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.
A terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, left one civilian dead and at least five injured. Photo: Pamela Cruz P360P
On Friday night, a terrorist carried out an attack on the popular seafront in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing one civilian and leaving at least five others injured.
According to the Israeli government, the terrorist shot and ran over several people who were walking by.
A 35-year-old Italian man was killed in the attack and five other people were injured.
Hours earlier, two Israeli-British sisters, aged 16 and 20, were killed in a separate attack, meaning that at least three people have been killed in terrorist acts in the past 24 hours.
The incidents come amid a conflict that is escalating every day in the Gaza Strip, a territory bordering Israel and southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army has just reported that it has attacked targets linked to the Palestinian organization Hamas in southern Lebanon and throughout the Gaza Strip.
The offensive followed a rocket barrage into Israeli territory, in which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it identified targets including “terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hamas in southern Lebanon.”
Video: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tensions rose after Israeli police raided Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on several consecutive nights earlier this week, all in the midst of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims.
While Hamas said it had no information about who fired the rockets from Lebanon, the group's chief, Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Lebanon when the rockets were launched, said Palestinians would not "sit idly" in the face of Israeli aggression.
The IDF said it would not allow Hamas to operate from Lebanon and held the Lebanese government responsible for every attack directed from its territory. Israeli warplanes also stepped up airstrikes in Gaza. Some 20 missiles hit four locations in 10 minutes.
"We will strike our enemies and they will pay a price for all acts of aggression," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address after an emergency meeting with his security cabinet.
Although he called for calming tensions, he assured that his government "will act decisively against extremists who use violence."
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned any military operation from his territory that "destabilises the situation".
The attack was the largest single bombardment of Israel's northern neighbor in 17 years.
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.”
Photo: Gage Skidmore. wikimedia commons Listen to the voice memo “The 5 things you need to know about the New York vs. Trump case”by Constanza Mazzotti
The former president of the United States, Donald Trump, made history on Tuesday, April 4, after he became the first president to face criminal charges.
These are the 5 points you should know, so far, about what is happening with the “Trump case.”
1.- Former US President, businessman and politician Donald John Trump became the first president to be charged with criminal charges on Tuesday, April 4.
Trump, 76, voluntarily appeared before the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, where, under police custody, a judge informed him of the 34 charges against him, to which the businessman and politician pleaded "not guilty."
2.- Donald Trump is accused of "falsifying business records in the first degree," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has investigated the $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about her having an extramarital affair with the man who, at the time, was running for president of the United States.
And while the payment itself is not illegal, Trump allegedly recorded it as a business expense, and in New York falsifying that information is. And that is exactly what prosecutors decided to charge him with.
3.- To the above, it is added that the payment was made before the 2016 elections, therefore it violates the electoral law; and because hiding the payments from Daniels was motivated by not wanting voters to know that he had an affair outside of marriage, let alone with a porn actress.
3.- The indictment was only unsealed last Tuesday, providing the public and Trump's legal team with the first details about the specific charges. The former president pleaded not guilty to all charges and was present at this first appearance for about an hour.
4.- The potential trial of the people of New York against Donald J. Trump could take place up to a year or more from now, which opens the possibility that the former president will face a jury in a Manhattan court in the midst of his campaign to return to the White House, or even after the November 2024 elections.
5.- Former porn actress Stormy Daniels has said she is willing to testify if called to do so, and is therefore willing to cooperate with the justice system. However, she considered that the crimes charged against her by Trump are not "worthy of imprisonment."
It's no surprise that San Francisco is among the most expensive cities to live in the U.S., but according to a new study, it ranks first among the 25 largest cities in the country for requiring the highest salary to live comfortably.
The study, conducted by financial technology company SmartAsset, indicates that a single person without children needs $84,026 after taxes to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley area in the state of California.
Following the general budgeting rule of 50 percent of income is spent on needs, 30 percent on wants and 20 percent goes toward savings or debt repayment, and using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cost of Living Calculator, SmartAsset found that the average person spends $42,013 on annual living expenses in the San Francisco area.
However, the analysis also found that despite remaining the most expensive location in the study, San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley had the smallest year-over-year increase in after-tax revenue needed from a year ago at just 13.12 percent.
“A budget is the foundation of many people’s financial plans. And it’s especially essential to understand and track your spending when the cost of everyday items is rising,” said Susannah Snider, certified financial planner and managing editor of financial education at SmartAsset.
The executive also highlighted that being able to stick to a 50/30/20 budget means that you have enough to fund short- and long-term goals, while paying essential living expenses.
SmartAsset used the most recent data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator to collect the basic cost of living for a person without children in each metropolitan area. The data covers the cost of living in each city as of 2022. The online tool calculates the cost of living by aggregating the average cost of housing, food, transportation, health care, and other expenses within each metropolitan area.
Notably, three other California areas also made the list. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad ranked second with an annual salary requirement of $79,324, while Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ranked sixth with $76,710, and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario with $67,060 per person per year.
As a result, income demand in the Southern California metropolitan area rose nearly 30 percent. None of the 25 places in the study had a sharper annual increase in the after-tax income needed to live comfortably than Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, the company said.
He also explained that a year ago, $52,686 was required for a comfortable lifestyle. Since then, that number has skyrocketed by 27.28 percent to $67,060 in 2023.
The St. Louis metropolitan area is the most affordable place for the second year in a row, requiring $57,446 after taxes to live comfortably.
On average, it takes $68,499 after-tax earnings to live comfortably across the country, so the average after-tax income needed for a comfortable lifestyle in the 25 metropolitan areas studied is up about 20 percent from 2022, when it was just $57,013.
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.
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.
The weather is warming up and with it the outdoor activities. The Bay Area has spectacular outdoor places where we can enjoy nature without having to go far. But be careful, there is a silent, small and very well camouflaged predator that can attack you and your pets, causing serious illnesses. Let's talk about ticks.
This does not mean that you have to abandon your desire to be abroad, you simply have to be careful and prevent an encounter with these bugs.
But what can you do when you are outdoors in areas where ticks may be present?
It is recommended to wear long pants and long sleeves, and avoid wearing sandals. Also, tuck pants into socks or boots, and tuck shirts into pants.
Likewise, you can wear light-colored clothing to make it easier to see ticks before they attach to your skin.
Using repellents is a must. Always apply them according to the directions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends repellents containing 20 to 30 percent DEET for protection against ticks. These should be applied to exposed skin.
Stay on the trail. Ticks are often found in weeds, tall grass, or leaf litter, so when hiking, walk in the center of the trail to avoid grassy or weedy areas.
After outdoor activities in areas where ticks may be present, it is a good idea to check yourself, your children, pets, and your gear thoroughly for ticks.
Also, check areas that can't be easily seen, such as in and around the ears, scalp, armpits, belly button, groin, and behind the knees. Taking a shower soon after being outdoors can help rinse off any loose ticks and allow you to check all areas of your body.
If you find a tick on you, remove it immediately. In most cases, a tick removed within 48 hours of attachment will not transmit the disease.
The agency also recommends using tweezers or disposable tissues — not your bare hands — to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible, and not burning, suffocating, cutting, covering with nail polish, or twisting the tick.
Ticks cannot be removed on their own once they are fully embedded and must be removed with tweezers and pulled away from the skin using even, constant pressure.
After removing it, you should wash the bite area and your hands with soap and water, or use a disinfectant solution.
Consult a health care professional if you are unable to completely remove a tick, or if you develop a rash or fever 3 to 30 days after being bitten by a tick.
Please do not let this information scare you away from the green outdoors, rather plan ahead, be prepared, stay alert, and see you on the trail.
To learn more about what the CDC has to say about ticks, click here.
Organizations, communities, and leaders from South and Central America have demanded, through a joint letter addressed to the leaders of the United States and Mexico, the end of the current immigration policy, which, among other tragedies, caused the recent death of 39 migrants, mostly indigenous and people of color, after a fire broke out in an immigration detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
Thus, 45 organizations, including those from civil society, education, migration and communication, joined the collective complaint against Joseph Biden and Andrés Manuel López Obrador, demanding the closure of temporary stays and immigration stations in Mexico, as well as a radical change in immigration policy that bets on a perspective from Human Rights and not from the containment and detention of people in a context of mobility.
"We see with concern how the governments of Mexico and the United States are quick to disclaim all responsibility and blame the migrant population for the tragedy, when it is clear that the policies of both governments are responsible for the migratory context that we are witnessing today throughout the central and northern region of the continent," they state in the letter.
They also pointed out that, even before the "Stay in Mexico Program», multiple civil society organizations and human rights defenders had already pointed out the seriously risky conditions in which the migrant population finds itself within temporary stays and immigration stations, «which are nothing more than prisons».
In this regard, they recalled that at the last session of the Advisory Council on Migration Policy of the Mexican Ministry of the Interior, held days before the tragedy in Ciudad Juárez, organizations raised their voices and denounced the conditions of the immigration stations, while the National Institute of Migration presented a report highlighting progress in the process of "humanization" of these places.
In addition, some migrant shelters have denounced that the new online asylum application system in the United States, called CBP One, is being used as another pretext to return people who already have an appointment to the Mexico-Guatemala border, "perpetuating the strategy of contradiction and confusion during the regularization process that ends up violating the human rights of migrants."
"What happened at the National Migration Institute's Provisional Facility in Ciudad Juárez is proof that the complaints made repeatedly over the years have been ignored and is a consequence of the difficulties that the Institute itself poses for monitoring and observing the conditions and practices within these detention centers," the organizations and institutions stated in the letter addressed to the leaders.
Among the complaints, they stated that, before the fire at the immigration center in Ciudad Juárez, local organizations reported that personnel from the National Migration Institute (INM) were detaining and sending migrants to immigration stations, including people with residence and transit permits.
"It's not just the fire. It's not just the temporary shelter in Ciudad Juárez. It's the immigration policy of Mexico and the United States. It's the policy of the States towards a population that is forced to leave their communities due to adverse conditions caused by failed systems of government, environmental models and justice systems," they emphasize.
In response, they have called on all organizations, communities and citizens to express their rejection of the immigration policy of Mexico and the United States on Thursday, April 6, and to demand respect for the rights of victims and their families, as well as access to truth and justice.
As well as reparation for damages and a guarantee of non-repetition; an immediate halt to the practices of detention and deportation of migrants and asylum seekers; and the establishment of a working group with the participation of citizens, civil society, human rights defenders, academia and migrants with the aim of redesigning regional migration policy.
"The only way to honour the victims of this tragedy is to fully transform this policy and the model for managing human mobility," they said.
A medida que la cantidad de estudiantes sin hogar en las escuelas públicas de California continúa aumentando a niveles previos a la pandemia, los expertos y educadores temen que la economía actual, junto con la implacable crisis de vivienda del estado, genere tasas sin precedentes de jóvenes sin hogar.
Según los datos actualizados publicados hoy por el Departamento de Educación de California, hay alrededor de 5.9 millones de estudiantes matriculados en escuelas públicas este año escolar, cerca de 40 mil estudiantes menos que el año pasado o una caída del 0.7 por ciento. Pero el número de estudiantes sin hogar aumentó en un 9 por ciento, alrededor de 16 mil, a un total de aproximadamente 187 mil niños.
La principal causa de la falta de vivienda entre todos los californianos es la perenne escasez de viviendas asequibles en el estado, según Angela James, investigadora del Centro para la Transformación de las Escuelas de la UCLA.
«Es alarmante para mí, francamente», dijo James. «La inestabilidad de la vivienda puede estar profundizándose en California como resultado de la pandemia».
Los nuevos datos señalan un regreso a los números previos a la pandemia. El año escolar pasado, alrededor del 2.9 por ciento de los estudiantes calificaron como personas sin hogar. El porcentaje ha subido al 3.2 por ciento este año, más o menos lo mismo que en 2019-20.
«Como estado, no hemos hecho de la vivienda y el bienestar de nuestra población una prioridad», señaló James. «Lamentablemente, las políticas sociales no han respondido a las necesidades de los jóvenes y sus familias».
Los expertos luchan por explicar por qué el número de personas sin hogar disminuyó durante la pandemia. Dijeron que es posible que los estudiantes y sus familias se hayan estado mudando durante los primeros meses de cuarentena, por lo que es posible que no hayan sido contados. O los estudiantes sin hogar pueden haber estado cayendo por las grietas.
«En algunos casos, los distritos podrían estar mejorando en la identificación de los estudiantes», expresó Dion Burns, investigador principal del Learning Policy Institute.
La falta de vivienda estudiantil aumentó este año por primera vez desde 2020. El recuento incluye a los estudiantes que viven en moteles, parques de casas rodantes, campamentos o espacios públicos.
Si bien las cifras en todo el estado indican un regreso a los niveles previos a la pandemia, 13 de los 20 distritos más grandes del estado tienen más estudiantes sin hogar ahora que en el año escolar 2019-20. En un distrito, Kern High, el número se duplicó con creces.
Desde 2015, las tasas de personas sin hogar aumentaron gradualmente hasta 2020, cuando comenzaron a disminuir de manera constante. La falta de vivienda estudiantil aumentó este año por primera vez desde 2020.
El Departamento de Educación de California utiliza una definición federal de personas sin hogar que incluye a los estudiantes que viven en moteles, parques de casas rodantes, campamentos o espacios públicos.
Los distritos escolares y las oficinas de educación del condado emplean enlaces que controlan a los estudiantes y las familias sin hogar. James dijo que a menudo tienen escasez de personal, por lo que recopilar datos puede haber sido un desafío, especialmente durante el caos de 2020 y 2021.
En Monarch School, una escuela para estudiantes sin hogar operada por la Oficina de Educación del Condado de San Diego, los administradores han visto una mayor necesidad. Jesús Núñez, director de comunicaciones de la escuela, refirió que los estudiantes están experimentando más inseguridad en la vivienda en los últimos años, junto con más problemas de salud mental y traumas derivados de la falta de una vivienda estable.
«Si no se satisfacen las necesidades básicas de los estudiantes, no importa qué estrategias de enseñanza se utilicen», puntualizó Núñez.
La Escuela Monarch atiende a unos 300 estudiantes. La jornada escolar es más larga, comienza a las 8 am y termina a las 6 pm Núñez dijo que la escuela ofrece más asesoramiento y servicios como terapia de arte.
«Creo que todos en la escuela desearían que pudiéramos hacer más”, dijo. “No rechazamos a muchos estudiantes, pero desafortunadamente algunos estudiantes necesitan regresar a su escuela de residencia porque no hay espacio disponible aquí”.
Muchos estudiantes sin hogar y sus familias han sido desalojados de sus hogares, destacó James. Ella recordó su propio trauma personal de tener los muebles de su familia trasladados a su jardín delantero cuando fueron desalojados. Sin hogar, los estudiantes y sus familias pueden ir de un refugio temporal a otro sin tener idea de cuánto tiempo pueden permanecer en un lugar.
«No se puede subestimar el grado en que eso afecta a un niño», subrayó James.
Agregó que, afortunadamente, los maestros están mejor preparados para trabajar con estos estudiantes que en décadas pasadas. Cuando un estudiante se porta mal o incluso se vuelve violento, un maestro puede tratar de calmarlo en lugar de recurrir a medidas disciplinarias como detenciones o suspensiones.
Según los nuevos datos del estado, la cantidad de jóvenes de crianza temporal, estudiantes con discapacidades y estudiantes de hogares de bajos ingresos ha aumentado entre un 2 y 3 por ciento.
La tasa de disminución de la matrícula general muestra signos de estabilización después de caer en picado en los primeros años de la pandemia. La inscripción al jardín de infantes recibió el mayor golpe, pero está comenzando a subir nuevamente. La inscripción pasó de aproximadamente 71 mil en 2020-21 a aproximadamente 130 mil este año, pero los funcionarios estatales dijeron que se debe en parte a la expansión del jardín de infancia de transición en el estado.
