Anna Moss and Joe Ludford of the musical duo Handmade Moments, singer Tom Quell and queer indie folk singer Spencer LaJoye. Sunny Balopole, a host of the 'Festies' podcast, which delves into the details and unique experiences that music festivals offer, said she came up from San Mateo on a mission to check out Outside Lands' newest attractions for its 17th edition on Friday afternoon. 'People come to festivals and I think they dream about being able to perform at one,' said the 32-year-old. 'This opportunity is a way to get a taste of that.' Bandmates Gowdey and Wilbourn first began hosting events when they were college students in Santa Barbara, nicknaming them 'Bean Nights' because they would cook beans and rice for their friends to eat during performances. Now they've transformed that bean-and-beats series into a structured Outside Lands offering at Duboce Triangle that will continue through the final day of the festival on Sunday, Aug. 10. 'We tried to create this space that felt familial,' Wilbourn said.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fort Worth residents stand against FedEx parking permit request. Will it matter?
Protesters showed their disapproval Tuesday afternoon of a FedEx request for a parking permit at its Southeast Fort Worth hub, a request that was later tabled by the City Council until June 24. FedEx applied for a conditional use permit to allow parking of semi-trucks and trailers on a 9-acre lot at 4700 Martin St. in Southeast Fort Worth, near Loop 820. The Fort Worth Environmental Coalition of Communities, a group of residents fighting environmental racism, held the protest to ask the city to deny the parking permit. Councilwoman Jeanette Martinez, who represents the area where the FedEx hub is located, was not present, prompting the council to table the vote. A May Zoning Commission meeting showed FedEx previously had a special exception that allowed it to park semi-trucks and trailers, but that permit expired in March 2020. The commission questioned how the company missed the expiration date — and didn't realize it for five years. The reason was due to 'oversight' by FedEx, which didn't realize the lapse because it's a 'huge corporate entity,' according to Sean Tate, a lawyer representing FedEx. When the company learned about it from city officials, it immediately worked to rectify the problem, Tate added. Tate said there would be no operational changes or expanded use at the FedEx hub and that it will continue to be used as a storage facility. He added there would be new landscaping and a wood screen fence to replace the chain-link fence. Tate said there were two meetings, on March 10 and April 5, with local neighborhood associations, to help fund the purchase and maintenance of a air quality monitor, implement new signs to deter truck traffic and create a formal complaint process for reported truck route violations. The city's Zoning Commission said the permit is compatible with the surrounding industrial land uses and approved the permit with a vote of 10-1 to advance the matter to the City Council for a vote. Letitia Wilbourn, a member of the Fort Worth Environmental Coalition of Communities and Echo Heights resident, said they want to deny it because of FedEx's poor communication and the community's desire to downsize the industrial and commercial footprint in their neighborhood. Wilbourn said both meetings were held on short notice and residents were not given the answers they wanted in terms of how many trucks they had, what changes they wanted and more. She added how residents complained to FedEx that the trucks will drive though residential streets, making the routes dangerous for children, or will park and idle, polluting the air. 'Today is the City Council meeting, and because of the lack of information that we have with FedEx, the lack of trust with FedEx, the inconsistencies with Fed Ex, the pollution from FedEx, we feel like it's important for us to go out and protest,' Wilbourn told the Star Telegram before the City Council meeting. Fort Worth has designated Echo Heights and surrounding areas as an Industrial Growth Center through the Comprehensive Plan & Future Land Use plan that the city developed in 2000. Over the last few years the city and community members have clashed over efforts to reduce the amount of pollution in the neighborhoods. Caleb Roberts, executive director of Downwinders at Risk, a clean air and environmental justice group, said adding this permit goes against what the community and environmental groups have been fighting for. Roberts says it's disrespectful to constantly have to fight the city over the community's frustration with industrial growth in their neighborhood. 'It does seem like the city itself is helping these businesses set up shop and continue operating in these communities, and I don't think the city is helping the community in the same way,' Roberts said.
CBS News
07-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Gold prices surpass $3,000: Here are the implications for investors
It finally happened: Gold prices have surged past the $3,000 mark, as many experts predicted they might over the last year. The latest price milestone comes after what's been a steady run-up in the precious metal's pricing over the past two years. Since mid-2023, gold has jumped from around $1,800 per ounce to today's nearly $3,100-per-ounce price, amounting to a jaw-dropping 72% increase. "Gold outperformed in 2024 and is doing well this year, outperforming the S&P 500," says Patti Brennan, CEO of Key Financial. But gold's price surge can't last forever, and its currently sky-high costs will have a big impact on investors. Do you own gold, or are you thinking of buying in? Here's what to take away from the yellow metal's recent pricing milestone. Find out more about the benefits of gold investing now . If you already own gold in your portfolio, the new price point might have you excited or even eyeing a sell-off , depending on how much prices have climbed since you bought in. Should you, though? "It depends completely on the investor's initial reason for purchasing the precious metal in the first place," says James Cordier, CEO and head trader at Alternative Options. If your goal was to produce some returns and use them for a specific near-term purpose, then selling right now might be smart. But if you were looking for long-term wealth protection, a hedge against inflation, a way to diversify your portfolio or some other, big-picture benefit, holding onto your gold may be best. "Most gold investors are not day trading this asset," says Steve Wilbourn, a financial advisor at True North Advisors. "This is more of a buy-and-hold investment since it is an extremely volatile holding, where pricing changes constantly." Explore your gold investing options and get started today . Gold prices may have hit record highs , but that doesn't mean that they've maxed out. In fact, many experts think the metal will continue to see price growth for the foreseeable future. "Factors driving the yellow metal to all-time highs are numerous, but the overwhelming catalyst is central bank buying," Cordier says. "For the first time in recent memory, accumulation is taking place regardless of the prices being paid, as central banks continue to accumulate gold at a record pace." According to Cordier, this could mean another 10% jump in gold prices by the end of the year — putting the price of gold at around $3,500 per ounce. "I would expect gold to rise up to a few hundred more points by the end of 2025," Wilbourn says. "Central banks are actively increasing their gold reserves, which is a strong indicator of demand." "This is a time to buy, not sell," Wilbourn says. "Gold is generally more like a collector's item that grows more valuable the longer you keep it." Keep in mind that potential price growth isn't the only benefit of holding gold. Many use it to protect against inflation or to diversify their portfolio , so you may want to buy gold right now for other reasons, too. "New investors shouldn't be afraid of the new gold high price," Wilbourn says. "Real assets like gold are becoming a reasonable investment to hedge equities and bonds. Since Bonds have struggled in the recent past, commodities and real assets are good options to supplement as a hedge on the market." Wilbourn recommends allocating about 5 to 10% of your portfolio to gold. This, he says, "is a reasonable amount to help diversify." If you're not sure if gold investments are right for your portfolio or you need help deciding how to best buy into gold, talk to a financial or investment advisor. There are many ways to invest in gold these days, including physical gold, gold individual retirement accounts (IRAs) , gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and more. A professional can help you make the right move for your goals and budget.
CBS News
11-03-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Cal Fire releases new fire hazard maps for Sacramento, highlighting high-risk areas
SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, known as Cal Fire, released its new fire hazard maps on Monday, including for Sacramento, detailing which areas have the highest severity for fires. The maps, created by the State Fire Marshal, show that the very-high fire severity zone in Sacramento quadrupled in size from where it was over a decade ago. "Back in 2007, we only mapped when there was very high," said Jim McDougald, assistant deputy director with Cal Fire's Community Wildfire Mitigation Program. "Now, we are required to map when there is moderate and high, which makes it look like there is a whole lot more acres." McDougald said they also now have more precise local weather models based on wind speed. "It's risky. Fire is really risky everywhere," said DK Patel, who lives in Rancho Cordova, one of the areas in the moderate hazard zone. About 60,000 acres are in the moderate severity zone in Cal Fire's updated maps. That zone includes communities in Rancho Cordova, Mather Airport and around Folsom. "I am not surprised because we live all around grass fields over in our area," said Stacie Fitzpatrick, who lives in Rancho Cordova. In mostly south and southeast Sacramento, there are over 2,000 acres in the high fire hazard severity zone and 1,267 acres mostly near the Amador and San Joaquin county lines in the very-high fire hazard severity zone. The maps were created for local jurisdictions like the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, known as Metro Fire, to manage the changing terrain. "One of the challenges we have had historically over the last five, ten years is late rains," said Metro Fire Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn. Wilbourn said that is why weed abatement is crucial because the late rains produce double growth, creating dense vegetation. "And allows that fire to spread very rapidly through those fuel beds and potentially threatening neighborhoods," Wilbourn said. Communities in the high and very-high fire hazard severity zones will fall under new state regulations that require defensible space around homes and specific building codes for new buildings for things like roofs, vents and siding. The maps are a crucial tool for communities, but if California has learned anything in the past decade, it is that no community is immune to fire risk. "I am very afraid if one were to happen in this area," said Patel. "Everybody has to be very careful." Cal Fire is not requiring mitigation in areas listed as moderate, but Sac Metro Fire is doing weed abatement work in these areas anyway. It will be releasing those plans for the year later this month.
