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‘Holding my car hostage’: Bay Area drivers face DMV registration holds amid mounting express lane debt

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

Brenda Angulo’s license plate has been pinging off the Bay Area’s growing network of electronic toll transponders — into a colossal $30,000 bill.There were dozens of bridge tolls, and a flurry of express lane fees. For the past three years, they went unpaid as invoices filled Angulo’s mailbox.But when Angulo went to renew her DMV vehicle registration this year, she was floored by the sticker shock. A single 50-cent express lane fee from last April would now cost her $73.50 with penalties — an increase of 14,700%. And if she wanted to keep her Mazda on the road, she also would have to fork over $2,523, which included her annual registration fees and a portion of her unpaid tolls.The total Angulo owed to multiple express lane and bridge toll agencies was far worse, climbing to over $30,000 made up mostly of late payment fees and other fines, tacked on to her original charges of about $3,000.“I don’t have this money. I’m paying tuition, b...

Analysis: Five pressing questions SF Giants did or didn’t answer in spring training

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The cardboard boxes that appeared in front of players’ lockers this week slowly began to fill with their belongings and on Saturday morning were loaded into equipment trucks, their last stop on their way to San Francisco. There is no surer sign of the end of spring training than the presence of those big box trucks in the parking lot.The Giants arrived in Scottsdale six weeks ago with questions to answer. As they departed Saturday, their catching situation remained murky as ever, and they carry some injury concerns into Opening Day, but they can head home happy with some of the positive developments of camp.“I feel good about the depth of our team relative to the last couple years,” manager Gabe Kapler said Saturday morning, a few hours before their Cactus League finale against the Mariners. “I feel like our defense is improved … I feel great about where our starting pitching is. Good depth at Triple-A too. I think we’re in a f...

Why are so many Bay Area trees turning destructive and deadly in recent storms? The answer is years in the making

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

The same urban canopy that provides so much relief in the Bay Area’s summer is now exacting a winter toll, with hundreds of trees weakened by years of drought collapsing in relentless rain and wind — claiming lives, buildings and roads.“Like for us humans, it takes a little bit of time to recover from stress, the lack of water and high summer temperature,” said UC Davis ecologist Alessandro Ossola, who specializes in urban areas. “Some of our trees are failing to adjust to newly wet soil and atmospheric conditions….they’re simply unable to cope when climate and environmental conditions revert too fast.”In nature, downed trees are not a problem, but a benefit. They renew the forest by creating a home for fungus, insects, wildlife and sunlit space for new seedlings.But in neighborhoods, they have been destructive and deadly. On Tuesday, during the last in a series of strong atmospheric river storms, trees claimed the lives of five people in the Bay ...

Could the Silicon Valley Bank collapse be a good thing for Bay Area homebuyers?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

The Silicon Valley Bank meltdown has roiled the banking system, financial markets, the tech sector and even the Napa Valley wine industry. But the economic instability is also bringing a measure of relief to homebuyers struggling to afford a Bay Area real estate market where prices are starting to rebound after months of declines: lower mortgage rates.And with the Federal Reserve’s decision this week to scale back raising its benchmark interest rate in response to the financial turmoil, mortgage rates will likely stay lower and could even dip through the rest of the year, according to some real estate experts and economists.While recent headlines may be giving buyers unease, a rate break could mean hundreds of dollars in savings on monthly home payments.“Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is good for real estate,” said Chris Thornberg, an economist and founder of Beacon Economics. “I mean it.”A typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42% this w...

ANÁLISIS | Con el plan de armas nucleares tácticas en Belarús, Putin opta por asustas al mundo para distraerlo de sus problemas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente de Rusia Vladimir Putin dice que planea desplegar armas nucleares tácticas en Belarús, el aliado vecino donde ha organizado parte de su invasión de Ucrania desde febrero de 2022. Cuando el mandatario ruso usa la palabra “nuclear”, el mundo presta atención y esa parece ser una de las principales razones por las que lo dijo.Como es habitual con Putin, el mundo debería leer la letra pequeña y comprobar el contexto. Las armas que Putin planea trasladar a Belarús no son armas nucleares estratégicas, esos gigantescos misiles balísticos intercontinentales que, si se disparan, podrían acabar con la vida en la tierra.Aumentan las tensiones en la frontera de Belarús y Ucrania, en medio de preocupaciones por una ofensiva rusa en primaveraLas armas nucleares tácticas son más pequeñas, pero poderosas, y pueden usarse en el campo de batalla. Putin amenazó con la posibilidad de una guerra nuclear durante este año, especialmente cuando su operación militar en Ucrania no ...

18-year-old arrested, charged with murder after running from scene of Fairfax shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

An 18-year-old man was arrested on Saturday hours after police say he shot and killed someone in a Fairfax, Virginia, apartment and ran from the scene.Fairfax County police said Darren Cruz Colindres, of Vienna, was at a second-level apartment in the 10400 block of Viera Lane with “known associate” Javier Gomez, 20, on Friday night leading into Saturday morning.More Local NewsMore Virginia NewsMore Fairfax County NewsAround 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, someone asleep in the apartment heard a gunshot coming from the living room and discovered Gomez suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body and saw Cruz Colindres “run” from the apartment, police said.“This is not a domestic-related shooting, but the suspect is known to the family,” Lieutenant James Curry said at a press conference. “This does not appear to be a random act. They are known to each other.”Gomez was taken to an area hospital where he died, police said.After an “extens...

Qualifiers for the 2023 Masters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The players eligible and expected to compete in the 87th Masters, to be played April 6-9. Players listed only in the first category for which they are eligible (a-amateur). One spot remains for the winner of the Valero Texas Open.MASTERS CHAMPIONS: Scottie Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel, Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Jose Maria Olazabal, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize.PGA CHAMPIONS (five years): Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka.U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS (five years): Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland.BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONS (five years): Cameron Smith, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari.U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPION AND RUNNER-UP: a-Sam Bennett, a-Ben Carr.BRITISH AMATEUR CHAMPION: a-Aldrich Potgieter.U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPION: a-Matthew McClean.ASIA-PACIFIC AMATEUR CH...

Denver weather: Chilly Sunday with snow returning

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Chilly temperatures hang around for the end of the weekend, with another chance for snow tonight into Monday.Weather today: Chilly sunshine, snow showersSunday will start off cold and dry with another chilly afternoon and breeze. Clouds will increase as the day goes on with snow coming with it. Mountains will get snow showers by the afternoon with some light activity for the metro late tonight. Looking ahead: Monday snow, then slow warm-upThe next chance for showers will move in late tonight through Monday. As temperatures fall below freezing Sunday evening, the chance for showers will increase. The Denver metro will start Monday morning with less than an inch of snow, mostly on grassy surfaces. The mountains will see higher totals of a couple of inches. Showers could linger into the evening before clearing out. Tuesday through Thursday will feature dry weather and warmer temperatures ahead of our next chance for showers which is set to arrive late Thursday into Friday.

‘Dangerous and irresponsible’: NATO condemns Putin’s nuclear-arms plan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

NATO criticized Moscow on Sunday for its “dangerous and irresponsible” nuclear rhetoric after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.“NATO is vigilant, and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own,” a NATO spokesperson said.The official criticized comments from Putin on Saturday that likened the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus to the U.S. stationing its nuclear arms in Europe as part of the NATO defense alliance, according to a report by Reuters.“Russia’s reference to NATO’s nuclear sharing is totally misleading,” the official was quoted as saying. “NATO allies act with full respect of their international commitments,” the official said. “Russia has consistently broken its arms-control commitments, most recently suspending its participation in the New START Treaty.”Belarus borders on three NATO ...

New York returns ‘extraordinarily rare’ gold coin to Greece — after it set auction record for $3.5 million

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:12 GMT

(CNN) — New York officials have returned more than $20 million worth of ancient artifacts to Greece, including an “extraordinarily rare” gold coin commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar which set auction records in 2020 as the most expensive coin ever sold.The repatriation ceremony took place on Tuesday at the Greek Consulate in New York City and included 29 Hellenic antiquities dating back as early as 5,000 BCE, according to a news release from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. All of the antiquities were seized in connection with trafficking and smuggling investigations; New York Homeland Security Investigations special agent Ivan J. Arvelo said in a statement that Grecian artifacts are “especially susceptible” to trafficking because ancient Greece has “long (been) acknowledged as the cradle of Western Civilization.”Among the repatriated items is the “Eid Mar Coin,” which ...