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California State Parks ‘reintroducing fire’ with prescribed burns at Santa Cruz County

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — Fire crews, decked out in bright yellow suits and helmets to match, dotted the parched meadowland at Wilder Ranch State Park Wednesday, methodically igniting light brown blankets of grass with orange flame as part of the latest round of prescribed burns in Santa Cruz County.The effort, which aims to collectively burn 300 acres of grassland, shrubbery and forest understory at the park within the next four to six days, is being led by California State Parks but includes crew members from Cal Fire, Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association and graduate students from San Jose State University.“Fire is a natural process, just like the water cycle and the carbon and the nitrogen cycle, that is fundamental to the landscape,” said Portia Halbert, a senior environmental scientist with State Parks and the incident commander leading the roughly 40-person crew Wednesday. “We are reintroducing fire to its natural role in the environment and it is an incredibly valuable tool for help...

Douthat: How Israel’s 9/11 tests American grand strategy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

Twenty-one years ago, in the shadow of the Sept. 11 attacks, George W. Bush warned of an “axis of evil,” encompassing the authoritarian and anti-American regimes of Iraq, Iran and North Korea. He did not claim that they were actually allies or partners in the style of Nazi Germany and imperial Japan. What made them an axis, in his rhetoric, was simply their ample cruelty, their shared pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their potential willingness to share such weapons with groups like al-Qaida.The Bush address was a classic post-9/11 speech, inflating the real dangers of pariah regimes via a dubious World War II analogy, forced through with bluster rather than defended by specifics. Many members of Bush’s team had spent their formative years focused on great power competition, and they preferred to conceptualize the war on terrorism in terms of enemy regimes that could be coerced or changed. This didn’t really make sense; there wasn’t actually an axis of culpable state actor...

Some downtown San Jose retail space may switch to homes after city OK

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

SAN JOSE — Some commercial space in a big apartment building in downtown San Jose might be converted to housing units, a fresh example of economic shifts in the wake of the coronavirus.The conversion is expected to involve ground-floor spaces that had been set aside for retail or office tenants in a 249-unit apartment building at 717 West Julian Street in downtown San Jose.The conversion is expected to produce 19 residential units in the six-story apartment building, which is at the corner of West Julian Street and Stockton Avenue a short distance from the SAP Center and Diridon train station.Hanover Diridon, a 249-unit, six-story apartment building at 717 West Julian Street in downtown San Jose. (Hanover Co.)The residential complex is known as Hanover Diridon and was built in 2021.Roughly 26,500 square feet of commercial space is slated to be transformed into 19 residential units, documents on file with San Jose city planners show.On-site amenities in the Hanover Diridon...

The 10 most expensive homes that reported sold in Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton the week of Sep. 25

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

A house in Pleasanton that sold for $4.4 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton in the past week.In total, 42 residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $2.4 million, $776 per square foot.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of Sep. 25 even if the property may have been sold earlier.10. $2.4 million, single-family home in the 3600 block of Deer Trail DriveThe sale of the single family residence in the 3600 block of Deer Trail Drive in Danville has been finalized. The price was $2,360,000, and the new owners took over the house in September. The house was built in 1989 and has a living area of 2,926 square feet. The price per square foot was $807. The house features three bedrooms and three bathrooms.9. $2.4 million, single-family residence in the 2500 block of Bassetts WayThe property ...

Alameda County sheriff searching for missing 14-year-old girl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

(KRON) -- The Alameda County Sheriff's Office is searching for a 14-year-old girl last seen on Oct. 6 around 8 a.m. when she was being dropped off at Hayward High School.Allison Bettencourt is a missing 14-year-old girl who is described as being 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 pounds. She has brown eyes and dark brown hair that goes down to the middle of her back. The sheriff’s office said it does not know what she was wearing when she was last seen.The 14-year-old is familiar with public transportation and the areas of Castro Valley, Hayward and Alameda, according to the sheriff’s office. Allison had a phone, but it is believed she did not have any money.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office at (510)-667-7721 or local law enforcement.

1 killed in Hayward crash involving several vehicles on I-880

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

(BCN) -- One person was killed in a crash involving several vehicles on Interstate Highway 880 in Hayward early Thursday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.The CHP said at least six vehicles were involved in the traffic collision that occurred in the highway's lanes near the West A Street offramp around 1 a.m.Shortly before 2 a.m., the lanes in the affected portion of I-880 were blocked and a special traffic alert was issued. At about 3:25 a.m., all lanes were cleared and reopened, the CHP said.There were no further details about the casualties immediately available.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

San Jose motorcyclist dies in crash in Oak Canyon neighborhood Wednesday night

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

(BCN) -- A male motorcyclist died due to a traffic collision in San Jose's Oak Canyon neighborhood Wednesday night, police said.The crash occurred in the area of Camden Avenue and Canna Lane around 11:15 p.m., the San Jose Police Department said on social media.The motorcycle rider was declared dead at the scene, according to police. There were no further details about the crash or the rider immediately available.This is the 40th fatal collision and the 41st traffic death of 2023 in San Jose, police said.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

US jobless claims remain at historically low 209,000, a sign of continuing labor market strength

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, remaining at historically low levels in another sign that the U.S. job market remains strong in the face of higher interest rates.Unemployment claims stayed at 209,000 for the week ending Oct. 7, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week moving average of claims, which strips out week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,000 to 206,250.The numbers, a proxy for layoffs, continue to show that American workers enjoy extraordinary job security. When the Federal Reserve began raising its benchmark interest rate last year to rein in surging consumer prices, many economists expected the United States to sink into recession.But the economy and the job market have remained sturdy even as higher rates have brought inflation down steadily from the four-decade highs reached in 2022. The combination of easing inflationary pressures and healthy hiring is raising hopes that the Fed can stick ...

X de Elon Musk dice que ha eliminado “cientos” de cuentas afiliadas a Hamas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

Londres (CNN) — X dice que ha eliminado “cientos de cuentas afiliadas a Hamas” y borrado miles de publicaciones desde el ataque a Israel por parte del grupo extremista.La Unión Europea le dio a la plataforma, anteriormente conocida como Twitter, 24 horas a principios de esta semana para abordar el contenido ilegal y la desinformación sobre el conflicto o enfrentar sanciones en virtud de la Ley de Servicios Digitales recientemente promulgada por el bloque.La directora ejecutiva Linda Yaccarino respondió al funcionario de la UE Thierry Breton en una carta fechada el miércoles que envió a X. Dijo que la compañía había “redistribuido recursos y reorientado los equipos internos que están trabajando las 24 horas del día para abordar esta situación en rápida evolución”.“No hay lugar en X para organizaciones terroristas o grupos extremistas violentos y continuamos eliminando esas cuentas en tiempo real”, escribió Yaccarino.“X está… abordando el cont...

US consumer inflation eased slightly in September, reflecting a slow cooling of price pressures

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — US consumer inflation eased slightly in September, reflecting a slow cooling of price pressures.Source