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Disney clears major hurdle in $1.9B expansion plans

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Disney clears major hurdle in $1.9B expansion plans

The Anaheim City Council has voted to approve a measure for a massive $1.9 billion expansion proposal by Disney, also known as Disneyland Forward.

City council members voted 7-0 for the proposal early Wednesday morning, following an 8-hour meeting.

Even though the city council voted to approve the proposal Wednesday morning, it will face another city council vote on May 7. Should the proposal be approved on that day, changes related to Disneyland Forward would be implemented until 30 days after.

Many, ranging from Anaheim residents and Disneyland cast members to officials from neighboring cities, expressed their support or opposition for the Disneyland Forward proposal.

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Disneyland Forward details how Disney wants to grow its theme park resort in Anaheim.

The proposal, which is a 40-year agreement that would guide where and how future developments would occur, would allow new attractions, shops and restaurants to be built within current undeveloped areas at the resort that Disney already owns or operates.

The proposal would allow theme park attractions to be built alongside hotels on the west side of Disneyland Drive, along with building attractions, shopping, dining and entertainment where the Toy Story Parking Area at Katella Avenue and Harbor Boulevard stands today.

The company would also pay $40 million to buy Magic Way, Hotel Way and a part of Clementine Street from the city, a move some residents aren’t on board with.

Magic Way serves drivers using the Pixar Pals Parking Structure and visiting the Disneyland Hotel.

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If Disney bought Magic Way, it would be transformed into a pedestrian walkway, a city spokesperson previously told KTLA.  

During Tuesday’s meeting, many residents continued to express their disapproval of the potential sale of Magic Way.

With the approval, the city ended up transferring “responsibility for Magic Way” over to Disney.

“The city is transferring responsibility for Magic Way because the road overwhelmingly serves the Disneyland Hotel, Disney employee parking and the south end of the Pixar Pals Parking Structure,” a news release from the city said.

During the public comment portion, some residents asked why the city had to rely on Disney to provide money for streets and infrastructure while others proposed that Disney donate more money to the city without the needing to expand its theme park resort.

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During its presentation, Disney once again expressed its commitment to spending at least $1.9 billion on the resort over the next decade should Disneyland Forward receive approval.

 The city specified in the proposed development agreement for Disneyland Forward that the minimum investment would go towards theme park attractions, entertainment, lodging, shopping and dining.

 Investments for parking, road improvements and bridges would be separate.

The expansion plans could also benefit the city outside of the theme park resort since Disney has set aside millions of dollars for improvements to infrastructure, such as sewers and roads around the resort area.

The company also announced it‘s committed to spending $30 million for affordable housing, $8 million for city parks, and continuing workforce programs in Anaheim.

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Disneyland Resort president Ken Potrock also spoke during the meeting and described Disneyland Forward as the resort’s “legacy project.”

“We are ready to bring the next level of immersive entertainment to Anaheim,” Potrock said during the meeting. “We are committed to starting right away.”

As for the new experiences and attractions coming to the resort, no official plans have been announced, but there are theories out there.

Disney fans hope that lands, rides and attractions based on “Tangled,” “Zootopia” and “Tron” and expanded areas based on “Peter Pan” and “Toy Story,” will be in the works.

Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro also talked about the possibility of bringing Frozen’s Arendelle, Black Panther’s Wakanda and Coco’s Santa Cecilia to life in some capacity at the “Happiest Place on Earth” and potentially its sister park in Orlando last year.

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During the meeting, Potrock talked about the potential of bringing expanded experiences to Star Wars: Galaxy Edge, Avengers Campus and Cars Land.

Aside from the proposal, an “Avatar”-themed experience is expected to come to the resort. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is also slated to open later this year at Disneyland.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Southern California women who attended University of Arizona killed at off-campus party

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Southern California women who attended University of Arizona killed at off-campus party

A woman from Southern California who was a student at the University of Arizona was killed at an off-campus party.

The incident occurred around 1:40 a.m. Sunday, when officers with the Tucson Police Department responded to a call about a possible shooting, according to AZCentral.com.

When emergency responders arrived on the scene, they found a female suffering from life-threatening injuries. The victim, identified as 20-year-old Erin Jones, was transported to a local hospital where she passed away.

Jones grew up in Newport Beach and attended Corona Del Mar High School. She was in her sophomore year at Arizona.

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There were several other victims of the shooting. A female was found with gunshot wounds nearby and was taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Two other victims, a teenage girl, and a man arrived at the hospital in their vehicles and were treated for minor wounds, according to AZCentral.com.

The University of Arizona president, Robert C. Robbins released a statement has been in contact with Jones’ family about the incident, and offered the school’s full support.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to Erin’s family in California and across the country, her friends, and her classmates in Tucson and Newport Beach, who are absorbing the heartbreaking news today,” Robbins said.

Authorities believe there was a large gathering in the area where the shooting occurred. Tuscon Police believes several witnesses fled the scene before officers arrived, AZCentral reports.

No further information has been provided about a motive or any potential suspects.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Watch live: Bear spotted in Castaic neighborhood

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Watch live: Bear spotted in Castaic neighborhood

A bear was spotted in a Castaic neighborhood Monday afternoon.

The bear was seen in a tree at Violin Canyon Road and Van Gorder Way before it hopped down and took off running.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed they had deputies on scene, as did the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

  • Castaic bear
  • Castaic bear
  • Bear in Castaic

Tim Daly of CDFW said they attempted to coax the bear down from the tree, but it was sleeping at the time.

It remains unknown what prompted the bear to leave the tree and run through the neighborhood.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Fastest in-flight WiFi yet? Testing Starlink on Hawaiian Airlines

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Fastest in-flight WiFi yet? Testing Starlink on Hawaiian Airlines

If you’ve flown recently, you know that in-flight WiFi can be slow, laggy and unresponsive.

But not anymore.

Hawaiian Airlines has been busy installing super speedy Starlink internet on board their planes.

Recently, they brought me on board a flight from Long Beach to Honolulu to check it out.

How do you know your plane has the upgrade? A sticker on the door lets you know. Look for it before you board.

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Then, once you’re on, the internet starts the moment you get to your seat. No need to wait to connect.

Immediately, I did a few speed tests and was super impressed with the results.

I got bursts of speed topping 200 megabits per second, and consistent speeds around 100.

That’s similar to a connection at home.

Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram

I was able to stream Netflix, upload and download large files, play Roblox and even stream a Peloton workout (too bad I didn’t have a bike!).

There’s really no need to plan ahead and download anymore. You can just watch what you want on your own streaming services, on demand.

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“It is really important for us as a smaller airline to have that distinctive level of service,” said Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram. “If you think about the real earliest generations of connectivity on airplanes… the common theme was… it was terrible.”

“This is amazing,” fellow passenger Adriene Xerri told me. She’s been on flights to Hawaii many times as an employee with the travel company Pleasant Holidays.

“Feedback’s been great… both from guests and flight attendants… they’ve really been impressed with the quality of the signal,” said Evan Nomura, Hawaiian Airlines’ director of in-flight entertainment and onboard products.

My take: this internet is so good that in-flight entertainment systems might go by the wayside.

Listen to more of my experience with Starlink on Hawaiian Airlines on my radio show!

Hawaiian’s CEO told me they will continue to outfit some of their planes with screens so passengers have a choice to bring their own entertainment or watch what’s offered on seatback screens.

Starlink is free… and Hawaiian plans to keep it that way.

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“We figured since we were later to the party of providing internet connection on our planes… that we would just jump to offering the very very best and offering if it complimentary and letting the rest of the market try to catch up to us,” said Ingram.

So far, Hawaiian Airlines has outfitted all 18 of its A321neo aircraft with Starlink internet service. Later this year, it plans to expand the service to its fleet of 24 A330 planes and to its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Starlink is a game changer up in the air. While there are no data limits and you can connect multiple devices, they do ask that passengers don’t make voice or video calls, or live-stream from their seats, and offensive content is not allowed.

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