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How to make your outdoor space a refuge of biodiversity

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

A green hummingbird hovers among the branches of a sage bush, dipping its long beak into the purple blossoms as the sun gleams on its metallic-pink neck feathers. A tiny brown lizard darts from behind a rock. Mourning doves coo from a bottlebrush shrub but are soon drowned out by squirrels chattering angrily at each other.As the sky darkens, a family of raccoons digs in the turf at the base of a tree, looking for worms and grubs. And as the moon rises, a coyote howls in the distance.This isn’t happening in some idyllic country retreat, but in a tiny back yard a block from a major freeway. And if you think it’s unusual for such a small space to have such varied wildlife, think again.California is the most biodiverse state in the country and one of the most biodiverse on the planet. The Bay Area offers so many species of flora and fauna — birds, fish, mammals, amphibians and invertebrates — UNESCO designated the region the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve in 1988.Even Los Ang...

Why McClymonds football coach Michael Peters, a four-time state champ, is stepping down

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

OAKLAND — The public found out something in a social media post over the weekend that the McClymonds program had known since August: head coach Michael Peters will step down after the 2023 season.And before Peters, 55, told the team he has led since 2013, his family was the first to know. “They could see it,” Peters told the Bay Area News Group on Sunday, one day after the post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. “They can see that I’m tired.”“I’m not getting any younger, and I’ve got to really concentrate on getting myself healthy because football is stressful,” Peters later said. “It’s been a long time at this school, a school I love.”So why announce his impending retirement now at the start of the playoffs?“It’s the last home game unless we get a regional game,” Peters said. “I wanted to announce it now so I could appreciate the guys and fans who stood by me. And I’ll get all my players coming back, and I’ve been in contact with guys who were ever on my coaching staff...

TasteFood: Roast (or grill) the ultimate Thanksgiving turkey

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

It’s time to tame the bird. There are many ways to cook a turkey, and choosing your method is the first step to a seamless Thanksgiving dinner. To brine or not to brine? Dry or wet? Roast, smoke or grill? Let’s start by saying there are no wrong answers, and all methods will deliver a flavorful turkey.This recipe is for a dry-brined whole turkey cooked on the grill. I rely on my gas grill for the holiday, so I can free up my oven for other dishes to cook. If you don’t have a grill, or weather does not permit, that’s no problem; there are instructions for oven roasting provided as well.Dry brines are simple: just salt and dry seasonings. They are less messy and cumbersome than liquid brines, which require refrigerating a hefty bird submerged in unwieldy liquid for multiple days. You do need to start the dry-brining process ahead, at least two days before serving, with a good salt rub. The salt acts as a cure and draws the moisture out of the turkey, creating a...

Walk on the Wild Side: Birding and wildlife watching in California’s coastal redwood forest

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

This past spring, I was hiking solo on a little-known trail high above Mill Valley’s Cascade Canyon. This dense, shady coastal redwood forest is just over the ridge from the famous old-growth redwood trees of the Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County.Despite being a neighborhood of sorts, the canyon is also a wildlife haven. Dozens of species of resident and migratory birds, animals, insects, amphibians, mollusks and even crustaceans make this magical forest their home. And you never know what you’re going to see on a stroll in the redwoods.Rounding a bend into a deep, shady ravine, I heard a slight hooting sound. I paused to locate the sound and continued walking just a bit further up the trail. To my astonishment, I had lucked into an encounter with some of the rarest creatures in the redwoods: Northern spotted owls, a threatened species that lives mostly in the old growth coastal redwoods and the forests of the Northwest.Amazingly, right above the trail in the hollow of a ...

Have Alameda brown pelicans lost their ability to fly in formation?

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

DEAR JOAN: From my morning coffee perch across from Alameda Beach, I have watched the morning activities of the brown pelicans for years. They fly from west to east every morning in large numbers, 30 to 125 per flock, stopping to feed when the tide is right.Up until last year, each group flew in a single line, forming a sine wave in perfect formation. Each exactly follows the bird ahead. They flap their wings to rise 30 to 40 feet, then at the top, they glide down to skim the surface so closely that their wing tips dimple the surface of the water as they again flap their wings to rise.But for the past two years, they have nearly completely lost this precision. They straggle in irregular groups, some large, some small. Sometimes a semblance of the old formation happens. What do you think happened? Did they lose their leader?  Did homeschooling fail? Did they decide to become free to fly without regimentation?It’s an existential crisis.— Roger Ecker, AlamedaDEAR ROGER: Maybe the...

San Jose State football: How’s this for a turnaround?

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

A month ago, standing at 1-5, San Jose State’s chances of reaching bowl eligibility were in grave doubt.Now, suddenly, the Spartans have a chance of reaching the Mountain West championship game.Their 42-18 rout of Fresno State on Saturday night means the Spartans (5-5 overall) need only to win one of their two remaining games to become bowl-eligible. They play San Diego State (3-7 overall) on Saturday at Spartan Stadium and finish on the road at UNLV (8-2) on Nov. 25.Coach Brent Brennan will hear of none of this.“All we will care about is San Diego State,” he said after Saturday night’s rout of a team that had been ranked in the Top 25. “If we start thinking about other stuff and looking down the road, we’re not good at that. That doesn’t work for us.”Looking down the road anyway, the Spartans are now 4-2 in the Mountain West, tied with Fresno State and Boise State. Ahead of them at 5-1 are Air Force and UNLV.The top two teams in the M...

Rents remain steady in the Bay Area — but perhaps not for long

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

Rents have stayed steady for most of the year in the Bay Area — but the trend might not continue for long.As mortgage rates inch closer to 8% — their highest level in 23 years — more would-be homeowners are waiting on the sidelines, continuing to rent, which is driving demand for apartments.“A lot more people are going to choose to rent instead of buy because of mortgage rates, and that will push rents up,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for Redfin, an online real estate brokerage that tracks home sales and rental prices.Rents have fallen 1% year-over-year across the Bay Area, according to data from real estate information company CoStar. That’s a savings of $25 a month for a $2,500–per-month rental.Across the country, real estate pricing stayed mostly flat, growing by a meager 0.7% since last October. The average asking rent for an apartment in the third quarter was $3,011 for San Francisco and San Mateo counties, $2,925 for Santa Clara and $2,389 for Alameda a...

Novak Djokovic gets his trophy after securing year-end No. 1 ranking for a record-extending 8th time

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Novak Djokovic received his trophy on Monday after securing the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record-extending eighth time.Djokovic needed only one match win at the ATP Finals to be sure of keeping the top spot and the 24-time Grand Slam champion secured it in his opener, beating Holger Rune 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1), 6-3 in a match spanning more than three hours on Sunday and into Monday morning.On Monday afternoon, ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi presented Djokovic with the trophy for his achievement. Djokovic then posed for pictures with his team of coaches, physical trainers and family members.“It’s obviously the crown of the season, finishing the year as No. 1 in the world is a dream of every tennis player,” Djokovic said. “It’s one of the most difficult things to do in our sport. Winning Grand Slams and being No. 1 in the world are probably the pinnacles of the sport.The 36-year-old Djokovic had already moved ahead of previous record holder Pete Sampras (six years at N...

¿Cuánto cobra el presidente del Gobierno de Argentina y cuánto cobran los ministros?

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

(CNN Español) — Con la presidencia de Alberto Fernández a punto de llegar a su fin y a pocos días de la segunda vuelta electoral en Argentina este 19 de noviembre, en la que se disputan el cargo Sergio Massa y Javier Milei, una de las preguntas que surgen es: ¿cuál es el sueldo del mandatario y los ministros de su gabinete?Según lo establecido en el artículo 92 de la Constitución Nacional, el presidente y vicepresidente de la Nación Argentina reciben “un sueldo pagado por el Tesoro que no podrá ser alterado en el período de sus nombramientos”. Durante ese tiempo, dice la Constitución, no podrán ejercer otro empleo, ni recibir ningún otro dinero de la Nación, ni de provincia alguna.Verdadero o falso: verificación de datos de CNN en Español del debate entre Massa y MileiSi bien el documento no específica cuánto dinero reciben tanto el presidente como la vicepresidenta Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, este monto se puede revisar en el portal de datos abiertos del gobie...

Poland’s prime minister resigns, but the president wants him to try to form a new government

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:51:56 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki offered his conservative government’s resignation on Monday as required as the newly elected parliament met for the first time in a transition of power following an election last month.An alliance of pro-European Union parties vowing to restore democratic standards won a parliamentary majority in the Oct. 15 election and are expected to take power, but they will still have to wait, perhaps up to four weeks. Their candidate for prime minister is Donald Tusk, the centrist and pro-EU former prime minister.Poland’s conservative President Andrzej Duda, who is allied with Morawiecki’s right-wing Law and Justice party, is asking Morawiecki to try to build another government and will reappoint him as a prime minister candidate on Monday evening.Morawiecki in an address to parliament expressed a desire to build a new government that transcends party divisions. When he appealed for support, his critics responded with l...