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Ask Amy: New parents worry about alcoholic granddad

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

Dear Amy: My husband and I recently welcomed twins into our family.His parents were able to visit with us a few weeks ago.It was apparent that his father, who has struggled with various self-medicating strategies for chronic pain, has continued down the road of alcoholism.His drinking has escalated from a few beers in the evenings to hard-liquor drinks starting in the mid-morning.There have been a few incidents over the past year that have prompted his kids to ask if he drinks too much. These have resulted in excuses and his attempts to hide how much he drinks.We did not anticipate how anxious we would be to have him in our house interacting with our babies. Nothing bad has happened, but we feel the need to do something, especially since they are interested in spending more time with us. What is an appropriate way to proceed?We don’t want to hinder a relationship, but the drinking hasn’t stopped, and we’re worried about safety and setting a healthy example for our ...

Paris police shooting: Macron deplores 'inexcusable' killing of 17-year-old

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday (28 June) called the shooting dead of a 17-year-old by police during a traffic stop near Paris "inexcusable" in rare criticism of law-enforcement hours after the incident triggered unrest.A police officer is being investigated for voluntary homicide for shooting the youth, who was of North African origin. Prosecutors say he failed to comply with an order to stop his car early on Monday.The interior ministry called for calm after at least 31 were arrested in overnight clashes, mainly in the Paris suburb of Nanterre where the victim lived, with youths burning cars and shooting fireworks at police, who sprayed people with tear gas."We have an adolescent that was killed, it is unexplainable and inexcusable," Macron told reporters in Marseille."Nothing justifies the death of a young man," he said, before calling for the judiciary to do its work.Rights groups allege systemic racism inside law-enforcement agencies in France, a charge Macron has...

Prominent Bangladeshis in Europe defend their homeland after attack by MEPs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

A letter from a small number of MEPs has outraged the Bangladeshi community in Europe. The group of six MEPs wrote to the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, making a series of allegations against the country and its government. The organization Bangladesh Civil Society in Europe has now provided Borrell with a detailed response, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.More than 300 of Europe’s most eminent scientists, lawyers, businesspeople, cultural figures and other highly successful individuals in their chosen fields have signed a letter to High Representative Josep Borrell. They have in common that they are all proud sons and daughters of Bangladesh and are all outraged by a letter written by the Slovak MEP, Ivan Štefanec, two of his fellow members of the EPP, two from Renew and one Green.This cross-party group are seen by Bangladesh Civil Society in Europe as advocates for the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its leader Begum Kha...

Review: ‘Every Body’ shed light on what it means to be intersex

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

By Jocelyn Noveck | Associated PressPlumes of pink smoke. Explosions of blue. Expectant parents laughing, screaming, fainting, shooting arrows or even guns. The new documentary “Every Body” opens with footage of the often absurd practice of elaborate “gender reveals.”But by the end of this illuminating film, we’re forced to confront something much deeper and more insidious: society’s need to divide humans into a binary system, and the sometimes disastrous results for those born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that isn’t neatly “male” or “female.”The term “intersex” is one many are unfamiliar with (“whatever THAT is,” scoffs a certain former Fox News pundit in an early news clip). Hopefully, director Julie Cohen’s sensitive and graceful work — deftly weaving hope and some joy, too, into its sobering lesson — will help change that.Cohen, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated “RBG...

Point Reyes theft suspect accused of attacking store worker

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

A shoplifting suspect was arrested in Point Reyes Station after attacking a store employee with a stolen bottle of lime juice, according to the sheriff’s department.The incident happened Saturday at the Palace Market. When the employee confronted the alleged thief about the stolen merchandise, the suspect struck him in the head with the bottle, slashing his ear and neck.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Suspect in rape of minor arrested in San Bruno Crime and Public Safety | East Bay man charged with handcuffing, raping developmentally disabled woman for hours Crime and Public Safety | UCSF security guard charged with stealing $200,000 in Apple devices Crime and Public Safety | Man who founded Your Black Muslim Bakery spinoff convicted of $34.6 million fraud scheme Crime and Public Safety | Oakland woman allegedly posted bloody photo after daughter’s homicide and confessed to family After m...

Golden Gate Bridge district tolls, fares set to rise on July 1

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

Golden Gate Bridge tolls will climb to $9.75 for many drivers this weekend, while bus and ferry riders will also pay more for fares.The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District will hike its bus and ferry fares by 25 cents beginning Saturday as a part of a five-year fare plan. The fares will continue to increase by 25 cents per year for the next four years.Further toll increases on the bridge could be coming as the district contends with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and as federal emergency aid runs out.RELATED: $1.50 bridge toll hike? Bay Area drivers could be on the hook to help bail out BART and other transit“Our board is going through a strategic planning process as we speak and may begin the conversation about a new toll program after that process is completed,” said Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, a spokesperson for the district. “Any new toll proposal would also include a conversation with the public and outreach similar to past toll programs.”For ...

Single family residence in San Jose sells for $2.5 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

759 Finchwood Way – Google Street ViewA 2,465-square-foot house built in 1980 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 700 block of Finchwood Way in San Jose was sold on June 8, 2023, for $2,500,000, or $1,014 per square foot. The property features five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a garage, and two parking spaces. It sits on an 8,025-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:On Finchwood Way, San Jose, in September 2022, a 2,465-square-foot home was sold for $2,335,000, a price per square foot of $947. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 3,032-square-foot home on the 700 block of Finchwood Way in San Jose sold in August 2022, for $2,450,000, a price per square foot of $808. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In October 2022, a 2,465-square-foot home on Seawood Way in San Jose sold for $1,740,000, a price per square foot of $706. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.Related ArticlesHousing | ...

Man accused of 2 Bay Area mass shootings remains jailed after preliminary hearing in Santa Cruz

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — A man wanted in connection with an Oakland homicide and San Francisco mass shooting was held to answer Thursday on local felony weapons charges after he allegedly fled police early this month.Javier Campos, 22, of Richmond, trailed an increasing parade of mostly unmarked law enforcement vehicles June 14 as he reportedly drove a white Ford Escape through Watsonville and north on Highway 1, according to police allegations. During a brief preliminary hearing before Judge Gary Paden, California Highway Patrol officer George Vieira testified that he had to maneuver around numerous undercover vehicles with their lights and sirens on, in order to take over the highway pursuit.Vieira said his portion of the pursuit lasted for about six minutes, for an estimated seven miles at speeds reaching as high as 88 mph, until a spike strip laid across the highway forced Campos to roll to a stop near the Morrissey Boulevard exit. Campos, he said, then was taken into custody without resist...

Convicted Santa Cruz County bank robber leads own defense in cockfighting, illegal guns case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — A Watsonville man acting as his own defense counsel was ordered this week to stand trial in a cockfighting and felony weapons possession case.Brett Kenneth Miller, 58, was arrested after animal control officers searched his Ranport Road property Feb. 16 and discovered a pile of dead roosters under a tarp, a cache of weapons and ammunition and an alleged cockfighting ring. Among guns recovered from large storage containers on the property were three “black powder” firearms, considered by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to be antique guns. Among the five additional firearms was an “AK-style” machine gun with a 75-round capacity drum magazine, according to preliminary hearing testimony by Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office deputy Jeff Eisner.Miller, a convicted felon on several cases dating back to the mid-1980s, is prohibited from owning or having control of any firearms.Also charged in the case was 21-year-old Angie Michelle Gonzalez, of W...

Central Coast is California’s ‘hottest’ housing market

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:13 GMT

The Central Coast — which encompasses San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties — was the only major California region to see its median price increase last month vs. May 2022.The California Association of Realtors’ latest home sales and price report also found May was the first time in six months the Central Coast’s median price registered a positive year-over-year growth. But while median home prices and sales in some areas rose, Realtors warned the local housing market could start to tighten even further for buyers who can’t pay top dollar.San Luis Obispo Realtor Graham Updegrove said continued inventory problems are likely to be the “new normal” locally due high interest rates.“Everybody that has a 3% mortgage, depending on what happens going forward, have little incentive to move,” Updegrove said. “There’s a fear factor built in.”How did Central Coast’s relatively ‘hot’ housing markets compare in May? Well, according to the report …Look across California,...