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7 charts that explain California’s wild winter of 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

If there ever was a winter to check off squares on your Wild Weather Bingo card, 2023 was it.More than 30 atmospheric river storms. 97 mph wind gusts. Destructive tidal surges. Bomb cyclones. Flash floods. Levee breaks. The Fujiwhara Effect. Snow piled more than 240 inches deep at Mammoth Pass. One of the rainiest days on record in San Francisco.We were pelted by hail and easily belted out “bingo!” more than once.As California catches its breath from the epic deluges — warm, sunny weather is in the forecast next week after light rain on Friday — now seems like a good time to take stock of this strange winter. Just how “over” is the drought, and how unusual has this season of rain really been? Here are seven charts to help with the answers.1. The drought is done in most of the state“For most purposes, the drought is over,” said Jay Lund, a California water expert and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis.The maps above, creat...

Breaking down the Warriors’ tiebreakers in the West’s crowded middle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

As the Warriors enter the NBA’s final weekend, there is still a lot left to determine in terms of playoff positioning.The Dubs head to Sacramento on Friday as the No. 6 seed in the West but could finish anywhere from the No. 5 seed all the way down to No. 9, depending on how this weekend goes.The NBA’s defending champs will finish their regular season at Portland on Sunday afternoon after the road game at Sacramento, giving the Warriors a chance to try and find their rhythm away from Chase Center. The Dubs carry a 9-30 road record into this weekend, making them one of only four teams in the NBA to lose 30 or more road games this season. The other three are the league’s three-worst teams: Houston, Detroit and San Antonio.Could there be some strategizing about potential opponents heading into this weekend? Teams obviously want to avoid the play-in tournament, but the new-look Phoenix Suns, with Kevin Durant added next to Devin Booker, are locked into the No. 4 seed and may be a ...

Athletics head on difficult eastern swing vs. Rays, Orioles as a work in progress

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

The Athletics came out of a three-game series against one of the better teams in the American League with a sense of optimism.Yes, they lost two of three to the Cleveland Guardians. But the series included two clutch game-tying homers that forced extra innings sandwiched around a walk-off win in the ninth.They lost both of the 10-inning games, 12-11 in the series opener and 6-4 on Wednesday. In terms of wins and losses, it was the same result as the opening series against the Los Angeles Angels — one win, two losses.But considering the A’s went silent in the second two games against the Angels and lost by a combined 19-1 after a 2-1 victory on Opening Night, the series against Cleveland was a major upgrade in terms of quality of play.“There are some wins in this team,” first baseman Ryan Noda said. “They’re coming.”The A’s, with their roster turnover, are the land of opportunity for young players. Noda was a Rule 5 acquisition from the...

Editorial: Drug scheme calls for independent probe of why San Jose cops missed it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

How could the executive director of the San Jose police union conduct an alleged opioid-smuggling operation for years right under the noses of the city’s officers?Residents deserve to know not only whether any cops broke the law but also whether they ignored the actions of their union leader. That’s why San Jose city officials should commission an independent investigation to determine if police in any way enabled or simply ignored the dealing of deadly illegal drugs from their union office.The behavior of our police — whether it’s on duty or off, whether it’s in San Jose, Oakland, Antioch or any other city — is of great public concern given the enormity of the power and responsibility with which they are entrusted. It’s not just a matter of whether they followed the law, it’s also whether they ensured others did, too. If they suspected a crime was being committed, they had an obligation to report it.The union’s civilian executive director, Joanne Segovia, fa...

Tahoe historic resort deal helps tech tycoon Larry Ellison grab profit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

A renowned and historic resort perched on Lake Tahoe’s shoreline has been bought and is headed for a dramatic revamp in a deal that bestowed a tidy profit on the property’s seller, tech tycoon Lawrence Ellison.Cal Neva Lodge, which straddles the California-Nevada border on Tahoe’s north shore, has been bought by a real estate investment firm that plans to revive the old resort — whose owners have included Frank Sinatra — as a boutique luxury hotel.The deal’s value is in the neighborhood of $58 million, according to real estate records on file in Nevada’s Washoe County and public documents in California’s Placer County.This means Ellison appears to have turned a profit on the property, which the Oracle founder bought in 2018, according to a deed filed at that time. Ellison, acting through a venture capital affiliate, paid $38.6 million for the property.Over the five years that Ellison owned the property, little if any work was done on t...

Opinion: To give Easter its full due, first confront reality of death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

To give Easter its full due, we must first confront the reality of death.This recognition challenges us because we have successfully hidden dying.Because death remains culturally invisible — and because we so intuitively recognize life’s reality — it often feels as though death hardly exists at all.We may vaguely sense its reality hovering on the periphery of our perception but soon dismiss such thoughts as unproductive, fatalistic and frightening.As a cancer doctor, however, I cannot avoid confronting death.It stalks my patients. It hovers over our most important conversations — my patients sense its approach from afar.Sometimes, when I work in the hospital, I am called to “pronounce” a death — that is, I must certify a patient has expired.This is what I find:Within seconds, what was previously a person transforms into a body — nothing more. Death halts the breathing, stills the heart, extinguishes the spark and robs the face of laughter, anguish, joy ...

If you live in Contra Costa County, your water bill may be going down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

(KRON) -- Cheaper water bills are headed towards about half a million customers. The Contra Costa County Water District Board is dropping its 15 percent surcharge that went into effect last summer. It is also revoking some other rules that you may notice when you dine out.These changes come just one month after Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state will end many of its two-year-old emergency drought rules. Elon Musk says violent crime in SF is ‘horrific.’ Is it? Contra Casta County Water District says it's dropping customers 15 percent surcharge that started last July and is now allowing restaurants to serve water to people without request. Hotels can also now wash guests towels and linens every day without request rather than just in between different guests and construction sites will see some wiggle room when it comes to rinsing off dust and new irrigation.The district serves almost 500,000 customers, and while there are some changes, it is still requiring people to avoid e...

Elon Musk calls violent crime in SF 'horrific.' Is it?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The stabbing death of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Bob Lee had many in the tech world questioning San Francisco's approach toward violent crime. Among them, Twitter owner Elon Musk, venture capitalist Matt Ocko and MobileCoin founder Joshua Goldbard."Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders,” Elon Musk tweeted calling on San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to take action. Bob Lee begged for help after stabbing that led to his death: reports "Chesa Boudin, & the criminal-loving city council that enabled him & a lawless SF for years, have Bob’s literal blood on their hands. Take action," Ocko tweeted.“As a lifelong Bay Area resident, I have more questions than answers tonight. I don’t know how to fix what’s wrong, but I know something isn’t working ...

GM Cruise recalls 300 robotaxis after crash involving bus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit has recalled 300 robotaxis to update software after one of them rear-ended a municipal bus in San Francisco.Cruise says in government documents posted Friday that the robotaxi inaccurately predicted how the bus would move as it pulled out of a bus stop on March 23. The “articulated” two-section bus slowed as it was leaving the stop and was hit by the self-driving vehicle. Cruise characterized the crash as a fender-bender and said no one was hurt. The company says in documents sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it did the software update on March 25.“Cruise determined that the collision was caused by an issue related to prediction of the unique movements of articulated vehicles in rare circumstances,” the company said in documents. The company said no other crashes have happened due to the problem and that the same thing won’t happen again after the update. Cruise said it did the re...

Abortion pill plan clears Kansas Legislature; veto expected

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:34 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents pushed a bill through the Kansas Legislature early Friday to require providers to tell patients that a medication abortion can be “reversed” once it’s started — a measure that could face a state court challenge if its supporters can overcome the governor’s expected veto.Republican lawmakers pursued the bill even though experts dispute abortion opponents’ claims about medication abortions. Democrats argue the measure defies a decisive statewide vote in August affirming abortion rights. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a similar measure in 2019.Kansas has been an outlier on abortion among states with GOP-controlled legislatures because its legal and political climate won’t allow a ban on abortion, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2022 that states can outlaw abortion. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state...