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Opinion: Woodland Park isn’t the only Colorado school district threatened by far-right idealogues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

In Colorado, educators, families and students are united in what we want from our public schools – an exceptional education in a safe and supportive environment for all of our kids, no matter where they live, the color of their skin or their household income. Soon voters will receive their ballots for November school board races and the stakes couldn’t be higher.School boards have enormous power in our schools. Board members develop an educational philosophy, establish goals, adopt policies that have the force of law and supervise the superintendent, who implements board decisions. Their decisions and directives impact every student and educator in the district’s schools. Who we vote for is a reflection of what we want to see for our students, educators and schools.In a number of communities, ideologues have taken over their school boards, causing chaos where there used to be peace. In Woodland Park school board members representing a small, vocal minority of religious conserv...

Opinion: Amid crisis, San Jose police improve mental health response

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

In 2017, the San Jose Police Department made headlines as the first large agency in the country to mandate comprehensive mental health crisis intervention training for all officers. While CIT was never intended to position police as the best responders to mental health crises, it has improved de-escalation techniques and reduced instances where force is utilized.Since then, the mental health crisis in our community has grown dire. Amid broader calls for social justice reforms, bold promises for alternative response models involving mental health workers were made. However, they have not materialized at scale, and officers often remain the social workers of last resort.In 2018, we became the first large agency to make data on officers’ use of force publicly available in an online dashboard, enabling anyone to review the independently verified numbers and sort by categories such as race, gender, age or type of crime.To this day, few police agencies provide the public with this sort of...

Four-bedroom home sells in San Ramon for $2.1 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

2010 Bent Creek Drive – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 2000 block of Bent Creek Drive in San Ramon was sold on Sept. 15, 2023 for $2,050,000, or $851 per square foot. The house, built in 1992, has an interior space of 2,410 square feet. This two-story house offers a roomy layout with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The property is equipped with central A/C. Additionally, the house is equipped with an attached two-car garage, accommodating vehicles and storage needs efficiently. The property’s backyard is further enhanced by a pool.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:On Columbia Creek Drive, San Ramon, in August 2022, a 1,952-square-foot home was sold for $1,500,000, a price per square foot of $768. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 3,672-square-foot home on the 600 block of Helena Creek Court in San Ramon sold in July 2022, for $2,006,500, a price per square foot of $546. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.In August 2023, a 1,644-...

ArroyoFest is set to close the 110 Freeway for walkers, bikers to enjoy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

The idea blew the minds of Caltrans officials.In 2003, two professors from Occidental College and folks from environmental and cycling groups organized the closure of a section of the 110 Freeway — also known as the Pasadena Freeway — for several hours on Father’s Day so people could walk, push strollers with babies, and ride bikes, skateboards and scooters on the emptied freeway.” ‘Are you serious?’ they said. ‘Do you really want to shut down the freeway for people to bike ride and walk on it?’ ” said Robert Gottlieb, professor emeritus of Occidental College and one of the organizers of the original ArroyoFest, remembering Caltrans’ initial reaction to the idea.“They came around,” he said with a chuckle, during an interview on Oct. 10.Caltrans allowed what was the first-ever closure of a Southern California freeway to make way for pedestrians, skaters and bicyclers. On June 15, 2003, the first ArroyoFest attracted 8,000 participants of all ages who biked, walked and even somersault...

How much are Magic Key annual passholders worth to Disneyland?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

The $9.5 million Magic Key class action settlement offers a glimpse behind the curtain that Disneyland rarely shares with the public and provides a rough estimate of what annual passholders are worth to the Anaheim theme park.Disney agreed in September to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that annual passholders who purchased the $1,399 Dream Key in 2021 were unable to make theme park reservations at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure despite the promise of “no blockout dates.”SEE ALSO: Disneyland fight breaks out in Fantasyland with kids and strollers stuck in the middleAs a result of the class action suit, each of the 103,435 Dream Key annual passholders will get $67.41.With a little back-of-the-napkin math, those few numbers offer surprising insight into the billions Disneyland takes in annually from Magic Key passholders and daily visitors.While $67 won’t even pay for a ticket to Disneyland on the cheapest day of the year, the $9.5 million Magic Key class action settleme...

Real estate brokers pocketing up to 6% in fees draw antitrust scrutiny

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

By Jordan Yadoo and Leah Nylen | BloombergThe lucrative broker commission system at the heart of the US residential housing market is facing unprecedented antitrust scrutiny from the Justice Department and two private class-action lawsuits that risk weakening the National Association of Realtors, the industry’s powerful lobbying group.Federal antitrust enforcers are poised to decide whether to pursue their own case after a years-long investigation, according to a person familiar with the issue. The Justice Department is focused on the real estate commission-sharing system that typically puts homesellers on the hook for a 5% to 6% cut of the sale, split between their agent and the buyer’s agent.It’s a structure largely unique to the US, preserved by the association’s control of many of the country’s multiple listing services — an essential tool that aggregates properties available for sale in a given region. To use the system, NAR requires sellers to offer compensation to the buyer’s...

US work-from-home rates drop to lowest since pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

By Zachary Fleming, Redd Brown and Ignacio Gonzalez | BloombergThe push by employers to get American workers back into the office appears to be working.Fewer than 26% of US households still have someone working remotely at least one day a week, a sharp decline from the early 2021 peak of 37%, according to the two latest Census Bureau Household Pulse Surveys. Only seven states plus Washington, DC, have a remote-work rate above 33%, the data shows, down from 31 states and DC mid-pandemic.The reversal reflects the continued push by many employers to get staff to return to offices. Remote employees have been blamed for dwindling profits and costing cities billions, and fears of a recession have eroded their ability to demand the telework perks they won early in the pandemic when the labor market sat squarely in their favor.Some companies, like Goldman Sachs Group Inc., now expect a return to five days in the office, though boardroom disagreement abounds — nearly three of out four organi...

31 stores in California on Rite Aid closure list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

Rite Aid has marked 31 stores in California for closure in its restructuring plan, which was filed Monday, Oct. 16 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.The chain, which previously said it might close 500 stores, wrote that at least 154 stores would close.The troubled retail pharmacy chain is facing slumping sales and several opioid-related lawsuits. To make ends meet, the company is looking to reduce its debt while resolving “litigation claims in an equitable manner,” Rite Aid reps said Sunday.Related ArticlesBusiness | Rite Aid files for bankruptcy, will close more stores Business | Head into shopping season ready to manage spending and debt Business | Crime isn’t the full story: What else is affecting retailers in urban areas, in 4 charts Business | Why you should start your holiday shopping early Business | Amazon’s October Prime Day Deals rival Black Friday, Cyber Monday “Many ...

Rare monster-looking fish with sharp teeth washes up on California coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

The deep-sea creature is an image horror films are made of: Dark black flesh, teeth sharp as glass and an antenna that glows to entice prey in the ocean’s depths.It’s quite fitting that the spooky-looking angler fish washed up on Friday the 13th, just weeks before Halloween.It is the second angler fish to washed up at Crystal Cove State Park in recent years.  Another of the deep water fish, also dubbed the Pacific Football Fish, was found on the shore by a park visitor in 2021, making international news.The fish found last week was picked up by California Department of Fish and Wildlife for further research, according to a social media post by State Parks officials.Related ArticlesEnvironment | Historic Big Sur property, once owned by William Randolph Hearst, to get new owners, including tribe Environment | Surfer injured in apparent shark attack at Pacifica beach Environment | Prominent Bay Area environmental group names new leader En...

California cracks down on ‘forever chemicals,’ or PFAS, found in food packaging

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:12 GMT

California Attorney General Rob Bonta hosted a press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at Los Angeles State Historic Park, to warn companies of their responsibility to disclose the presence of dangerous PFAS under Assembly Bill 1200.He issued a letter to manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of food packaging and cookware, alerting them that they must adhere to AB 1200, a recently enacted law that restricts the presence of PFAS in food packaging and imposes labeling disclosure requirements for cookware.Bonta also issued a consumer alert with tips for reducing exposure to PFAS, referred to as “forever chemicals” which include thousands of toxic chemicals widely used in every day products including food packaging, cookware, clothing, carpets, shoes, fabrics, polishes, waxes, paints and cleaners.California Attorney General Rob Bonta hosted a press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, at Los Angeles State Historic Park to warn companies of their responsibility to disclose the presence ...