STOMP, the international percussion sensation, returns to the historic Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center April 26-27, 2024. From its beginnings as a street performance in the UK, STOMP has grown into an international sensation over the past 28 years, having performed in more than 50 countries and in front of more than 26 million people. Single tickets are available today, Friday, August 4 beginning at 10 a.m. EST at Ticketmaster.com. 

Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP continues to tour North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia following long term sit down productions in London, New York and San Francisco. Throughout its life, the show has continued to change by creating new material; next year/this year (depending on when release goes out), it will incorporate two new pieces.  It is safe to say you will never again look at supermarket carts  or plumbing fixtures the same way… or paint cans, or kitchen sinks or… 

STOMP, an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards, and sell-out engagements, is the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London’s Tony Award), a New York Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a Special Citation from Best Plays.

In addition to the stage shows, STOMP has been an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards, an Academy Award nomination, four Emmy nominations and one Emmy Award for their acclaimed HBO special Stomp Out Loud, noteworthy TV appearances including The London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony, The Academy Awards (produced by Quincy Jones), Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and a series of award-winning international commercials.

The performers “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound,” says co-founder/director Luke Cresswell.  A unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy, STOMP has created its own inimitable, contemporary form of rhythmic expression: both household and industrial objects find new life as musical instruments in the hands of an idiosyncratic band of body percussionists.  It is a journey through sound, a celebration of the everyday and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and drum.

Synchronized stiff-bristle brooms become a sweeping orchestra, eight Zippo lighters flip open and closed to create a fiery fugue; wooden poles thump and clack in a rhythmic explosion. STOMP uses everything but conventional percussion instruments – dustbins, tea chests, radiator hoses, boots, hub caps – to fill the stage with a compelling and unique act that is often imitated but never duplicated.

Critics and audiences have raved: “STOMP is as crisp and exuberant as if it had opened yesterday,” says The New York Times. The San Francisco Chronicle declares “STOMP has a beat that just won’t quit!” The Los Angeles Times exclaims: “Electrifying! Triumphs in the infinite variety of the human experience.” “A phenomenal show! Bashing, crashing, smashing, swishing, banging and kicking – a joyous invention!” says the Chicago Tribune.

Tickets are available at the Hippodrome Box Office (M-F, 1-3 p.m. and show days 11 a.m. to curtain) or online at Ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more should contact Groups@baltimorehippodrome.com. 

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In the immediate aftermath of the June 9 mass shooting in the Mission District, much internet anger was directed at a cruise robotic taxi that allegedly blocked the emergency response to the attack.

The facts came to light after the immediate excitement on social media had died down. Both Cruise and the San Francisco Police Department said the autonomous vehicle did not impede responders or interfere with the investigation.

But as law enforcement and transportation officials in San Francisco increasingly interact with the new technology, one issue that is baffling local authorities is the fact that autonomous vehicles — unlike human drivers — are not responsible for common traffic violations such as reckless driving or autonomous driving speeding can be held responsible mode.

Though an unlimited expansion of San Francisco’s cruise and Waymo fleets could happen as early as the end of the month, the legal gray area would likely require a change in new state laws.

Additionally, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, there is no mechanism in state law for such violations, resulting in penalties prohibiting the use of an autonomous vehicle on public roads.

Led by the SFMTA, local officials have taken concerted action to slow the deployment of autonomous vehicles on city streets. Although the technology is primarily regulated at the state level, local officials have attempted to reach out to state and federal regulators.

Jeffrey Tumlin, Director of Transportation, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency | Justin Katigbak for The Standard

Jeffrey Tumlin, director of transportation at SFMTA, said the city lacks the legal authority to citation autonomous vehicles for traffic violations, in part because there is no person to citation.

“If you’re a police officer out there and a vehicle violates vehicle regulations, which happens every day in San Francisco, who do you report?” Tumlin said in an interview. “More work needs to be done to clarify what happens when an autonomous vehicle breaks the law.”

A document governing the San Francisco Police Department’s interactions with autonomous vehicles, issued last September and signed by Chief Bill Scott, contains two lines that appear to be at odds.

The document states: “There are no exemptions for AVs from the Highway Code or other specific regulations of the.” [California vehicle code].” However, it also notes that “this time, no traffic violation charge can be issued when the AV is operated in driverless mode.”

When asked about the discrepancy, an SFPD spokesman said, “To my knowledge, there are no parking tickets in California for self-driving vehicles committing traffic violations.”

The spokesman said autonomous vehicles can be charged with “repair” violations such as a broken taillight, but referred other issues to state authorities.

When asked about their guidelines on citing autonomous vehicles, the California Public Utilities Commission referred the investigation to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

A department representative said the SFMTA has the ability to cite driverless AV vehicles based on local municipal regulations regarding traffic delays, but added that the DMV has no power to enforce traffic violations. The agency said that a requirement for a company to receive a self-driving permit is that the “vehicle is designed to recognize and respond to situations on the road.”

“If there is a disproportionate risk to public safety, the DMV can immediately suspend or revoke permits,” the agency said in a statement.

A Waymo car drives down a street in San Francisco on March 1, 2023. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Robotaxi companies like Cruise have said their public safety records and data sharing with regulators go far beyond what typical human drivers need to do. A Cruise representative also noted that the SFMTA has cited autonomous vehicles in San Francisco for other violations.

SFMTA currently has the ability to flag autonomous vehicles for parking violations as well as violations recorded by red light cameras, as these are tied to a vehicle and not an individual driver.

According to the SFMTA, Cruise has committed more than 40 of those violations since last June, ranging from parking in a bus zone to double parking to obstructing traffic. Waymo committed more than 90 such violations during the same period. According to SFMTA records, some of these tickets are unpaid.

Tumlin, who has strongly opposed the immediate, unlimited spread of autonomous vehicles over safety concerns, said city officials are lobbying the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission for new rules. However, barring action from state regulators, new legislation from state legislatures would be required.

In a signed statement submitted to the state supply commission, Shawn McCormick, SFMTA director of parking enforcement and traffic, said he observed Cruise and Waymo vehicles commit traffic violations by illegally entering a marked work site.

Other movement violations recorded and shared via social media include examples of autonomous vehicles driving into the scene of an active fire and failing to avoid an emergency vehicle with its siren on. Under current law, these violations of self-driving car regulations are unenforceable.

“There have been instances where the vehicles would practically freak out and stop in the middle of the street,” said Floyd Rollins, the president of San Francisco Fire Fighters Local 978. Rollins said he wasn’t aware that autonomous vehicles could not be named for common move violations and called the fact “very disturbing”.

Firefighters were trained on how to contact autonomous vehicle manufacturers’ central guidance systems in an emergency, but Rollins likened that process to the reality of responding to an emergency.

“In an emergency, who takes the time to pick up the phone and call someone?” Rollins said. “Nine times out of ten, when we’re dealing with something, it’s a matter of minutes.”

He worries that without cooperation to resolve this issue, it’s only a matter of time before a tight decision turns into something much worse.

“Somebody has to take responsibility and take care of it before something really goes wrong,” Rollins said.

Editor Julie Makinen contributed to this report.

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(KMOV.com) — As the No. 4 seed in the NFC entering the playoffs, the Rams needed some upsets on the other side of the bracket in order to host the NFC Championship Game at Stan Kroenke’s favorite little money pit, SoFi Stadium.

When the San Francisco 49ers defeated the No. 1 seed Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, that window of opportunity opened for the Rams to host the game assuming they could get past Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Sunday. The Rams put on an impressive showing in eliminating the defending Super Bowl champions in Tampa, setting them up to host the 49ers next weekend.

In most circumstances, that would be something for a team to celebrate. But the Rams in LA don’t exactly have a dome-field advantage when it comes to facing the 49ers.

Lots of 49ers fans at SoFi. pic.twitter.com/yYciQv7jmA

— David Ochoa (@DavidOchoaTV) January 9, 2022

When the Rams and 49ers last played at SoFi Stadium in Week 18 this season—a win that San Francisco needed just to sneak into the playoffs—49ers fans flooded the stands with red and made their presence known.

Listening to the crowd noise on television, you’d have thought the 49ers were the home team for that game. Your eyes would have told a similar story. Apart from the blue end zone and electronic signage visible in the background behind 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, that’s a Rams road game:

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) reacts on his touchdown during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Kyusung Gong

With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line this time around, the Rams are trying to do something about it.

Ticketmaster screenshots began circulating Sunday as the Rams noted that public sales for the NFC Championship Game would be restricted to residents of the Greater Los Angeles region. The alert on the ticket-broker’s website stated that LA residency would be verified at checkout based on the billing address associated with the purchaser’s credit card.

It’s a desperate ploy, an example of ‘prevent defense’ that likely won’t work out as the team intends.

The cheapest current ticket for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the Rams and 49ers at SoFi Stadium is over $600. One ticket broker just told me, “It’s going to be a sea of ​​red again. Rams fans are growing, but they aren’t paying $600 for nosebleed tickets. Not happening.” pic.twitter.com/RWC4EsUYxk

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) January 23, 2022

It’s as though Kroenke and Kevin Demoff are deluded into believing 49ers fans don’t know anyone in LA that can lend a hand in facilitating a ticket purchase.

And don’t be surprised, Enos, when Los Angeles residents assist with those requests from their San Francisco fan friends, because LA simply doesn’t care about winning Rams football the way St. Louis would have.

That’s something you’d have realized if, you know, you had ever bothered to put a capable product on the field for the final decade of the team’s time in the Lou.

Of course, we know this by now in St. Louis. Rams brass built a consistently listless team in the years before bolting for Los Angeles in 2016. They failed to achieve even one winning season from 2004 to 2015. They lied and deceived anyone in their path en route to a relocation that was an outright violation of the NFL’s own relocation guidelines. They recently agreed to cough up $790 million to St. Louis in a settlement that proves they darn well knew it.

And even putting everything else aside, from a pure football perspective, it really is a crime.

Since moving to Los Angeles, Kroenke and Co. have completely shifted gears. Wouldn’t you know it, they started trying to win. Signing marquee free agents and executing trades to bring in winning players. It’s as though they began paying attention to the draft. With a third-round pick in 2017, they found Cooper Kupp.

Look, you don’t have to like the Rams—I sure as heck don’t—but even the most embittered former St. Louis Rams fans would have to admit that Kupp is a superstar. He won the wide receiver triple crown this season, leading the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He’s certainly the kind of player St. Louis would have fallen in love with.

STL would be losing its ever-loving mind, donating plasma and taking out second mortgages to support a Rams team like this one. That’s just a fact. https://t.co/0iC0gvheMb

— Brenden Schaeffer (@bschaeffer12) January 24, 2022

One thing is for certain. If this game were being played in St. Louis, you wouldn’t have players’ wives begging people on social media not to sell their tickets to the opposing team’s fan base.

If you @RamsNFL fans want to sell your tickets – I’ll buy them. Just DO NOT sell them to the other team PLEASE!

— Melissa Whitworth (@mrs_whit77) January 23, 2022

Los Angeles has a Rams team that St. Louis would have bent over backwards to support, and their city doesn’t seem to care. The Rams are so concerned about the apathy from their new home fans that they feel the need to play some prevent defense long before the game even kicks off.

Copyright 2022 KMOV. All rights reserved.

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