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From the Roadshow archives: The Prius Party of 2011, featuring Steve Wozniak and plenty of yellow stickers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

Editor’s note: Mr. Roadshow wanted to share some of his favorite columns and stories from more than 30 years of informing, entertaining and getting things changed for Bay Area (and beyond) drivers. He’ll be back on the road with new material soon. In the meantime, please keep sending Mr. Roadshow your comments or questions to [email protected] story originally was published on June 26, 2011There was no crying at Roadshow’s Prius Party on Sunday, where a couple of hundred people gathered in the Mercury News parking lot. From throughout the South Bay to as far away as Folsom, they came to peel off their yellow carpool stickers to mark the end of one of the freeway’s most divisive perks:This Friday, we’re getting booted for good out of California’s carpool lanes.Actually, a tear or two was shed. Mine was the first.“You ready?” said a gleeful Dennis Cole of Gilroy, who three years ago said he desperately wanted to remove the sticker...

California tops FEMA’s new list of areas vulnerable to weather disasters. What does it mean for the Bay Area?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

Despite the name, “Community Disaster Resilience Zones” are not local havens capable of withstanding storms and other extreme weather. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency, better known as FEMA, is spending billions in hopes that they can be.The agency has identified nearly 500 such “zones,” swaths of land generally covering several miles that are ill-prepared to tolerate flooding, earthquakes, heat waves, wildfires, landslides and other natural hazards. As extreme weather is expected to continue shattering expectations and local records — from downpours drenching Death Valley to hurricanes pummeling California’s coastline — these areas will be prioritized for additional funding for protective improvements.While the new zones aren’t promised any specific funding, projects in selected census tracts will be prioritized for annual resilience grant programs and an increased federal cost share from FEMA other federal agencies — tapping budgets t...

Despite environmental concerns, Port of Oakland to allow sand and gravel plant

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

OAKLAND — With the promise of millions of dollars in lease revenue, officials at the city’s port will allow the construction of a sand and gravel plant that environmentalists and even the state attorney general have warned would worsen air pollution in West Oakland.Eagle Rock Aggregates, a Vancouver, Canada-based company, will store large volumes of the building materials in the open air at an 18-acre marine bulk terminal at the harbor.The 12-year lease — approved last week by the port’s board of commissioners — is expected to generate between $1 million and $6 million annually for the city’s port, where officials have pushed to expand economic activity and often touted local job creation.Residents and environmental advocates in the nearby West Oakland neighborhoods have said for years that the area experiences disproportionately worse air pollution, and studies have shown twice the rate of asthma hospitalizations and emergency room visits as othe...

49ers Week 3 primer: What to know for home opener against Giants

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES – Opening with back-to-back road wins has the 49ers right where they want to be: Alone atop the NFC West at 2-0.Thursday night, they’ll be at Levi’s Stadium, to not only host the New York Giants but to try extending a 12-game regular-season win streak dating to their last SoFi Stadium visit last October.Beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-7 and then the Los Angeles Rams 30-23 does not mean the 49ers are flawless, even if their record is.“We know Kyle is going to come down hard on us,” wide receiver Deebo Samuel said of coach Kyle Shanahan’s endless pursuit of perfection.Those lessons will be taught more in the meeting rooms than on the practice field. Players had Monday off, and Tuesday marks their only official practice, which will be a lighter session to help recovery, especially for a 49ers defense that encountered 78 plays (including 55 passes by Matthew Stafford).THIS WEEK’S STORYLINES1. Nick Bosa’s bodyBosa played 63 of 80 snaps, his most since 2019, so itR...

Barabak: What voters in McCarthy’s district think about impeachment effort

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

VISALIA —  Julian Perea doesn’t hate Joe Biden. If anything, he feels bad for him, given his age and what Perea regards as the president’s severe mental and physical impairment.“The guy is out of it,” Perea said.Even so, the retired Fresno police officer is glad the House of Representatives — led by his congressman, Speaker Kevin McCarthy — has taken the first step toward impeaching the president.“We as conservatives need to fight back,” said Perea, who served more than three decades in the Army and sprinkled his views with several references to war and warfare. “You have to keep the enemy off balance at all times.”When McCarthy announced last week the start of a formal inquiry into Biden’s impeachment, the Bakersfield Republican was seeking to bolster his wobbly speakership and avoid a government shutdown by mollifying the restive torch-and-pitchfork wing of the House GOP.It hasn’t worked, as McCarthy continues to teeter and Republicans lurch toward a lights-out deadline at the end...

San Jose retail site may become big housing and ADU real estate project

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

SAN JOSE — A San Jose retail center with some high-profile merchants could be replaced by a big housing development, according to plans on file with city officials.The shopping center that’s being eyed as a redevelopment site is located at the corner of Blossom Hill Road and Santa Teresa Boulevard in San Jose.A group that’s managed by real estate executives Mike LaBarbera and Robert Facchino II owns the property at 865 Blossom Hill Road in San Jose that could be developed, according to Santa Clara County public documents.Site of a housing development that’s proposed for a 6.3-acre parcel at 865 Blossom Hill Road in south San Jose, shown within the outline. Boundaries are approximate. (Google Maps)The potential development site is located across the street from Westfield Oakridge near the eastern border of the big regional shopping mall in San Jose.An estimated 172 residential units could be developed on the property, city planning documents show.The 172 ...

Joby chooses home of the Wright Brothers over Monterey County as site for flying taxi production facility

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

MARINA – Beating out the city of Marina among others, Dayton, Ohio, was announced on Monday as Joby Aviation’s choice of where it plans to build its aircraft production facility, capable of delivering up to 500 aircraft a year and supporting up to 2,000 jobs.Joby Aviation has been doing business in Marina for the past five years building and testing its electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles for commercial passenger service, and once considered Marina as one of five possible sites to build a 580,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.Joby’s selection of Ohio’s Dayton International Airport as the site for its first scaled aircraft production facility followed an extensive competitive site selection process and is contingent upon standard due diligence, state and local approvals of incentives, permitting and other legal and regulatory matters as customarily accompany such investment projects, said the company in a press release.“We’re building the future of aviation right whe...

Opinion: The world Is a mess. Embracing ethics might be our only hope

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

Tragically, our world is a complete and utter mess. Serious disasters and threats are everywhere. How do we even begin to list them all?They include rapidly accelerating climate change, divisive politics and extreme polarization, racism and discrimination, expanding economic inequality, out of control gun violence, and a mental health tsunami of epic proportions where anxiety, depression, suicidality and substance abuse are everywhere.We live in very difficult and frightening times for sure. While the world has always experienced serious problems and threats, our current ones seem apocalyptic with human extinction and complete chaos a realistic possibility. Remarkably, most of our problems are preventable and are actually self-inflicted. The root cause is human behavior and in particular poor ethical decision-making. Too often, the darker angels of our nature overwhelm the better angels of our nature. Our selfishness, lack of compassion, inability to feel or care about the pain of o...

Marin deputies arrest boy carrying loaded gun

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a teenage shoplifting suspect who was carrying a loaded gun in Marin City.The incident happened at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, when the sheriff’s department received a call about an alleged theft from a business. Deputies detained two teens who matched the description of the suspected thieves.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man to stand trial in Santa Cruz wharf gang shooting Crime and Public Safety | Allowing speed cameras in six California cities, including San Jose and Oakland, is up to Newsom Crime and Public Safety | Fairfield man gets time served for San Pablo fatal crash Crime and Public Safety | Driver killed in multi-vehicle hit-and-run collision in Hayward Crime and Public Safety | Daly City man sentenced to 12 years in prison after assaulting, robbing Lyft driver One of the boys tried to reach into a satchel and fought with deputies when they tried to stop h...

Why it’s important to keep your pet’s teeth healthy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:20:42 GMT

Can you guess the most common medical procedure after spay/neuter performed by the veterinarians at Marin Humane? Many people are surprised to learn it’s dental procedures.The American Veterinary Dental Society reports that 80% of dogs and 70% of cats show signs of dental disease by age 3. The origin of dental disease is actually the same in dogs and cats as it is in people. The disease shows its first signs when bacteria from food accumulate in the mouth. Left untreated, bacteria cause plaque formations on teeth and around the gums. Mixing with saliva, these plaque formations harden and become tartar.Neglecting plaque and tartar buildup can lead to periodontitis, an irreversible condition involving the inflammation and infection of the gums. Inflamed gums separate from the teeth, allowing bacteria to enter and attack the tooth at the root. At this point, bacteria can also enter the bloodstream and travel to major organs like the heart, liver and kidneys, causing serious complicatio...