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LAUSD plans to limit charter school access to some campuses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Charter schools may soon have a bit more trouble gaining access to Los Angeles Unified School District facilities after the Board of Education voted Tuesday to limit campus sharing.The board's 4-2 vote intends to "prevent charter schools from leasing space on almost 350 district sites in an effort to protect vulnerable Black, Latino and low-income students from the negative impacts of sharing a campus," according to a report in the Los Angeles Daily News. Charter schools, which enroll about 20% of public school students in L.A., often lease space on LAUSD campuses for their own students.Sometimes, that leads to situations like that at Eastman Elementary, where a Los Angeles Times report indicated that damage from Tropical Storm Hilary forced about 75 charter students into the school's library and auditorium, "straining resources and patience" on the main campus.In a statement announcing the vote, the LAUSD Board said the requirement that public schools offer space to charter schools...

Travis Kelce gushes about Taylor Swift for showing up to Chiefs game: 'That was pretty ballsy'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Since Sunday everyone has been talking about Traylor, the possible relationship between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. Now, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is addressing it in the latest episode of his podcast "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce."About 34 minutes into the podcast, older brother Jason finally asks the question Swifties have been waiting for."You had a special guest watching the game in the Travis Kelce suite," Jason said. "How's it feel that Taylor Swift has finally put you on the map?" Taylor Swift attends Chiefs game amid Kelce dating rumors Then Travis dove right in. "Shoutout to Taylor for pulling up, that was pretty ballsy, that was pretty ballsy," he said. "I just thought it was awesome that everybody in the suite, the friends and family, had nothing but great things to say about her. She looked amazing, everybody was talking about her in great light, and on top of that the day went perfect for Chiefs fans, of course."Taylor Swift, center, attended the ...

Interstate 580 shooting in Oakland forces temporary lane closures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

OAKLAND — A possible early Wednesday shooting on eastbound Interstate 580 in Oakland left lanes closed for hours just as the morning commute was getting underway, according to the California Highway Patrol.The CHP said reports of a possible shooting came in at 4:50 a.m.Parts of eastbound 580 were blocked between Grand Ave. and MacArthur Boulevard for about two hours. They were reopened as of 7 a.m.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Berkeley Hills stabbing spree suspect charged with murder, attempted murder Crime and Public Safety | Oakland business owners call for state of emergency on crime amid symbolic strike Crime and Public Safety | At site of East Bay house fire, cops find clandestine ketamine lab Crime and Public Safety | East Bay man charged after girl’s parents walk in on them sexting, police say Crime and Public Safety | Target says organized retail theft too much, will shutter 3 Bay Ar...

The classic theme parks that influenced Walt Disney’s creation of Disneyland, including one in the East Bay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Walt Disney spent more than a decade dreaming up Disneyland during his travels to European amusement parks and sent his Imagineers on a series of road trips to visit popular attractions across the United States that influenced the development of the Anaheim theme park.A new history of Disneyland details the classic amusement parks that inspired Walt Disney’s creation of Disneyland in 1955.The new Disneyland history was created as part of the 17,000-page Environmental Impact Report released in mid-September by the city of Anaheim for Disney’s expansion initiative known as DisneylandForward.The 309-page Historic Resources Technical Report written by the Historic Resources Group traces Walt Disney’s interest in creating a theme park back to the late 1930s as part of the construction of a new Disney movie studio in Burbank. World War II put plans on hold for a Disney amusement park.“His original idea was to have something to show people that visited the Disney Studios,” according to the...

Katy Perry refuses to back down in fight over $15 million California mansion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

By Madlin Mekelburg | BloombergThe $15 million house in Montecito – owned by the founder of 1-800-Flowers in the California slice of heaven that’s home to Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt — seemed perfect for Katy Perry.But the eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom estate that sprawls over nearly nine verdant acres in the sun-kissed Santa Ynez foothills have landed Perry and her partner, Orlando Bloom, in a real estate dispute.The case goes to trial starting Wednesday at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles. At stake is who will get the estate, Perry or the seller, Carl Westcott, the former private equity manager and serial entrepreneur who founded 1-800-Flowers. Westcott says he did not want to sell his home and was not of sound mind when he inked the deal. Perry would not walk away from the purchase and is expected to take the stand as soon as Friday.The dispute is a window into a real-estate deal gone wrong in Montecito, a chic enclave of roughly 10 square miles on the edge of Santa Barbar...

Bay Area News Group high school football predictions: Week 6, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

We’re on to Week 6 in our all-in-fun Bay Area News Group high school football picks competition.Are we having fun?Not to pat myself on the back (wink-wink), but my advantage over fellow prognosticators Mike Lefkow and Joseph Dycus widened again after I correctly picked 13 of the 16 games on last week’s list.Lefkow now trails by six games in the season standings. Dycus is 11 games back.But, hey, there are always more games at this stage in a season, and they have given themselves a chance to climb back into contention in Week 6.If all goes his way, Dycus could make up six games this weekend. Lefkow could slice four games off his deficit.Among Dycus’ big swings, he took Mountain View over Wilcox, Gunn over South San Francisco and Oakland over Atascadero.He and Lefkow picked Milpitas over Sequoia and Clayton Valley over Jesuit-Carmichael.The toughest calls this week were Pittsburg at Los Gatos and Valley Christian at Archbishop Riordan.Lefkow and I took Pittsburg. Dyc...

Non-fatal stabbing reported at Saratoga gas station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Sept. 6Theft by false pretenses: A Saratoga resident reported that someone telephoned them acting as an FBI agent, claimed the victim was being investigated, and instructed them to provide digital currency to clear the matter. The victim complied for a loss of about $6,000.Possession of a stolen vehicle: At 5:21 p.m., deputies responded to a suspicious person call at the Saratoga French Cultural Preschool on Saratoga Avenue. That person left by vehicle before deputies arrived but was located a short time later. An investigation revealed the suspect was driving a vehicle previously stolen from Campbell. The suspect, who also had an outstanding warrant, was arrested.Assault with a deadly weapon: At 6:22 p.m., unknown suspects approached the victim at the 76 gas station on Big Basin Way, questioned the victim about being in a gang, and then punched them in the face and stabbed them twice in the leg before fleeing the scene by vehicle.Sept. 7Check fraud: A Saratoga business reported tha...

Video: See TNT explosions at Anderson Dam project near Morgan Hill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Construction crews are halfway finished on a project to dig a 1,740-foot outlet tunnel — roughly as long as five football fields — through bedrock near Anderson Dam in Morgan Hill.The new tunnel, 24 feet high, will allow water to be released from the reservoir faster in the event of an earthquake, massive winter storms or other emergency. It is part of a $1.4 billion project ordered by the federal government to tear down the 240-foot earthen dam, originally built in 1950, and rebuild it to modern seismic standards to reduce the risk of it failing in an earthquake.As of Tuesday, workers had finished digging 830 feet of the new tunnel. When the work began last November, they used excavators and rock-cutting machines called road headers to carve away at a hillside on the left side of the dam. This month they have used TNT to blast through some of the hardest bedrock.“We have made a lot of progress this year,” said Ryan McCarter, a civil engineer with the Santa C...

Lazy Dog’s bid to locate in East Bay city approved

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Who let the dogs out? Not Brentwood council members, who on Tuesday, pulled back the reins to allow Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar to build as planned in the city’s Sand Creek Crossing shopping center.The restaurant’s design plans, which include an outdoor patio for diners and dogs, had earned the Planning Commission’s unanimous approval in mid-August but only with some expensive conditions that the developer, LRG Investors, would not agree to. Developer representatives made it clear they would walk away and look at other Bay Area locations.In an attempt to work out an agreement, Councilmember Jovita Mendoza asked the Brentwood City Council to reevaluate the commission’s decision and consider the restaurant’s new proposals to fix any problems.“It’s been a long path for the Lazy Dog Restaurant to come to the city of Brentwood,” Jared Taylor, a representative for Lazy Dog, told the council. “That’s actually a goal we’ve been working on, to bring a Lazy Dog restaurant to...

Man accused of shooting driver in the head on Bay Area freeway sentenced

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

A Vallejo man accused of shooting another driver in the head while on a freeway in 2020 will spend less than two years in prison following a court ruling Tuesday.Davon Howes Judge Robert Bowers sentenced 30-year-old Davon Howes to eight years and four months in prison after Howes entered “no contest” pleas for charges related to the attack.Prior to his sentencing, however, Howes had already spent three and a half years in jail since his arrest on March 26, 2020. California law stipulates that double that amount of time be subtracted from his sentence. So, attorneys said in court, Howes will receive seven years’ credit and will only be in prison for a year and four months.The shooting victim told authorities in 2020 that he had prior conflicts with Howes when Howes spotted him leaving a fast food restaurant on Admiral Callaghan Lane. Howes’ vehicle reportedly followed the victim onto the freeway – where, police said, it reportedly pulled up alongside the other car and Howes poin...