These are the local news from April 1 to 7 that you need to know to stay up to date.

In the blink of an eye we are already one day away from Easter, a celebration that is very important for believers of some religions, as it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some celebrate with colored eggs that are hidden so that the little ones in the home can look for them and find sweets or chocolates inside. However, this type of activity dates back to myths from various regions and stories from the 15th century, which did not gain much strength until the 20th century, due to globalization.

However, according to academic experts on the subject, the Easter egg represents fertility, perfection, life and resurrection, but also the rabbit as a symbol of fertility. It embodies the ability to reproduce, the joy of living and curiosity about life.

What do you think? Tell us through our social networks. 

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Redwood City Police are investigating a hit-and-run crash that occurred Friday night, March 31, and are asking for the public's help.

Police responded to the scene near Veterans Boulevard and Maple Street around 9:25 p.m., where a bicyclist and a vehicle were involved in a collision.

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On November 15, 2022, the Saratoga-Campbell community was shocked to learn that colored dolls were discovered hanging on nooses around the neck in the schoolyards of three public schools: Redwood Middle, Prospect High, and Saratoga High.

While staff, students and school authorities openly condemned the incident, Saratoga parents were unexpectedly silent.

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April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office will be looking for drivers who violate California's hands-free cell phone law.

According to the 2022 California Statewide Public Opinion Survey, nearly 72 percent of drivers surveyed said distracted driving due to texting was their biggest safety concern.

In 2021, the California Highway Patrol issued nearly 56,000 citations for distracted driving.

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San Mateo County is eliminating mask requirements in healthcare and high-risk settings after California state medical officials issued revised guidance that goes into effect Monday, April 3, and after state and local public health emergency orders ended on February 28. 

Facilities will make their own mask-wearing decisions for their operations, which they will share with staff, patients and visitors. Additionally, a person who tests positive can end isolation after five days if they feel well, have improved symptoms and have no fever for 24 hours.

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Authorities on Monday, April 3, confirmed the first animal tranquilizer-related death in Santa Clara County, attributed to its increasing use in conjunction with opioids such as fentanyl and heroin.

A 36-year-old man who was found unconscious in San Jose and died in late February tested positive for xylazine, known as “tranq,” after postmortem testing, county officials said.

The veterinary tranquilizer has been linked to an increasing number of fatal overdoses and serious injuries in cases across the country.

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A jury ordered that Tesla will pay more than $3 million on Monday in a racial discrimination case brought by a former employee of its assembly plant in Fremont, California. 

The case was brought by Owen Diaz, who worked as an elevator operator at the plant from 2015 to 2016, who said he regularly heard racial slurs on the Fremont factory floor and saw racist graffiti and cartoons in restrooms. 

The federal jury in San Francisco said the Austin, Texas-based electric car company led by Elon Musk will have to pay Díaz a total of $3,175,000.

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Authorities arrested a 39-year-old Redwood City man over the weekend after he allegedly violated a restraining order, stole a woman's cell phone and then tried to break into her bedroom.

Saturday, authorities were called after the suspect showed up at a home in the 200 block of First Avenue in North Fair Oaks, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

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On Tuesday, April 4, the founder of Cash App was murdered in San Francisco. 

A man identified as Bob Lee, a technology executive and former chief technology officer of Square, was stabbed early Tuesday morning near downtown San Francisco.

The San Francisco Police Department said in a report that on April 4, at approximately 2:35 a.m., South Station police officers responded to 300 Main Street for a stabbing. 

Officers arrived on scene and located a 43-year-old adult male victim, suffering from apparent stab wounds, who was rendered aid and subsequently called medics to the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, however, despite the efforts of first responders and medical personnel, the victim succumbed to his injuries.

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Redwood City, along with other cities and counties in California, has been selected as a “Prohousing” community, making it eligible for financing incentives and additional resources through state grant programs to accelerate housing production. 

The cities of Emeryville, Fresno, Needles, Rancho Cordova, Riverside, Salinas, Stockton and Ukiah, as well as the counties of San Diego and Yuba, are now added to the list of “Prohousing” communities, bringing the total number of California communities now designated as Prohousing to date.

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Armed suspects are stealing catalytic converters in Redwood City and police are raising awareness in hopes of catching the offenders and protecting residents, the department said Thursday.  

The same suspects are believed to have committed at least eight catalytic converter thefts on March 21. One of the thefts was captured on private security video and shows a group of three suspects involved in the crime, one of whom appears to be armed with an AK-47-style assault rifle, police said.  

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You may be interested in: Palo Alto police investigate case of vandalism as a hate crime

Palo Alto police are investigating a case of vandalism as a hate crime that occurred in a downtown parking lot after an unknown person wrote comments targeting people from India, local authorities reported.

The Palo Alto Police Department said in a statement that on Thursday, April 6, at approximately 8:54 a.m., its dispatch center received a call about vandalism that had just been discovered in City Lot "S," the parking lot at 445 Bryant Street. 

The reporting party, a City of Palo Alto Public Works employee, reported to police that he had observed offensive writing inside the public restroom on the ground floor.

An officer responded and observed the writings, which had been done in black marker. All were comments directed at people from India. A Public Works crew removed the insults.

Police believe the crime occurred around midday on April 5, as staff had last checked the bathroom at that time. There is no information on who might have committed the acts.

Officials said they will thoroughly investigate any reported hate crimes in Palo Alto, and invited residents to read a city blog post titled “Steps the community can take to help stop hate crimes.” 

In turn, authorities recalled that the City of Palo Alto strongly denounces hate crimes of all kinds and encourages community members to report these incidents immediately by calling the 24-hour call center at (650) 329-2413, or 9-1-1 in the case of an emergency. 

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips or information can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text or voicemail to (650) 383-8984.

This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.

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By Bay City News.

A world champion cyclist was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle in the Presidio of San Francisco earlier this week.

Ethan Boyes, the reigning Masters Track world champion, was killed in the collision reported at around 4 p.m. Tuesday.

U.S. Park Police responded to Arguello Boulevard south of Washington Street for a report of a collision between a vehicle and a bicyclist, later identified as Boyes, who died at a hospital while the driver of the vehicle was also hospitalized but is expected to survive.

U.S. Park Police did not immediately provide other details about the collision as of Friday afternoon.

USA Cycling on Friday issued a statement mourning the death of Boyes, who was the reigning world champion in the Masters Track Men's 40-44 Time Trial and Sprint events held last fall. He was a 10-time national champion during his career and still holds a world record for men ages 35-39 in the 1000-meter time trial event.

“Beyond Ethan’s athletic achievements, he was an outstanding member of the American track cycling community,” USA Cycling said in the statement. “His loss will be felt at local, regional, national and world events for years to come as he brought a mix of competition and friendship to every race. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition also issued a statement Friday about the collision, saying that several eyewitness accounts indicate Boyes was riding his bike south on Arguello Boulevard when a northbound vehicle struck him after the driver crossed the center line and entered the bike lane.

The organization also noted that because the collision occurred on federal property, “we are reaching out to the Presidio’s governing body to demand that immediate action be taken to protect the many people who ride bicycles in the park, including on this stretch of Argüello.”

San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who represents the neighborhood where the collision occurred, also issued a statement about the tragedy.

“My heart goes out to Mr. Boyes’ family and loved ones,” Chan said. “No one should suffer or die from road rage.”

Chan said he is urging the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency “to explore the possibility of protective bike lanes on Arguello between Geary and the entrance to the Presidio.”

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California announced a request for a Federal Fisheries Disaster Declaration to support salmon fishermen ahead of the looming closure of the 2023 season expected to take place in May, after projections indicate that the abundance of California Chinook salmon is at historic lows.

Recognizing the importance of salmon to California's commercial fisheries, Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis, on behalf of Governor Newsom, submitted the request to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo immediately after the Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended a complete closure of California’s commercial and recreational ocean salmon season.

If approved, the Federal Fisheries Disaster Declaration would begin the process of providing needed relief to fishing communities financially impacted by the closure.

“Countless families, coastal communities and tribal nations depend on salmon fishing – it’s more than an industry, it’s a way of life. That’s why we’re asking for expedited relief from the federal government,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. 

“The Federal Fisheries Disaster Declaration we are requesting today is vital to supporting our coastal regions, and we look forward to providing families with the help they need,” said Lt. Governor Kounalakis.

Prolonged drought, severe wildfires and associated impacts to spawning and rearing habitat, harmful algal blooms, and ocean forage shifts have combined to result in some of the lowest stock abundance forecasts on record for Sacramento River fall Chinook and Klamath River fall Chinook.

The low yield and abundance forecasts are largely due to the difficult environmental factors these salmon faced on their initial journey to the ocean three years ago.

Forecasts of low ocean abundance, coupled with low returns for 2022, led the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) to recommend a complete closure of commercial and recreational salmon fisheries in the California ocean.

Commercial fishing in Southern Oregon is also expected to face closures through late 2023.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced $22.5 million for 19 projects last month to support restoration of critical salmon habitat, climate resilience, wildlife corridors and wetland restoration. 

The funding is part of a new $200 million effort to support critical restoration across the state. 

Last summer, in collaboration with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and federal partners, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) returned approximately 20,000 fertilized endangered winter-run Chinook salmon eggs to the McCloud River upstream of Shasta Reservoir for the first time since Shasta Dam was built in the 1940s.

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Armed suspects are stealing catalytic converters in Redwood City and police are raising awareness in hopes of catching the offenders and protecting residents, the department said Thursday.  

The same suspects are believed to have committed at least eight catalytic converter thefts on March 21. One of the thefts was captured on private security video and shows a group of three suspects involved in the crime, one of whom appears to be armed with an AK-47-style assault rifle, police said.  

The suspects are described as three men of an unknown ethnicity. The first was wearing a Bape Brank Shark zip-up sweater, light-colored pants, and dark-colored shoes; the second was armed with an AK-47 and was wearing a light-colored hoodie, while the third subject was wearing a dark-colored hoodie and dark-colored pants.  

The suspects' vehicle is a dark-colored 2010 or newer Audi with original five-spoke wheels, authorities said.  

The Redwood City Police He noted that there have been other recent thefts of catalytic converters reported in other Bay Area jurisdictions where the suspects were armed.

In light of this, local authorities are urging the community to be cautious if they see a catalytic converter theft in progress, and are warning them not to take any action that could endanger themselves or others. Instead, call the police.  

Anyone with information regarding these suspects is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Mark Alifano at (650) 780-7673.  

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