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Board gamers set up at Milpitas Library

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

Board Game DayThe Fremont Board Gamers are hosting a Board Game Day Saturday, Aug. 19, at the Milpitas Library. Players age 18 and older can bring their favorite game or show up between noon and 6:30 p.m. to learn some new ones.Online registration is encouraged but not required to https://sccl.bibliocommons.com/events.Poet laureate soughtSanta Clara County is looking for its next poet laureate. The Santa Clara County Library District, in partnership with SVCREATES and Poetry Center San José, have opened the application process for the honorary post for 2024-25.The poet laureate acts as an advocate for poetry, literature, and the arts and contributes to Santa Clara County’s poetry and literacy legacy through public readings and participation in civic events.The county’s eighth poet laureate will serve from January 2024 to December 2025 and will receive a stipend of $6,000 per year, a budget of $1,000 per year for reimbursable expenses related to their activities and the opportunity t...

Campbell dermatologist brings healing power of the arts to children’s hospital

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

Musicians from Starting Arts, a San Jose nonprofit that provides arts education to Bay Area students, played to a special audience Aug. 9 when they performed for residents of a Campbell-based inpatient facility for severely ill or catastrophically injured children.Children’s Healthcare Organization of Northern California is near the office of Starting Arts board member Dr. Amelia Hausauer, a dermatologist with Aesthetx in Campbell. Hausauer said the facility had long intrigued her. In fact, the performance marked the beginning of what Hausauer hopes will be an ongoing partnership.“The arts have a profound ability to transcend human pain and suffering,” Hausauer said in a statement. “They are a way of expression and healing, especially in children who have fewer ways to communicate. It’s immensely gratifying to be part of such a project.”Children’s Healthcare Organization activity director Kathleen Tuckness also expressed gratitude for the performance and the possibility of more to c...

Latest line: A good week for Waymo, a bad week for Sam Bankman-Fried

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

WaymoDriverless taxi company scores big win as California PUC gives approval for it and rival company Cruise to charge fares and operate in all parts of San Francisco 24 hours a day, a major step toward expanding statewide.    Sam Bankman-FriedBay Area founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX is jailed in New York after a judge revokes his bail. Formerly a billionaire, Bankman-Fried has been living recently in his parents’ Palo Alto home.   Jed York49ers CEO is accused of insider trading and violating federal securities laws in two lawsuits from shareholders of online education company Chegg. But his team is a pre-season NFL favorite, with QB Brock Purdy returning to health. 

The four schools that don’t want Cal and Stanford in the ACC

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

Four ACC schools oppose Cal and Stanford joining their league, according to multiple reports, and that’s one more than the Pac-12 vagabonds can have standing in the way.In order to gain entry to the Atlantic Coast Conference, 12 of the 15 schools must approve a new member.No formal vote has been taken, but Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and North Carolina State are known to be against bringing the Pacific Coast teams to the Atlantic coast.Sports Illustrated, citing a source, described the expansion issue as being “on life support.” Talks among ACC presidents hit “significant roadblocks” during a meeting Wednesday night, according to ESPN.Notre Dame is leading the charge for Cal and Stanford.“The notion that two of the very best academic institutions in the world who also play [Division I] sports could be abandoned in this latest chapter of realignment is an indictment of college athletics,” Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick told ESPN this week....

They said it: A harrowing fire escape

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

“It was pretty scary. There was lots and lots and lots of traffic, downed power lines everywhere, no cell service, just person-to-person information. No one knew what was going on. We were lucky to get out.”— Dave Hovis, of San Francisco, who was vacationing with friends in Lahaina last week, when they were forced to flee fires that incinerated the resort town and killed more than 50 people.

Otters attack swimmers in Sierra Nevada river and lake

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

River otters are so cute that it’s easy to overlook their bad behavior.But two attacks — rare and separate incidents — have injured women who were out enjoying a swim, turning a summer idyll into a panicked rush to Tahoe Forest Hospital’s emergency room.River otters are distant cousins to sea otters such as Otter 841, a 5-year-old female who this summer gained international notoriety for accosting surfers and kayakers in Santa Cruz and continues to evade capture. Their population once plummeted due to fur-hunting. Now they are protected and their numbers are rebounding.While different in many ways, the two species share a mean streak, especially if protecting young.“I felt something really sharp on my butt, and started screaming,” said Crystal Finn, 41, who on the balmy afternoon of July 11 joined cousins for a swim in the Middle Fork of the Feather River near the family’s property on the edge of Plumas National Forest. “Then I felt a bite on my leg.”“Then I saw these three little h...

Parents and students also must ensure safety around schools: Roadshow

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

Q: The No. 1 source of poor and illegal driving around the schools not far from where we live? Parents! I avoid these areas during pickup and drop-off times because the driving is so unsafe.Parents, be alert, watch your surroundings and watch, especially, for kids and traffic.Far too often, I see a child hop in the back seat of a car, and as the door shuts, the parent accelerates into an illegal u-turn with no blinker, and no regard for other kids or traffic. Kids sometimes do oblivious things, so it is up to all of us to be aware. And please, no pickups from the middle lane! Kids darting into traffic to get to “their” car is very hazardous.Peter David, San JoseA: The recent column that included safe driving practices around schools inspired others to share observations and advice.Q: The column reminding drivers of school opening safety should be heeded most by parents who drive their children to and from school (I’m a former driver of a 72-passenger school bus and...

Alameda DA’s office hired Pamela Price’s boyfriend, raising nepotism concerns

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

OAKLAND — The office of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price hired her boyfriend for a six-figure salary, despite a past that includes allegations he extorted Richmond business owners for tens of thousands of dollars — a claim that drew the attention of the FBI.Antwon Cloird joined Price’s team at the beginning of her administration, occupying an office at her headquarters as a “senior program specialist” whose responsibilities the county declined to detail.Good government groups have long criticized Alameda County for not having a clear nepotism policy, and the lack of rules surrounding the hiring of a romantic partner seems to have benefited Price and Cloird. County officials told this news organization they could not find any documents showing Price voluntarily notified them of the potential conflict of interest.The couple’s relationship has been an open secret at work, raising the eyebrows of colleagues. And his time in Richmond has brought its own concerns.Emails obtai...

Cameron Smith pulls away from Phil Mickelson for a 4-shot lead at LIV Golf

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

BEDMINSTER, N.J. (AP) — Cam Smith birdied three of his last four holes Saturday for a 4-under 67 that allowed him to pull away from Phil Mickelson and build a four-shot lead in LIV Golf-Bedminster.Mickelson also had a 67, one of his best rounds of the year in the LIV Golf League considering Trump National Bedminster has not yielded low scoring this week. He was one shot behind when he bogeyed the par-3 14th and failed to birdie the par-5 15th.Smith picked up birdies on the 15th, the par-3 16th and the par-5 18th. He was at 9-under 133, four shots clear of Mickelson and Dean Burmester, who had birdies on three of his last five holes for a 68.Smith already has one LIV Golf victory this year. Mickelson, one of the chief recruits when the Saudi-funded league got going in 2022, is still looking for his first LIV title. His last win was the 2021 PGA Championship, when he was 50 and became golf’s oldest major champion.“It’s been a couple years, and I would love getting back into that...

American Jessica Pegula beats top-ranked Iga Swiatek to reach Montreal final

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:09 GMT

MONTREAL (AP) — Jessica Pegula beat top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday to reach the National Bank Open final, breaking serve 11 times in a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory.Pegula, the 29-year-old American seeded fourth, finally broke through in the semifinals after falling in the round the previous two years.“It was a great match,” Pegula said. “It was tough. Kind of a roller-coaster. Really up and down, but I’m glad I was able to hold my nerve there at the end.”Pegula beat Swiatek a day after fellow American Tommy Paul knocked off top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s event in Toronto. U.S. players had not beaten the top-ranked man and woman in the same week since April 2008 in Miami when Serena Williams beat Justine Henin and Andy Roddick topped Roger Federer.Both players struggled to hold serve, with Swiatek breaking Pegula eight times. They only won 11 of 30 service games combined.“I was getting frustrated that I wasn’t holding,” Pegula said. “But then at the same time I k...