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Latest line: A good week for Mike McGuire, a bad week for Mark Ridley-Thomas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

Mike McGuireModerate Democratic state senator whose district runs from Marin County to Del Norte County is elected by his colleagues as the next leader of the California Senate, succeeding Toni Atkins of San Diego, who will be termed out next year.    Mark Ridley-ThomasOnce a towering figure in Southern California politics, the former LA city councilman is sentenced to 42 months in prison after being convicted of felony bribery and fraud for trying to extract benefits from USC for himself and his son.   Cal and StanfordAfter the collapse of the Pac-12, the two elite Bay Area schools finally find a home in the ACC. But the closest ACC school is Louisville, 2,300 miles away, and student athletes will have disruptive, long journeys to play on the East Coast. 

Are bats roosting on a Ben Lomond home a sign of good luck or bad?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

DEAR JOAN: We have bats in the roof apex. They are no bother, and we rarely see them. Sometimes the bats go the wrong way and crawl into the house. So we leave the doors open and they fly out!Are they damaging the house? They are so delicate, we don’t want to hurt them. Some say the bats bring luck!— Patty, Ben LomondDEAR PATTY: While it’s good to have bats in the neighborhood, it’s not a good idea to have them living in or on your home.The biggest risk is rabies. It’s unlikely you’ll be bitten by a rabid bat, but you could expose yourself to rabies, if you handle it with bare hands.The other, more common risk is histoplasmosis, a lung infection caused by breathing in a fungus that grows on bat guano and bird droppings. Symptoms include fever and cough, and it can last for months.Guano can also cause structural damage to wood and other building materials, which can lead to roof leaks and weaknesses that can eventually become an issue.Guano can accumulate anywhere the bat...

Deputies in Douglas County investigating robbery and kidnapping

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) -- Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a robbery and kidnapping that occurred Sunday. Just before 5 a.m. Sunday morning, deputies said a person from Highlands Ranch called to report he was robbed at gunpoint by two people.The victim said it happened in the area of Colby Canyon Drive and Hyacinth Road just southeast of Chatfield State Park. The man said his cell phone was stolen as well. Deputies said he also reported that he witnessed a woman taken into a white SUV.DCSO said they went after the alleged suspect's car and were led into Jefferson County, Lakewood, and into Denver. Denver Police were assisting and looking for the suspects for about an hour to no avail.DCSO said they are working to verify what happened but are calling this a robbery and kidnapping.

Denver weather: Hot again before afternoon storms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) - The heat sticks around through the middle of the holiday weekend with highs in the 90s and the chance for some afternoon and evening thunderstorms.Weather today: PM storms and 90sWith early sunshine, high temperatures in Denver will climb into the lower 90s with light winds. Showers and storms are possible in the high country and the Front Range in the afternoon and evening hours.Weather tonight: Clearing skiesClouds from the late-day storms will clear overnight with winds slowing. Low temperatures tonight will dip into the lower 60s, keeping us above average.Looking ahead: Not as hot and drierLabor Day is another hot one with highs staying in the lower 90s and the chance for rain is lower. Tuesday is the pick of the week with partly to mostly sunny skies and highs in the lower 80s. Seasonal highs return for Wednesday, hitting the middle 80s, with mostly sunny skies.Thursday brings some heat to the Front Range with highs in the upper 80s and abundant sunshine. Skies...

US commerce chief says she complained to Chinese officials about being hacked

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo confirmed Sunday she was hacked by Chinese actors shortly before visiting the country this past week.“They did hack me, which was unappreciated, to say the least. I brought it up, clearly. Put it right on the table,” Raimondo told host Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”Raimondo was the first Commerce secretary to visit the country in five years, having received an invitation from Chinese Minister of Commerce Weng Wentao. Her visit represented both an attempt to improve dialogue between the two economic powers and reinforce President Joe Biden’s new tech blockade against China.“It’s a complicated relationship,” Raimondo said. “There’s no doubt about it. We are in a fierce competition with China at every level. And anyone who tells you differently is naive. All of that being said, we have to manage this competition. Conflict is in no one’s interest.”The Commerce secretary, having joined multiple senior Cabinet officials who have visited th...

Plymouth police seek public’s help identifying pickup truck driver after hit and run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

Police in Plymouth are seeking the public’s help to identify a suspect in a hit and run that sent a motorcyclist to the hospital, the department posted on Facebook.Investigators said the accident happened around noon on Saturday in the area of 2171 State Road in Plymouth.Officials are looking for the driver of a dark-colored pickup truck. While attempting to pass an SUV, the pickup truck nearly hit the motorcyclist, who then swerved into the side of the SUV and was seriously hurt. The motorcyclist was airlifted to the hospital and is expected to survive. Anyone with information about the pickup truck is asked to call police at 508-830-4218, ext. 15219.

OPP lays 97 charges in Wasaga Beach area on Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

The Huronia West Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have laid 97 charges so far this long weekend in the Wasaga Beach, Springwater and Clearview townships as well as surrounding areas.On Friday, officers reported preliminary numbers showing 97 charges laid including Highway Traffic Act (HTA) charges of nine suspended drivers, six unnecessary noise from the vehicle, six improper mufflers and four drivers with no licence. OPP also laid multiple charges under the Liquor Licence and Control Act. One motorist was charged with impaired operation by drug.With other events happening in the area over the weekend, OPP say they will continue to investigate after the weekend. People may still face charges following the weekend, and should expect to see a heightened police presence in these areas.

Florida fishing village Horseshoe Beach hopes to maintain its charm after being walloped by Idalia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — This remote seaside enclave known as “Florida’s Last Frontier” took much of the pounding from Hurricane Idalia when it struck the state’s west coast as a Category 3 storm last week. The damage left behind in the fishing village of Horseshoe Beach is exposing a gulf between haves and have-nots as cash-strapped residents could be forced to leave the quaint, remote community rivaled by few others along the Florida shoreline. With emergency crews still working to restore electricity and provide temporary housing, locals worry that those unable to afford insurance will struggle to reconstruct homes that must comply with modern, more expensive building codes. Longtime residents share varying degrees of bullishness that the charm — and business — will return to the quiet town of less than 200 people.“We have all of old Florida here,” said Tammy Bryan, the song director of First Baptist Church, “and today we feel like it’s been taken away.” Horseshoe...

Americans have long wanted the perfect endless summer. Jimmy Buffett offered them one

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

It seemed wistfully appropriate, somehow, that news of Jimmy Buffett’s death emerged at the beginning of the Labor Day weekend, the demarcation point of every American summer’s symbolic end. Because for so many, the 76-year-old Buffett embodied something they held onto ever so tightly as the world grew ever more complex: the promise of an eternal summer of sand, sun, blue salt water and gentle tropical winds. He was the man whose studied devil-may-care attitude became a lifestyle and a multimillion-dollar business — a connecting filament between the suburbs and the Florida Keys and, beyond them, the Caribbean. From Margaritaville to the unspecified tropical paradise where he just wanted to eat cheeseburgers (“that American creation on which I feed”), he became a life’s-a-beach avatar for anyone working for the weekend and hoping to unplug — even in the decades before “unplugging” became a thing.“It’s important to have as much fun as possible while we’re here. It balances out t...

France will soon ban disposable vapes under an anti-smoking plan, prime minister says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:54 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Sunday that disposable vapes will soon be banned in the country as part of a national anti-smoking plan.Borne, speaking on RTL radio, did not say when the ban would enter into force.She said the government would soon unveil its new plan to combat smoking, which she said is the cause of 75,000 deaths a year in the country.It will include a ban on disposable vapes, which she said “are giving bad habits to young people.”“It’s a reflex and a gesture that young people get used to. That’s how they get into smoking,” she added. Most of the disposable e-cigarettes, which are thrown away after they’re used up, come in sweet and fruity flavors like pink lemonade, gummy bear and watermelon that makes them attractive to teenagers. They are sold in France usually at a price of between 8 euros ($8.7) and 12 euros ($13). An existing ban on the sale of electronic cigarette devices to those under 18 is not widely respected. Promoting or adverti...