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Blame game erupts in San Jose baby’s fentanyl death: Social workers say lawyers blocked effort to remove infant from unsafe home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

SAN JOSE – In an extraordinary rebuttal, a union representative for Santa Clara County social workers stepped forward Tuesday, directly refuting the account of the child welfare agency director who blamed a social worker and supervisor for decisions that kept a baby girl with her troubled father before she died of a fentanyl overdose.“I have to correct the record publicly that this is not true,” said Alex Lesniak, a union representative from SEIU.Instead, she said, the County Counsel’s office, where lawyers have had increasing influence on decisions about removing vulnerable children from unsafe homes, opposed the social worker’s and supervisor’s recommendations that the child be pulled from her parents’ care.“They were told by county counsel there’s not legally enough to remove” the baby from her parents, Lesniak said.That assertion was bolstered by emails obtained Tuesday by this news organization. One from a social worker close to the case sent to Damion Wright, director of the S...

49ers mailbag: Purdy’s NFL-leading passing stat, chances at No. 1 seed, Wilks’ big sideline move

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Fans celebrating the 49ers’ first win in a month sent questions via social media for us to answer in this week’s edition of the 49ers mailbag:Purdy is the best downfield-throwing 49ers QB since ____? (@j.mata530)Two things strike me: Brock Purdy’s unabashed aggressiveness, and his NFL-best 9.3 yards-per-attempt average. On the latter note, that would be the best single-season mark ever by a 49ers quarterback. Joe Montana’s 9.1-yard average in 1989 ranks first among passers with at least four starts and 100 passes. The 49ers’ leading career averages: Jimmy Garoppolo (8.3), Steve Young (8.2), Nick Mullens (7.9), Montana (7.6), Y.A. Tittle (7.3). Purdy is averaging 8.8 yards per attempt through 18 career regular-season games.“I’m aggressive with what I do and how I throw the ball,” Purdy said after Sunday’s 34-3 win in Jacksonville. “I still have to learn times and situations in games I have to be smart with the ball. They do a good job of not just handcuffing...

New trial date set for Bay Area pair charged with 2018 killing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

A Solano County Superior Court judge on Tuesday once again vacated a jury trial, the day it was previously scheduled to begin, and reset it for mid-January for a felony murder case against two men charged with a fatal 2018 shooting in Vallejo.Daniel Anthony Street, 38, of Hercules, and Costello Blackwell, 48, of Vallejo, did not appear for proceedings in Department 1, and Judge Jeffrey C. Kauffman rescheduled it to begin at 10 a.m. Jan. 17 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.The judge also scheduled some pretrial matters, including a trial management conference at 9 a.m. Jan. 11, court records show.During the morning session, Fairfield criminal defense attorney Sal Giambona, who represents Blackwell, represented Street, whose attorney, Terry A. Ray, was absent.  Deputy District Attorney William Ainsworth leads the prosecution and appeared for the people.As previously reported, Blackwell was convicted in an earlier trial and sentenced for trying to kill a potential witness. He receive...

Walters: California needs to fix school curricula before requiring more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

Last week, the attorney general’s office completed paperwork for an initiative that, if qualified for the 2024 ballot and approved by voters, would require California’s nearly 6 million public school students to take a course in personal finance.The proposal, by an organization called Californians for Financial Education, is the latest of several efforts to make personal finance a required subject.“California has lagged behind the rest of the nation when it comes to personal finance education,” Tim Ranzetta, a financial executive in Palo Alto and founder of the organization, said in a statement. “Only 1% of California students are required to take a personal finance course as a condition for graduation compared to 48% nationally.”Ranzetta’s proposal is also the latest of many efforts to add specific topics to California’s school curricula. Scarcely a year passes without new proposals to expand required coursework, either as standalone classes or woven into other required classes.A n...

Huge San Jose housing development could sprout near Google tech sites

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

SAN JOSE — A huge housing development that could produce several hundred residences might sprout on empty San Jose land near Google-owned sites and tech job hubs, preliminary plans on file at City Hall show.More than 800 apartments are being eyed on 3.2 acres of land at 7 Topgolf Drive in San Jose’s Alviso district, according to the filing with city planners.At one point, a 200-room hotel was envisioned for the site, a project that seemed like a good bet — since the proposal was floated before the onset of the coronavirus and the start of business shutdowns in March 2020.Once the coronavirus arrived and began to batter the lodging and travel industries worldwide, the hotel project’s prospects deteriorated.The north San Jose hotel was never constructed. Instead, the project encountered severe financial woes.The property’s loan fell into default. Ultimately, the loan was foreclosed and the lender seized the property.Pine Tree Investment & Management, ...

A vegetarian centerpiece worthy of a holiday table

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

Every holiday meal deserves a festive centerpiece. While a turkey is the usual stunner, there’s room for more than one showstopper. An elaborate vegetarian dish can be equally decorative, providing a colorful and festive platter for both vegetarians and meat-lovers alike.Winter squash are natural, vibrant vessels ideal for stuffing with wholesome grains, dried fruit and nuts. There are many squash varieties that love to be stuffed, including butternut, acorn and kabocha. If the squash are small, you can serve them individually with their tops as a lid, or if they are large, you can halve or quarter them and spoon the filling over the centers, relying on the serving platter to catch the overflow.Acorn squash are tidy vessels for this recipe. When cooked until very tender, their shell is edible. They can easily serve one as a main course or be split to share. Shiitake mushrooms add a satisfying meat-like texture to the veggie filling and provide savory, umami depth of flavor. Choose y...

Sale closed in San Jose: $4.6 million for a five-bedroom home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

1631 University Way – Google Street ViewA 5,959-square-foot house built in 1951 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 1600 block of University Way in San Jose was sold on Oct. 30, 2023, for $4,625,000, or $776 per square foot. This single-story home offers a roomy layout with five bedrooms and five baths. Inside, there is a fireplace. In addition, the house is equipped with a three-car garage, accommodating vehicles and storage needs efficiently. The property’s backyard additionally features both a spa and a pool.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:In July 2022, a 2,492-square-foot home on Bel Air Avenue in San Jose sold for $1,940,000, a price per square foot of $778. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Emory Street, San Jose, in September 2022, a 1,912-square-foot home was sold for $1,980,000, a price per square foot of $1,036. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,991-square-foot home on the 1800 block of University ...

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of this season with a shoulder fracture

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of this season with a shoulder fracture.Source

US retail sales in October decline as consumer spending cools after summer splurges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — US retail sales in October decline as consumer spending cools after summer splurges.Source

UK top court says a plan to send migrants to Rwanda is illegal. The government still wants to do it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government said Wednesday it will still try to send some migrants on a one-way trip to Rwanda, despite the U.K. Supreme Court ruling that the contentious plan is unlawful.In a major blow to one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s key policies, five justices on the country’s top court ruled unanimously that asylum-seekers sent to Rwanda would be “at real risk of ill-treatment” because they could be returned to the conflict-wracked home countries they’d fled.Sunak, who has pledged to stop migrants reaching Britain in small boats across the English Channel, said the ruling “was not the outcome we wanted” but vowed to press on with the plan.He said the court had “confirmed that the principle of removing asylum-seekers to a safe third country is lawful,” even as it ruled Rwanda unsafe.He said the government was working on a treaty with Rwanda that would address the court’s concerns, “and we will finalize that in light of today’s judgmen...