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Santa Claus has a brand new pad at San Jose’s Christmas in the Park

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

It may not quite match the style of his place up at the North Pole, but Santa Claus has a new pied-à-terre at Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose, where kids can visit him after the beloved holiday display opens at Plaza de Cesar Chavez tonight .Santa’s previous cabin had seen its day, Christmas in the Park Managing Director Debbie Degutis said, prompting the need for a replacement.“It’s the best Santa House we’ve ever had,” she said. “We knew we wanted it to be comfortable. We wanted it to be a place where we would want to sit with Santa.”The new Santa House wasn’t built by elves, though. It’s the handiwork of Greg Garcia, Christmas in the Park’s woodworker who started building it part time back in March. Sounds like that would be enough to get him on the “Nice” list for at least a few years.Christmas in the Park’s 65-foot tree will be lit at an opening ceremony at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in San Jose...

49ers report card: Bosa, Ward and pass defense delivers 31-13 win at Seattle

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

SEATTLE – Here is how the 49ers (8-3) graded in Thursday night’s 31-13 win over the host Seattle Seahawks (6-5):PASS OFFENSE: A-Brock Purdy didn’t repeat with a perfect passer rating like Sunday’s show against Tampa Bay, but what he did was almost as impressive, if not more. After throwing his first career pick-six and seemingly sparking a Seahawks rally in the third quarter, Purdy aggressively ended this affair with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk who called that throw a “dot,” with 7:51 remaining in regulation for the final score. Purdy (21-of-30, 209 yards) connected with eight different receivers, led by Deebo Samuel’s season-high seven catches (79 yards). Even Charlie Woerner got his first catch in two years, and Jauan Jennings was in true form by battling for a third-and-7 conversion. Purdy got sacked once, so the line fared well with Aaron Banks back from a two-game absence and Jon Feliciano shifting over to replace the injured Spencer Burford. That line and the pas...

Blatant roadside dumping on well-traveled ramp raises question about frequency: Roadshow

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

Q: As another person recently wrote you, I am also annoyed with graffiti and dumping by freeways and on and off-ramps.I live in Portola Valley and a few years ago took part in a cleanup at the ramp from Alpine Road to northbound Interstate 280. A couple of months ago, I was about to enter this on-ramp. It is a three-way stop. I stopped and waited to make the left turn. To my right, a large commercial truck that had exited I-280 was to enter the intersection before me. Typically, traffic at this stop would take a left turn onto westbound Alpine Road, but the truck went through the intersection and onto the on-ramp for 280 (which the driver had just exited).“Huh? Maybe they are not familiar with the area?” I thought. As I entered the on-ramp, I saw the truck had pulled off to the left side that has a wide open dirt area. Lo and behold, the truck dumped debris!There was no license plate on the rear of the vehicle. As I was on an on-ramp, now with traffic behind me, I was no...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Charley Staats, Valley Christian volleyball

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

Valley Christian volleyball player Charley Staats is the Bay Area News Group’s girls athlete of the week for Nov. 13-18 after she received 36.22% of the vote by the deadline Wednesday.San Ramon Valley cross-country runner Hailey Gunderson finished second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week High School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Evan Vernon, Christopher football High School Sports | Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Sarah Chow, Sacred Heart Cathedral volleyball High School Sports | Polls closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week Staats, a senior, had a team-high 26 kills in Valley Christian’s 3-1 victory over Palos Verdes in the CIF Division I title ga...

Brock Purdy checks off another box and 49ers take control of NFC West

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

Common sense says Brock Purdy wasn’t going to go his entire career without throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown.It finally happened on Thanksgiving night in Seattle. With the 49ers backed up on their own 4-yard line, Purdy threw short for Christian McCaffrey, only to have a deflected ball wind up in the hands of Jordyn Brooks, who returned the gift 12 yards for a touchdown.A 24-3 halftime lead was suddenly 24-10, and there was still 11:23 left in the third quarter. The infamous Seattle 12th man sprung to life, realizing that if the Seahawks scored again, a rout would instead become a ballgame.“We’re up by three touchdowns, then we just give them one like that,” Purdy said afterward. “Now it’s real and the game is back into play.”The Purdy skeptics are dwindling in number nationally, but those that remain were interested in what happened next. If Purdy suddenly became timid and the 49ers lost, the Seahawks would be tied ...

Opinion: Maybe Oakland Mayor Thao should ask for the National Guard

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

We live in fear. Our community is one of the “safer” neighborhoods in Oakland, but every day is a constant reminder that, even though we have exhausted all ways to try to make it safer, we are still in danger of losing property and life.It doesn’t matter how many cameras we put up, how many additional lights we install, how many blow horns we buy or how vigilant we are. We are in danger because of the brazen criminal element that runs rampant in our city.Without consequence, it’s never going to stop. We have great neighbors that look out for each other. We take out and put back our neighbors’ trash bins. We look out for our neighbors’ homes when they are on vacation. We watch their dogs and baby sit their kids, so love also runs rampant in our community.But the love here is no match for the burglars, the thieves, the stalkers, the illegal dumpers. They show up at all hours of the day and night. They lurk in the darkness and hide behind ski masks during the day, knowing that they can...

Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Jaxen Robinson, Christopher football

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

Christopher football player Jaxen Robinson is the Bay Area News Group’s boys athlete of the week for Nov. 13-18 after he received 69.88% of the vote by the deadline Wednesday.De La Salle football player Toa Faavae finished second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week High School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Evan Vernon, Christopher football High School Sports | Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Sarah Chow, Sacred Heart Cathedral volleyball High School Sports | Polls closed: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week The junior completed 20 of 28 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a 35-yard TD in the fourth quarter to complete a comeback from 17 po...

Several streets downtown to close Friday for lighting of Old Oak Tree

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

(BCN) -- Several streets in downtown Danville will close Friday for several hours for the annual Lighting of the Old Oak Tree, police reminded the public.The ceremony will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the centuries-old oak tree along Diablo Road. VIDEO: Van smashes into Pleasant Hill Kohl’s on Thanksgiving Danville police said that between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m., a portion of the eastbound number one lane on Diablo Road between El Pintado Road and the Danville Oak Tree will be closed for stage installation.Between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., the following roads will shut down: -Diablo Road from Hartz Avenue to 50 feet east of the Danville Oak Tree -West El Pintado Road  between Diablo Road and the south parking lot entrance for Community Presbyterian Church -Front Street between Diablo Road and the parking lot entrance of the Front Street Municipal Parking Lot -Prospect  Avenue  between  the  Clock Tower Municipal Parking Lot entrance and Front Street    -Hartz Avenue between Linda Mesa ...

Tired after Thanksgiving? Black Friday shopping underway in the DC area

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

Black Friday shopping is already underway in the D.C. area early Friday morning after shoppers filled their stomachs with Thanksgiving food.Inside the Tysons Corner Center mall in Virginia, there was a long line in front of a Lululemon store with more than 100 people when the gates opened at 6 a.m.“We heard that there’s a lot of good sales compared to the last couple of years,” one shopper told WTOP. “So we really wanted to come in-person this year.”Many of the shoppers came with lists. “We have a list, but we’re probably not gonna follow it really well,” said a teenager, shopping with two friends.While some have advertised bargains in mind, others want to see the merchandise for themselves: “We’ll know it when we see it,” said a mother, shopping for clothes with her daughter.Standing nearby, the teenager’s father didn’t feel overly put out by being in the mall at a time he would normally be asleep.”We look forward to it — it’s a family affair,” he said...

French foreign minister says China’s cooperation is vital in ending Russia-Ukraine war

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:07 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Friday that China’s cooperation is vital on an issue that has divided it and much of Europe: ending the war in Ukraine.She encouraged China to continue working on its Ukrainian peace proposal while also ensuring that Chinese entities do not aid Russia in what she called “the ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine” — phrasing the Chinese side would disagree with.“France underlines once again how its cooperation with China is essential to promote a just and lasting peace,” she said after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. “We are counting on the vigilance of the Chinese authorities so that no structure in China, particularly private, contributes directly or indirectly to Russia’s illegal war effort in Ukraine.”Her meetings in Beijing underscored an effort by both sides to continue a dialogue despite their growing differences, whether on the Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war or Europe’s huge trade d...