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This bill will make it harder for California school boards to ban books — and it’s picking up steam among lawmakers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

California may make it harder to ban books in public schools — as it dives into the contentious, national debate pitting the First Amendment against conservative values.A new bill — AB 1078 — was approved by the Assembly and passed through the Senate Education Committee last week. The bill would require a two-thirds vote from a school board to remove books from the classroom and impose fines on school districts that refuse to provide materials with “inclusive and diverse perspectives.”“Our students of color and our LGBTQ+ students should not be threatened for their viewpoints, and they should not have education withheld from them,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a proponent of the bill.It’s a belief that the bill’s author, Assemblymember Corey Jackson, D-Perris, hopes will create a more “accurate, inclusive and equitable education system for all students in California.” But despite passing in the c...

Committee to weigh ‘safe parking’ sites for twice-convicted Bay Area rapist’s pending release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — The decision on where to house a 71-year-old twice-convicted rapist appeared no closer to conclusion Monday than when he was deemed eligible for conditional release and outpatient care in October 2019.“It’s 46 months later, and we don’t have a single property,” attorney Stephen Prekoski said on behalf of his client, Michael Cheek during a court hearing. “How long will the court tolerate that? It’s not a rhetorical question.”An effort for a housing committee designated to come to mutual agreement on Cheek’s placement appeared to have been stymied by concerns about the applicability of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, a law governing all state boards and commissions.During this week’s hearing, Santa Cruz County Superior Judge Syda Cogliati chided the committee’s representatives, including The Department of State Hospitals, its contractor Liberty Healthcare Corp., defense and prosecution attorneys and the County of Santa Cruz for foisting blame on each other for the lack...

Golf sensation Rose Zhang, 20, cherishes first US Women’s Open as a professional

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

PEBBLE BEACH — Phenom Rose Zhang gave a half-hearted wave to the cheering gallery surrounding the 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links after she three-putted for a bogey-6 to wrap up her first U.S. Open as a professional.Zhang, the 20-year-old former Stanford University sensation, didn’t often wow the throng of fans who followed her around the picturesque and historic venue Sunday, but she did enough to post her third top-10 finish in as many pro starts.She closed with even-par 72 for a 1-over-par 289 total. Her 1-under 71 in the second-round was her low round for the tournament and it sandwiched by 74 in the first round and 72 in the third round.“My mindset going into the round was pretty steady,” Zhang said.”I knew I had to be somewhat aggressive. Being aggressive at Pebble means hitting greens and just trying to convert putts from everywhere. Unfortunately, that’s not what I really did. Overall, I think it was a solid game plan. I did what I needed to do to keep the ball in play...

Editorial: Stop two Bay Area legislators’ assault on open government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

California lawmakers are trying to use the remote-meeting experience of the COVID pandemic as an excuse to permanently gut public access to critical government boards.In April, we warned about troubling legislation by Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, that would shield local officials like those of a city council or school board from having to appear at public meetings. The Assembly has delayed consideration of Assembly Bill 1379 until next year.Meanwhile, another Bay Area legislator seeks to similarly hinder public access to meetings of powerful state agency boards such as the Public Utilities Commission, Air Resources Board, Coastal Commission, Board of Parole Hearings, and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.If Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, gets his way with Senate Bill 544, commissioners could actually phone it in as they make decisions on everything from setting PG&E rates to protecting our coastline to disciplining bad cops. And members of the pu...

Camilo Doval, SF Giants’ hard-throwing, low-key All-Star finally gets his due

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

SEATTLE — One morning early this spring, Blake Sabol walked into the Giants’ facilities in Scottsdale, Arizona, and peeked at the monitor on the wall to the entrance of the clubhouse. Among his list of duties, as a novice backstop no less, was to catch Camilo Doval.Doval was working on his two-seamer that day. Sabol, who had caught 64 innings above Double-A at the time, won’t soon forget it.“I remember it freaking took off,” Sabol said. “Like, turbo zoom. God, he throws gas and it looks like that, no wonder he’s the frickin’ closer.”Approaching 100 mph, the pitch darted down and away to Sabol’s glove side. His four-seamer, which has touched 104 mph, cuts the opposite direction. He pairs it all with a wipeout slider that comes in 10 mph slower and has generated an obscene 50 percent whiff rate this year. Altogether it has made him one of the National League’s premier closers, posting 26 saves with a 2.63 ERA and a 33.5 percent strikeout...

Opinion: Clear California goals needed to develop future water supply

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

Over the past decade, California has withered and swelled under huge swings in annual rain and snowfall. We’ve endured two of the most severe droughts in recorded state history, two of the wettest years on record, and even one of those rare occurrences — the average water year.The trend, however, is clear. California is getting warmer, and the drought intervals between our wet years are getting longer. State officials estimate climate change could reduce water supplies by about 10% by 2040, resulting in an approximate 8 million acre-feet per year loss. Meanwhile, the Colorado River basin is in steady decline, and scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories estimate warming temperatures will eliminate the Sierra snowpack most years beginning in the 2040s.California’s prosperity depends on a safe and reliable water supply adequate for meeting the future needs of people and the environment. In other words, the future largely depends on how well we answer two questions: ...

1983: 40 years ago, these were the year’s most influential albums

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

Imagine you sent a time traveler back to 1983 to bring back the biggest, most influential album of the year. If your time traveler didn’t return with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” well, you’d just have to send them back to get it right.Yes, we know that it was released on Nov. 29, 1982, so technically it got a head start on the new year in music. But just look at what Michael Jackson and “Thriller” did by the end of 1983:With 32 million copies sold by the time 1984 arrived, it became the top-selling album of all time, a record it still holds though the tally is now estimated at 70 million.Its seven singles – the title track, “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” “The Girl Is Mine,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” and “Human Nature” – all were hits, setting a record for most singles in the Top 10 from a single album that stood until 2021.Grammy Awards? Eight. Music videos? Iconic. By any measure, “Thriller” transcended pop music, becoming a cultural artifact worthy o...

How Oakland A’s DH Brent Rooker survived 400-plus minor league games to become an MLB All-Star

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

OAKLAND — Even on his worst nights — especially on his worst nights — Brent Rooker knew that when he stepped off the baseball field, rolled into the clubhouse and looked at his cell phone, he’d see a text message from his dad, Terry.“Hey man, keep your head up, keep swinging it,” Terry would often write. “You’re doing great. Keep at it.”Tuesday night, Rooker’s entire family will be in the stands at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, where the Oakland A’s designated hitter will be suiting up for the American League as perhaps the most unlikely All-Star after the 28-year-old cycled through four teams in two years, struggling to stay in the big leagues.“It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t get in the game, or if he only gets an at-bat and strikes out, it doesn’t matter,” said Terry Rooker. “He’s here. His peers put him here. Other players voted him here… I’ll be the fat guy in the stands crying.”Back when Brent Rooker was a three-sport athlete at Evangelical...

Central I-70 express tolls begin Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Beginning Tuesday, you will have to pay to drive the express lanes of Central Interstate 70 through Denver.The tolling was supposed to begin in February for the 10-mile stretch of rebuilt roadway from I-25 to Chambers Road, but the Colorado Department of Transportation ran into some problems. However, CDOT said it has corrected the problems and the grace period is now over. Colorado father, son killed in Florida crash The rates will vary by the time of day.If you’re driving at night, the charge will be $1.50. But in the morning during the rush hours of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., that jumps to $4.50.If you don’t have a transponder, charges will range between $4.26 to more than $10.  Those driving on the express lanes will be billed by a license plate scanner.  The lanes are free to motorcycles and cars with three passengers. 

Supreme Court justices and donors mingle at campus visits, including in Colorado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas headlined a 2017 program at McLennan Community College in Texas, his hosts had more than a speech in mind. Working with the prominent conservative lawyer Ken Starr, school officials crafted a guest list for a dinner at the home of a wealthy Texas businessman, hoping an audience with Thomas would be a reward for school patrons -– and an inducement to prospective donors.Before Justice Elena Kagan visited the University of Colorado’s law school in 2019, one official in Boulder suggested a “larger donor to staff ratio” for a dinner with her. After Justice Sonia Sotomayor confirmed she would attend a 2017 question-and-answer session at Clemson University and a private luncheon, officials there made sure to invite $1 million-plus donors to the South Carolina college. Biden administration asks appeals court to block order limiting its contacts with social media The Associated Press obtained tens of thousands of pages of emails ...