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Wish You Were Here: A wintry wildlife hike in Japan

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

Our readers have been traveling far and wide — trekking through the Amazon, cycling Oregon bike trails, exploring Old Montreal — and sharing their travel adventures with us via photos, stories and practical tips. Here’s another tale, this time of a wintry wildlife hike in Japan.Wish You Were HereJAPAN: Boulder Creek residents Ken Zaremba and Susan Kamprath’s February trip to Japan included multiple wildlife photography opportunities, starting with their first stop at the Snow Monkey Park near Nagano. “The snow monkeys — Japanese macaques — are the northernmost resident primate,” Ken says. “The monkeys are very entertaining and used to people, so you can get very close to them. We then went on to the northern island of Hokkaido, where we photographed red-crowned cranes, whooper swans, Steller’s sea eagles, white-tailed eagles, deer, foxes and other wildlife.”Related ArticlesTravel | Wish You Were Here: Reade...

Bay Area storms: More messy wind and rain storms expected throughout Tuesday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

A foreboding 3.5 earthquake with an epicenter near Pacifica jolted the Peninsula and other parts of the Bay Area just after 6 a.m. Tuesday, perhaps reminding the region that mother nature isn’t quite done with it yet as yet another wind and rain storm barreled closer to landfall in time for the morning commute.The Bay Area was placed under wind advisory as of 5 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday as wind gusts as high as 45 miles per hour could grace the region. On the Marin coastline, winds could reach upwards of 50 mph. Those winds were predicted to occur sometime after 8 a.m., according to the National Weather Service, lasting into the early afternoon.Those winds paired with moderate-to-heavy rains could make for a messy morning commute. San Jose and Walnut Creek were forecast for between one-quarter and one-half of an inch of rain Tuesday, with much of it expected in the daytime hours. Oakland could receive around three-quarters of an inch while San Francisco was forecast for nearly...

Arthur Mac’s Little Snack opens with funky pizzas, hot wings at Emeryville’s Bay Street mall

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

Any American mall needs its staples: brand-name clothing stores, 3D-movie theater, a weirdly high number of makeup shops and at least one pizza joint.This January, Bay Street Emeryville came dangerously close to losing its identity when the California Pizza Kitchen suddenly closed. But never fear, folks who like to have pizza after trying on Victoria’s Secret: Things are back to normal with the April 1 grand opening of Arthur Mac’s Little Snack, an expansion of the East Bay’s Arthur Mac’s Tap and Snack known for brick-oven pies, hot wings and craft brews. (Soft openings are scheduled this week from Wednesday through Friday.)The original Arthur Mac’s is by the MacArthur BART station in Oakland – thus the name – and another, larger one will open in late 2023 or early 2024 in Hayward. (Fun fact: It’s going to have a decommissioned 1990s BART train car for seating and playing retro video games.) The Emeryville location earns its “Little” moniker by be...

In push for accountability, San Jose’s homelessness spending to be audited by the state

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

Following an 8% increase in homelessness in San Jose from 2019 to 2022, California is set to take a close look at how much the city is spending on addressing the issue.On Wednesday, the state’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted unanimously to approve an audit request made by Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) last year. The audit comes at a time when California has spent $15 billion on homelessness over the last several years.Cortese says he wants to make sure that money is being spent correctly—and he wants to do it now, while the state is still committed to making an “unprecedented investment” in combatting homelessness.“Our residents deserve to know how the dollars are getting there and how they’re being invested, what’s working and what’s not and I think we need to know that, as well,” he said. “Adding transparency will help both the state and local jurisdictions work together to best spend these dollars going forward.”Cort...

Marin resident gives 120-acre ranch to therapeutic horse-riding group

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

Kayla Andersen, left, works with Madison Carratturo in a therapeutic horse riding session at Halleck Creek Ranch on Thursday, March 16, 2023, in Nicasio, Calif. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)Ariel Aycock, 7, rides Skippy in a therapeutic horse riding session at Halleck Creek Ranch on Thursday, March 16, 2023, in Nicasio, Calif. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)Kayla Andersen works with Liam Aycock, 10,in a therapeutic horse riding session at Halleck Creek Ranch on Thursday, March 16, 2023, in Nicasio, Calif. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)Ariel Aycock, 7, pets Skippy in a therapeutic horse riding session at Halleck Creek Ranch on Thursday, March 16, 2023, in Nicasio, Calif. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)Ariel Aycock, 7, learns the correct way to hold the reigns in a therapeutic horse riding session at Halleck Creek Ranch on Thursday, March 16, 2023 in Nicasio, Calif. Atlantis Langowsk...

More support of permanent option for slain San Jose Safeway employee’s roadside memorial: Roadshow

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

Q: I would like to help contribute to a permanent memorial for Manny Huizar. When they create a fund for it, could you let us know the details? I’m sure I’m not the only reader you’re hearing from.Betsy Gebhart, San JoseA: You most certainly are not. I’ve continued to receive responses about roadside memorials, and, specifically, the one that had been set up to honor Manny Huizar, a young employee who was murdered when he tried to stop a late-night shoplifter who shot him in June, 2022 at the Safeway on Hamilton Avenue at Meridian.The discussion started when someone wrote to ask when the roadside memorial created outside the store would be taken down, as some neighbors felt it was not being well-maintained and were tired of it. Others responded that a permanent memorial would be appropriate here, and said they would help pay for it.Q: I reside in Mexico for six months of the year and have seen hundreds of roadside memorials, both temporary and permanent. They...

A proposed multi-billion regional bond signals a shift in how Bay Area affordable housing is funded

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

A renewed push to tackle the Bay Area’s housing crisis at a regional level is underway, and it could be the solution for cities and counties tapped out of local funds for affordable housing.The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, or BAHFA, was created in 2019 to address the area’s housing shortage. It’s a first-of-its-kind financing authority in California that has coalesced as advocates and state leaders move to take a more regional approach to combat the state’s housing-affordability problems.A recent report from BAHFA and Enterprise Community Partners found that there’s a $7.6 billion gap in public financing that needs to be filled in order to unlock nearly 33,000 new homes in the Bay Area.The organization is currently helping oversee a potential housing bond for the November 2024 election that could bring in $10 billion to $20 billion for affordable housing in the Bay Area, depending on the amount key players decide to pursue.That could mean as much...

Series of smaller earthquakes hit near Pacifica

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

(KRON) -- A series of magnitude 2.6 to 3.5 earthquakes hit about near Pacifica Tuesday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. The first quake hit just after 6 a.m. It had a depth of almost 6 miles with light shakes reportedly felt down the Peninsula, parts of the East Bay and as far south as Santa Cruz, according to the USGS's Did You Feel It? reports.A 3.5-magnitude earthquake was the first in a series of small earthquake to hit near Pacifica. (United States Geological Survey)The second and third earthquakes hit at 6:03 a.m. and 6:04 a.m., according to the USGS. The USGS reported both as 2.6-magnitude quakes.Small earthquakes in the Bay Area this morning. Felt like someone was shaking my car. After working in the Midwest for two years, I forgot what they felt like and just got used to tornadoes and blizzards.👀 ❄️ 🌪️ None are fun, be safe everyone!— Michael Thomas (@michaeltnews) March 28, 2023Several viewers told KRON4 they felt its impacts, but no damage ...

Posters near Vatican urge pope to stop Latin Mass crackdown

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

ROME (AP) — Posters calling on Pope Francis to stop his crackdown on the old Latin Mass were plastered around the Vatican on Tuesday, in the latest display of conservative opposition to the pontiff.The posters featured images of Pope Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II and quoted from their texts speaking positively about the old rite, which Francis has sought to restrict.“For the love of the pope. For peace and unity of the church. For the free practice of the traditional Latin Mass,” the posters read.They were referring to Francis’ decision in 2021 to overturn one of Benedict’s signature liturgical decisions and reimpose restrictions on celebrating the old Mass. Francis said he had to act because the spread of the old rite was dividing parishes. He said Benedict’s decision to liberalize its use in 2007 had been exploited by people opposed to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that allowed for Mass in the vernacular, not just Latin.The poster in...

Russia convicts father of teen who drew antiwar pictures

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:19:25 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian court on Tuesday convicted a single father over social media posts criticizing the war in Ukraine and sentenced him to two years in prison — a case brought to the attention of authorities by his daughter’s drawings against the invasion at school, according to his lawyer and activists.The case of Alexei Moskalyov, who was indicted and tried in his hometown of Yefremov, about 300 kilometers (about 186 miles) south of Moscow, has drawn international attention and is a grim indication that the Kremlin is intensifying its crackdown on dissent, targeting more people and handing out harsher punishments for any expression of criticism of the war.In a twist to the case, the 54-year-old Moskalyov fled house arrest overnight, court officials said, and wasn’t present for the outcome of his trial. He had been wearing a bracelet that tracked his movements but apparently had taken it off.Moskalyov was accused of repeatedly discrediting the Russian army, a cr...