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City will take over, plan Antioch’s Fourth of July celebration

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

The show must go on. That’s the word from Antioch City Council, which agreed to fund the city’s big July Fourth celebration after the nonprofit that previously hosted it bowed out.City staff had asked the council to allocate $110,000 so it could plan and pay for the event, but late last month, the council, with Monica Wilson and Tamisha Torres-Walker absent, could only agree to continue the matter. This week, however, the patriotic celebration had enough votes to move forward, with Councilmember Lori Ogorchock voting against and Mike Barbanica absent.For decades the city had sponsored and hosted the event until the recession hit in 2010, after which a group of residents formed the Celebrate Antioch Foundation and took over planning and raising money for much of the then $65,000 to $70,000 cost of the event, with some financial support from the city through grants.On Tuesday, Brad Helfenberger, parks and recreation director, told council members that staff has been working hard on pl...

New Ballet embraces the ‘new’ at Fast Forward in San Jose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

For more than 30 years, from 1985 to 2016, San Jose was home to a top-notch nationally acclaimed ballet company. First known as the San Jose Cleveland Ballet, the new troupe was born when the 10-year-old Cleveland Ballet forged a new configuration with San Jose, giving its dancers more opportunities to perform.In 2000, the Cleveland Ballet closed and founding artistic director/choreographer Dennis Nahat moved to the West Coast with more than half the dancers to carry on as Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley. (“Silicon Valley” was dropped in 2006.)After Nahat was ousted in 2012, rocky times followed and the company met its demise in March 2016 after returning from a tour to Spain.Fortunately, a Phoenix rose from the ashes in the form of a very determined Dalia Rawson. She kept the San Jose Ballet School open, renamed it the New Ballet School, and started a chamber company of 14 dancers, New Ballet, where she is the director and resident choreographer. In December 2016 she presented her o...

Season’s second-smallest crowd sees Sharks lose to NHL’s last-place team. Are we sure Bedard can fix this?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks just lost to the NHL’s last-place team in front of their second-smallest announced crowd of the season.Are we sure Connor Bedard can cure all that ails this organization?Seems like a tall order for a 17-year-old.The Sharks are now just two points out of 32nd and last place in the NHL after a wild 6-5 overtime loss to that last-place team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, on Tuesday. The Sharks announced that 10,127 tickets had been distributed for the game, the fourth-smallest total over the last two years.The team that finishes 32nd and last overall will have a 25.5 percent chance of winning the NHL’s draft lottery and thereby earning the right to select Bedard, the projected superstar-in-waiting, this summer.Bedard, with 125 points in 51 WHL games this season, is the consensus No. 1 player available in this year’s NHL Draft. He turns 18 in July, and would no doubt give a shot in the arm, on the ice and off, to any team he joins.But to go from an entertaini...

Bay Area storms: Some Bay Area schools closed Wednesday as power outages continue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

The latest atmospheric river storm is over, and the Bay Area is expected to see sunny, dry days for the rest of the upcoming week, a rarity by March’s standards so far in the region.But the effects of Tuesday’s brutal storm could still be felt throughout the Bay Area Wednesday morning. More than 163,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers remained without power as of 6 a.m. Wednesday according to the utility, including 87,860 in the South Bay alone.The outages prompted school closures throughout the region.In the South Bay, Cupertino’s De Anza College suspended all in-person classes and activities Wednesday as a result of power outages in the area.Cupertino Unified School District canceled classes at the following 16 schools and told staff and students not to come to campus: Miller Middle, Hyde Middle, Kennedy Middle, Collins Elementary, De Vargas Elementary, Dilworth Elementary, Eaton Elementary, Faria Elementary, Garden Gate Elementary, Lincoln Elementary,...

Bay Area schools closed Wednesday due to power outages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

(KRON) -- Thousands woke up in the dark Wednesday morning as more than 167,000 customers were without power following another storm. High winds and downed trees and branches took out several power lines around the Bay Area.Several school districts closed Wednesday due to widespread power outages. Students and teachers should not come to school at the following schools:Campbell:Forest Hill (San Jose) Marshall Lane (Saratoga)Cupertino:Miller MiddleHyde MiddleKennedy MiddleCollins ElementaryDe Vargas ElementaryDilworth ElementaryEaton ElementaryFaria ElementaryGarden Gate ElementaryLincoln ElementaryMcAuliffe ElementaryMontclaire ElementaryMuir ElementaryMurdock-Portal ElementaryNimitz ElementaryStocklmeir ElementaryFremont:Fremont High School: school is closed March 15 Lynbrook High School: school is closed March 15Monta Vista High School: school is closed March 15Educational Options (postsecondary including LYNCS, customized learning program, educational options resource, community s...

159K without power following latest Bay Area storm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

(KRON) -- Thousands woke up in the dark Wednesday morning after two days of rain and high winds from the Bay Area's latest atmospheric river felled trees and brought hundreds of thousands of power outages to the area. As of Wednesday morning, 159,536 customers remained without power, according to PG&E's latest power outage report.March 15, 2023 8 amAffected CustomersSan Francisco945Peninsula42,807North Bay1,497East Bay31,412South Bay82,875Bay Area Total159,536This is an improvement since Tuesday when outages peaked at around 4:30 p.m. with about 300,000 customers without power, with crews working overnight to bring that number down from about 200,000 as of late Tuesday night.PG&E crews began mobilizing in San Carlos ahead of the storm, citing the previous parade of storms as a learning experience to prepare earlier. Officials said they brought in crews and extra materials from Washington State and New Mexico to help respond to emergencies quicker and get power back on. ...

New atmospheric river heading for California next week, likely impact zone of Bay Area to San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Brace yourselves, Californians. Yet another atmospheric river is taking shape, and preparing to slam the state. During a press briefing Monday, state climatologist Michael Anderson said after a few days of clear weather late this week, another atmospheric river – or even two – are forecast to hit between Sunday and Wednesday. The impacted area, Anderson said, would likely be large, from the San Francisco Bay Area all the way down to San Diego. Meteorologists say it's too soon to predict the exact timing of the storm, or which parts of the state it will hit hardest. Another atmospheric river pounds California, 27K to evacuate "We know there'll be something. There is some activity out in the Pacific right now and models are trending to bring that closer to the California coast," said National Weather Service meteorologist Eleanor Dhuyvetter. "What we don't know is the exact track and intensity by the time it reaches us." Dhuyvetter said at this point, it's not clea...

The Key Factor in the Saudi-Iran Deal: Absolutely No U.S. Involvement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

Ever since it pushed aside colonial Britain and France, the United States has prided itself on being the dominant outside power in the Middle East. That lofty image was shaken this past week by the surprise announcement that Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. partner, and Iran, a longtime enemy, had negotiated a normalization agreement on their own to restore diplomatic ties. The final meeting to conclude the agreement took place in the Chinese capital of Beijing.The symbolism of the signatures being put on paper with the support of the preeminent U.S. adversary China without an American presence starkly underlined the failures of an approach to the Middle East that prioritized belligerence and confrontation over cooperation and impartiality. Few can deny that U.S. policy has ended up playing a destabilizing role in regional geopolitics.For years, hawks have argued that U.S. military and political drawdowns from the Middle East risk generating a chaotic vacuum. What unfolded in Beijing appe...

New Legion Bridge or not, VDOT says extending Express Lanes will speed commute

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

While it’s not clear if and when a new American Legion Bridge will be built, now that the group Maryland chose to build the Potomac crossing and toll lanes on parts of the Beltway and I-270, has pulled out of the project, Virginia is moving full speed ahead to extend its 495 Express Lanes.Regardless of whether a new bridge is built, Virginia’s Department of Transportation is seeking to reassure drivers that traffic will continue to improve — at least south of the Potomac River — and that its new express lanes are scheduled to open by late 2025.More Local NewsMore Transportation NewsBeginning its second year of construction — and Beltway work zones — VDOT’s work is readily visible to drivers Wednesday morning, with clearing and digging at what will be an improved George Washington Parkway interchange.In a statement specifying that its 495 NEXT project is a separate entity from Maryland’s stalled efforts, VDOT says the extended express lanes “will move 2,...

Retail sales dip 0.4% in February after buying burst in Jan.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — America’s consumers trimmed their spending in February after a buying burst in January, underscoring the volatility of the economic environment.The government said Wednesday that retail sales slipped 0.4% after jumping a revised 3.2% in January, helped by an increase in auto sales. Retail sales were down in November and December, the critical holiday period.The February retail sales figure was weighed down by a 1.8% drop in auto sales as well as declines at restaurants and stores selling furniture and clothing. Excluding autos, sales slipped 0.1% from January, according to the Commerce Department. Sales at furniture stores fell 2.5%, while business at restaurants declined 2.2% in February from January. Sales at department stores slid 4%. But shoppers spent more online and at electronics stores, health and beauty stores and food retailers, according to the report.Shoppers remain relatively resilient, getting a boost from a strong job market. America’s employers added ...