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In Pleasanton, an ancient Japanese tradition points a way to healthier aging

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

Every week, a small group of older women gathers in a little room next to the courtyard of a senior living center in Pleasanton to practice the centuries-old Japanese craft of arranging flowers.The ikebana stylists, ranging from 75 to 95 years old, have been meeting for years. They come together for an hour on Tuesdays to work with yellow daffodils and flowering purple veronica, creating beautiful, delicate, and impermanent arrangements they will enjoy in their homes until the next week comes.Ikebana follows strict rules that dictate style and form. Flower stems must be a precise length and lean at a precise angle. The second stem should be three-quarters the length of the first stem; the third, half the length of the second. The result is a colorful tapestry of flowers that are mathematically identical to one another, but completely unique in style.“Before I retired, I was a CPA,” said Alice Huang, the group’s instructor. “But every day I wanted to look at flowers.”Huang grew...

Oakland teachers officially on strike Thursday; schools are still in session

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

OAKLAND — Oakland teachers are set to go on strike Thursday for the second time in two school years after union representatives and the Oakland Unified School District failed to agree on a deal at the bargaining table on Wednesday.The Oakland Educators Association, which represents about 3,000 of the city’s teachers and school staff, said in a news release Wednesday night that the schools’ administrators promised to present a contract proposal at 5 p.m. Wednesday but failed to show up.At 9 p.m., the district announced that the teachers would strike beginning Thursday for the second time in two school years after a one-day strike on April 29, 2022.“OEA’s bargaining team of 50 educators from across Oakland Unified had planned to work through the night – if the other side showed up. Our goal was and still is to reach a contract settlement that serves our students and supports educators,” said special education teacher and Oakland Education Association Interim President Isma...

Miles-long Contra Costa trail to get safety improvements

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

The Delta De Anza Regional Trail, a popular east-west pathway in eastern Contra Costa County, is about to get some safety improvements, including flashing lights that bicyclists and pedestrians can activate at busy road crossings.The improvements will be funded in large part by a nearly $4.5-million grant from a Bay Area regional transportation agency.The Pittsburg City Council unanimously accepted the Metropolitan Transportation Commission grant that calls for a match of $507,777, which would be split among Pittsburg, Bay Point, Antioch and Contra Costa County — where a portion of the trail scheduled for improvements runs.The project has three objectives: improving safety primarily at crossings, making the trail more inviting for bicyclists and encouraging people to get out of their cars and reduce carbon emissions, noted Pittsburg Public Works Director/City Engineer John Samuelson.“This project will primarily look at the crossings,” he said at Monday’s council meeting....

Borenstein: Newsom helps fund second BART tube district will never need

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

Transit officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom should stop wasting millions of dollars of taxpayer money planning for a second transbay BART tunnel that the rail system will never need.With BART weekday ridership numbers still far less than half of pre-pandemic levels, the agency cannot afford to keep its existing service running, is begging the Legislature for a temporary bailout and plans to press for a regional ballot measure in 2026 to raise new revenue.To spend public money on planning for a second crossing of San Francisco Bay when BART lacks ridership for the existing system is financial folly. Especially when the funds are coming from the state government, which faces its own whopping budget shortfall, approaching $30 billion.Yet that’s exactly what the governor is doing. And BART is only too happy to be a part of this financial waste and even skew the facts to enable it.The governor and BART last week announced that the state has awarded $11.3 million for planning for the second t...

Opinion: Why California must invest in climate resilient schools

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

As weather events, power outages, fire, smoke and excess heat occur frequently, school leaders face disruptions that affect student learning. As Santa Clara County’s Superintendent of Schools, I know these disruptions are of longer duration and are more extreme.In the 2018-19 school year alone, more than 1.2 million California students were impacted by school closures, overwhelmingly due to wildfire, smoke, heat and unhealthy air quality. These school closures not only lead to decreased learning, they also negatively impact students’ physical and mental health. Studies show these impacts are not the result of an unpredictable catastrophe but a pattern that will continue to worsen unless we can keep schools open through our increasingly complicated climate reality.That’s why a coalition of nearly 50 leading doctors, medical and environmental health researchers, educators, youth and community groups has released the Climate-Resilient California Schools: A Call to Action — a repo...

Two ways the Warriors can slow down Anthony Davis in critical Game 2

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors run, the Lakers bruise.This Western Conference semifinal matchup is not just a meeting of two California rival teams, but the ultimate clash of styles. Anthony Davis is at the center of that clash, literally.If the Warriors hope to overcome a 1-0 series deficit, they’ll have to figure out how to beat Davis, the Lakers’ 6-foot-10 center, instead of working around him. Golden State was largely deferential to Davis in Game 1, letting him camp in the paint, waiting for the perimeter defenders to funnel Warriors to him there on defense. It deterred drives to the rim with any consistency and prompted the Warriors to take 53 3-pointers.Davis beat the Warriors nearly single-handedly on both ends with 30 points, 23 rebounds and four blocks.Can the Warriors get Davis out of his comfort zone? Here’s a look at a few options.Make him moveDavis played 44 minutes in Tuesday’s game — and the general sense around the Warriors’ lo...

Waymo robotaxis make more inroads in Phoenix, San Francisco

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

Self-driving car pioneer Waymo announced Thursday that its robotaxis will be able to carry passengers through most of the Phoenix area for the first time.The company's cars will also start to pick up more volunteers for testing the autonomous vehicles traversing the more challenging conditions in San Francisco. The expansion marks the next leg in an ambitious journey aimed at creating a safer and cheaper alternative to ride-hailing services that depend on humans. SF supervisor ‘disappointed’ in Nordstrom closure, another major retailer leaving city The increased territory in the Phoenix area means Waymo's robotaxis will now pick up and drop off fare-paying passengers in an area spanning 180 square miles (466 square kilometers), doubling in size since late last year. Waymo's robotaxis now cover four times more territory than when they began giving rides to fare-paying passengers in the Phoenix area in late 2020. “We are feeling tremendous wind at our backs,” Saswat Panigrahi, Waymo...

Pinnacle West: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — PHOENIX (AP) — Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) on Thursday reported a loss of $3.3 million in its first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Phoenix-based company said it had a loss of 3 cents.The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 3 cents per share.The power company posted revenue of $945 million in the period, which beat Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $792.1 million.Pinnacle West expects full-year earnings to be $3.95 to $4.15 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PNW at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PNWSource

Shopify narrowing its ambition, sells Deliverr, cuts staff

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Shopify, the e-commerce company viewed as a growing competitor to Amazon, is selling the two biggest pieces of its fulfillment network and abandoning its logistics ambitions. The company announced Thursday in a blog post it will also cut about 20% of its workforce, the second mass layoff its had in less than a year. Last year, Shopify trimmed 10% of its workforce and reportedly laid off dozens of other employees before and after that announcement. The company said Thursday those affected will receive 16 weeks of severance pay and medical benefits. “There’s no way to make this good news, but we designed a package that will attempt to make it the best possible version of a bad day,” Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke said in the blog post.The business changes are also a remarkable reversal after the Canadian company’s multiyear effort to build its own warehousing and delivery services. But investors welcomed the company’s move to focus more on its retail business on ...

InterDigital: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:26:12 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — InterDigital Inc. (IDCC) on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings of $105.3 million.On a per-share basis, the Wilmington, Delaware-based company said it had profit of $3.58. Earnings, adjusted for costs related to mergers and acquisitions and stock option expense, were $4.21 per share.The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 62 cents per share.The wireless research and development company posted revenue of $202.4 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $97.4 million.For the current quarter ending in June, InterDigital expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.19 to $1.29.The company said it expects revenue in the range of $100 million to $104 million for the fiscal second quarter. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $103.6 million._____This story was gener...