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Demand has surged for California’s free school meals. But with a drop in extra federal funding, can Bay Area kitchens keep up?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

When the flood of students rushing into the cafeteria eased to a trickle, Maria Darnell — the kitchen manager at Alameda’s Lincoln Middle School — texted her boss.“524 lunches today!” Darnell wrote, along with a smiling, but sweating, emoji.It had been nine months since California began providing free meals for its public school students, no matter families’ income level. Even so, Darnell was still shocked by how much the program had changed demand. That day, her staff had served 230% more meals than their average before the pandemic, on top of a 530% jump in the number of daily breakfasts.Alameda Unified School District Food and Nutrition Services kitchen manager, Maria Darnell, left, and cafeteria staff Maria Carter, right, work in the Lincoln Middle School kitchen to prepare lunch service on Monday, May 1 in Alameda. The staff has served 230% more meals than their average before the pandemic, on top of a 530% jump in the number of daily breakfasts. (Aric Crabb/Bay Are...

Can 49ers make historic breakthrough with multiple 1,000-yard receivers?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Has it really been 25 years since the 49ers produced a pair of 1,000-yard receivers? Yes.An even crazier question: Could they actually have a trio hit 1K this season, for the first time in 49ers’ history?It’s possible, even if it initially sounds preposterous for a run-driven offense, and even more so for a franchise unsure which quarterback will be throwing those yards.Could be Brock Purdy after his career-saving elbow repair, or the unamortized Trey Lance with 102 passes through two seasons, or third-team’s-a-charm Sam Darnold with a 78.2 career passer rating.San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) and San Francisco 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk (11) shake hands before a game against the Washington Commanders at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Alas, consider the 49ers’ Fab Four targets, each with a 1,000-yard season already to their credit:* Brandon Aiyuk...

Santa Cruz’s population roller coaster: 2022 gains were second biggest of any large city in the country

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

Much ink has been spilled, and airtime filled, discussing the exodus of Californians from the Bay Area and the state altogether, but Santa Cruz managed to buck that trend in 2022 thanks to its large student population returning to campus.Between July 2021 and July 2022, the laid-back coastal town added about 7,000 people — a 12.5% increase — to bring its total population to 61,800 on July 1, 2022, according to newly released population estimate data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s second only to Georgetown, Texas, for the fastest growing city in the country, among those with at least 50,000 residents.“I don’t think it’s much of a mystery,” said Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley, “the University of California at Santa Cruz is the single largest entity in our town.”On campus, the redwood-lined paths and bus stops are bustling. Margarida Costa is a fourth year student, majoring in feminism and sociology. She first came to Santa Cruz ...

Senator Dianne Feinstein’s return prompts renewed scrutiny over her fitness for office

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

By Kristin Wilson, Ted Barrett and Nicky Robertson | CNNJust a week after her return to the United States Senate after a roughly three month absence, questions continue to swirl around Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her mental capacity to serve in the world’s greatest deliberative body.The 89-year-old Democrat had been recovering from shingles at home in San Francisco, and had been absent from the Hill since February.Her long-awaited return on May 10 not only meant that the Senate Democratic Caucus would be at full attendance – since both Feinstein and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman had been absent for much of the spring – but that the one-seat margin Democrats held on the powerful Judiciary Committee would be reconstituted to help advance President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer greeted the frail Feinstein personally upon her return, when she was wheeled into the Capitol for a vote accompanied by staff on and off the floor. Schumer said Feinstein...

Big networking and tech firm signs downtown San Jose office lease

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

SAN JOSE — A big telecommunications networking and tech company has leased space in a prominent downtown San Jose office tower, according to public real estate records.Ciena Corp. has rented office space at 50 West, a highrise located at 50 West San Fernando Street in downtown San Jose, documents on file with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.The Ciena leasing agreement represents a welcome counterpoint to the dreary landscape of vacant storefronts, empty office sites and underutilized restaurant spaces in downtown San Jose.Companies are engaged in an uneven return to the office in the wake of government-mandated business lockdowns to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.Downtown San Jose’s office vacancy rate was 16.9% during the January-through-March first quarter of 2023, an improvement from the 17% office vacancy level in the October-through-December fourth quarter of 2022, Cresa, a commercial real estate firm, reported.During both of the surve...

Editorial: Seven threats AI presents to the future of our society

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

We are only beginning to fully understand the ethical challenges and potentially disastrous consequences posed by artificial intelligence.Stephen Hawking warned that “the development of artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” And in 2018, Elon Musk admitted, “I’m very close to the cutting edge in AI, and it scares the hell out of me.”Tech leaders understand the need to regulate AI. While testifying before Congress on Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that Congress create an agency that would issue licenses for large-scale AI models. He also urged that the agency craft safety regulations and tests that AI models must pass before being released to the public.That may be just the start of what is a massive undertaking — one that Congress and the tech industry can no longer postpone and must attack with alacrity and bipartisanship.For better and worse, the extent of AI’s reach carries the potential to transform every aspect of ...

Mold, sewage discharge among unsafe living conditions at unpermitted housing discovered in Monterey County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

PRUNEDALE – Fines are mounting for the landlord cited last week for running an illegal farmworker housing camp in a rural area of Royal Oaks, where around 200 people – including children – were living in unsafe, substandard conditions, county officials said Wednesday.After discovering the unpermitted housing, the county imposed a fee of $59,600 on the landlord, which officials said last Thursday would increase daily while violations remain on the property. In an update to media this week, the county stated, “Daily fines leveed on the property owner are tolling as long as tenants occupy the units.”Nick Pasculli, county communications director, said that as of Wednesday, “a number of folks have relocated” but that he could not give an exact number.The unpermitted housing, discovered at a nursery on the 1100 block of San Miguel Canyon Road in Royal Oaks, was fashioned out of two old agricultural buildings, including a dilapidated greenhouse, according to Pasculli. Between the two build...

Eriksson to leave Chelsea Women after 6 years at English champion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Magdalena Eriksson is leaving Chelsea Women at the end of the season after a six-year spell at the London club she helped establish as the dominant force in the English game.The Sweden center back made the tearful announcement on Thursday.Eriksson has been Chelsea captain since 2019 and is looking to lead the team to a third straight Women’s Super League-Women’s FA Cup double before leaving. It has already won the cup and leads the league by two points with two games left.“It’s been such an amazing journey so I feel I’m not only sad, even though it might look like it,” the 29-year-old Eriksson said in a video on Chelsea’s Twitter feed.Eriksson joined Chelsea from Swedish team Linkopings in 2017. She has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Police discover weapons, drugs after disarming man of modified BB gun

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Boulder Police Department says they found a variety of items, including drugs, a hand grenade, collector baseball cards, and jewelry, while searching a suspect.The incident started when police were called for a man sleeping in front of a door on the second floor of a building in Boulder.When police arrived, they said the situation quickly turned into, "things not to do when talking to a police officer." Aurora man accused of $9 million cryptocurrency theft BPD said the officer tried to gently wake the man, which he remembered from a previous arrest.While checking the man's identity, BPD learned he had a warrant out for his arrest.At that point, the situation changed and the man started digging into his pockets and his backpack, even though the officer told him not to, BPD said.Police said the man then pulled a gun out of his coat pocket and the officer quickly grabbed it and put the man in handcuffs and called for backup. Child sex assault suspect dressed as...

How dandelions benefit lawns, gardens and critters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Dandelions are popping up everywhere in Colorado, and they are benefitting the soil, plants and creatures around them.Though they are often seen as weeds that should be removed, the little drops of sunshine that polka-dot lawns and gardens actually have a variety of benefits. The best time to water plants, lawns in Colorado "There's just this idea that it's a weed and we should get rid of it, which is a sad thing because dandelions do so much good on all sorts of levels," ethnobotanical herbalist and author Tammi Hartung said.Dandelions are packed with nutrients. They make for an excellent food source and medicine for humans, but Hartung said they are also very beneficial to other vegetation."They are one of the very first things to bloom in the spring, and that is really important for all of the native bees and the domestic bees when they are looking for something to gather pollen and nectar from," Hartung said. Colorado farmers markets near you While the birds...