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Insurance premiums could surge in these U.S. cities because of climate disasters, new data shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

By Ella Nilsen and Krystina Shveda | CNNMillions of American homeowners could see insurance rates surge in the coming years in part due to worsening climate disasters, new data shows.An analysis of from nonprofit research group First Street Foundation found nearly 39 million homes and commercial properties – about 27% of properties in the Lower 48 – are at risk of their premiums spiking as insurers struggle to cover the increasing cost of rebuilding after disasters.It’s another alarming sign for the future of America’s homeowners’ insurance market. In the last few years, major insurers have pulled out of or stopped writing new policies in California, Florida and Louisiana – in part citing increased climate risks like more destructive wildfires and stronger hurricanes.But while insurance prices have already surged in those states, First Street found it’s still growing in other places we think of as less risky.“This is not just isolated to particular areas of the country, but also wil...

After 3 years of pandemic, Los Cilantros restaurant reopens in Berkeley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

For a while, folks who dared duck past the truly gnarly 3-D mural at Berkeley’s La Peña Cultural Center would find a hidden gem of a restaurant – Los Cilantros, serving simple but satisfying Mexican fare like enchiladas verdes and grilled rockfish tacos.Then the pandemic came, and the restaurant shut its doors for the first time since 2014. Dilsa Lugo, chef and owner, packed up shop and moved to a kiosk at the shared commercial kitchen La Cocina Municipal Marketplace in San Francisco. Of course, things weren’t the same – but now they are, and also aren’t, as Los Cilantros reopened last week after three years of closure with a revamped interior and menu highlighting the chef’s hometown of Cuernavaca.The Mexican restaurant Los Cilantros has reopened at its old location in Berkeley’s La Peña Cultural Center after three years of pandemic. Pictured: Dilsa Lugo, chef and owner of Los Cilantros (Eric Wolfinger) Fish tacos are still on offer at the joint, ...

Gas is rapidly approaching $6 in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

By Matt Egan | CNNNew York  — Pain at the pump is returning across the United States, especially on the West Coast.In California, gas prices are rapidly approaching $6 a gallon. According to AAA, the state average has spiked by 31 cents in the past week alone, to $5.79 gallon.The move has been even more dramatic in the Los Angeles-Long Beach metro area, where gas prices hit $6.07 a gallon on Wednesday, up 49 cents in a week.But it’s not just California drivers experiencing sticker shock. Drivers in 11 states on average now face gas at $4 a gallon, including $5 or higher in Washington and Nevada.Nationally, gas prices remain well below the record of $5.02 set last June. Still, US gas prices climbed this week to $3.88 a gallon, the highest level of the entire year, according to AAA.And oil prices — the main driver of retail pump prices — continue to set new highs in large part because that’s what Saudi Arabia and Russia want.Boosted by those two nations’ aggressive supply cuts, US oil...

Prep roundup: Cal girls flag football has eight interceptions, Menlo-Atherton volleyball continues winning run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

Girls flag footballCalifornia 34, Foothill 18The Grizzlies’ defense picked off an astounding eight Foothill passes on Tuesday night, which included two pick-sixes. Janie Trottier had two interceptions, and Emma Perry, Olivia Horton and Priya Mistry each had one. Nadia Sherman, who had two picks, and Lauren Grgurina each returned one interception for a touchdown. Offensively, Grgurina also threw for one touchdown and caught another. Quarterback Kylie Tabor passed for two touchdowns, and Olivia Young and Mary Dilling each caught a TD.Cal coach Frank Grgurina said Cal was supposed to play Benicia in the second game of the night, but due to poor air quality caused by wildfires to the north, the game was called off. Grgurina told the Bay Area News Group that it would be rescheduled for a later date. More flag football: Girls flag football explodes onto Bay Area high school sports sceneSan Ramon Valley 32, Livermore 6In the first game of the night, Onessa Yee did it all for the Wolves in ...

Owner of driving school in San Mateo gets 18 years for child pornography

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

(BCN) -- A driving instructor in San Mateo was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for coercing teenage girls into producing child pornography, federal prosecutors said this week. Johnnatan Zelaya pleaded guilty on May 4 to recruiting girls between the ages of 14 and 17 to create sexually explicit images for posting online, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Zelaya committed these crimes between 2013 and 2022, and also admitted to having sex with at least two of the victims and even filmed himself having sex with a minor. According to prosecutors, he then distributed the video. Bay Area air quality advisory continues Wednesday Zelaya recruited seven of his victims using social media and in person. Online, he would use sites such as Instagram to persuade underage girls to produce sexually explicit content. In person, he used the driving school that he owned and operated to find students to recruit. His crimes included offering to "manage" the sale of the gir...

Alameda County takes steps to combat homelessness

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

(KRON) -- The Alameda County Board of Supervisors has voted to authorize a proposal for a countywide state of emergency on homelessness.Although the county believes it’s not a “state of emergency “ yet, they have approved to start working on a plan. The resolution proposed by the board president would direct the county’s Office of Homeless Care and Coordination (OHCC) to lead the research.They would be tasked to develop an “emergency response plan to homelessness” for the county and come back to the board with recommendations within 60 days. Ex-OPD chief LeRonne Armstrong sits down with KRON4 Homelessness in the county has been rising. A recent county survey shows the homeless population has increased 22 percent since 2019, and 73 percent of the homeless residents are unsheltered.As of early 2022, Alameda County had at least 9,700 unhoused residents on a given night. OHCC said if a local state of emergency is declared, it would unlock tools the county can use to streamline the cre...

Bowlero buys Lucky Strike (bowling is still very popular)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

Richmond, Virginia-based Bowlero, the largest operator of bowling venues in the U.S., has completed its acquisition of Encino, California-based Lucky Strike Entertainment for $90 million.It adds 14 Lucky Strike bowling centers in Bowlero’s business, including Lucky Strike at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Maryland.Bowlero owns the Professional Bowlers Association. It operates 345 bowling centers across North America under the Bowlero and AMF names.In 2021, Bowlero acquired Alexandria, Virginia-based Bowl America and its 17 locations in Virginia, Maryland and Florida.It acquired AMF in 2013, after AMF filed for bankruptcy in 2012.Bowlero says its venues serve nearly 30 million guests a year.Bowling remains popular in the U.S., both on the professional bowling circuit, and through amateur bowling leagues and pastime play.A recent Ipsos sports poll found 19% of American adults are bowlers, more than twice as many who said they golf.EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has bee...

Fairfax Co. schools still owes students with disabilities thousands of learning hours from the pandemic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia has received an extension to finalize meetings with families of students who may be eligible for extra help in the aftermath of the pandemic.At Thursday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Michelle Reid said the county has already held meetings about eligibility for 30,656 students, or 96.7%, and expects to be finished by next month. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights extended the deadline for the county to hold all of the meetings to Oct. 15.Of the meetings the school system has already had, it determined that 6,266 students, or 20.4%, were eligible for the extra learning hours. Either the school system can provide the services or families can pursue help through a private vendor and submit it to their school for reimbursement. However, some families have reported delays in getting reimbursed, which Reid said the county is working to address.Thousands of students are entitled to the compensatory service...

A cease-fire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh still leaves thorny issues unresolved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The announcement of a cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, just a day after Azerbaijan launched heavy artillery fire against Armenian forces, toned down fears of a third full-scale war over the region in the southern Caucasus Mountains.But it still leaves significant unresolved questions about the conflict.Under the agreement mediated by Russian peacekeeping forces, Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist authorities made sizable concessions: disbanding the region’s defense forces and withdrawing Armenia’s military contingent. But the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s final status remains open and is to be at the center of talks between the sides beginning Thursday.Emotions and ethnic pride are intense on both the Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian sides, with neither showing an inclination for compromise in the previous three decades of conflict that killed tens of thousands of soldiers and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.WHAT IS THE REGION?Nagorno...

La ESMA, el centro de detención y tortura más emblemático de la dictadura en Argentina, ingresó en la Lista del Patrimonio Mundial de la Unesco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:36 GMT

(CNN Español) — El Museo Sitio de Memoria de la Antigua Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (ESMA) de Buenos Aires fue declarado este martes Patrimonio Mundial por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (Unesco). Allí funcionó el mayor centro de detención, tortura y desaparición de personas de la última dictadura militar de Argentina, entre 1976 y 1983.“La Argentina debe ser felicitada por traer esta nominación y buscar justicia por los hechos cometidos por la dictadura contra oponentes armados y no armados y entender la influencia global y la resonancia de estos eventos en el Museo ESMA”, indicó el organismo al anunciar la declaratoria, según información difundida por la agencia estatal Télam.La decisión de sumar este edificio emblemático de Argentina a esta lista, donde ya se encuentran otros como el campo de Auschwitz-Birkenau y el Memorial de la Paz de Hiroshima, se dio en el marco de la 45ª sesión del Comité del Patrimon...