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Opinion: BART should adopt driverless trains, VTA should halt San Jose extension

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

Metropolitan Transit Commission polling shows that voter support for a half-cent sales tax to fund local transit is a few points shy of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. While transit advocates may conclude from these results that they can get over the top with additional voter education, a better option is to improve transit before asking voters for more money.Bay Area voters are usually quite open to tax hikes that support government services, but at some point they may become exhausted. A half-cent increase would raise overall sales tax rates to 10% or more in much of the Bay Area, and over 11% in some Alameda County cities. Meanwhile, the MTC poll found that three-quarters of voters use transit rarely or never. Raising the price of necessities to support a service that is not vital to their daily lives may not be an attractive proposition for many voters.Rather than lobbying for interim state support and then asking residents to pay an additional $800 million annually ...

San Francisco was twice set to host the Super Bowl. Here’s why it never happened.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

The NFL is bringing a third title game to the Bay Area, with Super Bowl 60 set for February 2026.Levi’s Stadium will play host for a second time in Santa Clara, 10 years after its initial run at the NFL’s grandest game. Stanford Stadium hosted a 49ers Super Bowl win back in 1985.Even though the 49ers still carry the San Francisco name, there has never been a Super Bowl in The City by the Bay itself.It’s not for lack of trying on the NFL’s part. In fact, the league tried to have the 49ers host a San Francisco Super Bowl twice before, only for plans to fall apart.In 1994, the NFL awarded San Francisco and the 49ers Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999 to be played at Candlestick Park. News reports at the time indicated the NFL chose the Bay Area over Miami because of the promise of $26 million in renovations to Candlestick.Those renovations, of course, never came to fruition. Two years after awarding the game, the NFL and San Francisco agreed to postpone the city’s Super Bowl until the 49ers cou...

Energy company that’s raised billions buys key downtown San Jose site

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

SAN JOSE — A big energy company from the Midwest has bought a prime plot of empty downtown San Jose land that once was slated to be the site of a mixed-use village of homes and offices.LS Power, operating through an affiliate, bought a 9.8-acre site near the corner of Coleman Avenue and Santa Teresa Street in downtown San Jose, Santa Clara County real estate records show.The affiliate, LS Power Grid California, paid $56.5 million for the land, which is adjacent to a PG&E power station that is located at 260 Coleman Avenue, according to public documents that were filed on May 22.The property purchase occurred in the wake of a March decision by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to select LS Power as the developer, owner and operator of two massive new Bay Area projects to bolster electricity reliability in California.“We’re excited to be taking this major step forward on our recently awarded project,” said Casey Carroll, a vice president with LS ...

Barabak: Feinstein won’t ever quit the Senate. Just ask her biographer

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

Other than family and close friends, few people have a longer history with Dianne Feinstein or a better understanding of California’s ailing U.S. senator than Jerry Roberts.The former political writer and newspaper editor — now host of Santa Barbara’s singular broadcast “Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts” — first covered Feinstein nearly 50 years ago.She was on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; Roberts was a reporter for the city’s alternative paper, the Bay Guardian.In 1994, he published the biography “Dianne Feinstein: Never Let Them See You Cry.” It remains a must-read for students of the 89-year-old lawmaker, who faces intense pressure to quit amid doubts about her mental and physical health and capacity to do her job in the Senate.Our conversation about Feinstein, past and present, has been edited for length and clarity.Start with a few words to describe the senator.Tough. Independent. Persistent. Courageous. Driven.She’s had a remarkable career. But her life hasn’t always be...

Would you make a ‘good’ lottery winner?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

“If I won the lottery, I’d…fill in the blank.”Many of you immediately can fill that blank quickly, as this is often a fun topic of conversation. And each time I overhear the discussion, it starts with, “Well, I think I could manage differently than those horror stories of lottery winners you hear about!”The confidence is optimistic. In fact, the dark underbelly of sudden winnings can be disastrous.Three of the biggest tragedies people report after receiving significant windfalls are the demise of previously good relationships, the sudden occurrence of frivolous lawsuits on the part of others and the rise of scams presented to them disguised as great investments. Add to this the dilemma of not being familiar with handling larger sums of money, and the dream of winning the lottery pales.So, if you do win the lottery or come into an unexpected windfall, how should you approach things so that you don’t become another casualty?In three previous columns, you’ve read about ways to safeguar...

Opinion: State funding is crucial for helping foster children thrive

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

Children enter foster care due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. This can be a severely traumatic event having a lasting negative impact. Children are being removed from their family through no fault of their own. Sadly, many families are not reunified, leaving children who enter foster care with few alternatives including remaining in the system until they age out. In California, 40% of youth in foster care experience homelessness within 18 months of leaving the system, and 40% are unemployed by age 24. This is alarming but not surprising given the level of trauma these youth have endured.In Santa Clara County, the number of children entering foster care has decreased as a result of the policy to offer prevention services that focus on keeping children safely with their families to avoid the trauma that results when children are removed. With measures in place to keep families together, children who now enter foster care have undoubtedly suffered severe trauma.Although the number o...

Castro Theater holds memorial for drag icon Heklina

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Friends, family and fans are set to gather Tuesday afternoon for a massive public memorial service to honor drag icon Heklina at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. Heklina unexpectedly passed away in April in London.The 1,400-seat theater is expected to be bursting with mourners during the service set to begin around noon and end around midnight. The celebration is expected to spill out of the theater onto the streets causing some road closures.Market Street and 18th Street will be closed from around noon to midnight. Muni Bus lines 24 and 25 will also adjust to go around the area for the celebration.The theater will still be open to those who previously purchased tickets starting at around 7 p.m.Heklina was in London performing "Mommie Queerest." Her death shocked not only San Francisco but the U.S., as she was one of the pioneers in drag performance. She was a mainstay in the local drag community and a frequent guest on KRON4’s “Live In the Bay."

How a big mass timber structure in DC is drawing budding entrepreneurs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

The Retail Village at Sycamore & Oak for Black business owners and entrepreneurs will open next month in D.C.’s Congress Heights and its first participants have moved in. (Courtesy Congress Heights Community Training & Development Corporation)A unique incubator for Black business owners and entrepreneurs will open next month in D.C.’s Congress Heights neighborhood and its first participants have moved in.The Retail Village at Sycamore & Oak (named for its location) is set up to mentor, train and grow Black-owned retail and food concepts that originate in the community with low-cost space and rent abatement, business coaching, marketing support and financing assistance.It will also create about 100 local jobs.The building itself is unique. It’s a 23,000-square foot structure constructed of mass timber, and it’s the largest free-standing building of its kind in the District. It was designed by David Adjaye, the architect who designed the National Mu...

Tips for growing herbs (you don’t even need a garden)

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

Culinary herbs are among the easiest plants you can grow. They only need sunlight, water, and well-draining soil with a neutral pH.You don’t even need a garden. Many herbs, such as rosemary, basil, cilantro, lemon balm, oregano and mint will grow well in containers. In fact, mints should only be grown in containers, unless you don’t mind a garden takeover. To get started, test your soil. Buy a pH test kit online or at your local garden center and follow the instructions. A reading of 7.0 is ideal, but anything between 6.0 and 7.5 is generally acceptable for growing herbs. If the soil tests lower, add garden lime to raise it. If it’s too high, add elemental sulfur to lower it. Follow package directions for dosages and instructions.If growing herbs in containers, use a potting mix intended for edibles. The package label should include information about its pH level.Select a site that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. If your garden has sandy or heavy clay soil, inc...

Germany shuts out France 5-0 to clinch spot in quarterfinals at ice hockey world championships

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

TAMPERE, Finland (AP) — Germany shut out France 5-0 in its final group game on Tuesday to clinch a place in the quarterfinals at the ice hockey world championship. John Peterka a goal and an assist and goaltender Mathias Nederberger stopped 13 shots for the shutout as Germany finished fourth in Group A with 12 points.The Germans will next face Group B winner Switzerland.Slovakia kept its quarterfinal hopes alive by beating Norway 4-1 in Riga, Latvia. Slovakia is tied for fourth in Group B with co-host Latvia, which takes on Switzerland later Tuesday. The United States and Sweden face off later for the top spot in Group A and co-host Finland plays Denmark. In Group B, Canada takes on the Czech Republic. __More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource