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The Book Club: “The Wager,” “Our Souls At Night” and more reader reviews

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this series, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email [email protected] ArticlesBooks | The Book Club: “Ethan Frome,” “A Chateau Under Siege” and more reviews from readers Books | “The Wind Knows My Name,” by Isabel Allende, and more short book reviews from readers Books | A review of “Coach Prime” and other recent books with a Western focus Books | “Fourth Wing” is taking the book world by storm. Here’s what you need to know about Colorado’s Rebecca Yarros and t...

10 Freeway open for Monday commute but there's still work to be done

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

Commuters were able to hop on the 10 Freeway Monday morning after it reopened ahead of schedule Sunday but officials say more work needs to be done. Experts initially believed it would take months to open the freeway after a pallet fire erupted on Nov. 11, closing the roadway from Alameda Street to Santa Fe Avenue. That estimate was later revised to three to five weeks before it ultimately opened in just eight days. After an eight-day closure, the 10 Freeway reopened on Nov. 29, 2023. (KTLA)Officials say the rapid opening was made possible by several factors. Better structural testing results than were expected following the fireRapid debris removalGood coordination between state, local and federal government officialsCrews working around the clockLos Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced the freeway reopening with a post on X, formerly Twitter, just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday. "Welcome back, Los Angeles!" a portion of the tweet read.Crews are still working on permanent repairs but officia...

Map: Speed cameras are likely to be placed on these San Jose streets

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

As part of a pilot program that’s bringing speed camera technology to the city’s most dangerous streets, San Jose is gearing up to install 33 of the devices next year at high-risk intersections, with the ultimate goal of reducing the dozens of people killed and hundreds severely injured each year in traffic collisions.This year, 45 people in San Jose have died from traffic-related incidents. Of those deaths, 24 were pedestrians. Last year saw 65 deaths, the highest number of fatalities in the city’s modern history.Signed into law in September, AB 645 is the first time speed cameras will be brought to California’s roads.When and where the cameras in San Jose will be placed is still being hammered out. Councilmember Pam Foley, who has spearheaded the city’s efforts to create safer roads, says she wants them installed by the end of 2024. In addition to the riskiest intersections, the program also calls for cameras to be placed around school zones.“It...

Kerr identifies one reason why the Warriors can’t find offensive flow

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The list of concerns surrounding the Golden State Warriors grows longer after each loss in the Warriors’ six-game streak. There is one issue that underlies the losses and wins alike.Poor transition offense.Only 12% of the Warriors’ offensive possessions this season are in transition, which ranks last in the league, according to Second Spectrum. The Warriors also rank in the middle of the pack, 15th, in pace with 100.29 possessions per game.“It’s a little perplexing, to be honest with you,” coach Steve Kerr said. “My feeling is some of it is defensively we haven’t been getting out to good starts and getting stops leads to transition. And we’ve had some games where we fouled quite a bit as well.”This is a problem because much of the Warriors’ offensive identity with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green relies on transition offense. A decade ago, the rise of the dynasty came with the trio running...

Thanksgiving travel is back: Californians to see record-breaking traffic on freeways, at airports

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

COVID isn’t spooking us. Neither, it seems, is the trauma of Southwest stranding hundreds of thousands of us at airports across the country last year. This year, dare we say, even the weather forecast seems to be in our favor.We’re traveling again this Thanksgiving — and in record numbers. Seven-and-a-half million Californians — nearly one-fifth of the state — are expected to venture a distance of over 50 miles during the holiday week.That will make it the busiest year for Thanksgiving travel in the past two decades, according to AAA.Click here to read about the best times to hit the road or head to the airport for your Thanksgiving travel in the Bay Area.“We may be far enough removed from pandemic restrictions for people to get back to the traveling they used to do,” said John Treanor, a spokesperson for the travel association. “The appetite for travel has returned.”Since last year’s frantic Christmas travel meltdown, airlines say they have been working to correct...

49ers report card: Purdy’s A+ passer rating helps key win over Buccaneers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

SANTA CLARA – Here is how the 49ers (7-3) graded in Sunday’s 27-14 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6):PASS OFFENSE: A+Brock posted the first perfect passer rating by a 49ers quarterback since Joe and Steve each did so in 1989 (Disclaimer: last names no longer required for any of that trio, each of whom “threw a perfect game” with three touchdowns and no interceptions). Purdy’s 333 yards came with touchdown passes to Christian McCaffrey (4 yards), Brandon Aiyuk (76 yards) and George Kittle (3 yards). Purdy’s first pass went to Kittle for 24 yards, and he hit him again for a 21-yarder from the Niners’ own 3-yard line to set up Aiyuk’s deep shot on the next snap. Purdy’s trust in Kittle (89 yards, eight receptions on nine targets) was evident and extremely helpful on shots over the middle or perfectly executed bootlegs. Aiyuk finished with a career-high 156 yards, and the 76-yard touchdown marked a career-long for both him and Purdy. Purdy was sacked four times, so ...

Santa Cruz judge takes herself off domestic violence case after ‘personal attacks’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — A superior court judge has recused herself from a criminal case after a victim’s supporters criticized her handling of the matter.Syda Cogliati Doug Cole, a supporter of the victim, was among those who stood before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Syda Cogliati on Oct. 26 to spell out a litany of concerns related to how he felt she, and several judges prior, had handled a 2018 assault case involving defendant Ryan Schell. Schell had previously pleaded guilty to several charges that he attacked and detained his former girlfriend at her Scotts Valley home before shooting himself in the head as police arrived. Cogliati indicated at that earlier hearing that if Schell were to take responsibility for his crimes with a plea, her plan was to suspend a prison term and sentence him to five years of probation on Oct. 26.After the victim and several supporters spoke, however, Cogliati changed course and said she would not hand down the planned sentence. She gave Schell and hi...

NOAA reports over 1 million pieces of trash collected along Monterey Bay shoreline over 4 years

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

Food wrappers. Plastic bottle caps. Cigarette butts – 231,735 cigarette butts, to be precise. These are just a few of the more than 1 million items collected by over 37,000 volunteers along the shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary between 2017 and 2021, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association report released in October.The report from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program combined five citizen science datasets to analyze the trash collected in cleanups throughout the marine sanctuary over four years. Organizations that run local cleanups, such as Save Our Shores, the Surfrider Foundation and Downtown Streets Team, supplied the data.Marine debris washes up on beaches from the ocean, is left by beachgoers or migrates downstream when it rains. Some debris makes its way to Monterey Bay from distant locations through tides and ocean upwelling.All marine debris can potentially harm ocean life, causing intestinal blockages, malnutrition and even poisonings when c...

Why no hate crime charge in death of Jewish man from SoCal Israel-Hamas war protest? DA explains

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

Hate crime charges have not been filed against a 50-year-old Moorpark man accused of causing injuries that led to the death of a Jewish man during dueling protests in Thousand Oaks because prosecutors lack evidence to justify the charge, the Ventura County District Attorney announced on Friday, Nov. 17.“We have not ruled out a hate crime; the investigation into an alleged hate crime is ongoing,” District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said at a Friday morning press conference. “There are still search warrants outstanding, but at this moment in time, we do not have the elements of a hate crime satisfied.”The DA’s office and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department have reviewed 600 pieces of evidence and interviews with 60 witnesses, Nasarenko said. Using videos and digital photos, they pieced together the sequence of events leading up to a confrontation that led to Jonathan Kessler’s death.It was not known whether the video showed the exact moment Kessler fell to the ground.Loay Abdel Fatta...

Enrollment efforts expand as Medi-Cal starts covering adults who are undocumented

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:46:51 GMT

Local agencies that get California residents enrolled for Medi-Cal coverage are reaching out to people ages 26 through 49 who are soon going to be eligible regardless of their immigration status.Earlier this year, in a budget deal struck between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature, coverage was expanded to all adults who are undocumented, which is expected to add more than 700,000 residents to those receiving state-subsidized coverage.People who are undocumented make up 40% of the state’s approximately 1 million residents who are uninsured, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. That could change beginning Jan. 1, with the new law in California that will allow adults who are undocumented to qualify for full-scope Medi-Cal and gain access to affordable primary care services such as annual check-ups and lab tests.Previously California had opened eligibility to youth and elderly people who are undocumented. The expansion is expected to cost about $2.6 billion...