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Walters: California’s state budget outlook keeps getting worse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

When Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a 2023-24 budget in January, he acknowledged that the revenue estimates made six months earlier were way too optimistic and that the state had evolved from a nearly $100 billion surplus to a $22.5 billion deficit.Never mind. Nine months into the current fiscal year, it’s evident that revenue, principally from personal income taxes, will fall well short of that downward revision. The deficit could hit $30 billion as he and legislative leaders begin to focus on a final version for adoption in June.Through February, the administration reported, revenues were running nearly $5 billion below expectations and they fell short by nearly $1 billion more in March.The numbers bolster contentions by the Legislature’s budget analyst, Gabe Petek, that the state’s fiscal situation was unhealthier than Newsom was admitting. In his initial response to the January budget, Petek said, “Our estimates suggest that there is a good chance that revenues will be lower than th...

Mathews: California’s long history of putting the world economy at risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

Don’t bank on California, especially when banks are involved.Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is widely discussed as a harbinger of the future, a sign of problems in technology businesses that were its best customers. But this bank failure actually fits a very old pattern — of California putting the world economy at risk.Our state’s history of precipitating economic crisis is rooted in our need to get rich quick, a characteristic of our state since the Gold Rush.California’s 1849 state constitution barred banking. But with the discovery of gold, banks proliferated quickly — and failed faster.  The history of San Francisco of the 1850s is one of financial panics, followed by attempts to climb out of them. The Bank of California, the first commercial bank in the West, launched in 1864 and failed by 1875. (It later reopened.)Catastrophe only spawned new banks. After San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake, A.P. Giannini set up a makeshift bank in North Beach. Eventually, he would establish Bank ...

Opinion: Protecting our neighbors’ homes will keep Bay Area diverse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

The Bay Area is at an enormous risk of losing our neighbors who make it such a diverse and vibrant region. Currently, 51% of Black households and 42% of Latino households are in danger of being priced out of their communities. Additionally, 60% of Black households and 55% of Latino households face rent burdens, meaning their housing costs exceed 30% of their income.One solution to this crisis is being developed in cities such as San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley and East Palo Alto that can help save the homes that are already affordable. The Tenant or Community Opportunity to Purchase Acts (TOPA/COPA) empowers tenants with options and opportunities when their rental property owner decides to sell. These policies give either tenants or nonprofit housing developers the first chance to purchase the rental property and keep homes affordable.Some worry that TOPA/COPA is unrealistic because low-income residents often can’t afford to buy their homes. But these policies can connect tenants with m...

Efforts to legalize new burial practices in Maryland stall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — As the new president of the National Funeral Directors Association, John O. “Jack” Mitchell IV has been keeping an eye on trends in the industry of death.The sixth-generation owner of the Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home in Towson and president of Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, Mitchell sees the funeral industry adapting to changing desires for death rites as customers move away from the melancholy of traditional burials.Many of the changes in funeral services are years in the making, Mitchell said.Cremation has been on the rise for decades, surpassing traditional burial in Maryland for the first time in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic massively boosted the already growing practice of livestreaming funeral services. And more women are entering the once male-dominated industry; in fact, more than 78% of mortuary sciences students are female, according to the funeral directors association.Supply chain issues exacerbated by the pandemic have caused price changes; for e...

Salieron de adolescentes. 40 años después, ella decidió irse de vacaciones con él

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

(CNN) —  Bo Knapp nunca olvidó el momento en que vio por primera vez a Beverly Scott. Era agosto de 1968, el primer día de octavo grado y Beverly era una alumna nueva en la escuela secundaria Henderson de Little Rock, Arkansas. Bo y su mejor amigo estaban en el pasillo de la escuela cuando conocieron a Beverly.“Los pasillos de la escuela eran exteriores, así que un rayo de sol la iluminó”, recuerda Bo. “Llevaba un vestido a cuadros de Black Watch, y tenía un pelo rojo realmente precioso, y estaba allí de pie y nos vio llegar, y se giró y sonrió”.Bo se había mudado a Little Rock el año anterior, por lo que Beverly y él congeniaron al ser los dos nuevos en la ciudad. Y resultó que Bo y Beverly vivían a menos de un kilómetro el uno del otro. Rápidamente surgió una amistad entre los dos chicos de 14 años.“Llegamos a conocernos y empezamos a salir”, cuenta Beverly a CNN Travel.Como muestra de su compromiso, Bo le dio a Beverly una pulsera de iden...

Grupo paramilitar sudanés reclama el control del Palacio Presidencial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

(CNN) — El grupo paramilitar sudanés Rapid Support Forces (RSF) dice que tomó el control del Palacio Presidencial, luego de que las tensiones entre la fuerza y ​​el ejército estallaron en violencia.Se reportaron intensos combates alrededor del Palacio Presidencial y el Cuartel General del Ejército en la capital, Jartum, dijeron testigos a CNN.Un periodista de Reuters vio cañones y vehículos blindados desplegados en las calles y escuchó el sonido de armas pesadas disparando cerca del cuartel general tanto del ejército como de las RSF.En un comunicado, el RSF también reclamó el control de los aeropuertos de Jartum, Marwa y al-Abiad. Se suspendieron los vuelos entrantes y salientes del aeropuerto de Jartum.El RSF dijeron que estaban respondiendo a un ataque sorpresa del ejército en una de sus bases.El ejército estuvo a cargo de Sudán desde un golpe de Estado en 2021, que puso fin a un acuerdo para compartir el poder formado tras el derrocamiento del expresidente Omar al-Bashir.Se...

Still Boston Strong: State, city leaders join families of victims for ceremony marking 10 years since marathon bombings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joined family members of those who died in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings for a wreath-laying ceremony on Boylston Street on Saturday morning as the city marked One Boston Day — an annual day of service across Boston.Wu and Healey joined families for a private ceremony to lay wreaths on the memorial sites and to observe moments of silence. Daffodils, a symbol of hope, were also placed at the site of the bombings.The explosions killed Boston University student Lingzi Lu, Medford resident Krystal Campbell and, the youngest victim, Martin Richard, 8. His family, including his now-17-year-old sister who lost her leg in the bombing, walked in the front of the procession.Boston police, Watertown police and MIT police had representatives at the sites to celebrate the lives of MIT police officer Sean Collier and BPD officer Dennis Simmonds, who died after the attack.Other tributes as a part of One Boston Day include a 5K, a ringing of ...

Car loans are reaching record highs and taking longer than ever to pay off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

SUDANESE PARAMILITARY GROUP CLAIMS CONTROL OF PRESIDENTIAL PALACE15 APR 23 08:00 ET|CNN|Version 4The Sudanese paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) say they have taken control of the Presidential Palace, as tensions between the force and the army erupted into violence.Media:SALIERON DE ADOLESCENTES. 40 AÑOS DESPUÉS, ELLA DECIDIÓ IRSE DE VACACIONES CON ÉL15 APR 23 07:56 ET|CNN Español|Version 2Bo Knapp nunca olvidó el momento en que vio por primera vez a Beverly Scott y una reunión del instituto, 40 años después, lo reunió con ese amor de secundaria.Media:CAR LOANS ARE REACHING RECORD HIGHS AND TAKING LONGER THAN EVER TO PAY OFF15 APR 23 07:55 ET|CNN|Version 2You’ve managed to buy the car, but can you afford to keep paying for it?Media:Wire ArticleCopyCar loans are reaching record highs and taking longer than ever to pay offOriginally Published: 15 APR 23 07:55 ETBy Christopher Hickey, CNN    (CNN) — You’ve managed to b...

Kansas City shooting leaves 1 dead and 4 injured, including a child

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

(CNN) — A gas station shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday night left one person dead and four people injured, including a child, according to a police department news release.Officers were dispatched just before 9:30 p.m. Friday on a report of the sound of gunshots. They found a man in the parking lot at the gas station, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The man was transported to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries, police said.Police also found two women with apparent gunshot wounds, one of whom was treated and released at the scene. The other was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the release.Additionally, a third woman and a child under the age of 5, who had both been shot, arrived at a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.According to Kansas City police, there is currently no suspect information available and the “motive or intent” of the shooting is also still unknown.Det...

Ukraine awaits US missile system after latest Russian strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from Russian missile strikes on eastern Ukraine’s city of Sloviansk rose to 11 Saturday as rescue crews tried to reach people trapped in the rubble of an apartment building, Ukrainian authorities said.Ukraine’s air force said the country would soon have weapons with which to try to prevent attacks like the one Friday. The delivery of the Patriot air defense system promised by the U.S. was expected in Ukraine sometime after Easter, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said.The primarily Orthodox Christian country is preparing to observe Easter on Sunday. Speaking Saturday on Ukrainian state TV, Ihnat declined to give a precise timeline for the arrival of the defensive missile system but said the public would know “as soon as the first Russian aircraft is shot down.”A group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers completed their training at Oklahoma’s Fort Still Army Post last month and returned to Europe to learn more...