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This San Jose mom lost her first two children while homeless. Here’s how she turned her life around for the third

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

SAN JOSE — Four years ago, Nikita Garcia was living in a tent off Senter Road so close to the railroad tracks — for so long — that she didn’t even notice the trains rumble by anymore.No matter which way she walked to the bus stop, drug dealers lured her with methamphetamines to dull her miseries. She had already lost custody of her two older children — both were adopted by others — and now she was pregnant with a third.Santa Clara County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services referred Garcia to a nonprofit organization called Parisi House on the Hill in South San Jose. It’s the same program that once took in Emily De La Cerda, the San Jose mom whose frequent encounters with the child protection agency are at the center of a scandal over the fentanyl-related death of her 3-month-old, Phoenix Castro.The program offers drug counseling and parenting classes to help drug- and alcohol-addicted mothers become responsible, nurturing parents. The program, the only one of ...

Latest line: A good week for renewable energy companies, a bad week for Elon Musk

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

Renewable energyBig U.N. climate change meeting in Dubai ends with 118 countries, including the U.S., agreeing to triple renewable energy like solar and wind by 2030, a major business opportunity for California clean tech companies.    Elon MuskDouble whammy for Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) CEO, as Tesla recalls 2 million vehicles to fix autopilot systems, and X continues to lose advertisers after Musk restores access to infamous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.   Yosemite loversOfficials at iconic Sierra national park announce they will require reservations for vehicles to enter between April and October, which will reduce traffic jams and crowds. But you’ll have to plan ahead! 

They said it: A new kind of trip

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

“I want to see what the Tesla Model S in psychedelics is going to be like.”— Brom Rector of Empath Ventures, which invests in early stage psychedelic-focused companies, who likened existing mind-altering drugs to “the Ford Model T of psychedelics.” Scientists are urging lawmakers to make it easier to research psychedelic use in treatment for depression and other mental health issues.

Tri-Valley’s Goodness Village sparks creative energy in formerly unhoused neighbors

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

Scott Donovan was in a bad place.Donovan, 50, had been homeless for about five years, sleeping outside a recycling place in Livermore. He lived day to day, thinking mainly about his safety and what he could eat that day.“I was not in good shape. Not in a good place in life,” he said.That changed when a Livermore police officer who knew Donovan took him to Goodness Village — a tiny home program serving the formerly unhoused population in the Tri-Valley — for an interview. He moved into his new home there in 2021.“It was really odd at first because I’m not used to people treating me with respect, caring about me for no reason,” Donovan said. “The village completely changed my life. … It’s just the best place I could ever imagine.”Now, Donovan is focused not on wondering where his next meal will come but on building a small art business he started with his partner Tiffany Bailey, also a resident at the village. They began painting togethe...

Rent control on the ballot? Advocates push for new Bay Area tenant protections

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

Tenant advocates are pushing to put rent control measures on the ballot in at least four Bay Area cities this November, the latest effort to expand such protections across the region as tens of thousands continue struggling with sky-high housing costs.Advocacy groups this month plan to file proposed rent control ordinances with Redwood City, San Pablo, Pittsburg and Larkspur, allowing supporters to start gathering the thousands of signatures needed to bring the measures before voters.“We need to make it easier for regular folks like essential workers, teachers, nurses and families to stay in the city they love,” Trinidad Villagomez, a Redwood City community leader pushing for the local rent control measure, said in a statement.Campaign organizers, including the influential Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, contend there are few other options after cities resisted years-long efforts to adopt adequate tenant safeguards.“They’ve been trying and...

The jungle between Colombia and Panama becomes a highway for migrants from around the world

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Once nearly impenetrable for migrants heading north from Latin America, the jungle between Colombia and Panama this year became a speedy but still treacherous highway for hundreds of thousands of people from around the world.Driven by economic crises, government repression and violence, migrants from China to Haiti decided to risk three days of deep mud, rushing rivers and bandits. Enterprising locals offered guides and porters, set up campsites and sold supplies to migrants, using color-coded wristbands to track who had paid for what.Enabled by social media and Colombian organized crime, more than 506,000 migrants — nearly two-thirds Venezuelans — had crossed the Darien jungle by mid-December, double the 248,000 who set a record the previous year. Before last year, the record was barely 30,000 in 2016. Dana Graber Ladek, the Mexico chief for the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration, said migration flows through the region this year were “histo...

South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward the sea

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward the sea.Source

AC Milan’s 18-year-old center back Simic scores on debut in 3-0 win over neighboring Monza

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

ROME (AP) — The 18-year-old center back Jan-Carlo Simic had a debut to remember for AC Milan, scoring 17 minutes after he came on for an injured teammate in a 3-0 win over neighboring Monza at the San Siro on Sunday.Simic was mobbed by his teammates after redirecting in a cross from Rafael Leão late in the first half, having been unexpectedly thrust into action following an injury to Tommaso Pobega.Tijjani Reijnders and Noah Okafor also scored for third-place Milan, which moved within five points of second-place Juventus, which was held to a 1-1 draw at Genoa on Friday. Serie A leader Inter Milan, which is a point ahead of Juventus, visits Lazio later.In a solid performance for the Rossoneri after getting eliminated from the Champions League, United States international Christian Pulisic also rattled the crossbar with a long-range shot and goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a difficult save on a shot from Monza standout Andrea Colpani.It was the first time the two clubs met since the deat...

Denver weather: More mild days ahead

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver's weather will stay warm and sunny this week with high temperatures well above average for this time of the year. Weather today: Sunny and mildTemperatures this morning will start out in the upper 30s and lower 40s before making their way into the upper 50s nearing 60 degrees. This will make for highs that are around 15 degrees above average for this time of the year.Weather tonight: Clear skies continueLook for more clear skies tonight! Temperatures are set to drop down into the middle 20s in the metro making for a cool but pretty calm night. Look for winds to come out of the southeast from 5-10 mph. Looking ahead: Mild workweekMonday will look very similar to Sunday with sunshine and highs in the 50s. Tuesday will be the warmest day of the week with highs climbing back into the 60s.Wednesday into Thursday, a system will move into the area bringing more clouds to the metro, alongside slightly cooler temperatures and the chance for snow showers in the mountain...

Biden campaign: Trump ‘parroted Adolf Hitler’ in remarks targeting immigrants

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:20:46 GMT

The Biden campaign fiercely denounced Donald Trump following his caustic remarks aimed at immigrants Saturday, saying the former president “parroted Hitler.”“Tonight Donald Trump channeled his role models as he parroted Adolf Hitler, praised Kim Jong Un, and quoted Vladimir Putin while running for president on a promise to rule as a dictator and threaten American democracy,” Biden-Harris 2024 spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement.Trump on Saturday ratcheted up his already inflammatory rhetoric on immigrants at a rally in New Hampshire.“They’re poisoning the blood of our country,” the former president said. “They’ve poisoned mental institutions and prisons all over the world. Not just in South America, not just the three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world they’re coming into our country from Africa, from Asia.”Trump also further tried to paint President Joe Biden as an authoritarian following criticism of his own remarks about be...