car

Dodgers fans generally hiss at the mention of Frank McCourt — the former owner took the team into bankruptcy, after all — but today is about tipping our cap to him.

Without him, fans would have no option to take public transit directly to Dodger Stadium. On his watch, the Dodgers helped secure government funding for the shuttle buses that provide free rides between Union Station and Dodger Stadium.

Sixteen years later, beyond the addition of a sister shuttle from the South Bay, that’s it.

The Dodgers boast the best team in the world. Shohei Ohtani is a tourist attraction. So is their historic ballpark. The Dodgers sold a record 4 million tickets last year.

In 1990, the last year Fernando Valenzuela pitched for the Dodgers, Los Angeles County unveiled a report that suggested ways to improve access to Dodger Stadium “for those who cannot or do not wish to drive.”

The options: a monorail, people mover, or light rail extension from the Chinatown Metro station; the shuttle buses that McCourt and Metro launched 20 years later; the gondola that McCourt first pitched in 2018 and continues to pursue; and a walking path.

A passenger exits the Chinatown Metro station in January.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

L.A. is all about the car. You will most likely drive to Dodger Stadium, and so will your children.

For decades, the Dodgers have promised to ease traffic by adding amenities that encourage fans to come early and stick around after the game. That has not materialized, and notorious congestion within and around the stadium is as much a tradition as Dodger Dogs.

What if you could walk, for real? What if you could head into the stadium along a beautifully landscaped and wide Dodgers-themed path, a blue ribbon of fans coalescing into a community, with decorations and food carts, shade and lighting, and chants of “Let’s Go Dodgers!” along the way?

You can walk now, sort of. It’s about a mile.

There’s a map at the Chinatown Metro station displaying the pedestrian path toward Dodger Stadium.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

At one end of the Chinatown station, there is a map with a pedestrian route, in a glass case that faces away from Dodger Stadium. If you walk out of the station at the other end, or if you just start heading in the direction of Dodger Stadium, good luck finding the map.

There are Metro signs leading you back to the station from Dodger Stadium, but none leading you along the route there.

The Dodgers actually would prefer you did not take that route, or at least the last part of it. I walked it with Alissa Walker, whose Torched newsletter is the go-to place to learn how major sporting events impact the everyday lives of Angelenos.

We entered the Dodger Stadium property at an intersection with no crosswalks, where cars enter and exit the 110 freeway. We stood atop a dirt patch next to a crumbling curb.

“To go a very short distance safely with a feeling that you’re not going to die,” Walker said, “is very difficult.”

With Game 3 of the World Series underway at Dodger Stadium last October, a few folks scurried across a pedestrian bridge with LED lights and blue glow sticks.

The bridge connects Chinatown with Dodger Stadium, traversing the 110. Without this bridge, there is no walking path to Dodger Stadium.

At night, the bridge offers magnificent views of downtown lights. But it had no lights of its own, so the volunteers used the LED lights and glow sticks to attach homemade Dodgers-themed signage to the fence that encloses the bridge.

“Our goal was, just by adding some lights, to make the really dark path at the top of the bridge at night a little bit brighter, so that it felt a little less scary,” transit advocate Jeremy Stutes said, “and to add a little bit of fun and whimsy.”

Glow sticks forming the “LA” logo of the Dodgers were placed on a pedestrian bridge over the 110 Freeway connecting Chinatown to the area where Dodger Stadium is located during the World Series and for several months after. As of last week, the glow sticks were no longer there.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

From the Chinatown Metro station, the bridge is three blocks up College Street and one block down Yale Street. It’s an easy walk, and for now you pass an elementary school, a church, a row of Chinese restaurants, a dirt lot where a hospital once stood, parking lots, and an auto repair facility with a Dodgers flag hung on a wall.

When I did the walk last week, the trash at the foot of the bridge included a plastic cup, socks, a piece of rotting fruit, a half-full bottle of tequila, and half of a turkey sandwich, peeking out from torn plastic wrapping that indicated the sandwich had gone bad three days earlier. On the bridge: shopping bags, a pair of flip-flops, stray clothes scattered at one end, and graffiti everywhere.

A sign painted on the sidewalk indicates the direction toward the Chinatown Metro station.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

That was the point those volunteers made last October: Clean up the bridge and light up the bridge — as they did for three days — and fans will walk there.

“It’s not that it’s not used,” Stutes said. “It’s not designed to be a safe space to use as an alternative to driving.”

When you cross the bridge, you can turn right or left along Stadium Way to get to a stadium entrance.

Turn right, as the map tells you to do, and you’ll encounter decaying sidewalks, with cracked and buckled concrete that turns a modest uphill walk into an obstacle course. Once you get onto the stadium grounds, the paint is fading along the pedestrian path, which offers you no protection from passing cars.

Turn left, and you’ll have to walk part of the way in the street, on an unprotected bike lane. You also could walk along the road behind the Fire Department training center, a path with no sidewalks and passing fire trucks. Either route takes longer than the one on the map, but you would enter Dodger Stadium through a pair of protected and brightly painted pedestrian paths. (That entrance, along Vin Scully Avenue, is a quarter-mile from Sunset Boulevard, where two Metro bus routes stop.)

If the primary choices for getting out of Dodger Stadium after a game are car congestion or Dodger Stadium Express shuttle bus congestion, a downhill walk to Chinatown Metro station — 12 minutes, Metro says — would be a nice option. That’s why those folks lit up the bridge over the freeway during the World Series.

“The lights were just a fun way,” transit advocate Kevin Dedicatoria said, “to show, ‘Hey, here’s a bridge so you don’t have to play, ‘Dude, where’s my car?’ or have to worry about waiting for the bus.’”

McCourt hails from Boston, where the local subway drops Red Sox fans a few short blocks from Fenway Park. When McCourt owned the Dodgers, I asked him if he could envision a subway or light rail extension to Dodger Stadium.

He’d love it, he said then, but the Dodgers were a private business, and government should pay for public transit.

Homes line a street in Eylsian Park, where Dodger Stadium is located.

(ETIENNE LAURENT/For The Times)

It was a fair point. The Dodgers pay taxes. In an era where teams regularly demand stadium and arena deals that exempt them from property tax, the Dodgers have paid $12.8 million in property taxes over the past three years, according to Los Angeles County tax collection records.

Would demand for public transit amid a car culture justify the investment? The Dodger Stadium Express indicates it could: Ridership has just about quadrupled since its inaugural season, from 122,273 in 2010 to 463,147 last year, according to Metro.

Even along the poorly maintained, poorly lit and poorly advertised pedestrian path, Metro said more than 700 riders returned to the Chinatown station on each of the three nights of World Series home games last year.

“As seen in social media videos during the 2025 postseason, the walking path continues to explode in popularity,” Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo said.

Next steps?

“It’s astonishing to me that the Dodgers have not taken it upon themselves, as this great community partner, to fix this problem,” Walker said. “It is the city’s responsibility, but the Dodgers should be doing this, as part of what they want to represent to this community.”

The walking path includes segments along city streets, a Caltrans bridge, and Dodger Stadium property. Just who is the responsible party?

A Caltrans spokesman said the city is responsible for maintaining the bridge. A spokesman for the city’s department of street services did not provide an answer. A spokesman for the Dodgers declined to comment.

You could almost hear the sigh from city councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, whose district includes Dodger Stadium.

“That’s what my job is: to bring people and agencies and organizations together to accomplish a goal,” Hernandez said. “We’re already in conversation with all these entities.

“We’re looking at some of the things we can enhance to make this a more walkable and accessible option for people.”

City Council member Eunisses Hernandez, center, talks with Circle outreach workers in Los Angeles.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

How much might those enhancements cost?

Without a look at a city-commissioned Dodger Stadium traffic mitigation study, expected to be completed this fall, Hernandez said she could not put a price tag on it.

“What I can tell you,” she said, “is that it will be less than half a billion dollars, for sure.”

By year’s end, the Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote on McCourt’s gondola project, estimated to cost $500 million and proposed as privately financed. Last November, the council voted 12-1 to urge Metro to kill the project.

Metro granted its approval, but with conditions that included a requirement to explore supplementing the gondola with other Dodger Stadium transit options, including more buses along Sunset Boulevard and a designated walkway from there to the stadium.

The walking path proposed in that 1990 study would have avoided Sunset Boulevard and the current Stadium Way routes — the ones with crumbling sidewalks, or no sidewalks at all — by using escalators and walkways to get fans up and down the hill between Lookout Drive, just off Stadium Way, and Dodger Stadium.

“Pedestrians could be directed through Chinatown,” the study read, “where numerous restaurants, shops and pedestrian amenities are provided.”

It’s hard to sell Chinatown businesses on the benefits of the gondola when fans would ride between Union Station and Dodger Stadium, soaring over Chinatown. It would be easier if a walking path led at least some of those fans through Chinatown, even if only on the way back from the game.

Even if the gondola system really can accomplish what its proponents say it can — loading 35 people into a cabin every 23 seconds — thousands of riders leaving when the game ends could mean a long line to board.

One of the entrances to Dodger Stadium on Stadium Way, the easiest access when walking from Chinatown Metro station.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

“Also,” the 1990 study said, “passenger waiting following a game is psychologically perceived as being three to four times longer than actual waiting time.”

From this perspective, McCourt might win a few council votes by funding a first-class walking path. The cost, I’m told, would depend on what the enhancements include: signs, lights, trees, shade canopies, sidewalk repairs, escalators, and so on. For something close to $5 million — one one-hundredth of the projected cost of gondola construction — McCourt likely could do an exceptional job.

Is there any sign of progress here? Happily, yes.

In an internal report last December, Metro said Zero Emissions Transit (ZET) — the nonprofit organization now shepherding the gondola project — is pursuing ways to link pedestrians and bicyclists to the transit system and to Dodger Stadium. Those potential improvements include sidewalk repairs and a revitalized pedestrian pathway from the Chinatown Metro station to the bridge across the 110 and then across Stadium Way, to Lookout Drive and the hill above.

“Dodger Walk is envisioned as a series of switchbacks,” the report said, “inspired by the original walking path up Lookout Mountain that existed prior to the construction of Dodger Stadium.”

Whether such switchbacks would make the walk to the stadium longer or shorter than the current path remains to be determined.

In a statement, ZET said: “We embrace and include active transit solutions to increase pedestrian and bike access throughout the project area.” In particular, ZET said, it was “supportive” of a walking path to Dodger Stadium.

The Metro report cautioned the concepts “are in the early planning stage,” so L.A. might get an extravagant walking path, a utilitarian one, or none at all.

Here’s hoping McCourt gives us a path of some kind — whether the city approves the gondola or not — because a pretty walk generations can enjoy would be a prettier civic legacy than driving a team into bankruptcy.

Call them the Geek Squad, the Surfer Dudes or the Genius Squad from Redondo Union High.

In an unprecedented achievement, three starters for the Sea Hawks’ 13-2 volleyball team — Tommy Spalding, Vaughan Flaherty and Carter Mirabal — are headed to MIT this fall.

Their final assignment in Advanced Placement Physics 2 should be figuring out the astronomical odds of how three best friends from the same volleyball team could be admitted to one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

“There’s no way,” was the reaction of Mirabal’s father when he heard the news.

“It’s crazy,” coach Kevin Norman said.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple hanging out in a garage. Who knows what inventions, ideas or technological feats will be imagined in gyms or on surfboards as these three Southern California teenagers unleash their brain power and love for having fun on the East Coast.

“Probably twice a week, I’ll call him, ‘Yo, I have this idea,’” Spalding said of his conversations with Mirabal. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, we usually don’t do anything about it. But it’s throwing ideas out there and hopefully one is going to stick.”

One Spalding idea: “When I was driving home from Joshua Tree, I was stuck in traffic. I was like, ‘Dude, what if we made a Google Maps type of app that utilized AI and had a camera in your car that analyzed the road, tells you what lane to be in to go the fastest and also be able to look at the traffic lights and tell you if this left arrow is red, then go straight, turn left at the next street.”

Elon Musk, beware.

MIT-bound Redondo Union volleyball players Tommy Spalding, left, Vaughan Flaherty and Carter Mirabal.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

They’ve formed a band, “Ratiohead,” a parody of the English rock band Radiohead, with lyrics from math. They’re preparing for the battle of the bands. Spalding is the vocalist, Maribal is on keyboard and Flaherty, the 6-foot-5 redhead, plays guitar.

“We’re looking for a drummer,” Spalding said.

Spalding has a 4.65 GPA and 1490 SAT score. Flaherty is at 4.4 and 1560. Mirabal is at 4.4 and 1510. Spalding said his hardest class was AP European history. Mirabal chose honors chemistry. Each received one B in four years of high school. Flaherty has received multiple Bs and said, “I think it goes to show you that you don’t have to be perfect to get into these schools if you have the potential and you’re willing to work hard and be a good fit.”

Flaherty is so witty he might be able to do a comedy routine, with Spalding serving as his wing man.

“Someone might have messed up, but I’m not going to tell them,” Flaherty said of the threesome earning a spot in the MIT class of 2030.

“Maybe it was chemistry,” Spalding quipped.

If they can make a movie, “The Social Network,” about the invention of Facebook. and a TV series, “Big Bang Theory,” about smart geeks, just wait until someone figures out the entertainment value following around this threesome.

Spalding has all the attributes of a future entrepreneur and loves tinkering with cars. He sent a two-minute video to MIT as part of his application process that showed himself and his father, Michael, turning a 2002 yellow school bus into an RV.

Mirabal has his own YouTube channel, “Carter’s Stuff Review.” He wants to be a mechanical engineer and explore the business side. Flaherty would be happy sending rockets and satellites into space while living near the beach.

All three hang out at the beach, either playing volleyball or surfing. Spalding brought his grandfather’s ping-pong table to the volleyball room at school for more fun. Cornhole is another game they play.

None set out at the beginning of high school seeking a path that leads to MIT, which accepts only about five students for every 100 applicants. “We weren’t taking the classes because we want to go to MIT,” Spalding said. “We just enjoy the subjects.”

There are smart genes in their families. Spalding’s parents are both educators, one an AP physics teacher at Peninsula High, the other a middle school vice principal. Mirabal’s father is an accountant. Flaherty’s father owns two Handel’s ice cream stores (everyone wants to hang out with Flaherty on a hot day).

Each has a story to tell about how they learned of being accepted to MIT.

Mirabal was playing volleyball in his backyard on Dec. 15 with teammates. He was going to wait until his friends left to check the email for fear of rejection. Instead, with them huddled around, he opened the email and everyone started screaming, “Yo!”

Spalding was with Mirabal and headed home to share the moment with his parents when he received a text from the MIT volleyball coach walking out the door congratulating him. “Welcome to the MIT family,” it read.

Flaherty had to wait until March 14 — Pi Day — to see if he was going to make it three for three.

He was driving home from Joshua Tree national park with his girlfriend and Tommy’s girlfriend in the car. The traffic was so bad it came to a standstill so he checked his cellphone.

“I opened it up. I saw the confetti but didn’t realize what it meant until I got a couple lines down,” he said. “The first reaction was disbelief because I thought there was no chance after these two got in.”

In fact, Flaherty said the person doing the MIT interview admitted later, “I’m not going to lie. I thought that was the killer for your application.”

They’ll be playing NCAA Division III volleyball. Mirabal and Spalding will be roommates. “Vaughan will room with someone else because he said he’d be too comfortable with us and be a bad roommate,” Spalding said.

So are they really OK leaving Southern California?

“I wouldn’t say OK with it,” Spalding said.

“It is a sacrifice,” Mirabal said.

Just know the beach will always draw them back to sunny Southern California as the three sat in the Redondo Union volleyball locker room wearing shorts, sandals and their MIT shirts.

“As much as we study, I feel at the end of the day we want to have fun,” Spalding said.

They’re not expecting to re-create “Animal House” at MIT, but let’s see what happens when three surfer dudes from the same high school in California show up with open minds and lots of ideas to explore.

JESSIE J has been rushed to hospital following a car injury which left her with fears she’d ‘broken her neck’.

The singer, 37, has undergone an MRI scan following the incident as she updated fans on her health scare.

Jessie is currently in China for her No Secrets Tour and suffered an unlikely injury after hitting her head on the roof of a car. 

Taking to Instagram, the Price Tag hitmaker shared a clip of her climbing into a black vehicle at her latest concert, whilst admitting she “didn’t mind squashing in the back”.

The video then cuts to Jessie in hospital undergoing an MRI scan after suffering the neck injury.

In an additional update, whilst backstage at one of her shows, Jessie goes on to relay the severity of her condition. 

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She said: “Yeah, I just can’t move my head. I’m alright. I’ll just have to take some painkillers and march right through it.”

“I thought I’d broken my neck, but I haven’t. But I have really hurt my neck and my back.”

Later, shots show the star trying on a stunning gold jumpsuit and embracing her young son Sky. 

Jessie didn’t let the injury stop her putting on a stellar performance as she’s filmed singing her iconic tracks on stage.

Fans flocked to the comments with messages of love and well wishes for the singer.

One user penned: “Take care of yourself (heart emoji)”

“And yet nobody noticed until you told us you hurt yourself!! POPSTARRRR mode was activated,” added another.

A third chimed: “Feel better soon girl you are such a vibe even if you are in pain such an awesome human being.”

“Sending you lots of love and light (heart emoji)” wrote a fourth.

The music star was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and shared news of her early-stage diagnosis publicly via social media in June 2025.

Jessie underwent two surgeries during her health battle, which included a mastectomy that same year.

In August, she was taken to hospital with an infection and fluid on her lungs six weeks post-surgery.

But the star now seems to be doing well and is back performing shows just under a year since her diagnosis.

March 21 (UPI) — A fire at a Daejeon, South Korea, car parts factory Friday has killed at least 14 people and injured dozens more.

There were nearly 60 injured in the fire in a three-floor plant. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said that some of the injured had inhaled smoke, and some were injured when they jumped from the building. It said 25 were seriously injured, but it didn’t say if any were in life-threatening condition. There were 170 people inside when the fire erupted.

Nam Deuk-woo, fire chief of the city’s Daedeok district, said almost all of the bodies were found inside a third-floor space that had been used as a gym locker room, The New York Times reported. Some bodies were so badly burned it will take DNA testing to identify them.

Nam said workers recovered more than 220 pounds of highly reactive chemicals from the site before firefighters could spray water on the fire, and some witnesses have reported that there was an explosion when the fire began.

All of those missing have now been found, The Guardian reported.

Officials said they are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Firefighters said they couldn’t enter the structure earlier for fear of collapse.

They used unmanned robots Friday to cool the structure and do a safety inspection before they were able to go in and search for missing workers.

Daejeon is in central South Korea.

A fire broke out at a car parts plant in the central city of Daejeon on Friday, injuring at least 53 people, with 14 others unaccounted for, authorities said.

The fire was reported at around 1:17 p.m., prompting the National Fire Agency to issue a national firefighting mobilization order, which is given when the scale of the fire is deemed to surpass the firefighting capacity of the local government.

A total of 170 workers were inside the plant when the blaze started, and 14 of them have been unreachable, officials said.

Of the injured, including 24 with serious injuries, many had inhaled toxic gas or fallen from the building, they said.

More than 200 firefighters and 90 pieces of equipment have been deployed to the scene to put out the blaze, aided by helicopters from the forestry service.

Of the two buildings making up the plant, one has completely burned down, while the other is still burning. Firefighters have not been able to enter the structure due to concerns it could collapse.

Also complicating the firefighting effort is 200 kilograms of sodium inside the building, which could explode if poorly handled.

President Lee Jae Myung ordered authorities to mobilize all available resources to rescue the victims and contain the fire, his office said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok gave similar instructions to the interior ministry and the fire agency, while ordering the Daejeon metropolitan government and the police to ensure no further damage by implementing traffic control and evacuation measures.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

CCTV shows the moment a car hits a Muslim woman in broad daylight in southeast London before the driver speeds away. The woman survived, and an investigation is ongoing, but no suspects have been arrested yet.

Stating that she fears for her life, Sparks forward Rickea Jackson has filed a petition for protection against her ex-boyfriend, Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr.

Miami-Dade (Fla.) County Judge Heloiza Correa granted Jackson’s initial request for protection Feb. 9, and a permanent injunction hearing is set for April 21. Pearce is under order not to have contact with Jackson or come within 500 feet of her home or place of employment.

“James has threatened to kill me, James has threatened to harm me, James has threatened to injure me, James has threatened to place a bag over my head, and James has verbally and physically abused me on more than one occasion,” Jackson wrote in her statement to the court.

Jackson, 24, also filed notice with the court that she is willing to testify against Pearce. Her original petition for injunction for protection against dating violence — essentially a restraining order — was filed two days after Pearce’s arrest Feb. 7 for allegedly ramming his Lamborghini SUV into her car more than once, and doing the same to a police car in Doral, Fla.

Pearce, 22, faces felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking, aggravated battery and fleeing from a police officer. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer and nine traffic violations.

“Mr. Pearce maintains his innocence and urges the public to understand that while allegations have the power to shape a narrative, that it is hardly the full, complete story,” Pearce’s attorney, Jacob Nunez, told AP shortly after the arrest. “We look forward to vigorously defending our client.”

In a court filing, Jackson said that she broke up with Pearce weeks before the incident that led to his arrest. She said Pearce offered her $200,000 to remain in a relationship with him and that his behavior toward her became increasingly alarming. According to ESPN, at least seven other 911 calls to police ⁠in the months before the Feb. 7 incident reported Pearce to be stalking or harassing an unnamed girlfriend.

A police report says the relationship between Jackson and Pearce began three years ago when both were star athletes at Tennessee.

Pearce was taken by the Falcons in the first round of the 2025 draft with a pick acquired from the Rams. The 6-foot-5, 243-pound edge rusher finished third for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year after recording 10.5 sacks.

Jackson was a first-round pick of the Sparks in 2024. The 6-2 forward emerged as a star in her second season, picking up MVP votes after averaging 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

“She’s a smooth person, smooth athlete, smooth basketball player,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said in 2025. “She makes hard things look really easy … she makes things look effortless, and I know they’re not.”

The relationship between Jackson and Pearce became volatile in January when the Falcons star admitted in a police report obtained by ESPN that he thought Jackson was cheating on him.

The Feb. 7 incident was described in Jackson’s court filing and a police report. Jackson was attempting to get away from Pearce, who followed her in his car, tried to open her car door at a stop and slammed into her car more than once while she tried to enter the Doral Police Department parking lot “because I knew James was going to hurt me,” Jackson said.

An officer pulled a gun on Pearce and ordered him to get on the ground. However, Pearce jumped back into his car. The officer attempted to open the door, but Pearce shut it and drove away, his car clipping an officer’s left knee.

Police gave chase and Pearce crashed at an intersection before fleeing on foot. Officers said that they caught up with him and he resisted arrest. He was released after posting a $20,500 bond.

March 12 (UPI) — Police divers in Australia’s Greater Sunshine Coast region on Thursday recovered the bodies of two missing Chinese backpackers after they were found dead inside their SUV vehicle beneath floodwaters.

The 26-year-old man and 23-year-old woman were found near Kilkivan, 100 miles northwest of Brisbane, after a major search operation by police and the State Emergency Service using helicopters and drones when the pair failed to arrive at their destination.

“Dive squad officers from the state dive unit arrived and retrieved two deceased persons from a car that had been washed off the road at Kilkivan. The formal identification process is still underway but it is believed that the two, as reported, are a 26-year-old male and a 23-year-old female who are international tourists,” said Queensland Police Minister Dan Purdie.

Purdie said their families had been notified and authorities were working with the Chinese Consulate in Brisbane.

Bundaberg Police Chief Inspector Grantley Marcus said the pair were driving from Brisbane to Mundubbera, where they were due to begin jobs picking fruit.

“They didn’t arrive and a friend of theirs from Australia contacted police on Tuesday and reported them as missing.”

Marcus said the families of the deceased were en route to Australia and pledged police would do everything they could to assist them when they arrived.

The couple was named by 7News as Yuchen Guo, 23, from Shandong Province in eastern China, and Qingwei Qiu, 26, from Fujian Province in the southeast of the country.

Extreme rainfall has seen large areas of Queensland hit with severe flooding in recent days, with some river levels still rising. Parts of the state recorded their highest three-day rainfall totals Sunday through Tuesday.

Glen Hartwig, mayor of nearby Gympie, said the deaths of the pair were “an absolute tragedy” and called for more to be done to make tourists aware of the danger from flooding.

“These people have come to Australia to see our beautiful country and tragically they’ve ended up losing their lives. We warn people about biosecurity when they come into the country, but I also think we need to warn them about the dangers of floodwaters,” he said.

“We’re very grateful that they chose to come and see our country and we’re so sorry for their loss and the pain that [family members] are now feeling,” added Hartwig.

There was some excitement this week at El Camino Real High during batting practice.

JJ Saffie, the best power hitter on the baseball team, hit a ball down the line and over the left-field fence. When a teammate went to retrieve the ball, he discovered that the rear windshield of a car driven by pitcher Jackson Sellz was shattered. He took a photo and showed it to Sellz, who worried what his parents would say.

“We had a good laugh,” father Stu Sellz said.

It turns out the Sellz family has been on the opposite side of breaking windows by hitting home runs since the 1990s. Stu and brothers Scott and Brandon played at Chatsworth. Scott was the family’s best window breaker. Stu’s other son, Braden, also has broken windows.

Now Jackson and the insurance company are paying for him parking too close to the foul pole off Burbank Boulevard.

“This is the baseball god getting back at us,” Stu said.

Jackson usually parks closer to center field, but his preferred parking spot was taken before school began in the morning.

What lesson was learned?

“He now knows to get to school earlier,” Stu said.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

PARIS is a city of style, from elegant patisseries and remarkable architecture to world-renowned fashion houses and chic travellers.

Better still, it’s just a hop across the Channel.

Time it right and you can travel on the Eurostar for £35 each way.

WHY SHOULD I GO?

FRANCE is officially the most-visited country in the world attracting 102million tourists in 2025.

And Paris is its beating heart.

Its rich history has included revolution and wartime occupation and it is one of the world’s capitals of art, fashion and culture.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

Paris also knows food and wine better than any other city and you can pick up a glass of very decent red wine for as little as €6.

There’s no better reason to visit than that.

STREETS MADE FOR WALKING?

WHY pound the pavements when you can whizz about in an old- fashioned Citroen 2CV, poking your head from its roll-back sunroof to gawp at all the key landmarks?

The 2CV was France’s answer to the VW Beetle, often starring in post-war films.

Today, however, it is the main mode of transport for Vintage Car Tour Paris, which offers customisable itineraries led by locals.

For a brief few hours, I was taken back to glam 1950s Paris, ticking off the cobblestoned streets of Montmartre, cruising by the pretty courtyards of the Latin quarter and posing at top attractions seen in the movies.

ANYTHING FOR BUCKET LIST?

CLIMBING the steps to Montmartre’s star attraction, the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, is a must.

The view from the top is breathtaking and makes the steep climb worth it, although there is a funicular if you prefer.

It costs around €2. Like any big city, the area can attract a few individuals who prey on tourists for cash, so be wary if you’re climbing the main steps.

There is a quieter set of stairs to the left, where the funicular is, if you’re worried.

WHERE SHOULD I EAT?

THE famous Clown Bar, in the 11th arrondissement, is a foodie’s dream.

The menu features just six typically French dishes, enabling the kitchen to serve fresh ingredients — all of a very high quality.

The bistro’s signature item is its veal sweetbreads — succulent and rich, served with a parsnip puree, sauteed mushrooms and a veal gravy.

There are plenty of options for non-meat eaters, too.

I loved my Mediterranean red tuna starter — delicate, tangy and delicious, marinated and served raw like a ceviche in a pickled broth.

For a sophisticated setting, head to Kinugawa restaurant on the top floor of SAX hotel, not far from the Champ de Mars and with views of the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night.

The menu is Franco-Japanese, with its star dishes being melt-in-the-mouth miso-marinated black cod, Wagyu beef sliders and delicious lamb chops with garlic and rosemary, the best I’ve ever tasted.

I FANCY A DRINK…

YOU can’t go wrong with a cocktail at the Little Red Door in the trendy Marais district.

It is listed in the top 50 bars in the world and, despite its reputation for creating mind-bending beverages, the vibe is unpretentious.

Staff are happy to serve traditional cocktails alongside more creative options.

My first drink was the Cepe, which consisted of coffee, caramel and mezcal, which was a bit like having a boozy coffee with sparkling water. Amazingly, it worked.

Those after something light and refreshing should try the Aquaponie, a muddle of lemon, sweet clover and two different types of French vodka.

WHERE SHOULD I STAY?

IF you’re celebrating a special occasion, the 5H SAX Paris in the 7th arrondissement ticks every box.

Built in 1899, the property was once a telephone exchange, but today it houses a sumptuous spa and 118 rooms.

Mine featured traditional French windows overlooking a garden area where there’s a heated swimming pool and Jacuzzi.

For those on a tighter budget, the Hilton Garden Inn Paris La Villette is just a 45-minute drive from the airport and only 300 metres from the Metro, making for a perfect pitstop.

The tiny island is home to just six permanent residents, and has more sheep than people, while its only entry and exit point takes you soaring 250m above the Atlantic Ocean

Far removed from the rest of civilisation, this tiny island has been frozen in time, with nothing but fragments of a life that once thrived and a handful of people who still call it home.

Off the coast of West Cork in Ireland sits Dursey, a charming island steeped in history but offering little else. Ever since the stunning landscape acquired a new form of transport, visitors have been able to travel across from the mainland in a distinctive way and discover a place that appears to have ceased to exist.

This tranquil island is home to approximately six permanent residents, with around 15 houses that are deemed habitable and up to seven farmers.

Their livestock stays on the island, and the owners who traditionally inherited the land continue to spend a few nights on the island but never remain. This means there are likely more sheep inhabiting Dursey than there are people.

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It’s understood that when people who live in Dursey have children, they have no option but to have a primary home on the mainland, to enable schooling and access to other facilities.

Unique attraction

Dursey is home to a rare form of transport in Ireland, and the country’s one and only cable car. It carries travellers 250m above the Atlantic Ocean, across to the island, surrounded by nothing but verdant green hills.

Starting from Ballaghboy, Cork, on Ireland’s mainland, the aerial voyage transports you to Dursey in a mere seven and a half minutes.

Throughout the journey travellers can absorb the breathtaking coastal views as the minuscule speck of land gradually grows larger before them.

Built in 1969 as a reliable and secure link between the island and Cork’s mainland, as the surrounding waters are considered far too hazardous for regular boat crossings.

The stretch of water is known as the Dursey Sound and has proved erratic over the decades, with rapid tidal surges. Beyond this, submerged rocks encircling the landmass also render it a perilous voyage and generally unsafe for travellers.

After experiencing the cable car journey, one visitor posted on TripAdvisor: “For us this was the most beautiful part of Ireland.

“We took our mountain bikes over in the cable car, and luckily for us, the weather was glorious. We saw almost all of the island and spent ages staring at the views. We just haven’t seen anything to top it despite travelling the whole way round Ireland.”

Another expressed their admiration for the island, posting: “I absolutely loved Dursey Island. It’s a stunning place, delightfully remote and serene. It is the last place in Europe that the sun sets, a cool fact for you!”.

Historic ruins

Its rugged terrain is also home to numerous equally weathered historical ruins, dating back as far as the 17th century. The most notable of these historic structures is O’Sullivan Beare Castle, which was almost completely razed during the Nine Years’ War in 1602.

Very little of it survives today, and the devastation inflicted by English forces also resulted in a massacre of local residents. One visitor claimed: “Dunboy Castle was very cool, though some information on the site would have been helpful – similar to the plaques found elsewhere. The ruins are overgrown, and you almost stumble into them. “.

Another attraction is the 19th-century Napoleonic-era signal tower. It stands quietly on the island’s highest point, originally built with the purpose of warning against French invasion.

Yet it has remained in ruins since the mid-19th century, abandoned and forgotten by history.

Commonly known as the Church of Kilmichael, it comprises the monastic church and graveyard lying in ruins on the quiet island. It’s believed that the church was established by monks from Skellig Michael but was likewise destroyed in the infamous siege of 1602 by Sir George Carew’s army.

The roughly three-mile route winds through historic neighborhoods with excellent views, incredible century-old homes and (literally) breathtaking climbs along with an intriguing collection of gates and doors. The walk also gives you a chance to admire the Hollywood Bowl without jillions of people milling around (and, if necessary, visit its lovely restrooms without waiting forever in line), but be sure to check the Bowl’s schedule ahead of time. The route won’t be possible when it’s having a concert.

Traffic and parking are always a challenge in this part of L.A. and nearly impossible in the High Tower area. I recommend finding a place to park across Highland Avenue on Milner Road because it’s less traveled (and very lovely). One final note: This route has few sidewalks, and those that exist are uneven, so keep an eye open for traffic and trip hazards, which is tougher than it sounds, because there are plenty of lovely sights to distract.

Here’s how to get there:

1. Start your walk at the corner of Camrose Drive and Highland Avenue, next to the Highland-Camrose Bungalow Village (which we’ll visit later.) Walk straight up Camrose past Woodland Way to Rockledge Road, where you’ll turn right and continue your climb.

This Hollywood Heights neighborhood has a real Mediterranean feel, with brilliant white villas clinging to the hills. The narrow winding street offers charming views of balconies and towers and the soothing tinkle of running water, so it’s easy to forget the cacophonous traffic and looming billboards nearby. The views get better as you climb until you reach the top of the hill and the end of Rockledge — at least for vehicles.

2. Continue walking to the end of the cul-de-sac, where you’ll find Los Altos Place, a pedestrian-only street. At the start of the walkway is a beautiful mosaic bench, where you can stop to catch your breath and then descend the first set of stairs, just 12 steps down.

3. This narrow walk takes you past many impressive doors and gates until you reach High Tower Drive. You’ll cross this road to stay on Los Altos Place, but as you cross, take a moment to wonder at the tiny garages built into the bottom of the hill and the High Tower elevator built like a freestanding Italian bell tower (a.k.a. campanile) rising 100 feet above. The elevator tower was designed by architect Carl Kay in the 1920s to provide the neighborhood’s tony residents elevator access to their hilltop homes, which are inaccessible by car.

4. Alas, only residents have a key to the elevator, so you must admire from afar and continue your walk along Los Altos Place, which includes a short set of 23 steps, to another pedestrian walkway called Broadview Terrace, where you will turn right and climb 37 steps toward the tower. At the top you’ll see more mostly white houses, bristling with balconies and to your right, a clearing with some gorgeous views of Hollywood.

5. Keep walking on Broadway Terrace, past the back side of the tower, to the next pedestrian walkway, Alta Loma Terrace, where you will turn right. It’s easy to get confused here, because the narrow walkway seems to have many passages that lead to front doors. After you pass the tower and a large, white Streamline Moderne home on your right, look for the street sign to Alta Loma Terrace on your left, partially hidden by shrubs and turn right.

6. This is another narrow, shaded walkway where you will see more interesting gates and fences than actual homes, but at No. 6881, you’ll pass a boarded-up 1921 Craftsman-style home with Japanese influences peppered with graffiti and “keep out” notices. The home once belonged to pioneering Asian American actor Philip Ahn, but it’s mostly famous now for being the home where Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love lived from 1992 to 1993. It’s sometimes known as the “In Utero” house, because Cobain wrote most of Nirvana’s third and final studio album, “In Utero,” there. Now the most notable thing, beyond the warnings, are the squirrels and bees buzzing around the property’s lovely overgrown landscape.

7. Follow Alta Loma Terrace as it slopes downhill and turns to the right. It’s mostly walkway along here, with intermittent series of short steps, but the descent is steep enough that you’ll feel it in your legs. After a short four steps down to No. 6836, where a beautiful pink bougainvillea drapes near a blue gate, the walkway turns left, and the descent feels faster over a series of four 14-step stairs separated by segments of straight walkways until you finally take 10 steps down into a parking lot and turn left.

8. You’ll be walking beside those adorable little garages on your left, barely big enough to hold a small modern sedan, and exit onto Highland Avenue through a black gate (that is locked from the parking lot side, so be sure you’re ready to leave).

9. Now turn left toward the Hollywood Bowl, and you can walk through the parking area, which is shaded by many beautiful trees and much more pleasant than walking alongside Highland Avenue’s unrelenting traffic. Walk up to the main entrance to admire the lovely Art Deco George Stanley fountain created in 1940, then walk over to the Peppertree Lane walkway — yes, lined by pepper trees — to the amphitheater. which is open to visitors who want to admire.

10. You won’t find much else open except for clean restrooms, which we were happy to visit. After gaping at the shell-shaped stage and the venues towering, arched rows capable of seating 18,000, retrace your steps back toward Highland. And near the place where you exited from the Alta Loma Terrace parking lots, step inside the gates to the Highland Camrose Park Pathway, around 2153 Highland Ave. On concert nights, this park is usually full of people eating their picnic dinners before entering the theater, but the park is usually empty and quiet when the Bowl is closed.

11. Follow the path heading east toward Camrose, and take a few minutes to wander through the cobble-stoned Highland-Camrose Bungalow Village of 14 Craftsman homes built between 1900 and 1924, according to an informational sign at the village. The cute houses were designed to be working-class housing for film-industry folks — what a concept! — and today mostly house offices for organizations affiliated with the Hollywood Bowl as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Parks Bureau.

12. Exit onto Camrose and turn left to Highland Avneue, where you’ll cross to the other side, where Camrose becomes Milner Road and start walking uphill into the Whitley Heights Historical Preservation Overlay Zone, created by developer H.W. Whitley and architect A.S. Barnes. The majority of the stately homes were designed between 1918 and 1928 to resemble a Mediterranean village and quickly became the home of Hollywood’s elite, including Rudolph Valentino, Tyrone Power, Gloria Swanson and Marlene Dietrich, according to the Los Angeles City Planning website.

13. Follow Milner Road as it winds and climbs up the lushly landscaped hill. After the road curves left, watch for La Scène Idéal, an adorable yellow 1923 cottage that hugs the next curve. At Watsonia Terrace, bear right to stay on Milner Road and continue walking uphill, past several grand Spanish Colonial Revival-style homes, the neighborhood’s favored design. It’s the details on these homes that really captured my eye — arched doorways and windows (some with stained glass), tile inlays, elaborate garage doors and wrought iron light fixtures.

14. At the end of Milner, turn right onto Whitley Terrace, with some breathtaking views on your right, along with many more lovely homes. The book mentions a short stair just past 6681 Whitley Terrace, before a stretch of low slung freestanding garages, but it’s apparently been removed. A small plaque marks the spot where the Mary Jackson Staircase was rebuilt in 2000, but it no longer exists, so keep walking a short distance more to Grace Avenue and turn left to continue climbing the hill.

15. The higher you go, the more houses seem to become more stately. At the top of the hill, you’ll see Kendra Court to your left, a gated street closed to the public. Follow Grace Avenue as it turns right and heads downhill.

16. Turn right at the next street, which is Whitley Terrace, and follow it down past Bonair Place, where the road starts curving to the right. Follow the curve to the Whitley Terrace Steps, between 6666 and 6670 Whitley Terrace, and your final stairs, a twisting, 159-step descent with various short landings under shady trees, wrought-iron fences and tiled roofs. At step 66, pause to admire a charming yellow gate and then carry on, through a charming wrought iron gate back to Milner Road and wherever you parked your car.

March 2 (UPI) — Danise Baird, the wife of Republican Rep. Jim Baird, has died from complications of injuries she sustained in an early January car crash, according to a statement from the Indiana congressman’s office.

Jim and Danise Baird were involved in a car crash on Jan. 5, hospitalizing both of them.

Little information about the incident has been made public. According to a social media statement published by their son Beau Baird in mid-January, they were involved in a hit-and-run on the night of Jan. 5. He added that his mother suffered “nearly 15 breaks and fractures.”

Less than two weeks after the crash, Jim Baird, who is 80, announced that he and his wife had been discharged and were recovering.

On Sunday, his office announced that Danise Baird had died.

“A devoted wife and loving mother of three, she was the foundation of their family and will be deeply missed,” the statement said.

“We ask that you keep the congressman and his family in your prayers during this difficult time.”

Jim and Danise Baird were married for 59 years, according to his office, which said they had built “a life centered on faith, family and service.”

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun offered his condolences online.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with congressman Baird and his family as they grieve this devastating loss,” he said in a statement.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., recalled seeing Danise Baird by her husband’s side as he worked in Congress.

“They are salt of the earth people and Jim and his family have sacrificed so much for our country,” she said. “Jim and his family are in our hearts and prayers during this difficult time.”

Mum of two Hannah Britt is a fan of a family road trip, but driving with young children in tow can be tough. Here she shares how to keep them entertained, not a screen in sight

I’m a mum of two, my children are six and one. And as a family we like to travel. One of the things we tend to do the most is hop in the car from our home in Manchester and drive to the Lake District, or Scotland. Having the car with us means we can lug all the things we need for the children and get to our destination under our own steam. But keeping my little ones entertained can be tricky.

On a recent trip to the Lake District, my good friends at Volvo were kind enough to lend us one of their cars to try – the XC60 Plus plug-in hybrid. It came with a promise: the children will love it. And it gave me an idea, could I entertain them the whole 90 minute journey without a screen or toy in sight?

READ MORE: We banned screens during our family trip away and the change was staggering

I SPY

Best for: my six year old. How it’s done… Select a Spy: One person is chosen to be the “spy”. Choose an Object: The spy selects an object in plain sight of all players but keeps it secret. Give a Clue: The spy says, “I spy with my little eye something…” followed by a hint. By Letter: “…beginning with the letter [letter]” (e.g.”B” for ball). By Colour: “…that is [colour]” (e.g. “Red”). By Description: “…that is [shape/size]” (e.g. “Round”). Guess the Object: Other players take turns guessing the object. Switch Roles: The person who correctly guesses the object becomes the new spy for the next round.

NURSERY RHYMES

Best for: both my one year old and my six year old. How it’s done… there couldn’t be more famous nursery rhymes to choose from, some even have actions to increase the fun and interactivity.

• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star: A soothing lullaby about a star.
• Humpty Dumpty: A classic rhyme about a fragile egg.
• Ba Ba Black Sheep: A rhythmic, repetitive poem.
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat: A gentle, interactive, and rhythmic song.
• Old MacDonald Had a Farm: A fun, interactive song for learning animal sounds.
• Jack and Jill: A well-known rhyme about a trip up a hill.
• Hickory Dickory Dock: A classic rhyme featuring a mouse and a clock.
• London Bridge Is Falling Down: A traditional game song.
• Mary Had a Little Lamb: A familiar tale about a loyal lamb.
• The Itsy Bitsy Spider: An action-based song

YELLOW CAR

Best for: my six year old, but my one year old did join in too. How it’s done… To play, simply see who is first to spot a yellow car. First to five or 10 wins. Once you’ve done yellow, move onto other colours. And then play spotting other things, like a helicopter, a tractor and a broken down car.

SPOT THE SHEEP

Best for: my one year old, but my six year old did enjoy. How it’s done… Choose an animal everyone recognises – and one you’re likely to see. There’s no point picking a zebra in Derbyshire! Then simply see who is the first to spot one. Once you get to the countryside you can elevate Spot the Sheep to Count the Sheep – and see who can be the first to spot 100.

WOULD YOU RATHER?

Best for: my six year old. How it’s done… This is a fun, thought-provoking question game to spark conversation. Choose age appropriate things to ask about, examples of which could be:

Food & Silly Choices

• Would you rather eat broccoli-flavoured ice cream or fish-flavoured cookies?
• Would you rather have a bath full of baked beans or mushy peas?
• Would you rather eat only pizza for a year or only tacos for a year?
• Would you rather drink hot chocolate or a milkshake?
• Would you rather swim in a pool of jelly or a pool of marshmallows?

Superpowers & Magic

• Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?
• Would you rather have the power to control time or control the weather?
• Would you rather have a magic carpet or a teleportation device?
• Would you rather be able to speak to ghosts or aliens?
• Would you rather have a pet unicorn or a dragon?

Animal & Nature

• Would you rather have a tail like a lemur or a trunk like an elephant?
• Would you rather roar like a lion or hiss like a snake?
• Would you rather have fur like a bear or scales like a fish?
• Would you rather be a tree or a flower for a day?
• Would you rather live in a jungle or a desert?

School & Daily Life

• Would you rather have as many toys as you wanted or as many books as you wanted?
• Would you rather go to the park or go to the zoo?
• Would you rather be a superhero or a super-villain?
• Would you rather live on land or under the sea?
• Would you rather build a treehouse or a go-kart?

NUMBER PLATE GAME

Best for: my six year old. How it’s done… See if you can spot number plates from different countries while on your journey. Or see if you can do the whole alphabet, A, B, C and so on. You can make up stories, prompted by the letters too.

*The Volvo XC60 Plus plug-in hybrid costs £63,850, find out more at volvocars.com

READ MORE: We went on an epic family road trip to France and holidays won’t be the same again