Cunard is known for corralling of-the-moment talent for its onboard programs. Style icon Iris Apfel once joined a sailing in honor of New York Fashion Week. Director Wes Anderson once helmed a transatlantic crossing that also featured a mini festival of his films. Now veteran “Star Trek” actor, author and LGBTQ activist George Takei will be signing books and speaking aboard a Caribbean cruise over Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Takei, 82, will give two presentations on the ship: one about his childhood as an interned Japanese American during World War II and one about his time in Hollywood with celebrity friends such as Tom Hanks, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, Brad Pitt and “Star Trek” cast mate Leonard Nimoy, among others. Takei’s books include his autobiography, called “To the Stars,” and a graphic memoir published this year, “They Called Us Enemy.”
“Some know me as Mr. Sulu [on “Star Trek”], but I hope all know me as a believer in, and a fighter for, the equality & dignity of all human beings,” Takei’s Facebook page says.
The cruise from Dec. 22 to Jan. 3 aboard the Queen Mary 2 travels from New York City to the islands of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Roseau in Dominica, Bridgetown on Barbados, Basseterre on St. Kitts, Philipsburg on St. Maarten and back to New York. Prices start at $2,589 per person, excluding tax and port fees, for a cabin with an ocean view (inside cabins are sold out).
Takei played Hikaru Sulu in the 1966 “Star Trek” TV series and the first six feature films that followed. These days he’s known for being a community activist and reminding people of the time during World War II when his family and 120,000 other Japanese Americans wound up in internment camps. The actor continues to appear on TV shows.
Info: Caribbean Celebration cruise with George Takei
Before it burned to the ground during the 2017 wildfires, the tasting room and headquarters for the Signorello Estate winery in Napa was an ivy-covered, two-story edifice on a hillside, overlooking an expanse of oak trees and vineyards.
Although a new tasting room and adjacent business offices have yet to be built, the winery has continued to grow grapes, make wine in an off-site facility and host wine tastings under nearby tents and in a mobile facility.
“The silver lining is we lost some buildings but we didn’t lose any vines,” said Ray Signorello Jr., proprietor of Signorello Estate. “The grapes and winemaking has been largely uninterrupted.”
But like many of his fellow winemakers, shopkeepers and restaurateurs who survived the 2017 wildfires in Napa and Sonoma counties, Signorello struggles to get the word out that one of the world’s premier winemaking regions remains open for business and eager to host visitors.
That effort has been hampered lately by a wildfire that broke out in northern Sonoma County last week and by the decision by Pacific Gas & Electric to shut off power in the region intermittently during high-wind days to help prevent another fire disaster.
The stakes are high.
In both Napa and Sonoma counties, tourism ranks among the top industries, with more than 40,000 combined jobs directly dependent on visitors. Spending by tourists generated more than $4 billion to the economies of the two counties last year, with most of the money spent on lodging.
In Napa County, tourism ranks second only to the wine industry as a top employer.
The challenge, local tourism leaders say, has been crafting a promotional message that encourages visitors to return without reminding them about the current fire threat or the 2017 conflagration that killed at least 43 people, destroyed about 8,400 buildings and charred more than 245,000 acres.
“We have been trying to showcase what a beautiful spot this is,” said Linsey Gallagher, chief executive of Visit Napa Valley, the tourism organization for Napa County.
The 2017 fires made headlines and generated dramatic television footage across the country, but fewer than 20 of the 900 or so wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties suffered significant damage. Most restaurants, shops and hotels also survived unscathed and many of those that were damaged or destroyed have been rebuilt.
The latest visitation numbers and hotel occupancy rates suggest that some areas of the wine region have rebounded from the disaster, while others continue to suffer.
Napa County welcomed 3.8 million visitors in 2018, an 8.9% increase compared with 2016, while visitor spending rose 15.9% to $2.2 billion, according to an economic impact study released in May. Gallagher said her organization has not collected economic data for 2019 but anecdotal evidence suggests the business climate remains strong.
“That tells us that people are staying longer and spending more,” she said.
In neighboring Sonoma County, the tourism industry has suffered. Hotel occupancy rates in the county are about 4% below the levels of 2018 and retail sales figures have dropped about 5% in the same period, said Claudia Vecchio, chief executive of the Sonoma County Tourism agency.
“I believe we are still impacted by those fires,” she said.
As a result, Sonoma has had to rely on a more direct message.
Before the 2017 fires, Sonoma County promoted the natural beauty, food and relaxed atmosphere of the region, with the campaign tag line “Life opens up.” Now, the region is turning to less-subtle appeals, with promotions that list visitation packages, she said.
The organization is conducting a survey of potential visitors throughout the state to gauge what type of new marketing campaign Sonoma County should launch in the coming months.
“That will be telling, for sure,” she said.
Crisis management experts suggest local tourism leaders in the wine country should consider embracing the 2017 fire disaster as a reason for tourists to visit.
Dan Hill, chief executive of Hill Impact, a crisis management firm in Washington, D.C., said the region could try to appeal to the charitable nature of tourists. He noted that was a primary reason why Puerto Rico has enjoyed an uptick in tourism in the two years after Hurricane Maria struck the island.
“People will go to that region because it has been devastated,” he said. “I can see a fraction of the public going specifically to help them recover.”
Napa County has no plans to try such a campaign, Gallagher said.
“That is not the direction we would be heading in,” she said. “Consumers need to move on from that and feel the safety of the destination.”
Winery owners and restaurateurs in both counties say they are sticking to advertising and social media campaigns that promote the positive elements of the region without hearkening to images of the fire.
The Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Gardens in Santa Rosa, which had lost no buildings or vineyards in the fire, has been promoting its “farm-to-table” dinner offering, plus a new boccie ball court and picnic areas.
Kristoffer Miller, the tasting room manager at Kendall-Jackson, acknowledges that sending out a positive message has been difficult, especially with PG&E shutting off power during windy days in hopes of preventing another wildfire.
“It does remind people of the fire and it makes people scared, and that is impactful to the business,” he said.
In Santa Rosa, Willi’s Wine Bar reopened in May in a new site after the previous location burned during the 2017 fire. Business has rebounded and about 70% of the previous staff has returned, said Terri Stark, who along with her husband, Mark, owns six restaurants in Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, both in Sonoma County.
The message to visitors and locals, Stark said, is “we are back and picking up where we left off.”
But she conceded that the power outages and the latest fires are making it difficult to stick with a positive message. “For me, moving on is the best coping mechanism,” Stark said.
At the Cardinale Winery in Oakville, visitation numbers have reached pre-fire levels, said Ross Anderson, the winery’s estate director. None of the vineyards were damaged in the 2017 fire, he said, but about a quarter of the grapes were lost because workers couldn’t get access to some of the vineyards.
Anderson said he is troubled that people still ask him about the 2017 fire, adding that he plans to focus on promoting his wines, not on past disasters.
More fire coverage
At Signorello Estate, the fire that burned the headquarters and tasting facility miraculously spared the vineyards and the fermentation tanks.
Before the building was destroyed, it hosted wine tasting events and five-course lunches, whipped up by an in-house chef.
For Signorello, it is difficult to send a positive message to wine lovers when the winery can no longer host large groups or offer the same services as before.
“We used to host people on our property and had a chef and very nice hospitality experience on the property,” he said. “We lost the ability to have that.”
A timeline for rebuilding the destroyed facility is still uncertain, said Signorello, because of a backlog of rebuilding projects for construction contractors. But, he added, his workers were able to harvest nearly all the grapes in 2017 and the wines that resulted from that harvest are exceptional.
Actor Ralph Garman has listed his Studio City house for sale at $2.595 million.
The Spanish home, built in 2007, has the requisite red-tile roof, arched doorways and wrought ironwork associated with the style. A two-story entry, a formal living room, a formal dining room and an eat-in kitchen with a butler’s pantry, a walk-in pantry, and a center island occupy the ground level. The family room opens to the backyard.
The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
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The two-story house in Studio City has a tile roof, arched front door and wrought ironwork in keeping with its Spanish style.
(Redfin.com)
One bedroom suite with a separate entrance sits on the first floor, while there are four upstairs suites, including a master bedroom with a covered patio and a walk-in closet. Wood floors, beamed ceilings and three fireplaces are among details within the nearly 4,300 square feet of living space.
Outside, there’s a swimming pool with an elevated spa.
Garman, 54, starred as the host of Spike’s faux reality series “The Joe Schmo Show.” The comedian, radio host and podcaster has done voice work for “Family Guy,” “Robot Chicken” and “American Dad!”
Caroline Berkman Lewis of Douglas Elliman is the listing agent.
The property previously sold in 2008 for $1.865 million, public records show.
Through Oct. 27 “Carved,” Descanso Gardens’ new nod to Halloween, features more than 1,000 professionally carved, glowing pumpkins along a one-mile walk through the garden’s Camellia Forest and Oak Grove. The event is designed to be family friendly, with special jack-o’-lanterns — some 100-pounds-plus — carved to look like superheroes and famous movie monsters. The event also includes pumpkin carving demonstrations and seasonal snacks. Tickets include general admission to the gardens; $25 for members, $30 for nonmembers. descansogardens.org
Oct. 26 14th Desert Garden Community Day sponsored by the Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley offers free classes, clinics and information booths about growing native desert plants, and a plant sale for those who want to stock up. Kids’ activities are offered too, 8:30 am. to 2 p.m. at UC Riverside Palm Desert, 75080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Palm Desert. deserthorticulturalsociety.org
California Native Plant Society Membership Day includes a buckwheat giveaway at the Tree of Life Nursery, 33201 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., while supplies last. This is the last of four giveaways planned in October to distribute about 1,500 4-inch Dana Point California buckwheat plants grown by the Tree of Life Nursery. The free plants are available to Orange County homeowners. CNPS members get 10% off all native plants purchased on Membership Day. buckwheatbringsbutterflies.com
The Witches Garden: Herbalist Juliet Totten discusses the history of folk medicine, plants that have been used to heal and protect through the ages and how to plant a “witch’s herb garden” of your own, at Fig Earth Supply, 3577 N. Figueroa Ave. in Mount Washington. 11 a.m. to noon. figearthsupply.com
Nov. 2 Fig Earth Supply explains how to grow a vegetable from seed, including instructions in how to decipher a seed packet. Attendees get a free seed tray. Admission is free at 3577 N. Figueroa Ave., Mount Washington. 11 a.m. to noon,. figearthsupply.com
Nov, 5 The Pacific Rose Society welcomes longtime rose hybridizer Tom Carruth, who introduced at least 125 roses through his breeding work at Weeks Roses, including 11 All-American Rose Society winners such as Julia Child and Scentimental, and is now the E.L. and Ruth B. Shannon Curator of the Rose Collection at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens. In the Lecture Room of the L.A. Arboretum, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Enter via the main gate. Potluck dinner at 7 p.m., program begins at 8 p.m. Free. pacificrosesociety.org
Nov. 8 Sherman Library & Gardens Lunch & Lecture series presents “The Art of Gardening at Chanticleer,” a public “pleasure garden” in what was once the suburban Philadelphia home of the Rosengarten family. Bill Thomas, Chanticleer executive director and head gardener, will discuss the plant choices, unusual containers and imaginative furniture at what the Washington Post called “one of the most interesting and edgy public gardens in America,” 11:30 a.m. at 2647 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. $25 for members, $35 nonmembers. Lecture only: Members free, nonmembers pay $5. slgardens.org
Nov. 10 “Dudleya: Succulent Diversity in Our Own Backyard” is the topic of November’s meeting of the South Coast Cactus & Succulent Society. Speakers John Martinez and Nils Schirrmacher will share their photos of the 11 species and six subspecies in the Santa Monica and San Bernardino mountains. 1 p.m. at the South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Rolling Hills Estates. southcoastcss.org
Nov. 12 What’s eating your garden plants? The Orange County Organic Gardening Club is offering answers from Laura Krueger Prelesnik, a vector ecologist and board-certified entomologist with the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District, at its November meeting at the Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Krueger Prelesnik will discuss her efforts to control mosquitoes, rats, fire ants, flies and other garden pests, and identify mystery pests in your garden. Bring a sealed jar with an insect and/or leaves that have been damaged for identification. (Bugs can eat through plastic bags.) 7 p.m. Free. facebook.com
“Butterflies, Birds and Bees, Botanical Bedfellows” is the topic of the West Valley Garden Club’s monthly meeting at Orcutt Ranch Horticulture Center Park, 23600 Roscoe Blvd., West Hills. Speaker Sandy Massau, conservationist, author and editor, begins her talk at 11 a.m. At 9:30 a.m., Jennifer Lee-Thorp will focus her floral design workshop on preparing for the holidays. westvalleygardenclub.org
Nov. 13 “The New American Garden” is this month’s topic at the monthly meeting of the Claremont Garden Club at the Napier Building, 660 Avery Road in the Pilgrim Place neighborhood of Claremont. Agriculture scientist Nicholas Staddon, director of new plant introductions at Monrovia Growers, will talk about the Chelsea Flower Show, gardening trends in the U.S. and abroad, climate-related changes in gardening and regionally appropriate plants. Refreshments at 6:30 p.m.; program 7-8:30 p.m. Free. claremontgardenclub.org
Nov. 17-Jan. 5 Descanso Gardens’ Enchanted Forest of Light is a gentle one-mile walk through the gardens highlighting some of the most popular locations with large-scale light displays. New this year is a “magical ‘stained-glass’” creation at Mulberry Pond by contemporary sculptor Tom Fruin. This year’s exhibit also features updated versions of the popular “Celestial Shadows” display of spinning polyhedrons, the “Lightwave Lake” light show and Jen Lewin’s flowing interactive landscape of meandering pathways called “Aqueous.” Students from California School of the Arts will perform Dec. 6-7 and 13-14. Member-only nights Dec. 20-23 and 26-28. General admission tickets start at $30, members pay $5 less. Children 2 and younger, free. Tickets must be purchased in advance. descansogardens.org
Nov. 23-24 Landfill to Landscape in Altadena: Hands-on Hugelkultur/Bioswale Workshops These two-day rain garden and bioswale workshopsby Shawn Maestretti Garden Architecture are $20 a day, with a $10 refund on Day 2 if participants attend both days. Hugelkultur is a technique for creating raised garden beds using logs, branches and other clippings covered with soil. Rain gardens and bioswales are techniques for collecting, filtering and storing excess water. Specific location to be announced Nov. 20. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. smgarchitecture.com
Dec. 5-8, 12-15, 19-22 The sixth Nights of 1000 Lights at Sherman Library & Gardens celebrates the holidays with a 12-night garden light show Thursdays through Sundays. The event, which includes music, has been expanded this year. Ticketed guests get free photos with Santa, a chance to make a traditional Scandinavian Julehjerter (heart-shaped Christmas decoration), complimentary coffee, hot chocolate and s’mores around a bonfire, along with beer, wine and other food on sale. Tickets on sale now; $15 members, $25 nonmembers, children 3 and under free. 6 to 9 p.m. slgardens.org
I always knew I was destined to be the perpetual, quintessential bachelor, and I made no apologies for it. My house — complete with arcade-style pinball machines and video games, a Jacuzzi and a fully stocked bar — screamed: I’m single and plan to stay that way. I was a young, successful attorney, and my bachelor pad in Anaheim was a revolving door of women, parties and excess.
I saw my two older brothers, married, with children. And I chose my freedom.
I was always upfront with the women in my life. On every first date, I revealed that I was dating multiple women, that I had no intention of settling down and that I loved my single life. It was inevitable that they thought I would change or they could change me. But they always realized sooner or later that trying to change me was an exercise in futility.
Still, many tried. In particular, friends’ wives were always trying to set me up with someone they knew. (Probably so I’d be a better influence on their husbands.)
A friend’s wife offered to introduce me to Janet, saying she’d be perfect for me. I told her I’d pass. I was too busy partying with the women I already knew; who needed to be bothered with going on a blind date?
Then a few years later, a friend called me to refer a client who needed help with a legal matter. It turned out it was a man who had become engaged to Janet in the years since our would-be date. Always eager to take on a new client, I set up the consultation and, since it was a referral from a friend, I offered to make a house call. The door opened. As I laid eyes on Janet for the first time, I thought back to the day I passed on the opportunity to meet her, and I was instantly filled with regret. She was stunning. A tingling sensation started at my feet and was making its way up to my heart.
I shook it off and introduced myself, and proceeded to meet her fiancé, who, after all, was my new client.
Six months into the case, I got an emergency call about Janet’s fiancé. He had died suddenly of a heart attack while playing basketball. After an appropriate period of time, I reached out to Janet and offered my condolences. I apologized for bothering her, and told her I would need a death certificate once all affairs were settled.
Several weeks later, Janet called to set an appointment to bring the death certificate, which I needed to supply to the court so my client’s case could be properly dealt with. We met at TGI Fridays in Torrance. What was meant to be a quick meet and exchange of documents, turned into a three-hour conversation unlike any I had had before.
I felt such a strange connection to her. Inside, I was telling myself to stop. This woman had just lost her fiancé two months ago. But on the drive home, I could not get her out of my head. Over the next several months we talked regularly and formed a platonic friendship, something that had been completely foreign to me when it came to women.
I even invited her to my grandmother’s 90th birthday bash.
And that’s when I blew it. I got drunk and professed my love for herand apparently said, “I love you, I want to marry you and I want to have kids with you.”
Now, I must confess that I have no memory of that blackout-drunk moment, but many witnessed it, so I know it happened. The very next day, Janet and I had plans for lunch. She didn’t show. She didn’t return my phone calls. She cut me off. I deserved it.
I also had no idea why I would say I wanted to get married. Must have been the alcohol.
It was nearly three years later that I was driving home on the 5 Freeway and passed the building where Janet worked in the City of Commerce. On a whim, I called her and the next thing I knew we were talking again. She was dating someone, I was dating several people, and we struck up a nice friendship. My bachelor ways continued and included my annual Halloween costume party. I invited Janet. That year I was Wolverine, and she came as one of Charlie’s Angels.
And she also came alone.
She no longer had a boyfriend.
I can’t say we started dating because in my mind a date meant there would be sex or at least some fooling around. We hung out together, had dinner and saw movies, but there was absolutely no touching, kissing or anything of the sort. Around Valentine’s Day, I decided to make a grand gesture and invited her to dinner at my home. When she arrived, rose petals led the way to a living room with more than 100 candles illuminating a gourmet dinner that which had just been prepared by the gourmet chef I’d hired.
She just looked at me and said, “We are not having sex.”
I protested that I just wanted to do something romantic for her. However, I was still dating several other women, which Janet knew about it. But I told her she was special: No matter what I was doing or who I was doing it with, if she wanted to go out, I would drop everything. She put this to the test. One night while I was out with another woman, Janet called and said she was getting off work early and wanted to have dinner.
I apologized to my date and jammed out of there to meet Janet.
This went on for several weeks.
Finally, Janet gave it to me straight: “I feel like you can be the man for me, the one I want to be with for the rest of my life.” I froze. “I know you have always said you never wanted to get married and have kids, but I do. If you don’t, then I need to walk away from you right now and move on with my life.”
In the past, when faced with this conversation, my canned response was: “I completely understand. Have a nice life. Goodbye.”
As I tried to release those words from my mouth, I just couldn’t. Something would not let me. Instead I said, “Can you please give me some time to think about this?”
I will admit: The next seven days were filled with debauchery.
And when it was over, I’d come to the realization that I wanted more out of life then just an endless party and string of sexual encounters, and Janet was the woman who opened my eyes to the possibility. I think the kicker was the close knit relationship she has with her her enormous Filipino family, which paralleled the relationship I have with my Jewish family.
One week later, I met her for dinner at Tony’s on the Pier in Redondo Beach. We didn’t touch our food as we talked. I told her a truth about myself: As a young, wild attorney, I made a lot of money but spent even more. I confessed I had only $200 in the bank, not enough to buy a proper engagement ring. She was OK with that as long as I was seeing her exclusively.
A week later, on a cliff overlooking the ocean, I popped the question exactly at sunset. She said yes and we shared our first kiss.
That’s correct. You read that right: Our first kiss was after I proposed.
Janet and I have been happily married for 15 years and have three children, Jonah, 14, Mason, 10, and Julianne, 6.
What made me finally give up my partying ways and stop drinking altogether? And why Janet? Those are questions I will never be able to answer.
But what I do know is that, apparently, I wanted to get married and I wanted to have kids.
The author is an attorney with Pot Brothers at Law & co-host of the FM radio show, Cannabis Talk 101.
Straight, gay, bisexual, transgender or nonbinary: L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for love in and around Los Angeles — and we want to hear your story. You must allow your name to be published, and the story you tell has to be true. We pay $300 for each essay we publish. Email us at [email protected]. You can find subscription guidelines here.
Vladimir Bukovsky, a prominent Soviet-era dissident who became internationally known for exposing Soviet abuse of psychiatry, has died. He was 76.
Bukovsky died of cardiac arrest on Sunday after a period of ill health in Cambridge, England, where he had settled after being deported from the Soviet Union in 1976, according to the Bukovsky Center volunteer organization.
Bukovsky spent a total of 12 years in Soviet prisons or psychiatric hospitals for his fierce criticism of the Communist government, becoming a symbol of Soviet persecution of dissent.
In 1961, he was expelled from Moscow State University, where he studied biology, for writing a thesis critical of the Komsomol, the Soviet Union’s communist youth organization.
Bukovsky was first arrested in 1963 for possession of books banned in the Soviet Union, declared mentally ill and sent for treatment to a psychiatric hospital where he spent almost two years — the first of several stints in Soviet psychiatric institutions. He was arrested again and handed a prison term in 1967 for a street protest.
In 1971, Bukovsky smuggled out materials documenting the Soviet use of psychiatry for punishing dissenters. Their publication drew international outrage, and he was quickly arrested. The following year, he was sentenced to seven years in prison and labor camp to be followed by another five years of internal exile.
Bukovsky’s fate attracted global attention and in December 1976 the Soviet authorities agreed to trade him for imprisoned Chilean Communist Party leader Luis Corvalan.
His book of memoirs, “To Build a Castle,” has been widely published. After the 1991 Soviet collapse, he wrote “Judgment in Moscow,” a book that called for a trial of Soviet Communist Party and KGB officials similar to that of Nazi leaders’ trials in Nuremberg, Germany.
Bukovsky maintained regular contacts with Russia’s opposition leaders and frequently visited his homeland after the Soviet collapse. He became a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin’s rule and aspired to run for president in Russia’s 2008 election, but election officials rejected his bid, citing procedural reasons.
In 2015, British prosecutors opened a case against Bukovsky over indecent images of children allegedly found on his computer. Bukovsky rejected the accusations and sued prosecutors for libel. His trial was repeatedly adjourned and in 2018 a judge ruled that Bukovsky’s health was too poor for him to testify.
At this time of year, the fruit and vegetable wholesale markets of Kashmir are usually packed with people and overflowing with crisp red apples, the prize harvest of this rugged agricultural region.
But the markets, or mandis, stand deserted. A nearly three-month crackdown by Indian authorities has brought Kashmir’s economy to a standstill and taken a giant bite out of the lucrative apple harvest.
Orchards are filled with fallen and rotting fruit and half the harvest is feared destroyed since India imposed an unprecedented blockade in Kashmir in August — halting phone and internet communications, jailing political leaders and toughening its security presence in the disputed territory.
Hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers have fled the area, leaving crops to wither. Truck drivers have been reluctant to ply the rolling highways, fearing attacks by anti-Indian militants who have demanded an economic shutdown.
The collapse of the apple market followed India’s decision to strip its only Muslim-majority state of the special administrative status that has granted Kashmir partial autonomy since the 1940s. India’s Hindu nationalist government, led by wildly popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the move would bring peace and boost economic development in a region that is also claimed by rival Pakistan and torn by a violent separatist insurgency.
But so far, the economic impact has been catastrophic.
On Thursday, police said that gunmen fired on three trucks carrying apple crates in the southern Kashmiri region of Shopian, a center of militant unrest. A driver and another worker were fatallyinjured, bringing to four the number of apple industry workers killed since September as suspected separatists try to bully traders and drivers to cease working to protest India’s crackdown.
With no one to pick them, “when apples are ripe, they start falling,” said Peer Muhammad Ashraf, whose family owns about two acres of orchards in Arihal, a village below the Himalayan foothills of southern Kashmir. “Almost 50% of our crop has fallen and has been destroyed.”
Ashraf, who’s in his 30s, is not a farmer — he recently completed a doctorate in English in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh and returned to Kashmir days before the lockdown to get married. Without laborers, he and his family members had to begin picking apples themselves.
Unaccustomed to the work, he had twisted his ankle while plucking and was laid up for a few days.
“Not only the business community has been affected but … common farmers, what will they eat?” he said. “They are entirely dependent on this harvest. This will not only affect us this year but its effects will be seen in the coming years.”
Analysts estimate that the apple industry provides livelihoods for 3.5 million of the region’s 8 million people and contributes $1.5 billion to India’s economy. Kashmir produced more than 2 million tons of apples last year, 70% of India’s entire total.
The Indian government has promised to buy up all of Kashmir’s apple crop to aid farmers. Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, managing director of India’s National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation, told the India Today network that it was “a golden opportunity” and that farmers would make 30% more than in past years because the government sales would cut out middlemen.
More than 40,000 boxes were reportedly purchased this month but many farmers say they still expect to sustain major losses because so much of the harvest has been lost. Some growers say they won’t sell to the government in protest of its policies.
One grower in Shopian who asked not to be identified, fearing reprisals by militants, said he managed to hire some laborers but they were unable to go out into the orchards to pick apples because of threats of violence.
Making matters worse is the statewide ban on cellphone service that was only partially lifted this month.
“The clampdown with no communication for over two months and now the fear of militants have made it impossible for us to do harvesting,” the grower said. “It’s a desperate situation.”
The Modi government insists that life in Kashmir has returned to normal, but critics slam such statements as disingenuous.
Days after scrapping Article 370 — the constitutional provision that granted limited autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir — and refashioning the state into a territory ruled directly by New Delhi, the Indian government announced it would invite domestic and foreign entrepreneurs to the state in October “to showcase Jammu and Kashmir as a favorable investment destination.”
Government officials ignored requests by The Times and other news organizations to cover the event — foreign reporters have been effectively barred from Kashmir since August — and two weeks later called off the summit indefinitely.
Tourism, another pillar of the state’s economy, also ground to a halt after India asked visitors to leave in August. The government lifted the restrictions this month, but not before hundreds of tourism sector workers — from hotel employees to houseboat operators on the famed, crystalline Dal Lake — left their jobs or took drastic pay cuts.
“The losses we have incurred in the last two months, who will compensate us?” said Wali Muhammad Bhat, president of a Dal Lake houseboat association.
The deployment of thousands more troops — in what is already one of the most heavily militarized zones in the world — and the detention of Kashmir’s top political leaders have also soured even moderate Kashmiris on New Delhi’s intentions, said Maya Mirchandani, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi think tank.
“We’re now into the third month and your political leadership is still in detention — someone tell me why,” said Mirchandani, who visited the state last month. “How do you want to economically empower these people when you don’t have interlocutors to explain what your intentions are?
“The Kashmiri public doesn’t trust the Indian state now — that’s the reality.”
Special correspondent Khan reported from Kashmir and Times staff writer Bengali from Singapore.
Syrian Kurdish forces killed the right-hand man and spokesman for the Islamic State group in a joint operation with U.S. troops in northern Syria, just hours after U.S. special forces killed the extremist group’s leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi, a Kurdish commander said Monday.
The comments came a day after President Trump announced the killing of Baghdadi, a development that left Islamic State without an obvious leader — a major setback for a terror organization that in March was forced by American troops and Kurdish forces out of the last portion of its self-declared “caliphate,” which once spanned a swath of Iraq and Syria.
Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said his group’s intelligence cooperated with the U.S. military Sunday to target Baghdadi’s aide, Abu Hassan Muhajir, in a village near Jarablus, a town in northwestern Syria. It was part of ongoing operations to hunt down Islamic State leaders, Abdi said.
If confirmed, the death would be another blow to Islamic State. U.S. officials had no immediate comment on the Syrian Kurdish claim or on the fate of Muhajir.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported Muhajir’s death, saying he was traveling in a convoy made up of an oil tanker and a sedan. The bodies of those killed in the attack were charred, so it wasn’t immediately clear how the Muhajir’s identity could have been confirmed.
The U.S. raid that killed Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of Islamic State who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world’s most wanted terrorist, took place just before midnight on Saturday in Syria’s Idlib province.
It was a milestone in the fight against IS, which brutalized much of Syria and Iraq and sought to direct a global campaign from a self-declared “caliphate.” A yearslong campaign by American and allied forces led to the recapture of the group’s territorial holdings, but its violent ideology has continued to inspire attacks.
Syrian Kurdish forces spokesman Mustafa Bali said his fighters believe Muhajir was in Jarablus to facilitate Baghdadi’s travels to the area, which is administered by Turkey-backed fighters.
“More [IS figures] remain hiding in the area,” Bali said late on Sunday.
Little is known about al-Muhajir, who assumed the role of a spokesman after his predecessor was killed in an airstrike in 2016. The name, a nom de guerre, indicates that he is a foreigner, and he was also believed to be a possible successor to Baghdadi.
Baghdadi’s identity was confirmed by a DNA test conducted onsite, Trump had said. The operation coincided with a low point in Trump’s presidency as he is mired in impeachment proceedings and facing widespread Republican condemnation for his Syria policy.
Trump’s decision to pull back U.S. troops from northeastern Syria raised a storm of bipartisan criticism in Washington, including statements that the American pullout could help IS regain strength after losing all the territory it once controlled. The pullback also was viewed as an abandonment of the U.S.’s only ally in Syria, the Kurdish-led forces, who fought IS for years with the U.S-led coalition.
Trump said the troop pullout “had nothing to do with this” and said Kurdish forces were among the many cooperating to execute the operation to kill Baghdadi.
Both Iraqi and Kurdish officials claimed a role. The Turkish military also tweeted that prior to the operation in Idlib, it exchanged “information” and coordinated with U.S. military.
Syrian Kurdish forces appeared ready to portray Baghdadi’s death as a joint victory for their faltering alliance with the U.S., weeks after Trump ordered American forces to withdraw from northeastern Syria, all but abandoning Washington’s allies to a wide-ranging Turkish assault.
There’s no denying that the hearty and wholesome bud that is the Brussels sprout is one of the cabbage family’s most underrated members. Low in calories and high in nutrients, Brussels sprouts are the perfect addition to any meal, namely in the form of a salad or side dish.
Thankfully, Alibi Bar & Kitchen, Australia’s first 100 per cent plant-based hotel bar and restaurant located within Ovolo Woolloomooloo, is serving up the ultimate Brussels sprout salad that promises to see you through the season. Complete with a maple carrot puree, this simple side is just what your spring menu has been missing,
“This is one of the only dishes we kept on from the most recent winter menu, it’s just that good,” explains Alibi head chef, Jordan Brogan. “Brussels sprouts are best planted in the colder months but they still love a little sun which make them great in spring.”
“Using the outer leaves as a garnish helps the dish pop, they usually fall off in the cooking process and aren’t utilised so we’re really making the most of the produce,” adds Brogan. “The carrot and maple is such a great accompaniment and so simple to make, it really helps bring the whole dish together.”
To try your hand at serving up this super simple Brussels sprout salad, read on for the head chef’s step-by-step guide to building one of the restaurant’s bestselling dishes.
Brussels sprout salad with maple carrot puree
200g Brussels sprouts
200g purple Brussels sprouts
500g carrots, peeled and sliced
10g sea salt
60ml maple syrup
30ml extra virgin olive oil
100g sunflower seeds
50g pepitas
25g black sesame seeds
25g white sesame seeds
25g hemp seeds
Pinch of chili flakes (optional)
Edible flowers
Take a couple of the outer leaves off the Brussels sprouts, keeping these to garnish the dish at the end. Cut the Brussels in half from the base.
Bring two litres of water to the boil, add five grams of salt then blanch the Brussels sprouts for two minutes before removing and placing into an ice bath. After five minutes take out of iced water and place on a paper towel to dry.
Bring one litre of water to the boil, add sliced carrots and cook until soft, for about three minutes.
Strain off water and place carrots, 80ml of water, maple syrup and five grams of salt into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until smooth, then slowly drizzle in the oil to emulsify.
Combine all seeds and toast at 160°C for 10 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a frying pan, adding the Brussels sprouts, centre side down and leave for about four minutes to caramelise.
While they’re cooking, spread carrot puree around a bowl, then place the Brussels sprouts in one half of the bowl.
Toss the fresh Brussels sprout leaves with a pinch of salt and chilli flakes before serving and place on top of the sautéed Brussels, finish with mixed seeds and edible flowers.
This striking detached house was re-built by architect Marcus Lee, who worked on Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and the Lloyd’s building. Alex is my sister, and I remember her telling me about the house Lee had built nearby in Clapton, known as the Framehouse, and how she and her husband Chris were very inspired by it. When they found a detached but boxy and architecturally uninspiring new build, they went to Lee for help in transforming it into a more distinctive family home.
The exterior of the house is painted dark grey and covered with a wooden frame made from Douglas fir. The same wood is used inside to create the feeling of being in a Japanese or Scandinavian retreat. The open-plan living area is zoned by the use of rugs, sliding doors and pillars, with a galley kitchen functioning as a walkway between the dining room and TV/play room. Beautifully coloured sliding doors throughout the house contrast with the natural wood to create a bold and contemporary atmosphere.
We come from a Swedish family and Alex is drawn to both the practicalities of modern Scandinavian design and the more traditional Swedish style. There is a common misconception that all Scandi style is minimal and monochrome, when it can in fact be very colourful and decorative – as with the upholstered vintage Josef Frank chairs in the living room.
Alex’s home has Scandinavian elements such as the iconic String shelves, lined with memorabilia and items the children have made. This table and chairs set was inherited from an aunt. The chairs are upholstered in Swedish fabric, while the Marmoleum flooring is colour- blocked in a mid-century style.
Alex says that east London is her spiritual home: ‘This area is all about change, it’s exciting! The majority of people that we have met here are working for themselves and it has inspired us to do the same. We both work for ourselves and run our own schedules. This house helps us do just that.’
Alex and Chris built a cabin-style house in their garden which they use for guests. Below, see inside the cabin.
This house is an excerpt from East London Homes by Sarah Bagner, which is out now and published by Hoxton Mini Press