Mercer County Master Gardeners to host bus trip

Mercer County Master Gardeners to host bus trip

The Mercer County Master Gardeners are sponsoring a one-day bus trip Aug. 3 to Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio. The bus will depart from the Mercer Extension Office, 463 N. Perry Highway, Mercer, Pa., at 6:45 a.m. and return the same evening about 8:30 p.m. The bus trip includes deluxe motor coach transportation, admission fees to Holden Arboretum with a guided walking or tram tour, access to the Canopy Walk and Emergent Tower (weather permitting) and a boxed lunch; a visit to Patterson Fruit Farm Market and a family-style dinner at Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen. The cost for the trip is $100 per person.

Penn State encourages people with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, contact Susan Lanigan at 724-662-3141 in advance of your participation or visit.

Register online with any major credit card (MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express) at: https://extension.psu.edu/master-gardener-bus-trip-to-holden-arboretum. Or, call toll free at 1-877-345-0691 weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Register early as seating is limited. Registration deadline is July 1.

For information, call the Mercer Extension Office at 724-662-3141.

Ambassadors to help tourists in Rapid City

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP)

Ambassadors will hit downtown Rapid City to hand out maps to tourists, suggest restaurants and point out attractions.

The ambassadors will wear bright red shirts with white lettering saying “Downtown Ambassador.”

The new program launched June 2 and runs through September. Ambassadors will be on the streets from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Mayor Steve Allender tells the Rapid City Journal the ambassadors will be “the friendliest person you see downtown.” In addition to helping tourists, the job description says ambassadors also will “serve as additional eyes and ears” for police and fire departments.

Taco Bell-themed hotel to open for 3 nights in August

IRVINE, Calif. (AP)

It’s nacho average hotel.

Taco Bell is taking over a hotel in Palm Springs, Calif., for three nights in August.

The fast-food chain says everything will be Taco Bell-themed, from the room decor to the breakfast menu to pool floaties shaped like hot sauce packets.

There will be Taco Bell snacks and cocktails and Taco Bell nail art in the salon. A few new menu items will also debut there.

Irvine-based Taco Bell isn’t yet saying which actual hotel is hosting the event. Reservations will be available starting next month.

African lion exhibit opens in NOLA

NEW ORLEANS (AP)

A new lion exhibit is opening at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

During a recent tour, the African lions were seen lounging in the shade of an enormous rock surrounded by open grass and tree limbs.

The scene is reminiscent of the African Savannah and is part of the new exhibit. Visitors will be able to see critically endangered lions – three females and a full-maned male – from the safety of a fictional train station.

Rail cars with glass-fronted openings to the “savanna” include informational displays about threats facing lions in the wild, such as poaching and habitat loss, as well as efforts being done to save them.

Zoo curator and vice president Joel Hamilton says there are only about 20,000 lions left in Africa.