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Northern lights seen from Mammoth Lakes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

The beautiful array of nighttime colors called the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, was visible above Mammoth Lakes on Sunday, according to KTLA sister stations KSEE/KGPE.Pictures shared to YourCentralValley.com by photographer Carter Murphy show the ordinarily dark night sky lit up with purple and blue hues with streaks of light interspersed creating an utterly unique image.The dazzling display is thanks to a severe geomagnetic storm that erupted Friday. The effects of the storm were so strong Sunday night, that the aurora was possibly "visible as far south as Alabama and northern California," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.Northern lights light up the night sky on Sunday above Mammoth Lakes (image courtesy of Carter Murphy)The storm was caused by coronal mass ejections, or CME. CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic material from the Sun that can reach Earth in as little as 15 to 18 hours, NOAA explains.The northern lights are best observed a...

Covid-sniffing dogs can help detect infections in K-12 schools, new California study suggests

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

By Jacqueline Howard | CNNElementary students lined up behind a white curtain in the middle of a grand gymnasium at their school in northern California. They stood still as a dog handler walked a yellow Labrador along the other side of the curtain.Hidden from the children’s view, the 2-year-old female pup sniffed each child’s shoes from beneath that curtain barrier. After each sniff, the dog looked back up at the handler. Then the handler brought the dog to the next tiny pair of feet beneath the curtain, and the dog curiously brought her snout close to those toes, then a young girl’s lavender tennis shoes and then another child’s white high-tops.The dog was smelling for what are called volatile organic compounds that are known to be associated with Covid-19 infections.While watching the Covid-sniffing dog in action, Dr. Carol Glaser saw her vision come to life.Months prior, Glaser and her team were implementing the school’s Covid-19 testing program, usi...

LL Cool J leads amazing hip-hop lineup into Chase Center, KIA Forum

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

It’s time for The F.O.R.C.E.No, it’s not some new “Star Wars” related show on DisneyPlus, but rather a hip-hop tour with a great lineup that is heading for both Chase Center in San Francisco and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.Presented by Rock the Bells and Live Nation Urban, The F.O.R.C.E. Live tour visits Chase Center on Sept. 1 and the Kia Forum on Sept. 3.F.OR.C.E. (which stands for Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) is headlined by LL Cool J. — a Rock and Hall of Fame inductee, Kennedy Center honoree, two-time Grammy winner and mutliplatinum-selling hip-hop icon — who also personally curated the lineup.“I’m excited to be on my first arena tour in 30 years,” LL Cool J says in a news release. “It’s proof that our culture is more viable than ever. Get ready for some non stop beats and rhymes. See you this summer!”The bill features the Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Z-Trip on all dates, as well as a rotating cast of such acts as Salt-N-P...

Rescue plan to save neglected San Jose historic church stays fuzzy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

First Church of Christ Scientist at 43 East St. James Street in downtown San Jose, is covered by tattered pieces of tarp, February 2023. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)SAN JOSE — A concrete game plan has yet to emerge to rescue a historic downtown San Jose church — and a city official says the China-based owner of the church site seems increasingly unlikely to provide money for the effort.The First Church of Christ Scientist building, a historic structure at 43 East St. James Street in San Jose, was supposed to have been the centerpiece of a grand double-tower residential complex crafted to breathe vibrancy into a prime section of the city’s downtown.Instead, despite being approved by city officials years ago, the project, proposed by a China-based real estate firm, has yet to be built.Ominously, the first component of this project, a restoration of the historic church, has yet to get off the ground. Plus, the church is protected from the elements only by ...

Bay Area brewery day trip: 3 stops in the Lorin district of Berkeley and beyond

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

Over the last two years, my Bay Area brewery tours have taken me from Lafayette to Concord, Sunnyvale and Gilroy. But a recent jaunt took me to a part of Berkeley with a history and a name you may not know.The community of Lorin was once the last stop on the Central Pacific — now the Southern Pacific — rail line before Berkeley. More than a century ago, its residents agreed to be absorbed by that city, but its legend lives on in South Berkeley. Today, the Lorin district includes shops, eateries and arts centers along Adeline Avenue — and, of course, breweries on both sides of the Oakland-Berkeley border.Hoi Polloi Brewing Taproom and Beat LoungeLike so many professional brewers, Hoi Polloi co-founder Viet Vu started out as a homebrewer. After a stint at Germany’s World Brewing Academy to hone his craft, he opened Hoi Polloi in 2015 with his brother, first with a small 3-bbl system, which they quickly outgrew. Now they do their brewing offsite in Oakland using...

Two arrested in connection to San Rafael stabbing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

(KRON) -- Two suspects are in custody in connection to a stabbing Tuesday morning, according to the San Rafael Police Department on Twitter. Officers with SRPD arrived within a minute of a call reporting a physical fight and stabbing and arrested the suspects. Baby injured after Oakland shooting in stable condition The incident occurred just before 1:45 a.m. when officers were dispatched to Medway Road and Canal Street. Officers first located the victim and provided first aid. The two suspects were observed running away. Their descriptions were broadcast over the police radio and additional officers responding to a call nearby located the suspects and detained them, police said.After being positively ID'd, the suspects were arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon/knife and felony conspiracy to commit a crime. The knife used in the stabbing was also located during the investigation.The victim was transported to a hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries. They...

Cities with the worst commute in California

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

When the COVID-19 pandemic made millions of Americans remote workers, it also abruptly ended many of the commutes that bookend the workday. As some of those workers return to the office, conversations around the drawbacks of commutes have become more intense. For a while, those workers enjoyed more time in the morning and evening that wasn't spent simply traveling to and from work—an unpaid portion of the day that ate up time and energy. And it's not a small amount of time, either: Pre-pandemic, the average commute in the U.S. was a hair over 27 minutes one way, according to Census Bureau data. Gap to cut hundreds of corporate jobs, according to WSJ It was a record high. Cumulatively, 27 minutes each way translates to 54 minutes a day, or four-and-a-half hours per week. That's 18 hours a month and 216 hours a year spent commuting. Those who commute know it's not particularly idyllic. While a very small portion of workers live in the ideal scenario—a short, walkable distance from ...

Liverpool’s most important signing could be off the field

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — In an offseason when Liverpool is looking to make key signings to compete at the top of the Premier League again, its most important business of all could come off the field.The Merseyside club is pursuing a new sporting director — its third in three years — because Julian Ward is stepping down at the end of the season, just 12 months after replacing predecessor Michael Edwards.The role of sporting director has taken on greater importance in English soccer in recent years as a pivotal figure in determining transfer strategy. That had traditionally been the main responsibility of the manager.Few teams have leaned on the position as successfully as Liverpool during a period in which manager Jurgen Klopp has won every major trophy and reached three Champions League finals.Edwards’ expertise in the market was seen as fundamental to those achievements, with the signings of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson transforming the team’s fortunes.W...

Contentious budget talks at Spotsylvania Co. schools end with cuts

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

Budget fights at Spotsylvania County Public Schools in Virginia ended Monday night with the new fiscal year’s budget narrowly passing. While many positions were spared after heated debate, some were still eliminated.Ultimately, the school board passed the fiscal year 2024 budget in a 4-3 vote.Last month, Superintendent Mark Taylor detailed options for cuts. They included the possibility of cutting 60 teachers, eliminating the Governor’s School Program, and even doing away with school libraries, which are required by law in Virginia.But those cuts were ultimately left out of the final budget. The new budget cuts about a dozen support staff, like speech pathologists, social workers and psychologists.The board debated and experimented with the budget for nearly three hours, with a goal of keeping as many elementary and special education paras as possible.The recommended cuts included axing all 23 elementary paras, and 15 of the 30 special education paras.The board cut five elemen...

AP sources: Pirates, OF Reynolds agree to 8-year deal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:14:57 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan Reynolds is sticking with the Pittsburgh Pirates.The veteran outfielder has agreed to an eight-year deal worth $106.75 million, three people with knowledge of the agreement told the Associated Press. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was not official pending a physical.The contract is the richest in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates and gives the club another cornerstone to build around as it tries to emerge from four straight last-place finishes in the NL Central.The 28-year-old was an All-Star in 2021 and is hitting .294 with five home runs and 18 RBIs this season. The team is off to a surprising 16-7 start heading into a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Tuesday night.The deal comes less than five months after Reynolds requested a trade. Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington insisted the team was willing to do what it takes to keep Reynolds in the fold, and both sides made progress toward an agre...