Hospitality

When construction on Los Angeles’ Wilshire Grand Hotel is completed, it will stand as the West Coast’s largest building. But, construction was stopped today when tragedy struck. An LA Times staff photographer, Mel Macon, happened to already be on assignment at the scene when a construction worker fell fifty-three stories to his death: At about noon, Melcon took a construction hoist from the 71st floor down to the first floor of the hotel, which will be the West Coast’s tallest building when it is completed.

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer unveiled a new tax on sugary drinks as part of the 2016 budget. George Osborne said drinks with more than five grams of sugar per 100 milliliters will be taxed saying that sugary drinks serve as “one of the biggest contributors to childhood obesity” Drinks will fall into two bands, one for total sugar content above 5g per 100ml, and a second, higher band for the most sugary drinks with more than 8g per 100ml. The tax which is to be imposed on the makers of sugary soft drinks, will come into force in 2018.

Doctor Donald Stephens, a 65-year-old from Stratford, Prince Edward Island was found dead following an extensive two day search. He was a marathon runner, previously fit and healthy who frequently ran the trails in the Bonshaw Hills According to CBC news: The cause and time of Stephens’ death are unknown and will be have to be determined by autopsy. Though the police say they are not treating the death as suspicious, with so many mysterious doctor deaths of late, its hard not to be suspicious.

Scientists have discovered a giant 420m deep sinkhole in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The rare sinkhole contains a habitat for many species of wildlife and has its own waterfalls and lakes. International Business Times reports: The giant 420m deep sinkhole was discovered on an eight day expedition, which began on 26 February 2016. This cave stretches 16.5km long and inside there were waterfalls, lakes, rivers and a broad range of stalagmites. Usually, these dolines are around 250m deep. It is rare to find one of this size in China.

Cinghiale girls in Norcia, in winter fashion (Photo by Rod Dreher)

Oh dear:

Fences are rising. There is talk of a brutal and destructive insurgency, invasions and a slaughter that could include hundreds of thousands in the years ahead.