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Local Cambodian community set to celebrate New Year

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

Fresh green shoots and irises bursting into a medley of purples and yellows—all these are signs of spring. So it’s no surprise that in some parts of the world, they celebrate New Year at this time of year. Cambodia is one such country, although there, the burst of plumeria petals may presage the approach of spring.Locally, there is a substantial population of Cambodian immigrants in San Jose and nearby cities. Their new year is based on the solar calendar and will be celebrated April 14-16. To welcome the new year, they clean their homes thoroughly and wear new clothes. Giving gifts of food to Buddhist monks and showing respect to the elders in the community is an integral part of the celebration.“Celebrating our new year is a way to preserve our culture and to teach the younger generation about our identity,” says Moni Mau, member of the Wat Khemara Rangsey Temple in East San Jose.Mau’s two teenage daughters learned classical Cambodian dance as children and are now skilled performe...

Sunnyvale teen helps track lemur behavior at Happy Hollow

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

A Sunnyvale teen is working with San Jose’s Happy Hollow Park and Zoo to improve the habitats of its red-ruffed lemurs.Ellie Kirshner, 17, must complete an independent research project in order to graduate from BASIS Independent Silicon Valley in San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood, where she is a senior.“I have always been fascinated by animal behavior,” said Kirshner. “So when I was given the opportunity to spend (time) doing research, my first thought was to work with animals.”Since Kirshner was already a volunteer at Happy Hollow, aiding staff there was the logical choice.“The zoo was planning on renovating the red-ruffed lemur exhibit, and they wanted to get some data on the lemurs’ behavior,” says Kirshner. “This project was perfect as it allowed me to explore the lemurs’ behavior and make a direct impact on the animals at the zoo.”Red-ruffed lemurs are native to northeastern Madagascar and are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nat...

Wet weather forces venue change for Milpitas nonprofit’s fundraiser

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

The seventh annual Foster5K + Kids Dash has been forced to change its location due to flooding at its original venue. The in-person 5K is now on Sunday, May 7, at Martial Cottle Park in San Jose. Virtual participation is also an option.After being completely virtual for the past three years, this year’s 5K was all set to be in person as a chip timed race with a Kids Dash at Hellyer County Park. The event is a fundraiser for Milpitas-based nonprofit Child Advocates of Silicon Valley and its Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program for children in foster care.“After a very wet and windy winter in the Bay Area, Mother Nature has not cooperated,” Foster5K co-chair and Child Advocates board member Kate Faherty said in a statement. “The park rangers do not expect the flooding to subside before late May. The great news is that we have had very few cancellations after we announced the change to May 7 at Martial Cottle Park.”For the first time ever, this year’s 5K will feature a kids ...

Quake talk addresses damage done to Winchester Mystery House in 1906

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

Quake talk at Mystery HouseThe next event in the Winchester Mystery House’s Centennial Speaker Series will observe not only the 100th anniversary of San Jose tourist attraction but the 117th anniversary of the earthquake that damaged Sarah Winchester’s mansion and created some of its more interesting design aspects.Winchester house historian Janan Boehme will discuss the toll the massive earthquake of April 18, 1906, took on the estate, while Jim Carter of the San Jose Fire Museum will highlight the work of San Jose firemen on that day as he tells the tale of “The Fire Engine that Saved San Jose.”The talk is set for Sunday, April 16, at 2 p.m. in the Winchester mansion’s carriage house. Tickets are $5 at https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/buy-tickets.Neighborhood NotesCAMBRIAN>> Students in two fourth-grade classes at Sartorette Elementary School raised the most money of all grade levels in the Home and School Club’s Coin Challenge for Charity, raising $114.88 toward the effor...

TheatreWorks commissions ‘Revolution,’ ‘Sex Scandal’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

Using two new funds designed to aid in the creation of new theater, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has commissioned two musicals and is supporting one of its staff members in the development of a new play.The musicals, one by a Grammy winner and another by a Bay Area playwright who previously had success with TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival, are supported by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Commissioning Fund.Launched in 2020 as part of the company’s 50th anniversary campaign, this fund was kicked off by a gift from Phil Kurjan and Noel Butler and is part of the company’s New Works Initiative.“How to Build a Revolution” features music and lyrics by Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole and a book by Lynn Rosen and Pia Wilson. The rock musical follows the lives of second-wave feminists Betty Friedan, Helen Gurley Brown and Flo Kennedy.“Revolution” had a developmental workshop in February as part of the TheatreWorks Writers Retreat, where it was directed by Giovanna Sardelli, the compa...

Crews continue storm cleanup on Highway 17

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

Nonprofit fundraiserA local nonprofit that provides resources to sexual violence victims of all ages and genders is hosting a fundraising event at the end of this month. San Jose-based Grateful Garment Project will host a “Spring DigniTea” event and silent auction on April 30 at 1 p.m. at Nordahl Hall, 580 Parr Ave. Tickets are $45 per person, with proceeds going to fund the nonprofit’s programs. To purchase tickets, visit https://tinyurl.com/SpringDigniTea.Creek trail connectorThe Town of Los Gatos has officially opened bidding for construction plans for the trail connector from Highway 9 to Los Gatos Creek Trail. Town officials plan to present the lowest bid to the Town Council at the regular May 16 council meeting. Construction is slated to begin in June.Storm debris cleanupCaltrans crews have been working for weeks to clear storm debris from Highway 17 after the South Bay was pummeled by heavy rains and high winds. Crews were working to complete work on the northbound stretch be...

Saudis to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia says it will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from May until the end of 2023.The move would likely raise oil prices, further straining relations between Riyadh and Washington as the world copes with inflation fueled in part by the war in Ukraine.The Energy Ministry said Sunday that the cuts would be made in coordination with some OPEC and non-OPEC members, without naming them, and were in addition to a reduction announced last October.It described the move as a “precautionary measure” aimed at stabilizing the oil market.Saudi Arabia angered the Biden administration last year when it and other OPEC members agreed to cut production on the eve of U.S. midterm elections in which inflation was a major issue. Both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia denied any political motives, saying they were focused on maintaining a healthy market price.Source

Gymnastics leader visits Ukraine as Olympic standoff deepens

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The president of the International Gymnastics Federation has visited Ukraine for talks with senior political figures amid a standoff over Russian athletes’ eligibility for Olympic qualifying events.FIG president Morinari Watanabe met with the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, and sports minister Vadym Guttsait, according to an account of the meeting published on the presidential website late Saturday. The statement said Watanabe was urged not to support Russian participation at the Paris Olympics next year.The visit came four days after the International Olympic Committee recommended that international sports governing bodies like the FIG readmit athletes from Russia and Belarus as neutrals without national symbols as qualifying for the Paris Olympics ramps up. They would remain excluded from team sports and athletes who are members of the Russian military would be barred, under IOC recommendations. The IOC says it hasn’t ma...

Blinken urges Russia to release two detained Americans

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone since the Ukraine war, to immediately release a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained last week as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, the State Department said Sunday.In the call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Blinken conveyed “grave concern” over the Kremlin’s detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage allegations, according to a State Department summary of the call. Blinken called for his immediate release.Blinken also sought the immediate release of Whelan, whom the statement said was wrongfully detained.Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are baseless. He is serving a 16-year sentence.Blinken and Lavrov also discussed “the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to c...

Saudi Arabia says it will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from May until end of 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:58 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia says it will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from May until end of 2023.Source