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Soucheray: Twinkle, twinkle, little meaningless star

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

The top six submissions to become the new state flag are now in the hands of the State Emblems Redesign Commission, one of the six to be chosen by Jan. 1. The commission’s task is unenviable, but made easier by the six finalists all being equally meaningless.The finalists are the same flag. The commission can’t go wrong.All six feature a star, or a facsimile of a star. And all six feature the star placed in a variety of positions on the field, upper left, center, right middle. The fields are blue, green or white.The fear of the submissions being meaningful is palpable. Our public decision-making has been infused with timidity disguised as virtue, so as not to offend any human, animal or plant. The state holds that we are incapable of discernment and thus will enforce the whitewashing of what used to be called American history.None of this is an indictment of the applicants or their designs. They were handcuffed at the starting line. The commission presented six rules, including simp...

Working Strategies: Thanksgiving leftovers — thoughts, that is.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

Amy LindgrenEvery once in a while I like to present random thoughts and ideas that are too small to make up a column of their own. Thanksgiving week is a good time for something disjointed, given how our attention is split between shopping and family and food and football. Ready? Here are some things I’ve been pondering lately:Tech snobberyFor years I’ve been hearing that people with a legacy email address — think aol, hotmail, earthlink — are practically shouting “I’m old and I don’t understand technology.” Huh? There was even a point where career columnists (not yours truly) were sincerely advising job seekers to demonstrate their hipness by using gmail. I always wondered if there was a kickback in there somewhere.For sure someone’s going to write to tell me this is a real thing, and I welcome the input. But really?Text snobberyAnd while you’re writing, you can tell me what you think about the advice to omit periods and other punctuation from texts, for fear of looking...

Colorado snow totals for November 25, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

The following Colorado snow totals have been reported by the National Weather Service for November 24, 2023, as of 8:45 a.m. Saturday:Air Force Academy, CO — 1.6 inches at 5:57 a.m.Arvada, CO — 3 inches at 1:12 p.m. – 11/24/2023Avon, CO — 3.8 inches at 8:23 a.m.Bailey, CO — 3.3 inches at 9:49 a.m. – 11/24/2023Beulah, CO — 2 inches at 3:49 p.m. – 11/24/2023Boulder, CO — 6.5 inches at 7:33 p.m. – 11/24/2023Chama, CO — 5 inches at 6:26 a.m.Clifton, CO — 3.5 inches at 6:30 a.m.Creede, CO — 5 inches at 8:10 a.m.Crescent Village, CO — 4 inches at 9 a.m. – 11/24/2023Related ArticlesWeather | Colorado snow totals for November 24, 2023 Weather | Colorado snow totals for Nov. 19-20, 2023 Weather | Colorado weather: Foothills west of Denver, Boulder blanketed in heavy snow Wednesday evening Weather | Colorado snow totals for Nov. 8-9, 2023 We...

Photos: Bay Area high school football NCS and CCS championships, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

 Pittsburg 37, San Ramon Valley 21See a photo you like? Click Here to see these and more and to purchase high-quality prints or a keepsake photos on mugs, buttons, greeting cards, and more.Pittsburg quarterback Marley Alcantara raises the first place plaque after defeating San Ramon Valley during their North Coast Section Division I championship game at Dublin High School in Dublin, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Pittsburg defeated San Ramon Valley 37-21. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Pittsburg’s Jadyn Hudson (10) intercepts a pass intended for San Ramon Valley’s Marco Jones (23) in the fourth quarter of their North Coast Section Division I championship game at Dublin High School in Dublin, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) San Ramon Valley’s Jack Pustejovsky (50), left, consoles teammate Kevin Spears (33) after their North Coast Section Division I championship game at Dublin High School in Dublin, Calif., on Fr...

Cal-UCLA: Bears confident they’ll become bowl eligible by winning final Pac-12 game

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

Cal will bid farewell to a 108-year association with the Pac-12 Conference and its related ancestors in a Saturday night game against UCLA that will determine whether the Bears’ 2023 season is done.The Bears (5-6, 3-5), who will join the Atlantic Coast Conference next fall, have unfinished business in the Pac, their home since 1915, when the league was called the Pacific Coast Conference. Cal has won its past two games and with a victory in this one will be bowl eligible for the first time since 2019.Cal and UCLA (7-4, 4-4) will duel at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, their 7:30 p.m. kickoff making it the final regular-season game the league history.Asked this week to evaluate his progress in six starts while heading into his final game of the season, redshirt freshman Fernando Mendoza politely altered the context of the question.“I’m sorry to correct you,” he said, “but this is not going to be our last game of the season as we are going to make the bowl game and I’m extremely confident ...

There’s good news and bad news about the gray whale migration

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

Amazing graysThe gray whales are heading south to Baja California and passing our coast on their way to warmer Mexican waters and birthing grounds. The migration is one of the longest for any mammal.BasicsGray whale (Eschrichtius robustus)Weight: 80,000 poundsLifespan: Unknown, believed to be as long as 80 years.Gray whales migrate about 12,500 miles round trip from Alaska to Mexico. Some have been tracked for more than 14,000 miles.Migration patternGray whales can be seen passing by California in December and January during their southern migration, and again between mid-February and early May on their journey north.In December, gray whales begin to arrive at Baja lagoons where the females give birth. Throughout February and March, the males and females without calves begin to depart Baja and head north to cooler waters in Alaska. The whales spend the summer in the cool feeding grounds of the north.The pregnant mothers and females nursing newborn calves are the last to head north i...

Suspect in killing of brother of ex-Laker Michael Cooper charged with 2 other crimes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

The suspect in the Pasadena fatal shooting of the brother of ex LA Laker Michael Cooper is also suspected of shooting a man in the neck at the same park and pointing a gun to the head of another man while at a Pasadena gas station, police said Wednesday.The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Nov. 21, 2023 charged Aaron Conell, 24, of Pasadena with killing Mickey Cooper, the brother of former Laker Michael Cooper, at Washington Park in Pasadena, trying to kill another man at the park and pointing a gun at a man while at a Pasadena gas station. He remains in custody. (Photo courtesy of the Pasadena Police Department) There are no connections between the victims, and no connections between the victims and the suspect, Aaron Conell, 24, of Pasadena, Pasadena Police Lt. Keith Gomez said during a Wednesday press conference held in front of Pasadena City Hall.There’s no definite motive for the murder of Mickey Cooper or the shooting that occurred a couple of weeks earlie...

California versus Florida: A look at the states before Gov. Newsom debates Gov. DeSantis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom will take part in a televised 90-minute debate moderated by Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Nov. 30. The two ideologically opposed governors first agreed to take each other on in early August, but negotiations stalled for weeks over the proposed rules.Newsom’s sideEmphasizing that they “want a real debate — not a circus,” Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click said in a statement, “We’ve agreed to the debate — provided there is no cheering section, no hype videos or any of the other crutches DeSantis requested.”Gavin Christopher NewsomAge: 56, born in San FranciscoNewsom’s father was an attorney for Getty Oil. His parents divorced when he was age 3.He struggled with dyslexia as a child.Newsom played baseball for Santa Clara University for two years, then injured his arm. He graduated with a degree in political science in 1989.With help from Gordon Getty and other investors Newsom created a company called PlumpJack Associates L.P. in 199...

Christmas party at California Taco Bell turned into night of debauchery in 2022, lawsuit claims

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

A Christmas party at a Taco Bell in San Pedro descended into an alcohol-fueled night of debauchery in 2022, with one employee engaged in sex with his wife in front of others while his wife was seen kissing the restaurant supervisor and another woman, alleges a lawsuit filed by a former cashier.Alana Bechiom, who worked for Taco Bell less than a year, said in the lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court that she endured threats and vandalism from co-workers for reporting what happened and was so overcome with stress and anxiety that she resigned days later.Bechiom, who is seeking unspecified damages, is suing Taco Bell Corp.; Alvarado Restaurant Group, a Colorado company that owns the San Pedro restaurant franchise; and former supervisor Lidia Ruiz.Officials with Taco Bell and Alvarado Restaurant Group did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. Attorneys for Bechiom could not be reached for comment.The lawsuit alleges Ruiz organized the Christmas party on...

Student homelessness grows in San Jose school district

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:50 GMT

(BCN) -- The number of homeless high school students and families in one East San Jose school district has increased threefold in just three years.The East Side Union High School District has approximately 900 unhoused students, compared to 300 in 2020. Officials said the number continues to climb and cite inflation, cost of living increases and the rollback of COVID-19 pandemic renter protections as the key culprits. The number of homeless students in the district is projected to reach about 1,000 by the end of the year, district spokesperson Sergio Diaz Luna said.Peter Allen, communications coordinator with the East Side Education Foundation, said the number of homeless students is spiking because the definition of homeless has expanded to include not only students living on the street, but in vehicles, having three families sharing a two-bedroom apartment or couch surfing. He said more students are willing to self-identify and the school district has gotten better at identifying ...