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Latest line: A good week for tree trimmers, a bad week for convicted prison warden

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

Tree companiesAfter a winter filled with a dozen atmospheric river storms, and extreme wind events across Northern California, demand for workers to remove fallen and dangerously leaning trees is sky-high.    Ray J. GarciaFormer warden of FCI Dublin, a prison in Alameda County, is sentenced to nearly six years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing three female inmates and lying to investigators.   Gavin NewsomGovernor’s plan to give California Energy Commission new powers to investigate gas prices and cap oil industry profits wins committee vote. But there’s still a long way to go before it becomes law. 

Oakland A’s breaking camp: What we learned in Arizona

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

The A’s returned to the Bay Area with nearly as many questions as when they opened camp in Arizona two months ago.That’s not surprising for a team in a full-scale rebuild, a team that is coming off a 102-loss season and likely will challenge triple-digit losses again in 2023.The A’s broke camp in Arizona with the worst record in the Cactus League, and they have a daunting schedule in the opening weeks of the regular season. But after some of the A’s young core and other top prospects showed encouraging signs in the desert, there is reason to believe better days might be ahead.A lot of puzzle pieces remain for second-year manager Mark Kotsay and his staff heading into Thursday’s opener at home against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels, And the 26 players who make the Opening Day roster will be just the starting point in another season likely full of unprecedented roster movement. Oakland used a franchise-record 64 players last season, and it would be surprisi...

They said it: Freak weather

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

“I’m a scientist. I tend to not be a fan of flamboyant adjectives. But after the winter we’ve had, to get something like yesterday, I thought it was extraordinary.”— National Weather Service meteorologist Warren Blier on Tuesday’s rare “bomb cyclone” storm that split into two swirling low-pressure zones in what’s known as the Fujiwhara Effect. It blew down trees and electrical wires, killing three people across the Bay Area.

‘Holding my car hostage’: Bay Area drivers face DMV registration holds amid mounting express lane debt

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

Brenda Angulo’s license plate has been pinging off the Bay Area’s growing network of electronic toll transponders — into a colossal $30,000 bill.There were dozens of bridge tolls, and a flurry of express lane fees. For the past three years, they went unpaid as invoices filled Angulo’s mailbox.But when Angulo went to renew her DMV vehicle registration this year, she was floored by the sticker shock. A single 50-cent express lane fee from last April would now cost her $73.50 with penalties — an increase of 14,700%. And if she wanted to keep her Mazda on the road, she also would have to fork over $2,523, which included her annual registration fees and a portion of her unpaid tolls.The total Angulo owed to multiple express lane and bridge toll agencies was far worse, climbing to over $30,000 made up mostly of late payment fees and other fines, tacked on to her original charges of about $3,000.“I don’t have this money. I’m paying tuition, b...

Analysis: Five pressing questions SF Giants did or didn’t answer in spring training

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The cardboard boxes that appeared in front of players’ lockers this week slowly began to fill with their belongings and on Saturday morning were loaded into equipment trucks, their last stop on their way to San Francisco. There is no surer sign of the end of spring training than the presence of those big box trucks in the parking lot.The Giants arrived in Scottsdale six weeks ago with questions to answer. As they departed Saturday, their catching situation remained murky as ever, and they carry some injury concerns into Opening Day, but they can head home happy with some of the positive developments of camp.“I feel good about the depth of our team relative to the last couple years,” manager Gabe Kapler said Saturday morning, a few hours before their Cactus League finale against the Mariners. “I feel like our defense is improved … I feel great about where our starting pitching is. Good depth at Triple-A too. I think we’re in a f...

Why are so many Bay Area trees turning destructive and deadly in recent storms? The answer is years in the making

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

The same urban canopy that provides so much relief in the Bay Area’s summer is now exacting a winter toll, with hundreds of trees weakened by years of drought collapsing in relentless rain and wind — claiming lives, buildings and roads.“Like for us humans, it takes a little bit of time to recover from stress, the lack of water and high summer temperature,” said UC Davis ecologist Alessandro Ossola, who specializes in urban areas. “Some of our trees are failing to adjust to newly wet soil and atmospheric conditions….they’re simply unable to cope when climate and environmental conditions revert too fast.”In nature, downed trees are not a problem, but a benefit. They renew the forest by creating a home for fungus, insects, wildlife and sunlit space for new seedlings.But in neighborhoods, they have been destructive and deadly. On Tuesday, during the last in a series of strong atmospheric river storms, trees claimed the lives of five people in the Bay ...

Could the Silicon Valley Bank collapse be a good thing for Bay Area homebuyers?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

The Silicon Valley Bank meltdown has roiled the banking system, financial markets, the tech sector and even the Napa Valley wine industry. But the economic instability is also bringing a measure of relief to homebuyers struggling to afford a Bay Area real estate market where prices are starting to rebound after months of declines: lower mortgage rates.And with the Federal Reserve’s decision this week to scale back raising its benchmark interest rate in response to the financial turmoil, mortgage rates will likely stay lower and could even dip through the rest of the year, according to some real estate experts and economists.While recent headlines may be giving buyers unease, a rate break could mean hundreds of dollars in savings on monthly home payments.“Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is good for real estate,” said Chris Thornberg, an economist and founder of Beacon Economics. “I mean it.”A typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42% this w...

ANÁLISIS | Con el plan de armas nucleares tácticas en Belarús, Putin opta por asustas al mundo para distraerlo de sus problemas

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente de Rusia Vladimir Putin dice que planea desplegar armas nucleares tácticas en Belarús, el aliado vecino donde ha organizado parte de su invasión de Ucrania desde febrero de 2022. Cuando el mandatario ruso usa la palabra “nuclear”, el mundo presta atención y esa parece ser una de las principales razones por las que lo dijo.Como es habitual con Putin, el mundo debería leer la letra pequeña y comprobar el contexto. Las armas que Putin planea trasladar a Belarús no son armas nucleares estratégicas, esos gigantescos misiles balísticos intercontinentales que, si se disparan, podrían acabar con la vida en la tierra.Aumentan las tensiones en la frontera de Belarús y Ucrania, en medio de preocupaciones por una ofensiva rusa en primaveraLas armas nucleares tácticas son más pequeñas, pero poderosas, y pueden usarse en el campo de batalla. Putin amenazó con la posibilidad de una guerra nuclear durante este año, especialmente cuando su operación militar en Ucrania no ...

18-year-old arrested, charged with murder after running from scene of Fairfax shooting

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

An 18-year-old man was arrested on Saturday hours after police say he shot and killed someone in a Fairfax, Virginia, apartment and ran from the scene.Fairfax County police said Darren Cruz Colindres, of Vienna, was at a second-level apartment in the 10400 block of Viera Lane with “known associate” Javier Gomez, 20, on Friday night leading into Saturday morning.More Local NewsMore Virginia NewsMore Fairfax County NewsAround 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, someone asleep in the apartment heard a gunshot coming from the living room and discovered Gomez suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body and saw Cruz Colindres “run” from the apartment, police said.“This is not a domestic-related shooting, but the suspect is known to the family,” Lieutenant James Curry said at a press conference. “This does not appear to be a random act. They are known to each other.”Gomez was taken to an area hospital where he died, police said.After an “extens...

Qualifiers for the 2023 Masters

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:58 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The players eligible and expected to compete in the 87th Masters, to be played April 6-9. Players listed only in the first category for which they are eligible (a-amateur). One spot remains for the winner of the Valero Texas Open.MASTERS CHAMPIONS: Scottie Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel, Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Jose Maria Olazabal, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize.PGA CHAMPIONS (five years): Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka.U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS (five years): Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland.BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONS (five years): Cameron Smith, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari.U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPION AND RUNNER-UP: a-Sam Bennett, a-Ben Carr.BRITISH AMATEUR CHAMPION: a-Aldrich Potgieter.U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPION: a-Matthew McClean.ASIA-PACIFIC AMATEUR CH...