Monday Morning Lights: Time to fix broken CIF Open Division state championship game

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

Monday Morning Lights: Time to fix broken CIF Open Division state championship game CIF: SAD STATE OF OPEN DIVISIONThere is a lot of good about high school football in California and plenty that is not so good. Nothing we write here is going to magically solve the issues.But there is one matter that California Interscholastic Federation officials should start addressing now. It’s the same one that should have been dealt with after last season.The Open Division state championship game is broken.Can someone fix it?This is a game that should be a celebration for CIF, the Super Bowl of California high school football, the biggest game between the two best teams.Instead, it has become a sad letdown with no sign of letting up.Private schools have advantages, yes. They do across the state. But Mater Dei and St. John Bosco are not normal private school powers in football. Haven’t been for approaching a decade.They are closer to Florida’s IMG Academy than traditional private-school powers. CIF schools are not allowed to play IMG because it doesn’t play by the same rul...

San Jose is California’s mobile home capital. See where those residents live.

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

San Jose is California’s mobile home capital. See where those residents live. San Jose is home to the most mobile home communities in California, with about 35,000 residents living in such homes. The map above gives the location and details of the communities.On Dec. 12, the San Jose City Council is set to add a layer of protection to 13 of these mobile home communities, with the goal of eventually preserving nearly 60 of them — the last strongholds of affordable housing in the entire region. | Read the full article

San Francisco fire leaves seven people displaced, two injured

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

San Francisco fire leaves seven people displaced, two injured SAN FRANCISCO — Officials said two people were injured early Monday morning in a residential fire between Golden Gate Park and Alamo Square in San Francisco.The fire was reported around 3:20 a.m. at a home in the 700 block of Masonic Avenue, according to the city’s fire department.3rd Alarm Fire on 700 block of Masonic. Multiple buildings evacuated with a partial floor collapse. 1 person rescued and transported to local area hospital. Masonic between Hayes and Fulton is closed to traffic. Please avoid the area and find alternate routes. pic.twitter.com/atvTExY9Rt— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) December 11, 2023Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Editorial: After Interstate 10 inferno, California should stop leasing freeway land Crashes and Disasters | Here’s where Caltrans is concerned about Bay Area under-freeway storage after L.A.’s I-10 fire Crashes and Disasters | Caltrans identifies 15 pote...

Why universities from UC Berkeley to Harvard are teaching courses on Taylor Swift

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

Why universities from UC Berkeley to Harvard are teaching courses on Taylor Swift By Scottie Andrew | CNNTaylor Swift once said that if she were not a record-breaking, hit-making, three-time-Grammy-album-of-the-year winning superstar (our adjectives, not hers), she would’ve liked to have returned to the classroom.“I would have gone to college, and I would probably be involved with a form of business where words and ideas are at the forefront,” she told GQ in 2015. “Such as marketing.”She might be a bit too famous now to sit in on a business class for a marketing degree. But her music and persona have proven ripe for academic dissection on college campuses, amongst Swifties or otherwise.Universities across the US, from Harvard to the University of Texas at Austin to Stanford, are now offering courses on Swift’s body of work and the decade-plus-long discourse her work and life have inspired. It’s a fitting honor for the singer-songwriter, whose stardom and success have reached new heights in 2023.Arizona State this semester offered a course on the psychology of Swi...

Ariana Grande's 'Last Christmas' is most dangerous Christmas song for driving: study

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

Ariana Grande's 'Last Christmas' is most dangerous Christmas song for driving: study (KRON) -- Ariana Grande's "Last Christmas" is the most dangerous Christmas song for driving, according to a new study. The study, which was conducted by CSGOLuck, sourced the top 200 Christmas songs on Spotify and analyzed them by beats per minute.According to research cited by the survey, music between 50 to 80 beats per minute puts the brain into an "alpha state." This renders you more relaxed, focused and receptive, the study claimed. SantaCon, Haney fight in SF draws nearly 100K BART riders Conversely, songs with more beats per minute become more distracting because your brain has to work harder to process the sounds. With 206 beats per minute -- more than triple what experts recommend -- Grande's 2013 hit tops the list for most distracting. Another Grande hit, 2014's "Santa Tell Me,"also made it into the top 10 of most distracting Christmas songs.Other Christmas songs that are dangerous for driving include Bing Crosby's "Mele Kalikimaka," Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderf...

Santa Rosa schools to boost police presence following recent violence

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

Santa Rosa schools to boost police presence following recent violence (KRON) – The Santa Rosa City Schools announced Monday that all Santa Rosa high schools will have police officers stationed on campus and the middle schools will have police check-ins until winter break.   Superintendent Anna Trunnell requested that a Santa Rosa Police Department officer be stationed at each high school due to an “abundance of caution.” SRPD officers will also conduct check-ins at feeder middle schools: Herbert Slater, Santa Rosa, Hilliard Comstock, and Rincon Valley. Santa Rosa mall brawl ends with 3 teens arrested On Nov. 29, a Santa Rosa High School student was stabbed after a fight involving two students on campus. SRPD believed the two parties involved were from rival gangs. According to Santa Rosa police officials, a Santa Rosa middle school student brandished a knife during a potentially gang-related fight inside a classroom on Dec. 7. According to the Santa Rosa City Schools press release, Superintendent Trunnell is working with City Manager ...

Holiday gift crazes and fads of the past century

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

Holiday gift crazes and fads of the past century The holidays are about family, friends, feasting, and yes, if we're being honest, presents. Overall, holiday spending is expected to reach record levels in the 2023 season, up to $966.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation's holiday forecast. (That's $37 billion more than in 2022.) The number is inclusive of gifts, food, decor, and other holiday-related purchases, but there's no doubt the first category is a hefty portion of the total spending.The memories may outlast the gifts themselves, but each year, it seems like a handful of items rise to the top of holiday wish lists. Who could forget getting the toy they wished for as a child years ago or scouring the store for the hottest gadget as a parent or grandparent today? To look back on those moments, Stacker researched the holiday gift crazes and fads of years past, from 1919 until 2023. 20 of the best Christmas albums of all time The information comes from lists of the hardest-to-find and the most popular gifts; ...

20 of the best Christmas albums of all time

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

20 of the best Christmas albums of all time Perhaps more than any other holiday season, Christmas is full of nostalgia. As the years go on, whether anyone likes it or not, it can be nearly impossible to avoid memories of the seasons that have passed and Christmas traditions around the tree, whether spent with family or alone. As different as those holiday memories are for everyone, so, too, is the music often heard during this time, be it traditional Christmas carols or new tunes.With the holiday season fast approaching, Stacker dug into articles and data from various leading music websites and curated a list of great Christmas albums across various genres and eras as of November 2023. Ariana Grande’s ‘Last Christmas’ is most dangerous Christmas song for driving: study Of course, traditional Christmas music makes up the greatest Christmas albums. The tunes that generations have grown up with—from such recording artists as Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and Nat King Cole—have endured. More recent Christmas albums, such as Maria...

Poland’s parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

Poland’s parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s parliament elected centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister on Monday, paving the way for a new pro-EU government after eight years of stormy national conservative rule.Tusk becomes prime minister nearly two months after a national election that was won by a coalition of parties ranging from left-wing to moderate conservative. The parties ran on separate tickets but promised to work together under Tusk’s leadership to restore democratic standards and improve ties with allies. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s government lost a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, paving the way to power for a broad pro-EU alliance under the leadership of the centrist political veteran Donald Tusk.Morawiecki’s government was defeated 266-190 in the 460-seat lower house, the Sejm. The vote marked the ended of eight tumultuous years in which the natio...

Poland’s parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister after 8 years of stormy conservative rule

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:02:42 GMT

Poland’s parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister after 8 years of stormy conservative rule WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister after 8 years of stormy conservative rule.Source