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Migrants race to U.S. border as Title 42 pandemic restrictions expire, straining immigration system

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

The U.S. entered a new immigration enforcement era Friday, ending a three-year-old asylum restriction and enacting a set of strict new rules that the Biden administration hopes will stabilize the U.S.-Mexico border and push migrants to apply for protections where they are, skipping the dangerous journey north. The transition has been far from simple. Even as the old policy known as Title 42 expired, migrants along the border were still wading into the Rio Grande to take their chances getting into the country, defying officials shouting for them to turn back. Others hunched over cellphones trying to access an appointment app, a centerpiece of the new measures. And lawsuits sought to stop some of the measures. The Biden administration has said the new policies are meant both to crack down on illegal crossings and to offer a new legal pathway for migrants who spend thousands on smuggling operations to get them to the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrants are now essentially barred from seeking ...

Sharp & Fine’s new dance asks a lot of big questions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

When contemporary dance company Sharp & Fine premieres its latest creation, “Imaginary Country,” on Friday, May 12, at San Francisco’s Z Space, come prepared to witness how global concerns like climate change and political polarization influence the intricacies of personal relationships.Waiting to be answered is the question, “What would happen if you could see the future?”Troupe co-founders and choreographers Megan and Shannon Kurashige have been creating dance works together since 2011. Their pieces are spurred on through storytelling and involve workshopping with both dancers and non-dancers, composers and musicians, and light, sound and costume designers. The resulting work is far greater than the sum of its parts.As we emerge from the pandemic, the shifts in what we want to do, what is possible, and what will never be the same again are becoming clearer. As with any new project, Shannon and Megan Kurashige don’t necessarily know what they expect the ...

Q&A: What makes the perfect cup of coffee?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

For most of their adult lives, Matt Baker and Vance Bjorn fit within a classic Silicon Valley mold. Baker was a product manager at multiple tech companies, while Bjorn was the founder of a leading biometrics firm. But shortly after meeting in 2015, the two decided to start a company of their own — and though they now concentrate on coffee, Baker and Bjorn didn’t leave too much of the tech world behind.Late last month, they opened The Coffee Lab, a Menlo Park space for people to gather, taste and learn about coffee. Importantly, Baker and Bjorn say, the business is not a coffee shop. It’s a mix between “a science lab, a home economics room, and a startup company,” and a place where people can take classes to experiment with coffee and learn what they like best. They’ll be doing so alongside machinery that turns coffee-making into a science, allowing people to measure the strength of their brew with a handheld meter, or the acidity in their cup on a mathematical grid.Baker and Bjorn —...

Pac-12 recruiting: The top offensive prospects in the West in the class of 2023 (and the favorites to land them)

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a weekly dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports.The following report was provided to the Hotline on May 11 …It has long been stated that the Pac-12 must retain the best high school players in its footprint. That necessity has never been more glaring than after the 2023 NFL Draft, when the top-two picks were from Southern California but played for Alabama (Bryce Young) and Ohio State (CJ Stroud) instead of a Pac-12 school.With the conference in transition — USC and UCLA are joining the Big Ten next summer — the following five offensive prospects in the high school class of 2024 are critically important to the Pac-12’s recruiting fortunes.1. OT Brandon Baker (Santa Ana, Calif.)High school: Mater Dei247 Sports national rating: five stars; No. 1 offensive tackleComment: Baker went on record last summer questioning USC a...

3-foot rule: Peninsula bicyclists can now use website to report drivers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

Peninsula bicyclists can now use the sheriff’s online crime portal to report drivers who violate the state’s 3-foot passing rule.An announcement Thursday from the San Mateo County sheriff’s office said a category for bicyclists’ complaints has been added to the online report system, which takes complaints of non-emergency crimes in Woodside, Portola Valley, San Carlos, Half Moon Bay, Millbrae and unincorporated areas of the county.Bicyclists in those areas are able to report vehicles “operating in unlawful manner, including not obeying the ‘three-foot rule,'” the portal says. Those filing a complaint are asked to provide their personal information and details of the incident, including the car’s license number.The sheriff’s office said reports will be investigated and, if warranted, a warning letter will be sent to the owner of the violating car.California’s 3-foot rule, in effect since 2014, requires a driver passing a bik...

How much extra do Californians pay for ocean-view houses?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.Buzz: Buyers paid on average 15% more for a California home with a view of the ocean than what a “water-close” home cost.Source: My trusty spreadsheet looked at a study by property manager Casago, which surveyed home sales in coastal communities with key water-view terms in their descriptions vs. all other waterfront properties, as found in Zillow’s database. The study included 34 California housing markets.ToplineThe average price of an oceanview home in California’s 34 seaside communities was $1.66 million vs. $1.45 million nearby and without the watery vista – or a $214,000 premium.DetailsThe higher the price tag, the fatter the premium.In the 12 priciest California seaside towns, the average $2.6 million price tag for oceanview was a 24% premium above no-view homes, or $519,000 more. In California’s 12 cheapest wat...

Saratoga crime report for the week of May 19

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

MAY 1Vandalism: Between 3 p.m. on April 26 and 1 p.m. on April 27, someone etched offensive words into a window at Blue Hills Elementary School on De Sanka Avenue. The total amount of damage was estimated at $200.MAY 2Possession of a stolen vehicle, controlled substance and drug paraphernalia; reckless evading; non-injury hit and run collision; resisting an officer: At 10 a.m., deputies responded to an automated license plate reader notification for a stolen vehicle at Saratoga Avenue and Highway 85. The vehicle, which was stolen out of Sunnyvale, was located a short time later. Deputies attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver did not yield. A pursuit ensued, and the suspect recklessly evaded until losing control of the vehicle and crashing into a light pole, at which time the suspect abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. Deputies gave chase, and the suspect was apprehended shortly thereafter. An investigation revealed the suspect was also in possession of methamphetamine an...

Prep roundup: Live Oak, Leigh, Branham tie for BVAL Mt. Hamilton baseball title

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

NEW: PREP SPORTS MAILBAGThe Bay Area News Group is introducing a high school sports mailbag in May. Get your questions in as soon as possible. Our debut edition is an open forum. Got questions about spring sports playoffs, coaching changes, an early peek at football season, etc.? Send them to [email protected]. Please include “mailbag” in the subject line.BaseballBVAL Mt. Hamilton title chaseAn incredibly wild race for the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division baseball championship has reached the finish line.When it did on Thursday, three teams – Live Oak, Leigh and Branham – were tied at the top.It could have been four, but Leland spoiled Pioneer’s bid for a piece of the championship prize, edging the Mustangs 4-3.So instead of tying for first, Pioneer finished tied for fourth with Christopher.A week ago, Leigh had positioned itself to end the race with two games to go. The Longhorns had won 11 in a row (nine in league play) before falling to Branham....

French Open champs back to pre-pandemic pay; total prize money tops $50M

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Paychecks for the two French Open singles champions will return to the pre-pandemic amount of 2.3 million euros each — about $2.5 million — and the total prize money is rising to a tournament-record 49.6 million euros — about $54 million.The French tennis federation announced Friday what it will be offering at the clay-court Grand Slam event. Qualifying begins May 22; main-draw play starts May 28.The title winners in singles will get the same pay as in 2019, which was the high mark in Paris. During the coronavirus pandemic, those prizes dropped to 1.6 million euros in 2020 and 1.4 million euros in 2021, before going back up to 2.2 million euros a year ago. Total prizes sank during that span, too, including to 34 million euros in 2021.This year’s total represents a jump of more than 10% from 2022.Losers in the first round of singles will get 69,000 euros — about $75,000 — which is a 50% hike from what they got in 2019, and an 11% increase from last year.Losers in t...

US Army chief seeks closer security ties with Indonesia amid tensions in South China Sea

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:45:07 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — U.S. Army Chief of Staff James McConville met with Indonesia’s top defense official on Friday to push for stronger security ties amid growing Chinese maritime activity in the Indo-Pacific region.McConville said he and Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto discussed ways to deepen cooperation, including enhanced military exercises between the countries.“We have many friends in the region, and we work closely together. We all share the same interests for the region: peace, security, stability,” McConville said. “That’s why we work together on maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific for everyone.”Subianto said the promotion and maintenance of peace and stability in the region “is our common concern,” but stressed Indonesia’s neutral stance, saying it wants to maintain relationships with all nations, “especially all the major powers.”McConville arrived in Jakarta late Thursday from the Philippines, which is locked in an ongoing dispute with China ...