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Thousands of new trees coming to 10 Bay Area cities in bid to right old wrongs, address climate change

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

On the block where Consuelo Ramirez and her four children live in Oakland’s flatlands, only a single scruffy tree grows between the sidewalk and the street. A few others rise from backyards. Up in the Oakland hills to the east, spacious homes nestle beneath leafy, green canopies and trees line every road.“They have more money,” Ramirez, a single mother who retired at 53 after a workplace injury, said of her distant neighbors.And because those in the hills have more money and more trees, they have more shade, cooler summer days, more peace and quiet, more birds, squirrels and other animals — and, experts say, likely a better quality of life.Now, neighborhoods like Ramirez’s are set to turn greener through a grant program intended to put leaves over the heads of people hit harder by the climate crisis.Ten Bay Area cities have been awarded federal grants to plant, maintain and restore trees under a $1 billion program paid for by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act ...

Native Americans invited back to help protect and preserve their former lands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

For decades, Theresa Harlan was warned that her family’s beloved cabin in Point Reyes National Seashore would be torn down, erased like all other traces of Coastal Miwok heritage in this fog-veiled, wind-sculpted landscape.But now she has the park’s promise that it will stay, a small but symbolic gesture in the growing movement to correct historic wrongs and give Native Americans a voice about the fate of lands and waters that were once theirs.“There is a shift,” said Harlan, 63. “We are treated as stakeholders.”Long after being removed, sometimes violently, tribes are negotiating collaborative or cooperative roles in 80 national parks, including Point Reyes. This month, federal officials will release details about Native partnership in the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the Central California coast, the first tribal-nominated marine sanctuary designation in the nation.In another four national parks — Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona, Glac...

4 charged with stealing from California Macy’s suspected in 15 other thefts, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

Four people charged earlier this month with stealing thousands in clothing from Macy’s in Pasadena are suspected of committing retail thefts in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, police said.The group, who had Romanian passports, have been linked to 15 other thefts, according to Pasadena Police Lt. Carolyn Gordon. Details about the other crimes have not been released.“This group could have been doing it for awhile. I would say within the last two months,” she said.Police do not know yet when the suspects entered the U.S and how long they have been here.The suspects did not provide statements to police and claimed they could not speak English, she said.On Sept. 8, Pasadena detectives were conducting an operation on organized retail theft and vehicle burglaries that included businesses within the South Lake Shopping District.“We were targeting any group that walked into stores (and) was stealing,” Gordon said.Investigators spotted four people at the Macy’s at 40...

Pit bull puppy’s owner disputes California police statement that dog OD’d on fentanyl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

The owner of a pitbull puppy that Irvine police alleged overdosed on fentanyl is disputing claims made by police after the dog’s drug urine test came out negative.The Orange County District Attorney’s office has not yet filed charges against the couple, who were arrested Sept. 6 on suspicion of possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, as well as animal cruelty.Police say the drug test did not specifically test the 8-week-old puppy, Myla, for fentanyl. Additional blood work testing is being done, according to Irvine Police Sgt. Karie Davies.Meanwhile, as of Friday, Sept. 22, her owner has 3 days left to pay $2,586 the city of Irvine wants for vet bills and room and board for Myla, according to police.Paying the tab will allow Caleb Gibson of San Juan Capistrano to retain legal ownership of the puppy, police said, though he would not get the dog back until the investigation is resolved.Myla is currently being held at the Animal Care Center in Irvine.Gibson, 27, said he is a full-ti...

Kaiser says new COVID-19 booster shots coming as early as this week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

A new COVID-19 booster vaccine approved in mid-September has yet to make its way to Kaiser Permanente facilities, but that should be changing soon.The Oakland-based healthcare provider said Friday afternoon that booster shots will be coming online Monday, Sept. 25. An email sent to Kaiser members at 5 p.m. said vaccine appointments would begin Sept. 28 for members 12 years and older.“Appointments for children under 12 will become available as we receive supply,” the email reads.Walk-in vaccinations also will be available in select locations, Kaiser wrote, but it didn’t clarify where.“We will begin administering updated COVID-19 vaccines in most areas we serve … and possibly earlier at some locations,” Kaiser told the Southern California News Group earlier Friday.Also see: Kaiser’s 75,000 union employees to strike Oct. 4 if no deal struckThe FDA on Sept. 11 approved updated boosters from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech for people ages 12 and older. Younger people can get the shots under ...

Single family residence sells for $2.4 million in Fremont

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

40874 Calido Place – Google Street ViewA 1,902-square-foot house built in 1964 has changed hands. The property located in the 40800 block of Calido Place in Fremont was sold on Aug. 2, 2023. The $2,360,500 purchase price works out to $1,241 per square foot. This single-story house boasts a generous living space with four bedrooms and three baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. Additionally, the home is equipped with a garage.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:On Pajaro Drive, Fremont, in October 2022, a 2,052-square-foot home was sold for $1,960,000, a price per square foot of $955. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 2,409-square-foot home on Vaca Drive in Fremont sold for $2,320,000, a price per square foot of $963. The home has 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,068-square-foot home on the 1200 block of Durillo Court in Fremont sold in June 2023, for $2,350,000, a price per square foot of $1,136. The home has 3...

Silver alert issued for missing San Jose senior

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

(BCN) -- The California Highway Patrol has activated a Silver Alert early Monday morning on behalf of the San Jose Police Department for an at-risk missing senior.Anh Vu, 74, was last seen at noon Sunday in the area of Mercado Way and Eagle Way in San Jose, the CHP said in a social media post at 12:24 a.m. Monday.Vu was last seen wearing a light blue polo shirt, white undershirt, green pajama pants and house shoes. He is 5 feet 2 inches, weighs 110 pounds, has gray hair and brown eyes.Anh Vu, 74, was last seen Sept. 24, 2023 at noon in the area of Mercado Way and Eagle Way in San Jose, the California Highway Patrol said in a social media post on Sept. 25, 2023. (California Highway Patrol via Bay City News)Anyone with information should call 911, the CHP advised.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Molotov cocktail is thrown at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, but there’s no damage and no injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least one Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, but there was no significant damage and no one was injured. U.S. law enforcement officials were investigating.Secret Service officers were called around 8 p.m. Sunday to respond to the attack on a busy street in the Adams-Morgan section of the city. Embassy officials reported that someone had thrown a “possible incendiary device” at the building, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Monday. There was no fire or significant damage to the building, he said. No arrests had been made. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on X, formerly called Twitter, that the Cuban Embassy “was the target of a terrorist attack by an individual who threw 2 Molotov cocktails.” He said no one was injured. A spokesman for the Cuban Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for additional information on Monday.In 2020, a Cuban man who sought asylum in the U.S. opened fire with an AK-47 ...

The chairman of Hong Kong’s leading journalist group gets jail term for obstructing a police officer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — The chairman of Hong Kong’s leading journalist group received a five-day jail term after he was found guilty of obstructing a police officer on Monday in a case that sparked concerns about the city’s declining press freedom. Ronson Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association and a journalist of online news outlet Channel C, was arrested last September while he was on his way to a reporting assignment. He was accused of refusing to show the plainclothes officer his identity card upon request. Chan’s arrest fuelled concerns about the erosion of media freedom in Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a national security law to crush dissent following the city’s massive pro-democracy protests in 2019. The former British colony was promised to keep its Western-style civil liberties for 50 years when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Magistrate Leung Ka-kie on Monday ruled that Chan had deliberately obstructed the officer from carrying out her du...

Call for sanctions as homophobic chants again overshadow French soccer’s biggest game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:37 GMT

Homophobic chanting by sections of Paris Saint-Germain fans targeting Marseille players has again marred the biggest game in French soccer, prompting calls for sanctions.Olivier Klein, the inter-ministerial delegate for the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and anti-LGBT hatred (Dilcrah), posted a video on Monday of PSG supporters using insulting homophobic slurs aimed at their Marseille rivals. PSG won the game at the Parc des Princes 4-0. “Very shocked by the unbearable homophobic chants heard at the Parc des Princes,” Klein said on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. He added that he will ask PSG and the French league authorities to bring in sanctions, and will look at the possibility of starting judicial action.In another video, some PSG players were filmed using insults directed at Marseille supporters while celebrating with youngsters at the end of the match.French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera joined the criticism of the fans....