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Letters: Natural connection | Climate change | Oslo Accords

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Birding offers chanceto connect with natureRe: “Bay Area birdwatching tips for newbies” (Nov. 5).I am writing to express my appreciation for the insightful article on birdwatching in the Bay Area. This informative piece not only piqued my curiosity but also equipped me with a treasure trove of valuable resources and tools, such as iNaturalist, that can be harnessed to gather and share data with scientific researchers while engaged in the fun activity of birdwatching. I would like to take a moment to thank the author for their outstanding efforts in compiling and sharing this invaluable information.As someone who typically enjoys leisurely hikes in the area, this article served as an eye-opener. It shed light on a world of recreational opportunities including birdwatching that I had not previously considered. Given the region’s abundant natural resources and its rich diversity of bird po...

APEC conference next week to bring Biden and Xi, along with closed roads, traffic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference beginning Sunday in San Francisco is expected to roll out the red carpet for dignitaries — and result in roadway closures, snarled traffic and security checkpoints for residents, workers and visitors.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week — which is expected to draw President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping and to be the largest gathering of world leaders in San Francisco since the signing of the UN Charter in 1945 — a “National Special Security Event” requiring heightened protective measures in and around San Francisco.“The goal of the Secret Service and our law enforcement and public safety partners is to provide a secure environment while minimizing impact and inconveniences to residents and businesses,” U.S. Secret Service special agent Jeremy Brown said.Here’s what you need to know:The gathering, with an associated summit for maj...

Two arrested after police confront suspects coming out of Orinda home with property

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

ORINDA — Two people were arrested Tuesday following a home burglary that caused police to close down a key roadway and lock down an elementary school in their search for the suspects, authorities said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland’s Ale Industries shuts down, blames ‘rising rate of crime’ Crime and Public Safety | Oakland police sergeant shoots and kills person near City Hall Crime and Public Safety | Antioch police union president, acting chief found officers’ violence was justified before FBI deemed it criminal, new records show Crime and Public Safety | Walnut Creek: Police investigate armed robberies in downtown Crime and Public Safety | Oakland: Two men wounded in separate shootings, one shot in the face Police arrested a 30-year-old San Francisco man on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy and resisting arrest, according to a statement from Contra Cost...

Homegrown take on Orwell’s classic ‘1984’ finally gets Bay Area staging

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

If Bay Area theatergoers don’t know Michael Gene Sullivan by now, they must not be paying attention.As an actor, the San Francisco native is a frequent and outstanding presence on prominent stages all around the Bay, from TheatreWorks Silicon Valley to Marin Theatre Company. As a playwright, he’s written most of the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s yearly activist musical comedies since 2000, and other local companies have produced his plays such as “The Great Khan” at San Francisco Playhouse.And yet Sullivan’s most successful play, his adaptation of the influential George Orwell novel “1984,” is only now making its official Bay Area premiere with Aurora Theatre Company, 20 years after he wrote it.The Actors’ Gang in Los Angeles premiered the play in 2006, directed by that company’s artistic director, stage and screen star Tim Robbins. Since then it’s been translated into six languages and been performed all over the country and the world.“I’d sent it to different theaters in the B...

Will.i.am receives Tech for Global Good humanitarian award

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

You’re probably familiar with will.i.am because of his work as a musician and music producer. But it was for  his work in philanthropy and as a tech entrepreneur that the Tech for Global Good presented the Black Eyed Peas founder with the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award on Saturday night.In a wide-ranging on-stage conversation with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, will.i.am talked about his interest in technology and artificial intelligence — he’s more optimistic than fearful of the new technology — as well as his i.am Angel Foundation, which supports STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and math — education programs for disadvantaged school kids in Los Angeles.“My family, we’ve been doing philanthropy in the hood before we knew the word philanthropy,” said will.i.am, who grew up in Boyle Heights. “I would be doing this even if I wasn’t successful.”The award, presented by the Tech Interactiv...

Health officials urge further testing after syphilis cases in US newborns soared in 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

By Mike Stobbe and Kenya Hunter | Associated PressNEW YORK — Alarmed by yet another jump in syphilis cases in newborns, U.S. health officials are calling for stepped-up prevention measures, including encouraging millions of women of childbearing age and their partners to get tested for the sexually transmitted disease.More than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2022 — 10 times more than a decade ago and a 32% increase from 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. Syphilis caused 282 stillbirth and infant deaths, nearly 16 times more than the 2012 deaths.The 2022 count was the most in more than 30 years, CDC officials said, and in more than half of the congenital syphilis cases, the mothers tested positive during pregnancy but did not get properly treated.The rise in congenital syphilis comes despite repeated warnings by public health agencies and it’s tied to the surge in primary and secondary cases of syphilis in adults, CDC officials said...

Oakland’s Ale Industries shuts down, blames ‘rising rate of crime’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

Oakland’s Ale Industries, the Fruitvale brewery known for its “tea beer” and collaborations with the Oakland Zoo, is shutting down.Cofounder Morgan Cox said on Monday that the brewery made the decision after being hit by rent increases and rising crime, including five break-ins this past year, as first reported by Berkeleyside.True to its name, Ale Industries is located in a gritty, industrial sector of Oakland, which added to its charm, when people entered and found a warm and welcoming haven. But perhaps its out-of-the-way location served to its detriment, too, judging from its recent record of burglary.Here’s how Cox put it on Facebook:“This year we have seen a 50% rent increase, soaring costs of business across the board, and even more unfortunate, the rising rate of crime in our hometown. We have been broken into 5 separate times in the last year. Each time we increase our security, and each time the break-ins get bolder. All these challenges have ...

Former SF Giants manager Bruce Bochy explains why he came out of retirement to manage the Texas Rangers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

Bruce Bochy really needed three years off.Bochy, who last week completed a remarkable feat by winning a World Series in his first year managing a Texas Rangers team that lost 94 games in 2022, went on KNBR-AM’s “Murph and Mac” radio show on Tuesday and revealed why he needed to retire after managing the San Francisco Giants for the last time in 2019.He needed to rest, mentally and physically, he said.“I’m still recovering from all the work I had done,” he said. “I’m a little bit like Frankenstein. Once I retired in San Francisco, I had back surgery and a couple hips and a knee replaced. That was the biggest thing I had to do to be able to come back.”In San Francisco, Bochy won three World Series titles to go with 1,052 regular season wins and a .500 winning percentage over 13 years managing the Giants from 2007 through ‘19.He told “Murph and Mac” that he wasn’t sure if he’d ever manage again.“I didn’t know if I’d be able to come back, I didn’t,” he said. “I took three years off. I n...

County supervisors uphold eminent domain, killing plan for estate house in scenic Coyote Valley

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

A plan to build a two-story, 8,465 square-foot estate home in Coyote Valley, a rural expanse of farmland and open space between San Jose and Morgan Hill that has been the source of battles over development for decades, was killed Tuesday by county leaders.Siding with environmental groups and open space advocates, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to allow the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to acquire the vacant 4.6-acre property though eminent domain.Edgar Andrade, a 33-year-old owner of a heating and air conditioning company in Morgan Hill, bought the property at the corner of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Richmond Avenue two years ago. He proposed building the house, along with a 3-car garage, a secondary house, and three water tanks, for his family.After the ruling, Andrade said he was being unfairly treated.“I’m extremely disappointed,” Andrade said after the vote. “I feel betrayed.”But the open space authority, a government agen...

Two arrested in Orinda residential burglary, one still at large

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:35:44 GMT

ORINDA, Calif. (KRON) -- Police in Orinda are still searching for a residential burglary suspect in a neighborhood on Lloyd Lane off Moraga Way Tuesday. Two other suspects were arrested in connection to the same incident, KRON4 has confirmed.Units from the Orinda Police Department were dispatched at about 8:23 a.m. Tuesday on a report of a suspicious person on Knickerbocker Lane. Officers located a vehicle associated with the subject in a driveway at a residence on Lloyd Lane, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. Series of violent robberies leaves Walnut Creek residents on edge Officers went to check the vehicle and confronted three suspects exiting the residence's front door carrying multiple items stolen from the residence, allegedly. The suspects immediately dropped the items and fled, police said.One of the suspects was apprehended immediately. He was identified as 30-year-old Dennis Windham of San Francisco. He was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility o...