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For ‘California Forever’ CEO, business is personal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

CEO Jan Sramek is making good on his company’s promise to Solano County that he would start a conversation. After years of silently buying up over 52,000 acres of land in eastern Solano County, he said he’s spent the last few weeks talking with anyone and everyone who’s interested in what California Forever’s plans are in the region.Jan Sramek, CEO of California Forever, is eager to have conversations with Solano County locals about a proposed real estate development between Rio Vista and Travis Air Force Base. Sramek’s name has certainly been in the headlines — both locally and nationally — after initial reporting from The New York Times revealed the investor group’s plans to transform the land into a dense urban environment with affordable housing powered by renewable energy.Amidst the flood of information that has come out about California Forever since, Sramek wants skeptical Solano County residents to know that for him, the project is personal. Sramek’s connection wit...

A’s: Bob Melvin’s return to Coliseum a reminder of better times in Oakland

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

OAKLAND — Bob Melvin’s departure to San Diego marked the beginning of the end of the Oakland A’s last hurrah. In his return to the Coliseum on Friday, the Padres skipper will see just how far things have fallen in Oakland merely two years since he left.The Padres and A’s will play a three-game series this weekend with the teams on different trajectories. The talent-rich Padres are in the home stretch of a massively disappointing season, set to miss the playoffs despite being pegged as National League pennant contenders. After leading the Padres to an NLCS appearance last season, Melvin could be on the hot seat once September ends.In Oakland, baseball has become secondary to the franchise’s effort to uproot the team and relocate to Las Vegas. It’s a far cry from the contending team Melvin left in 2021 — the one that had made the postseason three years in a row with budding homegrown stars. Some on that team remember gathering for a group hug ...

McDonald: 49ers are the apple of the football world’s eye. What issues could bite them against the Rams?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Ran into one of the Faithful the other day who has concerns about the 49ers — none of which had to do with the team itself.The fan — his name is Neil — felt the damn media was being far too nice.“Everyone is gushing over them and it makes me uncomfortable,” he said.I explained it was hard to come up with a lot of negative things to say about a 30-7 road beatdown in Pittsburgh. Considering the 49ers came in 2-4 under coach Kyle Shanahan in Week 1, taking apart a supposed AFC contender and finishing it off with no injuries was worthy of praise and optimism.Fortunately, Shanahan is around with a bucket of cold water for anyone who believes the 49ers have “arrived” with one-seventeenth of all precincts reporting. It’s a long NFL season and the Los Angeles Rams are up next Sunday at SoFi Stadium.To guard against overconfidence, former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh turned to an imaginary character named Freddy P. Soft. Freddy,...

Santa Cruz County substitute teacher let go following racist rant

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

WATSONVILLE — As of Sept. 8, a Pajaro Valley Unified School District substitute teacher is no longer employed with the district following a racist, expletive-filled video that was shared on social media.In an email, interim Superintendent Murry Schekman did not identify the teacher but said she worked at Watsonville High School over the summer and more recently was employed at Lakeview Middle School, where Sept. 8 was her last day.A video that was posted to TikTok and Facebook Saturday after an apparent fender bender on Highway 1 shows the teacher becoming irate at the other driver, who is Latino and reportedly a Pajaro Valley Unified student, as he filmed her. The teacher spouted numerous profanities and told him that, despite having insurance, she would not disclose it because “I don’t trust you. You’re probably not even a citizen.”On Monday, interim Watsonville High Principal Joe Gregorio sent a letter to families indicating that the matter was being looked into.“Thank you to the...

Real estate firms give free San Jose space to kids-oriented nonprofit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

SAN JOSE — Two Bay Area real estate firms have teamed up to give free office space in San Jose to a nonprofit that provides home healthcare for children with severe medical conditions.Republic Urban Properties and Essex Property Trust have given away an office space to Coastal Kids Home Care, a nonprofit that specializes in pediatric health care services.Getting free office space about two blocks off West San Carlos Street near downtown San Jose was a dream come true for Coastal Kids and its nurses and pediatrics professionals, according to Margy Mayfield, co-founder of Coastal Kids.Coastal Kids Home Care office at 333 Sunol Street in San Jose. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)“It’s a beautiful oasis for my staff to have a place to drop in, sit, and take phone calls,” Mayfield said. “They are loving this location.”The free office is on the ground floor of Silver, a 268-unit apartment complex at 333 Sunol Street in San Jose that is a joint v...

Skelton: Take Newsom at his word. He may never run for president

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Most of us have learned not to swallow everything a politician says. They play too many word games. Republicans and Democrats alike.That’s especially true with politicians who duck and slide when asked whether they aspire to higher office. They try to leave the option open so they’ll be “mentioned” — without making themselves targets.That said, it’s past time for us — especially in the news media — to accept what Gov. Gavin Newsom says about his presidential aspiration. Stop fantasizing about a potential Newsom race for the White House.California’s Democratic governor has repeatedly insisted: He is not running for president in 2024. The telegenic 55-year-old won’t run even if aging President Biden, 80, does not. But Biden is running, so that scenario is moot.If Biden did drop out unexpectedly, Newsom would defer to his old San Francisco ally, Vice President Kamala Harris, as the next Democratic standard-bearer. He’d never run against her.What about 2028? Conventional wisdom is that ...

Walters: California keeps title as having nation’s highest poverty rate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Congratulations California, you’ve done it again — retained your title of having the highest level of poverty of any state.The Census Bureau released new economic data Tuesday, including both official poverty rates for 2022 and what are called “supplemental” rates.The former, based on formula several decades old, involves only a few basic factors and applies them to all states, regardless of their economic and sociological differences.Economists consider the official rates to be misleading because of their simplistic factors, but they remain in the law because they are the basis for many federal and state programs.The nationwide official poverty rate released on Tuesday is 11.5% and California’s is virtually identical at 11.4%. Other states range from as high as 18.3% in New Mexico to as low as 7.1% in neighboring Utah — an anomaly that itself should warrant deeper investigation.More than a decade ago, those who study poverty persuaded the Census Bureau to adopt a more realistic met...

Calfiornia school board rejects resolution to affirm LGBTQ students’ rights

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

No one on Temecula’s school board disputed the right of students to learn in a setting free of harassment and discrimination.But a resolution affirming that right for LGBTQ students in the Temecula Valley Unified School District fell short by a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, Sept. 12, with the board’s conservative majority questioning its necessity, focus and wording.RELATED: After Pride flag ban, could a school board recall in Sunol succeed?“We’re not here to be socially justice warrior-ed all the time,” said board member Jen Wiersma, who joined fellow conservatives Joseph Komrosky and Danny Gonzalez in voting no.“We have to fight for equality in the classroom and I think we do that differently,” she added. “It’s why we’re having these honest conversations and we don’t always speak to it just right. But we’re trying because we want everyone to know that they’re important and they’re valued.”Temecula school board member Steven Schwartz, seen Tuesday, July 18, 2023, sponsored a resolution, ...

60,000 Kaiser workers ready to strike as labor negotiations continue

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Nearly 60,000 Kaiser Permanente workers say they’re ready to launch a strike if they can’t reach a labor agreement with the healthcare giant by Sept. 30 when their contract expires.The California employees, represented by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, claim they’re understaffed, underpaid and facing a host of other challenges while negotiations drag on.The union announced Thursday, Sept. 14 that 98% of its workers voted to authorize a walkout. Workers in Oregon, Washington and Colorado also voted to authorize a strike, and additional votes from Kaiser employees in San Diego, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia will be tallied by Wednesday, Sept. 20.Also see: Kaiser to pay $49 million for dumping syringes, bodily fluids into normal dumpstersThe California employees, along with members of other Kaiser unions, fall under the umbrella of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which includes 85,000 workers throughout the U.S.If a strike occurs, it will affe...

Single family residence sells for $2 million in Fremont

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

35630 Morley Place – Google Street ViewA 2,519-square-foot house built in 1968 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 35600 block of Morley Place in Fremont was sold on July 21, 2023, for $1,950,000, or $774 per square foot. This single-story house provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and two baths. Additionally, the house provides a two-car garage, granting ample space for parking and storage purposes.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:A 1,518-square-foot home on the 35500 block of Fisher Place in Fremont sold in August 2022, for $1,488,000, a price per square foot of $980. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 1,579-square-foot home on Dee Place in Fremont sold for $1,450,000, a price per square foot of $918. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Dering Place, Fremont, in August 2022, a 1,923-square-foot home was sold for $1,530,000, a price per square foot of $796. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bath...