700 mph train; students fund fat pensions; California's state dinosaur
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Odd and interesting news from around the West.
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ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Nearly three decades since a 19-year-old woman disappeared from her small New Mexico town, her family with the help of a former friend and filmmaker are renewing the search for answers.
Tara Calico disappeared from Belen in September 1988, and her case has remained unsolved since. With the help of Calico's family, filmmaker Melinda Esquibel began a new investigation into case, KRQE-TV reported (http://bit.ly/2fq5vdd ) last week.
Esquibel, who said she became friends with Calico on a high school band trip, started examining the case with a documentary film project. That initial examination turned into an investigation after finding the case files in disorder, she said.
Esquibel said progress has been made on the case, and they're unearthing information that has been hidden for years. The information they are gathering is also being shared with Valencia County Sheriff's Department investigators. The sheriff's department has remained the lead law enforcement agency on the case. A new detective was recently appointed to the investigation.
While much of the information uncovered about the case cannot be released as it's an ongoing investigation, Esquibel has started the podcast "Vanished: The Tara Calico Story" to share some of what they are learning.
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Information from: KRQE-TV, http://www.krqe.com
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PHOENIX (AP) — More than 45 flights headed to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport were temporarily diverted after an alarm activated at the air traffic control tower.
The Arizona Republic reported that Phoenix Fire crews responded to the alarm around 8:45 a.m. Sunday.
A spokeswoman for Sky Harbor officials say the control tower was evacuated as a precaution.
According to Phoenix Fire Department officials, the problem stemmed from a faulty air handler sensor and is being investigated.
The faulty mechanism caused low water pressure, which produced steam from the tower at air traffic control.
In all, 46 flights were diverted to airports in other cities including Tucson; Mesa, Las Vegas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; El Paso, Texas; Burbank, California; and Ontario, California.
All the flights were traveling back to Phoenix as of 10 a.m.
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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
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DENVER (AP) — Colorado's dream of a futuristic transportation system that would move passengers and freight at speeds of nearly 700 mph (1,126 kph) using a pod and tube system is estimated to cost about $24 billion to build.
The state's proposed route — named one of 10 global finalists this month by the Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One — accounts for the 360 miles (579 kilometers) connecting Denver to Pueblo, Vail and Cheyenne, Wyoming, The Denver Post reported https://goo.gl/HZSHtC Sunday.
The routes, which include several stops, would be able to handle 45 million trips in 2040 and generate $2 billion in revenues per year, according to the state's proposal.
Shailen Bhatt, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, said a study must now look at the feasibility of building and funding the project, which will not be paid for by the state.
"I've said all along the state is not going to be the pockets for this," he said. "The funding model will be key."
Hyperloop One is trying to identify the best routes for the transportation system, which would use pods lifted above a track by magnetic levitation. The pods would glide at airline speeds because of ultra-low aerodynamic drag in the tube.
Colorado is proposing a "logical first phase" of building a 40-mile (64-kilometer) track between Denver's airport and Greeley because there are fewer complications involving alignment and rights of way.
A second line would include 75 miles (121 kilometers) of track through the mountains, including a stop at Silverthorne/Dillon. The main 250-mile (402-kilometer), north-south line between Pueblo and Cheyenne would also have stops in Colorado Springs, the Denver Tech Center, Fort Collins and elsewhere.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Officials with Billings Catholic Schools say they have to get permission from 434 potential stakeholders before selling a former middle school building.
The Billings Gazette reports https://goo.gl/BZzp5e a peculiar deed on the former site of St. Francis Upper, signed nearly 100 years ago, led attorneys to identify hundreds of people who might have a small claim on the property. They are descendants of those granted interest in the property a century ago.
The deed says that if the building isn't used as a school, heirs and other stakeholders could gain interest. Billings Catholic Schools is seeking full ownership of the site in order to sell it and keep the money.
Janyce Haider, president of the Billings Catholic Schools Foundation, says a Billings doctor interested in genealogy found 434 potential heirs who span five generations.
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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com
- By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer
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NEW YORK (AP) — The R-rated spy comedy "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" displaced the horror sensation "It" as the No. 1 film in North America, while the second "Lego Movie" spinoff of the year didn't assemble the expected audience.
The 20th Century Fox release opened with a weekend-leading $39 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. But "It" still continues to pull in record crowds. With $30 million over the weekend, "It" is now the highest-grossing horror film of all time, not accounting for inflation, with $266.3 million thus far. (1973's "The Exorcist" grossed $232.9 million domestically, or more than $1 billion in 2017 dollars.)
Twentieth Century Fox's "Kingsman" sequel sought to expand on the 2015 original's $36.2 million opening, and its $414 million worldwide take. Matthew Vaughn's sequel returned stars Taron Egerton and Colin Firth, while adding Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and others. Made more for audiences than critics, reviews for the gleefully distasteful spy romp were poor, at 51 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fox could celebrate an uptick the second time around, albeit a small one. "The Golden Circle" also debuted with $61 million overseas, giving it a $100 million global weekend. Vaughn is planning a third "Kingsman" film.
"We're seven percent bigger than the last one, which opened on a holiday weekend," said Chris Aronson, distribution chief for Fox. "We grew the franchise. We're very happy."
The Stephen King adaptation "It," from Warner Bros. and New Line, may have slightly eaten into the ticket sales for "Kingsman." Few believed "It" would still be such a draw in its third week of release; horror films usually drop severely after release. But the film has already established itself as the biggest hit ever in the month of September — a welcome relief to Hollywood after a dismal August.
The "Lego Movie" spinoff "The Lego Ninjago Movie," was further off expectations, debuting with $21.2 million. Phil Lord and Chris Miller's "The Lego Movie" — the 2014 hit that made $469 million worldwide — kicked off a bustling franchise. "Ninjago," though, is the second spinoff of the calendar year, following February's "The Lego Batman Movie."
That release opened with $35 million and grossed $312 million in total — marks that "Ninjago" appears will fall well short of. It may be two "Lego" movies in a year were too many.
"I was hoping we'd do more. I'm disappointed this weekend didn't come in a little higher," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution head. "We know that each one of these 'Lego' movies are different properties. This one played young."
In its second week of release, Darren Aronofsky's already infamous psychological thriller "mother!" failed to turn the tide. The film, made for $30 million, last week became one of the few movies to receive an "F'' CinemaScore on release. The horror parable, starring Jennifer Lawrence, slid to sixth place with $3.3 million, bringing its two-week haul to $13.4 million. Paramount has proudly defended the film as intentionally divisive, daring filmmaking, the kind seldom produced by major studios.
The week also saw the first wave of fall awards contenders in specialty release. The Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs drama "Battle of the Sexes," with Emma Stone and Steve Carell; the Boston Marathon bombing survivor tale "Stronger," with Jake Gyllenhaal; and the Queen Victoria drama "Victoria & Abdul," starring Judi Dench, all debuted in limited release.
Lionsgate's "Stronger" grossed $1.7 million on 574 screens. Focus Features' "Victoria & Abdul" scored a per-theater average of $37,933 on four screens, along with a two-week international total of $12.4 million. And Fox Searchlight's "Battle of the Sexes" earned $525,000 on 21 screens.
Theaters are suddenly flush again. Though the year is still 4.6 percent behind the pace of 2016, the month of September is up 20 percent, according to comScore.
"The fact that we're sitting here in September on the verge of what looks like a record-breaking month, powered by the unprecedented success of 'It,' tells you how quickly box-office fortunes can rise and fall in this marketplace," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," $39 million ($61 million international).
2. "It," $30 million ($38.3 million international).
3. "The Lego Ninjago Movie," $21.2 million ($10.5 million international).
4. "American Assassin," $6.3 million ($2.7 million international).
5. "Home Again," $3.3 million.
6. "mother!" $3.3 million ($4.6 million international).
7. "Friend Request," $2.4 million.
8. "The Hitman's Bodyguard," $1.9 million ($15.4 million international).
9. "Stronger," $1.7 million.
10. "Wind River," $1.3 million.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore
1. "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," $61 million.
2. "It," $38.3 million.
3. "War for the Planet of the Apes," $19.3 million.
4. "The Hitman's Bodyguard," $15.4 million.
5. "The Lego Ninjago Movie," $10.5 million.
6. "The Invisible Guest," $6.5 million.
7. "American Made," $6 million.
8. "Spider-Man: Homecoming," $6 million.
9. "I Can Speak," $4.8 million.
10. "mother!" $4.6 million.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A newspaper investigation finds the number of University of California retirees collecting six-figure pensions has increased 60 percent since 2012 — and those increasingly generous retirement packages are being paid for by students' tuition.
The Los Angeles Times reports Sunday (http://lat.ms/2wPG6MB ) that last year more than 5,400 UC retirees received pensions over $100,000.
Spokeswoman Dianne Klein said it's impossible to say precisely how much of this year's tuition increase will go toward retirement costs, but the newspaper says it could be tens of millions of dollars.
The Times says pensions, salaries and UC's failure to contribute to the pension fund for two decades have left the retirement system in the red. Last year, there was a $15 billion gap between the amount on hand and the amount it owes to retirees.
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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A former Spokane County sheriff's deputy has been convicted of lying to fraudulently obtain federal assistance.
The Spokesman-Review (http://bit.ly/2xCjXp8 ) reports that a jury on Friday found former Spokane County Sheriff's jailer Donald B. Henderson guilty of stealing roughly $650,000 from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veteran Affairs for more than a decade.
Defense attorneys declined to comment. Henderson's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12.
Henderson had been receiving federal benefits since 2002 after claiming he was legally blind and could not work.
However, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Cashman and Stephanie Lister provided the court with video showing Henderson driving a riding lawn more and going shooting with an undercover agent.
Federal defenders John "Jay" McIntire and Colin Prince countered that Henderson suffered from debilitating migraines stemming from a traumatic brain injury.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com
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RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Reno attorney has been convicted of filing false tax returns and obstructing the internal revenue laws.
Federal prosecutors say 63-year-old Delmar Hardy was found guilty Friday following a three-week jury trial.
They say Hardy concealed his business partner's $700,000 investment in a real estate company from 2009 through 2010.
Evidence at trial showed Hardy falsely claimed all of the company's profits and losses on his own 2009 and 2010 individual tax returns.
Hardy also falsified his 2008-2010 returns by not reporting more than $400,000 in cash income his law practice received.
He's scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12.
Hardy faces up to a three-year prison sentence for each count of filing a false return and obstructing the internal revenue laws and must pay restitution to the IRS.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — It took about 66 million years, but California finally has a state dinosaur.
Gov. Jerry Brown announced Saturday the signing of a bill making Augustynolophus morrisi the official dinosaur of the Golden State.
Fossilized remains of the duckbilled creature that lived anywhere from 100 to 66 million years ago have been found only in California.
Several other states and Washington, D.C., also have official dinosaurs.
California has more than 30 state insignia including a state lichen — lace lichen — and a state fabric, denim.
- By ISAAC WINDES Cronkite News
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It may not be surprising that an "aquatic desert" turtle faces long odds in life, but environmentalists and biologists still welcomed this week's endangered species designation for the Sonoyta mud turtle.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the designation Wednesday, citing threats from climate change to loss of habitat for the Southern Arizona animal, whose numbers are believed to have dwindled to as low as 100 turtles.
"The Sonoyta mud turtle is clearly in danger of extinction," Steve Spangle, a field supervisor with Fish and Wildlife's Arizona Ecological Services, said in a release announcing the listing.
"Protecting it under the Endangered Species Act will marshal increased attention and the resources needed by our U.S. and Mexican conservation partners to improve and expand its dwindling habitat and populations," Spangle said.
The turtle, a subspecies of the Sonoran mud turtle, is found in northern Mexico and in the Quitobaquito Springs in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, its only natural habitat in the U.S. Those springs are also the only habitat for the Quitobaquito snail and the desert caper plant, according to the National Park Service.
The Sonoyta mud turtle is a dark, pocket-sized freshwater turtle that lives in permanent aquatic habitats and eats insects, snails, fish, frogs and some plants. They have a mottled pattern on their head, neck and limbs. They must have land and water in close proximity.
"That is the problem," said John Iverson, a biology professor at Earlham College in Indiana, who first identified the Sonoyta turtle as a subspecies in the 1980s. "They need water and the hydro period is decreasing."
Their aquatic nature can be seen in their webbed feet, he said.
Doug Duncan, a fish biologist for Fish and Wildlife, said the turtles face a number of threats ranging from a low water supply, to climate change, warranting protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Another threat is a lack of genetic variation caused by the small population, Iverson said.
"Whenever you have a small population there is a risk of genetic bottlenecks," he said.
Environmentalists welcomed the endangered designation, which has been under consideration for 20 years and was the subject of a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Noah Greenwald, the center's endangered species director, said that when "there is a species down to just one population in the U.S, and just a few in Mexico, the protections are needed."
Spangle said that with the designation, the U.S. will work with Mexico to expand the populations and habitat. Iverson said that the turtle "is as safe as it can be, given the circumstances," and that "Mexico is where the problem is."
Other groups of the turtle live in Mexico, but Iverson said their habitat there is polluted, and water is pumped at an unhealthy rate.
"Hopefully by putting it on the list we can get them to clean up their act," Iverson said of Mexican officials. He said that despite the fact that Mexico has more populations of the turtle, it's likely "the last to go will be the one in the U.S."
- By ANDREW BINION Kitsap Sun
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BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — Zeus is a big dog who loves peppermints. From watching him bound across the yard with other dogs at Aislinn Ertzberger's home outside Poulsbo, you would never know the 2-year-old Mastiff's insides are full of birdshot.
On July 23, Ertzberger arrived home to kids and dogs dancing around her feet, eager for treats. While on the way to the house Zeus, spotted a rabbit and chased it.
Ertzberger told her son Clayton to go fetch Zeus, and a minute or two later she heard a gunshot.
"I set my stuff down on the counter and then 'bang,'" she said.
She rushed outside to check on her horses and then saw Clayton, 12, running and then collapse, calling out Zeus' name. A wounded, bloodied Zeus followed. Ertzberger, a licensed EMT, said Zeus stopped breathing. She revived him, but he was weak.
Clayton said he doesn't remember much about those moments.
"I choose not to remember," he said as Zeus lied on the floor. "I'm glad he's alive."
The neighbor, who has been charged with misdemeanors, told a Kitsap County Sheriff's deputy that he had an ongoing problem with dogs in his yard. He told the deputy he wasn't threatened and didn't feel the dogs were aggressive. According to reports, he said he shot above the dogs.
Zeus suffered a collapsed lung and will be considered in critical condition for the rest of his life, Ertzberger said.
The neighbor, Dale E. Hardesty, 61, did not return a phone call last Friday seeking comment. On Sept. 1 he pleaded not guilty to a count of second-degree animal cruelty. He is also charged with aiming or discharging a firearm or other dangerous weapon, a crime that describes shooting in an area that might endanger a person.
Ertzberger shudders to think that Clayton could have been hit by birdshot.
Since the shooting, the family has struggled to return to their previous life. The kids don't as readily go to certain areas of the property to play, and Zeus, described as lovable and good-natured, is wary of men and has to see Ertzberger shake their hand before he will relax.
"He's never been like that before," she said.
He still loves running with the family's other dogs and quickly warms up to strangers, but his energy levels are erratic and he has yet to gain back the weight he lost after being shot.
"This family has been terrorized," Ertzberger said, saying Zeus had served as the family's doorbell, alerting them to somebody at the gate. Now he is anxious and prefers to lie on her bed and stare out her window.
"He doesn't work the way he used to," Ertzberger said. "He's no longer our siren. He barks at everything."
On top of that, the financial burden has set the family back. Zeus's vet bills were the equivalent of three mortgage payments. She does not know Hardesty and said she wouldn't recognize him if she passed him on the street. But Ertzberger said if he had complained to the family about dogs, or after the shooting had approached the family, they would have remedied the problem and it would have helped put their minds at ease.
Their yard is fenced, but Ertzberger believes Zeus, while chasing the rabbit, dove under a wire section and escaped.
Hardesty admitted to the deputy that he shot his shotgun after seeing two dogs in his garden, but he claimed he first yelled at them. The two dogs started to run off and then shot above them, he said.
The deputy doubted his story, believing he shot at the dogs at a much closer distance.
"I asked Dale why he had shot the dog even after he yelled at them and they were already running back to their home," the deputy wrote. "He stated he was tired of the dogs getting into his yard. I asked if the dogs were threatening or acting aggressive at all. He stated they were not, reiterating they were just in his garden and he was tired of them being over there."
The deputy noted Hardesty fired toward a neighbor's residence.
"Dale showed an extreme lack of responsibility by shooting at a dog which was running away from him and firing the round towards his neighbor's residence," the deputy wrote.
Ertzberger also questions Hardesty's account, as recorded by the deputy. She is doubtful that in the amount of time Zeus was gone he could have made it all the way to Hardesty's residence — which can't be seen through the brush while standing in her yard — and as an experienced hunter, she said patches of blood on the ground indicate Zeus was shot on her property. She is also confused about the allegation that two dogs were on Hardesty's property, as her three other dogs were accounted for at the time of the shooting.
All the heartache the family endured has been exacerbated by the cost of vet care. Ertzberger has started a Facebook page and has been raising money to put toward a fund that helps families pay for vet care in cases like Zeus's.
Clayton is Zeus's person, Ertzberger said, but he has formed a strong bond with each family member. The thought of losing him still rattles them.
"He's the heart of this family," she said.
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Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Nearly three decades since a 19-year-old woman disappeared from her small New Mexico town, her family with the help of a former friend and filmmaker are renewing the search for answers.
Tara Calico disappeared from Belen in September 1988, and her case has remained unsolved since. With the help of Calico's family, filmmaker Melinda Esquibel began a new investigation into case, KRQE-TV reported (http://bit.ly/2fq5vdd ) last week.
Esquibel, who said she became friends with Calico on a high school band trip, started examining the case with a documentary film project. That initial examination turned into an investigation after finding the case files in disorder, she said.
Esquibel said progress has been made on the case, and they're unearthing information that has been hidden for years. The information they are gathering is also being shared with Valencia County Sheriff's Department investigators. The sheriff's department has remained the lead law enforcement agency on the case. A new detective was recently appointed to the investigation.
While much of the information uncovered about the case cannot be released as it's an ongoing investigation, Esquibel has started the podcast "Vanished: The Tara Calico Story" to share some of what they are learning.
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Information from: KRQE-TV, http://www.krqe.com
PHOENIX (AP) — More than 45 flights headed to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport were temporarily diverted after an alarm activated at the air traffic control tower.
The Arizona Republic reported that Phoenix Fire crews responded to the alarm around 8:45 a.m. Sunday.
A spokeswoman for Sky Harbor officials say the control tower was evacuated as a precaution.
According to Phoenix Fire Department officials, the problem stemmed from a faulty air handler sensor and is being investigated.
The faulty mechanism caused low water pressure, which produced steam from the tower at air traffic control.
In all, 46 flights were diverted to airports in other cities including Tucson; Mesa, Las Vegas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; El Paso, Texas; Burbank, California; and Ontario, California.
All the flights were traveling back to Phoenix as of 10 a.m.
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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
DENVER (AP) — Colorado's dream of a futuristic transportation system that would move passengers and freight at speeds of nearly 700 mph (1,126 kph) using a pod and tube system is estimated to cost about $24 billion to build.
The state's proposed route — named one of 10 global finalists this month by the Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One — accounts for the 360 miles (579 kilometers) connecting Denver to Pueblo, Vail and Cheyenne, Wyoming, The Denver Post reported https://goo.gl/HZSHtC Sunday.
The routes, which include several stops, would be able to handle 45 million trips in 2040 and generate $2 billion in revenues per year, according to the state's proposal.
Shailen Bhatt, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, said a study must now look at the feasibility of building and funding the project, which will not be paid for by the state.
"I've said all along the state is not going to be the pockets for this," he said. "The funding model will be key."
Hyperloop One is trying to identify the best routes for the transportation system, which would use pods lifted above a track by magnetic levitation. The pods would glide at airline speeds because of ultra-low aerodynamic drag in the tube.
Colorado is proposing a "logical first phase" of building a 40-mile (64-kilometer) track between Denver's airport and Greeley because there are fewer complications involving alignment and rights of way.
A second line would include 75 miles (121 kilometers) of track through the mountains, including a stop at Silverthorne/Dillon. The main 250-mile (402-kilometer), north-south line between Pueblo and Cheyenne would also have stops in Colorado Springs, the Denver Tech Center, Fort Collins and elsewhere.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Officials with Billings Catholic Schools say they have to get permission from 434 potential stakeholders before selling a former middle school building.
The Billings Gazette reports https://goo.gl/BZzp5e a peculiar deed on the former site of St. Francis Upper, signed nearly 100 years ago, led attorneys to identify hundreds of people who might have a small claim on the property. They are descendants of those granted interest in the property a century ago.
The deed says that if the building isn't used as a school, heirs and other stakeholders could gain interest. Billings Catholic Schools is seeking full ownership of the site in order to sell it and keep the money.
Janyce Haider, president of the Billings Catholic Schools Foundation, says a Billings doctor interested in genealogy found 434 potential heirs who span five generations.
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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com
- By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The R-rated spy comedy "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" displaced the horror sensation "It" as the No. 1 film in North America, while the second "Lego Movie" spinoff of the year didn't assemble the expected audience.
The 20th Century Fox release opened with a weekend-leading $39 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. But "It" still continues to pull in record crowds. With $30 million over the weekend, "It" is now the highest-grossing horror film of all time, not accounting for inflation, with $266.3 million thus far. (1973's "The Exorcist" grossed $232.9 million domestically, or more than $1 billion in 2017 dollars.)
Twentieth Century Fox's "Kingsman" sequel sought to expand on the 2015 original's $36.2 million opening, and its $414 million worldwide take. Matthew Vaughn's sequel returned stars Taron Egerton and Colin Firth, while adding Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and others. Made more for audiences than critics, reviews for the gleefully distasteful spy romp were poor, at 51 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fox could celebrate an uptick the second time around, albeit a small one. "The Golden Circle" also debuted with $61 million overseas, giving it a $100 million global weekend. Vaughn is planning a third "Kingsman" film.
"We're seven percent bigger than the last one, which opened on a holiday weekend," said Chris Aronson, distribution chief for Fox. "We grew the franchise. We're very happy."
The Stephen King adaptation "It," from Warner Bros. and New Line, may have slightly eaten into the ticket sales for "Kingsman." Few believed "It" would still be such a draw in its third week of release; horror films usually drop severely after release. But the film has already established itself as the biggest hit ever in the month of September — a welcome relief to Hollywood after a dismal August.
The "Lego Movie" spinoff "The Lego Ninjago Movie," was further off expectations, debuting with $21.2 million. Phil Lord and Chris Miller's "The Lego Movie" — the 2014 hit that made $469 million worldwide — kicked off a bustling franchise. "Ninjago," though, is the second spinoff of the calendar year, following February's "The Lego Batman Movie."
That release opened with $35 million and grossed $312 million in total — marks that "Ninjago" appears will fall well short of. It may be two "Lego" movies in a year were too many.
"I was hoping we'd do more. I'm disappointed this weekend didn't come in a little higher," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution head. "We know that each one of these 'Lego' movies are different properties. This one played young."
In its second week of release, Darren Aronofsky's already infamous psychological thriller "mother!" failed to turn the tide. The film, made for $30 million, last week became one of the few movies to receive an "F'' CinemaScore on release. The horror parable, starring Jennifer Lawrence, slid to sixth place with $3.3 million, bringing its two-week haul to $13.4 million. Paramount has proudly defended the film as intentionally divisive, daring filmmaking, the kind seldom produced by major studios.
The week also saw the first wave of fall awards contenders in specialty release. The Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs drama "Battle of the Sexes," with Emma Stone and Steve Carell; the Boston Marathon bombing survivor tale "Stronger," with Jake Gyllenhaal; and the Queen Victoria drama "Victoria & Abdul," starring Judi Dench, all debuted in limited release.
Lionsgate's "Stronger" grossed $1.7 million on 574 screens. Focus Features' "Victoria & Abdul" scored a per-theater average of $37,933 on four screens, along with a two-week international total of $12.4 million. And Fox Searchlight's "Battle of the Sexes" earned $525,000 on 21 screens.
Theaters are suddenly flush again. Though the year is still 4.6 percent behind the pace of 2016, the month of September is up 20 percent, according to comScore.
"The fact that we're sitting here in September on the verge of what looks like a record-breaking month, powered by the unprecedented success of 'It,' tells you how quickly box-office fortunes can rise and fall in this marketplace," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," $39 million ($61 million international).
2. "It," $30 million ($38.3 million international).
3. "The Lego Ninjago Movie," $21.2 million ($10.5 million international).
4. "American Assassin," $6.3 million ($2.7 million international).
5. "Home Again," $3.3 million.
6. "mother!" $3.3 million ($4.6 million international).
7. "Friend Request," $2.4 million.
8. "The Hitman's Bodyguard," $1.9 million ($15.4 million international).
9. "Stronger," $1.7 million.
10. "Wind River," $1.3 million.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore
1. "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," $61 million.
2. "It," $38.3 million.
3. "War for the Planet of the Apes," $19.3 million.
4. "The Hitman's Bodyguard," $15.4 million.
5. "The Lego Ninjago Movie," $10.5 million.
6. "The Invisible Guest," $6.5 million.
7. "American Made," $6 million.
8. "Spider-Man: Homecoming," $6 million.
9. "I Can Speak," $4.8 million.
10. "mother!" $4.6 million.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A newspaper investigation finds the number of University of California retirees collecting six-figure pensions has increased 60 percent since 2012 — and those increasingly generous retirement packages are being paid for by students' tuition.
The Los Angeles Times reports Sunday (http://lat.ms/2wPG6MB ) that last year more than 5,400 UC retirees received pensions over $100,000.
Spokeswoman Dianne Klein said it's impossible to say precisely how much of this year's tuition increase will go toward retirement costs, but the newspaper says it could be tens of millions of dollars.
The Times says pensions, salaries and UC's failure to contribute to the pension fund for two decades have left the retirement system in the red. Last year, there was a $15 billion gap between the amount on hand and the amount it owes to retirees.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A former Spokane County sheriff's deputy has been convicted of lying to fraudulently obtain federal assistance.
The Spokesman-Review (http://bit.ly/2xCjXp8 ) reports that a jury on Friday found former Spokane County Sheriff's jailer Donald B. Henderson guilty of stealing roughly $650,000 from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veteran Affairs for more than a decade.
Defense attorneys declined to comment. Henderson's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12.
Henderson had been receiving federal benefits since 2002 after claiming he was legally blind and could not work.
However, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Cashman and Stephanie Lister provided the court with video showing Henderson driving a riding lawn more and going shooting with an undercover agent.
Federal defenders John "Jay" McIntire and Colin Prince countered that Henderson suffered from debilitating migraines stemming from a traumatic brain injury.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Reno attorney has been convicted of filing false tax returns and obstructing the internal revenue laws.
Federal prosecutors say 63-year-old Delmar Hardy was found guilty Friday following a three-week jury trial.
They say Hardy concealed his business partner's $700,000 investment in a real estate company from 2009 through 2010.
Evidence at trial showed Hardy falsely claimed all of the company's profits and losses on his own 2009 and 2010 individual tax returns.
Hardy also falsified his 2008-2010 returns by not reporting more than $400,000 in cash income his law practice received.
He's scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12.
Hardy faces up to a three-year prison sentence for each count of filing a false return and obstructing the internal revenue laws and must pay restitution to the IRS.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — It took about 66 million years, but California finally has a state dinosaur.
Gov. Jerry Brown announced Saturday the signing of a bill making Augustynolophus morrisi the official dinosaur of the Golden State.
Fossilized remains of the duckbilled creature that lived anywhere from 100 to 66 million years ago have been found only in California.
Several other states and Washington, D.C., also have official dinosaurs.
California has more than 30 state insignia including a state lichen — lace lichen — and a state fabric, denim.
- By ISAAC WINDES Cronkite News
It may not be surprising that an "aquatic desert" turtle faces long odds in life, but environmentalists and biologists still welcomed this week's endangered species designation for the Sonoyta mud turtle.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the designation Wednesday, citing threats from climate change to loss of habitat for the Southern Arizona animal, whose numbers are believed to have dwindled to as low as 100 turtles.
"The Sonoyta mud turtle is clearly in danger of extinction," Steve Spangle, a field supervisor with Fish and Wildlife's Arizona Ecological Services, said in a release announcing the listing.
"Protecting it under the Endangered Species Act will marshal increased attention and the resources needed by our U.S. and Mexican conservation partners to improve and expand its dwindling habitat and populations," Spangle said.
The turtle, a subspecies of the Sonoran mud turtle, is found in northern Mexico and in the Quitobaquito Springs in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, its only natural habitat in the U.S. Those springs are also the only habitat for the Quitobaquito snail and the desert caper plant, according to the National Park Service.
The Sonoyta mud turtle is a dark, pocket-sized freshwater turtle that lives in permanent aquatic habitats and eats insects, snails, fish, frogs and some plants. They have a mottled pattern on their head, neck and limbs. They must have land and water in close proximity.
"That is the problem," said John Iverson, a biology professor at Earlham College in Indiana, who first identified the Sonoyta turtle as a subspecies in the 1980s. "They need water and the hydro period is decreasing."
Their aquatic nature can be seen in their webbed feet, he said.
Doug Duncan, a fish biologist for Fish and Wildlife, said the turtles face a number of threats ranging from a low water supply, to climate change, warranting protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Another threat is a lack of genetic variation caused by the small population, Iverson said.
"Whenever you have a small population there is a risk of genetic bottlenecks," he said.
Environmentalists welcomed the endangered designation, which has been under consideration for 20 years and was the subject of a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Noah Greenwald, the center's endangered species director, said that when "there is a species down to just one population in the U.S, and just a few in Mexico, the protections are needed."
Spangle said that with the designation, the U.S. will work with Mexico to expand the populations and habitat. Iverson said that the turtle "is as safe as it can be, given the circumstances," and that "Mexico is where the problem is."
Other groups of the turtle live in Mexico, but Iverson said their habitat there is polluted, and water is pumped at an unhealthy rate.
"Hopefully by putting it on the list we can get them to clean up their act," Iverson said of Mexican officials. He said that despite the fact that Mexico has more populations of the turtle, it's likely "the last to go will be the one in the U.S."
- By ANDREW BINION Kitsap Sun
BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — Zeus is a big dog who loves peppermints. From watching him bound across the yard with other dogs at Aislinn Ertzberger's home outside Poulsbo, you would never know the 2-year-old Mastiff's insides are full of birdshot.
On July 23, Ertzberger arrived home to kids and dogs dancing around her feet, eager for treats. While on the way to the house Zeus, spotted a rabbit and chased it.
Ertzberger told her son Clayton to go fetch Zeus, and a minute or two later she heard a gunshot.
"I set my stuff down on the counter and then 'bang,'" she said.
She rushed outside to check on her horses and then saw Clayton, 12, running and then collapse, calling out Zeus' name. A wounded, bloodied Zeus followed. Ertzberger, a licensed EMT, said Zeus stopped breathing. She revived him, but he was weak.
Clayton said he doesn't remember much about those moments.
"I choose not to remember," he said as Zeus lied on the floor. "I'm glad he's alive."
The neighbor, who has been charged with misdemeanors, told a Kitsap County Sheriff's deputy that he had an ongoing problem with dogs in his yard. He told the deputy he wasn't threatened and didn't feel the dogs were aggressive. According to reports, he said he shot above the dogs.
Zeus suffered a collapsed lung and will be considered in critical condition for the rest of his life, Ertzberger said.
The neighbor, Dale E. Hardesty, 61, did not return a phone call last Friday seeking comment. On Sept. 1 he pleaded not guilty to a count of second-degree animal cruelty. He is also charged with aiming or discharging a firearm or other dangerous weapon, a crime that describes shooting in an area that might endanger a person.
Ertzberger shudders to think that Clayton could have been hit by birdshot.
Since the shooting, the family has struggled to return to their previous life. The kids don't as readily go to certain areas of the property to play, and Zeus, described as lovable and good-natured, is wary of men and has to see Ertzberger shake their hand before he will relax.
"He's never been like that before," she said.
He still loves running with the family's other dogs and quickly warms up to strangers, but his energy levels are erratic and he has yet to gain back the weight he lost after being shot.
"This family has been terrorized," Ertzberger said, saying Zeus had served as the family's doorbell, alerting them to somebody at the gate. Now he is anxious and prefers to lie on her bed and stare out her window.
"He doesn't work the way he used to," Ertzberger said. "He's no longer our siren. He barks at everything."
On top of that, the financial burden has set the family back. Zeus's vet bills were the equivalent of three mortgage payments. She does not know Hardesty and said she wouldn't recognize him if she passed him on the street. But Ertzberger said if he had complained to the family about dogs, or after the shooting had approached the family, they would have remedied the problem and it would have helped put their minds at ease.
Their yard is fenced, but Ertzberger believes Zeus, while chasing the rabbit, dove under a wire section and escaped.
Hardesty admitted to the deputy that he shot his shotgun after seeing two dogs in his garden, but he claimed he first yelled at them. The two dogs started to run off and then shot above them, he said.
The deputy doubted his story, believing he shot at the dogs at a much closer distance.
"I asked Dale why he had shot the dog even after he yelled at them and they were already running back to their home," the deputy wrote. "He stated he was tired of the dogs getting into his yard. I asked if the dogs were threatening or acting aggressive at all. He stated they were not, reiterating they were just in his garden and he was tired of them being over there."
The deputy noted Hardesty fired toward a neighbor's residence.
"Dale showed an extreme lack of responsibility by shooting at a dog which was running away from him and firing the round towards his neighbor's residence," the deputy wrote.
Ertzberger also questions Hardesty's account, as recorded by the deputy. She is doubtful that in the amount of time Zeus was gone he could have made it all the way to Hardesty's residence — which can't be seen through the brush while standing in her yard — and as an experienced hunter, she said patches of blood on the ground indicate Zeus was shot on her property. She is also confused about the allegation that two dogs were on Hardesty's property, as her three other dogs were accounted for at the time of the shooting.
All the heartache the family endured has been exacerbated by the cost of vet care. Ertzberger has started a Facebook page and has been raising money to put toward a fund that helps families pay for vet care in cases like Zeus's.
Clayton is Zeus's person, Ertzberger said, but he has formed a strong bond with each family member. The thought of losing him still rattles them.
"He's the heart of this family," she said.
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Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/
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