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Santa Clara to make Taylor Swift honorary mayor, rename the city ‘Swiftie Clara’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

Taylor Swift is set to be the next mayor of Santa Clara — at least for her two-night engagement at Levi’s Stadium later this month.Santa Clara is the latest city pulling out all the stops as Swift passes through the Mission City on July 28 and 29 for her record-breaking ‘Eras Tour.’On Tuesday night, the Santa Clara City Council is expected to vote on a proclamation that would name Swift the honorary mayor and change the city’s name for ceremonial purposes to “Swiftie Clara.”The document, which bares Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s name, said the commendation is being given to “celebrate the positive local impact to the Santa Clara community, as well as the impact regionally, of Taylor Swift’s music, tours and extraordinary fanbase.”Related ArticlesMusic | Despite previous warnings, woman arrested outside Taylor Swift’s home Music | Who will have the 2023 song of the summer? Some predictions Music ...

Romanian court keeps Andrew Tate under house arrest

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

By Stephen McGrath and Andreea Alexandru | Associated PressBUCHAREST, Romania — A court in Romania’s capital on Tuesday ruled to extend by another 30 days the house arrest of Andrew Tate, the divisive social media influencer who is charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.The decision at the Bucharest Tribunal comes a month after prosecutors formally indicted the 36-year-old social media star along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women in the same case. All four defendants — who were arrested in late December near Bucharest and have denied the allegations against them — will remain under house arrest for 30 more days.Outside the court on Monday, Tate told journalists that “the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice in the end.”“My brother and I are extremely resilient people. … In the end justice shall be served,” he said. “We’re feeling like things are going to work out pe...

What you need to know about the drug price fight in those TV ads

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

Arthur Allen | (TNS) KFF Health NewsIn recent months ominous ads about prescription drugs have flooded the TV airwaves. Perhaps by design, it’s not always clear who’s sponsoring the ads or why.Or, for that matter, why now?The short answer is that Congress is paying attention. House and Senate members from both parties have launched at least nine bills, parts of which may be packaged together this fall, that take aim at pharmacy benefit managers, companies that channel prescription drugs to patients. Here’s a primer to help you decipher what’s happening.What are pharmacy benefit managers?Known as PBMs, these companies were created in the 1960s to help employers and insurers select and purchase medications for their health plans. The industry mushroomed as prescription drug spending grew about 200-fold between 1967 and 2021. In addition to negotiating discounts with manufacturers, the PBMs set payment terms for the pharmacies that buy and dispense the drugs to patients. In effect, the...

Man’s hand partial amputated after hit by boat propeller on Lake Barryessa

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

By Victoria Franco | Bay City NewsA 39-year-old man had part of his hand amputated and suffered major injuries Sunday afternoon after falling off a boat and being struck by the vessel’s propeller at Lake Berryessa, according to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.The accident was reported about 12:48 p.m. and a deputy found the Richmond man suffering major lacerations on his hand and wrist and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, the sheriff’s office said.The man was not wearing a life jacket, but family members were able to pull him back up to the boat, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.The victim, who had been riding on the front of the bow before he fell into the water, was airlifted to a hospital in Vacaville for surgery.The Napa County Sheriff’s Office is reminding the public that riding on the bow, or forward part of a boat, is not allowed due to safety concerns.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication,...

West Edge mounts groundbreaking ‘mariachi opera’ in Oakland

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

Throughout his career in opera, baritone Efraín Solís has sung a long list of works steeped in anguish. But he admits that his latest assignment, singing the role of Laurentino in “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna,” moves him in a uniquely personal way.“I feel the responsibility of this character,” Solís explained in a recent interview. “I really want to respect his history, who he represents. Both of my grandfathers have passed away, but I feel them a lot when I’m singing this piece — the weight of them, and the immense responsibility that comes with telling this story.”The opera, by composer Jose “Pepe” Martinez and librettist Leonard Foglia, considers issues of immigration, memory and legacy in what has been called “the first mariachi opera.” Translated, the title is “To Cross the Face of the Moon.”With Solís in the role of family patriarch Laurentino, this groundbreaking work makes its Bay Area premiere at West Edge Opera on July 23, directed by Karina Gutierrez and featuring the...

County agency buys San Jose senior citizens affordable housing complex

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

SAN JOSE — A South Bay government agency has bought another San Jose senior citizens affordable housing complex that had been seized by federal officials through the foreclosure of a delinquent mortgage.The Santa Clara County Housing Authority has purchased the Jardines Paloma Blanca housing complex at 132 North Jackson Avenue in San Jose, documents filed on July 19 with the county real estate officials show.The housing agency paid $2.65 million for the Jardines Paloma Blanca complex, according to the documents filed with the County Recorder’s Office.The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department sold the 43-unit residential complex to the County Housing Authority after it had foreclosed on a real estate loan it had issued to the prior owner of the complex.This marked the second time within a week that HUD foreclosed on a mortgage for a senior citizens housing center and then promptly sold the complex to the County Housing Authority.On July 13, the county agency paid ...

Relentless, record-breaking heat continues to bake Phoenix

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

By Seth Borenstein and Anita Snow | Associated PressPHOENIX — Phoenix’s streak of dangerously hot days was poised to smash a record for major U.S. cities on Tuesday, the 19th straight day the temperature in the desert city was to soar to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 C) or more.The nights have offered little relief from the brutal heat. Phoenix’s overnight low only dropped to 94 F (34.4 C) on Tuesday, the ninth straight day of temperatures not falling below 90 F (32.2 C), another record.It’s “pretty miserable when you don’t have any recovery overnight,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Salerno.The thermometer reached 100 F (37.8 C) before 9 a.m. for the sixth straight day on Tuesday.The length of Phoenix’s heat wave is notable even during a summer in which much of the southern United States and the world as a whole has been cooking in record temperatures, something scientists say is stoked by climate change.What’s going ...

SF Giants notes: Luciano promoted to Triple-A; Kruk and Kuip named top MLB broadcast crew

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

The good news down the farm system keeps coming for the San Francisco Giants.The Giants have promoted Marco Luciano, the 21-year-old shortstop ranked as MLB.com’s No. 15 prospect in all of baseball, to Triple-A Sacramento.Ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Giants’ system, Luciano will now join the No. 1 prospect Kyle Harrison in Sacramento (Harrison is currently out with a hamstring injury).In 56 games at Double-A Richmond, Luciano slashed .228/.339/.450 with 11 homers and 32 RBI. After an injury-riddled 2022, which saw Luciano only play in 57 games at High-A Eugene, his strong 2023 has led to this promotion.Marco Luciano has been promoted to @RiverCats pic.twitter.com/HIjwQb2DIr— SFGProspects (@SFGProspects) July 18, 2023It now means the Giants’ top three prospects, who are all 21, are either in Triple-A Sacramento (Harrison and Luciano) or on the MLB roster (outfielder Luis Matos).Luciano’s move up comes after a flurry of promotions last week, highlighted by their No....

Husband was driving in suspected DUI crash that killed wife on Byron Highway, CHP says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

A Tracy man has been arrested on suspicion of DUI causing death after he lost control of his vehicle and hit an embankment Saturday on the Byron Highway, killing his wife, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday.Authorities early Tuesday identified the woman as Anna Avaloz, 38, of Tracy, and said she was a passenger in the crash. Her husband, identified by authorities as 36-year-old Andre Avaloz, of Tracy, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence causing death and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, CHP spokesperson Officer Adam Lane said Tuesday morning. Jail records showed him in custody Tuesday but did not list any information, including a possible bail amount. The crash happened about 11:05 p.m. Saturday in the southbound direction of the Byron Highway just south of Clifton Court Road. CHP investigators said the crash happened when a Chevrolet Suburban lost control and hit a dirt embankment just south of Clifton Court.Anna Avaloz was pronounced dead a...

Boy bitten by rattlesnake in Napa County airlifted to East Bay hospital

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:17 GMT

By Tony Hicks | Bay City NewsA boy in rural Calistoga was bitten by a rattlesnake Sunday afternoon and taken to a hospital by helicopter.The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said on social media it dispatched its helicopter “Henry-1” to a rural area near Calistoga, where a 13-year-old boy was bitten by a rattlesnake.Paramedics determined the boy needed to get to the hospital quickly, where he was treated with anti-venom. There was no word on the boy’s condition Monday.The hot summer weather is bringing out snakes all over the Bay Area. A 7-year-old boy was bitten by a rattlesnake June 7 in Mt. Diablo State Park and was also taken to a hospital via helicopter.RELATED: Bay Area temperatures will go up, and snakes likely will be coming outThe boy’s mother carried him down to a parking lot on the north side of the park near Mitchell Canyon after the snake bite was reported around 4 p.m. The boy was running on a trail — believed to be the Bruce Lee Sprin...