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San Jose spent big bucks on Covid parklets–but some businesses can’t afford to make them permanent

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

It’s a Thursday morning in San Jose’s SOFA neighborhood, and restaurant pop-up owner Brandon Salmon has served one of his very last Covid-era breakfast sandwiches.The pop-up space is located in a parklet on South Second Street that was installed during the pandemic. But with San Jose — like most cities around the Bay Area — phasing out free parklet space for businesses, this one will soon be a relic of a time when masks and social distancing were part of our regular lexicon.“These things have created hubs for the community,” Salmon, 29, said glumly. “People rely on these places to go. It just really bums me out.”Over the last year, San Jose has started requiring business owners with pandemic-era parklet spaces to either pay up to keep their spot permanent or say goodbye to what some see as a vital asset that boosts local business and encourages people to walk in a city known for its car-centric character.Salmon’s pop-up HashnDash...

Single family residence in Palo Alto sells for $2.9 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

930 Van Auken Circle – Google Street ViewA 1,428-square-foot house built in 1951 has changed hands. The property located in the 900 block of Van Auken Circle in Palo Alto was sold on Nov. 6, 2023, for $2,900,000, or $2,031 per square foot. The layout of this single-story home consists of three bedrooms and two baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. In addition, the house provides a one-car garage, offering a dedicated parking spot and storage area.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:In May 2023, a 1,688-square-foot home on Van Auken Circle in Palo Alto sold for $3,300,000, a price per square foot of $1,955. The home has 6 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,310-square-foot home on the 900 block of Colonial Lane in Palo Alto sold in April 2023, for $3,911,000, a price per square foot of $1,693. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Amarillo Avenue, Palo Alto, in April 2023, a 1,069-square-foot home was sold for $2,363,000, a pri...

PSG and Monaco have the league’s best finishers, but their game could be decided in midfield

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco have the French league’s two best finishers in Kylian Mbappé and Wissam Ben Yedder, yet their match on Friday might be about who copes best in midfield.Ben Yedder has scored 103 league goals for Monaco in the past four years, while Mbappé has 131 for PSG over the same period. The France internationals even finished as co-top scorers with 18 in the coronavirus-shortened 2019-20 season, and were both on the team of the year in 2021-22.League leader PSG is looking for a sixth straight win and Mbappé is the leading scorer this season with 13 goals.Second-place Monaco will move even on points with the leaders if it wins at Parc des Princes, where the absence of midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery is a big blow to PSG coach Luis Enrique. The 17-year-old Zaïre-Emery injured his right ankle last Saturday while scoring in his France debut in a record 14-0 rout of Gibraltar.But Monaco is without arguably the league’s best holding midfielder in...

Things to do in the DC area: Holiday lightings and parades, DC Cocktail Week … and more!

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

There’s so much to do in the D.C. area in the coming days, and WTOP has you covered with our weekly roundup of area events worth anticipating.Check back every Thursday for a roundup of Things to do in the D.C. area.The “Darth Fisher” public art installation by Streetart Frankey at Georgetown GLOW 2023. (Photo courtesy of Janus van den Eijnden)For its ninth year, the free outdoor light art experience, known as Georgetown GLOW, is back on Dec. 1. Visitors of the Northwest D.C. neighborhood can expect five larger-than-life artworks to light up from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. through Jan. 7, 2024.These works include “Darth Fisher” by Streetart Frankey, which features a life-size Darth Vader sculpture, seen at East Market Lane with a lit-up fishing rod. There is also “Neighborhood” by Sergey Kim at Cady’s Alley, which will showcase illuminated laundry on washing lines. A kinetic light sculpture, called “Follow the Light,” is also expecte...

Slavia Prague receives $100,000 fine for crowd trouble at Europa League game against Roma

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — Slavia Prague was fined 91,625 euros ($100,000) by UEFA on Thursday for crowd trouble during its Europa League home game against Roma.Slavia was fined 30,000 euros for fireworks lit by its supporters during the Nov. 9 game, which it won 2-0. UEFA also ordered that the club’s North Stand used by Slavia’s diehard fans will be closed one game.The overall fine also includes 34,000 euros for blocking passageways, 17,500 euros for illicit chants and 10,125 euros for throwing objects.Additionally, Slavia assistant coach Zdeněk Houštecký was banned for one UEFA game for unsportsmanlike conduct. Houštecký received a red card at the halftime break for verbally attacking the referees.Slavia and Roma are tied atop Group G with nine points from four games.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSource

Bernd Wiesberger returns to the European tour after losing contract on LIV Golf circuit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — Bernd Wiesberger is returning to the European tour after two seasons in the breakaway LIV Golf series.The Austrian golfer has had his application for membership for the 2024 season accepted, the tour said Thursday.Wiesberger left to join the Saudi-funded LIV circuit in 2022 but lost his contract for next season after poor results.The European tour said Wiesberger has fulfilled all the sanctions — financial and sporting — imposed on him for leaving to play on a rival tour. It said his membership ended because he only played in two events in the 2023 season, the Abu Dhabi Championship and the Dubai Desert Classic.“I never resigned my membership,” Wiesberger said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, “and therefore I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to play a full schedule once again.”Wiesberger has won eight times on the European tour and played in the Ryder Cup in 2021.___AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golfSource

Israel drawn to face Iceland in Euro 2024 playoffs, then would play winner of Bosnia vs. Ukraine

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Israel was drawn to face Iceland in the qualifying playoffs for the European Championship, and Ukraine was paired with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday.The winners of those two games will then face each other next March for a place at Euro 2024 in Germany, setting up a potential decisive match between Israel and Ukraine. Both Ukraine and Israel must currently play “home” games in a neutral country for security reasons because their own country is at war. Israel was drawn as the host against Iceland, while Bosnia is at home against Ukraine. Israel has never qualified for the European Championship since becoming a member of UEFA since 1994. In the other playoff brackets, Wales will host Finland and that winner will then host Poland or Estonia.The third-tier playoff bracket will see the winner of Georgia or Luxembourg host either Greece or Kazakhstan.All six playoff semifinals are played on March 21. All three finals are scheduled five days later.The winners of t...

Denver weather: Cloudy Thanksgiving with snow and freezing temps on the way

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver weather and across the state will see clouds Thursday as snow is expected to start later this afternoon in the foothills and overnight for the Front Range. Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories are in effect from Thursday night through Saturday morning.Weather advisories across the state on Nov. 23, 2023 (KDVR)Weather today: Cloudy with foothills snow at nightOvercast skies are over the entire state Thursday with cooler Denver highs in the lower 40s. Light snow is possible in the foothills Thursday afternoon and evening, with some snow along the Front Range by the late evening hours. What to expect from the Black Friday snowstorm in Denver Pinpoint Weather forecast on Nov. 23, 2023 (KDVR)Weather tonight: Snow showers, slippery roadsSnow showers continue overnight with temperatures dipping into the middle teens. Snow will be the most consistent for the metro on Thursday night as the winds become brisk.Pinpoint Weather forecast on Nov. 23, 2023 ...

How much will the next TABOR check be?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — One outcome of Colorado's special legislative session: Taxpayers will get equal TABOR checks in the next round of refunds.Colorado lawmakers were called into session to deal with property tax relief after voters soundly rejected Proposition HH. The measure would have raised the state's revenue cap in exchange for a property tax break, and it would have given taxpayers a one-time, equal refund under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights — and potentially eliminated the refunds in the future.Instead, lawmakers took up these issues individually, passing property tax relief and approving equal TABOR refunds for Coloradans.How much is Colorado's TABOR refund in 2024?TABOR puts a cap on how much tax revenue the state can take in and requires the surplus to be refunded to taxpayers. Historically, TABOR checks have been issued based on income levels, but lawmakers have once again decided to make these payments equal across the board.That means higher earners will see lower TABOR ref...

Putin’s propagandists cheer Geert Wilders’ Dutch election win

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:26 GMT

Far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders is typically defined by his dislike of Islam and the European Union. But out of the main contenders in the Dutch parliamentary election, he was also the most Russia-friendly, a fact swiftly underscored by Russian media in the wake of his shock win. The ultranationalist outlet Tsargrad on Thursday morning contrasted Wilders, whom it bluntly described as a “supporter of Russia,” with outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a “fanatical supporter of Ukraine.”Several pro-Kremlin publications and so-called Z-channels on Telegram also went down memory lane, rehashing Wilders’ track record on Russia. One channel dug up a number of photographs and tweets published in 2018 around Wilders’ visit to Moscow, during which he met with several parliamentarians and officials. Among them was the head of the Duma’s foreign affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, sanctioned by the West over Russia’s ann...