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Map: Most popular spots for nature photography in the Bay Area

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

When tourists come to the San Francisco Bay Area, where do they flock for nature photography opportunities? And where do locals like to record encounters with river otters, lovely periwinkles and the weird fungus called “hairy curtain crust”?The answers are revealed in this intriguing data visualization of photos uploaded to iNaturalist, a digital tool that allows people to document flora and fauna and share it with others and the scientific community. It’s a joint effort from the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society.The viz covers the entire world, but here in the Bay, you’ll see tourist hot spots around the Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf, UC Berkeley, Muir Woods and Point Reyes National Seashore. Local shutterbugs, meanwhile, seem to commune with nature on the mountain trails of Marin, in the East Bay’s regional parks, at Walnut Creek’s Heather Farm Park, along the South Bay shoreline and in South San Francisco.The map is th...

Palo Alto: Humanitarian chef José Andrés to open his first Northern California restaurant

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

José Andrés, acclaimed chef and founder of the humanitarian World Central Kitchen, will open a restaurant in Palo Alto — his culinary group’s first such venture in Northern California.The eatery will open later this year or in early 2024 at Stanford Shopping Center, according to a joint announcement by the José Andrés Group and the Simon Property Group, the center’s owner, as first reported by the San Francisco Business Times. Two new restaurants are also planned for Las Vegas.No details were released regarding the type of restaurant or the location at the center. JAG’s 19 restaurant concepts include upscale restaurants, casual spots and bars. At New York’s Hudson Yards, several eateries and kiosks are clustered at Andrés’ Mercado Little Spain. Six restaurants operate in Washington, D.C., where JAG is headquartered. And the group has five concepts in the Los Angeles area, including Agua Viva, a rooftop restaurant.However, Andrés is no stranger to ...

Fake cop arrested after attempting traffic stop of real cop

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

A Macomb Township man posing as a Detroit cop is facing a misdemeanor charge after attempting to pull over a car in Oakland County and  then finding out the driver was an off-duty Waterford Township police officer, officials said.Oops.Christian Katan Mansoor booking photo Christian Katan Mansoor, 18, was arraigned Wednesday in 52-3 District Court, charged with impersonating a public officer. A personal bond was set at $5,000, meaning no cash or surety had to be posted for him to be released from custody.The incident unfolded shortly after 11 p.m. on Monday near M-59 and Crooks Road in Rochester Hills, where Oakland County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched after the Waterford Township cop reported someone in a silver BMW with red and blue lights drove up behind her and tried to pull her over, the sheriff’s office said.After the alleged phony cop — later identified as Mansoor — passed the Waterford officer near Dequindre and Hamlin roads, she reportedly followed him to confront ...

“Logically impossible” charge against Colorado cop who locked woman on train tracks should be dropped, attorneys say

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

A Fort Lupton police officer who locked a handcuffed woman inside a police vehicle before it was struck by a train is claiming the sole felony charge she faces — attempted reckless manslaughter — isn’t a real crime and should be dropped.Officer Jordan Steinke, 29, and then-Platteville police Sgt. Pablo Vazquez both were criminally charged after the Sept. 16 incident on railroad tracks near U.S. 85 and Weld County Road 38. The officers stopped 21-year-old Yareni Rios-Gonzalez after a reported road-rage incident, took her into custody and locked her in a police SUV parked on train tracks.The officers then failed to move the SUV as a train barreled down the tracks, its horn blaring, and crashed into the vehicle, seriously injuring Rios-Gonzalez, who survived and is suing the Platteville Police Department. Steinke was placed on leave after the incident; Vazquez was fired.Attorneys for Steinke argued in a 16-page motion to dismiss filed Friday that the crime of attempted reckless manslau...

Who can stop this commercial truck from using disabled person parking?: Roadshow

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

Q: Too often I see commercial vehicles parked in a handicap parking spot.I recently needed to use a spot, but someone was doing some work for a bank and since that spot was very “convenient,” they parked their commercial truck right in front. I yelled at one of the workers that it was illegal to park there. He said it was OK because the bank said it was. I told him that no matter what anyone said, it was illegal to park there.There wasn’t another handicap space within 75 feet. All parking spaces nearby were full.Who can I call to report something like this so they can pay that huge fine?Phil, DanvilleA: Call city police. If they do not arrive while the spot is still blocked, they may check the area more in the future. A business should not tell people it’s OK to park there without a disabled person placard or license plate.Q: I have another question. My auto has a handicap license plate and I now do not receive a blue placard. When I go on vacation and rent a car, ...

Hackers leak 2nd batch of data in Oakland ransomware attack

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- Oakland city officials say more data from a recent ransomware attack have been leaked on the dark web. This is the second time the party claims responsibility."Play" has released data from the attack that was first reported in early February. KRON4 spoke with a tech expert about what this means for people whose personal information may now be out in public. Oakland Police Officers Association says city is ‘stonewalling’ it regarding cyber breach information Oakland's ransomware attack is going beyond city employees. City officials say hackers have released information of some city residents -- along with those city employees -- on the dark web.The city of Oakland said in a statement:"We recently became aware that the same unauthorized third party claiming responsibility for the ransomware incident has posted additional data allegedly taken from our systems during the incident in February to a website not searchable via the traditional internet."The group ...

Doctors say former Italian Premier Silvio Berlsconi is being treated for a lung infection and has long had leukemia

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

ROME (AP) — Doctors say former Italian Premier Silvio Berlsconi is being treated for a lung infection and has long had leukemia.Source

Putin, Lukashenko hold talks on defense, economic ties

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart on Thursday discussed expanding the economic cooperation and bolstering the defense ties between their nations, which include a plan to deploy Russia’ nuclear weapons to Belarus amid the fighting in neighboring Ukraine.The Kremlin talks involved senior officials from both countries and followed Putin’s one-on-one meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday. Putin said there would be “close work” on boosting cooperation under a union agreement that envisions close political, economic and military ties between Belarus and Russia. Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading neighboring Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.Last month, Putin declared that Moscow planned to put some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, an announcement that marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage th...

9 suspects killed in shootout with South African police

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nine suspected armed robbers were killed in an early-morning shootout with police Thursday in South Africa, authorities said.Three other suspects were wounded, said Police Minister Bheki Cele, who visited the scene in the Sebokeng township south of Johannesburg. Two of the injured suspects were in critical condition in the hospital, Cele said.The suspects were believed to be responsible for armed heists on vans carrying money in the area and were about to launch another robbery, police said.Six firearms and explosives were recovered at the scene of the shootout and Cele said there were three cars outside the house “ready to roll” when police arrived at 4.30 a.m.The suspects shot at police and officers “responded,” Cele said.Source

Sweden: State actor likeliest culprit for pipeline sabotage

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:00:45 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Swedish prosecutors said Thursday a state actor was the most likely culprit for the explosions that incapacitated the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year, an act deemed as sabotage. However, they cautioned that the identity of the perpetrator was still unclear and hinted that it was likely to remain so. Public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist from the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement that his office’s investigation is focused on examining if Swedish interests or Swedish security were threatened by the act. The Swedish authorities are also keen to find out whether the explosions were prepared on their territory. “Our hope is to be able to confirm who has committed this crime” but “it should be noted that it likely will be difficult given the circumstances,” Ljungqvist said.Last month, a German media investigation quoted unnamed officials as saying that five men and a woman used a yacht hired by a Ukrainian-owned company in Poland to carry ...