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Holiday festival approaching at California's 'best' Christmas town

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

The holidays are almost here and the Southern California city once named the state's "best" town to visit for Christmas is getting ready for its annual holiday festival.The town of Solvang, located in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County wine country, is preparing for its annual Julefest (Yule-Fest) — a monthlong celebration of the winter holiday season.The festivities officially begin on Friday when the village begins its nightly light show in the town square. The 10-minute light show will take place on the hour from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., each evening.One of Solvang's iconic windmills is seen lit up in blue during the town's annual Julefest celebration in 2022. (Mike Laan/City of Solvang)Friday also serves as the beginning of Julefest's "Nisser Adventure," a citywide scavenger hunt for the mischievous Solvang Nisser (Danish for gnome). Throughout the holiday festival, visitors can stop by the town's visitor center for clues regarding the hideaways where the Nisse...

Female transient died after fatal traffic collision in Garden Grove

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

A 48-year-old female transient died Monday morning after being involved in a traffic collision along the 12000 block of Haster Street in Garden Grove.The person, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, died at the scene, authorities said. Disneyland guests injured by falling lamp post Garden Grove police responded to calls about a vehicle versus pedestrian traffic collision around 5:45 a.m. and discovered the pedestrian unresponsive upon arrival, a news release said.Orange County Fire Authority also responded to the scene. A silver 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis was involved in the accident and the driver was only identified as a 55-year-old resident from Anaheim.Alcohol or drugs are not believed to be a factor in the collision, but authorities are still investigating the incident.Anyone who witnessed this incident or has video footage of the collision is encouraged to contact Investigator Yergler by phone at 714-741-5772 or by email at [email protected].

CariGenetics Founder Dr. Carika Weldon: Leading the Charge for Genetic Diversity in Healthcare

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

In the complex tapestry of life, sometimes the most unexpected threads lead to the right solution for a longstanding problem. Dr. Carika Weldon’s life journey is a testament to this notion, as her creation of CariGenetics is poised to change the landscape of genetic research and healthcare.Dr. Carika Weldon’s academic journey, from a young Bermudian student to a prominent biochemist, is a remarkable testament to her resilience and determination. As a student, she excelled in mathematics, her natural forte. However, her fascination with science and genetics soon led her down a different path.Her innate inquisitiveness and thirst for knowledge became apparent in high school when she frequently challenged her biology teacher with questions that extended beyond the textbooks. Driven by a relentless curiosity to understand the ‘why’ behind biological phenomena, she embarked on a career in the life sciences.Dr. Weldon’s academic journey took her to the United...

Step Up Your Gift Game This Holiday Season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

As the festive season approaches, the search for the perfect holiday gift begins. We all want to provide our loved ones with meaningful gifts that will show how much we know and care about them, but sometimes, that’s easier said than done.Before you resort to buying your family new sets of socks, check out this list of innovative brands providing stellar products this holiday season.1. Pure ParimaEveryone needs to sleep, and wouldn’t you rather do it in ultimate style and comfort? Parima Ijaz, influenced by her father’s three decades of experience in textiles, embarked on this venture after her academic tenure at Rutgers University, where she recognized the misleading marketing practices regarding Egyptian cotton products. This realization sparked the inception of Pure Parima, a brand dedicated to integrity and the true luxury of quality bedding.The brand’s ethos is built on transparency, with strict adherence to using only the finest hand-picked Egyptian cotton directly...

CompFox Co-Founder Chris Lyle is Helping Attorneys Work Smarter Instead of Harder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

What if you could condense 15 hours of work time into one? There aren’t too many people who would turn that down. Imagine being a worker’s compensation lawyer with a critical case, and it all depends on finding precedents to help the ruling go your clients’ way. You mull through databases, scroll through cases, hours upon hours, and still nothing.CompFox to the rescue. Co-founder and CEO Chris Lyle’s breakthrough technology helps lawyers to find the cases they need in a fraction of the time. “I’m a firm believer in working smarter, not harder. So I always try to find solutions to make my life easier, and hence all the things I’ve built for myself,” Chris explains.Chris’s path to creating legal technology was anything but linear. He grew up in the Mojave Desert and knew he wanted something else for himself. It served as motivation for him to leave and put himself through college at UC Santa Barbara. Shortly after, he started working in the healthcare technology spac...

Suit claims East Bay school district let coach keep teaching for years amid groping allegations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

A lawsuit filed against the Pittsburg Unified School District alleges that a former Pittsburg High football coach repeatedly touched and groped female students and continued to keep his job despite more than a decade of reprimands, then went quietly into retirement with a promise from the district to keep the allegations secret.The lawsuit, filed by two former students at the high school, alleges that former coach Phillip Webb and the school district signed a confidential settlement agreement that let Webb retire in June 2022. According to the lawsuit, that agreement came after Webb earlier that year had been reprimanded for “unprofessional conduct” that included kissing a student on her forehead.Related ArticlesEducation | California family sues Virginia sheriff’s office after ‘catfishing’ deputy kidnapped girl, killed her mother, grandparents Education | Judge: California family that sold sick Labradoodle puppies defrauded p...

John Fisher has no plans to sell Oakland A’s after moving them to Las Vegas, per report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

Oakland A’s owner John Fisher felt the need to clarify something about the future of the franchise on Monday.He has no plans to sell the team.Fisher made the statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on the heels of last week’s unanimous vote by MLB to approve the A’s move to Nevada.“I want my family to own the A’s long into the future,” Fisher said. “We are committed to building a state-of-the-art ballpark on the Strip and bringing more championships to Southern Nevada.”Why speak about this now, after Fisher has repetitively made it clear he doesn’t intend to sell the team?Perhaps it’s because of a report in the USA Today last week that provided some insight into how the other MLB owners perceive Fisher’s intentions.Within MLB’s agreement to approve the A’s relocation, there’s a provision called a “10-year flip tax,” USA TODAY reported.The tax is to prevent Fisher from using the relocation to boost the team’s value and then sell it to another ownership group.If Fisher sells the tea...

An alpine ski village in Oakland? This brewery has undergone a total transformation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

With its highest peak in the hills measuring about 1,760 feet, you don’t get much of a chance to ski on the slopes of Oakland. But you now can get the feel of a ski vacation, thanks to an Oakland brewery giving itself a head-to-toe makeover into a cheery alpine lodge.This weekend, Temescal Brewing opened its doors as the “No Jerks Ski Village,” an ersatz ski lodge that will exist until next February. (If you’re wondering about the name, the brewery’s slogan is “Fresh beer, no jerks.”) It’s a “complete transformation and worth checking out,” asserts brewery cofounder Dvorit Mausner. “Our goal is to bring aprés-ski vibes to the city.”Visitors pass through a ski-check station to enter a warm interior stocked with ski paraphernalia and hanging Christmas presents. There’s a heated outdoor tent with hundreds of floating snowballs and, fodder for the ‘Gram, a mistletoe nook bedecked with 2,000-plus shiny gi...

I-10 reopens in Los Angeles in time for Monday commute

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

By Christopher Weber and Stefanie Dazio | Associated PressLOS ANGELES — Los Angeles drivers returned to a much more normal commute Monday when an elevated stretch of a major freeway reopened well ahead of original estimates following a raging arson fire that shut down the roadway for more than a week.The section of Interstate 10 south of downtown reopened Sunday night, and authorities assured commuters that the freeway is safe after emergency work to shore up the structure until permanent repairs of scorched support columns can be completed.“Yes, the 10 is open,” declared Laura Rubio-Cornejo, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, during a morning briefing on the status of the interstate, which carries about 300,000 vehicles a day and connects to other major routes.The early morning inferno on Nov. 11 was fed by flammable materials stored under the roadway in violation of a company’s lease.Initial worst-case scenarios raised the possibilit...

21-year-old man arrested on felony assault and robbery charges in San Rafael

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

(KRON) – A 21-year-old was arrested for attempting to rob a man while threatening to use a 12-inch kitchen knife, the San Rafael Police Department announced Monday.San Rafael PD received a 911 call reporting that a male suspect, identified as 21-year-old Israel Alonzo Taperia, attempted to rob a male victim while threatening to use a knife in the unit block of Medway Road around 6:35 p.m. on Nov. 18. Disneyland guest hospitalized, others injured after lamp post falls due to high winds Upon arrival, officers located the victim and were told that Taperia was walking away on Medway Road toward Francisco Boulevard East. According to police, the victim reported that Taperia approached him, demanded his money, and threatened his life while holding a large knife. The victim refused to comply with Taperia’s demands and walked away, police said. Additional San Rafael police officers responded to the scene locating the suspect. According to police, officers ordered Taper...