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Voters begin casting ballots in election featuring city council, school board races as well as ballot questions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

Voters on Tuesday morning headed to the polls, where races for city council and school board were being decided in St. Paul and throughout the east metro. The off-year election ballots also feature a question about raising sales taxes in St. Paul to pay for roads and parks, a $175 million bond referendum for school construction and safety improvements in the Stillwater Area School District, and other key property tax levies throughout the suburbs.By the end of day Monday, nearly 5,000 St. Paul residents had already voted early by returning absentee ballots to Ramsey County Elections.There were especially strong showings in Ward 3, which spans Highland Park, Mac-Groveland and part of West Seventh Street, followed by Ward 1, which spans Frogtown, Summit-University and swathes of the North End and surrounding neighborhoods. Open seats on the St. Paul City Council in both those races have drawn a sizable and racially-diverse mix of candidates, energizing corners of the Black, Hmong and ...

November skywatching: Look for multiple meteor showers, bright planets before sunrise

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

The late-autumn night sky has some lovely treasures in store for stargazers, including multiple meteor showers, a brilliant pre-dawn face-off between bright planets Venus and Jupiter, and Saturn floating in a sea of water-themed constellations.According to NASA’s monthly “What’s Up” stargazing guide, here are a few of the November night-sky events worth checking out:Jupiter and Venus face off in the pre-dawn skies all month long. Unmistakably bright planets Venus and Jupiter can be seen shining opposite from each other in the early morning skies before the sun comes up this month. If you’re awake before sunrise, look to the east to see Venus, and to the west to see Jupiter. (If you’re not an early riser, don’t worry — radiant Jupiter can also be spotted rising in the eastern skies shortly after sunset this month.)Saturn spends November swimming in the night sky’s “seas.” Throughout the month, the ringed planet Saturn ...

Clayton high-rise evacuated for carbon monoxide alarm

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A high-rise building is being evacuated in Clayton after a carbon monoxide detector went off in one of the units. Firefighters tell FOX 2 that they received a call about the issue from the Clayton on the Park building at the corner of Bonhomme and Brentwood at around 6:30 a.m. That call potentially saved lives.The 23-story building has about 20 floors of occupied condos. Bommarito Automotive Group SkyFOX was over the scene this morning. Windows can be seen open in the building and people are on the street level waiting for clearance to go back in at around 8:15 a.m.Firefighters determined that the unit providing heat to the entire building is malfunctioning. It is sending carbon monoxide to the entire building. Incriminating comment helps solve 1993 cold case Arnold, Missouri murder Everyone is out of the building and there are no injuries reported. Firefighters are going through the building and testing for carbon monoxide. They will let everyone back in when it ...

Denver weather: Snow on the way Wednesday after Tuesday night cooldown

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

Forecasters expect a nearly 40-degree temperature difference between the high and low  Tuesday as a cold front moves in, bringing with it snow Wednesday evening.Tuesday’s high during the sunny day will be a warm 75 degrees, but the cold front will bring the temperature down to 36 by Tuesday night.One more day of warm and dry weather to go! The dry and breezy conditions will lead to elevated fire weather conditions, mainly over the Palmer Divide. Temperatures will again reach the 70s for the plains. #cowx pic.twitter.com/EFlGXPwXdf— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) November 7, 2023Related ArticlesWeather | Denver sets record high temperature after hitting nearly 80 degrees Sunday Weather | Colorado saw record number of hail reports in 2023 water year Weather | Denver weather: Chilly Halloween night expected for trick-or-treaters Weather | Independence Pass closed for season following significant early snowfall Weath...

Couple walking dog robbed at gunpoint in West Hollywood; dog stolen 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

A couple in West Hollywood is devastated after their dog was stolen from them at gunpoint near their apartment building. One of the dog’s owners, identified only as Justin, told KTLA 5’s Annie Rose Ramos that he and his girlfriend were walking their English bulldog named Capone while Justin went to retrieve belongings from his car on Olive Drive around 11:45 p.m. Monday night.  That’s when three thieves pulled up, jumped out of a black four-door Jeep and pointed a gun at them. According to Justin, one of the gunmen told him to “give [him] the dog or [he dies].”  Historic hangar at former air base in Orange County engulfed in flames While one thief took Capone to the back of the Jeep, another jumped into Justin’s car and ransacked it, throwing his belongings around. Justin says that all that was stolen was an old security badge, and that a wad of cash in the car was not taken. The thieves eventually sped off, and while Justin tried to chase after them, they were abl...

Photos: Firefighters battle massive blaze at historic Tustin air base hangar

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

Residents from around Orange County woke up on Tuesday to the devastating news of one of the hangars at the historic Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin being engulfed and partially destroyed by a massive fire.The blaze began around 1 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.Photos of the blaze can be viewed below:The hangar at the historic Marine Corps Air Station Tustin burning on Nov. 7, 2023. (Sky5)The hangar at the historic Marine Corps Air Station Tustin burning on Nov. 7, 2023. (Sky5)The north hangar, also known as Hangar 1, was reportedly completely engulfed in flames by the time first responders arrived. (OnSceneTV)The hangar at the historic Marine Corps Air Station Tustin burning on Nov. 7, 2023. (Sky5)The hangar at the historic Marine Corps Air Station Tustin burning on Nov. 7, 2023. (Sky5)The hangar at the historic Marine Corps Air Station Tustin burning on Nov. 7, 2023. (Sky5)The north hangar, also known as Hangar 1, was reportedly completely engulfed ...

High school football rankings Week 12, 2023: Bay Area News Group Top 25

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

Serra, De La Salle, San Ramon Valley, Pittsburg and El Cerrito are the Bay Area News Group’s top five high school football teams heading into the playoffs.But will they remain in those spots when the curtain closes on the 2023 season next month?This week’s rankings are similar to last week’s, with a few exceptions.Sacred Heart Prep and Capuchino are in this week. Antioch and Hillsdale are out.Twenty-four of the 25 teams in the updated rankings are still playing. The only one that’s done is Liberty, which did not receive one of the eight spots in the North Coast Section’s Open/Division I playoffs.The Lions are obviously not happy about that.If you have not already, please subscribe here for digital access all season. Your contributions keep us going.On to the rankings …Bay Area News Group Top 25(Mercury News & East Bay Times)No. 1 SERRA (10-0)Previous rankings: 1Last week: Beat St. Ignatius 43-10Up next: Saturday vs. Salinas in CCS Open/Division I pl...

Santa Clara County could see a sales tax increase in the next five years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

Santa Clara County residents could once again see a sales tax hike.Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed off on a bill giving the county the power to increase the sales tax rate — with voter approval — past the current cap.Senate Bill 335, authored by Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), allows Santa Clara County to put a measure on a ballot before December 2028 to increase the sales tax rate by 0.625%. The county currently has the fourth highest sales tax rate in the state at 9.125%, behind Alameda, Los Angeles and San Mateo counties.“There’s certain things that the county funds that they don’t have general fund resources that are vital to the public,” Cortese told the Mercury News. “This legislation at least ensures that if they find themselves in a situation like that they can take a vote and go to the ballot if they can get enough supervisors to agree.”California has capped district tax rates in each county at 2% since 1969. Santa Clara County currently has...

The saga of Annie, UC Berkeley’s peregrine falcon

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

It was clear from the start: Annie was going to be a star.In late 2016, people began noticing a pair of peregrine falcons flying around the UC Berkeley campus. The birds weren’t being secretive, says biologist Sean Peterson, but it still took a while to narrow down where they might be roosting: atop the iconic Campanile bell tower.With permission from the university, a small handful of volunteers climbed a hidden spiral staircase concealed in one of the Campanile’s columns. The passageway was so narrow, the intrepid explorers had to push their backpacks ahead of themselves.At the top, they found a small opening covered by wooden slats — and a pair of piercing yellow eyes staring back at them. It was Annie, sitting on the torn sandbags that served as her nest.Since then, Annie and her mates have captured the attention of a wide audience. Thousands of people from around the world watch the web cams installed on the Campanile, following every dramatic moment in the falcons’ lives...

At beleaguered San Jose’s animal shelter, care for dogs is criticized

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:49 GMT

It was a hot San Jose summer day two years ago when the city’s animal control squad set off to seize 20 dogs from a suspected illegal dog breeding business. The string of missteps that followed would mark one of the darkest days in the city shelter’s recent history, but records show it wouldn’t be the last time a dog lost a limb or died.The shelter is currently facing a City Council-ordered audit amid ongoing criticism of conditions at the facility and inadequate staffing and infrastructure.In the mishap in July 2021, which was never publicly disclosed, animal control truck No. 11108 arrived at the San Jose shelter with three dogs. As the temperatures inside rose, officers first unloaded other animals from the other vehicles. Inside the sweltering truck, the dogs became hotter and hotter.An American bulldog named BMF and a French bulldog named Shika died, likely of heat stroke as their body temperatures reached nearly 110 degrees, a summary from that day and autops...