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Oakland entrepreneur’s app empowers people to save the environment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

Catastrophic climate change is looming. The Earth just endured its 12 hottest months in 125,000 years, and scientists say humans can only avert ecological disaster, if we cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 70% by 2050.That may sound daunting, but Oakland entrepreneur Sanchali Pal said it is within people’s power to make meaningful choices in their own lives. Her free new app, Commons, helps people track and reduce their carbon footprint — the total amount of carbon dioxide and other emissions they generate — by tracking how they spend money on food, utilities, clothes, furniture or travel.“Basically, I wanted to make it easier for people to make sustainable choices,” Pal said. “I knew, as a consumer myself, how hard it was, how much work it took to get the information required to actually make progress and measurably lower emissions.”The Boston-reared Pal was first inspired to track her own carbon footprint during college at Princeton. She subs...

Shohei Ohtani reveals dog’s name at Dodgers’ introduction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

By BETH HARRIS | AP Sports WriterLOS ANGELES — Nearly all the mystery around Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented free agency was revealed over the last week, yet baseball fans kept sniffing around on a most fuzzy question.Just who was the pup sitting on Ohtani’s lap when he was voted AL MVP for the second time last month?Fans speculated the dog’s name could have been a hint at his intentions — What if the pooch was named Dodger? Or Giant? Or Blue Jay?All a Decoy, turns out.Introduced by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday after agreeing to a $700 million, 10-year deal, Ohtani revealed that the brown and white dog who joined him on television last month is named Dekopin or Decopin in Japanese, depending on the transliteration — but he suggests Americans call him Decoy.Related ArticlesSports | SF Giants officially announce six-year, $113 million deal with Jung-Hoo Lee Sports | New-look SF Giants Fan Fest includes stop in San Jose Sports | Why SF Gi...

Suspect charged with hate crime at Saratoga Bottle Shop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

Dec. 4Residential burglary: At 8:21 a.m., someone entered a residence in the 12000 block of Country Squire Lane by breaking a rear glass door and stole cameras, checkbooks and jewelry of an unknown value.Petty theft: At 2:12 p.m., two suspects stole three surveillance cameras from the exterior of a residence in the 14000 block of Saratoga Avenue for a total loss estimated at $750.Loitering, assault, hate crime, resisting a peace officer: At 5:27 p.m., deputies responded to a disturbance at the Saratoga Bottle Shop on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. An investigation revealed the suspect was loitering, was asked to leave by the business owner and then became confrontational, made derogatory comments and chased the owner around the store. The suspect fled the scene but was located a short time later. The suspect resisted detention, spitting at deputies and attempting to headbutt them, but was ultimately arrested.Grand theft: At 7:06 p.m., deputies responded to a theft call at a residence in t...

SF Giants sign Jung Hoo Lee: How have past Korean stars fared with MLB leap?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

There are 5,611 miles separating Seoul, South Korea from San Francisco, and possibly an even bigger gulf in competition between Major League Baseball and the Korean Baseball Organization for Jung Hoo Lee to navigate.Lee, 25, is the Giants’ new center fielder after officially signing Thursday. The Giants have signed the former KBO Most Valuable Player to a six-year, $113 million deal — with an opt-out after four seasons — making him the franchise’s biggest free agent signing since Barry Zito in 2006.The Giants made the massive financial commitment, which dwarfed industry projections, knowing there could be a learning curve for Lee. Their bet is that Lee’s athleticism at a premium position and bat-to-ball skills, which allowed him to strike out at a minuscule rate, will translate stateside.While the KBO is one of the most competitive baseball leagues in the world, there’s little precedent of Korean players thriving in MLB. Just 28 Koreans have played in MLB, the majority of whom are p...

Google will stop telling law enforcement which users were near a crime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

By Davey Alba | BloombergAlphabet Inc.’s Google is changing its Maps tool so that the company no longer has access to users’ individual location histories, cutting off its ability to respond to law enforcement warrants that ask for data on everyone who was in the vicinity of a crime.Google is changing its Location History feature on Google Maps, according to a blog post this week. The feature, which Google says is off by default, helps users remember where they’ve been. The company said Thursday that for users who have it enabled, location data will soon be saved directly on users’ devices, blocking Google from being able to see it, and, by extension, blocking law enforcement from being able to demand that information from Google.“Your location information is personal,” said Marlo McGriff, director of product for Google Maps, in the blog post. “We’re committed to keeping it safe, private and in your control.”The change comes three months after a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation ...

After Draymond Green suspension, the clock has started on this Warriors season (and beyond)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES — The clock on this Warriors season, and perhaps the dynasty, started before the Warriors’ loss to the Clippers on Thursday.Specifically at around 5 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday — when news broke of Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension. The seismic decision shook the NBA world, prompting pundits and talking heads to declare the Steph Curry era dead and bid good riddance to Green.Inside Warrior Land, the suspension was just another domino to fall. Add it to an ever-growing list of ways the Warriors’ season hasn’t gone at all by their own book. The team isn’t pinning this 10-14 start on Green alone, but seems to have pinned it as an evaluation starting point.What happens in the next month could determine whether this roster can get it together for a realistic playoff run, or if general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. will be taking advantage of the expiring contracts around the Feb. 9 trade deadline. Is there enough good to retool, t...

Five popular fast food restaurants you won't find in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

(KRON) -- There is no doubt California is home to many unique and delicious restaurants, but there are a few popular fast-food joints you just won't find unless you cross state lines. Below are five popular fast food restaurants you'll have to leave the Golden State to try and how far you'll have to road trip to give them a taste. WHATABURGERHeadquarters: San Antonio, TXLocations: 1,000+On the menu you’ll find the signature Whataburger that comes with a 5-inch beef patty, 1 tomato, lettuce, pickles, diced onions and mustard.Whataburger is located in 15 states, but not California. Out of its approximately 1,000 locations, 733 are in Texas. Earlier this year, the company announced it would open a Las Vegas restaurant on the Strip, although the Whataburger website still shows that location as "temporarily closed." The next closest location to San Francisco listed on the company's website is in Surprise, Arizona, which is about 750 miles or 13 hours away.A quick Google search reveals th...

Los CDC urgen a vacunarse contra el COVID-19, la influenza y el RSV antes del pico de invierno

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

No se están vacunando suficientes estadounidenses contra el COVID-19, la influenza y el RSV (virus sincitial respiratorio) para detener el creciente número de enfermedades respiratorias, advirtieron los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés).La agencia emitió una alerta de salud a los médicos de todo el país, advirtiendo que las bajas tasas de vacunación en medio de “aumentos continuos de enfermedades respiratorias nacionales e internacionales” podrían sobrecargar los sistemas de atención médica de EEUU en las próximas semanas, y pidió a los médicos que alienten a sus pacientes a vacunarse inmediatamente.“En las últimas 4 semanas, las hospitalizaciones entre todos los grupos de edad aumentaron un 200% por influenza, un 51% por COVID-19 y un 60% por RSV”, dijeron los CDC, al agregar que los mayores casos de enfermedades respiratorios actuales se están registrando en la mitad del sur del país y en los estados del...

French prosecutor says mother of British teenager missing for 6 years may have gone to Finland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A French prosecutor said on Friday that the mother of a British teenager who was found six years after he went missing may have gone to Finland and that his grandfather appears to have died.The 17-year-old, Alex Batty, was found Wednesday in southwest France. British police have said that his mother, Melanie Batty, and his grandfather, David Batty, were wanted in connection with his disappearance in 2017.But the French prosecutor, Antoine Leroy, said at a news conference in the southwestern French city of Toulouse that his mother has probably left France for Finland and that his grandfather is thought to have died about six months ago.Leroy said the trio appears to have led a nomadic life, traveling with solar panels and moving from place to place, before they parted ways. He said they lived in Morocco before moving to the French Pyrenees. The teenager apparently didn’t want to follow his mother to Finland and walked for four days in southwest France before being picke...

School zone speed cameras coming to Fauquier County within weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:50 GMT

Speeding in a school zone in Fauquier County, Virginia, will soon cost drivers $100. Starting in January, Fauquier will be the latest county to install cameras and a radar system to automatically issue citations.Fauquier County Sheriff Jeremy Falls told the county school board Monday, Dec. 11 that cameras will be installed in 12 school zones next month.Virginia’s General Assembly approved the use of cameras for school zone enforcement in 2020. Most systems in northern Virginia now have them in use.The Fauquier County Board of Supervisors approved the program in 2021, after a study showed drivers regularly speeding in school zones.“You have a problem in Fauquier County in your school zones — that’s speed,” said Randy Campbell, a retired Virginia State Police sergeant who now advises Blue Line Solutions, the company that will install and operate the cameras and earn $25 for each $100 ticket issued.Campbell called the speed cameras a “force multiplier,R...