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Oakland’s Measure Q money going unspent as fire danger at parks worsens

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

OAKLAND — Just before the pandemic helped plunge the city into financial crisis, Oakland voters did what they usually do at the ballot box: approve a new tax, this one intended to maintain and improve the city’s various parks.Three years later, the tax has accumulated millions of dollars, but a new audit finds the city also underspends the revenue each year — accumulating about $22 million in rolled-over balance at a time when fire-safety advocates describe Oakland’s parks as lacking maintenance and being at high risk for wildfires.The audit, published last week, found that it’s also unclear if the money is being spent effectively, given that the city doesn’t take a “data-driven strategy” with clear baseline goals for what good park maintenance looks like.It offers a look into how one of Oakland’s various tax measures — which are almost always approved by a large majority of voters — is actually performing amid a hist...

2 killed, 8 wounded at New Year’s party shooting in Southern California

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

LOS ANGELES  — Two people were killed and eight others were wounded in a shooting early New Year’s Day at a party in a commercial neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.Officers responding to reports of a shooting around 1 a.m. Monday heard gunfire and found a crowd fleeing the area and several wounded people lying on the street and sidewalk, police said in a news release.A man and woman died at the scene, police said. Officials initially said three people had been hospitalized but an afternoon update reported eight wounded. Their conditions weren’t known Monday evening.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Police thought confronting Maine shooter would be unsafe Crime and Public Safety | ‘Court got this wrong’: AG Bonta to appeal judge’s decision blocking California’s concealed carry law Crime and Public Safety | Gunman opens fire in a Prague university, killing 14 people in Czech Republic’s wors...

One dead, two injured in rollover vehicle accident 

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

(KRON) – One person died and two people were injured after a single-vehicle accident involved in a rollover on Monday. San Francisco police officers responded to the area of Junipero Serra Boulevard and Palmetto Avenue for the report of a single-vehicle accident at 8:26 p.m. on Jan. 1. The vehicle was reported to have been involved in a rollover.  Woman shot in car, San Francisco PD investigate Upon arrival, officers located one of the victims lying on the ground and two other victims suffering from injuries sustained from the accident. According to police, officers rendered aid to the victims. However, the victim who was lying on the ground succumbed to their injuries at the scene.Paramedics were transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.  

A new year brings the largest field ever to Kapalua for PGA Tour start

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

PGA TOURTHE SENTRYSite: Kapalua, Hawaii.Course: Plantation Course at Kapalua. Yardage: 7,596. Par: 73.Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $3.6 million.Television: Thursday-Friday, 6-10 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 4-6 p.m. (NBC), 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel).Previous winner: Jon Rahm.FedEx Cup champion: Viktor Hovland.Last tournament: Ludvig Aberg won the RSM Classic.Notes: This starts the 2024 season as the PGA Tour returns to a calendar season for the first time since 2013. … Previously for winners only in the previous year, The Sentry is now for any PGA Tour winner in 2023 and anyone finishing in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. … Rory McIlroy is the only eligible player who chose not to play. … Jon Rahm, who won last year, joined LIV Golf and was suspended last month by the PGA Tour. He was removed from the official FedEx Cup for 2023 and Mackenzie Hughes moved up one spot to No. 50 to get into Kapalua. … This is the first of eight signature e...

How to spend the winter planning and preparing for your spring garden

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

Gardening isn’t usually the first thing that springs to mind when the calendar page turns to January. But with the holidays behind us, there’s no better time to start planning and preparing our 2024 gardens.Of course, that will mean different things in different places. It’s impossible to account for every microclimate in every region, but frost – or lack thereof – is the defining characteristic that should guide gardeners over winter.WHAT YOU CAN DO NOWIn regions where frosts and freezes are common, gardeners should monitor for heaving, the lifting of plant roots and bulbs out of the soil resulting from the season’s freeze-thaw cycles. Pushed up out of the ground, even ever so slightly, they become vulnerable to exposure and could die.Take periodic walks around beds and borders and push heaved roots back into the ground with your foot, then apply a few inches of protective mulch over them.Keep off the grass. Walking on frozen or muddy lawns can injure grass and damage soil st...

For the new year, Shanghai-style noodles and greens augur tastiness — and prosperity?

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

Around the world people prepare special foods for the new year to symbolize luck or wealth, often drawing on traditions that date back centuries. In East Asia, for example, the shape of noodles represents a long life, while greens augur a prosperous year.To kick off 2024 right, try both in this Shanghai-style stir-fry from our book “Noodles,” which adapts beloved noodle dishes worldwide for American home cooks. Typically, the noodles in this dish, called cu chao mian, are thick, chewy and wheaty, and they give the simply seasoned stir-fry much of its appeal. Japanese udon is similar in appearance and texture, and since it’s easier to find in dried form in supermarkets, it’s what we call for in our version of the dish.For the greens, we like bok choy — its more tender leaves and crispier bases are like two vegetables in one. Make sure to wash and dry the bok choy before cooking to remove the grit that often collects between the leaves. First cut the bok choy lengthwise into quarters,...

Timing and totals for the 1st snowstorm of 2024

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — While the new year started sunny and mild, the first snowstorm of 2024 will arrive by the end of the week.The Pinpoint Weather team has issued a watch for Thursday as they continue to fine-tune the forecast. Many towns across Colorado will see snow, but the totals are subject to change. View the latest Weather Alerts in Denver and across Colorado on FOX31 Here is everything you need to know about the first snowflakes of 2024.TimingPinpoint Weather Meteorologist Travis Michels said a temperature change will arrive by Thursday when the Denver metro goes from highs in the upper 40s to the upper 30s.The snow will make its way into Colorado just after midnight on Thursday and will only last a day, moving out by Friday morning.Those living or vacationing south of Interstate 70 in the mountains will see snow Thursday morning. Pinpoint Weather: Tracking of snow by 7 a.m. on Jan. 4 By midday, the snow moves across I-25 into southeastern Colorado and begins its way north. By...

Dolphins pass rusher Bradley Chubb done for season with torn ACL

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins pass rusher Bradley Chubb has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.Chubb suffered the injury in the final minutes of a Sunday’s 56-19 loss at Baltimore. He went down after trying to make a tackle and grabbed at his right knee. He was carted off the field.McDaniel expressed regret afterward when asked why Chubb and other Dolphins starters were in the game at that point, when the deficit was 30 points with 3:05 remaining.“In hindsight, I would absolutely not have one of them out there if I had known that he was going to get hurt, for sure,” the second-year coach said Sunday. “That’s a known part of the job that I understand fully. It doesn’t look smart at all.”Added McDaniel on Monday: “It was a tough moment that I wish wouldn’t have happened. Hindsight is 20/20. Every decision I make, I understand how important it is to everyone that I’m doi...

Key West High School marching band performs in London’s New Year’s Day Parade

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

LONDON (WSVN) – The Key West High School Marching Band, known as the “Marching Conchs,” brought their musical talents across the Atlantic to ring in 2024 with a stellar performance in London’s New Year’s Day Parade.Having received a special invitation, the Marching Conchs embarked on their journey to England after raising nearly $400,000 to cover the expenses. On Monday, the band showcased their musical talents by playing hits like The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” Elton John’s “Your Song,” and Blondie’s “One Way or Another” along the two-mile route. Hundreds of thousands gathered to take in the event, which compares to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, with millions more watching on TV.

France closes embassy in Niger

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:24:14 GMT

PARIS — France has officially closed its embassy in Niger, the French foreign affairs ministry announced Tuesday. The decision — a rare move that shows how strained the relationship between the two countries has become — comes after Paris was forced to pull out French troops from the African country after this summer’s coup. “The embassy will continue to operate from Paris. In particular, it will maintain links with French nationals on the ground, and with NGOs working in the humanitarian sector, which we continue to fund for the direct benefit of the most vulnerable populations,” the French ministry’s statement reads. Relations between Paris, a former colonial power, and Niamey significantly soured after a military junta forcibly took power in July. French President Emmanuel Macron had continued to back the elected leader Mohamed Bazoum. In September, Macron announced France would gradually withdraw its 1,500 soldiers by the end of 2023. According to Le Mond...