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Holidays 2023: Classical concerts salute the season in myriad ways

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

Music that soothes, inspires, lifts you up and warms your heart: the classical music holiday calendar has it all.Here are some of the season’s can’t-miss events.Celebrate at SF Symphony: The orchestra is offering a mix of classic scores, movies with live accompaniment, special guests and more. In all, the December calendar boasts four weeks of highlights, ranging from traditional works such as Handel’s “Messiah” and “Peter and the Wolf,” to a “Cirque Nutcracker,” “A Merry-Achi Christmas,” “The Colors of Christmas,” and “Charlie Brown — Live.”Details: Nov. 30-Dec. 23, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $25-$200; www.sfsymphony.org.“Sustenance”: Now in its 44th season, Kitka — the acclaimed all-women chorus, specializing in music of Eastern Europe and Eurasia — returns with its annual “Wintersongs” event, this year with stops in Davis, Belvedere, Santa Cruz, Menlo Park, San Francisco and three concerts in Oakland, including a special Community Sing on Dec. 9.Detail...

Elephant Floors: Your One-Stop Flooring Destination

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

Sponsored ContentSometimes, adulting means tackling home renovations—like that flooring you’ve been meaning to update since forever. The options can feel endless and let’s be honest, it’s just another thing to juggle in our busy lives. Enter Elephant Floors, the Sunnyvale gem that’s changing what it means to pick out and install new flooring.Forget the image you have of those daunting aisles at the hardware store that are filled with flooring samples that seem to stretch to infinity. Elephant Floors takes you from “Uh, what should I do?” to “Wow, this looks incredible!” with as little friction as possible.Imagine this: You’re sipping on your morning coffee, scrolling through Elephant Floors’ user-friendly website. You’re on the hunt for something that fits with your living room’s mid-century-modern aesthetic or maybe something that screams ‘executive’ for your new office. Elephant Floors has your back. They’ll zip over a curated range ...

49ers kicker Jake Moody awaits his hero’s moment like Eagles’ Elliott

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

SANTA CLARA — When Philadelphia kicker Jake Elliott lined up a 59-yard field goal attempt with 25 seconds remaining and the Eagles trailing the Buffalo Bills 31-28, Jake Moody was right there with him.It was cold and rainy in Philadelphia Sunday as it had been all day. If Elliott missed the kick, the 49ers would be within one game of the top seed with the Eagles at 9-2 and the 49ers at 8-3. Make it, and the game went to overtime.Elliott’s kick snuck inside the right upright — one of the greatest clutch kicks you’ll ever see — and the Eagles tied the game and went on to win 37-34 in overtime. The 49ers remained two games back of Philadelphia in the race for the top seed in the playoffs and home-field advantage through the playoffs.“It’s a little brotherhood, I guess. There’s only 32 of us,” Moody said Monday as the 49ers began gearing up to visit Philadelphia for a titanic Week 13 matchup. “I’m never rooting for a guy ...

A showdown over deep sea mining is taking place in the Pacific Ocean

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

Todd Woody | Bloomberg News (TNS)Activists from Greenpeace International have boarded a ship that is conducting deep sea mining research in the Pacific Ocean, vowing to occupy the vessel until it abandons the expedition.It’s the latest collision between a nascent industry intent on mining the seabed for minerals potentially worth trillions of dollars, and environmentalists and scientists who warn that doing so would irreparably harm biodiverse deep sea ecosystems.The confrontation unfolding on the high seas comes as the expedition’s backer, The Metals Company (TMC), prepares to apply to become the first venture licensed to conduct deep sea mining in international waters. TMC has said it will submit its application after a July 2024 meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the United Nations-affiliated organization that regulates deep sea mining.The fate of that application remains unclear, as the ISA’s 168 member nations (plus the European Union) have yet to adopt regula...

Palo Alto police say a pair of armed catalytic converter thieves are at large

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

PALO ALTO — Police say a man had a gun pointed at him in Palo Alto early Tuesday morning when he confronted a pair of catalytic converter thieves.The incident occurred around 3:57 a.m. in the 1500 block of Louisa Court. Police say a woman heard a vehicle pull up to her home, and then heard a sawing noise. She alerted her father, who went outside after he suspected people were trying to steal catalytic converters.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Santa Cruz bridge crash, dramatic leap leaves two injured Crime and Public Safety | Woman arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run, child endangerment after deadly San Jose crash Crime and Public Safety | Mother who waited to report her San Jose toddler was dead from fentanyl is apprehended Crime and Public Safety | Man convicted in San Jose ‘thrill kill’ released, touching off polarized reactions Crime and Public Safety | Police say a San Jose couple ...

Oakland is getting a new baseball team — the minor league Oakland B’s

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

By JANIE McCAULEY | AP Baseball WriterOAKLAND — They will call themselves the Oakland B’s, short for Ballers.The minor league B’s will carry on the city’s green-and-gold color scheme. Otherwise, they don’t plan to be anything like the A’s, whose heartbroken fans they hope to support through the team’s painful departure for Las Vegas.The B’s promise to never leave town.The expansion independent club announced plans Tuesday to begin play in the Pioneer League come May of 2024, with their first home games set for July at Laney College. The intent is to keep baseball alive in Oakland for years to come.Major League Baseball team owners unanimously approved the Athletics’ move to Las Vegas earlier this month. The A’s will play at the Oakland Coliseum through the end of their lease next year and could be gone by 2025.The Ballers expect to fill at least some of that void. Entrepreneurs and co-founders Bryan Carmel and Paul Freedman are putting the team in the hands of former big league mana...

Day of Central Valley street takeovers ends with fight at McDonald’s, police say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

A series of rowdy gatherings Sunday in the Central Valley cities of Delano and McFarland ended with a brawl inside a McDonald’s and a struggle between officers and suspects, the police said.The McFarland Police Department said it is investigating the use of force during the arrest of two people in the McDonald’s parking lot.The police press release gave this account of the events:1/ Officers from the California Highway Patrol and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office responded at 3:23 p.m. to Lake Woollomes, a reservoir amid agricultural fields east of Delano. Hundreds of vehicles had gathered there, and reckless driving was reported.2/ After being ousted from the Lake Woollomes area, the group moved to the Walmart in Delano. When city police officers arrived, some members of the crowd threw glass bottles and vandalized police cars, the report said.Related ArticlesCalifornia News | 20-year-old California driver doing donuts at intersection dies in crash, sher...

Heisman Watch: Oregon’s Nix leads while UW’s Penix loses ground as race enters final weekend

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

Welcome to our weekly look at the Pac-12’s leading Heisman Trophy candidates via an assessment of the top players in the conference. Consider this one Heisman voter’s view of the regional landscape. The rankings are based on individual performance, value to the team and quality of competition.Heisman Trophy voting began Monday and, unfortunately, an outsized portion of the 900-plus voters might cast their ballots before conference title games this weekend.One reason for the early voting: The No. 2 betting favorite isn’t competing.LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has produced a stellar season — he leads the country with 40 touchdown passes —  but the Tigers didn’t qualify for the SEC championship.Any voters committed to Daniels might not wait to assess Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in their showdown Friday night in Las Vegas.Don’t forget: Five of the Heisman’s six voting regions are based in the Eastern and Ce...

Sister of accused Bob Lee killer arrested for DUI, hit-and-run in SF

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Khazar Momeni, sister of the accused killer of Cash App founder Bob Lee, was arrested Monday in San Francisco for suspicion of DUI following a hit and run, the San Francisco Police Department confirmed. According to SFPD, officers responded Monday at 11:08 a.m. to Geary Street and Larkin Street on a report of a vehicle collision. At the scene, officers located the involved driver and witnesses. During the course of an investigation, officers developed probable cause to determine the driver, identified as 38-year-old Khazar Momeni of San Francisco, was driving under the influence.Khazar, who also goes by Khazar Elyassnia, is the sister of Nima Momeni who was charged with murder in connection to the fatal stabbing of Lee back in April. Walnut Creek man gets two-year sentence for installing cameras in Starbucks restroom Lee was found bleeding from stab wounds in the early hours of the morning on April 4 in San Francisco's Rincon Hill neighborhood. The tech ent...

Project to study influence of psychedelics announced by UC Berkeley, Harvard

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:32 GMT

(BCN) -- University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University announced this month that the two institutions received funding to begin research into how psychedelics have influenced art, literature and society. The initiative, called "Psychedelics in Society and Culture," will focus on the historical significance of psychedelics and will provide faculty and student researchers with grants of up to $100,000 to study related issues. The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) and the Center for Interdisciplinary Critical Inquiry as well as Harvard's Mahindra Humanities Center will lead the initiative. Sister of accused Bob Lee killer arrested for DUI, hit-and-run in SF "The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics was founded to deepen our understanding of psychedelics," said Imran Khan, executive director of BCSP. "We can't fulfill this mission without studying psychedelics from multiple angles, whether that's scientific, journalistic, or humanis...