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Saratoga waives tree removal fees after eucalyptuses do $250,000 in storm damage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

Saratoga residents will not have to pay the city to cut down blue gum eucalyptus trees for the next 2-1/2 months. The trees did about $250,000 in reported damage during last month’s storms.Saratoga City Council voted April 5 to waive the $130 fee for blue gum eucalyptus tree removal through June 30 in the wake of the storm damage they caused to public and private property. Blue gum eucalyptus trees, which came to California from Australia, have shallow roots, and studies show they are more prone to falling.The city, which has fairly strict protections in place for its trees, will still require applicants to replace any they remove. Council added the requirement after a couple residents voiced concern that replacement of the removed trees wasn’t guaranteed under the initial draft of the urgency ordinance pausing the permit fees.RELATED: Why are so many Bay Area trees turning destructive and deadly in recent storms? The answer is years in the making“The city’s incurred con...

US inflation fell in March for the ninth month in a row

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

The pace of US consumer price increases continued to cool down in March from last summer’s scorching-hot levels: Annual inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, dropped for the ninth consecutive month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.Prices rose 5% for the 12 months ended in March, down from 6% in February. It’s the smallest 12-month increase since May 2021.On a monthly basis, CPI, which measures price changes over time for a basket of goods, ticked up 0.1% from February, as compared to a previous 0.4% increase.Shelter costs were the largest contributor of the monthly gain, offsetting sharp declines across energy categories, according to the BLS.And for the first time since September 2020, grocery prices fell on a monthly basis: The food at home index dropped 0.3% for the month, helped by lower prices in eggs (which fell nearly 11%) and fruits and vegetables (which declined 1.3%).Economists were expecting an annual increase of 5.2% and a monthly gain of ...

Grazing goats sought for wildfire protection at Lick Observatory

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

They’re affectionally known as the fire-eating goats: Star Grazer, Chewbacca, Galileo and Death — Destroyer of the Weeds.The goats don’t actually eat the flames. They feed on its fuel. Soon the resourceful animals will be grazing the hills of Mount Hamilton surrounding Lick Observatory — destined to clear the brush and make the expansive pasture less prone to fire.“There’s a big history of fires sweeping through the Diablo Range,” said Matthew Shetrone, deputy director of the University of California Observatories. “If you’re going to put a $65 (million) or $70 million facility at the top of a mountain, fire likes to climb mountains, so you’ve got to make sure you’re well protected.”Over the past several decades, devastating fires have blackened the mountain. In 2020, the SCU Lightning Complex Fire burned 396,624 acres — the third-largest wildfire in California history — and came dangerously close to enveloping the more tha...

Tourist killed in Mexican resort of Tulum

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

MEXICO CITY — A Mexican tourist has been shot to death in the Caribbean coast resort of Tulum in a dramatic robbery at a U.S. chain coffee shop, prosecutors and police said Tuesday.The tourist apparently refused to hand over an expensive watch he was wearing, and was shot by the robbers.Video of the killing posted on social media Tuesday showed men with motorcycle helmets burst into the coffee shop at gunpoint Monday.RELATED: Is Mexico safe for U.S. travelers?Another man in the video, reportedly the victim’s bodyguard, then took out a pistol and opened fire on the robber, who fled.The bodyguard chased the robber toward the street and kept firing at him through the store’s door.Police in the coastal state of Quintana Roo said one of the thieves fled was wounded and later arrested at a local hospital.State Prosecutor Oscar Montes de Oca said the bodyguard had been released because he had a weapons permit, and may have been acting in self defense.It was the latest chapter of continuing...

Draymond Green addresses Kings using previous comments as bulletin board material

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

Draymond Green’s pre-season comment on LeBron James’ YouTube show that he can’t get amped for a Sacramento Kings game because they “stink” reportedly hit the Kings sideways.But Green corrected the record in a recent podcast appearance on Tuesday, days before the Warriors are set to take on Sacramento in the first round of the NBA playoffs starting Saturday.“The Kings have sucked. Let’s face it,” Green said on #ThisLeague Uncut podcast. “Since I’ve been in the NBA they have sucked. They have not been in the playoffs since I’ve been in the NBA. It’s not some bulletin board of disrespect, it’s actually a fact. They are who we were when I came into the NBA.“They’re changing now. I also said on that episode the Kings got (head coach) Mike Brown and I expect that to change. I told (Kings guard) De’Aaron Fox on my podcast, this is on you. Kings get to the playoffs, this is on you, my brother.”The controvers...

Walnut Creek’s Heather Farm Park set for major upgrades

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

Walnut Creek is eagerly preparing to upgrade one of its beloved parks, with a considerable chunk of funding stemming from a voter-approved sales tax expected to yield tens of millions of dollars for the project.The City Council has given the nod to the proposed improvement of Heather Farm Park’s swim center and community center,  both of which are more than half a century old and presently located on opposite sides of the 102-acre park.Though combining the two facilities will require reducing the size of the fishing pond to make room for the new pools, other amenities at the popular park will remain, including tennis courts, picnic areas, the equestrian center, a skate park, an off-leash dog park, bike paths, an all-ability playground, tot lots, a sand volleyball court, a nature pond, six athletic fields, restrooms and a connection to the Iron Horse Trail. The new swim center would be north of the central playground.This sweeping project, among the most expansive of its kind in the ...

“Ninguno de nosotros se lo merecía”: los estadounidenses que sobrevivieron a un secuestro en México recuerdan su cautiverio

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

(CNN) — Más de un mes después de que cuatro estadounidenses fueran atacados y secuestrados por un cártel de la droga en México, los dos supervivientes dicen que aún se están recuperando del trauma de la aterradora experiencia y del asesinato de sus amigos.“No se lo merecían. Ninguno de nosotros lo merecía. Pero estamos vivos, tenemos mucho que recuperar”, dijo LaTavia Washington McGee a Anderson Cooper de CNN en una entrevista exclusiva este martes.Washington McGee, Eric Williams, Shaeed Woodard y Zindell Brown fueron secuestrados el 3 de marzo cuando se dirigían a una cita médica en Matamoros, México. Woodard y Brown fueron asesinados.El ataque se produjo a plena luz del día, cuando unos hombres armados tendieron una emboscada a los cuatro amigos poco después de que cruzaran la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos. Los investigadores creen que probablemente confundieron a los estadounidenses con narcotraficantes haitianos, según declaró a CNN un funcionario esta...

¿Es seguro viajar a México? En qué zonas hay alertas de Estados Unidos y lo que debes saber

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

(CNN) — El secuestro y asesinato de cuatro estadounidenses ocurrido en marzo en la ciudad mexicana de Matamoros, justo al otro lado de la frontera con Brownsville, Texas, ha puesto de relieve la violencia en un país al que acuden millones de visitantes internacionales cada año.Esto es lo que hay que saber sobre la seguridad para quienes viajan a México.¿Qué pasó con los estadounidenses secuestrados en Matamoros, México? ¿Quiénes eran?Advertencias de viajeHay 32 estados en México, y el Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. tiene advertencias de “no viajar” en seis de ellos, incluyendo el estado de Tamaulipas, donde se encuentra Matamoros.No descansaremos hasta que haya justicia, dice Salazar sobre estadounidenses secuestrados en Matamoros 2:51Zachary Rabinor, fundador y director general de la empresa de viajes Journey Mexico, señala que la violencia de esta semana ocurrió lejos de algunos de los destinos turísticos más codiciados de México, en un estado que ha mantenido ...

Muere Tibisay Lucena, expresidenta del CNE de Venezuela, informa el gobierno

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

(CNN Español) — La expresidenta del Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) de Venezuela, Tibisay Lucena, falleció, informó este miércoles la vicepresidenta ejecutiva, Delcy Rodríguez, en Twitter.“Hija insigne de Venezuela, expresidenta del Poder Electoral y Ministra de Educación Universitaria. Fue una verdadera militante por la vida, y libró su última batalla sin tregua. Nuestras condolencias a sus familiares y amigos. Vuela alto hermana”, escribió la funcionaria.Lucena era la actual ministra para la Educación Universitaria y fue presidenta del CNE desde el 2006 hasta el 2020.Por caso de corrupción, detienen en Venezuela a Álvaro Pulido, uno de los principales socios de Alex SaabThe-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.Source

Cagliari makes Italy’s list of 10 cities for Euro 2032 bid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:44:21 GMT

ROME (AP) — The Sardinian city of Cagliari edged out Sicilian capital Palermo on the Italian soccer federation’s list of 10 proposed host cities for the 2032 European Championship.The federation submitted its formal dossier to UEFA on Wednesday with Milan, Turin, Verona, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Bari and Cagliari as the proposed host cities.Palermo was listed as an alternate host, with the federation preferring to include only one island city to make logistics easier.UEFA will decide the 2032 host on Oct. 10, with Turkey the only other candidate.Italy won the Euros as host in 1968 and also organized the 1980 edition won by West Germany — plus four games of Euro 2020.The Azzurri are the reigning European champion after winning Euro 2020 for their second continental title.The last major soccer tournament held entirely in Italy was the 1990 World Cup and many of the country’s stadiums have not been renovated for more than three decades.UEFA will also decide the host for ...