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Unprotected: Have Santa Clara County’s reforms to keep troubled families together left vulnerable children in harm’s way?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

SAN JOSE — Matthew Kraft collapsed in tears then fell into the embrace of a fellow social worker.Months of anger and heartbreak and guilt came gushing out over the death of a 3-month-old San Jose girl who had ingested a lethal dose of fentanyl last spring while in her father’s care.“It’s not your fault,” Sandra Gregory assured Kraft as he sobbed in the hallway outside a Santa Clara County Supervisors board meeting earlier this month. “You did everything you could.”How had this all become his burden? He hadn’t even been assigned to baby Phoenix Castro’s case. But Kraft had warned his superiors about the baby’s safety after overseeing the custody of the infant’s two older siblings. They were removed from their parents’ care in 2022, months after police found the mother delusional, the father with “what appeared to be methamphetamine” in his pocket and the children sucking on Triple A batteries, records released this past week show.Despite the alarm, nobody removed baby Phoenix.Perhaps...

How Steve Wilks got the 49ers’ defense back on track

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

It didn’t happen simply because Steve Wilks abandoned the isolated think-tank of the coaches’ box for the intensity and electricity of the sideline.Yet when the 49ers defensive coordinator was kicked downstairs after consultation with coach Kyle Shanahan, things have been on an upward trend ever since.The 49ers are rolling again on defense, giving up an NFL-low 15.8 points per game and excelling in every area since the three-game losing streak that precipitated Wilks’ move from the box to the sideline. The change, which Shanahan said was minor, was just a starting gun for what followed.Wilks knew what was coming when he signed on to replace DeMeco Ryans, who like Robert Saleh before him parlayed his success running the 49ers’ defense into a head coaching gig.Much like the move from the eighth floor to ground level at Levi’s Stadium, there was nowhere to go but down in the eyes of the public when taking over a defense as good as the 49ers.“Like I t...

‘I wasn’t giving up the will to live’: California hiker rescued 3 days after nearly 1,000-foot fall off Hawaii trail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

By Ashley R. Williams | CNNA hiker from California who fell about 1,000 feet to the bottom of a mountain down a trail in Hawaii called his rescue “a miracle” after he survived three days before being found.“I never expected a day of hiking like this to go the way it did,” Ian Snyder said at a news conference Tuesday where he thanked rescuers for saving his life.Snyder, 34, was hiking alone on December 4 when he fell from the Koʻolau Summit Trail near the Pali Notches Trail, according to the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii.Honolulu first responders located him on December 7 near the bottom of a waterfall.Snyder said on the day he went missing, the trail’s peak was steep and the hike became more treacherous as he continued. “I was in good shape and able to navigate things well,” he said at the news conference.“I looked down at Pali Highway and went, ‘Man, that’s a long way below me and I need to get down there,’ that was my plan,” the hiker said.Snyder, a father to two sons and a daug...

Two Bay Area adults, two juveniles arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

Two adults and two juveniles were arrested early Thursday morning by Vacaville police officers in connection to an October shooting.A SWAT team, with assistance from the Vallejo Police Department and the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, conducted two search warrants within the city of Vallejo, while detectives from the department served two additional warrants at an apartment complex in the 1500 block of Alamo Drive in Vacaville.Vacaville officers arrested 32-year-old Dallas Drew Deleon, of Vallejo, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, child endangerment, and violation of parole as well as 22-year-old Davina Ramona Espinoza, of Vallejo, also on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and child endangerment.Two juveniles, ages 14 and 15, both male and from Vallejo, also were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. Their names were not released because of their ages.Because officers recovered three firearms when executing the warrants, officials also are seeking ...

Golden Gate Bridge toll increases likely again amid deficits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

Faced with looming budget deficits, Golden Gate Bridge district officials are considering a five-year toll increase plan — again.The price to cross the bridge for many drivers ticked up 35 cents to $9.75 on July 1, the final increase in the five-year toll hike plan that started in 2019. However, toll revenues took a plunge when the COVID-19 pandemic kept commuters away, and many still have not returned.While the district did receive $278 million in pandemic relief, those funds will be exhausted by the end of the fiscal year. On Thursday, officials reported an estimated $220 million shortfall over the next five years and a $679 million deficit over 10 years.“Bridge tolls are by statute the backbone of the district’s revenue source,” said Jennifer Mennucci, the district’s budget director. “They fund both bridge operations and operations and maintenance of both bus and ferry, as well to fund reserves for our future capital needs in bridge and transit.”Traditionally, about half of the t...

California Realtor groups hit with copycat commission rates lawsuit by Bay Area home seller

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

Five weeks after a Missouri jury issued a $1.78 billion judgment finding that Realtors charge anticompetitive commission rates, a “copycat” lawsuit has been filed in the Bay Area making similar claims.A Marin County home seller filed the antitrust complaint in federal court this month seeking unspecified damages from the National Association of Realtors, several local Realtor associations, and a north-Bay Area multiple listing service. The complaint also sought damages from five of the nation’s leading real estate brokerages.The lead plaintiff, Christina Grace, paid a $50,358 commission to sell her home in 2020, “a rate higher than it would have been in a competitive market,” the lawsuit said.The proposed class-action case also seeks to end the requirement that sellers pay commissions to their buyers’ agents — a long-standing practice that allegedly keeps broker commissions in the 5-6% range despite technological advances, the suit said.Currently, NAR requires sellers to specify buy...

Blistered Green Beans / Belkys

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

If you’re looking for the perfect side dish to compliment your next meal, we’ve got you covered — Blistered green beans.That’s what’s cooking, as we grab a bite with Belkys.Ingredients:1 pound green beans, trimmed2 tablespoons Harissa seasoning2 teaspoons honey1 tablespoon lime juice (about ½ lime)Salt to taste2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil10 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes1 tablespoon unsalted butterMethod of Preparation:In a bowl, combine Harissa, honey and lime juice. Stir together until combined and season to taste with salt.In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook undisturbed until they begin to char in spots, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook, tossing frequently, until beans are just cooked through and slightly blistered and browned in spots, about 5 to 6 minutes more. (Some beans will be more cooked than others – that’s O.K.) Season with salt and place beans in a bowl.Heat t...

Israel faces new calls for truce after killing of hostages raises alarm about its conduct in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s government faced calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies and from protesters at home on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three hostages who waved a white flag, added to mounting concerns about its conduct in the 10-week-old war in Gaza.The protesters urge the government to renew hostage negotiations with Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whom it has vowed to destroy. Israel could also face pressure to scale back major combat operations when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits this week, as Washington has expressed growing unease with civilian casualties even while providing vital military and diplomatic support.The air and ground war has flattened large parts of northern Gaza, killed thousands of civilians and driven most of the population to the southern part of the besieged territory, where many are packed into crowded shelters and tent camps. Some 1.9 million Palestini...

Church of England blesses same-sex couples for the first time, but they still can’t wed in church

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

Church of England priests offered officially sanctioned blessings of same-sex partnerships for the first time on Sunday, though a ban on church weddings for gay couples remains in place amid deep divisions within global Anglicanism over marriage and sexuality.In one of the first ceremonies, the Rev. Catherine Bond and the Rev. Jane Pearce had their union blessed at St John the Baptist church, in Felixstowe, eastern England, where both are associate priests.The couple knelt in front of Canon Andrew Dotchin, who held their heads as he gave “thanks for Catherine and Jane, to the love and friendship they share, and their commitment to one another as they come before you on this day.”The church’s national assembly voted in February to allow clergy to bless the unions of same-sex couples who have had civil weddings or partnerships. The words used for the blessings, known as prayers of love and faith, were approved by the church’s House of Bishops on Tuesday and used for the first time on ...

South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:10 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military said Sunday that it had detected that North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile toward its eastern waters, adding to a torrent of weapons’ tests in recent months that has elevated tensions.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t immediately say what type of missile it was or how far it flew.Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile program, and flaunting an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.The United States, South Korea and Japan have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral partnership in the region, and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.North Korea’s latest launch followed high-level security talks between American and South Korean officials in Washington over the weekend, where they ...