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Orca sightings have surged. What experts believe is keeping the whales in SoCal 

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) — There has seemingly been dozens of orca sightings in the waters off the Southern California coast over the past few weeks. Whale watching groups from San Diego to Los Angeles — and in at least one instance as far north as Oxnard — started spotting the creatures in early December, as they swim and hunt dolphins around their boats.It has thrilled onlookers and whale watching operators alike who are witnessing a rare surge in activity for a species that had not been spotted in Southern California waters with this frequency for about two years.So, why have they suddenly started spending so much time off the coast of Southern California? Whale experts say it is hard to know exactly. ‘Killer whale madness’ continues off Southern California coast There are at least three different types of killer whales that are known to swim through California's waters: transient, offshore and resident whales. Transients and residents tend to keep close to the coast, but only the tra...

Opinion: PUC’s narrow approach endangers universal broadband success

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

The California Public Utilities Commission is finalizing a proposal to secure $1.86 billion in federal funds allocated to California through a program aiming to close the digital divide and bring reliable high-speed broadband to every unserved and underserved location in the nation.However, the CPUC’s current plan will not provide “internet for all” in California. At best, the plan will only result in internet for some.With the available state and federal funds described as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity, achieving this goal is vital. In California alone, at least 461,481 locations — mostly families — lack adequate internet. That’s approximately 1.5 million Californians relying on our policymakers to get this right.To meet or exceed the FCC’s definition of reliable broadband service, both Congress and the state Legislature have underscored a “standards-based, technology-agnostic” delivery approach, whether it’s done via fiber, fixed wireless or satellite technology. ...

Three-bedroom home sells in Palo Alto for $2.8 million

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

786 Allen Court – Google Street ViewA 1,056-square-foot house built in 1953 has changed hands. The property located in the 700 block of Allen Court in Palo Alto was sold on Dec. 8, 2023, for $2,750,000, or $2,604 per square foot. This single-story house has three bedrooms and two baths. Inside, there is a fireplace. Additionally, the home includes a two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:On Stern Avenue, Palo Alto, in April 2023, a 1,170-square-foot home was sold for $5,928,000, a price per square foot of $5,067. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,353-square-foot home on the 3000 block of Price Court in Palo Alto sold in January 2023, for $3,170,000, a price per square foot of $1,347. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 1,993-square-foot home on Torreya Court in Palo Alto sold for $3,888,000, a price per square foot of $1,951. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathro...

‘It got pretty weird’: The 5 most bizarre moments in tech in 2023

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

By Riley Gutiérrez McDermid | CNNSan Francisco  — It was a long year for Silicon Valley, but it may have felt even longer to outsiders, who watched the tech world essentially implode and regroup over the course of 2023 in ways both typical (layoffs, restructurings) and deeply unhinged (everything below).Related ArticlesTechnology | Most unfortunate airplane incidents of 2023 Technology | All the things Taylor Swift made us care about this year Technology | Bay Area artists released some terrific albums in 2023 — here are 10 Technology | Top theme park moments of 2023 Technology | Here are 7 of the well-known companies that went bankrupt in 2023 From the failure of its biggest bank to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s bizarre Vogue spread, regular people this year seemed to get a glimpse into the tech elite that was weirder and more personal than ever.One note: There’s no Elon Musk on our list, as the tec...

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am gets serious: No Hollywood celebrities or exhibition events

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

PEBBLE BEACH — The frivolity is gone. No more Bill Murray or Ray Romano. No more wisecracks. No more celebrity exhibitions. No more clever gallery-to-player repartee, the fabric of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for nearly 90 years since it was the Crosby Clambake.Several months after the announcement that the AT&T would become a 2024 PGA Tour Signature Event featuring only about half its usual field, no cut, only two golf courses and a $20 million purse, the tournament has detailed further drastic changes.Bing Crosby and Byron Nelson at Pebble Beach during the 1968 Crosby Pro-Am. (Monterey Herald Archives) The previous pro-am division has also been dispatched as part of the new format. Eighty pros will play three rounds at Pebble Beach Golf Links and one round at Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Feb. 1-4. The 54-hole cut has been eliminated. A field of 80 amateurs, including only a handful of pro athletes from other sports, will participate for 36 holes. Also eliminated were t...

Dungeness crab action to pick up Jan. 5

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced commercial Dungeness crab restrictions will be lifted on Jan. 5 in DFW Zones 1 and 2. Recreational anglers in those zones may use traditional crab traps as well. Zones 3 and 4, which stretch from Point Arena in the north to Point Lopez below Big Sur, are still on lockdown.Commercial crabbing for Dungeness remains closed in our area and recreational crabbers cannot use crab pots. Utilizing hoop nets, crab snares or collecting crab by hand remains legal for recreational anglers in our area. This situation will continue at least until Jan. 11, when the next scheduled CDFW risk assessment is expected. The temporary crab trap restrictions are in place due to “elevated numbers of humpback whales resulting in increased entanglement risk,” according to the DFW.Using hoop nets avoids the long-soak aspect of traditional crab traps. While both methods employ a floating buoy with line stretching to the ocean floor, the hoops must be check...

Online retailer Zulily is going into liquidation, shutting down

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

The U.S. online retailer Zulily is closing down, surprising customers and laying off hundreds of workers after efforts to salvage the business failed.The Seattle-based company said in a notice on its website that it had tried to fill all pending orders and expected to manage that within the coming two weeks. Zulily said it was trying to ensure that orders that could not be filled were cancelled and refunded and offered a contact for customers who did not get their orders or refunds.“This decision was not easy nor was it entered into lightly. However, given the challenging business environment in which Zulily operated, and the corresponding financial instability, Zulily decided to take immediate and swift action,” said the notice, signed by Ryan C. Baker, vice president at management consultant Douglas Wilson Companies, which is handling the receivership for the company.Founded in 2010 by Darrell Cavens and Mark Vadon, Zulily made a splash with products catering to families with youn...

Defense in California Costco shooting case says shooter was protecting his toddler

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

Defense attorney Michael Schwartz projected onto the courtroom screen a photo of Salvador Alejandro Sanchez carrying his 20-month-old son, Noah, in the Costco in Corona on June 14, 2019. Moments later, intellectually disabled 32-year-old Kenneth French would punch Sanchez to the floor, prompting the off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer to fatally shoot French and wound his parents.“This is what this case is really about,” Schwartz told jurors during the second day of closing arguments of Sanchez’s trial at Larson Justice Center in Indio on Wednesday, Dec. 27. “The most vulnerable person there. A parent defending his child.”The jurors began deliberations Wednesday in the monthlong trial. They will decide whether Sanchez, 33, is guilty of voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a firearm. He faces up to 33 years in prison if convicted on all counts, said the prosecutor, state Deputy Attorney General Mike Murphy.Schwartz described the confrontation as a “very fa...

Woman fatally attacked by man with sledgehammer on California college campus

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

A woman in her 60s was fatally attacked with a sledgehammer at El Camino College in Torrance on Christmas Eve, and a suspect is in custody, authorities said.The attack occurred around 7:08 a.m. on the 16000 block of Crenshaw Boulevard while the victim was collecting recyclables on campus. The victim, whose identity has not been released, was attacked by a man, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a Wednesday statement.LASD detectives are assisting the El Camino College Police Department in the investigation.The suspect, 40-year-old suspect Jeffery Davis, was later arrested near the campus.The victim was hospitalized and later died from her injuries on Dec. 25.At the time of his initial arrest on Dec. 24, Davis was booked at the Los Angeles County South LA detention facility on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder, El Camino College Police Sgt. Francisco Esqueda said.Details on any updated charges filed against the suspect or the circumstances...

49ers would love to see Ravens in Super Bowl, but getting there will be the hard part

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:39:16 GMT

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers put the Ravens game to rest Wednesday morning, doing their usual film review with coach Kyle Shanahan in painstaking detail. If all goes according to plan, the one-sided loss won’t come anywhere near defining their season.Then they set about putting in motion a game plan against the Washington Commanders, who at 4-11 and with coach Ron Rivera having one foot out the door, could define another lost season by taking down the top seed in the NFC.The Los Angeles Rams, the hottest team in the conference, await in the regular season finale at Levi’s Stadium, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.“We know we need to win these next two games to get where we’re trying to go,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “So ultimately it ends up being this game is everything. It doesn’t matter about winning two games if you don’t win the first one.”A 33-19 loss to Baltimore on Christmas night left a razor thin margin fo...