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Letters: Delay decision | Stand by Biden | War and climate | Lee for Senate | No comparison

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Walnut Creek shoulddelay decision on oaksThe city of Walnut Creek is planning to remove two protected valley oaks from the Kinross right of way, a wetland, before the county has settled the lawsuit against it regarding the proposed project “The Glen at Heather Farm” at Seven Hills Ranch by Spieker Development.It’s important to note that this is a strongly opposed and significantly controversial project requiring exceptions and modifications to zoning, ordinances and codes in place. What is the urgency to take such an irreversibly drastic action for an undecided project?Thousands of people who actually live and vote in this area oppose this project but somehow it keeps progressing by just a couple of officials including a now-retired Contra Costa board member and a couple of Walnut Creek City Council members. It is time for our elected officials to hear their constituents’ voices.O...

49ers WRs Samuel, Aiyuk don’t regret Eagles trash talk, excited for rematch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk did not backtrack Monday from their harsh criticism of the Philadelphia Eagles after last season’s NFC Championship Game loss.“I don’t regret nothing I said,” Samuel relayed at his locker after practice.Six days before the 49ers (8-3) return to Philadelphia, though, Samuel and Aiyuk declined to add further fuel to the flames that burned so intensely after their 31-7 playoff exit last season. Both players expressed after the loss that the Eagles were fortunate that Brock Purdy went down during the opening drive with an elbow injury.“We definitely know what happened last season. A lot of words went back and forth,” Aiyuk said. “But, despite that, we have another opportunity to play football, and they have another opportunity. Both sides are excited for that.”The 49ers are especially excited to have a healthy Purdy, the NFL leader in passer rating and completion percentage, just 10 months after tearing an elbow ligament ...

Population of endangered Sumatran rhinos is now one larger

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

By Edna Tarigan | Associated PressJAKARTA, Indonesia — A critically endangered Sumatran rhino was born in Indonesia’s western island of Sumatra on Saturday, the second Sumatran rhino born in the country this year and a welcome addition to a species that currently numbers fewer than 50 animals.A female named Delilah gave birth to a 25-kilogram (55-pound) male calf at a sanctuary for Sumatran rhinos in Way Kambas National Park in Lampung province, at the southern tip of Sumatra island.The calf is fathered by a male named Harapan, who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2006. He was the last Sumatran rhino in the world to be repatriated to Indonesia, meaning that the entire population of Sumatran rhinos is now in Indonesia.Most of the remaining rhinos live on Sumatra, several in captivity. They are threatened by destruction of tropical forest habitat and poachers who kill the animals for their horns, which are prized for making ornaments and for use in traditional medicine in China...

Did Ovechkin and Crosby save the NHL? The San Jose Sharks have their opinions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

SAN JOSE – Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin raised some eyebrows last week when he said he and fellow superstar Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins revitalized professional hockey in North America.Both Ovechkin and Crosby came into the NHL in 2005, beginning a rivalry that has endured for close to two decades with each player establishing themselves as generational talents. They faced each other in the playoffs multiple times, and one or both were often on national television, raising the profile of the league.“We saved the NHL,” Ovechkin told The Athletic.Ovechkin, in town with the Capitals, won’t get an argument from the San Jose Sharks.At that time, the NHL was coming off a year-long lockout that had threatened to decimate interest in the sport, and the talents of Crosby and Ovechkin, along with rule changes designed to create more scoring opportunities, breathed new life into a league that well past the era of Wayne Gretzky.“One hundred percent,” Sharks coach ...

Flaring reported at Chevron Refinery in Richmond

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

(KRON) -- Smoke is visible in parts of the East Bay on Monday due to flaring at the Chevon Refinery in Richmond, the refinery confirmed to KRON4. The flaring is due to a "loss of power to a portion of the facility," the refinery said. Refinery employees are working to minimize and stop the flaring. Wetter than average winter forecast for Bay Area, officials urge preparedness A Community Warning System (CWS) Level 1 has been issued. This level of alert does not require action by the public. Investigators with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District are at the scene assisting. "Flares are highly regulated safety devices and are an important part of keeping the Refinery running safely. We encourage our neighbors to visit www.richmondairmonitoring.org to view real-time air quality data," the refinery said. Flaring has been a recurring problem in the East Bay over the last year, particularly at the Martinez Refinery. Most recently, Contra Costa Health responded to a fla...

San Jose parents appear in court after fentanyl kills baby

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- A San Jose mother and father were in court on Monday facing murder charges after their 18-month-old daughter was poisoned by fentanyl. Derek Vaughn Rayo, 27, and Kelly Gene Richardson, 28, are the first parents in Santa Clara County's history to be charged with murdering their own child with drugs.The victim, named Winter, is referred to as "Baby W. Doe" in court documents. She had 15 times the lethal amount of fentanyl in her blood when she died. "Think of W. Doe ... this innocent child and her sad and stolen life,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. "This is not a law enforcement official overreacting to an illegal substance."In the courtroom, Richardson frequently glanced over her shoulder at Rayo attempting to make eye-contact. Rayo avoided his girlfriend's gaze. The couple did not enter pleas and the judge ordered them to remain in jail with no bail.Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson are seen in mugshots provided by the San Jose Police Department. On Aug...

Pierce faces uphill battle to show he should be the Raiders coach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Antonio Pierce knows the NFL is a results-based business, and he has five games remaining to prove his case that the Raiders should remove the interim tag and name him the head coach.“I’m racing time now,” Pierce said Monday. “Clock is ticking. It’s almost over. I get it. But the best part about it, I know whenever this is over that I’ve gotten better.” Las Vegas is 2-2 since he replaced the fired Josh McDaniels, with victories over both New York teams that are a combined 8-15 and losses to Miami and Kansas City, each 8-3 and leaders of their respective divisions.So no surprises there, and there isn’t enough evidence yet that Pierce should be the Raiders coach past this season. Also no evidence that he shouldn’t be that person.But what’s to come after the bye week doesn’t exactly work in Pierce’s favor.Four of the Raiders’ final five games are against teams with winning records, including a rematch with the Chiefs in Kansas ...

Florida coach Billy Napier fires two assistants to begin defensive overhaul, AP source says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Billy Napier began a much-needed defensive makeover by firing two assistants Monday.Napier parted with cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond and defensive line coach Sean Spencer two days after a season-ending, 24-15 loss to rival and then-No. 5 Florida State, according to a person familiar with the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the coach nor the assistants had made the moves public.The Gators (5-7) lost five consecutive games to end the season and missed a bowl for just the third time since 1990. Defense was the biggest issue down the stretch, with Florida allowing 41.75 points a game in the first four of those losses.The unit was better in the finale against the Seminoles, who were playing without star quarterback Jordan Travis, but it was too little, too late to save the assistants.Defensive line, secondary and offensive line were Florida’s worst positions by far in 2023, and Napier ma...

Nikki Haley argues Donald Trump is always followed by ‘chaos’ before a large South Carolina crowd

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley argued Monday former President Donald Trump causes too much chaos to be successful in a second White House term, reiterating her argument about the GOP front-runner at a large town hall in her home state of South Carolina. The former governor and United Nations ambassador drew the largest crowd of her primary campaign so far as she tries to close the gap with Trump just weeks before the Iowa caucuseskick off the Republican nominating calendar. Haley invoked her former boss saying as she has before that she believes Trump was “the right president at the right time” but that the time is now right for a new generation in U.S. leadership.“I agree with a lot of his policies, but the truth is, rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him,” Haley said. “We have too much division in this country, and too many threats around the world to be sitting in chaos once again.”About 2,500 people attended the event at a satellite campus of the University of South Carolina a...

Browns’ QB carousel could turn again with Thompson-Robinson in concussion protocol

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:18:43 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns are again in quarterback limbo. The only difference this time is they have a more suitable — if not sustainable — backup plan.Paging Joe Flacco.With rookie starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson in concussion protocol after taking a brutal hit in Sunday’s loss at Denver, the Browns may make yet another switch and put their season — and playoff hopes — in Flacco’s capable hands.Cleveland signed the 2013 Super Bowl MVP last week as protection in case Thompson-Robinson either flopped or got hurt.And, wouldn’t you know it?In a season full of bumps and bruises for the Browns (7-4), Thompson-Robinson was knocked out of his third career start when Broncos linebacker Baron Browning levelled him with a high hit in third quarter of Cleveland’s 29-12 loss Sunday.Coach Kevin Stefanski offered no clues Monday about his QB plans heading into this week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, but it appears his best option is to see what th...