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Wish Book: Preventing homelessness and hunger in Sunnyvale

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Things were looking up for Benjamin Johnson. After a few years living out of his car in Fremont, he’d landed an apartment in Sunnyvale and a steady job as a cook at a bar and grill in town.He was even in line for a raise, set to take home $2,500 a month.Then suddenly in January, the main artery to his heart tore open, sending him to intensive care and stripping him of the use of his legs.“I’m glad to be here,” Johnson said. “Because everybody said it’s slim to none chances that you’re making it.”But without being able to work and soon facing eviction, Johnson, 45, was unsure how he would endure the grueling recovery ahead.In March, one of his former roommates reached out to Sunnyvale Community Services, and a caseworker with the nonprofit quickly got to work helping Johnson sign up for disability benefits and rental assistance. The group also negotiated a deal with Johnson’s landlord to let him stay in the apartment for another s...

Will the first cemetery built in San Jose since the 1880s come to Coyote Valley?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

The latest in a long line of battles to develop Silicon Valley’s most coveted green space is finally coming to a head after years of anticipation.And this time, it may be the difference between life and death.Heritage Oaks Memorial Park in Coyote Valley could become the first San Jose cemetery to be built in almost 140 years as developers argue the city is in desperate need of more space to bury its dead.But local environmentalists are having none of it. Denouncing the project, they claim the 275-acre site would disturb critical wildlife crossings in the predominantly agricultural area. The last major bureaucratic hurdle to get the project officially approved could come as early as next year.It’s not the first time builders have faced resistance in the Coyote Valley region. In early November, county officials killed a plan to build an 8,465-square-foot home in the area after voting to allow a local environmental agency to purchase the site through eminent domain. Tech co...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Zakara Cooper, Cornerstone Christian basketball

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Cornerstone Christian basketball player Zakara Cooper is the Bay Area News Group’s girls athlete of the week for Nov. 20-25 after she received 36.68% of the vote by the deadline Wednesday.Oakland Tech flag football player Jhai Johnson finished second.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Kevin Chapman, Moreau Catholic basketball High 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 girls athlete of the week: Charley Staats, Valley Christian volleyball High School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Jaxen Robinson, Christopher football Cooper, a junior, carried the Cornerstone Christian offense in a season-opening victory over Libert...

Is 49ers-Eagles the biggest game of the year? Don’t ask the Niners

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

SANTA CLARA — It’s finally here: 49ers vs. Eagles on Sunday. Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts. The Brotherly Shove. The bitter 49ers howling at the injustice of losing Purdy, whose elbow was rendered useless after a Haason Reddick sack off the edge with 7:03 left in the first quarter in the NFC title game.The Eagles won 31-7 and went on to lose 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. When the 2023 schedule arrived on May 11, it contained the Dec. 3 gift of a 49ers-Eagles rematch in Philadelphia.The most anticipated regular-season game of the season has arrived. Mainstream and social media are abuzz. Columnists and bloggers are weighing in. It’s the biggest topic on local radio in the Bay Area and Philadelphia, not to mention national platforms such as the NFL Network and ESPN.Yet at 4949 Marie P. DeBartolo way in Santa Clara and the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Jan. 29 is very much yesterday’s news. That’s the way coach Kyle Shanahan wants it...

Pedestrians need to look up from their phones: Roadshow

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Q: I think it is important to remind pedestrians about how to safely cross streets. I don’t see anything about that anywhere.So many pedestrians pay no attention to what’s going on around them as they stare at or talk on their phones while crossing the street. It’s so dangerous.— Georgia SchumannA:  That’s a very important point. Distraction is a major risk for anyone using the road, including pedestrians. We share responsibility to make roads safe for everyone.The CHP website describes bicyclists and pedestrians as “vulnerable road users.” They are, given their increased risk of injury or death if they’re involved in a collision with a vehicle. The website includes videos showing pedestrian safety practices and why they are essential. Check this page on bicyclist and pedestrian safety: https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/services-information/bike-and-ped-safetyQ: When I was growing up, my mother taught me to make eye contact with...

Opinion: Californians want lawmakers to safeguard elections from AI

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Since 2020, voters in California and beyond have seen disinformation proliferate and poison our politics more than ever before. Generative artificial intelligence has the power to rapidly intensify this trend for the worse.After all, we’re one year away from another enormously consequential presidential election.With current AI tools, it doesn’t take much effort to make a fake audio recording of Joe Biden saying anything you want. Imagine if a robocall from “Joe Biden” shared false information about polling place changes with hundreds of thousands of voters on the eve of the next election.Or imagine a conspiracy theorist making a fake video of an elections official “caught on tape” admitting that their voting machines can be hacked, and then publishing it to a fake news site populated with otherwise regular content and engineered to look like a local newspaper. New AI tools can make all of this, easily.With no current avenue to directly address the damage these new digital threats p...

Big San Jose apartment complex lands affordability-preserving buyer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

SAN JOSE — A real estate firm that’s on a mission to preserve affordable rental housing has bought a big San Jose apartment complex in a deal that tops $100 million.The Grove, an apartment complex at 1919 Fruitdale Avenue in San Jose, has been bought for $102 million by an affiliate of Jonathan Rose Cos., according to documents filed on Nov. 30 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.New York City-based Jonathan Rose Cos. is described as a company that specializes in owning and developing affordable and mixed-income housing nationwide.The Jonathan Rose firm bought The Grove apartments in San Jose through an affiliate called 1919 Fruitdale Preservation.The price the company paid was about 4.1% below the $106.4 million assessed value of the apartments as of early 2023, county real estate records show.Related ArticlesHousing | Free rent? With apartment supply increasing, Bay Area landlords turn to concessions Housing | Big Walnut Creek...

Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Kevin Chapman, Moreau Catholic basketball

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Moreau Catholic basketball player Kevin Chapman is the Bay Area News Group’s boys athlete of the week for Nov. 20-25 after he received 55.16% of the vote by the deadline Wednesday.Miramonte football player Carson Blair 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 girls athlete of the week: Charley Staats, Valley Christian volleyball High School Sports | Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Jaxen Robinson, Christopher football High School Sports | Poll closed: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week The junior had 18 points and eight assists to lead Moreau to a season-opening 56-52 victory over Vanden-Fairfield at the Bishop O’Dowd Thanksgiv...

Bay Area woman in horrific child abuse case likely to serve four months of supervised release

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

A 34-year-old Fairfield woman linked to a 2018 child abuse case likely will serve four months of supervised release after essentially being in “custody” for nearly five years after earlier pleading no contest to 10 charges of child cruelty, her defense attorney told The Reporter on Thursday.Ina A. Rogers While the attorneys in the case conferred with Solano County Superior Court Judge William J. Pendergast, Ina Aurelia Rogers sat quietly at the defense table during the morning session in Department 11.Rogers was previously scheduled for a presentencing report and sentencing Thursday, but Pendergast, after speaking with the attorneys, ordered her to return at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 29 for formal sentencing in the Justice Center in Fairfield.She is represented by Fairfield criminal defense attorney Barry K. Newman. Deputy District Attorney William P. Moser in recent years has led the prosecution following the departure of former Solano County Chief Deputy District Attorney Sharon Henry.A...

Player of the Week: Tuscarora’s Laney Barton

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Laney Barton posted nine shutouts as goalie for Tuscarora's girls soccer team, which finished with an 11-4 record on the season. (Courtesy Brett Barton) Laney Barton posted nine shutouts as goalie for Tuscarora's girls soccer team, which finished with an 11-4 record on the season. (Courtesy Brett Barton) Each week, WTOP is picking one student athlete to be featured on air and online as our Player of the Week. This week’s WTOP Player of the Week is Laney Barton of Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Maryland.Barton is a five-sport athlete, playing soccer, basketball, lacrosse, flag football and unified bocce for the Titans. As if that weren’t enough, she’s considering adding softball this spring.O...