CollegeHighway.com

Search CollegeHighway.com

Main Menu

Home

Event Calendar

College Critic

College Essays

New Music

News Topics

ProfessorRating

Recommend Us

Submit News

Top 10

My Account

FAQ

CollegeHighway.com Login

Free CollegeHighway WebMail

Forgot Password URL
Signup URL
Help Section URL

Toy Stores

Looking for toy stores that sell every toy you could possibly want to buy? Check out this online toy store for cool toys like radio control cars, electric rc helicopters, and Hydro-Foam.

Trippin?

Book your flights and hotels online NOW!

Check Yourself

Aptitude, Entrepreneurship and Personality tests

Ephemerids

One Day like Today...

Welcome

You are Anonymous user. You can register for free by clicking here.

Introduction

Introduction

You just clicked into the coolest place to get all your college news and information about college life. Looking to join the CollegeHighway crew? Click here.

( Read more... )

Lionettes Earn Hip Hop Trophy at Nationals; Jazz Squad Makes Finals

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Lionettes hip hop squad lionettes 4/17/2026 7:57:00 pm lionettes earn hip hop trophy at nationals; jazz squad makes finals the lionettes dance team made program history, earning their first trophy at the division i level with their hip hop routine, while the jazz squad advanced to the finals round at the nca/nda collegiate cheer and dance team national championships april 9-11 at the band shell and ocean center in daytona beach, florida. In a field of 14 division i hip hop squads, the lionettes performed well in the preliminary round, earning an event score of 93.6286 to sit in second place ahead of sacramento state in third and just over a point behind elon university in first. Eight squads advanced to the finals and lindenwood put forth another impressive performance, duplicating their event score from prelims. It was easily enough to solidify the second-place trophy. Elon university won the event with a score of 94.7714. Sacramento state took third with 92.8, followed by stephen f. Austin state university in fourth and sacred heart university in fifth. The lionettes jazz squad started competition in a large field of 24 division i teams and held their own from the start. With an event score of 86.8286, they were one of 14 to advance to the finals, landing in 14th place. Much like the hip hop competition, the lindenwood jazz squad earned the exact same event score in the finals to maintain 14th place, less than 0.3 points behind kennesaw state university in 13th. Stephen f. Austin won the event with an event score of 94.8571, followed by illinois state in second, california baptist university in third, merrimack college in fourth, and sacred heart in fifth. Director of spirit squads (cheer and dance) carrie nichols is extremely proud of the debut made at the division i level. Although a title was not won, we made an amazing entrance in this new and extremely talented competition, she said. To be that close already is a good sign for our teams. By bringing home a silver medal in dance competition, i think we made a statement. These lions are on the hunt! On behalf of all the cheer and dance coaches, we are extremely proud of the debut we made in division i. The lionettes entered the 2026 nca/nda collegiate cheer and dance team national championships with nine titles at various levels overall. They added their first winners circle award to the trophy case. Hip hop division i finals score breakdowns rnk program/team name rs ded ps es 1 elon university 66.34 0 94.7714 94.7714 2 lindenwood university 65.54 0 93.6286 93.6286 3 sacramento state 64.96 0 92.8 92.8 4 stephen f austin state university 64.3 0 91.8571 91.8571 5 sacred heart university 63.46 0 90.6571 90.6571 jazz division i finals score breakdowns rnk program/team name rs ded ps es 1 stephen f austin state university 66.4 0 94.8571 94.8571 2 illinois state university 65.88 0 94.1143 94.1143 3 california baptist university 65.8 0 94 94 4 merrimack college 65.14 0 93.0571 93.0571 5 sacred heart university 64.1 0 91.5714 91.5714 6 university of missouri kansas city 64.06 0 91.5143 91.5143 7 duquesne university 63.58 0 90.8286 90.8286 8 southern illinois univ edwardsville 63.34 0 90.4857 90.4857 9 university of central arkansas 63.24 0 90.3429 90.3429 10 university of north dakota 62.94 0 89.9143 89.9143 11 tarleton state university 61.56 0 87.9429 87.9429 12 american university 61.28 0 87.5429 87.5429 13 kennesaw state university club team 60.98 0 87.1143 87.1143 14 lindenwood university 60.78 0 86.8286 86.8286 lionettes jazz squad print friendly version

( Read More... | 7142 bytes more | comments? |

)

Mens Volleyball Season Ends in NCAA Tournament First Round

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Martin malicki photography box score 1 buffalo st. Buffst 29-5,12-0 amcc 3 winner springfield spr 22-3,0-0 diii independent buffalo st. Buffst 29-5,12-0 amcc 1 final apr. 17, 2026 3 springfield spr 22-3,0-0 diii independent winner set scores team 1 2 3 4 f buffalo st. Buffst 25 14 15 17 (1) springfield spr 22 25 25 25 (3) game recap: mens volleyball | 4/17/2026 7:13:00 pm men’s volleyball season ends in ncaa tournament first round springfield, ma – the buffalo state mens volleyball team fell in the first round of the ncaa diii mens volleyball tournament to top-seeded springfield college pride, 3-1, ending their stellar 2025-26 season. Game basics final score: springfield college – 3, buffalo state – 1 set scores: (25-22, 14-25, 15-25, 17-25) location: blake arena – springfield, ma records: buffalo state: 29-4 (12-0 amcc), springfield college: 22-3 (diii independent) inside the bengal box score gavin wilczewski (east aurora, ny/east aurora) led the bengals with 15 kills, while racking up 17.0 points. Kaden strong (buffalo, ny/west seneca east), kellen palmer (buffalo, ny/canisius high school), and brady bowman (orchard park, ny/orchard park) all finished with five kills in support. Drew bowman (orchard park, ny/orchard park) led the bengals with 30 assists. Wilczewski led defensively with eight digs. B. Bowman added seven digs, and palmer recorded a team-high three blocks. How it happened battling it out and surviving a five-set play-in bout with new jersey city last night, the bengals returned to ncaa tournament action as they looked to pull off the upset on top-seeded springfield college pride. Action began in the first set, as the bengals faced a tough road to victory, trailing in the set after an eight-point rally from the pride. However, things would play out well for the bengals, who respond with a five-point rally of their own to stay afloat in this contest. After trading points throughout the set, the bengals found themselves in the drivers seat, holding onto a two-point set lead…before driving past the pride and stealing the first set! The second set would see the bengals confidence rise, proving that they can hang with anyone throughout the tournament. After another series of trading points to begin the set, the bengals would fall behind as the pride would rattle off six straight points to gain the advantage. This would be the theme of the set, as the pride would rally from four straight points late in play, taking down the bengals and tying this first round matchup at 1 game apiece. In the third set, the bengals tried to regain momentum, but the pride dominated from the start. Two consecutive runs of four points each put the bengals in an early hole, and another four-point streak later in the set widened the gap. Although the bengals fought back, picking off points when possible, a final four-point run secured the set for the pride and left the bengals on the brink of ncaa tournament elimination. In the fourth set, the bengals fought hard, showing why they belonged among the best teams in the ncaa tournament. However, the pride dominated this critical set. Momentum swung the prides way, and a run of four consecutive points proved too much for the bengals, who ultimately fell in the first round of the ncaa diii mens volleyball tournament. These bengals worked hard all season, breaking the programs record for most wins and surpassing last seasons mark from the ncaa tournament…congratulations guys! For the foes carter durivage led all players with 16 kills and 18 points, while dyan mulvaney also led all players with 49 assists. Defensively, ricardo ortiz led all players with ten digs, with brennan cutter finishing with five total blocks at the net. Print friendly version

( Read More... | 7520 bytes more | comments? |

)

The Doors L.A. Woman Turns 55 | Album Anniversary

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Happy 55th anniversary to the doors’ sixth studio album l.A. Woman, originally released april 19, 1971. in december of 1970, jim morrison performed his final concert with the doors in new orleans. That night, ray manzarek witnessed morrison’s soul leave his body. The singer went noticeably limp like a wrung-out dishrag. “Everyone who was there saw it, man,” manzarek recalled. “He lost all his energy about midway through the set. He hung on the microphone and it just slipped away. You could actually see it leave him. He was drained.” in the doors, oliver stone’s 1991 biopic of the band, that moment is dramatized instead as part of the doors’ infamous 1969 concert in miami, where morrison allegedly exposed himself and simulated fellatio on robby krieger’s guitar. The incident brought ongoing legal problems, while contributing to a worsening of morrison’s alcoholism, which had already been destroying his life. Stone depicts the concert as a dionysian bacchanal, with the roiling crowd shedding clothes and inhibitions and even all touch with reality, while bonfires rage and a native american pow wow ensues, stretching as far as the eye can see. As morrison hangs on the microphone, his head falling back, the sound fades and the spirit of the native american medicine man who’s served as jim’s symbolic spirit guide throughout the film looks upon the singer with grave concern and sadness. And then, suddenly, the sound roars back and the drunken, drugged-out bohemian chaos resumes. in the summer of 1991, i watch the doors with my friend jessica in a dingy motel room while nibbling antipasti—olives, tomatoes, soft pillows of mozzarella—that her italian mother has spread out on the little table before us. Every summer, my family has made a ritual of traveling from our army base in heidelberg, germany, to another american army base in livorno, italy, for our annual beach vacation. This year, jessica and her family end up in livorno at the same time, staying at the little motel on base while my family camps at the sprawling campground nearby. On the day we watch the doors, it’s stormy and the ocean is too treacherous for swimming, and so we head over to the little video store on base to find something to watch on the motel-room vcr. jessica is probably my first friend in a long string of friends who i’d describe as “witchy.” She wears victorian poison rings on her fingers, ankle bracelets studded with tinkly little bells, and she has long, lank dishwater-blond hair while everyone else is still stuck in the ’80s with their crunchy perms. Jessica and her parents live in downtown heidelberg in an apartment with high ceilings, tasteful art, and antiques and lush plants everywhere. She’s the first person to take me to the dusty, medieval head shop tucked away in a little alley in the altstadt to buy silver jewelry and heady incense. She’s also the first person to take me to the café journal for frothy cappuccinos and a sophisticated atmosphere of university of heidelberg students and blue clouds of cigarette smoke. (Keep in mind that at this point we’re, like, 12 or 13.) So is it any wonder that when given a choice of videos in the summer of ’91, jessica resolutely chooses the doors? i’m 14 that summer, and in only a month after school starts, my generation will experience the inception point of its own tragic rock-n-roll trajectory with the release of nirvana’s nevermind (1991). But right now, we still have to borrow our parents’ generation’s excitement and debauchery and darkness and tragedy, and we’re absolutely riveted. For the rest of the summer, jessica and i take particular amusement in quoting meg ryan’s character in the doors: “jim, you actually put your dick in that woman?!” While the other one of us tries to sound sheepish and answers, “sometimes.” (This is the scene where jim’s fiery redhead of a girlfriend pamela courson throws a charred duck carcass at him when his mistress shows up at one of their parties.) really, though, we were hooked on all of it: the leather pants, the velvet bellbottoms, the go-go dancers, the saggy ’60s boobs, the lsd trips in the desert, the shamanism, the blood drinking, the wedding ceremony with the witch with the sword, the cameo by andy warhol, the drunken arguments while hanging halfway out of hotel-room windows—but, really, above all, the music. Holy shit, the music. Why couldn’t i have been my mother’s age in 1967, going off to college and listening to doors records while ironing my hair in real time? at the end of 1970, though, when jim morrison was hanging limply on his microphone and ray manzarek saw his soul leave his body, the party was mostly over. Almost everything that had made the doors magical and technicolor and provocative and psychedelic had taken a dark, grimy, depressing turn. listen to the album: the 1969 miami concert had led to a felony charge of lewd and lascivious behavior, and three misdemeanor charges: indecent exposure, open profanity, and public drunkenness. “You’re all a bunch of fuckin’ idiots!” Morrison had sneered at the crowd. “You’re all a bunch of slaves! What are you gonna do about it, what are you gonna do, what are you gonna do?” At one point he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants, seemingly to pull out his junk. Actually, though, he was wearing boxer shorts underneath, even though he typically went commando. He’d planned to fake exposure like the actors in the living theatre, an experimental performance-art troupe he’d recently become obsessed with. The living theatre was known to aggressively confront its audience in an attempt to guide them to new realizations about their own conformity, vanity, misconceptions, and responsibilities in the world. after morrison was slapped with the miami charges, word began to spread among concert promoters that the doors were too risky of an act to book and most of the shows they’d lined up were cancelled, leading to a significant loss of revenue. Morrison would spend the remainder of his short life traveling back and forth to the miami courthouse to defend against the charges. Already an alcoholic, he began drinking even more heavily, and, despite being only in his mid-20s, he developed a paunch he’d attempt to conceal with loose, flowing shirts. He grew a mountain-man beard, rarely changed his clothes, and his voice became so hoarse that some of the people around him began to fear he was done as a vocalist. He fell into a deep depression upon learning that jimi hendrix and janis joplin had died. Meanwhile, paternity suits began rolling in from semi-girlfriends and one-night stands, while patricia kennealy, the journalist he’d married on a whim in a wiccan ceremony, decided to abort her pregnancy after deciding morrison was too unreliable to be a father. Jim promised he’d be at her side during the procedure, and then never showed up. at one point during all of this, morrison was interviewed by salli stevenson for circus magazine, where he reflected on the miami concert. “I think i was just fed up with the image that had been created around me, which i sometimes consciously, most of the time unconsciously, cooperated with,” he mused. “It was just too much for me to really stomach and so i just put an end to it in one glorious evening. I guess what it boiled down to was that i told the audience that they were a bunch of fucking idiots to be members of an audience. What were they doing there anyway? The basic message was realize that you’re not really here to listen to a bunch of songs by some good musicians. You’re here for something else. Why not admit it and do something about it?” morrison had long thought deeply about performance, about pop culture, about crowd psychology, about philosophy. The son of a high-ranking naval officer, young james douglas morrison grew up, like most army brats, moving around a lot. He had a highly inquisitive mind and, by the age of 16, he was already reading rimbaud, nietzsche, and william blake, while also being completely enthralled by elvis presley. He’d attend three colleges before enrolling at the film school at ucla, where he befriended ray manzarek, who played the keyboards in a surf-rock band called rick and the ravens. Jim and ray bonded over the blues, experimental film, and experimenting with lsd. during his time at ucla, morrison created one film, which earned him a d, and despite being regarded as brilliant by numerous professors and fellow students, he decided to drop out and move to new york. He never made it to the big apple—he just ended up hanging around venice beach, where manzarek ran into him one day not long after his exit from film school. Jim had been loafing around the beach, chasing chicks, and writing poetry and song lyrics, and on that fateful day manzarek asked him to sing him one of his songs. Morrison sang him the sultry and croon-y “moonlight drive,” and it totally blew him away. manzarek asked him if he’d like to start a band. Fortunately, morrison had already chosen a name based on a poem by william blake: “if the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: infinite.” Morrison then moved into the apartment manzarek shared with his girlfriend, and they began working on songs in earnest. Manzarek soon found their drummer john densmore through a transcendental meditation class he was taking, and then densmore invited another friend from the same mediation class named robby krieger, a guitarist trained in spanish flamenco, to join the band. in the summer of 1965, manzarek rented a house where the doors could rehearse around the clock. They began writing songs as a unit, when one day krieger brought in a catchy song he’d been working on called “light my fire.” It felt like a hit. the band soon landed their first gig at a nightclub on the sunset strip called the london fog. Prior to the doors, morrison had never sung before, and so he turned his back to the audience out of shyness. As morrison grew in confidence, one night the doors attracted the attention of a talent booker for the more prestigious sunset strip nightclub whisky a go go, and she ended up convincing the owner—who really didn’t like the doors—to hire them as the house band. By the end of 1966, they were opening for buffalo springfield, van morrison, and the turtles. lines began forming outside the whisky, with throngs of women clamoring to get a look at the singer in the tight leather pants. Eventually, jack holzman, founder of elektra records, caught a show and became so convinced of the doors’ talent that he offered them a three-album contract. Not long after, the band’s residency at the whisky screeched to a halt when morrison decided to turn their song “the end” into an oedipal epic, screaming, “mother, i want to…fuck you!” During a moment of high drama and hanging suspense. The whisky’s owner called jim a “sick bastard” and fired them on the spot. only weeks later, the doors recorded their first album in the span of five days with producer paul rothchild. “Light my fire” climbed quickly to the top of the charts, hitting no. 1 in the summer of 1967. Then came their infamous live performance on the ed sullivan show, where morrison was asked to refrain from singing the line “girl, we couldn’t get much higher” and did it anyway. The doors were now bona fide rock stars, and four more albums followed in quick succession, solidifying the doors as part of the vanguard of the sexual revolution and consciousness-changing counterculture of the late ’60s. For the band, it became an electrifying whirlwind. but by the end of 1970, as morrison was mired in problems both legal and personal, he was smoking up to three packs of marlboros per day, had a rattling cough, and had once, as he confessed to robby krieger, even coughed up blood. As the doors began recording what would be their final album l.A. Woman, he was showing up to the recording studio late, drunk, and coked up out of his mind. Longtime producer paul rothchild couldn’t take it anymore, and so he left, telling the band they should record the album on their own. They decided to co-produce the album with their sound engineer bruce botnick. The band created a makeshift recording studio in their office and rehearsal room, which they nicknamed “the doors’ workshop.” They invited elvis’s bassist jerry scheff and a second guitarist, marc benno, to record with them. “At last, i’m doing a blues album,” morrison told everyone. meanwhile, morrison and his longtime girlfriend pamela courson decided that when the album was finished, they were going to move to paris for six months and live as exiles. In the summer of 1971, after several idyllic months in paris, courson would find jim dead of a heart attack in the bathtub, finally at peace with a slight smile on his face. He was buried in the père lachaise cemetery, where he had enjoyed visiting the resting places of many of his own heroes and idols upon first arriving in paris. In the mid-1990s, at the tail end of my teen years, my friend koryn and i would take a uso bus to paris for the sole purpose of paying our respects to the lizard king. It was a cold, blustery, but sunny day, and the grave was free of the usual crowds. It was peaceful and beautiful. as much as l.A. Woman was a love letter to morrison’s adopted home of los angeles, it was perhaps, too, a subconscious farewell. He’d come to believe that the people and places he’d become so comfortable with were now a negative influence or a force holding him back, despite how much he loved them. the album kicks off with the strutting, deeply bluesy “the changeling,” a song that captures morrison’s own metamorphosis from sex symbol to bloated, bearded mountain man, as well as his disillusionment with the entertainment industry—“i’ve lived uptown / i’ve lived downtown / but i’ve never been so broke that i couldn’t leave town.” Morrison’s voice is gravelly and weather-worn, the tone of a much older man. “Hed lived on the beach and in the hills. Hed had money and been broke,” ray manzarek told la weekly in 2012. “Hed had his l.A. Adventure, and he was out.” “love her madly” is a song robby krieger wrote for his girlfriend lynn, who later became his wife. “She had a bad temper, and when shed get mad, shed slam the door, and the house would shake,” krieger recalls. He came up with the tune when he was futzing around with a new guitar, a gibson 12-string acoustic. Manzarek then added some harpsicord-style keyboards. The doors always did volatile romance incredibly well, and this track is no exception—morrison gets some of his ’50s-style croon back, and the song twists and turns and rollercoaster careens, capturing the danger and razor’s edge of never knowing if this is the last time your love walks out the door. “been down so long” takes its title from a richard farina novel morrison had read called been down so long it looks like up to me. Morrison’s voice takes on the ragged, frayed edges of a 100-year-old man, and the title pretty much speaks for itself—the singer was worn out, exhausted, spent, and desperately needed a rest. The quintessential blues. Meanwhile, “cars hiss by my window” is languid and liquid, but there’s something unsettling at the bottom. “Its a dark venice beach song. Four a.M. You cant sleep. Your girls passed out, and who knows what arguments youve been through. Shes cold and shell kill. You. Take it out of venice and stick it in hollywood and its the day of the locust,” manzarek observed. “l.A. Woman” continues the album’s glinting night theme, taking us on a raucous trip through the underbelly of “the city of night, the city of lights.” It begins on a sunday afternoon in the hollywood bungalows, but then night falls and the hills are burning and we roam the alleyways, witnessing cop cars, topless bars, motels, money, and murder madness. As a refrain, morrison uses an anagram of his name: mr. Mojo risin’. He seems to be rousing himself for another round of living, conjuring the lifeblood, or eros, the life force: “mr. Mojo risin’, mojo risin’, got to keep on risin’.” “after we recorded the song, he wrote ‘mr. Mojo risin’ on a board and said, ‘look at this.’ He moves the letters around and it was an anagram for his name,” recalled john densmore. “I knew that mojo was a sexual term from the blues, and that gave me the idea to go slow and dark with the tempo. It also gave me the idea to slowly speed it up like an orgasm.” originally written for inclusion in the arthouse film zabriskie point, “l’america” is suspenseful and moody, and then turns into a swaggering, odd, asymmetrical rocker. The director michelangelo antonioni chose a pink floyd song instead, and the doors shrugged and included it on l.A. Woman. “hyacinth house” is a stark departure from the album’s blues theme, and is named after krieger’s old house in benedict canyon. The song is about needing a brand-new friend who won’t bother you, an introvert’s declaration if there ever was one. “Crawling king snake” is a john lee hooker cover that the doors had played numerous times while performing on the sunset strip. Meanwhile, “the wasp (texas radio and the big beat)” was one of morrison’s poems that the band had included in the doors’ first concert souvenir book published in 1968. the song is, ultimately, about the power and beauty of rock ‘n’ roll. “‘The wasp’ was about the new music jim heard when his family were moving around the southwest states in the 60s,” krieger told ultimate classic rock. “He got this vision of a huge radio tower spewing out noise. This was when wolfman jack was on xerb, out of rosarito beach in mexico, blasting out 250,000 watts of soul power. He saturated the airwaves – you could hear him from tijuana to tallahassee up to chicago where ray lived. There were no laws about how powerful a radio station could be. That started rock ’n’ roll for my generation.” l.A. Woman ends with the haunting, cinematic “riders on the storm,” a sound-layered, seven-minute jazz-infused epic about a killer hitchhiker on the road, which would be prophetic for the serial-killer ’70s. However, it’s also something else entirely: “the last verse: ‘your world on him depends /our life will never end /you gotta love your man.’ It becomes a very spiritual song; you won’t still occupy this body, but the essential life will never end, and love is the answer to all things,” mused manzarek to uncut. “It gives the song a different perspective.” “it was the last song recorded by the doors and the whisper voice is the last singing that jim ever did in the studio, in the background on the ride out,” he continued. “How prophetic is that? A whisper fading away into eternity, where he is now.” listen:

( Read More... | 38198 bytes more | comments? |

)

Barbara Sobel, 81, of West Branch

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Barbara mary sobel, age 81, passed away on thursday, april 16, 2026, at the brook in west branch, mi. She was born in born in willmar, mn to paul and ruth (goldstein) sobel. dr. Sobel was predominantly raised in iron mountain, mi, residing there until she graduated from high school. She was a highly motivated child, sensitive, perceptive, insightful and intuitive with regard to her classmates’ behavior, having frequent discussions with her teachers and significant adults. She exhibited these qualities over her lifetime, winning the confidence of her friends, acquaintances, and clients. Added to these qualities were her acute sense of humor and the ability to laugh at herself. Dr. Sobel excelled in academics and was known for her creativity. during high school, she was closely associated with the united presbyterian church, going on mission trips to different parts of the country. Dr. Sobel had traversed all the states over the years, culminating in a trip to hawaii to swim with a dolphin, africa to ride an elephant and egypt to ride a camel, visiting cultural sites in between. after high school, dr. Sobel attended alma college in alma, mi, transferring to indiana university in bloomington, in, where she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, with an endorsement in french. During her seven years of teaching elementary school, she obtained a master’s degree in the behavioral sciences from kean university in union, nj, and her ph.D. From columbia university in new york city in special education, applied behavior analysis. Subsequently, she earned her license as a practicing psychologist. dr. Sobel secured employment with the state of new jersey, department of developmental disabilities, trenton, nj, teaching, state-wide, the principles and practices of applied behavior analysis to developmental center and group home staff, followed by a position at the university of medicine and dentistry of new jersey, stratford, nj, as a behavior analyst on a three-member psychiatric team, consulting primarily to staff in developmental centers and group homes, teaching behavioral treatment strategies. dr. Sobel authored and published two children’s books, entitled, “jealous me at three” and “four no more”, both available on amazon. dr. Sobel’s residences included a year’s stay in indianapolis, in, teaching first grade; in pt. Pleasant, nj, where she taught several elementary school grades for seven years and where she resided for 28 years; in de pere, wi and then in oscoda, mi. Since that time, she lived in west branch, mi, in a beautiful, hotel-like, assisted living arrangement with her own apartment and her precious cat, honey, and where she lived out the rest of her life. as a final, but important note, dr. Sobel had bi-polar disorder from childhood, plagued in adulthood by severe depression and mania, which rendered her disabled for varying lengths of time. However, she was remarkably resilient and returned to her commitments after each episode. She felt it was a definite miracle that she was able to accomplish what she did, owing to god and his love, guidance and protection. dr. Sobel is survived by three adult siblings, rebecca frye, paul sobel (lupe), david sobel (barb), her nieces, keri frye and holly (gavin) gray, nephews, paul (megan) frye, joseph sobel, and chris (sarah) purcell; and many special friends and beloved cousins. she was preceded in death by her parents, dr. Rev. Paul sobel and ruth sobel and her sister, deborah sobel. a memorial service will be held at the calvary baptist church, 2902 e f 30, mikado, mi, 48745 on friday, may 1, 2026, at 11:00 a.M. With visitation starting at 10:00 a.M. Pastor tim steiner will officiate. Her ashes will be interred at the church cemetery following the service. arrangements were handled by steuernol & mclaren funeral home in west branch, mi. Online condolences can be shared at www.Steuernolmclaren.Com

( Read More... | 7888 bytes more | comments? |

)

Delayed One Week, The Annual Kite Festival is Ready to Fly | News Channel 3-12

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Delayed one week, the annual kite festival is ready to fly santa barbara, calif. (Keyt) – after a one week delay due to weather issues, the 40th annual santa barbara kite festival is ready to take flight this sunday. the festival will be on the green grassy area on the west campus of santa barbara city college known as the great meadow. It overlooks the ocean and captures many wind currents from the coastal zone. the event is open to all ages. it takes place from 11:00am to 4:00pm, giving everyone a chance to get their kite airborne and also practice their skills. that will be important if they are planning to be in any of the competitions. kite festival organizer david hefferman said, about 1,500 folks flying a kite all at once. It is a lot of fun organized events we have tail chase, most beautiful, highest flying, best hand decorated kite, best handmade kite and lots of prizes. recently during first thursday in downtown santa barbara, the kite festival team had tables out on state street by the museum of art. there, kites were being made by hand and colorful artistic drawings were added on. sunday these kites will hopefully be flying at the event. there will also be kites for sale, food, and music. the latest breaking news, weather alerts, sports and more anytime on our mobile apps. Keep up with the latest articles by signing up for the news channel 3-12 newsletter.

( Read More... | 2784 bytes more | comments? |

)

Rockies Pitching Coach Unintentionally Could Be Starting A New Trend

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Rockies’ pitching coach unintentionally could be starting a new trend in this story: being prepared and communicating before a matchup can give ones team an edge over its opponent. The colorado rockies pitching coach, alon leichman, tries to do everything in his power to keep his pitchers ready and to give them a plan for what to throw to a specific hitter. This has grown to include making pitching suggestions from the steps of the dugout. baseball analytics and sabermetrics have taken over baseball for years now. Mlb is constantly looking for ways to make changes. Suggesting pitches from the dugout is not new, but it has become a trending philosophy as teams use it to achieve positive outcomes in a game. the rockies may be pioneers of a new trend colorado is off to another rough start to its season. Pitching has been in a funk. The problems started escalating during the san diego padres series. before the padres, from april 4-8, the rockies pitching held opponents to four runs or fewer, except on april 6, when they allowed seven runs to the houston astros. The rockies went on a four-game winning streak, during which they swept the astros. their veteran pitcher, kyle freeland, who struggled last season, delivered his best performance this year on april 7 when he tossed six innings, gave up just one earned run, and struck out five astros. their record is now 7-12, and they will face their biggest test of the season, the nl west division rival los angeles dodgers, for a weekend series. whatever worked for leichman and the rockies last week, they must go back to that idea, because the analytics didn’t work for them in six of their last seven games. leichman, 36, never played at a professional level, but he is clear that he will need a strong strategy to get his pitchers to beat the dodgers. dealing with a lineup led by 4x mvp shohei ohtani can be quite stressful for any coach; unfortunately, the rockies don’t have to deal with just ohtani, but everyone in the lineup. That’s how good the dodgers are. the rockies pitching crew this season has an era of 4.00. In 2025, the team had an even worse era with 5.97. If they slip up against the dodgers, things will continue to go downhill, where the era could approach 7.0, and that’s not to exaggerate. walking ohtani won’t solve their problem. Suggesting pitching from the dugout might not be the solution either, but it could be a start. It’s about studying the opponents relentlessly and working on the craft before the matchup. leichman had an interesting thought about the miami marlins when it came to connecting with the catcher and the pitcher about what to throw. Leichman believes we could see this more often in the next five years. in an interview with the athletic’s dennis linn, leichman talked about the idea of suggesting pitching from the dugout. “i’ll steal this from peter bendix,” leichman said, referring to the marlins’ president of baseball operations. “Within five years, two-thirds of the league could be doing this.” leichman used to be the marlins assistant pitching coach. As for the rockies pitchers, they respect leichman and will follow his lead. The players look at leichman as someone they can identify with and appreciate his communication. the players might see this possible trend as a way to adapt to new changes and challenges. Some baseball fans don’t tune in to college baseball because it doesn’t capture the same magic or entertainment compared to college basketball and football. Giving pitching signs or suggesting between coaches and players has been going on for a long time at the college level. being at coors field this weekend for a four-game series might bring some comfort rather than going to los angeles and dealing with that loud crowd. regardless of any strategy they have in mind, the rockies will have to play intelligent baseball to the 10th power to beat this dodgers team. Getting a split at home is a thumbs-up for the young core. follow miguel mike medina after graduating from city college of new york in 2014, miguel created his own blog. Since 2021, he has written for fansided, where he covered the toronto blue jays, college football and utah mammoth hockey team. He also wrote for miami heat on si and cleveland sports talk. Miguel is the creator and host of his podcast, baseball heat podcast with mike.

( Read More... | 8762 bytes more | comments? |

)

Close dual sees #12 Sand Devils fall at #10 Long Beach State

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Long beach, calif. – Despite wins on courts two and five, no. 12 sun devil beach volleyball was unable to come away with a win at no. 10 long beach state, falling 3-2 on friday at long beach city college. arizona state (17-13) trailed 2-0 in the dual to long beach state (21-10). Though asu was in close competition on most courts, the beach was able to clinch on four before the sun devils got on the board with wins on two and five. at the no. 2 spot, graduate reagan hope and senior daniella kensinger won their match in two sets, with each set going to extra points (22-20, 29-27). They improved to 11-6 as a pair. on court five, sophomores zo? Taylor and layla williams dropped their first set and then came back to win in three (15-21, 21-19, 15-13). Having only played four matches together, they are 2-2. Taylor’s individual record improved to 18-10, tied for the third-best win total on the team. up next the big 12 beach volleyball championship is april 23-24 in tucson, arizona. The seedings are yet to be released. follow us for exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the sun devil beach volleyball, follow @sundevilbeachvb on instagram, @sundevilbeachvb on x, sun devil beach volleyball on facebook, and visit sundevils.Com.

( Read More... | 2530 bytes more | comments? |

)

In state-of-city address, Pepper Pikes Bain says residents are entitled to be pr

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Pepper pike, ohio -- as mayor richard bain concluded his state-of-the-city address thursday (april 16), he stated, “we are entitled to brag. We are entitled to be proud.” during the 43 minutes that preceded this conclusion, bain’s address was filled with reasons residents might feel so entitled. it was bain’s 15th state-of-the-city address, and the first delivered within the handsome confines of park synagogue’s large meeting room. “you may recall that cleveland magazine named us the number one suburb in 2023,” bain began, “and then in 2024, niche -- a premier national profiler that analyzes over 100 million data points -- ranked pepper pike the number one best place to live in the cleveland area. That distinction was repeated in 2025. “now in 2026, we not only have a three-peat as the best place to live in the cleveland area, but we have also been rated the number one best suburb to live in ohio out of 350 compared, and the number one best place to live in ohio, out of 730 communities.” bain acknowledged that 2025 was a “turbulent year of local politics,” but believes it was all for the best. a good deal of 2024 and early 2025 was taken up by debate as to whether the city should significantly update its nearly 60-year-old charter. The debate ended with voters deciding, by a 70-percent to 30-percent margin, to keep the charter as is, as bain had advised. in november, voters decided to make largescale changes in city council’s makeup, as first-time council members bob rice, sandip mody, john eric schmidt and alyssa swords were elected, ousting incumbents dr. Cathy hwang, melanie weltman and emmy zatroch, who favored charter change. Longtime councilman scott newll decided not to seek re-election. “our 2025 elections continued the spirit that flourished in 2024 when we celebrated our (city) centennial,” bain said. “They made clear that our success lies with the enthusiasm and diversity of our residents -- young and old, all ethnicities, races and backgrounds -- united in their love for this city.” noting to the approximately 100 people in attendance and 60 who watched online the city’s “commitment to democracy,” bain said, “pepper pike consistently has the highest voter turnout of any city in the county -- something we should treasure.” getting to what he called the “nuts and bolts” of his address, bain spoke proudly of the city’s healthy financial status. “as we entered 2026, the city remains very financially strong,” he said. “Over the past 15 years we have restored economic stability that affords us the ability to maintain and grow our infrastructure on an ongoing basis. “our general fund began the year with a $21,037,745 balance -- up from the $2.05 million we started with in 2012 (bain’s first year as mayor). That growth is thanks to careful budgeting and spending discipline across every department. “this reserve protects us from unexpected costs -- natural disasters, economic downturns, or other emergencies -- and allows us to pay as we go or take on serviceable debt when necessary, rather than deferring critical projects.” he said that financial stability has allowed the city to maintain its streets; resolve most of its stormwater infrastructure issues, “many rooted all the way back to the depression of the 1930s; and make in the past year renovations to the service, police and fire departments. bain said that structural changes will also soon be coming to the city hall building, built when pepper pike was a village before becoming a city in 1970. “except for some carpet replacements 12 years ago, the (city hall) building has been largely untouched since the 1960s,” he said. “The second floor -- how many even knew there was one? -- Exists primarily as a storage unit with no functional heating or cooling. “we can accomplish a great deal through thoughtful renovation without the expense of an entirely new building. We have just concluded an extensive ‘needs and necessities’ analysis of city hall. A proposal will be presented to city council at next week’s meeting.” the plan under discussions would expand the city council chambers from its current 25-person, fire-code restricted audience capacity; add an elevator; relocate the building department from the lower level to the first floor; and move the finance and administration offices upstairs to a renovated second floor. “the vacated lower level becomes the community room this city has been without from the beginning -- all (of the improvements will be made) at a fraction of what was envisioned 20 years ago when a new municipal campus was considered,” bain said. “I am excited about the prospects and hope that it will receive a favorable response from the city council as we continue to go forward to the future.” also on the subject of healthy finances, bain said that pepper pike’s 1-percent income tax, with a half-percent credit, is the lowest in cuyahoga county, and that, “combined with reasonable property taxes, allows us to provide many of the region’s best services.” he continued on with a warning. “for the fifteenth consecutive year, our fiscal outlook is stable. But let no one be complacent.” a move is afoot in ohio to eliminate the property tax, which bain said is a “catastrophic and ill-conceived plan.” “our city, our schools, our metroparks, health and human services -- all depend on levies tied to property taxes,” he said. “We must not be seduced by the siren song of ‘no property taxes’ when the institutions we depend on depend on them.” other highlights from the address include: -- speaking of pepper pike’s real estate growth, bain said, “in the last year and the first quarter of 2026, we have had 121 home sales. In the last seven years, about 30 percent of parcels in pepper pike have changed ownership. “we welcome these new residents. That infusion of engaged homeowners is vital for our sustainability, rising home values, and community spirit.” -- on the subject of the building department, bain said, “in 2025, new home construction included 12 new home permits, $10 million in value. Additional permits included 21 additions, 19 new decks and outdoor patio spaces, and an estimated 120 repair/remodel projects. “on the commercial side, medina creative housing completed six residential buildings (south of the ursuline college campus for developmentally disabled adults) comprising 23 living units, with the large community center phase beginning in 2026.” -- he said that heritage classical academy, located at the former beech brook site on lander road, has an enrollment of 500 students, and is seeking to increase that number to 1,000 k-11 students. -- coming this year is completion of the second phase of the gates mills boulevard trail, from lander road to cedar road. This, bain said, will add an additional 15 acres of park space to the city. -- new sidewalks have been added in recent times on brainard road (from shaker boulevard to cedar road); on cedar road (from brainard to lander); on lander road (from cedar to the ursuline college path); and, if council approves, a sidewalk will be added on fairmount boulevard (from brainard road to butternut lane). in closing, bain said, “together, we will continue to build upon the strong foundations of our city. There is much we can still accomplish.” read more from the chagrin solon sun.

( Read More... | 14918 bytes more | comments? |

)

INTERVIEW. Drop in numbers at school: Around 19 students per class, promises the

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

Edouard geffray, minister of national education, discusses for la dépêche du midi the demographic decline which could make it possible to reduce the number of students per class, but also the number of teachers recruited. Interview. is the decline in population good or bad news in your opinion? for the country, this is bad news. Our entire social, economic, health system, etc. Is based on a demographic that can be described as dynamic, that is to say at least stable. However, we have lost 25% of births in 15 years – in 2025, there will be 25% fewer births than in 2010. This is not good collective news. Now, for national education, the challenge is to transform this bad news into an opportunity to improve the school system and the level of our students. the number of students per class, which has been a constant concern in recent years, will therefore be able to decrease. Is this going to be the case? the number of students per class has already fallen substantially since 2017, and for good reason: we have lost 600,000 students and created 16,500 teaching positions at the same time. We went from 23 students per class to 21, on average, in the 1st grade. And this will of course continue. but we remain the country in europe where the number of students per class is the highest. the other european countries are more likely between 19 and 19.5 students per class because they have experienced a demographic decline that began 20 or 30 years ago. To be completely reliable, we should compare france in 2025 with italy in 1980. This is the last time that italian women had 1.6 children per woman, like french women today. overstaffing is still a problem, which led jean-michel blanquer to divide the cp classes in particular… it’s true, and this reform has produced effects. If we should not make the question of numbers the alpha and omega of academic success, we must of course take advantage of the demographic opportunity to reduce the number of students per class. also read: reporting. How the minister of education Édouard geffray wants to transform 800 colleges in difficulty before the presidential election have you set yourself a goal? we should be able to gradually get closer to the average of our neighboring countries over the coming years, around 19 students per class. But an average doesn’t tell the whole story, because there are places where we have 8 or 9 students per class, and other classes with 25, 26, or sometimes even 27 students. The priority is therefore both to limit class closures as much as possible, and to put staff where we still have very busy classes. this drop in demographics is also an opportunity in budgetary terms because you will recruit fewer teachers. How many job cuts will be planned in the 2027 budget? the 2027 budget is currently being discussed. For 2026, with a drop of almost 1.3% in the number of students, we have a drop of 0.5% in the number of teachers. In my opinion, two pitfalls must be avoided. The first consists of saying that we follow the demography perfectly, that is to say that we make a rule of three: 150,000 fewer children equals so many fewer teachers. This would amount to weakening the entire system, without reducing the number of students per class. the other pitfall is what some people are proposing today: always recruiting so many teachers to quickly reduce the number of students per class. But if we do that, within 6 or 8 years, we will have a recruiting crisis because we will no longer need to recruit as many teachers. The idea that i defend is that of an in-between, that is to say that each year, we reduce the number of students per class, but we also accept that there may be a little fewer teachers. you have already announced that there would be class closures. It’s not the same in big cities and in rural areas. Are you going to preserve these? first of all, we don’t close a school without the mayor’s agreement. It is a reaffirmed commitment. Second thing, it is obvious that it does not have the same effect of closing a class in paris and closing a class in a small rural village because on the one hand, i have a very dense educational offer, and on the other not. The third element, which is the most important in my eyes, is that we must reconnect with the idea that school is an element of territorial planning. in the grand-est, the meuse has been losing inhabitants for a century. What i hope is that we reverse the logic, starting from the needs, of what the school establishment should be on the ground, and then deducing the necessary means. It’s a real revolution. We are going to select around fifteen departments, on an experimental basis, so that local stakeholders can build their school map together, taking into account enrollment and transport constraints, in particular. can we say that there will always be a school less than 20 km from another village? you don’t necessarily have to think in terms of distance, but rather overall accessibility. 20 km in the mountains can represent a considerable amount of time. We must maintain public school accessibility for all. It is precisely for this reason that we must make a commitment not to follow a purely mathematical logic on the territorial network. The subject is to continue to uphold the social contract that exists in our country, according to which the school is a local public service. If a particular school is a vital element of its territory, that means leaving it open, even if it has few students. you said at the start of our interview that this drop was bad news for france. Emmanuel macron had called for demographic rearmament. Can we conclude today that it is a failure? the president of the republic was the first to sound the alarm. We have just implemented birth leave and the plan to combat infertility, but the effects produced will not be visible for some time. Afterwards, the other element i believe in is that it is a question of collective hope. I meet people around me who tell me “i don’t want children because i don’t want them to grow up in that world”. i want to answer: france still remains one of the most wonderful countries in the world. We have a school that is holding up, even if everything is not perfect. We are lucky to be in a country where every day, we can innovate, grow, flourish, cultivate ourselves, integrate, etc. In life, it is always better to rely on hope than on despair. And it is therefore always better to bet on the future. Those who want to have children can do so with confidence. so perhaps one day we could have to recruit more teachers again? this is my dearest wish: that people will have more children again if they want to, that they will be happy to have them. And behind that, we can actually start recruiting more teachers. Hence the fact, as i mentioned, that we must above all not disrupt the machine with a recruitment crisis in a few years. It is also believing in the future, and therefore in our youth.

( Read More... | 13984 bytes more | comments? |

)

USC Trolls Oregon in Hype Video That Has Social Media Buzzing

Posted on Saturday, April 18 @ 00:02:09 PDT (0 reads)

The oregon ducks and usc trojans will renew their west coast rivalry this season. Oregon will make the trip down to los angels to take on usc on saturday, sept. 26. Usc posted a hype video for their school, city, and football program. In the process, they trolled oregon, along with other schools. the usc football social media account posted a video captioned “this place will change your life if you let it.” In the video, there was a quick transition of different states’ license plates with custom letters and numbers. Watching it through in real time is impossible to read all of them, but a quick pause on the oregon plate shows usc poking fun at their former pac-10 and now big ten rivals. the oregon plate reads “zro nat,” clearly eluding to oregon having won zero football national championships in the program’s history. This is an ongoing joke that oregon fans are tired of by now. usc took some shots during this video ? — arrogant nation? (@Fightonrusty)[#fighton]?[Https://t.Co/ffkq1hm5pe][pic.Twitter.Com/yselm4i4eg][april 17, 2026] usc is one of the most successful college football programs of all-time, with 11 national championships, the most heisman trophy winners in the country (eight), and the second most all-time nfl draft picks from a single school in the county (532). however, it’s been close to 20 years since usc was consistently a contender for national championships and conference titles. On the flip side, oregon has been a contender in that time frame. since 2009, oregon has won seven conference titles, appeared in two national championship games, and made the college football playoff three times. usc on the other hand has just one conference title and has not made a single college football playoff, let alone a national championship game. The tide has turned in oregon’s favor. oregon has also dominated the head to head matchups as of late. The ducks have won six of the last seven meetings against usc dating back 2012. The most recent meeting was in 2025, where oregon won by a final score of 42-27. Oregon has won the last four games against usc, with the trojans last win in their series coming in 2016. these two programs have been playing against each other since 1915. In 65 meetings, usc leads with an overall record of 38-24-2. That doesn’t includes usc’s vacated win from the 2005 season. the sept. 26 matchup this season looks like it will be one of the biggest games of the season in the big ten. Oregon is coming off a second straight season of making it to the playoff and losing to the eventual national champions. usc on the other hand is still seeking their first playoff appearance. Both coaches: dan lanning for oregon and lincoln riley for usa are entering their fifth seasons’ with their respective teams. for lanning, will this be the year he takes the next step forward and get to the national championship? for riley, can he finally bring usc to the playoff? sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on facebook, x and instagram for the latest news. more must-reads: get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

( Read More... | 6332 bytes more | comments? |

)

Upcoming Events

Classifieds