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Stray cats will be removed from historic Puerto Rico fortress

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

By Danica Coto | Associated PressSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hundreds of stray cats that roam a historic seaside tourist area of Puerto Rico’s capital where they are considered both a delight and a nuisance will be removed over the coming year, under a plan unveiled Tuesday by the U.S. National Park Service.The agency said it will contract an animal welfare organization to remove the 200 cats estimated to live on 75 acres surrounding a fortress at the San Juan National Historic Site that the federal agency operates in Old San Juan. If the organization fails to remove the cats within six months, the park service said it would hire a removal agency.Cat lovers responded to the plan with dismay, but the agency noted that the felines can transmit illnesses to humans. “All visitors will benefit from the removal of a potential disease vector from the park,” the park service plan stated.The six-month timetable to remove the cats is unrealistic, said Ana María Salicrup, secreta...

Letters: No excuses | Rich at fault | UN has role

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Don’t excuse parents’tragic decisionsRe: “Who failed baby Phoenix?” (Page A1, Nov. 12).The headline of the Nov. 12 East Bay Times asks: “Who failed baby Phoenix?” The main answer is this: her parents. I know that some will be inclined to say that this goes without saying, but does it? I would say that this needs to be stressed because many today don’t really hold parents accountable enough for their children. Progressives today have a serious accountability problem hurting how they respond to many issues in life.Frankly, I don’t care if parents like Phoenix’s have “substance abuse” problems, troubled pasts or any sort of mental health diagnosis. They’re responsible for the decisions that they make and for the consequences of their decisions.We need to stop excusing capable adults when they do bad things. And we need to stop shifting ...

Former North Coast Section commissioner Paul Gaddini dies at 83

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

Paul Gaddini, the North Coast Section’s commissioner for 28 years before he retired in 2000, has died, the section announced on Tuesday.The NCS received the news about Gaddini’s passing just before Thanksgiving break, current commissioner Pat Cruickshank said.Gaddini would have turned 84 this week.“He was the first NCS Commissioner of the modern era and ushered in Section Championships in many sports back in 1975,” Cruickshank wrote in an email. “Words that I have heard over the past few days describing Paul have been leader, mentor, kind, gentle. It is clear that he was well respected throughout our section and the state.”At the time of his retirement, Gaddini told this news organization that the inclusion of girls sports and playoffs were among the achievements that made him proud. He also noted how meetings changed during his time in the section office.“The job turned out to be different than I thought it would be,” Gaddini said. “Decisions were made by the pers...

Oldest living Tournament of Roses queen dies at 102

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

Associated PressAUBURN, Calif. — Margaret Huntley Main, the 1940 Tournament of Roses queen and the oldest living titleholder, has died. She was 102.Margaret Huntley Main receives her crown as the Rose Queen for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses in 1940. (Pasadena Tournament of Roses via Associated Press)Main died Friday, Nov. 24, in Auburn, California, the Tournament of Roses said in a statement Tuesday. No cause of death was given.She was attending Pasadena City College when she was chosen by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses as queen of the New Year’s Day parade. The grand marshals in 1940 were ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy.Main rode in the Rose Parade several times in later years on the float with former queens and in 2009 on the city of Roseville, California, float.She created the Queens’ Alumni Association and annually attended the October coronation and queens’ luncheon in December until she stopped traveling in 2019. Main met every ...

Over objections from both sides of DA Pamela Price recall effort, Alameda County supervisors approve rule changes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

In the weeks since the Alameda County Board of Supervisors proposed changes to the county’s recall rules, nearly everyone appears to have come to the conclusion that the amendment is a bad idea. Except, that is, the supervisors themselves.The proposal seems to have been sparked by the contentious effort to recall Pamela Price, the county’s district attorney. But in an ironic development, neither side of that battle is happy with it. Supporters of the Price recall effort say the new rules create confusion and complicate their campaign. Price’s anti-recall campaign says the changes allow people from out of the county to collect the signatures necessary to trigger a recall election, which they oppose.Related ArticlesElection | Alameda County D.A. Pamela Price delivers fiery rebuke to critics as she launches anti-recall campaign Election | 5 things to know about Alameda County’s proposed recall changes Election | Months after ...

Concord teen who donated his heart to be honored at Rose Parade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A Concord teenager who donated his organs to save the lives of others will be honored at the 135th Rose Parade on New Year’s Day.Joseph "Joe" Barratt, 18, was walking home from a library when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver near Highway 4 on Feb. 10, 2020. The popular Concord High School student spent three days in a trauma center at John Muir Health in Walnut Creek.Doctors ultimately determined that his injuries were non-recoverable and Barratt was removed from life support on Feb. 13, 2020.Shortly before the hit-and-run crash, Barratt visited a DMV office to get a new ID and he learned about organ donation. He decided to sign up at the DMV to be an organ donor. Joseph "Joe" Barratt (Image courtesy Sutter Health) "His sweet nature touched every single person who came into contact with him, and his beautiful smile left an impression on every person who was lucky enough to see it. It is only fitting that someone with a heart as big as Joe's would save th...

San Leandro barbershop murder suspect arrested after Maserati chase in Oakland

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

(KRON) -- A man suspected of killing a San Leandro barber was arrested in Oakland on Oct. 27 after a police chase, California Highway Patrol announced Tuesday. The suspect, 26-year-old Alexis Garcia, was found sleeping in a Maserati by police before he was taken into custody. The murder happened on Oct. 25 at Harrison Brothers barbershop, located at 2240 E. 14th St. in San Leandro. A barber was murdered while their client was shot and injured. Mom leads police on wild San Mateo chase with baby in car: SMPD On Monday, CHP officers in its Oakland division were patrolling when they saw Garcia and another man asleep in the flashy car in an unknown location, police said. The passenger allegedly had a handgun lying in his lap. The occupants woke up, saw the officers and drove away, per CHP. The driver eventually abandoned his car and attempted to run away, but he was detained by CHP officers. The passenger was detained as well. The San Leandro Police Department responded and confirmed ...

41 rescued workers emerge dazed and smiling after 17 days trapped in collapsed road tunnel in India

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — Forty-one construction workers emerged dazed and smiling late Tuesday from a collapsed tunnel where they had been stranded the last 17 days — a happy ending to an ordeal that had gripped India and involved a massive rescue operation that overcame several setbacks.Locals, relatives and government officials erupted in joy, set off firecrackers and shouted “Bharat Mata ki Jai” — Hindi for “Long live mother India” — as happy workers walked out after receiving a brief checkup by doctors. Officials hung garlands around their necks as the crowd cheered. Nitin Gadkari, the country’s minister of road transport and highways, said in a video posted on the social media platform X that he was “completely relieved and happy” that all of the workers were rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, a town in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand. “This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue ...

With deadline looming, diplomats seek to extend Gaza truce; more hostages, prisoners are freed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas and Israel released more hostages and prisoners under terms of a fragile cease-fire that held for a fifth day Tuesday as international mediators in Qatar worked to extend the truce. The United States urged Israel to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if it follows through on its promise to resume the war.In the latest swap since the cease-fire began Friday, Israel said 10 of its citizens and two Thai nationals were freed by Hamas and had been returned to Israel. Soon after, Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners. The truce is due to end after one more exchange Wednesday night.For the first time, Israel and Hamas blamed each other for an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. There was no indication it would endanger the truce, which has enabled humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza.CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hama...

Fuertes vientos derriban al Árbol Nacional de Navidad

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:17:35 GMT

Fuertes vientos derribaron el Árbol Nacional de Navidad afuera de la Casa Blanca la tarde del martes. Ráfagas de más de 30 mph causaron que se desplomara el emblemático árbol. El árbol iba a ser encendido el jueves, y el Servicio de Parques Nacionales (NPS, por sus siglas en inglés) dijo que analiza todas las opciones para asegurar que el encendido sea exitoso. El árbol se cayó sobre la 1 p.m., según el NPS. Equipos usaron una grúa para levantarlo para las 6 p.m.El abeto rojo mide 40 pies y viene del Bosque Nacional Monongahela en Virginia del Oeste, y había reemplazado el árbol anterior este mes, de acuerdo al NPS.Source