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Milpitas Planning Director Ned Thomas appointed acting city manager

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

The Milpitas City Council recently voted to appoint city planning director Ned Thomas as acting city manager. The council previously formed a subcommittee to oversee the selection of a new permanent city manager. The subcommittee is actively working to launch a competitive nationwide search, which is estimated to take three to four months to complete.Thomas has served as Milpitas planning director for since August 2018. His recent work includes updates to the Milpitas General Plan and Transit Area Specific Plan, as well as ongoing updates to the Midtown Specific Plan and Zoning Ordinance. Under his direction, the planning department has also received more than $3.5 million in state and local grants to fund long-range planning initiatives, establish a local on-demand transit service and create innovative online tools to help Milpitas residents navigate the development review process or locate a new business in Milpitas.Thomas has more than 25 years’ experience in local government and...

Milpitas police give local teens insight on what it takes to be a cop

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

The Milpitas Police Department hosted its first Summer Teen Academy since the pandemic last month, giving local youth insight into what it takes to be a police officer.The program, held July 24-26, also highlighted the daily duties of a SWAT operator, a detective and an administration supervisor for the 13- to 16-year-old participants.Milpitas Police Chief Jared Hernandez, Assistant Chief Frank Morales, Sgt. Peter Tachis and Officer Mostafa Asefi kicked off the first day with an introductory walking tour of the police department. The tour also covered internet safety and de-escalation techniques. Officers from the traffic unit talked about distracted drivers and the associated risks on the road.On the second day, the group headed outside to the parking lot with officers Andrew Adams and Rakia Falcon for a demonstration of the Matrice 300, the department’s industrial-grade mapping inspection drone. The theoretical demonstration quickly turned into a real-life tracking flight after po...

Latest Line: A good week for homeless solutions, a bad week for outrunning COVID infections

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

Santa Clara homelessA new study found modest financial efforts to prevent homelessness were successful in Santa Clara County. At-risk families receiving assistance were 81% less likely to become homeless within six months and 73% less likely within a year.    COVID-19The virus is on the rise in California and across the Bay Area, with reported positivity rates doubling from June to July. Even our most cautious public health officers, Santa Clara County’s Dr. Sara Cody among them, finally came down with it.   Pac 12The long-storied college football conference was on the brink of extinction this week amid a mass exodus and fizzling media deal. But could Cal and Stanford end up joining the stacked Big Ten? 

They said it: No bullies

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

“It is important for jurors to deliberate with each other in good faith and not to bully or antagonize other jurors.”— U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman warning the jury hours before declaring a mistrial Thursday in the case of Scott Shaw, San Jose State’s former head athletic trainer accused of sexually assaulting female athletes during treatment sessions.

Hollywood weighs in on the A’s: Sell the Team!

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

Ryan Fleck is a screenwriter/director whose credits include Captain Marvel, Oscar-nominated Half Nelson, and the baseball film, Sugar. He received an Emmy for his work on ESPN’s 30 for 30 series about the 1989 World Series. His latest movie, Freaky Tales, was filmed entirely in the Bay Area and will be released in 2024.Ryan Fleck The first time I went to an A’s game was in 1982. My summer day camp took all of us kids on a field trip to the Coliseum via BART. We sat in the third deck and I could see the Oakland hills just beyond the outfield ice plants and bleachers.I was five so my attention often drifted away from the action on the field. There were the vendors shouting “popcorn here!” and throwing peanuts. There were actual cash bills being handed to strangers who passed the money on to the strangers next to them. In return came a cardboard cup of ice cream with a little wooden stick. It was miraculous!I didn’t understand baseball yet but it didn...

Roadshow: Is extending bulb life enough reason to turn off blinker in dedicated turn lane?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

Q: As far as using one’s turn signal at a dedicated left turn lane with its own signal, I use my signal before entering that turn lane and then turn it off while waiting for a green left turn arrow. The reasons are because I don’t like hearing the blinking and I’m trying to save the bulb so that it doesn’t have to be replaced. I hope that I don’t get cited for not having it on in a dedicated lane with its own light.Marcia Citta, SaratogaA: A few others do this, as well.Q: Having lived, and driven, in both Tanzania and Switzerland, I’m stunned at American drivers who don’t use turn signals. You’d NEVER find a European-trained driver not using their signals. Even in Tanzania, people use either blinkers or hand signals all the time.As a cyclist I always use signals. I’ve got four of them:Right turnLeft turnStopping$&#(@*&$The last one I don’t use very often! I try to remain polite.Thanks for a great columnJim ThurberA:...

Taxi workers to protest expansion of driverless cars in San Francisco

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

(BCN) -- The San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance is planning a protest at the headquarters of the California Public Utilities Commission on Monday against expansion of autonomous vehicle fleets in the city. Taxi drivers and their supporters hope to stop the commission from lifting current restrictions and allowing Waymo and Cruise to offer driverless commercial passenger service 24/7 anywhere in the city. The commission, which is responsible for regulations of autonomous vehicles or AVs, has called a meeting Monday to discuss AV interference with first responders, and is set to vote on granting expanded operations Thursday. Richmond day spa under investigation for bacterial illness, Contra Costa Health says "Taxi drivers are the canaries in the coal mine in the coming AI onslaught," Mark Gruberg, a member of the Executive Board of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance, said in a statement Saturday. "Our jobs may go first, but yours could be next." The San Francisco...

Horse dies after winning race at Sonoma County Fair

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

(BCN) -- A 3-year-old filly died after running in the opening day of the Santa Rosa Races at Sonoma County Fair. According to the official race chart, the horse, Danehill Song, was entered in race 6 on Thursday. Danehill Song went ahead early in the race and maintained a decent pace, before losing the lead to another horse. This led to a chase into the stretch, causing Danehill Song to take a bad step. The California Horse Racing Board said she was transported by an ambulance from the county fair. Richmond day spa under investigation for bacterial illness, Contra Costa Health says Details on the horse's injury were not available, but the horse racing authority only listed the death as "musculoskeletal," meaning a bone injury. Animal rights group Kill Racing Not Horses said in a statement Danehill Song's death is the 47th fatality in California's 2023 horse racing season, which began in December. She is the 7th racehorse also to pass away in fair races in the state, the ...

¿Por qué EE.UU. arrojó bombas nucleares sobre Hiroshima y Nagasaki?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

(CNN) — El 6 de agosto de 1945, Estados Unidos lanzó la primera de dos bombas atómicas sobre la ciudad japonesa de Hiroshima, matando a más de 70.000 personas al instante.Una segunda bomba siguió tres días después sobre Nagasaki y mató a 40.000 más.Estados Unidos sigue siendo el único país que ha utilizado una bomba atómica en una guerra.La guerra nuclear marcó el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y un capítulo devastador en la historia mundial. Esto es lo que necesita saber sobre los ataques.El bombardeoEn 1945, Hiroshima tenía entre 300.000 y 420.000 personas, según el Departamento de Energía y el sitio web de la ciudad de Hiroshima.El entonces presidente Harry S. Truman autorizó el ataque a Hiroshima. El bombardero B-29 de EE.UU., el Enola Gay, lanzó la bomba nuclear, con nombre en código “Little Boy”, el 6 de agosto de 1945.¿Por qué lo hizo?Los científicos estadounidenses que trabajan en el Proyecto Manhattan habían probado con éxito una bomba atómica en julio...

Death toll from southern Pakistan train derailment rises to 30, with 60 injured, officials say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:29 GMT

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Death toll from southern Pakistan train derailment rises to 30, with 60 injured, officials say.Source