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Across the Spiderverse Spins a Wondrous Cinematic Web

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse is what every Marvel movie should be.  The latest Spider-Man has been billed as unique, but this is something else– a superhero flick whose characters have personality and dramatic heft, filled with wonderful visuals and wondrous exploits laced with brazen originality. Our Spidey senses never stopped tingling.Energized by a thrilling pop-art style, the sequel to Into the Spiderverse showcases a vast inventiveness that makes it stand out amidst the crop of recent Marvel entries. Comparing this to Ant Man is akin to comparing a Pollack to a finger painting or a Michelin-star meal to a pile of dog food. It’s a film that takes the genre to new heights, thanks to a trio of directors (Kemp Powers, Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson) and a pair of writers (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller) who realize that with great power comes great responsibility–and with worthy sequels comes the need to push the boundaries even further.If the Oscar-...

Los Gatos man who saved a life is honored by Red Cross

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

When Bruce Richardson saw a man collapse in the parking lot of an auto parts store in Los Gatos, he sprung into action.The man was in cardiac arrest, and Richardson began performing life-saving CPR while an employee at the shop called 911.Richardson, who was part of a volunteer ski patrol and has 23 years of first aid and CPR training, said he knew exactly what to do.“It’s just amazing how the training just totally kicked in. I was extremely calm,” Richards said. “I knew exactly what to do. It was like second nature to me.”Richardson received the Red Cross Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action on May 25 for his efforts. The man whose life he saved earlier this year went on to have quadruple bypass surgery and is recovering.Saving a life has been a life goal for Richardson ever since he saw his father die of a heart attack when he was 15 years old.“That left a big mark on me, and after that I always wanted to avenge that event,” he said.Seven months ago he saw his twin brother...

California seed collectors help restore areas devastated by wildfires, flooding

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

When a fire blazes through acres of open space, it doesn’t just demolish trees and structures. It can kill all the wild plants and native species in its path, leaving behind acres of barren land.That’s where Hedgerow Farms comes in. Its team of farmers, ecologists and botanists have been working for nearly 30 years to grow a supply of thousands of native species of wildflowers and plants on its 300-acre farm in Winters, California, to help restore areas devastated by fires, flooding and other disruptive events.Julia Michaels, a restoration ecologist at Hedgerow, said theirs is one of the only wild seed farms of its kind in California operating at a large scale.“We have 6,000 species of California native plants, and I’d say available at (a nursery), there’s probably like 10 or 20 species you can buy,” Michaels said. “But for the rest of those 6,000 species, we are the ones making those commercially available.”Hedgerow’s customers include Santa Clara Valley Water, open space districts...

Taste-Off: The best cookie and candy bar ice cream treats (and the terrible ones)

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

Start with one of the most popular candy bars in the world. Tweak the recipe, translate it into ice cream, and the result is a cold, melty mouthful of deliciousness. And the best part? It might take an entire summer to binge through all the cookie- and candy-influenced ice cream confections at your local market.But these frozen treats inspire more than a few questions. Is a Snickers in ice cream form as good as the one on the candy aisle? Does a Klondike Heath Bar deliver? Does a Biscoff Cookie Bar have the same deep molasses-caramel punch of the cookie itself?Since there’s no way to know without tasting, we indulged, looking for the most successful efforts at translating the flavors of cookies and candy to frozen confections. As there were far too many options to put in a single story, we limited our tasting to bars (on sticks and not) and one cone-style treat.The best branded frozen treats deliver all of the yumminess of the original treat, plus a creamy note that turns it into a ...

California sits atop US Postal Service’s national dog bite rankings

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

By Ashley R. Williams | CNNCalifornia and Texas ranked highest on the United States Postal Service’s annual list of states with the most dog bites against its employees, the USPS announced.The report calls attention to the aggressive dog behavior mail carriers often face as the USPS kicks off National Dog Bite Awareness Week.In 2022, California had the highest number of dog bites with 675. Texas and New York were not far behind with 404 and 321 bites, respectively, the Postal Service reported.“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo said in a news release.Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas ranked highest among US cities with the most dog attacks against USPS workers last year, according to the USPS.More than 5,300 USPS employees were attacked by dogs during mail deliveries last year, according to the Postal Service.The annual public service awarene...

Marin hiker initially thought to have been shot may have been killed by a horse

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

The “suspicious” death of a hiker in Marin County last week may have been caused by a kick from a horse, the sheriff’s office said on Monday.At 6:51 p.m. on Friday, an emergency call reported a man suffering from an apparent fall and head wound on a fire road near Wild Iris Drive and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in San Geronimo.The man, later identified as Richard Helzberg, 82, was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries, the sheriff’s office said.Initially, the medical staff at Marin Health Medical Center reported that Helzberg appeared to have a ballistic wound to his head. The sheriff’s office now says that observation “does not appear to be valid.”“At the conclusion of the autopsy, it was determined, based on all available evidence, the injuries sustained were caused by a blunt force strike,” said the sheriff’s report. “Sheriff’s Investigations Division (is) now investigating the possibility that...

Oakland native Jim Hines, once the world’s fastest man, dies at 76

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

By Matt Foster | CNNTwo-time Olympic gold medalist Jim Hines, who was the first man to run 100m in under 10 seconds, passed away on Saturday at the age of 76, according to World Athletics.Hines recorded a hand-timed 9.9 second 100m dash at the US Championships in Sacramento in June 1968 according to USA Track and Field (USATF), before running the first electronically timed 100m under 10 seconds at the Olympic Games in Mexico City. Hines’ world record earned him his first individual Olympic gold medal.That time (9.95 seconds) lasted as the world record in the event for 15 years, until Calvin Smith broke it in 1983 – the longest the 100m record has stood during the fully automated era, according to World Athletics, the global governing body for track and field.Hines also won the 4x100m in a world record time at the same Olympics, anchoring the US team to victory in a time of 38.24 seconds.The sprinter grew up in Oakland, California, though he was born in Arkansas, according to USATF. ...

‘Pretty dang close to full’: Bay Area groundwater back to pre-drought levels after massive winter storms

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

Anyone driving around the Bay Area can see how the drenching storms that soaked California this winter filled local reservoirs after three brutal years of drought.But the wet winter also refilled an equally — if not more important — source of water: underground aquifers. Across the Bay Area, communities that rely on groundwater, from Silicon Valley to the East Bay suburbs, have measured big increases in recent months in their subterranean supplies to some of the highest levels on record.The unseen bounty is dramatic, and rebuts a common misperception among many Californians that groundwater always takes years to recover, or is all so hopelessly overdrawn it can never be restored. While that is true in some heavily pumped farm areas in the Central Valley, experts say, water agencies in the Bay Area that have carefully managed groundwater supplies for decades saw the payoff this winter.Groundwater provides 40% of the water supply for 2 million people in Santa Clara County. Following m...

San Jose redesigning roads in hopes of curbing sideshows: Roadshow

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

Q: At the corner of Flickinger Avenue and Sierra Road around six months ago, the city of San Jose installed yellow markers about 3 feet tall in the center of the roads on the double solid lines, going both directions. What is the explanation for these?There are left turn lanes in each direction. I can’t see there being a problem with people driving on or over the double yellow lines. They are not in the intersection to possibly prevent cars from doing donuts. It seems a waste of money that could be put to better use for road repairs. Is there a specific reason for these?Charles StackA: The yellow dividers are part of a quick-build safety project along Sierra Road. They are there primarily to deter sideshow activities, while calming traffic and improving bicyclist safety. These delineators narrow the roadway and make it a less appealing place for sideshows, without impacting traffic flow through the intersection. This was one of several locations the police department helped the city...

Reducing crashes, congestion on roads near I-95 interchange in Springfield

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:19:30 GMT

If you’ve ever taken the highway to drive to the Springfield Mall or Springfield Metro station, chances are you’ve spent some time driving — or stopped — on Franconia Road.The Virginia Department of Transportation is asking for public input as it tries to reduce congestion and the number of crashes on half-mile stretches of Franconia Road, and nearby Commerce Street.With five on- and off-ramps to the Interstate 95 interchange and three intersections, VDOT is looking to make safety and operational improvements, in part prioritized by feedback from the online survey.According to a VDOT presentation, Franconia Road, which carries about 69,000 vehicles a day had 162 crashes, between January 2015 and October 2022. Commerce Street averages far fewer vehicles — 19,000 daily — but had 171 crashes.Among the potential improvements, VDOT will consider reworking intersections and changing lane configurations. In addition, the agency will be looking for ways to make pedestrian and bi...