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High school girls volleyball rankings: Final Bay Area News Group Top 15

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

Bay Area News Group Top 15(Mercury News & East Bay Times)  No. 1 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (33-5)Final word: Beat St. Francis 3-1 in the NorCal Open Division final, lost to Mater Dei-Santa Ana 3-1 in the state Open championship. No. 2 ST. FRANCIS (35-6)Final word: Beat Foothill 3-0 in the NorCal Open Division semifinal, lost to Archbishop Mitty 3-1 in the NorCal Open Division final. No. 3 FOOTHILL (37-2)Final word: Beat St. Mary’s-Stockton 3-1 in the NorCal Open Division quarterfinal, lost to St. Francis 3-0 in the NorCal Open Division semifinal. No. 4 ST IGNATIUS (22-14)Final word: Lost to St. Francis 3-0 in the first round of the NorCal Open Division playoffs. No. 5 SACRED HEART PREP (20-11)Final word: Lost to Branson 3-0 in the first round of the NorCal Open Division playoffs. No. 6 VALLEY CHRISTIAN (26-10)Final word: Beat Palos Verdes 3-1 to win the CIF Division I state championship. No. 7 MONTE VISTA (22-13)Final word: Lost 3-1 to Valley Christian in the NorCal Division I semif...

How to boost EV sales? Pay drivers to turn in old polluting cars

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

By Kyle Stock | BloombergColorado drivers bought 9,446 electric vehicles in the most recent quarter, but Carrie Atiyeh is particularly psyched about 45 of them.Atiyeh, associate director of transportation fuels and technology at the Colorado Energy Office, is one of the architects of the state’s Vehicle Exchange Program, which hands out a rebate of up to $6,000 to anyone who buys a new EV while surrendering a combustion-engine car. The program, which launched in late August, saw 45 people cash in a clunker by the end of September.Scrappage policies like Colorado’s are gaining traction in the US as a two-for-one carbon bargain, a tidy way to catalyze clean car purchases while canceling out some of the least efficient machines. Vermont authorized a scrappage program in 2021; California did in 2014. In all three states, policymakers have mobilized around a simple calculation: If governments are going to dole out money to boost EV adoption, why not tie it to getting rid of gas guzzlers?...

Pac-12 bowl projections: Washington to the CFP, Arizona to the Alamo and Cal sneaks in

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

Helpful reminders on the postseason selection process before we plunge into the latest Pac-12 bowl forecast:— The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will host the College Football Playoff semifinals, leaving the Pac-12 champion to participate in the Fiesta, Peach or Cotton bowls unless it qualifies for the CFP.— The Pac-12 is contractually tied to seven games this season: the New Year’s Six, Alamo, Las Vegas, Holiday, Sun, LA and Independence bowls. If there are more eligible teams than available spots, the conference will attempt to secure invitations to other bowls with vacancies.The Pac-12 has seven bowl-eligible teams and two more that could clear the bar this weekend, but Cal and Washington State are substantial underdogs on the road at UCLA and Washington, respectively.What if they finish 5-7, one win below the threshold for qualification?The NCAA permits five-win teams to participate in the bowl season if there aren’t enough eligible schools to fill the 82 slots, but the Pac-12 d...

Chris Paul discovering he’s in point guard paradise with Golden State Warriors

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Just ask Brock Purdy, what’s a quarterback without his weapons?Actually, let’s pose the question to Chris Paul, who can safely say he’s in point guard paradise 15 games into his tenure with his once arch-nemeses.“If you think about Peyton Manning, Tom Brady – those types of quarterbacks – who have got these elite receivers,” Paul said after turning in his second straight double-double in the Warriors’ win over the Rockets Monday night, “for me, it’s so fun to bring the ball up the court knowing you’ve got Klay, you’ve got Steph.“Some of the passes I’m throwing to them, you’re throwing it before they even get there. They catch it, they shoot it and they make it, you know what I mean?”Ahead of Paul’s return Wednesday to Phoenix, where he spent the previous three seasons, he appears to be finding his groove with the team he spent much of his career trying to dethrone from the top of the Western Conference. Turn...

Analysis: Houthi boat attacks open new front against Israel

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

By Jon Gambrell | Associated PressDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The helicopter-borne Houthi attack on an Israel-linked ship in the Red Sea highlights the danger now lurking in one of the world’s key shipping routes as the Israel-Hamas war rages, as well as the rebels’ tactics mirroring those of its chief sponsor, Iran.While Tehran has denied aiding the Yemen rebel group in launching their attack Sunday, the targeted ship before the assault passed by an American-sanctioned Iranian cargo vessel suspected as serving as a forward spying base in the Red Sea. The rebels, dressed commando-style in bulletproof vests carrying assault rifles, covered each other and moved in military formation before quickly seizing control of the bridge of the Galaxy Leader.While their body-camera footage serves as a propaganda coup to bolster their own position in Yemen amid some protests against their rule, it also signals a new maritime front has opened in a region long focused on the Persian G...

The three latest fatal crash victims on Highway 4 have been identified

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

Authorities on Tuesday identified two women and a man killed in three fatal crashes over a five-day span on Contra Costa County’s deadliest highway last week.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | 20-year-old California driver doing donuts at intersection dies in crash, sheriff says Crashes and Disasters | Driver arrested in hit-run death of San Lorenzo pedestrian Crashes and Disasters | Less driving but more deaths: Spike in traffic fatalities puzzles lawmakers Crashes and Disasters | Hit-and-run driver kills man standing outside disabled vehicle on Oakland freeway Crashes and Disasters | Map: Speed cameras are likely to be placed on these San Jose streets The three deadly crashes happened in Crockett, Discovery Bay and Pittsburg along state Highway 4 and brings to 17 the number of people who have died on the highway this year. There have been 14 fatal crashes.The totals since Jan. 1, 2021, are 5...

Oakland murder case falls apart after defense raises questions about impugned detective’s investigation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

OAKLAND — A Bay Area man was recently released from jail in a plea deal that saw prosecutors drop murder charges against him in exchange for a voluntary manslaughter conviction. The deal came after the defense cast doubt on the investigative work by a detective who has since been charged with perjury, court records show.Atiba Barnes, 37, was arrested last year in the 2008 killing of 38-year-old Kevin Grant in Oakland. In June, Barnes pleaded no contest to manslaughter in a plea deal with Alameda County prosecutors. While Barnes was formally sentenced for three years, the deal allowed him to be freed after half that time, leading to his release from jail this month.Barnes’ lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Daniel Taylor, said in a statement to this news organization that his client killed Grant in self-defense after Grant and an unnamed friend attempted to rob Barnes.“This wasn’t murder,” Taylor said, later adding, “If Mr. Barnes had not defensed hims...

So far, Prince William is the young hero in ‘The Crown’s’ Season 6

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

The royal family and their supporters shouldn’t be too put out by the first four episodes of Season 6 of “The Crown,” however much the show applies its usual artistic license to depicting real-life events and controversially produces the Ghost of Diana to offer the future King Charles III and the late Queen Elizabeth II words of encouragement.In fact, the royal family should be relieved and even celebrate that “The Crown” presents Charles as a caring father to his two sons, as well as a friendly ex-husband to Diana and the voice of reason in the chaotic days after her death.Just as important for the monarchy’s public image, the first part of Season 6 sets up Prince William as the show’s young hero and even suggests that the institution will be in good hands. The future king is presented as a serious and sensitive 15-year-old boy who begins to feel the full weight of his royal status when his mother dies in globally seismic car accident. Inde...

Photos: Private island in San Francisco Bay for sale for $25 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

Just off the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is Red Rock Island, the only private island in San Francisco Bay, and it is for sale for $25 million.Private island in San Francisco Bay listed for $25 million (Aerial Canvas). Originally settled by Russian fur traders in the early 1800s, the island was later home to its only known resident: Selim Woodworth, a former California senator and son of 18th century poet Samuel Woodworth. He built a cabin there for hunting outings. The current seller, Brock Durning, is retired and lives in Alaska. His late father was granted ownership of the island by former business partner David Glickman, who purchased it for about $50,000 in the 1960s. As a child, the seller went to the island with his family to go camping, hiking and fishing.Whoever buys the island may have some work to do. There are currently no structures, and it has no electricity or running water. The island is also accessible only by boat or helicopter.Private island in San Francisco Ba...

Longtime South Bay Congresswoman Anna Eshoo won’t seek re-election

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:40 GMT

Longtime Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) announced Tuesday morning that she will not seek re-election after serving more than three decades in the U.S. House of Representatives.In a video posted on social media, Eshoo, who turns 81 next month, said she makes the announcement with a “heart filled with unending gratitude” to her constituents.The congresswoman started her political career on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in 1982 and served for a decade before being elected to the U.S House of Representatives in 1992.“As the first woman and the first Democrat to ever represent our district, I’m very proud of the body of bi-partisan work I’ve been able to achieve on your behalf in Congress,” Eshoo said. “Sixty-six of my bills have been signed into law by five presidents, including the preservation of lands here at home, landmark advancements in women’s health, the creation of two federal agencies to promote research and d...