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Los Angeles County COVID-19 emergency ending Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

The end of March is bringing with it a milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles: the end of the county's emergency declaration.The March 31 expiration brings with it the end of COVID-related renter protections, a measure the Board of Supervisors declined to extend in a meeting last week. Another change is masking in health care facilities. Employees will still be required to wear masks around patients, but patients and visitors will not.The emergency order that allowed restaurants to create outdoor seating on public walkways and parking lots is ending as well, though restaurants with an existing outdoor dining permit can continue to operate.

Bay Area drivers spend 97 hours a year in traffic. Why didn’t remote work end commute nightmares?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

There’s a new mystery that thousands of Bay Area commuters are trying to solve. Downtown offices that once buzzed with techies and lawyers are deserted. BART’s ridership is down 60% after many passengers fled the system three years ago and never came back.So why are freeways once again full?Radio stations ping with morning traffic-jam updates: The MacArthur Maze is a mess, I-880 a slog, and 101 a zoo — even though remote work ushered in a colossal shift in travel patterns, and taxpayers have spent billions of dollars to provide buses, trains and other alternatives to driving. Ultimately, the long-term fix for resurgent congestion may be the least popular idea yet: Make it even more costly to commute by car.“It’s a paradox, right?” said Alexandre Bayen, an engineering professor at UC Berkeley who studies traffic patterns. “We’re at capacity. It might not be the exact same times, in the same circumstances. But we’re at capacity....

More than 4,000 pounds of drugs seized from California home, FBI says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

More than 4,000 pounds of illegal drugs, including counterfeit Xanax, bath salts, and methamphetamine, were seized this week from a Garden Grove home, a FBI spokeswoman said.As part of an ongoing investigation into drug distribution, federal authorities served a search warrant for the home on Tuesday, March 28, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.The seized drugs included ingredients that later would have been prepared as well as pills that were ready to be delivered, she said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | San Jose police union office manager charged with importing, distributing fentanyl Crime and Public Safety | Fentanyl crisis: FDA expands access to Narcan, but barriers remain as California debates solutions Crime and Public Safety | Congress moves to make xylazine a controlled substance Crime and Public Safety | Alleged leader of Bay Area drug ring, caught after DEA went through his garbage, sentenced to six y...

Skelton: Oil bill taught Newson the value of working with lawmakers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom did something new — for him. He got aggressively engaged behind the scenes, negotiating with legislators. And it paid off.Personal, hands on, face-to-face engagement — the kind that’s uncharacteristic of this governor.As a result, Newsom won a huge political and policy victory over Big Oil, as he’ll undoubtedly be reminding Californians and telling all of America for years to come.The governor didn’t get all he originally asked for. The Legislature spurned his initial idea. But he wisely backed off and settled for less.Actually, what Newsom got was more practical and much superior to what he first wanted.“This is 10 times better,” he acknowledged at a bill-signing ceremony in the state Capitol rotunda Tuesday.“We proved we can actually beat Big Oil.”“There’s a new sheriff in town. … We brought Big Oil to their knees.”Among liberal Democrats who rule California state government, the oil industry has replaced Big Tobacco as the No. 1 bogeyman. Tobacco has becom...

Big Milpitas apartment complex is bought by investors from Colorado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

MILPITAS — A big apartment complex in Milpitas has been bought for more than $150 million by a veteran owner of residential properties in a deal that suggests investors still thirst for Bay Area real estate in prime locations.Cerano Apartments, located at 501 Murphy Ranch Road in Milpitas, was bought for $153.5 million by Colorado-based Griffis Residential, which acted through an affiliate, documents filed on March 30 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.Fairfield Residential sold the complex to Griffis Residential, according to the county’s public records.Cerano Apartments contains 373 residential units and was built in 2012, the apartments.com website states.Pool and gathering areas at Cerano Apartments, a 373-room residential complex at 501 Murphy Ranch Road in Milpitas. (Griffis Residential)A swimming pool, bocce court, concierge, 24-hour gym, barbecue and grill, fire pit, courtyard, game room and clubhouse are among the on-site amenities.Gri...

‘That’s not who we are’: Gov. Newsom starts tour to boost red-state Democrats

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

By ADAM BEAM | Associated PressSACRAMENTO  — California Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped $10 million on a new political action committee Thursday, pledging to boost Democrats in the reddest of red states ahead of the 2024 election and what could be a future run for president.Newsom launched the Campaign for Democracy using money left over from his 2022 campaign for governor, where he easily won reelection against a little-known Republican opponent. In a video announcing the committee, Newsom pledged to take on “authoritarian leaders” he says are “directly attacking our freedoms,” including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.“What’s happening in those red states?” Newsom asked. “That’s not who we are. It’s un-American. It’s un-democratic.”Newsom blamed those governors for banning books and targeting transgender children. Republicans, meanwhile, have criticized Newsom for using taxpayer money to pay for women in other states to come to ...

Opinion: Will Silicon Valley Bank honor $9 billion promise to low-income Californians?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

Since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the banking industry, federal regulators and the U.S. government have coalesced in an impressive show of solidarity to “shore up the banking system.”Eleven of the nation’s biggest banks came together to provide a $30 billion rescue of beleaguered First Republic Bank. Meanwhile, two of the nation’s largest banks, JPMorgan and Citi, agreed to not poach staff or business from stressed regional and community banks.While this has been an impressive recognition that the fate of our banking system is indeed interdependent, it’s been less clear whether such solidarity will be extended to those who are further from wealth and influence.Of special concern to us: Whether First Citizens Bank, which purchased SVB at a discount of $16.5 billion, will honor a previously negotiated community benefits agreement that promised $11 billion — $9 billion earmarked for California — for the financial and economic infrastructure of largely low-income communities of...

Bay Area News Group girls high school athlete of the week: Sami Bianchi, Wilcox softball

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

Wilcox softball player Sami Bianchi has been named the Bay Area News Group’s girls high school athlete of the week for March 20-25 after she received 35.79% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.Gilroy softball player Xochitl Garcia (32.58%) placed second and Carondelet track and field standout Brianna Meredith finished third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Bianchi made the most of her one hit against Mountain View, sending the ball over the wall for her first home run of the season. The two-run blast helped Wilcox secure a 10-6 victory.To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email [email protected] by Monday, April 3, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps.com by coaches/team statisticians for consideration.Winners are announced each Friday on the Mercury News & East Bay Times websites and, starting Sept. 30, in the print edition of the Mercury News and EB Tim...

Opinion: Listen to educators to create thriving schools in California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

For the first time in a decade, California schools are staring down a drop in funding. In January, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his proposed budget, projecting $1.5 billion below last year’s school funding. And that proposal assumes there won’t be a recession, which many consider a possibility.At the same time, California schools are also staring down a rise in hardship. The pandemic’s impact on student learning was severe. Its effect on the youth mental health crisis made matters worse. And it wasn’t kind to those staffing schools, whose best efforts collided with untenable shortages.It’s a moment in time where California’s candle is burning from both ends. It’s a moment we cannot meet with stop-gap solutions. We have to think systemically.To do so, we should consider solutions that focus on creating thriving schools and communities for years to come.One of those solutions is to uplift those who know what it’s like to work in schools — those who have been educators — to b...

Most states get an ‘F’ on gun laws this year in new analysis by advocacy group

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:18:40 GMT

Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf | CNNMost US states get a failing grade on gun laws, according to a new scorecard published by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.The group, which advocates for stricter gun laws as a way to save lives, gave What Matters a first look at the new analysis.The key point is that more permissive gun laws equal more gun deaths in US states:Of the 10 states with the highest proportion of gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, all got failing grades — an F — from Giffords, except New Mexico, which got a C+.Of the 10 states with the lowest proportion of gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, all got passing grades except New Hampshire.The recent shooting at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, has only intensified discussion of how society can cut down on gun deaths.Multiple states are moving in the direction of making laws even more lax:That includes Tennessee, where hundreds of protesters entered the state capitol Thursday. Lawm...