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Letters: Transit support | Honoring Chiarello | Aid tied to tragedy

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.User fees are keyfor transit supportRe: “Bay Area residents already paying enough” (Page A6, Oct. 5).In his letter published Oct. 5, “Bay Area residents already paying enough,” William Hough listed the many sales tax and transportation ballot measures supported by Santa Clara County voters.My letter, “We have the means to support transit,” published August 25, encouraged the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to enact 1997 legislation enabling a region-wide vote to hike gas taxes, though I asked that it be amended to add an appropriate EV annual registration fee to ensure that all drivers pay for transit.I was pleased to see in the Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley poll (Oct. 3) that voters were more supportive of gas taxes than sales taxes, though less than bridge tolls.It’s important that a transportation tax be a user fee, which rules out sales taxes. All...

As Hamas, Israel battle, all eyes on Hezbollah to the north

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

By Kareem Chehayeb and Abby Sewell | Associated PressBEIRUT — Will Lebanon’s heavily armed Hezbollah militia join the Israel-Hamas war? The answer could well determine the direction of a battle that is bound to reshape the Middle East.Hezbollah, which like Hamas is supported by Iran, has so far been on the fence about joining the fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Islamic militant rulers. For the past six days, Israel has besieged Gaza and hammered the enclave of 2.3 million Palestinians with hundreds of airstrikes in response to a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel.Israel, which has vowed to crush Hamas, is now preparing for a possible ground offensive. While the country’s political and military leaders weigh the next move, they are nervously watching Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border and have sent troop reinforcements to the area. Hezbollah, with an arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets and missiles capable of hitting virtually anywhere ...

San Jose Barracuda releases new details on televised games

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

Some San Jose Barracuda games are coming to cable television this season.For the first time in the team’s 10-year history, the Barracuda, the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, will have three of their regular season games televised by NBC Sports California.All three of the games will be televised from Tech CU Arena in San Jose, the Barracuda’s home rink that opened last year and is adjacent to Sharks Ice.NBC Sports California will show Barracuda games on Dec. 9, Jan. 9, and Jan. 26 against Henderson, Ontario and Calgary, respectively. The Jan. 9 will immediately follow the Sharks’ game in Toronto against the Maple Leafs game, which starts at 4 p.m. (PT).“We’re extremely excited to be able to partner with NBC Sports California for three games this season,” said Barracuda Vice President, Frank Torres. “When you think of sports in the Bay Area on TV, NBC Sports California is the first network that comes to mind. We can’t wait to show off our strong group of young ...

CDC Director Mandy Cohen tours vaccine clinic at San Leandro assisted living facility

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

Carrying the torch for the new COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s top official on Thursday visited an East Bay assisted living facility to urge Americans, and especially seniors, to get the latest shot before the virus spikes again this winter.Speaking from a pop-up vaccine clinic that disrupted Marymount Villa’s “Sit and Be Fit” and “Coloring Pages” activities, CDC Director Mandy Cohen said that at least 7 million Americans have received the new formulation in the past several weeks. That’s a tiny percentage of the hundreds of millions who are eligible, and a far cry from the uptake of the first booster doses released in 2021.She acknowledged bumps in the rollout, including problems with early supplies, and insurance and billing snafus. In the past, the federal government bought and distributed all the vaccine doses. “This time we are using the private sector,” Cohen said. “We are troublesho...

Photos: Great California ShakeOut tour stops at San Francisco State

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

Related ArticlesCalifornia News | Photos: Global rallies in support of Israelis and Palestinians California News | Review: Where was the ‘real Peter Gabriel’ during San Francisco concert? California News | 25 years after Matthew Shepard’s death, LGBTQ+ activists say equal-rights progress is at risk California News | What was Hamas thinking? For over three decades, it has had the same brutal idea of victory California News | Man fatally shot in Oakland’s 99th homicide of the year The Great California ShakeOut — the tour bringing a magnitude 7.0 earthquake simulator to cities across the state over the next week — arrived Thursday in San Francisco as the governor’s Office of Emergency Services touts its first-in-the-nation early warning system for temblors. California’s early earthquake warning system can be downloaded to smartphones via the MyShake app at https://myshake.berke...

US, Qatar agree to hold back $6B from Iranian access

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

By Matthew Lee, Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The U.S. and Qatar have reached an agreement that the Qataris will not act on any request from Tehran for the time being to access $6 billion in Iranian funds that were unblocked as part of a prisoner swap last month, a U.S. official said Thursday.The move, which stops short of a full refreezing of Iranian funds in Qatar’s banking system, follows the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israel and continued Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s deal with Iran, in which $6 billion was unfrozen in exchange for the release of five detained Americans. The official who outlined the understanding between the U.S. and Qatar was not authorized to comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.U.S. officials have strenuously pushed back against the criticism, noting that the money had yet to be spent by Iran and can only be used for humanitarian needs.“None of the funds that have now gone t...

Q&A: California Rep. Jimmy Panetta was in the Middle East when Hamas attacked Israel. Here are his observations

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, arrived in the Middle East last week with grand ambitions of helping Israel and Saudi Arabia inch one step closer to a peace deal that — just years ago — would have seemed inconceivable.He returned stateside Wednesday having watched all of those plans crumble in a single day.“We went on the trip to talk about peace, but we left the area talking about war,” Panetta said.The unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday played out while Panetta and a bipartisan group of U.S. representatives and senators were in nearby Saudi Arabia. Until that point, their goal had been to tour the Middle East as part of efforts by the United States to secure a string of peace deals in the region between Israel and several nearby nations, including Saudi Arabia. After the attacks, Panetta and his fellow members of Congress drove into Israel to meet with Americans impacted by the fighting, as well as Israeli leaders, including ...

Students evacuated at East Bay middle school following bomb threat

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

PLESANTON — Students at a middle school were sent home early after being evacuated from their classes because of a bomb threat at the school Thursday, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland police reveal name of teen who allegedly killed Uber driver last year Crime and Public Safety | Man fatally shot in Oakland’s 99th homicide of the year Crime and Public Safety | Teen arrested after cop stabbed Wednesday afternoon in East Bay Crime and Public Safety | Three possible shooting suspects arrested after East Bay chase, crash Crime and Public Safety | Bay Area woman gets probation, mental health treatment in attempted child abduction at knifepoint The call of the threat came into Hart Middle School in the 4400 block of Willow Road about 12:25 p.m., according to Sgt. Marty Billdt. Parents at the school said they were later notified that students were being sent home.School a...

Bay Area’s Jewish Community Federation opens an Israel Emergency fund

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

San Francisco, Calif. (KRON) – The San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund announced Thursday that it had opened an Israel Emergency Fund. The goal of the fund is to support emergency medical needs, relocation, unprecedented levels of trauma, and other services to victims of terror.According to the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, 100 percent of all donations to the fund will go directly to urgent humanitarian needs.   Blinken in Israel: At least 25 Americans killed in ‘heinous’ Hamas attacks Jewish Community Federation is collaborating with its longtime partners: Israel Trauma Coalition, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. “The Federation stands in solidarity with the people of Israel,” said CEO Joy Sisisky. “We are the central address in the Jewish community for support during humanitarian crises and emergencies. After these heinous attacks, our hearts break and we are called...

Jets’ Zach Wilson is taking the right steps in getting his footwork down in the offense

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:21:14 GMT

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson remembers looking across the New York Jets’ offensive line during a joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles as a rookie and seeing Fletcher Cox snarling.“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Fletcher Cox is yelling at me right now,’” Wilson said with a laugh Thursday. “It was right from the jump, so it was just a little welcome to the NFL moment.”Two years later, Wilson will get to hear Cox and the rest of Philadelphia’s loud and stout defense again when the undefeated Eagles take on the Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.“They talk a lot,” Wilson said. “As a quarterback, that’s exciting because those guys are getting after it. I specifically remember Fletcher Cox in our joint practice, just how excited he is to be out there and he always tries to get in your head and stuff like that. “But they make the game fun and they play hard, so it’s going to be a good matchup for us. I’m excited.”It’s a good approach...