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Former L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti confirmed as India ambassador after 20-month fight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was confirmed Wednesday by a divided Senate as the nation’s next ambassador to India, 20 months after he was first nominated by President Joe Biden and after weathering doubts about his truthfulness in a sexual harassment scandal involving a top adviser during his time at City Hall.The 52-42 vote gave the administration a long-sought victory in filling one of the country’s highest profile diplomatic posts. The session began with uncertain prospects for Garcetti, a two-term, progressive Democrat first nominated to the prominent diplomatic post by President Joe Biden in July 2021. With several Democratic defections, Garcetti's fate rested with enlisting Republicans in a chamber often divided along partisan line. He secured seven GOP votes to advance the nomination to a final vote. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said, “I met with him personally. He clearly has an enormous amount of expertise about India. India’s been two years without an a...

Leon Hughes, founding member of The Coasters, dies in Los Angeles at 92

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

Leon Hughes, the last original member of the 1950s rhythm and blues hitmaker, The Coasters, has died at age 92.Hughes died peacefully at his home in Watts on March 1 from natural causes, family members tell KTLA 5 News.The Coasters formed in Los Angeles in 1955 with Hughes, Carl Gardner, Bobby Nunn and Billy Guy comprising the original lineup. In a span of three years, they released a series of hits including “Yakety Yak,” “Down in Mexico,” “Poison Ivy” and “Charlie Brown.”“Yakety Yak” enjoyed a resurgence in 1986 when it was featured on the soundtrack for Rob Reiner’s coming-of-age film, “Stand by Me,” along with other R&B/Doo Wop classics “Stand By Me,” “Lollipop” and “Rockin’ Robin.”In 1987, The Coasters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Hughes’ tenure with the original lineup was relatively short-lived. He left the band in 1957 after a bout with illness that compromised his singing voice, his daughter said. Later in life, he fronted several variations of The ...

Winter rains lead to lifting of MWD restrictions in Southern California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

Tired of the recent rains? At least the storms came with a silver lining.The Metropolitan Water District on Tuesday rescinded the emergency restrictions that were put in place last year due to the state's historic drought. The three-year period of 2020 to 2022 was the driest period in the state's history, prompting the district to impose limits on outdoor watering of plants to help offset reduced water supplies from the Colorado River and other impacts of the drought."The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California will no longer mandate emergency restrictions on water use for nearly 7 million people after winter storms helped alleviate shortage conditions that severely limited the availability of state water supplies," the MWD announced Wednesday.Those storms have dropped record rainfall, and though they have presented dangers like mudslides and floods, they've also brought much of California out of extreme drought conditions. Rain continues into Wednesday amid flooding, ...

Nelson Esteban Killed in Bicycle Collision on Ramon Road [Palm Springs, CA]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

58-Year-Old Bicyclist Dies in Fatal Accident near Compadre RoadPALM SPRINGS, CA (March 15, 2023) – Early Monday morning, Nelson Esteban was killed in a bicycle collision on Ramon Road.Police responded to the scene around 4:45 a.m., at the intersection of Ramon and Compadre Road.For reasons under investigation, the driver of a vehicle struck a cyclist in the area.Medical personnel arrived and transported the bicyclist to a nearby hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Authorities later identified the deceased victim as 58-year-old Esteban, of Palm Springs.Police arrested the involved driver for charges unrelated the the collision. Although, an active investigation is still currently underway. Once available, further details will be provided.The team at Sweet James offers their warm and sincerest sympathies to the friends and family of Nelson Esteban. May you find comfort and strength during this difficult time.It is important to have strong legal representation on y...

Free tuition pulls thousands of college students back to the classroom

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

Community college enrollment took a steep dive during the COVID-19 pandemic, hitting its lowest numbers in 30 years. Now, colleges across the Bay Area are trying to lure students back with a tactic that might be hard to resist: free tuition.“When I first started, it was like a ghost town,” said Omolola Atolagbe, who began at Oakland’s Laney College in 2021. “Now, you see students everywhere — in the library, the student center, all over campus.”Laney is one of four colleges in the Peralta Community College District that is waiving course fees for the 2022-23 academic year — an attempt to not just reduce costs for students, but to get them back into the classroom.So far, the program has paid off: there are nearly 2,200 more students enrolled in its four campuses this spring compared to last, with a 33% increase in Black students and 22% increase in Latino students.Any student who is a California resident and completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is eligible f...

No California salmon: Fishery to be shut down this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

By Alastair Bland | CalMattersMost summer mornings at first light, Jared Davis is a few miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, motoring his charter fishing boat Salty Lady over the Pacific Ocean. His eyes sweep the horizon, looking for diving birds, but mostly he watches the screen of his dashboard fish-finder for schools of anchovies — a sure sign that salmon are near. When the signs look good, he throttles down to trolling speed and tells his customers to let out their lines. “Drop ‘em down!” Davis calls out the window. “Thirty to 40 feet!”When the bite is steady, the Salty Lady may have 20 customers on board, each spending $200 for the chance to catch salmon. On the best days, fishing rods bend double the moment the lines go down, and a frenzy of action ensues, often amid a hundred or more other boats. Hooked Chinook thrash at the surface, and the deck becomes strewn with flopping fish.Last year, California’s commercial and recreational fishing fleet, from the Central Coast to the...

The seven most expensive reported home sales in Saratoga the week of March 6

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

A house in Saratoga that sold for $8.6 million tops the list of the most expensive real estate sales in Saratoga in the past two weeks.In total, 7 real estate sales were recorded in the area during the last two weeks, with an average price of $3.8 million, $1,270 per square foot.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded from the week of February 20 to the week of March 13 even if the property may have been sold earlier.7. $985,000, condominium in the 19100 block of Vineyard LaneThe 1,132 square-foot condominium in the 19100 block of Vineyard Lane, Saratoga, has now been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in February and the total purchase price was $985,000, $870 per square foot. The condominium was built in 1971. The condominium features 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.Vineyard Lane6. $2 million, condominium in the 14600 block of Stoneridge DriveThe sale of the condominium in the 14600 block of Stoneridge Drive, Saratoga, has been final...

49ers agree to terms with former Raiders No. 4 overall pick Clelin Ferrell, per report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

Clelin Ferrell, a defensive end who went to the Raiders two selections after the 49ers selected Nick Bosa, is reportedly joining the 49ers on a one-year deal.Ferrell, 25, was taken by the Raiders at No. 4 overall in 2019 out of Clemson after being the Ted Hendricks Award winner as the nation’s top defensive lineman. The pick was criticized in draft circles, with Ferrell regarded by most as a player that could have been selected much later in the first round.The 49ers have already lost defensive ends Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu in free agency to the Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.49ers reached agreement today on a one-year deal with former Raiders’ first-round draft pick Clelin Ferrell, per source.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2023Ferrell, whose signing was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, never became the kind of quick-twitch pass rusher associated with a No. 4 pick but had his moments as a base end and was regarded...

Author Ian Falconer dies; wrote beloved ‘Olivia’ series for children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

Associated PressNORWALK, Conn. — Author and illustrator Ian Woodward Falconer, known for his “Olivia” book series for children, has died.Falconer’s lawyer and agent Conrad M. Rippy said Falconer died March 7 of natural causes while with family in Norwalk, Connecticut. He was 63.Falconer’s “Olivia” books featured a clever piglet with a great imagination named Olivia, a character he developed for his young niece in 1996. (Simon & Schuster)Falconer’s “Olivia” books featured a clever piglet with a great imagination named Olivia, a character he developed for his young niece in 1996. Family members and friends encouraged him to keep working on the character.He turned down publishers who wanted the text be written by an outside author. “I am afraid my vanity wouldn’t allow me to relegate myself to ‘illustrated by,'” he said. “I also thought my instincts about the story were, if unpolished, right, a...

Spain’s teenage crown princess to start three-year military training

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:09 GMT

Spain’s Crown Princess Leonor, the 17-year-old heir presumptive to the throne, will start three years of military training in preparation for her future role as head of state, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday.Crown Princess Leonor of Spain, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images) “In the Cabinet Meeting today, we have approved a royal decree whose aim is to give structure to the military training and career of (Princess Leonor),” Robles said.As the elder of King Felipe VI’s two daughters, Leonor is first in the line of succession and so will become the supreme commander of the armed forces when her father either steps down or dies.Her military training will last for three years as she spends a year each with Spain’s army, navy and air force at their respective academies, just as her father did years earlier, before becoming king.“It shows that we will have, when the time comes, a supreme commander who i...