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From TakeAction MN to the St. Paul Firefighters, political action committees aim to pick winners for city council, school board

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

In no uncertain terms, the candidate screening questionnaire from TakeAction Minnesota seeks allegiance, and not just to the progressive organizing group’s principles and priorities such as rent control and police divestment, but to the institution itself.“How will you relate to us in an ongoing way so that we can govern together?” asks a question on the survey recently issued to candidates for the St. Paul City Council. “How do you imagine yourself being in an accountable relationship with us and the greater movement of people’s organizations in Minnesota?”Another question asks, “What makes you excited and/or nervous about a relationship with us? What are you hoping to get out of a relationship with us?”Some candidates for city council have balked at what they perceive to be a purity test for a progressive agenda. Still, six prominent candidates have won the TakeAction endorsement, including two who are already seated on the city coun...

'Got a joke?' Why St. Louis trick-or-treaters might be asked this on Halloween

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It's lining up to be one of the coldest Halloweens in recent history, but that shouldn't stop thousands of trick-or-treaters from dressing up and collecting goodies around the St. Louis region. That said, they might need to earn their tasty treats with a sense of humor. As part of one Halloween tradition in the St. Louis area, your child might be asked to tell a joke in exchange for candy. Occasionally, this may come as a surprise to parents who venture out with their children for the first time, families who recently moved to the St. Louis area, or out-of-towners. Surveillance cameras capture dramatic images of Central West End attack It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when this started, but jokes have been part of the St. Louis trick-or-treating experience for decades. As to why, it depends on who you ask.Folklorist John Oldani offers some insight in his 2013 book St. Lou-isms, noting the tradition is tied to Irish culture. Historians say, as part of an Oct. 31 festi...

QuikTrip offers free ice cream cone for trick-or-treaters on Halloween

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Thousands of children will venture around neighborhoods for trick-or-treating on Tuesday, but they can also score a free ice cream cone in celebration of Halloween. QuikTrip is offering a free vanilla ice cream cone to any trick-or-treaters under 13 years old who visits a St. Louis-area location. In order to get the free ice cream, children will have to dress in a costume. The deal is good from 4 p.m. to each QT Kitchens location's closing time. To find a QuikTrip location near you, click here.

Man sitting in apartment shot through front door: LAPD 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

A man in Hollywood was shot while sitting in his apartment, authorities said. Initial reports from the Los Angeles Police Department indicate that the man was in his residence, located in the 5600 block of Franklin Avenue, around 11 p.m. Monday evening when he heard a knock at his door.  Bicyclist killed in hit-and-run; LAPD searching for driver As he went to answer, the suspect fired several shots through the door, striking the victim. A man in Hollywood was shot while sitting in his apartment on Oct. 30, 2023. (OnSceneTV)Responding paramedics transported the man to a nearby hospital, where he is said to be in stable condition. Police could not confirm whether the shooting was gang related.  The suspect remains outstanding, and no description has been released. 

Assistance available for residents who need to keep the water on

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

Californians who need help paying their water bills can benefit from a state-administered program.The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, which is administered by the state Department of Community Service and Development, is available to both renters and homeowners."Many low-income residents behind on their water or sewer bills have received hundreds or even thousands of dollars in financial support to help pay their bills," California CSD said on its website.Through March or until federal funding runs out, Californians can apply for one-time help to "pay past due or current residential water and sewer bills ​and keep their water on," state officials added.For information or to apply, visit the California CSD website.

Police find shooting victims near Placentia In-N-Out; 1 dead, 1 hospitalized

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

One man is dead and another was hospitalized after a Placentia Police Department officer found them suffering from their wounds near an In-N-Out Burger on Monday.At about 8:15 p.m., an officer leaving the restaurant found the hospitalized man lying in the street in the 800 block of Sunset Drive with a gunshot wound to his leg, police said in a news release. Another man was found on the front porch of a nearby home suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso. He was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.The man shot in the leg was hospitalized. Police believe the attack, which may have been gang-related, occurred about a half mile away in the 200 block of South Bradford Avenue.Anyone with information is encouraged to call detectives at 714-993-8164. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or on their website occrimestoppers.org.

San Francisco homicide: Two stabbed, one fatally, in daytime attack

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

Two people were stabbed, one fatally, in a daytime attack Sunday near San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Search on for suspect after Hayward man dies in shooting Crime and Public Safety | Oakland homicide suspect gets 90 days in jail for violating parole by possessing guns during police chase after fatal shooting Crime and Public Safety | Gypsy Hill killings: Elderly sex offender convicted of 1976 murder of Daly City woman Crime and Public Safety | Oregon man accused of killing Bay Area boy in 1987 pleads not guilty Crime and Public Safety | Inmate suspected in prison attack on Kristin Smart’s killer previously murdered ‘I-5 Strangler’ The stabbing was reported at 4:13 p.m. at Bayshore Boulevard and Cortland Avenue, just north of the 101/280 interchange, the report from the San Francisco police said.Officers found two male victims with life-threate...

Tech moguls used ‘strong-armed’ tactics to buy Bay Area land for secret city, farmers say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

By Nadia Lopez | BloombergA group of landowners say a Silicon Valley-backed company trying to build a sustainable city northeast of San Francisco used unfair and “strong-armed” tactics to force farmers to sell their land, including pitting family members against each other, court documents show.The details emerged on Friday as part of a lawsuit the company, Flannery Associates LLC, filed in May in District Court in Sacramento, alleging various farmers conspired to inflate the value of their land by $170 million. The landowners deny the claim and are seeking to dismiss the suit.The latest allegations, contained in a report on a conference held by both parties in September, provide the most complete account to date of the landowners’ accusations against Flannery, which has backing from former Sequoia Capital Chairman Mike Moritz, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, among others.A combine sits on top of a hill on farmland south of Highway 12 near Su...

Environmental disasters and ‘dark’ tourism: The modern-day ghost towns created by the climate crisis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

By Elissa Garay | CNNThink of “ghost towns” and images of dusty, lost-to-time towns, like those in America’s Wild West, may come to mind.Indeed, in the second half of the 19th century, a slew of boomtown-gone-bust mining towns were deserted by residents as natural resources and economic viability dried up. Over time, some of these relics have found new life as fun and kitschy tourist attractions.And while iterations of such abandoned settlements are found on every continent, with varying manmade and natural causes to blame, a new era of ghost towns is now emerging that, while eerie, feels far off from good touristic fun.Climate change and ensuing environmental disasters – marked by an increasing frequency and intensity of destructive floods, droughts, storms, wildfires and extreme temperatures – are now fueling what experts say are just the first waves of places abandoned due to climate displacement.“We are going to see a movement – it’s already happening – where people are moving a...

High school football rankings Week 11, 2023: Bay Area News Group Top 25

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:05 GMT

After an impressive win on Friday at previous No. 8 California, Clayton Valley made the biggest leap in the latest version of the Bay Area News Group high school football rankings.The Ugly Eagles jumped from No. 25 to No. 17 heading into their regular-season finale Friday at second-ranked De La Salle.St. Francis returned to the top 10 after edging the previous No. 5, Riordan. The Lancers leaped from 11th to eighth.St. Ignatius is the other new team in the top 10. The Wildcats moved up two spots from No. 12 after winning at home over Mitty.The top four remained the same: Serra, De La Salle, San Ramon Valley and Pittsburg.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 (9-0)Previous ranking: 1Last week: Beat Valley Christian 24-13Up next: Friday vs. St. Ignatius, 7 p.m.No. 2 DE LA SALLE (7-2)Previous ranking: 2Last week: Beat Monte...