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Wish You Were Here: A boating-biking Danube adventure led to Italy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Our intrepid readers have taken jaunts around the world this last year with adventures that included bear-watching in Alaska, a safari in Kenya  and island discoveries in Ireland. And they’ve shared their stories and practical tips along the way.Today’s reader missive comes from a Danville couple celebrating a big birthday in style.Wish You Were HereDANUBE RIVER: In September, Danville residents Bev Aquino — celebrating her 75th birthday — and husband Lee Goldman took off on a Danube River cruise through Germany, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. “We were joined by 19 family members and friends on a weeklong trip on the MS Primadonna, riding bikes five of the days, while also having the opportunity to spend more time exploring Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava (in Slovakia),” Bev says. “It was a great combination for our active group and a perfect springboard to add in visits to Munich for Oktoberfest, Prague, Vienna, Rome, Naples, Pompeii and So...

Is covering a Concord lawn with netting the best way to get rid of raccoons?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

DEAR JOAN: In August, I had my yard landscaped. A few days later, raccoons turned up one side of the grass area.I got some Critter Ridder and it worked for almost two months. Then it happened again — in more areas. Again, I put Critter Ridder around and so far, they have not come back.Someone suggested I put a net over the lawn and lift it to cut the grass, then put it back.  It will need to be left on about six months, and then they shouldn’t return.  Do you agree or do you think there is a better way to rid them?Another problem: twice I planted two areas in the flower bed and two different flowers seem to die after about a month. There are flowers near them that have no problem. I pulled the first flowers out and replaced them with different flowers, then did it again.When my yard was totally landscaped, new flowers were put in all around. The flowers in the problem area died again in about a month.  I replaced them again with different flowers and one has died. The ot...

VTA buys prime downtown San Jose property near bullet train right-of-way

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

SAN JOSE — A transit agency has bought a prime downtown San Jose property near the right-of-way for a bullet train line that would connect to a greatly upgraded rail station — paying much more than the site’s previous price.The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has bought a property with addresses of 32 and 60 Stockton Avenue in downtown San Jose, according to documents filed on Dec. 15 with the County Recorder’s Office.The deal appears to terminate plans for a big housing development at the site.The VTA paid $23.8 million for two parcels at the corner of Stockton Avenue and East Santa Clara Street, a San Jose city staff memorandum states.The property at one point was the site of a never-built housing tower in downtown San Jose.A family trust acting on behalf of the late architect Thang Do, who was the principal designer of the housing complex, sold the property to the VTA, the county records show.The VTA paid roughly 58% more than the combined $15.1 mill...

Travel Troubleshooter: Cunard canceled my cruise, but won’t give me a full refund

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: My husband and I were booked on the Queen Mary 2 sailing from Southampton, England, to New York earlier this year. The cruise line canceled the sailing just before our departure.Christopher Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter A Cunard agent told us to stay on board that night and depart the following day. The cruise line gave us a form to fill out that stated: “For any incurred expenses with your onward travel arrangements, these will be covered by Cunard.”The agents we spoke with three different times couldn’t give us any information beyond that statement. So, we canceled our New York hotel and first-class flight from New York to San Diego, and we booked a flight home on British Airways.I emailed Cunard with the necessary documentation. I received an email saying the refund process would take some time and asking that I be patient. A few weeks later, Cunard refunded $4,544, yet the cost of the cruise was $6,872. The difference of $2...

TasteFood: Invite this dessert to your next dinner party

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

A snow-white pavlova billowing with swirls of cream and juicy berries is a dessert worthy of a holiday dinner and an entertainer’s dream. Pavlovas are refined, yet more-ish, dramatic yet light, and a festive dessert to serve following a rich and heavy meal. They can also be prepped in advance and assembled before serving, which makes them ideal for your next holiday or dinner party.Varieties of meringue abound. You can simply make a traditional pavlova with a vanilla-infused white meringue topped with fresh fruit. Or riff a bit and make, say, a chocolate-tinged meringue crowned with cocoa-infused cream, with raspberries as garnish — along with, well, more chocolate. Or keep it fresh and nutty and make this recipe, which adds streaks of ground pistachios and orange to the meringue and cream, and finishes with a shower of fresh raspberries, blackberries and more pistachios.Meringues may seem intimidating to make, but they are, in fact, easy to prepare. The key is to abide ...

Share the Spirit: The Berkeley Baby Book Project is working to close the readiness gap

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Seventeen-month-old Elliott Busa eagerly waits as a new package, addressed directly to him, arrives at his doorstep. He already knows what’s inside, and he can hardly contain himself as the anticipation of tearing into this latest parcel builds.Nestled inside is a book, one more prized jewel for the book-obsessed Elliott to add to his growing collection.The volume didn’t just appear out of thin air; it came courtesy of The Berkeley Baby Book Project (BBBP) an East Bay nonprofit that collaborates with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide free books every month to children ages 0-5 in the Berkeley, Richmond and San Pablo areas.Elliott’s mother, Julie Parker, is a second-year law student, and she was initially anxious about how best to keep Elliott busy while she juggled student-mom life. She didn’t want to overload him on screen time, but thankfully, BBBP was ready with a more literary alternative.Travis Busa, left, and Julie Parker, read a book to their 17-month-old, E...

Stream flooding advisory for the Bay in effect, NWS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

(KRON) – Excessive rainfall is expected to cause urban and small stream flooding in Northern California, including Alameda and Contra Costa counties, according to the National Weather Service.For your safety, plan on wet roadways, allow extra travel time, leave extra space between vehicles, and stay indoors when thunder roars.

Advocates Demand Compensation for U.S. Drone Strike Victims in Somalia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Two Dozen human rights organizations called on the Pentagon Monday to make amends to a Somali family following an investigation by The Intercept of a 2018 U.S. drone strike that killed a woman and her 4-year-old daughter.The 14 Somali groups and 10 international organizations devoted to the protection of civilians urged Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to take immediate action. The family is seeking an explanation, an apology, and compensation.“New reporting illustrates how in multiple cases of civilian harm in Somalia confirmed by the U.S. government, civilian victims, survivors, and their families have yet to receive answers, acknowledgement, and amends despite their sustained efforts to reach authorities over several years,” reads the open letter, which was shared with The Intercept.The April 1, 2018, attack in Somalia killed at least three, and possibly five, civilians, including 22-year-old Luul Dahir Mohamed and her 4-year-old daughter Mariam Shilow Muse. A U.S. military ...

Larry Kramer, outgoing CEO of mega climate funder the Hewlett Foundation, looks back on his tenure

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Larry Kramer, longtime president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, doesn’t think it’s healthy for an executive to lead the same organization for more than 15 years. The problem, he says, is that it takes 10 years for a leader to get anything done.Nevertheless, Kramer, known for his early support of the fight against climate change, will make his own deadline. At the end of 2023, he will step down from his role from the organization he has led since 2012. In an interview with The Associated Press, Kramer talks about how Hewlett became the largest climate funder in the world from 2007 to 2018, as well as started funding around cybersecurity, political polarization in the context of democracy and reimagining capitalism.“We’re really broadly across the field,” Kramer says about Hewlett’s climate funding. “When we spot problems, we’ll start (working on) them and people will often follow. And that’s been true of a number of things in recent years, whether it’s...

Adobe calls off $20 billion deal for Figma after pushback from Europe over possible antitrust issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Adobe’s planned $20 billion acquisition of online design company Figma is being called off due to pushback in Europe over antitrust concerns, the companies said Monday.The companies announced the cash-and-stock deal in September 2022, seeking a path with Figma’s web-based, multi-player capabilities to accelerate the delivery of Adobe’s creative cloud technologies on the web.“Although both companies continue to believe in the merits and procompetitive benefits of the combination, Adobe and Figma mutually agreed to terminate the transaction based on a joint assessment that there is no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority,” Adobe and Figma said in a prepared statement on Monday. Last month the Markets Authority said that an early review of a potential tie-up between the two companies suggested a “substantial lessening of competition” in the global market for all-in-one product design softwar...