OK, for most of us today is Tax Day and this week is all about the Kool April Nites classic car events. But for the Lao community, it’s the beginning of a new year, and a big celebration is planned for Saturday.
The festival begins that morning, but highlights are the beauty pageant and traditional Lao dancing, which start at 2 p.m. There will also be Laotian food and live entertainment by Lok Kow Niew. All the events are at the Lao Buddharavanh Center, 7918 Churn Creek Rd.
- On Friday night, our own Jim Dyar, along with songwriter Michael Gaither of Santa Cruz and Mount Shasta’s Steve Bachmann, will play at the Post Office Saloon in Redding. Music starts at 8 p.m. No cover.
- Night-time closures at the Highway 44 Dana-to-Downtown construction project continue to cause detours, and Caltrans warns that the eastbound lanes will be completely closed next Monday and Tuesday from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. All you night owls should plan accordingly.
- Yipes. Did you see the story about the asteroid called Apophis? In April 2029, the asteroid, which is about the size of the Rose Bowl, will pass within 18,000 miles of Earth, closer even than the communications satellites that orbit our planet. It’ll be so close, scientists say, that it’ll be visible to the naked eye. Odds of the asteroid hitting Earth are only 1 in 45,000, but the asteroid will pass by again seven years later, perhaps even closer. Full story here.
- What I’m Reading: “Blood of Paradise” by David Corbett, an Edgar Award nominee last year. Set in El Salvador, this big-boned novel centers on American bodyguards and dirty cops who get entangled in a plan to use diminishing water supplies to open a bottling plant. Sounds like McCloud . . .
Tips appreciated: Send news tidbits to steveb.anewscafe@gmail.com.
