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Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: David Colon, Castro Valley baseball

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

NEW: PREP SPORTS MAILBAGThe Bay Area News Group is introducing a high school sports mailbag in May. Get your questions in as soon as possible. Our debut edition is an open forum. Got questions about spring sports playoffs, coaching changes, an early peek at football season, etc.? Send questions to [email protected]. Please include “mailbag” in the subject line.Castro Valley baseball player David Colon has been named the Bay Area News Group’s boys high school athlete of the week for April 24-29 after he had 32.17% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.Foothill baseball player Jackson Flora (24.13%) finished second and Skyline baseball player Isaac Okajima placed third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Colon, a sophomore, went 3 for 3 with a triple and three RBIs and scored three runs as Castro Valley defeated Piedmont 12-5 in West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division play. He also pitched five innings, allowing ...

Oakland teachers strike enters second day; State Superintendent offers to mediate discussions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

The Oakland teachers’ strike has entered its second day Friday and a mediator is attempting to make progress in negotiations after both sides strongly maintained their positions throughout a tension-filled day Thursday.State Superintendent Tony Thurmond offered Thursday to step in as a mediator, just as he did in 2019. Thus far, neither the Oakland Educators Association nor Oakland Unified School District has publicly agreed to the mediation.“We are disappointed that the parties could not find an agreement in time to avert a strike,” Thurmond said in a statement. “We observed how hard both sides worked and will start immediately working with the parties in a formal mediation capacity. Our goal is to help the parties reach an agreement and to end the strike so that students can return to class as quickly as possible.”The teachers union, which is urging the district to raise teachers’ pay and provide better resources for students, is set to return to the ...

Photos: Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final practice in San Francisco

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

The Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final kicks off in San Francisco this weekend with some of the best sailors in the world from nine countries vying for the championship.The boats are known for high tech and high speed, and the identical hydro-foiling F50 catamarans can fly across the bay at speeds of up to 60 mph.The weekend’s racing will decide who will compete against Season 3 leader Australia in the Grand Final race, a winner-take-all, final sprint to claim the $1 million grand prize. The U.S. SailGP Team, helmed by sailing legend Jimmy Spithill, is mathematically unable to qualify for the Grand Final, but hopes to win the weekend Grand Prix on home turf.The event will also include onshore entertainment and activities for fans in the Marina Green Race Village, including live music, food and beverage vendors, and interactive exhibits. To purchase limited tickets and learn more, see their website here.Team USA practices on their F50 catamaran in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday...

Opinion: California health care providers’ retreat from COVID masking is shameful

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

When the California Department of Public Health last month lifted mask mandates in health care settings, it didn’t even cross my mind as a physician and CEO of Roots Community Health Center to drop masks in clinics I oversee in the East Bay and San Jose.Dr. Noha Aboelata, founder and CEO of the Roots Community Health Center, speaks during a 2021 news conference. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)The absence of a public health order never determined health care facility policy before, so I was shocked that several health systems dropped masks the moment they stopped being required. I did not need to be mandated to do the right thing for patients and staff at the onset of the pandemic, and the removal of a mandate did not erase my duty to protect and advocate for essential frontline workers and marginalized community members.With the swift unmasking, I was not surprised by the COVID outbreak within about two weeks at Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa Hospital and the facility’s qu...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Laila Wang, Archbishop Mitty softball

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

NEW: PREP SPORTS MAILBAGThe Bay Area News Group is introducing a high school sports mailbag in May. Get your questions in as soon as possible. Our debut edition is an open forum. Got questions about spring sports playoffs, coaching changes, an early peek at football season, etc.? Send questions to [email protected]. Please include “mailbag” in the subject line.Archbishop Mitty badminton player Laila Wang is the Bay Area News Group’s high school girls athlete of the week for April 24-29 after she received 35.22% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.Mercy-Burlingame softball player Jazlyn Villavicencio (24.75%) placed second and Oakland Tech track and field athlete Jada Williams was third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Wang, a freshman, finished her season with a 13-2 record and was awarded the No. 1 seed in the women’s singles in the Mt. Hamilton Division. In 12 of her matches, Wang stopped her opponent from scoring doub...

Skelton: Want to stop California desertion: Lower housing costs — and taxes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

Higher-income people are fleeing California to live in lower-tax states.For years, we denied that. Maybe it wasn’t even happening. But it definitely is now.It’s logical given our high taxes, high housing costs and high costs of living, period. And there’s new evidence of it.The Public Policy Institute of California reported in March that higher-income people were leaving the state. I wrote about it. Later, the institute’s researchers dug deep into the data and saw where they were moving.The more income the departees had, the more likely they were to be headed to states with no income tax.“Our findings suggest that taxes might be a factor in where higher-income people go when they leave the state,” PPIC demographers Eric McGhee and Hans Johnson wrote in their recent report.“The eight states with no income tax…drew a larger net outflow of higher-income than middle- or lower-income migrants from California, while the opposite was true in the other 41 states. There is some evidence that...

Iran expels four Azeri diplomats amid ongoing tensions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has expelled four Azeri diplomats amid ongoing tensions with neighboring Azerbaijan, Iranian media reported on Friday.Iran’s semiofficial news outlets did not provide details except to say that the four had been working in Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northwestern city of Tabriz.Last month, Azerbaijan expelled four Iranian diplomats from Baku.Relations between Tehran and Baku, long chilly, soured further after a gunman in January stormed Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran’s capital, killing its security chief and wounding two guards.Azerbaijan accuses Iran of supporting hard-line Islamists who tried to overthrow the government in Baku, a charge Tehran denies.Relations between the two also are tense because Azerbaijan in March opened an embassy in Israel. Iran has repeatedly opposed improving relations between Azerbaijan and Israel. Iran and Israel see each other as archenemies. Source

German chancellor supports permanent UNSC seat for Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on a visit to Kenya, has offered support to African countries seeking a permanent seat on the U.N Security Council.Scholz told his host, President William Ruto, that he believes in African-led solutions to African issues such as the ongoing conflict in Sudan.“Germany therefore supports the efforts for permanent African seats on the U.N Security Council and we also support a formal seat for the African Union within the G-20,” he said on Friday after bilateral talks with Ruto.Currently, three African states, Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique, are non-permanent members of the council.Calls in the past for African states to get at least one permanent seat in the council have been supported by various leaders including the U.N secretary general.Scholz expressed concern over the conflict in Sudan that has led to hundreds of deaths, and lauded Ruto’s mediation efforts.He said the two warring generals must end the fighting for the sake of civil...

Canelo Álvarez vs. John Ryder: a qué hora es el combate y cómo ver por televisión e internet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

(CNN Español) — El boxeador mexicano Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez vuelve este sábado al ring para enfrentar al púgil británico John Ryder por el título mundial absoluto supermediano.Para el “Canelo”, el combate es especial por dos razones principalmente:1. Se trata de la primera pelea de Álvarez en 2023. El año pasado, tuvo dos combates, en los que registró una derrota (ante Dmitry Bivol) y una victoria (ante Gennady Golovkin).2. Y, más importante aún, es un combate que marca el regreso del Canelo a México. El boxeador no había peleado en su país desde hace 12 años y ahora lo hará en el Estadio Akron, en Guadalajara, Jalisco, estado mexicano del que es originario el Canelo.Si no te quieres perder la pelea, a continuación te damos todos los detalles.¿A qué hora es el combate entre el Canelo Álvarez y John Ryder?De acuerdo con Ticketmaster, el evento comienza a las 3:30 p.m. hora de Guadalajara y Ciudad de México, o a las 5:30 p.m. hora de Miami.Antes de la pele...

Crunch time for Madrid with Copa final before City game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:55 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — It’s time for Real Madrid to switch back into championship mode for the final part of what has been an inconsistent season.Madrid will play Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday following a stretch of poor showings in the Spanish league, where the title has long been out of reach.Carlo Ancelotti’s players have been playing far from their best with their focus clearly on the game in Seville against Osasuna — and on what’s to come just after.Three days later, Madrid will play the first leg of its highly anticipated Champions league semifinal rematch against Manchester City. The second leg in England will be played on May 17.While Madrid’s top priority is to defend its continental title and lift a record-extending 15th European Cup, a victory over Osasuna would secure its first Spanish cup in nearly a decade and give it the chance for a pair of titles this campaign.Madrid has produced convincing wins over Liverpool and Chelsea in the Champions League kno...