The Tisburys are set to release new album, A Still Life Revisited, this spring on Friday, April 25, with Double Helix Records and SofaBurn Records. “Forever,” their first official single from the upcoming record just played on 979X’s Locals Only show!
“Will it all just stay the same?” asks songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist Tyler Asay in the debut single to launch A Still Life Revisited. He said he aimed for something catchy that everyone can sing along to, and I’d say The Tisburys accomplished just that on this danceable track.
“Forever” contains a lot of fun hooks with bass and guitar bouncing off each other in a new, interesting way to convey an exciting glimpse on what’s to come on the full-length record. This is also the perfect alt-rock release to lead us into the warm season!
“It was kind of the big kick-off single to launch this new album routine,” said Tyler Asay in a phone interview with The Weekender.
Asay explained that A Still Life Revisited is all about looking back at your past and seeing how it’s influenced your life. The lyrics include themes of deep memories, chosen family, and finding home wherever you are. With time and reflection, we’re able to draw from our past and celebrate the journey that led us to where we are today.
“Everything was on purpose for that to go together in that way,” said Asay.
The follow-up single, “Water in the Clouds,” just came out on streaming services and is also now available for listening on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and more. This song is a bright, energetic piece of sunshine with heartfelt lyrics and upbeat instrumentals.
The Tisburys also released “The Anniversaries” as a single in Fall 2024, although it was not yet announced that an album was on the way! All three singles feel like they could be the soundtrack to our own lives — something I want to blast on a roadtrip while sticking my head out the window!
“This is the first time I’ve released anything with a label,” said Asay.
This is also the first time The Tisburys recorded an album in a bona fide studio — everything’s been self-released up until this point. A Still Life Revisited was recorded at Dr. Dog’s Mt. Slippery studio in the suburbs of Philadelphia with their longtime engineer/producer Justin Nazario. It was mixed by Phil Joly (The Strokes, Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey) and mastered by Ryan Schwabe (Beach Bunny, Slaughter Beach Dog, Hop Along).
“We wanted to make a record that pushes together a lot of the stuff we’ve been doing while upping the ante. We wanted to make an album that sounded good on the radio,” said Tyler Asay.
This is The Tisburys’ most collaborative effort to date and they worked closely with their whole team to make everything sing. In an era where bands are seen as an individual, this is truly a “band record” with every member contributing songwriting and production ideas, especially from longtime lead guitarist John Domenico and keyboardist/co-producer Jason McGovern.
“The goal with this record was ‘everything in its right place’,” said Asay. “Every instrument is playing its part, and every song came together like a puzzle”.
The Tisburys’last album, 2022’s Exile on Main Street, channeled iconic 90s radio rock such as Gin Blossoms and The Replacements, while this new one will push into the raw, rustic power of millennial alt-rock music such as The Strokes, Frightened Rabbit and The Hold Steady.
“Exile on Main Street was more influenced by college rock and 90s radio rock,” said Asay. “It still has that power poppy, catchy songwriting we always gravitate towards, but for the new album I was leaning into the 2000s indie vibe.”
This spring, The Tisburys are also looking forward to hitting the road and playing cities they’ve never played before. They are currently booking a tour out in the Midwest for a festival and heading to Newport, Connecticut where their new label SofaBurn Records is from!
On March 15, they’ll head to Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring, Maryland with James Barrett and the Montaines. Then, they have a show in Philadelphia on Friday, March 21, to celebrate St. Patrick’s at Johnny Brenda’s with Bar Dusts, which is a Pogue’s cover band featuring members of The Menzingers and Modern Baseball.
The Tisburys will have their album release show in Philadelphia the first week of June 2025. Then, they plan to return to Scranton, Asay’s and Domenico’s hometown, later this summer. After all that, they’ll start thinking about the next record!
“I love writing, and I love performing music, and I just want to keep doing that until I croak,” said Asay. “The people who inspire me, people like Springsteen and The Replacements, you try to capture a little bit of that magic and that’s what I try to do every day.”
A Still Life Revisited is available for pre-order and they’re also doing a vinyl record release for the first time as well this April when the album comes out in full. In the meantime, get a taste of what’s to come from this talented rock band through their three singles currently available for listening on streaming.
“The goal is to just play as many shows as we can to promote the new album and sell a bunch of records.,” Asay said “Whatever we can do to get the music out there.”
Get up to date on the latest music from The Tisburys and follow along with them on social media for all the update on the way. Tune into 979X’s Locals Only Show every Sunday night with Lazy E from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. for more great new music from talented regional artists like this!
]]>PITTSTON — The 42nd Pittston Tomato kicked off with the first of a four-day celebration on what is the unofficial end of summer before school begins everywhere.
Mayor Michael Lombardo handled opening ceremonies at the James Zarra Building stage at the middle of three tiers.
After Lombardo thanked his festival committee as well as vendors and attendees, he introduced Sarah Donahue Cianfichi who announced the Grand Marshal of the event and parade, Ben Tielle.
The festival began at 5 p.m., and, by 5:15 p.m. many of the food vendors had long lines including Grico’s of Exeter. The line was nearly 30-feet long.
The bandshell entertainment began at 6:15 p.m. with Chosen Few starting off the night followed by the Phyllis Hopkins Trio and the Gracie Jane Sinclair Band closing out the night.
Night two of the Tomato Festival starts with entertainment beginning at 5:30 p.m. with Tori V and the Karma rocking the night.
At 7 p.m. is the Beatles tribute band — The Taxmen — and from 9 to 11 p.m. is The Idol Kings, at Journey and REO tribute band.
]]>LOS ANGELES — Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday after serving decades in prison for murdering his parents with his older brother in 1989.
A panel of California commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after which he will be eligible again, in a case that continues to fascinate the public. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning.
The two commissioners determined that Menendez should not be freed after an all-day hearing during which they questioned him about why he committed the crime and violated prison rules.
The brothers became eligible for parole after a judge reduced their sentences in May from life without parole to 50 years to life.
The parole hearings marked the closest they’ve been to winning freedom from prison since their convictions almost 30 years ago for murdering their parents.
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While defense attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
A judge reduced their sentences in May, and they became immediately eligible for parole.
Erik Menendez made his case to two parole commissioners, offering his most detailed account in years of how he was raised, why he made the choices he did, and how he transformed in prison. He noted the hearing fell almost exactly 36 years after he killed his parents — on Aug. 20, 1989.
“Today is August 21st. Today is the day that all of my victims learned my parents were dead. So today is the anniversary of their trauma journey,” he said, referring to his family members.
The state corrections department chose a single reporter to watch the videoconference and share details with the rest of the press.
What happens next
Lyle Menendez is set to appear over videoconference Friday for his parole hearing from the same prison in San Diego.
The case has captured the attention of true crime enthusiasts for decades and spawned documentaries, television specials and dramatizations. The Netflix drama “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and a documentary released in 2024 have been credited for bringing new attention to the brothers.
Greater recognition of the brothers as victims of sexual abuse has also helped mobilize support for their release. Some supporters have flown to Los Angeles to hold rallies and attend court hearings.
]]>RODANTHE, N.C. — Hurricane Erin kicked up big waves Thursday along the mid-Atlantic coast and began a slow march out to sea after pelting North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and swells that flooded a few places on the barrier islands.
The storm will continue to bring the threat of dangerous rip currents and coastal flooding into the weekend from the Carolinas to New England even as forecasters predict it will gradually weaken. Despite being twice the size of an average hurricane, Erin so far has managed to thread the needle through the Atlantic between the East Coast and several island nations, limiting its destructiveness.
Damage assessments were still underway on the Outer Banks and more flooding could come during high tide Thursday evening. But it appeared the low-lying islands dodged widespread trouble during its initial brush with Erin on Wednesday.
A tropical storm warning remained active on the island of Bermuda, where residents and tourists were told to stay out of the water through Friday. The tropical storm warning along the coast of North Carolina was changed to a storm surge warning to reflect the threat of rising water, while the one along Virginia’s coast had been discontinued.
New York, New England feel Erin’s impact
Coastal communities along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast may see tropical-storm-force wind gusts through early Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Beaches were closed to swimming Thursday in New York City, but that didn’t stop more than a dozen surfers from taking on the waves at Rockaway Beach in Queens. Scott Klossner, who lives nearby, said conditions were great for experienced surfers.
“You wait all year round for these kinds of waves. It’s challenging, really hard to stay in one place because there’s a heavy, heavy, heavy rip,” he said. “But this is what surfers want — a hurricane that comes but doesn’t destroy my house? I’ll take that.”
Waves as high as 15 feet were expected to roll into the coasts of Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard from deeper waters Thursday night. High winds were forecast to stick around into Friday morning.
Erin brings new threat of coastal erosion
Coastal erosion was a big worry in many beachfront communities. In North Carolina, waves were estimated as high as 18 feet Thursday morning, according to local weather reports.
The Outer Banks — essentially sand dunes sticking out of the ocean a few feet above sea level — are especially vulnerable. Storm surges can cut through the dunes, washing tons of sand and debris onto the road and sometimes breaking up pavement and creating new inlets.
The dunes and beach have taken a beating over the last 24 hours, and the next tide will wash over areas already weakened by the storm, said Reide Corbett, executive director of the Coastal Studies Institute.
But Dare County Manager Bobby Outten said one of their worst fears — new inlets — had not happened so far with Erin, and there was no significant structural damage to any homes or businesses.
“All in all, it’s not as bad as it could have been,” Outten said. “Hopefully the worst of it is behind us.”
The Hatteras Island Rescue Squad, a volunteer group based in Buxton, said it received no calls for rescues Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
Waves did break through dunes on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, closing parts of Highway 12, the area’s main route. Ocracoke’s connection to its ferry terminal was cut off.
Fishing, sightseeing after the storm
On Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, where sustained winds reached 45 mph early Thursday, dozens who rode out the storm were taking photos of the huge waves crashing into the structure amid the driving rain.
“This is nature at her best,” David Alan Harvey of Nags Head said Thursday morning. “I love this. I love these storms.”
A few feet away, Sebastian Kettner was casting a line for red fish.
“Where there’s water, there’s fish,” he said as the wind howled. “And there’s a lot of water here.”
Erin remains a large hurricane
The storm has fluctuated in intensity since first forming nearly a week ago, but it is still unusually large, stretching across more than 600 miles.
It remained a Category 2 storm Thursday afternoon with maximum sustained winds around 100 mph, the hurricane center said. Erin was about 420 miles east-northeast of Cape Hatteras.
The hurricane center was also watching three tropical disturbances far out in the Atlantic. With thousands of miles of warm ocean water, hurricanes known as Cape Verde storms are some of the most dangerous to North America.
]]>VILLANOVA — False reports of active shooters at Villanova University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Thursday led to panic and temporary lockdowns at the two campuses as they kicked off their fall semesters.
In Pennsylvania someone called 911 at about 4:30 p.m. reporting a shooter in a Villanova law school building with at least one wounded victim. Students received texts from the school’s alert system saying “ACTIVE SHOOTER on VU campus. Move to secure location. Lock/barricade doors.”
The school’s president later said it was a hoax.
“Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror ensued,” the Rev. Peter M. Donohue said in a statement. “Mercifully, no one was injured and we now know it was a cruel hoax.”
About four hours earlier, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga locked down its campus, telling students: “Possible active shooter in the University Center or Library. Run. Hide. Fight. More info forthcoming.”
After multiple law enforcement agencies including the FBI responded alongside local fire and emergency crews, the lockdown was lifted less than an hour later. School officials said there was no evidence of any threat.
At Villanova, where new student orientation was underway and classes begin next week, the initial report sent police scouring the campus and even had some law enforcement officials suggesting they believed there was a shooter.
““He’s in one of these buildings. Law enforcement for the entire tri-state area is here. And we are going door to door, room to room if we have to, to take this situation under control and to make this campus safe,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told WPVI-TV.
At a news conference later, Stollsteimer said authorities will conduct a full investigation.
“If this was indeed a cruel hoax, this is a crime,” he said.
“This is every parent’s nightmare, right? You’re sending your kid off to college, sometimes for their first day, and you get an alert that there could be a shooter on the campus,” he said.
Courtenay Harris Bond was walking near the law school with her husband and son, a freshman, when word spread of the supposed shooting.
“Really tough way to start freshman year at college,” she said shortly after getting the all-clear to leave the bookstore where the family spent the lockdown.
Villanova is a private Catholic university in the Philadelphia suburbs. It borders Lower Merion Township and Radnor Township at the center of the city’s wealthy Main Line neighborhoods.
The Augustinian school got extra attention this year as the alma mater of new Pope Leo XIV.
]]>Gracie Jane Sinclair and the Band perform at SOMA in Midtown Village on Thursday.
People listen to Gracie Jane Sinclair and the Band perform at SOMA in Midtown Village on Thursday.
]]>A version of this story first appeared in Talk of the Town — a daily newsletter from the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown.
BELLEFONTE — When landslides and sinkholes damage Pennsylvania houses, homeowners often have limited options to cover repairs and can end up stuck paying a mortgage on an unlivable property.
Now, state House lawmakers want a government-run insurance program to help fill this gap.
A bill introduced by state Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, would use $10 million from the state’s General Fund to establish the proposed Landslide and Sinkhole Insurance Program, modeled after a similar plan that helps homeowners cover damage from collapsed mines.
After the initial taxpayer-funded investment, Kinkead hopes the program — which would initially reimburse applicants up to $150,000 — becomes self-sustaining through premium payments.
The legislation would also establish a board to oversee the program within the Department of Community and Economic Development, and work with agencies and local governments to rank community risk, publish geological maps online, and recommend best practices for local governments to mitigate landslide and sinkhole risks.
Under the proposal, the program’s board will utilize a rating system to help determine insurance costs, to incentivize community landslide and sinkhole management. Communities that are less likely to have damage — either because the land is naturally safer or because they’ve made an effort to reduce risk — will get higher ratings and possibly a credit on their premium.
Properties found to violate laws and regulations overseeing development in areas prone to landslides and sinkholes will not be eligible for new coverage.
The bill passed out of committee this summer but has yet to receive a full vote in the state House.
“This is really just recognizing that the commercial insurance industry is not stepping up to cover these costs,” Kinkead said during a June legislative meeting.
Surveys on landslides and sinkholes from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources outline why karst geology and sloped terrain threaten many parts of the state — especially southwestern, central, and eastern Pennsylvania.
While Kinkead pointed to landslides in Western Pennsylvania as a key motivation for the bill, state Rep. Paul Takac, D-Centre, noted during the state House committee meeting that his district is also no stranger to sinkholes. The area has seen them open up near the Nittany Mall, on Penn State’s campus, along a pedestrian and bike path, and even in the sheriff’s office parking lot.
On Dec. 25, 2022, a sinkhole opened up near 18 townhomes in Patton Township, breaking a water main and forcing residents to evacuate. State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, secured $180,000 in grant funds to help with inspections, renovations, and temporary shelter. He also introduced legislation that would offer hotels and motels a state tax credit equal to the cost of a discounted or comped room donated to a family displaced by a disaster; however, it never saw action in the legislature.
Patton Township Manager Amy Farkas said the municipality has recommended insurance options for homeowners, but officials could only find four companies willing to offer it. So the proposed insurance program, she told Spotlight PA, is a “great step forward.”
Farkas credited lawmakers for being “forward-thinking” by creating another insurance option and working with local governments to identify the people most at risk.
“I feel like sometimes the state doesn’t view us as a 100% partner, and this bill, to me, feels like they see us as their partner, and they want to work with us,” she said.
SUPPORT THIS JOURNALISM and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results.
]]>PHILADELPHIA — Sixteen critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoises born to some very old parents got a slow walk and the red carpet treatment Wednesday at a Philadelphia Zoo event to show off the highly prized hatchlings.
Animal care specialists who have watched over the 16 since they were eggs held the animals on a pathway by the zoo’s tortoise habitat. The hatchlings are said to be eating well and growing.
The pampered turtles were born in a series of hatches this year to Mommy and Abrazzo, a couple that is estimated to both be about 100 years old. Mommy arrived at the zoo in 1932, but had not produced offspring until Abrazzo was brought in nearly five years ago from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, South Carolina. The 16 are her first progeny.
“Now this animal, who’s been in Philadelphia since 1932, will be represented here for, hopefully, another 100 years because her offspring are now part of our collection,” said Lauren Augustine, the zoo’s director of herpetology.
Four females that hatched early this spring were named after characters in the TV show “ Golden Girls.” Three males were hatched in April, and that was followed by Mommy’s second clutch, which resulted in three females in June and six males this summer.
Mommy and Abrazzo are the Philadelphia Zoo’s oldest inhabitants and seen as highly genetically valuable for the survival of the species. Their offspring are considered a win in the effort to preserve western Santa Cruz tortoises.
They are expected to remain at the zoo for at least a year before being placed in different facilities next fall.
Western Santa Cruz tortoises are among the 13 living species of tortoise native to seven islands in the Galapagos chain in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador. The largest species of tortoise, they are thought to live as long as 200 years.
The zoo is soliciting donors to suggest names for one of the hatchlings, a male, subject to zoo approval. Others are named Zee, James, Colette, Soledad, Isabelle, Roger, Fausto, Caldero, Lee, Marigold Puddlefoot and Kelpy. The zoo uses nontoxic nail polish in different colors to distinguish them from each other.
The Philadelphia Zoo also has two giant Aldabra tortoises, Wilma and Betty. A 135-year-old Galapagos tortoise named Goliath became a father for the first time at Zoo Miami in June.
]]>86 years ago, MGM’s “The Wizard of Oz” premiered at the Leows Capitol Theatre in New York City.
Roughly 25 years ago, I received a wig, blue checkered dress and ruby slippers for Christmas so that I might look the part of Dorothy as I went around the house singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
I can’t remember a time when that film, and specifically Judy Garland’s performance, wasn’t a part of my life. It’s just always been there, like an extension of my own body. Every line, every sound, every image, is burned into my brain.
I guess that’s how it is for most of us. At this point, it’s hard to imagine a world that hadn’t yet seen those iconic ruby slippers, heard Margaret Hamilton’s witchy cackle or Dorothy’s famous line, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kanas anymore.”
Like any cultural touchstone, there was before “The Wizard of Oz” and after “The Wizard of Oz.”
The film is notable for its use of three-strip Technicolor, an intricate process that involved special cameras and incredibly hot studio lights, that produced those vibrant, and iconic visuals we all know so well, from Dorothy’s glittering, ruby red slippers to the brightness of the yellow brick road and the deep green of The Emerald City.
“The Wizard of Oz” was by no means the first film to use a version of the technicolor process. The Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation began developing a full-color process as early as 1929. It originally existed as a two color system, red and green, which was used in only one film in 1917.
However, “The Wizard of Oz,” is certainly one of the most popular and well known films to use technicolor and its success, along with that of “Gone With the Wind,” which was also released in 1939, went a long way in convincing Hollywood that it might be a viable filmmaking method.
I mean, who can forget the jaw-dropping moment when Dorothy first lands in Oz and opens the door to find a strange and colorful world so unlike the one she came from? If there was any defense for making the transition from black and white to color, especially color so visceral, that one moment was it.
“…The Wizard of Oz drew the most vivid contrast between two possible screen worlds, a grim monochromatic Depression-scape and what was called (the modifier was almost part of the trademark) Glorious Technicolor,” wrote Thomas Doherty in a recent article for The Hollywood Reporter.
Unfortunately, Technicolor was expensive and cumbersome and its heyday didn’t last long. By 1954, it was replaced by Eastmancolor, which was far more efficient and cost-effective.
As such, “The Wizard of Oz” stands as a testament to old Hollywood indulgence and glamour that was short lived and now, long gone.
But it isn’t just the visuals that make it so timeless. The film features some pretty incredible, cutting edge special effects that make it mesmerizing to watch nearly a century later. Glinda coming down in her cotton candy bubble, the horses in Oz changing colors, the twister, the feet of the The Wicked Witch of the East curling underneath Dorothy’s ruined farmhouse…it’s pure movie magic.
“The Wizard of Oz” showcases the absolute best of what filmmaking can achieve — not just of the time, but of any time.
And then, of course, there’s Judy Garland.
Before I even understood what acting was, she was my favorite performer. Even today, there is something so soothing about her voice, so familiar and safe. She had the kind of vocal prowess most singers can only dream of. Her powerful, brassy vibrato, the way she’d seamlessly transition between different dynamics, made her a once in a lifetime talent.
I don’t remember this, but my mother tells me that I used to watch “The Wizard of Oz” and get up to perform ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ along with Judy, while I cradled my stuffed Toto.
Although my memories of that time are fuzzy, I was only three for God’s sake, I do know that when I watch “The Wizard of Oz” now, at nearly 30 years old, it feels like coming home.
And as Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home.”
In Frame is a weekly arts and entertainment column focusing on everything from pop culture and new movie releases to the local arts and culture found right here in NEPA. News reporters Sam Zavada and Margaret Roarty contribute to this column.
]]>Coal to the Wapwallopen man charged with assaulting a Butler Township Police officer during a traffic stop Thursday. As part of an “aggressive driver” traffic enforcement effort, police stopped the man for operating a motorcycle without a registration plate. They say he started a fight, placed the officer in a headlock and attempted to grab his firearm before the officer regained control and detained him until assistance arrived. It may be an old lament here, but we repeat it in hopes it sinks in for some: Once the police have stopped you, just cooperate.
Diamonds to the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts for once again demonstrating its endless value to Wyoming Valley by booking the Grammy-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago for an Oct. 29 appearance. While a pretty big gig sure to draw a crowd, this is just one of many offerings for the coming months, and we urge you to visit the Kirby’s website, kirbycenter.org, to check out the variety of opportunities. Pick one, or a few, and set a date to enjoy the building’s art deco design, the company of people who share your taste in entertainment, and of course, the shows themselves.
Coal to those who make it necessary for the FBI to issue reminders that making hoax threats of violence at schools is a serious criminal offense. It doesn’t matter how threats are made or if they are intended as jokes, the act can disrupt student education, cost districts and responding law enforcement time and money, and draw officers away from other important work. Most importantly, students who engage in any type of threat can face state and federal criminal charges, suspension, expulsion, and potentially jail. As we’ve seen locally in the past, law enforcement and school officials, by necessity, take any threat seriously. “What may seem like a joke can quickly become a life-altering mistake,” Special Agent Wayne A. Jacobs said in a media release. “Think before you act.”
]]>After Bonnie Ostrowski Wallace of Wyoming, Pa., passed away in February 2022, her son Bobby sorted through her belongings, which included an extensive library of cookbooks.
“She was a cookbook nut,” Wallace said with a laugh. “She had hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks.”
In that collection he found a treasure — a notebook filled with family recipes written by hand in his mother’s “careful, curly cursive.” He decided to compile and publish them as “Bonnie’s Family Favorites Cookbook.”
Here were the entrees, side dishes and desserts Bonnie Wallace had whipped up for family and friends, when she wasn’t busy working as an IT professional.
Here were pieces of advice, such as “be sure to buy pieces (of chicken) with the bone in” because that’s where the chicken noodle stew would get most of its flavor. Or, in a Beef A Roni dish, “macaroni and small shells seem to work best at catching small pieces of sauce and meat.”
Here were the memories, too, such as a mention that Bonnie’s husband, Bob, whom she teasingly called “The Joy,” had Chili A La Joy ready when she came home, during the winter he was laid off. “Its spicy smell greeting me at the door, melting the stress of an icy, nerve-wracking commute home.”
Among the collection were recipes from friends, such as the Walnut Drops and Syrian Wedding Cookies.
Bonnie’s own mother, affectionately known as “Lulu,” had passed along to her such gems as the recipe for a Polish Potato Pie called Babka, as well as a Butternut Cherry Pound Cake that she’d first encountered at a bake sale at the former Marymount School in the Heights section of Wilkes-Barre.
Considering the dozens of recipes “a treasure of familial love in culinary form,” Bobby Wallace, who now lives in Montana, decided to honor his mother’s memory by publishing the collection “for our family and families around the world.”
“At first I thought it would be something for just my family,” he said during a telephone interview. “But these are really great recipes.”
While Bobby Wallace was an only child, he grew up close to his cousins, who no doubt have their own memories of Aunt Bonnie’s blueberry pies, “Never Fail Cake” and Punczes (doughnuts).
Among his local ties, he worked for the Times Leader as a sports correspondent in the 1990s, covering mostly high school and some college sports.
His mom had worked at the Bell Telephone in the late 1950s, and later for the Dana corporation in Mountain Top, followed by Owens-Illinois. “She was a fighter,” he said, explaining she bristled if anyone called her a computer programmer, because she was “a designer who hired computer programmers” during a time when not many women worked with computers.
But “the biggest job she ever did, from 2008 to 2013,” Wallace said, was to become a full-time caregiver for her husband before he died.
“I would come and visit and that would give my mother a chance to go out with her girlfriends or see a movie,” Bobby Wallace recalled. “I gotta tell you after 4 or 5 hours of being a full-time caregiver you realize just how hard it is.”
Working on the cookbook, which can be purchased through amazon.com, was a way to deal with his grief at losing his mother, Wallace said.
“It was cathartic. I don’t like to use the word ‘closure’ because you’re always gonna miss that person. But I shed a lot of tears of happiness, a lot of tears of sadness while typing the recipes in.”
]]>NEWPORT TWP. — You say you want a revolution? Local musician John Ferrato, best known as a member of Strawberry Jam, might have something in mind.
Specifically, Ferrato has started the “Wilkes-Barre ‘Support Local Music’” page on Facebook, which he hopes will serve as the launching pad for changes in Northeast Pennsylvania’s live music industry.
In the wake of a controversial and cancellation-ridden final week on the Rockin’ the River slate last month, Ferrato posted a message on his personal Facebook page that was addressed to Luzerne County. In the message, he proposed that local musicians be booked as headliners for Rockin’ the River rather than tribute bands.
“What really triggered [Support Local Music] was watching what happened with Rockin’ the River. That just really set me off,” Ferrato explained. “It’s not that I have something against tribute bands, but there are already facilities — the [Mohegan Pennsylvania] casino, you have the [F.M.] Kirby [Center for the Performing Arts], you have the [Mohegan] arena. A lot of places provide that entertainment, but to have it all the time for a community festival that you do three times a year. … I’ve always thought that there should be a homegrown festival, but we don’t do that.”
Traditionally, Rockin’ the River will schedule local acts as the openers before a nationally-known or tribute artist to a nationally-known artist takes the stage to headline. In previous years, this trend has been occasionally bucked when artists with local ties, such as the Badlees or Cabinet, have been the third headliners on the Rockin’ the River schedule.
As of Wednesday evening, Ferrato’s original post from July 24 has received 269 likes, 109 comments, and 57 shares on Facebook.
Ferrato said that smaller venues, in general, have been suffering since the COVID-19 pandemic, and that he plans to use the Support Local Music page to offer help to musicians and venues alike through the post-COVID live music scene.
Ferrato endorsed younger local musicians like Gracie Jane Sinclair, Tori V — who opened the second Rockin’ the River show this year — and Burn the Jukebox, and would like to see a greater variety of artists be represented at the venues that still do offer live music.
“We have a multi-cultural community,” Ferrato said. “Where’s the Latino music? Where is it? I don’t even know where it’s at. There’s so much that there could be, but we’re not getting it. It’s a narrow genre that I’m seeing over and over and over again.”
Ferrato admitted that venues equipped for live music are few and far between these days, but said that presentation is critical for restaurants and bars that wish to begin offering such performances.
Still, Ferrato’s goals with the Support Local Music page are clear and multi-pronged. He wants to see the group eventually bloom into a nonprofit organization, create a music festival based around local artists, and eventually reach 10,000 group members. And, in the future, Ferrato, 66, would like to hand off the Support Local Music mission off to someone younger.
Ultimately, the support for local music, and a potential festival promoting it, is a matter of economics.
“People that don’t necessarily go to restaurants and bars, they can come and see live music, local music. The money stays in the community. That’s what it’s all about for me,” said Ferrato.
Thus far, the response has been positive. Ferrato and others regularly post gig information and performance videos to the page, and he’s received no negative comments. As the page builds support — as of 9 p.m. on Wednesday, it sits at 287 members — Ferrato is determined to keep expanding the group’s vision and scope.
“Solutions,” Ferrato said, “are what it’s all about.”
]]>Diamonds to Shavertown native Lauren Chapple for landing a big gig: throwing a ceremonial first pitch July 21 for a Philadelphia Phillies-Boston Red Sox game. It’s been nearly a year since Chapple endured pulmonary thromboendarterectomy surgery at Temple University to remove blood clots from her lungs, as recounted in a story published last month. It’s a condition that had left the once-active soccer player mysteriously breathless. Now recovered and back to a full life while working in Philly, she got the first-pitch opportunity on “I Heart Phillies night,” which is presented by the Temple Heart and Vascular Institutes, with part of the proceeds going to that organization. Kudos to the Phillies and Temple for giving her the recognition, and best wishes to Chapple moving forward.
Coal to the person who brutally assaulted a 13-year-old boy who died at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton. State police have charged the boy’s adopted father, and calling the details of the criminal complaint horrific is inadequate. According to the paperwork, the child was whipped multiple times with an electrical cord and had a stick-like object rammed into his mouth. Responding to a call about the child being unresponsive in the basement, Butler Township police found blood splatter across the floors, counters and doors. Police later charged the mother with endangerment for failing to intervene or call 911 in a timely fashion, instead allegedly opting to instruct other children in the house to clean up the blood. More details likely will come out as the case unfolds, but it’s hard to imagine any event that would justify such an inhuman assault on a young child.
Diamonds to Wilkes-Barre City and Luzerne County Community College for launching a municipal workforce development partnership. The initiative reduces the cost of college classes for city employees through a 50% tuition discount — 25% reduced by the college, the other 25% covered by the city. First up: Fire Department members plan to enroll in continuing ed and fire safety training. Citing a national shortage of paramedics, Fire Chief Jay Delaney said the “partnership will help us build a pipeline of trained, skilled emergency personnel and allow us to better serve our community.” This sounds like a smart idea that, done properly, can be a boon for the city, workers and taxpayers. And if it works well we hope other local municipalities can make similar arrangements.
Coal to the Wilkes-Barre woman charged with felony animal cruelty after two emaciated dogs were found left behind when she switched apartments. According to the criminal complaint, a humane officer came to the apartment after a housing manager sought help for the two dogs. The officer found both dogs saturated in urine, covered in feces and emaciated. After taken into custody it was determined that one of the dogs had irreversible injuries, and was euthanized. If you can’t care for an animal under your protection, seek help before it’s too late.
]]>If you visit World War II Weekend in Berwick today through Sunday, you’ll likely see vintage Jeeps, military trucks, and perhaps a half track. But the guests of honor, as far as vehicles are concerned, will be four Stuart tanks on hand for the occasion.
The tanks are a small sample of the 15,226 that were manufactured at the American Car & Foundry in the heart of Berwick during the 1940s, helping the Allies win the war.
“We expect 4,000 spectators over the three days,” said Tom McLaughlin, secretary of the board of the Stuart Tank Memorial Association, which is sponsoring the free, family-friendly World War II Weekend at Test Track Park on South Eaton Street, Berwick. Hours are 3 to 5 p.m. July 18, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 19, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 20.
“We have 350 re-enactors registered for the event,” he said, “so at least 250 should show up.”
The event will feature mock battles around noon on Saturday and Sunday, and each morning, perhaps as early as 8:30 a.m., a convoy of tanks will start a drive through town.
The re-enactors, who will camp out, will represent not only United States soldiers but military from Russia, German, Australia and other countries, and there will be food vendors and vendors who sell historic military items. Members of the Young Marines youth organization from Lancaster County will be on hand to help with the event.
“It’s very educational,” McLaughlin said during a telephone interview.
Admission to the park is free, thanks to donors and sponsors. Admission also is free to a screening of the movie “The Devil’s Brigade,” set for 7 p.m. Friday, July 18 at The Berwick Theatre, 110 East Front St. The film stars William Holden and tells of a unit of United States and Canadian troops on a World War II mission in Italy.
Saturday evening’s entertainment includes a swing dance at the West Side Ballroom, 7588 Columbia Blvd., Berwick. Admission to the dance is free if you wear 1940s-style attire, McLaughlin said. Otherwise, it’s $5.
]]>Could you use a new-to-you purse? A bicycle? Toys? Tools? Holiday decorations?
If you looking for any of these items — or thousands more — you’ll likely find them at bargain prices at the flea markets that are popping up around the area in connection with annual bazaars.
The Times Leader recently visited the cafeteria and gymnasium of St. Nicholas - St. Mary School on South Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre, where dozens of volunteers have been diligently sorting donations for weeks, getting ready for a flea market that will coincide with the St. Nicholas - St. Mary parish bazaar, set for July 17, 18 and 19.
And it’s not just a matter of “let’s put the lamps over here” and “let’s put quilts on this table.”
Lamps and other electrical items are all tested to make sure they work, flea market chairperson Nancy Verespy Forbes said. And, volunteers have measured quilts and other bed linens so they can mark them as “king size” or “double” or whatever size bed they’ll match.
Here you’ll find items big and small, practical or purely decorative, still-in-the-package new or decades-old vintage.
“We have a cookie press that makes old-fashioned cookies,” Forbes said. “We have a ton of jewelry … crystal dishes … jigsaw puzzles … glassware, coffee mugs, backpacks, rugs, pillows …”
“Pat Baran is in charge of all the Christmas stuff,” Forbes said with a smile for a dedicated volunteer who admitted she enjoys organizing things.
While Pat Baran was working with colorful ornaments and statues of Santa Claus, her husband, Paul, was tending to a section of flea market space that was filled with keyboards and other electronic equipment.
“Anything with a cord and a plug, and he’s happy,” his wife said.
Paul Baran’s expertise about electronic equipment was especially useful when he suspected that the right buyer might be willing to pay more than typical flea market prices for an instrument amplifier that appeared to be from the 1950s or ’60s. He contacted a shopkeeper he knew and sold the amplifier before the flea market even started. “He was happy to get the amplifier,” Paul Baran said of the buyer, “and we were happy to get $150.”
“Everything we take in is profit,” Forbes said, noting that the items have all been donated.
The “giant flea market” at St. Nicholas - St. Mary bazaar will begin earlier than the bazaar itself on Thursday, July 17. Held in the lower level cafeteria and upper level gym of St. Nicholas - St. Mary School, next door to St. Nicholas Church, it will open at 1 p.m. that day and continue to 10 p.m. On Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19, flea market hours are 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
And on Sunday, July 20, after the 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Masses, customers will be able to revisit the flea market and, for $5, fill a box with items that still remain, Forbes said. You may bring your own box to fill, or use one from the flea market.
The rest of the bazaar activities will be held outdoors on the parish grounds of St. Nicholas Church, from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 5 p.m. (after the 4 p.m. Mass) to 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Attractions will include games, Bountiful Baskets, a 50-50 raffle drawing with a grand cash prize and 49 additional prizes, and live music. Refreshments include bratwurst, haluski, potato pancakes, Vietnamese egg rolls, piggies, Mexican and Caribbean treats, fried dough and more.
And if you’re looking for additional flea markets, check out the following:
Nativity of Our Lord Parish Picnic, where the bazaar hours are 5 to 10 p.m. July 11 and 5 to 11 p.m. July 12. The flea market is in the Holy Rosary School Auditorium, 127 Stephenson St., Duryea. Parking is available at Duryea VFW Post 1227, also on Stephenson Street, with a shuttle bus to the picnic entrance.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Summer Fest, 5 to 10 p.m. July 25 and July 26 at Lake Silkworth, State Route 29, Hunlock Creek. Everything is under cover, including the extensive flea market.
St. Al’s Bazaar, set for July 31, Aug. 1 and Aug. 2, on the grounds of St. Aloysius Church, Barney Street, Wilkes-Barre.
]]>We’ve been here before, and it was a bit hard to accept the same logic then.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Spokesperson Eli Cousin said Bresnahan “recently sold stock in Centene — ‘the largest Medicaid managed care organization in the nation’ — just days before voting to gut Medicaid. The stock has now fallen more than 40% since his sale.” It’s important to note Bresnahan hasn’t denied the trade and the vote happened in that order. Instead, he used the financial adviser defense. “I learn about (these trades) the same time the public does. … I did not make this trade, and I had no knowledge of it.”
He called the DCCC statement a “smear campaign … trying to attack me for doing what millions of hardworking Americans do, which is hiring a financial advisor to manage their investments.”
We could ask how many of you actively hired a financial advisor, ever, but in reality the majority of Americans own some stocks — 62% in 2025, according to an annual Gallup poll (gallup.com). But the less you make, the less likely you are to own stocks. The percentage of stock holders breaks down thus: 87% of households earning $100,000 or more, 84% of college graduates; 77% of married adults; 49% of unmarried adults, 42% of those with a high school education or less, and 28% in households earning less than $50,000.
For many people, their stocks are bought through mutual funds or retirement plans, not by the stock owner. And while such plans are usually professionally managed, it is a stretch to say those people “hired” their own “financial advisor.” For Bresnahan to compare his personal situation with “what millions of hardworking Americans do” is glib at best.
But as noted, we’ve been here before. In 2012, a Times Leader analysis showed than then-U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta — a Republican like Bresnahan — owned a wide array of stocks that could be and almost certainly were impacted by his votes in Congress. When asked about it, he gave the same defense. “My financial adviser has total discretion,” he said. “I’m not even notified until after the transaction.”
Bresnahan noted he is in the process of putting his investments into a blind trust, and touted his own push for the “Transparency in Representation through Uniform Stock Trading Ban (TRUST) Act as an effort to ban stock trading for members of Congress.
But in 2012, Congress had passed the “STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act, prohibiting members, their staff and employees from trading on inside information acquired through their jobs. So while Bresnahan’s insistence that he is pushing “to restore the integrity Americans expect and deserve from their government” may be sincere, this is hardly the House’s first attempt to assure voters that representatives don’t profit in the stock market from their own votes.
But let’s accept Bresnahan’s claims he knew nothing about the stock deals, is setting up a blind trust, and that the TRUST Act is a personal effort to curb abuse of the stock market by legislators. There is a simple step he could take to avoid even a hint of impropriety.
Tell his investment advisor to stop all trading until the blind trust is final.
]]>NESCOPECK TOWNSHIP — The Briggs Farm Blues Festival will return for its 28th year with a pre-party on Thursday night. That will kick off a weekend of blues music, which will be played by local, regional and national artists on the Main and Back Porch stages.
The process of organizing the festival begins soon after the preceding summer’s event ends. With only a handful of team members who handle most of the administrative duties that go into it, Briggs Farms has become known for its down-to-earth staff and environment.
“No one should be intimidated to come to Briggs Farm. This is a great festival if you’ve never experienced a music festival,” said Dena Briggs, daughter-in-law of festival founder Richard Briggs.
The farm from which the festival takes its name has been in the Briggs family since the 1760s. They plant hundreds of acres of corn throughout the year, but each summer, some of those acres are used for one of Luzerne County’s biggest entertainment events.
“If you looked out over the festival grounds and didn’t know there was a music festival there, you’d probably say, ‘Oh, there should be a music festival there,’” said Dena.
From the planning side, the most unique elements that make up each year of the Briggs Farm Blues Festival are the artists. Over the years, finding talent has become easier, according to Dena, but the roots of the festival remain in the Delta and Piedmont blues tradition.
That being said, many of the artists at the modern blues festival bring their own unique style to one of the United States’ most original, distinct genres.
“The blues is certainly a lot of things, and a lot of different people think of the blues in different ways, so our artists are kind of all over,” Dena explained. “They’re just such talented musicians, but that’s really the beating heart of the festival.”
The festival has remained relevant thanks, in part, to its embrace of younger and local musicians. Many of those artists will play on the Back Porch stage, which draws a nice crowd apart from the Main Stage.
“If you’re 18 years old and you don’t know what you think about the blues, you’re going to love it,” Dena said of the festival’s sounds.
Musicians familiar to the local community — such as Bret Alexander, Justin Mazer, and Clarence Spady — are on this year’s performance schedule.
Aside from the music, vendors and food options are key to creating the no-pressure environment that the festival is known for.
“People who come for a festival experience definitely need to buy some tie-dye,” Dena said with a laugh.
Dena added that there is a culture of kinship amongst those who visit Briggs Farm each July.
“A lot of people do come solo,” Dena said, “And they’re not worried about it because their friends that they haven’t met yet are here.”
Saturday’s headliner
The headlining act of this year’s festival is Victor Wainwright & the Train. It’s Wainwright’s fourth time performing at Briggs Farm, with the first time coming in 2018.
“As we ended the performance and came off stage, I felt a really great connection with everyone around me,” Wainwright said of that first performance in 2018. “There was a buzz. I was relatively unknown to the farm and family at that time, but they all made me feel just like home.”
Now, the festival feels like a homecoming to Wainwright, who said his fellow artists and the crowd have become like family over the years.
As for his music, Wainwright described it as “inviting, fun and electrifying.”
“[The music’s] roots are steeped deep in the blues while pushing every boundary we can find so that our sound is very original,” he said. “I lead the band with the piano, so you’ll hear a lot of influence from roots piano players like Dr. John, Pinetop Perkins, Chuck Leavell, Jerry Lee and so on.”
The six-piece ensemble that makes up the Train is set to close out the festival at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. They hope to create lasting memories for audience members and, in doing so, push the festival forward.
“No matter where we headline, it’s always a special privilege because we have the honor and responsibility to wrap up the fest in a way where everyone will want to come back next year,” Wainwright said. “It’s so important to keep these festivals going so we can continue to support each other.”
At Briggs Farm, it’s critical for every piece of the puzzle to be on point in order to ensure a successful show. It’s a collaborative experience, and Wainwright knows what part he plays.
“Without one of the pieces, it doesn’t work. We can’t go out and carry the blues torch if there’s not a place to play, or there’s not fans to play to,” said Wainwright. “So my job Saturday night will be to wrap it all up and bring everything to a peak before we say good night, and I’m very confident we’ll do just that.”
The full list of this year’s Briggs Farm Blues Festival performances includes:
Thursday, July 10
BRIGGS FARM BLUES PRE-PARTY
• 6 p.m. — Bret Alexander & Friends
• 7:30 p.m. — Guitar Zack
• 9 p.m. — Hayley Jane Band
Friday, July 11
THE BACK PORCH
• 12:30 p.m. — Mikey Junior Band
• 2:30 p.m. — The Uptown Music Collective
• 4:30 p.m. — Hubby Jenkins
• 6:30 p.m. — Justin Mazer & Friends
• 8 p.m. — Jamiah Rogers
MAIN STAGE
• 4 p.m. — Garry Burnside
• 5:30 p.m. — Stephen Hull Experience
• 7:30 p.m. — Nikki Hill
• 9:30 p.m. — Scott Pemberton O Theory
Saturday, July 12
THE BACK PORCH
• 12:30 p.m. — Garry Burnside
• 2:30 p.m. — Pat Harrington & Owen Eichensehr Duo
• 4:30 p.m. — New Moon Acoustic Blues
• 6:30 p.m. — Noe Socha
• 8 p.m. — Clarence Spady
MAIN STAGE
• 4 p.m. — Taylor Scott Band
• 5:30 p.m. — Lachy Doley
• 7:30 p.m. — Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds
• 9:30 p.m. — Victor Wainwright & the Train
]]>EXT JUNGLE NIGHT
An eyeball, big, yellowish, distinctly inhuman, stares raptly between wooden slats, part of a large crate. The eye darts from side to side quickly, alert as hell.
So begins David Koepp’s script to 1993’s “Jurassic Park.” Like much of Koepp’s writing, it’s crisply terse and intensely visual. It doesn’t tell the director (in this case Steven Spielberg ) where to put the camera, but it nearly does.
“I asked Steven before we started: What are the limitations about what I can write?” Koepp recalls. “CGI hadn’t really been invented yet. He said: ‘Only your imagination.’”
Yet in the 32 years since penning the adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel, Koepp has established himself as one of Hollywood’s top screenwriters not through the boundlessness of his imagination but by his expertise in limiting it. Koepp is the master of the “bottle” movie — films hemmed in by a single location or condensed timed frame. From David Fincher’s “Panic Room” (2002) to Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence” (2025), he excels at corralling stories into uncluttered, headlong movie narratives. Koepp can write anything — as long as there are parameters.
“The great film scholar and historian David Bordwell and I were talking about that concept once and he said, ‘Because the world is too big?’ I said, ‘That’s it, exactly,’” Koepp says. “The world is too big. If I can put the camera anywhere I want, if anybody on the entire planet can appear in this film, if it can last 130 years, how do I even begin? It makes me want to take a nap.
“So I’ve always looked for bottles in which to put the delicious wine.”
Reining in ‘Jurassic World’
By some measure, the world of “Jurassic World” got too big. In the last entry, 2022’s not particularly well received “Jurassic World: Dominion,” the dinosaurs had spread across the planet. “I don’t know where else to go with that,” Koepp says.
Koepp, a 62-year-old native of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, hadn’t written a “Jurassic” movie since the second one, 1997’s “The Lost World.” Back then, Brian De Palma, whom Koepp worked with on “Carlito’s Way” and “Mission: Impossible,” took to calling him “dinosaur boy.” Koepp soon after moved onto other challenges. But when Spielberg called him up a few years ago and asked, “Do you have one more in you?” Koepp had one request: “Can we start over?”
“Jurassic World Rebirth,” which opens in theaters July 2, is a fresh start for one of Hollywood’s biggest multi-billion-dollar franchises. It’s a new cast of characters (Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey co-star), a new director (Gareth Edwards) and a new storyline. But just as they were 32 years ago, the dinosaurs are again Koepp’s to play with.
“The first page reassured me,” says Edwards. “It said: ‘Written by David Koepp.’”
For many moviegoers, that opening credit has been a signal that what follows is likely to be smartly scripted, brightly paced and neatly situated. His script to Ron Howard’s 1994 news drama “The Paper” took place over 24 hours. “Secret Window” (2004) was set in an upstate New York cabin. Even bigger scale films like “War of the Worlds” favor the fate of one family over global calamity.
“I hear those ideas and I get excited. OK, now I’m constrained,” says Koepp. “A structural or aesthetic constraint is like the Hayes Code. They had to come up with many other interesting ways to imply those people had sex, and that made for some really interesting storytelling.”
The two Stevens
Koepp’s bottles can fit either summer spectacles or low-budget indies. “Jurassic World Rebirth” is the third film penned by Koepp just this year, following a nifty pair of thrillers with Steven Soderbergh in “Presence” and “Black Bag.”
“Presence,” like “Panic Room,” stays within a family home, and it’s seen entirely from the perspective of a ghost. “Black Bag” deliciously combines marital drama with spy movie, organized around a dinner party and a polygraph test. Those films completed a zippy trilogy with Soderbergh, beginning with 2022’s blistering pandemic-set “Kimi.”
Much of Koepp’s career, particularly recently, run through the two Stevens: Soderbergh and Spielberg.
“What they have in common is they both would have absolutely killed it in the 1940s,” Koepp says. “In the studio system in the 1940s, if Jack Warner said ‘I’m putting you on the Wally Beery wrestling picture.’ Either one of them would have said, ‘Great, here’s what I’m going to do.’ They both share that sensibility of: How do we get this done?”
Spielberg and Koepp recently wrapped production on Spielberg’s untitled new science fiction film, said to be especially meaningful to Spielberg. He gave a 50-page treatment to Koepp to turn into a script.
“It’s even more focused than I’ve ever seen him on a movie,” says Koepp. “There would be times — we’d be in different time zones – I’d wake up and there were 35 texts, and this went on for about a year. He’s as locked in on that movie as I’ve ever seen him, and he’s a guy who locks in.”
‘Your own ChatGPT’
For “Jurassic World Rebirth,” Koepp wanted to reorder the franchise. Inspired by Chuck Jones’ “commandments” for the Road Runner cartoons (the Road Runner only says “meep meep”; all products are from the ACME Corporation, etc.), Koepp put down nine governing principles for the “Jurassic” franchise. They included things like “humor is oxygen” and that the dinosaurs are animals, not monsters.
A key to “Rebirth” was geographically herding the dinosaurs. In the new movie, they’ve clustered around the equator, drawn to the tropical environment. Like “Jurassic Park,” the action takes place primarily on an island.
Going into the project, Edwards was warned about his screenwriter’s convictions.
“At the end of my meeting with Spielberg, he just smiled and said, “That’s great. If you think we were difficult, wait until you meet David Koepp,’” says Edwards, laughing.
But Edwards and Koepp quickly bonded over similar tastes in movies, like the original “King Kong,” a poster of which hangs in Koepp’s office. On set, Edwards would sometimes find the need for 30 seconds of new dialogue.
“Within like a minute, I’d get this perfectly written 30 second interaction that was on theme, funny, had a reversal in it — perfect,” says Edwards. “It was like having your own ChatGPT but actually really good at writing.”
‘Everyone’s got a note’
In the summer, especially, it’s common to see a long list of names under the screenplay. Blockbuster-making is, increasingly, done by committee. The stakes are too high, the thinking goes, to leave it to one writer. But “Jurassic World Rebirth” bears just Koepp’s credit.
“There’s an old saying: ‘No one of us is as dumb as all of us,’” Koepp says. “When you have eight or 10 people who have significant input into the script, the odds are stacked enormously against you. You’re trying to please a lot of different people, and it often doesn’t go well.”
The only time that worked, in Koepp’s experience, was Sam Raimi’s 2002 “Spider-Man.” “I was also hired and fired three times on that movie,” he says, “so maybe they knew what they were doing.”
Koepp, though, prefers to — after research and outlining — let a movie topple out of his mind as rapidly as possible. “I like to gun it out and clean up the mess later,” he says.
But the string of “Presence,” “Black Bag” and “Jurassic World Rebirth” may have tested even Koepp’s prodigious output. The intense period of writing, which fell before, during (“Black Bag” was written on spec during the strike, not for hire, without being shopped) and after the writers strike, he says, meant five months without a day off. “I might have broke something,” he says, shaking his head.
Still, the three films also show a veteran screenwriter working in high gear, judiciously meting out details and keeping dinosaurs, ghosts and spies hurtling forward. Anything like a perfect script — for Koepp, that’s “Rosemary’s Baby” or “Jaws” — remains elusive. But even when you come close, there are always critics.
“After the first ‘Jurassic’ movie, a fifth-grade class all wrote letters to me, which was very nice,” Koepp recalls. “Then they wrote, ‘PS, when you do the next one, don’t have it take so long to get to the island.’ Everyone’s got a note!’”
]]>The Hispanic Heritage Foundation named Contreras as a recipient of the 2025 Hispanic Heritage Award for journalism on Thursday, one of several honors bestowed on notable public figures for their accomplishments and cultural contributions to the Latino communities.
Past awardees at the Hispanic Heritage Awards include Bad Bunny, America Ferrera, Becky G, J Balvin and others; Contreras is one of the few journalists to receive the esteemed honor, one he says is hard for him to accept.
“We learn early on that [journalists] are not supposed to be the story,” explains Contreras in a phone call with The Times. “That’s the largest stumbling block as to why I’m having a difficult time accepting this accolade.”
Known among friends and colleagues as “Tío Felix,” a familial term of endearment, Contreras has been a dedicated reporter for close to 50 years. Born and raised in Sacramento, he began his journalistic career as a TV news photographer for the NBC affiliate station in Fresno until 1998, later transitioning to NBC News in Miami.
“My point has always been to tell our Latino stories through the news, good or bad,” he says.
Contreras began working for NPR in 2001 as a producer and reporter for the news arts desk. In 2010, he co-created the innovative “Alt.Latino” radio program and podcast alongside NPR’s current immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd. It was a way to fill the dearth of coverage of alternative Latino music — Spanish-language stations gave little airtime to alternative rock groups such as Los Fabulosos Cadillacs or Café Tacvba, says Contreras. Their first guest on the show was a young, then-burgeoning artist from Colombia named Juanes, who appeared just after releasing his debut album, “Fíjate Bien.”
At first, it was an uphill battle to get artists to recognize the podcast’s cultural significance. “ We had to beg people to send us their CDs,” Contreras admits.
Now in its 15th year, “Alt.Latino” has become a go-to hub for Latin music enthusiasts looking to learn more on the rise of musica mexicana, the rumblings of Latin jazz, the transformation of Latin rock and more.
“Independent artists, alternative artists, even some pop artists now consider ‘Alt.Latino’ and NPR as a viable source to get their artist seen or heard,” Contreras says.
To this day, Contreras continues in his role as co-host of “Alt.Latino,” now alongside Tiny Desk producer Anamaria Sayre, who says she cried when she heard Contreras was being recognized.
“ Felix created space for us in the music media landscape in where there wasn’t previously,” says Sayre, who has been working with Contreras since 2023. “He did it with no one telling him that what he was doing was valuable.”
The 38th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards will take place on Sept. 4 at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C.
]]>NEW YORK — Their reunion? It’s smooth like butter. The K-pop septet BTS will return in spring 2026 with a new album and world tour.
Members Jin, RM, V, Jimin, J-Hope, Jung Kook and Suga made the announcement Tuesday during a livestream on Weverse, an online fan platform owned by BTS management company Hybe. It was the first time all seven members have broadcast live together since September 2022.
“We’ll be releasing a new BTS album in the spring of next year. Starting in July, all seven of us will begin working closely together on new music,” the band said in a statement. “Since it will be a group album, it will reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas. We’re approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started.”
According to a press release, the band will be in the United States this month to begin working on new music.
The 2026 album will mark their first since 2022’s anthology, “Proof,” their 2021 Japanese compilation album “BTS, the Best,” and their last studio album, “Be,” released in 2020.
They also announced a world tour, their first in nearly four years. The news arrives a few weeks after BTS superstars RM, V, Jimin and Jung Kook were discharged from South Korea’s military after fulfilling their mandatory service.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea. Six of the group’s seven members served in the army, while Suga, the last to return, fulfilled his duty as a social service agent, an alternative to military service.
Jin, the oldest BTS member, was discharged in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged in October.
South Korea’s law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige. K-pop stars and other entertainers aren’t subject to such privileges. However, in 2020, BTS postponed their service after South Korea’s National Assembly revised its Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to delay their enlistment until age 30.
]]>The Dietrich Theater invites film lovers to immerse themselves in a cinematic celebration like no other with Summer Fest 2025, running from Friday, July 11 through Thursday, July 31. Featuring 18 carefully curated films in 21 days, the festival showcases the best of independent, foreign, documentary, and art house cinema for $8.50 per ticket. Whether it’s sweltering summer sun or an unexpected downpour, the Dietrich Theater has you covered, literally, with air conditioning, and a movie lineup worth escaping into.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Peoples Security Bank & Trust, this year’s Summer Fest will once again transform the Dietrich Theater into a hub of storytelling, reflection, and community connection. Dietrich Theater Film Booker Ronnie Harvey shares, “This year’s slate of films for Summerfest feels more intimate than ever before. Films about the dynamics of family, friendships and the inescapable need for connection. Films about culture clashes, changing political landscapes and the arts, from music, to literature and architecture help shape our worldview and impact us in ways we can’t imagine. I’m so excited to share these extraordinary films with our audiences.”
With themes ranging from personal journeys to global shifts, the Summer Fest 2025 lineup offers something for every filmgoer, whether seeking thought-provoking narratives or visually stunning artistry.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into the films you saw during Summer Fest 2025, or if there were moments that left you scratching your head, you can join the Dietrich Theater for a Post-Festival Film Discussion at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1. This free event is a chance to share your thoughts, ask questions, and explore different perspectives with fellow moviegoers. No need to register, just show up. The conversation will be guided by Ronnie Harvey.
The following are synopses and showtimes of the 18 films featured in the Dietrich’s Summerfest:
Bad Shabbos
Show times:
July 14 at 2:30 p.m.
July 20 at noon
July 28 at 7 p.m.
Rated: not rated
Runtime: 84 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Daniel Robbins
Starring: Milana Vayntrub, Kyra Sedgwick, Ashley Zukerman
Winner of the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival and starring Kyra Sedgwick, Bad Shabbos follows newly engaged couple David and Meg who are hosting a traditional Shabbat dinner to introduce their families for the first time. Things quickly spiral when an accidental death derails the evening entirely. With Meg’s devoutly Catholic parents due any moment to meet David’s very Jewish family, soon Shabbat becomes a comedy of biblical proportions.
Bonjour Tristesse
Show times:
July 15 at 7 p.m.
July 22 at 4:30 p.m.
July 26 at 4:30 p.m.
July 28 at 2:15 p.m.
Rated: R
Rated: 110 minutes
Language: in English, French with subtitles
Directed by: Durga Chew-Bose
Starring: Chloë Sevigny, Lily McInerny, Claes Bang
At the height of summer, 18-year-old Cécile is languishing by the French seaside with her handsome father, and his girlfriend when the arrival of her late mother’s friend Anne changes everything. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of their surroundings, Cécile’s world is threatened and, desperate to regain control, she sets in motion a plan to drive Anne away with tragic consequences. Bonjour Tristesse is an unforgettable coming-of-age adaptation that captures the complexity of relationships between women and how they wield influence over one another’s fates.
Caught by the Tides
Show times:
July 14 at 7 p.m.
July 19 at 2:15 p.m.
July 23 at 4:30 p.m.
Rated: not rated
Runtime: 111 minutes
Language: in Mandarin, Chinese with subtitles
Directed by: Jia Zhang-ke
Starring: Tao Zhao, Zhubin Li, You Zhou
Caught by the Tides is an experimental romantic drama 22 years in the making. An enduring but fragile love story shared by Qiao Qiao and Guao Bin, set in China, from the early 2000s to the present day. One day, a restless Guao Bin leaves without any notice to try his luck in another province. Qiao Qiao decides to go looking for him. What follows is an intimate epic that captures the melancholy of the passage of time.
Cheech and Chong’s Last Movie
Show times:
July 12 at 9:30 p.m.
July 18 at 4:30 p.m.
July 26 at 9:15 p.m.
Rated: R
Runtime: 120 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: David Bushell
Cheech and Chong’s Last Movie explores the 5-decade career of the legendary duo Cheech and Chong. Performing stand-up, making records, and starring in hit films, Cheech and Chong’s legacy has been cemented in pop culture history. While on a road trip to a place called “The Joint”, Cheech & Chong recall their lives, from childhood to joining forces in the 1960s up until their breakup in the 1980s.
Friendship
Show times:
July 11 at 9:30 p.m.
July 15 at 2:30 p.m.
July 17 at noon
July 21 at 7 p.m.
July 24 at 4:30 p.m.
July 27 at 7 p.m.
July 31 at 4:30 p.m.
Rated: R
Runtime: 100 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Andrew DeYoung
Starring: Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara
Starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd, Friendship follows suburban dad Craig who falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor, as Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend threaten to ruin both of their lives. Tim Robinson expands his exquisitely-cringe comedy style to feature-length with seamless results in Friendship, a toxic bromance that’ll make audiences laugh and wince in equal measure.
Holy Cow
Show times:
July 12 at noon
July 19 at 7 p.m.
July 24 at 2:30 p.m.
July 27 at 2:15 p.m.
July 30 at 7 p.m.
Rated: not rated
Runtime: 92 minutes
Language: in French with subtitles
Directed by: Louise Courvoisier
Starring: Clément Faveau, Maïwene Barthelemy, Luna Garret
After the tragic death of his father, 18-year-old Totone is thrust into the unexpected and very adult role of looking after his younger sister and their failing family farm in France. He assumes even more responsibility when he enters a cash competition for the best cheese made in the western part of the French Alps. Holy Cow is a look at the hardscrabble life of French agriculture and is simultaneously a moving ode to the love of cheese.
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Show times:
July 12 at 4:15 p.m.
July 16 at 7 p.m.
July 19 at noon
July 25 at 2:15 p.m.
July 28 at noon
July 30 at 4:30 p.m.
Rated: R
Runtime: 98 minutes
Language: in French with subtitles, English
Directed by: Laura Piani
Starring: Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson
Agathe, hopelessly clumsy yet charming and full of contradictions, finds herself in desperate singlehood. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer. Invited to the Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she must confront her insecurities to finally fulfill her ambition of becoming a novelist and put an end to wasting her sentimental life.
The Life of Chuck
Show times:
July 15 at noon
July 21 at noon
July 23 at noon
July 25 at 9:15 p.m.
July 29 at 2:15 p.m.
Rated: R
Runtime: 110 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jacob Tremblay
Based on a novella from Stephen King and starring Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jacob Tremblay, The Life of Chuck is a life-affirming, genre-bending story about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz. Told in reverse starting from his death to his early childhood, The Life of Chuck is a moving biography about a simple man with a not so simple life.
Lilly
Show times:
July 14 at 4:30 p.m.
July 18 at noon
July 22 at 2:30 p.m.
July 26 at 7 p.m.
July 29 at noon
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 93 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Rachel Feldman
Starring: Patricia Clarkson, Josh McDermitt, Thomas Sadoski
Starring Patricia Clarkson and based on the historic Supreme Court Case, Lilly follows hard-working Alabama factory supervisor Lilly Ledbetter, who discovers that for 20 years she’s been earning only half of what men with the same job are paid for no other reason than because she is a woman. What follows is her long-fought journey for justice that takes her all the way to the Supreme Court.
Marcella
Show times:
July 13 at 2:15 p.m.
July 17 at 7 p.m.
July 23 at 2:30 p.m.
July 27 at 4:30 p.m.
July 31 at 2:15 p.m.
Rated: not rated
Runtime: 97 minutes
Language: in English, Italian with subtitles
Directed by: Peter Miller
Marcella Hazan didn’t just teach Italian cooking, she changed the way America eats. Fearless and passionate, she introduced authentic recipes to millions. Julia Child called Marcella “my mentor in all things Italian.” Featuring famous chefs from around the world, Marcella is an intimate portrait that reveals the bold woman who forever shaped home kitchens.
Materialists
Show times:
July 11 at 7 p.m.
July 14 at noon
July 17 at 2:15 p.m.
July 20 at 4:30 p.m.
July 23 at 7 p.m.
July 26 at 2:15 p.m.
July 31 at 7 p.m.
Rated: R
Runtime: 116 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Celine Song
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans
Written and Directed by Academy Award nominated Celine Song and starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, Materialists follows a young, ambitious New York City matchmaker who finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.
A Nice Indian Boy
Show times:
July 12 at 2:15 p.m.
July 15 at 4:30 p.m.
July 20 at 2:30 p.m.
July 22 at 7 p.m.
July 29 at 4:30 p.m.
Rated: not rated
Runtime: 96 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Roshan Sethi
Starring: Karan Soni, Jonathan Groff, Sunita Mani
A Nice Indian Boy follows Naveen, a soft-spoken doctor with a boisterous family who outwardly accept his sexuality but have never had to confront it head on. When Naveen meets Jay and falls in love, he must face reality and bring his fiancé home to meet his traditional Indian family. They all now must contend with accepting his white-orphan-artist boyfriend and help them plan the Indian wedding of their dreams.
On Swift Horses
Show times:
July 13 at 4:30 p.m.
July 18 at 9:30 p.m.
July 20 at 7 p.m.
July 24 at noon
July 30 at noon
Rated: R
Runtime: 117 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Daniel Minahan
Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter
Starring Jacob Elordi, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Will Poulter, On Swift Horses follows Muriel and her husband Lee who are beginning a bright new life in California. Their newfound stability is upended by the arrival of Lee’s charismatic brother, a wayward gambler with a secret past. A dangerous love triangle quickly forms, leaving everyone questioning their past and their future. Muriel’s longing for something more propels her into a secret life of her own, gambling on racehorses and exploring a love she never dreamed possible.
The Phoenician Scheme
Show times:
July 12 at 7 p.m.
July 17 at 4:30 p.m.
July 19 at 9:15 p.m.
July 25 at 4:30 p.m.
July 31 at noon
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 101 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Michael Cera, Willem Dafoe
Directed by Wes Anderson and featuring an all-star ensemble cast, The Phoenician Scheme follows wealthy businessman Zsa-Zsa Korda who appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.
The Trouble with Jessica
Show times:
July 13 at 7 p.m.
July 18 at 2:30 p.m.
July 22 at noon
July 26 at noon
Rated: not rated
Runtime: 89 minutes
Language: in English
Directed by: Matt Winn
Starring: Alan Tudyk, Shirley Henderson, Rufus Sewell
The Trouble with Jessica follows a couple facing serious financial trouble who finally find a buyer for their stylish London home. At their final dinner party, they are thrown into an outrageous and darkly comic situation with the shocking behavior of an uninvited guest. Faced with the moral dilemma of their lives — and dragging their best friends with them — they make a series of choices that could be either their salvation or their destruction.
The Wedding Banquet
Show times:
July 13 at noon
July 16 at 4:30 p.m.
July 21 at 2:15 p.m.
July 25 at 7 p.m.
July 28 at 4:30 p.m.
Rated: R
Runtime: 103 minutes
Language: in English, Korean with subtitles
Directed by: Andrew Ahn
Starring: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran
From Director Andrew Ahn and starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran, The Wedding Banquet is a joyful comedy of errors about a chosen family navigating cultural identity, queerness, and family expectations. Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend and running out of time, Min makes a proposal: a green-card marriage with their friend Angela in exchange for her partner’s expensive IVF. Elopement plans are upended when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an extravagant Korean wedding banquet.
Buena Vista Social Club
Show times:
July 16 at noon
July 21 at 4:30 p.m.
July 24 at 7 p.m.
July 27 at noon
July 30 at 2:30 p.m.
Rated: G
Runtime: 105 minutes
Language: in English, Spanish with subtitles
Directed by: Wim Wenders
Inspiration for the hit Broadway Musical of the same name, Buena Vista Social Club documents renowned guitarist Ry Cooder and his son, as they travel to Cuba and assemble a group of the country’s finest musicians to record an album. Among the artists included in the project are singer Ibrahim Ferrer and pianist Rubén González, who are both interviewed and featured in studio footage. Eventually the ensemble travels to the United States to perform in front of rapt audiences.
St. Peter’s and the Papal Basilicas of Rome
Show times:
July 16 at 2:30 p.m.
July 19 at 4:30 p.m.
July 25 at noon
July 29 at 7 p.m.
Rated: not rated
Runtime: 90 minutes
Language: in Italian with subtitles
Directed by: Luca Viotto
St. Peter’s and the Papal Basilicas of Rome takes you on a journey through the four Papal Basilicas in Rome and their treasures: St. Peter’s (one of the 25 destinations most visited by travelers from all over the world), St. John in the Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. Four majestic buildings – each with a precious papal altar, each a treasure trove of timeless works of art and a destination for millions of travelers and pilgrims over the centuries.
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