It is our annual review of 2015, Rink Rats style.
2015
OVERPAID -- Johnny Depp Named Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actor: Johnny
Depp is the new Adam Sandler ... when it comes to return on investment, that is,
$25 million per picture.
MUSICAL
CHAIRS - New Census estimates show which states set to gain, lose
congressional seats: The Census Bureau released new state population estimates
on Tuesday - and new population numbers mean new projections of which states
are likely to gain and lose seats following the 2020 Census. If current
population trends hold, six states are projected to gain seats, according to an
analysis from Election Data Services. Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and
Oregon are projected to gain one additional district. Florida is projected to
gain two, and Texas is projected to gain three.
- On the flip side, nine states are projected to lose one
seat apiece: Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. But take the projections with a
grain of salt - if population trends shift even a little bit, California or
Virginia could gain additional seats, at the potential expense of Florida or
Arizona.
AND
THEN THERE WERE SIX The next GOP primary debate will feature only
six candidates, likely bumping Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul and John Kasich to the
undercard debate.
Days
until the 2016 election: 314.
CONFLICT
OF INTEREST - Jerry Brown: Another energy conflict of
interest: The Los Angeles County and the City and School Boards declared a
'state of emergency' that covers the massive Aliso Canyon natural gas storage
facility near Porter Ranch neighborhoods earlier this month. ... Governor
Brown's sister, Kathleen L. Brown, former California State Treasurer and
Democratic candidate for Governor in the 1990s, has been serving since 2013 as
a Director on Sempra Energy, the parent and 100 percent stockholder of the Gas
Company, according to Security & Exchange Commission filings...That means
the Governor's sister is at the center risk for managing the raging ecological
and healthcare disaster.
2015
BIG DOLLAR DEVELOPMENTS - Downtown $6.4B development juggernaut: San
Diego's Centre City has more than $6.4 billion in 63 projects under
construction, approved or under review - an amount equal to more than 40
percent of the 1,600-acre community's entire $15.5 billion in assessed
valuation, according to Civic San Diego, the downtown planning agency, and the
county assessor's office.
With this and the Inglewood development (with or without a
stadium), Sacramento's arena development, Cupertino's new Apple campus, San
Francisco/Oakland and so much more, it's a huge time in California real estate,
and it's less focused on residential than previous booms.
Of course, being left out is the Central and North Valleys
and even within these cities, where some of the greatest poverty resides.
2015
BEST BUMPER STICKER – “The more men I meet, the more I love my
cat.”
STAR
WARS DRIVES HOLLYWOOD OVER $11B - The record debut this month
of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,' along with blockbusters like 'Jurassic
World' earlier in the year, have put the U.S. movie industry on track to crack
$11 billion in ticket sales for the first time ever. The North American box
office, which includes U.S. and Canadian theaters, is forecast to rise 6.3
percent to $11.01 billion in 2015, Rentrak Corp. said Tuesday in an e-mailed
statement. That would surpass the current record of $10.92 billion set in 2013.
While the overall number signifies health, studios with massive event movies
are outperforming their rivals.
FINAL
YEAR - Obama's agenda breaks through in 2015: This year's biggest
policy stories include significant wins for the administration: Some of the
accomplishments don't fit neatly within either party's ideology: Congressional
Republicans worked with Democrats to overhaul the much-criticized No Child Left
Behind Act, returning more control over public schools to the states. And
lawmakers from both parties signed off on a long-sought deal for a five-year
highway bill, and legislation that made permanent several business and family
tax breaks.
CALIFORNIA
DROUGHT - Damage from sinking land costing California billions: A canal that
delivers vital water supplies from Northern California to Southern California
is sinking in places. So are stretches of a riverbed undergoing historic
restoration. On farms, well casings pop up like mushrooms as the ground around
them drops.
Four years of drought and heavy reliance on pumping
of groundwater have made the land sink faster than ever up and down the Central
Valley, requiring repairs to infrastructure that experts say are costing
billions of dollars.
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Emperor Akihito(82) Tokyo,
Japan; Mary Higgins Clark (88) Huntington,
NY; Sandy Koufax (80) Beverly Hills,
CA; Denzel Washington (61) Austin,
TX; Tiger Woods (40) Orlando, FL.
OP-ED OF
THE YEAR -- "A year that seared -- in so many ways,'' by San Francisco
Chronicle's John Diaz: " Perhaps it's only fitting that 2015 is about to
finish as the hottest year on record, with temperatures hitting all-time
monthly highs seven consecutive times through November. This was a year that
brought the heat, in oh so many ways, good and bad." http://sfchron.cl/1JCHcvd
2015 IN
CULTURE - It’s been quite a year for the arts—from museums to movies. The best
exhibitions introduced visitors to Mughals, migration and Renaissance
masterpieces. Television confronted some of today’s harsh realities, from
jihadists in Berlin to a harrowing crime in India. Politics, Paris romances and
puppets were just a few of the rewarding and varied musicals that audiences
were offered this year. At the cinema, moviegoers found emotional experiences
in a multitude of genres, ranging from the intergalactic to the intimate. And
with the music industry’s massive output, listeners simply can’t be blamed if
they found it too hard to choose a favorite album—though Björk’s “Vulnicura”
ticks our rock-and-pop critic’s box.
Top
Television Show: “House of Cards”
Top
Movie: “The Martian”
Top CD: “25”
Adele
2015 YEAR
IN NEWS - It was a year marked by brutal Islamist terrorist attacks—in Paris
twice, in California, in the skies above the Sinai, and elsewhere. Russia
opened a military campaign in Syria as the U.S. and its allies struggled to
thread the needle between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State.
Iran and the West signed a nuclear deal. Oil and commodity prices slumped, companies
merged at a record rate, and, after we waited all year, the U.S. Federal
Reserve finally raised interest rates. China’s markets wobbled and rattled the
world. The pope came to the U.S. and, of course, it was the year that saw
Donald Trump transformed from property tycoon and reality TV star into leading
presidential contender.
SPACEX
MARKS BIG ROCKET SUCCESS - Elon Musk's SpaceX marked the first flight of
its Falcon 9 rocket since a June explosion in spectacular fashion when it
succeeded for the first time in returning to earth a booster rocket that had
deployed satellites into space. ... Amid deafening cheers from employees watching
in the company's mission control room on Monday, SpaceX returned the first
stage of the rocket to a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, around 10
minutes after it had lifted off. The mission was carrying 11 small satellites
into orbit for Orbcomm, the satellite communications company. ...
SpaceX hopes that the ability to reuse rockets
could help significantly to reduce the cost of space launches, which have been
high partly because rockets were used only once and discarded in the sea. The
rocket's second stage went on successfully to deploy all the satellites into
orbit. The landing at Cape Canaveral - during which the rocket landed
gracefully on a series of landing legs that had helped to slow it during the
descent - marks SpaceX's first successful return of a rocket in reusable
condition after three failed attempts at landing rockets on barges at sea.
DESSERT - The 10
best food cities in America, ranked: 10. Charleston ... 9.Washington ... 8.New
York ... 7.Chicago ... 6.Philadelphia ... 5.Houston ... 4.New Orleans ... 3.Los
Angeles ... 2.San Francisco ... 1. Portland.
COLLEGE
CHRONICLES - Not only China's wealthy want to study in America: In
2007, just 2,500 Chinese students were enrolled at U.S. community colleges,
which have become increasingly attractive to low-income or low-performing
Chinese students who want to escape the pressure of the gaokao. Now (2015) more
than 16,200, or 13% of all Chinese undergraduates in the U.S., are studying at
community colleges in this country.
GRAPHIC
OF THE DAY - US stocks are ending 2015 mostly flat, capping volatile year: Despite
veering between record highs and the steepest dive in four years, the stock
market is on track to end the year essentially flat. That means if you invested
in a fund that tracks the Standard & Poor's 500 index, you have little to
show for the past 12 months." Graph http://bit.ly/1ks3toT
NFL
PICK OF THE WEEK – Sunday 1/3, 8:30 PM ET NBC; Minnesota Vikings
(10-5) at Green Bay Packers (10-5), the winner wins the NFC North, Pack in
overtime 16 – 13. Season to date (9-7)
COLLEGE
FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Thursday 12/31, 8:00 PM ET ESPN; The
National Semi-Final, #3 Michigan State Spartans (12-1) at #2 Alabama
Crimson Tide (12-1). Tide moves on to Glendale, AZ. 30 – 24. Season to date (10-7)
COLLEGE
HOCKEY GAME OF THE WEEK – Saturday 1/2, 9:00 PM ET, Roots; #16 Notre
Dame Fighting Irish (9-4-4) at #17 Denver Pioneers (7-7-2). Irish win in Denver
4 – 3. Season to date (2-3).
THE
SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –
(NCAA. Dec. 31) The
National Semi-Final - #4 Oklahoma Sooners (12-1) vs. #1 Clemson Tigers
(13-0), Sooners end Clemson’s perfect season, 40 – 32.
(NHL, Jan. 1) The
Winter Classic – Montreal Canadians (21-15-3) vs. Boston Bruins (20-12-4),
Bruins win in Foxboro, 3 – 2.
(NBA, Jan. 2) Orlando Magic (19-13) at Cleveland Cavaliers
(21-9), Cavs win a laugher 106 – 80.
Season
to date (112-68)
DRIVING
THE WEEK – A toast to Guy Lombardo and The Royal Canadians:
Where has the year gone????
Next
week: 2016 Rink Rats Year Preview.
Until Next Monday, Happy
New Year.
Tucson, AZ.
December 30, 2015
#VI-25-287
CARTOON
OF THE WEEK – “Enough
that we succeed”
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