Short to ‘protect fun’ as town mayor
Martin Short’s next gig will be the mayor of Funner, California.
The two-time Emmy Award winner will be inaugurated May 13 as the next city leader of the small town.
It is the home of the sprawling Harrah’s Resort Southern California, about one hour northeast of downtown San Diego.
The “Only Murders in the Building” star will serve a two-year term in the position. Past officials include David Hasselhoff and, most recently, Jane Lynch, who co-starred in the hit Hulu series with Short.
“As the mayor-elect of Funner, I promise to be more than just a spokesperson dressed in purple from head-to-toe, but instead, the best mayor in the whole darn state,” Short said in a statement. “It’s my goal to make every part of the already fun Harrah’s Resort SoCal even Funner, and I can’t wait to share my plans with all of my constituents in just six short weeks.”
Funner, once part of
Valley Center, California, was officially renamed in 2016 by the Rincon Tribe, which runs the Native American casino-resort.
Short, 74, promises to take the oath to work with Funner’s City Council “to protect fun, good times, laughing out loud and positive vibes from the negative influences determined to turn a smile upside down.”
Jiménez wins PEN/ Faulkner Award:
Claire Jiménez’s “What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez,” a hard-hitting and comic novel set in New York City about a Puerto Rican family’s search for a missing girl, has won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The award, announced Tuesday, includes a $15,000 prize.
“Claire Jiménez has crafted a visceral work of art full of nuance, humor, and humanity, through incisive and loving character work, the finely calibrated unspooling of narrative, and the exquisite deployment of language, ranging from poetic prose to Spanglish to the sociolect of working-class
Staten Island,” a statement by the prize judges said.
The four other finalists — Jamel Brinkley for “Witness,” Henry Hoke for “Open Throat,” Alice McDermott for “Absolution” and Colin Winnette for “Users” — will each receive $5,000.
Walter earns First Book Award:
Robin Walter’s “Little Mercy,” a debut collection of verse that celebrates the natural world, has won the 2024 Academy of American Poets’ First Book Award.
Walter will receive $5,000 and a six-week residency in Umbria, Italy. Her book will be published next year by Graywolf Press, an independent publisher whose authors have included Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Alexander and former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith. The academy plans to purchase thousands of copies and distribute them to members.
Walter’s book was chosen by fellow poet Victoria Chang, who in a statement Wednesday called Walter’s work “melodious and wise.”