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Bay Area masking up again as mandates go into effect Nov. 1 in health care settings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

As you put away those zombie masks and Halloween decorations, it might be a good time to pull out that box of surgical or KN95 face masks again as respiratory virus season gets underway, especially if you are headed to the doctor’s office soon.In Santa Clara County, everyone — patients, caregivers and healthcare providers — will be required to wear face masks in public patient care areas in hospitals, clinics, and long term care facilities for the “winter respiratory virus period,” starting Nov. 1 and lasting five months through the end of March.Alameda, San Mateo, Contra Costa, and Sonoma counties will require health care workers to mask up in patient care areas starting Wednesday, after local public health officials passed mandates earlier this fall requiring seasonal masking rules.As respiratory virus season gains steam, health officials say it’s a good idea to check stocks of rapid COVID tests. Consumers might still be eligible for another del...

Photos: A furry, tail wagging Halloween parade welcomes travelers at San Jose Mineta International Airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

On Tuesday, groups of therapy animals and their handlers paraded through Terminals A and B at San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) decked out in Halloween costumes. The group of mostly therapy dogs, and one rabbit name Alex the Great, welcomed passengers as they passed various gates receiving lots of smiles, selfies, and pats on the head.According to their website, The Happy Tails Program, formerly known as SJC’s Therapy Animal Program, began after the tragic events of 9/11.  Interfaith Chaplain and Volunteer Kathryn Liebschutz began bringing her Boxer/Great Dane mixed dog Orion, who was trained as a rescue/therapy dog, to the San Jose Mineta International Airport to address the anxieties of travelers and to bring comfort. Orion was the first member of SJC’s Therapy Animal Program and after 22 years of service, the newly named SJC Happy Tails Program has a membership of over 40 animals that includes 43 dogs, 4 cats and one rabbit.Bochy and fellow therapy dogs parade through S...

How’s San Jose’s mayor performing? New data show figures on public safety, homelessness

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

As San Jose nears one year into Mayor Matt Mahan’s tenure — are his major campaign promises going anywhere?A new trove of data focused specifically on public safety, blight, homelessness and economic development shows improvements in some areas and setbacks in others as Mahan prepares to run for re-election in 2024 with no opposition thus far.The figures show the city making incremental progress on keeping homeless residents off the streets, the speed of housing permit reviews and the city’s downtown activity rate according to cell phone data. But the city is also facing problems with its enormous backlog of code enforcement cases and housing production.“I would like us to at least once a quarter have a very focused and structured conversation that is rooted in performance data,” said Mahan to reporters on Tuesday. “Where we are actually objectively looking at how the things we’ve funded are doing. Right now we do that every 12 months. But i...

‘We are afraid:’ Earth’s vital signs are now in ‘uncharted territory,’ climate scientists warn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

Massive wildfires in Canada, Greece and Hawaii. All-time record heat waves. Hurricanes with surprising ferocity, like the one that devastated Acapulco last week.This year has presented stark evidence that Earth is already in “uncharted territory” with climate change, scientists say, to the point that unless major progress is made to reduce greenhouse emissions, parts of the world that are home to one-third to one-half of the global population could face extreme heat, food shortages and water shortages by the end of this century.That’s the conclusion of a new study from researchers at Oregon State University and other institutions around the world, that has been drawing growing attention since its publication last week.“As scientists, we are increasingly being asked to tell the public the truth about the crises we face in simple and direct terms,” the researchers wrote. “The truth is that we are shocked by the ferocity of the extreme weather events...

Petaluma woman accused of using $150K of company funds on DoorDash, Amazon, other personal expenses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

(KRON) -- A Petaluma woman has been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement after she allegedly used more than $150,000 of company funds on personal expenses such as DoorDash and Amazon, the Santa Rosa Police Department said Tuesday.The company in question is a landscape design and construction company in Santa Rosa. Los Gatos ‘party mom’ charged with hosting alcohol parties for teens, encouraging sexual assault SRPD was notified of the case in July when the company hired a new bookkeeper who "noticed irregularities in the company's financial records," police said. A further look revealed several unauthorized credit card transactions. An SRPD investigations team served search warrants for businesses and financial institution records. The investigation revealed that the suspect was the company's previous bookkeeper, Jennifer Sutton, 48. Police suspect Sutton made the fraudulent charges over a five-year period. SRPD said she used the credit card for cash advances, purchases on Amazon,...

Owner of SF ice cream shop says vandalism incident being investigated as 'hate crime'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The owner of a San Francisco ice cream shop that was vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti last week said the incident is being investigated as a hate crime. Smitten Ice Cream in SF's Mission District was vandalized and graffitied last Wednesday.The front windows of the shop were shattered and the shop was vandalized for "unknown reasons," the San Francisco Police Department said at the time. However, according to a report in Mission Local, the vandalism included graffiti that read "FREE PALESTIEN," with a misspelling of "Palestine.""The graffiti suggests that the shop was targeted because I am Jewish," wrote Smitten owner Robyn Sue Fisher in a post on Instagram, "and it is currently being investigated by authorities as a hate crime." Body found in suitcase floating in Lake Merritt Tuesday "When I learned what happened at the store and saw the shattered and graffitied glass, I initially felt only fear and deep sadness," wrote Fisher, who had initially ca...

Third division Port Vale advances to English League Cup quarterfinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — While Premier League giants Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal do not yet know if they will advance to the quarterfinals of the English League Cup, third-division Port Vale has already secured its place in the next round.The Midlands-based team has never played higher than the second tier of English soccer and has never won one of its major trophies.But it could be rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest teams in the land in the last eight of the cup after a 1-0 win against Mansfield on Tuesday. Alfie Devine’s goal five minutes into the second half at One Call Stadium ended fourth-division Mansfield’s own hopes of a potential quarterfinals matchup against top-flight opposition.Port Vale will not be the only team from outside the Premier League in the next round after Middlesbrough came back to beat third-division Exeter 3-2.Middlesbrough won the League Cup in 2004 and is hoping to secure promotion to the Premier League this season unde...

Natalee Holloway’s confessed killer returns from US to Peru to serve the remainder of a sentence in separate murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Natalee Holloway’s confessed killer returns from US to Peru to serve the remainder of a sentence in separate murder.Source

Miles de personas huyen del incendio de Highland en California, mientras los vientos de Santa Ana avivan las llamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

(CNN) — Un incendio forestal en el condado de Riverside, California, se extendió en tamaño debido a los vientos cálidos y secos de Santa Ana. Las llamas calcinaron múltiples estructuras y obligaron a miles de personas a abandonar sus hogares.Cuando el incendio, llamado Highland, se reportó por primera vez este lunes a las 12:37 p.m., hora del Pacífico (3:27 p.m., hora de Miami), cerca de Aguanga, California, cubría apenas 5 hectáreas. Siete horas más tarde, el incendio consumía más de 485 hectáreas, según el Departamento Forestal y de Protección contra Incendios de California, Cal Fire.A primera hora de la mañana del martes, el incendio de Highland había calcinado 890 hectáreas y estaba contenido al 0%, informó la agencia. Sus llamas destruyeron al menos tres estructuras y dañado otras seis.Las órdenes de evacuación se emitieron por primera vez en la tarde de este lunes, pero se ampliaron rápidamente horas después y de nuevo el martes por la mañana.Más de 1.100 hogares fueron...

Games 2 and 3 of the World Series were the least-viewed in recorded Fall Classic history

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

The fears of this year’s World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks becoming the least-viewed Fall Classic in TV history are becoming a reality.Games 2 and 3 are the least-watched on record according to Nielsen. Monday’s 3-1 victory by the Rangers averaged 8.13 million on Fox, according to fast national figures. Saturday’s 9-1 Diamondbacks’ win averaged 8.15 million. Before this year, the least-watched World Series game was Game 3 in 2020 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays, which averaged 8.34 million.Game 1 was also the least-watched World Series opener recorded. The three-game average of 8.48 million is on pace to become the least-viewed Series ever, fewer than the 9.79 million in 2020 that watched the Dodgers beat the Rays in six games.Last year’s series — when the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games — had an 11.76 million average.Game 3 went up against “Monday Night Football” for the first time since 2...