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PORTLAND, Ore. – First the reasoning, at least the external perspective. The Miami Heat balked at offering Jimmy Butler a maximum extension because at his age (35), recent history of missed games, and indifference to the regular season. Certainly a reasonable stance. But then the Heat, who could not have been more public in announcing they were open for trades, balked at the quality of offers because they were not believed to be commensurate for a player of Butler’s value. Wait, what? To that end, it would seem that any potential Butler landing spot eventually would stand as a land of confusion. What we seemingly have here is a player not valued by the Heat to the degree that the player values himself, but also valued by the Heat as a prime asset on the trade market. Again, wait, what? The Heat, when given the opportunity to extend paper and pen for an extension, resisted at the cost of doing such business.

By KELVIN CHAN, Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The new year is always a good time to make a fresh start — including with your email inbox. To kick off 2025 with a clean slate, why not clear out all those unnecessary and unwanted messages? If you’re anything like me, you’ll have piles of messages that have been accumulating in your inbox: receipts, bank and credit card statements, mobile phone bills, plane tickets, restaurant bookings, reminders, security warnings, spam and more. Mixed in with all that administrative detritus might be some personal missives from friends and family that are worth keeping. Related Articles Things To Do | The complete list of national parks that require reservations in 2025 Things To Do | Column: In the blur of awards season, let those strange and unfamiliar movie titles be an invitation Things To Do | Participate or keep it quiet?

Dear Eric: My husband and I live next door to a family that, when having work done at their house, tends to use low-wage, unlicensed workers. We found out they are getting their driveway repaved. The men we saw with our neighbor were in an unmarked truck and may not be professional concrete workers. I said to my husband that if they start jackhammering into the driveway without calling the utility company to get the underground utilities marked, I was going to call the utility company.

Lou Schiff says he “grew up in retail.” The kid from Brooklyn didn’t realize it at the time, but it was an ideal training ground for how he would spend much of his working life — as a Broward County judge. “People will remember how you treated them long after they’ve forgotten what the results of their case were,” he says. He grew up rooting for the Amazin’ Mets in 1969 and once dreamed of a career in baseball or playing the trumpet.

This is “Small Bites,” a South Florida Sun Sentinel feature with tiny tidbits on the food and beverage scene — because we know that sometimes you just don’t have room for a long article. You want a little news brief instead, an amuse bouche of information, if you will. Enjoy! WHAT/WHEN: Chef-tastics such as Todd English, Mario Carbone, Fabio Trabocchi, Lindsay Autry, Stéphane Andrieux, Laurent Tourondel and others will bring their gastronomic greatness to Artisans of Wine and Food in Boca Raton this month. The inaugural event, from Jan.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: At casual restaurants and upscale establishments alike, I am frequently served a large piece of meat perched atop a too-full bowl — say, a large piece of grilled chicken on an overflowing salad bowl, or tennis-ball-sized meatballs perilously balanced on a full bowl of pasta. What is a graceful way to cut the featured protein?