Jour : 6 janvier 2025

The Restoration Hardware store in East Hampton on Saturday. The high-end furniture retailer plans to open a store in in Commack in part of the space vacated by Target in 2019. Credit: John Roca
The luxury furniture retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware plans to open a discount outlet in part of the Commack space that an “underperforming” Target vacated six years ago. 
The Town of Smithtown has approved building-related plans for an RH Outlet at 4 Henry St. in Commack, Liam Trotta, environmental planner in the Smithtown Planning Department, said Friday. 
The outlet will occupy 40,707 square feet, including 6,239 square feet of receiving/stock room space, in the Commack South Shopping Center.
It's unclear when the store will open or how many people it will employ. Headquartered in Corte Madera, California, RH did not respond to a request for comment. 
Commack South Shopping Center is owned by the Cosentino Realty Group in Islandia. Peter Cosentino, a managing partner, declined to comment Friday.
A 143,000-square-foot Target in Commack, which opened in 2002, was one of six “underperforming” stores in five states that Minneapolis-based Target Corp. closed in 2019.
Floor & Decor took some of the Commack space in 2021, when the Atlanta-based flooring chain opened a 95,000-square-foot warehouse store and design center.
On Long Island, there is an RH Outlet at the Tanger Outlets Riverhead and an RH Gallery in East Hampton.
RH has 38 discount stores, which are branded as RH Outlet or Restoration Hardware Outlet.
The outlets "provide an efficient means to sell primarily returned merchandise and, to a lesser extent, discontinued and overstock merchandise outside of our core sales channels,” according to RH's 2023 annual report. 
The outlets are typically located in outlet malls, freestanding locations and large shopping centers dominated by several anchors, the report said. 
Founded in 1979 in Eureka, California, Restoration Hardware rebranded as RH in 2012.
The luxury furniture and home décor retailer has 71 RH Galleries, including four that opened in 2024, and 38 RH Outlet stores in the United States, Canada and Europe.
The company also operates RH Guesthouse, which is a luxury hotel that opened in 2022 in Manhattan, and 14 Waterworks Showrooms for bath and kitchen products.
Overall furniture sales have been weak in recent years due in part to high interest rates dampening sales of new homes. 
But RH reported that in its fiscal third quarter, which ended Nov. 2, revenues were $812 million, an increase of 8.1% from the same period in 2023.
While lower-end retailers have been more affected by the slowdown in furniture sales, RH is more resilient because it is a luxury lifestyle brand that is built around furniture, said Bill McLoughlin, editor-in-chief of Furniture Today, a trade publication based in High Point, North Carolina.
RH creates an experience around shopping, said McLoughlin, who cited as an example the RH restaurants and wine bars, which are in 19 of the retailer’s furniture galleries.
RH’s “customer is a much higher-income consumer. That’s not someone who’s making a choice between paying the rent and buying a new sofa,” he said.
The luxury furniture retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware plans to open a discount outlet in part of the Commack space that an “underperforming” Target vacated six years ago. 
The Town of Smithtown has approved building-related plans for an RH Outlet at 4 Henry St. in Commack, Liam Trotta, environmental planner in the Smithtown Planning Department, said Friday. 
The outlet will occupy 40,707 square feet, including 6,239 square feet of receiving/stock room space, in the Commack South Shopping Center.
It's unclear when the store will open or how many people it will employ. Headquartered in Corte Madera, California, RH did not respond to a request for comment. 
Commack South Shopping Center is owned by the Cosentino Realty Group in Islandia. Peter Cosentino, a managing partner, declined to comment Friday.
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A 143,000-square-foot Target in Commack, which opened in 2002, was one of six “underperforming” stores in five states that Minneapolis-based Target Corp. closed in 2019.
Floor & Decor took some of the Commack space in 2021, when the Atlanta-based flooring chain opened a 95,000-square-foot warehouse store and design center.
On Long Island, there is an RH Outlet at the Tanger Outlets Riverhead and an RH Gallery in East Hampton.
RH has 38 discount stores, which are branded as RH Outlet or Restoration Hardware Outlet.
The outlets "provide an efficient means to sell primarily returned merchandise and, to a lesser extent, discontinued and overstock merchandise outside of our core sales channels,” according to RH's 2023 annual report. 
The outlets are typically located in outlet malls, freestanding locations and large shopping centers dominated by several anchors, the report said. 
Founded in 1979 in Eureka, California, Restoration Hardware rebranded as RH in 2012.
The luxury furniture and home décor retailer has 71 RH Galleries, including four that opened in 2024, and 38 RH Outlet stores in the United States, Canada and Europe.
The company also operates RH Guesthouse, which is a luxury hotel that opened in 2022 in Manhattan, and 14 Waterworks Showrooms for bath and kitchen products.
Overall furniture sales have been weak in recent years due in part to high interest rates dampening sales of new homes. 
But RH reported that in its fiscal third quarter, which ended Nov. 2, revenues were $812 million, an increase of 8.1% from the same period in 2023.
While lower-end retailers have been more affected by the slowdown in furniture sales, RH is more resilient because it is a luxury lifestyle brand that is built around furniture, said Bill McLoughlin, editor-in-chief of Furniture Today, a trade publication based in High Point, North Carolina.
RH creates an experience around shopping, said McLoughlin, who cited as an example the RH restaurants and wine bars, which are in 19 of the retailer’s furniture galleries.
RH’s “customer is a much higher-income consumer. That’s not someone who’s making a choice between paying the rent and buying a new sofa,” he said.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
New hope for justice Theresa Cerney's killing is one of at least 66 cases of dead women being reviewed by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney's new cold case unit. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Sandra Peddie have this exclusive story. 
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New hope for justice Theresa Cerney's killing is one of at least 66 cases of dead women being reviewed by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney's new cold case unit. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Sandra Peddie have this exclusive story. 
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Lakeland football’s Keon Young shines in All-American game, uses family, coaches to ascend  The Ledger
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Commentary
If we want to prevent the use of illegal fireworks, we have to give the city tools to lay down the law. That means more funding, arrests and timely court processing of cases.
By Danny de Gracia
January 6, 2025 · 7 min read
Danny de Gracia
Danny de Gracia is a resident of Waipahu, a political scientist and an ordained minister. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views. You can reach him by email at dgracia@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @ddg2cb.
If we want to prevent the use of illegal fireworks, we have to give the city tools to lay down the law. That means more funding, arrests and timely court processing of cases.
I have a purely hypothetical question, just for the sake of policy discussion, that our elected leaders should ask each other: “If you were looking to buy illegal drugs in Hawaiʻi, where would you go to get them?”
Most of you would say, “Are you nuts? Why would I know how to get something like that?”
And my response to you is, “Exactly.”
Like Jennifer Grey opposite Charlie Sheen in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” if most of us clean-cut, law-abiding normies were to go looking for drugs, we wouldn’t know the first place to start. And rightly so. It would be a comedy of errors for us to even try. Why is that? 
For one, the fact that drugs are illegal is well established, and if you get caught it’s major trouble. Second is a paranoia that a drug enforcement officer who looks like Josh Brolin is probably on stakeout, and if one goes seeking out a drug dealer, you’ll probably get stung in the process.
Now ask yourself this next question: “If you were looking to buy illegal aerial fireworks in Hawaiʻi, where would you go to get them?”
Suddenly almost everyone, including your next-door neighbor, knows exactly where to get the hookup.
But how is this possible? We know they’re illegal. We know shipments are being intercepted and confiscated by the government. And we might even know if you get caught, it’s a Class C felony according to House Revised Statute 132D-14. And yet, events like New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July find hundreds, maybe even thousands of local residents buying and launching illegal aerial fireworks without fear. 
In international law, all law is based on traditions and tolerated patterns, so if no one honors or willingly submits to the law, it becomes invalid. This is why, ever since Jimmy Carter’s presidency, the United States will sail an aircraft carrier off the coast of any country that claims its territorial waters exceed 12 nautical miles, because we don’t want to create a precedent that allows countries to claim, for example, the Mediterranean is their private lake.
Domestic law operates on a similar principle. If no one obeys the law and if no one consistently enforces the law, it is of no effect. (Those of you who want to study this concept further can read about the philosopher Socrates and whether or not he had the right to selectively obey the laws of Athens.) In short, for a law to be effective, people must know it is reasonable and be willing to comply and those who do not obey the law must face some kind of consequence for noncompliance.
The public has been sailing an aircraft carrier’s worth of disobedience to the fireworks laws ever since they’ve been on the books. Superficially, that suggests that the public doesn’t think very highly of the law, or the legislators who passed them. 
One could argue that the nonstop disobedience is like our version of “The Purge” movies, during which locals tolerate everything else in Hawaiʻi but insist on having a day to cast off restraint and vent frustration. 
The aerial fireworks launched in Waipahu and Ewa Beach toward the end of the Covid-19 pandemic definitely felt malevolent against the government. But I personally think the real reason this isn’t working is the government just hasn’t made the case that aerial fireworks are dangerous and we have a unique situation, especially on Oʻahu, that requires us to prohibit these pyrotechnic devices.
Perhaps we need to go back to the beginning and run a series of fire safety messages. Firefighters are the most trusted people in America, so maybe the mayors should saturate social media, TV and radio with “Take This Seriously” ads from firefighters explaining why aerial fireworks are dangerous.
Hawaiʻi, and especially Oʻahu, has a population that is densely packed into multigenerational homes built close to one another. There is also a significant amount of dry brush. All it takes is for aerial fireworks to malfunction or their ballistic trajectory to be blown to the wrong place and you could have a dangerous fire.
There’s also the fact that most people think they know what they’re doing. Fireworks are actually very simple devices that are a lot easier to ignite or explode than one might realize.
A law that no one respects is no law at all.
Example: When I was 15, I was a member of my high school’s Estes model rocket launching club, and I considered myself an ace because I routinely built rockets that broke all the club’s records. But one day, my friend Josh lit up a cigarette and started smoking while I was preparing a set of C-rocket engines. 
Before I could shout for him to stop, a single ember blew downwind to me and ignited the engines, flash-burning the outer layer of skin on the palm of my right hand. Improbable? Yes. But it happened. The lesson I learned that day was that rockets were more dangerous than I thought, and I never launched again.
If the public knew how dangerous aerial fireworks can be and heard from those who fight the fires started by them, those who treat the victims injured by them and possibly even the victims themselves, maybe they won’t have such an “I will not comply” knee-jerk reflex to the law.
Most people probably won’t or can’t turn in their neighbors who are in noncompliance with the aerial fireworks ban. I get it. We also don’t have enough officers to dedicate to fireworks enforcement while still watching for other crimes, so maybe we could start with a pilot project.
Honolulu could start with neighborhoods that are known to have a high frequency of illegal aerial launches and have city officials photograph incidents and the individuals launching them. In much the same way that some cities with water restrictions publish the names of people who waste water, those who violate HRS 132D-14 could be made public. Sure, this will definitely upset a lot of people, but it will quickly pop the bubble that you can use illegal fireworks with impunity in Honolulu.
And if we want more enforcement, we have to give the city the tools to lay down the law. That means more funding specifically allocated to education/countermarketing, patrols, arrests and timely court processing of cases. Not an easy thing to do, but if you’re serious about this stuff, you have to show the public that you’re treating the law as something to be enforced, not something to be idealized. Otherwise, a law that no one respects is no law at all.
We also should give citizens alternative activities on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. People want to have fun and we should recognize that. Alternative events could be a win for tourism as well.
At the end of the day, “fun” shouldn’t imperil your life and your neighbors.
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Danny de Gracia

Danny de Gracia is a resident of Waipahu, a political scientist and an ordained minister. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views. You can reach him by email at dgracia@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @ddg2cb.
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Leaves have emerged! Isro’s plant experiment delivers stunning results in space  India Today
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January 06, 2025
Prince Andrew has surprisingly hit King Charles with a threat and it’s related to his love for Queen Elizabeth and her corgis.
A source made this information public, according to a report by RadarOnline.
As part of that report, it came to light that Prince Andrew has taken to treating Queen Elziabeth’s dogs as ‘ransom’ against his older brother and current monarch, Charles.
The source started by saying, “When Queen Elizabeth died, she entrusted her two darling dogs to Andrew and his family.”
But “He’s now banking on the canines to shield him from moving,” out of his abode.
As of right now, “he’s essentially told Charles that if his lifestyle were to suffer, the dogs will be collateral damage.”
For those unversed, King Charles has already cut his annual allowance of $1.29 million down to zero, despite him being on a 75-year lease for the property.
This is especially the case because “Andrew living in that huge home is a national embarrassment, given everything he’s been accused of.”
However, “the duke believes that leaving would be an admission of guilt for having done the worst of what people suspect.” So “this puts Charles in an untenable position and with few good choices.”
“Andrew is desperate to preserve what little of his tattered reputation is left. But from Charles’ view, using the dogs as a bargaining chip is beyond the pale.”
Before concluding the insider also noted, “It’s conniving and calculating and an indication of Andrew’s true colors.”
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A Florida jury will decide if CNN defamed security contractor  The Washington Post
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Phantom, the digital asset wallet, has refuted rumors about a possible token airdrop after the launch of its new social discovery feature.
In addition to the new social features, Phantom also revealed plans to integrate the Sui blockchain, marking the addition of a fourth layer-1 blockchain supported by the wallet, alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The company did not provide an exact timeline for the Sui integration, though it hinted at a release in early 2025. This follows Phantom’s previous addition of the Ethereum layer-2 network Base in November 2024.
Phantom has become a major player in the crypto wallet space, with 7 million active monthly users as of April 2024. The app briefly ranked second in the Apple App Store's utilities section during the crypto market surge following the U.S. presidential election. Despite its success, Phantom has faced some technical challenges. In late 2024, an emergency update was issued after iPhone users encountered issues with the app resetting, which locked users out of their wallets. One user reported a loss of $600,000, highlighting the severity of the problem.
Founded in 2021 by CEO Brandon Millman, CPO Chris Kalani, and CTO Francesco Agost, Phantom has quickly grown in the non-custodial wallet market. The wallet is not just for cryptocurrency storage but also provides services for securing non-fungible tokens (NFTs). With the upcoming addition of Sui support, Phantom continues to expand its blockchain offerings and strengthen its position in the competitive crypto space. Despite recent setbacks, the company remains focused on refining its features and enhancing user satisfaction.
I'm just your average dog… Only decentralized; also… I'm not your average dog.
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New on Netflix: 5 movies and shows to watch this week (Jan. 6-12)  Tom’s Guide
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Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
It is often said that knowledge is power, and this is never more accurate than when you establish yourself as a foreign resident in a new country, like Spain. Being able to quickly familiarise yourself with the culture, rules, events, and customs can help ease the transition during a challenging time.
This is why Euro Weekly News makes it our mission to provide you with a free news resource in English that covers both regional and national Spanish news – anything that we feel you will benefit from knowing as you integrate into your new community and live your best life in Spain. In this way, you can forget about translating articles from Spanish into awkward English that probably don’t make much sense. Let us be your convenient and essential guide to all things that will likely affect you as a foreign resident living in Spain.
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It is often said that knowledge is power, and this is never more accurate than when you establish yourself as a foreign resident in a new country, like Spain. Being able to quickly familiarise yourself with the culture, rules, events, and customs can help ease the transition during a challenging time.
This is why Euro Weekly News makes it our mission to provide you with a free news resource in English that covers both regional and national Spanish news – anything that we feel you will benefit from knowing as you integrate into your new community and live your best life in Spain. In this way, you can forget about translating articles from Spanish into awkward English that probably don’t make much sense. Let us be your convenient and essential guide to all things that will likely affect you as a foreign resident living in Spain.
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By Marc Menendez-Roche • Updated: 06 Jan 2025 • 10:55 • 3 minutes read
Astonishing UNESCO World Heritage site in incredible Spanish city ‘tourists don’t know about’ reopens after €6.5m revamp.  A young woman wearing a hat watching a beautiful sunset in front of the stunning water pond at Frailes Garden at San Lorenzo de El Escorial monastery near Madrid, Spain’s capital. Credit: Shutterstock, Vivvi Smak
Astonishing UNESCO World Heritage site in incredible Spanish city ‘tourists don’t know about’ reopens after €6.5m revamp. It’s a real-life ‘Disneyland castle.’ 
An amazing UNESCO World Heritage site secretly nestled deep in the foothills of Spain’s central mountainous region is getting a full-scale €6.5 million revamp and reopening to the public.
The historic monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is undergoing a €6.5 million overhaul that promises to unlock secrets hidden for centuries.
Though it’s not technically a ‘castle’, visitors from around the world are raving about its striking resemblance to a ‘real-life’ Disney castle.
Built under the watchful eye of Philip II, the grand complex once symbolised Spain’s imperial might. Now, almost 40 years after joining the UNESCO list, it’s being restored to its former glory – and more.
Philip II of Spain, who incidentally married England’s Mary I, had an audacious dream: to build a monastery in the middle of nowhere.
The vision took 21 gruelling years, two master architects – Juan Bautista de Toledo (a protégé of Michelangelo) and Juan de Herrera (a war-hardened visionary) – and immeasurable dedication to bring El Escorial to life. The result? A sprawling 33,000-square-metre masterpiece that still leaves visitors in awe.
The two-year restoration, part-funded by the EU, aims to reintroduce visitors to El Escorial’s true splendour. For the first time, the ‘Patio of Kings‘ – the grand monastic courtyard – and once-private royal art collections will be opened to the public.
The stunning city of El Escorial already attracts over 450,000 visitors annually, but heritage experts believe it deserves even greater respect and recognition. With its new look, the site is poised to become an even bigger draw for history buffs and architecture aficionados alike. It’s Spain at its most authentic, a far cry from cheap paella and sangria at tourist hotspots.
If you’re looking to see ‘real Spain’, pack your bags and head 35 miles out of Madrid to witness history brought back to life – because this is one makeover that truly reigns supreme.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial’s 400-year-old Casa de Cultura has also had a facelift, proving it’s never too late to modernise. In a project worth €67,694, this cultural treasure has swapped old-school for state-of-the-art.
The main auditorium now boasts brand-new carpeting, reupholstered seating, and a cutting-edge audio-visual system, ensuring audiences get both comfort and crystal-clear sound. Over in the Sala Manuel Andújar, it’s out with the old and in with the new – featuring a sleek new floor, a laptop, a large-format screen, and top-notch audio-visual gear to bring presentations to life.
For budding artists, there’s good news. The engraving workshop now has shiny new plan chests to store materials, giving a boost to creative pursuits. Meanwhile, outside the building, fresh information panels and billboards have been installed to keep locals in the loop about upcoming events.
The upgrades haven’t stopped there. Extras like new lecterns, desk arms for chairs, a paper shredder, and an additional air conditioning system have been thrown in to make this historic space even more versatile.
Not to be outdone, the Casa de la Juventud has undergone a dramatic transformation, with a whopping €102,429 spent to cater to the next generation.
The venue now welcomes visitors with snazzy automatic doors and beefed-up security at both entrances. Restrooms have been completely revamped, offering a cleaner, modern vibe. And if tech’s your thing, the new Espacio +13 delivers in spades: virtual reality headsets, gaming consoles, and accessories bring the fun factor up a notch.
But the upgrades aren’t all fun and games – literally. The already stunning auditorium got a glow-up too, with new lighting fixtures and a projection screen for community events. Even the staircases have had a chic makeover, with vinyl flooring and decorative touches making the climb a pleasure rather than a chore.
To top it off, the space now boasts colourful modular tables, brand-new storage cabinets, and a dedicated air conditioning system in the rehearsal room, ensuring young performers can practice in total comfort.
A little TLC (and a lot of euros) can breathe new life into old spaces. These upgrades aren’t just about aesthetics – they’re about creating functional, welcoming spaces where the community can connect, create, and thrive.
With historic charm on the outside and modern facilities within, San Lorenzo is giving locals every reason to feel proud of their town’s cultural heartbeat. Who said you can’t teach an old Casa new tricks?
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Marc is a writer, teacher, and language enthusiast. With a background in business and legal communication and an interest in educational neuroscience, Marc has spent over a decade teaching and writing. Now, as part of the team at Euro Weekly News, Marc enjoys diving into entertaining topics and stories that matter to the community. When he’s not writing, Marc loves practising martial arts, playing football, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or spending quality time with friends and family, but above all, Marc enjoys spending time with his son, Macson.
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By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
The Internet Archive has lost its appeal in a fight to lend out scanned ebooks without the approval of publishers. In a decision on Wednesday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that permitting the Internet Archive’s digital library would “allow for widescale copying that deprives creators of compensation and diminishes the incentive to produce new works.”
The decision is another blow to the nonprofit in the Hachette v. Internet Archive case. In 2020, four major publishers — Hachette, Penguin Random House, Wiley, and HarperCollins — sued the Internet Archive over claims its digital library constitutes “willful digital piracy on an industrial scale.”
The Internet Archive has long offered a system called the Open Library, where users can “check out” digital scans of physical books. The library was based on a principle called controlled digital lending, where each loan corresponds to a physically purchased book held in a library — avoiding, in theory, a piracy claim. It’s a fundamentally different system from programs like OverDrive, where publishers sell limited-time licenses to ebooks on their own terms.
However, the Internet Archive expanded its library project during the covid-19 pandemic. It launched the National Emergency Library, allowing an unlimited number of people to access the same copies of ebooks. That’s when the publishers banded together to file the lawsuit, targeting both online libraries.
The Second Circuit Court’s decision acknowledges the benefits and drawbacks of the Internet Archive’s digital library in its decision. But it ultimately sides with publishers:
On the one hand, eBook licensing fees may impose a burden on libraries and reduce access to creative work. On the other hand, authors have a right to be compensated in connection with the copying and distribution of their original creations. Congress balanced these “competing claims upon the public interest” in the Copyright Act. We must uphold that balance here.
Last year, a federal judge ruled that the Internet Archive doesn’t have the right to scan and lend out books in the same way a library would. The Internet Archive later appealed that decision.
“We are disappointed in today’s opinion about the Internet Archive’s digital lending of books that are available electronically elsewhere,” Chris Freeland, the director of library services at the Internet Archive, writes in a post on the site. “We are reviewing the court’s opinion and will continue to defend the rights of libraries to own, lend, and preserve books.” Freeland also points to a petition you can sign to restore access to the 500,000 books publishers restricted access to.
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