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☆ Sweetgreen Marketing Chief Joins Food Delivery Startup Wonder
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wonder’s marketing currently comprises direct mail and out-of-home ads around its Upper West Side location. Photo: WonderFood-delivery startup Wonder has hired the chief marketing officer at salad chain Sweetgreen to lead its growth as it plans an expansion of restaurant kitchens meant to kick-start a new category of delivery dubbed “fast fine.”Wonder was once known for cooking and delivering chef-developed menus from a fleet of around 500 trucks, but in January scrapped the movable kitchen strategy in favor of fixed locations where workers cook food for delivery from up to 30 restaurant brands.

☆ A New York couple who saw their cupcake empire soar to a $66 million business in 2011 before going bust paid $350 to revive the brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jason and Mia Bauer, who founded Crumbs Bake Shop in 2003 are now back with an online cupcake store. Crumbs Bake Shop, a hugely popular cupcake store founded in 2003, has been revived by founders Jason and Mia Bauer. They bought back the brand last year — seven years after it filed for bankruptcy, the New York Post reported on May 2. "We felt we left it in the hands of people who would grow it," Jason told the New York Post on Tuesday. "Fast forward to 2023, and we now have the ability to communicate with our consumers via social media without having to be in a physical store," Jason told the media outlet.

☆ How a Classical Music Power Couple Spend Their Sundays
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Tammy La Gorce | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Married for 18 years, Keri-Lynn Wilson and Peter Gelb spend a lot of time apart because of their high-profile careers. Ms. Wilson, 55, is a conductor with gigs all over the world. Mr. Gelb, 69, is the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Wilson, who will conduct, had the idea for the performances after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. SOPHISTICATED AND LUXURIOUS Mr. Gelb: I get up between 6 and 6:30.

☆ ‘Hunger Games’ prequel reveals first look
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —“Every saga has a beginning.”That’s part of the message in the newly released trailer for “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.”The prequel for the “Hunger Games” franchise tells the story of Lucy Gray Baird, played by “West Side Story” star Rachel Zelger, and a teenage Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth. Things get dark quickly in the trailer as Lucy and young Snow try to survive the deadly games. “With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. “With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Based on the book series by Suzanne Collins, the “Hunger Games” franchise has been extremely popular with the first film helping to launch Jennifer Lawrence’s stardom.

CNN —Harry Belafonte, the dashing singer, actor and activist who became an indispensable supporter of the civil rights movement, has died, his publicist Ken Sunshine told CNN. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte, left, plays a school principal in a scene from the film "See How They Run" in 1952. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte poses with the Emmy Award he won in 1960 for the musical special "Tonight With Belafonte." Fred Sabine/NBCU/Getty Images Belafonte and other recipients of Albert Einstein Commemorative Awards display their medallions after being honored in 1972. He is survived by his wife Pamela, his children Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte, David Belafonte, two stepchildren Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank and eight grandchildren.

☆ ChatGPT course instruction is the newest side hustle on the market. Meet the teachers making thousands from the lucrative gig.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

ChatGPT course instructors told Insider they have made between $10,000 to $52,000 in a few months. In late December, he launched a ChatGPT course on online education platform Udemy called "ChatGPT Masterclass: A Complete ChatGPT Guide for Beginners." But some struggle to integrate ChatGPT into their workflow, three ChatGPT course instructors told Insider. Skillshare, another online learning platform, offers 61 ChatGPT courses, while online course provider Coursera offers 10, according to searches made at the time this story was published. ChatGPT instructors aren't necessarily AI expertsThe ChatGPT course instructors who spoke to Insider are all self-taught.

☆ Kendall Roy's 'Succession' penthouse is on sale for $29 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Hafsa Khalil | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

The penthouse at 180 East 88th Street, which featured as the home of Jeremy Strong’s character in HBO’s Emmy-winning hit show, “Succession,” is on sale for $29 million. A spiral staircase leads to the second floor and to the roof landing. Sean HemmerleThe interior of the five-bedroom apartment covers 5,508 square feet and includes two living rooms, four bathrooms, a private elevator and a spectacular, sculptural spiral staircase. Sean HemmerleThe three-story home was originally listed by Corcoran for $33 million in 2022, but dropped to its current price this year. And for anyone with a bit more to spend, Roman Roy’s (Kieran Culkin) equally opulent Upper West Side apartment is also on sale, for a cool $38 million.

☆ Beyond Kyoto: Japan recommends 11 lesser-known spots to visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Rob Goss | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Japan wants travelers to go beyond the country's iconic tourist sites — and consider spending their yen in lesser-known locations. CNBC Travel takes a look at what each of the 11 spots has to offer travelers — whether or not they're wealthy. Koichi Kamoshida | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesIse-shima is arguably the "model destination" most ready to welcome the JTA's wealthy targets. Kagoshima, Aso and UnzenThe island of Kyushu in western Japan feature everything from active volcanoes to glimpses of samurai culture. Okinawa and AmamiIn 2021, Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, the northern part of Okinawa's main island, and Iriomote Island were given joint UNESCO Natural World Heritage status for their biodiversity and endemic wildlife.

☆ A Dancer’s Life: Chita Rivera on Working Hard and Learning From the Best
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Juan A. Ramírez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“She makes you feel immediately part of a team,” Benanti said. “She’s not just out there for herself. “When you hear Chita, you see Chita. When you work with somebody like that, their range is so enormous that there’s nothing you can’t write,” he said of developing characters with Rivera. This constant work is all she knows, Rivera said, though it has left her with a slight blind spot when it comes to the business she so loves.

☆ As NYC's first-ever rat czar gets to work, cities like Boston and Chicago are looking for inspiration to fix their own rodent problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New York City Mayor Eric Adams appointed a "rat czar" to help eliminate rodents in the city. One Boston city official says the Massachusetts city should follow suit and hire a rat slayer of their own. Days later, Boston City Council President Ed Flynn recommended the Massachusetts city hire someone in a similar position ""to hopefully one day eliminate rats in Boston," the Boston Herald reported. In 2022, Chicago was named the number one "rattiest" city in the US over both New York City and Boston. "You can hear them screaming — ee, ee, ee, ee!"

☆ What Walmart’s pullback from Chicago says about Corporate America’s limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —A line of Chicago mayors heavily courted Walmart over the last two decades, brushing aside community protests. Chains like Dollar General and Family Dollar are expanding in low-income areas, but they don’t sell fresh groceries. Walmart is closing neighborhood markets around the country, and three of the four stores closing in Chicago fall into that category. In Chicago, Walmart is closing in both low-income and high-income areas, a sign that it’s struggling across the city. But it’s the stores in low-income areas that will feel the loss most.

☆ Walmart's plan to abruptly close 4 Chicago stores slammed as 'unethical' and 'unceremoniously abandoning these neighborhoods'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Ben Tobin | Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Walmart announced this week that it is closing four stores in Chicago in a matter of days. Elected officials said that the decision to close the stores "worsens food deserts" in the area. In a rare press release on April 11 announcing store closures, Walmart said bluntly that these stores "have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago." "Walmart's decision to close four stores in predominantly Black and Brown communities not only worsens food deserts, but will also increase grocery costs for families." The four Walmart stores closing in Chicago

☆ Ariana DeBose to Return as Tony Awards Host This Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ariana DeBose, whose exuberant embrace of song and dance enlivened last year’s Tony Awards, will return to host the annual ceremony this spring. Earlier this year, she sang the opening number at the BAFTA Awards, and a rapped section paying tribute to female movie stars was mocked and memed for a hot second. DeBose, who is 32, seems to have taken it in stride — in London earlier this month, she turned the kerfuffle into merch that raised money for charity, and last weekend she performed at Lincoln Center. This year’s awards ceremony will for the first time take place at the United Palace, a large theater in Washington Heights, in Upper Manhattan. The ceremony, which is presented by the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing, honors plays and musicals staged on Broadway; it is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, June 11, and to be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.

☆ Why Walmart is closing half its stores in Chicago
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Walmart announced Tuesday that next week it will close four poor-performing stores out of the eight it operates in Chicago. Now, it's closing four Chicago stores. Walmart said its remaining four Chicago stores “continue to face the same business difficulties,” but it believes closing these four will give the others the best chance of staying open. There were fears that Walmart and other businesses would leave Chicago, but Walmart pledged to stay and invest in the city. Some retailers have also cited higher levels of theft and other crime in their city stores.

☆ Previously homeless Detroit resident gets evicted from tiny home amid protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, Detroit bailiffs arrived at Taura Brown's tiny home to evict her after a years-long battle. The legal battle has gone on since Cass Community Social Services (CCSS) decided against renewing Brown's lease at the tiny home in early 2021. Sammie Lewis of the Detroit Eviction Defense then organized members of the group to protest when law enforcement arrived at Brown's door, according to local reports. The Detroit Eviction Defense group is a coalition of tenants, homeowners, and other advocates fighting against evictions and home foreclosures in the Detroit Metropolitan area. Fowler provided 7 Action News with a longer statement on Brown's eviction.

☆ Chicago to elect new mayor as crime emerges as key issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CHICAGO, April 4 (Reuters) - Crime is the central issue in Tuesday's mayoral runoff in Chicago, where voters are choosing between two candidates with contrasting approaches to public safety. Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas calls for more cops; Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson calls for more mental health support and opportunities for young people. Johnson, a former Chicago teacher and union organizer, says he will promote 200 new detectives from the existing pool of police officers. A poll last week by Emerson College Polling, WGN-TV and The Hill showed Vallas leading Johnson by 5 points, with 13% undecided. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Donna Bryson and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ It's not easy being a bicyclist in the US. Better infrastructure could help.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Eliza Relman | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Advocates are asking for more funding for bike safety measures, in addition to e-bike tax credits. The best way to address biking safety concerns, advocates say, is to build better bike infrastructure, including a robust system of bike lanes. If passed, the law wouldn't directly address the most pressing safety and infrastructure concerns facing bicyclists, but advocates say it could help. At the same time, this growing community of new bicyclists would likely demand better bike lanes and other infrastructure. Ultimately, advocates say it's about return on investment: More bikes, and better bike infrastructure, could lead to big savings for commuters and a rethinking of how everyone navigates their landscape.

☆ I was the CEO of Arby's. I'm auctioning off my Texas mansion with a lowly $2.5 million starting bid because my wife and I are getting older and neither of us wants to live here alone.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Businessman Len Roberts, who served as CEO of Arby's and RadioShack, is auctioning his Texas estate. The 11,792-square-foot home in Fort Worth was built for hosting fundraisers and galas. Bidding starts on April 24 , with the starting bid at $2.5 million and a 10% buyer's premium. Even though the house is in Texas, it features traces of our early lives in ChicagoMy wife really built this home. Interluxe AuctionsWe orchestrated some of the biggest galas and charity events in Fort Worth, Texas, in this beautiful home.

☆ Two Florida Towns Vie to Be Center of the Equestrian World
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Deborah Acosta | Photographs Sydney Walsh For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An equestrian rivalry between towns competing for horse-riding events and well-heeled homeowners and athletes is heating up in Florida. Wellington, a village on the west side of Palm Beach County, for more than 15 years has been Florida’s equestrian sports center, hosting the Winter Equestrian Festival, which attracts tens of thousands of spectators during its 13-week run. The daughters of Bill Gates , Steve Jobs and Michael Bloomberg have competed in the festival and their families own homes in the area, according to real-estate brokers.

☆ A New York grocery store is using biometrics including eye scanners and voice prints to identify repeat shoplifters. Some shoppers say that's creepy — even if it deters theft.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New York City grocer Fairway is collecting biometric data on its shoppers to catch shoplifters, the New York Post reported. Fairway is gathering facial recognition and other biometric information, such as voice recordings, on shoppers at one of its Manhattan locations, the New York Post reported on Thursday. Fairway told the Post that its system will only be accessed by "trained asset protection associates." Nearly one-third of the arrests made for shoplifting in New York City last year involved the same 327 people, the Post reported in January. But an investigation that year by the San Francisco Chronicle found that the affected stores reported fewer than two shoplifting incidents per month leading up to the closures.

☆ Thousands of Buildings Collapsed in One Turkish City. Thousands More May Have to Come Down.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Leanne Abraham | Lauren Leatherand Scott Reinhard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Four of the complex’s five buildings collapsed. About 3,100 buildings collapsed in Antakya, trapping residents and killing more than 20,000 people in the city, Lutfu Savas, the metropolitan mayor, said on Feb. 19. Shake intensity Moderate Severe TURKEY 7.8-magnitude earthquake Antakya TURKEY mediterranean SEA SYRIA Area of detail SYRIA TURKEY Area of detail SYRIA TURKEY 7.8-magnitude earthquake Antakya SYRIA Source: USGS Shake intensity shown only for the first Feb. 6 earthquake. Shops’ higher ceilings and wider windows often come at the expense of structural support against earthquake damage. Two of the complex’s five buildings collapsed, trapping residents inside.

☆ Ukraine, Russia say hundreds of enemy troops killed in battle for Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Nick Starkov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A Ukrainian serviceman looks on from a tank near the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 7, 2023. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, said that 221 pro-Moscow troops were killed and more than 300 wounded in Bakhmut. Russia's defence ministry said that up to 210 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the broader Donetsk part of the frontline. While Moscow did not specify Bakhmut casualties, the eastern Donetsk town, now nearly deserted, has been the site of one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the year-long war. Writing by David Ljunggren and Lidia Kelly; editing by Grant McCool and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Huge City Polluter? Buildings. Here’s a Surprising Fix.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Brad Plumer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Carbon dioxide from these boilers wafts up chimneys and into the air, one of the city’s biggest sources of global warming emissions. “And we expect that it won’t be the last.”The boiler releases carbon dioxide. The remaining carbon dioxide was then chilled to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit and turned to liquid. The system currently captures about 60 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by the Grand Tier’s boilers, Mr. Asparro said. While they’re paying for the carbon dioxide, they are not charging a premium for their blocks.

☆ Factbox: What to look for at China's NPC meeting of parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Besides meeting annually to deliberate legislation and appoint government personnel, it oversees the State Council, China's cabinet. Its top body, the roughly 170-member NPC Standing Committee, meets more frequently to pass legislation. The Standing Committee also has the power to amend semiautonomous Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law. The NPC will also appoint top government positions including vice president, NPC chair, vice premiers, state councillors, head of the Supreme Court and ministers. Several NPC and CPPCC delegates have put forth policy proposals in recent days, with China's historically low fertility rate a hot topic.

☆ China's economy, government revamp in focus as parliament set to open
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Tony Munroe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China opens its annual parliamentary session on Sunday, with the National People's Congress (NPC) set to implement the biggest government shakeup in a decade as Beijing confronts a host of challenges and looks to revive its COVID-battered economy. During the NPC, former Shanghai party chief Li Qiang, a longtime Xi ally, is expected to be confirmed as premier. "We might see institutional changes that indicate an elevated importance of, and more party control over, the financial regulatory system," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote. On the opening day of the NPC, China is also likely to announce its central and military spending budgets. Reporting by Tony Munroe; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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