All posts tagged: Parking

LA Times Festival of Books: What to know about tickets, parking, speakers

LA Times Festival of Books: What to know about tickets, parking, speakers

Published by Sam Flores

Close the novel and open your tote bag. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is here. This weekend, the festival will be returning for its 31st year. Held at USC, the event honors storytellers across genres, hosting readings, screenings and performances. It kicks off with The Times’ Book Prizes ceremony Friday night, followed by two days of literary fervor. What is the Festival of Books? The Festival of Books is a yearly celebration of authors in California. It began in 1996 and has evolved into a staple of spring in Los Angeles. The event includes panels and booths featuring artists, publishers and authors; book signings; musical performances; film screenings; and poetry readings. It showcases content across genres, from storybook readings at the Children’s Stage to cooking demonstrations at the Food Stage. Who will be speaking? The festival will host more than 550 storytellers, with “Ask a Reporter” panels and interviews with celebrities like multihyphenate businesswoman (and Beyoncé’s mother) Tina Knowles. On Saturday, actor Sarah Jessica Parker will join author Alexandra Oliva at the festival …

Waitrose slammed after customers hit with £100 parking fines | UK | News

Waitrose slammed after customers hit with £100 parking fines | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Waitrose has been slammed after customers at its Romsey store were hit by high parking fines, which they claim were introduced without their knowledge. Shoppers have been issued fines of up to £100 after Britannia Parking was introduced back in December. Prior to the introduction of the third-party parking firm, the supermarket on Alma Road offered shoppers up to two hours of free parking. Tickets were produced on entry, stamped at the till, and then shown at the exit barrier. However, with ANPR systems now in operation and external wardens employed, many customers are being hit with hefty fines after ‘overstaying’ their two-hour slot, reports the Daily Echo. Sandra Rowden, who has shopped at the supermarket “for 29 years and spend around £24,000 a year,” said that it is “absolutely diabolical” that people are being targeted by parking wardens. She said: “Waitrose are known for valuing their customers, and it was lovely having a man on the barrier. You felt like you were part of the club, and you certainly didn’t have to worry about …

We visited a Birmingham area famous for awful parking – you’ll never guess what we found

We visited a Birmingham area famous for awful parking – you’ll never guess what we found

Published by Sam Flores

Finding the worst area for parking in Birmingham is very difficult – the truth is there are appalling examples almost wherever you turn. Would-be councillor, Shuranjeet Singh, has posted a video of one corner of the inner city with a claim to the title. Winson Green is becoming nearly as synonymous with terrible parking as it is prisons. Read more: Exclusive shock poll shows historic change for Birmingham His video shows cars hanging half off the pavement, cars parked in the middle of the road and others wrong side of the road – as well as a smattering of tickets. Shuranjeet pointed out there would be little chance of an ambulance making its way through the streets. We headed out to the area, made famous by HMP Birmingham, and found the same thing. Terribe driving is nothing new to us – we are campaigning to get more people banned for life. When we arrived, also saw pavements entirely blocked – meaning mothers with pushchairs had to go on the street to get by. -Credit:Shuranjeet Singh …

UK’s biggest car park company on brink of collapse – 100s of jobs at risk | UK | News

UK’s biggest car park company on brink of collapse – 100s of jobs at risk | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

The UK’s biggest private car park operator, which runs around 300 car parks nationwide and employs 700 people, is at risk of collapse. NCP filed a notice of Intention to appoint administrators for its UK business on Monday, meaning that administration is likely the next step. The company has been owned by Japanese global parking operator Park24 and the Development Bank of Japan since 2017, following a sale by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund. And it’s not the first time NCP has had its ownership changed, which has been reflected in how its has been run. The Japanese parking operator runs more than 19,000 sites across eight countries. Though it has announced that it is filing for administration due to a “decline in demand” and a “tightened cash-flow position”. In a notice published on its website, it states: “From 2020 onwards, however, NCP experienced a decline in demand due to the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic, and the subsequent recovery in utilisation remained subdued. In addition, operating costs continued to increase due to elevated energy prices …

Dad who parked in all 108 spaces at Sainsbury’s admits ‘I was bored’ | UK | News

Dad who parked in all 108 spaces at Sainsbury’s admits ‘I was bored’ | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

A dad has finally completed a five-year mission to park in every bay at his local Sainsbury’s – after spending six years doing the same thing at another branch. Gareth Wild previously spent six years charting every spot in his local supermarket in London, finishing the task in 2021. After relocating to Devizes, Wiltshire, in 2024, the 44-year-old decided it was time to restart the challenge. He plotted all 108 spaces on a satellite image of the car park, recording every time he parked in one, excluding only the disabled and motorcycle spaces. Last weekend, he finally finished the task, taking him a total of one year, seven months and two days, using his weekly shopping trips and the occasional resupply stops. Gareth said: “Boredom was probably the starting point. I have to do the weekly shop, so it keeps me amused doing little things like this. It was a little bit sad to see it end because it is part of your routine for so long that when it does finally end you have …

How the Long-Lost Body of Richard III Was Found Under a Parking Lot: Solving a 500-Year-Old Mystery

How the Long-Lost Body of Richard III Was Found Under a Parking Lot: Solving a 500-Year-Old Mystery

Published by José Betancourt

Shake­speare’s The Tragedy of Richard the Third begins with the epony­mous char­ac­ter utter­ing the famous line “Now is the win­ter of our dis­con­tent.” It ends at the Bat­tle of Bosworth Field, by which point his vil­lain­ous schemes have come to ruin and his deser­tion by Lord Stan­ley seems to have sealed his fate. “A horse, a horse, my king­dom for a horse,” he cries out, coin­ing anoth­er expres­sion used four cen­turies lat­er before being slain by the Earl of Rich­mond, the man who would be Hen­ry VII. Though Shake­speare him­self was writ­ing more than 100 years after the his­tor­i­cal events he dra­ma­tized, he includ­ed lit­tle after the event of Richard’s death, whose most fas­ci­nat­ing mys­tery was in any case only solved in our own time. You can see the sto­ry of Richard III’s long-unknown where­abouts in the Pri­mal Space video above. Accord­ing to records, says the nar­ra­tor, “he was buried uncer­e­mo­ni­ous­ly beneath the Greyfri­ars Church in Leices­ter, and a mon­u­ment was even­tu­al­ly placed above his grave.” When Hen­ry VIII ordered such hous­es of wor­ship shut …

2 Tesla Cybertrucks destroyed in mysterious fire at Santa Monica parking garage

2 Tesla Cybertrucks destroyed in mysterious fire at Santa Monica parking garage

Published by skeptic

Tesla Cybertruck fire Santa Monica, image via NBC on Youtube Two Tesla Cybertrucks were destroyed and several other Tesla vehicles were damaged after a fire broke out on the rooftop of a seven-story parking garage in Santa Monica on Wednesday. Neither truck was plugged in to charge at the time. The Santa Monica Fire Department responded at approximately 3:16 p.m. to the 2200 block of Colorado Avenue, where heavy smoke was reported coming from the roof of the structure. The cause remains under investigation. The fire When firefighters arrived and reached the rooftop level, they found two Cybertrucks fully engulfed in flames, according to the Santa Monica Fire Department. Thick plumes of black smoke were visible from several nearby buildings and wreaked havoc on late-afternoon traffic in the area. Crews had to carry equipment and hose lines up all seven levels of the parking structure to begin an aggressive attack on the burning vehicles. The fire was knocked down relatively quickly, and no injuries were reported among residents, visitors, or firefighters. Advertisement – scroll for …

Why did I get a £100 parking fine when charging my electric car? | Motoring

Why did I get a £100 parking fine when charging my electric car? | Motoring

Published by Sam Flores

I charged my electric car at the 24-hour Mer EV charging station in my local B&Q car park. I then received a £100 parking charge notice (PCN) from the car park operator, Ocean Parking. It said no parking is allowed on the site between 9pm and 6am. There were no signs on the EV charger explaining this, but Ocean has rejected my representation. Mer apologised for the “inconvenience”, but it will not help. DT, Redhill, Surrey This is one of the most farcical parking disputes I’ve come across. Mer’s website advertises the EV charger as a 24-hour facility. Signs at the entrance to Redhill retail park state, in large letters, that free parking for up to two hours is allowed. Smaller print beneath this says that terms and conditions apply. It’s these terms and conditions that Ocean is relying on, and they are not printed on the entrance signs, or on the sign behind the EV charger. The latter notice bears a line, in a tiny font, obscured by the cable frame, advising drivers to …