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Skelton: Newsom’s wishful thinking California budget math doesn’t add up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent the Legislature a proposed state budget that is unrealistic and spews red ink.That’s essentially the straight-shooting opinion of the most trusted numbers-crunching outfit in Sacramento: the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.By law, the annual budget must be balanced. But “balanced” is a subjective characterization based on guesswork. Often it’s rooted in wishful thinking and fudged calculations.The revised $307-billion budget proposal that Newsom recently submitted — known colloquially as the May Revision — is either too fat with spending or too thin on taxes, Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek asserted.Newsom and the Legislature need to fix one — or both — before the June 15 deadline for passing a budget. That means cutting programs or raising taxes — or a little of both.“There is less than a one-in-six chance the state can afford the May Revision spending level across the five-year period,” the LAO cautioned. “This means that if the Legislature ad...

Two San Jose men arrested, Cowell’s Beach evacuated following firearm discharge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — Two San Jose men were arrested following a firearm discharge that resulted in the evacuation of Cowell Beach the evening of Memorial Day.No beachgoers were injured during the discharge, Santa Cruz police wrote in a news release.At 6:10 p.m. Monday, the Police Department received reports of two suspects in dark clothing firing a handgun near the rocks at the west end of the beach, per the release. A further investigation found that they were shooting at an empty wine bottle they consumed earlier.Upon arrival, officers began evacuating the beach. They found the two suspects, who had previously hidden behind the rocks, at the end of the beach. The suspects were identified as Roy Miller, 43, and Kiiren Pumphery Jenkins, 31, both of San Jose. The two were detained without further incident.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Santa Clara County sheriff says inmate attacked deputies with jail-made knife Crime and Public Safety | One dead, anothe...

Aptos resident Mitch Haniger heating up at the plate for SF Giants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

San Francisco Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger has started to not only make up for lost time, but a slow start on offense.“I’ve been working on some things and feeling good lately,” he said.The 32-year-old Aptos resident missed the first 22 games of the season with a Grade 1 oblique strain and made his regular-season debut for the Giants on April 24.Excitement to get 2018 All-Star on the field had been building since the free agent signed a three-year, $43.5 million deal with San Francisco in December. But the Giants were forced to wait to open their present.What the Giants were getting wasn’t a surprise, manager Giants Gabe Kapler said Tuesday.The Giants’ Mitch Haniger runs out a hit during the eighth inning of a game against the host Milwaukee Brewers Saturday. (Morry Gash – The Associated Press) “Our expectations dating back to the offseason were that he was going to be a good, quality major leaguer with the ability to be an All-Star caliber player at the plate,” Kapler said....

Flag burned at California school where some parents oppose Pride event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

An LGBTQ+ flag placed in a plant pot outside of a classroom at Saticoy Elementary School was lit on fire, the flag was destroyed, and it is being investigated as a possible hate crime, according to LAPD.The school has been the focus of a group of parents who are objecting to an upcoming Pride Day assembly on Friday, June 2, at which the school plans to teach children about LGBTQ+ identities during a book reading.The fire incident at the school is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, said Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton of the Valley Bureau. “The investigation is ongoing. It is a vandalism hate crime. The hate crime is still significant but it is a misdemeanor,” he said on May 27.The blackened planter and burned flag were discovered by school personnel on Monday, May 22, at 6:30 a.m., Hamilton said. He did not know when the planter and flag were burned and there are no suspects, he said.Conservative parents with children enrolled at the school last week posted their ob...

Los Angeles wins $5 million settlement from biggest U.S. ghost gun manufacturer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

The nation’s largest manufacturer of ghost gun kits must pay millions of dollars in penalties and must conduct customer background checks and include serial numbers on its products sold throughout California, under a settlement won by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.The settlement includes $5 million in payouts, according to City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office, which made the announcement Tuesday, May 30. That includes $4 million in civil penalties to be paid by the gun manufacturer, Polymer80, and $1 million in civil penalties leveled against the company’s two founders, Feldstein Soto’s office said.Under the settlement, Polymer80 can no longer sell ghost gun kits in California unless it includes serial numbers on its products and conducts background checks as required under federal law. Its dealers and distributors also are prohibited from selling unserialized gun kits in California, and the company can no longer provide customer support to individuals in the state.H...

Dodgers pitcher disagrees with team’s decision to reinstate gay ‘nun’ group for Pride Night award

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw says he disagrees with the Dodgers’ decision to welcome a satirical LGBTQ+ group called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the team’s annual Pride Night.Kershaw told The Los Angeles Times on Monday that the team’s decision to honor the group after it rescinded its original invitation prompted him to approach the Dodgers about expediting the announcement that the team was bringing back Christian Faith and Family Day later this season.“I think we were always going to do Christian Faith Day this year, but I think the timing of our announcement was sped up,” Kershaw said. “Picking a date and doing those different things was part of it as well. Yes, it was in response to the highlighting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (by the Dodgers).”Kershaw announced via Twitter last Friday that Christian Faith and Family Day will be held on July 30 when the Dodgers face the Cincinnati Reds. The last time the Dodgers held it was in 2019.Kershaw, who has been w...

Opinion: El Niño is back. What does that mean for overheated California?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

During the El Niño of 1983, Californians counted their blessings. The warm Pacific waters sloshing eastward certainly brought heavy spring rains and record snow. But the state largely escaped the flood risks being frantically managed farther east.That spring, engineers famously resorted to plywood to add just a few more inches to the 710-foot-high Glen Canyon Dam as they struggled to prevent the second-largest reservoir in the United States from being overtopped by El Niño-swollen waters. Back in California, a top flood official noted that it was “luck,” not preparation, that spared the state a similar fate.El Niño is the stuff of nightmares the world over: Widespread crop failures, famine, disease, floods, extreme heat, droughts, wildfires and even violent conflict have all been linked to the recurring climate anomaly. We have long known that climate variations alter our overall economic well-being. But by how much? Knowing the answer is essential to predicting the impact of global...

Más de la mitad de los profesores de EE.UU. cree que ir armados reduciría la seguridad de los alumnos, según un informe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

(CNN) — Más de la mitad de los profesores de Estados Unidos cree que armarse haría que los alumnos estuvieran menos seguros, mientras que uno de cada cinco afirma que estaría interesado en llevar un arma a la escuela, según un nuevo informe de RAND Corporation.La encuesta, que se llevó a cabo en octubre y noviembre de 2022, reveló que el 54% de los profesores cree que llevar armas de fuego haría que las escuelas fueran menos seguras, el 20% cree que los programas de portar armas para profesores harían que las escuelas fueran más seguras y el 26% cree que no haría que las escuelas fueran ni más ni menos seguras.El informe se centraba en la opinión de los profesores de enseñanza primaria y secundaria sobre la seguridad en sus centros, y las respuestas variaban en función de la raza y el origen étnico de los profesores y los alumnos.Según los resultados de la encuesta, los profesores blancos consideran que llevar armas de fuego haría más seguras las escuelas en mayor medida que s...

Sudan’s Military says it has suspended its participation in talks with paramilitary rival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo) This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo) CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military has suspended its participation in talks with a paramilitary force it’s been battling for weeks for control of the northeastern African country, a military spokesman said Wednesday. The development was a blow to the United States and Saudi Arabia which have mediating between the two sides whose conflict has plunged Sudan into chaos. Brig. Nabil Abdalla, a spokesman for the Sudanese armed forces, told The Associated Press that the move is a protest to the Rapid Support Forces’ “repeated violations” of the humanitarian cease-fire, including ...

German government orders closure of four out of five Russian consulates in Germany in tit-for-tat move

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German government orders closure of four out of five Russian consulates in Germany in tit-for-tat move.Source