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Letters: A real fix | Federal policy | Accountability | Housing teachers | Greek system

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Pajaro residents deservea real fix to leveeThe Pajaro River flood is the perfect case of closing the barn door after the horse leaves.This river has flooded numerous times in years past inundating Pajaro and Watsonville yet nothing substantial was done to the levee other than minimal repair consisting of rock and dirt. Apathy and indifference prevailed until The Mercury News and other media outlets brought the plight of the residents to light and now the ball is hopefully rolling to rectify the problem permanently.Sadly, disparity is evident regarding Pajaro. To prevent this from happening again, the offending levee needs concrete embankments similar to a canal or aqueduct. Also, new development in the form of retail such as Walmart will give it a huge employment boost and complement the agricultural jobs.The Pajaro residents are the salt of the earth and agriculture is the heart of the valley.Gary V. Pl...

Catalytic converter theft suspects arrested with help of American Canyon PD K9

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

(KRON) -- When it comes to the old saying about "the bark being worse than the bite," one catalytic converter theft suspect in American Canyon decided he didn't want to find out for himself. Officers with the American Canyon Police Department located a suspicious white Acura backed into a U-Haul business on Paoli Loop Road, according to a social post from the department. Suspect shot, killed during standoff with San Jose police The officers were patrolling due to recent catalytic converter thefts in the area and noticed that the license plate on the Acura belonged to a Chevy Trailblazer and that the Acura was reported stolen. The conducted a search and found two men hiding around a corner not far from the stolen Acura.One suspect, who was later identified as Matthew Brown, 31, of Benicia, ran from the officers. Officers chased after Brown who stopped running when he heard K9 officer Brick barking along with police announcing the K9 was about to be deployed. The second suspect atte...

Louisville’s Van Lith relishes March Madness back home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The chatter Hailey Van Lith heard from back home started in the immediate aftermath of the NCAA Tournament bracket being unveiled. Two wins. That was the request from friends and family in her small hometown, all hoping that to see Van Lith get a trip home. “Everyone was like, you just need to get there, you just need to make it to Sweet 16. And we have,” Van Lith said Thursday. “The best of the best happened that we got the right region and we were able to win our first two games and I’m going to be able to play in front of a lot of people who haven’t seen me play in a while.” Van Lith is the main attraction for a Seattle regional site mostly devoid of any West Coast influence. The No. 5 seed Cardinals will face No. 8 seed Ole Miss in the Seattle Regional 4 semifinals on Friday night, but with a cheering section likely the envy of the other teams playing in town. Around these parts, Van Lith is a household name. She’s the small-town standout from 130 miles away...

Violent French pension protests erupt as 1M demonstrate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

PARIS (AP) — More than 1 million people demonstrated across France on Thursday against unpopular pension reforms, and violence erupted in some places as unions called for new nationwide strikes and protests next week, coinciding with King Charles III’s planned visit to France.The Interior Ministry said the march in Paris — marred by violence, as were numerous marches elsewhere — drew 119,000 people, which was a record for the capital during the pension protests. Polls say most French oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, which he says is necessary to keep the system afloat.Building on the strong turnout, unions swiftly called for new protests and strikes on Tuesday when the British king is scheduled to visit Bordeaux on the second day of his trip to France. The heavy wooden door of the elegant Bordeaux City Hall was set afire and quickly destroyed Thursday evening by a members of an unauthorized demonstration, the Sud Ouest...

March Madness: Alabama’s Oats not offended by Saban comments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Alabama coach Nate Oats said Thursday he was not offended by comments Nick Saban made regarding Saban’s handling of a football player’s arrest in contrast to how the top-ranked Crimson Tide have dealt with the controversy surrounding All-American freshman Brandon Miller.Saban on Monday suspended freshman defensive back Tony Mitchell after his arrest on a drug charge. In handing down the punishment, Saban said, “everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions.” He added, “there’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”The “no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time” comment was perceived by many to be directed at Oats, the Alabama basketball coach who hasn’t disciplined Miller for being at the scene of a Jan. 15 fatal shooting involving a former teammate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.Oats initially said Miller was “in the wrong spot at the wrong time” during the shooting death of 23-year-old J...

In reversal for Biden, US appeals court rules against COVID-19 vaccination requirement for federal employees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In reversal for Biden, US appeals court rules against COVID-19 vaccination requirement for federal employees.Source

TikTok CEO grilled by skeptical lawmakers on safety, content

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A nearly six-hour grilling of TikTok’s CEO by lawmakers brought the platform’s 150 million U.S. users no closer to an answer as to whether the app will be wiped from their devices.U.S. lawmakers on Thursday pressed Shou Zi Chew over data security and harmful content, responding skeptically during a tense committee hearing to his assurances that the hugely popular video-sharing app prioritizes user safety and should not be banned due to its Chinese connections. In a bipartisan effort to rein in the power of a major social media platform, Republican and Democratic lawmakers hurled questions on a host of topics, including TikTok’s content moderation practices, how the company plans to secure American data from Beijing, and its spying on journalists.Chew spent most of the hearing attempting to push back assertions that TikTok, or its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, are tools of the Chinese government. But he failed to answer uncomfortable questions about human right...

Corales Puntacana Championship Scores

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

ThursdayAt Corales Golf ClubPunta Cana, Dominican RepublicPurse: $3.8 millionYardage: 7,670; Par: 72First RoundBrice Garnett33-33—66Ben Martin33-33—66Matt Wallace33-34—67Ricky Barnes33-35—68Kelly Kraft33-35—68Max McGreevy33-35—68Sean O’Hair32-36—68D.A. Points34-34—68Dylan Wu35-33—68Wyndham Clark35-34—69Austin Eckroat32-37—69Doug Ghim35-34—69Brent Grant35-34—69Bill Haas33-36—69Sam Stevens34-35—69Martin Trainer35-34—69Erik Van Rooyen35-34—69Tyson Alexander34-36—70Kevin Chappell32-38—70Austin Cook35-35—70Thomas Detry34-36—70Scott Harrington33-37—70Michael Kim35-35—70Brandon Matthews36-34—70Andrew Novak36-34—70Jonathan Byrd34-37—71Erik Compton39-32—71MJ Daffue35-36—71Brian Davis35-36—71Tyler Duncan35-36—71Michael Gligic36-35—71Emiliano Grillo35-36—71Harry Hall36-35—71Harry Higgs37-34—71Nicolai Hojgaard36-35—71Mark Hubbard36-35—71Sung Kang34-37—71Seung-Yul Noh36-35—71Vincent Norrman35-36—71Chad Ramey36-35—71Matthias Schwab37-34—71Stephen Stallings Jr.36-35—71Chris Stroud37-34—71Kev...

Corales Puntacana Championship Par Scores

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

ThursdayAt Corales Golf ClubPunta Cana, Dominican RepublicPurse: $3.8 millionYardage: 7,670; Par: 72First RoundBrice Garnett33-33—66-6Ben Martin33-33—66-6Matt Wallace33-34—67-5Ricky Barnes33-35—68-4Kelly Kraft33-35—68-4Max McGreevy33-35—68-4Sean O’Hair32-36—68-4D.A. Points34-34—68-4Dylan Wu35-33—68-4Wyndham Clark35-34—69-3Austin Eckroat32-37—69-3Doug Ghim35-34—69-3Brent Grant35-34—69-3Bill Haas33-36—69-3Sam Stevens34-35—69-3Martin Trainer35-34—69-3Erik Van Rooyen35-34—69-3Tyson Alexander34-36—70-2Kevin Chappell32-38—70-2Austin Cook35-35—70-2Thomas Detry34-36—70-2Scott Harrington33-37—70-2Michael Kim35-35—70-2Brandon Matthews36-34—70-2Andrew Novak36-34—70-2Jonathan Byrd34-37—71-1Erik Compton39-32—71-1MJ Daffue35-36—71-1Brian Davis35-36—71-1Tyler Duncan35-36—71-1Michael Gligic36-35—71-1Emiliano Grillo35-36—71-1Harry Hall36-35—71-1Harry Higgs37-34—71-1Nicolai Hojgaard36-35—71-1Mark Hubbard36-35—71-1Sung Kang34-37—71-1Seung-Yul Noh36-35—71-1Vincent Norrman35-36—71-1Chad Ramey36-35...

Audit report calls for more transparency from DC’s troubled 911 call center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

D.C.’s embattled 911 call center needs to be more transparent with the public, particularly in incidents during which mistakes were made, to help regain public trust, auditor Kathy Patterson said Thursday.A new report, a second status update on how the Office of Unified Communications is faring in implementing recommendations from a 2021 audit, said that while the agency is making some progress, more transparency is needed.In making the call for additional accountability, Patterson released a 911 call from an October 2022 incident. The caller explained a roommate was on the floor and not responding to calls for his name.But over the two-plus minute conversation, the operator never asked if the person was breathing, Patterson said. As a result, it took 20 minutes for responders to arrive. The resident died of cardiac arrest.More DC News More Local NewsMore Government NewsIn the aftermath of the incident, according to a news release, the agency posted a “final report”...